Fightnews.com

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten Japanese light-fly prospect, Japanese champ Shokichi Iwata (9-0, 6 KOs), 107.75, defeated OPBF ruler Kenichi Horikawa (41-17-1, 14 KOs), 107.25, by a unanimous decision (116-112, 117-111,118-110) over twelve heats to unify both belts and also acquire the vacant WBO Asia Pacific 108-pound belt on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Iwata, 26, previously beat future world champs such as Kosei Tanaka and Takuma Inoue when they were amateurs. Horikawa, 42, couldn’t sing a swan song despite his last surge. Continue reading “Iwata tops Horikawa, unifies regional 108lb belts”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Newly crowned IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia had to overcome the adversity of having his jaw broken early in the bout with Maris Breidis according to the Australian’s coach Mark Wilson.

“I didn’t know it was broken until the 11th round when you can evidently see that something was really amiss with it,” Wilson told foxsports.com.au in Opetaia’s locker room after the fight. “I thought, ‘We got through that, we’ve only got one to go. Run. Run.’ I believe we were two or three or four rounds up, I thought. We were starting to maybe lose a couple late. I said, ‘Just move, mate. We’ve got to move. Don’t do anything silly. Move, move.’ We got through there.”

Breidis revealed after the fight his nose was broken in round one.

The knockout streak of unbeaten lightweight “Prince” Lucas Bahdi (12-0, 11 KOs) was ended by durable veteran Diego Fabian Eligio (22-8-1, 9 KOs) on Saturday night at the Niagara Falls Convention Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Bahdi was forced to go the full ten en route to a 100-90 3x unanimous decision to claim the vacant NABA “gold” 135lb title.

Unbeaten, WBO #1, WBC #2, IBF #6 heavyweight Joe Joyce (14-0, 13 KOs) returned from a one year layoff with a fourth round stoppage of perennial gatekeeper Christian Hammer (27-10, 17 KOs) at the OVO Arena in London. Joyce dropped Hammer in late in round three and then put him down three times in round four to end it. Time was 1:20. Joyce successfully defended his WBC Silver and WBO International belts.

Former world champion Zolani Tete (30-4, 23 KOs) brutally kayoed Jason Cunningham (31-7, 7 KOs) in round four to claim Cunningham’s Commonwealth and IBF International junior featherweight titles. Tete dropped Cunningham in round four then laid him out with his follow-up barrage.

Unbeaten lightweight Mark Chamberlain (11-0, 7 KOs) outscored Marc Vidal (13-3-5, 5 KOs) over ten rounds to claim the IBF European title.

Lucas Bahdi 135 vs. Diego Fabian Eligio 135
(vacant NABA gold lightweight title)

Stephan Dronjak 167.4 vs. Rodolfo Lopez Alvarez 166
Triston Brookes 162.2 vs. Sergio Moreno Martinez 160.3
Antonio Scaringi 150.2 vs. Jonathan Sanchez 151
Adrien Bembridge 157.8 vs. Jose Gutierrez Bolanos 153

Venue: Niagara Falls Convention Centre, Niagara Falls, Canada
Promoter: Lo Greco Promotions/Falls Boys Promotions
TV: FiteTV

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Undefeated IBF #3 cruiserweight Jai Opetaia (22-0, 17 KOs) captured the IBF cruiserweight championship from Maris Breidis (29-2, 20 KOs) with a comprehensive twelve round unanimous decision. Opetaia, who suffered a broken jaw during the bout, won by scores of 116-112, 115-113, 116-112 on Saturday at the Gold Coast Convention Centre in Queensland, Australia televised on Foxtel Main Event and Kayo Sports Pay-Per-View and ESPN+ in the USA. Continue reading “Opetaia dethrones Briedis”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

IBF #13 middleweight Isaac Hardman (13-1, 11 KOs) returned to the winning list when he stopped Beau Hartas (6-3, 4 KOs) in round one of a scheduled ten round bout on Saturday night in the Briedis-Opetaia co-feature at the Gold Coast Convention Center in Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia. Both Hardman and Hartas went toe-to-toe from the opening bell and a right hand bomb dropped Hartas out cold. Time 2:49. Hardman was coming off a KO loss to Michael Zerafa.

IBF #9, WBA #11, WBC #15, WBO #15 light heavyweight Faris Chevalier (13-2, 7 KOs)) was an upset split points loser to former Australian champion Conor Wallace (9-1, 6 KOs) over ten rounds. In a battle of southpaws, Wallace consistently beat Chevalier to the punch as he connected with long range power shots in the early rounds. Wallace was visibly tired in round nine as Chevalier connected with solid shots that had him on unsteady legs. Chevalier had Wallace in trouble in the tenth and final round but Wallace survived to hear the bell. Scores 98-92, 98-92 Wallace and 96-94 Chevalier. IBF and WBA regional titles were up for grabs. IBF supervisor Ben Keilty and WBA supervisor Brad Vocale. Continue reading “Briedis-Opetaia Undercard Results”

By Brad Snyder-The Undercard
Photos by Bob Ryder

There’s not a much better way to start off a holiday weekend than by having boxing on a Friday night. Carlos Llinas and Motor City Casino Soundboard continued their record breaking Night of Knockouts with the 22nd show of the series to a loud crowd Friday night in Detroit. The bouts scheduled allowed some boxers to step up in their game. While for others, it proved to be a test in their boxing career.

The main event had Derick Miller Jr. vs. Joe Jones giving the crowd a huge display of their hatred for each other. Jones, who was a big step up for Miller, came to fight. Miller came to defend his home venue. Continue reading “Night of Knockouts XXII”

Minimumweight Daniel Valladares (26-3-1, 15 KOs) of Mexico defeated IBF world champion Rene Mark Cuarto (20-3-2, 11 KOs) by way of twelve round split decision on Friday night in Valladares’ native Monterrey Nuevo Leon, Mexico. The official scorecards read 116-111, 115-112 for Valladares and 114-113 for Cuarto. Continue reading “Valladares dethrones Cuarto in Mexico”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Bantamweight contender Jason Moloney has been elevated to the number one position with the WBC and WBO and has targeted WBO champion Paul Butler.

“ I’d love the Paul Butler fight,” said Moloney. “I respect Paul he’s a very good fighter, but I win that fight every day of the week and the boxing world knows that. If that fight can be made that’s great. I wouldn’t stand in the way of a four-belt unification, of course, I respect the sport, but if Inoue-Butler can’t be made I’ll happily fight Butler next. Continue reading “Moloney targets WBO champ Butler”

The WBC has just received a letter from Josh Taylor’s attorney in which he confirms Taylor’s decision to relinquish the WBC super lightweight championship rather than fight mandatory challenger Jose “Chon” Zepeda.

The organization announced that they regret having lost so much time and having mandatory contender Jose Zepeda frozen as well as other fighters in the division. Nevertheless, they wish Josh Taylor success in his future inside and outside the ring.

The WBC has now ordered a rematch between Jose Zepeda and Jose Ramirez for the vacant WBC super lightweight title.

Taylor, who previously vacated the WBA title, still holds the IBF and WBO 140lb belts.

Joe Joyce 265.9 vs. Christian Hammer 263
(WBO International, WBC silver heavyweight titles)

Jason Cunningham 121.2 vs. Zolani Tete 121.11
Mark Chamberlain 134.11 vs. Marc Vidal 134.5
Tommy Fletcher 197 vs. Aron Vrnoga 193
Mickey Burke Jr 154.12 vs. Serge Ambomo 152.4
Henry Turner 141.10 vs. Jakub Laskowski 142.2

Venue: OVO Arena, Wembley, England
Promoter: Queensberry Promotions
TV: ESPN+ (US), BT Sport (UK)

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Mairis Briedis 199 vs. Jai Opetaia 198.5
(IBF cruiserweight title)

Faris Chevalier 174.5 vs. Conor Wallace 174.3
Joel Camilleri 153.25 vs. Koen Mazoudier 153.75
Taylah Robertson 115 vs. Yoselin Fernandez 116.75
Dana Coolwell 125.75 vs. Lorenz Ladrada 125.25
Isaac Hardman 160 vs. Beau Hartas 159.5
David Nyika 200 vs. Louis Marsters 199.75

Venue: Gold Coast Convention Center, Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia
Promoter: Wasserman Boxing, Dean Lonergan
TV: Foxtel Main Event (Australia), ESPN+ (US)

By Robert Coster

Shuan Boxing Promotion, the top boxing promoter in the Dominican Republic, is providing news relative to a trio of its star boxers:

1. WBA minimumweight world champion Erick “Mini-Pacman” Rosa is making his first title defense against challenger Carlos Ortega of Panama on July 15th in the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo
2. Unbeaten WBA # 1 ranked super lightweight Alberto Puello will be going against WBA# 2 ranked Batyr Akhmedov for the vacant WBA title in the coming months, with the winner then facing Ismael Barroso of Venezuela.
3. Crowd-pleasing super flyweight Norbelto “Meneito” Jimenez has been moved to the WBO number # 1 ranking and is picked to be fighting for the WBO world title before the end of the year.

By Ron Jackson

South African welterweight champion Thulani Mbenge returned to action after being out for one year, to stop Idda Pialari from Tanzania at 1:54 into the second round at The Gallery in Sandton, Johannesburg, on Thursday night.

In the opening round both fighters came out swinging wildly with Mbenge possibly doing enough to shade the round.

However, in round two Mbenge (66.65kg) settled down and using his jab he sent stinging blows to the head body of the southpaw Pialari (65.35kg) before he was backed up against the ropes and not fighting back when the referee Thabo Spampool stepped in to wave the fight off.

The fight was scheduled for ten rounds.

Mbenge, 31, improved his record to 19-1, 14 KOs, and the 28-year-old Pialari’s reported record dropped to 30-8-1, 21 KOs. Continue reading “Thulani Mbenge wins inside two rounds”

Super welterweight Liam ‘Beefy’ Smith (31-3-1, 18 KOs) aims to become a two-time world champion following the signing of a multi-fight agreement with BOXXER. The former WBO world super welterweight champion is currently ranked in the top five in the world by the WBC, WBO and WBA, and is primed and ready to face undisputed world champion Jermell Charlo or whoever holds the belts.

Smith said, “Some of the big fights and names have excited me and I’m really looking forward to the next twelve months with my next fight to be announced shortly. I can’t wait to get back out there and challenge for a world title at 154 pounds and get everyone talking about me again.”

Weights/Photos by Brad Snyder

Ermal Hadribeaj 154 vs. Charles Stanford 153.6
Derick Miller Jr 187.8 vs. Joe Jones 189.1
Darryl Cunningham 157.3 vs. Kevin Womack 155.2
Dwane Taylor 139.1 vs. Steven Merrill 137.1
Vernon Webber 215.1 vs. Dennis Vance Jr 266.1
Samuel Rizzo 130.1 vs. Akeem Jackson 132
Luis Quintero 145.1 vs. John Birdsong145.9
Garrett Ross 153.1 vs. McKinley Smith 154.6
Morris Young 146.1 vs. Freddy Cotto Jr TBA

Venue: Motor City Casino Soundboard
Promoter: Carlos Llnas
Limited tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com and the Soundboard Box Office. First Bell at 7pm.

Polish heavyweight star and Brooklyn fan-favorite Adam Kownacki will take on Turkish Olympian Ali Eren Demirezen in a 10-rounder on Showtime July 30 from Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Kownacki-Demirezen will be the co-feature to Danny Garcia-Jose Benavidez Jr.

The 33-year-old Kownacki will return to his home arena of Barclays Center, where he has previously fought 10 times, compiling a 9-1 record in front of the area’s raucous Polish fans. Kownacki, and his longtime trainer Keith Trimble, seek an emphatic victory after back-to-back KO defeats to Robert Helenius and a chance to get back into contention for the heavyweight title. Continue reading “Kownacki ready for comeback”

Undefeated lightweight Ryan “Kingry” Garcia (22-0, 18 KOs) hosted a virtual media roundtable call ahead of his scheduled 12-round fight against former two-time world champion Javier “El Abejon” Fortuna (37-3-1, 26 KOs) on July 16 at the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles and streamed live on DAZN.

“I think it’s pretty obvious where we are headed once we pass Fortuna,” said Garcia. “I am going to campaign for the fight against Gervonta Davis. We want to be transparent about the process to prove to the people that we want this fight. I try to find ways to exploit the truth and clear the fog. I have to be transparent, just like I was with the Cruz negotiations.”

“I am a great fighter. I am going to show you the difference between me and Jojo Diaz and Robert Easter Jr. Nothing is guaranteed, but I am 99.999% confident I will take Fortuna out early.”

“I have been taking steps with surrounding myself with people who want the best for me. People that will not contribute stress and pressure on my life. I am focusing on what keeps me happy and what songs keep me happy.”

Walter “Butch” Flansburg, a Florida boxing pioneer, passed away earlier this year. A former president of the National Boxing Association and founder and original president of The Florida Boxing Hall of Fame, Butch loved the Sweet Science and amassed a huge collection of boxing memorabilia. Now his entire personal collection — signed posters, gloves, championship belts and other collectibles will be up for auction. Details.

IBF cruiserweight champion Mairis Briedis (28-1, 20 KOs) and undefeated challenger Jai Opetaia (21-0, 17 KOs) faced off at Thursday’s press conference ahead of Saturday’s clash at the Gold Coast Convention Centre in Australia. ESPN+ will air the fight card live in the U.S. beginning at 5:30AM ET, 2:30AM PT, so set your alarm clock.

Mairis Briedis: “He’s predicted this will be a war, but I don’t know how I will feel in the ring or how he will feel in the ring. As Mike Tyson said, ‘All the plans change after one punch to the head’. There’s going to be a feeling-out process after some dancing and punching. I wish him all the best.”

Jai Opetaia: “I’ve been waiting a long time for this opportunity, I can’t wait and I feel ready. I know he’s a great fighter, but I’m a new generation of great coming through. Everything he’s done, that’s all in the past now. It’s my time…I’m ready for those deep waters, I’m ready to dig deep. I know this is going to be a war and I’m ready for it.”

Mikhalkin: I don’t think he’s hurt, he just wants to avoid me!

This Saturday’s scheduled light heavyweight clash between former world title challengers Igor Mikhalkin and Callum Johnson on the Joyce-Hammer undercard is off due to an undisclosed injury suffered by Johnson.

“The fight was supposed to take place two years ago, but was postponed several times and then completely canceled due to the pandemic,” stated a disappointed Mikhalkin. “When we got the call a few weeks ago that we could finally fight Johnson for the WBO Global and WBC Silver titles, I was overjoyed. So I’m all the more disappointed that Johnson is pulling out of the affair again. I find his behavior unsportsmanlike. Why is he suddenly hurt now? I prepared for weeks, was at the training camp in Antalya, and had very good sparring. I don’t think he’s hurt, he just wants to avoid me. He’ll have to hang up his gloves to avoid me!”

The World Boxing Organization (WBO) today unveiled details for the upcoming 2022 Convention, to be held October 24-28 at The Royal Sonesta Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The gathering will include the Executive Committee general elections as well as the annual awards dinner, and referees’ and judges’ workshops. Among the subjects to be discussed will be the role of the WBO in the exponential growth that women’s professional boxing is currently experiencing.

WBO #1 heavyweight Joe Joyce and perennial gatekeeper Christian Hammer faced off at the final press conference for Saturday’s clash at the OVA Arena in London. The fight will air in the U.S. on ESPN+.

Joe Joyce: “I’ve had a great training camp in Las Vegas again with Salas, rehabbed the injury and I’ve been adding more tools to the arsenal. I am in a good place mentally, physically and I think Hammer is going to be a good test and a good fight. He is tough, durable, and has been in there with some really good names…I am not going to put any pressure on myself by predicting rounds. It could go the distance or I could take him out.”

Christian Hammer: “I am really happy to get the chance of a fight with Joyce and I am looking forward to it. I am feeling very well and I am in good shape. This is a big chance for me and I will give everything. I haven’t come here only for travel.”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos: Naoki Fukuda

Formerly three-division world champ Kosei Tanaka (17-1, 10 KOs), 114.75, impressively captured the WBO Asia Pacific 115-pound belt as he battered unbeaten defending titlist Masayoshi Hashizume (19-1-2, 11 KOs), 115, to the punch to prompt the referee’s intervention at 2:52 of the fifth round on Wednesday in Tokyo, Japan. Annihilated by compatriot Kazuto Ioka in quest of his WBO junior bantam belt in 2020, Tanaka edged world-rated Sho Ishida and thus seized the regional belt to his credit. Tanaka said, “I’m willing to win my fourth belt in the 115-pound category.” Continue reading “Ex-champ Tanaka halts Hashizume, wins WBO AP 115lb belt”