Juan Francisco Estrada will face Joshua Franco on July 16 for the World Boxing Association (WBA) super flyweight title. The bout was confirmed once both parties sent their contracts this week with all the details finalized, except for the venue, which will be announced in the coming weeks.

Golden Boy Promotions had won the bid to stage the mandatory fight, which was mandated as part of the WBA’s world title reduction plan that will leave the division with only one champion. The WBA continues aiming to decrease the number of champions and the decisions it has been making are moving in that direction.

Streaming coverage begins at 5AM ET/2AM PT on June 7

WBA/IBF bantamweight world champion Naoya “Monster” Inoue is 17-0 in world title fights and only once has been pushed to the brink. WBC bantamweight world champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire, the four-weight kingpin whose late-career renaissance cemented his status as one of boxing’s greatest lighter weight champions, has one more shot to stun the Japanese pound-for-pound icon.

Inoue and Donaire will meet in a title unification rematch Tuesday, June 7, at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Inoue and Donaire first fought in November 2019 at Saitama Super Arena, with Inoue overcoming a broken orbital bone and nose to win a unanimous decision in the consensus Fight of the Year.

“Naoya Inoue and Nonito Donaire’s first fight is among the greatest championship battles I’ve ever seen, and I am thrilled that American fight fans can watch the rematch on ESPN+,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. Continue reading “Inoue-Donaire Rematch on ESPN+”

Rising featherweight prospect Luis “The Twist” Núñez (16-0, 12 KOs) will battle fellow unbeaten Jonathan Fierro (13-0, 12 KOs) in the 10-round telecast opener live on Showtime Saturday from Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

The telecast is headlined by unbeaten two-time world champion and Arizona-native David “El Bandera Roja” Benavídez returning to fight in his home state for the second-straight bout as he takes on former world champion David Lemieux for the vacant WBC interim super middleweight title. The card also features super welterweight Yoelvis Gómez against Jorge Cota in the 10-round co-feature.

The non-televised undercard will see former world champion “Vicious” Victor Ortiz (32-7-3, 25 KOs) in a 10-round super welterweight attraction against Todd Manuel (20-19-1, 6 KOs) and unbeaten super lightweight Richardson Hitchins (13-0, 5 KOs) in a 10-rounder against Mexico’s Angel Rodriguez (12-10-3, 5 KOs).

By Mauricio Sulaimán
Son of José Sulaimán / President of the WBC

I will never get tired of repeating that we are living in a new golden age in boxing.

This Saturday there was, once again, a great fight in Carson, California. WBC world champion Jermell Charlo knocked out the now former WBO champion, Argentine Brian Castaño, thus unifying super welterweight and giving the world the first undisputed champion of this division, since he is now the champion of the four world-recognized organizations.

Charlo, a two-time WBC super welterweight world champion, is the owner of the WBC, WBO, IBF and WBA championship belts.

The fight was a rematch, or rather a tiebreaker, as their first fight in San Antonio, Texas, ended in a draw last year after 12 rounds of intensity and drama. The one on Saturday was wonderful; fierce exchanges in the center of the ring, and with a fifth round that will be remembered as one of the best of the year.

The end came in the tenth round, when Charlo dropped the Argentine warrior, who got up with a lion heart only to receive a severe punishment, and that led the Referee to stop the fight. Continue reading “Today’s Golden Era in Boxing”

Anthony Yarde says he is looking to take down the winner of the unification battle between Joe Smith jr and Artur Beterbiev. The two light heavyweight champions put their WBO, WBC and IBF belts on the line on June 18 in New York and Yarde is planning to travel across the pond to Madison Square Garden to size up the opposition for his challenge that should come around later this year.

“I am going to keep a close eye on it when they fight each other and I will be looking to destroy the winner,” stated Yarde, who feels his previous world title shot against Sergey Kovalev will stand him in good stead.

“I definitely feel in a better place,” Yard told The Lowdown. “The reason I feel in a better place is because I have gained more experience and I have been at that level before. I would say there is not as much pressure, but there is always going to be pressure. I’ve got the experience and, with that being said, I feel like I know what I need to do.”

