By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

IBF #15 lightweight Jacob “Flamingo” Ng (12-0, 9 KOs) stopped Spain’s Pablo Fuego (15-5, 2 KOs) in round five of a scheduled ten round main event with IBF International title up for grabs at the Southport Sharks AFL Club, Southport, Queensland, Australia on Saturday. The six-foot Australian was making the first defense of the IBF International title he captured in June when he won a shutout ten round decision over Mexico’s Ricardo Lara. The 24-year-old Gold Coast resident trains at the Matrix gym under the guidance of his father Stephen Ng.

Promoter: Angelo DiCarlo.
Supervisor: Ben Keilty.

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

Boxing returned to the Commerce Casino in Commerce, California as bantamweight prospect Narek Abgaryan (13-0, 5 KOs) from Armenia made his U.S debut scoring a fifth round knockout over Juan Kantun (21-8-3) in the main event. Abgaryan sent Kantun to the canvas in round two. Continuing to box, Abgaryan controlled the fight keeping Kantun away with the jab. Mixing it up, the Armenian dropped Kantun for a second time as the referee stop the fight at 2:36 of the fifth.

Also making his U.S. debut light heavyweight Robin Sirwan Safar (9-0, 6 KO’s) from Sweden stopped Alfredo Contreras (14-24-2) in one round. Contreras suffered a cut on his left eye as the doctor took a look at the cut and then stopped the fight at 2:03 of the opening round. Continue reading “Results From Commerce Casino”

Former lightweight title challenger Petr “El Zar” Petrov (41-6-2, 22 KOs) destroyed journeyman Dedrick Bell (23-31-1, 11 KOs) in two rounds on Friday night at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California. The 36-year-old Petrov outclassed Bell from the get-go and a left hook to the belly finished him. Time was 2:48.

After the fight, Petrov called out Ryan “Kingry” Garcia. Petrov was prepared to step in as a late sub against Garcia last Saturday night, but the bout was never finalized.

Hot prospect Eduardo ” Sugar” Nunez (18-1, 18 KOs) of Sinaloa, Mexico stopped Rafael “Potro” Hernandez (30-13-3, 24 KOs) of Caracas, Venezuela in round one. The super featherweight main event took place in Monterrey, Mexico. From the opening bell, Nunez went at Hernandez firing punches nonstop. A vicious combination to the body put Hernandez down about two minutes into the round. Hernandez beat the count but was put down moments later by a combo to the head where the referee then waved it off. The official time of the stoppage was 2:33 of round one. Nunez maintained his 100% knockout winning percentage.

The lightweight co-feature saw Jairo “Doberman” Lopez (25-11, 16 KOs) of Mexico upset countryman and former world title challenger Eduardo “Canilla” Escobedo (34-8, 24 KOs) by way of tight eight round unanimous decision. All three judges scored it 77-75 in favor of Lopez.

Lightweight Thomas Mattice (15-1-1, 11 KOs) scored an eighth round TKO over previously unbeaten hometown favorite and highly regarded Michael Dutchover (13-1, 10 KOs) on Friday night at La Hacienda Event Center in Midland, Texas.

Both fighters had their moments in a fast-paced fight. In round eight, Dutchover suffered a cut over the left eye, which referee Robert Velez ruled as coming from a punch. The ringside physician determined that Dutchover couldn’t continue. Time was 1:33. At the time of the stoppage, Dutchover had a 68-65 and 69-64 lead on two cards, while Mattice was up 67-66 on the third card. Continue reading “Upset: Mattice beats Dutchover on a cut”

Light heavyweight Lionell “Lonnie B” Thompson (21-5, 12 KOs) scored a one-sided seventh round TKO over Scott “Cujo” Sigmon (34-14, 17 KOs) on Friday night at the Cannary Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. It was a slow-paced affair that resembled a sparring session. Sigmon’s corner pulled their man out after the seventh round.

Welterweights Gabriel Duluc (15-3, 4 KOs) and Cameron “Suave” Krael (16-15-3, 4 KOs) traded punches for ten rounds with Duluc coming away with a majority decision. Scores were 95-95, 96-94, 97-93.

