Fightnews.com

The date and the next opponent of WBC #5 heavyweight terror Arslanbek Makhmudov (16-0, 15 KOs) are now known. The current NABA and NABF heavyweight titleholder will face undefeated 6’8 Raphael Akpejiori (15-0, 14 KOs) on July 1st in the co-feature of the Top Rank gala featuring Jared Anderson (14-0, 14 KOs) against Zhan Kossobutskiy (19-0, 18 KOs) at the at Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio. The event will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

Arslanbek Makhmudov: “Fighting for the first time in the United States, the Mecca of boxing, represents a major opportunity for me, not only because it will give me the opportunity to showcase my talent on the world stage, but also because it brings me one step closer to my dream of becoming world champion. I have dedicated my life to boxing, worked hard and made every sacrifice to get to this crucial moment in my career. I am ready. I’m ready to fight the best, and to give a memorable show to the boxing fans around the world.”

Raphael Akpejiori: “I’ve been preparing myself physically and mentally, and I can’t wait for the bell to ring to show the world what Raphael Akpejiori is made of! I don’t expect this fight to be easy, but I have been preparing for this moment for a long time. I am used to working hard. I’m used to adversity, obstacles and pain. This is just a new chapter, and I am more than ready. This is an opportunity to represent the African continent on a global scale, and I don’t intend to disappoint.”

Matchroom and DAZN have announced a three-year extension to their broadcast deals in the USA and Mexico. The deal comes days before Canelo Alvarez defends his undisputed super middleweight crown against John Ryder in $54.99 pay-per-view fight on the network.

“I am delighted to announce this extension to our deal with DAZN in the US and Mexico,” said Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn. “DAZN’s schedule is, without doubt, the best in the sport, and our big nights in the States and all-action cards in Mexico are a massive part of that. This new deal means more undisputed, unified, and world title blockbusters, more 50-50 wars with the top contenders and more showcasing the best-rising talent in the region – and we’re ready to provide further thrilling action and value for the DAZN subscribers.”

Elijah Williams 143 vs. Marko Bailey 142.4
Deion Pruitt 173 vs. Marcell Sims Jr. 179.8
Eric Arellano 232 vs. Martez Poe 201.6
Kevin Torian 201.4 vs. Daquanti Johnson 201

Venue: Troubadour Nashville, Nashville, Tennessee
Promoter: Jimmy Adams Promotions
Free Stream: countrybox247.com / FITE.TV (Marc Abrams & Former NFL All-Pro Albert Haynesworth on the call)
1st Bell: 7 PM CT (8 PM ET)

Joey Dawejko 262.1 vs. Colby Madison 252.4
Brendan O’Callaghan 155.4 vs. Roudly Lolo 154.3
Tyler Zwicarowsi 156.3 vs. Vincent Floyd 161.5
Christopher Burgos 140.8 vs. Tyree Arnold 143
Darin Holiday 119.9 vs. Emanuel Moreno 118.8

Venue: Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia
Promoter: King’s Promotions
Stream: BXNGTV.com
1st Bell: 7:00 PM

As the boxing world descends upon Guadalajara, México for Canelo-Ryder fight week, Canelo Promotions will show off two of their young undefeated prospects on ProBox TV Wednesday night.

The originally announced card has now been reshuffled with the main event of super featherweight Jonathan Lopez (10-0, 7 KOs) from Orlando, Florida, against Osvaldo Nuñez (5-4, 0 KOs) from Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico, in a ten-round clash. The co-feature is super welterweight Lazaro Lorenzana (10-0, 8 KOs) of San Diego, California against Alexis Rios (4-2-1, 1 KO) from Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico, in an eight-round bout. Also, a pair of six-rounders will feature Oscar Hernandez (4-1, 2 KOs) against Joseph Morales (2-1-1, 1 KO) at super bantamweight, and Cesar Ortiz (5-0, 5 KOs) against Antonio Gonzalez (3-5, 1 KO) in a lightweight matchup.

Undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) is a whopping -1800 favorite to retain his WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO belts against WBO mandatory challenger John Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs) in the big fight of the coming weekend at the 50,000-seat Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. The bout can be seen on DAZN PPV for $54.99 if you’re a subscriber.

