Henry Cejudo has a new opponent, and a harder one.
Cejudo makes his boxing debut in the Misfits Boxing main event at the James L. Knight Center in Miami on September 26. He was booked against Nurideen Shabazz, the content creator who works as Deen the Great, until Shabazz withdrew due to injury. Javon Walton has stepped in.
Walton is better known for playing Ashtray in Euphoria, but the boxing is not a novelty on his side. He turned professional in 2023, is 3-0-1, and is signed to Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, which merged with the PFL in July. He is 20 years old.
Cejudo is 39 and has no professional boxing record at all. He won Olympic wrestling gold in 2008 and held UFC titles at flyweight and bantamweight, retiring as champion in 2020 before coming back three years later. He announced a second retirement after losing a decision to Payton Talbott at UFC 323.
The change tilts the matchup. A former two-division UFC champion against a content creator is one thing. A former two-division UFC champion who has never boxed professionally against an unbeaten 20-year-old prospect is another.
Tony Ferguson defends the Misfits middleweight title against Kenzo Biyong on the same card. Alex Pereira’s longtime trainer Plinio Cruz also makes his professional boxing debut there against Chase DeMoor for the heavyweight title.
September 26 is a crowded night. AEW runs All Out in Hoffman Estates and WWE counter-programs with Worlds Collide in Rosemont, roughly 20 minutes apart.
