Boesel to defend WBO Youth belt

Photos: Team SES

WBO Youth light heavyweight champion Dominic Boesel (11-0-0, 4 KOs) returns June 14 to defend his belt against Chris Mafuta (12-3, 6 KOs) at the Stadthalle in Weißenfels, Germany. Also on the card are Boesel’s teammates from SES Boxing’s new “Team Germany” consisting of up-and-coming German hopefuls.

Dominic Boesel: “It’s a huge thing to be able to box in this area. The atmosphere will be crazy. I’m very proud of my title and I won’t give it away. I respect my opponent. Chris as a good boxer, but I don’t need to talk much. I feel very sure.”

Chris Mafuta: “I take the fight very seriously. Dominic will be surprised how fit I will be.” (more…)

Melendez, Vidal headline June 7

Miguel Cotto Promotions and H2 Entertainment will present a ShoBox card on June 7th at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York, headlined by rising stars and power punchers Jorge “Destroyer” Melendez (26-2-1, 25 KOs) and undefeated Jonathan “Pitbull” Vidal (17-0, 9 KOs). WBO Super welterweight Latino champion Melendez will face Mexican puncher Luis Grajeda (14-1, 10KO’s) in a 10-round bout main event. Unbeaten bantamweight Vidal also will face undefeated Mexican Mario Muñoz (13-0, 10 KOs) in an eight round fight co-main event. (more…)

Interview: George Foreman

By Jeff Zimmerman
Photo: Robert Hughes

Fightnews.com caught up with legendary former heavyweight world champion George Foreman and his son George Foreman IV (aka Big Wheel) at the recent Mikey Garcia vs. Juanma Lopez press conference in Dallas.

On getting his boys in the business
It’s my boys getting ready to form Foreman Boys Productions and getting a little guidance from someone that has been doing it forever. Can you believe I remember when he was just a rookie himself, Bob Arum and now all of sudden he is the expert. He was the one that would go around asking what to do, now he’s the one that everyone follows around on what to do, I am happy if I can align my boys with him and myself to put on some good quality boxing.

Comparing winning a world title or Olympic gold to working with his boys
It’s family business and there is no pleasure like doing work in the family business, greatest pleasure. (more…)

Gavronski Headlines May 18

By Sam DiTusa

Middleweight prospect Mike Gavronski headlines on May 18th as Roy Englebrecht Promotions presents its second installment of “Fight Club Northwest” at the Little Creek Casino & Resort in Shelton, Washington. Gavronski (11-0-1, 8 KOs) faces Tyrone Selders (8-5, 5 KOs) in the scheduled main event. Gavronski has been racking up wins in Washington and his adopted home of Chicago in the past year and he sees this fight as a real barometer in his progress. (more…)

Tomlinson-Klassen officials

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

Pete Podgorski from Chicago will be the third man in the ring when IBO 130 pound champion Will Tomlinson defends against South African Malcolm Klassen on Thursday at The Melbourne Pavillion in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Judges are Robert Hoyle (USA), Steve Scott (New Zealand) and Gary Dean (Australia). Supervisor is Phil Austin (Australia).

Top model Ogleidis Suarez new WBA regular champ

By Gabriel F. Cordero

Venezuelan glamour model and female boxing champion Ogleidis “La Niña” Suárez was declared new WBA “regular” female featherweight champion after “Defector Girl Boxer” Hyun-mi Choi of South Korea gave up the belt to campaign at super featherweight. Choi made the last defense of her crown against American Shannon O’Connell whom he defeated by unanimous decision on May 8 at the KBS Sports World, Seoul, South Korea. In all, she made seven successful defenses of the WBA world title she won in her pro debut.

Suarez is expected to defend the belt in the summer. She is a world boxing champion, professional model, actress, sports commentator, television presenter and professional dancer.

Boxing Buzz

Mike Tyson and Marvelous Marvin Hagler will be honored by the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame induction dinner Nov. 14 in Garfield, N.J. More

Heavyweight Chris Arreola is recovering from nose surgery performed on Friday. The contender suffered a broken nose in his April bout with Bermane Stiverne.

Lee Purdy is looking to make a “big statement” against Devon Alexander when the two meet on Saturday for the IBF welterweight title. More

Mares receives WBC belt, calls out Rigondeaux

By Gabriel F. Cordero
Photo: Alma Montiel

On Tuesday in Mexico City, WBC President Jose Sulaiman presented a champion’s belt to world featherweight champion Abner Mares after his victory against reigning titleholder champion Daniel Ponce De Leon.

