Fightnews.com

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Free-swinging Japanese windmill, WBO#8 Ryo Akaho (31-2-2, 20 KOs), 117.5, retained his national belt as he kept throwing roundhouse blows, carelessly hit the deck but finally caught up with determined and durable #1 challenger Yuta Saito (10-8-3, 7 KOs), 117.75, to halt him at 1:13 of the ninth round on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.

Having failed to win the WBC 115-pound title from Yota Sato (L12) here in 2012 and to acquire the vacant WBO bantam belt in the bout with Phuengluan Sor Singyu (KO by 2) in Thailand in 2015, Akaho went on the comeback trail and seized the vacant Japanese 118-pound belt by scoring a very unanimous decision over ex-WBC youth titlist Yushi Tanaka this March. Continue reading “WBO #8 Akaho keeps Japanese 118lb belt”

Former New England welterweight champion Derek “The Surgeon” Silveira defeated former world title challenger Michael “Cold Blood” Clark last night (Sat., Aug. 5) in the “Fight Night at the Bay” main event, presented by Granite Chin Promotions, at Marina Bay Sportplex in Quincy, Massachusetts. Silveira (12-1, 6 KOs), of Salem MA) used his height and length advantage to outbox the much more experienced Clark (44-16-1, 18 KOs). Due to what appeared to be a broken right hand, Clark was unable to continue after six rounds.

After the fight, Silveira got done on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend, Ashley Myers. (She accepted). Continue reading “Silveira defeats Clark in Quincy, Mass”

World-rated bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Rodríguez (17-0, 12 KOs) retained his WBC Latino title with a fifth round TKO over Giovanni “Lloviznas” Delgado (16-6, 9 KOs) on Saturday night at the Coliseo Ecuestre Municipal in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. The bout ended when Delgado didn’t come out for round five.

Derrick Webster continued his quest towards a world title shot by taking out Lamar Harris in a scheduled eight-round super middleweight bout that headlined a six-bout card at The Claridge Hotel in Atlantic City. Webster dropped Harris at the end of round one as he landed a perfect straight left hand. After that it was a matter of when Webster would end the night., as Harris was hurt, but came out to endure 28 seconds of pounding before the bout was stopped. Continue reading “Webster destroys Harris in 2”

OPI Since 82’s super lightweight Luca “Black Mamba” Giacon (now 30-1, 26 KOs) retained his IBF International title moments ago in his hometown in Malaga, Spain stopping very game Englishman Sam O’maison (now 14-2, 6 KOs) with a powerful left hook in the sixth round. At the time of the stoppage, O’Maison was ahead on all three scorecards (48-47).

By Miguel Maravilla
Photos: Sumio Yamada

Mexican veteran Ray”Sugar” Beltran (34-7-1 21 KOs) of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico won a hard fought majority decision over two-time interim WBA super featherweight world champion Bryan Vasquez (36-3, 19 KOs), of San Jose, Costa Rica in the co-feature bout.

Beltran and Vasquez wasted no time as they exchanged in the opening round. In round two Beltran landed a solid left hook followed by some thudding punches as Vasquez stood and traded. Continuing to exchange in round three Vasquez did not take one step back as Beltran landed the left hook solidly. The fourth round saw Beltran back Vasquez to the ropes continuing to land big punches connecting with the left hook as the Costa Rican urged him to throw. In round five Vasquez fought well of the ropes as Beltran kept the pressure.

Halfway through in the sixth Beltran stayed on top of Vasquez continuing to pressure. The second half of the fight Beltran stalked with Vasquez circling the ring. Beltran suffered a cut in the ninth on his right eye from a clash of heads. The tenth and final round saw Vasquez sensing the urgency pressing as he hurt a bloodied Beltran in the final seconds of the fight.

