“La Amenaza” in Costa Rica!

By Jose Reyes

The Rio Grande Valley’s up and coming welterweight hope Roberto “La Amenaza” Garcia (26-2, 18 KOs) will face Jaime “El Indio” Barboza (13-3) for the Central American Title at Gimnasio de la Villa Olímpica in Desamparados, Costa Rica this Saturday, July, 18th. Garcia is coming off a seventh round TKO victory over Wilmer Hernandez (5-2, 5 KOs) also Costa Rica.

Agbeko/Perez in the works!

By Lee Bates

Joseph Agbeko (27-1, 22 KOs) won’t have long to celebrate his victory over Vic Darchinyan this past Saturday as the IBF has ordered immeditate negotiations to begin between he and IBF official challenger Yhonny Perez (19-0, 14 KOs). Perez is coming off of a 12th round TKO victory over 2 time world title challenger Silence Mabuza in an IBF title eliminator this past May in Mabuza’s native South Africa. For the native of Colombia, Perez, it will not only be an opportunity to win his first world title but also a chance to avenge the loss suffered by his stablemate Darchinyan. Both Darchinyan and Perez are promoted by Gary Shaw Productions.

Mount Whitaker Returns!

Southbay Promotions presents former heavyweight contender and former world title challenger Lance “Mount” Whitaker (32-5-1, 27 KOs) versus Danny Batchelder (25-6-1, 12 KOs) in a scheduled 10-rounder on Friday night at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center in Redondo Beach, CA. In 2008, Whitaker made quick work of Ron Johnson by knocking him out in their opening round before dropping a tough decision to Jason Estrada only two months later in a 10-round fight in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Whitaker however is now ready to kick off his 2009 campaign. Batchelder, a former WBC Continental Americas cruiserweight beltholder is a tough customer going all the way to a split decision against James Toney in 2007 and most recently saw action against former WBO Heavyweight Champion Lamon Brewster in August of 2008. Doors: 7:00pm Tickets: $250-200-100-75-50-35. Call 310-303-0116.

Weights from Japan!

By Joe Koizumi

The official weigh-in ceremony took place on Monday at a couple of fight sites in Japan. WBC bantam champ Hozumi Hasegawa, Japan, and #4 ranked Nestor Rocha, US, both tipped the beam at 117.5 pounds. WBA minimum kingpin Roman Gonzalez, Nicaragua, scaled in at 104.25 to 105 (the class limit) for Katsunari Takayama, Japan. In Tokyo, WBC feather ruler Takahiro Aoh, Japan, weighed in at the 126-pound limit, while Elio Rojas, Dominican Republic, was so surprisingly light at 124.5. The three world title bouts will be held at night tomorrow (Tuesday) at the World Memorial Hall, Kobe, and at the Korakuen Hall, Tokyo. Akihiko Honda, President of Teiken Promotions, says that the order of the three title bouts will be still uncertain, depending on the outcomes at the two sites.

Super Six: first quotes & pix!

Photo: Ed Mulholland

By Matt Richardson
Photos: Ed Mulholland

Carl Froch, Mikkel Kessler, Arthur Abraham, Andre Dirrell and Jermain Taylor pose at the press conference at Madison Square Garden announcing the Super Six World Boxing Classic, which will pit six of the world’s top super middleweights in a series of bouts. Andre Ward was unable to attend.

Arthur Abraham: It has always been my goal to fight against the worlds best fighters. This is like a dream coming true. Now I want to become the best fighter at super-middleweight.
Mikkel Kessler: This tournament is a big opportunity to test myself as a world champion.
Jermain Taylor: I made a lot of mistakes in my career but I’m going to take it back to the drawing board and rededicate myself to boxing.
Carl Froch: I will remain WBC Champion throughout this tournament no matter what anybody thinks.
Andre Dirrell: Right now my heart is beating 100 miles an hour. It’s because I know I’m in a blessed position to become the greatest of all time.
Ken Hershman, Senior Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports: “The 168-pound division is the most talent rich in boxing right now. And the Super Six tournament structure will deliver one compelling matchup after another. And to deliver all of this directly to our subscribers on SHOWTIME is a fight fans dream come true. I can’t wait to get started.” Click for more photos… (more…)

Maskaev vs Arreola?