In the co-feature, WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez (19-2, 14 KOs) defends against Ronal Batista 15-2, 9 KOs). Other notable bouts include light welterweight contender Steve Spark (16-2, 14 KOs) against Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela (26-3-1, 16 KOs), and combacking former WBC light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk (18-1, 14 KOs) against Ricards Bolotniks (19-6-1, 8 KOs).

Local prospects will highlight undercard action in Detroit on June 3 for the rematch between undisputed female middleweight world champion Claressa Shields and four-division world champion Hanna Gabriels from Little Caesars Arena and streamed on DAZN in the U.S. and Canada.

The lineup will see middleweight Da’Velle Smith (5-0, 4 KOs) take on fellow unbeaten Kahydlian Woods (4-0, 3 KOs) in a six-round showdown, super lightweight Joshua Pagan (5-0, 2 KOs) battling the undefeated Ronnell Burnett (9-0, 5 KOs) in a six-round attraction, middleweight Joseph Hicks Jr. (6-0, 5 KOs) in an eight-rounder vs. TBA, and super welterweight Gheith Karim (9-0, 3 KOs) against Marlon Harrington (8-1, 7 KOs) scheduled for eight rounds.

The step-up fight for former amateur stand-out Hugo Noriega (7-0, 4 KOs) in his first professional 10 round bout was a successful one Saturday night. Noriega defeated Jean Rivera-Pacheco (8-2, 1KO) of Puerto Rico in the main event to win the vacant WBA Fedcaribe welterweight title by unanimous decisión. Scores were 96-94, 100-90, 98-92. The event took place at the Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resort in Miami, Florida with M&R Boxing Promotions (Laura Ching) promoting. Continue reading “Miccosukee Saturday night results”

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with “The Ghost” Frank Martin as he was scouting fellow lightweight sensation William Zepeda who finished Jamie Arboleda with three body shot knockdowns in round two. Martin also shared his thoughts on the Tank-KingRy fight and what he would do to Tank if they ever fight.

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By Jeff Zimmerman

Unbeaten lightweight William “El Camarón” Zepeda (28-0, 24 KOs) and unbeaten featherweight Victor Morales Jr. (18-0-1, 9 KOs) comment on their impressive knockout wins Saturday night in Arlington, Texas.

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David Stevens post fight interview
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Ronnie Shields post fight interview
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Tristan “Sweet T” Kalkreuth & Coach Bullet post fight interview
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By Jeff Zimmerman

The Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya was in Arlington, Texas to promote Zepeda-Arboleda on DAZN and shared his thoughts on his star Ryan Garcia after his tough loss to Tank Davis last weekend, his lunch with David Benavidez, and much more!

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By Jeff Zimmerman at ringside

Undefeated lightweight knockout artist William “El Camarón” Zepeda (28-0, 24 KOs) destroyed Jaime “Jaimito” Arboleda (19-3, 14 KOs) in two brutal rounds on Saturday night in the College Park Center at The University of Texas at Arlington campus. The aggressive Zepeda dropped Arboleda three times with body shots in round two to end it. Time was 2:16. Zepeda successfully defended his WBA Continental Americas title.

“We prepared for a complicated fight, he was hungry to make a point,” said Zepeda. “We had planned to go to the body the first couple of rounds and end it at the top, but we were able to finish the job early with just getting him at the body. I will prove to the world that I am the best at 135. I want to fight the best world champions out there. I signed up for boxing not ballet.”

In an unexpected firefight, unbeaten featherweight Victor Morales, Jr. (18-0-1, 9 KOs), a 2:1 underdog, spectacularly crushed Diego De La Hoya (24-2, 11 KOs) in two rounds. Morales busted up and dropped De La Hoya twice in round two to end it. Oscar’s nephew was counted out at 1:08.

Super welterweight Frederick “General Okunka” Lawson (30-3, 22 KOs) edged Estevan “Manos De Oro” Villalobos (16-2-1, 12 KOs) over ten rounds by scores of 96-94, 96-94, 97-93. Villalobos nearly stopped Lawson in the tenth round, but it was too little, too late..

