Fightnews.com

By Brad Snyder – The Undercard

Heavyweight Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson (14-0, 14 KOs) and former world champion “Prince” Charles Martin (29-3-1, 26 KOs) faced off at the final press conference for Saturday’s ESPN-televised clash at Toledo’s Huntington Center.

Jared Anderson: “I come prepared for anything and everything. Luckily, he is still a southpaw. I think that was the biggest reason that we chose him after the change. He’s also a bigger name. He is a former world champion. He has fought a few world titleholders as well. I’m prepared for everything. It didn’t throw a monkey wrench in the plan, but it definitely made us go back to the drawing board, look at the tapes, and come back with a plan.”

Charles Martin: “I was happy when I got the call. I had been putting in a lot of work, so I was happy that the hard work was finally paying off. I’ve dedicated myself fully. I leave no stones unturned. You can’t do that in this game…I’m up for the challenge. He’s a big, strong, young lion. And I’m here.”

* * *

In the 10-round heavyweight co-feature, Montreal-based wrecking ball Arslanbek Makhmudov (16-0, 15 KOs) takes on Nigeria’s Raphael Akpejiori (15-0, 14 KOs).

Arslanbek Makhmudov: “Camp was good. Everything was great. I just can’t wait for it to be Saturday so I can perform…I came here to compete against the best and become the champion of the world. That’s my goal, my target and my dream.”

Raphael Akpejiori: “This is the best guy I will have faced. But to be a champion, you have to go through some fire. And I have put myself in line to go through that fire. All I have to do is listen to the ‘Road Warrior’ (Glen Johnson) and do everything we’ve done in camp.”

Heavyweight giants Zhilei Zhang (25-1-1, 20 KOs) and Joe Joyce (15-1, 14 KOs) are all set for a highly anticipated rematch at the OVO Arena, Wembley on Saturday 23 September 23 on TNT Sports (currently known as BT Sport until July 18). Big Bang Zhang and Juggernaut Joyce first collided in mid-April at the Copper Box Arena, where it was Zhang who left the venue in possession of the WBO interim heavyweight world championship strap. Referee Howard Foster stopped the fight in the sixth round due to the heavy swelling around the right eye of defending champion Joyce.

Zhilei Zhang: “I created history last time and I believe the best way to inherit history is to create new ones. I look at the rematch as if it was a new fight; I look at Joe Joyce as if I never fought him before. I started from zero and this is the new self.”

Joe Joyce: “I’m coming back to take back what’s mine and I am leaving everything in that ring. No compromises. No underestimating my opponent. Nothing, but a win. Last time out I lost my undefeated professional record. It was hard to take. But after the dust settled, all that will do is make me better. I’ve learned lessons. I’m ready. And I am coming for everything.”

Promoter Frank Warren: “This is a fight with high stakes written all over it. The first fight in April was the best heavyweight fight made this year and I am expecting more of the same at the OVO Arena on September 23. Continue reading “Zhang-Joyce II set for Sept 23”

Former WBC light flyweight champion Pedro “Pedrin” Guevara (40-3, 22 KOs), now competing at super flyweight, scored a one-sided ten round unanimous decision over Miguel “Joyita” Herrera (22-6-5, 8 KOs) on Wednesday night at the Centro de Eventos Figlostase in Culiacan, México. Guevara landed cleanly and often en route to a 100-90 3x. Guevara hasn’t lost since 2017, winning ten consecutive fights.

Kurt Scoby 143.1 vs. Hammerin’ Hank Lundy 139.8
Brian Ceballo 154.8 vs. Mitch Louis-Charles 153.2
Terell Bostic 139.8 vs. Matthew “Lefty Gunz” Gonzalez 140.2
Arnold Gonzalez 150.6 vs. Alejandro Munera 146.2
Raymond “The Scientist” Cuadrado 130.8 vs. Yeuri “Dinamita” Andujar 131.4

Venue: Sony Hall, NYC
Promoter: Boxing Insider
TV: YouTube

Fight week is here, and Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson is home. Anderson (14-0, 14 KOs), who was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, will fight former world champion “Prince” Charles Martin on Saturday evening at the Huntington Center.

