Fightnews.com

By Jeff Zimmerman

Former world title contender Charles “The Future” Hatley (30-2-1, 21 KOs) returns to the ring on Saturday May 14 at the Bomb Factory in his hometown of Dallas against Jamshidbek Najmitdinov (18-2, 14 KOs). Hatley opens up about his career that included a big win against Anthony Mundine in Australia for the WBC Silver Belt and the devastating loss to junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo in his very next fight. Hatley also shared what signing with Don King did to his career plus thoughts on the potential “super fight” between Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. and Terence “Bud” Crawford and much more in this Fightnews.com® exclusive interview.

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Light heavyweight Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramírez (43-0, 29 KOs) of Mazatlán, Mexico, and former WBA interim light heavyweight champion Dominic Boesel (32-2, 12 KOs) of Freyburg, Germany hosted a media conference call on Tuesday to talk about their May 14 clash at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, CA, which will stream live exclusively on DAZN. Their scheduled 12-round light heavyweight fight will pit the WBA #1 ranked, Boesel against the #2 WBA ranked Ramirez in a WBA light heavyweight final title eliminator.

Zurdo Ramirez: “I am looking for an early knockout…I have to knock out other fighters and put on a good show to get the big fights and get a chance at the champions. I have to knock out all these guys to show that I am ready for big challenges and big opportunities.”

Dominic Boesel: “I am tall. I have distance, and I am able to read my opponent. I can change my style when needed, and I feel that with my boxing skills, I can defeat Ramirez.”

More Quotes

“I do believe that I won the first fight. It might have been by a small margin, but I won it. This time, we’re going to try everything to make sure we don’t leave the fight in the hands of the judges.”

WBO junior middleweight champion Brian Castaño held a Los Angeles media workout on Tuesday as he prepares to face unified WBC, WBA, and IBF world champion Jermell Charlo in a rematch as they each seek undisputed status at 154-pounds once again on Saturday, May 14 live on SHOWTIME (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT) from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif.

The Charlo vs. Castaño rematch will come nine months after they fought to a split draw.  Here is what Castaño, along with his father and trainer Carlos Castaño, had to say Tuesday from Knockouts Boxing Gym.  Continue reading “Brian Castano workout quotes”

By Boxing Bob Newman

Sad to report the loss of an unheralded boxing luminary. Bob Miller passed away last Friday, April 29 at the VA hospital in Syracuse, NY. Many who consider themselves boxing aficionados might find themselves scratching their heads, asking themselves, “Who’s Bob Miller?”

In boxing circles, especially in the North-East corner of North America, Bob Miller was “Mr. Boxing.”
Living in New York state’s capital region, just outside of Albany, Miller owned Uncle Sam’s Boxing Club and devoted his life to improving all aspects the sport. A father of six children, his two sons Shannon and Shawn Miller both donned the gloves in the pro ranks and shared a solid following in the Upstate, New York area. Shannon engaged in ESPN’s Fight of the Year against Vinnie Maddalone in 2005. Continue reading “Boxing Mourns the Loss of Bob Miller”

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Dmitry Bivol pose after their grand arrivals at the MGM Grand. The two will fight at the T-Moblie Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with the undefeated, rising lightweight star Ernesto “Tito” Mercado (5-0, 5 KOs) who continues his road to a world title against Jose Zaragoza on Thursday, May 12 at the Quiet Cannon in Montebello, CA. Mercado discussed his start in boxing at 4 years old, the struggles his dad went through and overcame, a potential matchup with Keyshawn Davis to go to the 2020 Olympics that never materialized and sharing the ring with the legendary Nicaraguan “Chocolatito” and much more in this exclusive interview.

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By Mauricio Sulaimán, son of Jose Sulaimán
WBC President

Women’s boxing was banned and illegal in many countries, including Mexico, so some intrepid women, through their love of boxing, their passion and their unstoppable determination, dedicated many years of their lives to gain acceptance in a sport traditionally geared for men only.

