Picasso vs Hovhannisyan eliminator set for Aug. 24

The fight will have the WBC “silver” super bantamweight title at stake, making it a final eliminator for a crack at Naoya Inoue

Floyd Mayweather Jr’s August 24th exhibition rematch with John Gotti III is a joke, as is Victor Ortiz’s comeback against 13-5 Rodrigo Damian Coria in the co-feature. There will be one quality fight, though, as WBC no. 1 super bantamweight Alan Picasso will meet Azat Hovhannisyan for the “silver” title and, presumably, a shot at Naoya Inoue.

Picasso (28-0, 16 KO) has been on the cusp of a title shot for what feels like ages, but never managed to finagle himself into a proper eliminator; he got the order to face Ra’eese Aleem in a semifinal last year, only for Aleem to take the IBF route and fight Sam Goodman instead.

He’s passed the eye test so far, most notably in a January win over Erik Ruiz that saw him fight through a rib injury to secure a unanimous decision. That said, he’s in for a massive step up in class against all-action contender Hovhannisyan (21-4, 17 KO). “Crazy A” was half of 2023’s Ring Magazine Fight of the Year against Luis Nery, weathering Nery’s early onslaught and seemingly breaking “Pantera” down before suffering a violent comeback knockout.

If Hovhannisyan’s body and mind are still ship-shape after that war, the 23-year-old Picasso is in for a trial by fire. I’ll be shocked if this doesn’t produce some sort of “X of the Year.”