By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

WBC#2, WBO#3 light flyweight Shogo Iwata scored a fine TKO victory over Filipino southpaw Jason Brillo at 1:28 of the sixth round in a scheduled ten on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Having failed to win the WBO 108-poound belt from Jonathan “Bomba” Gonzalez last November, Iwata had a tough time coping with the taller Filipino lefty but finally caught up with him, decking him twice.

Former WBO 105-pound champ Masataka Taniguchi unfortunately sustained a jaw fracture, endured the pain and struggled to earn a well-received majority decision (96-94 twice, 95-95) over veteran Kenichi Horikawa over ten. Continue reading “WBC#2 Iwata halts Brillo, Taniguchi edges Horikawa”

Former heavyweight contender Robert Helenius (32-4, 21 KOs) had no problems dismissing previously unbeaten 41-year-old Mika Mielonen (6-1, 6 KOs) in round three on Saturday night at the Operastage Olavinlinna in Savonlinna, Finland. Afterward, Helenius, 39, stated “It feels great to box in Finland and I hope the next match is here as well!”

WBC #14, WBO #15 super bantamweight Elijah Pierce (18-2, 15 KOs) brutally knocked out IBF #14 Mike Plania (28-3, 15 KOs) in round three on Friday night at the Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. A lead left hand caught Plania on the chin and put him on his back unable to continue. Time was :53. Pierce won the inaugural WBC OTX title.

WBA #12, WBO #14 welterweight Derrieck “Pretty Boy” Cuevas (26-1-1, 18 KOs) defeated local fan favorite Alberto “Metralleta” Mosquera (28-6-2 16 KOs) by fourth round TKO on Friday night at the Coliseo de Combates in Panama City, Panama. Cuevas dropped Mosquera twice in round two and also cut Mosquera over his right eye. The bout was stopped due to the cut in round four even though Mosquera had fought his way back into the fight. Time was 2:36.

WBA #8 super middleweight Uwel Hernandez (16-1, 9 KOs) knocked out Rodolfo “Poroto” Juarez (21-9, 15 KOs) in round two with a vicious left to the body to claim the vacant WBA Gold Super Middleweight title. Time was 1:48.

In a high stakes clash between world ranked light flyweight contenders, WBC #9, WBO #12 Azael “Candellila” Villar (19-2-3, 15 KOs) and WBO #15 Gerardo “Cascabel” Zapata (14-1, 5 KOs) battled to a ten round draw. Scores were 96-94 Zapata, 96-94 Villar, 95-95, Promoter Tuto Zabala Jr had hinted at the possibility of the winner challenging WBO world champion Jonathan “Bomba” Gonzalez in his next defense this fall. Now what?

Super featherweight Jordan White (15-1, 11 KOs) annihilated previously undefeated Eridson Garcia (17-1, 11 KOs) in the first round on Friday night at the Wind Creek Casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. An explosive counter left hook laid out Garcia. Time was 1:57.

Undefeated super welterweight Paul Kroll (10-0-2, 6 KOs) and Guido Schramm (16-1-2, 9 KOs) battled to an eight round draw. Scores were 77-75, 76-76 and 76-76.

In a clash between unbeaten featherweights, Julian Gonzalez (11-0-1, 9 KOs) outscored Johnny Spell (8-1, 4 KOs) over eight rounds. Scores were 78-74, 78-74, 79-73.

Undefeated WBA #4, WBC #15 super middleweight Padraig McCrory (18-0, 9 KOs) pounded out a ten round unanimous decision over Steed Woodall (18-2-1, 11 KOs) on Friday night outdoors at Falls Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland. McCrory got credit for a knockdown when Woodall’s glove touched the canvas in round eight. Scores were 96-93, 96-93, 98-92.

In the co-feature, super lightweight Sean McComb (17-1, 5 KOs) outpointed Alejandro Moya (17-2, 10 KOs) over ten rounds by scores of 97-93, 97-93, 99-92.

