Fightnews.com

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with Biaggio Ali Walsh, the grandson of the GOAT, Muhammad Ali, as he prepares for his second amateur mixed martial arts fight for the Professional Fighters League (PFL) this Friday night at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas and shown on ESPN+. Ali Walsh talked about his upcoming fight and how much he has improved since he fought last December. He talked about Jake Paul signing with the PFL, Roy Jones Jr fighting Anthony “Showtime” Pettis in a boxing match last weekend and his reaction to Sugar Ray Leonard saying, “there would be no Sugar Ray Leonard without Muhammad Ali” and much more in this exclusive interview.

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Cancels title bout with Shigeoka

By Joe Koizumi

WBC 105-pound champ Panya Pradabsri (39-1, 23 KOs), Thailand, has caught flu and had to cancel his defense against unbeaten Japanese Yudai Shigeoka (6-0, 4 KOs) scheduled in Tokyo on April 16. Pradabsri, 32, was slated to arrive here this coming Friday, but has sent his diagnosis and picture in the hospital to the organizer here. 3150 Promotions is reportedly struggling to have it an interim title bout of Yudai, 26, against some highly ranked contender under the WBC’s sanction. The local promoter had publicized it as a twinbill featuring Shigeoka brothers’ dual 105-pound title goes. Another is the interim IBF championship bout of Ginjiro Shigeoka (8-0-1NC, 6 KOs), 23, against Filipino Rene Mark Cuarto (21-3-2, 12 KOs). Time is so limited.

By Przemek Garczarczyk

Unbeaten 6’7 heavyweight Damian “Polish Hussar” Knyba (10-0, 6 KOs) will have his first bout as a Top Rank fighter this Saturday on the big Shakur Stevenson vs. Shuichiro Yoshino world title card at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Knyba, who knows how to handle heavy equipment – was a promising shot put athlete! – and can’t wait to unload some heavy punches on Curtis Harper (14-8, 9 KOs). Continue reading “Knyba: I want to hit him hard!”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

WBO interim super welterweight champion Tim Tszyu has decided to have a bout in June with another top contender before challenging undisputed 154 pound champion Jermell Charlo in August or September. “The bloke hasn’t fought for 12 months,” Tszyu told Fox Sports.”How long can you keep postponing a fight? All I can do is focus on myself. I think he understands this isn’t an easy fight for him and so he wants to be 120 percent ready.

“I think before he was taking me lightly, saying he was going to beat me with one hand. That he was ready to fight with one hand. Now he knows though. So he’s taking his time. He will try and postpone it for as long as he can.”

Unbeaten super middleweight Robert Daniels Jr. (8-0, 7 KOs) will have his first scheduled ten round bout April 29th When he takes on veteran Michi Munoz Zavala (28-17-1, 19 KOs). In Daniel’s corner will be former pro boxer and current Jake Paul assistant trainer J’Leon Love. The bout will take place in Cancun, Mexico. Daniels Jr. is the son of former world champion Robert Daniels Sr. It can be a lot of pressure following in the footsteps of a father who was a world champion, but Daniels Jr. embraces the opportunity and is looking to carve out his own legacy in boxing. Continue reading “Daniels Jr. looks to shine in Cancun April 29”

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® went one-on-one with the legendary Sugar Ray Leonard as he launched his amazing new line of gloves – Sugar Ray Leonard Collection with Title Boxing. The line takes Sugar Ray down memory lane with his most memorable fights against Tommy Hearns, Roberto Duran and Marvelous Marvin Hagler as well as his gold medal win at the 1976 Olympics. Sugar Ray talked about the fight game today versus his era and his love for Muhammad Ali and so much more in this exclusive interview. Photo: Title Boxng.

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Carlos “Tiburon” Sanchez 142.6 vs. Alexander Duran 144.2
Brandon “King” Reyes 118 vs. Abraham Arreola 117.3
Eduardo “Lalo” Martinez 151.2 vs. Rogaciano Guerrero 152.1

Venue: Auditorio BlackBerry, Mexico City
Promoter: Marquez Promotions, Chiquita Gonzalez Promotions, ProBox Promotions
TV: ProBox TV

Two matchups will be featured on the $59.99 ESPN+ PPV undercard headlined of the telecast headlined by undisputed lightweight champion Devin “The Dream” Haney against former three-division champ Vasiliy “Loma” Lomachenko on Saturday, May 20 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The 10-round junior lightweight co-feature will see former two-division world champion Oscar Valdez (30-1, 23 KOs) taking on Adam “BluNose” Lopez (16-4, 6 KOs) in a rematch of their 2019 battle. In the PPV opener, unbeaten lightweight Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (17-0, 14 KOs) takes a big step up in competition versus former world title challenger Jeremia Nakathila (23-2, 19 KOs) in a 10-round clash.

UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) has announced that retired former world champion Amir Khan has been banned from all sports for two years following anti-doping rule violations for the presence and use of a prohibited substance. On February 19, 2022, UKAD collected an in-competition urine sample from Khan after his fight against Kell Brook at the Manchester Arena. Khan’s sample returned an adverse analytical finding for ostarine, a substance listed on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) 2022 Prohibited List as an anabolic agent and is prohibited in sports at all times.

Khan was charged with two violations, 1) presence of a prohibited substance and 2) use of a prohibited substance. Khan accepted the violations charged but maintained that his ingestion of ostarine was not intentional. As a consequence his case was referred to the National Anti-Doping Panel to be considered by an independent tribunal. Continue reading “UKAD bans Amir Khan for two years”

WBO cruiserweight champion Lawrence ‘The Sauce’ Okolie (19-0, 14 KOs) will defend against Chris ‘The Gentleman’ Billam-Smith (17-1, 12 KOs) on May 27 within the cozy confines of Vitality Stadium in Billam-Smith’s hometown of Bournemouth, England. The clash will top promoter BOXXER’s first ever stadium show.

Lawrence Okolie: “I’m pumped, I’m ready to go. I’ve just come off a successful defense where I won all 12 rounds against an unknown but tough competitor [David Light on March 25]…now weeks later I am going in against a known tough boxer…not many fighters make back-to-back defenses in such a short space of time. Not many pick the hardest fights available to them, but that’s what I’m about. Chris – I love you, but I have to get the KO in this one.”

Chris Billam-Smith: “Fighting someone I know well for a world title is a very exciting opportunity. I’m elated to be fighting at the home of my beloved AFC Bournemouth in front of my phenomenal fans and on May 27th I will repay them by winning a world title.”

The PPV undercard has been announced for the clash between three-division world champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis’ and “Kingry” Ryan Garcia on Saturday, April 22 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The pay-per-view telecast will begin at 8PM ET/5PM PT and features WBA super middleweight “regular” champion David Morrell Jr. (8-0, 7 KOs) battling Sena Agbeko (27-2, 21 KOs) in the co-main event. The action will also see a rematch between super middleweight “King” Gabriel Rosado (26-16, 15 KOs) and “Bully” Bektemir Melikuziev (11-1, 9 KOs) in a 10-round showdown. Kicking off the telecast will be hard-hitting 19-year-old middleweight Elijah Garcia (14-0, 12 KOs) facing Kevin Salgado (15-1-1, 10 KOs) in a 10-round showdown.

By Boxing Bob Newman

We have learned of the passing of former undisputed lightweight champion Ken Buchanan this past Saturday, April 1st. Buchanan, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, turned pro in 1965 after capturing the ABA featherweight title. He rattled off 33 straight wins before unsuccessfully challenging future WBC 140 lb. champ Miguel Velazquez for the vacant European lightweight title in Spain, losing a close decision.

Eight months and four fights later, Buchanan found himself challenging Panamanian Ismael Laguna in San Juan, Puerto Rico for the WBA Lightweight title in June of 1970. In 100°+ heat, the Scot would nick the title by a single point: 144-143, 143-144 and 145-144. He would then gain WBC recognition by beating Ruben Navarro in Navarro’s hometown of Los Angeles- becoming undisputed lightweight champion. Continue reading “Former Lightweight champ Ken Buchanan passes”

Former two-weight world champion Jesse “BAM” Rodriguez (17-0, 11 KOs) came face-to-face with Christian Gonzalez (15-1, 5 KOs) at the famous “Alamo” in San Antonio, Texas, to kick off fight week for their clash for the vacant WBO flyweight title at the Boeing Center, live worldwide on DAZN.

Rodriguez stated, “Gonzalez is ranked #2, he’s tall, he’s lengthy and he likes to move a lot. So, we’ve been working on how I will close the distance and cut off the ring, I’ve been sparring taller guys so on April 8, there’s not going to be a problem for me to go in there and show what we’ve been working on.”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Hall of Famer boxing broadcaster Colonel Bob Sheridan has arrived in Melbourne, Australia and was a featured speaker for an event raising funds for autism at the invitation of former Australian heavyweight contender Mick Gatto. “Equal Access for Autism” was one finest charity events I have ever attended with money going toward playgrounds for children suffering from autism,” The Colonel told Fightnews.com®.

