In an IBF welterweight eliminator, IBF #9 KO artist Roiman Villa (26-1, 24 KOs) scored a come-from-behind twelve round majority decision over previously undefeated IBF #8 contender Rashidi Ellis (24-1, 15 KOs) Saturday night on the Tank-HLG PPV undercard at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. Ellis easily outboxed Villa over the first half of the fight. However, Villa brutalized Ellis down the stretch, dropping him twice in round twelve to pull it out. Scores were 113-113, 114-112, 114-112. This was the big upset of the night as Ellis entered a 7:1 favorite.

Two-division world champion Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) scored a one-sided ten round unanimous decision over Demond Nicholson (26-5-1, 22 KOs) in his first bout at super middleweight. The 34-year-old Boo Boo dropped Nicholson in rounds two and ten en route to a 100-88 3x verdict.

40-year-old journeyman super lightweight Michael Ogundo (17-16, 14 KOs) spoiled the comeback of 38-year-old former world champion Lamont Peterson (35-6-1, 17 KOs) with a fourth round TKO. In his first fight since 2019, Peterson was dropped in round four and his corner threw in the towel moments later. The bout took place on the Davis-Garcia off-TV undercard in Washington DC.

Super welterweight prospect Vito Mielnicki Jr. (14-1, 9 KOs) battered Omar Rosales (9-2-1, 5 KOs) in four one-sided rounds. Mielnicki dropped Rosales at the end of round three and Rosales’ corner threw in the towel early in round four.

Undefeated super lightweight knockout artist Brandun Lee (27-0, 23 KOs) punished Diego Luque (21-11-2, 10 KOs) until referee Brent Bovell waved it off in round four.

Unbeaten super welterweight Travon Marshall (7-0, 6 KOs) bumrushed Shawn West (7-3-1, 4 KOs) and got a rather quick referee’s stoppage in less than a minute.

Super middleweight Kyrone Davis (17-3-1, 6 KOs) outpointed Cristián Fabián Ríos (23-16-3, 7 KOs) over eight rounds 80-72, 80-72, 79-73.

Other Results:
Keeshawn Williams W6 Gustavo David Vittori (welterweight)
Jalil Hackett TKO1 Joel Guevara (super welterweight)
Mia Ellis TKO1 Karen Dulin (female super featherweight)

By Joe Koizumi
Photos: Sumio Yamada

Filipino puncher Melvin Jerusalem (20-2, 12 KOs), 103, surprisingly dethroned WBO minimumweight champion Masataka Taniguchi (16-4, 11 KOs), 105, by a stunning knockout with a single right shot to the champ’s chin at 1:04 into the second round on Friday in Osaka, Japan. Taniguchi, a prefight favorite, controlled the initial round with his southpaw lefts to the still nervous Filipino. A trick happened when Jerusalem landed a perfect right to the button, dropping him on the seat of his trunks. The champ attempted to stand up too quickly (he should have stayed there for some more seconds) and couldn’t regain his equilibrium properly. He badly lost his balance and referee Roberto Ramirez Jr. from Puerto Rico waved it off to declare a TKO victory. It’s a great shocker. Continue reading “Jerusalem sinks Taniguchi, wins WBO 105lb belt”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos: Sumio Yamada

IBF minimumweight champion Daniel Valladares (26-3-1-1ND, 15 KOs), 105, Mexico, retained his belt by No Decision at 2:48 of the third round as he failed to go on because of a severe pain caused by an accidental headbutt with Japanese challenger Ginjiro Shigeoka (8-0-1ND, 6 KOs), 105, a faster southpaw, in a scheduled twelve on Friday in Osaka, Japan. Shigeoka, whose amateur mark was 59-1, was highly expected to annex the belt from the Mexican who had wrested the belt from Filipino Rene Mark Cuarto last July. The shorter Japanese seemingly took the initiative in the first two rounds, but an accidental butt made Valladares complain of a too severe pain to go on. Referee Chris Flores (US) generously accepted his appeal and declared a No Decision. The spectators, mostly Shigeoka adherents, were greatly disappointed at the abrupt stoppage in a bizarre fashion. Continue reading “Valladares keeps IBF 105lb belt via no decision”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

