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As mentioned last week, WBA middleweight champ Rob Brant has finalized a deal with Top Rank after his dominant upset of Ryota Murata. Top Rank will co-promote him alongside his previous promoter, Greg Cohen, and he’ll ply his trade on ESPN and ESPN+.
He is “slated to return...in mid-February.”
Brant (24-1, 16 KO) was written off after a one-sided loss to Juergen Braehmer in the World Boxing Super Series, but used a terrific workrate to overwhelm Murata, who had been tabbed to face Gennady Golovkin. It’s good to see him rewarded for his efforts, but as seefusensei points out here, his most lucrative targets are with DAZN.
His top two contenders at the moment, David Lemieux and the aforementioned Golovkin, are currently occupied. If Murata doesn’t want the instant rematch, the WBA rankings also feature Kamil Szeremeta, Magomed Madiev, and Esquiva Falcao in the #3-#5 slots. Any of those matchups tickle your fancies?