“I have really wanted to fight in my country, for my people and now I don’t care so much about the money. I want to fight the best and I am ready to face Guillermo Rigondeaux among others,” stated Mares.

Weights from New York City

Andy Lee 161 vs. Daryl Cunningham 162
Delen Parsley 161 vs. Louis Rose 162
Lamar Russ 162.2 vs. Russell Jordan 162
Tor Hamer 229 vs. Maurenzo Smith 244
Neuky Santalesis 131 vs. Aaron Chavez 129
Jay Rodriguez 195 vs. Andre Ward 199
Angel Suarez 128 vs. Eliezer Agosto 128
Louis Cruz 139 vs. Michael Carreras 141

Venue: BB King Blues Club, NYC
Promoter: DiBella Entertainment

Zou Shiming Returning To Macao on July 27

Chapter two of the Zou Shiming era will begin when the two-time Olympic gold medallist and three-time amateur world champion returns to the ring and headlines an exciting card featuring two world championship fights on July 27 at The Venetian Macao’s Cotai Arena. Zou, who now campaigns as a flyweight, will be graduating to a six-round bout when he faces Jesus Ortega (3-1, 2 KOs) from Hermosillo, México.

In addition to Zou’s return, the event line-up includes an undercard highlighted by two 12-round world championship fights. WBO/WBA flyweight champion Juan Estrada (22-2, 17 KOs), of Hermosillo, México, will be making the first defense of the titles he won from Brian Viloria on April 6 at the CotaiArena. Estrada will be facing undefeated Milan Melindo (28-0, 11 KOs), of Manadue, Philippines. Melindo, the number one contender and mandatory challenger, earned his shot at the title by knocking out once-beaten Tommy Seran in the fourth round on the April 6 card. Undefeated IBF featherweight champion Evgeny Gradovich (16-0, 8 KOs), a native of Russia, now fighting from Oxnard, California, will be making his first title defense against #1 contender and mandatory challenger Mauricio Muñoz (26-3, 12 KOs), of San Juan, Argentina. Gradovich captured the world title on March 1 when he dethroned defending champion Billy Dib via a split decision. Muñoz earned his title shot by defeating previously unbeaten contender Luis Franco in his last fight, October 13, 2012. The international telecast will open with a 10-round heavyweight rumble between undefeated contenders Andy Ruiz, Jr. (18-0, 12 KOs), of Mexicali, Mexico, and Joe Hanks (21-0, 14 KOs), of Los Angeles. (more…)

Narh replaces injured Herrera

Hard-hitting Ray Narh steps in against Ronald Cruz in a scheduled 10-round welterweight fight on Friday evening, June 14, at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem. The match-up is part of a triple header telecast on NBC Sports Network Fight Night beginning 8PM ET. The Narh-Cruz contest is part of the big NBC Sports Network Fight Night series tripleheader. On tap are a pair of-world class fights featuring heavyweight contender Bryant Jennings, of Philadelphia, PA, against Andrey Fedosov, of Shuya, Russia, in a 10-round contest and Sergey Kovalev, of Chelyabinsk, Russia, against Cornelius White, of Houston, TX, in a 12-round fight for the #1 slot in the IBF world light-heavyweight rankings.

Narh, 34, steps in for Jaime Herrera, of Franklin Park, IL. Herrera suffered a lower back injury last week while training to face Cruz. He will be on the shelf for six weeks. A pro since 2001, Narh is 25-2, 21 knockouts, but has not fought since May 7, 2011, when he was stopped in three rounds by Mike Alvarado, of Denver, CO, on the Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley card at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV.

WADA increases the marijuana tolerance

By Gabriel F. Cordero

The World Anti-Doping Agency has announced a decision to increase the tolerance of tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in marijuana, seeking to reduce the number of cases for recreational use of this substance. The modification in the regulation elevates the detection limit required for testing positive from 15 nanograms per milli-liter to 150 nanograms.

One of the highest profile cases in recent times was that of former world champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr after his match against Sergio Maravilla Martinez, held in September last year. Junior was suspended and socked with a $900,000 fine after testing positive.

Big thanks to Mikko for his help on this story.

New headliner for May 17 Ontario, CA boxing show

The super bantamweight match up between Efrain Esquivias and Roberto Castañeda has been postponed but the rest of the card will go on as planned. The news of the foiled fight between the two pugilists was received late last night when Thompson Boxing’s General Manager/Matchmaker Alex Camponovo received a call from Castañeda’s manager, Juan Bosco Wave, informing him that Castañeda had fallen victim to an attempted car jacking in Mexicali, Mexico, and suffered lacerations to his right cheekbone, which required stitching, and injuries to his upper lip.

