Fightnews.com

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.

_

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.”

ProBox “Last Chance” super lightweight tournament semi-finals
Michael Dutchover 139.6 vs. Antonio “Toño” Moran 139.8

Kendo “Tremendo” Castaneda 139.8 vs. Joseph Fernandez 139.8

Other Bouts:
Jusiyah Shirley,139.8 vs. Eric Womack 140
Daniel “Iceman” Blancas 167 vs. Jolando Taala 171.2
Darelle “Blast” Valsaint 163 vs. Leemont Johnson 168.6
Jaycob Gomez 131.2 vs. Angel Luna 132.4

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

Nonito Donaire is targeting huge fights at super flyweight with Kazuto Ioka and Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez – before moving back up to chase bantamweight greatness. The former four-weight world champion, who will be 40 in November, has emphatically dismissed any idea of retiring following his brutal stoppage defeat to Naoya Inoue in June. Instead, Donaire intends on dropping down to the 115lbs division to chase fights with WBO champion Ioka and former P4P Chocolatito.

“It’s a really good fight with Chocolatito and people are saying it would be ‘legend versus legend’” Donaire told Probellum.com. “It’s a big fight. But I do like the Ioka fight as well because I want to get that title and become a five-division champion and then move back up to 118 and go for the undisputed crown once everything else is open and I get another opportunity for it.” Continue reading “Donaire targets Ioka, Chocolatito”

Featherweights Michael “Mick” Conlan (16-1, 8 KOs) and Miguel Marriaga (30-5, 26 KOs) faced off at the final press conference for Saturday’s showdown at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The bout will air on ESPN+ in the US. and Fite.tv in the UK.

Michael Conlan: “I want to get back in the world title mix as soon as I possibly can, and I thought Miguel Marriaga would be the perfect kind of guy, perfect statement to make that…I believe for me to get back {to title contention}, I didn’t need anybody easy. I wanted someone hard and an opponent who’s going to push me. And I believe Miguel is.”

Miguel Marriaga: “Michael Conlan is an excellent boxer. I’ve also come well-prepared to make an excellent fight. Obviously, the idea is to come here and win the fight, which is the most important thing.”

Unbeaten heavyweight Joe Joyce (14-0, 13 KOs) will take on former world champion Joseph Parker (30-2, 21 KOs) on September 24 at the AO Arena in Manchester, England. This heavyweight collision between #1 and #2 in the WBO rankings, as well as being rated at #2 and #3 by the WBC, will represent a shootout to determine who will be made mandatory challenger for the winner of the forthcoming rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua.

Joe Joyce: “This fight has been a long time in the making. Parker realized he had nowhere else to go and eventually had to take this fight. #1 Vs #2. The winner goes on to fight for the world title. It’s going to be a cracking fight and you will see why he tried so hard to avoid me!”

Joseph Parker: “On Saturday, September 24th, the fans in Manchester will see the very best of me. Joe Joyce will see exactly why I will become the heavyweight champion of the world again with BOXXER…I have waited patiently to get this fight on and let me tell you now, the Juggernaut’s journey ends right here. He has nowhere to run.”

The bout will air exclusively live on BT Sport Box Office in the UK. The US outlet is TBA. The event is promoted by Frank Warren for Queensberry Promotions in association with BOXXER.

Super lightweight prospect Shinard Bunch (19-1-1, 15 KOs) returns to ShoBox: The New Generation in his toughest challenge to date against undefeated Hugo Alberto Roldan (21-0-1, 7 KOs) will on September 9 in the main event of a tripleheader on Showtime from Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel & Casino.

The co-feature matches undefeated prospect Bernard Angelo Torres (16-0, 7 KOs) against once-beaten Frency Fortunato Saya (13-1, 10 KOs) in an eight-round featherweight attraction. The telecast opens  Janelson Bocachica (17-0-1, 11 KOs), who fought main event headliner Bunch to a split draw in July 2021, taking on once-beaten KO artist Roiman Villa (24-1, 24 KOs) in an eight-round welterweight battle.

The event is promoted by Sampson Boxing and features four fighters new to ShoBox.

Fox has announced not one, but two boxing telecasts leading in to the PPV clash between heavyweights Andy Ruiz Jr. and Luis Ortiz on September 4 during Labor Day Weekend from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

FS1 will air a bout between undefeated super bantamweight contender Ra’eese Aleem (19-0, 12 KOs) against Mike Plania (26-1, 13 KOs) in a 10-rounder.

