Fightnews.com

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

The weigh-in ceremony is over on Friday in Tokyo, Japan. The results are as follows:

WBA/IBF middleweight unification bout
Ryota Murata 160
Gennadiy Golovkin 160

WBO flyweight title bout
Junto Nakatani 111.75
Ryota Yamauchi 112

WBO Asia Pacific lightweight title bout
Shuichiro Yoshino 134.5
Masayuki Ito 135

Happy birthday, GGG! Gennadiy Golovkin celebrates his fortieth birthday today, and Teiken Promotions has presented a bunch of flowers on the platform. Continue reading “Murata, Golovkin Make Weight”

“Dangerous” Don Moore, former sparring partner for retired world champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather, seems pretty confident of showing up his old boss when they meet in a May 14 exhibition to be staged on the helipad of Dubai’s opulent Burj Al Arab Hotel. The two faced off earlier today at a press conference held in the Press Room of the Gabriel Miami Downtown Hotel to announce the PPV event, which will be available worldwide on pay-per-view.

Don Moore: “I am excited to participate in this event. Because of how much of the same training I received from Roger Mayweather, I am gonna be able to give Floyd real problems. I have been training hard to show everyone what ‘Dangerous’ Don Moore is all about and expose Floyd’s weaknesses. This is my shot, The time is now, Floyd isn’t invincible. Anyone can be beaten.”

Floyd Mayweather: “I am always trying to push the envelope and if something is brought to my attention that has a unique aspect to it, I am always interested. Having a fight on the helipad of the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai and the opportunity to be the star of the show is going to be something I will remember always. People all over the world can buy the PPV and watch us fight high above, almost in the sky.”

WBO/IBF female junior lightweight world champion Mikaela Mayer will defend her belts against former featherweight world champion Jennifer Han on Saturday evening on ESPN at the Orange County Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, California.

Mikaela Mayer: “She’s been in this game for a really long time. She comes from a family of fighters, so it’s in her blood…it’s no secret that I wanted to continue to unify. I wanted Alycia Baumgardner. I wanted Hyun Mi Choi. That was my first choice. They’re not quite ready to step up to that, I guess, so we had to look at another direction.”

Jennifer Han: “I’m ready. I’m prepared. And this fight came at the right time. Top Rank could have chosen anybody else. Mikaela could have chosen anybody else, but you gave me this opportunity. I’ve prepared. I’ve worked hard. And this is my time.”

More quotes…

Top super welterweight contenders Erickson “Hammer” Lubin and 6’6 Sebastian “The Towering Inferno” Fundora squared off at the final press conference Thursday before they meet for the WBC interim title this Saturday live on Showtime from The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

Erickson Lubin: “He’s a tall statue of a guy, but skills pay the bills…I’m here to make a statement and dominate.” 

Sebastian Fundora: “I’m going to do my thing on Saturday night. We’re here to win.”

More quotes

WBO/IBF junior lightweight world champion Mikaela Mayer (16-0, 5 KOs) has signed a multi-year contract extension with Top Rank. Mayer defends her world titles Saturday evening against Jennifer Han at Orange County Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, California on ESPN.

“Mikaela has accomplished so much since making her professional debut in 2017, and she has only scratched the surface,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “She is a role model for young women in the sport and a tremendous talent. I believe she is well on her way to becoming boxing’s pound-for-pound queen, and she will be involved in the sport’s biggest events for years to come.”

Sad to report the passing of heavyweight Boris Powell from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) on April 5. Powell, 57, who was a national amateur champ from St Louis and retired with a pro career record of 30-2 (17 KOs). The 6’3″ southpaw lost two controversial decisions to John Ruiz and Robert Hawkins and held the NABO heavyweight title. Although the big fights eluded him throughout his career, he was the go-to sparring partner for heavyweight champs who faced left-handed challengers including the Klitchkos, Holyfield, and James Toney.

“Boris was always a pleasure to be around, had a great sense of humor, and was a good friend to many,” said his former trainer Mark Vaz. “He was very close to his former manager Steve Frank’s family and was like an uncle to his two sons when they grew up.”

With the announcement of Floyd Mayweather’s PPV event on May 14, boxing fans can expect a run of six pay-per-views in seven weeks. Still no prices announced for Fury-Whyte, Mayweather-Moore, or Tank-Rolly, but expect the total for all six telecasts to possibly eclipse $400.