By Matt Richardson

Promoters Dan Goosen and Dennis Rappaport have conducted preliminary talks regarding a heavyweight clash between rising contender Chris Arreola and former WBC champion Oleg Maskaev, Fightnews has learned. The two veteran promoters along with Maskaev manager Fred Kesch were seen discussing the fight at the press conference to announce the super middleweight tournament on Monday afternoon at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Goosen, the promoter of Arreola, was in attendance to represent Andre Ward who couldn’t make it due to the flu. Neither Rappaport or Kesch would either confirm or deny that negotiations had begun for the Arreola clash, only opting to say that Arreola was one of a few potential options being explored. It should be an easy fight to make considering both heavyweight champions Vitali Klitschko and Wladimir Klitschko are likely to be tied up with defenses in the fall against David Haye and Alexander Povetkin, respectively. Arreola (27-0, 24 KOs) is coming off an impressive knockout of Jameel McCline in April. Maskaev (36-6, 27 KOs), who had his hopes dashed of securing a title fight against Vitali Klitschko last month when arbitrator ruled against him, has won two fights since losing his belt to Samuel Peter in March of 2008.

Seliverstov defeats Semo!

Photo: Alexander Melnikov

By Alexey Sukachev and Andrey Bazdrev (ringside)

Former welterweight contender-turned-promoter, Sergey Stepkin of Union Boxing Management, and his partner Alexander Kolesnikov arranged a fiery local show, advertised as the “Courage Cup”, at Yunost sports arena in Klimovsk, just several kilometers south to Moscow. In the main event of the evening, reigning BBU welterweight champion Roman Seliverstov (10-8, 2 KOs) added a vacant IBO Intercontinental title to his previously owned regalia, outpointing the Sweden-based Ugandan Peter Semo (19-5, 14 KOs) over twelve hard-fought rounds of action. (more…)

Englebrecht inks lightweight!

In 25 years of boxing promotions, promoter Roy Englebrecht has only signed a handful of boxers to promotional agreements, but in 2009 he has already signed two. This past February he signed Oxnard welterweight Hugo Centeno Jr. to a six bout agreement, and today he announced today the signing of Santa Ana lightweight prospect Robert Vargas. (more…)

Nonito Donaire Public Workout

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“The Filipino Flash” Nonito Donaire Jr. of the Philippines thrilled fight fans at the Undisputed Boxing Gym in San Carlos, California, as he prepares for his upcoming world super flyweight championship bout against Rafael “El Torito” Concepcion of Panama. Top Rank promotes “Pinoy Power 2 on pay per view, August 15 at the New Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.

SHOWTIME’s “Super Six!”

SHOWTIME Sports and six of the best super middleweight boxers in the world converged in New York City on Monday to announce an unprecedented new boxing tournament to be presented by SHOWTIME in the United States and throughout the world on various television networks. The inaugural Super Six World Boxing Classic is a round-robin, six-fighter tournament featuring the class of the super middleweight division from home and abroad. The world renowned fighters have a staggering combined record of 161-4-1 with 117 knockouts. There are four undefeated fighters, two current world champions, two young, unbeaten, world-ranked contenders and one former undisputed world titleholder.

The field is comprised of IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (30-0, 24 KOs), of Germany, who will move up to challenge at 168, plus U.S. Olympic medalist and top-ranked contender Andre “The Matrix” Dirrell (18-0, 13 KOs) of Flint, Mich., WBC super middleweight champion Carl “The Cobra’’ Froch (25-0, 20 KOs) of England, WBA 168-pound champion Mikkel “Viking Warrior’’ Kessler (41-1, 31 KOs) of Denmark, former undisputed 160-pound world champion Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor (28-3-1, 17 KOs) of Little Rock, Ark., and U.S. Olympic gold medalist and No. 1-ranked contender Andre “S.O.G.’’ Ward (19-0, 12 KOs) of Oakland, Calif. (more…)

Prospects shine in Reno!