WBO 115-pound champion Kazuto Ioka (29-2-1, 15 KOs), 115, battled to a majority draw with WBA titleholder Joshua Franco (18-1-3-1NC, 8 KOs), 114.75, over a very technical see-saw affair in a super-fly twelve-round unification bout on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.  Franco was more aggressive all the way, while Ioka was more accurate in counterpunching the aggressor.  It means Ioka and Franco each kept his own belt as previously.

The official scores were as follows: Stanley Christodoulou (South Africa) 115-113 for Franco, Jose Roberto Torres (Puerto Rico) and Ferlin Marsh (New Zealand) both 114-114.  The female referee was Melva Santos from Puerto Rico, who was so well-done in handling the fast-moving and fast-punching champions.

Continue reading “Ioka-Franco, Full Report/Analysis”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Ex-AIBA youth champion in 2016 and former thirteen-time national amateur champ, unbeaten feather prospect Hayato Tsutsumi (2-0, no KO), 125.75, defeated former OPBF super bantam ruler Pete Apolinar (16-4, 10 KOs), 126, as he dropped the Filipino with furious combinations in round six en route to a nearly shutout decision (80-71 twice, 79-72) over eight fast rounds on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.  It was a semi-windup supporting the WBA/WBO super-fly unification bout between Ioka and Franco. Continue reading “Tsutsumi defeats ex-OPBF champ Apolinar”

By Brad Snyder

The last boxing matches in Michigan of 2022 were put on Friday night at the Soundboard inside Motor City Casino in Detroit by CLIP Productions and promoter Carlos Llinas. The Heavyweight main event had Vernon Webber make his walk to the ring dressed as the Grinch Who Stole Christmas. In green furry boxing trunks, like the Grinch, Webber took all the joy of Christmas away from his opponent, Gabriel Mota (1-3). Webber scored a 2:58 1st Round knockout after dominating the short fight. Webber improves to (6-0, 4 KOs).

The co-main event of the night had Weaver’s Boxing Gym owner, Munib Al Salmani return to the ring on short notice to face Devin Garrett (0-2). Although, Al Salmani said, after the fight, he felt rusty and would be more prepared next time to ring announcer, Kara Ro. Well, the results and the eye test showed he was more than ready and looked good. Normally a Lightweight, Al Salmani improved to (3-0, 3 KOs) with a 2nd Round TKO victory at the 1:11 mark in the Light Heavyweight bout. Continue reading “Night of Knockouts in Detroit”

By Joe Koizumi

WBO 115-pound champion Kazuto Ioka (29-2-1, 15 KOs), 115, Japan, battled to a majority draw (114-114 twice, 115-113 against him) with WBA titleholder Joshua Franco (18-1-3-1NC, 8 KOs), 114.75, US, over a very technical see-saw affair in a super-fly unification twelve-round bout on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Franco was more aggressive all the way, while Ioka was more accurate in counterpunching the aggressor. It means Ioka and Franco each kept his own belt as previously. The female referee was Melva Santos from Puerto Rico.

(More to come)

