Fightnews.com

Don King’s newly signed welterweight Blair “The Flair” Cobbs (16-1-1, 10 KOs) has officially teamed up with boxing coach Justin Gamber.

“I’m really liking the way things are going with Coach Justin,” stated Cobbs, who is training out of Las Vegas. “We’re putting in the work, day in and day out, and I can feel myself improving with each session. Together, I believe we’re unstoppable.”

A fight with Adrien Broner is being worked out behind the scenes and an announcement on who Blair Cobbs will fight next will be revealed shortly. Wooooooooooo!

By Boxing Bob Newman

Said to report the unexpected passing on Monday, March 22, of former female boxer Alesia Graf. Born Alesia Klimovich in Gomel, Belarus, Graf relocated to Stuttgart, Baden-Würtemburg, Germany and turned pro in 2004. “The Tigress” would rattle off 11th straight wins until running into future Hall of famer. Alicia, Ashley, getting dropped and coming out on the short and of a 10 round split decision. She would challenge for the WBC Super Fly title twice, WBC Bantam title and WBO Super Bantam titles, losing all in hard fought efforts. She would win WIBF and GBU titles along the way, finishing a respectable 29-8, 13 KOs record. Graf was 43 years old. Rest in peace champion.

Joseph Adorno 134.8 vs. Nicholas Walters 133.6
Jesus Saracho 140.2 vs. Starling Castillo 140
Omar Juarez 142.6 vs. Clarence Booth 144
Tristan Gallichan 138.6 vs. Carlos Arroyo 137.4
Terrence Williams 146.6 vs. Lyle McFarlane 147.2

Venue: Whitesands Event Center, Plant City, Florida
Promoter: ProBox
TV: ProBox TV

Golden Boy has officially announced an April 27 boxing doubleheader at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. In the main event, making his Golden Boy debut in front of his hometown crowd, U.S. Olympian and former unified super lightweight world champion Jose Ramirez (28-1, 18 KOs) will return against Rances Barthelemy (30-2-1, 15 KOs). Ramirez will be fighting for the first time since March 2023. The co-feature is undefeated knockout artist Vergil Ortiz Jr. (20-0, 20 KOs) against Thomas Dulorme (26-6-1, 17 KOs) in a 10-round super welterweight fight. Continue reading “April 27 Ramirez/Ortiz twinbill confirmed”

Former WBO super middleweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (45-1, 30 KOs) says he’s planning to duplicate that feat as a cruiserweight this Saturday night against undefeated WBA cruiserweight champion Arsen “Feroz” Goulamirian (21-0, 14 KOs). The bout will be streamed live on DAZN from YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, California.

“I feel comfortable at this weight,” ‘Zurdo’ said. “Naturally, as I got older, it was tougher to make weight and now everything seems to be easier. Like I always say, there’s no better teacher than experience in this life. I’m not training differently as a cruiserweight. I’m always working on the basics of boxing. Going into a higher division, one of the main things is that I’m able to lift heavy and not worry about gaining muscle mass. Continue reading “Zurdo comfortable at cruiserweight”

Liam Wilson (13-2, 7 KOs) is eager to claim his spot among the top fighters in the junior lightweight division. The former world title challenger will take on former two-division world champion Oscar Valdez (31-2, 23 KOs) in a special 12-round attraction this Friday, March 29 on ESPN+ at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

Following a recent training session in Henderson, Nevada, this is what Wilson had to say:

“I’ve had two fights since the Navarrete fight. I feel much more prepared this time around. I’m going back to the same place. I’m much more familiar with the whole atmosphere there. I’m really looking forward to March 29.”

“I think he’s going to want to prove himself in this fight. He wants to show that he still has what it takes to be a world champion. So, while I’m not sure what to expect, I know he is well rounded. You don’t become a two-division world champion by being one-dimensional.” Continue reading “Liam Wilson: I’m Ready For A War”

Legendary boxing promoter Don King has put together “The Quest for the Best,” set to take place on Saturday, April 27, at the Casino Miami Jai-Alai in Miami, Florida. This evening features three regional championship bouts. King commented: “In the ring, there’s no room for hesitation, only domination. ‘The Quest for the Best’ will be a testament to the relentless pursuit of greatness in the squared circle.”

