By Ron Jackson

South Africa’s Kevin Lerena boxed his way to a 12 round unanimous points decision over the fancied Ryad Merhy from the Côte D’Ivoire, at Emperors Palace near Kempton Park on Saturday night, to win the WBC bridgerweight silver title and the eliminator for the WBC bridgerweight world title.

The scores were – Judge Eddie Pappoe 118-110, judge Thabo Spampool 116-112 and judge Daniel van der Welie 115-113. Continue reading “Lerena wins WBC Silver title and eliminator”

In his first bout at super lightweight, Rolando “Rolly” Romero (15-1, 13 KOs) scored a controversial ninth round TKO over WBA #1 rated Ismael Barroso (24-4-2, 22 KOs) to claim the vacant WBA title on Saturday night at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Slow start with the 40-year-old Barroso pressing the action. Barroso dropped Romero in round three. The knockdown seemed to wake up Rolly, who became more aggressive in round four, but was back on his bicycle in round five. Barroso continued to be the aggressor. Romero dropped Barroso in round nine (seemed like more of a push). The fight opened up and the fighters began to trade. Suddenly referee Tony Weeks inexplicably stopped the fight. Time was 2:41.

At the time of the stoppage, Barroso was ahead on all three cards 76-75, 77-74, 78-73.

_

WOW 👀

Referee Tony Weeks stops the fight and @SignUp4KOs scores a TKO victory over Barroso to become the new WBA Super Lightweight champ 🏆 #RomeroBarroso pic.twitter.com/SseQxDNoQu

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) May 14, 2023

Photos: Sumio Yamada

WBO middleweight world champion Janibek “Qazaq Style” Alimkhanuly (14-0, 9 KOs) demolished Steven Butler (32-4-1, 26 KOs) in two rounds on Saturday night at Stockton Arena in Stockton, California. Alimkhanuly brutally floored Butler three times in round two to end it. Time was 2:25.

Afterward, Alimkhanuly said, “Champions. Boxing superstars! Where are you? I am waiting. Let’s fight. I am the most avoided boxer. I am the middleweight king. Let’s go. Let’s fight. I am ready for anybody. Anytime. Anywhere.”

Photos

Photos: Sumio Yamada

In a clash for the vacant WBO bantamweight world title, Jason “Mayhem” Moloney (26-2, 19 KOs) scored a twelve round majority decision over Vincent Astrolabio (18-4, 13 KOs) on Saturday night at Stockton Arena in Stockton, California. Moloney, in his third world title challenge, patiently outboxed Astrolabio in a tactical bout that often elicited boos from the audience. Scores were 114-114, 115-113, 116-112.

Afterward, Moloney said, “I thought I won it going away, but all that matters is the victory. And now I have this belt for the rest of my life. I broke my hand in the third or fourth round. It hurt every time I threw it. But I knew this was my last chance to make my dream come true. Continue reading “Moloney tops Astrolabio for WBA bantam belt”

Former two-division world champion Rances Barthelemy (30-2-1, 15 KOs) scored a workmanlike majority decision over Omar “El Relámpago” Juarez (14-2, 5 KOs) in a ten round super lightweight bout in the Romero-Barroso co-feature on Saturday night at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The experience of the 37-year-old Barthelemy propelled him to a 95-95, 97-93, 98-92 win.

In a WBA super lightweight world title eliminator, Batyr Akhmedov (9-3, 8 KOs) and Kenneth Sims Jr. (20-2-1, 7 KOs) went twelve hard rounds with Sims prevailing by majority decision. Scores were 114-114, 115-113, 116-112. Sims has his right eye closed at the end.

Other Results:
Starling Castillo W10 Esteuri Suero (super lightweight)
Michael Angeletti TKO8 Michell Banquez (bantamweight)
Justin Viloria TKO4 Pedro Pinillo (super featherweight)

Stockton-born lightweight Gabriel Flores Jr. (22-2, 8 KOs) needed just 30 seconds to demolish Derrick Murray (17-9-1, 6 KOs). A left hook ended the bout.

In his Top Rank debut, featherweight contender Ruben Villa IV (20-1, 7 KOs) stopped Maickol Villagrana (16-5, 8 KOs) in round five. The ref stepped in at 1:55.

Unbeaten junior middleweight Amado Fernando Vargas (7-0, 2 KOs), the undefeated son of former junior middleweight world champion Fernando Vargas, defeated Bernardo Manzano (2-5, 0 KOs) over four rounds. Scores were 40-35 3x. Manzano down in round one.

