Fightnews.com

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with WBO junior middleweight champ Tim Tszyu as he prepares to face former two-time world champion Keith “One Time” Thurman on Sat, Mar 30th at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and the big boxing launch of Amazon Prime. Tszyu talked about growing up as the son of a legend and hall of famer, Kostya Tszyu. He talked about the verbal sparring with Thurman and predicted a KO. Tszyu gave his thoughts on Garcia-Haney and shared a desire to still fight Charlo and potential matchups with Spence, Crawford and Ortiz Jr at 154. He also dove into Paul-Tyson and the AJ knockout of Ngannou and much more in this exclusive interview.

Fan favorite Oscar Valdez (31-2, 23 KOs) is on the hunt for another world title shot. The former two-division world champion will take on Liam Wilson (13-2, 7 KOs) on ESPN+ in a special 12-round junior lightweight attraction on Friday, March 29 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

Following a recent training session in San Diego, California, this is what Valdez had to say:

“This is definitely a crossroads fight because it will determine who gets closer to a world title opportunity. My goal for 2024 is to be a world champion again. I miss being a world champion. Boxing is my life. If you are not striving to be the best, then what are you doing in this sport? I always train hard to be the best. So, this fight means everything because winning this fight will put me one step closer to a world title shot.” Continue reading “Oscar Valdez: This Will Definitely Be A War!”

Former WBC flyweight champion Charlie Edwards (18-1, 7 KOs), now campaigning at bantamweight, will face Georges Ory (17-3-1, 2 KOs) headlining a Wasserman Boxing event at London’s York Hall on April 12. The bout will be a ten-rounder for the WBC Silver International belt. Edwards is the bother of former IBF flyweight champion Sunny Edwards.

On the same night, unbeaten super middleweight Lerrone Richards (18-0, 4 KOs) meets Steed Woodall (18-2-1, 11 KOs) over 10 rounds with the WBO Intercontinental title up for grabs.

Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions has announced the full fight card for the St. Patrick’s Day Weekend boxing event this Friday, March 15 in The Theater at Madison Square Garden and broadcast live worldwide on UFC Fightpass. The seven-fight card is headlined by unbeaten super welterweight ‘King’ Callum Walsh (9-0, 7 KOs) against Dauren Yeleussinov, (11-3-1, 10 KOs) in a scheduled ten-rounder for the vacant WBC Continental Americas title.

Other bouts:

• In a ten-rounder for the WBA Continental Americas super featherweight title, Feargal McCrory (15-0, 7 KOs) takes on Carlos Carlson (25-7, 16 KOs) winner of two of his last three fights by knockout.
• Light heavyweight ‘Irish’ Joe Ward (10-1, 6 KOs) faces Derrick ‘Take it to the Bank’ Webster (29-4-1, 14 KOs) over eight rounds.
• Super lightweight Reshat ‘The Albanian Bear’ Mati (14-0, 8 KOs) meets Irving ‘Poderoso’ Macias, (15-4, 10 KOs) in an eight-rounder.
• Longtime Long Island fan favorite, super lightweight Cletus ‘The Hebrew Hammer’ Seldin, (27-1, 23 KOs), currently riding a six-fight winning streak, battles Jose Angulo (16-7, 9 KOs) in an eight-rounder.
• Six-time New York City Women’s Golden Gloves champion Nisa Rodriguez makes her pro debut in a four-round super middleweight affair against Jozette Cotton (0-3-1).
• Opening up the card, undefeated heavyweight Giovanni Scuderi (9-0, 4 KOs) faces Brandon Carmack, (7-3-2, 4 KOs), of Kansas City, MO.

By Brad Snyder-The Undercard
Photos by Bob Ryder

Carlos Llinas and CLIP Promotions showcased ten fights at the Sound Board at Motor City Casino in Detroit, Michigan. The undercard had some very competitive fights, but it was the main event for the vacant WBC Silver Cruiserweight title that was the focus of the evening’s event. Cruiserweight Derick Miller Jr. (16-0, 8 KOs) in his toughest challenge to date was able to defeat Adrian Taylor (13-3-1, 5 KOs) by UD. The win exhibited Miller’s cardio and much improved combinations. Promoter Carlos Llinas, after the fight, admitted that, “Miller has to increase his quality of fights and stay active. Best he has ever looked.. and we are heading in the right direction with Derick.” Continue reading “Night of Knockouts XXIX”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

