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Fernando Vargas Jr. and Amado “El Malvado” Fernando Vargas, sons of former world champion Fernando “El Feroz” Vargas, have signed promotional contracts with MarvNation Promotions. The two were on hand at the Derby Room in Pomona, Calif. Thursday to announce their signing to the media. The two rising prospects will return to the ring on Feb. 11 as part of MarvNation’s “BoxFest” series at the aforementioned venue. More details regarding the card will be announced soon.

“El Feroz’” other fighting son, Emiliano “El General” Vargas, inked a multi-year promotional contract with Top Rank last year.

The IBF has ordered a flyweight eliminator between former world champions and fellow countrymen Felix Alvarado (38-3, 33 KOs) and Cristofer Rosales (35-6, 21 KOs) of Nicaragua. The winner will be the #1 mandatory challenger to current unbeaten world champion Fernando Martinez (15-0, 8 KOs). Rosales ranked #3 and Alvarez #4 are the highest-ranked available contenders. Negotiations should be concluded by January 27 per the IBF. Continue reading “IBF orders Alvarado-Rosales eliminator for #1”

Heavyweights Efe Ajagba (16-1, 13 KOs) and Stephan “Big Shot” Shaw (18-0, 13 KOs) faced off at the final press conference for their ESPN clash on Saturday at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, NY.

Efe Ajagba: “I have the name ‘The Silent Roller’ because I don’t talk much…I’ve made adjustments for Saturday night. We’ll see how it goes. I’m ready for him.”

Stephan Shaw: “I’m a third-generation fighter. I’m looking to become a world champion. Saturday night, I’m going to make my mark.”

The 10-round co-feature sees 2016 Italian Olympian Guido “The Gladiator” Vianello (10-0-1, 9 KOs) stepping up against noted spoiler Jonnie Rice (15-6-1, 10 KOs).

Guido Vianello: “Jonnie has a lot of experience, more than me. But I’m ready. I’ve been training very hard. I’ve been training very hard for four years since I moved to the USA. I train all the time to fight in a war, so I’m ready for this.”

Jonnie Rice: “This means the world to me right now. It’s another chance to beat another undefeated fighter. And that’s what’s on my mind. I’m going to go in there and beat him.”

By Ron Jackson

Gerrie Coetzee known as the Boksburg Bomber the former South African and World Boxing Association heavyweight champion Gerrie Coetzee died at his home in Blouberg Strand in the Cape yesterday. He would have celebrated his 68th birthday on April 8, but had been ill for some time.

Boxing’s heavyweight championship has always been considered to be the richest prize in sport. And Coetzee once held at least a portion of that prize. It must be remembered, too, that when the Boksburg Bomber won the WBA title, there was only one other recognized heavyweight champion – Larry Holmes, who held the WBC title. Continue reading “Former heavyweight champ Gerrie Coetzee passes”

With a combined following of over 60 million fans across their social media channels, British YouTuber KSI and Brazilian YouTuber FaZe Temperrr faced off at the final press conference for their six-round boxing match on Saturday night at the Wembley Arena, London, England. They meet in a $39.99 PPV stream on DAZN.

Promoter Kalle Sauerland stated, “I have been in this sport 25 years and when you deliver numbers like we have, you’re a hot commodity. DAZN has been a fantastic partner and we are going to grow this together. Misfits Boxing is seven months old; we smash records. I believe that the card on Saturday night is the best crossover boxing card bar none. We put the bar very high with the first show in the O2, ‘Two Fights, One Night’, with KSI fighting. When I heard it, I said it’s not possible you don’t do that in boxing, its not possible. It’s unheard of in boxing and we did it. We went to Sheffield, we went to Austin, Texas, here we are in Wembley, and we are announcing another card in the UK for February. In April we are heading back to the states. It’s ongoing, it’s consistency and it’s great fun. These guys and girls are super fun to work with. I love my traditional boxing space and we have a big fight next week with Chris Eubank Jr fighting. This is so much fun though, so fresh, and the characters in it are second to none. I love meeting all these new people.”

Undefeated 6’3 featherweight Oscar Alvarez Jr. (7-0, 7 KOs) will be fighting in an eight-round bout against former WBA Fedalatin beltholder Nicolas Polanco (20-3, 11 KOs) on Wednesday, January 25 at the Whitesands Events Center in Plant City, Florida, streamed live on ProBox TV. The Alvarez Jr-Polanco clash will be the co-feature to the WBO Latino super lightweight title fight between undefeated Cesar “Rainman” Francis (12-0, 7 KOs) and Jesus “Junior” Saracho (12-1, 11 KOs) for a scheduled ten-rounds.