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

In the last show at the Korakuen Hall this year, former Japanese 122-pound champ Gakuya Furuhashi (29-9-2, 16 KOs), 122, elaborately regained the vacant belt lately renounced by Takuma Inoue (who had dethroned Furuhashi this June) as he fought a pier-six brawl with grudge rival Ryoichi Tamura (15-7-1, 7 KOs),122, and eked out a split decision (96-94 twice for him, 95-96 against him) over ten furiously-fought rounds on Monday in Tokyo, Japan.  A la the Tony Zale versus Rocky Graziano trilogy, they swapped punching all night, battering the rival and absorbed good punishment each other.   They took the initiative in every other round to have the judges frustrated in scoring, but Gakuya (who was victorious again after his previous win in 2019) finally won the one-round fight in the tenth and final session to claim the belt. Continue reading “Furuhashi edges Tamura, wins vacant Japanese 122lb belt”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Philippine #1 light-fly contender Esneth Domingo (18-2, 10 KOs), 109.75, impressively scored a come-from-behind one-punch knockout victory over southpaw Japanese Kosuke Tomioka (6-3, 5 KOs), 112, at 1:25 of the sixth round in a scheduled eight on Monday in Tokyo, Japan. Esneth, the nephew of former Filipino crowd-pleaser Michael Domingo (working the corner as his trainer), now registered a couple of stoppages over Jukiya Iimura (TKO6, this October) and Tomioka in succession.

Tomioka had an upper hand, decked Domingo with a southpaw left in the fourth and had him at bay with a flurry of punches. Unfortunately the Japanese aggressor dropped his mouth guard on the deck by accident with the ref calling a brief break to have it cleaned and replaced. Resuming the fight, the fast and ferocious Domingo exploded a devastating right to the button of the aggressor, who barely regained his legs but couldn’t properly regain the equilibrium to be fatally counted out. Continue reading “Domingo come-from-behind KO over Tomioka”

The annual Christmas Day boxing card in Izegem, Belgium, returned to the Sporthal De Krekel returned after a two-year hiatus caused by the pandemic. In the main event, light heavyweight Sadaam Moamed Da Silva Caetano (6-2, 4 KOs) stopped Thibault George (1-2-1, 1 KO) in round four of a bout for the Vlaams (Flemish) title. The most accomplished boxer on the card was light heavyweight Timur Nikarkhoev (26-4, 15 KOs), who outpointed Serhii Ksendzov (4-10, 2 KOs) over six rounds by scores of 59-55, 60-54, 59-55. Female flyweight Amy Naert (8-1, 2 KOs) smoked Tetiana Perevezentseva (0-5) in two rounds. Super lightweight journeyman Mikheil Gabinashvili (9-32-3, 6 KOs) stopped pro-debuting Manolito Strynckx in round four.

Other Results:
Shamshad Aramkhel W6 Brice Bula Galo (super lightweight)
Denis Rosescu W6 Levan Ulikhaniani (super middleweight)

The card was promoted by Team Houtland.

Last weekend heavyweight Mahmoud “Diamond Boy” Charr was supposed to meet Lucas Browne in a duel between ex-WBA world champions, but the event fell apart at the last minute suddenly stranding all the athletes and officials in Dubai. Charr’s promoter Erol Ceylan, however, had Charr flown in from the UAE and with the support of the BDB was able to hastily arrange a fight for Charr on Wednesday in Hamburg’s ECB Gym against “The Albanian Tyson” Nuri Seferi, who was in training for another fight that had fallen through. Charr (34-4, 20 KOs) punished Sefari (42-11, 24 KOs) for the better part of two rounds and got the TKO2 win when Seferi’s corner threw in the towel. Continue reading “Charr stops Seferi in two”

Unbeaten flyweight Andy Dominguez (9-0, 6 KOs) hammered out an eight round unanimous decision over Marvin Solano (24-8, 8 KOs) in the main event on Wednesday night in front of a full house at Sony Hall in Manhattan’s Times Square. Scores were 78-73, 76-75, 78-73. Solano was deducted a point in round eight.

Light heavyweight Nadim Salloum (10-1, 4 KOs), the first and only professional boxer born and raised in Lebanon, took an eight round majority decision over Decarlo “3mendo” Perez (19-7, 6 KOs). Good action fight. Scores were 76-76, 78-74, 77-75.

Journeywoman super flyweight Indeya Smith (6-6, 1 KO) surprised former world title challenger Sulem Urbina (13-3-1, 2 KOs), taking a spirited eight round unanimous decision. Scores were 77-75, 79-73, 79-73.

