Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez planted himself into the elite level with a stunning stoppage win over Srisaket Sor Rungvisai to defend his WBC super flyweight title on home soil in San Antonio, Texas.

“My skills proved a point tonight,” said Rodriguez. “My team knows what I am capable of and what I bring to the table, that’s why we took the fight. I felt I started to break him down after three rounds, the power wasn’t there from him. I knew I couldn’t stand there but we came in and put on a show. I was using my angles more, Robert kept telling me to do that and I listened.

“The Cuadras fight gave me experience and put me here, fighting at home in San Antonio. I will do whatever Robert (Garcia) says. I am a special fighter, not an average fighter and I am here to stay. Continue reading “Bam Rodriguez: My skills proved a point tonight”

In a WBC light flyweight eliminator between former world champions, Hekkie “The Hexecutioner” Budler (34-4, 10 KOs) scored a close twelve round unanimous decision over Elwin “Pulga” Soto (19-3, 13 KOs) on Saturday night at the Gimnasio del Polideportivo in Mexicali, BCN, Mexico. Soto was frustrated with Budler’s movement and unwillingness to exchange. Budler had success with his stick-and-move tactics and pretty much took the crowd out of it. The 4:1 underdog Budler knocked down Soto in the final round with a right hand and that’s what won him the fight. Scores were 114-113 3x.

WBC super flyweight champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (16-0, 11 KOs) scored an impressive eighth round TKO over former world champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (50-6-1, 43 KOs) on Saturday night at the Tech Port Arena in San Antonio, Texas. The classy Rodriguez outboxed the menacing Sor Rungvisai in every round. “Bam” dropped Sor Rungvisai in round seven and got a referee’s stoppage with a barrage of punches in round eight. Time was 1:50.

Unified WBA/IBF super bantamweight champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev (11-0, 8 KOs) stopped Ronny Rios (33-4, 16 KOs) in the twelfth round to retain his titles on Saturday night at the Tech Port Arena in San Antonio, Texas. Akhmadaliev overcame a hand injury to drop Rios in the final stanza. Rios beat the count. Akhmadaliev then pounced and got a referee’s stoppage at 2:06.

Undisputed female welterweight ruler Jessica “CasKILLA” McCaskill (12-2, 5 KOs) successfully defended her WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO titles with a third round TKO against Alma Ibarra (10-2, 4 KOs) on Saturday night at the Tech Port Arena in San Antonio, Texas. McCaskill battered Ibarra for three rounds and Ibarra didn’t want to come out for round four.

In a clash of unbeaten featherweights, slickster Raymond Ford (12-0-1, 6 KOs) outboxed Richard Medina (13-1, 7 KOs) over ten rounds in a bout for the WBA Continental Americas and the IBF North American belts. Scores were 100-90, 100-90, 99-91.

Unbeaten middleweight Nikita Ababiy (12-0, 6 KOs) outpointed Noe Larrios Jr (14-2, 6 KOs) over eight rounds. Scores were 78-74 3x.

Super bantamweight Jesus Martinez (2-0, 0 KOs took a four-round majority decision against Kevin Monroy (1-3, 0 KOs). Scores were 38-38, 39-36, 39-37.

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

IBF #3 cruiserweight Jai Opetaia (20-0, 17 KOs) ) has looked in sensational gymnasium form according to promoter Dean Lonergan ahead of his world title challenge against IBF cruiserweight champion Maris Breidis (28-1, 20 KOs) on July 2 at the Gold Coast Convention Centre in Queensland, Australia.

“From a credibility point of view, it doesn’t get any bigger,” Lonergan told foxsports.com.au. “Not only is Briedis the number one cruiserweight in the world, he’s also got The Ring magazine belt which is given only to very, very few people who achieve the absolute excellence in their division. Continue reading “Promoter: Opetaia in sensational form”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos: Naoki Fukuda

KONDO WINS OPBF 140LB BELT

The Japanese headliner in June must be Akihiro Kondo (33-10-2, 18 KOs), former IBF world contender at 140, who, as an obvious underdog, dethroned OPBF 140-pound champ Koichi Aso (25-10-1, 16 KOs), 139.75, with a stunning stoppage at 2:07 of the second session in Tokyo on June 14. Kondo, in November 2017, fought Sergey Lipinets in quest of the vacant IBF 140-pound belt, losing a unanimous nod at the Barclay Center in New York. Since then, his ledger was just 4-3-1 and Kondo, 37, seemed to become a stepping stone for up-and-coming young prospects such as Andy Hiraoka, Apinun Khongsong, etc. None expected Kondo’s coronation at the twilight of his career, but the huge underdog displayed an astounding upset by dropping the defending titlist Aso with his opening attack and impressively scored an unexpected stoppage. Anything can happen in the ring. Continue reading “JAPAN UPDATE”

By Miguel Maravilla

Mexican superstar undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KO’s) renews his rivalry with former middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KO’s) of Kazakhstan. Canelo faces GGG on Saturday September 17 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas live on DAZN.