WBA Continental Americas middleweight champion Ian Green (18-2, 12 KOs) faces Roy Barringer (10-4, 6 KOs), NABA/NABF light heavyweight champion Ahmed Elbiali (23-1, 18 KOs) meets undefeated Sergio Jimenez (13-0-1, 11 KOs), and WBC Int’l lightweight champion Antonio Perez (9-0, 5 KOs) risks his title against Oscar Acevedo (9-1).

The evening of boxing also will feature four undercard fights, including DeVon Williams (4-0, 4 KOs) against Julio Tanori (1-1, 1 KO) for the WBC Youth Intercontinental super lightweight title.

Detroit-based boxing promoter and former fighter Dmitriy Salita has been announced as a Class of 2024 Inductee into the Jewish Sports Heritage Association. The JSHA will honor Salita and the rest of this year’s induction class (including former President of HBO Sports, Ross Greenburg) at their Sixth Annual Induction Ceremony on Sunday, April 7, at Temple Israel in Lawrence, N.Y.

“I’m very grateful for this incredible honor,” said Salita. “I started boxing shortly after we immigrated from the Soviet Union (current Ukraine) at Starret City Boxing Club. Through boxing I was able to work towards my American Dream and am grateful that those achievements are now recognized years later. I look forward to an exciting Sunday morning on April 7.”

Sad to report the passing of IBF founder and the organization’s first President Bob Lee. Lee also served as Deputy State Athletic Commissioner of New Jersey under former heavyweight champion Jersey Joe Walcott, and was a vice president of the WBA. He was forced to resign from the IBF due to a pay-for-rankings scandal in 1999. He is a member of the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame.

The Funeral for Bob Lee will be Friday, April 5, 2024 at:
St. James Baptist Church
2387 Morse Avenue
Scotch Plains, NJ
The viewing starts at 10 AM
Service starts at 11 AM
Repast will be at the Church

By Jeff Zimmerman

Hall of Famer Andre “SOG” Ward was in Dallas at Blacklit Bookstore today for a book signing of his new book Killing the Image. After Q&A in the packed house, Ward talked about the book, his verbal sparring with Canelo, Canelo not fighting Benavidez, his take on the stacked 135-140lb divisions and much more.

Toro Promotions’ train of promising heavyweight prospects – undefeated 2020 Ukraine Olympian Tsotne Rogava (6-0, 6 KOs), Alexander “The Great” Flores (19-4-1, 17 KOs) and Kingsley “The Black Lion” Ibeh (12-2-1, 10 KOs) – all turned in knockout performances Saturday night at LumColor Phoenix Center in Ontario, California.

The 6’ 5”, 264-pound Rogava kept his undefeated pro record perfect with his sixth victory in six fights, all won by early knockouts. Rogava absolutely destroyed Antonio Brown (8-5, 8 KOs), dropping him three times in the opening round for his third straight first-round stoppage of an opponent.

Flores rebounded from his 10-round unanimous decision loss to Dante Stone this past January 4 in grand fashion, landing at will and closing the show in the third round against Josue Vargas (5-7-2, 2 KOs).

Ibeh, cousin of former heavyweight contender Ike Ibeabuchi, extended his win streak to seven with a first-round knockout of a game Derek Cardenas (9-12, 2 KOs). Ibeh decked Cardenas twice in round one.

Looks like a heavyweight showdown between recent Joseph Parker victims Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang may be the co-feature for the June 1 clash between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed light heavyweight title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, according to ESPN. Another heavyweight bought between Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois is also reportedly in play.

Unbeaten super lightweight Dalton “Thunder” Smith (16-0, 12 KOs) scored a sudden fifth round knockout against three-time world title challenger Jose “Chon” Zepeda (37-5, 28 KOs) to claim the vacant WBC silver title on Saturday night at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield, England. Competitive fight until Smith connected with a right hand to the belly that put Zepeda on the canvas for the count. Time was 1:25.

WBO female welterweight champion Sandy Ryan (7-1-1, 3 KOs) battered two-division former champion Terri Harper (14-2-2, 6 KOs) over four one-sided rounds. The bout was stopped by Harper’s corner after round four.

Super lightweight Campbell Hatton (14-1, 5 KOs), son of ring legend Ricky Hatton, suffered his first defeat, losing a ten round unanimous decision to Jimmy Joe Flint (14-1-2, 3 KOs). Flint retained his Central Area title by scores of 98-92, 97-94, 97-95.