“We are glad to hear that besides the injuries and being shaken up by the events, Roberto Castañeda is fine and will resume his training as soon as possible,” said Camponovo from his Orange County based office. “It was a good main event, now it will be slated for one of our summer shows; I feel bad for Efrain Esquivias but there is nothing we can do with situations like this.”

The newly featured main event of the evening showcases Riverside’s Richard “El Terminador” Contreras (10-1-1, 9 KOs) in an 8-round featherweightforagefor victory against Houston’s Victor Sanchez (4-6-1, 1 KO). Contreras seeks to build momentum to the recent victory that he earned on the May 2nd ESPN undercard of Herrera-Kim.

Robert Guerrero firearm possession charges dismissed in connection with March 28 New York City arrest

Early today, Six-Time and Four-Division World Champion Robert Guerrero appeared in New York State Supreme Court for Queens County where all firearm possession charges were dismissed in connection with his March 28 arrest at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. Guerrero pled guilty to disorderly conduct, a violation and not a crime, was fined $250 and ordered to complete 50 hours of community service which he will be allowed to perform in his home state of California. (more…)

Sauerland says Holm rejected career-best purse

Promoter Nisse Sauerland has made it known that he made U.S. female boxing icon Holly Holm (33-2-3, 9 KOs) an undisclosed offer to fight undefeated WBA, WBC & WBO female welterweight champion Cecilia Braekhus (22-0, 6 KOs) and Holm again refused to get in the ring with the First Lady. “Our US representative Don Majewski was at Holm´s fight in Albuquerque last weekend,” Sauerland said. “He negotiated with her promoter Lenny Fresquez afterwards and made them another offer to stage the women´s fight of the century. We would have come to Las Vegas and we would have paid Holm the biggest purse of her career. Unfortunately, she turned us down again, claiming she wants to focus on her MMA career instead. That´s very disappointing and it confirms once again what we have been saying for a long time – that Holm is scared of fighting Cecilia because she knows she can´t keep up with her. We will now explore other options for Cecilia, of which there are plenty. She will be back in the ring after the summer break to continue her domination of women´s boxing.”

Promoter Dennis Hobson plans to take Jamie McDonnell to U.S, says American fans will “love” the new IBF bantam champ

By James Slater

Promoter Dennis Hobson is rightfully proud of his fighter, new IBF bantamweight ruler Jamie McDonnell, and he has big plans for the Doncaster warrior. Fresh off the 27-year-old’s upset points win over previously unbeaten Mexican puncher Julio Ceja, Hobson plans to show off his new champion to cable giant HBO, with the ultimate aim being to make McDonnell a star in America.

“The Americans will love him,” Hobson said of McDonnell, 21-2-1(9) in speaking with South Yorkshire Times. “When I go to HBO in a few weeks and take a DVD of the fight [with Ceja] they’ll be all over him. They’re looking for another superstar over there and we’ve got one. (more…)

Interview: Bob Arum

By Jeff Zimmerman
Photo: Robert Hughes

Fightnews.com caught up with Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum at the recent Mikey Garcia vs. Juanma Lopez press conference in Dallas.

On coming back to Dallas after two big fights with Manny Pacquiao at Cowboy Stadium
Dallas is a good, good sports town. This is a great facility. We had a great experience when we did those two fights with Jerry Jones and we’re very pro Texas. We love doing fights whether it’s San Antonio, Houston or Austin a couple weeks ago. There are a lot of boxing fans here in Texas and this is the right place for outstanding card that we are going to have June 15th.

On the fan base in Dallas to support boxing
Does Dallas have a fairly large Hispanic community? The answer is yes. What is the most popular sport among Hispanics in this country? Boxing. So obviously there’s a base. (more…)

Injured Haye withdraws from June 29 bout with Charr

Hayemaker Boxing has announced that David Haye has withdrawn from his proposed June 29 bout with Manuel Charr due to a hand injury picked up in training. The injury to his left hand occurred on Sunday evening and left the former WBA world heavyweight champion with no option but to postpone his impending return to the ring. “I’m absolutely gutted to have to pull out of this fight on June 29,” he said. “I pick up injuries now and again in training, and sometimes carry them into fights, but this was one I simply couldn’t recover from in time. I need to rest it up for at least four weeks. “I apologise to Manuel Charr and to everybody involved with the promotion. But most of all I want to say sorry to the thousands of fans who bought tickets to the fight. I felt it was important to let them know about the cancellation as soon as possible, so they can now make other plans. “As soon as I am told I can resume full training, my loyal fans will be the first to know.” Tickets can be refunded from their point of sale.

