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Report, Photo by Joe Koizumi

Korean prospect Deok-No Yun (7-1, 5 KOs) will square off against Australian Tej Pratap Singh (18-6-3, 8 KOs) with the vacant WBO Asia Pacific super middleweight belt on the line today (Saturday) in Seoul, Korea. Yun tipped the beam at 75.5 kilogram to 76.15 kg for Singh. Historically this is the first WBO AP title bout ever staged in Korea, where there have happened only OPBF and WBA Asia regional title goes. The six-footer Yun, 28, is a local favorite, while Singh, 37, an Australian born in India, is by far more experienced than Yun.

In the semi-final event, unbeaten Korean 154-pounder Yong-Wook Kim (5-0, 4 KOs), will take on Japan’s JBC#3 Yuto Ashina (8-5, no KO) over ten rounds.

This event at Kangnam Somyu Center in the center of the capital Seoul will be promoted by Hong-Kyun Shin of The Won Promotions.

By Boxing Bob Newman

Zachary Spiller 269 vs Aaron Chavers 226
Phillip Rhome, Jr. 169.8 vs Jeremiah Truhlar 166.6
Imaud Louis 167.5 vs Gil Garcia 165.5
Trevon Smith 166.2 vs Ricardo Medina 174.6
Stanley Johnson 195.5 vs Francisco Rodriguez 197.5
Richard Knepp 195.5 vs Mark Malone 195.5

Venue: Red Owl Boxing Arena, Houston, Texas
Promoter: Thurgood Marshall (Thurgood Marshall Promotions)
Matchmaker: Thurgood Marshall
Doors Open: 6p.m.
First Bell: 7p.m.

Diego Pacheco 167.8 vs. Marcelo Coceres 167
Mayerlin Rivas 121.8 vs. Erika Cruz 122
Kal Yafai 117.6 vs. Jonathan Rodriguez 118
Marc Castro 131.4 vs. Gonzalo Fuenzalida 132.8
Jalan Walker 131.2 vs. Jorge Alberto Villegas 131.6
Criztec Bazaldua 136.6 vs. Pedro Angel Cruz 138.8

Venue: YouTube Theater, Inglewood, California
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN

Nick Ball 125 vs. Isaac Dogboe 125.2
(WBC featherweight eliminator)

Denzel Bentley 160 vs. Nathan Heaney 159.4
Liam Davies 121.1 vs. Vincenzo La Femina 121.4
Solomon Dacres 246.2 vs. Michael Webster 246.4
Hannah Rankin 153.4 vs. Ema Kozin 154.2
Nathaniel Collins 125.1 vs. Zak Miller 125.6
Ekow Essuman 146.3 vs. Harry Scarff 145.6

Venue: AO Arena, Manchester, England
Promoter: Queensberry
TV: ESPN+ (US), TNT Sports (UK)

Franck Petitjean 140 vs. Adam Azim 139.5
(EBU European super lightweight title)

Matteo Signani 158.5 vs. Tyler Denny 159.5
(EBU European middleweight title)

Richard Riakporhe 202.5 vs. Dylan Bregeon 203.5

Rhys Edwards 127 vs. Brad Foster 126
Nyall Berry 123.5 vs. Darwing Martinez 125.5
Tion Gibbs 139.5 vs. Efstathios Antonas 139.5
Dylan Cheema 137 vs. Robin Zamora 139
Gully Powar 127.5 vs. Engel Gomez 131

Venue: The Halls, Wolverhampton, England
Promoter: Boxxer
TV: Peacock (US), SkySports (UK)

Heavyweight Nathan Gorman (19-2, 13 KOs) will be back in action December 1 against Bohdan Myronets (7-1, 4 KOs) at the Toughsheet Community Stadium in Bolton, England. The bout will air on Channel 5. Gorman-Byronets is thenew main even event after a training injury to Lee McGregor has forced his clash with Isaac Lowe to be postponed. Also on the card is unbeaten cruiserweight Roman Fury, fresh from a stoppage win last week.

Photos: Sumio Yamada

Check out this GIANT photo gallery from last night’s world title doubleheader in Las Vegas for some incredible shots + scorecards.

