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IBF super featherweight champion Kenichi Ogawa and challenger Joe Cordina faced off at the final press conference ahead of their world title fight Saturday night on DAZN from the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales.

Kenichi Ogawa: “He says he’s going to knock me out in our fight, we will find out on Saturday. It will be interesting to see what happens. I plan to be very aggressive in the ring and have an exciting match but at the end of the day it’s up to Joe and how he wants to come out.”

Joe Cordina: “I’m at that world level. I’ve sparred plenty of world champions and I’ve been in with some tough guys…I’ve also got a great boxing brain and that’s one of my strengths. I can think my way around the right and get that win on Saturday night.”

By Joe Koizumi

WBO 115-pound champion Kazuto Ioka (28-2, 15 KOs), 33, has announced today (Friday) that he will defend his belt against mandatory challenger and ex-titlist Donnie Nietes (43-1-5, 23 KOs), 40, Philippines, due to the WBO’s order in Tokyo, Japan, on July 13. Ioka dropped a hairline split decision to Nietes in Macao on New Year’s Eve in 2018, and he wished to avenge his loss to the crafty counterpuncher. It will take place at the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo to be promoted by Shisei Promotions.

The weather was somewhat chilly, but WBC lightweight world champion Devin “The Dream” Haney received a surprisingly warm reception from the Australian fans at Thursday’s open workout at Melbourne’s Federation Square.

Haney (27-0, 15 KOs) will meet Australia’s unified lightweight world champion George Kambosos Jr. (20-0, 10 KOs) Sunday afternoon (Saturday evening U.S. time) for the undisputed title in front of 50,000-plus fans at Marvel Stadium.

Despite the plethora of Australian and Greek flags — Kambosos is of Greek descent — the local fans showed respect for the 23-year-old American star, who has been in Melbourne for the better part of two weeks. Kambosos entered the ring to raucous cheers, the Australian and Greek flags draped over his shoulders. Continue reading “Kambosos, Haney sharp in workouts”

Charles Conwell 155.8 vs. Abraham Juarez Ramirez 155.4
Mazlum Akdeniz 140 vs. Juan Antonio Rodriguez 138
Mathieu Germain 142.8 vs. Marcos Cardena 142.1

Venue: Montreal Casino, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Promoter: GYM, Probellum
TV: Probellum.com

Unbeaten WBC middleweight world champion Jermall Charlo and former title challenger Maciej Sulecki previewed their upcoming championship showdown during a virtual press conference Wednesday before they meet on June 18 live on Showtime from Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

Jermall Charlo: “This is going to be another war. I’m going to be in the pocket and ready to go. Whatever he does, I’ll make the adjustments. If I hit him with something flush, I’m going to knock him out.”

Maciej Sulecki: “I don’t think Charlo is a better fighter than Andrade or Jacobs. I think they’re all similar fighters. Charlo is still a great fighter with an explosive punch. I’m just ready for this fight. I’m going to make it all happen on June 18 in the ring.”

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By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Hall of Fame broadcaster Colonel Bob Sheridan spoke to Fightnews.com® about IBF, WBA, WBO and WBC Franchise lightweight champion George “Ferocious” Kambosos defending against WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney on Sunday June 5 (Saturday June 4 in the USA) at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, televised on ESPN and Sky, television network with an expected live gate of over 40,000 fans in attendance

“George Kambosos is the best fighter coming out of Australia in a long time. Haney is a great fighter and favored in their fight but I give Kambosos a puncher’s chance of winning. Continue reading “The Colonel: Kambosos has a puncher’s chance”

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with the undefeated, rising lightweight prospect Tyler “Short Fuse” Tomlin (13-0, 9 KOs) as he takes on another undefeated prospect Chann Thonson (10-0, 7 KOs) on Friday, June 10 during Hall of Fame Weekend at the Turning Stone Casino and broadcast by ShoBox – The Next Generation. Tomlin shares his start in boxing and being from the same hometown as former super middleweight champ Caleb Plant. Tomlin also talks about what he has learned from his promoter and soon to be inducted Hall of Famer Lou Dibella, the stacked 135lb division plus gives his prediction of Kambosos-Haney this weekend and much more in this exclusive interview.

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Juan Avila Medina 138.2 vs Angel Rebollar 137.6
Jesse Gonzalez 153.6 vs Donnis Reed 152.8
Chase Whitmer 135.2 vs Johnny Robles 136.4
Franciso Casillas 126 vs Davaadalai Altangerel 126
Randy Sosa 125.6 vs Miguel Ceja 126
John Ornelas 139.4 vs Keith Carson 139.6

Venue: The Hangar in Costa Mesa, CA
Promoter: Englebrecht Promotions & Events
TV: Show at 7pm, Live on fite.tv

WBA #11, IBF #15 super lightweight Cletus “The Hebrew Hammer” Seldin (26-1, 22 KOs) puts his NABA title on the line against undefeated French challenger Rachid Jkitou (28-0, 20 KOs) in a 10 round main event on June 11 at The Paramount in Huntington, NY.

“I am excited to be back home after all these years.” said Seldin. “Nothing can compare to The Paramount crowds and amazing moments that I have built there over the years. This is a great fight against an undefeated fighter and I plan on defending my NABA title to get a big opportunity after this victory.”

Light heavyweight Radivoje Kalajdzic may have a name spelled with the leftover letters from a game of scrabble, but in this case, words can be very deceiving. “Hot Rod,” as he is known locally in St Petersburg, Florida, who once had a firefight with Artur Betebiev, is two weeks removed from his first-round demolition of Ernest Amuzu in his backyard of Tampa Florida on the sold out crossover influencer card dubbed the Creator Clash.

Kalajdzic discussed the status of his career and his hopes for the future. Continue reading “Radivoje Kalajdzic Update”

Lebron-Lebron clash set as Berlanga-Angulo co-feature

Junior middleweight prospect Xander Zayas has been forced to withdraw from his June 11 bout with Ravshan Hudaynazarov at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden due to a non-COVID-19-related viral infection. Zayas-Hudaynazarov was scheduled to be the co-feature to the 10-round super middleweight main event between Edgar “The Chosen One” Berlanga and two-time world title challenger Alexis Angulo.

The new co-feature will see Puerto Rican junior lightweight Henry “Moncho” Lebron (15-0, 10 KOs) battle countryman Luis “Popeye” Lebron (18-3-1, 11 KOs) in an eight-rounder for the vacant WBO Latino title.

Zayas said, “I am sorry to announce that I was forced to pull out of my fight on June 11. I have done my best to get well, however, my condition got worse over the past few days. As much as I love this sport and wanted to put on a show at Madison Square Garden for the fans, my health comes first, and my team and I had to make the difficult decision to postpone this fight. I want to thank everyone for all the support and love. I will be back soon.”

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.