Unbeaten super welterweight Ishmael Davis (13-0, 6 KOs) scored a twelve round unanimous decision over Troy Williamson (20-3-1, 14 KOs) in a final eliminator for the British title. Scores were 117-111, 116-112, 116-112.

Promoter Kris Lawrence (The Heavyweight Factory) presented an entertaining night of boxing Friday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. In the main event, unbeaten WBA #6 heavyweight and former Cuban amateur heavyweight standout Lenier Pero (11-0, 8 KOs) TKO’d hard-punching 6’10 Donnie Palmer (12-4-1, 10 KOs) of Massachusetts in round one of a scheduled for 10 round bout.

Also middleweight and highly decorarted amateur Yoenlis Hernandez (3-0, 3 KOs) of Cuba dominated in his first ten round bout. He stopped the much more experienced Alfredo Rodolfo Blanco (23-12, 11 Ko’s) of Argentina in round one.

Complete card results to follow

Tsotne Rogava 264.4 vs. Antonio Brown 231
Alexander “The Great” Flores 260 vs. Josue Vargas 235
Kingsley the Black Lion” Ibeh 299.4 vs. Derek Cardenas 285.4

Venue: LumColor Phoenix Center in Ontario, California
Promoter: Toro Promotions

Alejandro Paulino 134 vs. Estivan Falcao 137
(WBC silver US lightweight title)

Wilson Mascarenhas 141 vs. Braulio Rodriguez 141
Kevin Walsh 135 vs. Matt Doherty 133
Jalen Renaud 152 vs. Josniel Castro 152
Kinjo Espada 148 vs. Jeff Gonzalez 150
Tevin Regis 134 vs. Davhon Shelton 133
Jacob Marrero 135 vs. Jonathan Conde 135
Melanie Costa 125 vs. Sarah Click 126

Venue: Bally’s Twin River Lincoln Casino
Promoter: CES Boxing
TV: Swerve Combat TV

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with the undefeated, rising star, super lightweight and #2 2023 Prospect of The Year per Ring Magazine, Tito Mercado Jr., as he returns to the ring against veteran Deiner Berrio on Friday, April 5, as the headliner on DAZN. Mercado talked about his upcoming fight as well as the stacked 140lb division and a desire to fight the top guys, especially Devin Haney. He shared his thoughts on Canelo-Mungia, Tyson-Paul and much more in this exclusive interview.

Epic Sports & Entertainment announced today that Ihor (“The Hulk”) Shevadzutskyi (11-1, 9 KOs) will now face Kubrat “The Cobra” Pulev (30-3, 14 KOs) in a 12 rounder on March 30 at the Arena Sofia in Sofia, Bulgaria for the WBA International heavyweight title, replacing WBA heavyweight champion Mahmoud Charr (34-4, 20 KOs) who sustained a tear to the distal tendon of his bicep while sparring earlier this week and underwent surgery yesterday. Continue reading “Charr injured, new opponent for Pulev”

Unbeaten WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu and all-action Sebastian “The Towering Inferno” Fundora went face to face for the first time on Thursday, at a media workout before they meet for Tszyu’s WBO and the vacant WBC 154-pound world titles headlining a Prime Video PPV on March 30 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The media workout also featured WBA super lightweight champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero, who takes on Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz in the co-main event, plus WBA middleweight champion Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara and #1 rated mandatory challenger Michael Zerafa.

Here is what the fighters had to say Thursday from Split T Boxing Club in Las Vegas:

Tim Tszyu: “This is a unification now, so I’m very grateful for that. It’s a legacy-defining type of fight. I just have to keep doing what I’m doing and one day they’ll say that the Tszyu family is the best to ever step into this boxing world…my message to the fans is definitely don’t blink during this one.”

Sebastian Fundora: “I’m just going to keep focusing on what I need to do. My original opponent Serhii Bohachuk has a lot of similarities to Tim Tszyu, so it’s no difference for me. If I stick to my plan, I’ll be successful…I want to win this fight, become unified champion and keep going from there. We want to keep moving up.”

