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The IBF has officially ordered Melvin “Melo” Lopez (29-1, 19 KOs) and Emmanuel Rodriguez (21-2, 13 KOs) to fight for the vacant IBF bantamweight title. The #2 ranked Rodriguez and the #4 ranked Lopez are the highest availble ranked contenders in the IBF bantamweight world rankings. The winner will be the IBF bantamweight world champion. The IBF has ordered both teams to immediately begin negotiations to be concluded by March 28, 2023.

Lopez manager William Ramirez (WRAM Boxing) is elated about the news. “I am extremely happy for Melvin. I know that he is going to be ready for this opportunity. Well-deserved opportunity” stated Ramirez.

Due to an undisclosed injury sustained by Amanda Serrano, Matchroom Boxing and Most Valuable Promotions have announced that the Taylor-Serrano II bout on May 20 in Dublin will not go ahead as planned. The teams are in discussions about finding a revised date for the bout. Further details will follow in due course.

Heavyweight Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang (24-1-1, 19 KOs) promises that “Juggernaut” Joe Joyce (15-0, 14 KOs) will feel his power when the pair collide at London’s Copper Box Arena on April 15, live on ESPN+ and BT Sport. Joyce is renowned for walking through heavy fire without flinching, but Zhang warns that if Joyce thinks he can take punishment in this fight, it would be a risky strategy.

“Joe Joyce has good punch resistance but he has never felt Chinese power,” proclaimed the 39-year-old Zhang.

Joyce and Zhang will trade bombs with Joyce’s WBO interim heavyweight title at stake, with the pair fighting for the right to challenge for the full world championship, currently held by unified champion Oleksandr Usyk.

Rivalta Boxing (Henry Rivalta) presents its first event of 2023 featuring three title fights this Friday. The show will take place at the DoubleTree Hotel near the Miami Airport & Convention Center in Miami, Florida. The main event will have popular local heavyweight favorite Anthony Martinez (14-2, 13 KOs) of Miami versus former world title challenger Santander Silgado Gelez (32-14, 26 KOs) of Colombia. The bout is scheduled for ten rounds and the NABA Silver title is on the line.

The undercard will feature several Cuban-born fighters with extensive amateur backgrounds. Continue reading “Rivalta Boxing returns Friday”

By Gabriel F. Cordero

Sad to report the passing over the weekend of our friend and colleague Fernando Paramo, an iconic multifaceted journalist from Los Angeles. Páramo had been a journalist, commentator, narrator, reporter, publicist, promoter and a great passionate fan of boxing. He was a regular at LA’s Olympic Auditorium, Sports Arena and The Forum in Inglewood. He was closely involved in Julio Cesar Chavez’s career from the beginning and they maintained good communication. Rest in peace.

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with the Philly legend, Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins, and discussed the SuperFight between Ryan “KingRy” Garcia and Gervonta “Tank” Davis slated for April 22 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and live on Showtime PPV. Hopkins shared his thoughts on the Paul-Fury showdown and Badou Jack winning his third division title this past weekend in Saudi Arabia. He discussed Vergil Ortiz Jr. upcoming fight with Eimantas Stanionis on Sat, April 29 in Arlington, TX, streamed via DAZN and his hope for Spence-Crawford sooner than later with Ortiz fighting the winner and much more in this exclusive interview.

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Unbeaten heavyweight Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson (13-0, 13 KOs) will face fellow unbeaten George Arias (18-0, 7 KOs) in a 10-rounder Saturday, April 8, at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Anderson-Arias will be the co-feature to the WBC lightweight title eliminator between Shakur Stevenson and Shuichiro Yoshino. Anderson said, “This is the kind of fight I’ve been waiting for, a big fight between two undefeated heavyweights. I’m excited to once again be fighting on the same card as Shakur Stevenson. Don’t miss this fight. April 8 is going to a special night in Newark.”

U.S. Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis (7-0, 5 KOs) will face his stiffest challenge in the 10-round lightweight televised opener against former world title challenger Anthony Yigit (26-2-1, 10 KOs).

Stevenson-Yoshino, Anderson-Arias, and Davis-Yigit will be broadcast live on ESPN.

The rescheduled WBO purse bid for the WBO mini-flyweight mandatory clash between world champion Melvin Jerusalem and  #1 contender Oscar Collazo took place t oday at WBO Headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Golden Boy/Cotto Promotions bid $152,000 to win the right to promote the fight. Kameda Promotions bid $101,000. The Jerusalem-Collazo clash is scheduled to take place May 27 with possible locations including San Juan, Los Angeles, or Dallas.

