By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

WBO #2 light welterweight Liam “Prodigy” Paro (20-0, 13 KOs) returns to the ring against Steve “Timorese Terror” Gago (12-1, 5 KOs) on Saturday with the IBF International title and WBO Global titles up for grabs at the Eatons Hotel, Eatons Hill, Queensland, Australia.

Paro is coming off a seven round stoppage of Terry Tzouramanis in March. Continue reading “WBO #2 Liam Paro Returns Saturday”

Undefeated lightweight prospect, Ruben “Ace” Torres (11-0, 9 KOs) will headline Thompson Boxing’s “We. Are. Back.” card on Saturday, August 14th, 2021. Torres will be taking on Richard “Diamante” Zamora (19-4, 12 KOs) in a scheduled eight-rounder at the Omega Products International Event Center in Corona, California.

540 days after their last live event, this will be Thompson Boxing’s first show with fans in attendance.

Heavyweight Carlos Takam has fired a warning shot to Joe Joyce ahead of their heavyweight showdown on Saturday night, warning the British Olympian that he intends to put the first dent in his perfect professional record at the SSE Arena, Wembley.

Takam has the impression that he has been drafted in as ‘an opponent’ for Joyce to set Joyce up to face the winner of Anthony Joshua-Oleksandr Usyk for the WBO world title.

“Hey boy! What’s up Joyce?,” said Takam in a direct message Joyce. “I hope you are ready for this fight because I’ve come here to win. On Saturday you won’t beat me, I’m sorry. This is my time. This is Carlos Takam time and I’m going to beat your guy! Continue reading “What time is it? It’s Takam Time!”

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

This time I will tell you everything that our organization does the week before a main event.

The World Boxing Council is a non-profit organization that actively participates in a large number of events related to boxing cards that are held around the world.

On this occasion, we were in San Antonio, Texas, for the tremendous card in which the WBC, IBF and WBA world champion, Jermell Charlo, faced the WBO world champion, Brian Castaño, in what was the first undisputed championship in the super welterweight division, in the era of four belts. Continue reading “WBC Activities Towards a Title Fight”

By Jeff Zimmerman

Legendary boxing manager and promoter Jackie Kallen shares her illustrious and successful boxing life with Fightnews.com®. Kallen explains how she became the publicist of the famed Kronk Gym, where she first fell in love with boxing under the mentorship and tutelage of hall of fame trainer Emanuel Steward, plus her first interview with a young Thomas Hearns to managing future hall of famer James “Lights Out” Toney to his first world title in 1991. Kallen also reminisced on the golden age of boxing, the 1980s era of the “four kings” of Hearns, Leonard, Duran and Hagler which was recently chronicled in the Showtime sports documentary ‘The Kings’ and so much more in this exclusive interview.

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By Robert Coster

The Dominican Republic’s top promoter-Shuan Boxing Promotion is presenting two WBA interim world title bouts this coming Wednesday at the Pabellon de Volleyball, Centro Olimpico in Santo Domingo.

In the headliner, WBA interim super lightweight champion Alberto Puello (18-0, 10 KOs) defends his title against Jesus Antonio Rubio (13-3-1, 7 KOs) of Mexico.

The second title bout features Erick “Mini-Pacman” Rosa (3-0, 1 KO) facing Peruvian visitor Ricardo Astuvilca (21-0, 5 KOs) for the vacant WBA interim minimumweight belt. Continue reading “Two world title fights in DR Wednesday”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

WBO #1 light middleweight Tim Tszyu was a keen observer of the 154-pound title unification bout between Jermell Charlo and Brian Castaño, and he’s looking forward to WBO champion Castaño defending the title against him later in 2021.

“I thought Castaño won, but that fight is over now and I know I have the style to beat him. Like I said, I’m ready when he is and I believe I’ll stop him – he’s tailor-made for me,” Tszyu told commentator Ben Damon.

“As for Charlo, I honestly don’t know if we see him again at super welterweight. It’s a big risk that he will lose again so maybe he’s better off getting out of the division.”

