By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

WBO junior featherweight world champion Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete (28-1, 24 KOs) scored an impressive third round TKO over previously unbeaten Francisco “Panchito” de Vaca (20-1, 6 KOs) before 3,944 on Saturday night in the inaugural boxing card at the Banc of California Stadium located on the site of the former Los Angeles Sports Arena.

Navarrete came out landing big punches in the opening round snapping de Vaca’s head back a few times. De Vaca answered with some solid counters as the things began to warm up. In round two, Navarrete landed a three punch combination dropping De Vaca. The third round saw Navarrete go for the stoppage as he came out attacking De Vaca and bloodying him. Credit to the challenger as he kept fighting back but the champ’s attack was too much and referee Raul Caiz Sr. stepped in to stop the fight at 1:54.

Afterward, Navarrete stated, “I want to thank my supporters, and second of all, I want to continue the tradition of Mexican boxing in Los Angeles. I want to fill arenas and follow in the footsteps of Mexican legends.”

“I’m talking to {Top Rank} about fighting September 14 on the Tyson Fury card in Las Vegas. I want to thank Bob Arum and Zanfer Promotions for the opportunity…De Vaca showed his fighting heart. He gave 100 percent in the ring tonight.”

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

Former WBO junior featherweight world champion Jessie Magdaleno (27-1, 18 KOs) won by ninth round technical decision over Rafael “Big Bang” Rivera (27-4-2, 18 KOs) at the Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles. Magdaleno dropped Rivera in round nine, but Magdaleno was later cut by an elbow (ruled an unintentional foul) and the bout went to the cards. Scores were 88-82, 89-81, 89-81.

Undefeated local super lightweight Arnold Barboza (22-0, 9 KOs) of South El Monte stopped Japan’s always tough Ricky Sismundo (35-15-3, 17 KOs) in four rounds. Barboza did his thing hammering away on Sismundo dropping him in the third. Continuing to attack, Barboza cornered Sismundo in the fourth. However after four rounds Sismundo had seen enough and when he didn’t come out of his corner the referee stopped the fight.

Middleweight Janibek Alimkhanuly (7-0, 3 KOs) from Russian stopped Stuart McClellan (27-4-3, 11 KOs) of Canada in the fifth round. Alimkhanuly dropped McCllelan late in the fifth round and then followed up with a brutal attack prompting the referee to step in to stop the fight. Time was 2:51 of the fifth.

South African welterweight Chris Van Heerden (28-2-1, 12 KOs) won a hard fought unanimous decision over Aslanbek Kozaev (33-3-1, 28 KOs) of Russia. Van Heerden was slick early on boxing away and frustrating Kozaev as the Russian missed punches wildly. Fighting from the southpaw stance Van Heerden kept his distance as Kozaev was the aggressor. Continue reading “Navarette-De Vaca undercard results”

IBF #3, WBA #5, WBO #6, WBC #11 super middleweight Vincent Feigenbutz (31-2, 28 KOs) scored an eighth round TKO over previously unbeaten Cesar Nunez (16–1-1, 8 KOs) on Saturday night at the Friedrich Ebert Halle in Ludwigshafen, Germany. Feigenbutz, a former WBA interim champion, battered Nunez to the canvas twice in round eight and the bout was waved off after Nunez continued to absorb punishment without firing back. Time was 1:58.

In the co-feature, unbeaten super welterweight Ahmad Ali (15-0-1, 10 KOs) unanimously outpointed Arman Torosyan (19-7-1, 16 KOs) over twelve rounds. Scores were 117-109, 115-113, 117-110.

By Rocky Morales at ringside

Unbeaten welterweight Gor Yeritsyan (11-0, 10 KOs) made his U.S.A. debut a successful one with a sixth round stoppage over Derion Chapman (3-5-1, 2 KOs) on Friday night at the Burbank Marriott, in Burbank, CA. Yeritsyan, a 24-year-old hailing from Yerevan, Armenia, had all his previous fights in Russia but was in good company for his American debut with each Freddy Roach and former U.S. Olympian, Vanes Martirosyan, working his corner.

In Russia, Yeritsyan had been facing higher level opponents than Chapman, including former world title challenger Ali Funeka, and was originally scheduled to face Amir Khan conqueror Breidis Prescott, but the fight fell through days ago requiring the last minute replacement of Chapman. Continue reading “Yeritsyan stops Chapman”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

IBF #11 Tim Tszyu (14-0, 10 KOs) outscored IBF #9 Dwight Ritchie (19-2, 2 KOs) over ten rounds at Star City Casino, Sydney, NSW, Australia on Wednesday. Tszyu connected with accurate combinations consistently and cut Ritchie’s left eye in round three which the doctor inspected but allowed the contest to continue. Tszyu outworked Ritchie in most of the rounds to be crowned the winner by scores of 97-93, 98-92, 98-93 to capture the IBF Australasian and WBO Global Championships.