In an eight-rounder between unbeaten middleweight prospects, Javier Martinez (8-0-1, 2 KOs) and Joeshon James (7-0-1, 4 KOs) battled to an eight round draw. Scores where 79-73 James, 77-75 Martinez, 76-76.

Unbeaten welterweight Brian Norman Jr. (24-0, 19 KOs) uouscored Jesus Perez (24-5, 18 KOs) over eight rounds by scores of 77-75, 77-75, 78-74.

Light heavyweight YouTuber KSI (6-0-1, 5 KOs) knocked out 40-year-old nightclub magnate Joe Fournier (9-1, 9 KOs) with an elbow to the jaw (missed by the referee) in round two on Saturday night at the OVO Arena in London. Fournier counted out at 1:25. After the fight, Tommy Fury came into the ring and KSI declared he wants Fury next. KSI and Fury then had to be separated.

Former Floyd Mayweather exhibition foe “Deji” (2-4) outscored rapper Swarmz (1-2) over four rounds 40-36, 40-36, 39-37 in a light heavyweight bout.

Local hometown favorite Jose Javier Torres (16-2, 10 KOs) of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico stopped compatriot Mario Gutierrez (9-5-1, 6 KOs) by 6th round TKO of a scheduled 10 round light flyweight main event. The event took place Friday night at the Polideportivo Juan S. Milan Culiacan and was televised on ESPN Knockout in Latin America. Solid win for Torres as Guierrez had a previous upset decisión win over current IBF mínimumweight world champion Daniel Valladares in the Valladares’ hometown. Ironically Torres had not fought since August 2021 which was a decisión loss to Valladares.

Former three-division world champion John Riel Casimero (33-4, 22 KOs) defeated WBO #10 Fillipus Nghitumbwa (12-2, 11 KOs) by twelve round unanimous decision in a fight for the WBO Global super bantamweight title on Saturday afternoon at the Okada Manila Hotel and Casino in Manila, Philippines. Casimero dropped Nghitumbwa hard early in round six but Nghitumbwa somehow survived the round. Casimero rocked Nghitumbwa at the bell ending round eight. Nghitumbwa was deducted a point for a rabbit punch in round twelve. Scores were 114-112, 116-110, 116-110.

In the co-main event, WBO Asia Pacific super welterweight titleholder Takeshi Inoue (19-2-2, 11 KOs) and Weljon Mindoro (10-0-1, 10 KOs) battled to a twelve round draw. Scores 117-111 Inoue, 115-113 Mindoro, 114-114. Inoue has previously gone the distance with Jaime Munguia and Tim Tszyu.

By Scott Foster at ringside

Boxlab Promotions, in conjunction with Warriors Boxing, GH3 Promotions and Orlando Boxing Promotions presented “Night Of Champions III” Friday night at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, FL.

In the main event, 2016 US Olympian Antomnio Vargas (16-1, 9 KOs), fresh off a scintillating KO win, returned to his hometown to face battle-tested Mexican Francisco Pedroza (18-11-2, 10 KOs). Pedroza, renewed by a shocking win over 3-time Olympic and former world champion Rau’shee Warren, entered the bout with WBA #7 ranked Vargas intent on derailing yet another Olympian barreling towards a world championship.

Vargas gave away the opening stanza, as is his custom, calmly studying Pedrosa’s pressure. Both fighters opened up in the 2nd, with Vargas stunting the rushes of Pedroza with a stiff jab and lead right hands. The pace intensified in the 3rd, as both fighters dispensed with defense, allowing for heavy exchanges. Late in the round, both fighters collided heads on the inside, and Pedroza emerged from the clinch with a severe cut above the left eye. When the round ended the referee chose to halt the bout due to excessive bleeding, rendering a No Decision result after 3 spirited rounds. In the post fight interview, a rematch was discussed and entertained by both camps. Continue reading “Night of Champions III ends in No Decision”

By Ron Jackson

South Africa’s Hekkie Budler hardly worked up sweat before he knocked out Thailand’s Wichet Sengprakhon in 43 seconds of the first round at the Unisa Conference Centre in Mondeor near Johannesburg on Saturday night. The 34-year-old Budler (49.30kg) came out fast at the opening bell and before the fans had a chance to sum up the boxers, he scored with a left to the body and followed up with a left hook just under the ribs that sent Sengprakhon (49.45kg) down on his side, where he was counted out by referee Meundo Mvandaba.

Budler improved his record to 35-4, 11 KOs, and Sengprakhon’s record dropped to 14-12-1, 7 KOs.

The unused judges were Thabo Spampool, Linda Ncakeni and Jaap van Niewenhuizen. Continue reading “Hekkie Budler wins in 43 seconds”

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.