In addition to being an unbeaten heavyweight contender, Joe Joyce (12-0, 11 KOs) is also an artist. This is a painting he made commemorating his knockout win over current WBA interim champion Danial Dubois last November. Continue reading “Joyce puts Dubois on canvas again”

WBA, WBC, IBF super welterweight world champion Jermell Charlo and WBO counterpart Brian Castaño both claimed victory after their bout to crown the first-ever undisputed 154-pound champion in the four-belt era on Saturday night in San Antonio, Texas.

Jermell Charlo: “I won this fight. I hurt him way more than he did to me. Castaño is a real warrior. But my power is serious at this weight division…he threw a hell of a lot of punches. My skills and my ability and my power – I felt like I won this fight and I deserve to be going home undisputed.”

Brian Castaño: “I won the fight. There were some rounds that he did hit me and he hit me hard. But I won this fight…I was hurt in the 10th round and I had to recoup. Same with the beginning of the 11th round. But I did enough to win this fight. I hope I get the rematch. He is a great fighter. I need the rematch.”

Wins Japan’s 140lb youth belt

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

In an encounter of unbeaten hard-punching national youth titlists, Jin Sasaki (11-0, 10 KOs), 140, came off the canvas twice before he wrested the Japanese youth super-lightweight belt by dispatching the defending titlist Kaiki Yuba (7-1-2, 5 KOs), 139.75, at 1:03 of the second session in a scheduled eight rounder on Saturday in Hachioji city, Tokyo metropolis, Japan.

It was truly a spectacular come-from-behind knockout displayed by the 19-year-old left hooker Sasaki. Continue reading “Unbeaten Sasaki finishes Yuba”

In a clash for the undisputed 154-pound world championship, WBC/WBA/IBF champion Jermell Charlo (34-1-1, 18 KOs) and WBO champion Brian Castaño (17-0-2, 12 KOs) battled to a twelve round split draw on Saturday night at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Charlo stunned Castaño in round two, but Castaño put a lot of pressure on Charlo and often outworked him. Charlo hurt Castaño in round ten and closed strongly. Scores were 114-113 Castaño, 117-111 Charlo. 114-114 draw. No undisputed champion.

Scoring Update: Steve Weisfeld (114-113 Castaño) gave Charlo 10-8 in round ten. Nelson Vazquez (117-111 Charlo) only gave Castaño three rounds. Tim Cheatham had it 114-114. All three gave Charlo the last three rounds.

According to CompuBox, Charlo landed 151 of 533 (28.3%) punches in the fight to Castaño’s 173 of 586 (29.5%). Castaño held a big advantage in power punches, landing 164 of 400 (41%) to Charlo’s 98 of 246 (39.8%) while Charlo had a significant margin in jabs, landing 53 of 287 (18.5%) to Castaño’s 9 out of 186 (4.8%).

World ranked super welterweight Serhii “El Flaco” Bohachuk, (19-1, 19 KOs) scored a first round KO over Brandon ‘The Business’ Baue, (16-24, 11 KOs) at the Rock Rapids Rumble in Rock Rapids, Iowa. Coming off a KO loss to Brandon Adams in March, Bohachuk took out Baue with a body shot.

Welterweight Ronald Cruz (18-1, 12 KOs) outpointed Chris Gray (13-23-1, 1 KO) over eight rounds. Scores were 79-73, 78-74, 78-74.

WBA interim lightweight champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero (14-0, 12 KOs) bludgeoned Anthony Yigit (24-2-1, 8 KOs) for seven rounds on Saturday night at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Late sub Yigit missed weight by 5 pounds. Romero dropped Yigit at the end of round five, moments after he had a point deducted. Romero then dropped Yigit twice more in round seven to end it. Time was 1:54.

“I won’t rate my performance but I got a vicious knockout and I hurt him multiple times in the fight. Every time I landed something, I hurt him,” said Romero. “The European style is always awkward and he was a bigger dude. He’s a 140-pounder. If I had those extra five pounds, I would have got him out of there earlier.

