Filippone replaces Hasson at The Chase

By Rick Scharmberg

Frankie “The Freight Train” Filippone (12-2-1, 2 KOs) will replace Dennis Hasson in the main event this Friday night at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware. Filippone, who eagerly accepted what will be his second fight in just two weeks, will face Kevin “Hitman” Engle (20-6, 16 KOs) in the ten round main event. They will be fighting for the interim NABA light heavyweight title, which comes with a top-15 ranking in the WBA. “Dennis injured his ribs in training,” said Dave Tiberi, of Champs Management. “Frank Filippone is a throwback. It is ironic that we will be honoring Delaware police, and Dennis is a police officer in Virginia. He is humble and excited about getting this opportunity.” (more…)

Vic Darchinyan speaks out

Photo: Big Joe Miranda

Fightnews.com spoke to former world champion Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan (38-5-1, 27 KOs), who is coming off a great win over Luis Orlando De Valle last September. Darchinyan says he will KO “The Filipino Flash” Nonito Donaire if he agrees to give him the rematch he has been chasing since 2007. He also says that Guillermo Rigondeux has a glass jaw and should not be in same ring as Nonito. Vic is also chasing a rematch with Abner Mares, whom he claims is a cheat.

“I want to fight Donaire,” said Darchinyan. “I deserve the chance to fight him before a glass jawed bum like Rigondeux. Who is Rigondeux to be even in the same ring as Nonito? He’s done nothing, he fights bums and his jaw is like a egg shell. What do you have to do to earn respect in this game? I have fought champions, I’ve ducked no one and then I read in some places that Rigondeux deserves a shot more than me. That’s what happens when people that have never fought in a ring get involved in reporting our sport. Look at Rigondeux’s opponents. Maybe I should have just fought bums to get respect. I would still be undefeated. (more…)

Late Results from Elizabeth, PA

Lightweight Rod Salka (17-2, 4 KOs) of Bunola, Pennsylvania won the vacant NABA USA title last Saturday at the Courttime Sports Complex, Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, with a fifth round stoppage of Emmanuel Lucero (26-14-1) of Scranton.

On the undercard, middleweight Nick Brinson (12-1-2, 6 KOs) of Geneva, NY won a six-round decision over Justin Williams (4-7-2, 2 KOs) of Beaumont, Texas.

Zou Shiming in America

Photo: Chris Farina/Top Rank

Zou Shiming, two-time Olympic gold medalist and three-time World Amateur Champion, arrives with his wife Ying Ying at Los Angeles International Airport from China Monday night enroute to Las Vegas for his Grand Arrival and to begin training. Shiming’s Grand Arrival at The Venetian Las Vegas Porte Cochere, will take place the following day, Tuesday, February 5, at Noon. Shiming will be greeted by his Top Rank promoters, Bob Arum and Todd duBoef; his new trainers, Freddie Roach and Miguel Diaz; and John Caparella, president and COO of The Venetian and The Palazzo. Shiming is scheduled to make his professional boxing debut on April 6, at The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel in Macau. (more…)

Klitschko vs. Oquendo on April 6?

By Rey Colón -The Sport Press

Puerto Rican heavyweight Fres Oquendo (35-7, 23 KOs) tonight confirmed that negotiations are underway for an April 6 title shot against WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (59-3, 50 KOs) in Hanover, Germany. Klitschko is planning to make an optional defense and 2004 Olympic Gold medalist Odlanier Solis has been named as a potential challenger, however Oquendo, ranked WBA #5 and WBA #12, is also acceptable.

“They want to give the chance to Solis who hasn’t proven himself like I have, but my manager is working on it and it’s possible that in the end Wladimir could face me on April 6. I’m training to get in the best condition to rip his head off. He has been fighting mediocre boxers. Give me the opportunity and don’t avoid me!”

Oquendo says he believes Wlad is ducking him. “He saw me sparring with his brother Vitali for the fight with Tomasz Adamek and I was getting to him. Maybe that’s why he’s avoiding me. But we hope for the fight on April 6.”

Boxing Buzz

1956 Olympic Gold Medalist Vladimir Yengibaryan passed away Friday in Los Angeles at the age of 80. Yengibaryan captured the Gold as a welterweight in the Summer Games held in Melbourne, Australia.

Carl Froch is telling Mikkel Kessler to expect defeat when the two meet again in May at the O2 Arena . . . more

Detroit’s Feb. 23 is a go with Cornelius Bundrage vs. Ishe Smith as the headliner. The Detroit News has more.

