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By Joe Koizumi

Unbeaten Naoya “Monster” Inoue (16-0, 14 KOs), 118, impressively captured the WBA bantamweight belt as he easily caught up with much taller defending champ Jamie McDonnell (29-3-1-1ND, 13 KOs), 117.5, dropped him twice and halted him at 1:52 of the opening session on Friday in Tokyo, Japan.

The 116-second destruction showcased Naoya’s pugnaciousness and power-punching, with which he so quickly decked McDonnell with a trademark left uppercut to the side of the belly. Though Jamie very barely resumed fighting, Naoya swarmed over the fading champ with a flurry of punches and decked him again, when his chief second Dave Coldwell signaled a surrender and asked for a stoppage on the apron. Referee Luis Pabon, from Puerto Rico, then declared a halt to raise the arm of the newly crowned champion.

Inoue joyfully said in the ring, “I’ll participate in the World Boxing Super Series to face other world champions with pleasure.” The judges who didn’t score even a round were as follows: Oliver Bien (Germany), Ignacio Robles (Panama) and Pinit Prayadsab (Thailand).

Promoter: Ohashi Promotions.
WBA supervisor: Renzo Bagnariol (Nicaragua).
Television: Fuji TV (Japan), ESPN (US) and Sky Sports (UK).

By Joe Koizumi

Unbeaten WBC light flyweight champ Shiro Ken (13-0, 7 KOs), 107.5, easily kept his belt when he sank former champ Ganigan Lopez (29-8, 18 KOs), 107.5, a Mexican old soldier at 36, with a single body shot for the count at 1:58 of the second session on Friday in Tokyo, Japan. Ken, making his third defense, had wrested the WBC belt by a majority nod over Lopez here a year ago.

In the first round, they probed each other with jabs and feints to see few mix-ups with the champ only once connecting with a left-right combination to the face. The second stanza witnessed Ken, ten years his junior at 26, catch the Mexican lefty with a solid right to the body, and Lopez fell on all fours in agony with the ref Vic Drakulich mercilessly tolling the fatal ten.

The victorious champ said, “Last night my father advised me to attack with a right shot to the midsection. That paid off. I thank him for his suggestion as I didn’t expect such a quick finish.”

Ken, respect your father (ex-OPBF light heavyweight champ Hisashi Teraji).

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

Former Commonwealth welterweight challenger Jack “Gelignite” Brubaker (14-3-1, 7 KOs) scored a unanimous twelve round decision over Englishman Tyrone Nurse (35-4-2, 7 KOs) in a Commonwealth welterweight elimination bout of Johnny Lewis Boxing Series at the Star Casino in Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Thursday.

Brubaker was the aggressor throughout and visibly hurt Nurse who boxed skillfully to survive the distance. At the conclusion scores 115-113, 116-112, 116-112. Continue reading “Brubaker, Savva, Tszyu Victorious”

History is only two days away, as Jerwin “Pretty Boy” Ancajas will defend the IBF junior bantamweight world title in the main event Saturday evening on ESPN+ against countryman Jonas Sultan at the Save Mart Center. It marks the first world title bout featuring two Filipino fighters in 93 years, when Pancho Villa defended the world flyweight title against Clever Sencio on May 2, 1925.

In the co-feature, Great Britain’s Kal Yafai will make the third defense of his World Boxing Association (WBA) super flyweight title against David Carmona.

Jerwin Ancajas: “For me, Filipino boxers fight with their heart, so I consider a Filipino opponent to be difficult in the ring. It is God’s will that we are here, participants in the main event. I thank Top Rank for the opportunity.”

Jonas Sultan: “I am going to go all out to win this championship. I studied Ancajas’ style very carefully, and now it’s my opportunity to do what I can.”

Kal Yafai: “He’s had three world title fights, so he knows what he’s doing in there. On Saturday, he’s going to come across someone who is very quick. I think I’m just too good all around, and especially when I’m looking to make an explosive performance in my U.S. debut. I think he’s in a little trouble, but I’m going to go out there, box him, take what I can, and go from there.”

David Carmona: “I’m ready to fight. I hope to have a good opponent in the ring. He’s a champion, and we’re going to make a good fight.”

