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Savannah Marshall 159 vs. Femke Hermans 158
(WBO female middleweight title)

Florian Marku 146 vs. Chris Jenkins 146
Bradley Rea 160 vs. Lukas Ndafoluma 160
Zak Chelli 166 vs. Jack Kilgannon 168

Venue: Utilita Arena, Newcastle, England
Promoter: BOXXER
TV: SkySports (UK)

Jimmy Quiter 170.5 vs. Miraday Lubanzadio 170
Joe Ward 174 vs. Oscar Riojas 172
Daniel Buenaventura 135 vs. Yamin Muhammad 133.5
Dawid Bosak 164.5 vs. Turner Williams 172
Jorge Perez 133.5 vs. Don Stewart 133.5
Deontae Pettigrew 291 vs. Kaleb Slaughter 256
Sarah French 146 vs. Deborah Willies 147
Javier Rivera 115 vs. TBA

Venue: The Dome at The Ballpark in Rosemont, Illinois
Promoter: Hitz Boxing:
1st Bell: 7:30 PM Central; 8:30 PM ET
Stream: BXNGTV.com

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez bulking up in San Diego ahead of his clash against WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol on May 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Unified WBC and IBF welterweight world champion Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr., declared that he is “on point” ahead of his 147-pound title unification clash against WBA welterweight world champion Yordenis Ugas taking place Saturday, April 16 live on SHOWTIME PPV from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Responding to a statement made Wednesday by Ugas’ trainer Ismael Salas that he was a “different” fighter in his first fight back after a 2019 car accident, Spence stated, “Even half of me would beat most of these guys at the top level. I feel great now and I’m 100%. Physically I’m on point and everything feels real regular. If Ugas’ trainer thinks I’m a different fighter now, we’ll see in two and half weeks how different I am.”

Australia’s “Ferocious” George Kambosos Jr., the WBO/WBA/IBF/WBC Franchise lightweight world champion, will battle WBC world champion Devin “The Dream” Haney for the undisputed championship Saturday, June 4, at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. Kambosos-Haney will be broadcast in prime time, live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+.

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By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with trainer Derrick James after Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr.’s Dallas Media Workout today as he prepares him for his 147lb unification showdown with Yordenis Ugas on Sat, April 16 at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. The fight will be broadcast on Showtime PPV.

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By Jeff Zimmerman

Unified welterweight champ Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr hosted the Dallas Media today as he prepares to add the WBA strap against Yordenis Ugas on Sat, April 16 at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. The fight will be shown live on Showtime PPV.

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Savannah Marshall says she has “tunnel vision” going into this Saturday’s defense of her WBO female middleweight title against Femke Hermans taking place at Newcastle Utilita Arena, live on Sky Sports, knowing that a win will set up a showdown with bitter rival Claressa Shields.

Savannah Marshall: “Everyone keeps asking how I can focus on Femke when everyone is talking about Claressa. But the thing is, everyone’s been talking about Claressa for the past four years. She’s always been creeping about in the background for me, this is nothing new. [A win on Saturday means there is] nothing stopping setting up a massive fight between me and Claressa in the summer.”

Femke Hermans: “I’m in very good shape, I’ve had a great training camp, everything has fallen together in the last month and I am ready to kick some ass on Saturday.”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

IBF middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin arrived in Tokyo, Japan, today (Thursday). He will square off against WBA super champ Ryota Murata at the Saitama Super Arena on April 9. Golovkin said, “I respect Murata’s real power and his personality as well. I am in good shape, and will show a great performance without fail.”

Sandor Martin 139.3 vs. Jose Felix 139.3
(WBA International super lightweight title)

Samuel Carmona 115.7 vs. Joel Cordova 115.7
Ricards Bolotniks 177.9 vs. Hrvoje Sep 177.9

Venue: Palau Olímpic Vall d’Hebron, Barcelona, Spain
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN

WBA welterweight world champion Yordenis Ugás showed off his skills at a media workout in Las Vegas on Wednesday, as he nears his 147-pound title unification clash against WBC and IBF champion Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr. taking place Saturday, April 16 live on Showtime PPV from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

“Being an underdog means nothing to me,” stated Ugas, who is about a 3:1 underdog. “I was the underdog against Pacquiao and now again against Spence. I’ve always been the underdog and it doesn’t phase me…I’m happy to be fighting in Spence’s backyard because they have great fans down there in Texas. It just adds extra motivation. Fans can expect me to fight like a warrior. I’m going to take all of my hard work into the ring on April 16.” Continue reading “Ugas: Being an underdog means nothing to me”

The full card has been announced for this Saturday night’s Detroit Brawl event in the Lincoln Ballroom of the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn, MI. Five fights are scheduled in support of the eight-round main event, featuring the return of Detroit’s undefeated lightweight Erick De Leon (19-0-1, 11 KOs) taking on Juan Jose “Piquet” Martinez (28-11, 20 KOs).

