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Famed New York-based referee Sammy Viruet has been appointed as new director of the WBO Ratings Committee. WBO President Francisco “Paco” Valcárcel recommended Viruet and the Executive Committee approved the appointment during a virtual meeting. Viruet succeeds Edgardo López Sasso, who held the position from December 2016 until the past week. Viruet has been associated with the WBO since 1993 and worked many important fights for both the WBO and IBF.

IBF light flyweight world champion Felix Alvarado (37-2, 32 KOs) of Nicaragua has vacated his title per his manager William Ramirez (WRAM Boxing). The IBF has officially been notified in writing. Alvarado had held the title since 2018 making two successful world title defenses. Alvarado was scheduled to fight on February 19, but the fight was postponed. He tried extremely hard but was unsuccessful in securing any unification fights with the other world champions at 108 before deciding to move up one weight class.

The IBF had to go through their rankings all the way to #13 Zhilei Zhang to find an opponent for #3 Filip Hrgovic to fight in a world heavyweight title final eliminator to name the mandatory challenger for the IBF world title held by Oleksandr Usyk.

“I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for more than year,” said Hrgovic. “Finally, I have an opponent willing to face me for the chance to fight for the IBF world title. So many fighters turned down this challenge so credit to Zhang for being brave enough to accept. I know he’s a good opponent. He won silver at the Olympics so that means he’s a good boxer, but he is too slow on his feet and I believe I have the better qualities. My speed, stamina, and footwork will be too much for him. I will break him down and I will beat him. I’m now only one fight away from my dream of boxing for a world title and nothing is going to stop me.” Continue reading “Hrgovic: I will break Zhang down and beat him”

Two new fights on the PPV undercard of Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez’s May 7 clash with WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas were announced on Monday. IBF #12 super lightweight Montana Love (17-0-1, 9 KOs) clashes with Gabriel Valenzuela (25-2-1, 15 KOs) and IBF #3 heavyweight Filip Hrgovic (14-0, 12 KOs) meets Zhilei Zhang (23-0-1, 18 KOs) in a final eliminator for the IBF title.

Don King Productions won the bidding for the World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight championship bout between Trevor Bryan and Daniel Dubois. The auction took place on Monday via Zoom and the team representing Bryan, with Don King himself present at the purse bid, won the rights to promote the bout with a bid of three million one hundred and sixteen thousand and one dollars (US$3,116,001.00).

The winning promoter gave June 18 as the date for the fight, while as possible venues are London, South Florida, and New York.

The next bid came from Queensberry Promotions, which offered an amount of two million five hundred and three thousand dollars (US$2,503,000.00) and proposed to hold the fight in Derby, England on May 21 as the first option, Midlands, England on June 11 as the next alternative and another for June 18 in London.

Now, Don King Productions will have 20 days to send the contracts signed by both parties.

Welterweight U.S. Olympian Tiger Johnson and Puerto Rican junior featherweight contender Carlos “Purin” Caraballo will see action on the Miguel Berchelt-Jeremiah Nakathila undercard Saturday, March 26 in the Events Center at Resorts World Las Vegas.

Johnson (2-0, 1 KO) will face an opponent to be named in a six-rounder, while Caraballo (14-1, 14 KOs) hopes to bounce back from his first career defeat against Luis Fernando Saavedra (9-6, 3 KOs) in an eight-rounder. Continue reading “Berchelt-Nakathila undercard lineup”

Another mega-boxing Saturday on tap with Showtime, ESPN, and DAZN all presenting live fight cards. Plus don’t forget about the return of Erik “El Terrible” Morales in a PPV exhibition.

The day opens with IBF featherweight champion Kiko Martinez (43-10-2, 30 KOs) defending his world title against Josh Warrington (30-1-1, 7 KOs) at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, England. Martinez previously lost a majority decision to Warrington, so not an easy first defense.

That evening, Showtime and ESPN go head to head.

Showtime presents the long-awaited USA debut of unbeaten WBO #1 rated junior middleweight Tim Tszyu (20-0, 15 KOs) against 2012 U.S. Olympian Terrell Gausha (22-2-1, 11 KOs) from the Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Tszyu, of course, is the son of ring legend Kostya Tszyu.

ESPN counters with the return of former world champion Miguel Berchelt (38-2, 34 KOs) against Jeremia Nakathila (22-2, 18 KOs) at Resorts World Las Vegas. Berchelt is moving up to the lightweight after losing his WBO 130lb belt by KO against Oscar Valdez 13 months ago. Nakathila is best known for taking Shakur Stevenson the full twelve rounds.

