Fightnews.com

Photos: Sumio Yamada

Check out this GIANT Tszyu-Fundora photo gallery for some incredible shots + the scorecard + action from the Cruz-Romero, Lara-Zerafa, Martinez-Cordova, and Bohachuk-Mendoza fights.

Photos

By Héctor Villarreal

Jonathan “Alta Gamma” Miniel (4-0, 4 KOs) and his opponent Jonathan “El Bloque” Torres (4-0, 1 KO), both hit the scale in 140 pounds, the limit of the superlightweight division, which vacant National Championship will be on the line on the main event of Laguna Premium´s Summer Boxing Fest at the Arena Roberto Duran in Panama City, Panama on Thursday night.

Featherweights Kadir Macias (3-0, 0 KOs) and Hibrahim Valdespino (3-0, 2 KOs) both weighed in at 126 for the 8-round co-main event.

Angel Bethancourt (4-0, 4 KOs) registered the limit of the flyweight division and his opponent Santos Villar (2-1, 1 Ko) weighed in at 111 pounds. Continue reading “Fighters on weight for Summer Fest in Panama”

Tito Sanchez 121.6 vs. Erik Ruiz 121.6
“Gucci Manny” Flores 122. vs. Alberto Guevara 121.8
Grant Flores 153.8 vs. Freddy Espinoza 152
Joshua Garcia 132 vs. Diuhl Olguin 131.2
Anthony Saldivar 159.4 vs. Henry Rivera 158.6
Patricio Manuel 130 vs. Joshua Reyes 128.8

Venue: Fantasy Springs Resort/Casino, Indio, California
Promoter: Golden Boy
TV: DAZN

All Star Boxing, Inc President and CEO Felix “Tuto” Zabala Jr has announced a revamped multi-year promotional agreement with Los Angeles-based WBA #4, WBO #2 flyweight contender Anthony “Princesa” Olascuaga (6-1, 4 KOs). Olascuaga recently dispatched former WBO global champion #5th Giemel Magramao on the telecast of Prime Video 5 from Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

“We felt confident in Tony’s ability from the beginning with his trainer Rudy Hernandez,” stated promoter Tuto Zabala Jr. “The plan was always to fast track him to a world title shot.”

Olascuaga looks to return to action sometime this summer.

Adrian Trujillo 146.8 vs Michael De la Cruz 145.2
Ricky Fausto 193.3 vs Juan Higuera 190
Will Gibson 169.6 vs Trever Devestern 168.8
Jordan Panthen 161.8 vs Ravshan Hudaynazarov 161.6
Dorian Mendez 141 vs Ezra Rabin 141
Sean Sharaf 260 vs Chadricc Kindle 227

Fight Club OC
April 4th
Venue: The Hangar in Costa Mesa, CA
Promoter: SOCA Fights
TV: Triller.TV

Golden Boy has announced the undercard lineup for the televised Haney vs. Garcia PPV taking place April 20 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, exclusively live worldwide on DAZN PPV.

• In the chief support, undefeated, super lightweight contender Arnold Barboza Jr. (29-0, 11 KOs) will fight for the WBO Intercontinental title against Sean “The Public Nuisance” McComb (18-1, 5 KOs) in a ten-rounder
• Super middleweight Bektemir “Bek” Melikuziev (13-1, 10 KOs) will defend his WBA Intercontinental title in a 10-round fight against Pierre Dibombe (22-0-1, 12 KOs).
• John “Scrappy” Ramirez (13-0, 9 KOs) will challenge Cartago, Costa Rica’s David “Medallita” Jimenez (15-1, 11 KOs) in a twelve rounder for the WBA interim super flyweight title.
• WBC #1 ranked super welterweight Charles “Bad News” Conwell (18-0, 13 KOs) will make his Golden Boy debut against Nathaniel Gallimore (22-7-1, 17 KOs) in a ten rounder.

The IBF’s 39th Annual Convention, slated for next month, will take place at The San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino in San Juan, Puerto Rico from May 6 – 10, 2024. The IBF has hosted successful conventions in Puerto Rico in the past, and the expectation is the same for this one.

In commemoration of the boxers who fight for the organization’s titles, the IBF will present annual awards on Thursday, May 9.

