Photos: Sumio Yamada

Debuting at light heavyweight, unbeaten David “El Monstro” Benavídez (29-0, 24 KOs) went the full twelve against former world champion Oleksandr “The Nail” Gvozdyk (20-2, 16 KOs) in a matchup for the WBC interim light heavyweight title on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Benavides took the fight to Gvozdyk and won pretty much every round. Scores were 116-112, 117-111, 119-109.

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Photos: Sumio Yamada

Ia a clash between unbeaten super lightweights, former WBA champion Alberto Puello (23-0, 10 KOs) won a split decision over Gary Antuanne Russell (17-1, 17 KOs) in a bout for the vacant WBC interim 140lb title on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Russell pressed the action, but Puello was often able to outmaneuver him. Scores were 118-109 Russell, 115-112, 114-113 Puello.

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Newly elevated WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames (24-1, 18 KOs) scored a twelve round unanimous decision against Terrell Gausha (25-4-1, 12 KOs) on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. In a bout that never caught fire, Adames prevailed 119-109, 118-110, 118-110.

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Other Results:
Kyrone Davis W10 Elijah Garcia (middleweight)
Mark Magsayo W10 Eduardo Ramirez (super featherweight)
Justin Viloria TKO5 Angel Contreras (super featherweight)

A sellout crowd at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, Maine enjoyed an exciting night of boxing, returning to the venue for the first time in three decades.

In spite of losing the main event on the scales when ranked bantamweight Dylan Price was unable to make his contracted weight against tough journeyman Ernesto Irias, the co-feature turned out to be an excellent main event, with Las Vegas’s Britton Norwood, 17-5-1, 10 KOs upsetting 21-2-3 Kendrick Ball, Jr from nearby Worcester, MA over 10 exciting rounds. Continue reading “Portland, Maine Results”

WBO cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith (20-1, 13 KOs) retained his title with a twelve round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten WBO #1 rated Richard Riakporhe 17-1, 13 KOs) on Saturday night at Selhurst Park, home of London’s Crystal Palace F.C. Fighting in Riakporhe’s backyard, Billam-Smith was sharp and largely neutralized the big-punching Riakporhe, who was deducted a point in round twelve. Scores were 116-111, 115-112, 115-112. Billam-Smith, who entered as more than a 2:1 underdog, avenged his only career loss.

Olympian light heavyweight Ben “The Surgeon” Whittaker (7-0, 5 KOs) mugged and showboated his way past previously unbeaten Ezra Arenyeka (12-1, 10 KOs) over ten rounds. Scores were 100-89, 99-90, 99-90.

In a surprise, WBA #6, WBC #7, WBO #11, IBF #13 light heavyweight Dan Azeez (20-1-1, 13 KOs) was held to a draw by unheralded 38-year-old Hrvoje Sep (12-2-1, 9 KOs) over eight rounds. The referee scored it 76-76.

Cruiserweight Jack Massey (22-2, 12 KOs) scored a twelve round unanimous decision over Isaac Chamberlain (16-3, 8 KOs) in a bout for the vacant European and Commonwealth titles. Scores were 115-113, 115-113, 116-112.

European light middleweight Abass Baraou (16-1. 9 KOs) hammered out a twelve round unanimous decision over Macaulay McGowan (20-4-2, 5 KOs) on Friday night at the Toughsheet Community Stadium in Bolton, England. Baraou dominated the fight, but the extremely rugged McGowan somehow went the full distance. Scores were 117-111, 119-110, 118-110.

WBA #3 middleweight Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna (38-5-1, 17 KOs) scored a third round TKO over #15 Juan Carlos Abreu (26-8-1, 24 KOs) on Saturday night. A barrage of LaManna body shots put Abreu down three times to end it in round three. With the win, his eighth straight, LaManna claims the WBA gold middleweight title.

WBO #5, WBC #7 super welterweight Xander Zayas (19-0, 12 KOs) scored a ten round unanimous decision over former world champion Patrick Teixeira (34-5, 25 KOs) on Saturday night inside the Theater at Madison Square Garden on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City. Zayas was busier than Teixeira the whole fight and upped the pressure late. Scores were 100-90, 100-90, 99-91.

WBO #4, WBC #7 featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (12-0, 8 KOs) scored an eighth round TKO over late sub Brayan De Gracia (29-4-1, 25 KOs). Carrington dropped De Gracia in rounds five and seven before getting a referee’s stoppage in round eight. P4P great Naoya Inoue was in attendance.

Undefeated junior welterweight and U.S. Olympian Tiger Johnson (13-0, 6 KOs) outworked Tarik Zaina (13-1-1, 8 KOs) in an eight-rounder. Scores were 79-73, 78-74, 77-75 for Johnson.

