By Joe Koizumi

The unbeaten Shigeoka brothers will make their second defenses on the same bill in Nagoya, Japan, on March 31. WBC minimum champ Yudai Shigeoka (8-0, 5 KOs), 26, will risk his belt against Filipino ex-titlist Melvin Jerusalem (21-3, 12 KOs). Also, IBF 105-pound ruler Ginjiro Shigeoka (10-0-1NC, 8 KOs), 24, will put his belt on the line against Filipino puncher ArAr Andales (14-2-3, 6 KOs). Continue reading “Shigeoka brothers to defend belts together”

In a clash of unbeaten heavyweights, WBO #6, WBA #11, IBF #12, WBC #15 rated Fabio Wardley (17-0, 16 KOs) and 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Frazer Clarke (8-0, 6 KOs) will collide on Easter Sunday, March 31, at the O2 Arena in London. Wardley will be defending his British and Commonwealth titles. Sky Sports will televise in the UK and Ireland and Peacock in the USA.

Fabio Wardley: “I’m absolutely buzzing to be headlining what will be a massive show at the iconic O2 Arena, I’ve fought there a lot before so it’s like a home away from home for me. As a seasoned former Olympian, Frazer Clarke is definitely the most well-schooled boxer I’ll have ever faced, but there’s some lessons you can’t learn in school… And I’ve got more than enough firepower in my arsenal to lay him flat on his back, just like all my other opponents.”

Frazer Clarke: “Finally, the fight that I wanted and the fight that the British public wanted. The talking is over, it’s here. Headlining the O2 Arena for the British and Commonwealth Titles is something I’ve dreamed of. I’m ready to take out Fabio Wardley and bring the titles back to Burton upon Trent. There’s been a lot of back and forth but now we can settle it like men.”

The undisputed heavyweight championship clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk has been rescheduled for May 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The bout was pushed back from February 17 after Fury suffered a cut in sparring.

Former WBA super welterweight champion champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout defeated Luis “Baboon” Palomino via unanimous decision to claim the vacant BKFC welterweight world title on Friday night at the sold-out Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida. Judges scored it 49-45 across the board in favor of Trout, who dropped Palomino in the fourth round. Before running into Trout, Palomino was considered by many to be the pound-for-pound best among bare-knuckle fighters.

“This wouldn’t feel as good if it wasn’t against a prime champion like ‘Baboon.’” Trout said afterward. “I don’t think any win would be worthy of how I’m feeling now if it wasn’t against the king of BKFC … I’m going to be here for a long time, so get tired of me – I’m not going anywhere.”

Queensberry Promotions Statement: WBC Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury has been forced to postpone his fight with unified Champion Oleksandr Usyk after sustaining a freak cut during a sparring session in Riyadh.

The cut, which opened above Fury’s right eye, required urgent medical attention and significant stitching, and will obviously require a period of recovery, scuppering any possibility of the fight with Usyk taking place on 17th February in Saudi Arabia.

A spokesperson said: “Whilst this is still breaking news it is clearly a massive disappointment, after the work that has been done by so many people to finally deliver this historic event to the world. Once the Doctors have appraised Tyson’s eye, we will have a better idea of the period of recovery needed. Once known we will work diligently with all the stakeholders and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to reschedule this fight as soon as possible and will of course keep everyone updated with developments.” Continue reading “Fury injured, Usyk fight postponed”

The WBO World Championship Committee has ordered the commencement of negotiations for a clash between current WBO junior lightweight champion Emanuel Navarrete and #2 rated lightweight Denys Berinchyk for the vacant WBO lightweight title formerly held by Devin Haney. The parties have 15 days to reach an agreement. If an accord is not reached within that time frame, purse bid procedures will be ordered with a minimum acceptable bid of $150,000. Any of the parties involved may request a purse bid at any time during the negotiation process.