Martin (29-3-1, 26 KOs), who accepted the fight on less than two weeks’ notice after Zhan Kossobutskiy was forced to withdraw, is the most notable opponent of Anderson’s career. He briefly held the IBF heavyweight crown in 2016.

Anderson kicked off fight week with a pair of community events. First, he stopped by Tony Packo’s, a Toledo landmark that has been a staple of the city since 1932. Anderson, in keeping with a Packo’s tradition that includes former U.S. Presidents and stars of stage and screen, signed a hot dog bun that will be encased and displayed at the restaurant. Continue reading “Real Big Baby hits Toledo”

By Mauricio Sulaimán
Son of José Sulaimán / WBC President

My father, José Sulaimán, found himself in Thailand, which received him with unimaginable hospitality and loyalty, when the WBC arrived in that nation, in the early 1980s. This inspired the already latent talent of Thai warriors to conquer a large number of championships and world championships, since before that, very few fighters had strayed from Muaythai to enter the international boxing arena. My father had the honor of being with King Bhumibol Adulyadej on five occasions, who in their last meeting asked the WBC to bring the sport to the world, since it had fragmented into many other disciplines.

As I write this column, I am in Venice to witness a historic tournament: the WBC Muaythai World Amateur Cup. With 440 athletes, from 49 countries and 1,400 attendees. They competed for three days in four rings, from sunup to sundown, to reach the sunset final, which will take place in just a few hours. Continue reading “WBC Muaythai World Amateur Cup in Venice”

Unbeaten super lightweight Kurt Scoby (11-0, 9 KOs) will enter the ring for the first time since signing a multi-year promotional deal with DiBella Entertainment on Thurday night. Scoby will face none other than former world title challenger Hammerin’ Hank Lundy (Henry Lundy (31-13-1, 14 KOs) in the eight-round main event at Sony Hall in Times Square, New York City. Lundy, 39, has lost five five.

Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) announced that undefeated lightweight Ashton “H20” Sylve (9-0, 8KOs) will face William “Baby Face” Dos Santos Silva (30-4, 18 KOs) on the Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz pay-per-view card live on August 5 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Golden Boy Fight Night: Mexico Edition has been slated for a return on July 15 with a ten round WBC super bantamweight eliminator featuring WBC #3 ranked Alan “Rey David” Picasso (24-0-1, 13 KOs) fighting in his hometown of Mexico City against Sabelo Ngebinyana (15-6-1, 11 KOs) of Cape Town, South Africa. DAZN will stream the fight.

In a direct rematch, WBC strawweight champion Panya Pradabsri a.k.a. Petchmanee CP Freshmart (40-1, 24 KOs) scored an eighth round TKO over very game 38-year-old challenger Norihito Tanaka (20-10, 10 KOs) on Wednesday in a temporary outdoor arena in Rayong, Thailand. Pradabsri dropped Tanaka in round one and staggered him in round three. After four rounds, WBC open scoring had Pradabsri ahead 40-35, 39-36, 39-36. In round eight, Tanaka’s cornerman dashed into the ring to save his fighter from further punishment.

Pradabsri previously outpointed Tanaka in an entertaining fight eleven months ago .

Pedro ‘Pedrin’ Guevara 115.5 vs. Miguel ‘Joyita’ Herrera 115.1
Alexis Molina 117.7 vs. Jesus Ivan Mercado 116.4
Juan Ramirez Marquez 121.5 vs. Nazario Castro 120.8

Venue: Centro de Eventos Figlostase in Culiacan, MéXico
Promoter: ProBox
TV: ProBox TV

• Guevara is a former WBC Light Flyweight Champion with two successful defenses

Panya Pradabsri 105 vs. Norihito Tanaka 105
(WBC strawweight title)

Location: Rayong, Thailand
Promoter: Petpiya Fight
TV: TV Thailand

• This bout is a rematch. Pradabsri previously took a unanimous decision over Tanaka 11 months ago.
• Tanaka, at 38 years and nine months of age, is attempting to break Hozumi Hasegawa’s record as the oldest Japanese boxer to win a world championship.
• The winner must face WBC interim champion Yudai Shigeoka.