“He was hurt [in the fifth] but the bell rang so I didn’t have time to finish him. If I had that extra time, I would have got him. He was holding, he didn’t really want to engage because he was really hurt. He was scared.

“The punches he landed clean, I saw them coming. I have to work on more combinations. I had a bad camp – at the beginning I hurt both of my ankles and my right hand. I was in a car accident a week and a half ago. My body was still sore from that yet I still took the fight.

“I need to go to 140. It’s my natural weight class. I feel I’ll be a lot stronger. I was at 135 for, what, four years now? It’s about time I move up.”

In a total slugfest, unbeaten middleweight Amilcar Vidal (13-0, 11 KOs) escaped with a ten round majority decision against Immanuwel Aleem (18-3-2, 11 KOs). Aleem gave Vidal all he could handle. Scores were 95-95, 97-93, 97-93 for the A-side. Scattered boos from the crowd.

Unbeaten super welterweight Bakhram Murtazaliev (19-0, 14 KOs) outpointed Khiary Gray (16-6, 12 KOs) over eight rounds. Scores were 79-73, 79-73, 78-74.

Tonight at the Stade Roi Baudouin in Brussels, Belgium, WBA cruiserweight world champion and local favorite Ryad Mehry (30-1, 25 KOs) retained his title with an eighth round TKO over WBA #14 rated Zhaoxin Zhang (10-2-1, 6 KOs) of China. Mehry was in command all the way, dropping Zhang in round three. In round eight, Mehry floored Zhang again with a huge left hook. Zhang beat the count again, but the ref ruled he couldn’t continue. Continue reading “Mehry KOs Zhang, retains WBA cruiser belt”

IBF #14 light heavyweight Adam Deines (20-2-1, 11 KOs) was victorious when 41-year-old journeyman Bernard Donfack (23-27-4, 11 KOs) couldn’t continue after round four due to a shoulder injury on Saturday night at the Seebühne in Magdeburg, Germany. It was Deines first appearance after his game effort against WBC/IBF world champion Artur Beterbiev in Moscow last March.

In a rematch, light heavyweight Michael Eifert (8-1, 2 KOs) took a ten round majority decision over previously unbeaten Tom Dzemski (17-1, 10 KOs). Scores were 97-93, 97-93, 95-95. Eifert avenged a razor-thin majority decision loss to Dzemski last August.

Unbeaten heavyweight Peter Kadiru (11-0, 6 KOs) stopped 44-year-old Adnan Redzovic (21-6, 9 KOs) in round two.

Unbeaten cruiserweight Jurgen Uldedaj (14-0, 5 KOs) halted Dmytro Serguta (7-2, 7 KOs) in round seven.

While Manny Pacquiao is training with Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles, allies of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte have ousted “Pacman” from his position as leader of the country’s ruling PDP-Laban party. Pacquiao, who is a Philippine senator, and Duterte were once allies, but have been at odds in recent weeks. Pacquiao is considered to be a possible successor to Duterte in next year’s presidential election.

Heavyweight prospect Kristian Prenga (10-1, 10 KOs) of Albania returned to the ring with a first round knockout of local veteran Samuel Miller (34-24, 30 KOs) of Colombia. It was the first fight for Prenga since 2018. His corner was headed by his trainer and former amateur standout Don Somerville. Prenga showed no signs of ring rust immediately establishing his physical dominance from the opening bell. A very hard straight right hand delivered by Prenga sent Miller crashing to the canvas where he was counted out. The official time was 1:35 of round one.

The bout took place Saturday morning at the Polideportivo Luis Patron Tolu, Sucre, Colombia where there were Prenga supporters who made the trip to support him. Continue reading “Heavyweight Prenga returns with KO in Colombia”

World ranked super welterweight Serhii ‘El Flaco’ Bohachuk, (18-1, 18 KOs) makes his return to the ring tonight in an eight-round clash against Brandon ‘The Business’ Baue, (16-23, 11 KOs) at the Rock Rapids Rumble in Rock Rapids, Iowa.