“Here we are ready for this fight and renewing this rivalry” Canelo told Fightnews.com®. “The truth is, I’m more motivated and dangerous. After the defeat, I am very motivated and that makes me a more dangerous fighter,” Continue reading “Canelo: I’m looking for the knockout”

By Miguel Maravilla

Kazakhstan’s two-time middleweight world champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (42-1-1, 37 KO’s) finally gets his shot to settle the score with his rival undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (57-2-2, 39 KO’s). Golovkin squares off against Canelo Saturday September 17 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas live on DAZN.

“It’s my first fight at 168 we will do everything we can to win this fight. I know Canelo at 160, now we are going to try at 168,” Golovkin said. “From an emotional standpoint after two fights it’s just another fight. I’m completely relaxed about it.” Continue reading “Golovkin: There is nothing personal”

Photos: Scott Foster

WBO light flyweight champion Jonathan “Bomba” Gonzalez (26-3-1, 14 KOs) scored a twelve round unanimous decision over Mark “Baby Boy” Barriga (11-2, 2 KOs) on Friday night at the Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida. Barriga was aggressive early, but the quicker Gonzalez adjusted and took over late. Scores were 115-113, 117-111, 117-111.

Photos

By Miguel Maravilla

Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Gennadiy ‘GGG’ Golovkin faced off in Los Angeles on Friday at the kick-off press conference for their undisputed super middleweight title clash taking place September 17 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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Photos: Scott Foster

Unbeaten light flyweight Angelino “Huracan” Cordova (17-0-1, 12 KOs) scored a hard-fought ten round split decision over WBA #11, WBO #13 Axel “El Mini” Vega (15-5-1, 8 KOs) in a bout for the WBO Latino 108lb strap on Friday night in the Bomba-Barriga co-feature at the Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida. The 4’10 Vega took the fight to Cordova and was ahead 97-93 on one card, however, two judges somehow saw Cordova winning 97-93 and 98-92.

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In a clash of unbeaten light heavyweights, Hakim Lopez (13-0, 8 KOs), older brother of Najee, scored an eight round unanimous decision over Cruse Stewart (8-1, 6 KOs). Lopez outworked Stewart and nearly stopped him late. Scores were 79-73 3x.

Unbeaten cruiserweight Najee Lopez (5-0, 5 KOs) scores a third round TKO over 2012 Olympian Jeysson Monroy (1-1, 1 KO). Lopez dropped Monroy twice in round two, and the bout was stopped in round three due to blood coming from inside Monroy’s eye. Time was 1:45.

Other Results:
Jaycob Gomez W6 Marcello Williams (super featherweight)
Jan Paul Rivera TKO1 Cesar Martinez (featherweight)
Trinidad Vargas TKO1 Josh Aarons (super flyweight)

Elwin “Pulga” Soto 107.8 vs. Hekkie Budler 107.8
(WBC light flyweight eliminator)

Venue: Palenque del FEX, Mexicali, BCN, Mexico
Promoter: Zanfer
TV: ESPN+

In the interest of the athletes and the boxing community, the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided that the boxing qualifying events and competitions at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will not be run under the authority of the International Boxing Association (IBA).

This the second consecutive Olympics that the IBA is banned from overseeing Olympic boxing. The various IOC concerns around the governance of the IBA, including the refereeing and judging process and its financial dependency on the state-owned company Gazprom, are still ongoing.

Whether or not boxing will be included in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles will be discussed at a later stage.

Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez 114.6 vs. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai 114.6
(WBC super flyweight title)

Murodjon Akhmadaliev 121.2 vs. Ronny Rios 121.8
(WBA/IBF super bantamweight titles)

Jessica McCaskill 144 vs. Alma Ibarra 144.4
(Undisputed women’s welterweight title)

Venue: Tech Port Arena in San Antonio, Texas
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN

By Ron Jackson

South Africa’s Hector “Hekkie” Budler, a former two-weight world champion, faces a tough task when he meets former WBO light flyweight champion Elwin Soto of Mexico at the Palenque Fex in Mexicali, Mexico over 12 rounds on Saturday.