Boxing is alive and well in Southern California, says The Press-Enterprise‘s David Avila . . . more

Chonlatarn stops Blader

By Damrong Simakajornboon
Photos: Onesongchai Boxing Promotion

WBO#10/WBA#12 feather Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo (45-1 28 KOs) successfully retained his WBO Asia-Pacific 126lb title as he stopped Arief Blader (17-9-1 6 KOs) on Friday at Prankratai School in Prankratai District, Kampaengpetch, Thailand. This was the first fight of Thai fighter after losing to Indonesian legend Chris John in the WBA title challenge last November. It seemed that the first two rounds belonged to Blader who used his aggressive style and landed more accurate punches than the champion. Chonlatarn came back from round three when he displayed effective counterpunches to deny Blader’s aggression, especially with his vicious uppercuts. Finally, the fight rapidly ended when the local hero landed vicious right uppercuts which hurt Blader’s nose, causing the Indonesian to refuse to continue at the end of round four.

In other action, ABCO 126lb title holder Bualuang Onesongchaigym (10-0 4 KOs) destroyed Kamlaigoen Sor Tinanon with his vicious bodyshot, scoring a KO at 2:03 of round two. Susu Sithjaedaeng (5-2 2 KOs) scored a second round TKO over Tiendaeng Manoprungroj. Fonluang Sor Singyu stopped Jombhop Soonkilachalermprakeit at the opening round. Female Nongnun Sor Praithong outpointed Kledpetch Lookmuangkan in a six round non-title bout. And female Pitza Sor Thipcharoen outpointed Mangpor Wor Por Sukhothai in a six round non-title bout.

This event was promoted by Ms.Pariyakorn Ratanasuban of Onesongchai Boxing Promotion.
photos

Tufte stays undefeated

Heavyweight Josh “Too Tuff” Tufte, had a tough time Saturday night against rough and ready Jon Bolden. It was a fight that Tufte was expected to dominate, however Bolden had other plans. The fight opened with a competitive first round that saw Bolden jabbing and Tufte slipping and hooking a la Joe Frazier. Tufte was able to outwork Bolden in round 1 and got the nod. In the second round it was much the same and looked as if Tufte was stepping on the gas as he again outworked the jabbing Bolden. But in round three Bolden, after being urged on by his trainer, began to let the right hand go and hit Tufte repeatedly with it in the third. Tufte to his credit showed his toughness and grit and continued to fight back but Bolden got the bet of the exchanges. The fourth round was taking on a similar pattern to the third when Bolden was warned twice for hitting behind the head and was then penalized a point after the third offense. Tufte picked the pace in rounds five and six and did some good body work that slowed the game Bolden. In the end Tufte remained undefeated 11-0 (6KOs) while Bolden drops to 7-6 (5KOs). Scores were 57-56, 58-55, 59-54 for Tufte. (more…)

Kessler-Froch II Headed Towards Sell-Out On May 25th – 7,000 Tickets Sold In First 30-Minutes!

By James Slater

Super-middleweight rivals Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler met face-to-face today in London, at a press conference to officially announce their eagerly awaited rematch set for The O2 in the nation’s capital on May 25th. The two former “Super Six” entrants have massive respect for one another and ahead of the return – which will contest both “The Cobra’s” IBF crown and “The Viking Warrior’s” WBA belt – both men gave some interesting statements. (more…)

Bundrage-Smith still on for Feb 23

The February 23 event at the Masonic Temple Theatre in Detroit will still take place as scheduled with the card now being headlined by the world title showdown between Detroit native and IBF Junior Middleweight World Champion Cornelius “K9″ Bundrage and Ishe “Sugar Shay” Smith.

As previously reported, the clash between Devon Alexander “The Great” and Kell Brook is postponed due to an injury to Alexander. A new date for the bout is currently being scheduled and will be announced shortly.

Andy Lee Primed for Belfast Comeback Fight

Irish middleweight contender, Andy Lee (28-2, 20KOs) will return to the ring this Saturday evening against the durable Anthony Fitzgerald (13-3, 1 KO) at Belfast’s Odyssey Arena. This will be Lee’s first outing since he suffered a seventh-round stoppage loss when he bravely challenged Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for the WBC world middleweight title on June 16 in El Paso, Texas. Before the stoppage Lee was ahead on all three judges’ scorecards.

In September 2012 Lee made a career decision to relocate his training base to London and team up with Adam Booth, one of the most respected and sought after boxing trainers in the UK. Lee believes fights in 2013 will provide him with the opportunity to rebuild his career and the Fitzgerald fight is the first step on that road back to title contention. (more…)

More on “Monaco Million Dollar Super Four”

By Ron Jackson

Rodney Berman of Golden Gloves Promotions, South Africa’s foremost promoter,in conjunction with the Monte Carlo SBM group has officially announced the “Monaco Million Dollar Super Four” tournament which is take place at the Chapiteau de Fontvielle in Monte Carlo, Monaco on March 30. Also on the bill will be the outstanding and undefeated WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin defending his belt against Nobuhiro Ishida and European junior middleweight champion Sergei Rabtchenko defending his title against Adriano Nicchi.

