Fightnews.com

By Boxing Bob Newman

WBA KO Drugs / Night of Champions

Orestes Velazquez 139.8 vs Guillermo Crocco 139.6
(WBA International super lightweight title)

Francisco Daniel Veron 158.8 vs Leonardo Ruiz 159.6
(WBA Continental middleweight title)

Yamaguchi Falçao 167.8 vs Ernesto Amuzu 167
(NABA super middleweight title)

Jeovanny Estella 152.8 vs Luis Florez 156.6

Kalliopi Kourouni 131.8 vs Calista Salgado 128.8
WBA Continental Americas

Sergio Martinez 165.4 vs Noah Kidd 158.2

Idalberto Umara 133.8 vs Emiliano Garcia 133.6
WBA FedeCaribe Title

Connor Coyle 158.2 vs Sladan Janjanin 163.8
(NABA middleweight title)

Melvin Lopez 116.8 vs Jolberto Alvarez 117.8
(WBA Continental bantamweight title)

Joseph George 168.6 vs Raiko Santana 167
(WBA FedeCaribe super middleweight title)

Carlos Cruz 162.8 vs Ibraham Dialo 156.6
Damian Lescaille 149 vs Rondale Hubbert 148
Hehrich Ruiz Cordoba 224.6 vs Phillip Jean Seide 244
Alex Rios Vega138.4 vs Christopher Nelson 127

Venue: Caribe Royale Hotel
Promoter: BoxLab Promotions (Amaury Piedras)
Matchmaker: Melvin Rivas
TV: CBS Sports Network

By Joe Koizumi
Photos: Naoki Fukuda

WBO bantamweight champion Paul Butler showed a public workout before Japanese press people and greatly impressed them with his speed and skills on Thursday at Ohashi gym in Yokohama, Japan. Paul confidently said, “I have a higher IQ than Inoue, who I admit is an excellent boxer. But I saw some defects on his defense. He may have his fight plan, but I also have my fight plan, too. My asset is a boxing brain, with which I wish to be victorious.”

Butler displayed good form, moved well, and proved he’s a good technician. Inoue’s manager/promoter Hideyuki Ohashi said after his workout, “Joe, Paul Butler is a better boxer than we thought, and he can punch. We must be careful.”

The four-belt unification bout will take place soon.

Photos

Jonathan Rodriguez 119.5 vs. Nestor Robledo 121
James Bernadin 141 vs. William Parra-Smith 141
Rasheed Johnson 147.5 vs. Antonio Wattell 151
Julian Gonzalez 130 vs. Eric Manriquez 131
Alexis Araiza Mones 116.5 vs. Devany Cuevas Torres 114

Venue: 2300 Arena in Philadelphia
Promoter: King’s Promotions
Stream: BXNGTV.com, 1st Bell: 7 PM

WBC cruiserweight champion Ilunga Junior Makabu (29-2, 25 KOs) will defend his title against the WBC Silver beltholder Noel Mikaelyan (26-2, 11 KOs) on Saturday, January 21 at the Casino Miami Jai-Alai. Hall of Fame promoter Don King has called the card, “Let Freedom Ring! Clash of the Champions!”

“These are the two best cruiserweights in the world,” said King. “We are going to give Miami and boxing fans across the country another action-packed boxing card. Makabu will show the world once again why he is number one and Mikaelyan is out to prove he’s the best.”

Looks like the co-feature will be Jonathan “King” Guidry (18-1-2, 11 KOs) against former WBC heavyweight champion Bermane “B.ware” Stiverne (25-5-1, 21 KOs).

Terence “Bud” Crawford 146.6 vs. David Avanesyan 146.8
(WBO welterweight title)

Venue: CHI Health Center, Omaha, Nebraska
Promoter: NextGen Boxing, Bash Boxing
TV: PPV (BLK Prime, $39.99)

Teofimo Lopez 139.2 vs. Sandor Martin 139.8
Jared Anderson 239 vs. Jerry Forrest 228.2
Xander Zayas 153 vs. Alexis Salazar 153.8
Keyshawn Davis 134.8 vs. Juan Carlos Burgos 134

Frederic Julan 175.8 vs. Joe Ward 174.4
Damian Knyba 245.8 vs. Emilio Salas 217
Tiger Johnson 141 vs. Mike Ohan Jr. 141.6

Note: Bruce Carrington vs. Juan Tapia was canceled because Tapia was not cleared by the New York State Athletic Commission.

Note: Jahi Tucker vs. Ivan Pandzic was canceled due to Tucker missing the contract weight of 148 pounds.

