By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten speedster, WBC#10 Takuma Inoue (12-0, 3 KOs), 118, scored an important victory as he defeated WBC#3 Mark John Yap (29-12, 14 KOs), 118, a Japan-based Filipino, by a unanimous decision over twelve hard-fought rounds on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan.

The official tallies were as follows: Rey Danseco (Philippines) 116-111, Yoshikazu Furuta (Japan) 117-110, and Catherine Leonard (US) 114-113—all in favor of Takuma, Naoya “Monster” Inoue’s younger brother. The referee was Bruce McTavish (New Zealand). Continue reading “Full Report: Takuma Inoue-Yap WBC eliminator”

Saturday night in downtown San Antonio, TMB & PRB Entertainment presented “Fight Night at the Scottish Rite 2” a ten-bout card that took place at the Scottish Rite Theatre. In the six-round main event, local welterweight Gilbert Venegas (10-0, 6 KOs) took a six round unanimous decision over Armando Cardenas (9-2, 5 KOs) in a crowd-pleasing showdown. Continue reading “Venagas remains undefeated”

By Rocky Morales at ringside
Photos: Sumio Yamada

In a twelve round WBC super flyweight title eliminator, Juan Francisco “El Gallo” Estrada (37-3, 25 KOs) won a unanimous decision over Felipe “Gallito” Orucuta (36-5, 30 KOs) on Saturday night at the “Fabulous” Forum outside Los Angeles.

The fight took some time to heat up and the slower earlier action seemed to favor Orucuta. However, once the pace picked up, the world class experience of former flyweight champ Estrada really started to stand out. By the championship rounds, Estrada was going for the kill against the fading Orocuta and landed what should have been scored as a knockdown in the final seconds as Orocuta’s glove touched the canvas. With the victory, Estrada becomes the mandatory challenger to Srisaket Rungvisai who beat Estrada by majority decision victory last February. Scores for the fight were 117-111, 118-110 and 117-111, all in favor of Estrada.

Continue reading “Estrada beats Orucuta in WBC superfly eliminator”

By John DiSanto at ringside
Photos: Tom Casino/SHOWTIME

Before a crowd of 13,058 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, Shawn Porter scored a unanimous decision over Danny Garcia to capture the vacant WBC welterweight title in a close and solidly entertaining main event.

Garcia (34-2, 20 KOs) started well, winning the first three rounds, but Porter (29-2-1, 17 KOs) turned the tide in the fourth and took control with his busier and more aggressive style. Garcia looked uncomfortable on the inside and during clinches, and that was where Porter did his best work.

From the outside, where he had room to launch his punches, Garcia did better. However Porter was able to step in and keep much of the fight close.

The tenth may have been the best round, when the boxers exchanged freely and both fought hard as the fight was winding down. However, Porter regained his edge in the final two and won by scores of 116-112 and 115-113 twice. Continue reading “Porter defeats Garcia for WBC welterweight title”

By Rocky Morales at ringside
Photos: Sumio Yamada

Three-division world champion Donnie Nietes (41-1-5, 23KO) and Aston Palicte (24-3-1, 9KO) fought to a draw for the vacant WBO super flyweight title on Saturday night at the Forum in Inglewood, California.

In a lackluster fight that lacked any early energy, Palicte seemed to win a few early rounds but Nietes seemed to do more than enough to win a decision by winning the middle and late rounds. Palicte was unsuccessful at either using his 9 year age advantage (27 years old to Nietes’ 36 years old) or his five-inch height advantage, often seemed off balance in the later rounds and often looked to the referee for help as Nietes counter punches landed with increasing frequency. By scores of 118-110 (Nietes), 114-114 and 116-112 (Palicte), the fight ends in a split draw with the WBO super flyweight title remaining vacant.

Photos

By Rocky Morales and Miguel Maravilla at ringside
Photos: Sumio Yamada

Three weight class world champion, Kazuto Ioka (22-1, 13KO), made his invasion into super flyweight, a successful one as he thoroughly outboxed WBC #3 ranked contender, McWilliams Arroyo (17-4, 14KO), to win a ten round unanimous decision victory.

Ioka was able to dictate ring generalship throughout and dropped Arroyo hard in the third round with a perfectly timed right cross counter. With the victory, Ioka wins the WBC Silver super flyweight title and puts himself in position to challenge WBC champion Srisaket Rungvisai or any other super flyweight champion. Judges scored it 98-92, 99-90 and 98-92 all in favor of Ioka. Continue reading “Ioka returns, defeats Arroyo”

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

WBA Oceania super flyweight champion Andrew “The Monster” Moloney (18-0, 11 KOs) scored a tenth round stoppage over former WBA super flyweight world champion Luis “El Nica” Concepción (37-6, 26 KOs) on Saturday night at the new Bendigo Stadium in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. Very tough, gritty fight. WBA #4 Moloney took control in the middle rounds. WBA #5 Concepción came on in rounds seven to nine, but the bout was waved off in round ten after Moloney landed a series of big shots. Time was 1:58.