The 34-year-old Budler (33-4, 10 KOs) has had an outstanding record having held the WBA and IBF light-flyweight belts in 2018, and the IBO and WBA minimumweight belts between 2011 and 2016. There is no doubt Budler will fighting in front of a hostile crowd with the 25-year-old Soto (19-2, 13 KOs) in a fight that has been reported as a WBC title eliminator. The WBC champion is Kenshiro Teraji. Continue reading “Hekkie Budler faces a tough task in Mexico”

By Ron Jackson

South African welterweight champion Thulani Mbenge (18-1, 14 KOs) returns to action after being out of the ring for a year when he faces Idd Pialari (30-7-1, 21 KOs) from Tanzania at The Gallery in Sandton, Johannesburg on Thursday, June 30. Continue reading “Thulani Mbenge returns to action after a year”

341lb heavyweight Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller (24-0-1, 20 KOs) fought for the first time since 2018 defeating local favorite Ariel Esteban Bracamonte (11-8, 6 KOs) by ten round unanimous decision on Thursday night at the WBA KO to Drugs Festival inside the Casino Buenos Aires in Buenas Aires, Argentina.

Bracamontes was inspired fighting in front of the locals and seemed to outwork Miller for the better part of the first three rounds. Miller appeared rusty from the layoff. In round four, Miller hit Bracamontes low and the referee allowed him five minutes to recover. Bracamontes didnt use the full five minutes and came out firing appearing to take round four. Miller outclassed Bracamontes all of round five fighting off the ropes and making him miss. Miller appeared to find his groove in round six and begin to punish Bracamontes with powershots. Round seven saw more the same with Miller connecting reguarly with hard placed punches. Bracamontes did better in round eight but it still appeared to be a winning round for Miller. The final moments of round nine saw Miller pouring it on, raining a variety of thudding punches but Bracamontes again weathered the storm to the see the bell ending the round. Both fighters at seperate moments lost their mouthpieces during the final round. Each fighter slugged it out the final seconds to the final bell to end the bout and round. The official three judges’ scorecards read 97-92 all in favor to Miller.

Heavyweight Ivan Dychko (12-0, 11 KOs) went the distance for the first time, taking a one-sided ten round unanimous decision over Kevin Nicolas Espindola (7-4, 2 KOs).

Unbeaten WBA #5, WBC #12 super middleweight Erik Bazinyan 28-0, 21 KOs) scored a workmanlike ten round unanimous decision over Marcelo Esteban Coceres (30-4-1, 16 KOs) in a bout for the NABF and NABA 168lb titles on Thursday night at the Montreal Casino in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This fight was a bellwether for Bazinyan, as Coceres dropped Edgar Berlanga in his previous fight. Bazinyan got the decision, but didn’t particularly impress. Scores were 98-92, 100-90, 100-90.

Former world title challenger Steven Butler (30-3-1, 25 KOs) hammered out a hard fought ten round unanimous decision over Brandon Brewer (25-2-2, 11 KOs) in a bout for the vacant NABF middleweight title. Brewer took a lot of punishment but managed to last the full ten. Scores were 100-90, 100-89, 99-90.

Super lightweight Yves Ulysse Jr (21-2, 12 KOs) scored a third round KO over Reuquen Cona Facundo Arce (14-7-2, 7 KOs). Ulysse dropped Arce to a knee and he stayed down for the full ten. Time was 1:59.

Super welterweight Dante “Crazy” Jardon (35-8, 25 KOs) took a ten round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Artem Oganesyan (13-1, 11 KOs) to seize Oganesyan’s NABF 154lb title. Jardon dropped Oganesyan in the first round and outworked him in most rounds. Scores were 98-91, 95-94, 97-92.

Unbeaten female super welterweight Mary Spencer (6-0, 4 KOs) scored a first round KO over Chris Namus (25-8, 8 KOs). Namus down three times. Time was 1:56.

