“This is a dream come true,” said unbeaten Cleveland welterweight Montana Love (16-0-1, 8 KOs) after his vicious TKO7 over former world champion Ivan Baranchyk (20-3, 13 KOs), “I’m in training every day thinking about and visualizing this moment. I want to thank Ivan for giving me this opportunity and helping us give the fans a great show. We’d been working on that uppercut the whole time during training. The game plan was to move and box him and make him miss. We knew that eventually he was going to open up.

“Strap me up. We’ve been working hard and now it’s my time. I want Josh Taylor and Gervonta Davis. Line them up and we can make it happen, as soon as possible.”

At the time of the stoppage, Love was ahead 69-63, 69-63, 70-62. It looks like both Baranchyk and Jose Zepeda left a lot in the ring after their 2020 Fight of the Year.

British heavyweight contender Daniel Dubois (17-1, 16 KOs) make his U.S. debut in style, knocking down Juiseppe Angelo Cusumano (19-4, 17 KOs) three times en-route to a first-round stoppage. Dubois landed nearly everything he threw on the overmatched Cusumano, who was finished off by a barrage of punches 2:10 into the fight.

“You don’t get paid for overtime,” said Dubois. “I had a great performance and had the best training camp ever. I want to fight for a world title. I want to fight the best. It’s going to come soon. Whoever’s next. I want to fight for a world title.”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

WBO #1 light middleweight Tim Tszyu (19-0, 15 KOs) has been made the mandatory challenger to WBO champion Brian Castano (17-0-2, 12 KOs) according to Tszyu’s manager Glen Jennings, who made the announcement on Facebook on Saturday.

“Some great news this morning,” Jennings said. “After weeks of hard work back and forth with WBO, we received written confirmation that Tim is now mandated for a world title fight. Continue reading “Manager: Tszyu made mandatory to Castano”

Unbeaten YouTuber Jake “The Problem Child” Paul (4-0, 3 KOs) won an eight round split decision over 39-year-old former UFC champion Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley on Sunday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Paul’s hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. Paul outworked Woodley over the first three rounds. Woodley staggered Paul in round four. Paul did just a little more than Woodley down the stretch. Paul never hurt Woodley and Woodley often walked down Paul. Scores were 77-75, 78-74 Paul, 77-75 Woodley.

P4P women’s boxer Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano (41-1-1, 30 KOs) defended her WBC and WBO female featherweight world titles by one-sided ten round unanimous decision against WBC super bantamweight champion Yamileth Mercado (18-3, 5 KOs). Total domination by Serrano, but Mercado showed real toughness in lasting the full ten. Scores were 97-93, 98-92, 99-91.

WBA #1 heavyweight “Dynamite” Daniel Dubois (17-1, 16 KOs) promised to be devastating in his U.S. debut and he was. Dubois dropped Juiseppe Angelo Cusumano (19-4, 17 KOs) three times in a first round KO. Time was 2:10.

Coming off 2020’s “Fight of the Year,” former IBF super lightweight world champion Ivan “The Beast” Baranchyk (20-3, 13 KOs) was stopped in seven rounds by undefeated Montana Love (16-0-1, 8 KOs) in a welterweight bout. Love’s hand speed and movement often neutralized Baranchyk’s attacks. Baranchyk rocked Love in round three. Love dropped Baranchyk at the end of round seven and Baranchyk’s corner stopped the bout after the round.

Light heavyweight prospect Tommy “TNT” Fury (7-0, 4 KOs), half-brother of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, easily won a four-round unanimous decision over undersized MMA fighter Anthony Taylor. Scores 40-36 3x. Fury has been mentioned as a possible opponent for Jake Paul. Based on this performance, not looking good.

In an off-TV bout between unbeaten super welterweights, Charles “Bad News” Conwell (16-0, 12 KOs) scored a third round TKO over Juan Carlos Rubio (18-1, 9 KOs). Conwell dropped Rubio in round two and finished him in round three. Time was 2:49.

Lightweight Claudio “Chaíto” Daneff (12-2-1, 7 KOs) took a ten round unanimous decision over Nicolás “El Titán” De León (13-4, 4 KOs) on Saturday night to claim De Leon’s Argentine lightweight title at the Sociedad Rural in Coronel Brandsen, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Daneff dropped De León in round two. De León was also deducted a point for hitting after the bell. Scores were 98-90, 98.5-90, and 98-90. The card was promoted by Mario Margossian/Argentina Boxing Promotions.