Tim Tszyu: “Dwight is one hell of an opponent and kept me on my toes. He let me go somewhere that I haven’t been — something I can learn from, and can even get better. He was #1 in Australia for a reason. All my respect to Dwight, he’s one hell of a competitor. I think his journey isn’t finished — it’s only just beginning. Same as mine. We’re both young, we’ve got a big future ahead. Maybe, you know what, in the future, we can fight for a world title in Australia one day.” Continue reading “Tszyu defeats Ritchie in battle of contenders”

Report, Photo by Joe Koizumi

Japanese veteran southpaw puncher Akinori Watanabe (38-7-1, 32 KOs), 154, surprisingly captured the OPBF (Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation) super welterweight belt as he dropped taller lefty Korean champ Jung-Kyoung Lee (7-3-1, 3 KOs), 154, in the second, but had Lee retaliate to turn the tide until Watanabe finally caught the defending titlist twice en route to a dramatic stoppage at 2:37 of the tenth round in a scheduled twelve on Sunday in Seoul, Korea.

The Korean six-footer, 31, came off the canvas from his bad visit to the deck by the Japanese challenger’s left cross, and remarkably came back to dominate the following rounds by utilizing his advantageous height and reach. The open scoring system indicated after the eighth that Lee was ahead on points—77-74, 76-75 (for Lee), 75-76 (for Watanabe). Continue reading “Watanabe stops Lee, wins OPBF 154lb belt in Korea”

Former middleweight world title challenger Khasan Baysangurov (18-1, 7 KOs) made a statement in his return to the ring. It was his first fight since this past February when he fought valiantly in defeat versus then WBA world champion Rob Brant in his U.S. debut. Baysangurov TKO’d the normally durable and battle-tested Ilya Kharlamau (9-6, 6 KOs) of Belarus in round one with a liver body shot. Kharlamau had only previously been stopped one time but not that quick. Continue reading “Baysangurov scores first round TKO in Kiev”

By Brad Snyder-The Undercard
Photos: Bob Ryder

Welterweight Demian Fernandez (11-1, 5 KOs) defeated Andre Byrd (8-7-2, 1 KO) in a 10-round contest by UD (99-91, 98-92, 96-94) on Saturday night at the Lexus Velodrome in Detroit, Michigan.

Fernandez, who is the WBO Latino champion, overcame a tough opponent in Byrd. The fight was awkward at times and featured a lot of clinching and challenges of both fighter’s style.

Super welterweight Antonio Wade (5-1, 3 KOs) improves his record defeating Courtney Williams (0-2) over a 4-round Majority Decision (38-38, 40-36, 40-36). Continue reading “Fernandez tops Byrd in Detroit”

By Kurt Wolfheimer at ringside
Photos: Darryl Cobb Jr.

Former WBA super featherweight champion Jason “El Canito” Sosa (23-3-4, 16 KOs) continued on his quest for another world title shot, dropping “The Hackman” Haskell Lydell Rhodes (27-4-1, 13 KOs) three times en-route to a seventh round stoppage Saturday night at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA on the card promoted by Top Rank, Raging Babe Promotions and Peltz Boxing.

Sosa took control late in the third with constant pressure, which forced Rhodes to be on the defensive. The constant pressure from the man nicknamed El Canito continued throughout the fourth round. Sosa finally sent Rhodes to the canvas with left hook. Rhodes rose to his feet and Sosa continued to batter him around the ring. Rhodes was sent to the canvas again with a counter right. Continue reading “Ex-champ Sosa stops Rhodes in seven”

By Jeff Zimmerman at ringside

Unbeaten welterweight Vergil Ortiz Jr scored a sixth round KO over Antonio Orozco to win the WBA gold belt and an accompanying world title challenge on Saturday night at The Theatre at Grand Prairie in Grand Prairie, Texas.

