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By Boxing Bob Newman

WBO Jr. Welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez, Jr. took time out after receiving his fighter of the Year award at the NYSBHOF induction ceremonies in Queens, New York, to speak to Fightnews.com®. Lopez dished on his fellow champions in his division, future potential matchups and when he might fight again.

Report/Photos by Boxing Bob Newman

Russo’s on the Bay once again played host to the 12th Annual New York State Boxing Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Queens, New York. The elegant affair saw eight living inductees, eight posthumous inductees, along with five special honorees.

The proceedings were divided up between a buffet brunch, intermission and dinner.

Popular ring announcer David Diamante was the master of ceremonies for the full day event.

The living inductees were as follows:

• Rocky Fratto- Junior middleweight contender and former NABF champion.
• Billy Calogero- Boxing radio show host, as well as author, historian, writer and former manager
• Bruce Beck- Boxing broadcaster
• Joan Guzman- Former two time world champion
• Sparkle Lee- Referee
• Ed Post- Boxer, trainer, referee, judge, announcer, manager, writer, photographer
• Tyrone Jackson- Junior lightweight contender
• Johnny Davis- Light heavyweight contender

Continue reading “2024 NYSBHOF Inductions”

By Jeff Zimmerman at ringside

While the face of boxing Canelo Alvarez was battling Edgar Berlanga in Las Vegas last night to reclaim his super middleweight title, an exciting club show was taking place at the Tower Club, Dallas, on the 48th floor overlooking the city skyline. Super featherweight Avoran Graham (11-0, 6 KOs) from Grand Prairie earned a hard-fought unanimous decision against savvy veteran Juan Antonio Lopez (18-17-1, 8 KOs) out of Fort Worth in the main event in front of an intimate, but raucous crowd. Continue reading “Results from Dallas”

By Miguel Maravilla

WBA, WBC and WBO super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) and WBA #1 contender Edgar Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs) talked about their fight on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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By Miguel Maravilla

WBA middleweight champion Erislandy Lara and newly crowned WBA interim super middleweight champion Caleb Plant speak about their victories on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Canelo Alvarez post-fight comments…

• “I did good. Now what are they gonna say? They said I don’t fight young fighters. They always talk, but I’m the best fighter in the world.”
• “I got a little angry with his tactics, but I’m Mexican man. It means a lot to fight on this day. It’s an honor to represent my country on this day.”
• “My experience and my talent was the difference. It’s about hard work and intelligence. It’s everything together. If you have talent, you need discipline as well.”
• “When I knocked him down, I wanted to fight smart. I listened to Eddy Reynoso, boxed and gave a great show for my people.”
• “A lot of people say we can’t, but we can. Las Vegas is like a second home for Mexicans. We are warriors and we never give up.”
• “I’m going to rest and then I’m going to decide what’s next.”

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside
Photos: Sumio Yamada

WBC/WBA/WBO super middleweight champion Canelo Álvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) scored a twelve round unanimous decision over previously undefeated contender Edgar Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs) on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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Canelo pressed forward from the opening bell and landed the harder shots. Berlanga fought cautiously early on. In round three, Canelo dropped Berlanga with a left hook. Berlanga survived the round. Things heated up in round five when both fighters were warned for low blows. Berlanga had some success with his jab, with Canelo connecting with the harder shots. In round eight, Canelo started punishing Berlanga for the rest of the way.

Scores were 117-110, 118-109, 118-109. Fifth straight decision win for Canelo.

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside
Photos: Sumio Yamada

WBA middleweight world champion Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara (31-3-3, 19KO’s) of Miami by way of Guantanamo, Cuba retained his title as he stopped two-division world champion Philadelphia’s Danny “Swift” García (37-4, 21 KO’s) in the ninth round in the Canelo-Berlanga co-feature on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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Feeling each other out in the opening round, Garcia countered and waited for openings as the southpaw Lara stuck the right jab. Working patiently in the second and third round Lara and Garcia continued to figure each other out as they began drawing whisltes from the crowd. It was still a strategic fight on the part of Lara and Garcia in the fourth but Garcia began pressing late in the round as Lara shot the straight left Continue reading “Lara halts Garcia, retains WBA middle belt”