Welterweight Malik “Ice Man” Hawkins (17-0, 10 KOs) scored a first round KO over Al Rivera (20-4, 18 KOs) Rivera was dropped and waited too long before trying to get up at nine-and-a-half. Time was 2:45. Continue reading “Thompson stops Sigmon in seven”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Brisbane-based light heavyweight Regain Dessaix (18-2, 13 KOs) captured the OPBF title when he stopped Aaron Lai (12-5, 11 KOs) in round four of a scheduled ten round contest on Friday at the Paddo Club, Paddington, Sydney, NSW, Australia. The 23-year-old Dessaix outworked Lai, and in round four he had his opponent in trouble prompting referee Kevin Hogan to crown Dessaix.

“I want to keep progressing in the pros and I have a great team that can make that happen the right way,” Dessaix said. “I believe I am going all the way to world titles but I have to keep working hard and keep improving and I believe that this will take me all the way to the top in the game. Continue reading “Dessaix stops Lai in four”

By Jeff Zimmerman
Photos: Stacey Verbeek

Undefeated IBF Welterweight Champ Errol Spence Jr. (25-0, 21 KOs) entertained his hometown fans Thursday night outside at Texas Live in Arlington, Texas, as he wraps up camp to face WBC champ Shawn Porter (30-2-1, 17 KOs) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Saturday, Sept. 28 in a mega unification bout. Spence Jr. looked in tip-top shape as he snapped the mitts of trainer Derrick James in a light workout.

“I feel good. I already trained earlier today. I feel good, I’m hungry. I’m ready to fight. I’m glad it’s only a week and some change to my fight.”

Trainer Derrick James echoed that sentiment as he believes Spence Jr. is as good as ever.

“He’s great. He’s rotating on the punches. You’ll see, I am looking forward to it as it has been a really good training camp, he’s very focused, poised, very precise. He’s ready.” Continue reading “Spence Jr.: I’m looking for the stoppage”

WBO #8 super middleweight Aslambek Idigov (17-0, 7 KOs) outscored Robert Racz (21-2, 19 KOs) to retain the WBO European title. Scorecards: 98-94, 98-92 and 97-93. The fight has held at Uvais Akhtaev Sports Palace in Grozny, Russia.

WBO #4 light heavyweight Umar Salamov (25-1, 18 KOs) defeated Emanuel Danso (31-4, 26 KOs ) via third round KO for to retain the WBO International light heavyweight title.

Unbeaten heavyweight Apti Davtaev (18-0-1, 17 KOs) made quick work of West Virginia’s Daniel Martz (18-7-1, 15 KOs), putting the 6’7 Martz down three times in the first minute.

In his first defense of the IBF International title, IBF #5 rated junior middleweight Orlando Fiordigiglio (31-3, 13 KOs) was overwhelmed and stopped by Sam Eggington (27-6, 16 KOs) in the second round on Thursday night at the Tuscany Hall in Florence, Italy.

Welterweight Luther Clay (12-1, 5 KOs) surprised previously unbeaten WBO #15 rated Dario Morello (15-1, 2 KOs) winning a ten round unanimous decision. Clay was credited with a knockdown in round five. Clay wins 98-90 on all three cards to claim the WBO global title.

Former WBC super featherweight world title challenger Devis Bosheiro (48-6-2, 22 KOs) won by eighth round TKO when previously unbeaten Ivan Tomas (9-1-1, 3 KOs) couldn’t continue due to a cut. Bosheiro in command all the way. He wins the IBF Intercontinental belt.

Olympian featherweight Carmine Tommasone (20-1, 5 KOs), one of three pros to compete in the Rio games, returned from his world title KO loss to Oscar Valdez with a six round unanimous decision over journeyman Brayan Mairena (10-14-1, 4 KOs). Scores were 60-54, 59-56, 58-56.