Ortiz Jr (14-0, 14 KOs), out of Grand Prairie, TX, and fighting in his hometown for the first time as a pro, came out smoking from the opening bell as he landed a big body shot against former world title contender Antonio Orozco (28-2, 17 KOs) right from the jump. He soon followed up with a flurry of shots in the corner, before Orozco escaped initially. Ortiz got Orozco in trouble later in the round with power punches to the head and body, but Orozco showed his championship mettle by withstanding the initial onslaughts of Ortiz. In the 2nd round of the pro-Ortiz crowd, both guys landed to the body as Ortiz was going for the KO. Orozco went toe to toe with Ortiz who his trainer Robert Garcia called a future multi division world champion. Continue reading “Ortiz KOs Orozco in six for WBA gold title”

Former WBC middleweight champion Julio César Chávez Jr (51-3-1, 32 KOs) made quick work of Evert Bravo (25-11-1, 19 KOs) with an impressive first round KO on Saturday night at Estadio “Antonio R. Márquez” in San Juan de los Lagos, Jalisco, Mexico. Chavez pinned Bravo in a corner and put him down and out with a hook to the liver. Time was 1:22. It was Junior’s first fight since facing Canelo Alvarez more than two years ago.

“Boxing is like that,” said Chavez afterward. “I wanted to give the fans more of a show, but that hook was well connected. I’m very happy. I prepared like never before. I want to return in September against “Perro” Angulo and then go for the super middleweight or light heavyweight title!”

Photos

By Kurt Wolfheimer at ringside
Photos: Darryl Cobb Jr.

Unheralded Adan Gonzales (5-2-2, 2 KOs) did the unthinkable in the four round featherweight co-feature on Saturday night at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, spoiling the professional debut of two-time Cuban Olympic Gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez (0-1) by capturing a split decision victory.

Gonzalez dropped Ramirez in the opening seconds of the fight with a short counter. The knockdown seemed to give the Adan Gonzalez confidence and he opened up his offense with short little shots which seemed to keep the Cuban from letting his hands go. Rounds two and three were close, but Gonzalez wouldn’t back down his attack. Ramirez landed enough to make the rounds close. Ramirez caught Adan in the final seconds of the fight with a couple big lefts over the top as both traded, but just could not deter the busier Gonzalez. One judge saw the bout 38-37 for Robeisy Ramirez, but was overruled as the other to officials had it 38-37 and 40-35 for Adan Gonzalez, giving him the upset split decision victory.

Undefeated KO artist Edgar Berlanga (12-0, 12 KOs) kept his first round knockout streak intact, needing only two minutes and twenty four seconds to stop French middleweight Gregory “Nounou” Trenel (11-5-2, 3 KOs). Berlanga stunned Trenel with an eight punch combination early in the first round. Trenel tried to back out, but was sent to the canvas with an overhand left up top. Trenel was game and tried to survive as Berlanga rocked him with crushing shots. Referee Benjy Esteves Jr finally had seen enough and stepped in and called a halt to the contest at 2:24 of the opening round. Continue reading “2x Olympic gold medalist Ramirez loses pro debut”

By Jeff Zimmerman at ringside

In an unusual trilogy in boxing today, bantamweights Joshua Franco (15-1-2, 7 KOs) from San Antonio, TX and Oscar Negrete (18-2-2, 7 KOs) out of Columbia squared off for the 3rd time in as many fights on Saturday night in Grand Prairie, Texas. The first fight ended in a draw and Franco won a close rematch, a fight that Negrete feels he deserved to win. And like the first two fights, this one was a seesaw battle throughout, as these two know each other so well.

Negrete came out firing from the opening bell as he landed a big right hand and teed off on Franco with combinations to the head and body. Negrete continued in the 2nd round with a triple right hand down the middle and big uppercuts that had Franco railing and in trouble, but Franco hung tough and had his moments towards the latter part of the round. In rounds 3 through 6, Franco found his footing and had a great 4th round as he scored to both the head and the body. In the 7th round, Negrete landed a hard uppercut to the chin of Franco, but Franco found success to the body. In the 8th and 9th, Franco and Negrete took turns landing at will on the other. But in the 10th and last round, Franco landed a huge uppercut and clearly took the fight to Negrete. But in the end, in what was a “too close to call” battle once again, as Franco and Negrete settled for a draw as the scores read 96-94 for each and 95-95. With the draw and the second between these two combatants, Franco retains his NABF & WBA International bantamweight title. Continue reading “Franco and Negrete battle to second draw”

Former European lightweight champion Edis Tatli (32–3) scored a unanimous decision victory over Nicaraguan Berman “La Cobra” Sanchez (29-9–3) on Saturday 10th August in Savonlinna, Finland. It was an one-sided affair with Tatli controlling the action from start to finish. This was Tatli’s first fight since his KO loss against Teofimo Lopez in April. Tatli used his jab to keep Sanchez at bay, and when the opportunity presented itself, he threw quick combinations to Sanchez’s head. Sanchez tried to use his upper body movement to get in close, but found little success.