Headlined by the sensational pro debuts of outstanding Russian amateurs stars Dmitry and Fedor Chudinov, TKO Boxing prospects shined on Friday night at the Reno Events on the undercard of “Summer Showdown” an outstanding evening of professional boxing which featured the ten round decision win by Yerington’s Jesse Brinkley over Mike Paschall of Baltimore . . . . Click here for more

Sturm, Gevor, Zbik, Spada speak!

Photo: Marianne Müller

After his win over Khoren Gevor on Saturday, WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm had to go directly to the hospital for treatment on his right ear. “I’m fine,” he stated. “It’s a small but necessary procedure. The blood from a bruise was sucked into the ear. But never mind! For me everything is good. I won’t let anything take me away from seeing the Formula One race in the Nürburgring with my friend Poldi (soccer star Lukas Podolski). It was a great evening. I think the fans got their money’s worth. It was not only a good fight, but also a super event. Now the first thing I’ll do is take a long vacation. I’ve boxed twice within 77 days. Many thanks to my whole team. We’ve all earned a break.” (more…)

Arturo Gatti: Ultimate Warrior!

By Robert Coster
Photo: Ed Mulholland

The news shocked the boxing world: Arturo Gatti dead at 37, due to foul play. A week after Alexis Arguello’s suicide, boxing lost another great champion in tragic fashion. For over a decade, the charismatic Arturo Gatti was one of HBO’s top dogs and the reason was known to all: Arturo was the quintessential warrior, valor in its purest form, providing drama each time he stepped into the ring. The Italian-Canadian was a real life phoenix rising from the ashes, coming back so many times from the brink of defeat, showing unbelievable physical courage while receiving brutal punishment, being both predator and prey. An Arturo Gatti fight was better than the best Hollywood thriller simply because it was reality, not fiction. The drama was real, the anguish was real, the pain was real. And triumph, when it came, gave Gatti the dimension of a gladiator of the past overcoming inhuman hardship. (more…)

Boxing meets Formula 1!

Photo: Universum Box-Promotion

On Sunday, WBA world middleweight champion Felix Sturm, new WBC middleweight interim champion Sebastian Zbik and WBC executive secretary Mauricio Sulaiman visited the German Formula One Grand Prix at the famous Nürburgring Speedway. They watched an impressive victory by Redbull driver Mark Webber with German superstar Sebastian Vettel taking second place in the Redbull Team garage. Sebastian Zbik: “You can feel the horsepower like a vibration through your body. It’s unbelievable.” Mauricio Sulaiman was impressed by Team Redbull: “They do a very professional job. The pit stop was so fast. We were very close to it.” (more…)

Lovemore Ndou speaks!

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

Newly crowned IBO welterweight champion Lovemore Ndou contacted Fightnews shortly after his clear win over Phillip Ndou to issue a challenge to the winner of the Isaac Hlatswayo vs Delvin Rodriguez who fight for the IBF 147 belt soon. “It is great to be a world champion again after beating Phillip Ndou today. He gave me a good fight but my experience showed, and at the end of twelve rounds, I was a clear winner on the judges cards. Now I want the IBF welterweight crown. I am a former IBF junior welterweight champion and now I’m ready to defeat the winner of the Isaac Hlatswayo vs Delvin Rodriguez. I am confident that I will beat either of them after seeing tapes of them.” (more…)

Rowland decisions Saunders!

