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With WBC bridgerweight champion Oscar Rivas out of action indefinitely with a detached retina, the WBC Board of Governors have designated him as “champion in recess” and voted in favor of the following resolution to immediately address the status of the bridgerweight division:

To order #1 Alen Babic vs #3 Lukasz Rozanski to fight for the vacant title with a 50-50 split and the winner committed to comply with two mandatories. The first mandatory against the winner of the final elimination between Ryad Merhy vs. Kevin Lerena.

To order #2 Ryad Merhy vs. #4 Kevin Lerena to fight a final elimination fight with a 50-50 split and the winner fighting vs. the new champion with a 60-40 split in favor of the champion.

The WBC starts a free negotiations period for both fights. If no agreement is reached a purse offer will be held in Mexico City on Tuesday January 31.

Gervonta Davis 134 vs. Hector Luis Garcia 134
(WBA “regular” lightweight title)

Jaron Ennis 145.6 vs. Karen Chukhadzhian 146.2
(IBF interim welterweight title)

Rashidi Ellis 146.2 vs. Roiman Villa 145.8
(IBF welterweight eliminator)

Demetrius Andrade 167 vs. Demond Nicholson 167.2
Vito Mielnicki Jr 153.2 vs. Omar Rosales 152.8
Brandun Lee 141.4 vs. Diego Luque 141.2
Travon Marshall 149.8 vs. Shawn West 151.2
Keeshawn Williams 146.2 vs. Gustavo David Vittori 145.6
Lamont Peterson 141.6 vs. Michael Ogundo 140.2
Kyrone Davis 163.8 vs. Cristián Fabián Ríos 164.4
Jalil Hackett 156.2 vs. Joel Guevara 155.8
Mia Ellis 128.2 vs. Karen Dulin 129.8

Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington DC
Promoter: TGB Promotions
TV: PPV, undercard on YouTube, Facebook

Late last night, Jean Pascal informed Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM) that he had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. His symptoms are too severe for him to continue training for his IBF light heavyweight title elimination fight against German Michael Eifert, scheduled for Place Bell in Laval on February 9th.

Co-promoter of the event, DiBella Entertainment (DBE) President Lou DiBella, contacted Eifert’s promoter, Benedikt Poelchau, President of Blanko Sports, and also informed the IBF of the situation. It was agreed that the fight and the entire event would be postponed to a later date to be determined in March.

Golden Boy will kickstart 2023 with NABO welterweight tileholder Alexis “Lex” Rocha (21-1, 13 KOs) against Anthony “Juice” Young (24-2, 8 KOs) in a 12-round main event on Saturday, January 28 at YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California, and broadcast worldwide on DAZN.

The co-main event will feature blue-chip lightweight prospect Floyd “Kid Austin” Schofield (12-0, 10 KOs) in a 10-round match against Alberto Mercado (16-1-1, 3 KOs) for the vacant WBA International belt. Also, scheduled is a 12-round WBO minimumweight world title eliminator between Oscar “El Pupilo” Collazo (5-0, 3 KOs) and Wilfredo “Bimbito” Mendez (18-2, 6 KOs). and super middleweight Bektemir “Bully” Melikuziev (10-1, 8 KOs) will return in a 10-rounder against TBA in the opener.

YouTube Theater is a 6,000-seat performance venue located under the same structure that houses SoFi Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers, on the site of the former Hollywood Park Racetrack.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos: Sumio Yamada

Filipino puncher Melvin Jerusalem (20-2, 12 KOs), 103, surprisingly dethroned WBO minimumweight champion Masataka Taniguchi (16-4, 11 KOs), 105, by a stunning knockout with a single right shot to the champ’s chin at 1:04 into the second round on Friday in Osaka, Japan. Taniguchi, a prefight favorite, controlled the initial round with his southpaw lefts to the still nervous Filipino. A trick happened when Jerusalem landed a perfect right to the button, dropping him on the seat of his trunks. The champ attempted to stand up too quickly (he should have stayed there for some more seconds) and couldn’t regain his equilibrium properly. He badly lost his balance and referee Roberto Ramirez Jr. from Puerto Rico waved it off to declare a TKO victory. It’s a great shocker. Continue reading “Jerusalem sinks Taniguchi, wins WBO 105lb belt”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos: Sumio Yamada

