Fightnews.com

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

It was sweet revenge in the rematch as super middleweight Bektemir Melikuziev (12-1, 9 KOs) from Uzbekistan avenged his only defeat against Gabriel Rosado (26-17-1, 15 KOs). Bek the “Bully” came out cautious not bullying his way in the opening round as Rosado worked with the jab sizing up Melikuziev. It was cat and mouse in the second, as Bek stalked and Rosado kept his distance boxing patiently. Drawing boos from the crowd in the third, fans began to show their impatience as Rosado and Melikuziev boxed cautiously. Bek began to let loose in the fourth as he backed Rosado and stalked most of the round. In the fifth, Bek connected with some hard shots as he backed up Rosado.

Past the halfway point in the sixth, Melikuziev kept pressing as Rosado appeared to be on the defensive in keeping his distance backing up. Melikuuziev was the aggressor late in the fight in the seventh as he began to live up the bully moniker backing Rosado and connecting big punches. Bek kept backing Rosado in the eighth and continuing to land the bigger punches. It was all Bek in the ninth as he kept pressing and backing Rosado, the veteran showed some elusiveness dodging a few of Melikuziev’s wild shots. Being the aggressor and busier fighter, Melikuziev finished strong as Rosado held on and showed his veteran grit in going the distance ten rounds.

After completing ten rounds, all three judges scored the bout 99-91.

Opening the Davis-Garcia pay per view, 19-year-old middleweight Elijah Garcia (15-0, 12 KO’s) of Phoenix won a hard-fought unanimous decision over Mexico City’s tough Kevin Salgado (15-1-1, 10 KO’s). It was a slow and patient opening round for Garcia as he lurked behind the jab and later connected Salgado with a straight left. Things picked up in the second as Garcia and Salgado mixed it up. Salgado was not holding back as he stood in the pocket with Garcia in round three. Swingy wildly and missing in the fourth, Salgado kept pressing but Garcia stood poised and mixed it up. Coming up on the halfway point in the fifth round, referee Robert Hoyle warned Salgado to pick up the punches for a low blows a pair of times. Continue reading “Tank-Kingry undercard”

WBA #2, WBC #7, IBF #12 heavyweight Martin Bakole (19-1, 14 KOs) stopped previously unbeaten Igor “Hulk” Shevadzutskiy (10-1, 8 KOs) in round three in the Babic-Rozanski co-feature on Saturday night at the G2A Arena in Rzeszów, Poland. Bakole dropped Shevadzutskiy with an uppercut/left hook in round two and then battered him for the rest of the round. The referee waved it off in round three. Shevadzutskiy protested to no avail. Time was :45.

Cruiserweight Michal Cieslak (24-2, 18 KOs) scored a fourth round KO over Dylan Bregeon (12-3-1, 3 KOs) to claim the European tile. Bregeon down twice.

Heavyweight Jeamie TKV (5-0, 3 KOs) dismissed Michał Boloz (5-5-2, 5 KOs) with a body shot in round two.

Light heavyweight Steed Woodall (18-1-1, 11 KOs) edged Boris Crighton (10-3, 7 KOs) over eight round 77-75 3x.

Super featherweight prospect George “El Yuyu” Acosta (15-1, 2 KOs) outpointed Cesar Villarraga (10-7-1, 5 KOs) over eight rounds in the main event on Friday night at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California. Scores were 80-72, 80-72, 78-74.

In the co-feature, super featherweight Rigoberto Hermosillo (12-4-1, 9 KOs) topped Ezequiel Caro (9-5, 4 KOs) over eight rounds by scores of 78-73, 78-73, 79-72.

Gervonta Davis 135.1 vs. Ryan Garcia 135.5
(136lb catch weight, non-title)
Note: Both fighters exchanged quick shoves during the face-off before being separated.

David Morrell 167.8 vs. Yamaguchi Falcao 166.4
(WBA “regular” super middleweight title)

Gabriel Rosado 167.3 vs. Bektemir Melikuziev 167.3
Elijah Garcia 159.2 vs. Kevin Salgado 159.3

Fiodor Czerkaszyn 159.1 vs. Elias Espadas 158.9
Vito Mielnicki Jr 153.1 vs. Jose Sanchez Charles 154.3

Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
Promoter: TGB Promotions
TV: Showtime PPV

By David Finger

It’s a common occurrence whenever old-time boxing fans get together: reminiscing about the little-known undercard fighter who they saw on some club show who would go on to become a world champion. Here in New Mexico old-time boxing fans in Albuquerque will mention the time a 19-year-old Floyd Mayweather Jr. came to Tingley Auditorium to take on a little-known journeyman in his second professional fight in 1996. And maybe, just maybe, old time boxing fans in Hobbs will share a similar story in the next twenty-five years as one of the Southwest’s most talented prospects stops off in Lea County this Saturday at Club La Sierra.

