Fightnews.com

Photos: Emily Harney

In a super welterweight crossroads fight between former world champions, Liam “Beefy” Smith (31-3-1, 17 KOs) scored an exciting tenth round TKO over Jessie Vargas (29-4-2, 11 KOs) in the Taylor-Serrano co-feature on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Smith took over midway and got a referee’s stoppage at :41 of the tenth. Smith won the vacant WBO Intercontinental title.

In a bout for the undisputed female super middleweight title, Franchón Crews-Dezurn (8-1, 2 KOs) scored a ten round unanimous decision over a bloodied up Elin Cederroos (8-1, 4 KOs). Scores were 99-91, 99-91, 97-93. Continue reading “Smith stops Vargas, Crews-Dezurn unifies”

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

2020 U.S. Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis (5-0, 4 KOs) was impressive in stopping Esteban Sanchez (18-2, 8 KOs) in six rounds. It was a feel out round in the first as Davis and Sanchez used the jab and boxed at a slow pace. Davis poked with the jab in round two as Sanchez came straight in eating leather. Exchanging in the center to begin the fourth round, Davis connected on Sanchez with solid punches. Unloading with combinations in the fifth, Davis began to break down Sanchez. Davis finished him off in the sixth as the referee Robert Hoyle had seen enough, stopping the fight at 2:44.

“He’s a great fighter, and I didn’t realize that until the first round,” said Davis. “I said, ‘Whoa, he can fight!’ I knew I had to snap into a different Keyshawn. He’s a great fighter, a real respectful fighter. Hat’s off to Esteban Sanchez. Thank you for this opportunity. We should see a lot of Esteban Sanchez in the future.” Continue reading “Keyshawn Davis remains unbeaten”

Former cruiserweight champion Krzysztof Glowacki (32-2, 20 KOs) rebounded from two consecutive world title fight losses to defeat Francisco Rivas Ruiz (16-4, 5 KOs) by fourth round KO on Saturday night at the Hala Sportowa in Walcz, Poland. Glowacki dropped Ruiz in round one and finished him with two more knockdowns in round four.

By Héctor Villarreal

In a clash of undefeated super bantamweight prospects, Panamanian Rafael “El General” Pedroza (13-0, 11 KOs) dethroned Argentine Hector Andres “La Maquinita” Sosa (13-1, 8 KOs) as WBC Silver Latin American Champion on Friday night, in the main event of the international boxing card presented by Sampson Boxing and Best Box at Hotel El Panama in Panama City.

Sosa suffered a serious cut to his right eyelid and Pedroza finished 10 rounds of intense action with severe swelling on his right cheekbone. Two judges scored the fight 97-93 and the other one voted 98-92, all 3 in favor of the local Pedroza who won by unanimous decision. Continue reading “Pedroza beats Sosa in Panama”

By Hesiquio Balderas

Comments from WBC super featherweight champion Oscar Valdez, who is a fairly heavy betting underdog in tonight’s showdown with WBO champ Shakur Stevenson…

“I know that people say you’re only as good as your last fight and in that regard they’re right, it wasn’t my best performance in my last fight. But that there, along and the fact that it is a unification fight, gave me the extra motivation to succeed and train harder.

“I know what everyone is thinking, but I trained extra hard for this fight. Me, Eddy Reynoso, my manager Frank Espinoza, and all the team we have a good game plan and we trained as hard as ever. Don’t underestimate me. I’ll show that I’m the best fighter at 130 pounds!”

Former world champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (50-5-1, 43 KOs) pounded on Kompayak Porpramook (61-13-1, 41 KOs) in a four round exhibition on Saturday night in Bangkok, Thailand. Both fighters wore headgear. Srisaket is scheduled to challenge WBC super flyweight champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez on June 25th in San Antonio, Texas.

In a bout for the WBC ABC Continental light flyweight title, Danai Ngiabphukhiaw (11-3, 6 KOs) scored a fourth round KO over Vijes Oak (3-1, 2 KOs).

