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WBC/WBA/IBF middleweight champion Claressa “GWOAT” Shields (13-0, 2 KOs) once again became the undisputed 160lb champion with a ten round unanimous decision over WBO titleholder Savannah “The Silent Assassin” Marshall (12-1, 10 KOs) on Saturday night in a grudge match at the O2 Arena in London. Shields, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, fired quick flurries that kept power-punching Marshall off-balance early on. Marshall upped the pressure and often bullied Shields into the ropes as the bout progressed. Scores were 96-94, 97-93, 97-93.

“I bit down in every round,” Shields said. “In every round, it felt like she would hit me with a big shot, and I would hit her with a big shot. If she hit me to the body, I’d punch her to the body. But I know that I did the most work today and that I was winning with my inside combinations.”

Marshall handed Shields an amateur defeat in 2012, the only time Shields has been toppled as a pro or amateur, but she couldn’t repeat the feat tonight in her own backyard.

In a female super featherweight title unification, WBC champion Alycia Baumgardner (12-1, 7 KOs) took the IBF and WBO belts from Mikaela Mayer (17-0, 5 KOs) via narrow ten round split decision in the co-feature of the big all-women’s card at the O2 Arena in London. Close fight. Baumgardner nearly doubled up Mayer’s power punch totals to win 96-95, 96-95 on two cards. Mayer was up 97-93 on the third card.

“I worked my ass off to get here,” Baumgardner said. “I landed the cleaner shots. The harder shots. I had her cut above her forehead. I was the harder puncher. I dug deep. That girl ain’t getting no rematch. I’m going after Choi [Hyun-Mi] like I said. Undisputed is what I claimed. It’s what I’m going to do.”

Mayer said, “I’m really confident that I won that fight. She was defeated. I saw it in her eyes. She was tired. She knows she lost the fight. She was shocked by the decision. She got lucky. I think the crowd believes that I won that fight. I took control of the fight from the second round on, for sure. At the very least, I won seven rounds clearly. I felt like I had it. I hope that she gives me a rematch. I think I deserve it, and I feel that the fans wants to see it.”

Female lightweight Caroline Dubois (4-0, 3 KOs) got the first knockout on the big all-women’s card taking place at the O2 Arena in London. Dubois, the sister of WBA regular heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois, knocked down Milena Koleva (10-15-1, 4 KOs) in round four and got a referee’s stoppage in round five. Time was 1:53. Koleva has now lost 9 of her last 10.

Unbeaten featherweight and Olympic gold medalist Lauren Price (2-0, 1 KO) got a fourth round referee’s stoppage against Timea Belik (6-7, 2 KOs).

Other Results:
Karriss Artingtsall W6 Marina Sakharov (featherweight)
April Hunter W6 Erica Alvarez (super welterweight)
Shannon Ryan W4 Buchra El Quaissi (super flyweight)
Georgia O’Connor W4 Joyce van Ee (welterweight)
Ginny Fuchs W6 Gemma Ruegg (super flyweight)
Sarah Liegmann W6 Bec Connolly (super bantamweight)

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

WBO #1 super lightweight Liam Paro (23-0, 14 KOs) scored an spectacular first round knockout over previously unbeaten Brock Jarvis (20-1, 18 KOs) to retain the WBO Global title at the South Bank Piazza in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Brock pressed the action until he ran into a Paro left hand and went down hard. Time was 2:29. The bout headlined Matchroom Boxing’s first show in Australia.

Undefeated WBO #10, IBF #15 heavyweight Demsey “The Tower” McKean (22-0, 14 KOs) scored a third round knockout against brawler Patrick Korte (18-2-1, 15 KOs) in an entertaining fight. Both fighters unloaded on each other until the 6’7 McKean dropped Korte with an uppercut. Korte struggled to get up and the fight was stopped. Time was 2:59. McKean claimed the vacant IBF Intercontinental crown. Continue reading “WBO #1 Paro KOs Brock in one”

By Héctor Villarreal

Former WBA bantamweight super champion, Panamanian Anselmo “Chemito” Moreno (41-6-1, 14 KOs), and Mexican Julio Cesar Cruz (12-5, 6KOs), beat the scale on Friday for their 8-round bout which stars the Laguna Premium Boxing Promotions card on Saturday night at the Vasco Núñez de Balboa Convention Center in Panama City, Panama.

Another former WBA super champion, Jamaican Nicholas “The Axeman” Walters weighed in at 145 but his representatives did not find an opponent for his comeback fight after almost 6-year inactivity.

