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WBO #1 contender and hometown favorite Chris Billam-Smith (18-1, 12 KOs) defeated and dethroned previously unbeaten WBO cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie (19-1, 14 KOs) by twelve round majority decision on Saturday night at Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, England. Billam-Smith dropped Okolie in round four. Okolie was hurt but managed to survive the round. Okolie was deducted a point for holding in round five. Okolie was deducted another point for holding in round seven. Billam-Smith looked like he was running out of gas in round eight. Okolie went to his knees in round ten and Billam-Smith was credited with another knockdown although it appeared to be a pushdown. Billam-Smith scored another questionable knockdown in round eleven. In the end, Billam-Smith won by scores of 112-112, 116-107, 115-108.

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Super welterweight Sam Eggington (34-8, 20 KOs) stopped previously unbeaten Joe Pigford (20-1, 19 KOs) in round five. Eggington rocked Pigford prompting a referee’s stoppage.

In his first fight since his controversial loss to Josh Taylor 15 months ago, super lightweight Jack Catterall (27-1, 13 KOs) scored a ten round unanimous decision over Darragh Foley (22-5-1, 10 KOs) on Saturday night in the Lara-Wood co-feature at the AO Arena in Manchester, England. Catterall dropped Foley in round seven, then was deducted a point after Foley immediately popped right back up and Catterall hit him again. Catterall dropped Foley again in round nine. Scores were 99-88, 98-89, 97-90.

WBA female super welterweight champion Terri Harper (14-1-1, 6 KOs) outpointed Ivana Habazin (21-4, 7 KOs) over ten rounds by scores of 97-93, 98-92, 97-93.

Other Results:
Danny Ball TKO8 Jamie Robinson (welterweight)
Aqib Fiaz W8 Costin Ion (super featherweight)
Campbell Hatton TKO5 Michal Bulik (super lightweight)

IBF featherweight champion Luis Alberto “El Venado” Lopez (28-2, 16 KOs) brutally knocked out Michael “Mick” Conlan (18-2, 9 KOs) in round five to retain his world title on Saturday night a sold-out SSE Arena in Conlan’s hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Lopez took the fight right at Conlan and got the better of most exchanges. A right uppercut in round five laid out Conlan to end it. Time was 1:14.

Lopez said, “I hope all the world champions at the featherweight division are ready for ‘Venado’ Lopez. I’m coming for all of them. I want all their belts. One by one, I’m taking all their belts with me to Mexico.”

More Results…

Ageless 52-year-old former cruiserweight world champion Firat Arslan (54-9-3, 39 KOs), still ranked at #5 by the WBA, needed just 70 seconds to finish 21-year-younger Ibrahim Yildirim (11-4, 10 KOs) on Saturday night at the Helios Arena, in Villingen-Schwenningen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Arslan landed a medium power left hook that sent Yildirim went down for the count. Arslan is planning to return in October.

The IBF’s 38th Annual Convention will kick off this weekend at The Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park, in Chicago, Illinois from May 28 – June 1, 2023. After 38 years, the organization will be returning to the Midwest to celebrate the IBF’s 40th year. The IBF celebrated its 2nd Annual Convention in Dearborn, Michigan in 1985 and a return to the region is long overdue. “We are excited for this milestone event and are looking forward to gathering with the boxing community in Chicago and the Midwest,” said IBF President Daryl Peoples. Continue reading “IBF Convention Slated to Start this Weekend”

Highly regarded 19-year-old super lightweight prospect Ashton “H2O” Sylve (9-0, 8 KOs) went the distance for the first time against left sub Adam Kipenga (11-4-1, 7 KOs) on Friday night at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida. Sylve in command all the way. Scores were 80-72 3x.

Flashy Cuban super lightweight “The Alpha” Kevin Hayler Brown (3-0, 2 KOs) outpointed Julian Smith (6-2, 4 KOs) over ten rounds to claim the WBA Continental Americas title. Scores were 98-92, 96-94, 96-94.

In a clash between unbeaten heavyweights, Lorenzo Medina (7-0, 6 KOs) topped Angel Napoles (1-1, 1 KO) over six rounds 58-56 3x.

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

IBF #11, WBO #11 heavyweight Demsey McKean has already been mooted as a possible challenger to WBC champion Tyson Fury, who has expressed interest in defending his belt in Australia. Now a new possibility has emerged: IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia.

“It’s a legitimate fight.” Mick Francis the manager of Opetaia told the Sydney Morning Herald. “Tyson Fury won’t get knocked out and Jai Opetaia won’t get knocked out. It’s a fight that will go the distance, it would be an absolute war. It’s all about bang for buck and you couldn’t wish for a better domestic fight. Jai’s got nothing to prove in the cruiserweight division and he would take the fight in a heartbeat. He spars heavyweights every day of the week because cruiserweights are too small for him, they’re not strong enough…we are talking about putting Australian boxing on the map with one of the biggest promotions this country has ever seen. People from all around the world would watch this!”

