Comosa AG, the company that owns the World Boxing Super Series tournaments, announced on Tuesday that the second season will also include a tournament in the cruiserweight division.
Eight-man, single-elimination tournaments for the second season have already been announced for the bantamweight and junior welterweight divisions, which kick off this fall. But Comosa AG also said it would add a third division in the third season.
There was also a cruiserweight tournament in the first season of World Boxing Super Series along with one at super middleweight. The initial cruiserweight tournament featured the best fighters in the deep division, including all four major world titleholders, and produced several exciting fights.
Oleksandr Usyk outpointed Murat Gassiev on July 21 in Moscow to unify the four major belts in the 200-pound division to become the undisputed world champion. Usyk still has all of the belts and is in talks for a fight with former titlist Tony Bellew, so it is unclear if the new World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight tournament will involve any of the title belts.
“Season I paved the way for Oleksandr Usyk to write history and take home the first-ever Muhammad Ali Trophy,” said promoter Kalle Sauerland, the Comosa AG chief boxing officer. “The cruiserweight edition of the Ali Trophy gave the world spectacular matchups in the quarterfinals, fight of the year contenders in the semifinals and we witnessed Usyk as a pound-for-pound best with his amazing performance in the final. We are really looking forward to continuing the success of this exciting weight class in Season II. People can expect a very strong line-up (of fighters).”
Sauerland said the participants will be announced in the coming days.
“There will be some remarkable names from Season I, the highest-ranked challengers and, as always in the World Boxing Super Series, a huge geographic spread. We now have all three weight classes in place and we cannot wait to share the Ali Trophy action with the whole world.”
Also on Tuesday, the bantamweight quarterfinal between secondary world titlist and No. 2 seed Naoya Inoue (16-0, 14 KOs), 25, of Japan, and former titleholder and unseeded Juan Carlos Payano (20-1, 9 KOs), 34, a southpaw from the Dominican Republic, was announced for Oct. 7 (DAZN) at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan.
“I didn’t expect to fight the first bout here, but I wish Japanese fans will watch and appreciate my performance at the big Yokohama Arena,” Inoue said at a news conference announcing the date and site. “Payano is a skillful speedster with good experience, and it may be a technical fight. I’d like to fight with patience and finally catch up with him to score a knockout victory.”
Inoue, a three-division titleholder, claimed the bantamweight belt with a first-round knockout of Jamie McDonnell on May 25 in Tokyo.