Six sons of well-known former boxers were in action on Friday night at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. In the main event, unbeaten Kenzie Morrison (20-0-2, 18 KOs), son of former heavyweight champion Tommy “The Duke” Morrison, scored a fifth round TKO over previously unbeaten Hasim Rahman Jr (12-1, 6 KOs), son of former heavyweight champion Hasim “The Rock” Rahman, to win the WBC USNBC heavyweight title. Morrison came out aggressively and Rahman calmly outboxed him. Morrison starting turning the tables in round four and dropped Rahman in round five. Rahman beat the count and the bout was stopped by referee Robert Hoyle during Morrison’s follow-up barrage. Rahman complained about the stoppage, which seemed premature. Time was 1:37.

Lightweight Keith “The Bounty” Hunter (15-1, 9 KOs), son of former heavyweight contender Mike “The Bounty” Hunter, won an exciting ten round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Demarius “Chuckie” Hunter (12-1, 7 KOs). Hunter wore down Driver in a good two-way fight. Scores were 99-91, 97-93, 97-93.

Welterweight Roberto Duran Jr. (9-2, 7 KOs), son of ring legend Roberto Duran, lost a six round unanimous decision to unbeaten 19-year-old Arturo Moreno (6-0, 2 KOs). Moreno was simply busier. Scores were 60-54, 58-56, 59-55.

Super welterweight Sharif Rahman (6-0, 3 KOs), son of former heavyweight champion Hasim “The Rock” Rahman, scored a six round unanimous decision over Reyes Sanchez (7-2, 3 KOs). Scores were 60-54, 59-55, 60-54.

Cruiserweight Gerald McClellan Jr. (2-0, 1 KO), son of former world champion Gerald McClellan, took a four round majority decision over Demetrius Alexander (1-1, 1 KO). Scores were 39-37, 39-37, 38-38.

Oscar Valdez 129.6 vs. Shakur Stevenson 130
(WBC/WBO super featherweight title)

Keyshawn Davis 136.2 vs. Esteban Sanchez 136.6
Nico Ali Walsh 159.2 vs. Alejandro Ibarra 160.4
Raymond Muratalla 134.8 vs. Jeremy Hill 134
Andres Cortes 131.8 vs. Alexis del Bosque 131.6
Troy Isley 157.4 vs. Anthony Hannah 156.8
Abdullah Mason 136.4 vs. Luciano Ramos 137.8
Antoine Cobb 143.6 vs. Jaylan Phillips 142.4

Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas
Promoter: Top Rank
TV: ESPN, ESPN+

“This is the truth, the gospel truth, nothing but the truth – I’m done.”

WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury said on the Piers Morgan Uncensored show that he is serious about walking away from boxing for real. “I’m quitting while I’m ahead,” he said. “I’m undefeated, only the second man in history to retire undefeated heavyweight champion.”

Fury stated he’s not interested in fighting Anthony Joshua or Oleksandr Usyk, although he may be open to exhibitions or WWE.

“The fans will always want more,” said Fury. “They are always baying for more blood. But at the end of the day I don’t have anything more to give. I’ve given everything I’ve got. I’ve been a professional 14 years, I’ve been boxing over 20 years. Continue reading “Fury: No amount of money will make me come back”

The Showtime PPV undercard is set for the Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs. Rolando “Rolly” Romero clash on May 28 live from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Two-division world champion Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara (28-3-3, 16 KOs) will defend his WBA middleweight title against Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan (31-4, 21 KOs) in the co-feature. Also, in a pair of ten rounders unbeaten super welterweight Jesús “Mono” Ramos (18-0, 15 KOs) meets Luke Santamaría (13-2-1, 7 KOs) in a “Revenge of the Nephew” showdown, and super featherweight Eduardo Ramírez (26-2-3, 12 KOs) faces Luis Meléndez (17-1, 13 KOs).

Katie Taylor 134.6 vs. Amanda Serrano 133.6
(Undisputed WBC/WBA/IBF/WBO female lightweight titles)

Franchon Crews Dezurn 166.8 vs. Elin Cederroos 167.8
(Undisputed WBC/WBA/IBF/WBO female super middleweight titles)

Jessie Vargas 153 vs. Liam Smith 154
Austin Williams 158.8 vs. Chordale Booker 157.4
Galal Yafai 111.8 vs. Miguel Cartagena 110.4
Reshat Mati 143.8 vs. Joe Eli Hernandez 144.2
Khalil Coe 174.6 vs. William Langston 173
Skye Nicolson 125.6 vs. Shanecqua Paisley Davis ??

