In a clash between unbeaten super welterweights, Yoenis Tellez (8-0, 6 KOs) scored a one-sided ten round unanimous decision over “Action” Joseph Jackson (19-1, 15 KOs) on Friday night at the Caribe Royal Resort in Orlando, Florida. Tellez dropped Jackson in round two en route to a 100-89 3x shutout.

World rated super bantamweight Ramon Cardenas (25-1, 14 KOs) scored a ninth round KO against Eduardo “Koreano” Ramirez (22-4-2, 16 KOs) on Wednesday night at the Whitesands Event Center in Plant City, Florida. Cardenas ended a close, competitive fight with a bodyshot. Time was 1:37.

Super welterweight Damian Sosa (25-2, 12 KOs) upset previously unbeaten local hero Marques Valle (10-1, 8 KOs) by split decision over ten rounds. Scores were 96-94, 97-93 Sosa, 98-92 Valle.

Former world champion Ronny Rios (34-4, 17 KOs) won his featherweight debut by fifth round KO against Nicolas Polanco (21-6, 12 KOs). Body shots finished Polanco. Time was :54.

Unbeaten super welterweight Nikita Tszyu (9-0, 7 KOs) scored a mostly one-sided ten round unanimous decision over Danilo Creati (8-2-1, 1 KO) on Wednesday night in a clash for the Aussie domestic title at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, NSW, Australian. Tszyu dominated the first five rounds, including a knockdown in round two when Creati’s glove touched the canvas. A Creati right hand rocked Tszyu in round six and had Tszyu holding on. After that, Tszyu was back in charge for the rest of the fight to win comfortably.

Nikita is the son of Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu and brother of former WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu.

In an IBF light heavyweight eliminator, unbeaten IBF #14 Malik Zinad (22-0, 16 KOs) won a twelve round majority decision over IBF #4 Jerome Pampellone (18-1, 11 KOs). Score were 117-111, 117-111, and 114-114. Zinad becomes the mandatory IBF challenger for the winner of the undisputed clash between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol on June 1.

By Joe Koizumi
Photo by Boxing Beat Magazine

Hard-punching perennial contender Tsubasa Narai (13-2, 10 KOs), 129.5, very impressively wrested the Japanese super feather belt when he dropped defending champ Yuna Hara (14-3-1, 8 KOs), 129.75, three times and scored a fine TKO victory at 2:10 of the fifth round in a scheduled ten on Saturday in Osaka, Japan. Like a triangle, Narai previously put on a give-and-take performance with JBC 130-pound champ Kosuke Saka only to lose on a come-from-behind TKO defeat last September, and it was Hara that dethroned Saka via upset stoppage in April last year. Narai looked so sharp and powerful this night that he decked the champ with a vicious left hook in round four and twice more in the fatal fifth. Despite a five-inch height disadvantage Narai swarmed over the taller titlist and exploded touted strong shots to dispatch the prefight favorite.

Promoter: Shinsei Promotions.

Photos: Emily Harney

“KingRy” Ryan Garcia (26-1, 20 KOs) scored a twelve round majority decision over previously unbeaten WBC super lightweight champion Devin “The Dream” Haney (31-1, 15 KOs) on Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. With Garcia’s erratic behavior before the fight and failure to make weight by 3.2 pounds, on one knew what to expect. Garcia rocked Haney with a left hook in round one. Haney outboxed Garcia from round two to six. Garcia dropped Haney with a left hook in round seven, but Garcia was also deducted a point for hitting on the break. Garcia dropped Haney a second time in round ten. Garcia dropped Haney again in round eleven. Scores were 112-112, 114-110, 115-109. Since Garcia didn’t make weight, Haney remains champion.

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Unbeaten WBO #1, WBC #6, IBF #7 super lightweight Arnold Barboza Jr. (30-0, 11 KOs) scored a controversial ten round split decision over WBO #8 Sean “The Public Nuisance” McComb (18-2, 5 KOs). The lanky and awkward McComb controlled the action and never let Barbosa into the fight. Scores were 98-92 McComb, 96-94, 97-93 for Barbosa. The fans booed the decision.

