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Former super welterweight world title challenger Brandon “Bad Boy” Cook (23-2, 16 KOs) returned after a two-and-a-half year layoff to demolish Stepan Horvath (21-7, 11 KOs) in the second round on Saturday night at the CAA Centre in the Brampton suburb of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Cook dropped Horvath twice in round two and the ref waved it off. Time was 1:51. Horvath complained about the stoppage. The 36-year-old Cook challenged Jaime Munguia for the WBO 154lb belt in 2018.

In the main event, unbeaten super welterweight Sukhdeep Singh (13-0, 5 KOs) outpointed Xhuljo Vrenozi (18-5, 3 KOs) over ten workmanlike rounds. Scores were 100-90, 99-91, 99-91.

Unbeaten 6’7 Olympian heavyweight Ricardo “Big 12” Brown (5-0, 5 KOs) scored a one-punch knockout against Carlos Carreon (8-8, 2 KOs) with a big right hand in round three. Time was :11. Continue reading “Cook KOs Horvath in ring return”

Report/Photos: Boxing Bob Newman

The final day of the 52nd NABF convention in Las Vegas got underway at 9:00 a.m. in the Versailles Ballroom in the Paris Hotel.

First up was NABF treasurer and world class referee Laurence Cole. He presented the new NABF website (https://nabfnews.com/), administrated by Cleto Reyes boxing equipment.

Retired DEA agent Rocky Herron, now WBC Drug Prevention Ambassador, delivered a hard hitting lecture on the drug epidemic in America and specifically the Fentanyl problem. Herron has traveled North & South America, working with young people to prevent their potential foray into the world of drugs and alcohol. Herron even went so far as to discuss the addiction to social media / smart phones and their effect of anxiety and depression on young people. Ironically, with the legalization of marijuana throughout the U.S., Herron pointed out that the marijuana of 1980 contained 4% THC, while today’s marijuana contains 25%, with a much more profound and negative effect on the human brain. Continue reading “NABF 52nd Convention Day 3 Report”

Former WBA super middleweight champion Vincent Feigenbutz (35-3, 31 KOs) scored a fourth round KO over Diego Ramirez (24-9-1, 6 KOs) on Saturday night at the famed Universum Gym in Hamburg, Germany. Feigenbutz pressed the action and got Ramirez out of there with a body shot.

Unbeaten super welterweight Carlos Toledo (6-0, 5 KOs) made quick work of 46-year-old journeyman Ferenc Hafner (27-21, 14 KOs). A body shot put Hefner down for the count in the very first round.

Unbeaten light heavyweight Rostam Ibrahim (10-0-2, 6 KOs) outscored Chico Kwasi (5-2-1, 2 KOs) over eight rounds.

Super welterweight Freddy “Pretty Boy” Kiwitt (22-3, 12 KOs) outpointed Ivan Matute (30-10, 25 KOs) over eight rounds.

With the big Claressa Shields vs. Savannah Marshall card in London being postponed, what are the Saturday viewing options for boxing fans? Here’s a quick breakdown:

Former WBA super middleweight champion Vincent Feigenbutz (34-3, 30 KOs) takes on Diego Ramirez (24-8-1, 6 KOs) at the famed Universum Gym in Hamburg, Germany. The event will be streamed on Universum’s YouTube channel.

DAZN will show the second of two consecutive nights of boxing from Brampton, Canada, with unbeaten middleweight Sukhdeep Singh Bhatti (12-0, 5 KOs) against Xhuljo Vrenozi (18-4, 3 KOs). Also, former Jaime Munguia opponent Brandon Cook (22-1, 15 KOs) will take on Stepan Horvath (21-6, 11 KOs).

FITE has a $39.99 celebrity boxing PPV from the Banc of California Stadium in Downtown Los Angeles, headlined by a YouTuber grudge match between former Jake Paul opponent AnEsonGib and Austin McBroom plus a clash between former NFL running backs Le’Veon Bell and Adrian Peterson. There will be some up-and-coming legit boxers on the undercard, such as cruiserweight Marco Deckmann (9-1, 7 KOs) and featherweight Jalan Walker (10-0-1, 9 KOs) in separate bouts.

Report/Photos: Boxing Bob Newman

NABF vice president Joanna Aguilar opened the general session of the 52nd annual NABF convention, held at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas, at 9:00 this morning with introductions of the board of directors as well as a memorial ten-count for those who’ve been lost in the past year. Aguilar then introduced NABF president Duane Ford.

Ford welcomed the delegates and guests to the convention. The first guest speaker Ford introduced was Peter Villegas, Chairman of the California State Athletic Commission.

