Two undefeated heavyweights agreeing to fight each other does not happen often, and almost never on a club show. In a sport built on protecting the “0,” managers and matchmakers usually spend years steering prospects around one another. Boxing Insider Promotions got it signed. On Saturday, June 13, Bruce Seldon Jr. (8-0, 6 KO) and Josh Popper (7-0, 6 KO) headline at Tropicana Atlantic City, and one of them walks out with the first loss of his career.
Both men have had their names linked for months, and the talk has been anything but quiet. Ahead of fight night, Boxing Insider Promotions brought them together for a face-to-face sit-down. It did not stay polite for long. Here is the matchup in their own words.
Walking in
Bruce Seldon Jr.: “At this point in time, he’s probably my most in-shape opponent. Outside of that, we’re going to go in there, do what we’re supposed to do, and keep going up the ladder.”
Josh Popper: “This is another fight, to be honest. The plan is to keep rising through the ranks and put myself in a position to better my competition every fight. It’s another day at the office.”
How the fight got signed
Josh Popper: “Out of curiosity, what are these excuses he’s referring to? His manager came up to me after my last fight, put his hand on my shoulder, and said, after Bruce gets another tune-up fight, then we’ll be ready for you. So I’m confused about what excuses he means.”
Bruce Seldon Jr.: “None of that came from our side. They said our name about three times, and every single time we said yes. They said send the contract, we printed it out, we signed it, and we sent it right back. We were ready since day one.”
Josh Popper: “When I took that last fight, the so-called tune-up, I just wanted to stay active, and I was told the fight was in jeopardy because they didn’t want me getting any more experience. Somebody asked me in a press conference about fighting Bruce, and I said yes, that would be an amazing fight for the city. All of a sudden that got turned into me presenting a challenge. We’re here now, and I like to do my talking in the ring.”
The football game jab
Bruce Seldon Jr.: “All I can do is laugh. It’s corny to bring up a football game from about fourteen years ago. That’s a team sport. What does that have to do with what’s about to happen? If I was such a non-factor, there would be no reason for him to keep bringing me up, no reason for interviewers to keep bringing up my name. What Josh Popper thinks about me, that’s the real non-factor.“
The experience debate gets personal
Josh Popper: “I learned a lot in the amateurs. I’ve been in the ring with a bunch of different skill levels, between the amateurs, sparring, and what I’ve already seen as a professional. I plan on putting that on display. Amateurs, baby, it’s all about experience.”
Bruce Seldon Jr.: “I did a little digging myself. He fought as a novice in the Masters division. That’s not necessarily open amateur. I wish the man luck, but I’m not going to sit back and listen to lies. They keep overstating that he has all this amateur experience, and it’s just overstated. He has a couple of amateur fights that are more like exhibitions, early fights against novice guys who don’t know what they’re doing.”
Josh Popper: “Your research serves you wrong. After I won Ringmasters as a novice, I had an open fight, and then I turned pro. You need to do better research.”
Bruce Seldon Jr.: “These are two very new guys in boxing. It’s not one skilled fighter against an athlete. It’s two novice boxers who happen to be professional and undefeated, on a collision course. The experience level is very similar. I’m thirty-one, I started at twenty-nine, so I’m learning on the job, and we keep getting better and better.”
Last fights, and who got tested
Each man went at the other’s most recent outing, including Popper’s win over Rodell Booker, a card Seldon says he worked himself.
Bruce Seldon Jr.: “My last fight was a tough one, and I made it tough on myself. I did not do the things I was supposed to do. But just to see that I can get through a tough fight, that when I have nothing in the tank I can dig deep and make it happen, that’s the kind of thing you can’t show people until you’re in it.”
Josh Popper: “What happened in that last fight of his? He looked like he was concussed after that fight. He didn’t know what to say.”
Bruce Seldon Jr.: “I worked the Rodell Booker fight. Rodell Booker carried you. Nobody came close to Dylan Pumphrey, my guy.”
Josh Popper: “He carried me? You’re right. You know what I did? I stuck to my jab and I fought beautifully.”
