Fightnews.com

By Miguel Maravilla

Undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Álvarez and Jaime Munguia talk about their epic clash on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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Set your alarm clock. FOUR world title fights will stream live in the U.S. on ESPN+ Monday morning starting at 4AM ET/1AM PT

Naoya Inoue 121.75 vs. Luis Nery 121
(undisputed super banatamweight title)

Jason Moloney 117.75 vs. Yoshiki Takei 117.75
(WBO bantamweight title)

Takuma Inoue 117.75 vs. Sho Ishida 117.75
(WBA bantamweight title)

Seigo Yuri Akui 112 vs. Taku Kuwahara 112
(WBA flyweight title)

Venue: Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Promoter: Ohashi Promotions in association with Top Rank and Teiken Promotions
TV: ESPN+

After retaining his undisputed super middleweight title against Jaime Munguia in Las Vegas, world champion Canelo Alvarez discussed his place in boxing history and his plans for what comes next.

“When I retire, my numbers will say what position I’m in,” said Canelo. “I know there’s a lot of great Mexican fighters in the past, but I’m the best fighting right now. I’m gonna rest and enjoy my family. If the money is right, I can fight right now. I’ve fought everyone and I can do what I want.”

Regarding the fight with Munguia, Canelo said, “This win means a lot. I’m glad that I gave him this opportunity. Munguia is a great guy and a great champion. He’s gonna have a great career. I’m very proud that the whole world is watching us Mexicans.

“I took my time. I have a lot of experience. Munguia is a great fighter. He’s strong and smart. But I have 12 rounds to win the fight and I did. I did really good and I’m proud of it. He’s strong, but he’s a little slow. I could see every punch. That’s why I’m the best.”

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

Undisputed WBC/WBA/IBF/WBO super middleweight champion Canelo Álvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) scored an exciting twelve round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten former 154lb champion Jaime Munguía (43-1, 34 KOs) on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Munguía was more than willing to exchange with Canelo and often got the better of the early exchanges.

The turning point came when Canelo dropped Munguia at the end of round four with a right uppercut.

The momentum then changed to begin the fifth as Munguia fought at a calmer pace. Canelo began to counter effectively with solid shots and swing with the uppercut. Continue reading “Canelo defeats Munguia, still undisputed”

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

WBC interim welterweight champion Mario “El Azteca” Barrios (29-2, 19 KO’s) won a hard fought unanimous decision against Argentina’s Fabián “TNT” Maidana (22-3, 16 KO’s), the younger brother of former world champion Marcos Maidana, in the Canelo-Munguia co-feature on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Argentinian Maidana applied the pressure early on as Barrios boxed patiently looking for openings. An overhand right in the third by Barrios found its mark as sent Maidana to the canvas.

Barrios continued to box behind the jab and stalk Maidana, connecting boldly in the process at the halfway mark in the sixth. It was the Azteca that appeared to be conquering his way to victory, passed the halway mark in the seventh Barrios kept at it applying the pressure. Despite boxing effectively, Barrios’s right eye was shut heading into the eighth Continue reading “Barrios beats Maidana, keeps WBC interim title”

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

WBC interim featherweight champion Brandon “The Heartbreaker” Figueroa (25-1-1, 19 KO’s) of Weslaco, Texas scored a knockout over hometown former world champion Jessie Magdaleno (29-3, 18 KO’s) on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. A crunching body shot by Figueroa put Magdaleno down on his knees. Referee Allen Huggins reached a ten count at 2:59 of the ninth.

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

WBA welterweight champion Eimantas Stanionis (15-0, 9 KO’s) of Lithuania handed two-time Olympian Gabriel Maestre (6-1-1, 5 KO’s) from Barcelona, Venezuela his first defeat in winning a twelve round unanimous decision on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Neither shyed away in the opening bell as Stanionis and Maestre exchanged at a fast pace. Picking up where they left off, Stanionis and Maestre worked inside and let their hands go in round two. Staying busy in the third, Stanionis applied pressure as Maestre held his ground and mixed it up. Stanionis began to land big in the fourth as he connected with a hard right, the Venezuelan went downstairs to the body. Continue reading “Stanionis retains WBA welterweight title”

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

Phoenix’s super welterweight Jesus Ramos (21-1, 17 KO’s) returned to the ring with a late stoppage of Venezuela’s Johan Gonzalez (34-3, 33 KO’s). It was a tough battle for Ramos as he suffered a cut on the right eye from an accidental head-butt. Gonzalez kept coming and applied pressure late in the fight. However a left by Ramos dropped Gonzalez late in the fight as he was up but Ramos finished him dropping him a second time as the referee waved it at 2:56 of the ninth.