Venue: Madison Square Garden, NYC
Promoter: Top Rank
TV: ESPN, ESPN+

Super featherweight Thomas Mattice has signed a multi-fight promotional deal with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom. Mattice (20-3-1 15 KOs) recorded the biggest win of his career in his last outing, taking the unbeaten record of Christian Tapia in his Cleveland hometown in November, and landing the WBC Continental Americas title in the process. ‘Gunna Man’ had previously pushed Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz all the way in February 2020, being edged out via Majority Decision at Lightweight in Philadelphia, and now the 32 year old is looking to bring more big fights to Cleveland alongside his gym and stablemate Montana Love.

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Middleweight Joel Camilleri (25-8-1, 13 KOs) needed just over sixty seconds to stop former IBF middleweight champion Sam “King” Soliman (49-17-1, 19 KOs) on Friday night at the Melbourne Pavilion, Flemington, Victoria, Australia. Camilleri rocked the 49-year-old Soliman with with a big right hand followed by a barrage of punches that sent Soliman to the canvas and ended the fight. Camilleri claimed the vacant Australasian 160lb. title.

Josh Warrington 125.3 vs. Luis Alberto Lopez 124.3
(IBF featherweight title)

Ebanie Bridges 117.75 vs. Shannon O’connell 117.35
(IBF female bantamweight title)

Felix Cash 166 vs. Celso Neves 166.2
James Metcalf 153.6 vs. Courtney Pennington 153.1
Koby McNamara 120.1 vs. Nabil Ahmed 120.3
Shannon Courtenay 124.7 vs. Gemma Ruegg 124.8
Cory O’Regan 137.8 vs. Antonio Rodriguez 136.7
Hopey Price 123.2 vs. Jonathan Santana 123.8
Rhiannon Dixon 134.8 vs. Kristine Shergold 134.3
Junaid Bostan 155.9 vs. Athanasios Glynos 155.8

Venue: First Direct Arena, Leeds, England
Promoter: Matchroom Boxing
TV: DAZN

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Hall of Fame broadcaster Colonel Bob Sheridan talks to Fightnews.com® about Tyson Fury, whom he says could be the greatest heavyweight of all time. The Colonel also talks about dream fights with Tyson Fury against other great heavyweights which include Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes and Lennox Lewis.

“Because of Tyson Fury’s size, Muhammad Ali would box in the hallway and stay away from him. I am talking about the early Ali and not the one after the layoff. I think Ali would be able to stay away from Fury and box his ears off, but in the end if Fury hits him on the chin he is going. Fury could definitely knock Ali out. There were European fighters who had knocked down Ali. Continue reading “Colonel: Fury beats Ali, Lewis, Holmes”

ESPN has announced that it will air a clash for the vacant WBO junior lightweight title between current WBO featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete and former champ Oscar Valdez. The bout will take place February 3 in Glendale, Arizona. The co-feature will be a junior welterweight clash between Jose Pedraza and Arnold Barboza Jr.

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with rising super lightweight contender Kenneth Simms Jr. (18-2-1, 6 KOs) as he prepares for his upcoming fight against Nicolas Demario (16-7-3, 10 KOs) on December 17 in Las Vegas on the undercard of Frank Martin vs. Michael Rivera. Simms Jr. talked about his journey in boxing including his loss to Jose Ramirez in 2012 Olympic Trials, plus shared his thoughts on the potential super showdown of Spence-Crawford and who he likes in Tank vs. Kingry and much more in this exclusive interview.

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By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing
Photos: Johnny Chaichotchuang

Thai 115-pounder Aran Dipaen (15-3, 12 KOs) retained the IBF Pan Pacific junior bantamweight championship bout with a technical decision over Justine Darap (11-3, 7 KOs) on Wednesday at Stadium Nine, Samutprakarn, Thailand. Dipaen controlled the fight, connecting with accurate combinations on his aggressive opponent. In round four, Dipaen suffered a cut over the left eye as a result of accidental head clash and the referee Sanong Auim stopped the contest in round five after consulting with the ringside doctor. The fight went to the scorecards and Dipaen was crowned the winner by scores 49-46, 49-46, 49-46. Continue reading “Dipaen defeats Darap”

WBO Welterweight Champion Terence “Bud” Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs) went face to face with WBO #6 contender David Avanesyan (29-3-1, 17 KOs) at the final press conference on Thursday before they meet on Saturday headlining a $39.99 BLK Prime Pay-Per-View from the CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

Terence Crawford: “I’m very focused and have been since day one strictly on Avanesyan. We know what he brings to the table, but we’re going to elevate it to a higher level. this Saturday we’ll be victorious, and going to have fun doing it. I really can’t look at too much of who [Avanesyan] fought and how they fought each other. When [Avanesyan] and I match up we’ll be making our adjustments on the fly and we’re going to do what we do best, which is shine.”