Photo: Bob Ryder

By Bob Ryder

Middleweight Troy Rowland continued his comeback on Saturday night with a unanimous 6 round decision win at the Fifth Third Ballpark in Grand Rapids, MI, but unlike his first fight back, this one was far from easy. Opponent Dave Saunders of Cincinnati and head trainer Jeff “Cobra” McCall expressed confidence before the bout with their game plan to stay on the offensive and press Rowland. The action heated up immediately and Troy emerged from a clinch near the end of the first round with blood streaming down his face from a cut over his left eye. “The butt threw me off my plan a bit” related Rowland. “The blood was getting into my eye and I got a little over anxious in the second round.” As Saunders continued to press the action, Rowland settled and took control in the third. Rowland’s corner did a good job with the cut although it continued to bleed for the rest of the bout. Troy also suffered a bloody nose in the fifth round but returned the favor as Saunders nose ran red in the sixth. Rowland closed the bout strong to win by scores of 58-56 x 2 and 59-55 to improve his record to (25-2, 7 KOs). Saunders falls to (9-8). (more…)

Agbeko-Darchinyan Photo Report!

Photos: Javiel Centeno/FightWireImages.com

Joseph “King Kong” Agbeko retained his IBF bantamweight championship with a 12-round unanimous decision victory over two-division world champion Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan Saturday night on Showtime Championship Boxing. In a controversial co-feature, Antonio DeMarco knocked out Anges “Baby Face” Adjaho at 2:59 of the ninth round to become the WBC’s No. 1 ranked lightweight and the mandatory challenger to current champion Edwin Valero. (Click here.)

Adamek-Gunn Photo Report!

By Kurt Wolfheimer / Photos: Ed Mulholland

A near sellout crowd of 5,600 in attendance, with a heavy Polish contingent, filled the Prudential Center with hopes of seeing IBF Cruiserweight champion Tomasz “Goral” Adamek outclass Bobby “The Celtic Warrior” Gunn and watch the man from Gilowace, Poland score an early knockout. (Click here)

“Badness in Baltimore” July 25!

Highly regarded prospect James “Keep Em Sleepin” Stevenson (9-0, 8 KOs) of Baltimore, MD will look to keep his flawless record intact as he will lace up for a rematch with confident challenger Ken Dunham on July 25th the DuBurns Arena. An elite talent in the Beltway area, Stevenson has started to create a major buzz in the boxing world. Dunham (6-8, 4 KOs) of Charlotte, NC is looking to avenge his loss earlier this year and will have a wave of confidence when he enters the ring. (more…)

Kirpa, Cunningham Presser

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Welterweight contender Ivan “The Terrible” Kirpa and former cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham join Legendary Promoter Don King at the post fight press conference following their victories in world title eliminators on July 11th 2009 in Sunrise, Florida.

Gatti’s wife arrested

Police have reportedly arrested the wife of ring great Arturo Gatti for alleged involvement in her husband’s death at a luxury resort in Brazil. Citing contradictions in the story of 23-year-old Amanda Rodrigues, authorities are preparing to file formal charges. Gatti was found dead on Saturday morning in a hotel room at a Brazilian beach resort.

Klitschko is ready for Haye!

By Alexey Potapov

As Fightnews.com previously reported, WBC heavyweight champion “Dr. Ironfist” Vitali Klitschko (37-2, 36 KOs) will conduct his next fight against former WBC/WBA/WBO cruiserweight champion David Haye (22-1, 21 KOs) on September 12 in Germany. In August Vitali leaves for training camp in Austria in preparation to the fight. Looks like Klitschko-Haye will be televised on HBO in the United States and BBC in Great Britain. Haye’s fights were previously broadcast by troubled Setanta Sports.

Split-Site triple title event ready!

