Fightnews.com

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

WBO#10, WBC#13 Ryota Toyoshima (16-2-1, 10 KOs), 146.5, decisively kept his WBO Asia Pacific welterweight belt as he aggressively took the leadoff, battered Filipino champ Adam Diu Abdulhamid (17-11, 9 KOs), 146.25, and halted him at 0:37 of the fifth round in a scheduled twelve on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. The lefty champ holds both WBO AP and OPBF belts, but he had only the former on the line this night. Toyoshima had the Filipino’s right ear badly swollen with his repeated left shots, and his furious surge in the fatal session prompted the referee’s intervention.

Promoter: Teiken Promotions.

More Photos

By Jeff Zimmerman

Welterweights Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Michael McKinson, plus WBA/WBC female flyweight champion Marlen Esparza, hold court after their fights Saturday night in Fort Worth, Texas.

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By Jeff Zimmerman at ringside

In a WBA welterweight eliminator, the rising star from Grand Prairie, Texas, Vergil Ortiz Jr. (19-0, 19 KOs) put on a show for his hometown fans dropping the awkward and slick Michael McKinson (22-1, 2 KOs) from the United Kingdom in round eight and again in round nine to score the TKO in the scheduled twelve at Dickie’s Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, streamed live on DAZN and promoted by Golden Boy Promotions. Ortiz Jr. retained his WBO International title with the huge win and now his hoping for his long awaited world title shot. Continue reading “Ortiz stops McKinson, KO streak continues”

By Jeff Zimmerman at ringside

Super welterweight Blair “The Flair” Cobb (16-1-1, 10 KOs) out of Philadelphia, PA, dropped Dallas’ former world champ Maurice “Mighty Mo” Hooker (27-3-3, 18 KOs) three times, once in round one and twice in round two to win going away with the unanimous decision 97-90 twice and 96-91 on Saturday night at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

Cobb used quick feet and a powerful left hand to dart in and out of the bigger Hooker all night. Cobb, a southpaw, landed his right hand and then followed up with two more punches as Hooker went down to score the first knockdown in round one. In round two, Cobb scored his second knockdown with a straight left through the guard and later in the round, Cobb landed another left and then a right that put Hooker down for the third time in the fight in as many rounds. Continue reading “Wooooo! Cobbs defeats Hooker”

By Jeff Zimmerman at ringside

In the co-main event, WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine flyweight champ Marlen Esparza (13-1, 1 KO) from Houston, Texas, kept her belts as she won an entertaining, back and forth battle with Eva Guzman (19-2, 11 KOs) from Venezuela over ten rounds at Dickie’s Arena in Fort Worth, Texas and streamed live on DAZN. Scores read 98-92 twice and 99-91 for the UD for Esparza.

Esparza landed a big right-hand just seconds into the fight and stayed on the attack over ten rounds against a game Guzman who picked up the pace in the middle rounds to make Esparza work. And Esparza did just that in the fifth round when she landed combos and displayed great defense with head movement to avoid the punches coming back from Guzman. In round six, Guzman came out aggressive but was thwarted by a counter from Esparza. In round eight, Esparza and Guzman let their hands go in the center of the ring as neither fighter backed down until the final bell.

Light heavyweight Bektemir “Bek the Bully” Melikuziev (10-1, 8 KOs) fighting out of Indio, CA, battered the body of Sladan Janjanin (32-13, 24 KOs) out of Boston, MA, over three rounds, dropping him 3 times, as referee Neal Yong waived it off with Janjanin still standing at 2:18 of the scheduled ten in the DAZN opener at Dickie’s Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, promoted by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. Melikuziev opened the fight with a hard crushing left hook to the body in round one and somehow Janjanin got up but was still visibly hurt. Over the next two rounds, “Bek the Bully” continued to pounce on the hurt prey as he landed big shots to both the head and again to the body, dropping Janjanin in the second and third rounds before the fight was called off. The Uzbek won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics as a middleweight and has rebounded with three wins in a row after his one punch knockout loss to Gabriel Rosado in June 2021. Continue reading “Undercard Results from Fort Worth, Texas”

Two-time Olympian featherweight Michael “Mick” Conlan (17-1, 8 KOs), outboxed three-time world title challenger Miguel Marriaga (30-6, 26 KOs) over ten rounds on Saturday night at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In his return after a brutal KO loss against WBA featherweight world champion Leigh Wood, the speedier Conlan never let power-puncher Marriaga into the fight as Marriaga spent most the night swinging at air. Conlan scored questionable knockdowns in rounds seven and eight. A legit knockdown when Marriaga’s glove touched the canvas in round nine. Marriaga finally woke up in round ten, but it was too little, too late. Scores were 99-88, 99-88, 99-89.

“I had to get rid of a lot of demons tonight,” said Conlan afterward. “Even in the fuc*ing last round, he hit me with a shot. That guy can punch. {He has} 10 more knockouts than I have fights. He hit me with a jab in the first round, and it was like, ‘Oh, this guy actually can bang.’ I had to be careful and use my skills, which I did. In the last round, he caught me with a shot. Listen, I’ve been using my legs all night. I was a bit off the pace. He was pushing it. He landed a good shot. He buckled me a little bit. I felt it, and for me, to kind of come through that and it’s the last round… I got knocked out in my last fight in the last round. I think that says a lot. I’m back, baby. I’m ready for any of them.” Continue reading “Conlan schools Marriaga in comeback”

In a clash for the vacant British super lightweight title, unbeaten KO artist Dalton Smith (12-0, 10 KOs) took apart Sam O’maison (17-4-1, 7 KOs) for a sixth round TKO on Saturday night at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield, England. Smith dropped O’maison in round three, then finished him with two more knockdowns in round six. Total beatdown. Time was 2:55.

Heavyweight Johnny Fisher (6-0, 5 KOs) laid out Michal Reissinger (3-2, 2 KOs) with a right hand at :39 of round two.

Cruiserweight Jordan Thompson (14-0, 11 KOs) survived a tenth round knockdown to take a ten round unanimous decision over Vasil Ducar (11-6-1, 10 KOs). Dull fight until the fireworks in the last few seconds. Scores were 97-92, 96-93, 96-93. Continue reading “Smith smashes O’maison, remains unbeaten”

By Damon Gonzalez/LatinBox Sports

Angel llarraza 154 vs. Terry Roscoe 154.6
Carisse Brown 129.8 vs. Vanessa Bradford 132.4
(NBA Continental female lightweight title)
Thomas Turner 168 vs. Dowen Pugh 164.4
Michael Misa 174.4 vs. Nissan Anderson 174.4
Isaiah Efrain Riquelmy 135.2 vs. Mason Wickett 131.2
Imran Haddabah 175 vs. Zachary Albornoz 173
David Fecteau 153 vs. Rufino Lewis 154.4

Venue: Marriott St. Petersburg/Clearwater
Promoter: T&K Promotions
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. ET

The undercard boxers who were set to fight today as part of the canceled Jake Paul vs. Hasim Rahman Jr. event will be receiving a payment directly from Jake Paul of 50% of their contracted purse amount and are free of any contractual obligations to the promotion. Amanda Serrano, Ashton Sylve and Brandun Lee are in the process of rescheduling their bouts against their respective opponents.

According to a statement by Paul’s promotional company Most Valuable Promotions, “these undercard fighters spent countless hours training both physically and mentally to prepare to fight on one of the biggest stages of their careers. We remain committed to ensuring fair fighter compensation and look forward to putting together our next event.”

By Boxing Bob Newman

Jordan White 129.4 vs Derrick Murray 129.4
(WBC USNBC super featherweight title)

Demond Nicholson 171 vs Christopher Brooker 167.8
Jaqeem Hutcherson 124.4 vs Printice Canada 124.4
Brandon Chambers 122.6 vs TayShawn Autry 122.6
Mansaborie Conde 162 vs Jonathan Ryan Burrs 159.4
(American Boxing Federation USA featherweight title)
Victor Williams 155.6 vs Kareem Gladney 156.2
Jerome Featherstone 154.4 vs Jahdon Ervin 159
Vincent Mosca 175 vs Keynan Williams173..2

Venue: LIVE Casino & Hotel, Hanover, Maryland
Promoter: Christen & Tony Jeter (Jeter Promotions)
Matchmaker: Nick Tiberi

FightStars, a multimedia digital platform, will stream live boxing from The Grand Hotel in Tijuana, Mexico, TONIGHT on their YouTube channel. Javier “Cobrita” Mendoza (24-4-1, 19 KOs) faces Jose Zuniga Vazquez (12-8-1, 5 KOs) in an 8-round bantamweight bout that will headline the show.

The event will have an English broadcast crew consisting of UFC Legend Stephan “American Psycho” Bonnar and Cynthia Conte, who will provide play-by-play action, with the first bout occurring at 7:45 PDT/ 10:45 EDT. The stream will feature a five-fight professional boxing card.

Former Transvaal and South African welterweight champion George Duncan James Mackenzie who fought under the name of Spider Kelly passed away at his home on Friday morning in Middelburg, Mpumalanga. He was 81 but had been ill for some time.

Painfully tall, thin and heavily tattooed and gangly, he is well remembered as Spider for his style in the ring. Continue reading “Spider Kelly dies at 81”

Courtesy Jim Jenkins, Sacramento Bee

Absent boxing’s glory days in Sacramento, producer of five world champions, the city is still fight-starved, even for low-budget cards in packed hotel ballrooms.

The enthusiasm was there again Friday night at the DoubleTree Hotel, where super-lightweight Cain Sandoval (6-0), one of three local super-lightweights on the show, remained unbeaten. He defeated more-experienced Daniel Evangelista Jr. of Mexico (20-15-1) in a featured bout via a second-round stoppage — his sixth KO win — following an early knockdown. Continue reading “Results from Sacramento”

By Jeff Zimmerman

Rising welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz Jr. spoke to Fightnews.com® after making weight for his showdown with Michael McKinson this Saturday, Fort Worth, Texas at Dickie’s Arena, shown live on DAZN.

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The semi-finals of the ProBox “Last Chance” super lightweight tournament took place Friday night at the ProBox Events Center in Plant City, Florida.

Semifinal 1
Kendo “Tremendo” Castaneda (19-5, 9 KOs) scored a hard-fought ten round unanimous decision over Joseph Fernandez (15-5, 3 KOs). Great fight with both having their moments. Castaneda rocked Fernandez in round nine. The result was in doubt until ring announcer Marc Lichtenfeld revealed the scores of 96-94 3x. Prior to the scores, it was announced that if the fight was a draw, they would fight one more round!

Semifinal 2
Antonio “Toño” Moran (29-5-1, 19 KOs) scored a one-sided ten round unanimous decision over Michael Dutchover (16-3, 10 KOs). Moran was in command all the way. Scores were 99-91, 100-90, 100-90.

Castaneda and Moran will meet in the November 4 final. The winner will take home $50,000. Continue reading “Castaneda, Moran advance to “Last Chance” final”

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® spoke to the Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya immediately after weigh-ins for his top welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz Jr who takes on the undefeated Michael McKinson this Saturday at Dickie’s Arena, Fort Worth, Texas and shown live on DAZN. De La Hoya shares thoughts on a potential fight for Ortiz Jr with Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. and gives an update on Kingry and Tank talks in this exclusive interview.

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Romero Duno 137.6 vs. Yogli Herrera 137.8
Yoandris Salinas 129.8 vs. Omar Cuello 129.8
Brayan de Gracia 127.2 vs. Jose Alfaro 127.2
Mark Bernaldez 132.2 vs. Jorge Bonilla 132.3
Narcisco Carmona 144 vs. Oswaldo Miranda 143.2
John Moralde 137 vs. Ernesto Vasquez ??

Venue: Casino Hollywood Milla de Oro, Medellin, Colombia
Promoter: Laura Ching (M&R Boxing Promotions)
YV: Streamed live on the M&R Facebook page
Doors open at 4PM. Free admission.

By Jeff Zimmerman

Vergil Ortiz Jr 146.6 vs. Michael McKinson 146.8
(WBA welterweight eliminator)

Marlen Esparza 109 vs. Eva Guzman 111.8
(WBA, WBC female flyweight title)

Maurice Hooker 150* vs. Blair Cobbs 146
Bektemir Melikuziev 171 vs. Sladan Janjanin 168
Floyd Schofield 133.8 vs. Rodrigo Guerrero 134.6
Alex Martin 140 vs. Henry Lundy 138.4
Carlos Nava 138.8 vs. Rodolfo Hernandez 135
Rohan Polanco 147 vs. Dedrick Bell 146.8
Figo Ramirez 117.4 vs. Francisco Bonilla 117

Venue: Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas
Promoter: Golden Boy
TV: DAZN

By Héctor Villarreal
Photos: Martín Pérez/Producciones Aguablanca

Former WBC Silver Minimum champion, Carlos “Arañita” Ortega (15-6-3, 6 KOs) was announced to fight in the main event of the international card scheduled for August 20th at Majestic Casino in Panama City, Panama, promoted by ex-super champion Chemito Moreno and his wife Rouss Laguna.

“We are looking for the best opponent available from Colombia or Venezuela to face Ortega whose world championship chance fell down”, said Moreno, co-owner and matchmaker of Laguna Premium Boxing Promotions. “Our main goal now is to give Ortega and other high-ranked fighters a chance to keep active, bring talented Young fighters form amateur to the pro level and put inactive prospects back in action”, he added. Continue reading ““Arañita” Ortega returns August 20”

Michael Conlan 127.9 vs. Miguel Marriaga 126.4
Tyrone McKenna 147.4 vs. Chris Jenkins 146.6
Kieran Molloy 151.6 vs. Evgenii Vazem 155.6
Padraig McCrory 167.9 vs. Marco Antonio Periban 165
Kurt Walker 127.6 vs. Marcos Gabriel Martinez 126.2
Paddy Donovan 146.8 vs. Tom Hill 147

Venue: SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Promoter: Top Rank
TV: ESPN+

Dalton Smith 139.25 vs. Sam O’maison 139.1
(British super lightweight title)

Sandy Ryan 139.25 vs. Erica Farias 138.5
Johnny Fisher 241.5 vs. Michal Reissinger 249.5
Jordan Thompson 198.1 vs. Vasil Ducar 197.4
Campbell Hatton 137.4 vs. Michal Dufek 136.1
Hopey Price 125.25 vs. Alexandra Mejia 124.25
Aqib Fiaz 137.25 vs. Jordan Ellison 137.5
Nico Leivars 123.25 vs. Angel Gabriel Chavez 121.25
Junaid Bostan 155.5 vs. Jose Manuel Lopez Clavero 156.25
Kieron Conway 167.4 vs. Gregory Trenol 166.6

Venue: Utilita Arena, Sheffield, England
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN

Jack Catterall (26-1-0, 13 KOs) has inked a new multi-fight deal with BOXXER. Catterall was controversially denied undisputed super lightweight glory last February when he suffered the only defeat of his career thus far to Josh Taylor. He is now determined to avenge that defeat.

BOXXER CEO Ben Shalom stated “We all want Jack Catterall to have an amazing career off the back of it and get all the opportunities he deserves. Maybe that will be the rematch with Josh Taylor, but whatever happens I think he deserves another world title shot in the very near future.

“I speak to Top Rank and to Josh a fair bit. I know that he wants the fight, but I also know that if there are things getting in the way of a rematch happening, then Jack is not going to hang around.”

Not only did the first round KO streak of unbeaten super welterweight “King” Callum Walsh (4-0, 3 KOs) end, but he was forced to go the distance for the first time against Benjamin Whittaker (15-9, 3 KO) on Thursday night at the Quiet Cannon inside the Montebello Country Club in Montebello, California. Walsh dropped Whittaker early in the first round and pretty much won every minute of the fight en route to a six round unanimous decision. Scores were 60-53 3x.

In a clash of undefeated featherweights, Omar Trinidad (9-0-1, 7 KOs) scored a fourth round TKO over Javier Padilla (7-1-1, 5 KOs). Sudden stoppage seemed premature as Padilla still had plenty of fight in him.

Middleweight Cem “The Champ” Kilic (17-1, 11 KOs) had his hands full with aggressive Marco “El Muneco” Delgado, (7-4, 5 KOs), but came away with an eight round unanimous decision. The scores of 80-72, 80-72, 79-73 seemed wide.

Female flyweight Chelsey Anderson (5-0, 2 KOs) outscored Aida “Lady Sparta” Satybaldinova (6-2-1, 2 KOs) to claim the vacant WBC Women’s International belt. Scores were 77-75, 77-75, 78-74.

Courtesy Jim Jenkins, Sacramento Bee

Sergio Vega 140 vs. Cmaje Ramseur 144
Dan Hernandez 132 vs. Shamar Canal 133
Angel Chavez 178 vs. Eljeria Portee 178
Amari Jones 159 vs. Michael Lemelle 161
Cain Sandoval 138 vs. Daniel Evangelista Jr. 139

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 5.
Venue: Sacramento DoubleTree Hotel
Promoter: Nasser Niavaroni

Undefeated welterweights Vergil Ortiz Jr. (18-0, 18 KOs) and Michael “The Problem” McKinson (22-0, 2 KOs) hosted a press conference to discuss their upcoming fight on Saturday at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas that will stream live worldwide, exclusively on DAZN. At the press conference, it was announced that their 12-round combat will also be an eliminator fight for the WBA title in addition for Ortiz’s WBO International title.

Vergil Ortiz Jr: “I am grateful for this fight to be an eliminator, it’s just closer to a world title shot. This is boxing, anything can happen. I have respect for all fighters that step in the ring. We all fight for the same thing, we all fight to give our families a better life. And I respect every fighter for it.”

Michael McKinson: “Knowing that this is now a world title eliminator adds more fuel to the fire. This is just the cherry on top…I believe in myself, in my hard work, in my rise. I have worked myself the hard way and I deserve my opportunity. I have a lot of people supporting me back home and I promise I will make you all proud.”