Coaching, and a divided focus
Josh Popper: “Running Bredwinners gives me an opportunity to be around boxing more. I’m around legit fighters and coaches who know what they’re talking about. I’m a coach myself, so I have a coach’s eye, and I break down film for my fighters. I coach nationally ranked amateurs, top-ranked amateurs in the state, and world champion fighters. That pedigree speaks for itself.”
Bruce Seldon Jr.: “That’s cute. I salute anyone who is making money in the sport. But at the end of the day, all my focus is going toward my own craft. However he splits his focus and his day, that’s on him. My day is focused strictly on bettering myself and fine-tuning myself.”
The man-to-man moment
Josh Popper: “I don’t have any animosity toward you. Man to man, I don’t have any beef with you. When we signed the contract, when I spoke to Larry the very first time, I said me and Bruce are cool. I told everybody we’re going to fight because we’re grown men and this is what we do, and I promise you we’re going to dap it up after, no love lost. My first amateur opponent became one of my close friends. We actually traveled together. I thought the same thing was going to happen after this fight.”
Josh Popper: “The thing is, your manager and your coach are the ones who keep talking. I hear a lot of talking, and it’s not coming from you. That’s the funny part. All I want to do is fight. We’re going to fight on June 13th. May the best man win, and I’d love to shake your hand after. As far as your team, I’ve got zero respect for your team.“
A champion’s name, and an empty seat
Bruce Seldon Jr.: “It’s just me getting in that ring. The name has opened certain doors I can’t be anything but thankful for, but on fight night it does nothing for me. I don’t think about it at all. My dad was a heavyweight champion, he’s in town for every fight, but he’s being a good father. If he was in the building, I wouldn’t have a single camera on me, and he knows that, and that’s fine.”
Josh Popper: “His dad doesn’t even show up. Why would I be worried about his dad? This is between me and Bruce.”
What each man gives the other
Bruce Seldon Jr.: “Of all the opponents I’ve had so far, he’s probably in the best shape, and probably the most athletic too. But I haven’t seen anything that stands out to me. We’re in the same boat for the most part. You can’t really see what a man has until you step in the ring with him.”
Josh Popper: “He’s athletic, we both have an athletic background. He brings power, I bring power. He’s going to come in shape, I’m going to be in shape. That’s it.”
Predictions, and the worst case
Bruce Seldon Jr.: “I’m planning on a stoppage. Whatever round I land a good one, it’s over. That’s it.”
Josh Popper: “I don’t like to make predictions. I just know I’m getting my hand raised at the end of the fight. However that happens, that’s what’s going to happen.”
Josh Popper: “I’m not going to lose. But hypothetically, back to the drawing board. There’s no sweet answer for that one.”
Bruce Seldon Jr.: “We don’t believe in losses. We only believe in lessons. This train doesn’t stop, we keep climbing. But we don’t think we’re losing.”
The fighters
Bruce Seldon Jr. (8-0, 6 KO) carries one of the most recognizable names in the sport. His father, Bruce Seldon, was the WBA heavyweight champion of the world, and the son has spent his young career building a following of his own in Atlantic City, where he has already fought five times. Six of his eight wins have come inside the distance.
Josh Popper (7-0, 6 KO) is an elite athlete whose talent once carried him to the NFL. He spent time in the New York amateur system before turning professional, and today he owns and runs the Bredwinners stable in Manhattan, training fighters while building his own record. Like Seldon, he has stopped six of his seven opponents.
Between them, the two bring fifteen wins, twelve stoppages, and zero defeats into the ring.
Two undefeated heavyweights, one ring, one city. June 13 is going to be personal.
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Can’t make it to Atlantic City? The entire card streams live and free on YouTube.
Bruce Seldon Jr. vs. Josh Popper headlines a seven-bout card from Boxing Insider Promotions on Saturday, June 13, at Tropicana Atlantic City. Full card below.
Full card:
Bruce Seldon Jr. vs. Josh Popper, heavyweight
Daiyaan Butt vs. Willmank Canonico Brito
Damian Tinnerello vs. Abdalla Nagy
Kahshad Elliott vs. Scottie Stockman
Julio Sanchez III vs. Shawn Rall
Jahanzeb Rizwan vs. Daniel Keepers
David Malul vs. Julius Thomas