Paul Kroll 153.6 vs. Eduardo Rafael Reyes 157.9
Samuel Teah 138.9 vs. Andrew Rodgers 137.9
Isaiah Johnson 143.5 vs. Marquis Hawthorne 143.1
Erron Peterson 160.9 vs. Nissan Anderson 159.8
Nimal Farmer 154.4 vs. Rah’Quand McDaniel 160.7
Tariq Green 164.7 vs. Courtney Williams 163.3
David Calabro 119.6 vs. Michael Turner 123.5

Venue: Newtown Sports and Events Center
Promoter: RDR Promotions
Stream: BXNGTV.com
1st Bell: 7:15 PM —Amateur will start at 3 PM

Melvin Jerusalem 104.6 vs. Oscar Collazo 105
(WBO minimumweight title)

Alexis Rocha 146.6 vs. Anthony Young 146.4
(NABO welterweight title)

Oscar Duarte 135 vs. D’Angelo Keyes 134.2
John Ramirez 114.6 vs. Fernando Diaz 114.8
Eric Priest 159.8 vs. Ricardo Villalba 160
Johnny Cañas 136.4 vs. Jose Alvarado 138
Leonardo Sanchez 130 vs. Uhlices Reyes 129

Venue: Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, Calif
Promoter: Golden Boy
TV: DAZN

Eduardo ‘Rocky’ Hernandez has signed a long-term promotional deal with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom. Hernandez (33-1, 30 KOs) is ranked #1 in the WBC rankings at 130lbs and the Mexican banger is closing in on a world title shot. Hernandez’s first fight under the Matchroom banner will take place in July and will be announced shortly.

“I’m delighted to welcome Rocky to the team,” said Hearn. “Rocky is such a dangerman for the 130 pound division and he’s right on the edge of landing a world title fight. That’s what we are looking to deliver for him, and once he gets that shot, Rocky could reign at the top level for a long time and carry that power up the weights.”

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Matchroom also announced that unbeaten super middleweight Diego Pacheco (18-0 KOs, 15 KOs) has signed a multi-fight extension and that he will headline their July 7 show in Monterrey, Mexico, defending his WBO International and USWBC titles against Manuel Gallegos (19-1-1, 16 KOs) – live worldwide on DAZN – with Rocky Hernandez in the co-feature against Joniker “Bululu” Tovar (21-0-1, 16 KOs).

Luis Alberto Lopez 125.5 vs. Michael Conlan 125.9
(IBF featherweight title)

Nick Ball 125.9 vs. Ludumo Lamatii 125.5
Anthony Cacace 129.9 vs. Damian Wrzesinski 129.4
Pierce O’Leary 139.3 vs. Alin Florin Ciorcerii 140

Venue: SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Promoter: Queensberry, Top Rank
TV: ESPN+ (US), BT Sport (UK)

Three ten rounders have been added to the the Munguia Derevyanchenko card on DAZN scheduled for Saturday, June 10 at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.

Returning the ring for the second time in 2023, middleweight Shane Mosley, Jr. (19-4, 10 KOs) will face D’Mitrius “Big Meech” Ballard (21-1-1, 13 KOs) in the co-main event. Also, 43-year-old former female world champion Mariana “Barby” Juarez (55-12-4, 19 KOs) will battle Mayeli Flores (9-1-1, 3 KOs) in a super bantamweight fight and Ricardo “El Niño” Sandoval (21-2, 16 KOs) will face Rocco “So Cal Kid” Santomauro (22-1, 6 KOs) at flyweight. Continue reading “Munguia-Derevyanchenko undercard set”

Lawrence Okolie 199 vs. Chris Billam-Smith 199
(WBO cruiserweight title)

Sam Eggington 153 vs. Joe Pigford 153
Kariss Artingstall 125 vs. Jade Taylor 128
Lee Cutler 153 vs. Stanley Stannard 153
Michael McKinson 148 vs. Lebin Morales 146
Isaac Chamberlain 199 vs. Daniel Bocianksi 196
Mace Ruegg 136 vs. Dean Dodge 136
Lewis Edmonson 181 vs. Petar Nosic 181
Tommy Welch 222 vs. Amine Boucetta 224
Alireza Ghadiri 127 vs. Jonatas Rodrigo Gomes de Oliveira 130

Venue: Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, England
Promoter: BOXXER
TV: FITE+ (US), SkySports (UK)

Mauricio Lara lost the WBA featherweight belt after failing to make weight on Friday. However, he will still step into the ring to face Leigh Wood this Saturday but only Wood will have the option to win the crown.