The lineup:
April 16: Errol Spence vs. Yordenis Ugas (Showtime $74.99)
April 23: Tyson Fury vs. Dillian Whyte (ESPN TBA)
April 29: Sons of Legends (FITE $29.99)
May 7: Canelo Alvarez vs. Dmitry Bivol (DAZN $59.99/$79.99)
May 14: Floyd Mayweather vs. Don Moore (LIVE-Now TBA)
May 28: Tank Davis vs. Rolls Romero (Showtime TBA)

WBC regular lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis and mandatory challenger Rolando Romero went face to face and chest-to-chest at a hot-tempered press conference on Thursday to preview their volatile matchup for Davis’s WBA Lightweight Title taking place Saturday, May 28 on Showtime PPV from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

Tank Davis: “I hit him with one of these and I’m going to knock his whole nose off.”

Rolly Romero: “Gervonta Davis is ending up on the canvas knocked out. That’s what I can guarantee.”

More Comments…

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Australian heavyweight contender and former Rugby League football star Paul Gallen (12-1-1, 7 KOs) will return to the ring against Kris Terzievski (10-1-1, 8 KOs) on May 11 at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre in Newcastle, NSW, Australia, televised on Foxtel Main Event Pay-Per-View network. “I didn’t know anything at all (about him),” Gallen told Fox Sports. “It’s a quick turnaround but for someone my age who continually trains, I don’t have to worry about a long preparation. I’ll deadset start (sparring) tomorrow.”

Gallen is Australian boxing’s biggest pay-per-view star and is coming off a KO victory over Darcy Lussik in December. He holds a knockout win over former WBA heavyweight champion Lucas ”Big Daddy” Brown.

2020 Olympic Gold medal winner Galal Yafai (1-0, 1 KO) will make his American debut in the pro ranks as he defends his WBC International flyweight title against Miguel Cartagena (17-6-1, 8 KOs) on the undercard of the historic female clash between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano at Madison Square Garden in New York City, live worldwide on DAZN.

The rest of the undercard features super welterweight Jessie Vargas against Liam Smith, Franchón Crews-Dezurn against Elin Cederroos in an undisputed female super middleweight showdown, middleweight Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams against Chordale Booker, welterweight Reshat Mati against Joe Eli Hernandez, and light heavyweight Khalil Coe against William Langston.

On May 14, 45-year-old former multi-weight champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs), will return to the ring to face “Dangerous” Don Moore (18-0-1, 12 KOs) in an eight-round main-event exhibition matchup at the inaugural edition of “The Global Titans Fight Series” staged “in the skies of Dubai” and broadcast live worldwide on PPV via premium digital-streaming service LIVENow. Moore, 42, is a former sparring partner for Floyd. Like Floyd, Moore had an undefeated professional career. He last fought in 2016 and holds the distinction of never fighting an opponent with a winning record.

The event will be held outdoors on the helipad of Dubai’s iconic Burj Al Arab Hotel and will include an undercard with UFC legend Anderson Silva facing MMA star Bruno Machado and former two-weight world champion Badou Jack (25-3-3, 15 KOs) taking on an opponent to be announced.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

IBF middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) attended the press conference in Tokyo on Thursday–a couple of days before his showdown with WBA titleholder Ryota Murata (16-2, 13 KOs) at the Saitama Super Arena, and said, “It’s my honor to fight Murata here in Japan. I deeply appreciate this fight finally realized with best efforts of people concerned under the coronavirus pandemic. I respect Murata as a person.” Murata also said, “I would like to repeat what Golovkin said. Now that our fight scheduled in December was postponed, I truly thank people participating in this event for their great contributions to materialize it.” GGG said on the four-month postponement, “I could study Murata more deeply and our fight will be really worth watching.” Murata responded to him, saying, “I could experience more sparring sessions with the postponement. I wish what I have been training will be shown in the ring.” GGG will celebrate his fortieth birthday tomorrow just a day prior to this big event.

