Fightnews.com

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Former IBF middleweight champion Sam “King” Soliman contacted Fightnews.com® to give an update on his IBF championship belt that was stolen recently. “After I explained the circumstances to the IBF how my car was stolen along with my world championship belt, I was contacted today by IBF Public Relations Director Jeanette Salazar who said that IBF President Daryl Peoples will send me a new IBF championship belt and there will be no charge,” said Soliman. “I would like to thank Daryl and Jeanette for their kind generosity. It is much appreciated.”

40-year-old former heavyweight title challenger “Fast” Eddie Chambers (42-5, 23 KOs) will return for his first fight since 2016 when he takes on 305lb Corey Williams (6-13-2, 4 KOs) on Tuesday night at the Texas Troubadour in Nashville, Tennessee.

Eddie Chambers 226.8 vs. Corey Williams 305.6
Evan Gubera 199.4 vs. Demetrius Banks 197.4
Eduardo Aguilar 140.8 vs. John Hale 140.8
Erick Arellano 209 vs. Raquan Ashby (will weigh on tomorrow)
Ricardo Wallers (will weigh in tomorrow) vs. Jerrell Nettles (will weigh in tomorrow)

*Iegor Plevako will particiapte in an exhibition

Venue: The Texas Troubadour in Nashville
Promoter: Lion Heart Promotions
1st Bell 8 PM ET / 7 PM CT
Stream: FITE.TV

Let’s hope the clash between Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia doesn’t end up like the Crawford-Spence debacle. Promoter Oscar de la Hoya told ESPN that the only remaining hang-up for Davis-Garcia is who will promote the rematch if Kingry wins and Tank exercises his rematch clause. It’s agreed that the first fight will be on Showtime PPV. PBC insists that they should also promote the rematch with Showtime getting both fights. As promoter of the winning fighter, Oscar wants to be lead promoter for the rematch and put it on DAZN.

On Monday night Oscar tweeted, “It’s Super Bowl week, and we’re on the one yard line looking to score @Gervontaa vs. @RyanGarcia! Let’s hope PBC doesn’t let the fans down and f**ken fumble!!”

Alongside Joshua vs. Franklin on April 1, Matchroom announced the following shows will stream live on DAZN with further fights and full undercard details to be announced shortly:

Saturday, February 18:
Leigh Wood vs. Mauricio Lara
WBA featherweight title
Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham, England

Saturday, March 11:
Callum Smith vs. Pawel Stepien (light heavyweight)
M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool, England.

Saturday, March 18:
Cyrus Pattinson vs. Chris Jenkins (welterweight)
Pat McCormack vs. Dario Socci (welterweight)
Solomon Dacres vs. Robert Ismay (heavyweight)
Utilita Arena, Newcastle, England

Saturday, April 8:
Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez vs. Cristian Gonzalez
WBO flyweight title
Boeing Center at Tech Port, San Antonio, Texas

Saturday, April 22:
Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov vs. Joe Cordina
IBF super featherweight title
Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff, Wales

Saturday, May 20
Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano 2
Undisputed female lightweight title
Dublin, Ireland, Venue TBA

Former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) fights at The O2 in London for the first time since 2016 as he begins life under the tutelage of new head trainer Derrick James. ‘AJ’ will face Jermain Franklin (21-1, 14 KOs). This fight will be the first in Joshua’s new five-year partnership with DAZN to be streamed live, exclusive and worldwide.

Anthony Joshua: “I’m looking forward to stepping back into the ring on April 1 at The O2 in London.” said Joshua. “Mentally and physically I feel ready. I want to put on a show and impress my coach as he has high standards. Franklin has a good style and a great attitude, which he has shown in recent fights.”

Jermain Franklin: “I’m ready to show the world why it’s time for me to take my place at the top of the heavyweight division. Joshua had his time. It’s my time to shock the world! This fight isn’t going to the judge’s card. I will have win number 22 come April 1. That ain’t no April Fool’s joke.”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

“Watching it all back since, (the count) looks worse than what I remember in the ring,” WBO #3 super featherweight Liam Wilson (11-2, 7 KOs) told Fox Sports regarding his world title loss to newly crowned WBO 130-pound champion Emmanuel Navarette (37-1, 31 KOs)

“It should have been over in the fourth,” Wilson stated. “I should be world champion. It should definitely be ruled a No Contest. It’s blatantly obvious what happened. I’m not trying to sit here and fool the public. The whole world saw it. My job is to fight and I did that. I won. So I want this called a No Contest, and then we rematch for the exact same belt – and in Australia if we can do it. Continue reading “Wilson wants result changed to no contest”

