Fightnews.com

Boxing Hall of Famer and undefeated legend Floyd “Money” Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) will hold a press conference this week to announce his latest exhibition fight as he prepares to take on professional boxer and mixed martial artist John Gotti III (2-0, 1 KO), the grandson of famous mob boss John Gotti.

This showdown will headline “Last Names Matter” taking place Sunday, June 11 from FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida in an event that will also feature musical performances from Ozuna and more. The event is dedicated to the loving memory of Marikit “Kitchie” Laurico, Mayweather’s longtime assistant who passed away suddenly in April.

By Jeff Zimmerman

Just mere days after Gervonta “Tank” Davis laid claim to being the “face of boxing” after his resounding one-punch body shot KO against “King” Ryan Garcia last weekend at the T-Mobile Center in Las Vegas, the self-proclaimed “Biggest Instigator in Boxing,” Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins, bared all in what he described as an attempt by the PBC to silence him during fight week and the fight itself.

Hopkins shed light in a phone interview with Fightnews.com® last night that included the potential riot that was sparked by Hopkins putting his hands on Davis at the weigh-ins, why he was conspicuously not in the ring during the fighter’s ring walk and the “no show” from him and Oscar De La Hoya at the post-fight presser.

Hopkins, as usual, did not pull any punches as he took aim at the PBC and their ringleader Al Haymon in this post-fight rant. In a four-part series on Fightnews.com® earlier this year and well before the Tank-Ryan fight was officially announced in late February, Hopkins put the whole boxing community on blast as he called out fighters, promoters (including his own) and especially Haymon as the main reason why the biggest fights were not getting made, such as Spence-Crawford.

But when Garcia agreed to all the stipulations made by “Team Tank” to make this fight happen such as the 136 catchweight and the 10lb rehydration clause, boxing had its first “Super Fight” in a long time. Hopkins declared during the lead-up, that this fight could be the genesis of the “best fighting the best.” Continue reading “Hopkins: PBC tried to silence me”

By Joe Koizumi

“Champion maker” Kenji Yonekura passed away last Thursday (April 20) here in Japan. He was 88. Yonekura, as a boxer, was a household name in 1960’s since he was Japan’s representative in Melbourne Olympic Games in 1956 (his amateur mark was 71-7) and was a two-time world challenger to his credit.

Kenji was an intelligent speedster with fast footwork and great hand speed. Having acquired the vacant Japanese flyweight belt merely in his fifth pro bout, he had an ambitious crack at the world 112-pound belt against Pascual Perez, losing a 15-round decision in Tokyo in 1959. It was from world-rated Filipino Leo Espinosa that Yonekura captured the Orient (then OBF, not OPBF) bantam belt in January 1960.

A legitimate 118-pounder, Yonekura challenged NBA ruler Jose Becerra and demonstrated his best form, losing a hairline split decision (146-142, 141-147 for Becerra and 143-148 for Kenji) over fifteen fast-paced rounds in Tokyo in May 1960. Continue reading ““Champion Maker” Kenji Yonekura passes”

ESPN has announced that they will air Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson (14-0, 14 KOs) against Zhan Kossobutskiy (19-0, 18 KOs) on July 1 in Toledo, Ohio, Anderson’s hometown. This will be the big-punching “Real Big Baby’s first main event. Kossobutskiy Will be making his U.S. debut. He has previously defeated the likes of Johann Duhaupas and Joey Dawejko, so looks to be a step up for Anderson.

Hot unbeaten welterweight Hugo Noriega (6-0, 4 KOs) of Cuba steps up in his first professional ten rounder. The bout will take place on Saturday at the renowned Miccosukee Indian Gaming Resort in Miami, Florida, on a card promoted by M&R Boxing Promotions (Laura Ching). Welterweight Noriega will take on Jean Rivera-Pacheco (8-1, 1 KO) of Puerto Rico, with the WBA Fedcaribe title at stake. Noriega is on the fast track, having fought four times in 2022 and will now be in his second bout of 2023. Continue reading “Boxing back at the Miccosukee Saturday”

The showdown between undefeated knockout artist William “El Camarón” Zepeda (27-0, 23 KOs) former world title challenger Jaime “Jaimito” Arboleda (19-2, 14 KOs) will take center stage on a sparse Saturday night this weekend. The 12-round main event will be broadcast live worldwide on DAZN from College Park Center at The University of Texas at Arlington campus.