In the main supporting bouts will be undefeated middleweight Timur Kerefov (12-0, 6 KOs) taking on Cleotis “Mookie” Pendarvis (21-9-2, 9 KOs) in an eight-round clash and WBC #9, IBF #15, WBO #14 light heavyweight Ali Izmailov (7-0, 5 KOs) against Abraham Tebes (7-0, 3 KOs) in a 10-rounder. Continue reading “Detroit Brawl Full Lineup”

DiBella Entertainment’s Broadway Boxing series makes its debut in the Motor City on April 15, at Garden Theater in Detroit. The event will be streamed live on UFC Fightpass.

Heavyweight knockout artist Mike Balogun (18-0, 14 KOs) headlines the event facing Ahmed Hefny (13-2, 5 KOs) in an eight-round contest.
In the co-feature, bantamweight Ja’Rico O’Quinn (14-1-1, 8 KOs) takes on Jobert Alvarez (20-2-2, 7 KOs) in an eight-rounder. Super featherweight Joshafat Ortiz (9-0, 5 KOs) battles Derrick Murray (15-4, 5 KOs) in an eight-rounder. And heavyweight Michael Pirotton-Bamogo (5-0, 2 KOs) meets Jonathan Gruber (3-0, 2 KOs) in a six-round affair.

Unified WBC, WBA and IBF champion Jermell Charlo (34-1-1, 18 KOs) and WBO champion Brian Castaño (17-0-2, 12 KOs) will meet in a rematch of their 2021 draw as they again seek to become the first ever undisputed 154-pound champion in the four-belt era on Saturday, May 14 live on SHOWTIME from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. Charlo vs. Castaño II was previously announced to take place on March 19 but was rescheduled after Castaño suffered an arm injury in training.

Jermell Charlo: “I’m the unified champ and I’ve got business to finish. My total goal as a kid was to win all of the belts as a professional and I plan to make history yet again on May 14, in front of my west coast fans and all across the world. If you know me, you know how I don’t take opportunities lightly – Lions Only, the time is now! Make sure you tune in on May 14.”

Brian Castaño: “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to face Charlo again for all four titles. This is champion vs. champion, just like it should be. The first fight was a great war. The rematch will be no different, but this time I won’t leave it in the judges’ hands. This is my era, and I will prove it.”

Lightweight Keyshawn Davis (4-0, 3 KOs), the 23-year-old Olympic silver medalist, will battle Esteban Sánchez (18-1, 8 KOs) in an eight-rounder on April 30 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Davis was supposed to fight Sanchez on March 19 in New York, but he contracted a non-COVID-related virus. Davis-Sanchez will be the co-feature to the junior lightweight title unification showdown between WBC champion Oscar Valdez and WBO king Shakur Stevenson and televised live on ESPN. Undercard bouts will be announced shortly.

With the NCAA college basketball tournament wrapping up this weekend, not too many stateside boxing promoters have anything scheduled in opposition. The two most notable cards of the week are in Europe.

On Friday, Mikey Garcia-conquerer Sandor Martin meets Jose Felix in a super lightweight clash on DAZN from Barcelona, Spain.

On Saturday, Claressa Shields’ arch-rival Savannah Marshall defends her WBO female middleweight belt against Femke Hermans at the Newcastle Arena in Newcastle, England. Sky Sports will air the bout in the UK. No US carrier yet.

Also Saturday, ESPN+ streams a card from the BUAP Arena in Puebla, Puebla, Mexico, featuring WBC female bantamweight champion Yuliahn “Cobrita” Luna defending against Mayeli Flores.

So slim pickings this weekend, but all hell breaks loose next weekend with GGG-Murata, Kingry-Tagoe, Lubin-Fundora, both Moloneys and much more.

Mikey Garcia-conquerer Sandor Martin and Jose Felix faced off at their final press conference ahead of their fight for the WBA International super lightweight title on Friday night at the Palau Olímpic Vall d’Hebron in Barcelona, Spain. DAZN will televise.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten WBA/IBF bantamweight champion “Monster” Naoya Inoue (22-0, 19 KOs) will square off against WBC titleholder Nonito “Filipino Flash” Donaire (42-6, 28 KOs) in Tokyo, Japan, on June 7. It was announced today (Wednesday) by Ohashi Promotions along with Amazon Prime Video that will exclusively show this unification rematch, following the Murata-Golovkin showdown on April 9. The fight venue will be same at the Saitama Super Arena the capacity of which is approximately 20,000. Monster and Filipino Flash, in November 2019, put on a grueling do-or-die battle with Naoya following emerging victorious on a unanimous decision thanks to his eleventh round knockdown of Nonito.