For those who prefer legends boxing exhibitions, you can order the $21.99 PPV on Fite headlined by ring legend Erik Morales against former world champ Orlando Salido from the Mesquite Arena in Mesquite, Texas.

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Rugby League and Rugby Union football legend Sonny Bill Williams (8-0, 3 KOs) will clash with Australian Rules football great Barry Hall (0-0-1) on Wednesday at the ICC Exhibition Centre, Sydney, NSW, Australia televised on Stan Event Pay-Per-View

“I will say, I respect Barry as a man, but over the past couple of months he’s come out with some outrageous things,” Williams told the Sydney Morning Herald. “Hearing some of the outrageous things he’s saying, it lights a fire and also shows what an outrageous character he is. Sometimes I feel like he’s a bit jealous of my platform. I’m not the one who dictates if people follow me on social media or if people want to watch what I’ve said. Continue reading “Sonny Bill: I’m not going to lose”

By Miguel Maravilla

Unbeaten welterweight contender Michael “The Problem” McKinson (22-0, 2 KOs) of Portsmouth, England, won a unanimous decision over Alex Martin (17-5, 6 KOs) from Chicago in the co-main event Saturday night in Los Angeles. McKinson was slated to take on Vergil Ortiz in the main event, but Ortiz withdrew from the fight due to rhabdomyolysis. Here is what McKinson had to say…

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By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Former world champion Billy Dib updates us on his condition from the hospital…

First and foremost I want to thank the Almighty that both Jacob and I are safe. A big thank you to my team beautiful supporters family and sponsors for your love and support last night.

I’m currently in hospital with a dislodged rib that caused 3 separate fractures due to being flipped on the canvas. I’m doing ok and will be back on my feet real soon.

Jacob is a talented young fighter with great potential and I don’t believe there was malicious in his actions last night.

It was a great fight that I believe was only going to get better towards the later rounds as per our game plan.

A huge thank you to the amazing promotional team Ace Boxing Group for giving me an opportunity to fight one of your top prospects and putting on such a great promotion.

By Miguel Maravilla

Santa Ana’s Alexis “Lex” Rocha (19-1, 13 KOs) spoke about his victory at the post-fight press conference. Rocha handed Blair “The Flair” Cobbs (15-1-1, 10 KOs) his first defeat, stopping him in the ninth round Saturday night at the Galen Center at the USC campus in downtown Los Angeles. Here is what Rocha had to say.

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Canadian promoter Dan Otter of Three Lions Promotions presented an event Saturday night at the Hamilton Convention Centre in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main event saw Brandon Brewer (21-1-1-2, 11 KOs) and fellow Canadian unbeaten Antonio Napolitano (5-0-1, 3 KOs) battle to a 10 round draw. The World Boxing Council United States (USNBC) middleweight  title they were fighting for remains vacant.

The eight round co-feature had the return of former world title challenger Ryan Rozicki (14-1, 14 KOs), who stopped Mexico’s German Garcia (7-4, 7 KOs) in round two. The win keeps Rozicki at a 100% KO ratio in his victories. Continue reading “Brewer-Napolitano draw, Rozicki wins”

“I got the knockout but I know I could’ve done better,” said Alexis Rocha after his ninth round stoppage of Blair Cobbs on Saturday night. “It took me quite a while to adjust. He was running, very awkward at first. This is what I need so I can develop as an all around fighter. It took me awhile since I wasn’t listening to my coach. I was getting careless, only throwing one shot, not cutting the ring and not throwing my combinations. I could have gotten him out of there sooner.

“The only round that I actually let my hands go I followed him up. That’s what put him down, me throwing combinations. I want to give Blair credit. He was a tough opponent, he was awkward and he did a lot of trash talking but you don’t play with Mexico. Viva Mexico!”

“He was just a good fighter today,” said Cobbs. “I was impressed by the way he came out. He got me with some pretty good shots. He got me in the later rounds very good so shout-out to him and his team. I was throwing shots but I wasn’t following up with them. I just couldn’t recover and figure it out in time to take over the fight. He did a tremendous job. I just wanted to give a shout-out to everyone that came out and I promise that Blair ‘The Flair’ will be back.”

The 33,000-seat Pride Park Stadium in Derby England will stage the WBO interim super middleweight world title clash between unbeaten two-weight world champion Demetrius “BooBoo” Andrade (31-0, 19 KOs) and Zach Parker (22-0, 16 KOs) on May 21, live on BT Sport.