Middleweight Anthony “The Magician” Sims Jr. (23-1, 20 KOs) outpointed Anthony Todd (14-7, 8 KOs) over eight workmanlike rounds. Scores were 79-73, 80-72, 80-72.

In the only kayo of the night, unbeaten middleweight Alejandro Luis Silva (20-0-1, 15 KOs) destroyed Issa Samir (19-2, 16 KOs) in the first round. Silva sent Samir to the canvas for the count at 2:20.

The card was promoted by Boxinginsider.

Veteran super welterweight Lanardo “Pain Server” Tyner (35-17-2, 22 KOs) returned to the ring for the first time in three years on Sunday night at the Rebel Entertainment Complex in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The 47-year-old Detroit native dropped an eight round decision to unbeaten Joshuah Lupia (9-0, 7 KOs) by scores of 80-72 3x.

In the co-feature, super lightweight Lee Reeves (10-1, 10 KOs) stopped Larone Whyte (6-6-1, 5 KOs) in round two.

Unbeaten heavyweight Victor Faust, who was supposed to box on the undercard of the Charr-Browne card that fell through in Dubai, still managed to fight on Saturday. Faust’s promoter Erol Ceylan shifted the location of Faust’s fight against comebacking Franklin “Yah Yah” Lawrence to a boxing card in Göppingen, Germany. Faust (11-0, 7 KOs) spoiled the ring return of Lawrence (21-3-2, 16 KOs) via eight round unanimous decision. He dropped Lawrence in round five en route to an 80-71, 80-71, 79-72 win. It was Lawrence’s first fight since losing to Andy Ruiz in 2016

In the main event, ageless former WBA cruiserweight champion Firat Arslan (53-9-3, 38 KOs) stopped journeyman Jackson Dos Santos (22-15, 20 KOs) in round three after scoring three knockdowns. At the moment, the 52-year-old Arslan is the oldest world-rated boxer, currently sitting at WBA #6 in the cruiserweight division.

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

Undefeated Mexican welterweight Raul Curiel (12-0, 10 KO’s) from Tamaulipas, Mexico scored a spectacular second round knockout over Louisiana’s Brad Solomon (29-6, 9 KO’s) headlining the Golden Boy Fight Night – LA Edition on DAZN Saturday night at the Commerce Casino & Hotel Events Center in Commerce, California. A left and overhand right by Curiel drilled Solomon and he hit the canvas. Solomon managed to get to a knee, but referee Ray Corona reached a ten count at 44 seconds of round two.

Mexicali’s Diego De La Hoya (24-1, 11 KO’s) returned to the ring with an eighth round technical decision over Jose Gonzalez (23-11-1, 13 KO’s) in the super featherweight co-feature bout. Continue reading “Curiel destroys Solomon, remains unbeaten”

Shishkin, Astrolabio also win eliminators

In a WBA lightweight eliminator between unbeaten fighters, WBA #10 Frank “The Ghost” Martin (17-0, 12 KOs) scored a lopsided twelve round unanimous decision over WBA #2 Michel “La Zarza Ali” Rivera (24-1, 14 KOs) on Saturday night at The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Martin was faster, sharper and connected at a higher rate. Rivera didn’t seem to know how to fight against a southpaw as he continually circled into Martin’s power. Martin dropped Rivera in round seven and totally dominated after that. Scores were 117-110, 118-109, 120-107.

Martin outlanded Rivera 174 to 67 and connected on 31% of his shots, compared to 15% for Rivera.

In an IBF super middleweight eliminator, unbeaten IBF #9 Vladimir Shishkin (14-0, 8 KOs) scored a workmanlike twelve round unanimous decision over former IBF champion and currently IBF #7 rated José Uzcátegui (32-5, 27 KOs). Shishkin simply outworked Uzcátegui to claim a 115-113, 117-111, 117-111 victory.

