Junior Makabu must defend his title of world cruiserweight champion on September 30, 2022 in Kinshasa. The Congolese boxer is actively preparing for this crucial fight even if he is waiting to know his opponent, the Belgian Ryad Mehry having had to give up facing him.
” We are sticking to this date of September 30. Unification fight or not, Junior must get back in the ring and must always defend the flag of Congo. Junior Makabu, world cruiserweight champion, shows his determination four weeks from the third defense of his WBC title.
Returned to Kinshasa to attend the international day of boxing (August 27), the Congolese took the opportunity to settle details, and not the least, in view of this deadline, planned at the Stade des martyrs. He must indeed find a new opponent, following the withdrawal of the Belgian Ryad Merhy.
The latter, of Ivorian origin in particular, was ready to come to the DRC. But his federation, the WBA, ordered him to face his own champion, the Frenchman Arsen Goulamirian, rather than that of the WBC. This meeting against Goulamirian finally fell through and Merhy preferred to change weight category. ” It’s not frustrating for meputs Junior Makabu into perspective. Ryad left his belt [de champion intérimaire WBA, Ndlr]. But I have to stay active as WBC champion. I don’t have to follow what’s going on with the WBA “.
His manager then approached Goulamirian as well as his promoter to try to organize a unification fight in Congo. ” We made a financial offer then a counter-offer and in the end they responded quite quicklysays Tarik Saadi. Sébastien Acariès, whom I know well, discussed it with Arsen Goulamirian but he preferred not to come to Congo to face Junior “. The French would not have been satisfied with the financial offer that Ryad Merhy had accepted. ” We really wanted this WBA unification “, slips Tarik Saadi.
Waiting for Canelo Alvarez
There too, Junior Makabu can only shrug his shoulders and hold his head high, he who dreams of snatching the belts of world champion cruisers from the three other major professional boxing federations (IBF, WBA, WBO). ” I’m looking forward to ithe recalls. But as the WBA has many many problems, we are considering a fight with the new IBF champion, the Australian [Jai Opetaia, Ndlr]. We always aim to unify all the belts and thus bring notoriety to our country “.
Notoriety, Junior Makabu could gain a lot in the coming months. Superstar Canelo Alvarez wanted to challenge the Congolese in 2022. This clash against a legend of Noble Art has been delayed but remains relevant, according to the native of Kananga. ” This fight interests me 100%he says. It is a motivation for me. Canelo agreed to fight against Gennady Golovkin and then he will come back to us. But me, I can’t stay inactive while waiting for Canelo “.
Tarik Saadi concludes: “ Junior has an obligation to defend his title. We have discussions with the top ten in the current WBC rankings. […] Junior does the right thing. Our team is here. We offer things. And there, we are close to an agreement and the signing with his future opponent. »
As a reminder, Makabu won the belt on January 31, 2020 in Kinshasa against the Polish Michal Cieslak, the Congolese had defended him against the Nigerian Olanrewaju Durodola on December 19, 2020 still in the DRC, then on January 29, 2022 against the South African Thabiso Mchunu in the northeastern United States.