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Featherweight “Mick” Conlan will return less than five months removed from his brutal KO loss against WBA champion Leigh Wood. Conlan (16-1, 8 KOs) will battle Colombian puncher Miguel Marriaga (30-5, 28 KOs) in the 10-round main event Saturday, Aug. 6, at The SSE Arena as part of Belfast’s annual Féile an Phobail festival. Conlan-Marriaga and undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+.

“There is no place like home, and we are thrilled that Mick will get another chance to perform in front of the tremendous Belfast fans,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “With a win over a solid opponent like Marriaga, he’ll once again be contending for a featherweight world title in short order.”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

No Limit Boxing CEO George Rose, promoter of WBO #1 Tim Tszyu, has been instructed by the WBO to begin negotiations with the management of unified WBO, WBC, WBA, IBF 154 pound champion Jermell Charlo. “Obviously [Charlo] being the undisputed champion, all the cards are in their favor,” Rose told Fox Sports News. “Where we’re at at the moment is we’re pushing an Australian or US location. We’d love it in Australia, obviously they want the US location and if it is in the US we’d be pushing for LA or Las Vegas. I think the likely timing of it would be October-November.”

Exciting WBO #5, WBA #8 rated bantamweight Saul “The Beast” Sanchez (18-1, 11 KOs), will make his 2022 debut against Eros Correa (11-1, 8 KOs) in a ten-rounder on Friday, June 17th, at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California. Sanchez is coming off back-to-back first-round knockouts on the road against Frank Gonzalez (8-1, 4 KOs) and Ja’Rico O’Quinn (14-0-1, 8 KOs).

“I am thrilled to be fighting against such a dangerous opponent and to do it in Southern California is great,” said Sanchez. “I want to fight in a title eliminator this year, and I must beat the best available fighters in my division to do so.”

In the 8-round co-feature, George “El Yuyu” Acosta (11-1, 1 KO), of Whittier, Calif., will face, Marlin “So Icey” Sims (8-1, 4 KOs) of Minneapolis, Minnesota, in a lightweight bout.

This event will stream live for free on Thompson Boxing Promotions’ Facebook and YouTube pages.

WBA heavyweight champion Trevor Bryan has labeled his forthcoming opponent Daniel Dubois as a quitter who will be out of his depth when he challenges for the title on June 11 in Miami, Florida.

“Daniel Dubois is a strong fighter, he has fought some good guys, but I am on a different level,” Bryant told Dev Sahni on the Unibet Lowdown. “You saw that when he came up against some good opposition, he quit, gave up.

“You don’t quit, you don’t give up. I would rather go out on my shield. He is an okay guy but he is going in against a nightmare, I will be a nightmare for him and not the fight that he wants. Maybe he should have went back and tried to reverse the loss he had against Joe Joyce before he came to the champion. Continue reading “Trevor Bryan says Daniel Dubois is a quitter”

Undefeated, lightweight Ryan Garcia (22-0, 18KOs) will make his second appearance of the year, facing former two-time world champion Javier “El Abejon” Fortuna (37-3-1, 26 KOs) on July 16 and will stream live worldwide, exclusively on DAZN. The venue is to be announced. Garcia and Fortuna were set to meet last year, but Garcia pulled out to manage his ‘health and wellbeing.’

Ryan Garcia: “If there is any doubt I was hesitant to fight Fortuna a year ago, that will all be made clear after our fight. This was the fight I wanted and now it’s time. I am so grateful to my friends, family, and especially my fans for their support. I have never felt better, stronger, and more motivated. It’s time to silence all the doubters and it starts on July 16.”

Javier Fortuna: “This is going to be a very exciting fight. I know it didn’t take place last year like originally announced but I hope that this time it will be real so that I can offer a good show to the public,” said Fortuna. “I feel very happy with the work that I have been doing with my promoter, Sampson who has been trusting me since the beginning of my career. I will prepare 100% to win my fight. I trust my team now more than ever and have full confidence in my coach Belvin García, who I consider my family. Together, and with God on our side, I know we will hold up our hands high in victory on fight night.”

