Unbeaten YouTuber Jake “The Problem Child” Paul and former UFC champion Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley went face-to-face and continued their war of words during a heated final press conference as the two fight camps nearly came to blows Thursday before they settle their rivalry in the ring this Sunday, August 29 headlining a SHOWTIME PPV from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.

“None of his accomplishments matter on Sunday night. I’m sending him into retirement and turning him into a meme,” – Jake Paul

“Jake does all the things to build the fight, but we’re really here now. He’s getting hurt on Sunday,” – Tyron Woodley

Here is what the press conference participants had to say Thursday. Continue reading “Paul-Woodley Final Press Conference”

By Boxing Bob Newman

Day 2 of the NABF Executive Committee meeting got up and running at 9:30 a.m., PST at the Westin Hotel in San Diego.

NABF/WBC ratings chairman Tommy Ashy opened with his report on the ratings. Ashy recapped the 17 divisions which the NABF rates. The ratings are compiled at the end of each month to coincide with the release of the WBC ratings. “The NABF is the only regional body that produces monthly ratings. The NABF works with all promoters to make their title fights. Duane Ford has been a great supporter of the ratings committee and sanctioning NABF title fights,” said Ashy. Activity in Canada and Mexico, as well as the United States has been growing. Continue reading “Closing day of NABF Executive Committee Meeting”

Queensberry today held the final press conference ahead of Saturday’s ‘Night of Champions’ card at the Utilita Arena, Birmingham, live on BT Sport 1. Internationally, the most interesting fight on the card is WBC #9, IBF #12, WBO #13 light heavyweight and former world light heavyweight title challenger Anthony Yarde (20-2, 19 KOs) against Alex Theran (23-5, 15 KOs) in a non-title ten rounder. Yarde, of course, gave then-WBO champ Sergey Kovalev all he could handle in August 2019. He is coming off a narrow split decision loss to WBO #1, IBF #4, WBC #6 Lyndon Arthur in December.

Anthony Yarde: “The biggest excitement for me is having fans back because they play such a part. It’s about entertaining so when you hear the crowd roaring it lifts you. We have made some tweaks but training has gone fantastic. I have always enjoyed a laugh and joke in training, but we know when it is time to be serious. I always enjoy the job. For me, the focus is Saturday because I have a decent opponent.” Continue reading “Anthony Yarde returns Saturday”

Better late than never. The New York State Boxing Hall of Fame (NYSBHOF) induction dinner, originally scheduled for April 19, 2020, has officially been rescheduled for Sunday afternoon, September 19 once again at Russo’s On The Bay in Howard Beach, New York.

The 28-member Class of 2020 will be honored at the ninth NYSBHOF induction dinner, which is sponsored by Ring 8. There will not be a Class of 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions that forced the event’s 2019 postponement until next month.

It is expected that, prior to the NYSBHOF induction dinner, New York City guidelines will mandate that all attendees must be vaccinated to attend indoor events. Continue reading “Finally. 2020 NYSBHOF inductions on Sept 19”

September 10 world title bout postponed

By Joe Koizumi

WBC light-flyweight champ Kenshiro Teraji (18-0, 10 KOs) was slated to make his ninth defense against #1 ranked compatriot Masamichi Yabuki (12-3, 11 KOs) in Kyoto, Japan, on September 10, but it was inevitably postponed because the champion tested positive in a COVID-19 PCR test. It was announced today (Thursday) by Shinsei Promotions. Teraji was put into quarantine at home, waiting for a medical order of the public health center. Reportedly the champ has a slight illness and will come back to training soon. We wish for his speedy recovery with his Yabuki defense to be re-scheduled early.

Unbeaten heavyweights Filip Hrgović (12-0, 10 KOs) and Marko Radonjic (22-0, 22 KOs) clash in a ‘Battle of the Giants’ on September 10 at the Wörthersee Stadium in Klagenfurt, Austria for the IBF International Heavyweight Title, live on RTL in Croatia and DAZN in over 170 countries and territories worldwide.