WBA#4 Yuni Takada (14-8-3, 6 KOs), 105, was a huge prefight favorite due to his latest surge, but had a very tough time coping with fleet-footed speedster JBC#1 Shunsuke Isa (13-6-1, 2 KOs), 105, and managed to keep his Japanese minimum belt by a unanimous decision (96-92 twice, 97-91) over ten speedy rounds on Friday in Tokyo, Japan. After the fifth, the open scoring system indicated Takada widely leading on points: all 49-46 in his favor. Takada, handled by three-time world 140lb challenger Lion Furuyama, decked the soft-punching challenger with a solid right in round six. But it was Isa that amazingly displayed a last surge, battered the champ and dropped him with a furious combination in the closing seconds of the final tenth. The champ Takada was barely saved by the bell that came to his rescue. Isa deserves a rematch. Continue reading “WBA #4 Takada barely keeps Japanese 105lb belt”

Former super welterweight world champion “King” Carlos Molina (39-14-2, 13 KOs) knocked out Cristian Arrazola (20-19-3, 16 KOs) in the third round on Saturday night at the Auditorio Municipal in Quiroga, Michoacan, Mexico. A straight right put Arrazola on all fours to end it. In addition to fighting in the main event, Molina was also the promoter.

It’s official. Undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez will face Jaime Munguia on May 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Interestingly it will be PBC who will promote the PPV event on Prime Video after Canelo walked away from them last week but was unable to work out a deal with Matchroom.

Canelo made the announcement on social media: Mexican war cry. See you on May 4 at the T-Mobile in Las Vegas.

In a clash between world-ranked junior flyweight contenders, undefeated WBC #5, WBA #7, WBO #12 Jairo Noriega (14-0, 3 KOs) scored a twelve round unanimous decision over WBO #7, WBA #8, WBC #8 Azael “Candelilla” Villar (20-3-4, 15 KOs) on Friday night at the Pharaohs Casino in Managua, Nicaragua. Villar pressed the action but was largely frustrated by the mobile Noriega. Noriega wins the WBO Latino title.

By Brad Snyder / The Undercard

Derick Miller Jr. 193 vs. Adrian Taylor 199
Savannah Tini 147 vs. Timmecia Phillips 144.2
Samuel Rizzo 129.7 vs. Nikolai Buzolin TBA
Justin LaceyPierce 144.3 vs. Tray Martin 143.9
Justin Johnson 169.4 vs. Lamar Bolden 168.6
Tadale Harris 174.1 vs. Brendan Kotex 169.1
Kevin Carree Jr. 157.2 vs. Darius Carr 157.1
Cory Mulhern 175.4 vs. Davis Carr Jr. 181.5
Katriel Young 165.1 vs. Ashaun Bates 171.9
Christopher Thompson 172 vs. Mason Partlow 178

Venue: Sound Board in Motor City Casino
Promoter: CLIP International Promotions

Promoter Carlos Llinas has the vacant US WBC silver cruiserweight title on the line for his main event in Detroit, MI at the Sound Board inside the Motor City Casino. The main event has Detroit native Derick Miller Jr. (15-0, 8 KOs) vs. Adrian Taylor (13-2-1, 5 KOs) of Dallas, Texas. Continue reading “Weights from Detroit + Preview”

Former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) annihilated MMA superstar and WBC #10 rated Francis Ngannou (0-2) in two rounds on Friday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Joshua dropped Ngannou in the first round with a right hand, then used the same punch to floor Ngannou twice in round two to end the fight. Time was 2:38. Ngannou was out cold.

Ngannou previously gave WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury all he could handle, but Joshua comprehensively destroyed him.

Former world champion Joseph Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) dethroned WBO interim heavyweight champion Zhilei Zhang (26-2-1, 21 KOs) by twelve round majority decision. Zhang dropped Parker in round three and eight, but Parker ultimately outboxed and outworked an exhausted Zhang in a tactical fight. Scores were 113-113, 114-112, 115-111. After the fight, Parker revealed that Zhang has a rematch clause so it looks like they’ll be running this back.

WBC featherweight champion Rey Vargas (36-1-1, 22 KOs) barely kept his title with a twelve round draw against #1 contender Nick Ball (19-0-1, 11 KOs) The lanky Vargas towered over the 5’2 Ball and dominated the first six rounds. Ball rocked Vargas in round seven, then dropped him in round eight and again in round eleven. In the end, judges had it 114-112 Vargas, 116-110 Ball, 113-113.

In a clash for the vacant WBA super welterweight title formerly held by Jermell Charlo, WBA #1 Israil “The Dream” Madrimov (10-0-1, 7 KOs) scored a fifth round TKO over WBA #2 Magomed Kurbanov (25-1, 13 KOs) on Friday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Madrimov staggered Kurbanov in round five and got a quick referee’s stoppage with a vicious follow-up. Time was 2:20.

