Now that the rebranded ‘MF Pro’ has introduced itself, president Amer Abdallah is looking ahead to what comes next for the promotional outfit, as well as heavyweight icon Mike Tyson and veteran world champion Badou Jack.
Formerly Wasserman Boxing, MF Pro debuted with what turned out to be Michael Conlan’s final fight, where he suffered a shock defeat to Kevin Walsh in Belfast. That was followed by the company’s first pay-per-view event, headlined by Deontay Wilder’s split-decision victory over Derek Chisora in London.
Whilst the main event lacked elite technical quality, it made up for it with aggression and entertainment, as the anticipated heavyweight shootout lasted the full 12 rounds. The co-main event, meanwhile, was more one-sided, as Viddal Riley produced a career-best performance to outclass former world title challenger Mateusz Masternak and claim the EBU European cruiserweight title.
Despite being positioned for a shot at the vacant IBF world title against the winner of Floyd Masson and David Nyika’s eliminator, the EBU’s latest update suggests Riley is in negotiations to defend his belt against France’s Seydi Coupe.
However, speaking to Boxing News, Abdallah revealed that several possibilities remain on the table ahead of an MF Pro card in London, which Riley is expected to headline in August or September.
“Viddal has got a lot of options, he is looking at the EBU defence, he is looking at the IBF and he is looking at the WBC. He is in a great position where he has got some options and he has some choices to make in the next couple of weeks. Nothing is definitive, but the options are there.
“There are multiple ongoing negotiations and they are all, progressively, at the same stage.
“Absolutely [we are wanting him to headline his next event in London], I think that Viddal is going to be a future superstar in boxing, not just in the United Kingdom.
“Obviously, his grassroots, his home, his backyard is where it starts. I think that he has proved now, after the co-main event of Chisora-Wilder, where he had an amazing, career-best performance, it warrants him taking the main stage next.”
“We are targeting late summer, early fall for his next outing.”
Abdallah also discussed MF Pro’s first United States event, which takes place in Long Beach on June 19 and is topped by Ashton Sylve and JoJo Diaz. Alongside several of the company’s top American prospects, he hinted there could also be a surprise appearance on the card.
“That will be a great prospects card and then we’ll keep building off that.
“That will involve Ashton Sylve, Amir Anderson, David Lopez and we might have a surprise on in there also.”
Away from MF Pro, Abdallah continues to manage three-division world champion Badou Jack, whom he believes has not received the recognition his résumé deserves in recent years. He added that the Swede likely has ‘one or two’ fights remaining, though he is unsure whether Jack still has ambitions of moving up to bridgerweight or heavyweight.
“I know that you have got the Jai Opetaia’s out there, Viddal Riley is coming up and making a name, David Benavidez has made his stake in the cruiserweight division, but when you look at the records and résumé’s, no cruiserweight has fought the level of competition that Badou Jack has.
“I was a little bit disappointed that everybody said that David Benavidez was the first to do it [claim world titles] at 168, 175 and cruiser. No, Badou was. Badou did that and all of those fights were in spectacular fashion. People dismiss Badou because he is ‘the people’s champion’, he is very humble and down to earth, he is not a loud, ‘in your face’ kind of guy.
“He can do whatever he wants to do at this stage in his life but I think that he would like to do one or two more.
“The plan was, when Lukasz Rozanski was the bridgerweight champion, we had a deal where we actually paid Kevin Lerena a step-aside. Badou was supposed to fight Rozanski and then he was going to fight at heavyweight and he was going to go up and shoot for five divisions.
“We absolutely had interest in being able to do that [move up to bridgerweight or heavyweight], but at this time in his career I am not sure he wants to go up another weight class or stay at cruiserweight. He has had a legendary career, so time will tell what Badou wants to do, but I think a decision will be made in the next month or so.”
As Tyson’s advisor, Abdallah also remains hopeful that ‘Iron Mike’ will eventually face Floyd Mayweather in an exhibition bout, although he admitted he is unsure where negotiations currently stand, given Mayweather’s commitments to face Mike Zambidis and then Manny Pacquiao.
Still, Abdallah said he is looking forward to those events and even suggested Zambidis could provide a difficult test for ‘TBE’.
“Andrew Ruf from Paradigm [Talent Agency] is handling the fight. There is an agreement in place, the status of that agreement I am unsure of. I think that both guys, at one point, wanted the fight. Whether that is still on the table or not, I am unsure, it is not on my scope.
“But, when Mike says that he wants to get ready and go, then everything is set for him and Mike is the boss, he will make the decisions. If things are ready to move then they will and, if not, that cuts on both guys.”
“Floyd is now tied up in a couple of other things, I saw that he has the exhibition with the Greek kid, Zambidis. The kid is a tough, tough kid, strong, even though he is in his mid 40’s. He’s a strong, solid guy. Floyd’s experience, I think, gives him the edge but it’ll actually be an exciting one.
“Then you’ve got Floyd and Manny again and I think that’s great, that fight is going to warrant some great attention with it being on Netflix and on such a big platform.”
Currently, Mayweather is scheduled to face Zambidis in an exhibition in Athens on Saturday, June 27, before his rematch with Manny Pacquiao on Friday, September 25. It remains unclear whether the Pacquiao bout will be contested as an exhibition or a fully sanctioned professional contest, potentially placing Mayweather’s 50-0 record at risk.
Meanwhile, MF Pro’s next event takes place on Friday, May 29, as Charlie Edwards faces South Africa’s Sikho Nqothole in an IBF super-flyweight final eliminator at York Hall.