Lara weighed in at 129.8 pounds on the scale, considerably above the 126-pound featherweight limit. Wood scaled in at 125.9 pounds.

In the lead up to his NABO welterweight title defense, Alexis “Lex” Rocha (22-1, 14 KOs) and his opponent Anthony “Juice” Young (24-2, 8 KOs) hosted a press conference at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino ahead of their scheduled 12-round fight on DAZN this Saturday.

Alexis Rocha: “I am not much of a trash talker either. My respects to him. Whatever his thoughts are, that’s good for him. I am confident in my ability. I am confident in myself. You’ll find out about who I am on Saturday night. I hope he brings this same kind of energy into the ring on Saturday.”

Anthony Young: “I looked at the odds again, and they’re kind of disrespectful – they got me 8-1 underdog. The last time they did that, we shocked the world. I plan to do that again. I didn’t come here to lose; I am not with the script. They built him up good: 22 wins, a couple of tough fights, one step-up fight didn’t go too well. I am going to win on Saturday.”

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WBO minimumweight champion Melvin “Gringo” Jerusalem (20-2, 12 KOs) defends against Oscar “El Pupilo” Collazo (6-0, 4 KOs) in the co-feature.

Melvin Jerusalem: “I am very grateful for this opportunity. I want to thank Golden Boy Promotions for this fight. I am excited to see my opponent today. We will see you all on Saturday night.”

Oscar Collazo: Thank you for this opportunity to make history, history for Puerto Rico, the opportunity to become one of the fastest to become a world champion. We’re feeling very good about this. I earned this, and you’re going to see it this Saturday.”

The WBC has confirmed that welterweight champions Errol Spence Jr.(28-0, 22 KOs) and Terence Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs) have reached an agreement to fight July 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The bout came together because both Spence and Crawford were determined to fight so their teams reached an agreement. The winner of this “best of the best” bout will become the undisputed welterweight champion and be de facto the #1 fighter in the division.

K2 Promotions won today’s purse bid to promote the WBA mandatory defense of unified WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk against WBA regular champion Daniel Dubois. Usyk’s promoter K2 bid $8,057,000, far outpacing Dubois’ promoter Queensberry who bid $5,620,050. The target date is August 12 in Wroclaw, Poland. The fight will consolidate the WBA’s heavyweight title as per the WBA’s title reduction plan.

Former teammates turned world title rivals Lawrence Okolie and Chris Billam-Smith faced off in Bournemouth today ahead of this Saturday’s WBO cruiserweight championship showdown at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, England. The fight can be seen on FITE+ in the US and SkySports in the UK.

Lawrence Okolie: “I’m coming to make an extremely big statement. I’m my own man on my own journey and there’s stuff that I want and need and I’m ready to fight for it. I’ve shown time and time again I’m ready to take the risk and do what needs to be done. I can say I’m in amazing shape and I’m coming to do a job. The way Chris fights, he’s always all action. He comes to throw a lot of punches, put a lot of pressure on where he’s the home fighter, he’s going to have 15,000 people screaming for him, hoping that he can dethrone me. So I’m going to have to be devastating and he’s going to make it very easy for me.”

Chris Billam-Smith: “Any fight against Lawrence is dangerous because he can punch and he’s got long levers so you have to take educated risks and you’ve got to really work hard to get the shots off you need to do. That’s what we’ve been doing the whole time. I don’t expect him to stand there and trade with me. He knows he can’t do that. I imagine he’s going to be trying to keep it long and move his feet. The hard thing with Lawrence is getting in position. So we know what we’ve got to do.”

Four-time world champion in four weight divisions Adrien “The Problem” Broner (34-4-1, 24 KOs) returns to the ring against William “Hutch” Hutchinson (20-2-4, 9 KOs) in a ten-round welterweight bout in the main event on June 9 at Casino Miami. The event, promoted by Hall of Fame Promoter Don “Only in America” King, will be available live on pay per view, for $24.99. The live stream will be available on Fite.tv, DonKing.com and itube247.com.

“This is a great card from top to bottom, headlined by “The Problem” fighter Adrien Broner,” said King. “I am the promoter of the people, for the people and we are giving the people what they want, and that is great fights.”

In the co-featured bout, NABA light heavyweight beltholder Ahmed “The American Pharaoh” Elbiali (22-1, 18 KOs) faces Rodolfo “Cobrita” Gomez (14-6-3, 10 KOs).

Also, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-division world champion Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux (21-3, 14 KOs) will fight in a ten-round bantamweight bout against Julian Evaristo Aristule (35-17-1, 18 KOs). Continue reading “Broner-Hutchinson undercard announced”

Undisputed two-division female world champion Claressa Shields (13-0, 2 KOs) will now face WBC, WBO, IBF #1 ranked middleweight contender Maricela “La Diva” Cornejo (16-5, 6 KOs) in the main event on June 3 from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit and streamed live on DAZN in the U.S. and Canada. Hanna Gabriels was originally slated to rematch Shields, however after Gabriel tested positive for a banned substance on a May 2 VADA test done as part of the WBC Clean Boxer Program, promoter Salita Promotions made the change.