Cruiserweight contender “Bulletproof” Brandon Glanton (19-2, 16 KOs) scored a second round TKO against Emil Markic (35-5, 27 KOs) to claim the vacant WBO International title on Sunday night at the luxurious Casino de Deauville in Deauville, Normandy, France. Markic was cut by a second round head clash. After that Glanton upped the pressure and punished Markic, dropping him at the end of the round. At that point, Markic’s corner pulled their fighter out. Continue reading “Glanton crushes Markic in two”

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

In a slugfest, WBO #1, WBC #2 super middleweight Jaime Munguía (43-0, 34 KOs) scored a ninth round TKO against John “The Gorilla” Ryder (32-7, 18 KOs) on Saturday night at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Munguia dropped Ryder with a big right hand in round two. Munguia floored Ryder again in round four. Munguia dropped Ryder twice in round nine and Ryder’s corner threw in the towel. Continue reading “Munguia stops Ryder in nine”

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

It was Puerto Rico vs. Nicaragua as Boricua WBO minimumweight world champion Oscar “El Pupilo” Collazo (9-0, 7 KOs) stopped Reynaris Gutierrez (10-2, 2 KOs) on Saturday night at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. A crisp right by Collazo in the third round rocked Gutierrez. Collazo then dropped Gutierrez and got a referee’s stoppage with his follow-up barrage. Time was 2:37.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

WBC, WBA light flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji (23-1, 14 KOs), 107.5, barely retained his belts as he exchanged a knockdown with ex-WBA titlist Carlos Canizales (26-2-1, 19 KOs), 107.75, and finally eked out a majority decision over twelve grueling rounds on Tuesday in Osaka, Japan. The official tallies were as follows: Omar Mintun (Mexico), Jun-Bae Lim (Korea) both 114-112 for Teraji, Jeremy Hayes (Canada) 113-113. The referee was Luis Pabon (Puerto Rico).

It might be Teraji’s toughest bout in his career except his one and only losing fight to Masamichi Yabuki.

Teraji, a versatile boxer-puncher with good footwork and jabbing, started comfortably, and decked Canizales with a countering right midway in round two.

The Venezuelan, however, turned loose and had the Japanese reeling to the ropes to score a knockdown back in the third.

After that, it became a give-and-take war. Continue reading “Teraji edges Canizales, keeps WBC, WBA 108lb belts”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Japan’s Seigo Yuri Akui (19-2-1, 11 KOs), 112, wrested the WBA flyweight belt as he kept stalking the previously unbeaten defending champ Artem Dalakian (22-1, 15 KOs), 111.25, Ukraine, from pillar to post, winning a unanimous decision (116-112, 117-111, 119-109) over twelve speedy rounds on Tuesday in Osaka, Japan. Dalakian kept circling to display his fast footwork and versatile upper body mobility rather than throwing punches to the willing mixer. Each had a tough time catching and punching the contestant, but it was Akui that remained more positive and aggressive, throwing more punches to the opponent. It was a question why Dalakian paid too much respect to WBA#1 Akui’s vaunted power punching and failed to be more aggressive to win points enough to defend his belt. The referee was Gullermo Perez (Panama). Continue reading “#1 Akui dethrones WBA 112lb champ Dalakian”

By Robert Coster

Smooth boxing Dominican WBA minimumweight world champion Erick “Mini-Pacman” Rosa (6-0, 2 KOs) has renounced his title as he plans to move up to the junior flyweight class.

The baby-faced 22-year-old Rosa, who won the WBA belt in only his fourth professional fight, said “My body has grown and now my desire is to acquire world title belts in the 108 and 112lb divisions.”

Rosa vacated the “regular” version of the WBA belt, leaving “super” champion Thammanoon Niyomtrongtha as the sole WBA 105lb beltholder.

The heavyweight division will take further shape when WBO interim champion Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KOs) defends his world title against former world champion Joseph Parker (34-3, 23 KOs) on the March 8 Joshua-Ngannou undercard at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Zhang is coming off two consecutive KO wins over Joe Joyce in 2023, while Parker upset former WBC champion Deontay Wilder in December.

In other bouts:

• WBC featherweight champion Rey Vargas (36-1, 22 KOs) will make the first defense of his belt when he takes on #1 contender Nick Ball (19-0, 11 KOs).
• Unbeaten WBA #14, IBF #14, WBO #15 heavyweight Justis Huni (8-0, 4 KOs) will face TBA.
• Unbeaten lightweight Mark Chamberlain (14-0, 10 KOs) will challenge European champion Gavin Gwynne (17-2-1, 5 KOs).
• Cruiserweight Roman Fury (3-0, 1 KO), super welterweight Jack McGann (9-0-1, 6 KOs) and local super lightweight Ziyad Almaayouf (4-0, 1 KO) will also see action.

Lightweights Vasiliy Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs) and George Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs) will reportedly fight for the vacant IBF world title on May 12 at the 15,000-seat RAC Arena in Perth, Australia. ESPN announced that it will carry the fight, which will air on the night of May 11 in the U.S. It was also announced that the Moloney twins, Jason and Andrew, will appear on the undercard.