The WBO World Championship Committee has ordered the camps of undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo and WBO #1 Tim Tszyu to commence negotiations for a WBO mandatory title defense. The parties have twenty days to reach an agreement. If an accord is not reached within this time frame, the WBO will order a purse bid. Minimum bid is $200,000 and either party involved may request a purse bid at any time during the negotiation process.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos: Naoki Fukuda

After a three-year inactivity, 37-year-old Tamao Ozawa (17-5, 6 KOs), 114, returned to action and dethroned WBO female junior bantamweight champ Miyo Yoshida (15-3, no KO), 115, by a split decision (96-94 twice for Ozawa, 93-97 for Yoshida) over ten hard-fought rounds on Monday in Tokyo, Japan. Ozawa, an unheralded underdog, stunned the crowd by upsetting the prohibitive favorite Yoshida. The challenger had the upper hand with her hand speed and aggressiveness in the first half, while the champ took time to warm up her engine and began to mix it up midway in the contest. But Yoshida, 34, couldn’t overcome her early deficits on points despite her last surge. For the newly crowned Ozawa, it was the third crack at the world belt, having lost to Su-Yun Hong in Kyoto in 2017 and to Raja Amasheh in Germany in 2018. It’s Ozawa’s night thanks to her opening attach that paid off well. Continue reading “Ozawa edges Yoshida, wins WBO female 115lb belt”

Three major fight cards Saturday.

The action starts on DAZN with IBF junior lightweight champion Kenichi Ogawa defending against Joe Cordina inside Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales.

After that, ESPN and Showtime go head to head.

Showtime has a world title twinbill with WBC/WBO super bantamweight champion Steven Fulton defending against former champ Danny Roman and WBA super middleweight champion David Morrell defending against Kalvin Henderson at the Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

ESPN counters with undisputed lightweight world champion George Kambosos defending against WBC beltholder Devin Haney from the gigantic Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.

“We have taken the time on this Memorial Day to thank those that have given their lives for our great country in our battle for freedom and peace,” said boxing promoter Don King, who continues to get ready for his Miami title fight card dubbed ‘The Fight for Freedom and Peace’ for the people of Ukraine.

“This is a very important day to honor those men and women and their families with our thoughts and prayers. I would also like to pass along my heartfelt condolences and prayers to those who lost their lives in Buffalo, NY in a racist massacre as well as to the 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, TX. Our hearts and prayers go out to them and their families in this difficult time.”

By Mauricio Sulaiman
Son of Jose Sulaiman / President of the WBC

We are deeply saddened, shocked and very sorry about what happened at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, USA.

I love Texas.

After the pandemic hit, Texas was the first state to bring back boxing. It was a place to feel alive and normal. It was a place to feel hope and freedom. It was a place to embrace your children without fear.

And I loathe what happened there and everywhere violence takes the lives of our children, shatters our families, and kills our innocence.

The WBC and the Sulaiman family pray with the people of Uvalde. Continue reading “The successful 8th Jose Sulaiman Race of Champions”

Six days before undefeated lightweight champions George Kambosos Jr. and Devin Haney fight for the undisputed crown at Marvel Stadium, they came face-to-face for the first time. For more than five minutes, the two combatants talked trash. They did not come to blows, but the mental warfare was in full effect.

Unified champion Kambosos (20-0, 10 KOs) and WBC king Haney (27-0, 15 KOs) are set to do battle in one of the biggest boxing matches in Australian history. The Down Under showdown will be broadcast live in the United States in prime time this Saturday (Sunday local time) on ESPN. This is some of what Kambosos and Haney had to say during a manic Monday in Melbourne. Continue reading “Kambosos-Haney opening press conference”

Heavyweight title contenders Hughie Fury (26-3, 15 KOs) and Michael “The Bounty” Hunter (20-1-2, 14 KOs) will face off in a final WBA world title eliminator on July 2nd at the AO Arena in Manchester, England, live and exclusively on Sky Sports, with the winner securing a shot at the WBA world title. The WBA has ordered that the winner of Fury-Hunter will go on to challenge the winner of the upcoming June 11 WBA heavyweight title fight between defending world champion Trevor Bryan and British contender Daniel Dubois.