Cameron Krael 158.9 vs. Vincent Floyd 159.5
Edgar Joe Cortes 120.4 vs. Gorwar Karyah 122.4
Jabril Noble 131 vs. Nasir Mickens 131
Tahmir Smalls 150.7 vs. Roque Agustin Junco (will weigh-in Fri)
Ofacio Falcon 136.2 vs. Ken Porter 136.2
Rashan Adams 133 vs. Nathan Benichou 134.9
Nimal Farmer 149.1 vs. Antonio Allen (did not show up at weigh-in)
Larry Fryers 140 vs. Michael Crain 140.7
Edwin Cortes 116 vs. Juan Gutierrez 114.8
Karl Wylie 135.3 vs. Joshua Zimmerman 138.7
Anthony Young 153 vs. Rashiem Cooke 152.6

Venue: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia
Promoter: RDR Promotions
1st Bell: 7 PM ET
Stream: Bxngtv.com

Jonathan “Bomba” Gonzalez 107.6 vs. Mark “Da Baby Boy” Barriga 106.4
(WBO world light flyweight title – 12 rounds)

Venue: Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida
Promoter: ProBox, All Star Boxing
TV: ProBox TV

Matchroom Boxing has announced that WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez was forced to withdraw from Saturday’s show in San Antonio due to an undisclosed illness. Martinez, who had pulled out of fights with McWilliams Arroyo twice before, will now await a ruling from the WBC to see if he will retain his title.

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman commented, “We deeply regret that the WBC confirms that WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez has pulled out of the fight vs interim WBC champion McWilliams Arroyo. Exact details are yet to be disclosed. WBC will be addressing this terrible situation.”

Terrence Crawford opens as a slight favorite over Errol Spence Jr. in a potential welterweight showdown that is said to be in the works, and Tommy Fury opens as a slight favorite over Jake Paul in a cruiserweight bout just announced.

Terence Crawford vs Errol Spence Jr.
Terrence Crawford -130 vs. Errol Spence Jr. +100

Tommy Fury vs Jake Paul
Tommy Fury -130 vs. Jake Paul +100

Odds courtesy of BetOnline (www.BetOnline.ag).

Showtime Sports and Most Valuable Promotions today announced that YouTuber Jake “The Problem Child” Paul  (5-0, 4 KOs) will take on longtime nemesis and undefeated pro boxer Tommy “TNT” Fury (8-0, 4 KOs), the half-brother of WBC heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury, in a scheduled eight-round cruiserweight bout at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, August 6 live on Showtime PPV. In the co-feature, Amanda “Real Deal” Serrano (42-2-1, 30 KOs) will defend her unified featherweight world titles against Brenda “La Pumita” Carabajal (18-5-1, 9 KOs).

Jake Paul: “I wasn’t sure I was going to say yes to another potential matchup against Tommy after he pulled out of our matchup last year. But ultimately, knocking out a Fury was too appealing to pass up. I’ve proven I am dedicated to boxing in and out of the ring, from promoting fights, championing fighters and fighter pay, to knocking out my opponents. The Furys cannot say the same, they are selfish tossers. On August 6, at the mecca, Madison Square Garden, the world will see why I am on my way to being a world champion. I’m honored to fight under the same lights as some of the greatest professional boxers in history.”

Tommy Fury: “The Paul brothers’ boxing charade is about to come to an end once and for all. I am a boxer. My opponent plays boxing. Jake Paul has been dressed up to look like a boxer against retirees from other sports. On August 6, I will show the world that he does not belong in the ring. Thank you to my promoter Frank Warren, Most Valuable Promotions and Showtime for letting me permanently shut up Jake Paul. I look forward to headlining Madison Square Garden and knocking out this clown.”

Paul and Fury will go face-to-face for the first time at a press conference on Wednesday, June 29 at Madison Square Garden. Serrano will also be in attendance while the challenger Carabajal will remain in Argentina to focus on her training.

Welterweight Paddy “Real Deal” Donovan (8-0, 6 KOs), featherweight Kurt Walker (2-0, 1 KO), and junior middleweight Kieran Molloy (1-0, 1 KO) — will return Saturday, Aug. 6, on the Michael Conlan-Miguel Marriaga undercard at The SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Donovan will appear in his first scheduled eight-rounder, while Walker and Molloy will see action in separate six-rounders. All three bouts will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+. The ESPN+ stream is also scheduled to include Belfast native Padraig McCrory (13-0, 7 KOs) defending his WBC International Silver super middleweight belt in a 10-rounder versus former world title challenger Marco Antonio Periban (26-5-1, 17 KOs).