Kim Clavel 107.8 vs. Yesica Nery Plata 104.2
(WBC/WBA female light flyweight unification)

Venue: Place Bell, Laval, Quebec, Canada
Promoter: GYM
TV: ESPN+

Undefeated NABA super flyweight champion John “Scrappy” Ramirez (10-0, 8 KOs), of Los Angeles, and veteran Thai boxer Sirichai Thaiyen (64-4, 42 KOs) have accepted offers from the (WBA to clash in a WBA title eliminator to determine the mandatory challenger for WBA Super flyweight world champion Joshua “El Profesor” Franco (18-1, 8 KOs).

The date, site and other details for the title eliminator are to be determined. Ramirez’ manager David Shu (3 Point Management “3 PM) confirmed, after being informed of the title eliminator at the recent WBA Convention. Ramirez is rated #2 by the WBA, Thaiyen #3, and the #1 spot is unrated with the Ramirez-Thaiyen winner to be elevated into that position.

Today the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame (ACBHOF), announced the honorees selected for induction into its hall of fame. The 7th Annual Awards & Induction Weekend will be held Friday, September 29th, through Sunday, October 1st, 2023, at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.

Fighters: George Foreman, Shannon Briggs, David Tua, Pinklon Thomas, Tracy Harris Patterson, Doug Dewitt, Darroll Wilson, Shamone Alvarez and Jamillia Lawrence.

Contributors: Arnold Robbins {Trainer & Manager}, Matt Howard {Advisor}, Joe Hand Sr. {Promoter}, Lee Samuels {Public Relations} Rudy Battle {Referee}, Benyj Esteves Jr. {Referee} and Joseph Santoliquito {Media}

Posthumously: Buster Drayton {Fighter} and Marty Feldman {Trainer & Manager}

Pioneers: Horace M. Leeds {Fighter}, Joe Miller {Promoter}, Rocky Castellani {Fighter/ Official}, “KO” Becky O’Niell {Manager}, Willie O’Niell {Trainer} and Frankie Polo {Fighter}

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

WBO#1 super featherweight Liam Wilson has been forced to travel to England to train because of visa problems ahead of his showdown against former WBO featherweight champion Emmanuel Navarette for the vacant WBO 130-pound title on February 4 in Phoenix, Arizona. Wilson had been training at Headbangers Gym in Washington DC.

“It really is just a small chink,” Wilson told Fox Sports of his London trip. “The flight is only six hours each way, and I’ll be there for just a few days. Initially we already had in mind that we might have to fly back to Australia or even go to Colombia. So London isn’t too bad and I’ll find somewhere to train over there. Get some work in. But we’ll sort all that out when we land. There’s no shortage of gyms in London.”

Friday night’s ESPN+ streaming action on the Clavel-Plata WBC/WBA women’s light flyweight unification undercard will include the following fights:

• Mazlum Akdeniz (17-0, 8 KOs) will defend his WBC Continental Americas 140-pound belt against Cristian Bielma (19-4-2, 7 KOs) in a 10-rounder.
• Female welterweight prospect Marie Pier Houle (7-0-1, 2 KOs) looks to extend her winning streak to six against Marisol Moreno (6-3, 0 KOs) in an eight-rounder.
• Former amateur standout Eric Basran (2-0, 1 KO) will take on Juan Carlos Ramirez Garcia (4-2, 0 KOs) in a six-round lightweight tilt.
• Female featherweight prospect Caroline Veyre (1-0, 0 KOs), who represented Canada at the Tokyo Olympics, makes her second professional appearance against Estefania Gonzalez Franco (3-5, 0 KOs) in a six-rounder.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten JBC#3 featherweight prospect Keisuke Matsumoto (7-0, 7 KOs), 126, impressively dropped Tomu Hamaguchi (6-6-2, no KO), 125, three times to prompt the referee’s intervention at 2:42 of the second round in a scheduled eight on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan. The shaven-skulled Keisuke, the son of former three-time world feather challenger Koji Matsumoto (now serving as his trainer; having lost to Yong-Kyun Park, Yong-Soo Choi and Freddie Norwood with the belts on the line), demonstrated his power punching in decking the underdog with solid punches in combination with ease. Matsumoto, whose amateur mark was 80-15, 30 stoppages, is gunning for a shot at the national belt in the near future. Continue reading “Matsumoto halts Hamaguchi; improves to 7-0, 7 KOs”

Unbeaten super lightweight Dalton Smith (13-0, 10 KOs) will make the second defense of his British title against Billy Allington (10-1-4, 0 KOs) on the undercard of Leigh Wood’s WBA featherweight world title showdown with Mauricio Lara at the Motorpoint Arena Nottingham on Saturday February 18, live worldwide on DAZN.