Claressa Shields: “I told my team to get me the best. Cornejo is a tall, tough Mexican full of pride who’s in great shape and wants to beat me. She’s ranked number one. That’s exactly what I want for my Detroit homecoming and for my fans around the world. I’m looking forward to a great performance on June 3.”

Maricela Cornejo: “When Shields faced a Mexican in the cage, she lost. Now she will lose to a Mexican in the boxing ring. I just finished an amazing fight camp and am in the best, strongest physical and mental shape of my life. My team in Vegas has sharpened me like a knife for this moment. On June 3, I will become undisputed champion!”

IBF featherweight champion Luis Alberto Lopez and challenger Michael Conlan faced off at the final press conference before their clash on Saturday night at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The bout can be seen on ESPN+ in the U.S. and BT Sport in the UK.

Luis Alberto Lopez: “I have already beaten up all the prospects and fighters Top Rank have given to me so, on this Saturday night, I want to prove to everyone that I am a true champion and, after beating Michael Conlan, I will go for the next world champs. I am used to this type of environment, I am used to traveling and this is my third time here in the UK. Everybody wants to see me lose but, don’t forget, I am the world champion. Every time they tell me that I am going to lose, that I am going to be knocked out, but when I jump into the ring there are two of us and I am used to it. I am going to be taking the victory.”

Michael Conlan: “I’m just excited, really excited about Saturday night. I thank Luis for coming to Belfast, I appreciate it, but on Saturday night I will be champion. I have experienced a lot of atmospheres throughout my career now, very mad, crazy atmospheres and Saturday night will be no different. I know how to handle it now. He plans to end it quickly, but I know he has changed trainers a few times during this training camp and there are probably things going on with him. I don’t think he truly believes that, he is saying it for the cameras and that is ok, no problem. I respect him as a fighter, I respect his opinion, but on Saturday night I will be champion. I am expecting the best Luis Alberto, he is going to bring everything and try and come in and knock me out. I am prepared for everything he is going to do, I have ticked every box I need to tick and I am very confident going into this fight. It is a pleasure to have this in Belfast, but I know it doesn’t mean too much because Luis travels well. I believe on Saturday night it will be ‘and the new.’”

Unified WBC/WBO/IBF light heavyweight world champion Artur Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOs) will defend his belts against WBC #1 contender Callum “Mundo” Smith (29-1, 21 KOs) on Saturday, August 19 at Videotron Centre in Québec City, Canada. The bout will air live on ESPN in the US and on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland.

Artur Beterbiev: “Québec is my second home, so I’m very happy to finally defend my titles on home turf. When you are world champion, everyone wants the opportunity to take your belt, and that’s especially true in my case, with three titles at stake. I’ve already started my training camp, and I’ll be ready to not only defend my belts, but to also put on an impressive show August 19.”

Callum Smith: “I’m excited to finally get my opportunity to become a two-weight world champion. I’m no stranger to fighting on away soil, having boxed in Saudi Arabia twice, across America, and now heading to Canada on August 19. There was no hesitation from me going to Canada to fight Artur Beterbiev, and I will be returning to Liverpool as a world champion once more.”

The full card for the Beterbiev-Smith event, which will also feature undefeated super middleweight Christian Mbilli (24-0, 20 KOs) and heavyweight puncher Simon Kean (23-1, 22 KOs), will be announced shortly.

Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) today announced that lightweight Adam Kipenga (11-3-1, 7 KOs) will now take on unbeaten Ashton “H2O” Sylve (8-0, 8 KOs) in Most Valuable Prospects’ headlining bout for its inaugural event this Friday night on DAZN from Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida. Kipenga will replace Angel Rebollar who was forced to pull out due to an eye injury.

Mauricio Lara and Leigh Wood faced off at the final press conference ahead of their WBA featherweight world title rematch on Saturday night in Manchester, England.

Middleweight Liam Smith has further postponed his rematch with bitter rival Chris Eubank Jr in order to recover from a minor but nagging injury which has dogged his training camp. After their fight in January, the rematch was originally slated for June 17, then postponed to July 1. A new date for the rescheduled Smith-Eubank II bout will be announced shortly.

The July 1 BOXXER card at the AO Arena in Manchester, England, will now be headlined by Savannah Marshall (12-1, 10 KOs) moving up to challenge undisputed women’s super middleweight champion Franchon Crews-Dezurn (8-1, 2 KOs). Every fan in the arena in July 1 will receive a free food and beverage voucher – plus priority access and discount for rescheduled Smith vs Eubank II event.