IBF minimumweight champion Daniel Valladares (26-3-1-1ND, 15 KOs), 105, Mexico, retained his belt by No Decision at 2:48 of the third round as he failed to go on because of a severe pain caused by an accidental headbutt with Japanese challenger Ginjiro Shigeoka (8-0-1ND, 6 KOs), 105, a faster southpaw, in a scheduled twelve on Friday in Osaka, Japan. Shigeoka, whose amateur mark was 59-1, was highly expected to annex the belt from the Mexican who had wrested the belt from Filipino Rene Mark Cuarto last July. The shorter Japanese seemingly took the initiative in the first two rounds, but an accidental butt made Valladares complain of a too severe pain to go on. Referee Chris Flores (US) generously accepted his appeal and declared a No Decision. The spectators, mostly Shigeoka adherents, were greatly disappointed at the abrupt stoppage in a bizarre fashion. Continue reading “Valladares keeps IBF 105lb belt via no decision”

The return of heavyweight contender Agit Kabayel has been postponed to March 4 due to a very severe flu that halted Kabayel’s training shortly before the turn of the year. As a result, the planned date of the fight on January 28th was no longer tenable based on the advice of the treating physicians. Kabayel will now face Croatian Agron Smakici for the vacant European heavyweight championship at the same location, the RuhrCongres Hall in Bochum, Germany, Kabayel’s hometown. Tickets for the SES Box Gala will, of course, remain valid for the new date.

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Former IBF 130 pound Gairy St Clair was successful in his appeal against a three-month prison sentence which was aborted on Friday at the Downing Centre Courthouse in Sydney after the presiding judge heard evidence from lawyer and former IBF 140 pound champion Lovemore Ndou that St Clair had no previous criminal history and had been a respected member of the community. St Clair had been jailed for assaulting a security guard after a disagreement over the former world champion not wearing a mask.

Character references from Hall of Fame trainer Johnny Lewis and several respected Australian boxing identities were submitted in St Clair’s favor.

St Clair is the owner of Gairy StClair gym in Gymea, Sydney, where former WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO 135-pound champion George Kambosos trained.

WBC Statement: The World Boxing Council has learned that the International Boxing Association (IBA) recently: (1) organized, advertised, and publicized an event called IBA’s Champion Night; and (2) awarded a boxing belt in connection therewith confusingly similar to the WBC Championship Belt. In short, IBA is using the Intellectual Property Assets of the WBC in an infringing manner and without authorization of the WBC as the assets’ rightful owner. (See side-to-side images of IBA’s infringing belt and the WBC famous World Championship Belt).

The WBC wants to make it absolutely clear that it has put IBA on notice of the WBC’s complete rejection and opposition to IBA’s unauthorized use of a belt that is confusingly similar to the iconic WBC World Championship Belt. The WBC has also informed IBA and it will take any legal measures available to stop IBA’s infringing activities and to seek appropriate redress therefrom. The WBC is in no way associated with IBA. Continue reading “WBC says IBA infringing on belt design”

WBA “regular” lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis and unbeaten world champion Héctor Luis García went face to face Thursday and exchanged shoves before cooler heads prevailed at the final press conference before they meet Saturday headlining a Showtime PPV from Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. A win for Davis paves the way for the recently announced blockbuster clash against unbeaten Ryan “Kingry” Garcia in the Spring of 2023.

Tank Davis: “He’s been saying some things that have turned me up. You definitely don’t want to miss this one. We’re going to make sure this is a tough fight for him. Don’t get no popcorn during this fight. Keep your butt glued to the seat. I promise you it’s gonna be fireworks.”

Héctor Luis García: “Gervonta better watch out on Saturday night. Because he lit the competitive fire under me when he put his hands on me during the face off.”

