WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (34-3-1, 29 KOs), hosted an international media conference call to discuss his upcoming defense against Canelo Alvarez (51-1-2, 34 KOs) on November 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

“I respect Canelo because he goes right now up two divisions,” said Kovalev. “This is a huge goal for him and also for myself. Canelo wants to try get my title in the light heavyweight division, and if he will not get the title nobody will say, ‘Eh you lose.’ He has nothing to lose. He’s just trying…if I lose, I lose more than Canelo loses. Canelo is trying to make his history but I’m here. I’m in my position.

“Of course, I should beat Canelo, and the next fight I will be open for a unification fight. Right now, I have my concentration and focus on the Canelo fight.” Continue reading “Kovalev: I should beat Canelo”

Belgian Ryad Merhy (28-1, 23 KOs) and Hungarian Imre Szello (24-0, 16 KOs) will fight for the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) interim cruiserweight championship this Saturday at the Spiroudome Arena, in Charleroi, Belgium.

Merhy, 26, already has experience in world championship fights. He won the right to fight for the interim title thanks to his position at the top of the 200-pound ranking. The Belgian of Ivorian origin will have a great chance in front of his audience in Belgium.

Zsello, on the other hand, occupies the fourth place in the ranking and has an undefeated career in four years. This will be the 36-year-old fighter’s first chance for a world title and also his first time fighting outside of Hungary.

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

Future Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao congratulated Collingwood Football Captain Scott Pendlebury on playing three hundred (300) AFL games before the game via video link-up. Pacquiao is Pendlebury’s favorite sportsman.

This was made possible by MP President Sean Gibbons and Peter Maniatis who organized the tribute. In return, Pendleburry will send his Collingwood playing jersey to Pacman in appreciation. Continue reading “Manny Pacquiao honored”

The good news is WBC/IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. has been released from Methodist Dallas Medical Center. The bad news is Dallas Police have charged Spence with driving while intoxicated (DWI), a class B misdemeanor. Spence was involved a fiery one-car crash in his Ferrari in downtown Dallas last week. The spectacular crash was caught on video and Spence, who wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, somehow came out of it with no life-threatening injuries or broken bones.

Mike Lemelle 152 vs. JA-Michael Wade 153
Kenneth Taylor 130.5 vs. Mario Franco 130.5
Christopher Jones 165 vs. Dennis Williams 168
Martin Prieto 139 vs. Jonathan Robertoson ?
Louis Webster 175 vs. Robert Hill 170.5
Darius Bagley 154 vs. Benjamin Gurment 153

Venue: Rodeo West Dallas in Dallas, Texas
Promoter: Wainright Productions (Krishna Wainwright), Casa De Boxeo 2.0, and Rodeo West Dallas
TV: Fite.tv

Artis Mack, brother of undisputed female middleweight champion Claressa Shields, has been charged with assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder for his alleged attack against trainer James Ali Bashir at the Claressa Shields-Ivana Habazin weigh-in in Flint, Michigan. The prosecutor has issued the following statement:

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton has charged a Flint man with assault for punching another man just prior to the scheduled weigh-ins of Claressa Shields and Ivana Habazin ahead of their scheduled boxing match that was ultimately cancelled.

Artis Jaquel Mack, 28 (d.o.b. 06/19/1991), is charged with one count of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder after he is alleged to have punched 68-year-old Bashir Ali James of Newark, New Jersey in the face from behind on October 4, 2019 at the Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center on Lapeer Road in Flint. James was transported to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit where he underwent surgery for his injuries. Continue reading “Charges filed in assault against trainer Bashir”

Photos: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

IBF light heavyweight world champion Artur Beterbiev and WBC light heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk ended their fight promotion obligations Wednesday at the office of Hall of Fame promoter J Russell Peltz. They posed for pictures in front of the fight poster for the legendary 1962 light heavyweight championship fight between Doug Jones and Harold Johnson, which took place at the old Philadelphia Arena.