“I want to thank Mick for inviting me to such an outstanding event that was very successful (raised AUD $2 million). It was attended by many of my Australian friends including Bernie Balmer, who is a leading Melbourne barrister and member of the WBC. I was fortunate to attend the Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday with Mick. I will depart Monday for New Zealand to see my good friend George Carlin and then I will be back in Las Vegas soon where I am scheduled for a hip replacement.” Continue reading “Colonel in Australia”

The World Boxing Association (WBA) Championships Committee has ordered negotiations for a world title fight between heavyweight “super” champion Oleksaandr Usyk and “regular” champion Daniel Dubois. The official communication was sent to the parties on Monday. The teams of both fighters will have 30 days to negotiate, which will start April 4 and will end next May 2 at the end of the day.

The fight between Usyk and Dubois had been ordered since last December 12, but a period of time was granted for Usyk to negotiate a unification fight with WBC champion Tyson Fury. Unfortunately, that fight could not be agreed on due to differences between the teams and now the WBA has ordered the fight dictated by its world title reduction plan. Continue reading “WBA orders Usyk-Dubois”

By Damon Gonzalez/LatinBox

Cruiserweight journeyman Demetrius Banks (13-12-2, 5 KOs) from Detroit, Michigan, shocked the crowd on Saturday night at the Caribe Royal in Orlando, Florida, by pulling off an upset in round one defeating previously unbeaten Adrian Pinheiro (10-1-1, 9 KOs) from Orlando, Florida. During a hard exchange of blows in the corner, Banks caught Pinheiro with a hard counterpunch that rocked Pinheiro sending him down to the canvas at the official time of 2:45. Nice KO win for Banks.

In the co-main event, hard-hitting Idalberto Umara (10-1, 9 KOs) from Hulguin, Cuba successfully defended his WBA Fedecaribe lightweight title by quickly taking out Braulio Rodriguez (20-6, 17 KOs) from Santo Domingo, DR. A devastating shot to the liver floored Rodriguez and referee Telis Assimenios waved off the contest at the official time 0:26 seconds of the opening round. Continue reading “Banks shocks Pinheiro, Umara smokes Rodriguez”

Looks like journeyman welterweight Jordan Rosario has the number of Nicky “The Bull” Vitone. Rosario (5-10, 1 KO) scored two knockdowns on Vitone (9-2-1, 7 KOs) to cap off the first knockout win of his pro career on Saturday night in front of a sold out crowd at The Terrace at Biagio in Paramus, New Jersey. Referee Sparkle Lee ended the bout in the sixth round at the 2:11 mark. Both of Vitone’s losses are to Rosario.

In the co-feature, welterweight Mike “The Champ” Lee (10-2, 7 KOs) defeated Antonio Sanchez (7-17-3, 3 KO) over six rounds by scores of 58-56, 58-56, 59-55.

Welterweight Raymond “The Scientist” Cuadrado (6-0, 2 KOs) stopped Usiel Hernandez (2-2, 0 KOs) with body shots in round three. Time was 2:55.

Other Results:
Christian Otero W4 Vinnie Denierio (lightweight)
Dane Guerrero D4 Andre Hinmon (super middleweight)
Kevin Hernandez TKO1 Elijah Muhammad Ogun (super welterweight)

Another terrific Bergen County Fight Night event presented by promoter Scott Abella and his team.

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Unbeaten IBF #15 cruiserweight Floyd Masson (13-0, 7 KOs) outscored IBF #9 Fabio “Stone Crusher” Turchi (21-3, 15 KOs) over twelve bloody and brutal rounds to capture the vacant IBO cruiserweight world championship on Saturday night at the Eaton Hills Hotel in Eaton Hills, Queensland televised nationally on Foxtel cable television network. Scores: Mateo Montella 115-112, Adam Height 115-112, David Craig 117-110.

By Joe Koizumi

JBC#1 Yuna Hara (13-2-1, 7 KOs), 130, upset Japanese super feather champ Kosuke Saka (22-7, 19 KOs), 130, to win the national belt by an avenging stoppage at 1:03 of the fourth round in a scheduled ten on Saturday in Osaka, Japan. Hara, a perennial top contender, hit the deck with hard-punching Saka’s solid right cross in the opening session, but fought back hard to dominate the next two rounds. The fourth witnessed Hara explode a left-right combo, dropping the champ back to the deck with the challenger following it up upon resumption of the fight to have the ref wisely intervene it.

It was a night of upsets, as they saw another unexpected result when unheralded Yuto Nakamura (12-7-2, 9 KOs), 117.75, came off the canvas and halted former WBA 105-pound champ Ryo Miyazaki (26-4-4, 16 KOs), 118, at 2:07 of the fourth round in a scheduled eight. Continue reading “Hara dethrones Japanese 130lb champ Saka”

Photos: Sumio Yamada

Check out this GIANT Ramirez-Dogboe photo gallery for some incredible shots. Also includes the official scorecard.