Unbeaten light heavyweight destroyer Artur Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) defended his unified WBC/WBO/IBF world titles with a brutal seventh round KO against former super middleweight champion Callum “Mundo” Smith (29-2, 21 KOs) on Saturday night at the Videotron Center in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Smith boxed smartly but Beterbiev’s powerful punches caused damage whenever they landed. Beterbiev battered Smith in round four but Smith rallied later in the round. Beterbiev continued to punish Smith, who showed a great fighting heart. Beterbiev finally dropped Smith twice in round seven. After the second knockdown trainer Buddy McGirt entered the ring to stop the fight in case Smith would have beat the count. Time was 2:00.

WBO bantamweight champion Jason “Mayhem” Moloney (27-2, 19 KOs) scored a hotly contested twelve round majority decision over Saul Sanchez (20-3, 12 KOs) on Saturday night at the Videotron Center in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Close rounds with both fighters having their moments. Brutal toe-to-toe exchanges down the stretch. Scores were 114-114, 116-112, 116-112. Great fight!

Unbeaten WBC #1, WBA #1, IBF #3, WBO #5 super middleweight Christian Mbilli (26-0, 22 KOs) impressively scored a sixth round TKO over tough as nails Rohan Murdock (27-3, 19 KOs) on Saturday night at the Videotron Center in Quebec City, Quebec Canada. It was a firefight from the opening bell with Mbilli steadily breaking down the rugged Murdock. By round five it was target practice for Mbilli. Murdock gamely came out and finished round six before his corner pulled him out of the fight. Another impressive performance for Mbilli, who is knocking on Canelo’s door.

Unbeaten light heavyweight Imam Khataev (6-0, 6 KOs) stopped Michal Ludwiczak (17-13-1, 9 KOs) in round two. Khataev dropped Ludwiczak in the second stanza and got a referee’s stoppage with his follow-up barrage. Time was 2:17. Khataev claimed the NABF title with the win.

Other Results:
Leila Beaudoin W8 Elizabeth Chavez (female super featherweight)
Wilkens Mathieu W4 Jose Arias Alvarez (super middleweight)
Mehmet Unal TKO1 Dragan Lepei (light heavyweight)
Christopher Guerrero W8 Sergio Herrera (welterweight)
Moreno Fendero KO1 Victor Hugo Flores (super middleweight)

By Jeff Zimmerman

The legendary Fernando Vargas, at his new Las Vegas gym, shared his relationship with the Garcias, especially Robert’s and Mikey’s dad, “El Jefe.” He talked about his relationship with his three fighting sons, Fernando Jr, Amado and Emiliano and how he never wanted them to box. Vargas also showed love for his fans and gave his thoughts on Spence Jr fighting again and much more in this Fightnews.com® exclusive.

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Two of the three Vargas Bros, Fernando Jr and Amado plus Gabriel Flores Jr. talked about their careers and the family atmosphere at the new gym of Fernando Vargas in Las Vegas where they teach boxing and jujitsu. The Vargas brothers talked about getting to the sport late as they were standout athletes in other sports whereas their youngest brother, Emiliano, started around 10 years old and is signed by Top Rank. Flores Jr was the youngest signee by Top Rank at 16 and is still only 23. All three are expected to fight March 16 at the Stockton Arena in Stockton, CA where Flores Jr is a hometown hero. The show will be promoted by G-SQUAD Entertainment run by Flores Jr dad and trainer, Gabriel Flores Sr.

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Former unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. is recovering from surgery to his right eye to remove a cataract.

Spence stated on Instagram, “Had to get cataract surgery. It’s been past due. Sh*t was covering my eye…why you think I got hit with so many jabs ‘n hooks? Still a great performance by bro.”

The surgery obviously throws a wrench into Spence’s contractually mandated rematch with Terence Crawford.

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

Undefeated knockout artist Vergil Ortiz, Jr. (20-0, 20 KOs) scored a first round TKO against Fredrick “General Okunka” Lawson (30-4, 22 KOs) on Saturday night at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. Now competing at super welterweight following 17 months out of the ring, Ortiz, looked to let out some ring rust, connected early in the first with a short left that staggered Lawson. Continuing to attack, Ortiz followed up with a series of unanswered punches as Lawson shelled up. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in too early, prematurely stopping the fight at 2:43 of the first, drawing a reaction of boos from the crowd. Following the fight, Ortiz went on to call out WBO super welterweight champion Tim Tzsyu.

