Jaime Munguia 169.1 vs. Bruno Surace 169.1
Alan Picasso 125.9 vs. *Yehison Cuello 124.6
*Cuello replaces Picasso’s original opponent, Isaac Sackey
Jorge Garcia Perez 154.3 vs. Kudratillo Abdukakhorov 158.2
Sebastian Hernandez 123.6 vs. Sergio Martin Sosa 123.2
Christian Islas Roldan 130.7 vs. Juan Anacona 129.5

Venue: Estadio Caliente, Tijuana, Mexico
Promoter: Top Rank
TV: ESPN+

Murodjon Akhmadaliev 121.1 vs. Ricardo Espinoza Franco 121.6
(WBA interim super bantamweight title)

Cheavon Clarke 199 vs. Leonardo Mosquea 198.6
(EBU European cruiserweight title)

Beatriz Ferreira 134 vs. Licia Boudersa 130.6
(IBF female lightweight title)

Gary Cully 134.5 vs. Maxi Hughes 134
Teremoana Teremoana 267.5 vs. Volodymyr Katsuk 238.5

Venue: Salle Des Étoiles, Monte Carlo, Monaco
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN

Antonio Vargas 117.2 vs. Winston Guerrero 117.8
(WBA interim bantamweight title)

Javon ‘Wanna’ Walton 135 vs. Erik Hanley 133
Dainier Pero 236.8 vs. Walter Burns 225.8
Tammara Thibeault 160 vs. Natasha Spence 158.6
Jeovanny Estela 153.6 vs. Jocksan Blanco 153.2
Gurgen Hovhannisyan 275 vs. Patrick Mailata 309.4
Hendri Cedeño 142 vs. Luis Hernandez Ramos 146.2
Jamar Pemberton 162.8 vs. Kahlil Mitchell 164
Antraveous Ingram 153.2 vs. Freddy Espinoza 156.4
Fradimil Macayo 134.8 vs. Oscar Escandon 138
Alex Bray 154 vs. Gaston Rios 151.6

Venue: Caribe Royale, Orlando, Florida
Promoter: Boxlab Promotions
TV: DAZN

Unbeaten IBF #8 junior middleweight Andreal “Bossman” Holmes Jr. (17-0, 6 KOs) won a ten round unanimous decision against Edwin Junior Jimenez (9-1, 7 KOs) on Thursday night at the Dort Center in Flint, Michigan. Scores were 97-93 across the board. With the win, Holmes looks headed toward an IBF eliminator against Erickson “The Hammer” Lubin.

The co-feature saw middleweight Joey Spencer (19-1, 11 KOs) score a tightly contested majority decision victory over Miguel Angel Hernandez (9-1, 7 KOs), giving him his first career loss. While facing adversity throughout the bout, Spencer strung together his third straight victory.

Reigning WBC women’s heavyweight champion Claressa Shields (15-0, 3 KOs) will defend her title plus fight for the vacant WBA heavyweight belt against undefeated contender Danielle Perkins (5-0, 2 KOs) on Sunday, February 2. The event will take place at Dort Financial Center in Shields’ hometown of Flint, Michigan, and air live globally on DAZN.

Heavyweight Bohdan Myronets (10-1, 5KOs) scored the biggest win of his career to date at the Grand Élysée in Hamburg, Germany, by claiming a split decision points win against the previously unbeaten Jose Larduet (13-1, 11KOs), over ten rounds to claim the WBC’s Francophone heavyweight title. The contest featured on Universum’s “Night Of Champions” in collaboration with the WBC and was held during the sanctioning body’s 62nd annual convention. Continue reading “Myronets upsets Larduet at 62nd WBC Convention”

A press conference was held today in Ontario, Calif., to promote Saturday’s 12-round clash between two world title contenders: NABO welterweight titleholder Alexis “Lex” Rocha (25-2, 16 KOs) and undefeated knockout artist and NABF welterweight titleholder Raul “El Cugar” Curiel (15-0, 13 KOs) on DAZN from the Toyota Arena.