WBA #5, WBO #10, WBC #14 super middleweight Bektemir “The Bully” Melikuziev (14-1, 10 KOs) took an eight round technical decision over previously unbeaten Pierre Dibombe (22-1-1, 12 KOs). Dibombe was cut over the right eye from a headbutt early on. Melikuziev later suffered a deep cut over the left eye. Melikuziev dropped Dibombe in round five. The bout was stopped at the beginning of round eight and went to the scorecards with Melikuziev winning 79-73, 79-73, 78-74.

In a fight for the WBA interim super flyweight title, WBA #5 David “Medallita” Jimenez (16-1, 11 KOs) outworked previously unbeaten WBA #1 John “Scrappy” Ramirez (13-1, 9 KOs) over twelve rounds. Scores were 117-111, 117-111, 116-112.

WBC #3 super welterweight Charles “Bad News” Conwell (19-0, 14 KOs) won his Golden Boy debut by sixth round TKO against Nathaniel Gallimore (22-8-1, 17 KOs). Conwell battered Gallimore until a referee’s stoppage at :52 of the sixth.

WBC #7 super middleweight Sergiy Derevyanchenko (15-5, 10 KOs) shut out Vaughn Alexander (18-11-1, 11 KOs) over ten rounds. Derevyanchenko dropped Vaughn with a body shot in round eight en route to a 100-89 3x decision.

Unbeaten super middleweight Darius Fulghum (11-0, 10 KOs) stopped Cristian Olivas (22-11, 19 KOs) in round four.

Unbeaten super middleweight Amari Jones (12-0, 11 KOs) halted Armel Mbumba-Yassa (10-2, 7 KOs) in round six.

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

Undefeated super lightweight Cain Sandoval, (13-0, 11 KOs), of Sacramento, CA and Angel ‘Sharky’ Rebollar, (8-4, 3 KOs) of South Gate, California went the distance Saturday night at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, California in headlining Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions Hollywood Fight Nights series. The fight saw Sandoval earn a hard fought decision against a very tough elusive Rebollar. Continue reading “Cain Sandoval remains unbeaten”

Unbeaten WBO #10, WBC #15 lightweight KO artist Sam Noakes (14-0, 13 KOs) dominated 38-year-old veteran Yvan Mendy (48-7-1, 22 KOs) over twelve rounds to claim the vacant EBU European title on Saturday night at York Hall in London. Noakes went the distance for the first time, winning 120-108 3x.

More than three years since his last ring appearance, former super welterweight world title challenger Brandon “The Cannon” Adams (24-3, 16 KOs) scored a third round KO against Ismael “Maelo” Villarreal (13-3, 9 KOs) on Friday night at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Adams, last seen stopping current WBC interim 154lb world champion Serhii Bohachuk in eight rounds back in March 2021, took out Villarreal with a brutal left hook to the liver. Time was 2:59.

Adams-Villarreal was a first round match in an 8-man OTX 154lb tournament. In another first round affair, unbeaten Olympian Francisco “Bebu” Veron 14-0-1, 10 KOs) outworked Angel “Relampago” Ruiz (18-3-1, 13 KOs) over ten rounds. Scores were 99-91, 100-90, 96-94.

In the main event, super lightweight gatekeeper Dakota “Lone Wolf” Linger (14-6-3, 10 KOs) upset previously unbeaten Kurt “Scooby” Scoby (13-1, 11 KOs). Linger pressed the action and turned the fight into a brawl. The bout was stopped with Linger punishing Scoby at 2:21 of round six. Scoby was a 50:1 betting favorite.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

In Japan, a failure to make weight is a crime to be severely criticized and punished logically and morally. Therefore, our boxers endeavor to make weight to have this sports fair and square. So, Luis Nery had been suspended indefinitely by the JBC though lately revoked to materialize his WBC mandatory shot at “Monster” Naoya Inoue as ordered by the WBC. Under our strict circumstances undefeated highly expected prospect WBC#8, WBA#10 featherweight Hayato Tsutsumi shamefully failed to make weight by no less than three and a half pounds against ex-WBA bantam ruler Anselmo Moreno in a 126-pound contracted bout in Tokyo, Japan.

Tsutsumi (5-0, 2 KOs), 129.5, displayed his superior physical power and finished currently WBA#9 Panamanian Moreno (43-7-1, 15 KOs), 125.25, at 2:45 of the third round in a scheduled ten on Wednesday. The audience jeered his overweight scandal rather than praised his victory after he dropped the 38-year-old soldier twice and for the full count. Continue reading “Overweight WBC#8 Tsutsumi finishes ex-champ Moreno”

By Ron Jackson

In a brilliant exhibition of boxing South Africa’s Ricardo Malajika (13-2, 9 KOs) completely outboxed and outthought Marcel Braithwaite (16-4-1, 1 KO) from England to retain the IBO junior bantamweight title for the first time, at Emperors Palace near Kemp Park on Saturday night.