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside
Photos: Sumio Yamada

Caleb Plant (23-2, 14 KOs) returned to the ring as he scored a spectacular ninth round knockout handing Trevor McCumby (28-1, 21 KOs) of Glendale, Arizona his first defeat in a wild fight for the vacant WBA interim super middleweight title on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

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It was a slow first round but things got started in the second as McCumby connected with the left hook numerous times and appeared to stagger Plan in the second. Prompting McCumby to shake and rattle at the end of the round. McCumby showboated in the third and was fighting with more confidence as he outworked Plant. McCumby sent Plant to the canvas in the fourth. Continue reading “Plant stops McCumby, wins WBA interim”

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

Former world champion Stephen Fulton (22-1, 8 KO’s) of Philadelphia edged out Carlos Castro (30-3, 14 KO’s) of Phoenix by split decision as they went the distance in a ten round featherweight bout. Starting at fast pace in the opening round, Fulton and Castro stuck the jab and countered. Fulton began to beat Castro to the punch in the third as the fast pace continued. Castro used the jab to neutralize Fulton’s hand speed and counters in the fourth but the former champion was still boxing effectively. A straight right by Castro in the fifth dropped Fulton. Castro cut off the ring and attempted to attack, but Fulton survived.

Fulton appeared to have regained his composure in the sixth as he boxed and kept his distance from a more confident Castro. Working off the jab in the seventh, Castro was consistent sticking it as Fulton stood busy in the pocket. Excahnging to begin the eighth, Castro caught Fulton on the inside with another right hand as Fulton was rocked and held on. Shortly after the referee warned Fulton for holding. Late in the fight in the ninth, Castro stayed busy continuing to work the jab with Fulton staying close in the pocket landing the flashy shots. The tenth and final round, Castro and Futlon stood busy on the inside with Fulton connecting with a huge left hook. Castro kept pressing behind the jab and finished strong.

After completing ten rounds, the judges scored the bout 95-94 Castro, 96-93 Fulton, and 95-94 for Fulton. Continue reading “Early Results from Las Vegas”

By Brad Snyder-The Undercard
Photos by Bob Ryder

Friday night in Detroit, Michigan, Carlos Llinas brought the city another explosive showcase of professional boxing at Motor City Casino Sound Board with Night of Knockouts XXXI. Llinas stated about the card, “I am very happy with the way this show turned out. This show made Michigan History by having the first female referee to officiate a womens boxing match. The Tini vs Begley fight had an international flavor to it, as Begley was brought over from Ireland to face Tini. So, just happy for the fans and support as always.” Continue reading “Night of Knockouts XXXI Results”

Unbeaten WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson is out of action after undergoing hand surgery. As a result, Stevenson’s scheduled October 12 defense against former champion Joe Cordina is off. That bout was to take place October 12 as the co-feature for the Beterbiev-Bivol clash in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Stevenson said on social media “…unfortunately my hand gave out on me, but [in] 2025 let’s bounce back and take over boxing.”

In an IBF middleweight eliminator, unbeaten IBF #8 Etinosa “El Chapo” Oliha (21-0, 9 KOs) stopped IBF #10 Alexander Pavlov (21-4, 15 KOs) in the third round on Saturday night at the AGON Sportpark in Berlin, Germany. Oliha dropped Pavlov in round three and during his violent follow-up barrage Pavlov suffered a shoulder injury prompting a stoppage.

Sad to report the passing of longtime boxing promoter Fred Berns at the age of 84 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Berns promoted hundreds of events in the Midwest over a span of more than four decades. Stars he promoted on his shows include Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. He was inducted into the Indiana Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural 2018 class.

Unbeaten 6’6 cruiserweight David “The Nice Guy” Nyika (10-0, 9 KOs) scored an impressive third round KO against rugged veteran Tommy Karpency (31-9-1, 19 KOs) on Saturday night at the Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland, New Zealand. Nyika dropped Karpency twice in round three to end it. Time was 1:13. Nyika ia rated #14 by the IBF.