Jersey Joe Walcott Award: Subriel Matias
Female Fighter of the Year: Amanda Serrano

Fight of the Year winners:

• IBF – Ginjiro Shigeoka vs. Rene Cuarto
• Female – Chantelle Cameron vs. Katie Taylor II
• Intercontinental – Sam Goodman vs. TJ Doheny
• USBA – Ali Izmailov vs. Charles Foster

“We proudly celebrate the achievements and careers of our remarkable champions and the boxers that participated in IBF title fights. These distinctions are more than well-deserved as they were realized through hard work and dedication. It is an honor, and we look forward to celebrating them,” remarked Daryl Peoples, IBF President.

WBO #1 rated welterweight Giovani “Gallo De Oro” Santillan (32-0, 17 KOs) will take on fellow unbeaten Brian Norman Jr. (25-0, 19 KOs) in a 12-round ESPN-televised showdown on May 18 at Pechanga Arena. Santillan-Norman will be the co-feature to the vacant WBO lightweight title tilt between Mexican three-division world champion Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete and Ukraine’s Denys Berinchyk.

In the eight-round televised opener, heavyweight knockout artist Richard Torrez Jr. (9-0, 9 KOs) returns against an opponent to be named. Torrez scored a KO1 last Friday on the Oscar Valdez-Liam Wilson card. Continue reading “Giovani Santillan opponent named”

The comeback of 38-year-old former WBO junior lightweight champion Jamel “Semper Fi” Herring was derailed on Wednesday night at the 36ers Arena in Adelaide, Australia. Herring (24-5, 12 KOs), a 4:1 favorite entering the bout, lost by split decision to Jackson Jon England (16-3, 8 KOs). After ten tactical rounds, England edged out a 96-94, 96-94 win on two cards, with Herring prevailing 97-93 on the third card.

Unbeaten featherweight Neslan Machado has been added to Don King’s “The Quest for the best” fight cards at the Casino Miami Jai-Alai, on Saturday, April 27. Machado has put together a perfect 20-0 record with nine KOs. He will be fighting a 10-round special attraction in an evening featuring three regional championship bouts, topped by WBA Continental Americas middleweight champion Ian Green (18-2, 12 KOs) against Roy Barringer (10-4, 6 KOs).

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with undefeated, rising star and knockout artist Kurt Scoby (13-0, 11 KOs) as he returns to the ring Friday, April 19th, against veteran Dakota Linger (13-6-3, 9 KOs) as the main event on DAZN. Scoby talked about his rough upbringing in Southern California and how he used boxing and football to stay out of trouble. Scoby shared his admiration for his promoter, hall of famer Lou DiBella, plus sparring Jaime Munguia and much more in this exclusive interview.

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By Mauricio Sulaimán
Son of José Sulaimán / WBC President

This past weekend, the first boxing card broadcast by Amazon and its Prime Video platform took place.

Spectacular boxing card unlike anything seen in a long time. My memories took me to that golden era when Don King created wondrous galas, with three, four, and even five world championship fights on the same card. Very similar last Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena, and the World Boxing Council was present with three memorable battles. A thrilling crescendo. Continue reading “Amazon’s Prime Video era in boxing has begun”

Junior welterweight standout Jimerr Espinosa (15-2, 14 KOs) looks to regain his career momentum when he takes on Angel Martinez (15-3-2, 14 KOs) this Saturday, April 6 in the 10-round main event at Sala Urbana in Naucalpan, Mexico. Espinosa-Martinez and undercard action will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+.

Espinosa is a 26-year-old puncher who went 11-0 with 10 knockouts before a December 2021 defeat against Jonathan Escobedo Martinez. He rebounded with a four-fight knockout streak before a split decision loss to U.S. Olympian Tiger Johnson in December. Martinez, boasting the same number of knockouts as Espinosa, returns following a unanimous decision loss to David Moreno Potrero last April.