By David Finger at ringside

For boxing fans in the Duke City, Saturday night was supposed to be the long awaited opportunity to learn if their undefeated local prospect Matthew “Diamond Boy” Griego was in fact the real deal. Griego showed flashes of brilliance in his career, but he also had made some rookie mistakes over twelve fights that had boxing insiders concerned that he might struggle as he stepped it up. We were supposed to find out on February 4th what the trajectory of Griego’s career was going to be as he moved into the next level of his career in the main event of the Wrecking Crew Promotion event “Rumble at the Revel” at the Revel Event Center in Albuquerque. Continue reading “Griego stops Aquino in controversial fashion”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

WBA top-ranked flyweight Seigo Yuri Akui (18-2-1, 11 KOs), 111.75, impressively scored a shutout decision (all 100-90) over previously unbeatenWBC#16 light flyweight Filipino Jason Vayson (10-1-1-1NC, 5 KOs), 111.5, over ten speedy rounds on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Having relinquished his national 112-pound belt after three successful defenses, the sturdy-built Akui kept a pressure on the fast-moving Filipino footworker with his heavy left jabs, steadily piling up points. The eighth and ninth saw Akui almost catch and finish the durable Vayson, who barely had a narrow escape. Akui, 27, may be a good opposition against either WBA titlist Artem Dalakian or WBO champ-to-be Jesse Rodriguez. Continue reading “WBA #1 Akui shuts out WBC #16 Vayson”

Former IBF light flyweight world champion Felix Alvarado (38-3, 33 KOs) put on his promoter’s hat, presenting the debut of his Gemelo Promotions in association with William Ramirez (WRAM Boxing) on Saturday night at the Nuevo Gimnasio Nicarao in Managua, Nicaragua. The main event saw lightweight prospect Bryan Jimenez (10-1, 6 KOs) stop 65-bout veteran Eusebio Osejo by TKO in round six. Jimenez gained some valuable experience versus the game Osejo. The end came in round six when Jimenez dropped Osejo with a right near the end of the round. Osejo beat the count but Jimenez immediately hit him again solidly and the fight was waved off by the referee. The official time of the stoppage was 2:50. Continue reading “Results from Nicaragua”

WBC/IBF/WBO titleholder Amanda Serrano (44-2-1, 30 KOs) added the WBA title of Erika Cruz (15-2, 3 KOs) with a very exciting ten round unanimous decision to become undisputed female featherweight world champion on Saturday night at the Hulu Theater inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. Good toe-to-toe action early on with Cruz doing way better than expected. Cruz was cut on the forehand from a third round headbutt. Cruz put on a lot of pressure as she windmilled her way in. Serrano rocked Cruz in round six and took over after that as Cruz slowed down. Scores were 98-92, 98-92, 97-93. Fifth straight decision fights for the 34-year-old Serrano.

After the fight, promoter Eddie Hearn announced that Serrano will now face Katie Taylor in a rematch on May 20 in Ireland.

WBC/IBF/WBO titleholder Alycia Baumgardner (14-1, 7 KOs) added the vacant WBA belt to become undisputed female super featherweight world champion with a ten round unanimous decision over Elhem Mekhaled (15-2, 3 KOs) on Saturday night at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Baumgardner dropped Mekhaled twice in round three and built a big lead before fading down the stretch. Scores were 99-89, 99-89, 98-90.

Undefeated IBF #13 super lightweight Richardson Hitchins (16-0, 7 KOs) scored a one-sided ten round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten John Bauza (17-1, 7 KOs) in a bout for the IBF North American and USWBC titles on Saturday night’s Matchroom Boxing card at Madison Square Garden. Hitchins was credited with a knockdown in round one when Bauza went down after Hitchins stepped on his foot. Hitchins scored a legit knockdown with a straight right hand in round four. Scores were 100-88 3x. Bauza was game, but Hitchins looked like he could have opened up and finished Bauza at any time. Why didn’t he?

Newly signed Matchroom flyweight prospect Yankiel Rivera (3-0, 2 KOs) took a hard fought eight round unanimous decision over Fernando Diaz (11-3-1, 3 KOs). Scores were 79-73, 79-73, 78-74.,

In a clash between unbeaten female featherweights, Skye Nicolson (6-0, 0 KOs) defeated Tania Alvarez (7-1, 1 KO) for the WBC silver title. Ugly ten rounds. Scores were 100-90, 98-92, 97-93.

