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Two international fight cards will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+ this week. The action starts Thursday, as super middleweight knockout artist Christian Mbilli takes on two-time Ecuadorian Olympian Carlos Gongora in a 10-round main event from the Montreal Casino in Montreal, Canada.

The ESPN+ action continues Friday from the Allianz Cloud in Milan, Italy, as undefeated 168-pound contender Ivan Zucco faces off against London’s Germaine Brown in a 10-round bout. Continue reading “ESPN+ to air Mbilli-Gongora, Zucco-Brown cards”

WBA president Gilberto Jesus Mendoza, announced that representatives of WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will have until April 1 to agree on a heavyweight unification bout. If Usyk-Fury doesn’t take place, the WBA will call on Usyk to negotiate with WBA regular champion Daniel Dubois.

2020 Olympic bronze medalist Frazer Clarke (5-0, 4 KOs) will face former WBA world interim heavyweight title challenger Bogdan Dinu (20-4-0, 16 KOs) this Saturday at Manchester’s AO Arena. The news comes after Clarke’s initial opponent Rydell Booker was forced to withdraw through illness following an undisclosed medical incident.

6’9, 270lb heavyweight southpaw Antonio “El Gigante” Mireles (6-0, 6 KOs) will return in a six-round clash against Patrick Mailata (6-1, 3 KOs) on Saturday at Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. Mireles-Mailata will open the televised tripleheader headlined by the junior welterweight showdown between Jose Ramirez and Richard “RC” Commey and the minimumweight title unification bout between WBA champion Seniesa Estrada and WBC queen Tina Rupprecht.

This Saturday night, Kristian Prenga (12-1, 12 KOs) will take part in the main event when he takes on Sam Crossed (11-3-1, 7 KOs) for NABA heavyweight title plus the NBA Continental belt at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

RDR Promotions returns to the Clarion Hotel in Essington, PA on April 14th as heavyweights Junior Wright (19-4-1, 16 KOs) and Brian Howard (15-5, 12 KOs) will slug it out in the six-round main event.

A pair of undefeated rising contenders will look to cement their status in their divisions with statement victories in action that will be live streamed on the Showtime PPV countdown show this Saturday leading into the David Benavidez vs. Caleb Plant event taking place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Unbeaten super bantamweight Kevin Gonzalez (25-0-1, 13 KOs) will battle Jose Sanmartin (34-6-1, 21 KOs) in a 10-round duel topping the show, while super lightweight Orestes Velazquez (6-0, 6 KOs) takes on Marcelino Lopez (37-2-1, 22 KOs) in a 10-rounder. The live streaming will begin at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on the Showtime Sports YouTube channel and Showtime Boxing Facebook page.

By Mauricio Sulaimán
WBC President – Son of José Sulaimán

I begin this column by asking for your prayers for the health of my dear uncle Antonio Esper, who is in a delicate health situation. He was my father’s soul brother since childhood in Ciudad Valles, and he married his sister, my aunt Nelly. He was his constant and devoted travel companion in the beginnings of Don José in the WBC.

Our sport is one of the most popular in the world and has been for over 100 years. In its modern form, it began in England. People would gather to watch two individuals fight and would gamble on such fights; there were no rules, it was a brutal, savage and cruel spectacle, even inhuman.

Believe it or not, in this 2023, there are splinter groups that are presenting something similar to what boxing was in the late 1800s with bare-knuckle fights, slap competitions and others, regressing to brutality and gore that only unscrupulous, bloodthirsty people like to watch.

Well, going back to boxing, it eventually became a sport of nobility and thus gained the attention of royals who somehow started the process of establishing rules, the first known as the Marquess of Queensberry. Continue reading “Boxing in Stadiums”

All Star Boxing, Inc has announced the launch of its 2023 season with a clash between world ranked contenders. WBO #13 Gerardo “Cascabel” Zapata (14-1 5 KO’s) of Nicaragua against local fan favorite WBA #12 WBO #15 Carlos “Arañita” Ortega (15-6-3 6 KO’s) of La Chorrera, Panama. The 10-round main event from Coliseo de Combates Pandeportes will air live on ESPN+ (USA/Canada) & ESPN Knockout (Latam)

“After more than 18 years we return to the bridge of the Americas, the always warm welcoming Panama City.” states Felix “Tuto” Zabala President of All Star Boxing, Inc. “On April 29th 2005 we hosted a historic world title bill featuring a thrilling 10th round stoppage of Robert “Arana” Vasquez over Beibis Mendoza for the vacant WBA Flyweight title.” Notes Zabala “It’s only right to celebrate the anniversary of the show with a high-stakes, Triple crown international card.” Continue reading “Zapata-Ortega to clash on ESPN+”

