Lerrone Richards Frustrated, Says No One Wants to Fight Him Since Gongora Win
In his last tour of duty, UK pugilist Lerrone “The Sniper Boss” Richards (16-0, 3 KO’s) out-boxed and pointed Carlos Gongora to scoop up a split decision win. Among the spoils of war, Richards physically confiscated his IBO super middleweight title. Armed with the belt, and victory over Gongora, the Sniper Boss feels that he is on par with the elite around the world. This is precisely why, as he told iFL TV, he is upset that the big opportunities are not coming.
“Let’s make this clear. This is a fact, before I beat Carlos Gongora they were talking about Gongora fighting Canelo Alvarez. Since I beat Gongora, there are no talks about Richards fighting Canelo Alvarez, there is no none of that! It’s like I am the forgotten man, I’m here! No one wants to fight, it’s very frustrating. But I am going to keep working hard and grinding in the gym and I will get my opportunity.”
PRAYING FOR MIRACLE
Presently, Lerrone Richards holds the #10 (IBF) and #13 (WBC) standings which puts him on the periphery of some good fights. Unfortunately for him, on the world stage, his name is not making much noise. If looking to the IBF, Richards may want to ponder a bout with #13 (IBF), ranked Daniel “The Miracle Man” Jacobs (37-4, 30 KO’s).
Jacobs is coming off a February 12, split decision loss to John Ryder and will be looking to get back in the win column. While Jacobs is behind him in the rankings, his name holds far greater notoriety than does Richards. The Sniper Boss could also use the match as his debut competing on American soil.
THE TARGETED THREE
If looking at the WBC, Richards would probably want to target #7 (WBC) Jesse “Hard Work” Hart (28-3, 22 KO’s), #6 (WBC) Anthony “The Dog” Dirrell (34-2-2, 25 KO’s) and once again #3 (WBC) Daniel Jacobs. Hart is coming off a third round knockout of David Murray and is riding a two-fight win streak since losing to Joe Smith Jr back on January 11, 2020. Dirrell is 1-1-1 in his last three matches, but was victorious by way of fourth round TKO in his last duel with Marcos Hernandez.
Amazingly, Jacobs still holds the very favorable #3 position with the WBC. This is notable because Jacobs is 2-2 in his last four and coming off a loss to John Ryder. In between his losses to Ryder and Canelo Alvarez, Jacobs sandwiched in two lackluster performances against Gabriel Rosado and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Obviously, Richards would jump at the chance to collect this scalp. Although most snub the IBO, perhaps that belt will be enough to lure one of these three boxers into the ring.
Yet, in the end, we will have to wait and see how the boxing politics resolve themselves. On the bright side however, Richards’ team has left him somewhat optimistic that big fights were on the horizon.
“I know that I will be fighting sometime in June-time, and it should be a big fight.”
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By: Bakari Simpson