Undisputed super middleweight world champion Franchon Crews-Dezurn (8-1, 2 KOs) puts her titles on the line against former WBO middleweight world champion Savannah Marshall (12-1, 10 KOs) this Saturday at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

In the 10-round co-feature, unified junior middleweight world champion Natasha Jonas (13-2-1, 8 KOs) takes on former two-time title challenger Kandi Wyatt (11-4, 3 KOs) for the vacant IBF welterweight crown.

Promoted by BOXXER, Crews Dezurn-Marshall, Jonas-Wyatt and undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+ starting at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT.

Tickets go on sale today for the August 12 junior lightweight title showdown between WBO world champion Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete (37-1, 31 KOs) and former two-division world champion Oscar Valdez (31-1, 23 KOs) at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

U.S. Olympic silver medalist Richard Torrez Jr. (5-0, 5 KOs) will open the televised tripleheader in a six-round heavyweight tilt against Willie Jake Jr. (11-3-2, 3 KOs) This bout was initially scheduled for March, but Torrez tore his oblique in training.

Navarrete-Valdez, a to-be-announced co-feature, and Torrez-Jake will be broadcast live on ESPN. Continue reading “Navarrete-Valdez tix on sale today”

While very few top heavyweights in boxing have a fight scheduled at the moment, there will be two of the most exciting contenders in the division seeing action on Saturday at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio.

Unbeaten WBO #7, WBA #8, WBC #9 heavyweight Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson (14-0, 14 KOs) is as much as a 14:1 favorite over former IBF heavyweight champion “Prince” Charles Martin (29-3-1, 26 KOs), who stepped in on one week’s notice to the big ESPN-televised card fight.

In the co-feature, WBC #5, WBA #5 heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov (16-0, 15 KOs) is a 10:1 favorite over unbeaten 6’8 Raphael Akpejiori (15-0, 14 KOs).

Don’t expect either fight to go the distance.

By Héctor Villarreal

Dominican Shuan Boxing Promotions continues to take great steps in the world of boxing, especially those that can take the fighters and the entire Dominican Republic to a higher level, as it has already done with names such as Eric “Mini Pacman” Rosa, Alberto “La Avispa” Puello and the young prospect Kaipo Gallegos.

The company is very proud to have received the opportunity from the sanctioning body, The World Boxing Organization (WBO) to organize the boxing card within the framework of the entity’s annnual convention, which is scheduled to be held from October 9th to 13th with headquarters in Punta Cana, D. R.

Story by John DiSanto – PhillyBoxingHistory.com

Former world champion Tevin Farmer bounced back from an extended layoff with a fluid and speedy unanimous decision over Avery Sparrow in the 10-round lightweight main event at the 2300 Arena. The entertaining, five-bout show was promoted by Hard Hitting Promotions.

On Saturday night, all eyes were on Farmer after his three-and-one-half year career pause. Questions were aplenty regarding how Farmer, after such a lengthy respite, would perform against a tough opponent like fellow-Philadelphian Avery Sparrow. However, the former junior lightweight world champion displayed quick hands and feet, an energetic and elusive head, good stamina, and plenty of offense over the 10-round distance. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but given the layoff, it was impressive and suggested that Farmer is ready to return to the thick of either the 130 or 135-pound division. Sparrow, a tough assignment for any fighter, showed up and gave a good account of his ability. He pressed Farmer and landed his share of punches. However, Sparrow appeared in less-than-perfect condition, and this became a factor late in the fight. Continue reading “Farmer returns with win over Sparrow”

27-year-old former WBA super flyweight champion Joshua Franco has announced on social media that he is retiring from boxing. Franco (18-2-3, 8 KOs) lost his world title on the scale on Friday, then was defeated on Saturday by Kazuto Ioka.

