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A fan on Twitter asked Andre Ward if there was a fight he wanted, that didn’t happen before he retired. Ward answered “Froch rematch in the UK; [Gennady] Golovkin, he turned it down in less than 5 minutes; Anthony Joshua, but I retired.”

Ward’s response set off GGG, who responded, “Andre, stop lying to the fans. Your team made the offer AFTER I announced the fight with Lemieux and sold out MSG. You are still angry that you never sold tickets like me. HBO knew you used the offer for publicity to move to 175. Happy Birthday.”

Ward answered, “I have receipts stop playing.”

Sonny Conto 226.1 vs. Mike Marshall 248.8
Daiyaan Butt 143.1 vs. Bryce Mills 141.9
Christopher Burgos 139.6 vs. Carlos Marrero 136.2
D’Angelo Fuentes 123.8 vs. Justice Bland 126
Eslih Owusu 155 vs. Evencii Dixon 155.2
Jordon Murphy 128.8 vs. Nasir Mickens 129.4
Quadeer Jenkins 159.5 vs. Rahiem Cooke 158.3

Promoter: Joe Hand Promotions
Venue: Live! Casino & Hotel Casino Promotions
1st Bell: 7 PM ET

In an amazing coincidence, according to RJJ Promotions all ten fighters featured on the UFC Fightpass telecast Thursday night weighed in exactly at the division limit for every bout.

WCBS 4-Man Lightweight Tournament semifinals
Luis Torres 135 vs. Rodolfo Flores 135
Isai Hernandez 135 vs. Irving Castillo 135

WBC USNBC silver welterweight title
Quinton Randall 147 vs. Ivan “Zurdo” Alvarez 147

Fradimil Macayo 135 vs. Armando Ramirez Almanza 135
Jorge Lugo Cota 135 vs. Rene de Leon Mazariegos 135

Venue: Palenque de la Expo in Obregón, Sonora, Mexico
Promoter: RJJ Boxing Promotions, De La O Promotions
TV: UFC Fightpass

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Despite promoter Lou DiBella’s saying that undisputed IBF, WBA, WBO and WBC franchise lightweight champion George “Ferocious” Kambosos has moved on from making his initial defense against WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney, Haney’s promoter Eddie Hearn says talks are still ongoing.

“DAZN has been very proactive to try and make the Devin Haney vs. George Kambosos fight,” said Hearn on the DAZN Show. “It’s a fight they want badly, it’s a fight they want to make happen. We’re going back with figures and bits and pieces. I think DAZN is acting like a good middle-man buffer between myself and Lou DiBella rather than Lou losing his rag and me being stubborn. It’s a good model to use where we can all be sensible and see if there are any legs to get it over the line. Continue reading “Hearn: Kambosos-Haney still negotiating”

A huge crowd gathered in the St Enoch Shopping Mall in Glasgow, Scotland today to witness undisputed world super lightweight champion and Scottish hero Josh ‘The Tartan Tornado’ Taylor and rival Jack ‘El Gato’ Catterall undertake public training sessions ahead of their showdown at the OVO Hydro Arena Glasgow this coming Saturday, live on Sky Sports in the UK and ESPN+ in the USA. Taylor stated, “These belts ain’t going nowhere.”

WBO bantamweight champion John Riel Casimero has denied allegations of sexual abuse involving a minor that were recently leveled at him in the Philippines. Casimero is facing U.S. deportation from his training camp in San Diego due to the situation. He is scheduled to defend his title against Paul Butler on April 22 in Liverpool, but if he is unable to enter the UK, the WBO will likely vacate the title.

Casimero said in a statement:

“I vehemently deny any accusations thrown at me regarding a blotter concerning an alleged female minor and vow to clean my name for not only myself and my family, but also my country, the Philippines.

“I have been instructed by my legal team to not directly address any news media outlets due to the fact that to date, there has not been any criminal charges brought forth for me or my legal team to respond to.

“But being that my name has been defamed, slandered, and surrounded by fabricated stories circulated by journalists and vloggers whose only intention is to destroy my good name as the WBO world champion representing the Philippines, I believe I have the right to state my truth and allow truth to prevail.”

By Gabriel F. Cordero

On May 21, the WBC and the Mexico City Government will team up to host a historic attempt to break the Guinness world record for the largest boxing class. The event will take place in the legendary Plaza de la Constitución in the historic Zocalo (the main square in downtown Mexico City) and everyone who wants to participate is invited, including boys, girls, young people, adults, and seniors.

In 2017 the city of Moscow set the Guinness record with nearly three thousand participants, but WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman stated that this event will not only break that record but will establish a new one that will be unbreakable and serve as an example to the world of what unity can achieve.