The scores handed in by the judges, Jeun –Robert Laine, Allan Matakane and Roger Barnor were all 120-108 in favour of the champion. Continue reading “Malajika retains IBO title on a complete shutout”

Unbeaten WBO #4, WBC #5 heavyweight Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson (17-0, 15 KOs) scored an easy ten round unanimous decision over former cruiserweight champion-turned-heavyweight Ryad Merhy (32-3, 26 KOs) on Saturday night at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. Pretty much one-way traffic for Anderson as Merhy rarely engaged. Scores were 100-90, 100-90, 99-91. No memorable moments. Spectators booed most the way.

In a crossroads battle between 2016 Olympians, Efe “The Silent Roller” Ajagba (20-1, 14 KOs) won a ten round split decision over Guido “The Gladiator” Vianello (12-2-1, 10 KOs). Vianello rocked Ajagba in round two, in fact, Efe walked back to the wrong corner. But Ajagba took over after Vianello slowed down in the middle rounds. Vianello closed strong, but it was too little too late. Scores were 96-94 Vianello, 96-94, 96-94 Ajagba.

2016 Olympic gold medalist and three-time world title challenger Robson Conceição (18-2-1, 9 KOs) scored a seventh round KO over Jose Guardado (15-2-1, 5 KOs) in a junior lightweight bout. Conceição dropped Guardado twice with bodyshots in the seventh. Time was 2:27.

Another impressive performance for unbeaten blue chip lightweight Abdullah Mason (13-0, 11 KOs), who got a fourth round referee’s stoppage against Ronal Ron (14-6, 11 KOs). Mason dropped Ron in rounds one and three, then finished him with a barrage of punches in the fourth. Time was 1:02.

Junior lightweight Alejandro “Pork Chop” Guerrero (13-4, 10 KOs) upset previously unbeaten Jalen Walker (12-1-1, 10 KOs) with a barrage of punches in round seven. Walker was also down earlier in the fight. Walker’s corner threw in the towel at 1:35.

In his pro debut, Team USA heavyweight Ali Feliz dropped and stopped Anthony Woodson III (1-2, 1 KO) in round two. Time 1:16.

Other Results:
Julian Delgado W4 Juan Tamez (middleweight)
Ruben Villa IV W10 Cristian Cruz (featherweight)
John Rincon W6 Yainel Alvarez (welterweight)
Charly Suarez W8 Louie Coria (jr lightweight)

Super featherweight Zelfa Barrett (31-2, 17 KOs) stopped Jordan Gill (28-3-1, 9 KOs) in the tenth round on Saturday night at AO Arena in Manchester, England. Barrett broke open a close fight when he dropped Gill twice with body shots in round ten and eventually got a referee’s stoppage at 2:44. The bout was for the WBA International title.

In a clash for the vacant WBO female lightweight title, Rhiannon Dixon (10-0, 1 KO) outpointed Karen “Burbuja” Carabajal (22-2, 3 KOs) over ten rounds. Dixon dropped Carbajal in round three en route to a 98-91, 97-92, 96-93 win.

In an IBF/WBO female super bantamweight unification fight that figured to go the distance, Ellie Scotney (9-0, 0 KOs) outpointed Segolene Lefebvre (18-1, 1 KO) over ten rounds by scores of 99-91, 97-93, 96-94.

By Joe Koizumi

WBO#5 Thanongsak Simsri (33-1, 30 KOs), 107.25, surprisingly captured the OPBF light flyweight belt from Filipino defending champ WBC#12 Miel Fajardo (11-2-1, 10 KOs), 107, when he pounded out a unanimous decision (117-110, 116-111, 115-112) over twelve hard-fought rounds on Saturday in Osaka, Japan. Thanongsak, under the promotional contract of Japan’s Green Tsuda Promotions, was a prefight underdog since Fajardo was highly regarded with his OPBF vacant title acquisition on an eye-catching first round demolition of compatriot John Paul Gubinales last August. From the start Fajardo, 24, attempted to stalk the upright Thailander, 23, with roundhouse punches, but Thanongsak smartly kept his distance and cooly kept jabbing the onrushing champ all the way. Ater the eighth, the open scoring system indicated the challenger widely leading on points—80-72 twice, 78-74. The hard-punching Fajardo, however, desperately tried to turn the tables, decking the Thailander with a looping left hook in round ten. Having a narrow escape, Thanongsak kept on outboxing the champ and wrested the regional belt beyond expectations.