Heading the bill will be the Super Four eliminator with Dominican Republic-born Edwin Rodriguez (22-0, 15 KOs) who fights out of the USA against Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna (19-0, 13 KOs) of Argentina at super middleweight, and in the second match-up at light heavyweight Zsolt Erdei (33-0, 18 KOs) from Hungary faces American-based Russian Denis Grachev (12-1-1, 8 KOs).

In what is possibly a unique first in this type of elimination tournament the fighters who go through to the final will meet in a catchweight bout with a limit of 171.5lbs (77.78kg). The finalist will fight for a 60/40 share of one million dollars in Monaco on July 13. (more…)

Franco pulls out of world title fight; retires

By Matt Thompson

Featherweight Luis Franco has pulled out of the fight with IBF featherweight champion Billy Dib on March 1. The bout was to be televised on ESPN2 for Dib’s title. Franco, a former Cuban Olympian, apparently decided he didn’t want to box anymore and retired at age 31. After losing his last fight, Franco was fortunate to be getting a world title shot. Word is Franco wasn’t happy with getting “ESPN money” for the fight despite the prospect of big paydays ahead if he held the title.

Devon Alexander Forced To Postpone Fight With Kell Brook Due To Bicep Injury

By James Slater

The IBF welterweight clash between defending champ Devon Alexander and unbeaten Brit Kell Brook has been postponed, SKY Sports has reported, due to a bicep injury on the part of Alexander. Promoter Eddie Hearn, who looks after Brook, has gone on record as saying Golden Boy informed him of the news and that a new date will be found “ASAP.”

The fight was to have taken place on Feb. 23rd in Detroit, with Cornelius “K9″ Bundrage against Ishe Smith in an IBF 154-pound defense by K9. There is no word yet on whether or not this fight will also be postponed.

Report/gallery: Molina vs. Spinks

By Sam Geraci at ringside
Photos by Joey Hill at RoyalDivide.com

Chicago’s Carlos “King” Molina (21-5-2, 6 KOs) dominated former jr middleweight champion and former undisputed welterweight champion Cory “The Next Generation” Spinks (39-8, 11 KOs) of St. Louis, MO to capture a unanimous decision with the scores of 119-106 twice and 120-105 in front of his hometown crowd of 5,300-plus at the UIC Pavilion.

Molina controlled nearly every second of the bout with his pressure, lead right hands and left hooks to the body and head With the victory, Molina solidified his place among the top 154lb fighters and earned a shot at the winner of the February 23rd jr middleweight IBF title clash between champion Cornelius “K9″ Bundrage and contender Ishe “Sugar Shay” Smith . . . Click here for more

Hatton launches trainer academy

Despite being best known for his exploits in the ring, Ricky “Hitman” Hatton has further proven his ability to innovate out of it with the launch of the Hatton Academy. Alongside running his promotional company, Ricky has made a successful move into training, coaching Sergey Rabchenko to European title glory. And now he wants to pass his expertise on to fitness instructors, personal trainers and other boxing coaches so that they can enhance their own skills and teaching methods.

The Hatton Academy is the only boxing for fitness course in the UK to have official accreditation from the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC), the Register of Exercise Professionals (REP) and the Amateur Boxing Association of England (ABAE). It’s a two day course covering all basic boxing technique, pad holding principals and functional training methods. On completion of the course participants are issued with two certificates and the chance to join TEAM Hatton. This allows them to deliver Hatton Boxing classes and be listed as a trainer on the Hatton website.

Boxing back in Allentown, PA

On Saturday night, February 9th Kings Boxing Promotions presents an eight round jr middleweight bout between Keenan Collins (14-7-3, 9 KOs) and George Rivera (13-7-1, 4 KOs) at the The Rodeway Inn in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

In a special six round co-feature, undefeated John “Apollo Kidd” Thompson (10-0, 3 KOs) risks his perfect ledger when he battles Grayson Blake (5-1, 2 KOs) in a jr middleweight bout. (more…)

Boxing Buzz

Conflicting reports about the great Muhammad Ali being near death has been laid to rest by Ali’s family who say “The Greatest” is alive and well.

GMA reports that Freddie Roach will be training Ruslan Provodnikov for his upcoming fight against Timothy Bradley. |more|

Nonito Donaire has been named “2012 Fighter of the Year” in the Flash Elorde Memorial Awards. The official ceremony is March 25.

Report/gallery: Gomez vs. Lane

Ringside by Anthony Springer Jr. & Andreas Hale
Photos by Mary Ann Owen / BoxinginLasVegas.com

It was like watching a lion play with the prey before the big kill – except the kill never happened. Frankie Gomez (15-0, 11 KOs) soundly out boxed Houston’s Lanard Lane (13-3, 8 KOs) en route to a one sided unanimous decision win in the welterweight main event.