Golden Boy has now announced the finalized lineup with featherweight Diego De La Hoya (24-1, 11 KOs) in a ten-rounder against stablemate Victor Morales, Jr. (17-0-1, 8 KOs). The WBA Intercontinental title is now on the line.

In other action, Frederick “General Okunka” Lawson (29-3, 22 KOs) will fight Estevan “Manos De Oro” Villalobos (16-1-1, 12 KOs) in a 10-round super welterweight bout. Opening up the DAZN broadcast will be eight rounds of super middleweight action, with David “Dynamite” Stevens (12-0, 9 KOs) against Marco Periban (26-6-1, 17 KOs). Continue reading “Zepeda-Arboleda undercard finalized”

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

What an incredible Sunday I spent at the Alfredo Harp Helu Stadium, the home of the Diablos Rojos México, to see the third match of the traditional Mexican Civil War, between the Diablos and Quintana Roo Tigres!

On Friday, the Diablos came back from 10-0 deficit to win with a bases-loaded home run in the final inning, with two outs and two strikes!

The dream of all baseball players in the world, to hit that winning home run, and slugger Japhet Amador achieved it.

This Sunday, we gathered with family and friends to attend the third match, and the Reds won the series, defeating the Tigres, owned by the great Mexican idol Fernando Valenzuela.

Baseball is the sport of the Sulaimans. Continue reading “Baseball and Boxing”

Middleweight Liam “Beefy” Smith (33-3-1, 20 KOs) faces Chris Eubank Jr (32-3, 23 KOss) in a high stakes rematch on June 17 at AO Arena in Manchester, England. Smith upset the favored Eubank by brutal fourth round stoppage back in January.

Liam Smith: [On Eubank’s claims that he wanted the January fight to continue] “Any other fighter gets stopped after that first knockdown. It all happened to him on one night, everything he thought couldn’t happen to him, everything Chris prides himself on not happening, happened to him on one night – and I did it to him.

“I knew I was a better fighter than Chris. Now I know I can hurt him and hurt him quite handily at 160lbs. Now I’m massively confident. To save face he had to take this rematch if he wants to go any further in his career. He’s got a lot of demons to overcome.”

Chris Eubank Jr: [On the January stoppage] “The thing I regret is not being given the chance to get through it. I wanted to continue. I wanted to see if I could overcome that adversity and I feel like I was robbed of that challenge. This is what we sign up for. We signed up to get hurt. We sign up for the possibility of receiving punishment. If a beating was what I was going to take if the fight had been left to go longer, then great, that’s what I deserve. I would have accepted that. I would have enjoyed that. In my opinion, he didn’t stop me, the referee stopped me. In a sense we both got robbed there. I’m a grizzled veteran in the sport, I know how much I can take, I know when I can’t go on. I was buzzed but I knew what was going on.”

* * *
Undisputed female world super middleweight champion Franchón “FCD” Crews-Dezurn (8-1, 2 KOs) puts all her gold on the line against Savannah “The Silent Assassin” Marshall (12-1, 10 KOs) in the co-headline bout.

Franchón Crews-Dezurn: “She gave a valiant fight in October [against Shields] but it might not be the same, it’s going to be a little worse this time. We’re here right now and I’m telling you June 17 is going to be fun for me. There are some things in boxing you can’t teach.”