Beterbiev and Gvozdyk will add to the city’s light heavyweight legacy Friday evening at the Liacouras Center, a throwback battle befitting a storied fight city. Before the two combatants posed for photos and faced off at Peltz’s office/museum, they participated in a media roundtable. This is what they had to say. Continue reading “Beterbiev-Gvozdyk Final Press Conference”

DiBella Entertainment Statement: Patrick Day passed away today, October 16, 2019, succumbing to the traumatic brain injury he suffered in his fight this past Saturday, October 12, at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL. He was surrounded by his family, close friends and members of his boxing team, including his mentor, friend and trainer Joe Higgins. On behalf of Patrick’s family, team, and those closest to him, we are grateful for the prayers, expressions of support and outpouring of love for Pat that have been so obvious since his injury. Continue reading “Patrick Day Passes”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos: Naoki Fukuda

2012 Olympic gold medalist and WBA middleweight champion, Japanese hero Ryota Murata will participate in his first defense since regaining his belt from Rob Brant, and will face #9 Steven Butler of Canada in Yokohama, Japan, on December 23. WBC 108-pound champ Ken Shiro will square off against IBF counterpart Felix Alvarado, Nicaragua, in a highly anticipated unification bout. Also, formerly three-class world champ Akira Yaegashi will have a shot at the IBF flyweight belt against Moruti Mthalane, South Africa, in an ambitious twelve rounder. The deluxe tripleheader was publicly announced by Teiken Promotions.

Photos

By Marco Bratusch

Two big offers shook the EBU offices in Rome, Italy, at today’s purse bid as former longtime WBO cruiserweight beltholder Marco Huck, 34, and 2016 Olympic silver-medallist destroyer Joe Joyce, 34, are set to collide for the vacant European heavyweight title.

Huck’s German venture Huck Service put in the envelope the amount of 480,000 Euros, topping another strong offer of 358,000 Euros made by UK’s Queensberry Promotions. The winning offer will have to be split 50/50, being the two men co-challengers after former titlist Agit Kabayel vacated. Continue reading “Huck-Joyce Purse Bid Results”

Wulan Tuolehazi 111.6 vs. Satoshi Tanaka 111.6
(WBA International flyweight title)

Xiang Li 107.1 vs. Ryu Horikawa 107.5
(WBO light flyweight youth title)

Ayati Sailike 120.7 vs. Hiroki Hanabusa 121.7
Yeshibolati Nasiyiwula Batbayar 139.3 vs. Yamato Watanabe 121.4
Lunjun Zhao 125.1 vs. Taichi Hanada 124.3
Yeerlan Nuerlanbieke 139.3 vs. Noboru Morita 139.1

Venue: Yangtze River Delta Roadshow Center in Shanghai, China
Promoter: Promoter Liu Gang/Max Power “Mission 23”
TV: CCTV5 361 degrees /Auswan Creek sponsoring

Odds have nudged slightly in the direction of WBC light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk (17-0, 14 KOs) since our first look at the odds earlier this week. Gvozdyk was previously a narrow -125 favorite to defeat IBF champion Artur Beterbiev (14-0, 14 KOs) in their unification clash on Friday night at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia.

However, most online sportsbooks now list Gvozdyk between -130 and-137. There’s not a whole lot to choose between the fighters. Both are undefeated. No common opponents in the pros. Beterbiev defeated Gvozdyk ten years ago in the amateurs. Gvozdyk has stopped 10 of his last 11 opponents, while Beterbiev has stopped all 14 of his foes.

ESPN will televise Gvozdyk-Beterbiev in the States, a showdown that for fight aficionados, is as good or better any of the recent boxing pay-per-views. Oddly, no UK platform has picked up the fight.

WBO flyweight champion Elwin “Pulga” Soto (15-1, 11 KOs) will make his first defense on Thursday, October 24 in Indio, California, and will have a tough challenger in undefeated Filipino southpaw Edward “Heneral Fighting” Heno (14-0-5, 5 KOs).