Unbeaten lightweight Mark Chamberlain (15-0, 11 KOs) put a four round beating on European champion Gavin Gwynne (17-3-1, 5 KOs). Gwynne’s corner finally threw in the towel. Time 2:46.

Unbeaten heavyweight Justis Huni (9-0, 4 KOs) had to work hard to win a ten round unanimous decision over Kevin Lerena (30-3, 14 KOs). Lerena almost pulled it out when he rocked Huni in round ten, but Huni made it to the final bell. Scores were 96-94, 96-94, 98-92.

Super welterweight Louis Greene (17-4, 11 KOs) demolished previously unbeaten Jack McGann (9-1-1, 6 KOs) in the first round. A right hand laid out McGann after 1:29 of action. One-hitter quitter.

Cruiserweight prospect Roman Fury (4-0, 1 KO), brother of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, won a 39-37 four round decision over Martin Svarc (2-1, 1 KO)

Unbeaten local super lightweight Ziyad Almaayouf (5-0, 1 KO) outpointed Christian Lopez Flores (14-36-2, 12 KOs) over six rounds. Scored 60-54.

Unbeaten heavyweight Andrii Novytskyi (10-0, 8 KOs) scored a third round KO against Juan Torres (11-5-1, 4 KOs)

WBA cruiserweight champion Arsen “Feroz” Goulamirian (27-0, 19 KOs) and former super middleweight world champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (45-1, 30 KOs) hosted a press conference today to promote their 12-round cruiserweight clash for Goulamirian’s world title. The event is taking place on March 30  at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California and broadcast live on DAZN.

Arsen Goulamirian: “I am excited to fight for the first time in the U.S. and partner with Abel Sanchez once again. It’s a great opportunity because this division is not very popular in the United States, and we get to draw attention to it. I want to thank Golden Boy for the opportunity. It is going to be a great fight. I am not like Bivol, and I will stop him.”

Zurdo Ramirez: “First of all, I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity. Thank you to Golden Boy and my team for getting me here. It is an honor to be able to be the main event at YouTube Theater, and make a statement and potentially become a legend. This is my motivation. Thank you to team Arsen for taking this fight and giving me opportunity to fight for a title.”

By Damien St.Pierre

Bayou Fighting Championship Boxing and Brawlin N’ Nawlins will host “BFC Boxing 2”, a night of professional boxing on Friday, March 15 at the Mel Ott Center in Gretna, Louisiana. The event is headlined by undefeated Mississippi heavyweight Travorus “Bear ”Barnes (4-0) matching up against Duke “The Nuke” Sensley of New Orleans who will make his professional boxing debut. The bout will be the main event of the night and is scheduled for 6 rounds. Continue reading “Boxing Back in New Orleans”

Former middleweight title challenger Steven ‘Bang Bang’ Butler (34-4-1, 28 KOs) destroyed Steve Rolls (22-4, 12 KOs) in the first round at the sold out Montreal Casino in the latest chapter of the Quebec-Ontario rivalry. A series of shots crumpled Rolls on the ropes and the bout was stopped. The bout lasted 65 seconds.

Unbeaten super middleweight Osleys ‘El Tornado’ Iglesias (10-0, 9 KOs) scored a first round knockout over Marcelo ‘El Terrible’ Coceres (32-7-1, 18 KOs). A left hook to the head finished Coceres.

In a clash for the vacant WBC female heavyweight title, Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse (7-1, 2 KOs) scored a ten round split decision over Abril Vidal (10-2, 4 KOs). Scores were 97-93, 97-93 for Lepage-Joanisse and 96-94 for Vidal.

Unbeaten 2016 Olympian junior welterweight Arthur Biyarslanov (14-0, 12 KOs) knocked out Cristian Palma (33-14-2, 7 KOs) with a body shot in round three. Time was 3:00.