Unbeaten super middleweight David “Dynamite” Stevens (13-0, 9 KOs) got all he could handle from 38-year-old former world title challenger Marco Periban (26-7-1, 17 KOs), winning an eight round unanimous decision. Scores were 78-73, 78-73, 77-74. Steven down in round three.

Former middleweight title challenger Brandon Cook (25-2, 17 KOs) overcame a fourth round knockdown to edge Gino Godoy (29-3, 18 KOs) by ten round split decision on Saturday night at the Pickering Casino Resort in Pickering, Ontario, Canada. Close fight. Scores were 95-94, 95-94 for local favorite Cook, 96-93 for Godoy, who came in from Argentina.

Report/Photos: Scott Foster

Saturday night Reyes Fire Fist Boxing, in conjunction with the Hilton Carillon in St. Petersburg, FL, continued their championship series, “Fire on the Bay.” Headlining the eight-bout card, Ireland-born/Florida-based WBA #4 middleweight Conner “The Kid” Coyle (19-0, 9 KOs) made the second defense of his NABF title, dispatching the typically durable Christian Fabian Rios (23-17, 3 KOs). Coyle showed patience early, establishing the jab to control the movement of the southpaw Rios. By the middle rounds, steady bodywork from Coyle began to sap the strength of Rios, allowing for more exchanges that were typically punctuated by Conner’s lead right hands. At the conclusion of the scheduled ten rounds, all judges saw the bout the same, 100-90 for Coyle who retained his NABF title and now appears poised to vie for the world title. Continue reading “Coyle tops Rios in St Pete”

Jeff Zimmerman at ringside

Tristan Kalkreuth 201.6 vs. Jonathan Rice 224.6

In a back-and-forth battle, heavyweight Tristan “Sweet T” Kalkreuth (10-1, 7 KOs) out of Duncanville, TX, won a hard-fought unanimous decision against Jonathan Rice (2-3, 2 KOs) from nearby Cleburne over six rounds. Rice took the fight to Kalkreuth early and had some success with head shots as Kalkreuth spent time on the ropes. As the fight wore on, Kalkreuth unleashed his jab and shots to the body to slow down the bigger Rice. Both guys had their moments throughout the fight, but the cleaner shots by Kalkreuth proved to be the difference. Kalkreuth told Fightnews.com immediately after the fight that he was sticking to cruiserweight and did not want to fight these big boys anymore. Rice outweighed Kalkreuth by almost 25lbs. Coach Bullet for Team Kalkreuth was also happy with his performance as he predicted at the weigh-ins that the jab would be the difference. The scores read 59-55 on all three cards. Continue reading “Zepeda-Arboleda Early Results – Non TV”

The WBO Championship Committee has been advised that handlers of WBO #2 junior welterweight Arnold Barboza do not wish to proceed with the WBO-ordered eliminator against #3 Liam Paro on the financial terms afforded by Matchroom’s winning purse bid from April 27. The next available contender is former champion Jose Ramirez, who has been given 48 hours to confirm his interest in fighting Paro. If Barboza won’t take it, it’s highly doubtful Ramirez will considering that they have the same management. In the event Ramirez is uninterested and/or unavailable, the WBO Committee will proceed to the next available contender, Shohjahon Ergashev.

By Robert Coster

A 16-bout fight card was held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Friday night. The main event saw hot Dominican prospect Franklyn De Paula (7-0, 6 KOs) win the WBA Fedecaribe flyweight title by ten round unanimous decision over tough Gilbert Gonzalez (18-4-1, 13 KOs) of Venezuela. The one-sided scoring (100-90, 99-91, 99-91) did not reflect how hard the contest actually was for De Paula. Continue reading “De Paula wins WBA Fedecaribe title”

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with one of boxing’s best trainers, Ronnie Shields, in Dallas yesterday as he has hot prospect David Stevens on the Golden Boy card tonight headlined by Zepeda-Arboleda at the UTA Event Center in Arlington and live on DAZN. Shields talked about the talent of Stevens, the return to the ring for Jermall Charlo this summer and his other champ David Morrell Jr in his pursuit of David Benavidez and Canelo in this exclusive interview.

