Unbeaten Mexican junior featherweight contender Alan Picasso will take the next step in his burgeoning career when he faces former world title challenger Azat Hovhannisyan in the co-feature to the Floyd Mayweather vs. John Gotti III exhibition in Mexico City on August 24.
Last June, Mayweather and Gotti III, the nephew of gangster John Gotti, initially threw down last June. When the exhibition was stopped in the sixth of a scheduled eight-rounder, a melee broke out in the ring which quickly descended into chaos.
Altercation breaks out during Floyd Mayweather vs John Gotti III exhibition match pic.twitter.com/ZiVXD7C2mN
— Crown Nation Sports (@cnation_sports) June 12, 2023
As always when Mayweather is involved, this promises to be a big event and has the added spice of what happened last year.
Meanwhile, Picasso is closing in on a world title fight, and has Ring champion Naoya Inoue in his crosshairs. This represents a really good opportunity for him to garner some attention on the big stage. The fight is scheduled for 10 rounds.
Picasso (28-0-1, 16 knockouts), rated at No. 10 by The Ring at junior featherweight, turned professional at 16 in 2017. A loss in his fifth fight was overturned to a technical draw in his fifth outing. Since then, the 23-year-old has worked his way up in Mexico.
Earlier this year, Picasso, who is co-promoted by Zanfer and Golden Boy, came to America and stepped up his competition beating Erik Ruiz (UD 10) in January and Damian Vazquez (TKO 5) on the undercard of Canelo-Jaime Munguia in May.
Hovhannisyan (21-4, 17 KOs) lost his debut and looked destined or a low-key future in the sport. However, after teaming up with Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, he has improved immeasurably. The 35-year-old puncher stopped Ronny Rios (TKO 6) to earn himself a shot at WBC beltholder Rey Vargas (L UD 12). He rebounded with seven wins before losing to Luis Nery (KO 11) in a dramatic slugfest.
This will be the tough Armenian’s first fight since the Nery defeat 18-months ago, which was subsequently named Ring Fight of The Year in 2023. He had been rated by The Ring earlier, but lost his position due to inactivity. However, this is his chance to climb back into the top 10.
Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at elraincoat@live.co.uk.
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