Super welterweight Vito Mielnicki (18-1, 12 KO’s) of New Jersey defeated Ronald Cruz (19-4-1, 12 KO’s) of Los Angeles over ten rounds. Mielnicki dropped Cruz with a left hook in the third. Cruz was down once again in the fourth. Cruz displayed toughness bouncing off the canvas and hanging in. It was all Mielnicki the second half of the fight as he worked his way to the decision. 99-89, 98-90, and 96-92.

Undefeated Mexican super bantamweight Alan Picasso (28-0-1, 16 KO’s) of Mexico City remained unbeaten as he scored a fifth round stoppage over Damien Vasquez (17-4-1, 10 KO’s) of Las Vegas. Timenof the stoppage was 2:11. Picasso is rated WBC #2 in the 122lb division.

Undefeated Cuban super middleweight William Scull (22-0, 9 KO’s) won a clear unanimous decision over Sean Hemphill (16-2, 10 KO’s) of New Orleans. Scull scored a knockdown in rout to the decision win. Judges scores were 79-72, 78-73, and 76-75. Scull is the IBF #1 super middleweight and mandatory challenger for a shot at the title.

Light heavyweight Lawrence King (16-1, 13 KOs) rolled over Anthony Holloway (7-5-3, 6 KOs) in a six rounder. Scores were 59-55 3x.

Mexican lightweight Adrian Torres (9-0, 6 KO’s) won a unanimous decision over Arsen Poghosyan (3-2-1, 2 KO’s). Torres dominated as all three judges scored the bout 60-54.

In the opening bout from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Lightweight prospects Julian Bridges (5-0, 2 KO’s) of Antioch, California and San Diego’s Jabin Chollet (9-1, 7 KO’s) squared off. It was Bridges that boxed his way to a unanimous decision victory. All three judges scored the bout 59-55.

Taking advantage of having all the boxing press corps in town to cover the Canelo-Munguia fight, Gervonta “Tank” Davis, Frank “The Ghost” Martin, David “El Monstruo” Benavidez and Oleksandr “The Nail” Gvozdyk held a press conference in Las Vegas on Saturday to officially announce their upcoming pay-per-view event on Prime Video taking place June 15 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. (More to come)

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

A big press conference of the forthcoming quadruple world title promotion featuring the undisputed world super bantamweight title bout between “Monster” Naoya Inoue and “Pantera” Luis Nery took place on Saturday in Yokohama, Japan.

The headliner was Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who emphasized the bigness and importance of this event, saying “Historically this is the most important boxing event for Japanese fans. International superstar Naoya Inoue will put all his belts on the line against Mexican challenger Luis Nery at the Tokyo Dome. This is a very international attraction that all boxing fans over the world are greatly anticipating.”

Undisputed world 122-pound champion Inoue said, “I’m mentally and physical fit for the tremendous event of my life. I’ll show my best and knock out Luis Nery.”

Challenger Luis Nery said, “I have perfectly prepared for this big event. I am already under the limit. I will also demonstrate my power and knock out Inoue.” Continue reading “Inoue-Nery Press Conference in Tokyo”

By Joe Koizumi

Unbeaten southpaw speedster IBF#1 Ryosuke Nishida (9-0, 1 KO), 118, astoundingly dethroned IBF bantamweight champ Emmanuel Rodriguez (22-3, 13 KOs), 117.75, by winning an upset unanimous decision (115-112 twice, 117-110) over twelve speedy rounds on Saturday in Osaka, Japan. Nishida, less experienced and less powerful, was an undoubted underdog, but produced such an upset with his cleverness and positiveness. Ryosuke, formerly a Kinki university amateur boxer, had upset ex-WBC flyweight champ Daigo Higa in his fourth pro bout, which made him enter the world ratings. Rodriguez, four years his senior at 31, might have underestimated the Japanese challenger due to his very low knockout ratio, and he was less aggressive only to aim at a solid counter at a time in the beginning of the contest. Nishida, on the other hand, diligently put on a workman-like aggression and took the initiative for the first two rounds. Though the champ was in command in round three, Nishida found it groundbreaking and effective to score with body attacks from the fourth, when he surprisingly dropped the Puerto Rican on hands and knees. Continue reading “Nishida upsets Rodriguez, wins IBF 118lb belt”

A lawyer for promoter Oscar De La Hoya has sent a cease and desist letter to the Canelo legal team demanding that Canelo stop claiming that De La Hoya is stealing from boxers and also retract said allegations. The Golden Boy released the following…