The bout was fought in spurts, dictated by Gomez. Lane was hit with two and three punch combinations nearly every time he was close enough to land a blow of his own. This was the course of action for the ten round affair . . . Click here for more

Lyell cruises in tune-up

Former IBF world title challenger, Billy Lyell (25-11) outclassed journeyman Rahsaan Abdul Blackburn over four rounds Saturday night at the Boyd County Community Center in Ashland, Kentucky. Lyell was credited with a knockdown in round two and went on to win by scores of 40-35 on all judges’ scorecards. Lyell stated, “I wanted to get several rounds of work in order to stay sharp going into my showdown with Daniel Jacobs (24-1) on Showtime in Brooklyn, NY on April 27th.” (more…)

Marquez says no fifth fight with Pacman

Boxing superstar Juan Manuel Marquez says in no case he will fight Manny Pacquiao a fifth time. “I think for me there is no point. The business that we had pending is already settled, so then for what? I’ve also asked several people, several friends that I have around me and they tell me no, in no case a fifth fight,” Marquez stated on the popular “Golpe a Golpe” boxing show. He added, “…before that fourth bout, I said ‘regardless of how it this fight ends, there cannot be a fifth.’” A fifth fight between Marquez and Pacquiao is considered one of the biggest fights on the agenda for 2013.

Brown defeats Hill in St. Joe

By Jeff Reiners at ringside

Heavyweight Galen “Bad Boy” Brown (39-22-1, 23 KOs) won a six round majority decision over Sam Hill (17-12-1, 10 KOs) on Saturday night at the American Legion in St. Joseph, Missouri. Judges turned in scorecards of 59-55, 59-55 and 57-57.

Former USBC bantamweight champion Andre Wilson (13-5-1, 11 KOs) scored a third round knockout of Ryan Pederson (2-10, 2 KOs). A short left hand from Wilson sent Pederson face down to the canvas, forcing the stoppage.

Rickey Thompson (3-4-1, 2 KOs) went home with a unanimous decision win over Dakota Talbott (0-4) in a heavyweight battle. Thompson pitched a near shutout with only one judge awarding Talbott a round.

St. Joseph favorites Tristen Wagner, Colby Courter, Eric Fleischman and Alex De Leon all won by first round stoppage.

Mijares-Terrazas for WBC super bantam title?

By Gabriel F. Cordero

A source has informed Fightnews.com that Mexicans Cristian Mijares and Victor Terrazas could meet in an April 20 clash at a venue to be announced for the WBC super bantamweight championship left vacant by champion Abner Mares’ move up to featherweight. Terrazas is the current mandatory challenger. Mijares is recovering from an elbow injury that prevented him from fighting on February 9.

Boxing Buzz

Robert Morales has more on “Sugar” Shane Mosley’s not-so-sweet return to the ring. |more|

OnMilwaukee.com pays tribute to past great Harry Wills. |more|

Timothy Bradley is expected to make his return March 16 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. on an HBO card. Bradley, 29-0, 12 Kos, will face once-lost Russian Ruslan Provodnikov, 22-1, 15 Kos.

What happens when “Iron” Mike Tyson meets a comedy hypnotist Down Under? |more|

Bradley set to make first title defense

Undefeated WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, Jr. (29-0, 12 KOs) vs #2 contender Ruslan Provodnikov (22-1, 15 KOs) will take place Saturday, March 16, at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing. It will be Bradley’s first defense of the title he won last year by defeating Manny Pacquiao. Former two-time Méxican Olympian Óscar Valdez (2-0, 2 KOs) will highlight the undercard in a six-round featherweight bout. Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum will host a news conference on Wednesday to make the official announcement.

Gomez dominates Lane; Bey destroys Rodriguez

By Anthony Springer at ringside
Photo: John Gurzinski/Retna

Unbeaten welterweight Frankie Gomez (15-0, 11 KOs) cruised to a one-sided decision unanimous win over Lanard Lane (13-3, 8 KOs) on Saturday night at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Gomez was never in danger and fought Lane in spurts throughout the ten round title tilt. The judges’ scores were 98-92, 100-90 and 100-90.

Undefeated lightweight Mickey Bey (19-0-1, 10 KOs) flattened Roberto Rodriguez with a devastating left hook to end the fight by knockout at 1:07 in the third round. Bey sent Rodriguez to the canvas early in the final round with the same punch. With the win, Bey looks to face Ricky Burns next.

2012 Olympian Joseph “Jo Jo” Diaz Jr. (2-0, 1 KO) scored a second round KO over Jose Ruiz (2-3) in a bantamweight match-up. Ruiz was down twice. Time was 2:03.

Unbeaten Badou Jack used a big body shot to extend his record to 12-0 with 9 KOs, knocking out Jonuel Tapia (8-4-1, 5 KOs) in the night’s opening super middleweight bout.