Undefeated lightweight Abel Navarrete Jr. (8-0, 6 KOs) of Amarillo, Texas headlines a card promoted by Isidro Castillo and School of Hard Knocks Boxing in a six-round bout against Aaron Martinez (5-1, 3 KOs) of Santa Fe. Continue reading “A Navarrete headlines in Hobbs, NM”

Alen Babic 210.75 vs. Lukasz Rozanski 222.25
(WBC bridgerweight title)

Martin Bakole 280.6 vs. Ihor Shevadzutskiy 276.9
Mical Cieslak 198.9 vs. Dylan Bregeon 198.6
Jeamie TKV 259.5 vs. Michal Boloz 223.1
Boris Crighton 170.4 vs. Steed Woodall 172.8

Venue: G2A Arena, Rzeszow, Poland
Promoter: KnockOut Promotions
TV: Sky Sports (UK)

Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov 129.7 vs. Joe Cordina 129.1
(IBF super featherweight title)

Sandy Ryan 146.6 vs. Marie Pier Houle 145.9
Gavin Gwynne 134.2 vs. Craig Woodruff 133.15
Zelfa Barrett 129.1 vs. Jason Sanchez 128.10
Jordan Thompson 199 vs. Luke Watkins 198
Skye Nicolson 127.15 vs. Linda Laura Lecca 125.3
Brandon Scott 129 vs. Reynaldo Cajina 133.11
Nathan Howells 132 vs. Jahfieus Faure 130
Sammy Lee 193 vs. Juris Zundovskis 179.5
Miles Gordan-Darby 240.2 vs. Phil Williams 262

Venue: Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff, Wales
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN

Unified WBA/IBF world super bantamweight champion Marlon Tapales and WBO minimumweight champion Melvin Jerusalem met with Philippine President Ferdinand “BongBong” Marcos Jr. in a courtesy call yesterday at the Malacañang Palace.

The two boxers were joined by JC Manangquil of Sanman Boxing, Sean Gibbons of MP Promotions and Nobuyuki Matsuura of Zip. It has been a long time wish for Tapales to meet the president in person and he got his wish. Jerusalem also dreamed of meeting the president whom he greatly supported in the last elections. They were also joined by trainers Michael Domingo and Ernel Fontanilla.

“This is all like a dream to me. Winning two belts. Receiving a hero’s welcome. And finally meeting the President. I cannot wait to meet my family and homefolks as I go home to my town. Then I want to go back to training,”Tapales stated.

“Mystic” Zach Hirsch recently interviewed unbeaten Boxing Hall of Famer and legendary former five-division world champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather (50-0).

His thoughts on influencer fights.

People all over the world want to be entertained, why not? You got people from all walks of life getting involved whether it’s MMA, boxers, or YouTubers. I’m all for it.

On what motivates him to keep training after all he has accomplished in boxing.

My philosophy is never stop gettin’ it. If you can recall, everybody in the boxing world was saying Floyd was tarnishing his legacy. Everybody knows what I always said: currency over legacy. But now everybody is getting involved in exhibitions. At first it was tarnishing my legacy and hurting boxing and now everybody is doing it. When you’re the first you always take a lashing. It is what it is. Continue reading “Interview Floyd Mayweather”

Undisputed lightweight champion Devin “The Dream” Haney (29-0, 15 KOs) talked about his May 20 PPV clash against former three-division champion Vasiliy “Loma” Lomachenko (17-2, 11 KOs) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

“I know he’s training for a dirty fight,” stated Haney at Thursday’s media workout in Las Vegas. “He wants to get in and get as dirty as possible in the clinch. That’s what I’ve heard that he’s training for. We’re just preparing for whatever he brings to the table. We know the type of fight that he wants.

“I’m happy that finally I get my shot at him. The tables have turned. It feels good that the tables have turned. Now I’m the guy giving him the shot. I’m happy that I get to prove myself.”

Undefeated archrivals Gervonta “Tank” Davis and “Kingry” Ryan Garcia went face-to-face for the first time during fight week at Thursday’s final press conference before they meet this Saturday in a SHOWTIME PPV production from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Gervonta Davis: “I touch that jaw and I’m telling you, you’re going to sleep. I’ll probably break your jaw.”