Rolly Romero: “Cruz takes punches because he has to, it’s because he has no other option in his game. This fight is gonna be an explosion and a Mexican slugfest. I’m gonna beat him at his own game.”

Erislandy Lara: “I’ve stayed focused on everything that’s in my control and I’ve used my training camp to make sure there won’t be any rust when that bell rings…I don’t need to send a message to Michael Zerafa, he knows he has to be ready on March 30. We’ll be ready for him.”

Michael Zerafa: “I’m ready to shock the world and make a statement…I have a lot of respect for Lara, but I truly believe this fight is not going the distance. Everyone I’ve fought has said I have ridiculous power and I will show it on March 30.”

Dalton Smith 139.6 vs. Jose Zepeda 139.6
(WBC silver super lightweight title)

Sandy Ryan 146.2 vs. Terri Harper 145.9
(WBO female welterweight title)

Campbell Hatton 139.7 vs. James Flint 139
Ishmael Davis 153.8 vs. Troy Williamson 158.2
Nico Leivars 121.3 vs. Piotr Mirga 121.1
Liam Cameron 174.8 vs. Hussein Itaba 173.3
Emmanuel Buttigieg 157.2 vs. Bartlomiej Stryczek 156
Connan Murray 158 vs. Edgar Kemsky 156.6

Date: Saturday, March 23
Venue: Utilita Arena, Sheffield, England
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN

Lenier Pero 248.8 vs. Donnie Palmer 308.4
Yoenlis Hernandez 158.8 vs. Alfredo Rodolfo Blanco 158.4
Yosdiel Napoles 134.6 vs. Yesner Talavera 138
Montaser Ontaser Aboughaly 147.4 vs. Raul Garcia Jr. 149.4
Alexander Hernandez 160 vs. Gustavo Franca 161.2
Mohamed Hammaoui 163.6 vs. Milton Volter 175.2
Kamar Bray 147.8 vs. Ramon De La Cruz Sena 146.4

Date: Friday, March 22
Venue: The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida
Promoter: Kris Lawrence (The Heavyweight Factory)

Lawrence Okolie will challenge Lukasz Rozanski for the WBC bridgerweight championship on Friday, May 24th at the Podpromie Arena in Rzeszow, Poland, live on Sky Sports in the UK and Peacock in the USA. Former WBO cruiserweight king Okolie bids to become a two-weight world ruler by taking on the undefeated Rozanski in the champion’s backyard.

Lawrence Okolie: “I’m excited to go to Poland and test myself yet again on away ground. Rozanski is a good champion, with an explosive style, but I’m coming to do some serious damage. He has never seen power like mine.”

Lukasz Rozanski: “I’m defending my World Title in my own backyard, in my city, fighting against a former World Champion. It’s a fantastic fight, for moments like these, I’ve trained hard all my life.”

By Bob Ryder

Albert Bell 131 vs Jonathan Romero 131
(10 Round Main Event. Bell currently ranked #1 by WBO)

Antwan Jones 179 vs Vicente Martin Rodriguez 176.5 8 Rounds
James Evans 227 vs Dennis Vance 280 6 Rounds
Angelo Snow 147 vs Ryan Venable 145 4 Rounds
David Craddock 138 vs Kevin Walker 134.5 4 Rounds
Justin Spalding 155.5 vs Johnny Morrison 159 4 Rounds
Jeffrey Hudson 118 vs Khendal Moore 119 4 Rounds

Venue: Glass City Center, Toledo, Ohio
Doors open Friday night at 7 PM with first fight at 8 PM
Promoter: Vick Green (Pulse Boxing)
Tickets at door and Ticketmaster.com

Former world title challenger and WBA #4 rated middleweight Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna (37-5, 16 KOs) will fight for the WBA gold middleweight title against WBA #9 super welterweight Johan “Chelo Manotas” Gonzalez (34-2, 33 KOs) in a twelve-round bout on Saturday, June 8 at Bally’s Atlantic City. The event is being promoted by Main Events in association with LaManna’s Rising Star Promotions.

“Working with Main Events is a real honor,” said LaManna. “We’ve been talking about a fight like this for months, almost a year. Thankfully Main Events can see my mission and they can see my drive between fighting and promoting and I’m glad they got behind mean they are taking a chance with me and I’m looking forward to continuing with them in the future.” Continue reading “LaManna to fight for WBA gold”