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By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with Coach Bullet yesterday in Dallas for the Golden Boy card tonight headlined by Zepeda-Arboleda on DAZN. Coach Bullet is now training one of Golden Boy’s young, rising stars Tristan “Sweet T” Kalkreuth who is on the card. Coach Bullet talked about the talent of Kalkreuth and claimed Ryan Garcia lacked heart in his fight with Tank Davis and hopes for a rematch with Tank and his fighter Rolly Romero at 140 in this exclusive interview.

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Hometown favorite and former multi-time world title challenger Miguel “Mickey” Roman (65-14, 49 KOs) of Cuidad Juarez Mexican took on Jorge “Kan” Mata Cuellar (15-1-2, 10 KOs) of Guadalajara, Mexico on Friday night at the Gymnasio Josue Nery Santos in Cuidad Juarez, Mexico with the WBC international super featherweight title at stake. The visiting Mata came out strong in round one, firing and landing rapid combinations to the head and body. In round two, Roman was cut above his left eye. Instant replay showed that the cut was caused by a headbutt and the bout was announced as a no contest draw by the ring announcer. In a surprising turn of events following the final ruling, an unidentified man pushed Mata very hard in the back of the head. The man was immediately removed from the ring. Mata appeared to be unfazed as he went and gave Roman the traditional sportmanship greeting after the fight.

Connor Coyle 159.4 vs. Fernando Ezequiel Farias 160
(WBA NABA middleweight title)

William Silva 134.6 vs. Diego Gonzalo Luque 134.8
Joseph Fernandez 139 vs. Marqus Bates 139
Rodrigo Coria 153.2 vs. Marcelo Fabian Bzowski 159
Imran Haddabah 175 vs. Scott Lampert 175
(NBA Americas regional light heavyweight title)
Mike Misa 174.6 vs. Russ Kimber 171
Luke Iannuccilli 154.8 vs. Christopher Wright 152
Gabriel Morales 138.6 vs. Nathan Harp, Jr. (night weigh-in)

Venue: Hilton Carillon in St. Petersburg, FL.
Promoter: Reyes Boxing & Fire Fist Promotions

By Jeff Zimmerman at the scale

(William Zepeda 134.2 vs. Jaime Arboleda 134.6
WBA Continental Americas lightweight title)

Diego De La Hoya 126 vs. Victor Morales Jr. 125.4
Fredrick Lawson 149 vs. Esteban Villalobos 152
David Stevens 168 vs. Marco a. Periban 167.2
Tristan Kalkreuth 201.6 vs. Jonathan Rice 224.6
Caleb Suñiga 129.4 vs. Carlos Arroyo 130.2
Darius Fulghum 174.2 vs. Jay Williams 175.6
Robert Cruz 157.8 vs. Tyrone Selders 157.2

Venue: College Park Center in Arlington, Texas
Promoter: Golden Boy
TV: DAZN

Top-10 ranked light heavyweight Ali Izmailov (10-0, 7 KOs) faces his toughest test to date when he takes on fellow unbeaten Charles Foster (22-0, 12 KOs) in the 10-round main event as ShoBox: The New Generation returns to Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, N.Y., during Hall of Fame Weekend on Friday, June 9 on Showtime. This marks the second straight year ShoBox will be a part of the Hall of Fame Induction Weekend festivities.

The tripleheader features two undefeated matchups and includes fighters with a combined record of 99-2-2 and 56 knockouts. In the co-feature, Richard Vansiclen (13-0-1, 6 KOs) takes on fellow unbeaten Juan Carrillo (10-0, 8 KOs) in a 10-round light heavyweight matchup. In the telecast opener, former ShoBox main-event winner and rising super lightweight prospect Mykquan Williams (19-0-1, 8 KOs) will face Ryan Martin (25-2, 15 KOs) in a 10-rounder. Continue reading “ShoBox announces June 9 tripleheader”

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with WBA regular super middleweight champion and rising star David Morrell (9-0, 8 KOs) coming off his first-round knockout of Yamaguchi Falcao as the co-main event on the Super Fight of Tank vs. Ryan last weekend in Las Vegas. Morrell talked about his journey to the United States from Cuban, where he gets his knockout power, and his desire to fight the Mexican Monster David Benavidez in this exclusive interview.

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