Savannah Marshall: “There’s no weight cutting, no being drained for fights so I think this weight will suit me a lot better. I believe I’m at world level and if I can’t mix it with the likes of Franchon what good am I in boxing? Our styles have changed to suit the pros. I’m no mug, I’m not overlooking her. It’s going to be a hard night’s work. She’s a tough, rugged, very experienced fighter but I believe I beat her.”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Former undisputed 135-pound world champion George Kambosos (20-2, 10 KOs) will clash with Englishman Maxi Hughes (26-5-2, 5 KOs) for the IBO lightweight crown on July 29 in Las Vegas.

“I will stop him,” Kambosos told News Corp. “I’m not just going to beat him, I will knock him out or seriously put a beating on this guy. He is a crafty veteran, so I won’t take him lightly. It’s a huge opportunity for him, too, so I know how he will look at it, but I’m considering victory and nothing else. I’m not even worried about another loss. I am levels above Maxi Hughes. There is nothing he can do that I didn’t see against Devin Haney, let alone the 22 fights I’ve had in my career. I will win the fight and Ferocious will be back!”

Ring officials are set for the undisputed super middleweight championship on May 6 in Guadalajara between Canelo Álvarez and John Ryder. The four major boxing sanctioning bodies will equally oversee the bout.

The referee will be Mike Griffin (WBC). The judges will be Joe Pasquale (IBF), Jeremy Hayes (WBA), and Gerardo Martínez (WBO).

The supervisors will be the presidents of the bodies:
WBC – Mauricio Sulaiman
WBO – Francisco Valcárcel
IBF – Daryl Peoples
WBA – Gilberto Mendoza

Super welterweight ‘King’ Callum Walsh, (6-0, 5 KOs) faces former contender Carson Jones (43-15-3, 31 KOs) in a ten-rounder on the next edition of the ‘Hollywood Fight Nights’ series, set for Friday, June 9 at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, CA and broadcast globally on UFC Fightpass.

Callum Walsh: “Boston was a tremendous experience but now it’s time to prepare for another great performance in my second home, Los Angeles, California. I know how tough of a fighter Carson Jones is and Freddie and I have already started our preparations at Wild Card.”

Carson Jones: “I feel really good about this fight and I’m definitely coming for the upset. I believe my experience will be the deciding factor. I need to make it a rough and tough dog fight and then I’ll be too much for him. Fans can absolutely expect to see an exciting fight on June 9.”

In an interesting development, one of Ryan “Kingry” Garcia’s sparring partners, two-time Olympian Erdenebat Tsendbaatar (5-0, 3 KOs), has revealed that he injured Garcia with a bodyshot during Kingry’s training camp for the Gervonta Davis fight.

In a video message, Tsendbaatar told Garcia, “Hey King Ryan, in sparring I injured you with a body shot. Now you lost to Tank. I am sorry. Are you okay?”

Garcia responded. “Actually sad that I had a mole in my camp. Like WTF. That’s crazy but that’s good it’s brought to light now.”

Tsendbaatar, however, denied that he’s the mole and said he never informed the Tank camp of Ryan’s injury.

“Who is Mole? What are you talking about? I am not mole. I don’t even speak English,” stated Tsendbaatar. “I don’t even like Tank. I will fight him and KO him in the future.

“During our sparring, I tried to help you and sparred Tank-style boxing. I was cheering for you to win against Tank. You are great boxer, but next time try to learn from sparring and hopefully you will not get hit by the same punch during the fight. Good luck to you and God bless!!”

On social media, Garcia stated, “People taking it the wrong way. I’m not saying that’s why I took the loss, I’m saying that it’s crazy that part of my team switched sides and crossed me. I would never make that an excuse, for sure. He beat me and that’s that.”

Two-time Mongolian Olympian Tsendbaatar “Chinggis Khaan” Erdenebat (5-0, 3 KOs), the fighter who says he injured Ryan Garcia with a body shot in training camp, will compete in an eight-round super featherweight bout against Edy Valencia Mercado (20-9-6, 7 KOs) on Thursday night at New York City’s Sony Hall. DAZN will televise.