In the fifth round Tatli got in a left hook that staggered Sanchez, and in the beginning of seventh he connected with two stiff right crosses. In the eighth and final round Tatli was looking for a KO, but the experienced Sanchez managed to stay out of harms way. The scores were 80–73, 79–73 and 80–73 for Tatli. Continue reading “Former Euro champ Tatli beats Sanchez”

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

WBC #8, WBO #10, WBA #11 light-heavyweight Blake Caparello (30-3-1, 13 KOs) stopped New Zealand’s Reece Papuni (13-3, 7 KOs) in round eight of a scheduled ten round WBA Oceana title bout on Friday at the Melbourne Pavillion, Flemington Victoria, Australia. Caparello was coming off a ten round decision over fellow Australian Regain Dessaix and will be remembered for dropping Sergey Kovalev in unsuccessful WBO challenge in 2014.

By Jason Marchetti at ringside
Photos: Emily Harney

In the main event of the evening, heavyweight Steve Vukosa (11-1, 4 KO’s) defeated Juiseppe Cusamano (18-3, 16 KO’s) at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, Rhode Island. The card was promoted by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment and Sports.

Vukosa has been inactive over the years, a 10 year layoff, followed by a 4 year layoff, but was selected to fight in ESPN’s Heavyweight Boxino Tournament in 2015. He returned to boxing this year, with cruiserweight Chris Traietti (27-4) working his corner, to defeat the regional giant, Cusamano by unanimous decision. Continue reading “Heavyweight Vukosa drops and defeats Cusamano”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

OPBF super bantamweight champion Hiroaki Teshigawara (20-2-2, 13 KOs), 122, successfully kept his regional belt as he took the initiative, continued to whip former world challenger Shohei Omori (20-3, 15 KOs), 122, and finally halted him with a flurry of punches at 2:36 of the twelfth round on Thursday in Tokyo, Japan.

Hiroaki, handled by ex-WBA 154-pound champ Koichi Wajima, had him at bay in round six and was leading on points after the eighth: 79-73 twice and 78-3 on open scoring system. Omori showed his retaliation with southpaw lefts to the midsection in the tenth and eleventh, but Teshigahwara accelerated his last surge down the stretch to have the referee Nakamura call a well-received halt.

Photos

Okuda, Takesako keep Japanese belts; Inoue regains WBO AP 154lb belt

By Joe Koizumi

JAPANESE 115LB TITLE BOUT

Japanese super flyweight champ and IBF#15 Takayuki Okuda impressively kept his national belt when he dispatched JBC#6 Dynamic Kenji with a vicious southpaw left at 1:49 of the sixth round on Sunday in Osaka, Japan. Okuda, making his third defense, looked sharp and strong in outpunching the game but less aggressive challenger. In the semi-windup, former Japanese welter ruler Ryota Yada disposed of Indonesian champ Robert Kopa Palue with a solid right at 2:22 of the fourth session in a scheduled eight.

Continue reading “Japan Update”

Former 140-pound world champion Julius “Blue Machine” Indongo got back on the winning track with a second round stoppage of Tay Jones as part of a ten bout card held at the Bobby Miller Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Indongo (23-2), who had lost his last two bouts (to Terrence Crawford and Regis Prograis), started slow having been out of action for 18 months. Jones (4-1) took advantage and landed several big shots in the first. Indongo rebounded in the second and staggered Jones with a hook. A follow-up flurry put Jones down. Jones rose but the fight was stopped at 1:12 of the second.

In other action, Cuban heavyweight Robert Alfonso improved to 19-0-1 with 9 KOs with a third round stoppage of Steve Lyons.

Other Results:

KeAndrae Leatherwood UD 6 Ryan Adams.
Arturo Aguilar Maj. Draw 4 Chris Polk
Jamal Woods TKO 2 Rodney Moore
Ronny Hale Split Dec 4 Brandon Spencer
Chown Sims UD4 KeEric Hinton
Ricky Graham SD6 Thomas Knox
Andre Harris TKO1 Jason Howard
Anthony Stewart TKO2 Jalyn Anthony

Promoter: Skyy Promotions

By Ricardo Ibarra
Photos by Mike Blair/Boxingprospects.net

Claiming his tenth consecutive victory, Tacoma welterweight Andre Keys (11-1, 5 KOs) earned a hard-fought decision win over two-time foe Antonio Neal (4-11-1, 3 KOs) on Saturday night at the Clackamas Armory in Clackamas, Oregon. Fighting in the main event of the 2Pound Sports & Entertainment promoted card, Keys used his quicker hand speed and more accurate punching to drop Neal once in the third en route to a six round unanimous decision win.