Re: Defamation of Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions

As you know, at yesterday’s press conference your client, Canelo Alvarez, falsely accused my client, Oscar De La Hoya, of stealing from boxers. He said this outrageous lie not once, but several times — both in English and Spanish and it has now been republished to millions around the world. Continue reading “Oscar demands that Canelo retract statements”

By Joe Koizumi

IBF bantamweight champion Emmanuel Rodriguez (22-2, 13 KOs), from Puerto Rico, made weight at 117.75, a quarter pound under the limit on Friday in Osaka, Japan, while Japanese challenger IBF#1 Ryosuke Nishida (8-0, 1KO) scaled in at the class limit 118. Their encounter will take place at Edion Arena Osaka this Saturday evening.

The officials are as follows: referee Danrex Tapdasan (Philippines); judges Carl Zappia (Australia), Gil Co (Philippines) and Sanong Uomin (Thailand).

The promoter is KWORLD3 (AKA Kameda) Promotions.

The highly anticipated undisputed light heavyweight world title showdown between WBC/IBF/WBO champion Artur Beterbiev and WBA ruler Dmitry Bivol — scheduled for Saturday, June 1 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — has been postponed after the 39-year-old Beterbiev suffered a ruptured meniscus in training.

The plan is to reschedule Beterbiev-Bivol before the end of the year. Meanwhile, it was confirmed that the accompanying 5 vs. 5 Tournament between Matchroom and Queensberry fighters including Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang will still take place on the June 1 date.

Canelo Álvarez 166.8 vs. Jaime Munguía 167.4
(undisputed WBC/WBA/IBF/WBO super middleweight title)

Mario Barrios 146.6 vs. Fabian Maidana 146.2
(WBC interim welterweight title)

Brandon Figueroa 125.4 vs. Jessie Magdaleno 128.6
(WBC interim featherweight title)
Note: Magdaleno missed weight – not eligible for the title

Eimantas Stanionis 146.6 vs. Gabriel Maestre 146.8
(WBA regular welterweight title)

Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
Promoter: TGB Promotions
TV: PPV (Prime Video or DAZN)

Former USA amateur star proudly reps Iraq & the Middle East, makes pro debut May 18

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with former USA amateur star, Jonny “Magic” Mansour, who proudly represents the Middle East and his Iraqi family, makes his long-awaited pro debut on a Top Rank card May 18 at Pechanga Arena in San Diego and shown live on ESPN+. The card is headlined by Navarette-Berinchyk with the co-feature Santillan-Norman Jr. Mansour was a 2023 National Golden Gloves winner and 2X USA Olympic Trials participant.

He talks about his unique path to boxing led by his Uncle Jack without the initial backing of his parents who migrated from Iraq and wanted Jonny to pursue the family business. Mansour delves into his relationship with Ryan Garcia and the aftermath of his fight with Devin Haney and talks about getting tips from Canelo at his gym in San Diego plus gives his prediction for Canelo-Mungia this Saturday and much more in this exclusive interview.

Undefeated WBC #3, WBA #3, WBO #3, IBF #7 super middleweight Erik Bazinyan (32-0-1, 23 KOs) and Shakeel Phinn (26-3-2, 17 KOs) battled to a ten round draw on Thursday night at Casino de Montréal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Bazinynan got all he could handle from Phinn, who pressed the action and seemed to do more. Scores were 97-93 Phinn, 96-94 Bazinyan, 95-95.

Unbeaten IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs) will defend his world title against unbeaten mandatory challenger Cody Crowley (20-0, 9 KOs) at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Saturday, July 13, live worldwide on DAZN. In his first fight as a world champion, Ennis will return to fight in his hometown for the first time since November 2018.

Boots Ennis: “I’m excited for my homecoming especially being the first to fight at the Wells Fargo Center, the biggest arena in Philly. I can’t wait to show out and put on a beautiful, dominating, crushing performance in front of my family, friends and supporters while defending and retaining my IBF world title in spectacular fashion. I’m ready to step on any and everybody that’s in my way!”

Cody Crowley: “Ten years ago, I arrived in Las Vegas with a dream of becoming world champion, unbroken by the sport. The only thing left to do is prove to the world in the City of Brotherly Love, that I am an undefeated champion, my spirit is unbeatable and I will fight for those who are too scared to fight.”