After enduring his first loss as a professional to Brandon Adams in March, the 26-year-old Bohachuk looks to resume his career under the watchful eye of trainer Manny Robles. In preparation for tonight’s fight, Bohachuk has been sparring with world ranked contender Vergil Ortiz Jr. in Southern California.

The fight is promoted by 15 Rounds Boxing in association with 360 Promotions and Ural Promotions and will be broadcast globally on a $14.99 PPV.

Tonight at the Stade Roi Baudouin in Brussels, Belgium, WBA cruiserweight world champion and local favorite Ryad Merhy (29-1, 24 KOs) will make the first defense of his title tonight against WBA #14 rated Zhaoxin Zhang (10-1-1, 6 KOs) of China.

The top of the cruiserweight division is very wide open at the moment with no unified world champions. After successfully defending versus Zhang, Merhy is very much interested in becoming a unified world champion. Continue reading “Merhy eyes unification after tonight’s defense”

Panamanian referee Hector Afu will be the third man in the ring when Jermell Charlo and Brian Castaño meet today for the undisputed super welterweight world championship tonight in San Antonio, Texas. The judges will be Tim Cheatham (Nev.), Nelson Vazquez (P.R.), Steve Weisfeld (N.J.).

Charlo remains a -275 favorite to unify the WBA, WBA, IBF and WBO belts.

The co-feature clash between Rolando Romero and Anthony Yigit is still being billed as a twelve round WBA interim lightweight title fight, although Romero, who made weight, can’t lose the title, and obviously Yigit, who missed weight by over five pounds, can’t win the title.

The Showtime telecast starts at 9PM ET/6PM PT.

By Gabriel F. Cordero

46-year-old former two-division world champion Sergio “Maravilla” Martínez (53-3-2, 30 KOs) returns on September 18 against Brian Rose (32-6-1, 8 KOs), 36, in Valdemoro, Madrid in Spain. Martinez returned to the ring last year in Spain, winning both by knockout to earn a #3 ranking in the WBA at middleweight.

Promoter Frank Warren is doing a masterful job building a buzz for the heavyweight clash between Joe Joyce and Carlos Takam ahead of their July 24th clash at the SSE Arena in London. Joyce is a 10:1 favorite, but you’d never know.

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Former WBA gold super lightweight title challenger Yves Ulysse Jr (20-2, 11 KOs) scored a fifth round TKO over David Theroux (16-5, 11 KOs) on Friday night at the Centre Gervais Auto, Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada. Ulysse dropped Theroux in rounds two and five. Time was 1:11.

Other Results:
Clovis Drolet TKO3 Danyk Croteau (super middleweight)
Raphael Courchesne KO5 Larone Whyte (super welterweight)

Rising minimumweight prospect Melvin Jerusalem (17-2, 10 KOs) captured the OPBF minumumweight belt by dominating Toto Landero (11-6-2, 2 KOs) via unanimous decision over twelve rounds on Friday at the Tabunoc Sports Complex in Talisay City, Cebu, Philippines. Landero was tough and came in aggressive engaging Jerusalem in a rumble but Jerusalem was just to classy accurate. The fight went the full distance but showed Jerusalem the clear winner.

In the supporting bout, Dave Apolinario (15-0, 9 KOs) made a quick disposal of Charlie Malupangue (15-9-1, 8 KOs) by knocking him out in the third round earning him the WBA Asia super flyweight title. Continue reading “Jerusalem tops Landero for OPBF belt”

WBA featherweight champion Xu Can (18-2, 3 KOs) will defend his world title against Leigh Wood (24-2, 14 KOs) on the first week of Matchroom Fight Camp in Brentwood, Essex on Saturday July 31, live worldwide on DAZN.

Elsewhere on the card, unbeaten welterweight Conor Benn (18-0, 12 KOs) faces Adrian Grandos (21-8-3, 15 KOs) and former world title challenger Avni Yildrim (21-3, 12 KOs) aims to bounce back from his loss to Canelo Alvarez when he takes on ‘Little Lever’s Meat Cleaver’ Jack Cullen (19-2-1, 9 KOs),