By Jeff Zimmerman at ringside
Photos: Emily Harney

WBO welterweight champ Terence “Bud” Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) out of Omaha, NE blasted out WBC, IBF and WBA titleholder Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. (28-1, 22 KOs) out of Dallas, TX to become the undisputed welterweight king on Saturday night in front of 19,990 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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Crawford dropped Spence three times, once in the second and twice in round seven before referee Harvey Dock waived it off in round nine after Crawford landed a barrage of power shots. The time of stoppage was 2:32 of round nine.

This was a fight for the ages, two undefeated, top five pound-for-pound fighters fighting for legacy. Continue reading “Crawford TKOs Spence; now undisputed”

Former world champion Luis Ramon “Yori Boy” Campas (108-18-3, 83 KOs) won by eighth round KO against Juan Carlos Parra (8-24-2, 7 KOs) in a scheduled ten-rounder on Saturday night at the Auditorio Municipal Fausto Gutiérrez Moreno in Tijuana, BCN, Mexico. 52-year-old Campas returned to the ring for the first time since 2018, then promptly announced his retirement. He turns 53 next week.

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

In a WBC and WBA lightweight title eliminator, Mexico City’s hard hitting WBC #3, WBA #5, IBF #5, WBO #5 Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (25-2-1, 17 KOs) scored a twelve round split decision over previously undefeated WBA #9, IBF #11, WBO #11 Giovanni Cabrera (21-1, 7 KOs) of Seattle in the Spence-Crawford co-main event on Saturday night at the sold out T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Cruz pressed the action and landed hard punches that Cabrera was able to take. Cruz was deducted a point in round eight for a headbutt. Scores were 114-113 for Cabrera, 114-113, 115-112 for Cruz. Continue reading “Cruz wins by split decision in eliminator”

By Jeff Zimmerman at ringside

Bantamweight Alexandro Santiago (28-3-5, 14 KOs) hammered out a twelve round unanimous decision over future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire (42-8, 28 KOs) to claim the vacant WBC bantamweight title formerly held by Naoya Inoue on Saturday night at the sold out T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

In round one, Santiago threw punches while Donaire pressed, showing feints, patiently waiting for the big punch. Santiago established the jab in round two, as Donaire continue to come forward. The action picked up as Santiago landed a body shot to close the round. Continue reading “Santiago beats Donaire for WBC bantam title”

By Miguel Maravilla and Jeff Zimmerman at ringside

Cuba’s Yones Tellez (6-0, 5 KOs) got things started by scoring a spectacular third-round knockout over a seasoned veteran Sergio Garcia (34-3, 14 KOs) of Spain in opening up the Showtime Pay per View telecast with a statement performnce.

The veteran Garcia began to get rough in the opening round as he hit Tellez behind the head, drawing a warning from referee Robert Hoyle. Garcia had a good round as he imposed his veteran tactics in the second, shoving his forearm on the face of Tellez and drawing another warning from the referee. The Cuban fighter did not let any of the roughhouse tactics bother him as a left hook, right hand combination by Tellez floored Garcia. Rising to his feet, Garcia continued but Tellez did not let him off the hook as he went for the finish forcing the referee to stop the fight at 2:02 of the third.

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Undefeated super middleweight contender Steven “So Cold” Nelson (19-0, 15 KOs) dominated late replacement Rowdy Legend Montgomery (10-5-1, 7 KOs) over ten rounds to win a unanimous decision and the vacant WBA Continental Americas title.

Nelson found his range midway through round one and it was target practice from there on out. He blasted Montgomery with straight and overhand rights and an occasional left hook all night. Continue reading “Spence-Crawford undercard results”

By Héctor Villarreal

Former super world champion Anselmo “Chemito” Moreno and his wife Rousse Laguna presented a six fight pro boxing event on Friday night at the Centro de Combates in Panama City, to continue their campaign to rescue the Young local talent.