Tommy Fury: “For the past two years, this is all that has consumed my life. Broken rib. Denied access. Everybody thought I was running scared. Tonight, I made my own legacy. I am Tommy Fury. All through these past two years, I had a dream and a vision that I would win this fight. And no one believed me. Now I can stand up and everybody can take note. It’s my first main event at 23 years old. I had pressure on my shoulders, and I came through…I’m only going to get stronger, and I’m only going to get bigger. There were a lot of nerves going into that fight, but I override that. If he wants a rematch, bring it on.”

Jake Paul: “All respect to Tommy. He won. Don’t judge me by my wins. Judge me by my losses. I’ll come back. I think we deserve that rematch. It was a great fight. It was a close fight. I don’t know if I agree with the judges. I got a 10-8 round twice. So, it is what it is. I’ve already won in life, man. I’ve already won in every single way. I have an amazing family. Amazing friends. Amazing work ethic. I’ve made it farther than I ever thought I would.”

YouTube boxer Jake Paul (6-1, 4 KOs) finally faced a “real boxer” for the first time and came up short against undefeated Tommy “TNT” Fury (9-0, 4 KOs), losing by eight round split decision on Sunday night at the Diriyah Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Fury stayed at long range and utilized the jab. Paul concentrated on power shots, often missing wildly. When in close, the fighters usually clinched. Paul was deducted a point in round five for hitting behind the head. Fury was deducted a point for holding in round six. Paul dropped Fury with a jab in round eight, but it was too little too late. Scores were 75-74 Paul, 76-73, 76-73 Fury.

With the win, Fury earned a WBC ranking in the cruiserweight division. Paul has a rematch clause and he stated after the fight that he will 100% use it.

After the fight, Paul explained “I felt flat, I got sick twice in this camp and injured my arm. It wasn’t my best performance, but I’m not making excuses and I’ll come back stronger.”

39-year-old former two-division world champion Badou Jack “The Ripper” (28-3-3, 17 KOs) outboxed, battered and dethroned WBC cruiserweight champion Junior Makabu (29-3, 25 KOs) getting a twelfth round TKO on Sunday night at the Diriyah Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Jack dropped Makabu in round four and continually beat Makabu to the punch. Jack dropped Makabu again in round eleven and finished him with a barrage of punches in round twelve. Time was :54. Jack is now a three-division world champion.

Buddy McGirt-trained welterweight Ziyad Almaayouf (2-0, 1 KOs) recovered from a first round knockdown to take a four round unanimous decision over Ronnald Martinez (3-2-1, 0 KOs). Scores were 38-37 3x.

Unbeaten cruiserweight Muhsin “The Muslim Boxer” Cason (11-0, 8 KOs), younger brother of former heavyweight champion Hassim “The Rock” Rahman, scored a first round TKO against Taryel Jafarov (18-6, 17 KOs). Cason dropped Jafarov with his first punch, then dominated the first round. Jafarov didn’t come out for round two.

Unbeaten super lightweight Bader “The Master” Samreen (8-0, 7 KOs) made quick work of 41-year-old Viorel Simion (23-10, 9 KOs). Samreen battered Simeon to the canvas with a barrage of punches. Time was 1:26.

By Brad Snyder-The Undercard
Photos by Bob Ryder

Night of Knockouts XXV, promoted by Carlos Llinas and held at the Sound Board at Motor City Casino and Hotel, was, once again, packed from wall to wall to see a card filled with local top prospects.

Cruiserweight Derick Miller Jr. (11-0, 7 KOs) headlined a card at Motor City Casino, once again. His opponent this time around was Eric Abraham (7-16, 3 KOs). After a calculated start in Round 1 by Miller, the 2nd became a nightmare fast for Abraham. Miller was able to control Abraham by bracing with his forearm to land vicious head shots, that ultimately gave him the KO at the 1:16 mark of Round 2. Abraham crumbled to the ground with the ropes barely holding his head slightly up. It is time for Miller’s name to be on the tongues of other prospects in the Cruiserweight division. He has progressed well with the next step being to level up. Continue reading “Miller Dominates; Hicks Gets Tested”

“I’m on cloud nine right now,” said newly crowned IBF jr welterweight champion Subriel Matias after stopping Jeremias Ponce Saturday night at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota. “I don’t think I’ve woken up from this dream. Maybe I can tell you how it feels tomorrow, but right now, it’s a dream come true. I wanted to work him from the first round on, because I knew he wouldn’t have the same power as me as the fight went on.”