Judges scored the fight 96-94, 96-94, and 95-95. Continue reading “Lomachenko-Marriaga undercard results”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

WBC #14 super middleweight Jayde Mitchell (15-1, 8 KOs) clearly outpointed Ainiwaer Yilixiati (10-1, 8 KOs) over ten rounds at the Melbourne Pavillion, Flemington, Victoria, Australia on Friday. Mitchell controlled the contest in all the rounds as he outworked his 24-year-old opponent. Yilixiati was deducted a point for holding. Scores 100-90, 100-90, 99-91. The 31-year-old Mitchell defended the OPBF and WBA Oceania titles. He was coming off a five round stoppage of Istvan Zeller in June. He suffered his only loss to Ryan Breese in 2015. Mitchell also holds wins over former world rated Nader Hamdan and Les Sherrington. Continue reading “WBC #14 Mitchell defeats Yilixiati”

By Brad Snyder at ringside

In a clash for the WBC and IBF female super middleweight world titles, two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields (4-0, 2 KOs) dominated reigning WBC champ Nikki Adler (16-1, 9 KOs) of Germany on Friday night at the MGM Grand in Detroit.

Shields seemingly couldn’t miss and pretty much landed at will. Referee Michael Griffin made a mercy stoppage in round five. Time was 1:34. Adler had pretty much stopped throwing punches and was taking damage from round one.

Featherweight Jesse Angel Hernandez improved to 9-1, 7 KOs, as he brutally beat down previously unbeaten and world-ranked super bantamweight Vladmir Tikhonov (16-1 9 KOs) over five rounds. Referee Ansel Steward stops the contest at the 2:25 mark of the fifth round, as Tikhonov was trapped in his corner and was unable to throw punches back. Tikhonov who was making his United States debut could not answer the power produced Hernandez.

By David Robinett at ringside
Photos: Tom Hogan – Tom Hogan Photography/Golden Boy Promotions

In an old school ESPN slugfest between two reliably exciting veterans of the ring, Mauricio Herrera (24-7, 7 KOs) banked enough rounds early to withstand the late rally of Jesus Soto Karass (28-12-4, 18 KOs) to earn a ten-round majority decision by scores of 95-95, 96-94, 96-94 in the main event at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California.

Both fighters worked behind the jab early, with Herrera the more active of the two. It was apparent early on that Herrera’s game plan was to box the bigger Soto Karass, and he generally did a good job early of avoiding prolonged exchanges. However Soto Karass kept coming forward, drawing Herrera into more frequent exchanges as the bout progressed. Surprisingly Herrera held his own trading punches with Soto Karass but utilized more boxing in rounds five and six, circling Soto Karass and relying on his left jab to keep Soto Karass at a safe distance. There were a handful of good exchanges in each of the middle rounds, but not enough for Soto Karass to change the momentum of the fight, with Herrera switching back to boxer-puncher whenever things started to tighten up. However by round eight the distance evaporated and the remainder of the fight was fought in close quarters with neither fighter taking a step back. Although Herrera countered effectively, the last three rounds clearly favored the heavier handed Soto Karass, who opened a bad cut over Herrera’s right eye in round nine and was beginning to overpower Herrera until he ran out of time at the final bell. Continue reading “Herrera edges Soto-Karass; Shabranskyy stops Unthank-May”

Vasyl Lomachenko 130 vs. Miguel Marriaga 129.8
(WBO super featherweight title)

Ray Beltran 134.4 vs. Bryan Vasquez 136.8
(NABF/NABO lightweight title)
* Only Beltran can win the belts.

Venue: Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles
Promoter: Top Rank
TV: ESPN

The WBC has been informed of a regrettable injury suffered by Anthony Dirrell who was scheduled to fight for the WBC super middleweight championship on September 8 against David Benavidez. Tom Brown Promotions had the September 8 commitment for a long time and has now requested the WBC to accept David Benavidez vs Ronald Gavril to fight for the championship. Ronald Gavril is the NABF champion and is the highest available contender.

Considering that Callum Smith, Avni Yildirim and Chris Eubank Jr. are all competing in the WBC Diamond Tournament with the World Boxing Super Series with the winner of such tournament becoming mandatory to the WBC championship. The WBC hereby confirms official sanctioning of the bout between David Benavidez and Ronald Gavril for the WBC super middleweight championship.