Continue reading “Ancajas-Sultan/Yafai-Carmona Final Presser”

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn is recovering after he was rear-ended in a three-car accident on Wednesday in Brisbane ahead of his clash with WBO mandatory challenger Terrence Crawford in Las Vegas on June 9.

“No one was badly hurt but it stunned me,” Horn told Grantlee Kieza of the Courier Mail. “Fortunately I was in the car alone and my wife Jo and baby Isabelle were home. The man in the center of the crash just had his head buried in his hands. He was really upset. Really in shock. I jumped out of the car to make sure everyone was OK. The ambulance people came but thankfully there weren’t any serious injuries. It could have been much worse.”

The accident came right after Horn had finished up a training session with strength and conditioning coach Dundee Kim. “The accident was a shock but nothing is going to derail me from beating Terence Crawford,” Horn added. “I’m very fit. I feel I’m going to peak right at fight time.”

Negotiations for a September 15 rematch between WBC, WBA, IBF middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin and former champ Canelo Alvarez have hit an impasse.

“It’s clear to us that Golovkin doesn’t want to fight Canelo,” Canelo’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya told The Ring. “It’s clear to us that after all the demands that they made, after Canelo having to do the hair follicle test, having to enroll in VADA, having to be tested by the Nevada State Athletic Commission randomly even before he was enrolled in VADA, it’s clear that GGG is afraid. So we’re going to move on and I’m going to start making phone calls to (Daniel) Jacobs’ people, to (Billy Joe) Saunders’ people, start making calls to (Jermall) Charlo and (Spike) O’Sullivan.”

Former world lightweight title challenger Denis Shafikov, (38-4-1, 20 KOs), will clash with Hector ‘El Estudiante’ Suarez, (12-6-1, 6 KOs) over eight rounds in the main event of ‘Hollywood Fight Nights’ on June 6 at The Avalon in Hollywood, CA. Trained by Abel Sanchez, Shafikov is looking for another world title shot in the near future, holding recent victories over top contenders Richard Commey and Jamel Herring.

In the co-feature, middleweight Serhii “El Flaco” Bohachuk, (8-0, 8 KOs), faces off against Vardges Vardanyan (1-0, 0 KOs) in a six-rounder.

Tickets for the 360 Promotions show start at $60 and are available now.

By Gabriel F. Cordero

With WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, former heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman, and Boxing Hall of Famer Sylvester Stallone on hand, President Trump has posthumously pardoned former heavyweight champion Jack Johnson at a ceremony in Washington DC.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. This was set up quite a long time ago. And while this is a very interesting day we have going, this was very important to Sylvester Stallone — my friend for a long time, Sly — and the whole group.

We have incredible people here. We have the current heavyweight champion of the world, Deontay Wilder. He’s 40 and 0. This gentleman right here. He’s 40 and 0, with 39 knockouts.

And we have Lennox Lewis, who, as you know, is one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time. Unbelievable heart, and, in all fairness, unbelievable talent. He was a talented, talented fighter. A great and talented fighter.

LEWIS: Thank you. Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. And, Deontay, thank you.

WILDER: Yes, sir. Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: So, Lennox, if I really went and started working out, could I take Deontay in a fight? (Laughter.) Please tell me. This is 40 and 0, 39 knockouts. Could I take him in a fight if I really went to work?

LEWIS: You’d have to get past those long arms.

THE PRESIDENT: I get it. They’re long arms.

LEWIS: Yeah, they’re long arms.

Continue reading “Trump pardons ex-champ Jack Johnson”

Unified Women’s WBC and WBO Middleweight Champion Christina Hammer has taken to the mountains of Austria for this leg of her intense training camp. Hammer (22-0, 10 KOs) will make her U.S. fighting debut while defending her titles against former world champion Tori Nelson (17-1-3, 2 KOs) on Friday, June 22. The bout will serve as a supporting bout to two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and unified women’s super-middleweight champion Claressa Shields’ attempt to become a two-division world champion against unified women’s 154-pound champion Hanna Gabriels at Masonic Temple in Detroit, Mich.

Shields vs Gabriels will be contested for the vacant IBF and WBA Middleweight World Championships and telecast on SHOWTIME BOXING: SPECIAL EDITION at 10 p.m. ET/PT live on SHOWTIME. Extensive highlights of Hammer vs. Nelson will also be shown. Continue reading “Christina Hammer Camp Notes”