By Héctor Villarreal

After local flyweight Jose Luis Calvo pulled out of his scheduled fight against Dominican Jonathan Arias hours before the show because of payment issues, the other six rounder became the main event of the card promoted by Cornejo Producciones at Los Libertadores in Bethania, Panama.

Super bantam Norlan Yera (6-0, 2 KOs) a Cuban based in Panama, remains undefeated by beating local Gilmer Baules (7-9. 2 KOs) by TKO after two rounds. Continue reading “Yera beats Baules in Panama”

Philadelphia’s “Hammerin'” Hank Lundy (29-7-1, 14 KOs) came up on the short end of a twelve round unanimous decision against undefeated WBC silver lightweight beltholder Zaur Abdullaev (10-0, 6 KOs) on Friday night at the Traktor Sport Palace in Chelyabinsk, Russia, about 1,000 miles east of Moscow. Scores were 115-113, 117-112, 118-110 for Abdullaev.

In the main event, WBA cruiserweight world champion in recess Denis Lebedev (31-2, 23 KOs) crushed former world title challenger Hizni Altunkaya (30-3, 17 KOs) in three rounds. Lebedev dropped Altunkaya to a knee in round two and laid him out for the count in round three. Lebedev is the WBA mandatory for undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk.

All three of Salita Promotions’ Russia-based contenders, light heavyweight Umar Salamov, super middleweight Aslambek “The Hulk” Idigov and heavyweight Apti Davtaev scored impressive victories in Russia today.

Fighting in the main event at the Grozny City Hotel in Grozny, and live in Russia on Match TV, IBF #11- and WBO #15-rated Umar Salamov moved to 22-1, 17 KOs with a two-round KO over Denis Liebau (23-3, 21 KOs) of Frankfurt Germany. With the WBO International light heavyweight championship on the line, Salamov came out firing in round two, landing a perfect left hook to the body that dropped Liebau for the count. The official time was 2:15. Continue reading “Salamov, Idigov and Davtaev win in Grozny”

By Brad Snyder-The Undercard
Photos by Bob Ryder

Albert Bell is one of the most sound technical boxers coming up the ranks. Unfortunately, the crowd in Toledo, Ohio, did not have the opportunity to see much of him. Only 32 seconds in the Lightweight rematch. Bell (11-0, 4 KOs) threw a perfectly placed right hand jab to the stomach of Orlando Rizo (19-14, 11 KOs). Rizo kneeled over surprising the crowd, the officials, and maybe even, Bell, when he was unable to beat the count.

Back in June this year, Rizo was able to push the fight all six rounds with Bell. But this time around, Rizo was caught early. Bell attempted to explain Saturday night’s results on his social media. “I really can’t explain what happened. This fight was a rematch of the one I had in Atlanta. He literally gave me the toughest fight of my career when my right hand was fractured back on June 2nd. He took all my heavy shots to the head I landed and didn’t budge. So we ran it back and made adjustments and knocked him out in the 1st Round.” Continue reading ““Prince” Continues Time on Throne in Toledo”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Boxing Beat

Perennial contender, Vito Antuofermo stylist JBC#2 Yuta Saito (11-9-3, 8 KOs), 118, finally acquired the “cursed” Japanese bantamweight belt when he launched a fierce opening attack and battered #3 Eita Kikuchi (20-6-4, 8 KOs), 118, to the punch, prompting the ref Fukuchi’s intervention at 2:33 of the second round in a scheduled ten on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.

Why is the national 118-pound championship called “cursed” by aficionados and scribes? It’s because the title bout had been cancelled three times in succession. (1) In January, defending titlist Ryo Akaho, probably because of his unsuccessful reduction of weight as previously, failed to appear the weigh-in and fight mandatory challenger Yusuke Suzuki. (2) Instead, a title go between Suzuki and former world challenger Suguru Muranaka was planned, but Suzuki suffered an injury to be unable to participate therein. (3) In June, a title bout for the vacant belt between Muranaka and Saito was pitifully cancelled again as the former couldn’t make weight. Some cynic people said, “The bantam belt would be vacant forever.” Continue reading “Saito stops Kikuchi, wins Japanese 118lb belt”

