Undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) scored a twelve round unanimous decision over game WBO mandatory challenger John “The Gorilla” Ryder (32-6, 18 KOs) in front of 55,000 on Saturday night at the Estadio Akron in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico. Canelo’s pressure backed up Ryder and had him bleeding from the nose and mouth by round three. Canelo dropped Ryder with a left/right in round five. Ryder beat the count and survived the round. The rugged Ryder fought hard the rest of the way and made it to the final bell. Scores were 120-107, 118-109, 118-109.

After the fight, Canelo stated that Ryder “was a very tough fighter,” that his left hand performed “very good” post-surgery, and he wants a rematch with Dmitry Bivol at 175lbs next. “If the fight with Bivol doesn’t happen, then we’ll see,” said Canelo. “I’m able to fight everybody.”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

It was a doubleheader featuring WBO Asia Pacific title bouts on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.

Former WBA world minimum champ Ryuya Yamanaka (19-3, 6 KOs), 108, seized the vacant WBO AP junior flyweight belt as he kept completely outjabbing compatriot Kosuke Ando (12-4, 5 KOs), 107.75, and pounded out a unanimous decision (117-111, 118-109, 120-107) over twelve lopsided rounds at the Korakuen Hall. Ryuya, who came back after a hiatus of three years and eight months last year and scored a couple of impressive victories, decked him with a solid jab in the third, and kept stinging him with precision all night. Ando, 30, displayed a desperate attack down the stretch, but Yamanaka, 28, kept his cool and utilized solid and sharp jabs even in the final session.

Unbeaten Goki Kobayashi (6-0, 4 KOs), 105, made his first defense when he withstood the furious opening attack of previously unbeaten Filipino Roslan Eco (10-1, 7 KOs), 102.75, and fought back hard to exclusively aim at the breadbasket to have him retire at 0:34 of the fourth round in a scheduled twelve. The loser’s cornerman abruptly jumped into the ring to ask the ref to halt the proceedings. Reportedly Eco suffered a broken jaw with Kobayashi’s fierce retaliation in the previous round. Continue reading “Yamanaka, Kobayashi victorious in WBO AP twinbill”

WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez (20-2, 14 KOs) stopped Ronal Batista (15-3, 9 KOs) in round eleven to retain his WBC title in the Canelo-Ryder co-feature on Saturday night at the Estadio Akron in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico. Batista gave Martinez all he could handle for the first six rounds. Martinez dropped Batista in round seven, then punished Batista until the bout was stopped in round eleven. Time was 1:00.

Super lightweight Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela (27-3-1, 16 KOs) scored a ten round split decision over Steve Spark (16-3, 14 KOs) on the Canelo-Ryder undercard on Saturday night at the Estadio Akron in Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico. Local hero Valenzuela dropped Sparks in round six, but Spark landed the better shots throughout the bout. Scores were 96-93, 95-94 Valenzuela, 95-94 Spark.

Comebacking former WBC light heavyweight champion Oleksandr “The Nail” Gvozdyk (19-1, 15 KOs) stopped Ricards Bolotniks 19-7-1, 8 KOs) in round six. Slow start to the fight, but when Gvozdyk opened up, he ran over Bolotniks to end it at 1:53 of round six. After a three-and-a-half year retirement, the 36-year-old Gvozdyk resumed his career earlier this year.

Unbeaten 18-year-old featherweight Nathan Rodriguez (11-0, 7 KOs) outboxed Alexander “Popeye” Mejia (19-6, 8 KOs) over ten rounds to take a majority decision. Scores were 95-95, 96-93, 96-94.

In a meaningful fight between world-rated contenders, undefeated WBA #1, WBO #2, WBC #3, IBF #13 light heavyweight and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Joshua Buatsi (17-0, 13 KOs) scored a workmanlike ten round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten IBF #4, WBA #13, WBC #14, WBO #14 Pawel Stepien (18-1-1, 12 KOs) on Saturday night at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England. Buatsi was in command all the way in a bout that never really heated up. Scores were 98-92, 97-94, 100-90.

“I’ve been out of the ring for almost a year, so I needed the 10 rounds. I wanted to knock him out, and I’m disappointed I didn’t, but we got the win. If I had lost it, everything would have changed, so I had to be smart,” Buatsi told Sky Sports after the fight. Continue reading “WBA #1 Buatsi outpoints Stepien”

As part of Canelo-Ryder fight week in Guadalajara, Canelo Promotions showcased two of their young undefeated American prospects.

In the main event, super featherweight Jonathan Lopez (11-0, 8 KOs) from Orlando, Florida, stopped Osvaldo Nuñez (5-5, 0 KOs) from Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico, in round three. Lopez dropped Nunez in round two and got a referee’s stoppage at 1:01 of round three due to a nasty cut over the left eye suffered by Nunez.

Also, super welterweight Lazaro Lorenzana (11-0, 8 KOs) of San Diego, California, won an eight round split decision over Alexis Rios (4-3-1, 1 KO) from Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico. Scores were 77-75, 77-75 Lorenzana, 79-73 Rios.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

It was a show for the 45th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between China and Japan. Six bouts of the respective representative fought so hard that they fully entertained the crowd with four wins for Japan and two for China at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

In the main event Japan’s #4 super-feather Yamato Hata (13-2, 12 KOs), 129.75, scored a one-punch knockout with a southpaw left, flattening China’s Shichao Gao (7-3-1, 3 KOs), 130, at 0:29 of the third round in a scheduled eight on Monday. Ex-Japanese youth lightweight champ Kaiki Yuba (10-2-2, 6 KOs), 145.5, was awarded a hairline majority decision (77-75, 78-74, 76-76) over Chinese lefty veteran Baishanbo Nasiyiwula (17-5-1, 7 KOs), 145.5, over see-saw eight. Continue reading “Japan vs. China competitions: 4-2”

Hometown heavyweight Joey “The Tank” Dawejko (24-10-4, 13 KOs) hammered out a six round unanimous decision over Colby Madison (11-5-2, 7 KOs) on Tuesday night in the main event at the LIVE Casino in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dawejko rocked Madison several times and pulled away to a wide decision. Three straight wins now for the popular Dawejko.

By Jeff Zimmerman at ringside

Undefeated lightweight knockout artist William “El Camarón” Zepeda (28-0, 24 KOs) destroyed Jaime “Jaimito” Arboleda (19-3, 14 KOs) in two brutal rounds on Saturday night in the College Park Center at The University of Texas at Arlington campus. The aggressive Zepeda dropped Arboleda three times with body shots in round two to end it. Time was 2:16. Zepeda successfully defended his WBA Continental Americas title.

“We prepared for a complicated fight, he was hungry to make a point,” said Zepeda. “We had planned to go to the body the first couple of rounds and end it at the top, but we were able to finish the job early with just getting him at the body. I will prove to the world that I am the best at 135. I want to fight the best world champions out there. I signed up for boxing not ballet.”

In an unexpected firefight, unbeaten featherweight Victor Morales, Jr. (18-0-1, 9 KOs), a 2:1 underdog, spectacularly crushed Diego De La Hoya (24-2, 11 KOs) in two rounds. Morales busted up and dropped De La Hoya twice in round two to end it. Oscar’s nephew was counted out at 1:08.

Super welterweight Frederick “General Okunka” Lawson (30-3, 22 KOs) edged Estevan “Manos De Oro” Villalobos (16-2-1, 12 KOs) over ten rounds by scores of 96-94, 96-94, 97-93. Villalobos nearly stopped Lawson in the tenth round, but it was too little, too late..

Unbeaten super middleweight David “Dynamite” Stevens (13-0, 9 KOs) got all he could handle from 38-year-old former world title challenger Marco Periban (26-7-1, 17 KOs), winning an eight round unanimous decision. Scores were 78-73, 78-73, 77-74. Steven down in round three.

Former middleweight title challenger Brandon Cook (25-2, 17 KOs) overcame a fourth round knockdown to edge Gino Godoy (29-3, 18 KOs) by ten round split decision on Saturday night at the Pickering Casino Resort in Pickering, Ontario, Canada. Close fight. Scores were 95-94, 95-94 for local favorite Cook, 96-93 for Godoy, who came in from Argentina.