In an IBF bantamweight eliminator, Guillermo Rigondeaux-conqueror and IBF #6 Vincent Astrolabio (18-3, 13 KOs) scored a sixth round knockout against IBF #3 Nikolai Potapov (23-3-1, 11 KOs). Astrolabio dropped Potapov in round one. Potapov took a knee in round five for another knockdown. In round six, Astrolabio floored Potapov for the count. Time was 1:26. Continue reading “Martin schools Rivera in WBA eliminator”

Unbeaten WBC #2 super middleweight Christian Mbilli (23-0, 20 KOs) overpowered but couldn’t stop rugged Vaughn Alexander (17-7-1, 10 KOs) on Saturday night at the Parc des Expositions in Nantes, France. Mbilli opened the fight with a low blow that Alexander needed some time to recover from. Mbilli continued to punish the very game Alexander for the full ten rounds. Scores were 100-90, 100-90, 99-91. The 37-year-old Alexander is the older brother of former two-weight world champion Devon Alexander.

In a clash for the WBC silver welterweight title, unbeaten WBC #11 Souleymane Cissokho (16-0, 9 KOs) pounded out a twelve round majority decision over WBC #5 Tulani Mbenge (19-2, 15 KOs) on Saturday night at the Parc des Expositions in Nantes, France. Cissokho was sharper than Mbenge and edged it 116-112, 114-114, and 115-113.

WBO #2, IBF #3, WBA #5, WBC #7 cruiserweight Chris Billam-Smith (17-1, 12 KOs) scored a devastating fifth round highlight reel knockout against Armend Xhoxhaj (14-3, 7 KOs) on Saturday night at the Bournemouth International Centre in Bournemouth, England. Xhoxhaj got off to a good start, but Billam-Smith ended matters with a barrage of punches that laid out Xhoxhaj.

British light heavyweight champion “Super” Dan Azeez (18-0, 12 KOs) broke down and stopped former world champion Rocky Fielding (30-3, 17 KOs) in round eight to claim the vacant Commonwealth title. Azeez punished Fielding from the get-go and got the “W” when Fielding’s corner threw in the towel. Only Azeez was eligible to win the C’wealth belt after Fielding missed weight.

2020 Olympian female lightweight Caroline Dubois (5-0, 4 KOs) needed just 60 seconds to annihilate Sofia Rodriguez (5-8, 1 KO). Caroline is the sister of WBA “regular” heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois.

Heavyweight Steven “Drago” Robinson (6-1, 4 KOs) took a beating until suddenly turning the tables and dropping previously undefeated “Glasgow Warrior” Nick Campbell (5-1, 5 KOs) twice in round four and getting a referee’s stoppage at the end of the round.

WBA #15 welterweight Michael McKinson (23-1, 2 KOs) returned for the first time since his August defeat against Vergil Ortiz Jr. to outpoint Roberto Arriaza (19-5, 14 KOs) over six, 59-55.

In a clash between unbeaten lightweights, late sub Jimmy First (15-0, 4 KOs) outscored Cori Gibbs (17-1, 3 KOs) over eight rounds 76-73. Gibbs had three point deductions for repeatedly losing his mouthpiece.

Featherweight Bryan De Gracia (29-2-1, 25 KOs) of Panama returned to action Saturday morning in a scheduled for eight round main event at the Coliseo de Pescaito David Ruiz Ureche in the tourist beach city of Santa Marta, Colombia. He scored a fifth round TKO over local favorite Manuel Felipe Gomez (11-4, 11 KOs) of Colombia. It was a dominant performance by De Gracia, who systematically broke down the heavy-handed Gomez, who didnt answer the bell for round five.

Unbeaten WBC #4, WBA #5 heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov (16-0, 15 KOs) scored an easy first round TKO over Michael Wallisch (23-6, 16 KOs) on Friday night at the Centre Gervais Auto in Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada. Makhmudov dropped Wallisch early on, then Wallisch took a knee two more times in round one. Makhmudov was deducted a point for repeatly hitting behind the head. Wallisch then didn’t come out for round two. Makhmudov retained his NABF and NABA belts and showed that he needs tougher opponents.