Ryan Garcia: “Everything is coming to a halt for you on Saturday night. You’re gonna learn the hard way.”

Continue reading “Tank-Kingry Final Press Conference”

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

Our beloved uncle Toño, Don Antonio Esper, has gone into the path of no return, he was my father’s best friend, confident and advisor, his presence at WBC conventions and events was always felt and his sweet smile and joy for life had an effect in the way that we all want to live our lives.

A full church, with people of all ages, thus demonstrating that his mark was left in the hearts and minds of several generations of the habitants of Ciudad Valles. Our family traveled from far and wide to say our final earthly goodbye to this charismatic tremendous man, leader and friend. He was a great son, husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and father-in-law. God greet him, and draw him close in his holy glory.

This Saturday one of the most anticipated fights will take place, Gervonta Davis vs Ryan García, at T Mobile, in Las Vegas. It is necessary to praise all this involved in making g this fight happen, it was not easy but the promoters, managers and networks put their minds in the right position in order to give the world this popular fight at the right moment. Continue reading “Remembering Uncle “Toño” Esper”

Conor Benn Statement: “Another day, another attempt to create a headline with my name…I am involved in a confidential procedure and I have respected my confidentiality obligations. Yet each day brings a new leak and a misrepresentation of what’s actually happening. There is no news. Being “charged” is a start of a process by which an athlete has to defend themselves. I have not been sanctioned by anyone and I’m not banned from boxing. I remain free to fight in events that are not sanctioned by the BBBoC. I don’t even have a BBBoC license.”

Statements released by UK Anti-Doping regarding Conor Benn:

A UKAD spokesperson, said:

“Following a public consultation in late 2020, and having considered the results of that consultation, UKAD’s Board decided in February 2021 that UKAD will not routinely publicly disclose the fact that an athlete has been charged or provisionally suspended before a charge has been resolved. However, it was also recognized that there might be limited and rare examples where it is appropriate to do so in ‘exceptional circumstances’, as set out in UKAD’s Policy on Public disclosure of provisional suspensions and charges available here.

“Following reports in the media and comments made by professional boxer Mr Conor Benn on Tuesday 18 April 2023, and in exceptional circumstances, UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) confirms that Mr Benn was notified and provisionally suspended by UKAD on 15 March 2023 in accordance with the UK Anti-Doping Rules. Whilst provisionally suspended Mr Benn is prohibited from participating in any capacity (or assisting another athlete in any capacity) in a competition, event or activity that is organized, convened, authorized or recognized by the British Boxing Board of Control or any other World Anti-Doping Code-compliant sport. Continue reading “UK Anti-Doping suspends Conor Benn”

World-ranked super lightweight Batyr Ahkmedov was incensed when he heard the news on Wednesday that WBA champion Alberto Puello had tested positive for clomiphene, a performance-enhancing drug, and would be stripped of his title. “We fought for the title last August and I knew something was off in the fight,” said Akhmedov, (9-2, 8 KOs), lost a split decision to Puello for the WBA title. “I thought I was winning the fight and hitting him with the harder punches, he was just trying to survive. But in life, things like this usually catch up to you. I hope that justice will be served and I can fight for the world title again soon.

“Our fight was the last fight for both of us and looking back on it now, I’m very suspicious about what might have taken place. I’ve fought in hundreds of amateur and professional bouts and can see when another boxer just doesn’t look right.”

IBF super featherweight champion Shavkatdzhon Rakhmiov and challenger Joe Cordina faced off at the final press conference ahead of their world title fight on Saturday night in Cardiff, Wales. The bout can be seen on DAZN.

Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov: “I’m born ready. I have a very good team with me. I have a great, the best coach in Freddie Roach. We know the key to the victory and we will prove it on Saturday. We will just show it in the ring on Saturday.”

Joe Cordina: “Yeah, of course. People ask me, What do you think of him? He’s a world champion at the end of the day.. He’s tough. He’s strong. He’s fit. But you’ve got to have that little bit more and I just don’t believe he has it to beat me. But we will see on Saturday.”

Super welterweight Angel “Relampago” Ruiz (18-2-1, 13 KOs) knocked out 41-year-old former world champion Luis Collazo (39-9, 20 KOs) in the sixth round on Wednesday night at the ProBox Events Center in Plant City, Florida. Ruiz, 25, dropped Collazo twice in round three. A body shot put Collazo down for the count in round six. Time was :32.