It was unthinkable to see a lady in a ring swapping blows. Many heroic women got to work and paid the price to earn their stripes, they are legends who tried in their own countries to have women boxing succeed: In the USA, Laila Ali, Christy Martin, Mia St John; in Mexico, Laura Serrano, Ana Maria Torres, Mariana “Barbie” Juarez, and a few others were those warriors who suffered all kinds of discrimination and abuse in boxing gyms which were not equipped to receive women, without bathrooms, and forcing them to spar against men. Some got to other countries, who have their own icons on women’s boxing.

It took a lot of courage and a lot of administrative work to get the law changed. That’s what happened in Ireland, too, and Katie Taylor became a heroine who brought change. And so it happened in many countries and continues to happen.

We can proudly confirm that women’s boxing is a reality and the World Boxing Council has been the foundation to achieve what is today a solid platform, so very different from what it was just 20 years ago. Continue reading “The Power of Women”

“The Welsh Wizard” Joe Cordina (14-0, 8 KOs) will challenge Kenichi Ogawa (26-1-1, 18 KOs) for his IBF super featherweight world title at the Motorpoint Arena Cardiff on Saturday June 4, live worldwide on DAZN (excluding Australia and New Zealand, as usual).

Cordina (14-0, 8 KOs) is a former British and Commonwealth champion at lightweight who dropped down in weight to super featherweight. Ogawa defeated Azinga Fuzile for the vacant IBF belt in a wide points decision last November, dropping Fuzile twice.

Two-time Olympian and 2020 gold medalist Bakhodir “Big Uzbek” Jalolov (10-0, 10 KOs) will face “Big” Jack Mulowayi (11-2-1, 7 KOs)  in an eight-round heavyweight bout on June 10 at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, NY. This marks the first time an Olympic heavyweight gold medalist has appeared on Showtime’s ShoBox series. The quadrupleheader will help kick off the International Boxing Hall of Fame Induction Weekend in nearby Canastota, N.Y.

The co-feature matches Joel Diaz-trained heavyweight Elvis Garcia (12-0, 9 KOs) against Alante “Bam Bam” Green (10-0-1, 7 KOs). Also heavyweight Iegor Plevako (7-0, 4 KOs) takes on SugarHill Steward-trained Kolbeinn Kristinsson (12-0, 6 KOs), and in the telecast opener, lightweight Tyler “Short Fuse” Tomlin (13-0, 9 KOs) squares off against Chann Thonson (10-0, 7 KOs).

All four bouts are eight-rounders and seven of the eight fighters are undefeated.

Star Boxing launches its new “Borough Boxing” series on Saturday at St. John’s University’s Carnesecca Arena in Queens, New York. The main event will feature welterweight Danny “El Gallo” Gonzalez (20-3-1, 7 KOs) against Paulo Galdino (11-5, 8 KOs). In the co-feature, former two-time female champion Maureen “The Real Million Dollar Baby” Shea (29-2-1, 13 KOs) meets Calista “Cali” Silgado (19-13-3, 14 KOs). Both bouts are eight-rounders. No details on TV or streaming as of yet.

A 10-round heavyweight main event has been added to the May 26 Detroit Brawl event with WBC #11-rated heavyweight Otto Wallin (23-1, 14 KOs) of Sweden facing Detroit’s Rydell Booker (26-5-1, 13 KOs) in the Lincoln Ballroom of the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn, Michigan.

Wallin hails from Sundsvall, Sweden. The 31-year-old Wallin captured headlines in 2019 when he came extremely close to scoring a monumental stoppage upset over Tyson Fury, in a bout that left Fury with 47 stitches. Wallin now lives and trains in New York under the tutelage of popular former two-division champion Joey Gamache at Mendez Boxing in Manhattan. Continue reading “Otto Wallin returns May 26”

By Ron Jackson

Mandatory challenger John Bopape won the South African middleweight title when he knocked out defending champion Nkululeko Mhlongo in the eleventh round last Friday night at Dr Molemela Indoor Sports Centre in Mangaung, Bloemfontein.

The 40-year-old Mhlongo (23-10-1, 18 KOs) was never in the fight and badly punished throughout. His corner could have stopped the fight as early as round five with this gutsy fighter never giving up but being badly punished. Bopape (11-8, 10 KOs) dropped the champion with a big right hand to the side of his head early in round eleven. He managed to beat the count, but two big shots sent Mhlongo down and out. This must be the end for this warrior who also held the South African junior middleweight title at one time.

Cruiserweight Richard Riakporhe (14-0, 10 KOs) will take on Fabio Turchi (20-1, 14 KOs) in an IBF eliminator at the OVO Arena in London on Saturday, June 11, live and exclusive on Sky Sports.

Richard Riakporhe: “I’m ready to continue my assault on the cruiserweight division. The Midnight Train is on an unstoppable roll and Turchi is the next man tied to the tracks in front of me. He’s a good boxer and I’m expecting a tough fight but nothing I can’t handle. I’m coming out of this one with the win and stepping up into world title contention.”

Fabio Turchi: “I am very happy to have this opportunity. Since I was a kid I always dreamed of fighting at the international level and in an important venue like this. I’m dedicating my body and soul to get into the best shape and have a great match against Riakporhe who I think is an excellent boxer.”

Continue reading “Riakporhe-Turchi set for June 11”

Former WBA World super middleweight champion Giovanni De Carolis (30-10-1, 14 KOs) talks about his May 13 showdown with Daniele Scardina (20-0, 16 KOs) at Allianz Cloud in Milan, Italy. The bout can be seen on DAZN.

Last week Scardina said that he feels confident to win because he had a great training camp, he even sparred with Gennady Golovkin.

Giovanni, what do you answer to Daniele Scardina?

“That I am in top shape and confident to win too. It’s normal that every fighter is confident to twin. I also had a great training camp. Besides training at my gym in Monterosi and at coach Italo Mattioli’s gym in Rome, I also trained in England. I went to Portsmouth at Michael Bellinghall’s gym where I sparred with two undefeated pros: welterweight Michael McKinson (22-0) and middleweight Aaron Sutton (13-0). Then I trained at Matchroom Gym in Essex. Both experiences were useful to me. Now I am back in the Lazio region. Next week I will go to Milan for the press conference.” Continue reading “De Carolis responds to Scardina”

Queensberry Promotions has officially postponed the May 21 clash between Demetrius Andrade and Zach Parker:

Queensberry Promotions have today been informed that Demetrius Andrade has sustained a shoulder injury which has forced him to withdraw from his scheduled interim WBO world super middleweight title tight with Zach Parker at Pride Park, Derby on May 21.

It is with great regret that the decision has been made to postpone the event until the extent of the injury is fully established. A further update will he released in the coming days with a revised fight date and information for ticket buyers.

Sergey “The Krusher” Kovalev (34-4, 29 KOs), living in Long Beach, CA, will fight Tervel Pulev in his cruiserweight debut on Saturday, May 14 at The Forum in Inglewood, CA and will be streamed live on Triller and Fite.tv.

Sergey is being trained by Buddy McGirt and his strength and conditioning coach is Teddy Cruz. They are the duo that reinvented Arturo Gatti.

“Buddy was a real smart boxer and a real smart trainer and coach. Sometimes a good boxer can’t be a good coach and sometimes a coach wasn’t a good boxer. But Buddy has it both ways – good boxer and good coach. He does what he needs to do to get me prepared the best for the fight. Buddy gives me tactics and sound techniques and strategy. Together we are working towards getting another world title, this time in the cruiserweight division and become champion for the fourth time.” Continue reading “Kovalev gearing up for May 14 return”

Bantamweight Christian Carto (19-1, 13 KOs) thrilled the crowd at the 2300 Arena, as he stopped Ernesto Sebastian Franzolini (14-13-2, 1 KO) in front of a capacity crowd at the famed Philadelphia fight venue. Carto dropped Franzolini with a hard body shot. He finished Franzolini off with a hard combination and the bout was stopped at 2:31. The show was promoted by King’s Promotions.

