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IBF junior welterweight champion Liam Paro (25-0, 15 KOs) will make the first defense of his world title against Richardson Hitchins (18-0, 7 KOs) on Saturday, December 7 at the Roberto Clemente Coliseo in San Juan, Puerto Rico, live worldwide on DAZN. Paro returns to the island where he ripped the world title from hometown star Subriel Matias. Hitchins became the mandatory challenger by edging out Gustavo Lemos.

Liam Paro: “All the so-called big guys at 140lbs lost their tongues so I decided to bring on my mandatory defense early against Hitchins and clear the path for 2025. I can’t wait to fight and show again why I’m the top guy at 140! I’m coming to shine again in beautiful Puerto Rico!”

Richardson Hitchins: “For as long as I can remember, I’ve been telling anyone who would listen that I’m the best 140 lbs fighter on the planet. On December 7, I finally get the chance to solidify that. Hats off to Liam Paro, he beat the so-called boogeyman of the division, but I ain’t Subriel Matias. He’s never been in with a fighter like me before. He didn’t want this fight, and it’s for good reason.”

“This is my division. I am the man at 140 and once I get this belt, I’m bringing it back to New York and everything runs through me. And the new!”

A stacked undercard in support of the World championship main event will feature the very best in Puerto Rican talent, led by a mouth-watering Super-Featherweight clash between Henry Lebron and Christopher Diaz.

Lebron (19-0 10 KOs) returns to his homeland for the first time in five years and does so in the biggest night of his career, as the #4 in the IBF looks to press his claims for World title action in 2025 with a big win over a domestic rival and pick up the vacant IBF Latino title in the process. Diaz (29-5 19 KOs) sits pretty at #7 in the WBA, has already tasted World title action and is hungry to do so again, and ‘Pitufo’ puts his WBA Continental Latin America title on the line in a pivotal clash for the immediate futures of both.

“I am very happy with this opportunity to fight again in Puerto Rico in front of my people,”: said Lebron. “This is going to be a great card. We are ready to give a great show. I am counting on all my Puerto Rican Fans!”

“As a proud Puerto Rican, fighting in front of my countrymen on December7 means everything to me,” said Diaz. “There’s no greater feeling than representing my people and putting on a show for them. I’m coming into this fight fully prepared, and I’m ready to leave it all in the ring against Henry Lebron. This is for Puerto Rico, and I won’t let them down.”

Puerto Rican Olympian star Yankiel Rivera returns to action as he makes it back to back fights in his homeland. Rivera (6-0 2 KOs) continued his impressive start to life in the paid ranks with victory over Victor Sandoval on the undercard of Paro’s win over Matias, a sixth success as a pro for ‘El Doctorcito’ and now the 27 year old will be looking to end 2024 with a bang and set up a big 2025, with World title ambitions at the forefront of his mind.

“Just over two years ago, I made my professional debut,” said Rivera, whose opponent will be announced soon. “It has been a tough road full of worthy opponents. I feel that my time has come. We are very close to that World title shot I’ve been dreaming of since I was a little kid. Last June, we packed Manatí. On December 7, we are packing the legendary Roberto Clemente.

“It will be a great honor for me to fight in the same venue where so many great ones have fought, including Trinidad and Gómez. We are going to be in top shape come fight date, and I am giving my people the show they deserve. I want all those great, loyal and knowledgeable Puerto Rican fans to be there for a great night of boxing. It will be a boxing night to remember. I see you there, Puerto Rico!”

There is so much exciting action in store on December 7, and Jalil Hackett will aim so show once again that he has no fear in the infancy of his career as he travels to Puerto Rico for a title defense. Hackett (9-0 7 KOs) was impressive in a big step up to win the WBA Continental Americas Welterweight title on his Matchroom debut against Peter Dobson in July, and ‘Major’ will defend that title in another real test against Puerto Rico’s former amateur standout Jose Roman (13-1 6 KOs) on December 7.