Collazo, who took the fight on short notice, announced his retirement after the fight. “For boxing I’m done,” said the former WBA welterweight king. “This is the end for me now. Ruiz did what he had to do and came out with the victory. I give them credit and wish him nothing but the best. Now I will get to spend more time with my family and with the grandchildren.”

* * *

In a battle between unbeaten welterweights, Vadim Musaev (6-0, 5 KOs) scored a first round TKO against Martin Alvarez (7-1, 6 KOs). A left hook dropped Alvarez and after he wobbled after regaining his feet, the bout was waved off by the referee. Time was 2:03. Musaev was the silver medal winner at the 2021 World Amateur Championships.

In a clash between unbeaten super bantamweights, Jose “Chapulin” Salas (12-0, 9 KOs) scored a ten round unanimous decision over 2008 Olympian Prince “Octopus” Dzani (23-1, 19 KOs). Salas dropped Dzani in round nine en route to a 100-89 3x shutout.

WBA super lightweight champion Alberto Puello has reportedly failed a VADA test and his scheduled defense against Rolly Romero on Showtime May 13 in Las Vegas is off. Puello allegedly tested positive for the banned substance clomiphene. Showtime still plans to go ahead with the telecast as of now, possibly with Romero now taking on WBA #1 Ismael Barroso for the vacant title in the event Puello is stripped.

IBF super featherweight champion Shavkatdzhon Rakhmiov does pad work with Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach during his open workout ahead of his defense against Joe Cordina this weekend in Cardiff, Wales.

Photos: Sumio Yamada

Brothers Yudai and Ginjiro Shieoka made history last Sunday in Tokyo, Japan, when they both won interim strawweight world titles on the same day. Check out this GIANT Shieoka Brothers photo gallery for some incredible shots. Also includes the official scorecards.

Photos

…follows his father’s footsteps

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten prospect Keisuke Matsumoto (8-0, 7 KOs), 126, very impressively gained the vacant Japanese featherweight belt by scoring a nearly shutout decision (99-91 twice, 98-92) over IBF#8 Ryo Sagawa (12-3, 7 KOs), 126, over ten Tom-and-Jerry rounds on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan. Keisuke followed his father ex-national 126-pound ruler Koji’s footstep by winning the same belt. Koji (26-6-1, 15 KOs), his trainer, unfortunately, failed to win the world belt three times, losing to Young-Kyun Park in 1992, Yong-Soo Choi in 1997 and Freddie Norwood in 1998.

The shaven-skulled son, 23, controlled the fight with his superior speed and skills from the outset, making best use of his faster footwork. He made a beautiful display of hit-and-run tactics all night, though Keisuke, having finished all seven victims by knockouts, was expected to try to swarm over Sagawa and dispatch the 29-year-old ex-champ early. Instead, Matsumoto fully utilized faster jabs, counters and footwork to hit without getting hit. In Japan, it is called “oya-koko” (filial piety) that one fulfills his dad’s unsuccessful dream coming true. Keisuke may pursue oya-koko. Continue reading “Matsumoto wins Japanese 126lb belt”

Gervonta “Tank” Davis and “Kingry” Ryan Garcia officially kicked off fight week events Tuesday afternoon by making their grand arrivals at MGM Grand before they go toe-to-toe this Saturday headlining a Showtime PPV production from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas

Tank Davis: “I won’t let my people down…hopefully he comes ready. If not, it will be an early night.”

Ryan Garcia: “In the blink of an eye, it will be finished. That’s what’s going to happen. Everybody will be shocked. Nobody will have anything to say. No words will be spoken.”

Luis Collazo 152.6 vs. Angel Ruiz 154
Vadim Musaev 147.2 vs. Martin Alvarez 150.8
Prince “Octopus” Dzanie 121.8 vs. Jose Salas 121.8

Venue: ProBox Events Center in Plant City, Florida
Promoter: ProBox
TV: ProBox TV

By Brad Snyder-The Undercard

Undisputed female middleweight world champion Claressa “GWOAT” Shields and current WBC women’s heavyweight champion Hanna Gabriels faced off at the kickoff press conference for their June 3 rematch at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. This will be the first boxing event in the history of the 20,000-seat venue. DAZN will stream the card.

-On Shields being the first boxing event at Little Caesars Arena
Mark Taffet: “The very first fight at Little Caesars Arena. You can only be the first once. And it lasts forever.”

-On where Shields ranks in his mind
Mark Taffet: “Floyd Mayweather, Roy Jones Jr., and Claressa Shields are the three best I have seen. And not particularly in that order.” Continue reading “Shields-Gabriels II Kickoff Press Conference”