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          Dan Rafael Blog

          Notes: Ortiz-Ustinov eyed for Canelo-Smith co-feature

          Heavyweight Luis Ortiz could return to the ring on Sept. 17 to face Alexander Ustinov in the Canelo Alvarez-Liam Smith undercard. Alex Menendez/Hoganphotos/Golden Boy
          • Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior WriterJul 6, 2016, 12:04 PM ET
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            • 2013 BWAA Nat Fleischer Award winner for excellence in boxing journalism
            • ESPN.com boxing writer since 2005
            • Five years at USA Today
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          A few notes from around the boxing world:

          • The mandatory fight between interim heavyweight titleholder Luis "King Kong" Ortiz and Alexander Ustinov is likely to serve as the co-feature on the undercard of lineal middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez’s move down to junior middleweight to challenge titleholder Liam Smith on Sept. 17 (HBO PPV), Golden Boy Promotions vice president Eric Gomez told ESPN.com. He said the sides were down to working out a few “minor details.” The 6-foot-4, 240-pound southpaw Ortiz (25-0, 22 KOs), 37, a Cuban defector who fights out of Miami, is coming off a one-sided sixth-round knockout of Tony Thompson on March 5 and will be making his third defense. The 39-year-old Ustinov (33-1, 24 KOs), a 6-7½ , 288-pound native of Russia who is based in Belarus, has won six fights in a row since his lone defeat, an 11th-round knockout to former world title challenger Kubrat Pulev.

            Gomez also said that despite rumors of a rematch between Japan’s Yoshihiro Kamegai (26-3-2, 23 KOs) and Mexico’s Jesus Soto Karass (28-10-4, 18 KOs) taking place on the Sept. 17 card, it is not happening. Kamegai and Soto Karass fought to a split draw in a brutal slugfest on April 15. The site for the Sept. 17 card is not set but could be finalized this week. It will be either at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas or AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Gomez said.

          • The rematch between heavyweights Gerald Washington (17-0-1, 11 KOs) and Amir Mansour (22-2-1, 16 KOs), who fought to a split draw in October, is off. The bout was scheduled to take place July 16 on the undercard of heavyweight titleholder Deontay Wilder’s defense against Chris Arreola on July 16 at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. Although Mansour accepted the fight, Russell Peltz, his promoter, told ESPN.com that the fight was scrapped because he and Mansour could not come to financial terms on their end of the deal.

          • Heavyweight Andy Ruiz (27-0, 18 KOs) will take on Josh Gormley (22-4, 21 KOs) on July 16 at the Masonic Temple in downtown Detroit, promoter Dmitriy Salita announced. Although Ruiz, 26, a native of Mexico fighting out of Imperial, California, is promoted by Top Rank, the company made a deal for him to fight on Salita’s card. Gormley, 41, of Torrance, California, who claims to be a distant relative for of legendary heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, has won three fights in a row since returning to the ring in 2015 after having not boxed since 1999.