Regarding Ponce retiring in his corner, Matias said “I wasn’t really surprised. Once I saw how his corner reacted. I saw that [Ponce] was hurt. I thought that I was patient in the first four rounds, so I came out with a different approach and mindset in the fifth.” Continue reading “Matias: Regis Prograis I’m coming for you”

Knockout artist Subriel Matías (19-1, 19 KOs) scored a fifth round TKO against Jeremías Ponce (30-1, 20 KOs) to claim the vacant IBF junior welterweight title (formerly held by Josh Taylor) on Saturday night at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Good fight. Ponce pounced on Matias in round one. Matias responded with big shots in round two and the war was on. Something had to give and it did in round five. Matias landed a series of head and body shots that badly hurt Matias and put him on the mat. Ponce was able to make it to his stool, but his corner had seen enough and suggested that the fight be stopped, with the official result coming as a TKO at the end of round five.

Report/Photos by Scott Foster

Boxlab Productions, in association with Caribe Royale Hotel, presented 3 regional title fights as part of their reoccurring series, Night of Champions II. The 10 bout card concluded Saturday night, with the CBS Sports Network telecast slated for the following night, February 26th at 10:30 pm EST.

Nestor Bravo (21-0, 15 KOs), hailing from Arecibo, Puerto Rico and now fighting out of Orlando, FL, made the 1st defense of his WBO/NABO junior welterweight title versus WBC Latino Champion Jair Valtierra (16-2, 8 KOs) of Leon, Mexico. The current #10 WBO contender’s homecoming resulted in a no contest when a clash of heads in the third round forced Bravo to halt the bout due to excessive bleeding. Continue reading “Bravo-Valtierra ends in no-decision”

WBA #10 welterweight Jamal “Shango” James (28-2, 12 KOs) and WBA #9 rated 2016 Olympian Alberto Palmetta (18-2, 13 KOs) fought ten fast-paced rounds in an unofficial WBA title eliminator in the Matias-Ponce co-feature on Saturday night at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Judges scored it for James 99-91, 98-92, 98-92.

Lightweight Elvis Rodriguez (14-1-1, 12 KOs) scored a hard fought ten round majority decision over Joseph “Blessed Hands” Adorno (17-2-2, 14 KOs). Rodriguez dropped Adorno in round seven and again in round ten to pull away to a 95-93, 97-71, 94-94 nod.

Local welterweight favorite VeShawn Owens (14-3, 12 KOs) scored a ten round unanimous decision over former IBF #1 rated Kudratillo Abdukakhorov (18-2, 10 KOs). Owens’ workmate propelled him to a 98-92, 99-91, 97-93 verdict. Abdukakhorov was previously the IBF mandatory for unified world champion Errol Spence, but that fight never came together and Abdukakhorov was eventually defeated in a keep-busy fight.

In an upset, welterweight Willie Jones (9-2, 6 KOs) knocked out previously unbeaten prospect Derrick “Diesel” Jackson (10-1, 5 KOs) in the first round. A left hook laid out Jackson, who was down for several minutes.

Unbeaten super lightweight Mikkel Spencer (3-0, 2 KOs) scored a first round KO against Margarito Hernandez (3-5-1, 0 KOs. Time 2:18. Spencer is the younger brother middleweight Joey Spencer.

By Ognian Georgiev

“Saturday is the final day when the negotiations between Olexander Usyk and Tyson Fury’s camps should culminate,” said the promoter of the Ukrainian Alexander Krassyuk in an interview for The Jungle of Sports youtube channel. “Saturday is the deadline that we have set already. The latest deadline to make it happen. On Saturday we will know whether this fight is happening or not. The venue that we have already booked is Wembley Stadium. We would expect 94-95,000, up to 100,000 spectators.”

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By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Hall of Fame broadcaster Colonel Bob Sheridan is backing Jake Paul to defeat Tommy Fury in their scheduled eight round cruiserweight bout in Saudi Arabia on Sunday

“Jake Paul has been working with Mike Tyson for the Tommy Fury fight,” The Colonel said. “I think this fight is a great attraction but Fury has no shot. Paul is in great shape training with Mike Tyson. Paul is a real fighter. He will go into the WBC cruiserweight ratings after he beats Fury. I am not sure if the fight goes the eight round distance but I am confident Jake Paul wins.”