The officials for the WBA-IBF unification bout will be as follows: referee Luis Pabon (Puerto Rico); judges Glenn Feldman, Robert Hoyle and Alex Levin (all US); WBA supervisor Jose Oliver Gomez (Panama), IBF supervisor Ben Keilty (Australia). Continue reading “Press conference of Golovkin vs. Murata”

“I am going to be 40 on Friday but I feel good,” says IBF middleweight champion Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) who fights WBA middleweight champ Ryōta Murata (16-2, 13 KOs) in a long-awaited world title unification fight on Saturday night in Saitama, Japan. The DAZN telecast in the U.S. starts at 5:15AM ET, 2:15AM PT.

“I will continue fighting as long as I feel good and can train hard to fight at the level I have come to expect of myself. Living a healthy lifestyle keeps me feeling good, strong.

“Yes, I have been told by several reporters that Canelo wants to fight me again and that this time it is personal. If it is so personal, why has it taken him four years since our last fight? He pretends it is personal. I find it puzzling he would make such a claim. Continue reading “Golovkin: Murata is the most important fight”

Fighters featured on the DAZN broadcast on April 9th, treated San Antonio boxing fans to a show as they showed off their boxing skills during their media workout Wednesday. Things heated up between lightweights Ryan Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) and Emmanuel “The Gameboy” Tagoe (32-1, 15 KOs), who meet in the main event.

Ryan Garcia: “Tagoe is a veteran, he is going to try his best to keep me off of him, to survive. His goal, I think, is to not get knocked out. I know he has been saying that facing me will be easy. But I can say one thing, my job is to not make his life easy in that ring. Fans should be ready to see me give this fight everything I got. If he can take a shot, it will be a good fight. If he can’t, he will be out of there very quick.”

Emmanuel Tagoe: “I came here to knock out Ryan Garcia. I think he’s good but he’s not my size. I can’t wait for Saturday. I’m going to show everyone…I come to win with a knockout or no knockout. I waited for this opportunity. To all of Garcia’s fans watch out for Saturday.”

Continue reading “Kingry-Tagoe Media Workout”

The World Boxing Association (WBA) Championships Committee sent a reminder to the teams of undisputed super lightweight champion Josh Taylor and his mandatory challenger Alberto Puello that the negotiation period for their fight expires on Thursday, April 7.

Last March 8, the WBA ordered the fight between the Scottish and the Dominican and granted a period of 30 days to reach an agreement. Taylor must face Puello in his next defense as the Dominican is the WBA’s top-ranked fighter and was the interim champion at the time of the start of the world title reduction plan.

In another step of the World Boxing Association’s (WBA) world title reduction plan, the WBA Championships Committee ordered the bout between featherweight super champion Leo Santa Cruz and regular champion Leigh Wood. The goal is to have only one champion at 126 pounds and the winner of this bout will have this distinction.

Both teams will have 30 days to negotiate the bout from the moment the communication was sent to them on Wednesday, April 6. In case they do not reach an agreement or any of the parties refuses to close the negotiation, the WBA Championships Committee may open the bout to purse bid pursuant to its rules.

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Tokyo 2021 Olympic lightweight bronze medalist Harry Garside (2-0, 1 KO) scored a one-sided points victory over Sudan-born and Australian-based Manuer Matet (4-2, 2 KOs) over ten rounds to capture the vacant Australian lightweight title on Wednesday night at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, NSW, Australia. Scores Charlie Lucas 98-92, Pat O’Connor 98-92, Mick Heafey 99-91. Garside took control of the contest from the opening bell and boxed impressively, punishing his opponent with accurate combinations. Garside was in good fight condition and did not sit down on his stool between rounds. He is guided by Hall of Fame trainer Johnny Lewis. Continue reading “Olympian Harry Garside wins Aussie title”

Middleweight Nico Ali Walsh, grandson of “The Greatest” Muhammad Ali will open ESPN’s April 30 televised broadcast featuring the junior lightweight world title unification between WBC champion Oscar Valdez and WBO king Shakur Stevenson. Walsh (4-0, 3 KOs) will fight Alejandro Ibarra (7-1, 2 KOs). The card also includes an eight-round lightweight co-feature between U.S. Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis and Esteban Sanchez.

The Last Stand podcast hosted by Brian Custer has a new home. It debuted this week on the Showtime Sports YouTube channel. This week’s episode featured unified welterweight world champion Errol Spence Jr.