Photos

On February 23, the Colisée Desjardins in Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada, will pulsate to the beat of the Quebec-Ontario rivalry as Montrealer Steven “Bang Bang” Butler (33-4-1, 27 KOs) and Torontonian Steve Rolls (22-3, 12 KOs) face off in Eye of the Tiger’s first event in the region. The showdown between the top two Canadian middleweights will be broadcast simultaneously on the ESPN+ network and PunchingGrace.com.

After making changes to his training regimen with the help of his new trainer John Scully, Butler returned to victory in his fight against Ivan Alvarez, stopping him in the 9th round last Saturday. Rolls is coming off a loss to Austim “Ammo” Williams.

Shakur Stevenson captured the vacant WBC lightweight crown with a unanimous decision win against Dominican puncher Edwin De Los Santos on Thursday night in Las Vegas, but neither fighter was satisfied afterward.

Shakur Stevenson: “I had a bad performance tonight. That’s all I’m really focused on. I wasn’t feeling too good, so I’ll live with it. It’s okay. I came here and got the victory, and that’s all I wanted to do. I just didn’t feel good. I didn’t feel good before the fight. Honestly, I had already told myself that if I feel like this in the ring and if it’s not going well, I’m going to make sure that I box and get the victory.”

Edwin De Los Santos: “We all know what happened. He came for a track meet. He didn’t come to fight. I showed that I am on a higher level because he never stood and fought like he does with other fighters. I did my job. He came to survive. That’s what he did. They gifted him the title, but I’m the people’s champion.”

After their all action majority draw on Thursday night, both Emanuel Navarrete and Robson Conceição were open to a return match.

Emanuel Navarrete: “The decision is well-deserved. Robson is a great fighter. He left his heart in the ring. There were some details with regard to technique, but we accomplished what we said we would do. We gave a great show for the fans. And, at least, I am very happy to come away with the title. He deserves the rematch, but that decision doesn’t depend 100 percent on me. But, if it does happen, I would train even better. He knows how I fight, and I know how he fights, so it would make for an excellent fight.”

Robson Conceição: “It was a hard fight. He is very strong. It was a difficult. But I know what I did tonight. It was a good fight. It deserves a rematch. If we do get the rematch, we will both train harder and will give an even better fight.”

Two-weight world champion Shakur Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs) outpointed knockout artist Edwin De Los Santos (16-2, 14 KOs) over twelve rounds to claim the vacant WBC lightweight world title on Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It was a slow-paced tactical fight with not much action that brought boos from the crowd. Scores were 115-113, 116-112, 116-112.

Over the twelve rounds, Stevenson landed just 19 power punches, De Los Santos landed 14.

Report/Photos: David Finger

The final day of the 61st annual WBC Convention concluded at the Hilton in Tashkent, Uzbekistan with a continuation of several reports starting with the amateur committee report. It was noted the growth and international nature of WBC Amateur, with over 19 countries taking part in the Amateur Committee workshop the previous day. WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman also noted the important role it will need to play in the future of the sport, citing the problems associated with the International Boxing Association (IBA).

“There may not be boxing in the Olympics (in Los Angeles in 2028),” Sulaiman said, citing how the IBA has been kicked out of the Olympic movement and no replacement has yet to emerge. Continue reading “WBC Day Five Convention Report”

WBO junior lightweight champion Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete (38-1-1, 31 KOs) and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Robson Conceicao (17-2-1, 8 KOs) battled to a twelve round majority draw in a great fight on Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. After Conceicao outboxed Navarrete for the first three rounds, Navarrete dropped Conceicao in round four. Conceicao rebounded well, but Navarrete floored him again with a body shot in round seven. Conceicao again had success outboxing Navarrete, but was hurt to the body in round ten. After wobbling back to his corner in round eleven, Conceicao showed great heart to win round twelve. Scores were 114-112 Navarrete, 113-113, 113-113. Navarrete retains the title.

In a clash between unbeaten welterweights, Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 19 KOs) won a ten round snoozer over Quinton Randall (13-1-1, 3 KOs) on Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. A fight that looked good on paper never heated up. Scores were 99-91, 99-91, 97-93.

Two early knockdowns propelled unbeaten bantamweight Floyd “Cashflow” Diaz (10-0, 3 KOs) to an eight round split decision over Max Ornelas (15-2-1, 5 KOs). Ornelas rallied back to win on one card 76-74, but the other two judges had Diaz up 77-73, and 78-72.