Super lightweights Fernando “Pantera” Martínez (6-2, 2 KOs) and Samir Cuentas (2-3, 0 KOs) starred a very tactical 6-round fight, with Martínez escaping with a majority decision. Continue reading “Martinez edges Cuentas in Panama”

Report/Photos by Scott Foster

“Night Of Champions IV” Boxlab Promotions, in conjunction with CBS Sports and Warriors Boxing, presented a tripleheader Friday night at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, FL dubbed the “Night Of Champions IV.” The 12-bout card was headlined by once-beaten lightweight contender, Cuban-born Idalberto Umara (11-1, 8 KOs) who faced a late but heralded substitute in former Dominican Olympian William Encarnacion (20-5, 16 KOs). Umara stole the show early with a highlight reel uppercut that had the Olympian out on his feet, crashing face-first into the canvas. After several frightening minutes, Encarnacion regained his senses and was greeted with applause from the audience after returning to his corner. The end came at 1:51 of round two. Continue reading “Umara crushes Encarnacion”

By Miguel Maravilla and Jeff Zimmerman at ringside

East L.A.’s Seniesa “Super Bad” Estrada (25-0, 9 KOs) successfully defended her WBC and WBA female minimumweight world titles edging out Argentina’s former world champion Leonela Yudica (19-2-3, 1 KO) in headlining Friday night at the Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas. Continue reading “Estrada retains titles, remains unbeaten”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

“Monster” Naoya Inoue (25-0, 22 KOs), 121.75, impressively captured the WBC, WBO 122-pound belts when he maintained the pressure from the start, positively threw jabs and combinations and finally caught Stephen Fulton (21-1, 8 KOs), 122, to halt him at 1:14 of the eighth round on Tuesday at Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan. It was Naoya’s fourth division belt since he had previously acquired the 108, 115 and 118-pound titles. Inoue, 30, positively kept throwing jabs and stalking the defending champ in every round. Fulton, 29, occasionally attempted counters to the aggressive Japanese, who averted almost all of them and kept stinging lefts to had him bleeding from the nose in round four.

The eighth saw Inoue turn more aggressive, connecting a vicious right to the champ’s face. Stephen almost lost his equilibrium, and Naoya quickly follow it up with a looping left hook. Down he went. Fulton gamely pulled himself up and resumed fighting. Inoue swarmed over him, and cornered him with a flurry of punches. Referee Hector Afu, Panama, declared a halt when Fulton sank again with his back to the corner post. It was his second visit to the deck with the ref coming to his rescue.

The newly crowned champ jubilantly said, “I’m very happy to become the super bantamweight champion. I truly appreciate your supports and contributions to this great event.”

Then, his counterpart WBA, IBF champ Marlon Tapales climbed up to the ring, displaying his belts and facing the new champ Naoya. They will square off soon to unify four belts within this year, hopefully.

Promoter: Ohashi Promotions.

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By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

WBO featherweight champion Robeisy Ramirez (13-1, 8 KOs), 125.75, kept his belt as he whipped Japanese challenger Satoshi Shimizu (11-2, 10 KOs), 125.75, from the outset, accelerated his attack, and dropped him to halt him at 1:08 of the fifth round in a scheduled twelve on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan.

Ramirez, originally from Cuba, previously won the Olympic gold medal twice in 2012 and 2016, and then turned professional afterward. Shimizu, six inches taller at 5’11”, was also an Olympian who acquired the bronze medal in London in 2012.

Ramirez kept battering the slower challenger from all angles, defended himself well with his tight defense and finally accelerated his attack in round five. Robeisy exploded a well-timed left uppercut to the chin, and badly floored him on the deck. Though Shimizu, bleeding from the mouth and nose, barely resumed fighting, the champ swarmed over him to prompt the referee Ramon Pena’s intervention. Continue reading “Ramirez halts Shimizu, keeps WBO 126lb belt”

Amilcar Vidal Jr bounces back with stoppage win

The pressure was on for Uruguay’s Amilcar Vidal Jr as he returned home to Montevideo following a devastating knockout defeat to Elijah Garcia in March. Last night saw the hometown favorite lock horns with Venezuela’s Domicio Rondon for the vacant South American middleweight title over ten rounds.

Heading into the fight promoter Sampson Lewkowicz made it quite clear that Vidal Jr was under huge pressure to perform following defeat.