Photos

“For me, I like to come in and entertain the fans,” said 54-year-old ring legend Roy Jones Jr. after losing his fight against pro-debuting MMA fighter Anthony Pettis on Saturday night in Milwaukee. “My job is to come in and make sure that the fans get what they paid for, and I’m all good with that. I think it was a good fight. He did a great job and fought a very smart fight. I think I educated him and taught him a lot in this fight. So I think if I fought him again it would be even better because he knows a lot more now. I think it would be a really good rematch.

“I don’t do exhibitions, I fight real fights,” added Jones Jr. “I’m not an exhibition guy, I’m a real guy. I want to win, or I want to lose. But I’m going to go out on my shield, and I want to be able to do it again as many times as I want to. At 54 years old, that’s a beautiful thing, and he already said he’d do it again because one judge had it even. So that’s what I love.”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Former IBF 130-pound champ Kenichi Ogawa (27-2-1-1NC, 19 KOs), 132.25, made a fine comeback as he badly decked Thailand’s Krai Settaphon (32-10, 22 KOs), ex-WBC Asia continental titlist, three times and scored an impressive stoppage at 2:39 of the fifth round in a scheduled eight on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. The muscular Ogawa forfeited his IBF belt to Joe Cordina with a single right shot in just two rounds in Cardiff, Wales last June, and underwent a surgery on the rotator cuff of right shoulder afterward, which forced him to be inactive accordingly. Ogawa wishes to regain his belt from Cordina upon his comeback road. Continue reading “Ex-IBF champ Ogawa makes ring return”

54-year-old Boxing Hall of Famer Roy Jones Jr. (66-10, 47 KOs) returned to the ring for his first official fight in over five years against pro-debuting former MMA world champion Anthony Pettis, 36, in an eight round cruiserweight clash on Saturday night at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Slow start with Pettis giving Roy a lot of respect and Jones not doing much either. Pettis was aggressive at times, but largely ineffective. Jones connected with clean jabs and pot shots, and was mostly in command from round four on. Judges, however, scored it 76-76, and 77-75, 78-74 for Pettis, gifting the hometown hero a majority decision.

Former UFC champion Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort, last seen stopping Evander Holyfield in a boxing exhibition, scored a six round unanimous decision over MMA fighter Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in a cruiserweight boxing match. Belfort, 46, dropped Souza twice in round three but Souza managed to reach the final bell. Scores were 58-54, 58-54, 57-55. Continue reading “Jones Jr loses hometown decision to Pettis”

In a clash for the vacant WBO featherweight title, two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist Robeisy “El Tren” Ramirez (12-1, 7 KOs) took a twelve round unanimous decision over former junior featherweight king Isaac “Royal Storm” Dogboe (24-3, 15 KOs) on Saturday night at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Ramirez was simply too quick and too slick for Dogboe. A final round knockdown scored by Ramirez punctuated a 117-110, 118-109, 119-108 win.

“I’m living a new stage in my life,” stated Ramirez afterward. “This is a new history that I’m writing, and I did everything I had to do. As an Olympian, I won two Olympic gold medals, and now I can call myself a champion. All the respect to Isaac to a warrior like Isaac Dogboe. He has my admiration, and all it took was me listening to this genius, Ismael Salas, because I did that, and he led me to victory.”

“I believe things happened for a reason. If it wasn’t for that loss in my pro debut, I would have never ended up with Ismael Salas. Yordenis Ugas never would’ve told me, ‘You have to move to Vegas, you have to change your life,’ and I never would have gotten this team together to be where I am today.” Continue reading “Ramirez defeats Dogboe for WBO feather title”

Light heavyweight Daniel Blenda Dos Santos (21-1, 10 KOs) hammered out a twelve round majority decision over local favorite Tom Dzemski (20-2, 11 KOs) in a bout for the vacant EBU EU title on Saturday night at the Kraftverkehr in Chemnitz, Germany. Scores were 114-114, 117-111, 117-111 for Dos Santos.

Cruiserweight Roman Fress (17-1, 10 KOs) knocked out Roman Gorst (8-3, 7 KOs) in round two of a bout for the vacant German domestic belt. Fress dropped Gorst, who beat the count only to be floored again for the full ten count.

Former light heavyweight world title challenger Adam Deines (22-2-1, 13 KOs), currently rated WBO #10, defeated Dmytro Fedas (8-3-2, 5 KOs) by TKO over three rounds. The bout ended after round three with Fedas unable to continue due to a broken nose and a swollen shut eye. Deines gave unified light heavy king Artur Beterbiev a tougher than expected fight in 2021.