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“I didn’t feel 100%, but we got the victory.”

By Miguel Maravilla

Former unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. talks about his hard-fought unanimous decision over Luis “King Kong” Ortiz on Sunday night in a WBC title eliminator at the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles. Next up for Ruiz could be former WBC champion Deontay Wilder if Wilder gets past Robert Helenius on October 15.

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By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

In a WBC heavyweight eliminator, former unified champion Andy “The Destroyer” Ruiz Jr. (35-2, 22 KOs) of Imperial Valley, California, defeated Cuba’s Luis “King Kong” Ortiz (33-3, 28 KOs) by twelve round unanimous decision on Sunday night at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Ruiz dropped Ortiz twice in round two, but the 43-year-old King Kong survived. The pace slowed until round seven when Ruiz dropped Ortiz again. Scores were 113-112, 114-111, 114-111. Continue reading “Ruiz defeats Ortiz in WBC eliminator”

By Rocky Morales at ringside

WBC #2 lightweight Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (24-2-1, 17KO) was provided a sacrificial lamb in light-punching WBC #4 super featherweight Eduardo Ramirez (27-3-3, 12KO) and did not disappoint with a second round destruction of Ramirez in a WBC lightweight title eliminator. Ramirez was on his bike in the opening round with Cruz in hot pursuit. In the second round, it wasn’t long before Cruz landed a crunching lead left hook to drop Ramirez hard to the canvas. The referee took a long hard look at Ramirez before allowing him to continue. Moments later, Cruz landed an even more punishing left hook, right cross, left hook combo to drop Ramirez again with the referee immediately waving off the fight without a count. Time of the stoppage was 2:27 of the second round.

Despite becoming a mandatory to WBC (and undisputed) world champ Devin Haney, PBC appears to, instead, be pushing Cruz back into a rematch with WBA “regular” champ Getvonta “Tank” Davis. With Davis in attendance and the cameras focused on him, the easily led crowd in attendance chanted “We Want Tank, We Want Tank!!”

By Rocky Morales at ringside

Four-time, three-division former world champ, Abner Mares (31-3-2, 15 KOs) fought to a majority draw with tough-as-nails Miguel Flores (25-5, 12 KOs) in a 10 round lightweight bout. It was the first appearance in the ring for Mares in 51 months and he got off to a nice start landing crisp counter punches over the aggressive Flores.

By the middle rounds, however, Mares started fading with Flores feeding off his weakening soul. In the seventh round, Mares was looking like a fighter trying to just go the distance and was all over the place with Flores in hot pursuit. The next couple rounds was more of the same with Mares only landing the occasional counter but Flores pressing the action and willing to eat a Mares counter to land his own shots.

The final round saw Flores going for broke and Mares just trying to make it to the final bell. Although Mares had his moments early on, Flores seemed like he did enough to win the fight as it went to the scorecards. Judges saw it 96-94 Mares and 95-95 even on the other two scorecards for a majority draw. Mares appeared disappointed in the draw but really was a shell of his former likely Hall of Fame self and should consider hanging up the gloves to concentrate on the broadcast booth.

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

Opening the pay-per-view telecast, Dominican lightweight Edwin De Los Santos (15-1, 14 KO’s) made a statement by stopping previously unbeaten José “El Rayo” Valenzuela (12-1, 8 KO’s) of Seattle, Washington by way of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico in a wild one. Off to a fast start, Valenzuela and De Los Santos exchanged, later in the round the Dominican fighter caught Valenzuela with a straight and stopped his momentum. What a wild round it was in the second, as Rayo dropped De Los Santos to begin the the second round but shortly after De Los Santos returned the favor as he sent Valenzuela to the canvas. De Los Santos dropped Valenzeula a second time to begin the third. He beat the count but De Los Santos finished him off at 1:08 of the third. De Los Santos replaced former world champion Jezreel Corrales on short notice and made the most of it! Valenzuela was a 10:1 favorite.

