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Former world champion Emmanuel “Manny” Rodriguez (21-2, 13 KOs) will take on streaking contender Melvin “Melo” Lopez (29-1, 19 KOs) for the vacant IBF bantamweight title (formerly held by Naoya Inoue) headlining action live on Showtime on August 12 from The Theater at MGM National Harbor in Maryland. The telecast will also see undefeated super lightweight Gary Antuanne Russell (16-0, 16 KOs) taking on fellow unbeaten Kent Cruz (16-0-3, 10 KOs) in the 10-round co-main event, plus welterweight Travon Marshall (8-0, 7 KOs) duels unbeaten two-time Olympian Gabriel Maestre (5-0-1, 4 KOs) in the 10-round welterweight telecast opener.

August 12 will be a busy day with AJ vs. Whyte, and Navarrete vs. Valdez on separate telecasts.

The last Fight Week prior to the mega Fulton-Inoue/Spence-Crawford showdowns offers up some interesting action.

FRIDAY
Thompson Boxing sadly bids farewell after 23 years of promoting boxing in Southern California. Their final show is headlined by welterweight Louie Lopez (13-2-1, 4 KOs) against an opponent TBA. You can catch the action on YouTube and Facebook.

SATURDAY
ESPN presents former undisputed lightweight champion George “Ferocious” Kambosos Jr. (20-2, 10 KOs) against Maxi Hughes (26-5-2, 5 KOs) in a twelve round IBF world title eliminator from the FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

UFC Fightpass has exciting junior middleweight KO artist Serhii “El Flaco” Bohachuk (22-1, 22 KOs) against former world title challenger Patrick Allotey (42-4, 32 KOs) at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California.

ProBox TV has a pro fight card from the Radisson Victoria Plaza in Montevideo, Uruguay, with middleweight Amilcar Vidal Jr (16-1, 12 KOs) rebounding from his first loss against Domicio Rondon (17-5, 11 KOs).

By David Finger at ringside

Undefeated New Mexican Abraham “Hammer” Perez made a statement in Albuquerque on Saturday night when he dominated the normally durable journeyman Gilberto Mendoza en route to an eight round TKO victory. Mendoza was a last minute replacement but was still seen as a gritty and tough foe who had gone the distance with some of the hardest punchers in the flyweight division. Perez, for all of his talent, was not regarded as a puncher per se, but against Mendoza he proved once again that speed kills. Continue reading “Perez dominates Mendoza in Albuquerque”

Photos: Sumio Yamada

Check out this GIANT Martin-Harutyunyan photo gallery for some incredible shots.

Photos

Photos: Bob Ryder

Check out this GIANT Baumgardner-Linardatou 2 photo gallery for some incredible shots. Also includes undercard action.

Photos

Unbeaten super welterweights Julian Vogel (11-0-1, 7 KOs) and Mykyta Alistratov (8-0-2, 4 KOs) battled to an eight round draw in their clash for the WBO Junior 154lb title on Saturday night at the SES-Gym in Magdeburg, Germany. Scores were 77-75 for Vogel, 77-76 for Alistratov, and 76-76.

Cruiserweight Roman Fress (18-1, 11 KOs) needed just 75 seconds to annihilate previously unbeaten Edwin Mosquera (10-1-2, 6 KOs) in the first round of the co-feature. A hard left to the head finished Mosquera.

Other Results:
Robin Rehse W6 Felix Kriedemann (super middleweight)
Marlon Dzemski W6 Marian Wesolowski (welterweight)
Artur Henrik W6 Adam Ciesiak (super middleweight)
Tom Laske W6 Seiran Angel (super lightweight)
Artur Reis W6 Pavlo Ospinnikov (super middleweight)
Lara Ochmann W6 Gabriella Mezei (featherweight)
Christian Demaj W6 Ilja Mezencev (heavyweight)
Eda Essaoudi D6 Eva Hubmayer (featherweight)

In a WBC lightweight eliminator, undefeated WBC #6 Frank “The Ghost” Martin (18-0, 12 KOs) scored a twelve round unanimous decision over previously undefeated WBC #8 Olympic bronze medalist Artem Harutyunyan (12-1, 7 KOs) on Saturday night from the Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Many rounds were close. Martin had a big edge in round six, then closed the bout strong forcing Harutyunyan to take a knee in round twelve. Scores were 114-113, 115-112, 115-112.

