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No matter the result, history will be made Saturday evening at the Save Mart Center, when Jerwin Ancajas defends the IBF junior bantamweight title against Jonas Sultan. It will be the first all-Filipino world title bout contested since 1925. In the co-feature, WBA 115-pound champion Kal Yafai of Birmingham, England, will make his U.S. debut against two-time world title challenger David Carmona.

Many of the fighters from Saturday’s card worked out for the media Wednesday at Heartbeat Boxing. This is what they had to say.

By Robert Coster

Venue: Karibe Convention Center, Petionville
Promoter: Boxe Internationale (Jacques Deschamps)

Story by John DiSanto – PhillyBoxingHistory.com
Photos by Mike Baluk

The Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame inducted its 60th annual class on Sunday. Founded in 1958, the PABHOF is the oldest boxing Hall of Fame in the country and has honored a total of 367 members of the fight fraternity over the years. The banquet and ceremony, held at Romano’s Catering in Philadelphia, welcomed 16 new members, and was co-hosted by announcer Nino Del Buono and Hall of Fame Promoter J Russell Peltz. Continue reading “2018 PA Boxing Hall of Fame Inductions”

By Marco Bratusch

Today at EBU offices, French boxing venture Europrom won the purse bid to stage the vacant European bantamweight championship at stake for co-challengers Lee Haskins (35-4, 14 KOs), a former IBF world titlist and two-time European champion, and Goerge Ory (9-2-1, 1 KO). Both men are left-handed boxers. Europrom’s offer was 30,300 Euros, the only one to be received by the EBU for this contest. No date or venue were released yet by the promoter.

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Jack Culcay (23-3, 11 KOs) will finally have his European Union (EU) chance in his new, middleweight division sooner than expected, as he will face Spaniard Adasat Rodriguez (17-7-2, 10 KOs) on June 9 in Liepzig, Germany, as chief support for the European (EBU) light-heavyweight SES Boxing’s in-house contest between titleholder Dominic Boesel (27-1, 10 KOs) and mandatory challenger Enrico Koelling (25-2, 8 KOs). Culcay was named co-challenger along with Briton Elliott Matthews with the purse bid already set but the opponent suffered a shoulder injury while training last week. The EBU Board so accepted to sanction the bout between Culcay and Rodriguez for the vacant belt, with the winner to take on Matthews next, who has now appointed official challenger. Continue reading “European Boxing Update”

Featherweight world champion Leo Santa Cruz hosted a media workout in Los Angeles Tuesday as he prepares for his world title rematch against four-time world champion Abner Mares Saturday, June 9 live on SHOWTIME from STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast will also feature unbeaten super welterweight world champion Jermell Charlo defending his title against former world champion Austin Trout.

Super middleweight Lolenga Mock (42-14-1, 13 KOs) has secured a WBC world title eliminator against Avni Yidirim (19-1, 11 KOs) and will spar the world’s leading amateurs in Cuba as part of a grueling training regime. Mock, who at 46 has defied doubters by charging to a world ranking with 11 straight victories, will take on a man 20 years his junior in Yildirim in Germany on September 15.

The Congolese, who fights out of Denmark, said: “I’m so excited. It’s always been my dream to become a world champion. I’ve thought about it my whole life and I’m looking forward to taking another step closer. Continue reading “Mock-Yildirim set for WBC eliminator”

On Friday morning U.S. time, from the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, two-weight world champion Naoya “Monster” Inoue will move up in weight to face WBA bantamweight champion Jamie McDonnell, and WBC light flyweight champion Ken Shiro will make the third defense of his belt in a rematch against Ganigan Lopez. This world championship doubleheader, promoted by Ohashi Promotions and Teiken Promotions, will be broadcast live and exclusively in the United States at 7:15 a.m. ET on ESPN+ — the recently-launched multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service. Continue reading “Inoue and Shiro title defenses on ESPN+”

Jose “Sniper” Pedraza is nearing a title shot while Shakur Stevenson is well on his way. Pedraza and Stevenson will see action June 9 on the Terence Crawford vs. Jeff Horn world championship event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Pedraza (23-1, 12 KOs), from Cidra, Puerto Rico, will challenge Antonio Moran (22-2, 15 KOs) in a 10-rounder for the WBO Latino lightweight belt, while Stevenson (6-0, 3 KOs), the 2016 U.S. Olympic silver medalist, will step up in class against Aelio Mesquita (16-1, 14 KOs) in an eight-round featherweight contest.