Inoue, 28, confidently said, “I’d like to win more convincingly than in our first encounter. I wish to have Nonito counted out this time since people called the previous eleventh-round knockdown a long count.” Continue reading “Inoue to face Donaire again for unification”

Undefeated lightweight star Ryan Garcia (21-0, 18 KOs) hosted a media workout today ahead of his scheduled match against Emmanuel “The Gameboy” Tagoe (32-1, 15KOs) on April 9th. The 12-round showdown will take place at San Antonio’s historic Alamodome and will be streamed live worldwide on DAZN.

“Now I’m at the point where I’m going to do amazing when I get into the ring,” said Garcia. “I’ve done all the promotion I can. I’m going to be the best I can be. You have to trust that gut feeling which most guys don’t.

“I knew Joe Goossen was going to be a perfect fit for me. He’s old school and I love that part of the game. He’s someone I can relate to, we have good chemistry. Continue reading “Kingry: I’ll break down or knock out Tagoe”

By Robert Coster

This coming Saturday, The King of Boxing promotional firm is offering Dominican fans an interesting card with three regional titles on the line. The main event has up and coming Dominican lightweight prospect Francis Frometa (15-0, 10 KOs ) facing his toughest test to date against former title contender Oliver Flores (30-4, 19 KOs ) of Nicaragua. Says Frometa, “Flores has twice the number of fights that I have and has fought for a world title. I know it’s a really tough fight but I’m ready.” The 10 round combat will be for the WBA Latino lightweight belt. Continue reading “Regional titles on the line in Santo Domingo”

Fighters competing on the Errol Spence Jr. vs. Yordenis Ugas SHOWTIME PPV undercard previewed their respective showdowns during a virtual press conference Tuesday before they step into the ring on Saturday, April 16 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The virtual press conference featured lightweight contender Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz and former world champion Yuriorkis Gamboa, who meet in the co-main event, unbeaten Jose Valenzuela and former world champion Francisco Vargas, who square off in a lightweight attraction, plus welterweights Cody Crowley and Josesito Lopez, who battle in the telecast opener.

Here is what the fighters had to say Tuesday. Continue reading “Spence-Ugas undercard virtual presser”

Unified WBA super, IBF, WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has received special permission from the Ukraine government to step away from the defense line against the Russian invasion and return to the gym to defend his belts. Usyk announced his return to training this week and confirmed he will rematch Anthony Joshua in his next fight. Although it has not been made official, the details of the date and place are said to be sometime in June in the Middle East.

…And My Trip Through the Middle East

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

This past Friday, my family witnessed an act that has filled us with pride and motivation. My sister Lucy celebrated her third anniversary of overcoming the terrible disease of alcoholism and gave her testimony in front of her AA group.

It was a unique experience, as her courage and strength were highlighted in this face-to-face and virtual session. Some members of the family were there in both modalities to accompany our beloved Lucy in this important day.

The testimony that several of her team members gave about how they managed to make a great change due to her lovely help was amazing. My sister Lucy showed greatness during her speech; Only compliments and messages of thanks, for her constant dedication plus unconditional support from everyone in the group. Continue reading “The Battle of Life…”

WBC strawweight champion Panya Pradabsri (38-1, 23 KOs) scored a twelve round unanimous decision over former long time champion Wanheng Menayothin (55-2, 19 KOs) in their rematch on Tuesday at the City Hall Ground in Nakhon Sawan, Thailand. The bout was a slugfest. 36-year-old Wanheng was very aggressive and Pradabsri, 31, was willing to trade. After four rounds, WBC open scoring showed 39-37 Wanheng, 38-38, 38-38. The back and forth action continued with Pradabsri pulling ahead 77-75, 78-74, 78-74 after eight. Wanheng drove Pradabsri into the ropes in round nine, not called a knockdown. Wanheng desperately tried to make up the gap down the stretch but came up short. Scores were 117-111 across the board.

The 36-year-old Menayothin, also known as Chayaphon Moonsri, ran his ledger to 54-0 to best Floyd Mayweather’s 50-0 career mark only to relinquish the record for an unbeaten career back to Floyd by losing to Pradabsri in November 2020.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Japanese hero, 2012 Olympic gold medalist and WBA 160-pound super champ Ryota Murata (16-2, 13 KOs) demonstrated a public workout to press people to show a good shape in preparation for a highly anticipated showdown against IBF counterpart Gennady Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) on Monday in Tokyo, Japan.

Having been postponed time and again by the COVID19 pandemic, the sensational unification bout at the Saitama Super Arena on April 9 will take place this time for sure. Murata said, “I’m not afraid of facing Golovkin at all but of another postponement. I’m ready.” We are looking forward to watching this historically biggest event since a couple of Mike Tyson events in 1988 and 1990. It will be presented by Teiken Promotions.

Continue reading “Murata ready to rumble against Golovkin”