Promoter: Green Tsuda Promotions.
BoxRec: Thanongsak Simsri

By Joe Koizumi

Japanese version of Fundora, 5’11” super bantam Toshiki Shimomachi (18-1-3, 12 KOs), 121.75, impressively kept his national 122-pound belt when he dropped JBC#1 Tulio Dekanarudo (7-2-2, 4 KOs), 122, three times and scored a fine TKO victory at 1:07 of the fifth round in a scheduled ten on Saturday in Osaka, Japan. Making his second defense, the very tall southpaw champ utilized his advantageous height and reach, outpunching the muscular challenger with good jabs and swift footwork. The fifth witnessed WBC#14 Shimomachi, 27, explode a southpaw right uppercut and badly floor the onrushing rival to the deck. The champ quickly follow it up and scored two more knockdowns to have the ref declare a halt. His target may be the undisputed world champ Naoya Inoue, but he politely said, “I must improve much more to cope with the Monster.” He probably had better wait for Naoya to move up to the featherweight in the future.

Promoter: Green Tsuda Promotions.
BoxRec: Toshiki Shimomachi

In a clash of unbeaten heavyweights for the vacant European title, Oleksandr Zakhozhyi (19-0, 15 KOs) of Ukraine demolished German favorite Granit Shala (15-1, 5 KOs) in the second round on Saturday night at the AGON Sportpark in Berlin, Germany. Zakhozhyi dropped Shala in round two, then blasted him to the canvas again to end it. Time was 2:25.

Former WBC flyweight champion Charlie Edwards (19-1, 7 KOs) claimed the vacant WBC International silver bantamweight title with a one-sided ten round unanimous decision over Georges Ory (17-4-1, 2 KOs) on Friday night at the famed York Hall in London. Edwards stuck and moved all night against the ever-advancing Ory. Scores were 98-92 3x. Brother Sunny Edwards, the former IBF fly champion, was working in Charlie’s corner.

Former world champion and current WBA #7 featherweight Angelo Leo (24-1, 11 KOs) hammered out a ten round unanimous decision over Eduardo Baez (23-6-2, 9 KOs) on Wednesday night at the Whitesands Events Center in Plant City, Florida. Good two-way action. Scores were 97-93, 98-92, 98-92.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Faster jabber Hironori Mishiro (15-1-1, 4 KOs), 134.5, wrested the Japanese national lightweight belt as he made good use of hand speed and agility and scored a unanimous decision (97-93, 96-94 twice) over defending champ Shuma Nakazato (14-3-3, 8 KOs), 134.5, over ten hard-fought rounds on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan. Formerly world rated Mishiro, ex-OPBF 130-pound titlist, had defeated the hard-punching son of Shigeru Nakazato, three-time world 122-pound challenger some twenty years ago, on points in 2017. The sturdy champ maintained the pressure to take the initiative after the fifth—all 48-47 for Nakazato on the open scoring system. Mishiro, however, utilized his superior and sharper jabs to dominate the second half to have the tide turn in his favor. Continue reading “Mishiro dethrones Japanese 135lb champ Nakazato”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten lefty prospect whose amateur mark being 102-10, JBC#1 Kuntae Lee (7-0-1, 2 KOs), 140, managed to capture the Japanese national super light belt from Homura Fujita (12-2, 10 KOs), 140, by a unanimous decision (all 97-93) over ten on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan. Lee had a tough time coping with the rough-and-tumble swinger, suffered a cut over the right eyebrow but handled the brutal aggressor with counters and footwork. Continue reading “Lee defeats Fujita, wins Japanese 140lb belt”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Do you remember ex-WBA world junior middleweight champ Koichi Wajima, who acquired the belt on three occasions by defeating Carmelo Bossi, Oscar Shotgun and Jae-Do Yuh in 1970s? His welterweight grandson Taishin Isotani (6-3, 5 KOs), 146.75, impressively pounded out a unanimous decision (58-54 twice, 57-55) over Kota Matsuno (3-3, 2 KOs), 146.5, as the six-footer dropped his grudge rival twice in rounds two and four—with a one-two combo and with a vicious left hook respectively. Continue reading “3x world champ Wajima’s grandson Isotani victorious”

