Queen’s Dead, Saturday Ladies Card Is OFF

FRIDAY AM UPDATE: The show must NOT go on, grieving Her Majesty and honoring her memory will take precedence over sport, it’s been decided.

The pertinent powers that be in Britain have decided that the Saturday fight card to be held at O2 Arena is OFF, postponed to October, date TBD.

October 15 is probably the reset date, according to promoter/producer Boxxer:

MY THREE CENTS: I don’t agree with the move,  life can go on, and people can grieve the death of the Queen, or not, without impacting persons’ opportunity to do their job, which in this case is fighting. Boxers don’t fight, they don’t get paid. Landlords and shop keepers aren’t accepting “grief coupons” in lieu of currency, and this gesture seems outdated for the age we live in, with more people living paycheck to paycheck than is ideal.
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The news that the Queen of England, an impossible act to follow, has transitioned to a better place at age 96 dominated the news on Thursday afternoon. Degenerate boxing fans of course had a different take than reporters and citizens… Will the show go in? Will the all-star card featuring title defenses for self proclaimed Greatest Woman of All Time Claressa Shields (v Brit Savannah Marshall) and the First Lady of Top Rank, Mikaela Mayer (v WBO lightweight titlist Alycia Baumgardner) go as planned?

Or might the response to the passing of the monarchal giant mess up the plans for pugilism?

Top Rank  is the lead promoter for the card unfolding at 02 Arena in London, which plays out Saturday afternoon in the US. ATG deal maker Bob Arum, himself 90 years old, got back to NYFIGHTS when we posed the question to him:

“Yes (the show will go on),” Arum of Top Rank responded. “The Queen’s dying wish was the the women fight.”

If you don’t know Arum, he has a certain sense of humor, and that remark is tongue planted firmly in cheek regarding Her Majesty’s final moments. And laugh emojis are in reference to his wicked irreverence, not her passing, let’s make clear.

Now, Mayer, if you don’t know, is 17-0 with 5 KOs, while Baumgardner is 12-1, 7 KOs. Mayer, a 2016 U.S. Olympian from Los Angeles, believes her experience will carry the day, while Baumgardner, from Fremont, Ohio, is of the belief that her explosivity will win out on the Top Rank event.

NOTE: In the leadup to Saturday’s Top Rank event, ESPN is presenting Trash Talk: Mayer vs. Baumgardner, a 30-minute all-access type look at WBO/IBF/Ring Magazine Jr. Lightweight champion Mikaela Mayer (17-0, 5 KOs) and her rival, the WBC titleholder Alycia Baumgardner (12-1, 7 KOs), as they get set to settle their beef. It’s airing on ESPN2 and will be available on-demand via the ESPN App, for the record.