Boxing Hall of Famer Floyd “Money” Mayweather made his long-awaited ring debut in the U.K. on Saturday against reality TV personality Aaron “The Joker” Chalmers in an exhibition bout at the famed O2 Arena in London. Easy work for Floyd, who schooled Chalmers for all eight rounds. No decision rendered. According to British media, the arena was “virtually empty” and tickets were heavily discounted.

Former WBA super world featherweight champion Nicholas “Axe Man” Walters (27-1-1, 21 KOs) made his long awaited ring return Saturday morning in Santa Marta, Colombia. Walters ground out a workmanlike unanimous decisión over local favorite Luis Diaz Marmol (19-17, 11 KOs) in the eight round super lightweight main event.

The veteran Marmol was very game but the overall experience and skill level of Walters was the difference. Walters was coming off of a long layoff but had been training for months. He did not show much effects of ring inactivity as he was in complete control. The official scorecard ready 80-72 and 78-84 twice. A quick return to the ring is expected for Walters, who wants to remain active.

Ilunga Makabu 198.5 vs. Badou Jack 199.8
(WBC cruiserweight title)

Jake Paul 183.6 vs. Tommy Fury 184.5
Ziyad Almaayouf 145.6 vs. Ronnald Martinez 142.5
Muhsin Cason 199.1 vs. Taryel Jafarov 200.5
Bader Samreen 138 vs. Viorel Simion 138.6

Venue: Diriyah Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Promoter: Skill Challenge Entertainment
TV: ESPN+ PPV ($49.99)

The showdown between Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia is set for April 22 on Showtime PPV at a venue to be named in Las Vegas.

Stephen Espinoza, President, SHOWTIME Sports: “Tank Davis vs. Ryan Garcia is one of the biggest and most exciting fights that can be made in boxing. We have two supremely talented boxers, both in their prime, who have amassed huge fanbases, meeting in a career-defining fight. This is the epitome of a crossover boxing event. All credit to Tank and Ryan for staying the course and giving the fans the fight they want. SHOWTIME has delivered the three biggest pay-per-view events in television history and we are thrilled to add this marquee event to our list of culture-moving matchups.”

Oscar De La Hoya: The fans have been crystal clear that the fight they want is Ryan versus Tank. Golden Boy Promotions and I are proud to be leading the drive to get this fight signed and are excited to get a deal finalized ASAP. It’s high time that those outside the ring stop getting in the way of those who want nothing more than to get into the ring and fight. Our motto has always been that the fans come first, and this is just another example of how we’re leading by example.

Report/Photos by Damon Gonzalez / LatinBox Sports

Former two-division world champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (21-3, 14 KOs) from Santiago De Cuba wasted little time destroying Jesus Martinez (21-3, 14 KOs) in front of a screaming soldout crowd at the Hialeah Park Casino in Hialeah, Florida. Rigo ended Martinez’ night quickly, flooring him multiple times before the fight was waved off at 1:14 of round one.

Continue reading “Rigondeaux demolishes Martinez in 74 seconds”

Weights and Photos by Brad Snyder-The Undercard

Michael Kowalski 174.6 vs. Gary Edwards TBA
David Olvera Rojas 109.2 vs. Kenneth Jameson 105.1
Vernon Webber 207.1 vs. Larry Pryor 195
Derick Miller Jr 193.6 vs. Eric Abraham 194
Dwane Taylor 139.3 vs. Carlos Nunez 134.8
Ferris Dixon Jr 133.8 vs. Gabor Kovacs 134.8
Joseph Gerome Hicks 161.2 vs. Bilal Quintyne 160.2
Da’Velle Smith 161.5 vs. Gyorgy Mizsei 154.8
Samuel Rizzo 130.6 vs. Jalen Woodmore 129
Joshua James Pagan 140.8 vs. Istvan Bela Orban 141.5
Matthew Niziolek 152.7 vs. Ishmael Dixon 148.4

Carlos Llnas and Motor City Casino Soundboard present Night of Knockouts 25. First Bell is at 7pm. Doors at 6pm. Very limited tickets available at Ticketmaster.com or the Soundboard Ticket Office.