Then the FOX network will air a ten-rounder between unbeaten super welterweights Joey Spencer (15-0, 10 KOs) and Kevin Salgado (14-0-1, 9 KOs).

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with pound-for-pound great and welterweight champ Terence “Bud” Crawford at the Media Workout for Vergil Ortiz Jr who takes on Michael McKinson this Sat at Dickie’s Arena in Fort Worth, TX and streamed live on DAZN.

Crawford talked about UFC 277 in Dallas last weekend, an update on his mega fight for undisputed with Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr., thoughts on Ortiz Jr and a potential move to fight Jermell Charlo at 154 in this exclusive interview.

_

WBA heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois has filed a lawsuit against Hall of Fame promoter Don King alleging that he wasn’t paid for his fight with Trevor Bryan on DKP’s June 11 event in Miami.

King responded by saying he’s been requesting banking and wire information from Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren for two months. After not getting a reply, King’s lawyer Tony Gonzalez put the funds in escrow waiting for Warren to respond. DuBois’ lawyer Leon Margules finally sent the wire instructions after Warren and Queensberry Promotions failed to reply to Don King Promotions’ multiple requests for wire instructions. Continue reading “Don King: I’ve never not paid a fighter”

By Jeff Zimmerman

The energetic and flamboyant Blair “The Flair” Cobbs is focused and ready to take on former jr welterweight champ Maurice “Mighty Mo” Hooker as the co-main event this Saturday at Dickie’s Arena, Fort Worth, Texas and shown live on DAZN. This is Cobbs first fight after suffering his first loss against Alexis Rocha in March. Cobbs has replaced Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach with Roger Romo, brother to Fernando Vargas and known for his boxing work with UFC superstar TJ Dillashaw.

_

Boxing manager Frank Espinoza has been in the boxing game for more than 32 years and there’s nothing else he’d rather be doing. “I truly love this sport. It’s my passion. And I love helping young fighters succeed. I love fighting for them, making sure they get the best deal possible for their work,” he says. “I identify with these young fighters. They’re from humble upbringings like mine and they’re literally fighting to make it.”

Espinoza has not only managed ten world champions he’s also a successful retail businessman and commercial property owner. He signed his first fighter in Isidro “Chino” Garcia who became world champion unexpectedly. He remembers it like it was yesterday. “It was December of 1999 and I was scouting a fighter at an event with Isidro Garcia and the challenger for the main event fell off. So they offered Chino the fight while he was in the audience eating a hot dog and he accepted. Garcia won the fight by decision and I had myself a world champion. It’s not something I expected but it was a terrific surprise.” Continue reading “Espinoza: boxing is my passion”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Sad to report the passing of Australian boxing legend, former WBC featherweight champion Johnny Famechon at the age of 77 years in his hometown of Frankston, Victoria, Australia

Famechon, who was born in Paris, migrated to Australia at the age of five and went on to win a world title in 1969 in an outstanding professional career. John never boxed as an amateur. From a French boxing family his father Andre, was tough-as-nails lightweight and uncle Ray who was a world-rated 1940’s featherweight who challenged Willie Pep for the world crown.

Johnny Famechon (47-4-6, 18 KOs) was a heavy underdog when he traveled to England in 1969 and shocked the boxing world when he outpointed WBC featherweight champion Jose Legra (105-5-4, 36 KOs) at Albert Hall in London, winning a fifteen round points decision. Continue reading “Former champ Johnny Famechon passes”

By Jeff Zimmerman

Vergil Ortiz Jr with trainer Hector Beltran Sr. at Media Workout as they prepare for their fight versus Michael McKinson this Saturday at Dickie’s Arena, Fort Worth, TX and shown live on DAZN.

_

By Jeff Zimmerman

Trainer Roger Romo talked about his new prized pupil, the eccentric Blair “The Flair” Cobbs, who faces former jr welterweight champ Maurice “Mighty Mo” Hooker this Saturday at Dickie’s Arena, Fort Worth, Texas and shown live on DAZN. Hooker-Cobbs is the co-feature to Ortiz-McKinson.

Romo is the brother of the popular former world champ Fernando Vargas and is known for his “boxing work” with UFC superstar TJ Dillashaw.

_

By Jeff Zimmerman

Undefeated welterweight Michael “The Problem” McKinson takes on rising star Vergil Ortiz Jr. this Saturday at Dickie’s Arena, Fort Worth, Texas and shown live on DAZN.

McKinson talks about being in Texas for the first time and how he craves the role as the underdog against the hard-hitting Ortiz Jr. He explained why he is underrated and is fully confident that he can “tame the lion” in his own backyard.

_