By Joe Koizumi

Split-site triple world title promotions are ready in Tokyo and Kobe, Japan, just two days prior to the highly anticipated events. WBC featherweight champ Takahiro Aoh (17-1-1, 8 KOs), a Japanese southpaw, will risk his belt against perennial top contender Elio Rojas (20-1, 13 KOs) in Tokyo. In Kobe, there will be a couple of world title bouts. WBC bantamweight ruler Hozumi Hasegawa (26-2, 10 KOs), a Japanese lefty making his ninth defense, will put his throne on the line against Nestor Rocha (21-1, 7 KOs), a game and fresh Mexican-American. Unbeaten Nicaraguan KO artist Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (23-0, 20 KOs) will defend his WBA minimum crown against ex-WBA/WBC titlist Katsunari Takayama (23-3, 9 KOs), a Japanese footworker, over twelve. All the three competitive bouts will be shown by the same network named Nippon TV in Japan. (more…)

Decision for Darchinyan!

By Lee Bates

As if losing to IBF bantamweight champion Joseph Agbeko (27-1, 22 KOs) Saturday night wasn’t enough to think about, unified IBF/WBC/WBA 115lb champion Vic Darchinyan (32-2-1, 26 KOs) will soon have to let the IBF know if he will either defend his IBF junior bantamweight title or vacate it. Darchinyan’s IBF junior bantamweight belt was not on the line as he challenged champion Agbeko for his title. The mandatory challenger for the IBF junior bantamweight title is Simphiwe Nongqayi (15-0, 6 KOs) of South Africa. Nongquayi’s biggest win to date is his 12 round IBF title eliminator decision victory over Francisco Arce (younger brother of Jorge) this past February.

Video: Sturm-Gevor!

See video highlights of WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm’s successful title defense against European champion Khoren Gevor.

Agbeko, Darchinyan comments!

The BankAtlantic Center was filled with 9,227 fans who saw a great night of boxing in Sunrise, Fla., Saturday night.

JOSEPH KING KONG AGBEKO: “He [Darchinyan] pushed me in the seventh round and throughout the fight. He is very dirty and rough in the ring. I was fighting two people in the ring: Darchinyan and the referee. But I didn’t care if there were five people in the ring tonight, I was going in to win and come back out with my championship belt. Darchinyan talked a lot before the fight and I turned him into ‘the raging bullsh!tter’ like I said I would. I’m still the champion, not the chimpanzee he said I was. I have always said I would carry the greatness of Ghana with me to the top and that’s what I have done. I want to be considered among the top pound for pound fighters in the world. I think I have earned it.”

VIC DARCHINYAN: “I took a different tactic into the ring tonight. I went for the big punch and I lost and I can’t say anything about that. I was repeating the same mistakes and I was getting upset. It’s not an excuse. I took the bad tactic and I wasn’t smart enough tonight. He was the better fighter tonight. I will go back and watch the tape and correct my mistakes.” (more…)

Lovemore wins battle of Ndou’s!

By Ron Jackson

Lovemore Ndou used all his experience to beat the gutsy Phillip Ndou on points over 12 rounds to win the vacant IBO welterweight belt at Emperors Palace near Kempton Park on Saturday night.
Judge Deon Dwarte (SA) scored it 116-112 and judge David Moretti (USA) was way off the mark with a 115-113 card, whilst judge Bruce McTavish (Philippines) handed in a more realistic card of 117-111. The 37-year-old Lovemore (47-11-1, 31 KOs) from Sydney used all his years of experience to out think and outpace the 32-year-old Phillip (32-4, 31 KOs) who was having only his second fight since May 2004. (more…)

King Kong Speaks!

Joseph King Kong Agbeko spoke to the press after his twelve round unanimous decision win over favored Vic Darchinyan on Saturday night at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida. Darchinyan was a no-show.

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Cruz keeps IBF belt!

Photos: Zanfer Boxing

IBF featherweight champion Cristóbal “Lacandón” Cruz (39-11-1, 23 KOs) retained his title by unanimous decision over Jorge “Colorado” Solís (37-2-2, 27 KOs) on Saturday night at the Palenque de la Feria in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico. Scores were 114-110, 113-110 and 113-111 for Cruz, who avenged a 2003 loss to Solís.
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Also Julio César “Pingo” Miranda knocked out Eric Ortiz in the first round of a bout for the IBF interim flyweight belt. (more…)