Marc Castro (13-0 8 KOs) is back in the ring after headlining the unique Riyadh Season fight week event at Santa Monica pier in July, and the Fresno talent will be matched over ten rounds at Lightweight as the amateur standout continues to make waves in the pro game.

Stephanie Pineiro (7-0 2 KOs) was impressive in Manati in June where she landed the WBA Continental America and WBO International Welterweight titles against Diana Castro, and the Puerto Rican will end 2024 over eight rounds against an opponent to be announced soon.

There is another fight where undefeated records are on the line as Puerto Rico’s Juan Zayas (10-0-1 8 KOs) takes on Dominican Marcelino Nieves (19-0 13 KOs) over eight rounds at Bantamweight and Matchroom’s Puerto Rican talent William Ortiz (6-0 4 KOs) faces fellow unbeaten Puerto Rican Lionell Colon (6-0 3 KOs) over eight rounds at Super-Lightweight.

“We are thrilled to be back in Puerto Rico with a brilliant main event and stacked undercard,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “Liam was sensational when he ripped the strap from Subriel in June in a career-best performance against one of the most avoided fighters in the sport. Liam was happy to take on that challenge, and he’s happy to take on another difficult but very different challenge in Richardson. I’m fascinated to see how this fight plays out, and while it’s never easy to pit two of our fighters against each other, this is exactly what should be happening in the game – the best versus the best – and for both men it’s the chance to back up what they both say – that they are the man at 140lbs.

“The atmosphere in June in Manati was electric from the opening bell to the end, and we’ve got an undercard line-up that will have the fans on the edge of their seats like that once again. Lebron-Diaz will be a war, Yankiel is ready for a World title and he’ll show that in December, while Jalil has to be commended for taking on another challenge at such a young age.

“It’s action-packed from the opening bell to the last, and we can’t wait to close our 2024 in style in Puerto Rico.”

“It’s a great honor for me to have the opportunity to partner with Eddie Hearn and our friends at Matchroom to bring World championship boxing to Puerto Rico, where we’re combining the best boxing from Puerto Rico with the best boxing in the world,” said Javier Bustillo, Universal Promotions CEO. “I’m grateful with the Puerto Rico Tourism Company and the Municipality of San Juan, who did not hesitate to join us and support this event. It will be a great night of boxing from Puerto Rico to the whole world.”

WBC cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian (27-2, 12 KO) will next defend his title against mandatory challenger Ryan Rozicki (20-1, 19 KO). The fight was scheduled to take place in June but was postponed due to Mikaelian’s injury. The fight was rescheduled for September 28, but due to health problems of legendary promoter Don King, the fight could not take place on that night. The WBC will now hold a purse bid for the rights to this important fight, on Friday, October 4 at noon in Mexico City.

By Bob Caico

Mikiah Kreps 122.4 vs. Mayerlin Rivas TBD
(WBA Fedelatin bantamweight title)

Gerffred Ngayot 136.2 vs. Wilfredo Flores 135.6
Alexander Castellano 122.8 vs. Dominique Griffin. 121.4
Spencer Wilcox 140.4 vs. Da Shaun Johns 142.2
Michael Vega 141.6 vs. Chris Ortiz-Velez 142.6
Joseph Mesi 242.2 vs. Michael Shaw 221.4

Venue: Seneca Niagara Casino, Niagara Falls, NY
Promoter. All Star Boxing
TV: ESPN Knockout (Latin America)

Before Australian super welterweight Tim Tszyu arrived stateside in Las Vegas for training camp to prepare to take on unbeaten IBF world champion Bakhram Murtazaliev, the former WBO 154-pound champion held his customary pre-camp in Thailand where he was joined for the first time in years by his father, International Boxing Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu.