By Damon Gonzalez / LatinBox Communications

In Friday night’s main event in a sold out crowd at the Hilton Downtown Tampa in Tampa, Florida presented by Alessi Promotions, unbeaten heavyweight Drake Banks (6-0, 5 KOs) from Homosassa, Florida. was overpowering as he broke down a very tough Alexis Soriano Taveras (3-2-1, 1 KO) from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. ending his night at the 1:34 mark of round three by TKO victory. Continue reading “Heavyweight Banks remains unbeaten”

WBC #2 super featherweight Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez (36-2, 32 KOs) scored a six round unanimous technical decision over Thomas “Gunna Man” Mattice (22-4-1 17 KOs) on Thursday night at the Arena Sonora in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. The bout was stopped after six rounds due to a cut (caused by a headbutt) suffered by Hernandez. Judges scored it 59-55, 58-55, 58-56. Mattice, who was getting stronger as the bout progressed, wasn’t happy about the stoppage.

Canelo Alvarez 166.75 vs. Edgar Berlanga 167.5
(WBC/WBA/WBO super middleweight titles)

Erislandy Lara 156.75 vs. Danny Garcia 156.25
(WBA middleweight title)

Caleb Plant 167.25 vs. Trevor McCumby 167.25
(WBA interim super middleweight title)

Rolly Romero 140.75 vs. Manuel Jaimes 139.75
Stephen Fulton 126 vs. Carlos Castro 125.6
Roiman Villa 146.2 vs. Ricardo Salas 146
Geo López 130 vs. Ricky Medina, Jr 130
Yoenli Feliciano 158.4 vs. José Sánchez Charles 164.4
Lawrence King 178 vs. Vaughn Williams 176.2
Bek Nurmaganbet 170.8 vs. Joshua Conley 173.2

Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
Promoter: TGB Promotions
TV: PPV ($89.99), Prime Video

Etinosa Oliha 159.6 vs. Alexander Pavlov 158.1
(IBF middleweight eliminator)

Bujar Tahiri 159.4 vs. Nicolas David Veron 159.6
Hamsat Shadalov 129.7 vs. Sergio Javier Escobar 129.4
Granit Shala 277.8 vs. Emilio Ezequiel Zarate 254.9
Paul Wall 153.2 vs. Fabio Cascone 152.6
Alexander Müller vom Berge 246.3 vs. Srdan Govedarica 271.2
Dariusz Lasotta 200.0 vs. Artsiom Charniakevich 199.6

Venue: AGON Sportpark, Berlin, Germany
Promoter: AGON
TV: DAZN

By Brad Snyder at ringside
Photos: Bob Ryder

Unbeaten USBA junior middleweight Ardreal “Bossman” Holmes Jr. (16-0, 6 KOs) scored a ten round unanimous decision over Hugo Noriega (10-3, 5 KOs) on Thursday night at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan. Holmes outboxed Noriega and won by scores of 96-94, 97-93, 97-93.

Unbeaten super welterweight prospect Joseph “Sug” Hicks (11-0, 7 KOs) outpointed Ronnie Austion (10-2, 7 KOs) in an eight-rounder. Scores were 79-73, 78-74, 80-72. Continue reading “Holmes, Hicks remain unbeaten”

Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez 129 vs. Thomas Mattice 129
(WBA Continental Americas super featherweight title)

Sergio Mendoza 110.4 vs. Angel Ramos 110.4
Julio Porras 167.8 vs. Isaac Torres 167.2
Leonardo Rubalcava 138 vs. Jesus Castorena 140.3

Venue: Arena Sonora, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN

Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions presents another Hollywood Fight Nights event on Friday, October 26 at the Commerce Casino Events Center in Los Angeles and broadcast live globally on UFC Fightpass.

The show is headlined by World Ranked (#13 IBF, #15 WBC) and undefeated Omar Trinidad, (16-0-1, 12 KOs), of Boyle Heights, CA making the second defense of his WBC Continental Americas Featherweight Title against IBF #4 world ranked Hector ‘La Maquinita’ Sosa, (17-2, 9 KOs), of Buenos Aires, Argentina over ten scheduled rounds. Trinidad vs. Sosa is presented in association with Sampson Boxing.