New England heavyweight champion “Fly” Mike Marshall (6-1-1, 4 KOs) dominated Jose “Olympico” Corral (20-28, 12 KOs) from start to finish in a ten round main event headlining Saturday’s marathon Granite Chin Promotions doubleheader at New England Sports Center in Derry, New Hampshire. Scores were 100-89 3x. Corral was penalized one point for hitting behind the head. Marshall may next be fighting on the Fury-Wilder III card.

In the co-featured event, welterweight Denzel “Double Impact” Whitley (6-0, 5 KOs) knocked out Dewayne Wisdom (7-59-2, 3 KOs) via a single punch in round two.

Former WBA cruiserweight title challenger Junior “Hurricane” Wright (18-4-1, 15 KOs) scored a first-round TKO of Alfredo “Choncho” Trevino with a perfectly placed left hook to Trevino’s chin. Continue reading “Marshall dominates Corral”

Super lightweight Pedro “Roca” Campa (33-1-1, 23 KOs) overcame a closed right eye from a punch and a head clash in round one to break down and stop late sub Abimael Cruz (5-1, 5 KOs) in round six on Saturday night at La Ruina Park in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. The referee stopped the bout two minutes into round six to protect a defenseless Cruz.

Featherweight Sergio “Chirino” Sánchez (15-1, 9 KOs) made quick work of Adrián “Topito” Gómez (13-6, 8 KOs). A hook to the liver ended the fight at 1:22 of round two.

Lightweight Diego “Azabache” Torres (11-0, 11 KOs) knocked out Héctor “Ratón” Colín (15-11, 9 KOs) in round two.

Unbeaten lightweight Tyler “Short Fuse” Tomlin (12-0, 8 KOs) scored a fifth round KO over Ira Terry (27-17, 16 KOs) on Saturday night at the Oak Grove Racing and Gaming Hotel in Oak Grove, Kentucky. Terry started well, but Tomlin started going to the body and turned the tide. In round five, Tomlin caught Terry with several shots and put him down to end it. Time was 2:14.

In a clash of 300lb heavyweights, Alonzo “Big Zo” Butler (34-3-2, 25 KOs) lumbered to an eight round unanimous decision over Brandon “Big Bear” Spencer (9-20-3, 6 KOs) on Saturday night at the Crown Reef Resort in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Butler did more than Spencer in a slow-paced affair.

In the co-feature, unbeaten featherweight Carlos Vanegas (5-0, 4 KOs) won a six round split decision over Victorino Gonzalez (5-2, 2 KOs).

The best fight of the night was a four round draw between lightweights Anthony Savilla (2-0-1, 1 KO) and Julio Gomez (0-1-1). Bother fighters were down and hurt in a total slugfest. Promoter Christy Martin already has them lined up for a rematch.

Former welterweight contender Mikael Zewski (35-2, 23 KOs), now competing at junior middleweight, scored an eight round unanimous decision over Dilan Loza (15-5-1, 9 KOs) on Saturday night at the Stade IGA in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Scores were 78-73, 77-74 and 78-74. Much tougher than expected fight for Zewski, who was lucky to win. He seemed to injure his right hand and was often outworked by Loza. Zewski was returning to action 12 months after his KO loss to Egidijus Kavaliauskas in the Las Vegas Bubble.

Female light flyweight Kim Clavel (14-0, 2 KOs) scored a ten round unanimous decision over Maria Soledad Vargas (15-4-1, 1 KO) to win the WBC women’s silver title. Scores were 98-92, 99-91, 99-91.

Photos: Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME

Jake Paul 190 vs. Tyron Woodley 189.5

Amanda Serrano 124 vs. Yamileth Mercado 124
(WBC, WBO female featherweight title)

Daniel Dubois 238 vs. Joe Cusumano 235.5
Ivan Baranchyk 141 vs. Montana Love 140
Tommy Fury 179 vs. Anthony Taylor 175
Charles Conwell 153 vs. Juan Carlos Rubio 153.5

Venue: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, Ohio
Promoter: Most Valuable Promotions, Holden Productions
TV: PPV

Faceoffs

WBC #9, IBF #12, WBO #13 light heavyweight and former world title challenger Anthony “The Beast from the East” Yarde (21-2, 20 KOs) destroyed Alex Theran (23-4, 15 KOs) in one round on Saturday night at the Arena Birmingham in Birmingham, England. Yarde dropped Theran with a left hook in round one. Theran was up at nine, but moments later another Yarde left hook to the body laid out Theran for the count. Time was 2:32. With the win, Yarde remained on track for his rematch against Lyndon Arthur. More results…

IBF #8, WBO #9 cruiserweight Mateusz “Master” Masternak moved to 45-5, 30 KOs with a brutal third round KO over relative novice Felipe Nsue (4-2-1, 3 KOs) on Saturday night at the Amfiteatr nad Jeziorem Czos in Mragowo, Poland. A crushing right hand from Masternak laid out Nsue for the count.