Alexis Rocha: “Yeah, I got a good opponent coming in front of me, undefeated. He has a winning streak, but every streak, unfortunately comes to an end. I’ve trained very hard for this fight. I’ve cut no corners. I’m mentally, physically, in the best shape possible. This is my moment, and I’m gonna go and take it. This is gonna be a war, December 14, and I’m ready to make a statement.”

Raul Curiel: “I’ve trained very hard for this fight. I know this fight can open all the doors for a world title shot, and that’s my dream. This fight is for Mexico, it is for all my people who have my back and support me. I know I’m going win.”

The road back to a world title for Jaime Munguia (44-1, 35 KOs) continues in a familiar setting. The Mexican super middleweight star comes home this Saturday, Dec. 14, to face the unbeaten Bruno Surace (25-0-2, 4 KOs) in the 10-round main event at Estadio Caliente in Tijuana.

In the 10-round co-feature, WBC #1 junior featherweight contender Alan Picasso (30-0-1, 16 KOs) hopes to set the stage for a monster 2025 when he takes on Ghana’s Isaac Sackey (26-2-2, 21 KOs).

This is what Munguia and Surace had to say at Thursday’s press conference.

Jaime Munguia: “He is a strong fighter. He throws a lot of combinations. We have to be careful with that. I’ve studied him, and I’m confident of the work that we have done. I will walk away with my hand raised in victory…if I knew in what round I could knock him out, I would bet all of my money on that. But I don’t know. It’s uncertain. I can tell you now with full certainty that I will be looking for the knockout.”

Bruno Surace: “He’s an outstanding fighter. He’s aggressive and very offensive. In the first few rounds, I’ll have to get a lot of information and lay out a plan to fight him. But I’ve also seen many videos of him, and I know how I will need to box him.”

Sadriddin Akhmedov 158.8 vs. Raphael Igbokwe 157.2
Karlos Balderas 142 vs. Cesar Villarraga 140.6
Jorge Maravillo 151.8 vs. Damoni Cato-Cain 150
Angel Carrillo 124 vs. Joshua Torres 124
Fidencio Hernandez 124.2 vs. Josaphat Navarro 124.2
Perla Bazaldua 114.2 vs. Mollie Backowski 112

Venue: Chumash Casino Resort, Santa Ynez, California
Promoter: 360 Promotions
TV: UFC Fightpass

Francesco Grandelli 125.2 vs. Cristobal Lorente 125.2
(EBU European featherweight title)

Fabio Turchi 204.69 vs. Viktar Chvarkou 201.6
Patrick Cappai 127.5 vs. Tasha Mjuaji 127.3
Stefano Lai 151 vs. Sebastiano Argiolas 151
Fabio Crobeddu 124.6 vs. Christofer Salvatore 124.6
Lorenzo Fais 117.9 vs. Mladen Boljkovac 119.49

Venue: Palasport, Carbonia, Italy
Promoter: OPI Since 82
TV: ESPN+ (US), DAZN (Italy)

Nick Ball will make a second defense of his WBA world featherweight title against former world champion TJ Doheny at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool on Saturday March 15. The card is co-headlined by British and Commonwealth bantamweight champion Andrew Cain going up against the European champion Charlie Edwards’.

In further major championship action, Brad Strand (12-1, 4 KOs) will take on Ionut Baluta (16-5-1, 3) for the vacant WBO European super bantamweight title and Cuban super featherweight star Jadier Herrera (16-0, 14) will make a defense of his WBA Intercontinental championship belt. Super-flyweight knockout machine Jack Turner (10-0, 9) will fight over 10 rounds.

“This card is literally combustible!” stated Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren. “There is so much at stake in all the championship fights and every one of them has got all the makings of a cracker!”

Report/Photos by Boxing Bob Newman

Firstly, more awards were verbally bestowed and will be mailed or otherwise delivered to the recipient.