Keys established his superior hand speed from the start, stepping in with sharp lead rights and popping crisp one-twos in his opponent’s direction. For the first two rounds, Keys had the edge with the busier output, catching the oncoming Neal with accurate shots to the head and body. Continue reading “Keys defeats Neal in Oregon”

WRAM Boxing (William Ramirez) and Nica Boxing (Pablo Osunsa) continued their monthly “Noche Explosiva” boxing events on Saturday night at the Gimnasio Nicarao in Managua, Nicaragua. In the main event, super welterweight prospect Roberto Arriaza (18-1, 14 KOs) scored a second round knockout over Addir Sanchez (12-21-3, 6 KOs) of Panama. Arriaza set the pace in round one pursuing a retreating Sanchez. It was more of the same in round two until a crushing left hook landed putting Sanchez down and out for the count. Moments later Sanchez was on his feet and appeared to be OK. Continue reading “Arriaza stops Sanchez in Managua”

By Przemek Garczarczyk at ringside
Photos: Emily Harney

23:1 underdog Jean Pascal (34-6-1, 20 KOs) dethroned previously unbeaten WBA interim light heavyweight champion “Sir” Marcus Browne (23-1, 16 KOs) via eight-round technical decision on Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

36-year-old former WBC world champion Pascal dropped Browne in round four. Browne was down two more times in round seven. Browne was cut over the left eye by an accidental headbutt in round eight. The bout was stopped and sent to the scorecards where all three judges had it 75-74 for Pascal.

Photos

By Przemek Garczarczyk at ringside
Photos: Emily Harney

Unbeaten heavyweight contender Adam “Babyface” Kownacki (20-0, 15 KOs) won an entertaining twelve round brawl against former title challenger Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola (38-6-1, 33 KOs) on Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

From the opening bell, both Kownacki and Arreola went at it trading bombs the whole fight. Arreola injured his left hand midway and fought mostly one-handed after that. Scores were 118-110, 117-111, 117-111.

“I just have to keep training hard, getting better and sharpening my skills,” said Kownacki. “We’ll see what the future holds. Hopefully next year I’ll get the title shot.”

“Retirement is something I need to talk to my family and team about,” said the 38-year-old Arreola. “I gave it my all this fight. I let it all hang out. After breaking my hand, I kept fighting because I believed I could win.” Continue reading “Kownacki defeats Arreola in slugfest”

WBO #5, WBA #6, IBF #12 featherweight Michael Conlan (12-0, 7 KOs) scored a ninth round TKO over Diego Alberto “El Profeta” Ruiz (21-3, 10 KOs) on Saturday night in front of 10,000 at Falls Park as part of Belfast’s annual Féile an Phobail summer festival.

One-sided fight. Conlan dropped Ruiz with a body shot and the bout was waved off after Ruiz took a few more body shots. Time was 1:34.

“I’m ready for a world title soon. This time next year, I want to have a world title around my waist,” said Conlan afterwards.

In a clash of world-rated middleweights, WBO #6, IBF #13 Luke Keeler (17-2-1, 5 KOs) scored a ten round decision over WBC #8 Luis Arias (18-2-1, 9 KOs). Arias was deducted a point for hitting on the break in round eight. Keeler scored a flash knockdown in round nine. Scored 96-91. Continue reading “Conlan stops Ruiz, remains unbeaten”

By Gary “Digital” Williams at ringside
Photos: Mike Greenhill

New York City cruiserweight Stivens “Superman” Bujaj won an eight-round unanimous decision over Luther “Lights Out” Smith of Bowie, MD in the main event of a Jeter Promotions card held in front of a packed house at Live! Casino in Hanover, MD.

The first two rounds saw both men feel each other out and trade jabs and hooks evenly. By the fourth round, however, Bujaj started to take control as Smith’s output began to decrease. Smith would actually stay in the contest by switching from his natural southpaw stance to conventional. However, Bujaj would land the more telling blows in the contest and go on to the victory. Judges David Braslow and John Gradowski scored the bout 78-74 while Brent Bovell saw the contest 77-75 for Bujaj, who returned to action for the first time since October of 2017. Bujaj’s record rises to 17-2-1, 11 KO’s. Smith falls to 12-5, 10 KO’s. Continue reading “Bujaj Outlasts Smith in Hanover, MD”