Ryan Shaw 115.4 vs. Andre Donovan 115.4
Erick Arellano 212.6 vs. Raphael Carolina 223
Vladyslav Sirenko 256.6 vs. Deon Ronnie Hale 307.2
Chiara Dituri 129.4 vs. Cara McLaughlin 125.6
Lindsey Ellis 133.8 vs. Shaniqua Frazier 130
Dijibril Diakite 163.8 vs. Michael Lemelle 168

Venue: Troubadour Nashville
Promoter: Jimmy Adams Promotions
TV: USA Today Network, and USA Today Sports Network; Trillerr.TV (Marc Abrams and Albert Haynesworth on the Call)
1st Bell 7PM CT (8 PM ET)

Two-time world champion Oscar Valdez stopped Liam Wilson to earn the WBO interim 130lb title last Friday night in Phoenix. Current WBO junior lightweight champion Emmanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete is moving up to fight Denys Berinchyk for the vacant WBO lightweight title on May 18. If Navarrete wins and elects to stay at lightweight, Valdez is expected to be elevated to full champion status.

So what’s in store for Valdez next?

“Just a nice rest for now,” manager Frank Espinoza stated. “He deserves it. In due time we’ll sit with our team and discuss his future. Oscar is going to keep surprising the boxing public. He still has plenty of boxing legs. He’s an exciting fighter to watch because he’ll give you everything he has and that’s why he has such a great following.”

Photos: Sumio Yamada

Check out this GIANT Valdez-Wilson photo gallery for some incredible shots + the scorecard + action from the Estrada-Valle fight.

Photos

By Ron Jackson

Jan Kies, one of South Africa’s most exciting fighters in the 1970s and a former South African middleweight champion, passed away over the weekend. He was 76. Continue reading “Former SA middleweight champion dies at 76”

Juan Francisco “Gallo” Estrada (44-3, 28 KOs) will defend his WBC super flyweight title against Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (19-0, 12 KOs) at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday June 29, live worldwide on DAZN. Estrada, 33, steps back through the ropes to defend the title for the first time after beating old foe Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez in December 2022. Bam, 24, returns after dismantling Sunny Edwards in a flyweight unification in December 2023.

Juan Francisco Estrada: “After my last victory against Chocolatito we took a good break and was able to spend quality time with my family and my kids and heal an injury I was dealing with. I will be more than ready since I know Rodriguez is a dangerous fighter, but in June it will be clear that there’s is plenty of ‘Gallo’ excitement to come.”

Jesse Rodriguez: “Fighting for my fourth world title against a legend like ‘Gallo’ is huge. This is a fight I’ve been wanting for a while and I’m ready to prove myself once again. On June 29, you guys will see another special performance. And the new!”

Sampson Lewkowicz, the sole promoter of brand-new unified WBC and WBO 154-pound world champion Sebastian “The Towering Inferno” Fundora, wishes to clarify his position on a potential Fundora rematch with now former champ and previously unbeaten Tim Tszyu.

“We were all so eager to make this fight that many of our agreements were made verbally. There wasn’t enough time,” explained Lewkowicz. “But I wish to make it clear that Team Fundora will honor the agreement. My word is always equal to a signed contract. Tim Tszyu, your rematch is ready when you are.”

Lewkowicz says the Fundora vs. Tszyu rematch will happen, with the only deciding factor being if Tszyu would like to do it immediately or if he prefers the fighters take an interim fight each beforehand.

“It all depends on Tim Tszyu,” said Lewkowicz. “If he doesn’t take the rematch, we will take the WBO mandatory or Spence, whatever the WBO says, but the first priority is the rematch with Tim Tszyu.”

The WBO Championships Committee has ordered the camps of newly crowned WBO junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora and two-division unified champion Terence Crawford to reach an agreement to fight within 20 days. If no deal is reached, a purse bid will be ordered.

The Committee sanctioned Tszyu-Fundora with the stipulation that the winner must fight Crawford within 180 days.

Unbeaten junior welterweight Richardson Hitchins (17-0, 7 KOs) says he’s on the road to superstardom and will ram that home with a dazzling performance when he takes on Gustavo Lemos (29-0, 19 KOs) in a final eliminator for the IBF title  at Bleaulive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas on Saturday, live worldwide on DAZN.

