South Philadelphia heavyweight Sonny Conto (9-0, 7 KOs) didn’t get the KO but did keep his undefeated streak alive with a one-sided six round unanimous decision over Mike Marshall (6-3-1, 4 KOs) of Danbury, CT, on Thursday night at The Event Center at Live! Casino & Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Scores were 60-54 3x for Conto, who is inked by Top Rank.

The semifinals of the World Boxing Cup Series “4-Man Lightweight Tournament” took place Thursday night at the Palenque de la Expo in Obregón, Sonora, Mexico.

Luis Torres (15-0, 10 KOs) got a fourth round referee’s stoppage against Rodolfo Flores (14-6, 6 KOs). Flores down several times. Time was :49.

Irving Castillo (9-2, 6 KOs) took an unpopular eight round majority decision over Isai Hernandez (11-3-1, 7 KOs) by scores of 76-76, 78-74, 79-73.

Torres and Castillo will meet June 2.

In other action, the WBC USNBC silver welterweight title remained vacant after the bout between Quinton Randall (8-0, 2 KOs) and Ivan “Zurdo” Alvarez (31-13-1, 21 KOs) ended in a two round technical draw due to cut suffered by Alvarez via an unintentional head clash.

Kanat Islam 158.8 vs. Jimmy Kilrain Kelly 157.4
(WBO Global middleweight title)

Dominique Wiltz 177 vs Imran Haddabah 174.8
Anthony Curtis 146.8 vs. Tommy Wu 148.4
Nelson Colon Torres 130 vs. Dominic Valle 128.8
Arsenio Hall 165.2 vs. Casey Dixon 170.2
Robbie Anthony Rose 149.6 vs Marques Valle 148
Trenton Gibson 134.2 vs Julio Solis 134
Brandon Maddox 171.8 vs Mathew Tinker 173.6
Alex Theran 200 vs Najee Lopez 159.6
Peter Dobson 148.4 vs Jose Miguel Borrego 148.2
Mark Reyes Jr 151.8 vs Jonathan Jose Eniz 151.4

Venue: White Sands Event Center, Plant City, Florida
Promoter: ProBox Promotions

Unbeaten rising star Chris “Primetime” Colbert and undefeated Dominican Olympian Hector García went face to face and tit for tat in a clash of styles and words Thursday at the final press conference before they meet in the ring this Saturday, February 26 live on SHOWTIME headlining a Premier Boxing Champions event from The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

During the event, Colbert briefly and humorously temporarily took control of the hosting duties and began peppering Garcia with questions about his chances on Saturday. Later, Garcia questioned Colbert’s commitment to boxing, likening his career to a “circus.” Continue reading “Colbert-Garcia Final Press Conference”

By Ron Jackson

Sibusiso Zingange from Boksburg won the South junior lightweight title on a wide unanimous 12 round points decision against defending champion Phila Mpontshane of Mdantsane who was making the fifth defense of his title, at the EFC Performance Institute in Fourways, Gauteng on Thursday night.

Judge Pumeza Zinakile scored the fight 120-107 and judges David van Niewenhuizen and Simon Mokadi had it 118-109 and 120-109.

Zingange improved his record to 17-5-2, 4 KOs, and Mpontshane’s record dropped to 15-3, 6 KOs. Continue reading “Zingange wins South African jr lightweight title”

Super welterweight prospect Ardreal Holmes(11-0, 5 KOs) puts his undefeated record on the line against fellow unbeaten prospect Mekhrubon Sanginov (12-0-1, 9 KOs) in an eight-round super welterweight contest in another tightly-matched main event of ShoBox: The New Generation on March 11 live on Showtime from Deadwood Mountain Grand Hotel in Deadwood, South Dakota.

Hurshidbek Normatov (10-0, 3 KOs) faces once-beaten Vernon Brown (13-1-1, 9 KOs) in an eight-round co-featured middleweight bout and undefeated lightweight prospect Luis Acosta (12-0, 11 KOs) takes on the power-punching Edwin De Los Santos (13-1, 12 KOs). Plus, 2021 National Golden Gloves Champion Giovanni Márquez, the son of former world champion and ShoBox commentator Raul Márquez, makes his professional debut against Dominican Nelson Morales (2-0) in a four-round super lightweight bout that opens the telecast.

The event is promoted by Holden Productions.

Heavyweights Robert Simms and Moses “ThunderHands” Johnson, both say it will be nothing personal when they go to war in the 10-round main event of Salita Promotions’ latest Detroit Brawl, on Saturday, March 5, 2022, in the Lincoln Ballroom of the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn, Michigan.

Simms (11-3, 3 KOs) a proven upset specialist and undefeated, but comparatively untested Johnson (8-0, 7 KOs), will headline a night that also features Winfred “Hot Boy” Harris Jr. (21-1-1, 10 KOs) taking on another veteran known for pulling off surprises, former NABA-US super middleweight champion Dashon “Fly Boy” Johnson, and unbeaten WBC #10- and IBF #12-ranked super middleweight Vladimir Shishkin (12-0, 7 KOs) looking to stay sharp against trialhorse Jeyson “Verdugo” Minda (14-6-1, 8 KOs), in a bout scheduled for eight rounds. Continue reading “Detroit Brawl lineup set”

Veteran Silverio Ortiz will replace Cleotis Pendarvis in the main event to take on welterweight contender Ray Robinson the six-round main event that will take place this Saturday at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.

Robinson, 36, has a record of 24-3-2 with 12 knockouts. The 36 year-old Robinson will be shaking off a two-and-a-half-year layoff as he is coming off of back-to-back draws with world title challenger Egidijust Kavaliauskas (21-0) and former British Olympian Josh Kelly (9-0). Ortiz, 39, has a record of 37-28 with 18 knockouts.He has faced no less than nine world champions and a plethora of title challengers, contenders and prospects.

The undercard will feature a plethora of Philly-Favorites and undefeated prospects. Continue reading “New opponent for Robinson”

The fists did not start flying, but there were fireworks between undisputed junior welterweight world champion Josh Taylor and top contender Jack Catterall. Taylor and Catterall will lock horns for all the belts Saturday evening at OVO Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, a short drive from Taylor’s hometown of Prestonpans.

“He’s good. We’ll find out on Saturday, but he’s in for a long night. A long, painful methodical beatdown on Saturday,” promised Taylor.

In the 10-round featherweight co-feature, Cuban star and two-time Olympic gold medalist, Robeisy Ramirez, will face Irish contender Eric Donovan. Ramirez has not fought in the UK since the 2012 London Olympics, the site of his first Olympic triumph.

Taylor-Catterall, Ramirez-Donovan, and additional fight action will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ in the United States. Continue reading “Taylor-Catterall Final Press Conference”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

WBO #1 light middleweight Tim Tszyu says he’s disappointed that IBF, WBA, WBC light middleweight champion Jermell Charlo rejected his offer to replace injured WBO champion Brian Castano, but said he still plans to fight in the USA in March. “[Charlo] calls himself a lion, but he’s a little pussy cat, that’s all he is,” Tszyu told Foxsports.com.au. “There could be political stuff involved with it, but my main concern is to fight and not to sit around.”

He also stated, “March 19 is done. I will fight the same opponent [Terrell Gausha] the following weekend on a different show. I told the boys (promoters George and Matt Rose) to make it happen and I’m just waiting for a date. I’m just ready to go to America, that’s where I’ve always been dreaming about so I want to have a quality opponent in America.”

A fan on Twitter asked Andre Ward if there was a fight he wanted, that didn’t happen before he retired. Ward answered “Froch rematch in the UK; [Gennady] Golovkin, he turned it down in less than 5 minutes; Anthony Joshua, but I retired.”

Ward’s response set off GGG, who responded, “Andre, stop lying to the fans. Your team made the offer AFTER I announced the fight with Lemieux and sold out MSG. You are still angry that you never sold tickets like me. HBO knew you used the offer for publicity to move to 175. Happy Birthday.”

Ward answered, “I have receipts stop playing.”

Sonny Conto 226.1 vs. Mike Marshall 248.8
Daiyaan Butt 143.1 vs. Bryce Mills 141.9
Christopher Burgos 139.6 vs. Carlos Marrero 136.2
D’Angelo Fuentes 123.8 vs. Justice Bland 126
Eslih Owusu 155 vs. Evencii Dixon 155.2
Jordon Murphy 128.8 vs. Nasir Mickens 129.4
Quadeer Jenkins 159.5 vs. Rahiem Cooke 158.3

Promoter: Joe Hand Promotions
Venue: Live! Casino & Hotel Casino Promotions
1st Bell: 7 PM ET

In an amazing coincidence, according to RJJ Promotions all ten fighters featured on the UFC Fightpass telecast Thursday night weighed in exactly at the division limit for every bout.

WCBS 4-Man Lightweight Tournament semifinals
Luis Torres 135 vs. Rodolfo Flores 135
Isai Hernandez 135 vs. Irving Castillo 135

WBC USNBC silver welterweight title
Quinton Randall 147 vs. Ivan “Zurdo” Alvarez 147

Fradimil Macayo 135 vs. Armando Ramirez Almanza 135
Jorge Lugo Cota 135 vs. Rene de Leon Mazariegos 135

Venue: Palenque de la Expo in Obregón, Sonora, Mexico
Promoter: RJJ Boxing Promotions, De La O Promotions
TV: UFC Fightpass

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Despite promoter Lou DiBella’s saying that undisputed IBF, WBA, WBO and WBC franchise lightweight champion George “Ferocious” Kambosos has moved on from making his initial defense against WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney, Haney’s promoter Eddie Hearn says talks are still ongoing.

“DAZN has been very proactive to try and make the Devin Haney vs. George Kambosos fight,” said Hearn on the DAZN Show. “It’s a fight they want badly, it’s a fight they want to make happen. We’re going back with figures and bits and pieces. I think DAZN is acting like a good middle-man buffer between myself and Lou DiBella rather than Lou losing his rag and me being stubborn. It’s a good model to use where we can all be sensible and see if there are any legs to get it over the line. Continue reading “Hearn: Kambosos-Haney still negotiating”

A huge crowd gathered in the St Enoch Shopping Mall in Glasgow, Scotland today to witness undisputed world super lightweight champion and Scottish hero Josh ‘The Tartan Tornado’ Taylor and rival Jack ‘El Gato’ Catterall undertake public training sessions ahead of their showdown at the OVO Hydro Arena Glasgow this coming Saturday, live on Sky Sports in the UK and ESPN+ in the USA. Taylor stated, “These belts ain’t going nowhere.”

WBO bantamweight champion John Riel Casimero has denied allegations of sexual abuse involving a minor that were recently leveled at him in the Philippines. Casimero is facing U.S. deportation from his training camp in San Diego due to the situation. He is scheduled to defend his title against Paul Butler on April 22 in Liverpool, but if he is unable to enter the UK, the WBO will likely vacate the title.

Casimero said in a statement:

“I vehemently deny any accusations thrown at me regarding a blotter concerning an alleged female minor and vow to clean my name for not only myself and my family, but also my country, the Philippines.

“I have been instructed by my legal team to not directly address any news media outlets due to the fact that to date, there has not been any criminal charges brought forth for me or my legal team to respond to.

“But being that my name has been defamed, slandered, and surrounded by fabricated stories circulated by journalists and vloggers whose only intention is to destroy my good name as the WBO world champion representing the Philippines, I believe I have the right to state my truth and allow truth to prevail.”

By Gabriel F. Cordero

On May 21, the WBC and the Mexico City Government will team up to host a historic attempt to break the Guinness world record for the largest boxing class. The event will take place in the legendary Plaza de la Constitución in the historic Zocalo (the main square in downtown Mexico City) and everyone who wants to participate is invited, including boys, girls, young people, adults, and seniors.

In 2017 the city of Moscow set the Guinness record with nearly three thousand participants, but WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman stated that this event will not only break that record but will establish a new one that will be unbreakable and serve as an example to the world of what unity can achieve.

It was also announced that homage will be paid to legendary boxing trainer Don Nacho Beristain at the event.

By Miguel Maravilla

Undefeated WBO #1 welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz Jr. (18-0, 18 KOs) and Golden Boy Chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya hosted a press event on Tuesday in Los Angeles to promote the upcoming bout between Ortiz and WBO #3 Michael “The Problem” McKinson (21-0, 2 KOs). The pair are set to collide on March 19 at University of Southern California’s Galen Center. The 12-round fight will stream live on DAZN.

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By Miguel Maravilla

Undefeated welterweight Vergil Ortiz Jr. (18-0, 18 KOs), of Grand Prairie, Texas spoke about his next fight against fellow undefeated welterweight Michael “The Problem” McKinson (21-0, 2 KOs) of Great Britain. Ortiz and McKinson will square off Saturday, March 19th, for Ortiz, Jr.’s WBO International welterweight title at the University of Southern California’s Galen Center in Los Angeles live on DAZN.

“It feels awesome putting a card in LA. I have a lot of fans here in LA,” Ortiz said at the press conference.

Ortiz began his preparation a few weeks ago as he has added Manuel Robles to his team to work alongside his father Vergil Ortiz Sr. and his longtime Hector Beltran. Prior to that Vergil had been working with famed trainer Robert Garcia but mutually parted ways from the camp. Ortiz joined Eddie Reynoso’s stable temporarily and then made the move to relocate to Los Angeles for this camp. Continue reading “Vergil Ortiz Jr: I am in the top 5 of the division”

By Ron Jackson

Very few people are aware of the steroid and drug culture in South African boxing.

However, this has been rectified by Clinton van der Berg who reveals all about South African boxing and other sports in his recently published book Guns and Needles – A journey into the heart of South African sport’s steroid and drug culture.

In the introduction, Van der Berg writes “The world of steroids periodically entered and drifted out of my life – rugby has struggled to shake its image as a haven for, but the habit persists elsewhere too- in boxing. Continue reading “Drugs in South African boxing”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Newly crowned WBO 105-pound champion Masataka Taniguchi (15-3, 10 KOs), a Japanese southpaw, will put his belt on the line against hard-punching national titleholder Kai Ishizawa (10-1, 9 KOs) at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, on April 22. It was announced by Ohashi Promotions in Yokohama on Tuesday. Having dethroned Wilfredo Mendez by an upset eleventh-round stoppage last December, Taniguchi will engage in his first defense with the younger challenger, three years his junior at 25, in a grudge fight.

They exchanged gloves in September 2019, when Taniguchi suffered a knockdown in round five but scored a unanimous decision thanks to his busier combinations with better precision. For Ishizawa, it was his sole setback against ten victories including nine devastating stoppages to his credit. Continue reading “Taniguchi to defend WBO 105lb belt against Ishizawa”

Yamaguchi Falcao and Connor “The Kid” Coyle both scored knockouts on Saturday night at Memorial Hall in Melrose, Massachusetts. Falcao (20-1-1, 9 KOs) captured the WBC Latino super middleweight title via second round knockout of Fernando Ezequiel Farias (11-2-2, 4 KOs). Fighting out of his signature southpaw stance, Falcao was aggressive from the opening bell. The 2012 Olympic Bronze medalist found a home early for his jab, hook and left cross. A minute into the second, Falcao hurt Farias with a crisp left uppercut that sent him reeling towards the ropes. Moments later, Falcao put Farias down for the count with a hard left hook. Time of stoppage was 1:21.

In the co-feature, undefeated middleweight Connor “The Kid” Coyle (15-0, 7 KOs) kept his perfect record intact by stopping Rodrigo Rodrigues (8-2, 7 KOs) after five rounds. Continue reading “Late Results from Massachusetts”

Probellum has announced a strategic partnership with promoter Lou DiBella and his company DiBella Entertainment. This will include co-promotional activities around key fighters in the DiBella Entertainment stable, support for grassroots boxing in the United States, and the continued growth of Probellum’s international network of co-promotional partners. Continue reading “Probellum aligns with DiBella Entertainment”

We caught up with Frank Espinoza, the widely respected manager of WBC super featherweight champion Oscar Valdez. Espinoza has guided the careers of ten champions and has helmed Valdez’s title-winning run from his first fight as a professional. Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs) a native of Nogales, Sonora will be fighting Shakur Stevenson (17-0, 9 KOs) in a compelling match to be held at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas on April 30th. Both the WBC and the WBO titles will be up for grabs that night.

Tell us about the process for making this fight.

Stevenson has been flapping his mouth about Oscar a lot and we’re going to shut him up. He claimed Oscar was ducking him but we signed the contract for the fight first. It took him longer. Shakur claimed he wanted this fight and now he’s become a target. Careful what you wish for. Continue reading “Espinoza: Valdez ready for disrespectful Stevenson”

Savannah “The Silent Assassin” Marshall’s defense of her WBO world female middleweight title against former titleholder Femke Hermans has moved to April 2 and will headline on Sky Sports in the UK. The show, previously scheduled for March, will take place at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, England. Earlier this month, Marshall was in Cardiff to watch bitter rival Claressa Shields defend her world titles and she became embroiled in a war of words with Shields, raising tensions between the two to a fever pitch. Marshall must now make sure she defeats Hermans to set up the showdown with Shields.

Also confirmed for the card is “The Albanian King” Florian Marku (10-0, 6 KOs) facing Chris ‘Rock n Rolla’ Jenkins (23-4, 8 KOs) in a welterweight clash, and heavyweight Nathan Gorman (18-1, 12 KOs) will take on Scott Alexander (16-4-2, 8 KOs).