Sherdog Boxing: The Weekly Wrap

A new video has now emerged from 'PULEV SPORT' on Facebook allegedly showing Jenny 'SuShe' Ravalo at the post-fight after-party giving a lap dance to a member of Kubrat Pulev's team, just a few feet away from him. Below is the clip, accompanied by her explanation of the party. pic.twitter.com/0dGWc9AT8E

— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) March 30, 2019

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After unexpectedly kissing reporter Jennifer Ravalo during an interview, Kubrat Pulev was indefinitely suspended by The California State Athletic Commission this week. He must go in front of the commission in May if he ever wants to fight in California again, and Ravalo has hired famed feminist lawyer Gloria Allred to take legal action against the 37-year-old Bulgarian heavyweight. However, a video emerged that made the whole case far less cut and dry.

A video allegedly showing Ravalo giving one of Pulev’s friends a lapdance at his post-fight celebration made the rounds on social media, giving credibility to Pulev’s claim that the two are close friends. He had previously laughed off the allegation, and this makes Ravalo’s claim that she was only at the party to interview boxers as a professional journalist far less believable.

Obviously, Pulev still needs to be held accountable for the unwanted kiss (she claims he also grabbed her backside, but he denies that accusation gong so far as to say, “That’s not true. This woman is not my type.”), but that video will likely do immense amounts of damage to Ravalo’s case, as well as her professional reputation.

A far less important issue for Pulev that also popped up this week is that Bogdan Dinu’s promoter is appealing his knockout loss based on the number of rabbit punches Pulev landed on Dinu. That hearing takes place May 4, but I doubt the appeal goes anywhere, as losses are rarely overturned by appeal.

Charlo Fighting Contender Winner Adams in June

Although rumors had him penned as the next opponent of Gennady Golovkin, it turns up that “The Contender” winner Brandon Adams will actually be fighting Jermall Charlo on a Showtime card taking place either June 8 or 15. Apparently, Adams was offered a fight against “GGG” on DAZN but opted for the Charlo fight because it was for more money.

Adams would be a huge underdog in either fight. He’s on a four-fight win streak including a November win over Shane Mosley’s son to win the reality competition but has lost to guys like Willie Monroe Jr. and John Thompson, neither of which are close to the skill level of Charlo. Still, Golovkin is a far bigger name than Charlo, so the decision to fight Charlo is an odd one if Adams thinks he’s going to stay in the spotlight beyond this fight.

With Adams booked, Golovkin is looking at potential opponents including Hassan Ndam for a potential June bout at Madison Square Garden. However, Texas is also angling for that fight by claiming this would give Golovkin more Latino fans and would in turn make a potential third bout with Canelo even more lucrative.

Quigg-Velez Added to Rungvisai-Estrada 2 Undercard

The April 26 Rungvisai-Estrada 2 card gained a fight this week, as Scott Quigg will fight Jayson Velez in a junior lightweight matchup. Quigg is coming off of a TKO win over Mario Briones in October and looking to fight Tevin Farmer in the future.

Another fighter looking to fight Farmer is Ryan Garcia. Last weekend, despite a consistent trash-talk battle with Gervonta Davis, Garcia admitted Farmer was the champion he was most likely to face next. This week, the IBF super featherweight champion Farmer responded to that idea by declaring, “I like Ryan Garcia a lot. As a fighter and person, but he don’t want this. These fighters gotta be careful what they ask for. I may look easy looking from the outside. But inside, this s— is another level.”

Farmer is not a very big name, so the only reason that many fighters could be calling him out is that they believe he’s the easiest path to a world title bout. That should motivate Farmer to make sure whoever he fights, learns to be careful about what they wish for.

Video of Stevenson’s Miami Street Brawl Emerges and it’s Not Good

This week, the video of Shakur Stevenson’s brawl from earlier this year came to light, and it’s not good for the former Olympic Silver Medalist. In the video, Stevenson allegedly delivers sucker punches, then proceeds to assault and spit on a downed man in a white hoodie, while the man he is with repeatedly punches a woman in the face who tried to stop the fight.

According to the women involved, Stevenson reportedly was making unwanted sexual advances towards them and another woman they didn’t know. When the women tried to get Stevenson and his friend to go away, Stevenson allegedly struck one of their boyfriends leading to the brawl.

We knew of this brawl months ago, however, as tends to be the case (think of Ray Rice or Kareem Hunt in the NFL), people getting to see the video will likely spark calls for Stevenson to be suspended from fighting. Stevenson is scheduled to face Puerto Rico’s Christopher “Pitufo” Diaz on April 20, in what is seen as a huge step up in competition for the boxer. With the video now public, whether that fight happens is anybody’s guess.

Pacquiao Reportedly Fighting Thurman in July

Although the fight hasn’t been signed, Mike Coppinger is reporting that Manny Pacquiao and Keith Thurman are in “advanced talks” for a PPV fight in July and that the deal is likely to get done.

While Pacquiao and Spence seemingly agreed in the ring to face each other following Spence’s victory over Mikey Garcia, this fight will probably be more exciting as Spence was considered far too good for who Manny is at this point in his career. A win for Pacquaio would create believers that think he would give Spence a good fight. Meanwhile, a win for “One Time” would create believers in the infrequent fighter who is not thought of as on the level of Spence and Terence Crawford, despite his unbeaten record.

Shields and Hammer Spar Over Modelling Career, Sparking Debate on Women’s Sports

Ahead of their fight on April 13, Claressa Shields and Christina Hammer sparred over how a female athlete should behave, creating a debate on social media about the role of sexuality in female sports. On their All Access show on Showtime, Shields spoke of the Hammer fans that harass her on the internet before saying, “Keep on harassing me on the internet. Doing what y’all do. She can keep posting her bikini pictures, keep liking them.” This led Hammer to call her opponent jealous.

Shields’ criticism sparked a debate about how female athletes should market themselves. Some comparing Hammer to tennis star Anna Kournikova, while others called out Shields for appearing in ESPN’s body issue, and many jokers linking this situation to Oscar De La Hoya’s infamous cross-dressing photos.

Hopefully, this debate doesn’t get in the way of fans enjoying what should be a decent scrap between two great fighters.