Local flyweight Andy Dominguez (10-1, 6 KOs) took an eight round majority decision over Cristopher Rios (10-1, 7 KOs). Scores were 76-76 and 88-74, 77-75 for Dominguez.

Middleweight Jahi Tucker (11-1-1, 5 KOs) won an eight round unanimous decision over Quincy LaVallais (17-5-1, 12 KOs). Scores were 80-72 3x.

Other Results:
Ofacio Falcon W6 Antonio Dunton El (junior lightweight)
Ali Feliz KO1 Lemir Isom-Riley (heavyweight)
Nisa Rodriguez W4 Jordanne Garcia (female middleweight)

Unbeaten light heavyweight Atif “Lord Pretty Calvo” Oberlton (11-0, 9 KOs) scored a sixth round TKO against Harry Cruz (8-5, 4 KOs) on Saturday night at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida. Oberlton worked over Cruz until the bout was halted by the referee at 2:23 of round six.

Undefeated heavyweight Herich Ruiz (5-0, 4 KOs) scored a sixth round KO against Brandon Carmack (7-5-3, 4 KOs). Ruiz dropped Carmack in rounds one and two before finishing him in the sixth. Time was 1:14.

Unbeaten WBC #10, IBF #11 super welterweight Callum Walsh (11-0, 9 KOs) destroyed Carlos Ortiz (14-6, 14 KOs) in two rounds on Friday night at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, CA. Walsh dropped Ortiz once in round one and twice in round two to end it. Time was 1:50.

Unbeaten flyweight Daniel “Chucky” Barrera (7-0-1, 4 KOs) outpointed Christian Robles (8-3, 3 KOs) over eight by scores of 77-75, 79-73, 77-75.

Report/Photos: Boxing Bob Newman

Power punching king of the smallest division in boxing – WBO Mini Flyweight champion Oscar Collazo defended his title against Nicaraguan Gerardo Zapata in the main event of Oscar de La Hoya’s Golden Boy show at the Turning Stone Casino on DAZN. After a moderately interesting first round, Zapata landed a beautiful right to the chin of Collazo, staggering him wildly around the ring. Try as he might, Zapata could not finish his foe as the bell saved the champ. Collazo regains his composure and seemed to take the third with a steady, measured offense. For the next several rounds, Collazo seem to gest outwork Zapata, although he did take his share of blows in the process. In the 8th round, Zapata either couldn’t get off the ropes or chose to rest there as Collazo did good work, although not hurting Zapata in the process. This pattern continued for the next three rounds with Zapata. Largely fighting off the ropes and spurts and Collazo doing enough work to win the round but never seriously going for the stoppage. The 12th and final round saw both combatants take turns initiating the action and then dancing around. In the end it was all academic as Collazo won a comfortable 119-109 x 2 and 117-110 unanimous decision to retain his title for the third time. He moves to 10-0, 7 KOs, while Zapata falls to 14-2-1, 5 KOs.

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Eric Tudor, older brother of opening bout winner Sasha, made short work of Roddricus Livsey, stopping him with multiple body shots at 2:19 of the first round. Tudor jabbed and threw body shots at will, while Livsey missed badly with the few shots that he attempted. Tudor improves to 11-1, 7 KOs, while Livsey drops to 12-3-1, 9 KOs. Continue reading “Collazo retains WBO minimumweight title”

Welterweight Blair “The Flair” Cobbs (17-1-1, 10 KOs) scored a ten round unanimous decision over four-division former world champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner (35-5-1, 24 KOs) to claim the WBC People’s Championship on Friday night at the Hard Rock LIVE in Hollywood, Florida. Cobbs dropped Broner in round two. The punch knocked a tooth out of Broner’s mouth. Cobbs pulled ahead until late when Broner closed strong. Scores were 97-91, 96-93, 96-93.

Formerly #1 rated and now WBA #8 heavyweight Michael “The Bounty” Hunter (22-1-2, 15 KOs) scored a one-sided ten round unanimous decision over a surprisingly passive WBA #7 Cassius Chaney (23-2, 16 KOs). Hunter easily outworked Chaney, who seemed totally befuddled by Hunter’s awkward style. After ten terrible rounds, judges had it 100-90 3x.

Former world cruiserweight champion Yuniel Dorticos (27-2, 25 KOs) won via a quick KO against Alan Campa (19-10, 13 KOs) at 1:00 of round one. Continue reading “Cobbs defeats Broner, Hunter tops Chaney”

In a clash between local middleweight favorites, Patrice “Vicious” Volny (19-1, 13 KOs) scored a ninth round TKO over two-time middleweight title challenger Steven “Bang Bang” Butler (34-5-1, 28 KOs) on Thursday night at the Casino de Montreal in Montreal, Canada. Volny outworked Butler and got a referee’s stoppage after a series of shots in round nine. Butler complained about the stoppage, which occurred at 2:40. Volny wins the WBC Francophone title, which could result in a WBC top 15 rating.