Anselmo Moreno 128 vs Julio Cruz 127
Chann Thonson 136.25 vs Tony Gomez 135
Trevor Thonson 136 vs Samir Cuentas 137
Victor Delgado 231 vs Pascial Hodgson 241.25
Dervin Colina 172 vs Francisco Cordero 181
Kadir Macias 138 vs Josue Alvarado 140
Jack Hemmings 117.25 vs Andres Peñaloza 116
Einar Rios 118 vs Raul Melendez 117.5
Angel Bethancourt 113.5 vs Fernando Lorenzo 115
Hibrahim Valdespino 124.5 vs Calender Nuñez 126

First fight starts 7:30 pm

By Damon Gonzalez/LatinBox Sports

Unbeaten flyweight Anthony “Princesa” Olascuaga (5-0, 3 KOs) from Los Angeles, California stopped Marco Sustaita (13-5-1, 11 KOs) from Oceanside, California with a devastating finish at the official time 2:40 seconds of the opening round, putting away Sustaita with a devastating body shot that put him on the canvas in the opening stanza.

Olascuaga successfully defended his WBA Fedelatin flyweight title in front of a sold-out crowd at the Seneca Resort & Casino in Niagara Falls, New York.

In the co-main event, bantamweight Mikiah Kreps (4-0, 2 KOs) from Niagara Falls, New York scored a six round unanimous decision victory over Carmarie Matos Vargas (3-1, 1 KO) from Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. Judges official scores 58-55 3x in favor of Kreps. Continue reading ““Princesa” Olascuaga annihilates Sustaita”

William Langston 167 vs. Caleb Hernandez 169

Jimmy Quiter 166.6 vs. Simon Buettner 166.2
(Illinois State super middleweight title)

Thomas Hughes 167.5 vs. Mirady Zola 166
Evan Jack 139 vs. Kechaune Jenkins 138
Brandi Robinson 123.5 vs. Brittany Dukes 123
Mario Guerra 140 vs. Steven Merrill TBA
Deontae Pettigrew 293 vs. Jamal Woods 245
Juan Carlos Guerra 146.5 vs. Adrian Mazon Jr. 146
Olivia Curry 158.5 vs. Samantha Pill 159
Matthew Hambric 204 vs. Armando Reeves 214
Calvin Glover 144 vs. Ronnie Gelomo 143

Venue: Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont, Illinois
Promoter: Hitz Boxing
1st Bell: 7 PM CT
Stream: BXNGTV.com

Elijah Pierce 121.4 vs. Daron Williams 119.4
(WBC USNBC silver super bantamweight title)
Note: Williams and Pierce had to be separated at the weigh-in.

Brandon Chambers 120.6 vs. Vit Y 120.4
Joseph Veazey 144.2 vs. Rashad Kilpatrick 142.4
Antonio Duntonvs.El 129.8 vs. Francois Scarboro Jr. 130.2
Mansaborie Conde 164.4 vs. Brandon Clark 164
Jaqeem Hutcherson 121.8 vs. Ernest Hall 121.6
Anthony Williams 168 vs. Derrick Vann 165.6
Stacy Selby 144 vs. Maurice Anthony 148
Jeffrey Yu 128.6 vs. Mateo Diaz 128
Ahmad Muhammad Jones 140.6 vs. Kani Burnside 139.8
Dwayne Holmes Jr. 122.2 vs. Rensley Washington 121.4

Venue: The Hall! Inside Live Casino Hotel Maryland
Promoter: Jeter Promotions
1st Bell 7 PM (Doors 6 PM ET)

Photos: Sumio Yamada

Devin Haney 134.8 vs. George Kambosos Jr 134
(undisputed lightweight title)

Jason Moloney 117.8 vs. Nawaphon Kaikanha 117.3
Andrew Moloney 114.7 vs. Norbelto Jimenez 114.9
Cherneka Johnson 121 vs. Susie Ramadan 119.3
Hemi Ahio 243.3 vs. Faiga Opelu 223.8
David Nyika 199.7 vs. Titi Motusaga 196.9

Venue: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Promoter: Top Rank, DiBella Entertainment
TV: ESPN

More photos

Deontay Wilder 214.5 vs. Robert Helenius 253.25
(WBC heavyweight eliminator)
Note: Wilder weighed 238 in his previous fight against Tyson Fury. Helenius weighed 246 in his last fight against Adam Kownacki. So Wilder is 23.5 pounds lighter and Helenius is 7.25 pounds heavier.