In a clash between unbeaten female super bantamweights, Ramla Ali (8-0, 2 KOs) won a spirited ten round unanimous decision over Avril Mathie (8-1-1, 3 KOs) to claim the IBF Intercontinental strap. 99-91 3x scoring seemed rather wide.

In a WBC/WBA female super middleweight eliminator, unbeaten KO artist Shadasia “Sweet Terminator” Green (12-0, 11 KOs) stopped former world champion Elin Cederroos (8-2, 4 KOs) in round six. Green dropped Cederroos in round three and battered her until the referee waved it off at 1:08 of round six. Green retained her WBC silver belt and added the WBA Continental Americas title.

Unbeaten lightweight Harley Mederos (5-0, 4 KOs) punished Julio Madera (4-3, 2 KOs) until the referee waved it off at :25 of round six.

Unbeaten super lightweight Aaron Aponte (7-0-1, 2 KOs) outpointed Joshua David Rivera (8-2, 3 KOs) over eight rounds. Scores were 80-72 3x.

Undefeated former two-weight world champion Shakur Stevenson (19-0, 9 KOs) will take on WBC #5 Shuichiro Yoshino (16-0, 12 KOs) in a 12-round WBC lightweight title eliminator on April 8, at Prudential Center in his hometown of Newark, New Jersey.

“I am taking over the lightweight division and my run will start on April 8 in Newark,” proclaimed Stevenson. “Shuichiro Yoshino is an undefeated fighter who was willing to step up and fight me when so many fighters were scared…we are going to pack the Prudential Center again and show the world who the future of boxing really is.”

In the co-feature, heavyweight knockout artist Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson (13-0, 13 KOs) aims for another stoppage in a 10-rounder against an opponent to be named. And, in the 10-round televised opener, rising lightweight and U.S. Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis (7-0, 5 KOs) fights a to-be-determined foe. Continue reading “Stevenson-Yoshino venue announced”

Photos: Sumio Yamada

Check out this GIANT Navarrete-Wilson photo gallery for some incredible shots. Also includes the official scorecard and shots from the Barboza-Pedraza fight and unbeaten heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr.

Photos

WBO featherweight champion Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete (37-1, 31 KOs) got all he could handle from 14:1 underdog Liam Wilson (11-2, 7 KOs), but scored an exciting ninth round TKO to claim the vacant WBO junior lightweight title formerly held by Shakur Stevenson on Friday night at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Wilson knocked down Navarrete in round four and Navarrete got up reeling but survived the round. In round six, Wilson rocked Navarrete again, but it was his last hurrah. Navarrete came back with quick combinations in rounds seven and eight to keep Wilson on the defense. Navarrete finally dropped Wilson in round nine and got a referee’s stoppage with his brutal follow-up barrage. Time was 1:57.

Navarrete is now a three-division world champion. Next up is likely a showdown between Navarrete and former champion Oscar Valdez.

At the time of the stoppage, all three judges had Navarrete ahead (76-75 and 77-74 2x).

“I’m made of a lot of work, strength, lots of heart, and the Mexican spirit that never lets me down,” Navarrete said. “Liam is a warrior. He was able to land a shot that stunned me a lot. Obviously, we tried to take things calmly. Fortunately, we were able to recover our calmness. We went out to recover a bit. We returned to 100%. And we began to engage. Continue reading “Navarrete comes off canvas to win WBO 130lb title”

Bryan Jimenez 133.8 vs. Eusebio Ojedo 132.4
Aaron Juarez 123..8 vs. Moises Garcia 125
Jerry Simons 131 vs. Carlos Castillo 130.4
Jordan Orozco 115.8 vs. William Cerrato 115.6
Roxana Mendoza 120 vs. Marcela Sanchez 119.6
Emmanuel Huembes 137.8 vs. Josue Mendez 139
Yilmer Gonzales 114.9 vs. Edwin Vallejos 115
Alex Vallecillo 122 vs. Daniel Pastrana 121.5
Ramon Palacio 112.9 vs. Erick Morales 112.8

Venue: Nuevo Gimnasio Nicarao Managua, Nicaragua
Promoter: Gemelo Promotions (Feliz Alvarado) in association with Wram Boxing (William Ramirez)

WBO #4, WBC #8, IBF #12 Arnold Barboza Jr. (28-0, 10 KOs) hammered out a tough, gritty ten round unanimous decision against former two-weight world champion and currently rated WBO #9 Jose “Sniper” Pedraza (29-5-1, 14 KOs) in the Navarrete-Wilson co-feature on Friday night at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Judges had Barboza prevailing 97-93, 96-94, 96-94.