• Work Horse: Anson Wainwright
• Lifetime Achievement: Don Majeski
• Commissioner of the Year: Charlie Giles
• Committee Chairman: Thanapol Bhakdibhumi
• Confederation: EBU
• MVP: Kevin Noon
• Lady of the Year: Miss Nagano (Teiken Gym)
• Commission of the Year: British Boxing Board
• Boxing Couple: Roberto & Carla Diaz
• Good Fellow Award: Mike George
• Man of the Year: Turki Alalshiekh
• Committee Member of the Year: Dr. Ricardo Monreal & Marcos Ariente
• Dr. Finerman Award: Luis Rodriguez

Continue reading “62nd Annual WBC Convention Day Three”

Lightweight Jonhatan Cardoso (18-1, 15 KOs) scored a ten round unanimous decision over Eduardo Ramirez (28-5-3, 13 KOs) on Wednesday night at the ProBox TV Events Center in Plant City, Florida. Scores were 97-93, 96-94, 96-94.

Unbeaten featherweight Luis Nunez (20-0, 13 KOs) hammered out a ten round unanimous decision over Leonardo Baez (21-5, 12 KOs). Scores were 99-91, 98-92, 98-92.

Unbeaten bantamweight Katsuma Akitsugi (12-0, 3 KOs) stopped former world title challenger Aston Palicte (28-6-1, 23 KOs) in round six. Akitsugi battered Palicte to the canvas to end it.

Unbeaten light heavyweight Dante Benjamin (10-0-1, 8 KOs) needed just 64 seconds to finish Aaron Casper (7-8-2, 5 KOs).

Weights by Brad Snyder / The Undercard

Ardreal Holmes Jr. 153.4 vs. Edwine Junior Jimenez 153.2
Joey Spencer 159 vs. Miguel Angel Hernandez 159.2
Caroline Veyre 124.6 vs. Gabriela Bouvier 125.4
Kahmel Makled 178 vs. Dominique Dunning 181
Hunter Lee 153.4 vs. Derrick Shreeve 149
Byron Rojas 113.4 vs. Robin Ellis 112.8
Pryce Taylor 264.2 vs. KeShawn Jackson 249.2
Da’Velle Smith 164.6 vs. William Townsel 160.6
Samantha Worthington 138.6 vs. Jaica Pavilus 134

Salita Promotions presents Big Time Boxing at Dort Financial Center Thursday December 12. First bell at 5:30pm with tickets available at the box office. DAZN will stream the action.

Shady Gamhour 162.8 vs. Devontae McDonald 164
Dominique Roundtree 125.3 vs. Jose Antonio Sampedro 124.4
Andrew Murphy 166.6 vs. Andres Martinez 166.9
James Wilkins 129.8 vs. Dennis Contreras 131.6
Chris Young 134.5 vs. Anthony Curtiss 136

Venue: Legends Casino Hotel, Toppenish, Washington
Promoter: Roy Jones Jr.
TV: PPV ($12.99 BLK Prime)

Italian contender Francesco Grandelli will square off against Spain’s Cristobal Lorente in the 12-round main event for Lorente’s European Union featherweight crown this Friday, Dec. 13, at the Palazzetto Dello Sport Carbonia in Carbonia, Italy.

Grandelli-Lorente and undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+ starting at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT.

Grandelli (18-3-2, 4 KOs) rebounded from his 2023 loss to Mauro Forte with a decision win over Emiliano Salvini that July and a second-round stoppage of then-unbeaten Stefan Voda in December. The 30-year-old returns home following a decision defeat versus Scotsman Nathaniel Collins on enemy turf in May. Lorente (19-0-1, 8 KOs) is an eight-year pro coming off a breakout performance against Forte, defeating him via 12-round majority decision in July to claim the European Union title. Continue reading “ESPN+ picks up Grandelli-Lorente clash”

Report and Photos: Boxing Bob Newman

Day two proved to be a long one as the ratings and mandatory defenses of both men and women were gone over. This year, the weight divisions were observed starting with strawweights and moving up towards heavyweights, rather than vice versa.

The following movements were observed:

Strawweight, Beaven Sibanda moved from #15 to #13.

Flyweight, former WBA champ Artem Dalakian moved from #15 to #11, on the condition that he comes through with his scheduled February fight.