Peter Villegas, came from corporate America (JP Morgan and Coca-Cola) and now chairs one of the busiest commissions in the world. Villegas pointed out the number of females in attendance at this convention as well as their involvement in the sport of boxing at all levels, cheering the diversity on display. Villegas is on the board of the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, KY. He is spearheading the movement to have Ali commemorated on a U.S. Postage stamp and has asked for help from the boxing community in seeing this endeavor come to fruition. Continue reading “NABF Convention Day 2 Report”

Unbeaten WBC #3 super middleweight Christian Mbilli (22-0, 20 KOs) destroyed DeAndre Ware (15-4-2, 9 KOs) on Friday night at the Montreal Casino in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Mbilli dropped Ware in round one and floored him twice more in round two to end it.

Heavyweight Simon Kean (22-1, 21 KOs) won a bizarre first round TKO against Newfel Ouatah (18-5, 10 KOs). At the sound of the bell, Ouatah immediately took a knee without being hit and the bout was waved off. Effortless “W” for Kean. Ouatah, who traveled from France to Canada for this fight, will obviously have his purse withheld.

Unbeaten female super welterweight Mary Spencer (7-0. 5 KOs) smashed Cynthia Lozano (9-2, 7 KOs) in 63 seconds. If it’s possible to call a 37-year-old “a hot prospect,” Spencer, who made her pro debut last year, appears to be that.

Undefeated WBO #14 cruiserweight Brandon “Bulletproof” Glanton (17-0, 14 KOs) made quick work of Mario “El Ruso” Aguilar (22-8, 18 KOs), winning by second round KO at the ProBox Events Center in Plant City, Florida. A body shot put Aguilar down for the count at 1:09. Glanton claimed the vacant WBO global title.

In a clash of unbeaten super middleweights, Richard Vansiclen 13-0, 6 KOs) took an eight round unanimous decision against Hakim Lopez (13-1, 8 KOs) by scores of 78-74, 78-75, 78-75.

Unbeaten all-action lightweight Otar “Pitball” Eranosyan (12-0, 6 KOs) hammered out an eight round unanimous decision against game veteran Cesar “Corazon” Juarez (27-11, 20 KOs). Eranosyan was deducted a point in the closing seconds for pushing down Juarez who was trying to clinch. Scores were 77-74, 77-74, 78-73.

Welterweight Marques Valle (6-0, 6 KOs knocked out Benjamin Whittaker (15-10, 3 KOs) in the first round. Time was 2:57.

Three undefeated boxers entered the ring on Friday night inside Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel & Casino’s Grand Ballroom. And all three undefeated fighters suffered their first loss.

In the main event, super lightweight Joseph “Blessed Hands” Adorno (17-1-2, 14 KOs) won a narrow ten round unanimous decision against previously unbeaten Hugo Alberto Roldan (21-1-1, 7 KOs). Adorno dropped Roldan in round two and built an early lead. Roldan rallied down the stretch, but it was too little, too late. Scores were 95-94 3x. The knockdown was the difference.

Featherweight Frency Fortunato (14-1, 10 KOs) took ten round split decision against previously undefeated Bernard Angelo Torres (16-1, 7 KOs). Fortunato dropped Torres in round four. Scores were 95-94 Torres, 95-94 and 97-92 for Fortunato.

Welterweight KO artist Roiman Villa (25-1, 24 KOs) scored an eight round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Janelson Bocachica (17-1-1, 11 KOs). Villa dropped Bocachica in round two and Bocachica was also deducted a point for continuously losing his mouthpiece. The aggressive Villa won by scores of 78-73, 79-72, 79-72.

Unbeaten super welterweight Josh “The Boss” Wagner (13-0, 7 KOs) won by ninth round TKO over Jorge Sanchez (13-3, 5 KOs) on Friday night at the CAA Centre in the Brampton suburb of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Wagner dropped Sanchez twice in round nine, leading to a referee’s stoppage at 2:07.

Austin McBroom 169 vs. Anson Gib 176
Nick Young 220.8 vs. Malcom Minikon 220
Le’Veon Bell 204 vs. Adrian Peterson 218
Landon McBroom 158.6 vs. Adam Saleh 153.2
Cory Wharton 203.2 vs. Chase DeMoor 228.8

Marco Deckmann 190 vs. Abimbola Osundairo 184.8
Jalen Walker 129.2 vs. Moises Sixto 125
Jay Silva 230.4 vs. Luis Schwenke 266
Mathias Radcliffe 136 vs. Trenton Gibson 136
Jerry Bradford 147 vs. Darynn Leyva 146.4

Venue: Banc of California Stadium, Los Angeles
Promoter: Bash Boxing
TV: FITE PPV

There were plenty of boxing luminaries supporting the card at the weigh-in ceremony, including three-time junior middleweight world champion Fernando Vargas with his three boxing sons: Fernando Jr., Amado and Emiliano, former WBA 140lb world champion Regis Prograis, former four-division world champion Mikey Garcia, and current women’s unified world champion Marlen Esparza.