Unbeaten heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr. (5-0, 5 KOs), who captured a silver medal for Team USA at the Tokyo Olympics, scored a first round TKO over James Bryant (6-3, 4 KOs). Torrez dropped Bryant with an uppercut at the end of round one and Bryant didn’t out for round two.

Unbeaten junior lightweight Andres “Savage” Cortes (19-0, 10 KOs) scored a ten round unanimous decision over Luis Melendez (17-3, 13 KOs). Cortes overcame a bad cut over his left eye for the last five rounds to win by scores of 100-90 3x.

Undefeated middleweight prospect Nico Ali Walsh (8-0, 5 KOs), grandson of Muhammad Ali, outscored Eduardo Ayala (9-3-1, 3 KOs) in a six-rounder. Walsh dropped Ayala in round two and dominated the fight after that. Scores were 60-53, 59-54, 59-54.

Unbeaten 2016 Olympian junior welterweight Lindolfo Delgado (17-0, 13 KOs) won an eight round unanimous decision over Clarence Booth (21-7, 13 KOs). Delgado dropped Booth in the final round to punctuate an 80-71, 79-72, 79-72 win.

In a four-round lightweight clash, Emiliano “El General” Vargas (2-0, 2 KOs), son of former junior middleweight champion Fernando Vargas, outpointed southpaw Francisco Duque (1-1) by scores of 40-36 3x.

By David Finger

For 26-year-old flyweight Matthew “Diamond Boy” Griego, there is little question that his toughest opponent over his seven-year career has been inactivity. Having turned professional in January of 2016, many boxing fans were excited about the young 19-year-old prospect as he amassed six wins in 2016 alone.

Fast forward to February of 2023 and Griego is sitting on an undefeated record of 12-0, 8 KOs. Impressive, but clearly not at the pace that neither he nor his fans were expecting way back in 2016.

But assuming he gets past the dangerous Bryan Aquino (12-2, 6 KOs) on Saturday (February 4th) in Albuquerque, boxing fans in New Mexico might finally see something that they have been waiting for since the Obama administration: a run for a world title for Diamond Boy. Continue reading “Griego in for tough test in ABQ Saturday”

Undefeated NABA super lightweight beltholder Ernesto “Tito” Mercado (8-0, 8 KOs), has a new opponent for this Saturday. He will now face Jose Angulo (14-4, 7 KOs), of Ecuador. The fight takes place at the LumColor Center in Ontario, CA, with RED Boxing Promotions operating as the promoter. “I am glad Jose Angulo took the fight on short notice and I appreciate him stepping up,” said Mercado, the Olympic Trials silver medalist in 2020. “Angulo is a tough opponent, but my plan is to end this fight early and continue my knockout streak.”

Former world title challenger Hank Lundy was Mercado’s original opponent. Lundy pulled out citing a cut and then accepted an offer to fight Adrien Broner three weeks later. However, Lundy-Broner fell apart when the California Boxing Commission placed Lundy on indefinite suspension.

Amanda Serrano 125.4 vs. Erika Cruz 125.4
(undisputed female featherweight title)

Alycia Baumgardner 129 vs. Elhem Mekhaled 129
(undisputed female super featherweight title)

Richardson Hitchins 139.6 vs. John Bauza 139
Yankiel Rivera 111.4 vs. Fernando Diaz 111.8

Skye Nicolson 125.6 vs. Tania Alvarez 124.8
Ramla Ali 121.4 vs. Avril Mathie 121.4
Shadasia Green 167.2 vs. Elin Cederroos 167.4
Harley Mederos 134.2 vs. Julio Madera 133.6
Aaron Aponte 138.6 vs. Joshua David Rivera 138.8

Venue: Madison Square Garden Theater, New York City
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN

Undefeated bantamweight contender Dylan Price (15-0, 10 KOs) will take on Joebert Alvarez (20-4-2, 7 KOs) in a 10-round bout for the WBO Global and WBC Intercontinental titles on February 18 at The Elevations Event Center in Chester, Pennsylvania. Price is ranked in the top 15 by the WBO and WBC. Alvarez is a protégé of Nonito Donaire.