Fighters competing on the undercard for the much anticipated Canelo vs. Munguia went face-to-face Thursday at the final press conference before Canelo Promotions presents a Cinco de Mayo weekend featuring Canelo Álvarez putting his undisputed super middleweight world title on the line against unbeaten Jaime Munguía headlining a Pay-Per-View event on Prime Video on Saturday, May 4 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Featured during the press conference were former world champion Mario “El Azteca” Barrios and Argentine power-puncher Fabian “TNT” Maidana, who duel for Barrios’ Interim WBC Welterweight Title in the co-main event, former world champions Brandon “The Heartbreaker” Figueroa and Jessie Magdaleno, who meet for Figueroa’s Interim WBC Featherweight Title, and WBA Welterweight Champion Eimantas Stanionis and unbeaten two-time Olympian Gabriel Maestre, who battle in the pay-per-view opener. Continue reading “Canelo-Munguia undercard quotes”

By Joe Koizumi

There will be another world title bout in Japan prior to the sensational encounter of Monster Naoya Inoue and Luis Pantera Nery on this coming May 6. Just two days before the super fight at Tokyo Dome. IBF bantamweight champ Emmanuel Rodriguez (22-2, 13 KOs), from Puerto Rico, arrived on Tuesday night in Osaka, Japan. He will face IBF#1 Ryosuke Nishida (8-0, 1 KO) at Edion Arena Osaka on May 4. Rodriguez reportedly stayed at a high altitude for four months in Mexico and directly came to Japan without returning his native Puerto Rico. The champ confidently said, “It’s hard for Nishida to beat me due to the difference of experience. I’m in very excellent shape after two hundred sparring sessions in Mexico.” Nishida may have a southpaw speedster’s chance.

BoxRec: Emmanuel Rodriguez

“Ryan has put out multiple statements denying knowingly using any banned substances — and we believe him. We are working with his team to determine how this finding came to be and will address this further once we conclude that process.” – Golden Boy

Boxing superstar Ryan Garcia has allegedly tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug on samples taken by VADA on the day of the weigh-in and day of his fight against Devin Haney, The drug is question is reportedly “Ostarine.” Garcia has denied the allegation.

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Fake news like if I was Donald trump pic.twitter.com/PVg5EW7yLd

— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) May 2, 2024

Undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Álvarez and unbeaten challenger Jaime Munguía squared off Wednesday at the final press conference before their Cinco de Mayo weekend PPV clash this Saturday from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Canelo Alvarez: “This is going to be a great Mexican war. Munguia and I both come to win, but I am going to win and win decisively…I don’t care about experience vs. youth, I’m Canelo. I have everything I need to win and I know exactly what I need to do…I feel better than ever and I’m ready for this fight…Munguia has power and he’s a good fighter. But I’m a strong fighter too and I’m gonna show everyone again on Saturday night…the fight will last as long as it lasts. One thing is for sure, you are not going to want to miss it.”

Jaime Munguia: “Canelo has a great deal of experience and has faced great fighters. I may not have the same resume, but I have youth on my side. I’m going to showcase my capabilities on Saturday night…I’m glad that he wants to knock me out, because I come with the same mentality. I’m gonna knock him out. It’s gonna be a great fight…outside the ring, Canelo has all my respect, but inside the ring, that respect goes out the window.”

Erik Bazinyan 167.5 vs. Shakeel Phinn 167.3
(NABF, WBA Continental super middleweight titles)

Avery Martin-Duval 132.7 vs. Ezequiel Palaversic 130
Thomas Chabot 131.3 vs. Alfredo Jimenez Espino 133.4
Jhon Orobio 139.3 vs. Cristian Palma 139.7
Alexandre Gaumont 157.7 vs. Abdallah Luanja 154.5
Moreno Fendero 161.7 vs. Nicolas Luque Palacios 160.8

Venue: Cabaret du Casino de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Promoter: Eye of the Tiger
TV: ESPN+

In a clash between unbeaten light heavyweights, 2020 Olympic silver medalist Ben Whittaker (7-0, 5 KOs) will meet Ezra Arenyeka (12-0, 10 KOs) for the WBA Gold title on June 15 at South London’s historic Selhurst Park Stadium, the home of Crystal Palace F.C. live on Sky Sports in the UK and Peacock in the USA.

Whittaker has become a viral sensation on social media as a result of his flamboyant showboating and Arenyeka has vowed to punish Whittaker for what he perceives to be disrespectful behavior towards his opponents in the ring.

In the previously announced main event, WBO cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith (19-1, 13 KOs) defends his world title against unbeaten mandatory challenger Richard Riakporhe (17-0, 13 KOs) as he looks to avenge his only career defeat.