IBO super middleweight world champion Osleys “El Tornado” Iglesias (11-0, 10 KOs) scored a spectacular first round KO against Evgeny Shvedenko (16-2-1, 7 KOs). A crushing right hook left Shvedenko flailing on the canvas. Time was 2:48. Bring on Canelo!

Unbeaten Olympian super lightweight Arthur “The Wolf” Biyarslanov (15-0, 13 KOs) knocked out Elias Mauricio Haedo (14-6, 10 KOs) in round four. A straight left to the body finished Haedo. Time was 2:59.

A clash between female boxers Mary Spencer and April Hunter was scrapped when Hunter suffered an injury.

Other Results:
Shamil Khataev D10 Ramadan Hiseni (middleweight)
Jhon Orobio KO2 Jose De Leon Jasso (jr welterweight)

In a clash of seasoned junior middleweights, Vladimir Hernandez (15-6, 7 KOs) scored a spectacular sixth round knockout against Guido Emmanuel Schramm (16-3-2, 9 KOs) on Wednesday night at the Whitesands Events Center in Plant City, Florida. A left hook laid out Schramm face first to end it. Time was 2:59.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Hard-punching perennial contender Yamato Hata (15-2, 14 KOs), 129.75, impressively captured the OPBF 130-pound belt when he caught up with defending champ Kosuke Saka (23-8, 20 KOs), 130, and halted him at 2:32 of the third round in a scheduled twelve on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. From the outset Hata, a sumo wrestler’s relative, stayed aggressive with more combinations to the onrushing but less aggressive champ. The younger southpaw challenger, in round three, connected with solid combinations to have the champ so rubbery-legged near the ropes that the ref Nakamura took a well-received count against Saka. When they resumed fighting, it was Hata that swarmed over the still groggy champ to prompt the third man’s intervention. Continue reading “Hata dethrones OPBF 130lb champ Saka”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Ten-time amateur national champ with a 154-20 mark, WBO#14 Japanese southpaw Kenji Fujita (7-0, 3 KOs), 125.5, kept his WBO Asia Pacific featherweight belt as he complied good points in the first half, suffered a left hand fracture in the eighth but eked out a close but unanimous decision (116-111, 115-112, 114-113) over Filipino Rodex Piala (10-1, just a KO), 125.5, over twelve on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Scoring a flash knockdown of the Filipino in round two, Fujita looked to show an easy triumph over the slower and less aggressive challenger. But the tide turned from the tenth on, as Fujita only kept circling without throwing positive shots while Piala displayed his last surge to the fast-moving and elusive champ. Continue reading “WBO#14 Fujita defeats Piala, keeps WBO AP 126lb belt”

In a crossroads heavyweight showdown, “Big Bang” Zhilei Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KOs) knocked out “The Bronze Bomber” Deontay Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) in round five on Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The 41-year-old Zhang, with a 68-pound weight advantage, stalked the 38-year-old Wilder, who looked to catch Zhang with right hands. Zhang worked over Wilder on the ropes for a stretch in round two. Zhang continued to walk down Wilder as the action slowed. Zhang laid out Wilder in round five with a right hand that spun him around and a follow-up right that ended Wilder’s night. Time was 1:51.

Team Queensberry defeated Team Matchroom 10—0 to win the inaugural 5v5 competition.

In a clash for the IBF interim heavyweight title, former WBA “regular” heavyweight champion and IBF #4 rated “Dynamite” Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) stopped previously unbeaten IBF #1 Filip “El Animal” Hrgovic (17-1, 14 KOs) in round eight on Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Good fight with both landing big shots. Hrgovic repeatedly connected ealy on with hard right hands – that Dubois somehow took. Hrgovic bled from cuts over both eye. Dubois rocked a tiring Hrgovic in round seven and the bout was stopped by the referee at :57 of round eight. Queensberry went up 8-0 in the 5v5 tournament.

WBA light heavyweight champion Dimitry Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) scored a sixth round TKO over previously unbeaten IBF #2, WBA #7 Malik Zinad (22-1, 16 KOs) on Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Bivol dropped Zinad with a right/left combination in round one and later got a referee’s stoppage with a barrage of punches in round six. Time was 2:06. It was Bivol’s first KO since 2018. Next up for Bivol is an October 12 undisputed showdown with WBC/IBF/WBO champion Artur Beterbiev.

Sheeraz stops Ammo Williams, Hutchinson tops Richards

Unbeaten WBA #9 Nick “Wrecking” Ball (20-0-1, 11 KOs) dethroned previously unbeaten WBA featherweight champion Ray “Savage” Ford (15-1-1, 8 KOs) by twelve round split decision on Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ball pressed the action and outworked Ford for the first half of the fight. Ford broke Ball’s nose in round seven and got the better down the stretch. In the end, the scores were 115-113 Ford, 115-113, 115-113 Ball.