And, in a battle of unbeatens, welterweight contender Jose Benavidez (26-0, 17 KOs) will face the iron-fisted Frank Rojas (22-0, 21 KOs) of Caracas, Venezuela, in a 10-rounder.

Crawford vs. Horn and Pedraza vs. Moran will be streamed exclusively on ESPN+ beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET., while Stevenson vs. Mesquita, Benavidez vs. Rojas, and other undercard bouts will be shown on ESPN+ starting at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Boxing commentator Teddy Atlas, who has been largely replaced by Mark Kriegel on ESPN boxing telecasts, will get some airtime on the CBS Sports Network June 8 when he joins ShoBox voice Barry Tompkins to call the light heavyweight clash between WBO #3 light heavyweight Mike Lee (20-0, 11 KOs) and Jose Hernandez (19-3-1, 9 KOs) at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. Lee-Hernandez will be contested for the NABO title.

Also featured in separate bouts are Chicago fan favorites, super middleweight contender Mike “Hollywood” Jimenez, (21-1, 14 KOs), undefeated super middleweight “White Lightning” Tommy Hughes, (6-0, 3 KOs), heavyweight knockout artist Andrey Fedesov, (29-3, 24 KOs) and heavy-handed cruiserweight Tervel Pulev, (10-0, 9 KOs).

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

WBA bantamweight champion Jamie McDonnell, UK, and his entourage arrived in Tokyo, Japan, late on Sunday after training in Dubai for a couple of weeks. McDonnell, handled by his manager/trainer Dave Coldwell, started his final training here from Monday, and engaged in a medical examination conducted by the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) on Tuesday.

Jamie faced his challenger and two-time world champ Naoya Inoue for the first time then and there.

The results of the medical exam were as follows:

McDonnell/Inoue
Height: 175.5 cm/165.2 cm 5’9”/5’5”
Reach: 182 cm/170.6 cm 71.7”/67.2”
Neck: 37 cm/35 cm 14.5”/13.8”
Chest: 96 cm/90 cm 37.8”/35.4”

Photos

By Gabriel F. Cordero

A Panama District Court judge has allowed former two-time world champion Celestino “Pelenchín” Caballero to perform community service. The 41-year-old Caballero, who has been incarcerated for two years, is serving a five-year sentence for drug trafficking. His community work will be in the Municipality of Colón, which is about 75 kilometers from Panama City. “Pelenchín” will work as a general assistant for the rest of his sentence.

By Gabriel F. Cordero

Three-time world champion and Boxing Hall of Fame member Wilfredo “Bazooka” Gomez has been hospitalized for health complications in Puerto Rico. The 61-year-old Gomez, who compiled a career mark of 44-3-1 with 42 KOs, is reportedly in stable condition and suffering from pneumonia.

By Gary “Digital” Williams

Oxon Hill, MD lightweight “The Dark Menace” Tiara Brown has announced that she has signed a promotional contract with DiBella Entertainment. At the announcement ceremony held at the Kenilworth Recreation Center in Washington, DC, Brown said her contract will be a three-year deal with a scheduled three bouts per year.

“Words cannot express how happy I am to sign with DiBella Entertainment,” Brown said during the ceremony. “All my career I’ve not only dreamed of the day that I would be a signed fighter, but I trained hard and kept the faith so my dream could become a reality.” Continue reading “Tiara Brown signs with DiBella Entertainment”

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

Funeral service for former Commonwealth and Australian light middleweight champion Troy Waters, who passed on May 18 after a long illness, will be held at 2PM Wednesday, May 30th, at Greenway Chapel and Memorial Gardens, 460 Avoca Drive, Greenpoint, NSW, Australia. Troy is survived by wife Michelle and children Nate 17 years and Shontae 14 years.