Other Results:
Luis Santana KO2 Emiliano Garcia (lightweight)
Mehmet Unal W8 Facundo Galovar (light heavyweight)
Jhon Orobio TKO2 Cristian Gonzalez (lightweight)
Wilkens Mathieu TKO2 Patrik Fiala (light heavyweight)

Azael “Candelilla” Villar 107 vs. Jairo “El Leñador” Noriega 107.2
(WBO Latino jr flyweight title)

Eveling “La Colocha” Ortega 107 vs. Yanissa “Reckless” Castrellon 107
Harvin Aguirre 146.2 vs. Josue Alvarado 145
Gerardo “Chocolate” Sanchez 104.6 vs. Edwin “Canito” Cano 104.2
Michael “Hitman” Carmona 104.6 vs. Tomas Villar 104
Jeffrey Gonzalez 221 vs. Harris Vargas 255.2
Richard Fernandez Jr 115 vs. Samuel Perez 112.6
Moises Mora 125 vs. Emmanuel Ordoñez 125
Miguel Estrada 109.8 vs. Bagner De Leon Lopez 108

Venue: Pharaoh’s Casino, Managua, Nicaragua
Promoter: All Star Boxing
TV: ESPN+

45-year-old ring legend Manny Pacquiao and Conor Benn were both on hand in Riydah, Saudi Arabia at today’s Knockout Chaos weigh-in. The teams of Pacman and Benn are close to finalizing a bout between the two in the Middle East Boxing Mecca (which is about 500 miles east of the religious Mecca).

Anthony Joshua 252.4 vs. Francis Ngannou 272.6

Zhilei Zhang 291.6 vs. Joseph Parker 247.6
(WBO interim heavyweight title)

Rey Vargas 125 vs. Nick Ball 126
(WBC featherweight title)

Israil Madrimov 153.6 vs. Magomed Kurbanov 153.6
(WBA super welterweight title)

Mark Chamberlain 134.6 vs. Gavin Gwynne 134.6
Jack McGann 153.4 vs. Louis Greene 153.2
Justis Huni 243.2 vs. Kevin Lerena 232.4
Roman Fury 224 vs. Martin Svarc 225.6
Ziyad Almaayouf 144.4 vs. Christian Lopez Flores 142
Andrii Novytskyi 239.4 vs. Juan Torres 255.6

Venue: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Promoter: Matchroom/Queensberry
TV: DAZN PPV

It was announced that YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake “The Problem Child” Paul (9-1, 6 KOs) will face 57-year-old former heavyweight champion “Iron” Mike Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) in a boxing match on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The fight will air on Netflix. It’s not determined whether the bout will be an official fight or an exhibition.

Paul is coming off two first round KOs against little-known pro boxers. Tyson last fought in 2005, and had a 2020 exhibition against Roy Jones Jr.

BetOnline (www.betonline.ag) has listed Paul as a 3:1 favorite.
Jake Paul -300 (1/3)
Mike Tyson +240 (12/5)

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® sat down with (3) veterans of combat sports, HOF referees Kenny Bayless and Robert Byrd plus top UFC / MMA ref Mark Smith, to discuss a new show they are putting together which will give a behind the scenes look of their sport from a referee’s point of view that will include a mix of highlights, education and interviews with celebrities and analysts. Here we discussed several topics including their background and mentors, cross-over fights and the challenges of being the 3rd man in the ring/cage and making the right call when the lights are brightest and much more with these three great combat sports referees.

Steven Butler 160 vs. Steve Rolls 159
Osleys Iglesias 168.9 vs. Marcelo Coceres 166.5
Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse 173.3 vs. Abril Argentina Vidal 170.7
Artur Biyarslanov 142 vs. Cristian Palma 141
Luis Santana 136.9 vs. Emiliano Martin Garcia 135.3
Mehmet Unal 177.7 vs. Facundo Nicolas Galovar 176.4
Jhon Orobio 134.3 vs. Cristian Rodrigo Gonzalez 133.9
Wilkens Mathieu 171.2 vs., Patrik Fiala 171.1

Venue: Cabaret du Casino de Montréal
Promoter: Eye of the Tiger
TV: ESPN+

Former WBO #1 welterweight contender Alexis “Lex” Rocha (23-2, 15 KOs) will take on Fredrick “General Okunka” Lawson (30-4, 22 KOs) in the co-feature for the clash between WBA cruiserweight champion Arsen “Feroz” Goulamirian (27-0, 19 KOs) and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (45-1, 30 KOs) on March 30 at YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, California, and broadcast live on DAZN.

“First and foremost, I want to thank Golden Boy Promotions, my fans, and my entire team for their constant support,” said Rocha, who is coming off an upset KO loss to Giovani Santillan in October. “My last fight did not go the way that I expected it to. I let a lot of people down, including myself. This next stage of my career is my revenge tour. This is when I become everything I know I was meant to be in this sport. The pain I feel from my last loss will be the pain every opponent feels moving forward.”

* * *

Also on the DAZN broadcast, Ricardo Sandoval (23-2, 16 KOs) and Luis “Zari” Hernandez (13-6-1, 8 KOs) will battle it out in a 10-round flyweight bout.