By Joe Koizumi
Photo by Naoki Fukuda

Despite a high expectation of a very competitive national title bout, it disappointingly became a too lopsided affair with Japanese bantam champ IBF#10 Seiya Tsutsumi (8-0-2, 7 KOs), 118, dropping JBC#1 Jin Minamide (7-3, 5 KOs), 117.75, three times and finally halted him at 1:41 of the seventh round on Monday in Tokyo, Japan. In an all-southpaw affair Seiya connected with a well-timed leading right to Jin, sending him to the deck in rounds one, two and five. The open scoring system indicated all 50-42 in favor of the aggressive champ after the fifth. The mandatory challenger Minamide, stiff like a steel, looked too nervous and vulnerable to the southpaw right hook and too often lost his balance, hitting the deck. The seventh witnessed Tsutsumi accelerate a two-fisted attack to have the ref promptly intervene to save the loser. Minamide, formerly Komazawa university amateur boxer, was just a shell of himself despite a high expectation. Continue reading “Tsutsumi halts Minamide, keeps Japanese 118lb belt”

Undefeated super welterweight Sebastián “The Towering Inferno” Fundora and rising contender Brian Mendoza previewed their battle for Fundora’s WBC interim super welterweight title during a virtual press conference on Monday before they meet on April 8 live on SHOWTIME from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

Sebastian Fundora: “I feel like I’ve been proving myself over and over again. We’re waiting for our shot to fight for the title. They keep putting guys in front of me who they say will knock me out or expose me, but I keep proving them wrong….Mendoza is gonna find out that I’m the next world champion at super welterweight.”

Brian Mendoza: “When I said I was going to add a former unified champion to my resume (Jeison Rosario), people scoffed and laughed at me. I just thought, ‘Okay, keep laughing.’ You don’t have to believe me. I’m going to show you with my actions. That’s what I’m going to do in this fight. I’m gonna show that I’m one of the best in this division. That’s the goal. I’m going to pull off another big upset…Fundora is going to learn that I’m a lot more than just a power-puncher.

To expedite activity in the junior middleweight division, the WBO Championship Committee has ordered undisputed WBC/WBA/IBF/WBO champion Jermell Charlo to submit within five days a detailed medical update and/or status of his injury, recovery prognosis, and his orthopedic specialist’s opinion as to when will he be physically and medically cleared to compete and return to active competition.

With Charlo out of action, the committee sanctioned the recent Tszyu-Harrison bout for the interim title subject to the Committee reserving the right to order the winner to face Charlo within 180 days. The WBO wants to get the ball rolling on Charlo-Tszyu a.s.a.p.

The Southern District Court of Florida dismissed charges alleging that the World Boxing Association (WBA) was involved in a lawsuit filed by former world champion Manuel Charr against Don King Promotions. The court dismissed the accusations that Charr’s legal team had made against the organization, based, among other things, on the WBA’s internal rules and the failure to use its mechanisms to make a proper claim in case of having felt affected.

The Southern District Court’s lengthy document explained that the plaintiff could have followed the regular procedures of the WBA’s internal rules, but by not doing so, three charges Charr’s team had filed against the organization were dismissed.

A WBA statement said in part:

The WBA will continue to work with its legal team to always demonstrate the transparency and values of the organization. It will always have its internal rules and mechanisms at the disposal of boxers and anyone involved in the sport to solve problems and impart justice as a sanctioning body with more than 100 years of existence and an unblemished history.

The World Boxing Association (WBA) Championships Committee has notified current WBA super featherweight champion Hector Garcia that his mandatory opponent is Lamont Roach, currently ranked number one in the WBA rankings, on Monday, March 20. The deadline to make the fight is May 20, therefore both parties have 30 days to negotiate and send the contracts to the WBA Championships Committee. Should any of the parties express their unwillingness to negotiate, the Championships Committee will call for a purse bid with 75% for the champion and 25% for the mandatory challenger.

Unbeaten WBA #10 super bantamweight Oleh Dovhun (15-0, 5 KOs) successfully made the second defense of the WBA NABA title with a ten round unanimous decision over Juan Centeno (8-7-3, 1 KO) on Saturday night in a fight that headlined a five-bout card at The Priory Grand Hall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Despite being cut on his left eyelid due to an accidental head clash, Dovhun was in command throughout the bout by boxing his way behind a consistent work rate. Centeno hung in there, but Dovhun took the fight by scores of 100-90 on all cards.