Report/Photos: Scott Foster

Saturday night Reyes Fire Fist Boxing, in conjunction with the Hilton Carillon in St. Petersburg, FL, continued their championship series, “Fire on the Bay.” Headlining the eight-bout card, Ireland-born/Florida-based WBA #4 middleweight Conner “The Kid” Coyle (19-0, 9 KOs) made the second defense of his NABF title, dispatching the typically durable Christian Fabian Rios (23-17, 3 KOs). Coyle showed patience early, establishing the jab to control the movement of the southpaw Rios. By the middle rounds, steady bodywork from Coyle began to sap the strength of Rios, allowing for more exchanges that were typically punctuated by Conner’s lead right hands. At the conclusion of the scheduled ten rounds, all judges saw the bout the same, 100-90 for Coyle who retained his NABF title and now appears poised to vie for the world title. Continue reading “Coyle tops Rios in St Pete”

Jeff Zimmerman at ringside

Tristan Kalkreuth 201.6 vs. Jonathan Rice 224.6

In a back-and-forth battle, heavyweight Tristan “Sweet T” Kalkreuth (10-1, 7 KOs) out of Duncanville, TX, won a hard-fought unanimous decision against Jonathan Rice (2-3, 2 KOs) from nearby Cleburne over six rounds. Rice took the fight to Kalkreuth early and had some success with head shots as Kalkreuth spent time on the ropes. As the fight wore on, Kalkreuth unleashed his jab and shots to the body to slow down the bigger Rice. Both guys had their moments throughout the fight, but the cleaner shots by Kalkreuth proved to be the difference. Kalkreuth told Fightnews.com immediately after the fight that he was sticking to cruiserweight and did not want to fight these big boys anymore. Rice outweighed Kalkreuth by almost 25lbs. Coach Bullet for Team Kalkreuth was also happy with his performance as he predicted at the weigh-ins that the jab would be the difference. The scores read 59-55 on all three cards. Continue reading “Zepeda-Arboleda Early Results – Non TV”

By Robert Coster

A 16-bout fight card was held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Friday night. The main event saw hot Dominican prospect Franklyn De Paula (7-0, 6 KOs) win the WBA Fedecaribe flyweight title by ten round unanimous decision over tough Gilbert Gonzalez (18-4-1, 13 KOs) of Venezuela. The one-sided scoring (100-90, 99-91, 99-91) did not reflect how hard the contest actually was for De Paula. Continue reading “De Paula wins WBA Fedecaribe title”

Hometown favorite and former multi-time world title challenger Miguel “Mickey” Roman (65-14, 49 KOs) of Cuidad Juarez Mexican took on Jorge “Kan” Mata Cuellar (15-1-2, 10 KOs) of Guadalajara, Mexico on Friday night at the Gymnasio Josue Nery Santos in Cuidad Juarez, Mexico with the WBC international super featherweight title at stake. The visiting Mata came out strong in round one, firing and landing rapid combinations to the head and body. In round two, Roman was cut above his left eye. Instant replay showed that the cut was caused by a headbutt and the bout was announced as a no contest draw by the ring announcer. In a surprising turn of events following the final ruling, an unidentified man pushed Mata very hard in the back of the head. The man was immediately removed from the ring. Mata appeared to be unfazed as he went and gave Roman the traditional sportmanship greeting after the fight.

Unbeaten two-time Olympian Tsendbaatar Erdenebat (6-0, 3 KOs) took an eight round unanimous decision over Edy Valencia Mercado (20-10-6, 7 KOs) in a bout for the NABF super featherweight title on Thursday night at Sony Hall in Times Square, New York City. Erdenebat, who claims he injured Ryan Garcia with a body shot during Kingry’s training camp before Tank Davis landed a similar blow to stop Garcia in their super fight, didn’t particularly excite as he cruised to an 80-72, 78-74, 78-74 win.

In the main event, junior middleweight Brian Ceballo (14-1, 7 KOs) punished Luis Alberto Veron (20-7-2, 9 KOs) for eight rounds en route to a unanimous decision. Scores were 80-72, 79-73, 79-73. Ceballo back in the win column coming off his first loss.

Former WBO female super flyweight champion Miyo “Miyo Musashi” Yoshida (16-3, 0 KOs) took an eight round majority nod over Indeya Smith (6-7-2, 1 KO) by scores of 76-76, 77-75, 78-74.