Huey Fury: “I take the fights everyone avoids. Michael Hunter has fought the best and is up there with the best. These are the fights I want, to show who is the best fighter out there. I’m looking forward to this challenge. I believe I’m one of the best fighters in the world and this is another big fight to prove I stand with the top three in the world heavyweight division.”

Top trainer Robert Garcia will reportedly train former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua for his rematch against current WBA, IBF, WBO unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on July 23 in Saudi Arabia. Garcia won out over Eddy Reynoso, Ronnie Shields and Virgil Hunter for the job according to ESPN. Joshua’s training camp will be in England.

With much regret, the WBC will not be able to celebrate its 60th World annual convention in Kazakhstan as it has been planned for more than two years. Present conditions in the region due to the ongoing war have forced the WBC to postpone holding the convention in the country and they will soon be announcing the exact date and new site of this year’s annual gathering.

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Undisputed IBF, WBA, WBO and WBC Franchise lightweight champion George “Ferocious” Kambosos has alleged that WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney is an informer at a press conference Monday ahead of their world championship bout on Sunday (Saturday in the USA) at Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia televised on ESPN and Sky television network.

“This guy is an informant,” said Kambosos, who said he still had the messages and could make them public. “This guy is a rat…in the Teófimo López fight, against a foreigner, he was messaging me telling me all the details: ‘Teo at the hookah lounge,’ ‘Teo having problems with his wife.’

“Your own countryman. You were going behind his back so I’m going to whip your ass and when you get back to Las Vegas, you’re going to be on the lookout for Teófimo López because he’s going to be looking for you too.”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney explained why he is confident of defeating IBF,WBA, WBO and WBC Franchise lightweight champion George “The Ferocious” Kambosos on Sunday (Saturday night in the USA) at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, televised on ESPN and Sky with expected 40,000 fans in attendance.

“This opportunity means everything to me, this is the Super Bowl of the lightweight division, the biggest fight in the lightweight division, this means everything and I’ll take full advantage of it,” Haney told Sky Sports. “There are many ways, there are many holes and different ways we can beat him, but the one game-plan we have we really feel like it will work. But you never know until you get in the ring. We’re ready for anything, anything he brings to the table we’ll be ready for and I can’t wait. Continue reading “Haney: I see holes in Kambosos”

Photos: Emily Harney

WBA lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) scored a sixth round one-hitter quitter over Rolando “Rolly” Romero (14-1, 12 KOs) before 18,570 on Saturday night at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn New York. No first round KO for Rolly, but he handed a good right before the bell. It was a tactical fight with Rolly holding his own until round six when Davis connected with a big left hand and dropped Romero. Rolly beat the count, but was unsteady and referee David Fields waved it off. Time was 2:39.

“He was strong for sure but there were a couple shots that I was getting warmed up with and he caught me and I was like, ‘I can’t sit with him just yet,’” said Davis afterward. “I know when to take it to my opponents and when to chill out…the crazy thing is that I didn’t even throw it that hard. He just ran into it. He just ran into it. Something like when Manny Pacquiao got caught. I didn’t even throw it that hard and he’s the one who ran into it, when he was talking that it was going to be me.”

Romero stated that he wants a rematch. “I want the fight again,” said Romero. “I exposed him and won every single round. I jumped into something and ate a stupid shot.”

More photos

Super lightweight contender Anthony Peterson (39-1-1, 25 KOs) scored a sixth round KO over Saul Corral (30-19, 13 KOs) on Saturday night at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, D.C. Time was 1:06.

A super lightweight bout between Greg “Sharp Shooter” Outlaw, Jr. (10-1, 5 KOs) and Wilfrido Buelvas (22-15, 16 KOs) was ruled a no contest due to an accidental headbutt during round one. Continue reading “Anthony Peterson victorious”

Photos: Emily Harney

WBA middleweight champion Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara (29-3-3, 17 KOs) dominated and stopped Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan (31-5, 21 KOs) on Saturday night at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn New York. Lara, 39, dropped O’Sullivan in round four, then repeatedly rocked O’Sullivan in ensuing rounds until the bout was stopped at :23 of round eight.