David Avanesyan: “This is a big fight, a huge fight. I had a great camp, and I’m going to be giving everything to win this fight. Everyone is talking about Terence, I’m not only here to win this fight decisively but to shock the world. Come Sunday morning, the news will be spreading that I raised the belt, and shocked the world. I’ll be getting to go back and see my family who I haven’t seen for so long, and return home a champion.”

Amateur standout Francis Oran is getting ready to turn professional on January 20th in Bethlehem, PA. Oran, who is the one of the most accomplished amateur fighters coming out of the State of Pennsylvania in recent years, had his dreams set on becoming a 2020 Olympian. Unfortunately, the pandemic happened and with that Francis’ dream became a mirage. The AIBA (Amateur International Boxing Association) canceled a lot of the Olympics qualifiers and Francis Oran was not able to chase his dreams of qualifying for the Olympics. Continue reading “Amateur standout Francis Oran set for pro debut”

Former lightweight king and current junior welterweight contender Teofimo Lopez will (17-1, 13 KOs) and former European junior welterweight king Sandor Martin (40-2, 13 KOs) faced off at the final press conference for their 10-round main event at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night on ESPN.

Teofimo Lopez: “We all have an opportunity here. We all have an objective to do on Saturday night. My whole thing is, ‘How do we continue the Takeover?’ We just got to keep winning. Whoever they put in front of us, we beat them.”

Sandor Martin: This is a special moment for me. But I don’t look beyond this fight. At the end of the day, he and I live in two different worlds. He lives in the world of entertainment and I live in the boxing world. When he was recording interviews, watching the Knicks and shopping, I was training. That’s the difference you will see on Saturday.”

Undisputed super welterweight champion Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) will defend his four titles against unbeaten WBO #1 contender Tim Tszyu (21-0, 15 KOs) live on SHOWTIME on Saturday, January 28 from Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

Jermell Charlo: “I’m excited to be back in the ring to defend my undisputed crown. I’m thankful for everything I’ve accomplished, but the battle isn’t over. Tim Tszyu is a young, hungry, aggressive fighter but I’m a pound-for-pound great. I reign as the undisputed champion and if anyone wants a shot at the crown, they gotta see me. I’m not going anywhere. I want all my fans to tune in because once again, it’s Lions Only time and I plan to light up Las Vegas and show the world that I’m the most dangerous fighter in the sport, regardless of division.”

Tim Tszyu: “Jermell is a great, smart fighter and has been for many years – becoming undisputed is an incredible achievement. But his time is over now, because I’m about to shock the world and take over. It’s going to be a great fight as neither of us know how to take a backward step and are going to be swinging from the start with very bad intentions. I’m preparing for a bloody war as I know he is too. I’ve already been grinding for months and I’m in the best shape of my career. The groundwork was laid in Australia and Thailand but I’m here now in the U.S. to take it to the next level, which is exactly what’s needed when you’re fighting for the undisputed championship of the world.”

Pre-sale tickets will be available Monday through AXS.com with the code: BOXING

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

“Monster” Naoya Inoue, the bantamweight kingpin of the WBC, WBA and IBF, showed a public workout on Wednesday before press people and his counterpart’s handlers at Ohashi gym in Yokohama, Japan. Naoya looked more skillful and speedy than powerful, as UK veteran trainer Joe Gallager pointed out.

The unbeaten Japanese said, “I’m in great shape, and am ready to exchange gloves with Butler. I may expect a rather longer fight than previously (against Donaire) since Butler is also a technically excellent boxer.”

His promoter/manager Hideyuki Ohashi, former WBC, WBA 105-pound champ, predicted Naoya’s finest condition on the night of the ultimate unification bout on Tuesday. “His training in Los Angeles does him good in terms of fine combination of speed, power and skills. He is going to be a more flawless boxer, punching without getting hit.”

Time will tell.

Photos

Tuto Zabala Jr., President of All Star Boxing, has announced that his undefeated WBO #9 ranked contender Gerardo “El Cascabel” Zapata (14-0, 5 KOs) will face WBO #15 Rene “El Chulo” Santiago (9-3, 7 KOs) on December 16th for the vacant WBO Latino jr flyweight belt in 10 round bout., The fight is set to take place in Pabellon de Esgrima Centro Olimpico Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and will be in association with Shuan Boxing Promotions. Continue reading “108lb contenders clash on Dec 16”