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

WBA #12 super bantamweight Ra’eese Aleem (20-0, 12 KO’s) won a dominating but hard fought unanimous decision over Mike Plania (26-2, 13 KO’s) of the Philippines in headlining the FS1 card on Saturday night at the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles. Aleem dropped Plana early in round two as the fight was off to a fast pace. Despite being knockdown, Plania pressured as Aleem boxed.

Past the halfway point and stalking in the sixth, Plania continued to go forward as Aleem’s slickness was getting to the Filipino. Keeping his composure Plania kept up the pace in the seventh, Aleem made it a chess match fighting smart in the ring timing and finding the openings. Late in the fight, the Filipino kept pressing with Aleem showing composure fighting off the jab and following upstairs solid. The tenth and final round saw Aleem pick up the pace and pressure, letting his hands go as he stood in the pocket with Plania. Finishing strong, Aleem attacked as he did not want to leave it in the hands of the judges backing Plania to the ropes in closing.

After ten rounds, all three judges scored the bout 100-89 as Aleem pitches a shutout.

By Miguel Maravilla and Rocky Morales at ringside

In the opening bout from the Crypto Arena in downtown Los Angeles, former IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin (29-3-1, 26 KOs) of St. Louis stopped Devin Vargas (22-8, 9 KOs) of Toledo, Ohio. Things were rough from the start as Vargas slipped in the second round and Martin also slipped in the third. Vargas was down again from an accidental headbutt. Martin stepped up the pressure in round four as Vargas was a bloody mess, referee Jerry Cantu stepped in to stop the fight at 1:59 of the fourth.

Joey Spencer (16-0, 10KO) was the unanimous decision winner to hand a first time defeat to Kevin Salgado (14-1-1) in a 10 round super welterweight bout between rising prospects. Salgado, from Mexico City, did anything but fight Mexican Style and the style of the two fighters made for an underwhelming fight that brought out a chorus of boos to close the fight. Spencer, making his ten round debut, was slightly more aggressive than Salgado but not enough to make it a fan friendly fight. Neither fighter seemed willing to take too many chances and were content to leave it in the hands of the judges. In a closely sometimes contested contest, Spencer rightfully prevailed, if for no other reason, being more aggressive. Scores did not reflect the closeness of the fight as judges had it 99-91 (twice) and 100-90, all in favor of Spencer.

Unbeaten Anthony Garnica (10-0-1, 5 KOs) was sharp in outboxing a very determined Juan Lopez (17-11, 7KO) to win a majority decision in a six round super bantamweight bout. It is the third victory in the last 3.5 months for Garnica who appeared deserving of a wide unanimous decision victory. Scores for the bout were 59-55 (twice) and 57-57 in favor of Garnica.

Photos and Ringside Report by Bob Ryder

Albert “Prince” Bell scored a comprehensive win over Nicolas Polanco in the headline event of promoter Vick Green’s (Pulse Boxing) show at downtown Toledo’s Huntington Center Saturday night. In the process, Bell captured the vacant WBO/NABO super featherweight belt by scores of 100-90 x 2 and 99-91. Continue reading “Bell dominant in Toledo”

By Hesiquio Balderas

Fightnews.com® had the opportunity to talk to Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz after the weigh-in of tonight big PPV telecast mega fight headlined by Andy Ruiz vs Luis Ortiz at the Crypto arena in Los Angeles, California.

“This fight will be a great fight for the fans. I will put on a great performance for you all,” said Cruz, who is coming off a knockout victory against veteran Yuriorkis Gamboa.

“This is a first stop to get bigger and better fights, I’m willing and ready to make it big and now it’s my time, I will put it all on the line, I know the best is yet to come after this fight. I’m not looking past my opponent but I’m sure of my abilities and I will throw a lot of punches from the first round on. It’s going to be a great fight! It might steal the night, don’t miss it.”

