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Heavyweights Derek Chisora and Kubrat Pulev face off during fighter workouts in London today ahead of their fight this weekend on DAZN

YouTube boxer Jake Paul has announced that Tommy Fury is out as his next opponent after Fury and his team were barred from entering the U.S.

“Fury’s received a termination notice,” Paul said on social media. “MVP did everything it could to help him and his team. He wasn’t interested and he literally went into hiding. Second time in a row he has pulled out. Second time in a row I’m going to step up and take on a new opponent on short notice. August 6. MSG.”

The new opponent is expected to be heavyweight Hasim Rahman Jr. (12-1, 6 KOs), the son of the former heavyweight champion.

Sad to report the tragic passing of former world title challenger Toto “Muscovado” Landero (11-8-2, 2 KOs) at the age of 26. Landero was swept away by the current and drowned while attempting to swim across the Tabla River in his native Philippines after a heavy rain. His body was recovered two days later. Landero challenged WBA minimumweight champion Knockout CP Freshmart in 2018, losing by unanimous decision. R.I.P.

Heavyweight Kubrat Pulev is a 3:1 favorite over Derek Chisora for their rematch on Saturday at The O2 in London. In the co-feature, super welterweight Israil Madrimov is a 4:1 favorite over Michel Soro in their rematch which is a final eliminator for the WBA title. DAZN will televise.

WBC featherweight champion Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo against former champion Rey Vargas is a pick’em fight at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Also on that card, former world champion Brandon “The Heartbreaker” Figueroa is a 6:1 favorite over Carlos Castro in a WBC featherweight title eliminator. Unbeaten lightweight Frank Martin is 16:1 against Ricardo Núñez in the ten-round opener. Showtime will televise.

Also, unbeaten super lightweight Cesar “Rainman” Francis is 8:1 against former world champion Raymundo Beltran at the ProBox Events Center in Plant City, Florida. The bout can be seen on ProBoxTV.

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

July 4 marks four years since that event that changed my life. That schoolmate from the Ovalle Monday Institute, a friend since kindergarten, my dear Dr. Pablo Orozco, with his wonderful team led by Dr. Ortiz de la Peña, took care of me, and today I can enjoy a life to the fullest.

I was an athlete during my childhood and my youth. Good ballplayer: baseball was always the sport of the Sulaimans. I also played soccer. I was a good goalkeeper trying to imitate my idol Miguel Marín, and every Friday at my house there was a meeting with friends to put on the boxing gloves.

When I finished my MBA at ITESM, I went directly to take charge and run our medical products factory to give my dad total freedom, so he could attend the World Boxing Council. It was then that, without realizing it, I abandoned my sports life. Without exercising, I fell into unhealthy habits, mainly workaholism. I put everything aside to dedicate my body and soul to the company and to Don José. Continue reading “4 Years Ago, My Life Changed”

Bitter rivals Claressa “GWOAT” Shields (12-0, 2 KOs) and Savannah “The Silent Assassin” Marshall (12-0, 10 KOs) faced off today in London at the kickoff press conference for their September 10 clash at the at the famed O2 Arena. On the line is the undisputed female middleweight championship. Shields will enter the ring carrying the WBA, WBC and IBF belts, while Marshall will wear her WBO strap.

Claressa Shields: “I don’t hate nobody but I really do have a huge dislike for her. My grandmother told me not to use the word hate so I won’t use it, but I don’t like Savannah and she’s one of my biggest haters. They’re saying she’s a big knockout puncher, she’s the only blemish on my record as an amateur, that she has the recipe to beat me. My job is to show that she doesn’t and that I don’t reign supreme in three different weight classes for no reason. If she was better than me, she’d be the one supreme in three different weight classes, not me.”

Savannah Marshall: “I’m actually a fan of Claressa Shields, she’s a pioneer and what she has done for the sport has been amazing. But the reality is, she doesn’t beat me. She didn’t before and she won’t again. And it kills her, it absolutely burns her inside, the fact that I beat her and I’ll beat her again. I’m not just going to beat her, I’m going to outbox her. I’m going to hurt her. This fight has been a long time coming but we’re here now and September 10 I will be the new middleweight champion of the world.”

Continue reading “Shields-Marshall Kickoff Press Conference”

By Ron Jackson

The 42-year-old Bongani “Wonderboy” Mahlangu surprised the critics when he won South African junior featherweight title on a seventh-round stoppage against the 31-year-old defending champion Ayayabonga Sonjica from the Duncan Village, at the Orient Theatre in East London on Sunday. Mahlangu became the oldest active South African fighter to win a South African title, and also claimed the IBF Continental Africa junior featherweight title.

However, in the past fighters like Jack Lalor (44), Joe Goddard (42) and Jim Holloway (43) won South African titles at what is considered an advanced age for a boxer. Continue reading “Bongani Mahlangu wins SA title at 42”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia could be defending the title against fellow Australian and IBF #10 ranked Jason Whateley (10-0, 9 KOs) according to promoter Dean Lonergan. Opetaia and Whateley clashed multiple times in the amateurs.

“As soon as it’s right, my preference would be that we fight in Australia against an Australian,” Lonergan told Fox Sports. “The most obvious guy would be Jason Whateley. He’s up there and qualified, he’s in the top 15 in the world, he’s had 10 pro fights and he’d be a great fight for Jai, but we’ll just wait and see. At the end of the day, it’s going to come down to what Jai wants. We’ll just talk through about what he wants and we’ll go from there.”

Another big fight weekend on tap with three interesting shows on Saturday.

DAZN leads things off with a heavyweight rematch between Derek Chisora (32-12, 23 KOs) and Kubrat Pulev (29-2, 14 KOs) at The O2 in London. Also on that card is the rematch between super welterweights Israil Madrimov (8-0, 6 KOs) and Michel Soro (35-3-1, 24 KOs) in a final eliminator for the WBA title.

Then Showtime will present WBC featherweight champion Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo (24-0, 16 KOs) taking on former world champion Rey Vargas (35-0, 22 KOs) in an attractive battle of unbeatens from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Also on that telecast is former world champion Brandon “The Heartbreaker” Figueroa (22-1-1, 17 KOs) taking on Carlos Castro (27-1, 12 KOs) in a WBC featherweight title eliminator, plus unbeaten lightweight talent Frank Martin (15-0, 11 KOs) against Ricardo Núñez (23-3, 21 KOs) in the ten-round opener.

Also, ProBox TV is back with unbeaten super lightweight Cesar “Rainman” Francis (10-0, 6 KOs) taking a big step up in opposition against former world champion Raymundo Beltran (37-9-1, 23 KOs) at the ProBox Events Center in Plant City, Florida.

Unbeaten heavyweight Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller (24-0-1, 20 KOs) will continue his comeback on July 23 at Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Miller, away from the ring the since late 2018, picked up his first comeback win on June 23 in Argentina. His bout in Murfreesboro will be his first on U.S. soil in nearly four years. He is scheduled for a ten rounder against TBA.

“I look forward to getting back in the ring July 23rd,” Miller stated. “The plan is to fight every month, shake off this rust and get back to where I need to be over the next few months. Big Baby is back!”

The show will also feature local heroes Rydell “Super” Mayes Jr. and Luis “El Taino” Galarza. Continue reading “Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller Comeback Continues”

The official announcement for the undisputed female world middleweight championship showtime between Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall will be made tomorrow. The bout is expected to land September 10 at the O2 Arena in London with female super featherweight champions Mikaela Mayer and Alycia Baumgardner colliding in the co-feature.

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.