Unbeaten 2020 Olympian middleweight Troy Isley (11-0, 4 KOs) got past Vladimir Hernandez (14-6, 6 KOs) via eight round unanimous decision in a bout that could have gone either way. Scores were 77-75 3x.

Unbeaten lightweight Emiliano “El General” Vargas (8-0, 7 KOs), son of ring legend Fernando Vargas, made quick work of Brandon Mendoza (6-3, 6 KOs). Vargas dropped Mendoza in round one. At the beginning of round two, video showed Mendoza’s glove touched the canvas for a second knockdown in round one. It was all academic as Vargas laid out Mendoza face first 57 seconds into round two.

In a clash between unbeaten heavyweights, Jackson Murray (6-0, 4 KOs) scored a six round unanimous decision over Steven Torres (6-1-1, 6 KOs). Murray dropped Torres in round three en route to a 60-53 3x shutout.

Unbeaten lightweight Abdullah Mason (11-0, 9 KOs) laid out Jose Cardenas (7-2, 5 KOs) with a crushing straight left hand at 1:55 of round two.

Unbeaten jr welterweight Hugo Micallef (9-0, 2 KOs) was victorious when Sergio Odabai (6-2-1, 3 KOs) remained on his stool after round four. One-sided fight.

Unbeaten super middleweight Giovanni Sarchioto (9-0, 8 KOs) scored a third round KO over Lucas de Abreu (14-5, 11 KOs). Sarchioto finished de Abreu with two knockdowns in round three. Time was 2:06.

Unbeaten WBO #3, IBF #5, WBC #6, WBA #8 super middleweight Diego Pacheco (19-0 16 KOs) and Marcelo Coceres (32-5-1 18 KOs) faced off at the final press conference for their clash on Saturday night at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California, live worldwide on DAZN.

Diego Pacheco: “I feel Coceres is the toughest opponent on my resume yet. He’s a great fighter, he’s been in a lot of good fights, but I feel I am a way better fighter. I think my skills and hard work will outshine him and I am super confident in the work I have put in, the training camp we had, the sparring, everything. This is the biggest fight of my life, and I can’t wait to put on a show in front of my home fans.”

Marcelo Coceres: “I am always prepared for war. Pacheco is not going to have it easy at all. I have all this experience and the willingness to win this fight, and it’s an opportunity that when it came along, I was delighted to take it on.”

WBA #9 super lightweight Adam Azim came face-to-face with champion Franck Petitjean at today’s final pre-fight press conference ahead of his EBU European title challenge on Saturday night at The Halls in Wolverhampton, England, live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland and Peacock in the USA.

Adam Azim: “I’m taking that European title. If I break my hand, if I get a cut, I don’t care. I’m taking it with both hands. I’m not here to joke about. My last performance, I had a tough opponent but I’m a different fighter now. I’ve had great sparring, great nutrition, everything has gone so well. I’m taking that European title back to Slough. I want to make a massive statement. I don’t want to be going out of the ring having just won it, I want to win by knockout!”

Franck Petitjean: “I am the champion but I’m the outsider. It’s not a problem for me because I know what it is and I’m ready. I have a lot of experience. He’s very fast but it’s not track and field, it’s boxing.”

Continue reading “Azim-Petitjean Final Press Conference”

Photos: Top Rank

Check out this GIANT Fury-Usyk photo gallery from today’s press conference for some great shots.

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Unbeaten WBO #3, IBF #5, WBC #6, WBA #8 super middleweight Diego Pacheco (19-0 16 KOs) headlines for the third straight fight on Saturday night – but this time the stakes are raised as he welcomes Marcelo Coceres (32-5-1 18 KOs) to his Los Angeles hometown as they clash at YouTube Theater, live worldwide on DAZN.