Former NABF Heavyweight champ, 6’8, 251 pound Daniel “The Mountain” Martz (17-6, 14KOs) destroyed Richard Carmack (15-14, 12KOs) on Sunday at The Mountaineer Casino & Resort in Chester, West Virginia. Martz used his superior reach to keep Carmack on the outside eating jabs throughout the first stanza. In the second round, Martz used effective combinations and body shots to put Carmack down for the count. Once Carmack arose, Martz dropped his opponent with a brutal left hook to the body finishing Carmack for good at 2:59 of the second round earning the KO victory in the scheduled 8 round regional title. Continue reading “Martz clobbers Carmack”

By Ron Jackson

Using his height and reach to full advantage, Tommy Oosthuizen scored a majority 12 round points decision over Thabiso Mchunu to claim the African Boxing Union cruiserweight title in an all southpaw clash at Emperors Palace near Kempton Park on Saturday night. The scores were 115-113 twice and 114-114. Using the perimeter of the ring Oosthuizen (88.75kg) used his accurate right jab to outscore Mchunu (89.70kg) through the first four rounds. The much shorter Mchunu fought the wrong fight as failed to get in close and score to the body and battled with Oosthuizen’s style However, as Oosthuizen began to tire in the later rounds Mchunu began to score with the right jab and caught him with some solid shots to the chin and head on occasions. Even though Mchunu managed to close the gap it was not enough as Oosthuizen won the fight against the odds despite his long absence from the ring and personal problems. It is now possible that Oosthuizen will challenge fellow South African Kevin Lerena for his IBO cruiserweight belt.

Ryno Liebenberg proved too strong for Alfonso Tissen and won on a fifth round stoppage against the gutsy Alfonso Tissen to claim the vacant African Boxing Union super-middleweight title. Time was 1:48.

Super bantamweight contender César “Corazón” Juárez (23-6, 17 KOs) did all he could to stop Jorge “Búfalo” Sanchez (19-4, 9 KOs) on Saturday night, but in the end he had to settle for a ten round unanimous decision victory at the Auditorio Municipal in Tijuana, BCN, Mexico. The judges’ scorecards favored Juarez 99-91, 100-90 and 98-92, as he continued his drive for another world title shot.

“I was a little frustrated not to knock out the Panamanian,” said Juarez. “I was surprised that he took all my power shots, but the important thing is that we won and we’ll go for the world title eliminator!”

Unbeaten WBO #4, WBA #9 junior lightweight Ryan “Kingry” Garcia (16-0, 13 KOs) scored a ten round majority decision over Carlos “The Solution” Morales (17-3-3, 6 KOs) on Saturday night at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. Garcia piled up an early lead. Morales rocked Garcia in rounds seven and eight, but it was too little too late. Scores were 98-92, 95-95, 98-92.

Ryan Garcia: “Morales a great fighter, and this fight showed me what I need to work on. I felt it was closer than what the scorecards had. It was a great fight. I felt I could have done more. I got a little winded by the end, but Morales came to fight. I’m young, and time is on my side. I will work on my craft and will be ready for anybody. Much respect goes to Morales. He was a game fighter.”

Carlos Morales: “He [Garcia] was holding too much. Overall I feel I gave a good performance. He was a tough opponent. He’s young and fast. He has some pop, but he doesn’t hit that hard. I felt I won the fight.” Continue reading “Kingry Garcia struggles to maj. decision win”

Unbeaten world-ranked bantamweight Melvin “Melo” Lopez (16-0, 10 KOs) of Nicaragua decisioned Jose Cardenas (16-3, 13 KOs) of Mexico to win the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) NABA title on Friday night at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. Cardenas gave Lopez his toughest test as a professional. He never hurt Lopez but showed him a lot of different angles with his movement. Lopez was the aggressor throughout the bout and showed he could go ten strong rounds applying pressure and cutting off the distance. The official scores were 98-92, 97-93, and 96-94 all for Lopez. Continue reading ““Melo” Lopez beats Cardenas for NABA title”

World Boxing Council minimumweight champion Wanheng Menayothin defeated Pedro Taduran by decision in Nakhon Sawan, Thailand, to retain his belt for the tenth time and break Floyd Mayweather’s 50-0 career record. Menayothin started slowly in the first two rounds, but little by little he started to dominate the fight. At end of the fourth round, WBC’s open scoring was revealed, and the champion was ahead by 40-36, 40-36 and 39-37.