Derrick Webster 167.8 vs. Lamar Harris 167.9
Prince Badi Ajamu 191.4 vs. Edgar Perez 190
Mike Hilton 198.5 vs. Willis Lockett 194.6
Shaddy Gamhour 163.5 vs. Jessie Singletary 167.3
Lamont McLaughlin 167.2 vs. Tahlik Taylor 172.8
Zhang Zhilei 254.8 vs. Nick Guivas 238

Venue: The Claridge Hotel
Promoter: Mis Downing Promotions in association with Square Ring Promotions
1st Bell: 7 PM ET; Doors open at 6 PM ET

Tickets are priced at $125, $100, $75 & $50 and can be purchased at The Claridge Hotel or by calling 609-815-1181

By Robert Coster

Emmanuel Rodriguez 118 vs Giovanni Delgado 118
(For WBC Latino bantamweight title)

Subriel Matthew 141 vs Luis Alberto Pelayo 142
Bernardo Lebron 139 vs Rolando Rivera 139
Jonathan Lopez 117 vs Bryan Candelario 115
Nelson Colon 126 vs Waldemar Perez 125
Oscar Marrero 107 vs John Ortiz 107

Promoter: Fresh Promotions
Venue: Coliseo Ecuestre Municipal, Fajardo

DiBella Entertainment’s acclaimed Broadway Boxing series will return to the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, on Friday, September 15, 2017, headlined by a 10-round clash between popular heavyweight prospects Alexis Santos (18-1, 15 KOs) and Niall Kennedy (8-0, 5 KOs).

Featured on the undercard is female junior lightweight contender Shelly “Shelito’s Way” Vincent (19-1, 1 KO), welterweight prospect Mykquan Williams (7-0, 4 KOs), cruiserweight Joe “Mack” Williams (12-0, 8 KOs) pro debuting junior welterweight Nicky Dequattro in separate bouts.

WBC heavyweight champion Deontay has called out WBA/IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. “I don’t wanna hear nuthin’ about mandatories or the sanctioning bodies,” said Wilder.

.@EddieHearn @anthonyfjoshua pic.twitter.com/IdseqH2jJF

— Deontay Wilder (@BronzeBomber) August 4, 2017

Two-time world challenger and 2008 Puerto Rico Olympian, McWilliams Arroyo, will feature the show “Noche de Campeones en Casino Metro Boxing Nights,” to be held on Saturday, September 9, at El San Juan Ballroom of the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino in San Juan, in a presentation of PR Best Boxing Promotions (PRBBP).

Arroyo (16-3, 14 KOs) will return to the ring after 17 months of inactivity following a unanimous decision loss on April 23, 2016, when he challenged then-WBC flyweight champion Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez in California, to face former Mexican world champion Hernan “Tyson” Márquez in a WBO Latino flyweight (112 pounds) bout scheduled for 10 rounds. Continue reading “McWilliams Arroyo returns Sept 9”

Here is Episode 3 of the Top Rank-produced three-part series Camp Life: Vasyl Lomachenko.

Evander Holyfield’s Real Deal Sports and Entertainment has signed top undefeated cruiserweight prospect Fabio “Stone Crusher” Turchi (12-0, 9 KOs) of Florence, Italy, it was announced today by their COO, Eric Bentley and Turchi’s Italian promoter Mario Loreni. Most recently the 24-year-old Turchi knocked out veteran Cesar David Crenz in the fourth round on July 15, 2017, earning the vacant WBC International Silver Cruiserweight Title. His first fight under the Holyfield banner is TBA.