In a WBC middleweight eliminator between unbeaten fighters, WBC #2 Hamzah Sheeraz (20-0, 16 KOs) scored an eleventh round TKO over WBC #5 Austin “Ammo” Williams (16-1, 11 KOs). Williams rocked Sheeraz in round one, but Sheeraz found his range and dominated Williams after that. Sheeraz dropped Williams at the end of round ten and got a referee’s stoppage in round eleven. Time was :45. The win put the Queensberry team ahead 6-0 against the Matchroom squad after three bouts, ensuring at least a draw in the 5v5 tourney.

WBC #7, WBO #7 light heavyweight and former amateur champion Willy Hutchinson (18-1, 13 KOs) scored a twelve round unanimous decision over former world title challenger and WBA #4 rated Craig “The Spider” Richards (18-4-1, 11 KOs). Scores were 116-112, 117-111, 119-109.

Unbeaten super lightweight Kevin Hayler Brown (5-0, 3 KOs) took an unpopular ten round split decision over Idalberto Umara (12-3, 8 KOs) on Friday night at the Caribe Royale Hotel in Orlando, Florida. Brown overcame a fourth round knockdown to win on two cards 97-92, 96-93. Umara was up 97-92 on the third card. Brown retains the WBA Continental Americas title.

Heavyweight Gurgen “Big Gug” Hovhannisyan (6-0, 6 KOs) stopped Luis Pascual (19-11, 17 KOs) after two rounds. The 6’7 Hovhannisyan dropped Pascual in round two and the bout was halted between rounds.

WBC #1, WBA #2, IBF #3, WBO #3 super middleweight Christian Mbilli (27-0, 23 KOs) destroyed Mark Heffron (30-4-1, 24 KOs) in the first round on Saturday night at the Centre Gervais Auto in Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada. Mbilli came out throwing body shots and folded up Heffron in just 40 seconds.

Rebounding from his first professional loss, IBF #12, WBC #14 heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov (19-1, 18 KOs) destroyed Miljan Rovcanin (27-4, 18 KOs) in round two. A clubbing Makhmudov right hand knocked Rovcanin halfway out of the ring for a knockdown in round one. Makhmudov then laid out Rovcanin with a crushing right hand in round two. Time was 2:32.

Unbeaten light heavyweight Mehmet Unal (10-0, 8 KOs) was impressive in stopping Rodolfo Gomez Jr (14-8-3, 10 KOs) in round four. Well received referee’s stoppage. Time was 2:17.

In a grudge rematch, Jack Catterall (29-1, 13 KOs) avenged his loss to former undisputed junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor (19-2, 13 KOs) taking a twelve round unanimous decision on Saturday night at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, England. Taylor and Catterall fought 27 months ago in Glasgow, Scotland, with Taylor winning a controversial split decision. This time, it was another close fight with both fighters digging deep and having their moments. Scores were 117-111, 117-111, 116-113 for Catterall.

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Unbeaten cruiserweight Cheavon Clarke (9-0, 7 KOs) knocked out Ellis Zorro (17-2, 7 KOs) in the eighth round to win the vacant British title. A right hand laid out Zorro at 2:59. Zorro was kayoed in one round by current world champion Jai Opetaia in his previous fight.

Unbeaten welterweight Paddy Donovan (14-0, 11 KOs) stopped former top ten contender Lewis Ritson (23-4, 13 KOs) in round nine to retain the WBA Continental title. A barrage of punches prompted a referee’s stoppage at :32.

Lightweight Gary Cully (18-1, 10 KOs) outpointed former European champion Francesco Patera (29-5, 11 KOs) over ten rounds. Scores were 96-94, 96-94, 98-92.

By Robert Coster

In Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, former WBA interim light heavyweight champion Felix “Mangu” Valera stepped back into ring action against fellow countryman Andy Perez but in the cruiserweight division. Valera (23-5, 20 KOs) leveled Perez (20-15, 15 KOs) with a vicious, right-hand body blow in just two rounds.

“I feel really good at that weight,” declared Valera, “I’m ready to fight the best.” Continue reading “Ex-champ Valera KOs Perez”

Middleweight “Super Bad” Vlad Panin (19-1, 11 KOs) scored a second round KO over former two-division world champion Devon Alexander “The Great” (27-9-1, 14 KOs) on Friday night at the River Cree Resort Casino in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. In round two, Panin dropped Alexander with a short left hand. Alexander got up, argued that the punch was behind the head, then took a knee. At that point the fight was immediately halted. Time was 1:52. Five straight losses now for the 37-year-old Alexander, whose last W came in 2017.