Venue: Madison Square Garden, NYC
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN

When Legendary undefeated champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) returns to the ring to face unbeaten “Dangerous” Don Moore (18-0-1, 12 KOs) on PPV May 14, the fight’s venue will deliver a unique experience as the two competitors square off outdoors “in the skies of Dubai” on the helipad above the 59th floor of Dubai’s opulent Burj Al Arab Hotel. The ring setup is pretty amazing.

By Ron Jackson

The 40-year-old Nkululeko Mhlongo from Eshowe in KwaZulu-Natal defends his South African middleweight title against the 30-year-old John Bopape of Alexandra, Gauteng on Friday night at the Dr Molemela Indoor Sports Centre in Mangaung.

In their first encounter in Durban on 27 February last year Bopape (10-8, 9 KOs) won on a split ten round points decision in a non-title fight.

Mhlongo (23-9-1, 18 KOs) had previously won the vacant South African junior middleweight title and made five successful defenses to win the championship belt outright, one of the few fighters to achieve this in recent years. Continue reading “Mhlongo-Bopape meet in a rematch”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney has requested that he gets fair judges when he challenges IBF, WBA, WBO and WBC Franchise lightweight champion George “Ferocious” Kambosos on June 5 (June 4 in the USA) at the Marvel Stadium, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

“Here’s how I look at it,” Haney told Cigar Talk. “Robberies happen in the US. A lot of robberies. How many robberies? It’s too many to count. Robberies happen all over no matter where the fight is.

“Me and my team are doing the best to make sure that there’s fair judging, neutral judges, or if it’s not neutral judges, it’s gonna be a US judge and an Australian judge. We gonna make an even playing field. That was all I demanded. I just want fair judges. I wanted nothing else. Continue reading “Haney: I want fair judges”

By Joe Koizumi

Japan finally opened the door for foreign boxers to campaign here. After a long two-year hiatus since early 2020, we could see international confrontations of Japanese and foreign fighters for the first time—except for the 160-pound unification bout of Golovkin and Murata three weeks ago. Former WBO Asia Pacific 108-pound champ Riku Kano (14-3, 7 KOs), 112, moved up to the flyweight category and displayed his improved power in dispatching Thailand’s Sanchai Yotboon (7-5, 6 KOs), 111.75, at 2:42 of the second round on Sunday (April 24) in Osaka. Also, former world challenger Sho Ishida (30-3, 16 KOs), 117.75, halted Filipino Carlo Demecillo (15-6-1, 8 KOs), 116, at 1:20 of the eighth and final session.

Foreign boxers are mandated to get vaccinated three times with either of Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca or Novavax that our government has approved. If not, they will have to be quarantined for several days.

Promoter: Taisei Promotions.

Christian Carto 120.8 vs. Ernesto Sebastian Franzolini 119.4
Julian Gonzalez 131.8 vs. Ivan Jimenez 130.5
Jeremy Adorno 128.5 vs. Jason Vera 130.8
Quadir Albright 145 vs. Jorge Martin Garcia 144
Kristian Prenga 242 vs. Deshon Webster 205.5
Thanjhae Teasley 144.5 vs. DeAaron Alexander 147.5

*The Paul Kroll-Marklin Bailey fight is off as Kroll did not make weight

Promoter: King’s Promotions
1st Bell: 7:15 PM ET
Venue: 2300 Arena
Stream: FloCombat

WBC champion Oscar Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs) and WBO king Shakur Stevenson (17-0, 9 KOs) had their first fight week faceoff Thursday, two days out from their unification showdown at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Oscar Valdez: It’s the perfect time. Let’s prove who is the best 130-pounder. Let’s get it on April 30.