Other Results:
Sydney Maccow W6 Christian Otero (lightweight)
Larry Fryers TKO6 Joshua David Rivera (jr welterweight)
David Lopez W4 Nelson Morales (super welterweight)

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Okinawa-born Japanese Shuma Nakazato (13-2-3, 8 KOs), 135, stunned the crowd with his one-punch demotion of Japanese lightweight champ, previously unbeaten prohibitive favorite Shu Utsuki (12-1, 10 KOs), 134.75, at 1:40 of the third round of the main event, surprisingly wresting the national belt on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan.  No one might have expected Shuma’s coronation, but anything could happen in the ring.  From the outset the challenger had the upper hand and damaged the champ with his opening attack in the first and second rounds.  His right counter was the haymaker that had Shuma follow his father and manager/trainer Shigeru (24-8-1, 18 KOs), a devastating puncher now at fifty years of age, who unfortunately failed to win the world 122-pound belt on three occasions, losing to Oscar Larios twice here in 2003 (he broke Oscar’s jaw) and 2004, and being halted by Mahyar Monshipour in France in 2005 (his last fight). Continue reading “Nakazato upsets Utsuki, wins Japanese 135lb belt”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

In the third of a quadruple national title attraction, hard-punching Homura Fujita (10-1, 8 KOs), 140, turned the tables and finally dispatched JBC#1 Cristiano Aoqui (16-10-2, 11 KOs), 140, at 3:08 of the second round in a scheduled ten on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan.  Fujita, having graduated from Waseda University, endured Aoqui’s furious opening attacks, and landed a perfectly-timed right counter to the face to drop him badly to the deck.  Aoqui, a half-breed of a Brazilian father and a Japanese mother, had him at bay in the first, but absorbed a very lethal right from the switch-hitting Fujita to sink for the count in round two. Continue reading “Homura sinks Aoqui, wins vacant Japanese 140lb belt”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Previously Mexico-based Japanese puncher, give-and-take warrior Shoki Sakai (27-13-3, 15 KOs and no losses by stoppages that proves his granite chin), 147, impressively seized the vacant national welterweight belt as he withstood an opening attack of Hironori Shigeta (8-3-2, 5 KOs), 147, in round one and furiously battered him back to have him look helpless to cause the ref’s intervention at 2:00 of the second session on Tuesday in Tokyo.  It was their rubber battle since Sakai won the first encounter (the first bout after his return to his native country from Mexico) over Shigeta in 2020 and barely drew with him after surviving a couple of visits to the deck last year.  Sakai’s do-or-die attack obviously hurt the taller southpaw Shigeta to the punch in the fatal session.

Promoter: Ohashi Promotions.

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By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

It was a quadruple national title event in commemoration of the latest passing of “Champion Maker” Kenji Yonekura (who produced 45 champions on aggregate) promoted by his pupil and ex-world champ Hideyuki Ohashi (currently handling “Monster” Naoya Inoue).  In the first title go on the night, unheralded JBC#1 Yuni Takada (11-8-3, 6 KOs), 105, acquired the vacant Japanese minimumweight belt by halting badly nose-bleeding JBC#2 Shuri Hasebe (9-7, 3 KOs), 105, at 2:59 of the sixth session in a scheduled ten on Tuesday at the Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan.

Takada, a late bloomer who had once suffered a bitter come-from-behind TKO loss by Hasebe in their first encounter exactly seven years ago (on the same April 26), demonstrated his new aggressive style, and beat him up to prompt the referee’s stoppage upon his accelerated barrage of punches in the fatal six. Continue reading “Takada stops Hasebe, wins vacant Japanese 105lb belt”

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

Undefeated WBA “regular” lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) scored a seventh round KO against “Kingry” Ryan Garcia (23-1, 19 KOs) in a non-title grudge match fought at a 136lb catch weight on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. After a slow first round, Garcia opened up in round two until Davis dropped him with a counter left. Tactical fight after that until Davis landed a short body shot in round seven. Garcia took a knee and was counted out. Time was 1:44. Continue reading “Tank KOs Kingry with body shot in round seven”

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

WBA “regular” super middleweight champion David Morrell Jr. (9-0, 8 KOs), of Minnesota by way of Cuba, destroyed 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Yamaguchi Falcao (24-2-1, 10 KOs), of Brazil, in the first round in the Tank-Kingry co-feature on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Morrell Jr. rocked Falcao early in the opening round. Falcao turned his back staggered and received a standing eight count. After the count, a crushing Morrell right hand brutally laid out Falcao face first to end it. Time was 2:22. Falcao, who was down for several minutes, took the fight on ten days notice.

“David Benavidez is next,” said Morrell afterward. “Where is he? I want to fight Benavidez. He’s next, 100%. I don’t want any other guys at 168-pounds. Just Benavidez. I respect Benavidez and his team, but inside the ring, I don’t respect anything.”