By Mary Ann Owen at ringside

Super middleweight Kevin Newman (14-3-1, 8 KOs) scored a seventh round TKO over late Hector Zepeda (21-5, 7 KOs) to claim the NABA 168lb title on Saturday night in a Ukraine benefit event at the Westgate Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Newman is trained by Roy Jones Jr.

In the co-feature, unbeaten 281-pound former UNLV defensive end Antonio Zepeda (6-0, 6 KOs) stopped Trevor Kotara (3-3, 1 KO) in round five of a heavyweight clash.

Lightweight Gonzalo Fuenzalida (12-1, 3 KOs) took a six round majority decision against Joseph Francisco (8-5, 3 KOs) by scores of 57-57, 58-56, 59-55.

Heavyweight Skylar Lacy (3-0, 2 KOs) won a four round unanimous decision over Jouse Vargas (2-3-1, 1 KO).

WBC franchise super flyweight champion Juan Francisco “Gallo” Estrada (43-3, 28 KOs) won by a harder than expected twelve round unanimous decision over unheralded Argi Cortes (23-3-2, 10 KOs) on Saturday night at the Centro de Usos Multiples in Hermosillo, Mexico. In his first action in 18 months, Estrada easily won the first three rounds. Cortes repeatedly connected with right hands in round four. Cortes bloodied Estrada’s nose in round five. Estrada got serious in round seven, dropping Cortes and landing numerous huge shots. After that, Cortez lost interest in toe-to-toe exchanges with el Gallo and mostly tried to box from outside as Estrada stalked. Scores were 115-112, 115-112, 114-113.

After the fight, it was announced that Estrada will fight Chocolatito Gonzalez in a rubber match on December 3.

In a rematch, WBA female featherweight champion Erika Cruz (15-1, 3 KOs) defeated 40-year-old former champion Jelena Mrdjenovich (41-12-2, 19 KOs) by ten round unanimous decision on Saturday night in the Estrada-Cortes co-feature at the Centro de Usos Multiples in Hermosillo, Mexico. Scores were 100-90 3x for Cruz, who also won their previous fight in April 2021, ending the five-year title reign of Mrdjenovich.

In a clash for the vacant IBF light flyweight title between unbeaten fighters, IBF #1 Sivenathi “The Special One” Nontshinga (10-0, 9 KOs) won a grueling twelve round battle of attrition against IBF #3 Hector “Baby Bull” Flores (20-0, 1 KOs) on Saturday night’s Estrada-Cortes undercard at the Centro de Usos Multiples in Hermosillo, Mexico. Nontshinga dropped Flores in round two, but Flores battled his way back with non-stop punching. Flores suffered a cut on his forehead from a head clash that bled profusely over the second half of the fight. At the end of twelve action-packed rounds, judges scored it 116-111, 114-113 Nontshinga, 115-112 Flores. With the split decision win, Nontshinga became South Africa’s only current world champion.

In a clash of super featherweight punchers, WBA #4, WBC #5 Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez (33-1, 30 KOs) showed his power again, stopping previously unbeaten Jorge Mata (14-1-2, 10 KOs) on Saturday night’s Estrada-Cortes undercard at the Centro de Usos Multiples in Hermosillo, Mexico. Good fight. Hernandez dropped Mata in round five and got a referee’s stoppage with his follow-up barrage. Time was 1:15.

By Hesiquio Balderas

Fightnews.com® was at today’s Andy Ruiz vs Luis Ortiz weigh-in and had a chance to talk exclusively to the former heavyweight champion who opened up and revealed his game plan.

“It’s going to be a very good fight, it’s not going to be easy. It will be tough. I know Ortiz is a lefty and he has good technique but I’m just focused on what I did in camp, everything we trained for, and I’m in great shape,” said Ruiz.

