Fightnews.com

By Boxing Bob Newman

Sad to report that former IBF jr. middleweight champion Buster Drayton passed earlier this week on November 20th. Born Moses Buster Drayton on March 2, 1952, Drayton became a US Marine in 1972, earning the rank of Sergeant. While enlisted, Drayton became involved in boxing and decided to turn pro after returning to civilian life.

His debut was a foreshadowing of things to come as he was thrown in with hometown fighter Charles Carey in Virginia Beach, earning a four round draw. Drayton would learn his trade in the hardscrabble Philadelphia gyms, becoming a sparring partner for undisputed middleweight champion “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler. Drayton would win more than he lost, but continued to face tough opposition along the way in the likes of James “The Heat” Kinchen, future champs Sumbu Kalambay, Lindell Holmes and Duane Thomas. Continue reading “Buster Drayton remembered”

Zach Parker 167.3 vs. John Ryder 167
(WBO interim super middleweight title)

Hamzah Sheeraz 159.3 vs. River Wilson-Bent 159.7
(WBC silver middleweight title)

Venue: 02 Arena, London
Promoter: Queensberry
TV: ESPN+ (US), BT Sport (UK)

Dillian Whyte 251 vs. Jermaine Franklin 257

Fabio Wardley 240 vs. Nathan Gorman 271

Venue: Wembley Arena, London, England
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN

By Gabriel F. Cordero

Sad to report the passing of former world champion Moises Fuentes at the age of 37. Fuentes never recovered from a brain injury suffered in his KO loss against unbeaten “General” David Cuellar in October 2021. He held the WBO minimumweight world championship and WBO interim light flyweight championship, and compiled a career record of 25-7-1 with 14 KOs. R.I.P.

Heavyweights Dillian Whyte and Jermaine Franklin faced off at the Final Press Conference ahead of their showdown on Saturday night in London.

Dillian Whyte: “We know what’s in front of us. He’s young and he’s dangerous. Obviously he’s undefeated and he’s full of beans as we say here in the UK. It’s up to me to beat them out of him one by one. That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

Jermaine Franklin: “You keep bringing up him being stopped in his last fight but I don’t care about that. I’ve come in here and prepared like he’s a world champion. That’s all we’re looking at. I’m just focused on this fight.”

Fiery Anthony “The Gentle Savage” Andreozzi captured the vacant Massachusetts State Middleweight title in Wednesday night’s “Jimmy Farrell Fight Night” main event, promoted by Granite Chin Promotions, as Bridgewater Veterans Club in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

The inaugural “Jimmy Farrell Fight Night” honored the late boxing trainer who coached many successful amateur and pro boxers in the Boston area during the past 4-plus decades. Continue reading “Results from Springfield, MAss.”

By Bob Caico

Bizzarro promotions continued Erie PA’s annual pre-thanksgiving boxing with a three bout card at the Bayfront Convention Center in Erie, Pennsylvania.

In the six round main, Alex Castellano (8-1-1) of Buffalo, NY and Andre Donovan (2-2) from Coshocton, OH battled to a three round no-contest after Castellano suffered a bad cut from an accidental head butt. The doctor stopped the fight before letting the fourth round begin. Continue reading “Results from Erie, Pennsylvania”

By Miguel Maravilla

WBC top-ranked super lightweights, #1 contender Jose “Chon” Zepeda (35-2, 27 KOs) of La Puente, California, and number two contender Regis Prograis (27-1, 22 KOs) of New Orleans, Louisiana met early this week in Los Angeles for their final press conference. Prograis Zepeda, square off this Saturday night for the vacant WBC super lightweight title at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, live on Pay per view.

“Both of us need it bad. We are the top 2, 140 pounders and with the most knockouts. There is dynamite and we have heart, it’s going to be fight of the year,” Zepeda told Fightnews.com®. “This is the time. It’s my third opportunity for a world title. I am 100 percent ready and focused,” Jose Zepeda added.

“I feel awesome. It’s been a long camp. It’s days away and I am ready. I train so hard, that’s why I am so confident that I will be victorious. I feel he does not train like me,” Regis Prograis told Fightnews.com®. Continue reading “Zepeda-Prograis Potential Fight of the Year?”