“I’m definitely the face of boxing. Abso-fu*king-lutely!” proclaimed Tank Davis after his seventh round KO over Ryan Garcia on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

“I didn’t think that body shot would end it, but I saw his facial expression and that’s what made me take it to him,” added Davis. “It was a good shot, for sure. I thought he was going to get up but I like to play mind games, so when he was looking at me, I was looking at him trying to tell him, ‘get up!’ And he just shook his head, no.”

* * *

Garcia stated, “He just caught me with a good shot. I don’t want to make any excuses in here. He caught me with a good shot and I just couldn’t recover and that’s it. He caught me with a good body shot, snuck under me and caught me good. I couldn’t breathe. I was going to get back up, but I just couldn’t get up.”

By Miguel Maravilla

WBA “regular” lightweight champion Gervonta Davis talks about his knockout win over Ryan Garcia on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

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By Miguel Maravilla

Following his defeat Ryan “Kingry” Garcia (23-1, 19 KOs) of Victorville, California, spoke about his first career defeat at the hands of Baltimore’s Gervonta “Tank” Davis (28-0, 26 KOs). Garcia suffered a seventh round knockout loss Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. At the postfight press conference, he stated his intentions to move up to 140 and return soon.

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By Miguel Maravilla

Interesting scoring in round two. Tank Davis scored a knockdown, but not one of the three judges scored it 10-8. Judge Dave Moretti had 10-10, while judges Steve Weisfeld and Tim Cheatham had 10-9 for Tank. At the time of the KO, Davis was ahead 58-56, 59-56, 59.55.

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

Undefeated WBA “regular” lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) scored a seventh round KO against “Kingry” Ryan Garcia (23-1, 19 KOs) in a non-title grudge match fought at a 136lb catch weight on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. After a slow first round, Garcia opened up in round two until Davis dropped him with a counter left. Tactical fight after that until Davis landed a short body shot in round seven. Garcia took a knee and was counted out. Time was 1:44. Continue reading “Tank KOs Kingry with body shot in round seven”

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

WBA “regular” super middleweight champion David Morrell Jr. (9-0, 8 KOs), of Minnesota by way of Cuba, destroyed 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Yamaguchi Falcao (24-2-1, 10 KOs), of Brazil, in the first round in the Tank-Kingry co-feature on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Morrell Jr. rocked Falcao early in the opening round. Falcao turned his back staggered and received a standing eight count. After the count, a crushing Morrell right hand brutally laid out Falcao face first to end it. Time was 2:22. Falcao, who was down for several minutes, took the fight on ten days notice.

“David Benavidez is next,” said Morrell afterward. “Where is he? I want to fight Benavidez. He’s next, 100%. I don’t want any other guys at 168-pounds. Just Benavidez. I respect Benavidez and his team, but inside the ring, I don’t respect anything.”

Former world champion Joe Cordina (16-0, 9 KOs) regained the IBF super featherweight title he was stripped of with a twelve round split decision over reigning beltholder Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (17-1-1, 14 KOs) on Saturday night at the Cardiff International Arena in Cardiff, Wales. Cordina dropped Rakhimov in round two. Rakhimov’s best moment was when he rocked Cordina in round five. In round six, a cut over Rakhimov’s left eye became progressively worse and Cordina took advantage with repeated punishing right hands. Rakhimov sucked it up and battled hard until the final bell. Scores were 116-111 Rakhimov, 115-112, 114-113 Cordina.

In a clash for the vacant WBC bridgerweight title, undefeated hometown hero Łukasz Rozański (15-0, 14 KOs) scored a first round TKO against previously unbeaten Alen “The Savage” Babic (11-1, 10 KOs) on Saturday night at the G2A Arena in Rzeszów, Poland. Rozański took the fight right at Babic. He knocked down Babic and then got a referee’s stoppage with his follow-up barrage. Time was 2:10. Babic, a slight favorite going in, complained about the stoppage. There was a 50 minute delay before the fight due to the gloves being misplaced.

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