“I tell you the truth, I’m in great shape. I feel happy, strong at this weight. He’s taller but I will fight small, move to the left, move to the right and get inside to try to land those heavy punches, I will get inside to land the body punches and if the knockout comes, it comes. Continue reading “Andy Ruiz reveals game plan”

Andy Ruiz Jr. 268.75 vs. Luis Ortiz 245.25
(WBC heavyweight eliminator)

Isaac Cruz 135 vs. Eduardo Ramírez 134.5
(WBC lightweight eliminator)

Abner Mares 134.25 vs. Miguel Flores 134.75
José Valenzuela 134.5 vs. Edwin de los Santos 133.75
Joey Spencer 154.5 vs. Kevin Salgado 153.5
Ra’eese Aleem 121.5 vs. Mike Plania 122
Charles Martin 260 vs. Devin Vargas 243

Venue: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles
Promoter: TGB Promotions
TV: PPV, FOX, FS1

WBO #2, WBC #3, WBA #4 super welterweight Liam “Beefy” Smith (32-3-1, 19 KOs) scored a rather bizarre fourth round TKO against Hassan Mwakinyo (20-3, 14 KOs) on Saturday night at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England. After twisting his ankle in round three, Mwakinyo took a knee twice in round four without really being hit cleanly and the bout was stopped. Time was 1:46. Both fighters complained about the stoppage.

In a unification clash for the WBC and WBO female super welterweight titles, Natasha Jonas (12-2-1, 8 KOs) outpointed previously unbeaten Patricia Berghult (15-1, 3 KOs) over ten by scores of 99-91, 100-90, 100-90.

Unbeaten light heavyweight Dan Azeez (17-0, 11 KOs) outscored Shakan Pitters (17-2, 6 KOs) over twelve rounds in a bout for the British 175lb title. Scores were 117-112, 115-113, 117-111.

2020 Olympic super heavyweight bronze medalist Frazer Clarke (3-0, 3 KOs) blew away previously unbeaten late sub Pencho Tsvetkov (7-1, 5 KOs) in 65 seconds. Tsvetkov down twice. Total mismatch. Clarke outweighed Tsvetkov by 56 pounds.

Unbeaten super lightweight Adam “The Assassin” Azim (6-0, 5 KOs) blitzed Michel Cabral (5-5, 1 KO) in the first round in a bout for the WBC Youth belt.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Five female title bouts—two world and three reginal–took place on Thursday in Tokyo, Japan. Veteran southpaw speedster Yuko Kuroki (20-7-2, 9 KOs), 101.5, dethroned WBO atomweight titlist Nanae Suzuki (11-5-1, 1 KO), 100.25, when she made best use of footwork and southpaw lefts, winning a unanimous decision (98-92 twice, 97-93) over ten. Kuroki, a police officer’s daughter, was once WBC 105-pound champ four years and eight months ago, and became a champ again.

In a battle of 39-year-young ladies, Mika Iwakawa (11-6-1, 3 KOs), 102, wrested the IBF atomweight belt by a close but unanimous decision (all 96-94) over defending ruler Ayaka Miyao (21-5-1, 6 KOs), 102, over ten. Iwakawa, in her last fight, forfeited the IBF belt to Nanae Suzuki via split verdict this February but regained the title of another organization in her comeback go.

Photos

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten sister of former WBO minimum champ Ryuya, Sumire Yamanaka (6-0, 2 KOs), 101, impressively acquired the vacant WBO Asia Pacific 102-pound belt by halting Honoka Kano (4-1-2, 2 KOs), 101.25, at 1:56 of the fifth round in a scheduled eight on Thursday in Tokyo, Japan. Sumire, 20, looked very sharp and speedy, and said, “I wish to participate in world title bouts together with my brother.”

Two-time amateur national champ Mizuki Hiruta (3-0), 112, won the vacant Japanese national flyweight belt by a shutout decision (all 60-54) over Hinami Yanai (2-1, 1 KO), 113.5, over six. Yanai failed to make weight by a pound and a half, and was completely outboxed by the faster and more skillful Hiruta.