Former world champion Joe Cordina (16-0, 9 KOs) regained the IBF super featherweight title he was stripped of with a twelve round split decision over reigning beltholder Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (17-1-1, 14 KOs) on Saturday night at the Cardiff International Arena in Cardiff, Wales. Cordina dropped Rakhimov in round two. Rakhimov’s best moment was when he rocked Cordina in round five. In round six, a cut over Rakhimov’s left eye became progressively worse and Cordina took advantage with repeated punishing right hands. Rakhimov sucked it up and battled hard until the final bell. Scores were 116-111 Rakhimov, 115-112, 114-113 Cordina.

In a clash for the vacant WBC bridgerweight title, undefeated hometown hero Łukasz Rozański (15-0, 14 KOs) scored a first round TKO against previously unbeaten Alen “The Savage” Babic (11-1, 10 KOs) on Saturday night at the G2A Arena in Rzeszów, Poland. Rozański took the fight right at Babic. He knocked down Babic and then got a referee’s stoppage with his follow-up barrage. Time was 2:10. Babic, a slight favorite going in, complained about the stoppage. There was a 50 minute delay before the fight due to the gloves being misplaced.

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

It was sweet revenge in the rematch as super middleweight Bektemir Melikuziev (12-1, 9 KOs) from Uzbekistan avenged his only defeat against Gabriel Rosado (26-17-1, 15 KOs). Bek the “Bully” came out cautious not bullying his way in the opening round as Rosado worked with the jab sizing up Melikuziev. It was cat and mouse in the second, as Bek stalked and Rosado kept his distance boxing patiently. Drawing boos from the crowd in the third, fans began to show their impatience as Rosado and Melikuziev boxed cautiously. Bek began to let loose in the fourth as he backed Rosado and stalked most of the round. In the fifth, Bek connected with some hard shots as he backed up Rosado.

Past the halfway point in the sixth, Melikuziev kept pressing as Rosado appeared to be on the defensive in keeping his distance backing up. Melikuuziev was the aggressor late in the fight in the seventh as he began to live up the bully moniker backing Rosado and connecting big punches. Bek kept backing Rosado in the eighth and continuing to land the bigger punches. It was all Bek in the ninth as he kept pressing and backing Rosado, the veteran showed some elusiveness dodging a few of Melikuziev’s wild shots. Being the aggressor and busier fighter, Melikuziev finished strong as Rosado held on and showed his veteran grit in going the distance ten rounds.

After completing ten rounds, all three judges scored the bout 99-91.

Opening the Davis-Garcia pay per view, 19-year-old middleweight Elijah Garcia (15-0, 12 KO’s) of Phoenix won a hard-fought unanimous decision over Mexico City’s tough Kevin Salgado (15-1-1, 10 KO’s). It was a slow and patient opening round for Garcia as he lurked behind the jab and later connected Salgado with a straight left. Things picked up in the second as Garcia and Salgado mixed it up. Salgado was not holding back as he stood in the pocket with Garcia in round three. Swingy wildly and missing in the fourth, Salgado kept pressing but Garcia stood poised and mixed it up. Coming up on the halfway point in the fifth round, referee Robert Hoyle warned Salgado to pick up the punches for a low blows a pair of times. Continue reading “Tank-Kingry undercard”

WBA #2, WBC #7, IBF #12 heavyweight Martin Bakole (19-1, 14 KOs) stopped previously unbeaten Igor “Hulk” Shevadzutskiy (10-1, 8 KOs) in round three in the Babic-Rozanski co-feature on Saturday night at the G2A Arena in Rzeszów, Poland. Bakole dropped Shevadzutskiy with an uppercut/left hook in round two and then battered him for the rest of the round. The referee waved it off in round three. Shevadzutskiy protested to no avail. Time was :45.

Cruiserweight Michal Cieslak (24-2, 18 KOs) scored a fourth round KO over Dylan Bregeon (12-3-1, 3 KOs) to claim the European tile. Bregeon down twice.

Heavyweight Jeamie TKV (5-0, 3 KOs) dismissed Michał Boloz (5-5-2, 5 KOs) with a body shot in round two.

Light heavyweight Steed Woodall (18-1-1, 11 KOs) edged Boris Crighton (10-3, 7 KOs) over eight round 77-75 3x.