IBF #13 super lightweight Elvis Rodriguez (15-1-1, 13 KOs) broke down and stopped former world champion Viktor Postol (31-5, 12 KOs) in round seven. Rodriguez dropped Postal at the end of round six and opened the seventh with a brutal assault that rocked Postol promoting a referee’s stoppage. Time was :23.

6’2 welterweight prospect Freudis Rojas (11-0, 11 KOs) stopped Diego Sanchez (19-3, 16 KOs) in round seven of a scheduled 10-rounder. Rojas was in command all the way before Sanchez’ corner requested a stoppage from referee Tony Weeks. Time was :58.

In a WBC super bantamweight eliminator, unbeaten WBC #3 Alan David Picasso (25-0-1, 13 KOs) impressively stopped Sabelo Ngebinyana (15-6-1, 11 KOs) in round six on Saturday night at the Restaurant Arroyo in Mexico City. Ngebinyana’s corner threw in the towel to save their fighter from further punishment. Time was 1:24.

Undisputed female super featherweight champion Alycia “The Bomb” Baumgardner (15-1, 7 KOs) avenged her lone defeat with a ten round unanimous decision over Christina Linardatou (14-3, 6 KOs) on Saturday night at the Masonic Temple in Detroit, Michigan. Baumgardner, 29, outworked the 35-year-old Linardatou, who recently had a baby. Scores were 99-91, 98-92, 98-92.

Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz won his professional debut at lightweight against two-time world title challenger Juan Carlos Burgos (35-8-3 21 KOs) to claim the IBF International belt. Cruz punished Burgos the whole way en route to a 100-90, 100-90, 98-92 unanimous verdict. The iron-jawed Burgos has never been stopped.

Heavyweight Jermaine Franklin (22-2, 14 KOs), coming off fights against Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte in the UK, dominated previously unbeaten Issac Munoz (17-1-1, 14 KOs), but was forced to go the full ten rounds. Scores were 100-90, 100-90, 99-91.

Featherweight Ja’Rico O’Quinn (16-1-1, 8 KOs) edged Carlos Mujica (8-3, 2 KOs) over ten rounds in a competitive fight. Scores were 97-93, 96-94 on two cards. The third judge had local favorite O’Quinn up 100-90.

WBO #2, IBF #7, WBC #11 super welterweight Josh Kelly (14-1-1, 7 KOs) scored a one-sided twelve round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten WBO #9 Gabriel Corzo (18-1, 3 KOs) on Saturday night at the Vertu Motors Arena in Newcastle, England. 2016 Olympian Kelly pressed the action while Corza tried to jab and move. The harder punches were landed by Kelly, who won by scores of 117-110, 120-107, 120-107. Kelly retains his WBO international belt.

WBA #11, IBF #14 light heavyweight Conor Wallace (11-1, 8 KOs) knocked out Mat “The Machine” Sheehan (10-2, 7 KOs) in the first round on Saturday night at the Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Wallace dropped Sheehan with a left hand. Sheehan beat the count, but Wallace pounced immediately and blasted him to the canvas again to end it. Time was 2:10. The WBA Oceania, IBF Pan Pacific, and WBC Australasia titles were on the line.

By TMZ.com

WBA “regular” lightweight champion Gervonta Davis is a free man once again … he’s just been released from jail, TMZ Sports has confirmed. A Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services spokesperson said the star boxer got out of the Baltimore detention center Friday afternoon.

In celebration of the occasion, the 29-year-old took to his Twitter account to post a saluting emoji.

Davis had been behind bars due to his alleged role in a 2020 hit-and-run car crash … where he was accused of running a red light and slamming into a Toyota, before fleeing the scene. Continue reading “Tank Davis released”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten three-division champ “Monster” Naoya Inoue participated in a public workout on Saturday prior to his shot at the WBC, WBO 122-pound belt against Stephen Fulton on July 25. Naoya said, “By moving up from 118 to 122 pounds, I feel more comfortable, stronger and sharper. I’ve also improved my speed.”

After skipping rope and before shadow boxing, his manager/promoter Hideyuki Ohashi abruptly told him to stop training not to show it to the trainers of Team Fulton in attendance since Fulton displayed nothing yesterday. The psychological warfare has already begun.