In an IBF junior welterweight world title eliminator, Richardson Hitchins (18-0, 7 KOs) took a twelve round unanimous decision over Gustavo Lemos (29-1, 19 KOs) on Saturday night at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas. Lemos pressed the action non-stop, but judges preferred the work of Hitchins, 117-111, 115-113, 115-113. Hitchins earned a shot at IBF chanpion Subriel Matias.

Unbeaten super middleweight Diego Pacheco (21-0, 17 KOs) won a tactical ten-rounder over Shawn McCalman (15-1, 7 KOs). Scores 98-92, 97-93, 96-94. Pacheco retained his WBO International and USWBC titles

Olympic gold medalist Galal Yafai (7-0, 4 KOs) stopped Agustin Gauto (21-2, 15 KOs) in round eight of a hard-fought contest. Referee’s stoppage at 2:40. Yafai retained his WBC International flyweight title.

In a clash for the vacant WBC female featherweight title, Skye Nicolson (10-0, 1 KOs) scored a one-sided ten round unanimous decision over Sarah Mahfoud (14-2, 3 KOs). Scores were 100-90, 100-90, 99-91.

Unbeaten super featherweight Marc Castro (12-0, 8 KOs) outscored Abraham Montoya (22-6-1, 14 KOs) over ten rounds, 100-90, 98-92, 97-93.

Unbeaten Bakhram Murtazaliev (23-0, 16 KOs) of Russia stopped former WBA super welterweight champion Jack Culcay (33-5, 14 KOs) of Germany in round 11 to win the vacant IBF world super welter title. The two slugged it out from the beginning to end on very even terms. A true fight of the year candidate giving the fans a memorable fight. Murtazaliev had his breakthrough moment in round 11 where he seriously rocked Culcay with a number of solid punches finally dropping him with a left hook with seconds to go in round eleven. Culcay, on very unsteady legs, beat the count but the referee correctly waved the bout off. The event was promoted by Almin Kuc (Kuc Boxing Promotion GmbH), Ingo Volckmann (Agon Sports) with the site of the event being the Stadthalle, Falkensee, Brandenburg, Germany

Unbeaten super lightweight Ernesto “Tito” Mercado (15-0, 14 KOs) got an easy W against Deiner Berrio (22-5-1, 13 KOs) on Saturday night at the Red Owl Boxing Arena in Houston, Texas. The 22-year-old Mercado pounded on the defensive-minded Berrio for three rounds and Berrio stayed on the stool after the round.

Unbeaten super bantamweight Tito Sanchez (13-0, 7 KOs) scored a one-sided ten round unanimous decision over Erik Ruiz (17-11-1, 7 KOs) on Thursday night at the Fantasy Springs Resort/Casino in Indio, California. After a slow start, Sanchez dropped Ruiz in round three and punished him for the rest of the fight. Scores were 97-92 3x. The ultra tough Ruiz has never been stopped.

Super bantamweight “Gucci Manny” Flores (17-1, 13 KOs) demolished Alberto Guevara (27-7, 12 KOs) in round two. Flores looked sharp, pressing the action and cutting off the ring. A big right hook ended it at 2:31.

Grant Flores (4-0, 3 KOs) took out Freddy Espinoza (10-4, 7 KOs) with a body shot at 1:59 of the first round. Flores is a cousin of “Gucci Manny” Flores.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

JBC top contender Fumiya Fuse (14-3, 3 KOs), 118, impressively acquired the vacant Japanese bantamweight belt (renounced by Seiya Tsutsumi after his successful but ill-fated defense against Kazuki Anaguchi last December) when he floored JBC#2 Taichi Sugimoto (10-2-3, 1 KO), 117.5, twice before the referee’s well-received intervention at 1:38 of the fifth round in a scheduled ten on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan. Fuse, a durable southpaw, lost a nearly lopsided decision to Sam Goodman in Australia in 2022, and was stopped by hard-punching compatriot Riku Masuda a year later. Fuse, a road warrior, finally seized the national belt to his credit. Continue reading “Fuse halts Sugimoto, wins Japan’s 118lb belt”