Continue reading “Tank-Garcia Final Press Conference”

By Joe Koizumi

The weigh-in results were as follows:

WBO minimumweight title bout (main event)
Champion Masataka Taniguchi (Japan)105
Challenger Melvin Jerusalem 103 (Philippines) two pounds under the limit

IBF minimumweight title bout (semi-final)
Champion Daniel Valladares (Mexico) 105
Challenger Ginjiro Shigeoka (Japan) 105

Promoter: Koki Kameda’s 3150 Promotions
Fight venue: Edion Arena Osaka, Japan

Hall of Fame promoter Don King is returning to Casino Miami Jai Alai on Saturday, January 21. Looks like the originally announced clash between WBC cruiserweight champion Ilunga Junior Makabu and Noel Mikaelyan is off. The card will now be topped by NABA gold heavyweight champion Jonathan Guidry (18-1-2, 10 KOs) against former WBC heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne (25-5-1, 21 KOs). Continue reading “Guidry-Stiverne to headline Jan 21 DKP card”

In case you missed it, here’s the full episode of All Access: Gervonta Davis vs. Hector Garcia, which premiered last Friday night on Showtime.

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By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

World championship referee Mark Nelson talks to Fightnews.com® about working as the third man in the ring for 102 world title bouts in 19 countries around the globe.

Where were you born?

“I was born and raised in St Paul, Minnesota, but now I live in the suburb of Roseville.

When did you become a referee?

“In 1989 I started in the amateurs which I still do and in 1992 I was granted a professional referee’s license. Then in 1994, my first overseas bout was in Italy for an IBF Intercontinental title. In 1988 I started going to IBF conventions with my father (former world championship referee Denny Nelson). The first one I went to was at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami. The instructor for the seminar was Larry Hazard. I was an amateur referee at that time. I was 23 years of age. What was good was that I was absorbing all the information from the big-time referees before I even got my professional license – which made the transition for me a lot easier. Continue reading “Q&A: Referee Mark Nelson”

After announcing their exclusive partnership with Imagen Television to bring back a weekly live boxing series to Mexico’s terrestrial airwaves, TM Boxing starts off the season with a fight card from Los Mochis, Mexico, on Saturday, January 14th. Kicking off the series will be former WBC Youth welterweight champion Isaac “La Bestia” Lucero (11-0, 7 KOs) who will look to keep his undefeated streak intact as he takes on Ricardo Bañuelos (18-7-1, 7 KOs) in the scheduled ten round super welterweight bout.

In other action, 2020 Tokyo Olympian Cosmin-Petre Girleanu of Romania will making his pro debut in a six round flyweight contest while former IBF super flyweight champion Juan Carlos “Zurdito” Sanchez Jr (24-6-1, 11 KOs) will be back in a featherweight six rounder.

The event will be presented in association with MarvNation and be broadcast live on the Imagen network in Mexico and on BXNGtv.com to the rest of the world.

WBA “regular” lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis donated fight night tickets to local youths at the Kennedy Recreation Center during Wednesday’s media workout that kicked off fight week activities for his world title defense against unbeaten 130lb world champion Héctor Luis García on Showtime PPV this Saturday from Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. Davis made the donation Wednesday alongside Delano Hunter, the Director of the Parks & Recreation Department and Danielle Hunter, the Roving Leader Manager for the department.

GERVONTA DAVIS

“This means a lot. I’ve actually fought in this gym before as an amateur. I’m happy to be home in front of a great crowd. I know that Hector Luis Garcia is going to come to fight and we’re going to give the fans what they want to see. Continue reading “Tank, HL Garcia Media Workout Quotes”

As ordered during the annual WBC Convention, updated with Nov-Dec 2022 decisions. Certain fights are under current negotiations and which may affect the orders voted by the board and each division is constantly monitored and updated.

Heavyweight. Champion Tyson Fury will have the option to fight a unification fight against Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed championship. The winner will be committed to fight the WBC mandatory. Andy Ruiz to fight Deontay Wilder in a final eliminator for the mandatory position.