The referee deducted a point from Taduran during the eighth round. He had previously been warned to keep his punches up but it represented a serious setback for a fighter who already knew he was appreciably behind on the scorecards. At the end of the eighth round, the open scoring had the fight in Wanheng’s favor 78-74 twice and 79-74. It meant Taduran would need to win all four of the remaining rounds just to secure a draw, but the experience of the seasoned champion made a significant difference.

The final tallies were 115-111, 118-108 and 117-110, all in favor of Menayothin.

Report and Photos by Ricardo Ibarra

Pitching a shutout over seven rounds, undefeated Pacific Northwest Jr. middleweight prospect Steven “Hands of Gold” Villalobos (10-0-1, 8 KOs) added his tenth win as a pro on Saturday night at the Jackson Armory in Portland, Oregon, defeating Eagle pass, Texas’ Lionel Jimenez (5-24-1, 4 KOs) by unanimous decision.

In the main event of the 2Pound Sports &Entertainment card, Villalobos controlled the fight throughout with steady pressure, claiming every round on all three judges’ scorecards. Continue reading “Villalobos defeats Jimenez in Portland”

By David Finger at ringside
Photos: Sumio Yamada

In a mild upset, quick-fisted Puerto Rican Jose “Sniper” Pedraza, 134.4, defeated the popular WBO lightweight champion Raymundo Beltran, 134.6, scoring a unanimous decision over twelve rounds.

Pedraza boxed beautifully in the early rounds but the pressure of Beltran seemed to wear the quick boxer down by round six and Beltran began to close the gap. But Pedraza found his second wind in round nine and sealed the deal with a knockdown of the champion in round eleven courtesy of a picture perfect left uppercut. With the win Pedraza improves to 25-1, 12 KOs while Beltran slips to 35-8-1, 21 KOs.

Full report to follow. Photos

By David Finger at ringside
Photos: Sumio Yamada

Undefeated WBO junior featherweight champion Isaac Dogboe, 121, made short work of his Japanese challenger, destroying Hidenori Otake, 121.4, in the opening round on Saturday night at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

Dogboe started cautiously but as soon as he opened up he found a home for his uppercut and left hook. A picture perfect left hook upstairs sent Otake to the canvas and the Japanese challenger never fully recovered. Otake was dropped a second time with an overhand right and took a beating before referee Chris Flores waved it off at 2:18. With the win Dogboe improves to 20-0, 14 KOs while Otake falls to 31-3-3, 14 KOs.

Photos

Photos: Pablo Lozano/Zanfer

Middleweight Ramon “Inocente” Alvarez (27-6-3, 16 KOs) scored a ten round unanimous decision over Nicolás Luques (15-5, 5 KOs) on Saturday night at the Gimnasio de Trabajadores del Metro in Mexico City.

Scores were 97-92, 96-93 and 98-91 for Alvarez, who is the older brother of boxing superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Alvarez dropped Luques in round three and almost stopped him, however, the action slowed after that. Continue reading “Canelo’s Brother wins in Mexico City”

By David Finger at ringside

In a walkout bout after the main event undefeated super lightweight Arnold Barboza Jr., 141.6, dominated Luis Solis, 142, before the ringside physican stopped the fight in the corner after round five due to the severe swelling around the right eye of Solis. Barboza dominated the fight with his jab and had the eye closing early and by round four it was clear that Solis was on borrowed time as the eye rapidly swelled shut. With the win Barboza improves to 19-0, 7 KOs while Solis falls to 23-10-4, 20 KOs. Continue reading “Undercard Results from Glendale, Arizona”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Awkward but powerful southpaw Akinori Watanabe (37-7, 31 KOs), 154, seized the vacant Japanese interim 154-pound belt when he withstood the opening attack of JBC#2 Ryosuke Maruki (15-6-1, 10 KOs), 154, pinned him to the corner, floored him with a flurry of punches and finally halted him at 2:51 of the first round in a scheduled ten on Friday in Tokyo, Japan.

Having been demolished by unbeaten Russian Magomed Kurbanov in Ekaterinburg, Russia, last December, Watanabe, a muscular southpaw puncher, scored a decision win over Thailander Niwat Kongkan this April. Due to regular champ Hiroyuki Shindo’s injury, the JBC sanctioned an interim title bout during his recess between the top two contenders of the super-welter category. Continue reading “Watanabe wins Japanese interim 154lb belt”

Fighting as a light heavyweight, former IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Truax (30-4-2, 19 KOs) scored a third round TKO over Fabiano Pena (15-11-1, 11 KOs) on Friday night at the Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The bout was halted after Truax dropped Pena with an uppercut in round three. Pena beat the count, but was deemed unable to continue. It was True’ first bout since losing the IBF belt to James DeGale in April.