Super Flyweight saw Don Majeski thanking the WBC for their #2 ranking of Andrew Moloney. In turn, the WBC presented Majeski with a lifetime achievement award.

Super Feathers Khalil El Hadri (#19) and William Vargas (#30) will contest the vacant WBC silver title. Michael Magnesi (#6) will face the winner.

Super Lightweight saw #3 Dalton Smith move to #2, swapping places with #2 Jack Catterall going down to #3. Promoter of both fighters Eddie Hearn of Matchroom supported the move as Catterall is going the WBO eliminator route.

Middleweight Chris Eubank, Jr. moved from #3 to #2.

Cruiserweight saw new #1 Michal Cieslak move back to #3 from whence he came, after the recent draw (12/7/24) between then #1 Ryan Rozicki and #2 Yamil Alberto Peralta, who will resume their respective positions. Champion in recess- Badou Jack took the microphone to proclaim the he is in training and boxing politics have kept him out of the ring. He is ready to take on current champion Norair (Noel) Mikaeljan, or anyone else.

Heavyweight saw WBC Silver champion Lawrence Okolie move from #5 to #4, swapping places with Martin Bakole who will now be #5.

Continue reading “62nd Annual WBC Convention Day Two – Ratings”

Jonhatan Soares Cardoso 134.4 vs. Eduardo Ramirez 135
(WBA Continental North American lightweight title)

Katsuma Akitsugi 118.2 vs. Aston Palicte 117.4
(WBA Continental North American bantamweight title)

Luis Nuñez 129.8 vs. Leonardo Baez 126.8
Dante Benjamin 173 vs. Aaron Casper 177.6
Hugo Amador Mendez 136.6 vs. Edwin Tercedo 136.2
Drake Banks 258.4 vs. Cashton Young 204.4
Mikahail Hernandez 144.2 vs. Carlos Rocha 139.2

Venue: ProBox Event Center, Plant City, Florida
Promoter: ProBox
TV: ProBox TV

Report/Photos by Boxing Bob Newman

Ermal Hadribeaj 154 vs Eddy Colmenares 154
(WBC International Super Welter)

Serkay Comert 158.7 vs Yassin Hermi 158.7
(WBC International Silver Middle)

Jose Larduet 221.8 vs Bohdan Myronets 222

Branimir Malenica 174.6 vs Benjamin Gavazi 174.8
(WBC International Silver Light Heavy)

Asley Gonzalez Macias 114.6 vs Mary Romero 113.5
(WBC Super Fly)

Esneidy Rodriguez Olmos 101.4 vs Sana Hazuki 102
(WBC Silver Atom)

Mourad Alive 259 vs Davide Brito 222.6
(WBC International Silver)

Billy Dib 134.4 vs Attila Kayabasi 136.6
Henry Green 146.6 vs Jonny Sanchez 147.2
Shokhjakhon Abdullaev 193.5 vs Dzemal Bosnjak 195.1

Venue: Grand Elyseé Hotel, Rotherbaum, Hamburg, Germany
Commission: Buns Deutsche Berufsboxer
Promoter: Ahmet Öner (Arena-Box Promotin), Ismael Özen (Universim-Box Promotion)
Matchmaker: Marlon Esteban

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By Joe Koizumi

In boxing, the eye is a vulnerable spot along with chin, jaw, temple, neck under the ear, liver, stomach, solar plexus, side of body etc. The reason why the eye is an untold and unwritten vital point might be not to make boxing look like a dangerous art of fighting. In Japan, it is common that an illustration of the above-written vulnerable spots is put on the wall of a gym. The eye, however, isn’t included in those vital points in boxing. What do I want to say? Simple. Even though we, in boxing, don’t openly say that the eye is a weakness of a boxer, trainers must coach your boxers how to protect their eyes more positively and more effectively. How? To more and more utilize ducking, head slipping, swaying back, turning/rotating the head, etc.. We have witnessed too many optical damages happening in boxing bouts, so boxing coaches should tell your boxers to protect their eyes with more skills, should we proclaim our sport to be Sweet Science. Continue reading “Eye is a vulnerable spot to be protected”

Uzbekistan’s former IBF and WBA super bantamweight world champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev (12-1, 9 KOs) attempts to become a two-time world champion when he takes on Mexican knockout artist Ricardo Espinoza Franco (30-4, 25 KOs) for the interim WBA super bantamweight world title on Saturday at the Salle Des Étoiles at Sporting Monte Carlo shown live worldwide on DAZN. This is today’s first fight week face-off.