Also on the card will be the pro-debut of lightweight Devin “Baby Boy” Price.

The event is promoted by Price Promotions and will be streamed live on pay-per-view on profetsplus.com for $24.99.

Unbeaten WBA #2, WBO #3, WBC #4, IBF #10 super middleweight Erik Bazinyan (29-0, 21 KOs) won a hard-fought ten round majority decision over Alantez Fox (28-4-1, 13 KOs) in a clash for the NABF and NABA belts on Thursday night at the Montreal Casino in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Hard fought competitive fight with Bazinyan prevailing 95-95, 98-92, 98-92.

Super lightweight Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela (26-3-1, 16 KOs) destroyed WBC #14 Yves Ulysse Jr (22-3, 12 KOs) in the first round. A crushing Gollaz uppercut dropped Ulysse and he got up very wobbly prompting a referee’s stoppage. Time was :52. One-hitter quitter. First time the 34-year-old Ulysse has been stopped. Valenzuela dropped Montana Love in his previous fight and came up just short on the scorecards.

Unbeaten middleweight Alexandre Gaumont (7-0, 5 KOs) knocked out Carlos Gallego Montijo (8-5, 6 KOs) in the first round. Gaumont dropped Montijo with an uppercut/left hook. Montijo got up, then sank back to the canvas. Time was 2:26.

In a clash between unbeaten welterweights, Christopher Guerrero (6-0, 2 KOs) kayoed Edwin Villareal Flores (3-1-1, 3 KOs) in round three. Guerrero dropped Flores three times in round three to end it. Time was 2:49.

Super featherweight Avery Martin Duval (9-0-1, 5 KOs) stopped Eduardo Mota Garcia (7-2-1, 2 KOs) with a left hook in round three. Garcia went down and got up reeling. He was deemed unable to continue by the referee. Time was 1:51.

Pro debuting super middleweight Wilkens Mathieu blew away Zsolt Birkas (0-1-1) in the first round. Birka’s down three times.

Note: A fight between super welterweights Raphaël Courchesne (9-1, 4 KOs) and Diego Garduno Reyes (10-1-1, 4 KOs) was canceled after doctors determined Courchesne couldn’t fight due to a hand injury.

By Miguel Maravilla

David Benavidez: “I’m going to put his ass in the hospital.”

_

Emanuel Navarrete 129.2 vs. Liam Wilson 126.3
(WBO super featherweight title)

Arnold Barboza Jr 139.2 vs. Jose Pedraza 138.7
Richard Torrez Jr 222.2 vs. James Bryant 253.4
Andres Cortes 131.2 vs. Luis Melendez 130.6
Nico Ali Walsh 159.8 vs. Eduardo Ayala 160.9
Lindolfo Delgado 142.1 vs. Clarence Booth 142.4
Emiliano Vargas 133.4 vs. Francisco Duque 136.6

Venue: Desert Diamond Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Promoter: Top Rank
TV: ESPN, ESPN+

Face-offs for Amanda Serrano vs. Erika Cruz and Alycia Baumgardner vs. Elhem Mekhaled took place today at the final press conference ahead of their respective undisputed world title bouts on Saturday at Hulu Theater inside Madison Square Garden in New York City, live worldwide on DAZN.

Amanda Serrano: “As a female fighter, I’ve been in this game a long time, I’m probably the longest-reigning world champion in the sport right now. I was always going where the opportunities were and now that I was done chasing the divisions, I said this is my time. I want to go back to where I feel the best, and that’s featherweight. We did that, and to have most of them but one, and come Saturday night, have all of them, it’s going to be truly amazing. One of the greatest journeys of my life and my career.”

Erika Cruz: “It’s an opportunity I’ve been looking for. On Saturday, I’m going to give absolutely everything. As a good Mexican, give absolutely everything to win. And once again, thanks to God.”

Alycia Baumgardner: “I’m ready to fight. I’m ready to really put my hands on somebody. The fight with Mikaela was great but this time I’ve got someone who wants to fight, and I like to fight. I like to throw some bombs in there, so we want to get her out of there, we want to make a statement, and look good doing it. And that’s what I’m best at.”

Elhem Mekhaled: “I’m expecting a wall because Alycia is a puncher, I’m a puncher too. I know how I feel today, and this is going to be a great and a big fight…I’m here to prove that I’m the best.”

Venue: Hulu Theater inside Madison Square Garden, NYC
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN