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Hiroto Kyoguchi 108 vs. Esteban Bermudez 108
(WBA light flyweight title)

Jorge Castaneda 129.9 vs. Eduardo Hernandez 129.9
(WBC International silver super featherweight title)

Mayerlin Rivas 121.9 vs. Karina Fernandez 121.9
(WBA super bantamweight title)

Diego Pacheco 168.4 vs. Raul Ortega 168
Jesus Martinez 118 vs. Daniel Nunez Gomez 118
Alexis Molina 127.4 vs. Angel Garcia 127.9
Fabian Gonzalez 116.8 vs. Jorge Ignacio Villalobos 117.3
Anthony Herrera 118 vs. Kennyn Valenzuela 118
Aaron Aponte 139.5 vs. Leo Leon Martinez ??

Venue: Domo Alcade, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN

NABO super middleweight champion Edgar “The Chosen One” Berlanga takes center stage Saturday evening against two-time title challenge Alexis Angulo in the ten-round main event at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. After opening his career with 16 straight first round knockouts, Berlanga has now gone the distance in three straight.

Edgar Berlanga: “It’s part of the process. I’m young, 25 years old. What can I say? I have 16 first-round knockouts, so I didn’t really gain the experience I needed. Definitely, these last three fights, I got the experience I needed. That’s the most important thing to make yourself a real professional athlete. But not only that, at that top level, you need those rounds. You need that feeling of what it’s like to get in the eighth, 10th round, and we got that done. This Saturday, Puerto Rican Day Weekend, I’m looking for a huge victory. I’m ready to go all out…exploding like I always do and bringing back the old Edgar Berlanga.”

Alexis Angulo: “I’m very thankful for the opportunity, and I’m going to take full advantage of it. We’re going to put on a good presentation for everyone. I see my two losses as big lessons, and we’re going to see what kind of result we get in this fight.”

By Joe Koizumi

“Monster” Naoya Inoue, the fistic Japanese superstar, saw his impressive victory over Nonito Donaire reported big on the front pages of all sports papers yesterday, but people again saw his face big on the papers today (Thursday).

It was because someone broke into his house while he was away and the champ was robbed of precious jewelry and other expensive goods despite his contract with a security company. The police supposed the robbery happened at about 4:30 PM, about four hours and fifty minutes before Inoue started fighting in the first round at 9:20 PM. All his family, including his wife and three children, were also out to witness Monster fight Filipino Flash in Saitama.

Naoya said afterward, “I’m really disgusted at this robbery on such an auspicious day. You also take care!”

NABA super lightweight Cletus Seldin is looking for a new opponent for Saturday night at Rockin’ Fights 42 taking place at The Paramount in Huntington, Long Island. Seldin’s scheduled foe Rachid Jkitou cannot fight due to an undisclosed medical issue. Star Boxing is hopeful that a new opponent will be announced for Cletus Seldin Thursday afternoon.

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

The Brisbane home of Australian heavyweight champion Justis Huni was sprayed with bullets at 4AM on Thursday. Huni was in the house at the time, along with nine other people including children. Thankfully no one was injured. Huni (5-0, 4 KOs) says he still plans to go ahead with a June 15 bout against Joseph Goodall (8-0-1, 7 KOs) at the Nissan Arena in Nathan, Queensland for the vacant IBF Pan Pacific and WBO Oriental heavyweight crowns. A police investigation is ongoing.

Undefeated former world champion Jaime Munguia (39-0, 31 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico, and his opponent Jimmy “Kilrain” Kelly (26-2, 10 KOs) of Manchester, UK hosted a media workout today to kick off fight week. On Saturday, the fighters will face off at Anaheim’s Honda Center in a 12-round super middleweight fight, live on DAZN worldwide, excluding Mexico.

Also on hand, was Ronny Rios (33-3, 16 KOs) to promote his upcoming fight against Murodjon “MJ” Akhmadaliev (10-0, 7 KOs) on June 25. Their 12-round face off for the WBA and IBF super bantamweight titles will take place at the Tech Port Arena in San Antonio, TX and will also stream live, worldwide on DAZN. Continue reading “Munguia, Kelly workout quotes”

Hiroto Kyoguchi and Esteban Bermudez pose at the final press conference for Friday’s Matchroom Boxing card at Domo Alcade, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. The WBA light flyweight title will be on the line.

WBO bantamweight champion Paul Butler says he doesn’t fear the power WBC/WBA/IBF champion Naoya Inoue, who served up a brutal two round beatdown of Nonito Donaire in Tokyo on Tuesday and immediately called for a fight with Butler to crown the undisputed bantamweight champion of the world.

Butler was made WBO title holder last month after winning the interim belt with a masterclass performance against Jonas Sultan at Probellum Liverpool and has already told Inoue’s representatives that he wants to fight their man.

“I’ve read all sorts of comments and predictions about the fight, already… ‘Butler has a death-wish’, ‘Inoue to win by murder,’ ‘like signing someone’s death warrant’” Butler told Probellum.com. Continue reading “Butler: I want to fight Inoue in Japan”

Daniel Dubois came face to face with WBA heavyweight champion Trevor Bryan this afternoon ahead of their big title collision in Florida on Saturday, live on PPV in the US and BT Sport in the UK.

Veteran promoter Don King led proceedings in his own inimitable fashion, explaining that the title of the show, ‘The fight for freedom and peace’, is in honor of the people of Ukraine.

“This is the final press conference before the rumble on Saturday night,” said the 90-year-old fight maker. “I am very pleased and honored to have this press conference with all these great fighters and it is going to be a super event. Continue reading “Bryan-Dubois Final Press Conference”

Unbeaten Brazilian lightweight Jonhatan “Maximus” Cardoso (14-0, 14 KOs) will put his 100% knockout ratio on the line against Panamanian Olympian Juan “El Olimpico” Huertas (15-3-1, 11 KOs) in a 10-round main event for the WBO Latino title on Friday, June 17 in Panama City, Panama.

Cardoso-Huertas, which is promoted by ProBox Promotions in association with Master Promotions and All Star Boxing, Inc., headlines a ProBox TV stream.

By Ron Jackson

Lightweight Simiso Buthelezi died on Wednesday at the King Edward Hospital in Durban after his bout against Siphesihle Mntungwa for the vacant World Boxing Federation All Africa title, at the Greyville Convention Centre in Durban on Sunday.

He passed away after being in an induced coma and suffering with bleeding on the brain, after appearing completely disorientated in the tenth and last round of the fight against Mntungwa.

According to reports, the 24-year-old Buthelezi (4-1, 2 KOs) was ahead going into the tenth round and never suffered any punishment during the fight. After Buthelezi had knocked Mntungwa (7-1-2, 4 KOs) just about through the ropes it was a bizarre turn around to see the fighter walking towards the corner throwing punches in the air. Continue reading “Simiso Buthelezi dies after bout”

Two-division world champion Danny “Swift” Garcia will make his super welterweight debut against Jose Benavidez Jr. in a 12-round showdown that headlines a Showtime tripleheader on July 30 from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The telecast will also see heavyweight Adam Kownacki returning to the ring to take on former Olympian Ali Eren Demirezen in a 10-rounder, while unbeaten rising super lightweight Gary Antuanne Russell faces two-division champion Rances Barthelemy in the 10-round opener.

By Miguel Maravilla

Undefeated lightweight superstar Ryan Garcia (22-0, 18KOs) of Victorville, California returns to fight in Southern California as he takes on former two-time world champion Javier “El Abejon” Fortuna (37-3-1, 26 KOs) of the Dominican Republic on Saturday July 16 at the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles live on DAZN. Continue reading “Ryan Garcia: Fortuna is a dirty veteran”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten “Monster” Naoya Inoue (23-0, 20 KOs), 118, unified the WBC, WBA and IBF bantamweight belts as he annihilated Nonito “Filipino Flash” Donaire (42-7, 28 KOs), 117.75, at 1:24 of the second round on Tuesday in Saitama, Japan. Naoya quickly decked Nonito with a solid right counter in the closing seconds of the opening session with the Filipino having a narrow escape. The second round witnessed Monster accelerate his attack and finally deck Filipino Flash with a vicious left hook following a flurry of strong shots to the face. The victor jubilantly said, “I intended to be one-sidedly victorious like this. I did it.” He strongly wishes to unify all the four belts with WBO ruler Paul Butler within this year and then move up to the 122-pound category. Some 17,000 people were in attendance at the Saitama Super Arena. Continue reading “Inoue-Donaire Full Report”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

In the semi-windup of the Inoue-Donaire super fight, unbeaten IBF#8, WBO#14 Andy Hiraoka (20-0, 15 KOs), 140, easily kept his WBO AP and Japanese national super-light belt as he floored Shun Akaiwa (7-4-1, 5 KOs), 140, in the first round and finally halted him with a barrage of unanswered punches at 1:24 of the sixth round in a scheduled ten on Tuesday in Saitama, Japan. Andy, an elongated southpaw under Top Rank’s promotional agreement, wasn’t so sharp and swift as usual, but he handled the game but less experienced opponent with ease, battering him from all angles.

Photos

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Once-beaten ex-WBC interim bantamweight champ, Monster Naoya’s brother Takuma Inoue (16-1, 3 KOs), 122, defeated Japanese titlist Gakuya Furuhashi (28-9-2, 16 KOs), 122, by a nearly shutout decision (120-108 twice, 119-109) over twelve rounds beneath the Inoue-Donaire showdown on Tuesday in Saitama, Japan. WBO Asia Pacific 122-pound ruler Takuma collected Gakuya’s national belt since both belts were on the line. Furuhashi was an aggressor all the way, but he was too less accurate to catch up with the elusive Takuma, who kept countering with uppercuts while retreating to pile up points steadily.

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To kick off the promotion for Garcia-Fortuna, undefeated lightweight contender Ryan Garcia (22-0, 18KOs) hosted a press conference today at the Crypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Center). The fight is set to take place on Saturday, July 16 at Downtown Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena and will stream live, worldwide on DAZN. Garcia’s opponent, former two-time world champion Javier “El Abejon” Fortuna (37-3-1, 26 KOs), joined virtually.

By Mauricio Sulaimán
Son of José Sulaimán & President of the WBC

Once again boxing fulfilled a dream I had since I was a child: to visit Australia. The influence that the rock group, one of the greatest in history, AC/DC, had on my childhood and adolescence was enormous.

My brothers Pepe, Héctor and Fernando encouraged my passion for music, and it was this band that captivated me, from the first time I heard a song by this Australian group, and hence that dream of one day visiting this beautiful country was kindled.

What a pleasant surprise to get to know this culture! Where people are kind and respectful, with a great love of sports, mainly rugby, Australian football, similar American football, and of course boxing. Continue reading “My Trip to Australia”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos: Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten “Monster” Naoya Inoue (23-0, 20 KOs), 118, unified the WBC, WBA and IBF bantamweight belts as he annihilated Nonito “Filipino Flash” Donaire (42-7, 28 KOs), 117.75, at 1:24 of the second round on Tuesday in Saitama, Japan. Naoya quickly decked Nonito with a solid right counter in the closing seconds of the opening session with the Filipino having a narrow escape. The second round witnessed Monster accelerate his attack and finally decked Filipino Flash with a vicious left hook following a flurry of strong and accurate shots to the face.

The victor jubilantly said, “I intended to be one-sidedly victorious like this. I did it.” He strongly wishes to unify the four belts with WBO ruler Paul Butler within this year and then move up to the 122-pound category.

(More to come)

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Heavyweights Derek Chisora (32-12, 23 KOs) and Kubrat Pulev (29-2, 14 KOs) will meet for a second time at The O2 in London on July 9 at the Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany, live worldwide on DAZN (excluding Australia, New Zealand and France). Six years ago, Pulev beat Chisora by twelve round split decision in an IBF world title eliminator.

“I’m delighted to get this fight over the line,” said Matchroom Sport Chairman Eddie Hearn. “Initially we worked on some other opponents for Derek, but this fight came out of nowhere a few days ago and I absolutely love it! I think the strapline, ‘Total Carnage’, is absolutely perfect for this fight, in terms of the build-up and in terms of the fight itself. Expect the unexpected but expect a thriller at The O2 on July 9. Both men have been longstanding fixtures of the world heavyweight division and it’s all or nothing at The O2 for both, as defeat could lead to the end of the road. Fans can expect a huge undercard and a brilliant main event for another brilliant event live on DAZN.”

Former WBA Heavyweight champion Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne (31-3, 27 KOs) took his boxing career into his own hands, or should that be into his right hand, by obliterating Junior Fa in two minutes on the Kambosos-Haney undercard. A huge 15:1 underdog leading into the fight, the 43-year-old Aussie stunned his opponent with a thunderous right hand that left him quivering on the canvas. Fa beat the count, but another right hand ended matters just seconds later.

“I know that if I land that right hand on anyone, they’re going to sleep,” said Browne. “Somewhere along the line I perhaps got a little too cute, trying to box more rather than bombing people out. Heading into this fight I knew I wanted to get back to doing what I do best, putting people to sleep. Continue reading “Lucas Browne revives his career”

The Jermall Charlo vs. Maciej Sulecki event, scheduled to take place Saturday, June 18 live on Showtime from Toyota Center in Houston, has been postponed after Charlo suffered a back injury in training. The card will be rescheduled to a new date that will be announced pending an assessment of when Charlo can return to training.

Here is the complete eight-bout lineup for Hall of Fame promoter Don King’s $29.99 pay-per-view event on Saturday night at the Casino Miami Jai-Alai:

Trevor Bryan (22-0, 15 KOs) vs. Daniel Dubois (17-1, 16 KOs)
(WBA heavyweight title)

DaCarree Scott (7-0, 6 KOs) vs. Jonathan Guidry (17-1-2, 5 KOs)
(NABA gold heavyweight championship)

Johnnie Langston (10-3, 4 KOs) vs. Isaiah Thompson (6-1-1, 5 KOs)
(NABA cruiserweight title)

Tre-Sean Wiggins (13-5-3, 7 KOs) vs. Travis Castellon (17-4-1, 12KOs)
(NABA welterweight title)

Ahmed Elbialo (21-1, 18 KOs) vs. Dervin Colina (16-1, 14 KOs)
(NABA light heavyweight title)

Anthony Lenk (17-8, 7 KOs) vs. Ian Green (15-2, 11 KOs)
(WBA Continental Americas middleweight title)

Raynel Mederos (6-0, 1 KO) vs. Ryan Wilson (1-0, 1 KO)
(six-rounds, super lightweight)

Luis Rodriguez (8-0, 8 KOs) vs. Ryan Adams (8-5-1, 6 KOs)
(six-rounds, super middleweight)

Former world title challenger Axel “Mini” Vega (15-4-1, 8 KOs) returns to the ring to take on undefeated Venezuelan knockout artist Angelino “Huracan” Cordova (16-0-1, 12 KOs) in the co-main event of WBO jr flyweight title clash between champion “Bomba” Gonzalez and “Da Baby Boy” Barriga. The 10-round Vega-Cordova fight will be for the WBO Latino junior flyweight title. The event takes place on Friday, June 24 at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida and will be streamed live on ProBox TV.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Naoya Inoue 118 vs. Nonito Donaire 117.75
(WBC, WBA, IBF bantamweight title bout)

Andy Hiraoka 140 vs. Shun Akaiwa 140
(WBO Asia Pacific, Japanese super-lightweight title bout)

Takuma Inoue 122 vs. Gakuya Furuhashi 122
(WBO Asia Pacific, Japanese super-bantamweight title bout)

Fight Venue: Saitama Super Arena
Promoter: Ohashi Promotions

Photos