In the co-feature, unheralded super middleweight Devaun Lee (11-8-1, 6 KOs) snapped a six-fight losing streak by shockingly stopping previously undefeated hometown fighter Kiante Irving (11-1-1, 11 KOs) in round four of their scheduled six-rounder. KO artist Irving tried to give Lee the bum’s rush and seemingly punched himself out. Lee then started to take over in the second and third rounds and got Irving out of there at 2:03 of round four. Continue reading “Dovhun remains unbeaten, Irving loses 0”

The WBA Championships Committee has called for a new purse bid for March 28 in Panama City for the minimumweight bout between super champion Thammanoon Niyomtrong and regular champion Erick Rosa. Niyomtrong’s team previously won a purse bid for rights to the fight and it was to take place last March 3 in Thailand. It did not take place because Rosa had problems related to documentation. The WBA analyzed information supplied from both camps and ruled that there is some responsibility on both sides.

Consequently, a new Purse bid will be called with an additional condition that the fight will take place on neutral ground. Whoever wins the rights to promote this fight, will not be able to hold the fight in Thailand or the Dominican Republic.

In the event that there is no acceptable bid or if appropriate contracts are not submitted in a timely manner, the Championship Committee may order a fight between the next two highest-ranked fighters in the division.

Report and photos by Bob Ryder

Before a loud and boisterous crowd that filled the inside of the Hype Athletics Center in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn Heights, the two hometown main event favorites prevailed in what was by far their toughest fights of their young careers. In the six round main event Husam Al Mashhadi had all he could handle in the person of Houston’s Gabriel Smith. Continue reading “Results from Dearborn, Michigan”

Former welterweight contender Carson Jones (43-15-3, 31 KOs) scored an eight round unanimous decision over Dedrick Bell (31-35-1, 17 KOs) on Saturday night at the Oklahoma City Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Despite having 60+ pro fights AND a three year layoff between 2019 and 2022, Jones is still just 36.

Rising British heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley (15-0, 14 KOs) will face American Michael Polite-Coffie (13-3, 10 KOs) on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s clash with Jermaine Franklin at The O2 in London on Saturday April 1, live worldwide on DAZN. Undefeated middleweight Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams (13-0, 9 KOs) will look to close in on a clash with unbeaten rival Felix Cash, with ‘Ammo’ meeting River Wilson-Bent (14-2-1, 6 KOs). As previously announced, Cash (16-0, 10 KOs) challenges Matteo Signani (32-6-3, 12 KOs) for the European middleweight title on the same card. Also featured is Campbell Hatton (10-0, 3 KOs), the son of British boxing legend Ricky Hatton, against Louis Fielding (10-7, 1 KO).

By Miguel Maravilla

Filipino lightweight Mercito “No Mercy” Gesta (34-3-3, 17 KOs) from San Diego was victorious Saturday night in taking a unanimous decision over former world champion Joseph “JoJo” Diaz, Jr. (32-4-1, 15 KOs) of South El Monte, California at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California. Here is what Mercito said about his victory:

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By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

In a super lightweight clash elevated to main event status after the sudden implosion of the Zurdo-Rosado headliner, Filipino veteran Mercito “No Mercy” Gesta (34-3-3, 17 KOs) from San Diego was victorious Saturday night in taking a ten round split decision over former world champion and 2012 U.S Olympian Joseph “JoJo” Diaz, Jr. (32-4-1, 15 KOs) of South El Monte, California at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California.

Gesta worked from the start, letting his hands go. He was busier than Diaz but Diaz connected with the right hand towards the end of the opening round. Staying busy and jabbing in the second, Gesta outworked Diaz. Things began to pick up in the third as Diaz and Gesta exchanged inside with the Filipino fighting off the ropes and the 2012 Olympian on the attack. In the fourth, Diaz stood close and applied pressure with Gesta mixing it up using the jab from a distance and trading. Continue reading “Gesta beats JoJo by split decision”

In a battle of attrition, welterweight Cyrus Pattinson (6-0, 4 KOs) stopped Chris Jenkins (23-7-3, 8 KOs) in round nine to claim the vacant English welterweight title on Saturday night at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, England. Tough, gritty fight with Jenkins’ corner finally throwing in the towel. Time was 1:34.

Heavyweight Solomon Dacres (6-0, 2 KO)s teed off on Robert Ismay (11-1, 4 KOs) until the referee stepped in at 2:12 of round two. Dacres claimed the vacant English title.

Super bantamweight Hopey Price (10-0, 3 KOs) outpointed Thomas Masson (20-6-1, 7 KOs) over ten rounds for the vacant WBA Continental title. Scores 99-91, 100-90, 98-92.