“He has to get the win tomorrow night,” Lewkowicz said prior to the fight. “If he can’t beat Rondon then we will have to stop working together, he won’t be able to make it if he can’t win this fight. However, if he can win and look good? We will take him back to America, I still dream of bringing my country its first male world champion.“ Continue reading “Amilcar Vidal Jr bounces back with stoppage win”

WBC #2 super welterweight Serhii “El Flaco” Bohachuk (23-1, 23 KOs) demolished former world title challenger Patrick Allotey (42-5, 32 KOs) in the first round on Saturday night at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California. A Bohachuk right hand put Allotey down face first. He seemed to barely beat the count, but referee Jack Reiss waved it off. Bohachuk retained his WBC Continental Americas title.

Unbeaten featherweight Omar Trinidad (13-0-1, 10 KOs) overpowered Roberto ‘The Ram’ Meza (15-4-1, 8 KOs) over six rounds. Meza down in rounds three and five and Meza’s corner threw in the towel in round six.

In a clash of unbeaten light heavyweights, Umar Dzambekov (6-0, 4 KOs) outpointed Kwame Ritter (10-1, 8 KOs) over eight rounds 79-73, 79-73, 78-74.

Unbeaten super lightweight Cain Sandoval (10-0, 10 KOs) stopped Jose Marruffo (14-12-2, 2 KOs) in round six. Sandoval dropped Marruffo in round two and got a referee’s stoppage in the sixth.

WBA #4 middleweight Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna (35-5-1, 14 KOs) destroyed Juan Manuel “El Principito” Witt (33-1-2, 25 KOs) on Saturday night at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. LaManna pressed the action and quickly broke down Witt. The end came in round three. LaManna dropped Witt three times to end it. LaManna claimed the WBA Fedelatin belt. Witt has now lost both fights since returning from a five year layoff. LaManna is also the promoter of this card.

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Heavyweight terror Kristian Prenga (14-1, 14 KOs) needed just 1:22 to lay out Santander Sligado (32-16, 26 KOs) with a right hand in round one.

Unbeaten junior middleweight Justin “Time“ Figueroa (6-0, 5 KOs) pounded out a six round unanimous decision over Jeff “Relentless” Lentz (5-2, 1 KO). Scores were 58-56, 59-55, 59-55.

Super middleweight Nadim Salloum (11-1, 4 KOs) stopped Antonio Ocles (12-13, 3 KOs) in round two.

Former undisputed lightweight king George Kambosos Jr. (21-2, 10 KOs) returned with a twelve round majority decision over Maxi Hughes (29-4-1, 26 KOs) on Saturday night in an IBF world title eliminator at FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Ugly fight that never got untracked. Scores were 114-114, 117-111, 115-113. Kambosos was a 4:1 favorite.

In the co-feature, Olympic silver medalist and lightweight Keyshawn Davis (9-0, 6 KOs) dominated former European champion Francesco Patera (28-4, 10 KOs) over ten rounds. Davis dropped Patera in round eight en route to a 100-89, 100-89, 99-90 unanimous decision.

Unbeaten welterweight Giovani Santillan (31-0, 16 KOs) got all he could handle with Erick Bone (27-7, 14 KOs) but got away with a ten round unanimous decision. Judges scored it 97-92, 98-92, 97-93 for Santillan in a close bout that could have gone either way.

Oklahoma heavyweight Jeremiah “Dreamland” Milton (10-0, 7 KOs) was victorious when overmatched 296lb Willie “Lump Lump” Harvey (4-3-2, 3 KOs) when Harvey couldn’t continue after round four.

Kiwi heavyweight Hemi Ahio (22-1, 17 KOs) got a referees’ stoppage in round six against 300lb Amron Sands (12-3, 9 KOs). A barrage of punches ended it at 2:12.

Aussie heavyweight Joseph Goodall (10-1-1, 8 KOs) upset Stephan “Big Shot” Shaw (18-1, 13 KOs) with a TKO win in round six. Goodall dropped Shaw twice in round six and after more punishment Shaw’s corner asked for the bout to be stopped. Time was 2:55. Shaw, who was a 7:1 favorite, dropped his second straight after winning his first 18 fights. Goodall’s only loss was to Justis Huni.