“I think I am a star already and superstar status comes with me promoting myself, making the best of my opportunities and getting to that superstar status,” said Hitchins. “My name is buzzing already as if I am a World champion, people put me in these fantasy fights like ‘I want to see Richardson Hitchins vs. Devin Haney, vs. Subriel Matias’ and this is just in a year that I’ve been with Matchroom. Once I’ve had a little bit of exposure to the boxing fans, my name is on the scene, so I feel like slowly but surely, people are seeing my talent and that will turn me into the superstar that I want to be once I get my hands on the World championships and big fights. Continue reading “Hitchins: I’m ready to become a superstar”

WBO #6, WBA #11, IBF #12, WBC #15 rated Fabio Wardley (17-0-1, 16 KOs) and 2020 Olympic superheavy bronze medalist Frazer “Big Fraze” Clarke (8-0-1, 6 KOs) battled to an epic draw on Easter Sunday at the O2 Arena in London. The early rounds featured good exchanges with both fighters taking punishment. Wardley hurt Clarke in round five and dropped him with a barrage of punches right at the bell. Clarke was deducted a point for a low blow in round seven. Nose damage to Wardley seemed to take its toll as the momentum shifted to Clarke. The bout was temporarily stopped in round for the ring doctor to check Wardley’s mess of a nose and closing right eye. Both fought hard down the stretch. In the end, scores were 114-113 Wardley, 115-112 Clarke and 113-113. Great fight!

Now fighting at heavyweight, all-action Alen ‘The Savage’ Babic (12-1, 11 KOs) scored a brutal sixth round TKO over Steve Robinson (6-3, 4 KOs) in a fan-friendly fire fight on Easter Sunday at the O2 Arena in London. A fusillade of Babic punches prompted a stoppage by referee Sean McAvoy at :54. It was Babic’s first fight since a bridgerweight title defeat against Lukasz Rozanski 12 months ago.

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https://www.youtube.com/live/DF0Ftef6j9o?si=4HdeAZZzfED08Ttj&t=1423

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Welterweight Chris Kongo (15-2, 7 KOs) scored a ten round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Florian Marku (13-1-1, 8 KOs). Kongo took Marku to school, winning 96-94, 96-93, 98-92. Marku was deducted a point for hitting behind the head in round nine.

Olympic silver medalist and world class showboater Ben Whittaker (7-0, 5 KOs) dropped Leon Willings (7-2, 2 KOs) in round one, but was forced to go the full eight in a light heavyweight bout. Score was 78-73.

Other Results:
Callum Simpson KO4 Dulla Mbabe (super middleweight)
Viddal Riley W10 Mikael Lawal (cruiserweight)

Middleweight Ryan Young (16-5, 11 KOs) of Oakville, ON upset fellow Canadian and previously unbeaten Antonio Napolitano (8-1-1, 4 KOs) of St. Catharines ON by ten round majority decision. Young claimed the NCC Canadian middleweight title. The site of the event was the Hamilton Convention Centre, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

“The crowd was electric with another sell out event,” said promoter Dan Otter of Three Lions Promotions (TLP). “Although a few fights didn’t go our way, they were matched perfectly giving the fans exactly what they deserve. We will be announcing our next show in the days to come.” Continue reading “Young upsets Napolitano in Hamilton”

By Joe Koizumi

Filipino sharpshooter Melvin Jerusalem (22-3, 12 KOs), 104.25, dethroned WBC minimumweight champ Yudai Shigeoka (8-1, 5 KOs), 105, as he floored the Japanese titleholder twice with very well-timed right counters in rounds two and six, winning a split decision (114-112 twice for him, 113-114 against him) over twelve hard-fought rounds on Sunday in Nagoya, Japan.

Jerusalem, 30, once displayed a trick here by scoring a one-punch second-round stoppage over WBO ruler Masataka Taniguchi in January of the previous year. It was a see-saw affair, but Melvin’s two knockdowns paid off in wresting the belt from the game but rough champ. The open scoring system read: all 38-37 for the challenger after the fourth, and 77-73 twice for Melvin and 75-75 after the eighth. Yudai, 26, desperately attempted to score with big shots in the last four sessions, but it was Melvin that saved his lead on points to seize the world belt again here.

Promoter: KWORLD3 (AKA Kameda) Promotions.