Hrgović, the 29-year-old from Zagreb, Croatia, returns to action following a knockout win over Rydell Booker on November 7 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

Radonjic, who is known as the ‘Montenegro Hammer,’ holds a record of 22 knockout wins from 22 contests. Continue reading “Hrgovic-Radonjic collide Sept 10”

Last time we saw former world champion Ivan Baranchyk in the ring, he was in the 2020 fight of the year against Jose “Chon” Zepeda. They say you’re never the same after a fight like the Zepeda-Baranchyk war.

On Sunday, Baranchyk (22-2, 13 KOs) will be in action against unbeaten Montana Love (15-0-1, 7 KOs) on the Paul-Woodley PPV. “I’m excited. I’m hungry and I’m ready for the next challenge,” said Baranchyk Wednesday.

“He’s never fought anybody like me. He’s never been ten rounds. I’m ready for a long-distance fight. Of course, he’s going to try to move around a lot and box me. But this is no problem for me. I’ve changed my style a little bit. I will try to show everybody the new Ivan Baranchyk.

“We will see what’s next for me. Right now, I just need to fight Montana Love. We will see what happens after that.”

Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach is looking to patch things up with undisputed super lightweight champion Josh Taylor. Roach posted the following on social media: “Let’s clear this up now before I lose a friend in @JoshTaylorBoxer. When I came into the media center on Friday, after Manny’s weigh-in, I was asked about Josh being Manny’s next opponent. I responded with, “Who’s Josh Taylor?,” because Manny has fought as a welterweight since 2009, with the exception of Margarito at super welterweight. The rest of my quote, which seems to have been buried, was: “We have never been offered that fight, no one’s ever talked about that fight. It’s not something that’s out there. Yeah, he’s a multi-time world champion, but it’s not something that’s been spoken about. So how can I give you a good answer? I can’t…of course, I know Josh. He’s my friend.”

Taylor wasn’t happy about Roach’s original comment, tweeting: “Absolutely no need for the disrespect from Freddie Roach, he knows fine well who I am. I have beaten him in the opposite and beat two of his former fighters after all. Wank stain.”

WBC/WBO female featherweight world champion Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano: “Jake Paul is the main event, but he’s not the main attraction. I am going to make sure I steal the spotlight from him and entice people to enjoy female boxing and to understand that women can fight and put on shows, and showcase that we’re deserving of this opportunity.”

WBA #1 rated heavyweight Daniel “Dynamite” Dubois (16-1, 15 KOs) makes his U.S. debut against Joe Cusumano (19-3, 17 KOs) on Sunday’s Paul-Woodley PPV.

“I want to show that I’m all action,” said Dubois Wednesday. “I’m not a man of many words, but when I get in that ring, they’re going to see that I’m the real deal. It’s going to be a devastating performance. I’m 23, so with that loss, I have just gotten stronger. I’ve had to learn to tighten up my game and that I have flaws, so I’ve just been working on that. This is going to be like my debut.

“I’m full of confidence and I’m ready to go right now. I can make this fight as easy as I want it to be in my opinion. I’m the next one coming through. I’m destined to be a world champion, that’s my goal.”

WBA welterweight super champion Yordenis Ugas spoke to the press Wednesday about his victory over Manny Pacquiao. “I want to thank the WBA for giving me the opportunity and allowing me to show who the champion is,” Ugas said.

When asked about Pacquiao’s recent statements hinting at the possibility of a rematch, Ugas said he’s all in. “I think Pacquiao has proven to be a competitor and a warrior, a legend. If he wants a rematch, it would be my pleasure. I’d be happy to give it to him. I think we would have more time to prepare. In Saturday’s fight, there were no advantages as we were both in the same condition. We could make many adjustments and give a better fight.” Continue reading “Ugas happy to give Pacquiao a rematch”

By Boxing Bob Newman

The opening session of the NABF Executive Committee meeting were held this morning at the Westin hotel in San Diego’s Gas Lamp Quarter. This was to have been an election year for the presidency of the NABF. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc around the world at large, a full convention was impossible to hold. Being that the elections are to be held during a convention, according to the NABF bylaws, the elections will be held next year at the 2022 convention.