Due to the passing of President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan of The United Arab Emirates, this Saturday’s showdown of former world champions Tevin Farmer and Mickey Bey at The Coca-Cola Arena Dubai has been postponed. Farmer and Bey were poised to headline a $34.99 pay-per-event. Continue reading “Tevin Farmer vs Mickey Bey postponed”

The World Boxing Association (WBA) called for a hearing with the representatives of the top six super lightweight ranked fighters this Tuesday with the intention of seeking the best solution to the vacancy of the world title of the category, formerly held by Josh Taylor.

The teams summoned are the representatives of Alberto Puello, Ismael Barroso, Ohara Davies, Sandor Martín, Regis Prograis and Batyr Akhmedov. Each team will have 15 minutes to present its case with no time extension. A WBA panel will have 5 minutes after each presentation to ask questions and after a time of deliberation on each case, will present its opinion to WBA President Gilberto Jesus Mendoza, who will have the final decision.

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Undisputed super welterweight champion Jermell Charlo showed zero interest in a fight with WBO mandatory challenger Tim Tszyu, even lobbing an f-bomb at an Aussie reporter who brought it up.

“Didn’t he get dropped? That motherf***er’s out. He got dropped. It’s different heat over here in America, baby. It’s different heat in America. How much Tim Too, whatever his f***in’ name is, how much they got? How much money they got? F*** you and Tim Kazoo, change the mic!”

Tszyu’s response?

“Me and Castano are completely different,” Tszyu told Fox Sports. “I’m ten times stronger and bigger than Castano. What is [Charlo] going to do when that happens? If someone stays at the same pace it’d be interesting to see how he copes with it. I’m planning to break his ribs. Just an accumulation of punishment and punches. He’s never fought a style like me. Nobody like me. I’m not soft, let’s say that.”

Another huge boxing weekend approaching topped by Benavidez-Lemieux, plus Qazaq Style, Babic, and more.

FRIDAY

The new $1.99 a month ProBox app arrives with a light heavyweight clash between Fanlong Meng and Jean Pascal from Plant City, Florida. There will also be an innovative “last chance” tournament with some familiar names competing.

DAZN offers super welterweight Kerman Lejarraga against James Metcalf from Spain.

SATURDAY

Showtime delivers an attractive scrap between super middleweight punchers David Benavidez and David Lemieux for the vacant WBC interim title from Phoenix.

ESPN counters with “Qazaq Style” Janibek Alimkhanuly against Danny Dignum for the vacant WBO interim middleweight title from Las Vegas.

DAZN has the light heavyweight clash between Joshua Buatsi and Craig Richards from London. Also, popular bridgerweight Alen “The Savage” Babic faces Adam Balski.

Finally, there is the big $34.99 PPV showdown between lightweights Tevin Farmer and Mickey Bey from Dubai, UAE. We’re told the event is going ahead despite the cancellation of Mayweather-Moore last week due to the passing of the UAE president.

Joshua Buatsi wants to leave no doubt that he’s the leading light heavyweight in the UK when he faces South London rival Craig Richards in a huge clash at The O2 this Saturday May 21, shown live worldwide on DAZN (excluding New Zealand and Australia as usual).

Buatsi (15-0, 13 KOs) finally gets his hands on one of his fellow high-flying domestic rivals at 175lbs, with Richards hunting down a second world title shot after rising to the occasion in a tight loss to Dmitry Bivol last May in Manchester.

“I am the best in the country,” said Buatsi. “The truth is though; we haven’t fought each other. Spider is the first light-heavyweight in Britain that I am boxing, so from there I can make a point of it. Everyone can say they are the best, but until someone gets a world title to separate themselves, then everyone has a point to make, and we are the first to really fight. Continue reading “Buatsi: When I fight, it’s straight violence”

Wins WBO AP, JBC 126lb belts

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Perennial contender Reiya Abe (23-3-1, 10 KOs), 125.75, impressively acquired Japanese and WBO Asia Pacific featherweight belts as he fully befuddled defending champ IBF#6, WBC#8, WBO#10 Hinata Maruta (12-2-1, 9 KOs), a prohibitive favorite at 125.25, with his shifty southpaw style, dropped him with a well-timed left in round seven and pounded out a unanimous decision (115-112, 116-111, 118-109) over twelve lopsided rounds on Sunday in Tokyo, Japan. Continue reading “Abe upsets Maruta”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Hard-punching southpaw Masanori Rikiishi (11-1, 6 KOs), 129.75, the younger brother of former WBC 108-pound ruler Masamichi Yabuki, seized the vacant OPBF super-feather belt by scoring a shutout decision (all 120-108) over ex-WBO AP champ Takuya Watanabe (38-11-1, 21 KOs), 130, over also one-sided twelve sessions on Sunday in Tokyo, Japan.

Masanori, with his advantageous height and reach, kept outpunching the onrushing veteran with southpaw jabs and solid one-two combinations, sweeping all rounds with ease. Rikiishi jubilantly said, “My dream is to become world champions with my brother at the same time.”

Dangan Aoki Promotions.

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Heavyweight Sonny Conto (10-0, 8 KOs) remained undefeated with a third-round stoppage over Justin Rolfe (7-4-1, 5 KOs) in a scheduled six-rounder last Friday in front of a packed crowd at Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennslyvania. After two rounds of beating up Rolfe with hard power shots. Conto decked Rolfe with a big left hook in round three. Seconds later, it was another hard left hook from close quarters that sent Rolfe folding towards the canvas and the fight was stopped by referee Eric Dali at 1:38.

In the co-feature, super lightweight Shinard Bunch (19-1-1, 17 KOs) needed just 47 seconds to viciously destroy Marko Bailey (7-8, 4 KOs) in a scheduled six-rounder. Bunch bum-rushed Bailey and battered him until the fight was stopped by referee Shawn Clark. Continue reading “Late Results from Philadelphia”

“I’m just going to keep in shape after this fight, we’ll rest one week and then get back in the gym,” said former light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev after winning his cruiserweight debut against Tervel Pulev on Saturday night. It was the 39-year-old Krusher’s first fight since losing to Canelo in 2019.

“I worried how it was going to be in the fight. Of course, there was some ring rust. Without boxing at a high level for over a year, my body doesn’t like this. I want to fight every three or four months. The plan was just to use the jab and distance. But I felt like I didn’t have enough energy in my body. I think in my next fight, it would be at a higher level. Give me one more fight, and I’ll be ready for a world title opportunity.”

Unbeaten bantamweight Emmanuel “Salserito” Rodriguez (11-0, 6 KOs) of Newark, N.J. won by sixth round TKO over Juan Gabriel Medina (14-10, 12 KOs) of La Romana, Dominion Republic to win the vacant WBA-NABA gold bantamweight title on Saturday night at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark, NJ.

In the co-feature, unbeaten flyweight Andy Dominguez (7-0, 5 KOs) of Bronx, NY won by fourth round TKO over Edwin Reyes (8-8-3, 5 KOs) of Madison, TN to claim the vacant WBA Federcentro belt.

Unbeaten super welterweight Brian Ceballo (13-0, 7 KOs) of New York, NY. won by sixth round TKO over Gerald Sherrell (10-3, 5 KOs) of Pittsburgh, PA. Continue reading “Rodriguez stops Medina, remains unbeaten”

Photos: Sumio Yamada

Check out this GIANT Charlo-Castaño photo gallery for some incredible shots, plus the scorecard.

Photos

The World Boxing Association (WBA) Championships Committee has ruled that the super lightweight title, which was held by Josh Taylor, is now vacant. The WBA had ordered the mandatory fight between Taylor and the first-ranked boxer Alberto Puello. They had 30 days to reach an agreement after which the bout went to purse bid where only TGB, Puello’s promoter, submitted a bid. Taylor never agreed to the fight, and according to WBA rules, the belt was vacated. Puello will now fight a new opponent for the belt.

“This is legacy,” Jermell Charlo said in the ring after stopping Castaño in a rematch to become boxing’s first ever undisputed 154lb champion on Saturday night. “This is something that is legendary. I’m a legend. I knew Castaño was going to give it his all. I knew I had trained very, very hard but you all can see that I came in at 152 pounds because I was really in shape, and I wanted to make sure that this was my fight.

“I listened to my corner this time. I got in my bag around the seventh round. I started sitting down a little bit more instead of boxing so much and moving around. I saw that he was wearing down a little bit and I was breaking him down. I just saw my punches being more effective. I get stronger in the later rounds if they didn’t know.”

By Miguel Maravilla

Zurdo Ramírez has a message for Dmitry Bivol: “You can run, but you can’t hide.”

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By Jeff Zimmerman

The legendary Roy Jones Jr. was in Dallas Saturday night for the Kingdom Boxing card at the Bomb Factory. Jones Jr. shared his thoughts on Canelo’s loss to Bivol, the classic Taylor-Serrano fight, going into the Hall of Fame with rivals Bernard Hopkins and James Toney and so much more in this Fightnews.com® exclusive interview.

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By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with woman’s boxing trailblazer and hall of famer Christy “The Coal Miner’s Daughter” Martin Saturday night in Dallas as she was commentating fights with Jeff Mayweather for Kingdom Boxing. Martin discussed the Taylor-Serrano classic, it’s impact on woman’s boxing, the Jake Paul effect and so much more in this exclusive interview.

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By Jeff Zimmerman at ringside

In the main event at The Bomb Factory in Dallas, Texas, one of Dallas’ biggest stars over the last 20 years welterweight Charles Hatley (30-3-1, 21 KOs) got knocked out in the second round by Jamshidbek Najmitdinov (19-2, 14 KOs) out of Uzbekistan, who earned the WBC USNBC belt with the victory. Najmitdinov, a southpaw, came out firing left-handed bombs, but the veteran Hatley adapted and covered up and threw combinations of his own to thwart the initial onslaught. After Hatley tasted the power of Najmitdinov, he seemed ready to make it a fight and go some rounds. There was also a cut over Najmitdinov’s right eye that looked like it could become a problem if the fight went deep. In the second round of the scheduled ten, Hatley came out more aggressive and landed a nice counter right. But soon after, Najmitdinov wobbled Hatley with a powerful left hand and dropped another left hook square on the jaw that put Hatley awkwardly on his back. Hatley did everything in his power to get back to his feet, but referee Ruben Perez saw that Hatley was in bad shape and waived it off. The time was 2:18 of round two. Continue reading “Najmitdinov wins big in Dallas against Hatley”

By Rocky Morales at ringside

In a rematch, unified WBC, WBA and IBF world champion Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 18KO) captured the undisputed super welterweight title with a scintillating tenth round knockout victory over now former WBO champion, Brian Castaño (17-1-2, 12KO) on Saturday night at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. In round ten, Charlo dropped Castano twice to get the victory and become undisputed. Continue reading “Charlo KOs Castaño, becomes undisputed”

Former light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (35-4-1, 29 KOs) moved up to cruiserweight and scored a clear cut ten round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Tervel Pulev (16-1, 13 KOs) on Saturday night at the iconic Forum in Inglewood, California. Kovalev schooled Pulev with the jab to pull away to a 98-92, 98-92, 97-93 win.

Former heavyweight title challenger Kubrat Pulev (23-2, 14 KOs) pounded out a ten round unanimous decision over Jerry Forrest (26-5-2, 20 KOs). The fight was delayed 90 minutes due to a glove problem with Forrest. When the fight finally got underway, Pulev won by scores of 98-92, 99-91, 99-91.

Journeyman super welterweight Jurmain McDonald (7-5, 3 KOs) knocked out previously unbeaten Evan Holyfield (9-1, 6 KOs) in the second round. A right to the jaw finished Holyfield, the son of former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield.

Pro debuting lightweight Emiliano Vargas destroyed Mark Salgado (1-2, 1 KO) in the first round. Vargas dropped Salgado twice to end it. Time was 2:09.

Vargas was one of three sons of former world champion Fernando Vargas on the show. Earlier, super welterweight Fernando Vargas Jr. (6-0, 6 KOs) and junior lightweight Amado Vargas (4-0, 2 KOs) both kept their unbeaten records intact.

By Rocky Morales at ringside

Jaron “Boots” Ennis (29-0, 27 KOs) annihilated previously undefeated Custio Clayton (19-1-1, 12 KOs) by way of crushing second round knockout in an IBF welterweight title eliminator on Saturday night in the Charlo-Castaño co-feature at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

After an initial feeling out round, the IBF #1 rated welterweight, Ennis, went on a seek and destroy mission and landed a right cross to the temple of his Canadian opponent. Clayton went down hard, flopped around, somehow found his way to his feet but then continued to lose his footing causing the referee to stop the fight. With the victory, Ennis puts himself in line for a title shot against IBF/WBC/WBA welterweight champ, Errol Spence Jr., should a unification with WBO champ, Terence Crawford, not take place.