“It was a good bonding experience,” said Tim Tszyu. “Straight after my last fight I asked him to get some work in, and I didn’t think he’d actually say yes, but he did. We reconnected and it was a good experience that was years in the making. It was good to connect as father and son, and as a fighter.” Continue reading “Tim Tszyu reunites with Kostya Tszyu”

Unified WBO/IBF middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly (15-0, 10 KOs) and challenger Andrei Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KOs) both made weight for Friday’s middleweight championship fight at the Star in Sydney, Australia. Alimkhanuly weighed 159.5 lbs, while Mikhailovich scaled in at 159.9 lbs. Alimkhanuly and Mikhailovich were previously scheduled to fight in July, but Alimkhanuly was forced to withdraw prior to the weigh-in.

Janibek-Mikhailovich will top a special early-morning world championship card streaming live and exclusively on ESPN+ in the U.S. with fights starting at 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT.

Update: The WBO has now sanctioned Janibek-Mikhailovich. Originally, the bout was sanctioned only by the IBF.

On November 16, the Saudi capital Riyadh will host the “Latino Night,” to be broadcast free to boxing fans worldwide. DAZN will stream the major fight night globally for free, with additional broadcasters in the region to be announced soon. The event will feature a unification battle between WBA cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and WBO cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith.

Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez: “I will become the first Mexican cruiserweight unified champion. It’s exciting because my dream will come true this November 16. I’ve been putting everything into training, a lot of work, hard work. Thank you, everyone.”

Chris Billam-Smith: “I’ve been written off many times before. Last time out against Richard Riakporhe. I was going into his backyard, his soccer stadium, and it was all about him, and it was his night, and I went and scored the party, and unfortunately for the Latinos, on November 16, I’ll be doing exactly the same again.”

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In the co-main event, former unified champion and U.S. Olympian Jose Ramirez will face WBO #1 Arnold Barboza Jr. in a 12-round lightweight WBO title eliminator.

Jose Ramirez: “It’s time for me to make a statement. And this is one of those fights where I’m gonna make a statement and get those belts back…Barbosa says he’s been chasing the fight since 2019. Now that he stands in the way for me to reclaim my titles it’s time to get that fight on.”

Arnold Barboza Jr: “I’ve been wanting this fight since 2019 for whatever reason it never happened. I’ve tried every form, you know. I called him out so many times…like I said, this fight is personal. You know, I’m coming with everything.”

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

I finally returned from a long trip on which I visited London and Madrid with wonderful results.

On one hand, I was present at a majestic boxing event at Wembley Stadium, when the attendance record was broken with 96 thousand fans, and on the other hand, I was where it all begins, in the boxing gyms of Madrid. It was a sensational trip in many ways. I held important meetings with Lennox Lewis and Adrian Ogun, officially presented her green and gold belt to our women’s champion, Caroline Dubois, spent a good time with WBC representatives Geraldine Davies, David Walker, and Ciro Orcini, and had a wonderful meeting with HE Turki Alalshikh and Sela with formidable plans for 2025.

Spain is a very important country for the World Boxing Council, a founding member of the body in 1963, headquarters of the presidency of the European Boxing Union for several decades under the leadership of Don Ruben Martinez, and host country of several annual conventions, in addition to some great champions in history: Jose Legra, Pedro Carrasco, Perico Fernandez, Miguel Velazquez, and the Lince de Parla, Javier Castillejos. Continue reading “The Return of Boxing in Spain”

Undefeated lightweight Joshua James Pagan (10-0, 4 KOs) will now take on veteran Haskell Rhodes (31-6, 16 KOs) in a newly announced main event in the next edition of “Big Time Boxing USA” at the iconic Coca-Cola Music Hall in San Juan, P.R., on Friday, October 18.

The Oklahoma native and Las Vegas-trained Rhodes, 36, steps in for Trevor Thonson, who faced travel issues forcing him to pull out of the scheduled 10-round bout that will air live globally on DAZN.

Looks like WBA lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) will face WBA super featherweight champion Lamont Roach Jr. (25-1-1, 10 KOs) next. Davis-Roach will likely land on December 14, possibly in Houston. Official announement to come soon.