The World Boxing Council informs that pursuant to the September 1 purse bid winning notification letter concerning the Jose Zepeda vs. Regis Prograis fight, the purse bid winner Marvnation Promotions was required to deposit with the WBC 10% ($240,000) of the total amount within ten calendar days after the purse offer ceremony. The WBC has now confirmed timely receipt of the 10% deposit from Marvnation Promotions (Mr. Marvin Rodriguez).

New tentative date: October 15

Official BOXXER announcement: As a mark of respect following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the British Boxing Board of Control has made the decision to postpone Saturday’s event, BOXXER: LEGACY – Shields vs Marshall.

Our sincere thoughts are with His Majesty King Charles III and the Royal Family during this profoundly somber time.

We are working with all parties to provisionally reschedule for Saturday, 15th October, at The 02 in London.

All tickets purchased for tomorrow’s Saturday 10 September event will remain valid for the rescheduled date. All existing ticket holders will be able to attend the newly-rescheduled event with their existing tickets.

Further updates on the new date will be made at the earliest opportunity.

Report, Photos by Boxing Bob Newman

The 52nd annual NABF convention got underway today at the Paris casino and hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Business was the order of the day while pleasure took over the evening segment. At 2:30 p.m., the board of directors had a closed meeting where they discussed the growth of the organization and future plans for continued expansion. One new addition to the board of directors is former California State Athletic Commission chairperson John Carvelli.

President Duane Ford also wants to build a greater social media presence for the federation and there are several plans underway to do so. Projections are that this will be the biggest NABF convention yet. Continue reading “52nd NABF Convention Opens in Las Vegas”

In a female minimumweight unification clash, IBF champion Yokasta “Yoka” Valle (26-2, 9 KOs) took the belt of previously unbeaten WBO champion Thi Thu Nhi Nguyen (5-1, 1 KOs) by shutout ten round unanimous decision on Thursday night at the Ciudad Deportiva Heiner Ugalde in Hatillo, San José, Costa Rica. Local favorite Valle outclassed Viet Nam’s Nguyen with quick combinations, winning 100-90 3x.

Unbeaten female super flyweight Adelaida “La Cobra” Ruiz (12-0-1, 6 KOs) dethroned WBC interim titleholder Sonia Osorio (15-8-2, 2 KOs) via ten round unanimous decision. Ruiz, from Lynwood, California, took the fight to Mexico City’s Osorio and won going away 100-90, 98-92, 99-91. They had previously fought to a tech draw due to a head clash.

Super flyweight Jose “Superman” Garcia (16-1-1, 15 KOs) stopped Israel Lopez (9-3, 7 KOs) in round two to claim the vacant WBO Youth title. Garcia dropped Lopez twice in round two, then got a referee’s stoppage. Time was 2:06.

Former IBF light flyweight world champion Felix Alvarado (38-2, 33 KOs) of Nicaragua will get an opportunity to become two-division world champion as the IBF has mandated that unbeaten IBF flyweight world champion Sunny Edwards (18-0, 4 KOs) fight him next. The IBF has allowed Team Alvarado and Team Edwards 30 days to reach an agreement. If an agreement is not reached in that allotted time, then the fight will go to purse bid.

Alvarado never lost his title in the ring as he vacated to move up one weight class in hopes of winning a second title in as many divisions. Manager William Ramirez is confident in Alvarado’s abilities to reach his goal even if the fight ends up in Edwards’ native UK. “Felix won his first world title as the visiting fighter. Regardless of where this fight ends up, I truly believe Felix is up to the task of becoming a two-division world champion.”

Brandon “Bulletproof” Glanton 199.6 vs. Mario ”El Ruso” Aguilar 199.8
(WBO global cruiserweight title)

Hakim Lopez 171.6 vs. Richard Vansiclen 171
Otar Eranosyan 131.4 vs. Cesar “Corazon” Juarez 131.6
Marques Valle 152.4 vs. Benjamin Whittaker 151.4

Venue: ProBox Events Center in Plant City, Florida
Promoter: ProBox TV
TV: ProBox TV

Joseph Adorno 139.5 vs. Hugo Alberto Roldan 140
Bernard Angelo Torres 125.75 vs. Frency Fortunato 126.5
Janelson Bocachica 147 vs. Roiman Villa 146

Venue: Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel & Casino
Promoter: Sampson Boxing
TV: Showtime

Due to the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Friday’s scheduled official weigh-ins for the Shields vs Marshall event, will now take place behind closed doors and will not be open to the media or to members of the public. An announcement regarding the status of Saturday’s event, at The O2 in London, will be made following consultation with relevant government and sports sector bodies and will be made at the earliest possible opportunity.