Pacheco is looking to cap a brilliant 2023 with a third KO win as a bill topper, and this time in front of his hometown fans. The LA talent pummeled Jack Cullen into submission in four rounds in Liverpool, England, in April, and was at his scintillating best in his last outing in July where he blitzed the dangerous Manuel Gallegos inside four rounds in Monterrey, Mexico – ending matters with a vicious attack after flooring Gallegos in the fourth with a trademark body shot and became the first man to stop the Mexican later in the round. Continue reading “Pacheco: Headlining at home is a dream”

Boxing’s two heavyweight world champions will finally meet to crown the one and only undisputed champion of the world. WBC champion Tyson ‘The Gypsy King’ Fury will fight WBO/IBF/WBA unified champ Oleksandr Usyk in a history-making showdown on Saturday, February 17, at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Fury and Usyk came face-to-face at a press conference held in London on Thursday, November 16.

Tyson Fury: “Usyk, you can run, but The Gypsy King is coming to get you. This is my era, and your time is up. Your undefeated record AND your belts, they will be mine!”

Oleksandr Usyk: “I have no goal. Only the way. And my way is ‘The Undisputed.’ That is why this was the only fight for me. When that bell rings, I will bring the fire.”

Report/Photos: David Finger

Day four of the 61st annual WBC Convention in Tashkent, Uzbekistan continued with the eagerly anticipated sessions on ratings and mandatory challengers. However, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman kicked off the day with a president’s report, in which he discussed the activity of the WBC in 2023. He highlighted that there were 80 world, interim, or silver fights in 2023 and highlighted some of the promoters that have worked with the WBC in those 80 fights. Queensberry Promotions promoted 14 of those fights, followed by PBC, which promoted 13. Matchroom was right behind them at 12 and Top Rank was next on the list at 8 followed by Universum at 7. Continue reading “WBC Day 4 Convention Report”

Big-punching super welterweight Johan Gonzalez (34-2, 33 KOs) scored the first decision win of his career, taking a ten round majority decision over Guido Emmanuel Schramm (16-2-2, 9 KOs) on Wednesday night at the Whitesands Events Center in Plant City, Florida. Scores were 95-95, 97-93, 96-94.

Lightweight Justin “The Million Dollar Man” Pauldo (17-1, 8 KOs) was victorious when Jerry “The Joker” Perez (14-4-1, 11 KOs) was kept on his stool after round three due to an apparent broken nose.

Middleweight Jimmy “Kilrain” Kelly (28-3, 10 KOs) won by disqualification in round five when Juan Jose Velasco (24-6, 15 KOs) pushed the referee during a break following a headbutt.

Shakur Stevenson 133.8 vs. Edwin De Los Santos 134.3
(WBC lightweight world title)

Emanuel Navarrete 130 vs. Robson Conceição 129.3
(WBO junior lightweight world title)

Brian Norman Jr. 146.4 vs. Quinton Randall 145.8
Floyd Diaz 117.7 vs. Max Ornelas 117.9
Troy Isley 159.7 vs. Vladimir Hernandez 156.8
Emiliano Fernando Vargas 135.6 vs. Brandon Mendoza 134.9
Jackson Murray 230.7 vs. Steven Torres 240.7
Abdullah Mason 134.4 vs. Jose Cardenas 134.6
Hugo Micallef 142.7 vs. Sergio Odabai 141.7
Giovanni Sarchioto 167 vs. Lucas de Abreu 166.3

Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
Promoter: Top Rank
TV: ESPN, ESPN+

Deontay Wilder vs. Joseph Parker
Anthony Joshua vs. Otto Wallin
Dmitry Bivol vs. Lyndon Arthur
Daniel Dubois vs. Jarrell Miller
Frank Sanchez vs. Junior Fa
Jai Opetaia vs. Ellis Zorro
Filip Hrgovic vs. Mark De Mori
Arslanbek Makhmudov vs. Agit Kabayel

Date: December 23
Venue: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

O’Shaquie Foster (21-2, 12 KOs), the reigning WBC junior lightweight world champion, has signed a multi-fight promotional contract with Top Rank. A native of Orange, Texas, who trains out of Houston, Foster will make his Top Rank on ESPN debut in early 2024.

“O’Shaquie Foster is a supremely talented champion in the prime of his career,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “We are thrilled to welcome him to Top Rank, and I eagerly await his next world title defense.”

Queensberry, Top Rank & Riyadh Season will hold a press conference tomorrow in London to announce a new date for the Fury vs. Usyk undisputed heavyweight world championship contest, taking place in early 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The rumored date is February 17.