Caleb Plant 167.25 vs. Anthony Dirrel 167.75
(WBC super middleweight eliminator)

Gary Antonio Russell 116.5 vs. Emmanuel Rodríguez 117.75
(IBF bantamweight eliminator)

Frank Sánchez 247.75 vs. Carlos Negrón 244.5
Vito Mielnicki, Jr. 153.4 vs. Limberth Ponce 153.6
Michel Rivera 134.6 vs. Jerry Pérez 135
Gurgen Hovhannisyan 275.4 vs. Michael Coffie 297.6
Michael Angeletti 124.4 vs. Jeremy Adorno 125.8
Geovany Bruzón 230.2 vs. James Evans, Jr. 231.4
Keeshawn Williams 144 vs. Julio Rosa 141
Miguel Román 123.8 vs. José Negrete 122

Venue: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
Promoter: TGB Promotions
TV: PPV, FS2

Claressa Shields 159.3 vs. Savannah Marshall 159.3
(undisputed female middleweight title)

Mikaela Mayer 129.3 vs. Alycia Baumgardner 129.3
(WBC/IBF/WBO super featherweight unification)

Venue: O2 Arena, London
Promoter: BOXXER, Top Rank
TV: ESPN+

By Joe Koizumi
Photos: Naoki Fukuda

Three plus one makes four. Simple arithmetic. Three-belt bantam champ Naoya Inoue (23-0, 20 KOs) will square off against one-belt titleholder Paul Butler (34-2, 15 KOs), UK, in Tokyo, Japan, on December 13. The winner will take all the four belts to be the undisputed champion. It was announced by Ohashi Promotions on Thursday.

WBC, WBA and IBF kingpin Naoya said, “It’s my great pleasure to participate in the long-anticipated unification bout with WBO ruler Paul Butler, who I respect as a smart and experienced titlist. This is the last chapter for me as a bantamweight, but it is also an important milestone for my future career. I’d like to concentrate on fighting such an excellent champion as Butler.” Continue reading “Inoue to collide with Butler for 118lb unification”

Zelfa Barrett will face Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov for the vacant IBF super-featherweight world title at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Saturday November 5, live to subscribers worldwide on DAZN (excluding South Korea and MENA).

Joe Cordina was set to make the first defense of the IBF title on the undercard of Dmitry Bivol’s WBA Light-Heavyweight World Title clash with Mexico’s Gilberto Zurdo Ramirez, but the Welshman suffered a hand injury that required surgery and was subsequently stripped of his title by the IBF.

Barrett (28-1, 16 KOs) is ranked at #2 with the IBF and is next in line to fight for the famous red and gold belt against the IBF’s #1 ranked super-featherweight Rakhimov (16-0-1, 13 KOs) – who gets a second opportunity to fight for the 130lbs crown following his draw with an overweight Joseph Diaz last year.

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Liam Paro 139.5 vs. Brock Jarvis 139.75
(WBO Global junior welterweight title)

Demsey McKean 251.5 vs. Patrick Korte 234.1
(IBF Intercontinental heavyweight title)

Abdoulaye Mayweather 167.4 vs. Cesar Mateo Tapia 167.25
(WBA Oceana super middleweight title)

Krystina Jacobs 126.3 vs. Skye Nicolson 125.6
(Commonwealth female featherweight title)
*Jacobs has 2 hours to lose 3/10s of a pound.

Rocky Ogden 129.9 vs. Ben Cameron Hands 129.25
Jalen Tait 134 vs. Rhys Evans 134.1
Dylan Biggs 153 vs. Mirko Pizzi 153.4

Venue: South Bank Plazza Brisbane, Queensland
Promoter: Eddie Hearn/Matchroom
TV: DAZN

ANBF Supervisor John Hogg
WBA Supervisor Brad Vocale
IBF Supervisor Adam Height
WBO Supervisor Danny Leigh

Undisputed lightweight world champion Devin “The Dream” Haney and former champion George Kambosos Jr. re-exchanged “pleasantries” at the press conference two days shy of their showdown at Rod Laver Arena. The combatants talked some trash, but it was Haney’s father/trainer, Bill Haney, who stole the show. He presented Kambosos (20-1, 10 KOs) — or at least attempted to — a copy of Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War,” a reference to Kambosos post-weigh-in mind tricks before their first bout back in June. Kambosos was none too pleased and knocked the book off the dais.