Flyweight Mohammed Obbadi (20-1, 13 KOs) outscored Cristian Narvaez (15-17-5, 1 KO) over eight rounds. Scores were 80-72, 80-72, 79-73.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten Japanese bright flyweight prospect Taku Kuwahara (6-0, 4 KOs), formerly an amateur star over 68 contests at 112.5, impressively decked an important victory by shutting out WBC#13 Filipino southpaw Jonathan Refujio (21-7-5, 7 KOs), 110.25, by an upset lopsided decision (all 80-71) over eight fast-moving rounds on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan.

Kuwahara, a stablemate of Naoya “Monster” Inoue in Ohashi Gym, kept stalking the circling counterpuncher all the way, steadily piling up points. Taku, 24, caught the occasional swinger with a countering right and floored him to the deck in the closing seconds of the seventh round. His manager and ex-WBC/WBA 105-pound ruler Hideyuki Ohashi strongly instructed him to finish and bring home the bacon in the final session, but Refujio refused to go down again with his determination and durability. Continue reading “Kuwahara shuts out WBC #13 Refujio”

By Joe Koizumi

Veteran southpaw Yuki Nonaka (34-10-3, 10 KOs) sustained a bad gash on the nose bridge but retained his WBO Asia Pacific 160-pound belt in his initial defense as he eked out a split verdict (117-111, 115-112 for Nonaka, 112-115 for Yang) over Korean Hyun-Min Yang (8-3, 7 KOs) over twelve gory rounds on Monday in Osaka, Japan.

Nonaka, 41, had acquired the WBO AP and OPBF belts by defeating Shinobu Charlie Hosokawa in Osaka this February, but renounced the latter to pave the way for Hosokawa and Koki Tyson to vie for the vacant regional belt. Yang, 26, opened a gash on the champ’s nose in round six, but Nonaka utilized his footwork to outpunch the game challenger down the stretch.

By Joe Koizumi

Local prospect Daiki Tomita (14-1, 5 KOs) acquired the vacant WBO Asia Pacific belt when he defeated compatriot Hayato Yamaguchi (15-8-1, 2 KOs) by a unanimous decision (117-112, 118-110, 118-113) over twelve fast rounds on Monday in Sakai, Osaka, Japan.

Having failed to win the OPBF 105-pound belt from Tsubasa Koura in September of the previous year, Tomita moved up to pursue the vacant regional championship in the 108-pound category.  Tomita made good use of his faster footwork and outscored the game opponent, piling up points steadily.

By Joe Koizumi

Unbeaten WBO Asia Pacific featherweight champion Musashi Mori (10-0, 6 KOs), 126.5, engaged in a non-title go and dispatched Thai #1 feather contender Suntorn Panhom (5-5, 4 KOs), 126.25, at 1:41 of the third round on Sunday in Kariya, Japan.

The 20-year-old southpaw prospect has been coached by Cuban trainer Ismael Salas, who successfully advised him to make short work of it. Mori, managed by ex-WBC bantam champ Yasuei Yakushiji, caught the Thailander with a southpaw right hook and floored him in the third session. Though he resumed fighting back, Mori connected with a well-timed and well-targeted body shot, which had him down in agony for the count.

By David Robinett at ringside

In the first of three walkout bouts in Las Vegas, Italian heavyweight Guido Vianello (5-0, 5 KOs) had an easy time with Cassius Anderson (7-2, 3 KOs), earning a stoppage when Anderson did not come out for the fourth and final round. Vianello scored a flash knockdown right after the opening bell, and was never threatened by Anderson, steadily beating him down until his corner had seen enough after three rounds.

Near midnight in a virtually empty T-Mobile Arena, former light heavyweight title challenger Vyacheslav Shabranskyy (21-2, 17 KOs) closed out the card with an eighth round disqualification victory over ex-WBA interim champion Felix Valera (18-3, 15 KOs). Shabranksyy was en route to an easy unanimous decision victory but Valera repeatedly fouled him with low blows, losing points in round five and round seven, before referee Robert Byrd disqualified him at 2:01 of the eighth and final round rather than take a third point.

A scheduled bout between welterweights Abram Martinez (7-0, 5 KOs) and Kevin Johnson (7-1, 4 KOs) did not take place.

By David Robinett at ringside
Photos: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

In a bloody grinder of a fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, the “Gypsy King” Tyson Fury retained his claim to the lineal heavyweight title, surviving a spirited challenge from previously undefeated contender Otto Wallin with a unanimous decision win by scores of 116-112, 117-111, and a too wide 118-110.

Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs), who at 254.5 pounds was the lightest he has been in the ring since defeating Vladimir Klitschko in 2015, was not as sharp as his effort in June against Tom Schwarz, spending much of the early rounds flicking an ineffective jab and missing Wallin more than he was connecting with his typical unorthodox, jittery style. Wallin (20-1, 13 KOs) was game, unafraid to take the fight to the champion, but he also struggled finding a way past Fury’s arms and shoulders to connect cleanly with consistency. Continue reading “Tyson Fury wins in bloodbath with Otto Wallin”

By Miguel Maravilla and Rocky Morales at ringside
Photos: Zanfer

WBO junior middleweight champion Jaime Munguia (34-0, 27 KOs) was dominant in his destructive fourth round knockout victory over WBO #13 rated Patrick Allotey (40-4, 30 KOs) on Saturday night at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

After an opening feeling out round where Munguia didn’t do much, he started stalking Allotey in the second round and then unleashed his power in the third round. Set up by a vicious body shot, Munguia sent Allotey to the canvas midway through the third round and then floored him again at the end of the round with a left hook.

In the fourth round, with Munguia smelling blood, Allotey was on his bicycle but Munguia still caught him. After a not especially damaging looking combination, Allotey voluntarily took a knee, the third time he was down in the fight. Continue reading “WBO 154lb champ Munguia overpowers Allotey”

By David Robinett at ringside
Photos: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Red-hot WBO junior featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete (29-1, 25 KOs) impressed again, just four weeks since his last title bout, stopping the game but outgunned Juan Miguel Elorde (28-2, 15 KOs) 26 seconds into round four of what had been an action-packed fight on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Elorde, who came into the bout on an 18-fight winning streak dating back to 2012, showed no fear of the hard-hitting Navarrete, walking the champion down and throwing body punches with bad intentions in round one. Navarrete answered back in round two, landing several punishing left hands on Elorde, who was still coming forward as the aggressor. Although he showed great fighting spirit, Elorde never had an answer for Navarrete’s left hand, taking serious punishment in round three before finally going down from a left hook by Navarrete that deposited him in a sitting position on the bottom rope, prompting referee Russell Mora to call a knockdown. Continue reading “WBO 122lb champ Navarrete crushes Elorde”

By Kurt Wolfheimer at ringside.

Saturday night at the Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem, PA, Mykall “The Professor” Fox (21-1, 5 KOs) easily outboxed Dominican Eudy “AK47” Bernardo (25-5, 18 KOs) to take a one-sided ten round unanimous decision victory by scores of 100-90 across the board.

Fox, ranked number fifteen by the WBO, took over in the second round, unloading various combinations that forced Bernardo on the defensive. Continue reading “Fox outclasses Bernardo”

WBO #13 heavyweight Carlos Takam (37-5-1, 28 KOs) scored a workmanlike ten round unanimous decision over Craig Lewis (14-4-1, 8 KOs) on Saturday night at Resorts World Catskills in Monticello, New York. Making his U.S. debut, Takam was in command all the way in a bout that never really heated up. Lewis was cut over the left eye from a head butt in round seven. Scores were 96-94, 99-91, 99-91. Takam won his second straight, while Lewis dropped his third straight. Continue reading “Carlos Takam victorious in U.S. debut”

By Miguel Maravilla and Rocky Morales at ringside

Franchon Crews (6-1, 2KO) dominated Maricela Cornejo (13-4, 5KO) in a rematch of a closely contested fight from last year. Time and time again, Crews beat Cornejo to the punch and clearly landed the heavier shots throughout the bout on Saturday night at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. Despite having home ring advantage this time and the full support of the crowd in attendance, it wasn’t close to being enough to boost Cornejo to victory or even to being competitive this time around. Judges scored the bout 98-92, 97-91 and 98-92, all in favor of Crews. Crews successfully retained her WBC super middleweight bout while also adding the vacant WBO super middleweight bout with the victory and the only blemish on her record was in losing her debut fight to Claressa Shields. Continue reading “Franchon Crews retains WBC female 168lb title”