The WBA Championships Committee has granted a period of 15 days to the teams of featherweight “super” champion Leo Santa Cruz and “regular” featherweight champion Leigh Wood to reach an agreement and submit the contracts to the organization; otherwise, the fight will be up for bidding on December 12 in Orlando during the WBA’s Centennial Convention. The fight is part of the plan to reduce world titles and that seeks to leave the 126 lbs. with only one champion. Continue reading “WBA gives Santa Cruz, Wood 15 days to negotiate”

Tensions were high on Tuesday afternoon in Los Angeles as a massive crowd of Southern California media attended the final press conference for ‘Battle of the Best’ Tuesday afternoon with #1 Ranked Jose ‘Chon’ Zepeda, (23-0-1, 20 KOs), of La Puente, CA and #2 Ranked Regis ‘Rougarou’ Prograis, (27-1, 23 KOs), of New Orleans, LA coming face-to-face for one of the final times ahead of their highly anticipated battle for the WBC Super lightweight world title set for this Saturday night at ‘The War Grounds’ Dignity Health Sports Park.

Jose Zepeda: “Prograis is going to be very surprised by my power and speed. We’re both going to fight the way we’ve been fighting. He hits hard, I hit hard and both of us are desperate to win which will make for a great fight. Both of us have a lot of heart and we both are looking for a real fight to settle this. I had two previous opportunities to win a world title and I truly believe this is the best version of me for this fight.”

Regis Prograis: “He said he’s 100% after the car accident so I don’t want to hear any excuses after the fight. I’m ready to dominate for 12 rounds. I’m going to dominate and I’m not worried about anything else…I just feel like I’m on another level than him, skill-wise. I have more experience and I’ve been at the top already. If you compare strength, power, chin, stamina, speed, defense, I feel like I win every time. Every category, it’s me. He’s been hurt, he’s been dropped a bunch of times. I’ve never been hurt and I destroy people.”

Super lightweight Regis “Rougarou” Prograis (27-1, 23 KOs) is a solid 4:1 favorite over Jose “Chon” Zepeda (35-2, 27 KOs) to claim the vacant WBC 140lb world title on Saturday at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. Prograis opened at -200 and has been getting steady backing from bettors.

In the other fights of interest on the $59.99 PPV telecast, unbeaten junior middleweight Charles “Bad News” Conwell (17-0, 13 KOs) is a whopping 30:1 favorite over Juan Carlos Abreu (25-6-1, 23 KOs) and 2020 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist Bakhodir “The Big Uzbek” Jalolov, (11-0, 11 KOs) is 50:1 against Curtis Harper (14-8, 9 KOs).

The undercard is set for the $39.99 BLK Prime PPV fight between Terence “Bud” Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) and David Avanesyan (29-3-1, 17 KOs), taking place at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

Cris Cyborg (1-0, 1 KO) is scheduled to make her U.S. boxing debut against MMA fighter Gabrielle Holloway (0-0) in the co-main event special feature attraction.

Other bouts:

Ten rounds – Featherweight
Arnold Khegai (18-1-1, 11 KOs) vs. Eduardo Baez (21-3-2, 7 KOs)

Six Rounds – Heavyweight
Jeremiah “Dreamland” Milton (7-0, 6 KOs) vs. Dajuan Calloway (5-1, 5 KOs)

Eight Rounds – Light Heavyweight
Steven Nelson (17-0, 14 KOs) vs. James Ballard (10-4, 3 KOs)

Super middleweight contenders Zach Parker and John Ryder will collide in a 12-round main event for the WBO interim 168lb world title this Saturday, Nov. 26, at The O2 in London. This high-stakes showdown pits two of the UK’s top fighters, with the winner in pole position to earn a super fight with undisputed champion Canelo Alvarez in 2023.

Parker-Ryder and undercard contests will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+.