Former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has encouraged his younger brother Omar “Businessman” Chavez on social media after Omar’s loss this past weekend to Jose Carlos Paz.

Omar Chavez: I want to make a sincere apology to the people who supported me. To those who crucify me for having lost, God bless them, I will continue! Not that I don’t see things, I’m aware of everything and I’ll train harder, and I won’t remain seated for my fights or my career.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr: Do not apologize! See that you failed and work harder on that. Grasp what you don’t like doing. And don’t fight to look good to anyone. Your fights are always good! It’s your career and you decide what to do with it. Pay more attention to your technique and don’t want to win with one punch and you will be champion.

Omar Chavez: Thank you, brother, for being with me in the good times and in the bad ones. I will try to improve in that, thanks.

Omar Chavez: It may not be like my father who came to 89-0 but there are many other fighters who lost at the start of their career and are now legend. The war was lost but not the battle. I’ll be back soon and better!

Welterweight Gerome Quigley (18-0, 16 KOs) will look to stay perfect when he takes on tough Raymond Serrano (24-5, 10 KOs) in a 10-round battle for the USBA and WBC United States titles on Saturday, June 16th at The Gardens Ice House in Laurel, Maryland.

“I don’t know much about him other then he is tough and durable. This will be a good test for me, and I am stepping to the next level with this fight. Serrano is battled tested, so that should bring out the best in me,” said Quigley. Continue reading “Quigley-Serrano clash June 16”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos: Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten IBF mini-flyweight champ Hiroto Kyoguchi (10-0, 7 KOs), 105, kept his belt as he came off the canvas in the third session, controlled the remainder of the bout with his aggressiveness and pounded out a unanimous decision over previously undefeated Filipino Vince Paras (13-1, 11 KOs), 105, over twelve speedy rounds in Tokyo, Japan.

Mike Fitzgerald (US), Alfredo Polanco (Mexico) and Neville Hotz (South Africa) all tallied 117-110 in favor of the defending titlist. The referee was Benjy Esteves Jr. (US). Continue reading “Kyoguchi-Paras Full Report/Photo Gallery”

IBF super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas and challenger Jonas Sultan faced off over the weekend at a meet and greet with the Filipino community at the Filipino Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Their fight on Saturday will be the first world title bout between two Filipino fighters in 93 years (when Pancho Villa defended the world flyweight title against Clever Sencio on May 2, 1925 in Manila).

In the co-feature, WBA super flyweight champion Kal Yafai will make the third defense of his title against David Carmona. American viewers can see both bouts via live stream on ESPN+.

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

Former Commonwealth welterweight challenger Jack “Gelignite” Brubaker (13-3-1, 7 KOs) will clash with Englishman Tyrone Nurse (35-3-2, 7 KOs) over twelve rounds in a Commonwealth final eliminator in Johnny Lewis Boxing Series at the Star Casino in Sydney, New South Wales Australia on Thursday.

Nurse is coming off a twelve round points loss to WBO #4 Jack Catterall in a British super lightweight title bout in 2017. Sydney-based Brubaker suffered a cut eye six round technical decision loss to Kris George in a Commonwealth welterweight title bout in 2017. Brubaker’s best win was in Japan in 2016 defeating Suyon Takayama to capture the Orient and Pacific Boxing Federation title.

Promoter Paul Nasari, matchmaker Chris Carman.

By Robert Coster

An attractive boxing card billed as “Fightnight One” is being offered to boxing fans in Haiti this coming Thursday with battlers coming from Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico and Panama. WBA #1 lightweight contender Evens Pierre (29-1, 19 KOs) is facing hard punching Dominican Francisco Contreras (31-8, 24 KOs) over 10 rounds. Pierre, a local idol in Haiti, has just renounced the WBA Fedelatin title he had held for over four years.

Says promoter Jacques Deschamps, “Evens is knocking on the door of a world title fight but he cannot look past Contreras, a tall, long-armed puncher.” Continue reading “Pierre headlines card in Haiti on Thursday”