Long time contender and multi-time world title challenger Miguel “Micky” Roman (63-14, 48 KOs) scored a fourth round KO over Sergio “Dandy” Puente (28-12, 12 KOs) in a lightweight bout on Friday night at the Gimnasio Municipal Josué Neri Santos in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. In round four, Roman caught Puente on the ropes and battered him to the canvas with a barrage of punches to end it. Time was 1:59. The card was promoted by Promociones del Pueblo.

Super bantamweight José “El General” Sanmartín (32-5, 20 KOs) defeated David “El Severo” Carmona (22-7, 9 KOs) by ten round unanimous decision on Friday night at the Foro Centenario in Mexico City. Sanmartín dropped Carmona en route to a 98-90, 97-91, 97-92 win to claim the WBA Fedecentro title.

In the co-feature, super welterweight Diego “Maravilla” Carmona (10-1, 8 KOs) beat Edgar “El Nene” Ortega (18-14, 11 KOs) by disqualification at 1:44 of the third round for a rabbit punch and a hook while falling.

In a brutal slugfest, two-time world title challenger Cesar “Corazon” Juarez (23-10-1, 19 KOs) ended the improbable win streak of WBA #8, WBC #15 featherweight Dennis “El Martillo” Contreras (24-11-1, 22 KOs) by taking a ten round unanimous decision on Friday night at the Whitesands Events Center in Plant City, Florida. Juarez was extremely aggressive, often preventing Contreras from getting the distance he wanted. He hurt Contreras in round two and battered him the entire round. Contreras’ best round was round eight, but Juarez put the heat on again in rounds nine and ten to pull away 96-94, 96-94, 97-93. Juarez wins the WBA Fedecentro featherweight title.

In other action, unbeaten heavyweight Stephan “Big Shot” Shaw (15-0, 11 KOs) needed just 102 seconds to knock out Nicholas Davis (6-3, 4 KOs).

Also, undefeated Top Rank welterweight prospect Omar “New Era” Rosario (5-0, 2 KOs) defeated Marc Misiura (2-2) by unanimous decision over four rounds (40-36 3x) and super welterweight Bryan “The Hunter” Polaco (5-0, 4 KOs) stopped Justin Gunter (2-2, 1 KO) in round five. Continue reading “Juarez ends Contreras win streak”

Super lightweight Steven Claggett (30-7-2, 20 KOs) scored a fourth round KO over Noe Emanuel Lopez (30-14-1, 14 KOs) on Friday night at the Holiday Inn in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. A left hook dropped Lopez to end it. Claggett had to cede 20% of his purse for missing weight.

Other Results:
Thomas Chabot KO2 Jesus Flores Herrera (super featherweight)
Avery Martin-Duval W4 Esteban Hernandez Arroyo (lightweight)
Mehmet Unal TKO3 Jair Sena (light heavyweight)
Angel Perez TKO2 Jesus Gonzalez (welterweight)
Chris Guerrero W4 Jose Bolanos (super welterweight)
Luis Santana W4 Jose Hernandez (lightweight)
Antonio Perez W4 Ismael Aviles (super lightweight)
Mark Smither W6 Roberto Robledo (super lightweight)
Mary Spencer KO1 Neftali Escobar (super welterweight)

The event was staged by Canadian promoter Eye of the Tiger Management (EOTTM), which brought a team of boxers to Mexico. EOTTM fighters went 10-0.

Heavyweight Dave “White Rhino” Allen (19-5-2, 16 KOs) returned with a second round TKO over journeyman Andrea Pesce (7-14-3, 2 KOs) on Friday night at the Ponds Forge Arena in Sheffield, England. Coming out of an 18-month retirement, Allen dropped Pesce twice.