The unbeaten 19-year-old Bonilla twin brothers continue to impress early in their professional careers. The event took place this past Friday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida with Kris Lawrence(The Heavyweight Factory) promoting.

Super flyweight Ari (2-0, 1 KO) successully defended his WBA Continental Americas title stopping previously unbeaten Nelson Rodriguez(10-1, 5 KOs) of Venezuela by TKO round 5. Twin brother Andrey(2-0, 1 KO) unanimously decisioned Claudio Lavinanza (8-4, 3 KOs) of Chile to retain his WBA Continental Americas batamweight title. scores were 100-90 by all three judges.

In an exciting battle of unbeatens it was Armando Martinez Rabi(13-0, 12 KOs) of Miami by way of Cuba taking the 0 of world-ranked and fellow Cuban Yosdiel Napoles (6-1, 5 KOs) by way of 6th round TKO. Continue reading “Late Results from Florida”

Report/Photos by Boxing Bob Newman

Leon Sala (Carlos Takam Foundation) presented a commemorative WBC belt, incorporating elements to celebrate the 59th anniversary of the Rumble in the Jungle- Ali vs Foreman in them Zaïre, Africa in 1974. A leopard print and panther teeth adorn the belt and will be presented, by Sala to the winner of Usyk-Fury II.

BoxRec.com’s Marina and Jon Sheppard delivered a comprehensive presentation on all aspects of the BoxRec site. The functionality of their site continues to grow with expansive features to benefit all involved in the sport of boxing.

Han Hoang Mai, CEO of the revamped FIGHTFAX.COM delivered his presentation on the features of their site.

Dean Lohuis elaborated on his own record keeping system – in his brain and on index cards! Continue reading “62nd Annual WBC Convention Day One Meetings”

Report/Photos by Boxing Bob Newman

Champions and celebrities alike received the red carpet treatment as they arrived at the Grand Elyseé Hotel for opening banquet of the 62nd annual WBC Convention in Hamburg, Germany tonight.

In addition to a cavalcade of world champions and select German boxers, there were also high profile figures such as Turki Alalshikh and German rocker Klaus Meine, lead singer of heavy metal band Scorpions.

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Wladimir Klitschko and Klaus Meine spoke about both boxing and the world political situation, especially in Ukraine, Klitschko’s ethnic homeland. Meine and Scorpions have recently revamped the lyrics to their hit song, “Winds of Change” to reflect the situation within Ukraine, omitting the words “Gorky Park” in favor of “Ukraina.” The WBC bestowed commemorative belts with the mural painted at the last convention in Uzbekistan, to both Klitschko and Meine, presented by Terence Crawford and Lennox Lewis. Continue reading “WBC 62nd Annual Convention Opening Banquet”

Report/Photos by Boxing Bob Newman

The emcee for this event was DAZN Boxing broadcaster, Barak “The Boxing Bully” Bess, backed up by WBC board member
Robert Lenhardt.

First up was a video WBC board of directors roll call, followed by the WBC champions roll call- male and female.

BDB president Thomas Pütz gave an enthusiastic welcome to the convention in Hamburg.

A video greeting from Hamburg Mayor Peter Tschentscher welcomed the conventional into his city, which has a rich boxing history, shown in a video.

Germany’s first world champion Max Schmeling made his home in a suburb of Hamburg as did future champs Eckhard Dagge and the Klitschko brothers. Multiple world title fights were held in Hamburg during Germany’s boxing boom in the 90s and early 2000s. Continue reading “WBC 62nd Annual Convention Opening Ceremony”