By Gabriel F. Cordero

The WBC has unveiled the new “Guerrero Jaguar” (Jaguar Warrior) belt that will be presented to the winner of the September 17 clash between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin in Las Vegas. The belt was crafted by Oaxacan artisans with a wide variety of colors that depict the striking power of the serpent and the supreme grace of the jaguar.

There were numerous heated verbal exchanges between Savannah Marshall and Claressa Shields at today’s official pre-fight press conference in London as the two faced a room packed with media ahead of this weekend’s long-awaited Undisputed female middleweight championship contest.

Claressa Shields: “When I win on Saturday night, it will be a great victory. This isn’t my first time in a fight for the undisputed championship, this isn’t my first time having a hard training camp, and it isn’t my first time being the underdog. I can’t wait to have the opportunity to silence the doubters about Savannah’s alleged knockout power…I’ve never seen someone live off an amateur win for 10 years of their career. I’ve dominated this sport for 10 years. I won the Olympics, then I won it again. Then I turned professional and won world titles from my 4th fight. Champions are not made, they’re born. And I was born to do this.”

Savannah Marshall: “I’ve always respected Claressa, but she doesn’t like that I have an opinion. I saw her box and I thought it was a diabolical performance. She ran down people’s throats that she was going to get a spectacular knockout, and I watched it for 10 rounds, drifted off, and told her how I felt…I’ve never said I’m going to knock her out, I’ve said I’m going to hurt her. She’s a bully and she’s going to wake up on the canvas. I can’t wait to take all those belts off her and become the undisputed middleweight champion.”

Co-headline fighters Mikaela Mayer and Alycia Baumgardner struck a surprisingly respectful tone, contrasting the insults they’ve been swapping on social media, and in person, throughout the build-up to their contest on Saturday. However, the pair couldn’t resist exchanging heatedly during their face-off.

Mikaela Mayer: “If this has to be a dog fight, I’ll win a dog fight. If it has to be a boxing match, I’ll win a boxing match. I can beat her any way the fight goes. I’m going to take her into deep waters, I’m going to take her to places she’s never been before.”

Alycia Baumgardner: “This Saturday is really going to mark my spot in this sport, who I am as an athlete. I was born for this, made for this, and this is my moment.”

The crossroads, twelve round lightweight clash between former world title challenger Joseph “JoJo” Diaz, Jr. (32-2-1) and undefeated rising star William “Camarón” Zepeda (26-0, 23 KOs) has been rescheduled to take place on Saturday, October 29. Fight fans will now be able to enjoy the fight a week earlier, as the event was previously announced for Saturday, November 5. The bout will take place at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego and will be broadcast live worldwide exclusively on DAZN. Tickets go on sale tomorrow.

Yokasta “Yoka” Valle vs. Thu Nhi Nguyen
(IBF/WBO female minimumweight unification)

Sonia Osorio vs. Adelaida Ruiz
(WBC interim female super flyweight title)

Venue: Ciudad Deportiva Heiner Ugalde, Hatillo, San José, Costa Rica
Promoter: Golden Boy
TV: DAZN

BOXXER chartered a vessel to take bitter rivals Savannah Marshall and Claressa Shields – plus a host of British media – down the Thames River for open workouts and staredowns in the shadow of the iconic London Tower Bridge. They collide Saturday on ESPN+.

Savannah Marshall: “She’s had a lot to say about me but it doesn’t bother me, it doesn’t get under my skin. I don’t care what she thinks about anything – she’s not one of my friends or family so her opinion doesn’t mean anything at all to me. We will do our talking in the ring on Saturday night – I’m going to take her into deep water and drown her in the Thames.”

Claressa Shields: “I’ve always said that women’s boxing can sell and that I was the one. It’s nearly sold out, there will be nearly 20,000 fans in the O2 Arena and I’ve been training my butt off. I want all the smoke and when I leave the ring on Saturday night, Savannah Marshall will be silenced and I will be the undisputed middleweight champion of the world.”

ProBox TV, Marquez Promotions and Pepe Gomez’ Cancun Boxing have announced a series of boxing events in Mexico, the first being Friday, September 23 at Oasis Resort in Cancun. Their second event will take place November 18 also at Oasis Resort, and in 2023 there will be monthly events throughout Mexico (Mexico City, Monterrey, Culiacan, Acapulco, Guadalajara) all streamed live on ProBox TV.

Anthony Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn has reportedly agreed to WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury’s 60/40 offer for Joshua to fight Fury later this year. A date hasn’t been agreed on yet, and there will be a rematch clause in the event Joshua wins. The Joshua camp wants the fight to take place on December 17, but Fury is demanding that the bout take place sooner – either November 26 in London or on December 3 in Cardiff, Wales. Fury turned to Joshua after WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk ruled out fighting again in 2022.