NABF president Duane Ford opened the meeting with his own introductions of every board member and guests who were in attendance, noting their area of expertise and sharing little anecdotes along the way. Continue reading “Opening Day of NABF Executive Committee Meetings”

Ring legend Oscar De La Hoya poses in front of his statue outside the STAPLES Center in downtown Los Angeles. “The Golden Boy” will battle former UFC champion Vitor ‘The Phenom’ Belfort on PPV September 11.

“Call me crazy but I just miss it,” stated De La Hoya. “I missed getting hit and doing the hitting. I wasn’t ready to retire after I lost to Manny Pacquiao. I never felt like I was in wars so in boxing you’re just as old as how you feel.”

By Karl Freitag

WBA President Gilberto Jesús Mendoza addressed the major reforms the WBA is undertaking during a virtual press conference on Wednesday.

Mendoza confirmed that all WBA interim championship titles are withdrawn with immediate effect and the gold championship titlists will be inserted into the top 15 ratings. These changes will take effect in the next WBA ratings.

“At this point, the Championships Committee, headed by Mr. Carlos Chavez and the vice-chairman Julio Thyme, are working notifying promoters about these changes,” stated Mendoza. “This has to be part of our route to get one champion per division. We’re reducing all the championships. We accept the criticism of the media. We accept the criticism of the fans. And we have given priority to their thoughts.”

Mendoza also announced that Gary Shaw has been appointed as WBA presidential adviser and Chief-of-Staff of the WBA Directorate. Shaw was a long-time New Jersey Boxing Commission official, who then moved on to become a very successful boxing promoter with Main Events and his own company Gary Shaw Productions.

After an 18 month hiatus, Fight Club OC restarts Thursday in The Hangar at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, CA. And fans must be chomping at the bit as the show has been sold out for the past four weeks, and an SRO crowd of 1,348 will cheer six pro bouts and five fighters making their pro debuts. The show will be streamed live on fite.tv for $9.99.

Victor Rodriguez-Godinez 138 vs. Keith Carson 138.6
Jesse Gonzalez 155 vs. Steve Berry 153.6
Nick Patea 143.4 vs. Alberto Roma 146
Sonny Robledo 143.2 vs. Christina Marron 144.6
Richie Miranda 155 vs. Isaiah Culpepper 153.6
Cain Sandoval 136.6 vs. Lucnor Diserne 140.4

The World Boxing Association (WBA) decided to leave without effect the interim championships of the organization through a resolution published on Wednesday, August 25, while the Gold champions will now not appear “above the rankings” instead they will occupy a place in it among the rated boxers.

The decision was taken by the Championships Committee and is another step in the plan to reduce titles that was announced by the president of the organization, Gilberto Jesús Mendoza, a few weeks ago.

The now former WBA interim champions include Daniel Dubois (heavyweight), Robin Krasniqi (light heavy), Chris Eubank Jr. (middleweight), Alberto Puello (super lightweight), Rolly Romero (lightweight), Chris Colbert (super featherweight), Raeese Aleem (super bantamweight), Luis Concepcion (flyweight), Daniel Matellon (light flyweight), and Erick Rosa (minimumweight). Continue reading “WBA vacates ALL interim titles”

Eridson Garcia 129 vs. Armando Frausto 130
(NABF super featherweight title)

Winfred Harris, Jr. 163 vs. Vaughn Alexander 160
Robert Kevin Garcia 150 vs. Antonius Grable 148
Eugene Hill, Jr. 161 vs. Shane Hall 154
Luis Acosta 135 vs. Christian Danilo Guido 135
Pablo Cruz 130 vs. Jonathan Lecona Ramos 129
Eduardo Garcia 151 vs. Steven Andrade 149

Venue: Humble Civic Center, Humble, Texas
Promoter: RJJ Boxing
TV: UFC Fightpass

Women’s boxing star Claressa Shields was recently honored by her hometown of Flint, Michigan. City of Flint Mayor Sheldon Neely honorably renamed Spencer Street into Claressa Shields Street. The next step is to determine if it will be a ceremonial name change or an official name change. Ceremonial would mean adding Shield’s name to the existing name and official would mean the removal of the existing street name and replacing it with Shield’s name.