By David Robinett at ringside

In a largely tactical affair with occasional bursts of action, Jose Zepeda (31-2, 25 KOs) scored the biggest victory of his career, earning a ten-round unanimous decision over former two-division champion Jose Pedraza (26-3, 13 KOs) on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Scores for the super lightweight bout were 97-93 across the board, which also earned Zepeda the WBC’s USNBC title belt. Zepeda, whose only losses are to Jose Ramirez and an injury stoppage against Terry Flanagan, both in title challenges, was able to consistently time Pedraza coming in, landing effectively with both hands before Pedraza could get off, particularly over the first half of the fight. Zepeda’s strategy led to frequent spells of inaction, but when they did engage, Zepeda usually landed first and harder as the normally accurate “Sniper” Pedraza had an off night.

Former super flyweight titlist Carlos Cuadras (39-3-1, 27 KOs) narrowly edged out fellow Mexican Jose Maria Cardenas (17-5, 14 KOs) over ten rounds, earning a surprising close majority decision victory by scores of 95-95, 96-94, and 96-94. Despite disadvantages in height (by six and a half inches) and reach (by three inches), the smaller Cuadras chose to largely fight Cardenas in the center of the ring, circling the taller fighter while moving in swiftly to attack before slipping out of harm’s way. While Cuadras peppered Cardenas with quick punches to the head and body, Cardenas was often left swinging and missing his elusive opponent. Cuadras, who resembles a tiny Canelo Alvarez, wasn’t looking for the knockout, content to both float like a butterfly and sting like one too, but it was an effective strategy considering the physical disparity between the two fighters. Cardenas finally started to catch up to Cuadras in round six and going forward, landing more punches as Cuadras began to slow down, but never consistently enough to change the momentum of the fight, even if enough to keep the scorecards close. Continue reading “Zepeda, Cuadras victorious in Las Vegas”

Unbeaten Jermias Nicolas Ponce (25-0, 16 KOs) of Argentina defeated Rico “Pretty Boy” Mueller (25-3-1, 17 KOs) of Germany in Berlin, Germany, Saturday night by 12 round majority decision. Mueller came out aggressive and won round one, but Ponce turned the tide in round two with a vicious body attack that set the tone for the rest of the fight. Mueller, 31 endured a real pounding which showed on his face as a result of a variety of Ponce punches that landed on him. The official scorecards read 118-110, 116-111, and surprising 114-114. Ponce won the IBO junior welterweight world title and seems to be the next big thing out of Argentina at just 23 years old.

On the undercard, 48-year-old former WBA cruiserweight champion Firat Arslan (47-8-3, 32 KOs) stopped Sami Enbom (18-4, 10 KOs) in round two.

In a clash between unbeaten super bantamweights, Brad “The Blade” Foster (11-0-2, 4 KOs) barely kept his British and Commonwealth titles against Lucien Reid (8-0-2, 4 KOs) by salvaging a twelve round draw on Saturday night at London’s historic York Hall. Scores were 116-112 Reid, 114-114, 114-114.

Unbeaten flyweight Sunny “Showtime” Edwards (13-0, 4 KOs) outboxed Hugo Rosendo Guarneros (16-3-2, 8 KOs) over ten dull rounds. Edwards, whose older brother is WBC world flyweight champion Charlie Edwards, won by scores of 100-90, 99-91, 99-91. Continue reading “Boxing Results from London”

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

Melbourne based middleweight Emmanuel Carlos (11-1, 7 KOs) registered the best win of his career when he was awarded a ten round split decision over globetrotting Wes Capper (20-4-1, 12 KOs) to capture the IBF Pan Pacific title at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre at Albert Park in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on Saturday. In a closely contested bout which had the action see-sawing, the judges scores were 96-93, 94-95, 96-93. Continue reading “Carlos defeats Capper by split decision”