“It will be incredible to walk-out and see the stadium packed with fans,” said Parker. “I can’t wait. Demetrius is a great champion and props to him for coming over here but I know I have the beating of him, I’m too big for him. We’ll see on the 21st, but someone’s ‘0’ has got to go!”

Promoter Frank Warren added, “There can be no questioning the pedigree of Demetrius Andrade. It is why we went above and beyond to win the purse bid to give our man every crucial advantage. Continue reading “Andrade-Parker set for May 21”

WBC #1 super lightweight José “Chon” Zepeda (36-2, 28 KOs) destroyed Francisco “Verdugo” Pérez (18-13-1, 13 KOs) in less than two rounds on Saturday night at the Gimnasio Municipal “Josué Neri Santos” de Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. After an uneventful round one, Zepeda opened up and dropped Perez three times in round two to end it. Time was 1:02.

Former world title challenger Pedro “Roca” Campa (34-1-1, 23 KOs) scored a TKO3 over previously unbeaten super lightweight Carlos “Tiburón” Sánchez (22-1, 18 KOs). Campa dropped Sanchez hard at the end of round two. Sanchez came out for round three, but indicated he injured his right wrist during the knockdown and couldn’t continue.

Super bantamweight Israel Rodríguez Picazo (24-5, 16 KOs) stopped previously unbeaten Jesús Riegos (15-1, 12 KOs) with a barrage of punches in round four. Time was 1:32.

“You could tell that he was fighting scared. Every time I reach in or throw something, he’d pull back and was running the whole fight,” said super middleweight contender Edgar Berlanga after his decision win over Steve Rolls on Saturday night at MSG. “I was looking for the big shot. My corner was telling me to use the jab. I’m just happy we got the victory and I’m moving forward.

“He was a scared fighter. It’s tough to land your shots when he’s scared, especially moving back. When he fought GGG, he brought it to GGG. With me, he tried to use that running tactic.”

Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum added, “Edgar Berlanga fought a tough, defensive fighter, and he got some valuable rounds in tonight. As you saw from the sold-out crowd, the kid is a star. There are many more big nights to come.”

Interestingly, According to CompuBox, Rolls actually outpunched (447-314) and outlanded (123-120) Berlanga in the contest.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Former champ Kenshiro Teraji (19-1, 11 KOs), 107.75, impressively regained the WBC light-flyweight belt as he exploded a smashing right to defending titlist Masamichi Yabuki (13-4, 12 KOs), 107.5, and finished him for the count at 1:11 of the third round on Saturday in Kyoto, Japan. Kenshiro took the initiative from the outset and kept stalking the stiff and nervous champ all the way. A well-timed right to the face was the haymaker that made Teraji avenge his previous TKO defeat and forfeiture of the belt last September.

The official tallies after the second were as follows: Kazunobu Asao 20-18 for Teraji, Hisatoshi Miyazaki and Masahiro Noda both 19-19. The referee was Michiaki Someya. All were Japanese officials since it was still impossible to have foreign judges and referee officiate a world title bout because of the government’s coronavirus regulation. Continue reading “Teraji-Yabuki Full Report”

Unbeaten super middleweight Edgar “The Chosen One” Berlanga (19-0, 16 KOs) scored a workmanlike ten round unanimous decision over Steve Rolls (21-2, 12 KOs) on Saturday night inside Madison Square Garden’s Theater in New York City. Berlanga, who started his career with 16 straight first round knockouts, went the distance for the third consecutive time, winning 96-94, 97-93, 97-93.

Unbeaten junior middleweight Xander Zayas (13-0, 9 KOs) took a one-sided eight-round shutout against defensive-minded spoiler Quincy LaVallais (12-3-1, 7 KOs). The whole fight was pretty much one-way traffic from Zayas. Scores were 80-71, 80-72, 80-72. Continue reading “Berlanga, Zayas win decisions at MSG”

By Miguel Maravilla and Rocky Morales at ringside

Welterweight Alexis “Lex” Rocha (19-1, 13 KOs) battered and stopped previously unbeaten Blair “The Flair” Cobbs (15-1-1, 10 KOs) in round nine on Saturday night at the USA Gelen Center in downtown Los Angeles. Rocha broke down Cobbs, dropping him in round eight and getting a referee’s stoppage in round nine.

Cobbs came out jabbing and circling as Rocha stalked and popped the jab to begin the fight. Rocha appeared to be on the receiving end of a clash as his right eye began to swell. In round two, Rocha connected with straight lefts followed by short rights as Cobbs popping the jab was on the receiving end of those snapping punches. The short right hand kept landing for Rocha and he continued to back Cobbs in the third, but Cobbs began to get some rhythm. The pressure continued from Rocha, and he kept landing as Cobbs circled.