Fighters competing on Saturday’s Canelo-Berlanga undercard went face-to-face at the final press conference on Thursday before their clashes this Saturday on the big $89.99 PPV event from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

WBA middleweight world champion Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara defends against two-division world champion Danny “Swift” García.

Erislandy Lara: “Danny is a great fighter and a champion at lower weight classes, but middleweight is a different beast. We’re gonna have to see if he can adapt to this different weight…I don’t know whether he can stand the power of my punches. We’ll find out Saturday. I’m just focused on being ready mentally and physically to do anything it takes to win.”

Danny Garcia: “I feel like I’m already a Hall of Famer, but I think winning this belt is the icing on the cake. Winning in three divisions is about legacy, not many fighters do that. I’m chasing greatness…people have tried to tell me I was too small my whole career. I was naturally a big guy who squeezed down in weight. To me, I’m a natural middleweight.”

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Former world champion Caleb Plant meets undefeated contender Trevor McCumby for the WBA interim super middleweight title,

Caleb Plant: “Trevor himself knows that I’m not a bum, and that’s why he wants to fight me. He wants to be on the big stage, and that means facing a real fighter. Right now, he’s looking at a real fighter. He’s fought only bums, but he’s not fighting a bum now…we’ll see what he brings on Saturday.”

Trevor McCumby: “The back and forth we’ve had adds a little bit of motivation. Caleb is emotional and lets people get into his head too easily…on Saturday, you will see what I can do in the ring. There’s no animosity from me, but I’m coming for his heart.”

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Former 140-pound world champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero and Manuel Jaimes square off in the pay-per-view opener.

Rolly Romero: “I’m definitely coming for the knockout. I’m not overlooking him at all, I’m just ready.”

Manuel Jaimes: “Rolly has lost before and he will lose again.”

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Also facing off at the press conference were former unified super bantamweight world champion Stephen Fulton Jr. and all-action contender Carlos Castro, who top a three-fight lineup on Prime Video leading up to the pay-per-view.

Stephen Fulton Jr: “I’m definitely coming for the knockout on Saturday…I’m here to make a statement for myself and get back. This is my get back. Whoever’s got a belt at 126, I’m ready.”

Carlos Castro: “This is something that I’ve been waiting for. I’ve taken two defeats, but these are the fights I want. I’m not gonna shy away from anybody, because I’m in this sport to prove myself.”

The live-streaming action will be available via free access to all fans, regardless of Prime membership or purchase of the PPV card it leads into.

Mexican superstar Canelo Álvarez and WBA #1 mandatory contender Edgar Berlanga went face-to-face Wednesday at the final press conference before their WBC, WBA, WBO super middleweight PPV clash this Saturday from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Canelo Alvarez: “It’s easy to say you’ll knock me out, but it’s much more difficult to do it. Saturday night is gonna be very difficult for him, for sure. I’ve prepared for the knockout. I love the feeling of a knockout and I’m gonna do my best to get it done…I just want to show everyone that I’m still the best. I still love this sport. When I stop loving it, you’ll know. I love my routine and I love going to the gym every day.”

Edgar Berlanga: “I’m a knockout artist. Every fighter wants the knockout. We know that he’s a legend and we can’t just go swing for the fences. We have to do it the right way. Sixth-round knockout, that’s what we’re going for. But we’re ready for all 12 rounds if we have to.”

Super Welterweight Vladimir “24K” Hernandez (16-6, 7 KOs) hammered out a ten round unanimous decision over Raul “El Doma” Garcia (13-2-1, 11 KOs) on Wednesday night at the ProBox TV Events Center in Plant City, Florida. Scores were 94-93, 95-92, 96-91. Garcia dropped Hernandez in round three, but Hernandez later floored Garcia twice.

Hernandez-Garcia was moved to the main event after a scheduled super middleweight clash between Lester Martinez and Joeshon “Showtime” James was scrapped due to an illness suffered by Martinez.