In an upset, formerly world-rated Dante “Crazy” Jardon (34-7, 25 KOs) knocked out previously unbeaten local favorite Anthony Tomlinson (13-1, 7 KOs) in round nine of a welterweight slugfest. Tomlinson was a 10:1 favorite.

Pedro Campa 139.3 vs. Abimael Cruz 139.3
Sergio Chirino 125 vs. Adrián Gómez 125
Diego Torres 136 vs. Héctor Colín 134
Yahir Adame 133 vs. José López 135
Saúl Robles 126.5 vs. Brayan Zúñiga 125.7

Venue: Parque La Ruina, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico
Promotores: Zanfer, 2M Promotions
TV: TV Azteca (Mexico)

Ahead of this Sunday’s Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley PPV event, Paul’s head trainer B.J. Flores discussed Paul’s training camp, Sunday’s matchup and more with media members.

“Tyron poses a lot of threats,” said Flores. “He is definitely Jake’s most dangerous opponent. If you look back at history, no one is in there with killers at 3-0. Tyron is strong, explosive, quick twitch. For Jake to fight a guy like that in his third fight in the main event on a SHOWTIME PPV, it’s really incredible. Continue reading “B.J. Flores talks Paul-Woodley”

The road to one champion per division is becoming clear. The WBA today ordered a clash between WBA featherweight champion Leigh Wood and Michael Conlan. The fighters have a period of thirty days to negotiate a deal beginning August 28 and closing at the end of the business day on September 27. In the event an agreement is not reached, or if any of the parties expresses unwillingness to negotiate, the WBA Championship Committee may call a purse bid. If a purse bid is necessary, the split will be 55% to the champion Wood and 45% to the official challenger Conlan. The winner of this bout will be the mandatory contender of super champion Leo Santa Cruz.

The WBA Championships Committee is currently ordering a flurry of championship bouts and eliminators as the organization moves toward one champion per division.

Earlier today, the committee ordered a minimumweight eliminator fight between Nicaraguans Leyman Benavides and Byron Rojas. Benavides is the Gold champion of the pioneer organization, while Rojas is ranked number two. The fighters have a 30-day negotiation period. If no agreement is reached by September 26, or if any of the parties does not show willingness to close the negotiation, the committee may call the fight to purse bid with the split at 50% for each fighter.

Anthony Yarde 180.25 vs. Alex Theran 179.5
Akeem Ennis Brown 139.25 vs. Sam Maxwell 140
Anthony Cacace 129.6 vs. Leon Woodstock 129.3
Nathan Heaney 160.5 vs. ??
Liam Davies 124.5 vs. Raymond Commey 123.1
George Bance 146.25 vs. MJ Hall 145
William Hayden 139.5 vs. Dean Jones 137.4

Venue: Utilita Arena, Birmingham, England
Promoter: Queensberry
TV: BT Sport 1 (England)

Kim Clavel 107.8 vs. Maria Soledad Vargas 107.4
(WBC female silver light flyweight title)

Mikael Zewski 153.8 vs. Dilan Loza 153.4
Marie Pier Houle 146.6 vs. Jeanette Zacarais Zapata 143.4
Alexis Barriere (2-0, 2 KOs) 230.8 vs. Angel Gabriel Barron 225.8
Mazlum Akedniz 139 vs. Giovanni Martinez 135.8
Samuel Lajoie-Dery 145.8 vs. Patrick LaFleur 147
Petar Gavrilovic 173.4 vs. Ruben Mejia 176.8

Venue: IGA Stadium in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Promoter: GYM
TV: PPV

Featherweight Mauricio “Bronco” Lara (23-2, 16 KOs) says he will “destroy” former world champion Josh Warrington (30-1, 7 KOs) again when they meet at Emerald Headingley Stadium in Leeds next Saturday (September 4) on DAZN. Lara surprisingly upset the previously unbeaten Warrington in nine brutal rounds last February in London. The bout was meant to be a stay busy fight for Warrington, who had vacated his IBF belt with plans to fight then-WBA champion Can Xu.

“Warrington said that I got lucky,” said Lara. “Believe me. There’s no luck in boxing. I’ve never won anything with luck. I won with hard work and a lot of discipline. Of course, since I beat him I feel I’m the champion. Like they say in my town, I’m a champion without a crown. It sounds nice and I think I’ve earned it with hard work. I want to be number one in the world and I’m going to achieve that. Continue reading “Lara: I’m coming to destroy Warrington”