Parker (22-0, 16 KOs) is a former British super middleweight champion who has been waiting patiently for a signature fight. He was supposed to fight Demetrius Andrade, but the American standout pulled out of a proposed May date with an injury and then declined the fight following a purse bid in September. Continue reading “Parker-Ryder collide on ESPN+ Saturday”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

WBA #1, IBF #2, WBO #7 middleweight Michael Zerafa (31-4, 19 KOs) outpointed Sydney-based Italian Danilo Creati (8-1, 1 KO) over ten rounds in a lackluster bout at the Aware Theatre, Sydney, NSW, Australia, on Wednesday night televised on Foxtel Main Event and Kayo Sport Pay-Per-View. Zerafa was content to exchange long-range punches with the inexperienced Creati, and at no point in the bout was Creati in danger of visiting the canvas. At the conclusion of ten rounds, scores were 99-91, 98-93, 98-92 all for Zerafa.

Zerafa said afterward, “Creati was tricky and he was awkward. I took the fight on four weeks’ notice and my team is in America but full credit to Team Ellis.“

In other action, Australian heavyweight contender and Rugby league legend Paul Gallen (15-2-1, 8 KOs) outscored Justin Hodges (5-3, 2 KOs) over six rounds. Both Gallen and Hodges exchanged accurate left jabs in all the rounds but Gallen also connected with effective body punches and after six action rounds scores were 59-55, 60-54, 60-54. The 41-year-old Gallen announced his retirement after the bout. Continue reading “WBA #1 Zerafa victorious; Gallen wins, then retires”

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with rising, undefeated middleweight prospect Samuel Arnold III as he fights this Saturday at the Bomb Factory in Dallas. At only 19, Arnold was a 7X national amateur champion and has big dreams between 160-175. Arnold shared his views on Spence-Crawford as well as Plant-Benavidez and his relationship with former champ Corey Spinks from his original hometown of St. Louis and much more in this exclusive interview.

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Junior welterweight “Marvelous” Mykquan Williams and heavyweight Stephan “Big Shot” Shaw both kept their unbeaten records intact on Tuesday night as Broadway Boxing returned to New York City inside the famous Edison Ballroom.

Williams (19-0-1, 8 KOs) outpointed Clarence Booth (21-6, 13 KOs) over ten rounds by scores of 99-90, 97-92, 98-91. Both down in round ten.

Shaw (18-0, 13 KOs) shut out Rydell Booker (26-7-1, 13 KOs) over eight one-sided rounds. Scores were 80-72 3x.

In other action, unbeaten light heavyweight Juan Carlos Carillo (9-0, 7 KOs) scored a third round TKO over Matthew Tinker (8-2, 6 KOs).

Anthony Andreozzi 159.4 vs. Julien Baptiste 158.6
Lucinei Santons 140.2 vs. Stephen Davis 140.8
Scott Lampert 173.2 vs. Michael Medeiros TBA
Kirk Wilmont 264.6 vs. Aquilla Prote 257.8

Venue: Bridgewater Veterans Club in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.
Promoter: Granite Chim Promotions

Two more world title eliminators will be on the televisedundercard for the previously announced December 17 Showtime Championship Boxing telecast headlined by the WBA lightweight eliminator between WBA #2 Michel “La Zarza Ali” Rivera (24-0, 14 KOs) and WBA #10 Frank “The Ghost” Martin (16-0, 12 KOs) at The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

The show will also see former IBF super middleweight world champion José Uzcátegui (32-4, 27 KOs) return to action against unbeaten former amateur standout Vladimir Shishkin (13-0, 8 KOs) in a 12-round IBF 168lb title eliminator. Uzcátegui is rated IBF #7, Shishkin is IBF #9.

In the TV opener, Guillermo Rigondeaux-conqueror Vincent Astrolabio (17-3, 12 KOs) meets Nikolai Potapov battle (23-2-1, 11 KOs) in a 12-round IBF bantamweight title eliminator. Astrolabio is rated IBF #6, Potapov is IBF #3.

Salita Promotions, headed by former boxer Dmitriy Salita, has added another big man to their growing stable of heavyweights with the signing of undefeated Moses “ThunderHands” Johnson to a promotional agreement. Johnson (9-0-1, 7 KOs), who recently won a majority decision over Elvis Garcia on Showtime, joins the likes Jermaine Franklin, Otto Wallin, George Arias, Kolbeinn Kristinsson and Jarell “Big Baby” Miller under the Salita umbrella.

By Mauricio Sulaimán
Son of José Sulaimán – WBC President

Sports has been successful in giving all of us a much-needed break and great happiness in the face of the current situation the world is going through.