Other bouts include unbeaten lightweight Gary Cully (15-0, 9 KOs) against Wilfredo Flores (10-0-1, 5 KOs) for the vacant WBA Intercontinental title, Olympian cruiserweight Cheavon Clarke (4-0, 4 KOs) against Dec Spelman (19-6, 9 KOs), former European super bantamweight titleholder Gamal Yafai (19-2, 11 KOs) against Diego Alberto Ruiz (23-6-1, 12 KOs), and super middleweight Kieron Conway (18-3-1, 4 KOs) against Jorge Silva (21-7, 12 KOs).

By Mauricio Sulaimán
Son of José Sulaimán & WBC President

We started a 2023 full of great plans personally, as well as for the world of boxing. And 2023 began with a Bang! The first big show was held in Washington D.C., and Gervonta Davis once again shocked the boxing world with a spectacular knockout before a sellout crowd that broke the all-time gate record in the arena, going over the previous record held by The Rolling Stones! Davis defeated brave Dominican Héctor García, who put up a great fight but could not resist the powerful punch of the North American.

The decision of the same boxer not to continue when telling his corner that he could not see, at the end of the eighth round, was very wise. Even when his trainer implored him to continue, the fight did not and thus set a much-needed example for all corners. If the fighter asks not to continue, then the fight must be ended. We have tried on several occasions to keep the corners without the presence of the father of the fighter; that pressure of the father-son relationship has proved to be too tough on the fighters on many occasions. Continue reading “Boxing in the eyes of the world”

Top Rank is planning a three-week run of events on ESPN platforms according to the network’s website.

March 25
Jose Ramirez vs. Richard Commey (super lightweight)
Venue: Save Mart Center, Fresno, California

April 1
Robeisy Ramirez vs. Isaac Dogboe (featherweight)
Venue: TBA, Tulsa, Oklahoma

April 8
Shakur Stevenson vs. Shuichiro Yoshino (lightweight)
Venue: TBA

37-year-old former WBA super welterweight champion Austin ‘No Doubt’ Trout will make his BKFC bare-knuckle fighting debut against former UFC fighter Diego ‘The Nightmare’ Sanchez on February 17 at the Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Promoter Jimmy Adams and Lion Heart Boxing have a seven-fight card on tap for February 7 at the Troubadour in Nashville, Tennessee.

Gervonta Davis’ ninth-round TKO of Hector Luis Garcia will air on Showtime on Saturday at 10:30PM ET/PT. They will also replay Roiman Villa’s wild comeback win.

Condolences to Fightnews.com® Editor-in-Chief Karl Freitag on the passing of his father Frederick Freitag this week in Los Angeles.

Undefeated NABA silver super lightweight champion, Ernesto “Tito” Mercado (8-0, 8 KOs), is ready to start his 2023 off with a bang as he returns to the ring on February 4 against “Hammerin” Hank Lundy (31-12-1, 14 KOs) in a scheduled 10-round co-main event at the LumColor Center in Ontario, California. RED Boxing Promotions is the promoter.

“It feels great to be back fighting near my hometown, and I am ready to knock out another opponent,” said the 21-year-old Mercado. “I heard him say that he is making 38-year-olds look like 25-year-olds right now. After he fights me, he will feel his age and more than likely never want to fight again. I have a lot of respect for Hank Lundy, but he is too old and I’m going to send him into retirement once and for all!” Continue reading “Mercado vows to retire Lundy”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Former WBA, IBF, WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) is expected to return on April 1st in London according to promoter Eddie Hearn. “He’s gonna train in America, and he’ll start that camp in the next week,” Hearn said on The DAZN Boxing Show Monday. “He’ll be flying out. You guys will get the news soon. Like I said, AJ’s his own man, and something like (revealing his new trainer) is for him to confirm once he’s happy to confirm it…April 1 is the targeted date in London.”

Derrick James, trainer of Errol Spence and Jermell Charlo, is rumored to be Joshua’s new trainer, replacing Robert Garcia. WBO #10, IBF #11 heavyweight Demsey McKean (22-0, 14 KOs) could be Joshua’s April 1 opponent. Stay tuned.

Here’s an interesting fact about Saturday’s heavyweight twinbill at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. In the featured fights, both the “A Sides” are slight betting underdogs.

In the main event, Stephan “Big Shot” Shaw (18-0, 13 KOs) is currently -128 against Efe “The Silent Roller” Ajagba (16-1, 13 KOs) +102. Shaw moved into the main event after Ajagba’s original opponent pulled out.

In the co-feature, spoiler Jonnie Rice (15-6-1, 10 KOs) is -138 against unbeaten 2016 Olympian Guido “The Gladiator” Vianello (10-0-1, 9 KOs) +108.

No 35:1 favorites here.