Shakus Stevenson: I think he’s trying to trick me into thinking he’s going to box me and be technical. I’m not falling for that. I’m ready for the Oscar Valdez who goes in there throwing hooks and putting pressure.

More Quotes

As per prior communications and with the agreement which all four presidents (WBC-WBO-IBF-WBA) confirmed in a meeting held in Puerto Rico, the WBC mandatory defense is next, followed by the IBF. The WBC is hereby advising of the beginning of the free negotiations period for Josh Taylor´s mandatory title defense versus Jose Zepeda. If no agreement is reached, the WBC will conduct a purse bid on Tuesday, May 24th, 2022.

This is interesting because the WBA already held a purse bid for Taylor to fight Alberto Puello. That auction was won by TGB Promotions with a bid of $200,000. They are planning to stage Taylor-Puello July 16 in Las Vegas. The camps have until May 12 to send the signed contracts, and the fight has to take place between June 6 and July 21.

Here are comments from undisputed female lightweight champion Katie Taylor, P4P best woman fighter Amanda Serrano and the undercard from today’s press conference ahead of Saturday’s clash at Madison Square Garden in New York City, live worldwide on DAZN. Continue reading “Taylor-Serrano Final Press Conference”

By Héctor Villarreal

Hector Sosa 122 vs Rafael Pedroza 122
Alexander Duran 143.25 vs Edwin Bennett 143.5
Ronal Batista 116 vs Ramses Perez 114.75
Edgar Valencia 118 vs Luis Robles 117.5
Roiman Villa 142 vs Jesus Bravo 141
Juan Huertas 140 vs Fernando De La Rosa 141.75
Alcibiades Ballesteros 149 vs Ricardo Rodriguez 151.5

Promoter: Sampson Boxing and Best Box
Venue: Vasco Nuñez de Balboa Convention Center, Panama
TV: TyC sports

WBA Heavyweight Champion Trevor Bryan and his team did a lot of listening. When the former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes speaks, silence is golden. Bryan is getting ready to defend his WBA title against Daniel Dubois set for Saturday, June 11.

Bryan moved his camp from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Las Vegas and the former heavyweight champion came to town to work with Bryan.

“Trevor Bryan has got himself together,” said Holmes. “He’s kind of quiet and he doesn’t talk a lot. I’m the one with the big mouth. He did a lot of listening and I did the talking. He was willing to learn. Continue reading “Holmes: Bryan really impressed me”

Popular Philadelphia bantamweight Christian Carto (18-1, 12 KOs) will headline a King’s Promotions event tomorrow night when he takes on Ernesto Sebastian Franzolini (14-12-2, 1 KO) in an eight-round bout at The 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia.

In the eight-round co-feature, undefeated welterweight Paul Kroll (9-0-1, 6 KOs) returns to action as he takes on Marklin Bailey (7-7, 4 KOs).

By Héctor Villarreal
Photos: Martín Pérez

Argentine super bantamweight Héctor Andrés “La Maquinita” Sosa (13-0, 7 KOs) and local prospect Rafael “El General” Pedroza (12-0, 11 KOs), went face to face for the first time, in the final press conference for their long-awaited fight, which heads the international boxing card organized by Sampson Boxing and Best Box for Friday night at the Vasco Nuñez de Balboa Convention Center in Panama City, Panama.

In this clash of undefeated fighters, Sosa, managed by former triple world champion Juan Martin “Latigo” Coggi, puts his WBC Silver Latin American belt on the line. Eleven professional fights were confirmed for the event, included Mexicans Ramses Perez and Luis Robles, both trained by Hall of Fame member Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain.

More Photos

By Ron Jackson

In 1994 East London became part of the province of the Eastern Cape and in 2000, East London became part of the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, also consisting of King William’s Town, Bhisho and Mdantsane and is the seat of the Metro.

Loyiso Mtya a former boxer who has been involved in all the facets of boxing from trainer to administrator has now written his story of 40 years in boxing and records it in his book Boxing – the Story of Money, Blood Sweat and Tears. Continue reading “The story of boxing in the Buffalo City area”

Behind the scenes on media day of Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano ahead of the Matchroom Boxing card on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City.