By Gabriel F. Cordero

Looks like former world champion Juan Manuel Marquez will be hanging up his gloves. According to ESPN’s Salvador Rodríguez, he will be announcing his retirement today on the boxing TV show “A Los Golpes.” Marquez, who will be 44 this month, hasn’t fought in more than three years. He was penciled in for August 19 at the Arena Mexico in Mexico City, but suffered a training injury. A four-division world champion, Marquez had a career mark of 56-7-1 with 40 KOs. In addition to four legendary fights against Manny Pacquiao, he faced Floyd Mayweather Jr, Marco Antonio Barrera, Joel Casamayor, Manuel Medina, Derrick Gainer, Juan Diaz, Michael Katsidis and Timothy Bradley among others. “Dinamita” is considered by many to be the second best Mexican fighter in history, just behind the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez.

Former world champion Paulie Malignaggi has quit as Conor McGregor’s sparring partner after images were leaked that showed Malignaggi on the canvas and seemingly getting pummeled by McGregor.

Malignaggi discussed the images on Twitter.

“It’s not nice to paint a pic that isn’t true, this was a pushdown in sparring, post the whole video rounds 1 through 12 UNEDITED…the UFC PI has cameras all over the gym recording 24/7. The video exists UNEDITED of rounds 1 through 12 Tuesday night, let the fans see…I came to help this camp out, not to be exploited, now you’re gonna get the truth though. Post FULL UNEDITED VIDEO FROM TUES night…I actually beat his ass, 24 hours off a flight too lol, which is why I’m saying post the vid. I try not to be petty but seems it’s late for that now…I did interview BECAUSE of the pics, I’m not your average sparring partner. You post pics with me, media will hound me, I’ve said stop with pics…Only his personal photographers allowed in the gym. Don’t just invent your own reality of things because it’s how you wish it to be buddy.” Continue reading “Malignaggi says he beat McGregor’s a** in sparring”

An additional block of tickets has been released for tonight’s ShoBox clash at MGM Grand Detroit between two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (3-0, 1 KO) of Flint, and WBC Super Middleweight World Champion Nikki Adler (16-0, 9 KOs) of Germany. “An extra block of $125 seats has been added to the layout,” explained promoter Dmitriy Salita. “That allows more of this great city’s boxing fans to see this historic fight live.”

Prior to March 10, 2017 the name Joshua Greer Jr.(14-1-1, 6 KOs) was not so well known by even the most hardcore boxing fan. All of that changed with one jaw dropping (no pun intended) overhand right to the chin of then-unbeaten James Smith (11-1, 6 KOs). Greer Jr. then grabbed a pillow and held it up to the crowd.

The bout was aired live on the Sho-Box series on Showtime. The knockout video went viral not just stateside but worldwide. Greer Jr. spoke with Fightnews.com® on the aftermath of the fight and his future. Continue reading “Pillow talk with Joshua Greer Jr.”

By Robert Coster

Sad news from the Dominican Republic. Veteran featherweight Geicy Lorenzo (15-36-1) has died, the result of a knockout at the hands of Jeffrey Castillo in the city of La Romana. The fight was held last Saturday and Lorenzo was taken away from the ring on a stretcher. The boxer died yesterday night at the age of 34 and will be buried tomorrow in his native city of San Cristobal. It is the first time that such a tragedy has happened in the Dominican Republic. Fightnews.com® conveys its condolences to Geicy Lorenzo’s family. RIP.

Below are quotes from Thursday afternoon’s press conference at the Flagship Resort in Atlantic City before Saturday night’s Boardwalk Brawls card at The Claridge Hotel in Atlantic City. The card, which is promoted by Mis Downing Promotions in association with Square Ring Promotions is headlined by super middleweight Derrick Webster (23-1, 12 KOs) of Glassboro, New Jersey taking on Lamar Harris (9-13-4, 5 KOs) of Saint Louis in a bout scheduled for eight-rounds.

Derrick Webster: “This fight is going to be very exciting. This is going to be an action-packed card. I want to thank Roy Jones, Jr. Roy always has time for anybody who wants to take a picture. I don’t know what I would do without him.” Continue reading “Webster-Harris AC final Presser”

Mauricio Herrera 145.8 vs. Jesus Soto Karass 146

Vyacheslav Shabranskyy 174.8 vs. Todd Unthank May 174.4

Venue: Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California
Promoter: Golden Boy
TV: ESPN