By Samuel Rosenberg

The final press conference took place for the undercard of Canelo vs Jacobs, which will feature two different World Boxing Association (WBA) Title fights at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in an evening that will be broadcast by DAZN.

John Ryder and Bilal Akkawy will face off for the vacant interim Super Middleweight title of the World Boxing Association (WBA). The fighters, who hail from Britain and Australia, will enter the ring at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to fight for the interim WBA belt in the lead up to the fight between Saul Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs.

Ryder has already been WBA international champion and is looking for a new title that will bring him closer to the biggest fights. The Londoner is 30 years old and in his record there are rivals with the likes of Jamie Cox and former champion Rocky Fielding.

Ryder said at the final press conference that “Bilal is an excellent replacement and everyone is in for a real treat come Saturday night.”

For his part Akkawy, who is 25 years old, has already been WBA Oceania Champion and will go into his first big fight in a place as important as Las Vegas. The Australian is a tough and insistent fighter who has been a teammate of Canelo’s in the past.

The other bout featured on the undercard will be Joseph “JoJo” Diaz vs Freddy Fonseca for the World Boxing Association (WBA) Gold Super Featherweight Title.

Joseph Diaz is coming into the fight off of a disappointing 2018 campaign where he had two shots at world titles and came up short in both; one due to taking his first loss and the other due to weight issues.

Diaz has some harsh words for his opponent at the final press conference: “Thank you to everyone meaningful in my life and career,” said Diaz, “Freddy thank you for coming down from Nicaragua but you are going to go home with two black eyes.”

Article courtesy of Samuel Rosenberg & WBA