Former world champion Sunny Edwards and 2020 OLympic gold medalist Galal Yafai faced off at the kickoff press conference ahead of their all-British flyweight clash on November 30 at BP Pulse LIVE in Birmingham, England, shown live worldwide on DAZN.

Sunny Edwards: “I’ll be real, I really like Galal. We’ve spent a lot of time sparring, we’ve spent time on Team GB together, and even when he’s your rival because he’s getting picked for stuff over you, it’s not really about that. I’ve had a good relationship with Kal, Gamal said a few things on social media whether he’s trying to get in my head or sell the fight, or just let me know that he doesn’t like me, it doesn’t really matter to me, the fight is between me and Galal, we’re representing the Edwards name and the Yafai name.”

Galal Yafai: “Do you think I’m going to allow Sunny to come to Birmingham and just run rings around me? And do you think he’s just going to let me pressure him and beat him up? It’s not going to happen, we’re both going to do what we can to win…trust me, I do not want to Sunny, and he doesn’t want to lose to me.”

Iwao Hakamata finally declared not guilty in retrial

By Joe Koizumi

It was a very sad story which, however, eventually turned dramatic and heart-warming in the end. Having been detained 48 years, former boxer and ex-convict on death row Iwao Hakamata, 88, was finally sentenced not guilty in a long-awaited retrial at the Shizuoka District Court in Japan on Thursday. It was in 1966 that he, an employee, was arrested and accused of murdering four persons of the employer’s family. It was the time that boxing itself was discriminated as poor people’s hungry sport and participants were also looked down by society. Hakamata was once forced to confess to have committed a murder due to the severe torture by the prosecutor twelve hours every day for nineteen days straight.

His elder sister Hideko, 91, had repeatedly appealed to the court that Iwao should not be guilty thanks to the nationwide support including warm and strong cooperation of former OPBF champ Shosei Nitta, then the secretary general of the JPBA (Japan Professional Boxing Association, that is, the club owners union) and other ex-boxers such as Satoshi Iida, Hiroyuki Sakamoto, Yutaka Manabe, etc. They battled against the discrimination to boxing and fought against injustice forced on Hakamata. Continue reading “The “Japanese Hurricane Carter” is vindicated”

The undercard is coming together for the October 26 Hollywood Fight Nights event presented by Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions at the Commerce Casino Events Center in Los Angeles, California. In the main event, undefeated IBF #13, WBC #15 featherweight Omar Trinidad, (16-0-1, 12 KOs) makes the second defense of his WBC Continental Americas title against IBF #4 Hector ‘La Maquinita’ Sosa, (17-2, 9 KOs) over twelve scheduled rounds.

Welterweight Gor Yeritsyan (18-1, 14 KOs) returns to action in an eight-round bout against an opponent to be named. The Freddie Roach-trained Yeritsyan was scheduled to face Mylik Byrdsong who was tragically shot and killed Sunday night in Los Angeles. Byrdsong will be honored on October 26 with a ceremonial ten-count. Continue reading “Oct 26 Commerce Casino card shaping up”

Undefeated heavyweight Tsotne “Mr. T” Rogova (10-0, 7 KOs) passed the toughest test of his career, winning a ten round unanimous decision over Alexander “The Great” Flores (19-5-1, 17 KOs) on Saturday night at Pacific Palms Resort in City of Industry, California. Rogova captured the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) U.S. heavyweight title by scores of 99-90, 97-92, 96-93.

Unbeaten cruiserweight Dusty Hernandez Harrison (37-0-1, 23 KOs) won by third round knockout against Darin Austin (11-2, 8 KOs) on Saturday night at the Patapsco Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. Harrison, 198, dropped Austin for the count with a hard right hand. Time was 3:00.