“We went to Cuba to do our camp and we feel very good,” said Soto. “My trainer Agustín Pacheco applied some adjustments in my boxing and we feel very comfortable. I have no doubt of a victory to validate that it was not by chance that I was crowned as world champion. If Acosta wants a rematch, we’ll give it to him, but first things first.“

On the same card, the fighter Soto dethroned, Angel “Tito” Acosta (20-2, 20 KOs), will also return. He faces Raymond Tabugon (22-10-1, 11 KOs).

All Star Boxing’s Tuto Zabala Jr. brings Boxeo Telemundo to the sold out Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino in Niagara Falls, New York, on Friday as the network continues its 30th anniversary fall series.

The main event is the latest battle in the classic rivalry between Puerto Rico and Mexico as Buffalo-based Boricua Emmanuel “Pinky” Colon (16-1-1, 15 KOs) faces Richard “Dinamita” Zamora (19-3, 12 KOs) of Monterey, Mexico, for a WBO regional jr welterweight title. Colon has an impressive record and believes he’s ready to step up to face tougher opponents. Continue reading ““Pinky” Colon debuts on Telemundo Friday”

As their home countries wage war against each other, neither Ukrainian WBC light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk (17-0, 14 KOs) or Russian IBF light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (14-0, 14 KOs) is focused on his opponent’s nationality. Instead, both fighters choose to focus on the man they will meet in the center of the ring at Temple University’s Liacouras Center on Friday. The winner will leave the ring as unified WBC/IBF world champion.

The hostilities between their home countries isn’t a topic that either Gvozdyk or Beterbiev is anxious to discuss. Continue reading “Gvozdyk and Beterbiev leave politics behind”

Lewis Benson will now take part in the super lightweight edition of the Golden Contract tournament at London’s York Hall on November 22. Benson (12-2, 2 KOs) stepped in following the withdrawal of Akeem Ennis Brown, who opted to instead bid for the British and Commonwealth titles.

The super lightweight edition of the tournament follows the featherweight quarter-finals that took place earlier this month and includes Benson, Tyrone McKenna, Ohara Davies, Zhankosh Turarov, Darren Surtees, Anthony Yigit, Mohamed Mimoune and Logan Yoon. Continue reading “Lewis Benson added to Golden Contract”

Six boxers with a combined overall record of 65-1 will make their ShoBox: The New Generation debuts on Friday, November 15 live on SHOWTIME from WinnaVegas Casino in Sloan, Iowa.

Undefeated welterweight prospect Erik Vega Ortiz (16-0, 9 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico will face 2016 Olympian and decorated amateur Alberto Palmetta (12-1, 8 KOs) of Argentina in the 10-round main event. Marcos Escudero (10-0, 9 KOs), also of Argentina, will take on Houston’s Joseph George (9-0, 6 KOs) in the 10-round light heavyweight co-featured bout. In the opener, Uruguayan knockout artist Amilcar Vidal (9-0, 8 KOs) will fight for the first time in the U.S. when he meets Zach Prieto (9-0, 7 KOs) of El Paso, Texas, in an eight-round middleweight bout.

The event is promoted by Sampson Boxing in association with Paco Presents.

Former two-weight world champion Carl “The Jackal” Frampton (26-2, 15 KOs) makes his long awaited return on November 30 at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas against unbeaten Tyler “The Golden Child” McCreary (16-0-1, 7 KOs) in a 10-round super featherweight contest (128lbs catchweight). Former super bantamweight and featherweight world champion Frampton is making his 2019 debut. He was scheduled to fight August 10 in Philadelphia against Emmanuel Dominguez but was forced to drop out the week of the fight after a concrete pillar fell on his hand at the fight hotel.

Frampton-McCreary will be the co-feature for former featherweight world champion Oscar Valdez who will make his super featherweight debut in a 10-rounder against former world title challenger Andres “Jaguarcito” Gutierrez.

After several years of a professional boxing drought in the Western New York (Buffalo/Niagra Falls region) All Star Boxing’s Tuto Zabala Jr. joined forces with Seneca Niagra Resort and Casino to bring the popular series Boxeo Telemundo to Niagara Falls. Two weeks before this Friday’s October 18 show, the tickets were already sold out. For first time in history at least one fighter in every fight on a nationally televised boxing event is from the Buffalo region. From the main event to the four round pro debuts.