Shields (11-0, 2 KOs) is a two-time Olympic gold medal winner, three-division professional boxing champion, and the first fighter, male or female, to unify championships in two divisions.

By TMZ.com

WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo has been arrested … after cops say the boxing superstar melted down at a bar and stole money from a waitress, TMZ Sports has learned. The alleged incident all went down in San Antonio on July 16 — the day before Charlo’s brother, Jermell Charlo, fought Brian Castaño to a draw at AT&T Center. Continue reading “Jermall Charlo arrested”

Former world-title challenger Jesse Hart (26-3, 21 KOs) returns to Philadelphia to take on Mike Guy (12-6-1, 5 KOs) in an eight-round super middleweight battle on Friday, September 17th at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. The 32-year-old has twice battled for the WBO super middleweight championship only to fall just short to Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez.

In the co-feature, junior welterweight Samuel Teah (17-4-1, 7 KOs) takes on Larry Fryers (11-4, 4 KOs) in a bout scheduled for 10 rounds.

The event is promoted by RDR Promotions.

Malik Scott, the new head trainer of former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, says people have it wrong when it comes to “The Bronze Bomber’s ring savvy.

“They underestimate his IQ,” Scott told Sky Sports. “He is not some big, dumb guy who just throws a right hand. There is method to his madness. Deontay’s IQ is very high. I watch him create, watch him put himself in position, set guys up into surgical traps. Deontay will knock Fury out inside of five rounds.”

Wilder fights current WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury on October 9 in Las Vegas.

Details of the supporting cast to heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua’s IBF, WBA, WBO title showdown with Oleksandr Usyk at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 25 have been confirmed.

WBO cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie (16-0, 13 KOs) puts his world title on the line for the first time against his mandatory challenger Dilan Prasovic (15-0, 12 KOs).

Former WBA super middleweight champion Callum Smith (27-1, 19 KOs) returns at light heavyweight against Lenin Castillo (21-3-1, 16 KOs). Smith previously faced Canelo Alvarez in December. Continue reading “Okolie, Smith on Joshua-Usyk undercard”

Boxeo Telemundo closes their summer series this Friday with an exciting featherweight clash between former world title challenger and countryman Cesar “Corazon” Juarez (26-10, 20 KOs) and world-rated Dennis ”El Martillo” Contreras (24-10-1, 22 KOs) at the Whitesands Events Center in Plant City, Florida.

Juarez has fought and upset multiple fighters and brings a wealth of international experience to this fight. He dropped a valiant and respectable decision to then world champion Nonito Donaire in 2015. He still desires very much to again challenge for a world title and win it this time around. Contreras is on a hot win streak at the moment but Juarez wants to end it and begin his own championship run. Continue reading ““Corazon” Juarez debuts on Telemundo Friday”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Australian heavyweight champion Justis Huni (5-0, 4 KOs) has targeted New Zealand heavyweight Junior Fa (19-1, 10 KOs) for a bout in Australia or New Zealand according to Huni’s promoter Dean Lonergan. “What we are very keen to do is have Justis do what Joseph Parker couldn’t do, and that’s knock out Junior Fa,” Lonergan told Stuff. “If we could, we would put him in the ring with Joseph Parker right now, and we would be confident that he wins that fight too.” Continue reading “Huni-Fa in negotiation”

By Boxing Bob Newman

The NABF opened its Executive Committee meeting in San Diego Tuesday evening. The casual mixer, humorously coined the “Personality Improvement” session, was held in the Sierra Room at the Westin Hotel in San Diego’s historic Gas Lamp Quarter. Meetings will officially commence Wednesday morning, continuing throughout Thursday. An official dinner will be held Wednesday evening and on Thursday evening, a baseball outing will be enjoyed along with dinner atop Petco Park, where the Padres will host defending World Series champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The meeting will close Friday.

Photos