More Photos

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

WBC, WBO 122-pound champion Stephen Fulton stunned the Japanese press people with his brief workout on Friday in Yokohama, Japan. It lasted only 2 minutes 45 seconds, and he left Ohashi Gym, saying, “I don’t like to show my training.” A public workout is a customary event to cooperate with the publicity of a boxing event, but he didn’t actually show anything to the press at all. He just did shadow boxing for a minute, hit punching ball for thirty seconds and landed only three to the punching bag. Fulton said, “Naoya Inoue’s best asset is his excellent timing in punching rather than his power punching. But I’ll be able to outbox him by fighting intelligently.”

More Photos

Frank Martin 135 vs. Artem Harutyunyan 134.6
(WBC lightweight title eliminator)

Elvis Rodríguez 141.8 vs. Viktor Postol 141.6
Freudis Rojas, Jr. 146 vs. Diego Sanchez 146.6
Quinton Randall 147.25 vs. Willie Jones 148
Justin Cardona 134.25 vs. Ángel Barrera 133.4
Anthony Cuba 134.4 vs. Ángel Rebollar 134.4
Alex Holley 146.6 vs. Michael De La Cruz 146.8

Venue: The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
Promoter: TGB Promotions
TV: Showtime

By Boxing Bob Newman

Greg Outlaw 146 vs. Juan Angelo 145
Mansaborie Conde 166 vs. Vatali Gubkin 161
Ahmad Jones 140 vs. Mark Meshura 141
Jaqeem Hutcherson 121 vs. Vit Y 117
Frankie Scarborough 132 vs. Darel Harris 132
Gerry Robinson 134 vs. Ronald Thomas 136
MicahTerrill 175 vs. Williams 175
Nick. Battaglia 113 vs. Justin Benitez 112
Jeff Glossner 140 vs. Joshua Delgadillo 140
Mehki Phillips 134 vs. Phillip Agnew 135

Venue: Live Casino and Hotel Hanover MD
Promoter: Christen and Tony Jeter
Matchmaker: Nick Tiberi

Alycia Baumgardner 129.4 vs. Christina Linardatou 129.8
(undisputed female super featherweight title)

Andy Cruz 134.6 vs. Juan Carlos Burgos 134.2
(IBF international lightweight title)

Jermaine Franklin 241.2 vs. Issac Munoz 257.4

Ja’Rico O’Quinn 121.2 vs. Carlos Mujica 122.6
Jemarco Holloway 141.8 vs. Angelo Snow 143.6
Cameron Pankey 123.6 vs. Misael Reyes 123.6
Joseph Hicks 167.6 vs. Ramses Agaton 169.8
Joshua James Pagan 146.2 vs. Gabriel Smith 147.4

Venue: Masonic Temple, Detroit
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN

IBF mandatory world title challenger Filip Hrgovic (15-0, 12 KOs) will clash with Australia’s undefeated contender Demsey McKean (22-0, 14 KO) on the undercard of the August 12 Joshua-Whyte rematch at The O2 in London and shown exclusively live on DAZN around the world and on DAZN PPV in the UK and Ireland.

In addition, unbeaten heavyweight Johnny “The Romford Bull” Fisher (9-0, 8 KOs) faces Harry Armstrong (5-1-1, 0 KOs) for a regional belt.

Filip Hrgovic: “The heavyweight champions cannot avoid me any longer and once I have defeated Demsey McKean on August 12, they will have no other option but to face me. I have waited patiently and bided my time but the game is up, ‘El Animal’ is coming for you and is ready to take the belts back to Croatia. McKean will be a tough and strong opponent, but he has never faced anyone as powerful and skillful as me. August 12, at The O2 in London, is the night the heavyweight division starts to change.”

Demsey McKean: “This is what it’s all about, the big fights. I’ve been grinding a big portion of my life for a fight like this. I’m one win away from fighting Usyk for four world titles. This is my world title fight.”