Joshua Franco: I wanted to start off by saying thank you to everyone that has supported me in my career. I appreciate everyone for their continued support. I was able to live my childhood dream of becoming a world champion. I defended my title multiple times all over the world and always tried my best to represent San Antonio, TX proudly.

For the majority of my career, I have been going through a lot of mental problems that I was doing my best to control. I never talked about it publicly because I didn’t want anyone to think I ever made an excuse for anything or for anyone to look at me different. I battled through it as much as I could to still perform and give you guys some great fights. For anyone that battles through any type of mental health issues please know you are not alone. And you can’t let anything stop you from achieving your dreams Continue reading “Joshua Franco retires”

This past Friday at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, CA, super lightweights Jesus Saracho (13-1-1, 11 KOs) of Guanajuato, MX, and Tarik Zaina (12-0-1, 8 KOs) of Tijuana, MX, fought to a majority draw in Thompson Boxing’s Locked ‘N Loaded 10-round main event. Saracho, who was defending his WBO Latino title, lost his belt at the scale, giving Zaina a golden opportunity to capture his first belt. The title is now vacated. Continue reading “Late Results from California”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Previously four-division champ Kazuto Ioka (30-2-1, 15 KOs), 114.75, Japan, acquired the WBA super flyweight belt when he defeated former titlist Joshua Franco (18-2-3-1NC, 8 KOs), 121.5, by a unanimous decision over twelve fast rounds on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Franco had been stripped of his belt because of his failure to make weight, and Ioka thus won the belt despite a big weight difference by 6.75 pounds. The official tallies were as follows: Guillermo Perez Pineda (Panama) and Giuseppe Quartarone (Italy) both 116-112, and Pawel Kardyni (Poland) 115-113, all for the 34-year-old Japanese challenger. Referee was Luis Pabon (Puerto Rico).

Despite Ioka’s victory our impression on this title bout was in fact so complex and complicated that we couldn’t burst into pleasure or joy. We had a couple of very serious reasons. The Japan Boxing Commission (JBC), just four days before the fight (June 21), abruptly announced that Ioka had tested positive for marijuana, not performance enhancer, for his first Franco bout last December, but the quantity was so small under the WADA standard level that it would go on as scheduled. What a mental shock Ioka took then and there! Continue reading “Full Report: Ioka defeats Franco”

By John Unland

Brandon Bea and his Wings Promotions presented a six bout card Saturday at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds in Davenport, Iowa. The main event was an eight rounder for the Iowa State super welterweight title between homegrown fighters Daijohn Gonzalez (8-3, 4 KOs) and Jason Phillips (3-5-2, 0 KOs). Continue reading “Results from Davenport, Iowa”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Former WBC flyweight champ Daigo Higa (20-2-1, 18 KOs), 117.75, Japan, proved too powerful for WBA #3 super fly Sirichai Thaiyen (64-5, 24 KOs), 117.75, as he dropped the Thailander four times—twice in round two and each once in rounds three and four—finishing him for the count at 1:34 of the fourth session in a scheduled ten beneath the Ioka-Franco rematch on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Sirichai (AKA Yodmongkol CP Freshmart), who had failed to win the WBA 112-pound belt from Artem Dalakian via eighth round in Kiev in 2018, looked very fragile, often hitting the deck with Higa’s continual combinations upstairs and downstairs.

Having lost his WBC fly belt to Cristofer Rosales on a ninth round surrender in 2018 and also forfeited his WBO AP bantam title to puzzling lefty Ryosuke Nishida on points in 2021, Higa was said to get into a slump but this impressive victory over the highly ranked WBA contender Sirichai may open a way to win back a world belt in the near future.