“Atomic Bull” McCall medically cleared and ready to deliver big win in Poland

By Przemek Garczarczyk in Warsaw, Poland

“I feel great,” says former WBC champion “Atomic Bull” McCall (56-12, 37 KOs). “I feel ready, forget my 48 years, just like you forgetting Bernard Hopkins age now and George Foreman before.

“I’m truly blessed. Five days before the fight, I’m 246 pounds of energy, more than 30 pounds less than when I fought my last bout, a ten round fight with Francesco Pianeta. The same Pianeta who just competed for three heavyweight world titles. This Polish kid stands no chance – no chance against my power and experience” McCall stated just days before his May 18 fight in Warsaw, Polande. “This is the best I am in years. I had a full, 5-week training camp and I’m sure that I have 2-3 great fights in me. But the most important is this one.” (more…)

Maidana-Lopez Press Conference

By Miguel Maravilla
Photos: Gene Blevins – Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Promotions

Argentinian slugger Marcos “El Chino” Maidana (33-3, 30 KOs) and Riverside’s Josesito Lopez (30-5, 18 KOs) kicked off the press conference for their welterweight showdown Monday afternoon at the Fonda Restaurant in Los Angeles. They will square off on June 8 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

“June 8 will be a great boxing event,” Oscar de la Hoya said in kicking off the press conference. “Both fights will position themselves for a world title as you know there are big names in those weight divisions. We should have called this card ‘high stakes’ because the winners will possibly be in line for a world title.”

Nonetheless both camps are ready and are expecting a tough task as Lopez and Maidana’s trainers shared their thoughts to the media. (more…)

Tomlinson returns Thursday

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

WBO #3, WBA #7, WBC #10, IBF #9 Will Tomlinson (20-0-1, 12 KOs) will defend the IBO 130 pound title against Malcolm Klassen (27-5-2, 14 KOs) of South Africa over twelve rounds on Thursday at The Melbourne Pavillion, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Tomlinson is in the best shape of his career and is ready for a tough fight.

Tomlinson’s trainer Lincoln Hudson said, “Klassen’s record speaks for itself and I don’t know how the bookies can say Will is a red-hot favourite. I don’t know if people realise how good this boxer is. It is by far Will’s toughest fight.” (more…)

IBF Convention in Berlin next week

By Boxing Bob Newman

The IBF 30th annual convention will kick off in one week at the Hotel Concorde in historic Berlin, Germany. The convention will run from May 21-25 and will include the following agenda: (more…)

Phil Doherty remembers Johnny Bos

By Phil Doherty

The toughest, most honest fighter I will ever meet in boxing died Saturday–fight night, of course. He didn’t toil between the ropes like the legions of young men he managed, matched, promoted and protected. He didn’t have to.

If you knew Johnny Bos, you knew his suffering. Whether you acknowledged it and him was what separated his friends from his foes.

And he had plenty of both. (more…)

Boxing Buzz

Eighteen-year-old and two-year pro Dusty Hernandez-Harrison (14-0, 8 Kos) is gearing up for his fight against Eddie Soto (12-6, 4 Kos) in Washington. More

Ricardo Mayorga’s pro MMA debut and controversial victory last weekend has been overturned to a no-contest. His match, against Wesley Tiffer, was originally ruled a TKO at the end of the second, after landing a blatant illegal knee to Tiffer’s spine.

Martin Scorcese is looking to produce a movie based on the life of Rhode Island boxing legend Vinny Paz. More

Pungluang captures WBO Int title

By Damrong Simakajornboon
Photos: Onesongchai Boxing Promotion

Former WBO bantamweight titleholder Pungluang Sor Singyu (44-2, 29 KOs) easily captured the vacant WBO international 118lb title when he destroyed Juma Fundi (19-9-1,9KOs) with a vicious right hook, scoring a KO at 1:22 of round two. With this impressive victory, promoter Pariyakorn Ratanasuban said that she is now trying to negotiate with Paulus Ambunda’s team for promoting a WBO championship rematch which may occur at the early part of 2014.

In other action, WBO #4 flyweight Kwanpichit Onesongchaigym (22-0-1, 9 KOs) scored a fifth round TKO over Alexis Tarek. Former WIBA women title challenger Ploynapa Sakrungrueng (9-3-1) drew with Nongnun Sor Praithong in a six round non-title bout. Paithong Muangsima outpointed Susu Sithjadaeng in a six round non-title bout.

This event was promoted by Pariyakorn Ratanasuban of Onesongchai Boxing Promotion last Friday at Nongbua School in Nakornsawan Province, Thailand. photos