In the co-feature, welterweight Rashad Kilpatrick (8-3, 3 KOs) scored a six round unanimous decision over Devonta Jones (3-4, 3 KOs). Both fighters were down in a good scrap. Scores were 57-55, 57-55, 58-54.

Multi-division former world champion Terri Harper (15-2-2, 6 KOs) dethroned WBO female lightweight champion Rhiannon Dixon (10-1, 1 KO) by ten round unanimous decision on Saturday night at the Canon Medical Arena in Sheffield, England. Scores were 96-94,97-93, 97-93. Harper has held world titles at super featherweight, super welterweight and now lightweight.

Super bantamweight Peter McGrail (10-1, 6 KOs) knocked out former British and Commonwealth 122lb champion Brad Foster (15-4-2, 5 KOs) in round two with a body shot. The bout was for the WBA International title.

2020 Olympic flyweight gold medalist Galal Yafai moved to 8-0, 60 KOs with a third round stoppage of journeyman Sergio Orozco Oliva (9-9, 7 KOs). Yafai is now slated to face former world champion Sunny Edwards later this year.

The bout between undisputed female super featherweight champion Alycia Baumgardner (15-1, 7 KOs) and former world champion Delfine Persoon (49-3, 19 KOs) ended in a no-contest on Friday night at Lux Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. The bout was stopped in round four due to a cut suffered by Persoon that was caused by an accidental head clash. Since the bout didn’t go the full four rounds, the result was a no-decision. Baumgardner remains undisputed WBC/WBA/IBF/WBO champion.

In a grudge fight, former champion Mikaela Mayer (19-2, 5 KOs) dethroned WBO female welterweight champion Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) by majority decision on Friday night inside The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City. Good two-way action all the way. Early on, the aggressive Mayer took the fight to Ryan, connecting with punches but also getting hit. Ryan came on down the stretch, but it was too little, too late. Scores were 95-95, 97-93, 96-94.

There has been bad blood between the camps in the lead-up to the fight. Earlier, on her way to the fight, someone threw red paint on Ryan. Mayer denied any involvement.

In other action, WBO #3, WBC #6, IBF #7 junior middleweight Xander Zayas (20-0, 12 KOs) scored a one-sided ten round unanimous decision over Damian Sosa (25-3, 12 KOs). Zayas in command all the way but Santiago toughed it out for the full distance. Scores were 100-90 3x.

Unbeaten WBA #1, WBC #2, WBO #2, IBF #8 featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (13-0, 8 KOs) got past Sulaiman Segawa (17-5-1, 6 KOs) in a slow-paced fight. Scores were 95-95, 97-93, 97-93. Continue reading “Mayer dethrones Ryan, Zayas wins”

Former WBC flyweight champion Charlie Edwards (20-1, 7 KOs) claimed the European bantamweight title with a twelve round unanimous decision over reigning champion Thomas Essomba (13-9-1, 4 KOs) on Friday night at the famed York Hall in London. Scores were 117-111, 116-112 and 118-111.

By TMZ

Devin Haney’s clearly still not over how his superfight with Ryan Garcia went down earlier this year … as TMZ Sports has confirmed he’s now suing the star boxer over it all. The 25-year-old pugilist filed the lawsuit against his nemesis in New York on Friday … alleging Garcia committed battery and fraud in the leadup to — and during — their big April 20 tilt at Barclays Center.

You’ll recall, Garcia won the fight after knocking down Haney multiple times … but the outcome was later ruled a no-contest after officials said Garcia had Ostarine in his system.