Two regional title fights are among the six undercard clashes that are part of the Don King Promotions PPV card on January 21 at Casino Miami Jai-Alai headlined by the WBA NABA gold heavyweight championship as Jonathan Guidry (18-1-2, 10 KOs) is set to defend his title against former WBC heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne (25-5-1, 21 KOs).

The lineup includes:

• NABA welterweight titlist Tre’Sean Wiggins (14-5-3, 8 KOs) against Nigel Fennel (13-1, 8 KOs).
• WBA Continental Americas middleweight beltholder Ian Green (16-2, 11 KOs) against undefeated Alexander Castro (11-0, 9 KOs).
• Light heavyweight Ahmed Elbiali (18-1-2, 10 KOs) against an opponent to be named in an eight-rounder.
• Featherweight Neslan Machado (19-0, 8 KOs) against Walter Santibanes (11-2, 2 KOs) in a 10-rounder.

The first two bouts of the night will feature a super lightweight attraction between Raynel Mederos (7-0, 2 KOs) against Nelson Morales (3-1). The other bout is a light heavyweight attraction for six rounds.

DAZN today announced that it will broadcast the all-British dust-up between Chris Eubank Jr (32-2-0, 23 KOs) and Liam Smith (32-3-1, 19 KOs) on January 21 from BOXXER in association with Wasserman Boxing live from AO Arena in Manchester. The event will be available to all DAZN subscribers in the US, Canada, DACH and Japan.

The show features a strong undercard with Richard Riakporhe launching his quest for a world title shot in 2023 when he battles former two-time WBO cruiserweight world champion Krzysztof Głowacki and local lad Jack Massey stepping up to face former WBO world heavyweight champion Joseph Parker. Continue reading “DAZN picks up Eubank Jr-Smith clash”

DAZN today also announced a partnership with YouTube boxer KSI and his celebrity boxing promotional company Misfits Boxing. The deal, in association with the Sauerland brothers, Wasserman Boxing and Proper Loud, will see all KSI fights and MF & DAZN: X Series events broadcast exclusively on DAZN for the next five years.

DAZN to exclusively broadcast at least 6 MF & DAZN: X Series events a year including two pay-per-view fight nights across its 230+ territories. The deal highlights DAZN’s commitment to attract new, younger audiences to the platform.

The first event is Saturday with KSI VS. Faze Temper to air live from London’s OVO Wembley Arena on DAZN PPV. Other dates are February 25 (UK), April 22 (US), May 13 (UK), June TBA (US). Continue reading “DAZN announces deal with KSI/Misfits Boxing”

Interestingly, despite coming out on top in an IBF welterweight eliminator on Saturday night, the camp of Roiman Villa is talking more about an immediate rematch with “Speedy” Rashidi Ellis rather than a title shot against IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence or IBF interim welterweight champion Boots Ennis.

“In one of my tweets before the fight, I said that a star would be born in this fight and I was right,” said promoter Sampson Lewkowicz. “The plan worked perfectly. You can only get away for so long against an animal like Villa. And if Ellis wants to complain, he can have a rematch any time. Just ask. Villa will do it again, but this time it will be even quicker. If not, we are ready for Boots Ennis if he wants to fight.”

Villa-Ellis was a close fight, so a rematch wouldn’t be a bad thing.

By Ron Jackson

Over the years there have been many outstanding South African fighters who have won an International Boxing Federation belt, with Sivenathi “Special One” Nontshinga becoming the 27th when he traveled to Mexico and against the odds beat the local favorite and undefeated Hector Flores Calixto on a 12 round split decision, to claim the vacant IBF light flyweight belt at the Centro de Usos Multiples in Hermisillo on September 3, 2022. Continue reading “Nontshinga: The only SA fighter to hold a major belt”

WBO World Championship Committee has ordered negotiations for the WBO jr. bantamweight mandatory title contest between reigning champion Kazuto Ioka (29-2-1, 15 KOs) and #1 contender and former WBO flyweight champion Junto Nakatani (24-0, 18 KOs). The parties have 30 days to reach an agreement or purse bid proceedings will be called. The minimum acceptable bid is $100,000.

Ioka recently retained the WBO belt with a draw against WBA champ Joshua Franco on December 31. Nakatani relinquished his flyweight belt last year to compete in the 115lb division.

Matchroom Boxing’s 2023 schedule in the UK is set to begin with a bang at the Motorpoint Arena Nottingham on Saturday February 18 as hometown hero Leigh Wood (26-2, 16 KOs) puts his WBA featherweight world title on the line against big-punching Mauricio Lara (25-2-1, 18 KOs) live worldwide on DAZN (excluding Australia and New Zealand).

Lara has been waiting patiently for his shot at Wood after their September 24 fight was postponed following a torn bicep suffered by Wood in sparring, but he finally gets his world title shot next month.