In the main event, Emanuel “Pinky” Colon (16-1-1, 15 KOs) originally from Puerto Rico, now residing in Buffalo, NY takes on the slick and savvy Aztec warrior of Monterey, Mexico, Richard “Dinamita” Zamora (19-3, 12 KOs) in a ten-rounder. Continue reading “Telemundo Niagara Falls show SOLD OUT”

Tymex Boxing Promotion/Mariusz Grabowski presents championship boxing Saturday night in Lomianki, Poland. It’s a quick return for the promotion, who just did an event October 4th. The 10 round main event features local favorite Damian Wrzesinski (17-1-2, 5 KOs) who takes on battle-tested Miguel Cesario Antin (18-3, 8 KOs) of Argentina for the Republic of Poland international title. The site will be the Hala ICDS, ul. Staszica 2 in Lomianki, Poland and the event will be aired on PolSat Sport. Continue reading “Wrzesinski-Antin Saturday in Poland”

WBO welterweight champion Terence “Bud” Crawford will defend his world title against undefeated mandatory challenger Egidijus “Mean Machine” Kavaliauskas on December 14 at Madison Square Garden as part of a special ESPN-televised tripleheader that will immediately follow the 2019 Heisman Trophy presentation.

The other two fights will be IBF lightweight world champion Richard Commey defending his title against Teofimo Lopez, and featherweight Michael “Mick” Conlan against unbeaten Vladimir Nikitin in a rematch of their highly controversial 2016 Olympic quarterfinal bout.

Zanfer Promotions returns to the Casa Academia Zonkeys in Tijuana on Saturday where former world title challenger Carlos “Chema” Ocampo (25-1, 15 KOs) faces Adrián José “Morochito” Pérez (18-6, 13 KOs) in a ten round super welterweight clash. Azteca 7 will televise in Mexico. After losing his unbeaten record in June of last year against IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence, Ocampo moved up to the 154lb division where he has run off three straight wins.

As the main support bout, Zanfer has an eight round lightweight battle between Bryan “The Kid” Figueroa (16-1, 7 KOs) and undefeated Andrey “Fantasma” Robles (8-0, 4 KOs).

Unbeaten heavyweight contender Efe “The One And Only” Ajagba (11-0, 9 KOs) will battle Jack Mulowayi (7-1-1, 3 KOs) in a 10 round fight on October 26 shown live on Showtime from Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania.

The three-fight telecast features super welterweight contender Erickson “Hammer” Lubin facing Nathaniel Gallimore in a 10-round main event and former lightweight world champion Robert Easter Jr. making his super lightweight debut against veteran Adrian “El Tigre” Granados in the 10-round co-featured attraction.

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker has recovered from the suspected spider bite and forced him to withdraw from an October 26 showdown with former heavyweight challenger Dereck Chisora at the 02 Arena in London. ”Joseph would love to return before the end of the year, absolutely,” Parker’s promoter Dennis Higgins told Sky Sports.

“He’s in good spirits, he’s back in training. I saw the British media sort of mocked the spider bite thing, but the honest feeling for the doctors, we think it actually was a spider bite. I’m no expert, but it sort of destroys your immune system, your health. You are fatigued. He was ordered by medical professionals to stand down for three weeks. Make no mistake, we wanted to fight Chisora, we still do. We’ll just see what happens.”

The big fight this week features the much anticipated light heavyweight unification showdown between IBF champion Artur Beterbiev (14-0, 14 KOs) and WBC champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk (17-0, 14 KOs) on Friday night at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia. ESPN will televise.

The Teddy Atlas-trained Gvozdyk is a narrow -125 favorite, while Beterbiev backers can get +105.

“This could very well be the fight of the year,” says promoter Bob Arum. “These are two evenly matched, undefeated light heavyweight champions. There is nothing better in the sport of boxing.”