A pandemic that has hurt the entire planet so much, in every imaginable way, in addition to the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine, which shook the planet, with the ripple reaction of the various powers and the threat of a possible world war added to the uncertainty that exists everywhere, seeing so many conflicts and constant threats. So much negativism.

Sports are the natural outlet that society uses to find distraction, entertainment, passion, and fulfils a social task with solutions to community problems, fights all social illnesses such as addictions, sedentary lifestyle, vandalism, and helps to integrate families. Mexico has stood out in an important way in sports in this 2022, both with the actions on the playing fields and with the events held in Mexico, as we have seen in recent events, and which is an example of what happens in different countries as they benefit from the world of sports. Continue reading “Sport gives the world a much-needed breather”

WBA NABA super middleweight champion Yamaguchi “The Problem” Falcao (23-1-1, 9 KOs) will defend his title against heavy-handed Ernest Amuzu (26-7, 22 KOs) on Sunday, December 11 at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, FL. Falcao-Amuzu is scheduled for ten rounds and takes place as part of the WBA KO Drugs card, which precedes their annual convention. Tickets from $40 are on sale at Ticketmaster.com and the card airs live on CBS Sports Network at 7 PM eastern. The card is promoted by Boxlab Promotions and Falcao is promoted by Fire Fist Boxing Promotions.

Lee Baxter Promotions is presenting a card on Sunday, December 18, at the Rebel Entertainment Complex in Toronto, headlined by unbeaten welterweight Josh Lupia (8-0, 7 KOs) against veteran Lanardo “Pain Server” Tyner (35-16-2, 22 KOs) in an eight round clash. This will be 2x Canadian national amateur champion Lupia’s fourth bout in six months after a life-threatening shooting incident. The 47-year-old Tyner returns for the first time since 2019.

In the co-feature, unbeaten welterweight KO artist Lucas “Prince” Bahdi (12-0, 11 KOs) will take on Cristian Bielma (19-4-2 7 KOs) in an eight-rounder. Continue reading “Lupia-Tyner collide Dec 18 in Toronto”

By Ron Jackson

In what can only be described as a feast of boxing for the fans, Golden Gloves Promotions will present two consecutive tournaments at Emperors Palace near Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa, on Saturday, December 10 in their annual “CrackerJack” tournament, and then on Sunday, December 11.

Both tournaments will be shown live on Supersport. Continue reading “Feast of Boxing at Emperors Palace on Dec 10, 11”

WBC #1 super lightweight Jose ‘Chon’ Zepeda, (23-0-1, 20 KOs) was involved in a minor traffic accident on the way to a media workout on Monday and unable to be in attendance at Churchill Boxing Gym in Santa Monica, California. He was not injured in the accident. “Sorry about missing the media workouts,” stated Zepeda. “I had a little accident but I’m good. We are 100% ready to go.”

As a result, WBC #2 contender Regis ‘Rougarou’ Prograis has the media all to himself. Prograis went through a brisk workout in front of a huge throng of Southern California media kicking off fight week media events for Saturday’s WBC world title showdown on PPV at ‘The War Grounds’ Dignity Health Sports Park.

“I just feel like I’m better, I’m not really nervous at all. I’ve trained so much for the last three years for this opportunity…Zepeda can’t let me hit him too much in this fight if he’s trying to set traps,” said Prograis. “If I can find him I don’t think it’s going to be good for him. I don’t fight to box, I fight to hurt people. In my last three fights, I didn’t get hit and I got all three knockouts.” Continue reading “Zepeda in car accident; Prograis workout quotes”

Mykquan Williams 139.4 vs. Clarence Booth 139.6 lbs.
Stephan Shaw 234.4 vs. Rydell Booker 256.6
Juan Carlos Carrillo 177.2 vs. Matthew Tinker 177.8
Mikiah Kreps 118.6 vs. Indeya Smith 115.2
Fernely Feliz Jr. 227.4 vs. Cameron Graham 278.2
Michael Pirotton 222.8 vs. Sukhchaan Sahota 224.6

Venue: The Edison Ballroom, New York City
Promoter: DiBella Entertainment
TV: FITE ($19.99)