Josh Kelly 154 vs. Gabriel Corzo 152.12
(WBO International super welterweight title)

Steven Robinson 244.2 vs. Franklin Ignatius 241
Codie Smith 126.6 vs. Francisco Rodriguez 125
Qais Ashfaq 129.12 vs. Liam Dillon 129.6
Ben Marksby 143.8 vs. Ricardo Fernandez 140.4
Chloe Watson 113.9 vs. Belen Valdebenito 113.14
Troy Williamson 160.3 vs. Ramiro Blanco 161.13
Samuel Antwi 153.4 vs. Ruben Angulo 155.3
Tom Summerbell TBA vs. Dimitri Protkanus TBA
Kai Richmond 134 vs. Karl Sampson 133.14
Owen Rees 142.1 vs. Marius Istrate 139.5
Oliver Zaren 168 vs. Jay Byrne 168.10

Venue: Vertu Motors Arena in Newcastle, England
Promoter: Wasserman Boxing
TV: DAZN

R and B Promotions will be back at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia on Saturday night. In a six-round main event, Daiyann Butt (14-2, 7 KOs) of Philadelphia battles Michael Crain (5-6-2, 1 KO) in a junior welterweight fight.

In four-round bouts, Tahmir Smalls (9-0, 6 KOs) of Philadelphia takes on Andres Viera (11-5, 8 KOs) of Montevideo, Uruguay in a welterweight clash. Also Oluwafemi Oyeleye (12-0, 6 KOs) of Los Angeles takes on former world title challenger Javier Maciel (34-20, 23 KOs) of Buenos Aries, Argentina in a junior middleweight fight.

By TMZ.com

Undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney was arrested on Thursday morning following a night out in Hollywood … after cops say they found a semi-automatic handgun in his car during a routine traffic stop.

The 30-0 fighter — who’s coming off a huge win over Vasiliy Lomachenko — was out at Catch L.A. on Wednesday … when just minutes after he left the hotspot around midnight, law enforcement tells TMZ Sports cops pulled over his ride due to an unsafe lane change and a failure to use turn signal.

According to authorities, Haney was not driving … but the person who was told officers during the stop there was a firearm inside of the ride. Continue reading “Devin Haney Arrested”

Alycia Baumgardner (14-1, 7 KOs) defends her undisputed super featherweight title against Christina Linardatou (14-2, 6 KOs) on Saturday night at the Masonic Temple in Detroit, live worldwide on DAZN. Baumgardner is looking to avenge her only pro defeat.

Alycia Baumgardner: “This is a full-circle moment for me. I am looking at her and picturing myself at our first fight, and knowing who I am now, the growth that was necessary to get to this moment, I’m a completely different fight now and she will see that on Saturday.”

Christina Linardatou: “It’s such a great opportunity for me, it’s something any boxer dreams of – the biggest thing a boxer can achieve. She’s already done it, but I have beaten her once and I will do it again.”

In other action, Andy Cruz makes his professional debut at lightweight against Juan Carlos Burgos for the IBF International title, heavyweight contender Jermaine Franklin (21-2, 14 KOs) faces Issac Munoz (17-0-1, 14 KOs) over ten rounds, and local featherweight Ja’Rico O’Quinn (15-1-1, 8 KOs) meets Carlos Mujica (8-2, 2 KOs).

A bout between Richardson Hitchins and Montana Love was postponed.

Unbeaten lightweight Frank “The Ghost” Martin had the press all to himself at the final press conference for Saturday’s WBC title eliminator at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Opponent Artem Harutyunyan was unable to attend as he was tending to some requirements of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Frank Martin: “I’m gonna do what ghosts do, I’m gonna spook the whole division. It’s gonna be a dominant performance. I’m gonna come out strong. I’m not looking past Artem, but he’s in the way of me getting the big fights. It’s anybody. I stay in the gym so I’m always ready for the top names. Continue reading “Martin-Harutyunyan Final Press Conference”

Unbeaten heavyweight contender Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson (15-0, 14 KOs) will take on Andriy Rudenko (35-6, 21 KOs) in the 10-round main event on August 26 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The 23-year-old slugger will make his third 2023 appearance less than two months after defeating former world champion Charles Martin in front of 7,234 hometown fans in Toledo. ESPN will televise.

Bob Arum: “This is another great test for Jared. When you watch him fight, you are seeing a future heavyweight champion of the world. Rudenko is a crafty veteran who has been in there with some top guys. The fans at Hard Rock Tulsa are in for a real treat.” Continue reading “Anderson-Rudenko lands in Oklahoma”