Promoter: Shisei Promotions.

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By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Former WBO AP feather champ Musashi Mori (14-1-1, 7 KOs), 129.75, participated in a grudge fight with Takuya Watanabe (39-12-2, 21 KOs), 130, defeated him this time by a unanimous decision (all 117-110) over twelve and seized the vacant OPBF 130-pound belt on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Having drawn with him by all 114-114 tallies last March, Mori, 23, a southpaw prospect and Kazuto Ioka’s stablemate, positively mixed it up from the outset, kept his lead on points with his aggressiveness despite Watanabe’s occasional retaliation and confirmed his victory with a significant knockdown in the final session. A southpaw left caught the 34-year-old veteran and sent him reeling to the canvas down the stretch. Continue reading “Mori beats Watanabe, wins vacant OPBF 130lb belt”

Unbeaten super welterweight Fernando “El Feroz” Vargas Jr. (11-0, 11 KOs), son of former world champion Fernando Vargas, was victorious when Andre “Thunder” Byrd (10-14-2, 1 KO) wasn’t allowed to continue after round three on Saturday night at the famed Cow Palace in the San Francisco suburb of Daly City.

Super featherweight Leonardo Alcala (22-5, 15 KOs) scored an eight round unanimous decision over local favorite Andy “El Tiburon” Vences (23-5-2, 12 KOs). In round five, Vences was deducted a point for a shot to the back of the head. Alcala took five minutes to recover. Scores were 78-73, 78-73, 76-75.

Welterweight Evan “Yung Holy” Holyfield (11-1, 7 KOs), son of former world champion Evander Holyfield, edged Juan Meza Moreno (4-3, 3 KOs) over six rounds. Holyfield dropped Moreno in round five and that made the difference in a 57-56, 57-56, 57-56 unanimous decision.

WBO #4, IBF #4, WBA #6 super middleweight Edgar “The Chosen One” Berlanga (21-0, 16 KOs) scored a twelve round unanimous decision over Jason “El Animal” Quigley (20-3, 14 KOs) on Saturday night at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Berlanga pressed the action and dropped Quigley in rounds three and five and twice in twelve. Quigley had his moments also, but Berlanga closed the show with a huge final round. Scores were 116-108, 116-108, 118-106. Berlanga, who opened his career with 16 straight first round KOs, went the distance for the fifth straight time.

In a war, heavyweight Joe Cusumano (22-4, 20 KOs) upset Adam “Babyface” Kownacki (20-4, 15 KOs) by eighth round TKO. Cusumano dropped Kownacki with a big right hand in round one. Cusumano swarmed over Kownacki in round two and seemingly punched himself out. After that, it became a battle of attrition. In round seven, both exchanged huge shots. Kownacki looked finished. Kownacki came out for round eight, but his corner threw in the towel after two minutes. Four straight losses for Kownacki.

More Results

WBC interim middleweight champion Carlos Adames (23-1, 18 KOs) halted former unified champion Julian “J-Rock” Williams (28-4-1, 16 KOs) in round nine on Saturday night at The Armory in Minneapolis. Good fight. Adames pressed the action and mostly got the better of it before getting a referee’s stoppage in round nine. The Williams camp was not happy with the stoppage, which was arguably premature. Time was 2:45.

“I’m so thankful to everyone who came out here and gave me support today and all week,” said Adames. “We gave the fans a great fight and I accomplished my goal, which was walking out of here with the title.” Continue reading “Adames stops J-Rock in nine”

Undefeated IBF super flyweight champion Fernando “Pumita” Martinez (16-0, 9 KOs) stopped previously unbeaten Jade Bornea (18-1, 12 KOs) on Saturday night at the Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Martinez broke open the fight in round nine when he popped open Bornea’s earlobe. The bout was waved off at :29 of round eleven.

“I said before the fight that the tougher, stronger fighter was going to win and that was me,” said Martinez. Continue reading “Fernando Martinez retains IBF superfly title”