Rocha staggered Cobbs in the fifth round with a left and stood on top of him attacking patiently, Cobbs managed to survive. In the sixth, Rocha attacked as Cobbs bounced around and was on the receiving end of Rocha’s punches. Continuing to stay on top of Cobbs in the seventh, Rocha pressured as Cobbs began letting his hands go connecting effectively. A right hand in the eighth by Rocha dropped Cobbs. Rocha remained poised stalking and closed the round cornering, Cobbs.

Rocha continued where he left off backing up Cobbs and finishing him in the ninth as the referee stepped in to stop the fight at 44 seconds. Continue reading “Whoooooo! Rocha TKOs Cobbs in 9”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Fightnews.com® spoke to former world champion Billy Dib in the hospital where he is being treated for three broken ribs suffered in his DQ win over Jacob Ng.

“I am in hospital. I dislodged my right rib cage and fractured three of my ribs,” said Dib. “They are hairline fractures. I felt like I was coming over the top of Jacob Ng in our fight. He was getting frustrated with the fact he couldn’t land his shots. He didn’t have any power. I was the one in charge up to when he fouled me. I will have to wait to see how this heals but I am in a lot of pain at the moment. Hopefully, when it heals I will be able to evaluate everything.”

EBU European welterweight champion David Avanesyan (29-3-1, 17 KOs) destroyed previously unbeaten Oskari Metz (15-1, 5 KOs) in the first round on Saturday night at Wembley Arena in London. Avanesyan, rated WBC #2, WBA #7, WBO #7, IBF #8, dropped Metz, then finished him off. Time was 2:00.

Almost two years in the making and over five years of bitter rivalry, Game of Thrones star Thor “The Mountain” Bjornsson scored a six round unanimous decision over Eddie Hall on Saturday night at the Duty Free Tennis Stadium in Dubai, UAE. Hall smashed Thor into the ropes for a knockdown in round two. Hall was cut over both eyes going into round three. Thor dropped Hall at the end of round three. Thor, who had three previous fights, outboxed Hall after that and dropped him again in round six. Scores were 57-54 3x.

Billed as ‘The Heaviest Boxing Match in History,’ Bjornsson (335lbs) and Hall (313) didn’t come close to the 2007 bout between Eric “Butterbean” Esch (417.5) and Joe Siciliano (313.5).

They fought for six, three-minute rounds under professional boxing rules.

After the fight, the 33-year-old Bjornsson stated he’s enjoying the sport and is open to more fights, including a rematch with Hall.

Heavyweight David “White Rhino” Allen (20-5-2, 17 KOs) destroyed 38-year-old Milen Paunov (5-9, 4 KOs) in two rounds on Saturday night at the Hilton Hotel in Newcastle, England. Allen battered Paunov to the canvas at 1:33 of round two.

Allen admitted after the fight that he’s not yet ready for a fight with Alen Babic. He expects to return to the ring in two weeks.

Unbeaten IBF flyweight champion Sunny Edwards (18-0, 4 KOs) outpointed Muhammad Waseem (12-2, 8 KOs) over twelve rounds on Saturday night at the Duty Free Tennis Stadium in Dubai, UAE. Scores were 115-111n, 116-110, 115-111. Waseem had two points deducted in rounds six and seven.

“There was a lot on the line tonight but I didn’t want to just run, run, run, I wanted to mix it up and I felt I won comfortably in the end,” said Edwards afterward.

In a WBC super lightweight eliminator, former world champion Regis Prograis (27-1, 23 KOs) stopped Tyrone McKenna (22-3-1, 6 KOs) in round six. Progress dropped McKenna in round two and punished him until the but was halted at 1:40 of the sixth.

“He’s a tough man, I knew he was going to be tough and when I knocked him down, I knew he was going to get up,” Prograis said. “But I stayed calm. He kept pushing forward and so I had to change my game plan and box more. I’ve been world champion before and I will be world champion again.”

Former world champion TJ Doheny (23-3, 17 KOs) scored a second round TKO over Cesar “Corazon” Juarez (27-11, 20 KOs). Quick stoppage.

Former world champion Billy Dib (48-6, 27 KOs) won by sixth round disqualification against previously unbeaten WBA #6 lightweight Jacob Ng (15-1, 11 KOs) on Saturday night at The Star Gold Coast in Broadbeach, Australia. With both fighters in a clinch, Ng body slammed Dib in round six. Dib stayed down and couldn’t continue, getting the win by DQ. Tough fight before that point.