Haney said if he had known Garcia had ingested the performance-enhancing drug prior to stepping into the ring … he wouldn’t have agreed to the fight. Therefore, he says he never consented to being on the wrong end of Garcia’s punches. Continue reading “Haney Sues Kingry for Battery & Fraud”

LeAnna Cruz 115 vs. Mailys Gangloff 114.8
(WBA Continental super flyweight title)

Matthew Gonzalez 141.6 vs. Patrick Okine 141.6
Daiyann Butt 141.5 vs. Travis Castellon 141.2
Francisco Rodriguez 135 vs. Travion Butts 134
Haven Brady Jr. 132.8 vs. Nicolas Polanco 132
Shera May Patricio 113.4 vs. Magnanamay Delgado Baez 112
Johanna Wonyou 122.8 vs. Josefina Vega 116
Brendan O’Callaghan 158.4 vs. Rahiem Cooke 159

Venue: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Promoter: KOhen Promotions (Kali Reis)
Stream: BXNGTV.com

Tsotne Rogava 252.6 vs. Alexander Flores 269.9
(WBC US heavyweight title)

Paolo Barredo 125.2 vs. Mychaquell Shields 124.9
Jesse Zuniga 145.7 vs. Oscar Trujillo Enriquez 146
Sonny Robledo 142.6 vs. Matt Gaver 144
Alejandro Alvarado 136.7 vs. Eduardo Mondragon Lopez 135.5
Michael Bracamontes 133.6 vs. Arsen Poghosyan 131.9
Hector Oros 115.4 vs. Alexander Robles 115.9
Enkhmandakh Kharkuu 113.9 vs. Richard Morales 116

Venue: Pacific Palms Resort, City of Industry, California.
Promoter: Toro Promotions

Undefeated and world-rated super lightweight “Marvelous” Mykquan Williams (21-0-2, 10 KOs) will be featured in the co-main event on DiBella Entertainment’s “Heroes on the Hudson 2” on Wednesday, October 23, from The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Williams, who is managed by Hall of Famer Jackie Kallen, will defend his WBA Continental Americas gold title against Lavisas Williams (10-1-1, 3 KOs).

This latest edition of Broadway Boxing will be a special event honoring veterans of the United States Armed Forces in advance of Veterans Day. IBF female bantamweight champion Miyo Yoshida headlines the card, making the first defense of her belt in a rematch against Shurretta Metcalf.

Two-time middleweight world champion Gennadiy Golovkin has been appointed Chair of a new Olympic Commission by the World Boxing, the international federation established to try to ensure that boxing remains a part of the Olympic Movement.

Golovkin, 42, also the current President of the National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan and 2004 Olympic silver medalist, will work closely with World Boxing’s leadership to manage the organization’s relationship with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and oversee the pathway to ensuring that boxing is restored to the sport program for the Los Angeles 2028 Games. Continue reading “Golovkin to head Olympic Commission”

Sandy Ryan 146.6 vs. Mikaela Mayer 146.8
(WBO female welterweight title)

Xander Zayas 153.4 vs. Damian Sosa 153.6
Bruce Carrington 125.8 vs. Sulaiman Segawa 123.8
Vito Mielnicki Jr. 153.8 vs. Khalil El Harraz 152.4
Floyd Diaz 117.8 vs. Mario Hernandez 117.2
Elvis Rodriguez 142.8 vs. Kendo Castañeda 142
Tiger Johnson 140.8 vs. Yomar Alamo 140.2
Rohan Polanco 143.4 vs. Marcelino Lopez 143

Venue: The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City
Promoter: Top Rank
TV: ESPN

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Former WBC strawweight champion Ricardo “Finito” Lopez (professional 51-0-1, 38 KOs; amateur 40-0) from Mexico, 58, revisited the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday after he captured the belt from Hideyuki Ohashi, now 59, thirty-four years ago. Finito, from the ring, said to the audience, “This is the Hall where I won the belt. I never forget this place with my deep nostalgia. It is truly my great pleasure to come back here and to be celebrated by Mr. Ohashi, Naoya Inoue and Japanese people like this.” It was an emotional moment that the WBC special belts for their reunion were awarded to Finito Lopez and Ohashi as well. The Hall resounded with the applause of the audience. They remembered the good old days and their historical encounter in 1990. Continue reading “Finito Lopez “This is the Hall I won the belt””