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

UK promoter Eddie Hearn has signed several Australian boxing stars including IBF #10 heavyweight Demsey McKean, WBO #1 super lightweight Liam Paro and IBF female bantamweight champion Ebanie Bridges, but the fight he wants to make happen is rugby legends Sonny Bill Williams versus Paul Gallen, which is predicted would break Australian pay per view records

“The fight is to make Sonny Bill against Paul Gallen, that’s the fight for Down Under,” Hearn said. “If that fight can’t get made, then maybe the Jake Paul fight is one we can have some fun with.”

On May 13, at Allianz Cloud in Milan, Italy, Opi Since 82-Matchroom-DAZN will return with a tripleheader. In the main event, WBO Intercontinental super middleweight champion Daniele Scardina (20-0, 16 KOs) will defend against former WBA super middleweight champion Giovanni De Carolis (30-10-1, 14 KOs). DAZN will stream the show live and later on-demand. The tickets are selling fast, mostly because of Scardina-De Carolis which is considered a super-fight in Italy.

Scardina is the most famous boxer in Italy and by a longshot. He became famous nationally appearing on successful TV shows like Dancing With The Stars and many magazines wrote about him because of his work in the show-biz industry. Continue reading “Scardina vows to defeat De Carolis”

Another big boxing week with the blockbuster fight between Canelo Alvarez and Dmitry Bivol taking center stage.

THURSDAY

FITE+ has a heavyweight clash between heavyweights Rolando Soto (8-0, 3 KOs and Terrell Jamal Woods (27-50-9, 19 KOs) from the Pasadena Convention Center and Municipal Fairgrounds in Pasadena, Texas. A win for the unbeaten Soto isn’t a given. Woods has surprised some pretty notable names.

SATURDAY

DAZN PPV presents Canelo Alvarez (57-1-2, 39 KOs) challenging Dmitry Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs) for the WBA light heavyweight title at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The price for DAZN subscribers is $59.99. Canelo is more than a 4:1 favorite.

If you’re not shelling out for Canelo-Bivol, there are some other options.

TyC Sports has former world title challenger Ryan Rozicki (14-1, 14 KOs) against unbeaten Yamil Alberto Peralta (13-0, 6 KOs) from the Centre 200 in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. The vacant WBC International cruiser belt is at stake.

If heavyweights are more your thing, FITE offers up a $13.99 PPV that includes WBA #14 rated Lenier Pero (6-0, 3 KOs) against Hector Perez (7-4, 3 KOs) from Hialeah Park Racing & Casino in Hialeah, Florida.

The May 21 fight for the WBO interim super middleweight title between Zach Parker (22-0, 16 KOs) and WBO middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade (31-0, 19 KOs) has been postponed due to a shoulder injury suffered in training by Andrade. The bout was set to take place in Parker’s backyard at the Pride Park Stadium in Derby, England.

Photos: Sumio Yamada

Check out this GIANT Stevenson-Valdez photo gallery for some incredible shots, plus the scorecard.

Photos

By Miguel Maravilla

Shakur Stevenson’s post-fight press conference ended abruptly when the champ dashed from the stage to rescue his mother from a brawl erupting just outside the press room.

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“I told ya’ll what I was going to do,” said unified WBC/WBO super featherweight champion Shakur Stevenson after his win over Oscar Valdez Saturday night in Las Vegas. “I said I’m gonna beat Valdez, Canelo and Eddy Reynoso, so that was my gameplan, beat the whole team and I feel good about it. Much respect to them, but that was my gameplan.

“I want to collect all the belts at 130 and become undisputed. I deserve to be a superstar, so that’s what I gotta do.”

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

In a grudge super featherweight unification clash, WBO champion Shakur Stevenson (18-0, 9 KOs) scored a one-sided twelve round unanimous decision over WBC champion Oscar Valdez (30-1, 23 KOs) on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Valdez had no answer for Stevenson’s skills and movement. Stevenson scored a flash knockdown in round six. Valdez had some success with straight right hands, but not enough to win many rounds. Scores were 117-110, 118-109, 118-109. Continue reading “Shakur dominates Valdez, unifies 130lb titles”