“This new style that I’m demonstrating is for all the boxers to show them how I can fight now, just being able to change up,” said Lara. “He was a tough boxer, too. I’m a smart boxer, a slick boxer, that’s what I did tonight. I waited until he attacked and then I did what I had to do to win the fight. Continue reading “Lara dismantles O’Sullivan in eight”

Photos: Emily Harney

Unbeaten super welterweight Jesús Ramos avenged the loss of his uncle Abel Ramos to Luke Santamaria on Saturday night at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn New York. Ramos (19-0, 15 KOs) won a ten round unanimous decision over Santamaria (13-3-1, 7 KOs) by scores of 98-92, 97-93, 97-93.

Super featherweight Eduardo Ramirez (27-2-3, 12 KOs) won a hard-fought ten round majority decision over Luis Melendez (17-2, 13 KOs). Scores were 95-95, 96-94, 98-92. Continue reading “Undercard Results from Brooklyn”

By Ron Jackson

South Africa’s Nhlanhla Tyira produced an outstanding performance in winning on a ten round unanimous point’s decision against the more experienced Filipino, Esneth Domingo, at the International Convention Centre in East London on Saturday night. Continue reading “Tyira wins on points over Domingo”

Former WBA heavyweight world champion “Diamond Boy” Mahmoud Charr (33-4, 19 KOs) blew away Nikola Milacic (21-3, 14 KOs) in round three on Saturday night outdoors at Die Bucht in Hamburg, Germany. Easy work for Charr who dropped Milacic multiple times. Milacic was a late sub after Charr’s original opponent Jean Pierre Augustin was arrested at the airport when trying to catch a plane for Germany.

WBO #13 heavyweight Ali Eren Demirezen (16-1, 12 KOs), coming off his TKO over Gerald Washington on a January 1 PPV, topped 42-year-old former world title challenger Kevin “Kingpin” Johnson (35-19-1, 19 KOs) via eight round unanimous decision.

Heavyweight Christian Hammer (27-9, 17 KOs) knocked out journeyman Drazan Janjanin (22-35, 19 KOs) in the first round.

Heavyweight Michael Wallisch (23-5, 16 KOs) stopped Toni Thes (19-12-1, 13 KOs) in round two.

By Boxing Bob Newman

Former IBF super middleweight champion Caleb ‘Sweet Hands’ Plant was on hand at the IBF 37th Annual Convention in Long Beach, CA, to accept his ring commemorating three successful title defenses. Plant took time to talk to Fightnews.com® about the aftermath of his fight with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, Alvarez’ subsequent loss to Dmitriy Bivol, the upcoming birth of his child with wife Jordan Plant, and future potential foes David Benavidez and Jermall Charlo.

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By Boxing Bob Newman

A small, but intrepid group attended the final meeting of IBF 37th annual convention this morning at 9:30 a.m. PST.

While some convention goers have already left for home, others had a very good time during and after last night’s awards banquet, hence their absence.

That being said, IBF president Daryl Peoples and the rest of the IBF board of directors gave thanks to the convention goers for their presence, shared ideas and commitment to the federation. Peoples also personally thanked the IBF front office staff of Jeanette Salazar, Tracy Lundy and Ruth Jimenez for their dedication and extremely hard work and making this convention a success.

Peoples reminded the ring officials that training is not a part-time thing- it can and should be done year-round. Continue reading “IBF 37th Annual Convention Officially Closes”

Officials are set for tonight’s two WBA title bouts on Showtime PPV from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

For the WBA lightweight title bout between Tank Davis and Rolly Romero, the referee will be David Fields. Judges are Ron McNair (N.Y.), Kevin Morgan (N.Y.), and Robin Taylor (N.Y.)

For the WBA middleweight title fight between Erislandy Lara and Spike O’Sullivan, the ref will be Benjy Esteves. Judges are Allen Nace (N.Y.), Tony Paolillo (N.Y.), and Waleska Roldan (N.Y.)