U.S. Olympian middleweight Troy Isley (9-0, 4 KOs) ground out a 79-73 3x unanimous decision against Antonio Todd (14-8, 8 KOs) over eight rounds.

Featherweight Hector Andres Sosa (16-2, 9 KOs) scored a brutal tenth round KO against two-time world itle challenger Jazza Dickens (32-5, 12 KOs) on Saturday night at Dubai Studio City in Dubai, UAE. Sosa connected with huge right that laid Dickens out cold. Sosa claimed Dickens’ IBO title.

This is the second consecutive night that an unheralded opponent has derailed a UK fan favorite. Last night it was super bantamweight Erik Robles shocking previously unbeaten Lee McGregor. Today it was Sosa breaking British hearts.

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

In an emotional atmosphere on Friday night at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California, Thompson Boxing, which recently lost their President Ken Thompson, presented their final boxing event after 23 great years in the fight game.

In the main event, welterweight prospect, Louie Lopez (14-2-1, 5 KOs) from Corona, California scored a third-round knockout over Benjamin Lamptey (13-12-9, 2 KOs) of Accra, Ghana. Lopez came out aggressive in the opening round, attacking the body and backing Lamptey as he shelled up. Continuing to rip to the body in round two, Lopez pounded away as Lamptey was limited with his offense. Lopez dropped Lamptey twice to start the third round with a series of body shots and referee Ray Corona reached a ten count and final bell for Thompson Boxing at 1:22 of the third. Continue reading “One Last Time: End of an Era”

Super bantamweight Erik Robles (14-1, 9 KOs) defeated previously unbeaten hometown hero Lee McGregor (12-1-1, 9 KOs) by twelve round unanimous decision on Friday night at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland. After twelve exciting back-and-forth rounds, judges had it 116-113, 115-113 and 115-113 for Robles who, claimed the vacant IBO belt..

Other Results
Sultan Zaurbek TKO3 John Carter (super featherweight)
Bohdan Myronets W6 Kash Ali (heavyweight)
Isaac Lowe TKO5 Jonathan Santana (featherweight)
Harlem Eubank TKO6 Ishmael Ellis (super lightweight)
Kostynatin Dovbyshchenko TKO5 Matty Harris (heavyweight)
Ben Andrews W4 Darryl Sharp (super welterweight)
Ryan Clark W4 Dale Arrowsmith (super lightweight)
Aston Brown W4 Vasif Mamedov (middleweight)
Jesse Brandon W4 Liam Fox (light heavyweight)

By David Finger at ringside

Undefeated New Mexican Abraham “Hammer” Perez made a statement in Albuquerque on Saturday night when he dominated the normally durable journeyman Gilberto Mendoza en route to an eight round TKO victory. Mendoza was a last minute replacement but was still seen as a gritty and tough foe who had gone the distance with some of the hardest punchers in the flyweight division. Perez, for all of his talent, was not regarded as a puncher per se, but against Mendoza he proved once again that speed kills. Continue reading “Perez dominates Mendoza in Albuquerque”

Unbeaten super welterweights Julian Vogel (11-0-1, 7 KOs) and Mykyta Alistratov (8-0-2, 4 KOs) battled to an eight round draw in their clash for the WBO Junior 154lb title on Saturday night at the SES-Gym in Magdeburg, Germany. Scores were 77-75 for Vogel, 77-76 for Alistratov, and 76-76.

Cruiserweight Roman Fress (18-1, 11 KOs) needed just 75 seconds to annihilate previously unbeaten Edwin Mosquera (10-1-2, 6 KOs) in the first round of the co-feature. A hard left to the head finished Mosquera.

Other Results:
Robin Rehse W6 Felix Kriedemann (super middleweight)
Marlon Dzemski W6 Marian Wesolowski (welterweight)
Artur Henrik W6 Adam Ciesiak (super middleweight)
Tom Laske W6 Seiran Angel (super lightweight)
Artur Reis W6 Pavlo Ospinnikov (super middleweight)
Lara Ochmann W6 Gabriella Mezei (featherweight)
Christian Demaj W6 Ilja Mezencev (heavyweight)
Eda Essaoudi D6 Eva Hubmayer (featherweight)