In a shocker, female super welterweight fringe contender Femke Hermans (14-4, 5 KOs) scored a ten round unanimous decision over highly regarded and previously unbeaten Mary Spencer (7-1, 5 KOs) to claim the IBO belt. Hermans took the fight to Spencer, connecting with quick combinations much more often than Spencer’s occasional power shots. Scores were 99-91, 97-93, 96-94. The 38-year-old Spencer, who turned pro last year after a long amateur career, was on the fast track to a world title shot and came into the fight as a 35:1 favorite.

IBF #14, WBC #15 middleweight Steven “Bang Bang” Butler (32-3-1, 26 KOs) and Joshua Conley (17-5-1, 11 KOs) went ten tough rounds with Butler winning by scores of 96-94, 97-93, and a ridiculous 99-91. Butler retained his NABF title. Continue reading “Makhmudov whallops Wallisch, remains unbeaten”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

“Monster” Naoya Inoue (24-0, 21 KOs), 117.75, unified all the four belts of the bantamweight category when he patiently kept stalking the WBO titlist Paul Butler (34-3, 15 KOs), 118, and finally sank him with a flurry of punches at 1:09 of the eleventh round in a scheduled twelve in Tokyo, Japan. Some 15,000 sellout spectators were in attendance at Ariake Arena, newly constructed for the 2021 Olympic Games. Naoya, usually an early finisher, didn’t try to bring home the bacon early but steadily weakened the cautious counterpart from UK with his constant pressure on him. Inoue this time demonstrated his skills in jabbing with precision, averting a few but occasional punches from Butler and giving him a lesson of punching upstairs and downstairs. Having both hands down like Roy Jones Jr. to urge Butler to punch out of his peek-a-boo shell in round six, Inoue attempted to have the negative champ more aggressive, but in vain. Butler didn’t become more positive in trading punches with Inoue throughout the contest.

“For what did you come to Japan? Not to win over me and win the belts?” said Naoya, after his victory, on his interim impression of Butler’s strategy during the bout. Frustrated by Paul’s extremely defensive strategy, he was bewildered but decided to patiently take the initiative and open the way to finally demolish him in the end. Naoya kept jabbing to penetrate Paul’s tight guard, which had him nose-bleeding and had the face reddened. To the eyes of the huge crowd Butler looked more intimidated than cautious by Inoue’s superior power. Continue reading “Inoue-Butler Full Report & GIANT Photo Gallery”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten IBF#8 super light Andy “Da Blade” Hiraoka (22-0, 17 KOs), 140, retained his WBO Asia Pacific junior welter belt by dispatching Korean Min-Ho Jung (13-4-2, 3 KOs), 140, at 2:06 of the eighth round in a scheduled twelve on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan. In a semi-final to the Inoue-Butler unification bout, Andy had a tough time coping with the durable Korean, but finally found the openings to deck him twice with a countering left uppercut and a left counter respectively in the fatal eighth. Andy had better improve his defensive skills to make good use of his talented power.

Ohashi Promotions.

BoxRec: Andy Hiraoka

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By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten ex-K-1 world champ, currently OPBF super bantam ruler Yoshiki Takei (6-0, 6 KOs), 122, kept his regional belt as he kept circling to counter IBF#7 super light Bruno Tarimo (26-4-2, 5 KOs), 121,5, had him streaming blood from a gash caused by his legal shots and finally scored a TKO win at 2:17 of the eleventh round in a scheduled twelve. Takei, a Japanese Naseem Hamed stylist, utilized his unorthodox southpaw style and sometimes caught the onrushing Tanzanian residing in Australia with precision. Tarimo hit the deck with Takei’s counter in the opening session, but continually kept stalking the footworker all the way. After the eighth, the official tallies were 79-72 twice and 80-71, all in favor of the champ. Takei, however, seems to have some rooms to learn from his trainer, former three-division world champ Akira Yaegashi. Continue reading “Inoue-Butler Undercard: Takei halts IBF #7 Tarimo”