In the co-feature bout of the evening, Venezuela’s Ismael Barroso (25-4-2, 23 KOs) scored a first round knockout over Ohara “Two Tanks” Davies (25-3, 18 KOs). A counter left dropped Davies early on. He got up and Barroso sent him to the canvas a second time. He got up once again but was unresponsive forcing the referee to stop the fight at 1:53 of the first round. The 40-year-old Barroso wins the WBA interim super lightweight title.

WBO #1 super lightweight Arnold Barbosa Jr. (29-0, 11 KOs) of El Monte returned to the ring in his Golden Boy Promotions debut to stop Xolisani Ndongeni (31-4, 18 KOs) of Eastern Cape, South Africa in eight. Continue reading “Ortiz halts Lawson, Barroso destroys Davies”

Popular 140lb contender Ryan Garcia has switched gears on a fight against WBC super lightweight champion Devin Haney, which the two had been talking up in recent weeks. Garcia announced on social media Saturday that he instead plans to challenge WBA super lightweight champion Rolly Romero.

Ryan Garcia: “I’ve notified my team I’m going a different route. My intent now is to fight Rolando Romero. I pray my team backs me on this decision. Oscar make this fight happen. THATS THE MOVE. BIGGER FIGHT, BIGGER BUSINESS…After what happens to Rollies, the Dev fight will be there and even bigger. Everyone critiquing now will end up seeing it was a better move. Plus he can go fight Richardson Hitchens. Go do your 30k PPV buys. I don’t need you Dev, you need me.”

Devin Haney: “Don’t ever mention my name p*ssy boi.”

Ryan Garcia: “You’ll be back.”

Meanwhile, Romero tweeted a homemade Rolly-Kingry fight poster with the hashtag #Spring2024

A fight between former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and former MMA champion Francis Ngannou is a done deal. The bout will be a ten round boxing match taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The fight was confirmed on the social media feeds of his Excellency Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority. There will be a press conference in London to officially announce the event including the date and other particulars.

BetOnline.ag was quick to set odds for the bout. Joshua isn’t nearly as big of a favorite as Fury was against the former UFC champion, but he’s still favored, and the odds are on the move.

Fight Odds
Anthony Joshua -500 (1/5)
Francis Ngannou +325 (13/4)

The odds initially opened at Joshua -275 (4/11) and Ngannou +215 (43/20), but all of the early money coming in is on Joshua.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

WBA super flyweight champ Kazuto Ioka (31-2-1, 16 KOs), 114.75, displayed his career best performance in finishing Venezuelan Josber Perez (20-4, 18 KOs), 114.75, at 2:44 of the seventh round to keep his WBA belt for the first time on Sunday in Tokyo, Japan.

Having dethroned Joshua Franco after renouncing his WBO belt, Ioka impressively made his first defense by dropping WBA#6 Perez on three occasions. Ioka, 34, remained more aggressive than usual from the outset, and had him absorb much punishment especially at the breadbasket. The fifth witnessed Ioka floor him at first with a body bombardment and again with a solid overhand right. Perez, 28, was saved by the bell. Ioka, in the fatal seventh, again accelerated his attack upstairs and downstairs, and finally scored a beautiful right to send him sprawling to the deck. The referee Jerry Guzman, Puerto Rico, tolled the fatal ten.

Ioka is still willing to face Juan Estrada with both WBC and WBA belts at stake. Continue reading “Ioka demolishes Perez, keeps WBA 115lb belt”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

“Monster” Naoya Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs), 121.75, impressively collected the four championship belts as he, WBC, WBO titleholder, finally caught up with WBA, IBF ruler Marlon Tapales (37-4, 19 KOs), 121.5, and dropped him with a devastating right for the count at 1:02 of the tenth round on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan.

Inoue, in round four, floored Tapales with a solid combination of a left-right followed by a vicious left hook, and we thought it would be a matter of time for the Monster to finish it soon. But Tapales survived and displayed his gameness and durability to make it a longer fight than expected.

The tenth, however, witnessed Naoya turn loose and connect a direct strong right without a left lead, which had Tapales reeling backward and down with the ropes behind him. The Filipino southpaw was unable to beat the count. Continue reading ““Monster” Inoue becomes undisputed 122lb champ”

Former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) stopped Otto Wallin (26-2, 14 KOs) after five one-sided rounds in the main event of the super card on Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Joshua, rated WBO #1, WBC #2, IBF #3 looked sharp as be battered and bloodied IBF #2, WBC #9, WBO #12 Wallin. AJ rocked Wallin in round five and Wallin stayed on his stool after the round.