Haney (28-0, 15 KOs) dominated Kambosos to unify all the belts at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium, and a little more than four months later.

Haney-Kambosos 2 will be broadcast live in prime time SATURDAY (taking place Sunday afternoon local time) on ESPN. Continue reading “Haney-Kambosos Final Press Conference”

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up Biaggio Ali Walsh, the grandson of the GOAT Muhammad Ali as he prepares to get ready for his next amateur MMA fight Nov. 25 in the Professional Fighters League. Ali Walsh talked about his journey into Mixed Martial Arts, the impact of his brother Nico boxing on his decision to fight, the strong support of his parents, the advice his grandfather would give him and his brother if he was still alive today and much more in this exclusive interview.

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IBF #7 welterweight Ivan “The Volk” Golub (21-1, 16 KOs) won by fourth round TKO over Wesley Tucker (15-4, 9 KOs) on Thursday night at Sony Hall, in the heart of Times Square, mid-town Manhattan. Tucker was credited with a knockdown in round two when Golub’s glove touched the canvas. Golub took over after that. He brutally teed off on Tucker in round four with little coming back. The bout was stopped after that round.

In the main event, former WBO female featherweight champion Heather Hardy (23-2, 4 KOs) scored a six round unanimous decision over Calista Silgado (20-16-3, 15 KOs) in a lightweight bout. The 40-year-old Hardy outworked Silgado to win 58-56, 58-56, 60-54.

Super middleweight Nadim Salloum (9-1, 4 KOs) punished previously unbeaten Leandro Capozucco (4-1, 3 KOs) until the bout was waved off at 1:30 of the sixth round.

Unbeaten flyweight Andy Dominguez (8-0, 6 KOs) destroyed Ricardo Caraballo (7-1, 2 KOs) in the first round. Caraballo down twice. Time was 2:36.

Welterweight Petros Ananyan (17-3-2, 8 KOs) got a referee’s stoppage against Paulo Cesar Galdino (12-6, 8 KOs) in round six of a scheduled eight-rounder.

Anthony “Princesa” Olascuaga 111.6 vs. Marco “El Lobito” Sustaita 111
(WBA Fedelatin flyweight title)

Mikiah Kreps 118.4 vs. Carmarie Matos 118.8
Alexander Castellano 123.4 vs. Miguel Ángel Carrizo 122.2
Trinidad Vargas 116 vs. Jenn Gonzalez 117
Daniel Dejesus 129 vs. Jean Carlos Sepulveda 129.8
Mike Vega 140.2 vs. Carlos Nuñez 140
Gerffred Ngayot 135 vs. TBA

Venue: Seneca Resort & Casino, Niagara Fallas, NY
Promoter: All Star Boxing
TV: ESPN Knockout (Latin America only)

Former longtime heavyweight world champion Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder and top contender Robert “The Nordic Nightmare” Helenius went face-to-face Thursday at the final press conference as the two power-punchers promised fireworks when they meet in a WBC heavyweight title eliminator this Saturday on pay-per-view from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The press conference also featured an intense verbal back and forth between former world champions and super middleweight rivals Caleb “Sweethands” Plant and Anthony “The Dog” Dirrell, who square off in a WBC super middleweight title eliminator in the co-main event.

Deontay Wilder: “We were sparring partners and we respect each other, but don’t you worry, the beast will come out on Saturday night. It’s going to be fireworks for sure.

Robert Helenius: “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe in myself. If I didn’t think that I could become the heavyweight world champion, I would have got an easier job.

Caleb Plant: “I just feel like I’m going to put a whooping on him and he’ll run off into the sunset. I hope he’s fully prepared.”

Anthony Dirrell: “Only way he retires me is if he runs around the ring until I’m old. He can’t hit. What can he do? Who has he whooped We’re going in there and giving it our all. My plan is to go in there and whoop his ass.”

The final press conference took place today for the historic women’s boxing doubleheader this Saturday at The O2 Arena. Shields-Marshall and Mayer-Baumgardner will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+.

Claressa Shields: “I’m not worried about Savannah Marshall. I came over here. I’m a star in America. Don’t get it twisted. I didn’t have to come over here. Nobody was ever running from her. Nobody was ever scared to come over here and fight her. We said, ‘Let’s do it.’ And you better punch as hard as you say you can. Because if you don’t have any punching power, it’s going to be a hard night for you.”

Savannah Marshall: “She can try to knock me out. But if you’ve got it, then you’ve got it. If you haven’t got it, then you haven’t. It is what it is. Why is it hard for you to knock someone out? If you land on someone, then you hurt them. If you land on them and you’ve got pillow fists, then they’re not going to go anywhere.”

Mikaela Mayer: “I’m expecting to deliver the performance of my life. Contrary to what she’s saying, I am constantly getting better. I still don’t even feel like I’ve hit my peak. I want to put it all together in this fight. I want to embarrass her. I want to make her sound stupid because she said a lot leading up to this fight.”

Alycia Baumgardner: “There’s no respect. At the end of the day, this is the fight game. This girl is trying to beat me. I’m trying to beat here. I have great sportsmanship, but I don’t respect her. She talks too much. And when somebody talks too much, you’ve got to shut them up, and that’s what I’m going to do on Saturday night.”

Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) announced today that former world title challengers Alexandro “El Peque” Santiago (26-3-5, 13 KOs) and Antonio “Carita” Nieves (20-3-2, 11 KOs) will meet again in a ten round rematch of their 2016 draw on the Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva Showtime PPV undercard on October 29 from Desert Diamond Arena (formerly Gila River Arena) in Glendale, Ariz., just outside Phoenix.

In a battle of undefeated heavyweights, Jeremiah “Dream Land” Milton (6-0, 5 KOs) will square off against Quintin Sumpter (5-0, 3 KOs) in a six-round bout in the non-televised portion of the card. Also in action will be super welterweight Eliezer Silva (1-0) against Phillip “Fresh” Carmouche (2-3) in a four-rounder.

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Hall of Fame promoter Lou DiBella spoke to Peter Maniatis of the KO show about the George Kambosos vs. Devin Haney rematch on Sunday (Saturday in the US) at the Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia, televised on ESPN.

“My second trip (to Melbourne) in four months, said DiBella. “I love this town. What a great city and what a great place to do boxing.

“Let’s be honest. The last (Kambosos-Haney) fight disappointed. Forget about the fact Australia didn’t get to keep the belts and George lost the fight. That happens. It wasn’t a particularly good fight. It wasn’t a pleasing fight. I think George was distracted. I think a lot of it was on George. I don’t think his eye was on the prize. Continue reading “DiBella: Kambosos will do everything to win”

Things heated up at the final press conference for the clash between Claressa Shields (12-0, 2 KOs) and Savannah Marshall 12-0, 10 KOs) for the undisputed WBC/WBA/IBF/WBO middleweight belts on Saturday at the O2 Arena in London. It also got testy between IBF/WBO women’s superfeather champ Mikaela Mayer (17-0, 5 KOs) and WBC superfeather ruler Alycia Baumgardner (12-1, 7 KOs) who meet in a unification.

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WBO bantamweight champion Paul Butler goes in search of boxing immortality on December 13 when he faces Naoya Inoue for the undisputed world bantamweight title at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Inoue holds the IBF, WBA and WBC belts and wants to clean up the division before moving up in weight – but Butler warns not to count him out just yet.

“I’ve been boxing for over 20 years and all the successes and setbacks have led me here, to the biggest fight of my career, with the biggest prize in the sport on offer,” said Butler. “I am under no illusions as to the size of the task that faces me, but I have been going to bed dreaming of becoming the undisputed bantamweight champion of the world.

“Inoue is a phenomenal fighter but not one person should be underestimating me, my skills, or my resolve. I am going to Japan to write my name into the history of our sport.”

Undisputed lightweight world champion Devin “The Dream” Haney (28-0, 15 KOs) and George Kambosos Jr. (20-1, 10 KOs) faced off yesterday, but at today’s open workout, they were kept separate. Haney-Kambosos 2 will be broadcast live on ESPN.

Devin Haney: “He’s making up every excuse in the book. He said he wasn’t going to, but now they’re saying I was holding, it was this, it was that. Whatever you want to say, he can keep saying it. The talk doesn’t matter. I’m going to go in there and do what I’m going to do regardless. No matter what referee is in there, no matter where the fight is at, it doesn’t matter.”

George Kambosos Jr: “When I went back to that dressing room {after the first fight}, my mindset changed right away. I’m a challenger again. I wasn’t upset. I’m in a familiar place, and this is where I’ve been most of my career. Doubt me? No problem. I love when they doubt me. I love when they think I have no chance. That’s OK. We’ll prove them wrong once again.”