Southpaw Rie Matsuda (5-1-1, 1 KO), 101.5, scored a unanimous decision (79-73 twice, 78-74) over Kaori Nagai (6-5-3, 2 KOs), 102, over eight rounds to win the vacant OPBF 102-pound belt.

It was a unique show featuring all eight female competitions presented by Dangan Aoki Promotions.

Photos

Photos: Mary Ann Owen

Kevin Newman 167.9 vs. Hector Zepeda 168.9
Antonio Zepeda 281.3 vs. Trevor Kotara 231.7
Joseph Francisco 135.9 vs. Gonzalo Fuenzalida 135.4
Josue Vargas 234.8 vs. Skylar Lacy 249.2

Venue: Westgate Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas
Promoter: Reid Promotions
Stream: PPV

Photos

Juan Francisco “Gallo” Estrada 115 vs. Argi Cortés 114.6
(WBC franchise super flyweight title)

Erika Cruz 125.7 vs. Jelena Mrdjenovich 125
(WBA female featherweight title)

Hector Flores 107.8 vs. Sivenathi Nontshinga 107.6
(Vacant IBF light flyweight title)

Rocky Hernandez 129.6 vs. Jorge Mata 129.4

Venue: Centro de Usos Multiples in Hermosillo, Mexico
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN

Fighters competing in action on FOX and FS1 on Sunday leading into the Ruiz-Ortiz PPV previewed their respective matchups during a press conference Friday before they step into the ring at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. FOX will feature unbeaten super welterweight Joey Spencer taking on Kevin Salgado in a 10-rounder at 8PM ET/5PM PT. FS1 features unbeaten super bantamweight contender Ra’eese Aleem against Mike Plania in a 10-rounder at 7PM ET/4PM PT.

Continue reading “FOX, FS1 press conference”

By Miguel Maravilla

Former heavyweight world champion Andy Ruiz Jr. (34-2, 22 KO’s) of Imperial Valley, California returns to the ring in over year, this weekend as he takes on Luis “King Kong” Ortiz (33-2, 28 KO’s) of Cuba. Ruiz squares off against Ortiz this Sunday night at the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles headlining the FOX Sports Pay Per View.

In what will be Mexico vs. Cuba in the heavyweight division, Ruiz expects to bring it as this is the first time the respective nations will be going head-to-head in the heavyweight division in a fight of this magnitude. Continue reading “Andy Ruiz Jr. Ready for King Kong”

Northeast Philadelphia heavyweight Joey “The Tank” Dawejko (22-10-4, 13 KOs) scored a fourth round TKO against “Fly” Mike Marshall (6-4-1, 4 KOs) on Thursday night at Parx Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. Dawejko dropped Marshall with a short left hook in round two. Near the end of round four, Dawejko sent Marshall to the canvas again. Marshall beat the count, but the ref waved it off. Marshall didn’t like the stoppage.

In the co-feature, super lightweight Daiyaan Butt (11-2, 5 KOs) won a six round unanimous decision against journeyman Tyrone Luckey (15-18-4, 11 KOs). Scores were 58-56, 60-54, 60-54. Luckey’s ring savvy gave Butt problems.

Former unified heavyweight world champion Andy “The Destroyer” Ruiz Jr. and hard-hitting top contender Luis “King Kong” Ortiz went face-to-face at the final press conference Thursday before they meet in the ring this Sunday, September 4 headlining a FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Andy Ruiz: “I’m trying to make a big statement. Not just for the fans, but for myself. Losing all those titles that I won broke my heart. This is another chance for me to become champion and I don’t want to lose it. I want to take full advantage of it and do my best.”

Luis Ortiz: My goal is to destroy my opponent and win this fight in a convincing fashion. Either he knocks me out or I knock him out. A knockout in boxing is the best thing in sports. This is going to be an exciting fight, one of us is going down, and I’m making sure it’s Andy.”

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