On a potential fight with Terence Crawford…

“It’s something that I’m definitely looking forward to and it’s something that I’m willing to work towards. After I get past Ugás, it could be an easy fight to make – it just depends on stipulations between me and him. I’ll bend but I’m not going to break. I’ll take off my coat but I’m not going to give it to you. So, I think it could happen and I’m looking forward to that fight. I think it’s a legacy fight for him and myself.”

On Jaron Ennis and Vergil Ortiz…

“I’m not one of those older guys that gets mad or stuff like that when a younger guy calls them out. That’s what they’re supposed to do because if a Jaron Ennis or a Vergil Ortiz, I saw he just recently called me out, if a lot of these young dudes didn’t call me out, I’d think there’s something wrong with them because when I was young and I was coming up, man, I was calling out everybody.” Continue reading “Spence: First Ugas, then Crawford”

On April 29th, Roy Jones Jr. (RJJ) Boxing is presenting “Sons of Legends” in The Theater at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. The main event is a 10-round match for the vacant WBC USNBC heavyweight title between Kenzie “TCB” Morrison (19-02,2, 17 KOs) and Hasim “Gold Blooded” Rahman (12-0, 6 KOs), respectively, the sons of past World Heavyweight Champions Tommy “The Duke” Morrison and Hasim Rahman.

Also scheduled to fight are sons of other “boxing legends” such as Roberto “Hands of Stone” Duran, Mike “The Bounty” Hunter, Robert “Preacherman” Daniels, Gerald “G-Man” McClellan, and Steve “USS” Cunningham.

The action will be called at ringside by Hall of Famer Roy Jones, Jr., James “Smitty” Smith and Kalvin “Hot Sauce” Henderson on FITE TV and iNDemand PPV.

WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol trains in Carlsbad, California, ahead of his bout against Saul Alvarez on the Matchroom Boxing card on May 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Welterweights Shakhram Giyasov (12-0, 9 KOs) and Christian Gomez (22-2-1, 20 KOs) will clash for the IBF North American title on the undercard of Canelo Alvarez vs. Dmitry Bivol at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on May 7, live on DAZN PPV.

The Giyasov-Gomez clash joins super lightweight Montana Love against Gabriel Valenzuela and Filip Hrgovic against Zhilei Zhang in an IBF heavyweight final eliminator on the Canelo-Bivol telecast.

“The British Mayweather” Lee Selby has announced his retirement via a long farewell statement on social media. The 35-year-old former IBF featherweight champion leaves with a record of 28-4 with 9 KOs and says he “exits the ring with no regrets, happy, healthy and with my family financially secure.”

Lee Selby Statement

After 27 years as an amateur and professional boxer, I know the time is right for me to hang up the gloves.

Being raised on the council estate in Barry, South Wales you learn early on about adversity. For many young people the burden of growing up in poverty takes its toll, but boxing saved me more than I ever thought possible. Continue reading “Former champion Lee Selby retires”

Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM) held a virtual press conference this morning in Montreal to announce the next installment of the popular boxing series co-promoted by GYM and Probellum on Thursday May 5th at the Cabaret of Montréal Casino.

In the main event, former WBO light heavyweight champion Eleider “Storm” Alvarez (25-2, 13 KOs) will return to the ring for the first time in nearly two years but this time as a cruiserweight. He will fight in an 8-rounder against an opponent to be announced this week.

In other action, Canadian super lightweight prospects, Mazlum Akdeniz (16-0, 8 KOs) and Mathieu “G-Time” Germain (20-2-1, 9 KOs) will fight in separate showcase fights.

The undercard for Tyson Fury’s WBC heavyweight championship PPV clash with challenger Dillian Whyte on April 23 is now in place, headed up by junior lightweight Anthony “The Apache” Cacace (19-1, 7 KOs) against former world champion Jonathan Romero (34-1, 19 KOs) for the vacant WBO International title.

The other PPV fights are featherweight Isaac Lowe (23-1-3, 6 KOs) against Nick Ball (14-0, 7 KOs) for the vacant WBC silver title, heavyweight David Adeleye (8-0, 7 KOs) against Chris Healey (9-8, 2 KOs), and light heavyweight Tommy Fury (7-0, 4 KOs) against Daniel Bocianski (10-1, 2 KOs).

Additionally, it has been confirmed that 4,000 additional tickets now set to go on sale tomorrow making the Fury-Whyte attendance the record-breaking sporting event to be held at Wembley Stadium.