Bridgerweight. Champion Oscar Rivas has suffered a detached retina and his future at this time is uncertain, the WBC will order a series of fights to fill the vacant title and set the mandatories for the new champion.

Cruiserweight. Champion Ilunga “Junior” Makabu has  a mandatory against Noel Mikaelyan. Thabiso Mchunu vs. Badou Jack in a final eliminator.

Lt. Heavyweight. Champion Artur Beterbiev fights the WBO mandatory defense against Britain’s Anthony Yarde on January and the winner must fight next the WBC mandatory Callum Smith.

Super middleweight. Champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has undergone surgery and is having rehab on his left wrist. David Benavidez, who is interim champion, will fight Caleb Plant in March. The winner becomes the mandatory challenger.

Middleweight. Champion Jermall Charlo has been injured. Interim champion Carlos Adames, who was at the convention, asked to be made the mandatory challenger. Both champions will make a voluntary defense and the winners will fight each other for the undisputed WBC middleweight championships.

Super Welterweight. Champion Jermell Charlo suffered a broken hand and his WBO mandatory against Tim Tszyu has been postponed. Interim champ Sebastian Fundora will make a voluntary defense. Charles Conwell defeated Juan Carlos Abreu in a semi-final eliminator.

Welterweight. Champion Errol Spence. The Errol Spence vs. Terence Crawford fight didn’t materialize, Spence will fight WBC mandatory vs. Keith Thurman.

Super Lightweight. Regis Prograis defeated Jose “Chon” Zepeda for the vacant title. Teofimo Lopez defeated Sandor Martin in a final eliminator fight. Prograis vs. mandatory challenger Jose Carlos Ramirez was ordered and Ramirez decided not to participate. Consequently, Prograis has been awarded a voluntary defense.

Lightweight. Champion Devin Haney will fight Vasyliy Lomachenko. WBC ordered a final elimination between Isaac Cruz and Shakur Stevenson.

Super Featherweight. Featherweight champion Rey Vargas, as super bantamweight champion, moves up to fight O’Shaquie Foster for the vacant crown. The winner then has a mandatory against Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez. A final elimination was ordered between Robson Conceicao vs. Yakubov for the second mandatory.

Featherweight. Champion: Rey Vargas. After the Foster fight, Vargas must decide if he wants to stay at super feather or go back to feather. A final elimination was ordered between Isaac Dogboe vs. Mark Magsayo.

Super Bantamweight. Champion: Stephen Fulton. Final eliminator between Luis Nery and Azat Hovhannisyan was ordered. David Picasso vs Aleem was ordered as a final elimination.

Bantamweight. Champion Naoya Inoue defeated WBO champion Paul Butler to become an undisputed champion. If he then moves up in weight, Jason Moloney and Nonito Donaire will fight for the vacant title. If not, this match will produce the mandatory challenger. Nawaphon vs Gaballo was ordered for the second elimination.

Super Flyweight. Juan Francisco “Gallo” Estrada defeated Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez. for the vacant title. Andrew Moloney vs. Pedro Guevara was ordered for the mandatory.

Flyweight. Champion Julio Cesar Martinez’ fight against McWilliams Arroyo has been postponed six times. Arroyo has been medically cleared and Martinez vs. Arroyo will take place with the winner fighting Angel Ayala.

Lt. Flyweight. Champion Kenshiro Teraji defended his WBC belt last week. Hekkie Budler is confirmed as mandatory.

Strawweight. Champ Panya Pradabsri awaits the Victor of Luis Castillo vs. Ayanda Ndulani. A final elimination between Ndulani vs Castillo was ordered

Former two-time world champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (20-3-1, 13 KOs) will return to the ring for the first time in almost one year when he headlines the fight card at Hialeah Park on Friday, February 24. Rigondeaux, whose last bout was a unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Vincent Astrolabio last February in Dubai, has been sidelined since suffering severe facial burns and eye injuries in a freak kitchen accident at his home in Miami nine months ago.