Other Results:
Pat McCormack TKO8 Dario Socci (welterweight)
Callum French W8 Jordan Ellison (lightweight)
Mark Dickinson W8 Ben Ridings (middleweight)
Adam Reichard W4 Jahfieus Faure (lightweight)
Maiseyrose Courtney W4 Buchra El Quaissi (female super flyweight)
Muhammad Ali W4 Sean Jackson (super bantamweight)

In a war, WBA #10 heavyweight Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller (26-0-1, 22 KOs) scored an entertaining sixth round TKO over WBA #9 Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne (31-4, 27 KOs) on Saturday night at the Agenda Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Both came at each other and were willing to trade power punches. Each absorbed big shots. In round four, Miller rocked Browne, but Browne survived the round. Browne had a good recovery round in round five as both continued to trade. Miller finally battered Browne to the canvas in round six and got the stoppage with his follow-up barrage. Time was 2:33.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1637196909294104578

Fast-tracking cruiserweight Soslan “Cobra” Asbarov (4-0, 1 KO) scored a ten round majority decision over WBO #11 Brandon “Bulletproof” Glanton (17-2, 14 KOs). Slow-paced fight for the first five rounds. Glanton got the better of it down the stretch, but it was too little, too late. Scores were 98-92, 97-93, 95-95. Glanton was coming off a controversial loss in a WBO eliminator, so good name for Asbarov’s resume.

WBA #5, IBF #11 super featherweight Jono “King Kong” Carroll (24-2-1, 7 KOs) outscored three-time world title challenger Miguel “The Scorpion” Marriaga (30-7, 26 KOs). Scores were 100-90, 99-91, 98-92. The fight was closer than the scores indicated. Continue reading “Big Baby spanks Big Daddy in six”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia is now a promotional free agent. Opetaia secured his release from former promoter Dean Lonergan in a bitter legal dispute that was resolved in court on Friday. “We’re excited to start the next chapter,” Opetaia told Fox Sports. “We’re happy to put this behind us and move forward. It’s been pretty stressful … this next chapter is going to be huge, I just can’t wait to kick it off.”

The 27-year-old Opetaia is expected back in the ring as soon as next month to defend his belt against mandatory challenger Mateus Masternak.

“I am embarrassed and upset by my actions”

Zurdo Ramirez Statement: “No excuses. I had never missed weight in my 45 pro fights. This is the first and last time. I have always prided myself on being a professional, but today was not my finest moment. On that note, l’d like to apologize to all my fans and supporters, Golden Boy Promotions, and DAZN for this unfortunate event.

“I never gave up trying to make weight, cutting until the final moment, but just couldn’t lose enough to make the contracted weight. I am embarrassed and upset by my actions and promise that this will never happen again. I will make the right adjustments and will be back soon.”

Saturday’s clash between Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and “King” Gabe Rosado has been canceled after Ramirez came in very heavy and the California Commission nixed the fight. Zurdo was apparently 12 POUNDS over the light heavyweight limit.

“It upsets me to have to announce that the fight will no longer proceed,” said Rosado on social media. “This is a very unique situation. At the time to step on the scale, I was told Zurdo’s weight was at 187. We gave him a grace period of two hours to drop weight, coming in at 183. Still 8 pounds over our agreed weight. I am disappointed after doing my part, but I am thankful to everyone who supported me throughout this camp.”

The new main event will be JoJo Diaz against Mercito Gesta. Diaz was also overweight at 139.4 pounds, while Gesta was 137.2. That bout is still proceeding.

Venue: Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, California
Promoter: Golden Boy
TV: DAZN

Jarrell Miller 333 vs. Lucas Browne 277
Jono Carroll 130 vs. Miguel Marriaga 130
Soslan Asbarov 199.5 vs. Brandon Glanton 200

Venue: The Agenda, Dubai, UAE
Promoter: Hardcore Boxing
TV: ProBoxTV.com @ 1pm ET (USA & Australia);
ESPN Knockout (Latin America)

El Tigre Promotions will host an evening of professional boxing this Saturday nigh at the Cleveland Civic Center in Cleveland, Texas (Suburb of Houston). The main event will be Houston native Juan Torres (9-5-1, 4 KOs) taking on Aaron Chavers (9-10-1, 4 KOs) of Oklahoma, OK in a six round heavyweight clash for the vacant Texas Combative Sports Program USA Texas State Heavyweight Championship. Six other bouts are set to take place. Doors open at 6:00pm and first fight is scheduled for 7:00pm. Tickets are available at eltigrepromotions.com. Christian Schmidt set to be the announcer.

Oleh Dovhun 121.2 vs. Juan Centeno 122
(NABA super bantamweight title)

Kante Irving 171 vs. Devaun Lee 169.2
Joey Turk 205.6 vs. Isaiah Margheim 212.6
Jordan Zlacki 150.2 vs. Eric Palmer 149
Devon Siegfried 185.4 vs. Matteo Gardner 189.8

Venue: Priory Grand Hall
Promoters; Integrity Fighter Management, Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing
Stream: Starboxing.tv
1st Bell: 7 PM ET