Now 42 years of age, the former WBO/WBA super bantamweight and WBA bantamweight king will attempt to tap the fountain of youth in his 25th professional fight as he looks to win for the first time since defeating Liborio Solis in February of 2020. Tickets are already on sale.

Undefeated heavyweight prospect Damian “Polish Hussar” Knyba (10-0, 6 KOs), standing 6’7 with an 86-inch reach, has inked a multi-year promotional agreement with Top Rank. The 26-year-old Knyba, who was born in Bydgoszcz, Poland, is scheduled to return in April on a to-be-determined card.

“Damian Knyba is a supremely talented heavyweight, and he is already a fan favorite among the passionate and knowledgable Polish fans. I expect Damian to take a big leap forward in 2023,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum.

Peter Kahn and Fight Game Advisors have announced the signing of undefeated and world-ranked junior lightweight Henry ‘Moncho’ LeBron. The 25-year-old native of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, currently ranked #7 by the World Boxing Organization, has compiled a record of 17-0 with 10 knockouts. Lebron is promoted by Top Rank. Details of LeBron’s next fight will be announced shortly.

Sad to report the passing of famed boxing trainer Hector Roca at the age of 82. Roca trained thirteen world champions including Iran Barkley, Arturo Gatti, Regilio Tuur, Buddy McGirt and many more. He was associated with the famous Gleason Gym all his life. Roca also trained Hilary Swank for her Oscar-winning role in Million Dollar Baby.

A three-bout streaming presentation on the Showtime Sports YouTube channel and Showtime Boxing Facebook page will take place this Saturday from Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. In the featured bout, super welterweight Vito Mielnicki Jr.(13-1, 8 KOs) battles Omar Rosales (9-1-1, 5 KOs) in an 8/10-round super welterweight clash. The action will also see rising undefeated super lightweight knockout artist Brandun Lee (26-0, 22 KOs) in an eight-rounder against Diego Luque (21-10-2, 10 KOs), and unbeaten  Travon Marshall (5-0, 4 KOs) against Shawn West (7-2-1, 4 KOs) in a six-round super welterweight matchup.

The live streaming fights will precede a Showtime PPV telecast headlined by Gervonta “Tank” Davis defending his WBA lightweight title against unbeaten world champion Héctor Luis García.

The non-televised undercard will include both Peterson brothers. Continue reading “Showtime to stream three fights on Saturday”

By Mauricio Sulaimán
Son of José Sulaimán & WBC President

2022 has ended, and it`s time to look forward and get to work to administer, implement and activate the so many plans that are in place after the very suffesful work done at the annual convention, after the traditional closing of the year, in which the resolutions flow with great optimism and enthusiasm towards achieving the goals and objectives that each person sets for themselves.

It is time to open new cycles with plans that motivate, hurdling inertia and so achieving continuity. Losing weight, drinking less, stop smoking, read more, developing and improving professionally, are the most common desires. What are your goals? Continue reading “A Promising 2023”

Rising featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (5-0, 3 KOs) will fight Juan Antonio Lopez (17-12-1, 7 KOs) in a six-round showdown on January 14 at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. Carrington-Lopez and the rest of the undercard will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+. The ESPN-televised heavyweight doubleheader headlined by a crossroads battle between Efe “The Silent Roller” Ajagba and Stephan “Big Shot” Shaw, and 2016 Italian Olympian Guido “The Gladiator” Vianello stepping up against Jonnie Rice in the co-feature.

Unbeaten WBA super featherweight champion Héctor Luis García (16-0, 10 KOs) shared insights into his training camp as he prepares to challenge WBA “regular” lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis on Saturday on PPV from Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

On his matchup with Davis:

“Davis in my opinion is a top pound-for-pound fighter and one of the biggest punchers in boxing, so I know going into this fight that I’m an underdog. Not a lot of people are giving me a chance in this fight, but that’s what motivates me. I was in the same situation going into the Colbert fight, but this time I had a real training camp. I believe my style will give ‘Tank’ problems. I’m a southpaw with many tricks and I will be using all of them when I step in the ring on January 7.” Continue reading “HL Garcia poised to derail Tank”