It was also announced that homage will be paid to legendary boxing trainer Don Nacho Beristain at the event.

By Miguel Maravilla

Undefeated WBO #1 welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz Jr. (18-0, 18 KOs) and Golden Boy Chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya hosted a press event on Tuesday in Los Angeles to promote the upcoming bout between Ortiz and WBO #3 Michael “The Problem” McKinson (21-0, 2 KOs). The pair are set to collide on March 19 at University of Southern California’s Galen Center. The 12-round fight will stream live on DAZN.

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By Miguel Maravilla

Undefeated welterweight Vergil Ortiz Jr. (18-0, 18 KOs), of Grand Prairie, Texas spoke about his next fight against fellow undefeated welterweight Michael “The Problem” McKinson (21-0, 2 KOs) of Great Britain. Ortiz and McKinson will square off Saturday, March 19th, for Ortiz, Jr.’s WBO International welterweight title at the University of Southern California’s Galen Center in Los Angeles live on DAZN.

“It feels awesome putting a card in LA. I have a lot of fans here in LA,” Ortiz said at the press conference.

Ortiz began his preparation a few weeks ago as he has added Manuel Robles to his team to work alongside his father Vergil Ortiz Sr. and his longtime Hector Beltran. Prior to that Vergil had been working with famed trainer Robert Garcia but mutually parted ways from the camp. Ortiz joined Eddie Reynoso’s stable temporarily and then made the move to relocate to Los Angeles for this camp. Continue reading “Vergil Ortiz Jr: I am in the top 5 of the division”

By Ron Jackson

Very few people are aware of the steroid and drug culture in South African boxing.

However, this has been rectified by Clinton van der Berg who reveals all about South African boxing and other sports in his recently published book Guns and Needles – A journey into the heart of South African sport’s steroid and drug culture.

In the introduction, Van der Berg writes “The world of steroids periodically entered and drifted out of my life – rugby has struggled to shake its image as a haven for, but the habit persists elsewhere too- in boxing. Continue reading “Drugs in South African boxing”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Newly crowned WBO 105-pound champion Masataka Taniguchi (15-3, 10 KOs), a Japanese southpaw, will put his belt on the line against hard-punching national titleholder Kai Ishizawa (10-1, 9 KOs) at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, on April 22. It was announced by Ohashi Promotions in Yokohama on Tuesday. Having dethroned Wilfredo Mendez by an upset eleventh-round stoppage last December, Taniguchi will engage in his first defense with the younger challenger, three years his junior at 25, in a grudge fight.

They exchanged gloves in September 2019, when Taniguchi suffered a knockdown in round five but scored a unanimous decision thanks to his busier combinations with better precision. For Ishizawa, it was his sole setback against ten victories including nine devastating stoppages to his credit. Continue reading “Taniguchi to defend WBO 105lb belt against Ishizawa”

Yamaguchi Falcao and Connor “The Kid” Coyle both scored knockouts on Saturday night at Memorial Hall in Melrose, Massachusetts. Falcao (20-1-1, 9 KOs) captured the WBC Latino super middleweight title via second round knockout of Fernando Ezequiel Farias (11-2-2, 4 KOs). Fighting out of his signature southpaw stance, Falcao was aggressive from the opening bell. The 2012 Olympic Bronze medalist found a home early for his jab, hook and left cross. A minute into the second, Falcao hurt Farias with a crisp left uppercut that sent him reeling towards the ropes. Moments later, Falcao put Farias down for the count with a hard left hook. Time of stoppage was 1:21.

In the co-feature, undefeated middleweight Connor “The Kid” Coyle (15-0, 7 KOs) kept his perfect record intact by stopping Rodrigo Rodrigues (8-2, 7 KOs) after five rounds. Continue reading “Late Results from Massachusetts”

Probellum has announced a strategic partnership with promoter Lou DiBella and his company DiBella Entertainment. This will include co-promotional activities around key fighters in the DiBella Entertainment stable, support for grassroots boxing in the United States, and the continued growth of Probellum’s international network of co-promotional partners. Continue reading “Probellum aligns with DiBella Entertainment”

We caught up with Frank Espinoza, the widely respected manager of WBC super featherweight champion Oscar Valdez. Espinoza has guided the careers of ten champions and has helmed Valdez’s title-winning run from his first fight as a professional. Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs) a native of Nogales, Sonora will be fighting Shakur Stevenson (17-0, 9 KOs) in a compelling match to be held at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas on April 30th. Both the WBC and the WBO titles will be up for grabs that night.

Tell us about the process for making this fight.

Stevenson has been flapping his mouth about Oscar a lot and we’re going to shut him up. He claimed Oscar was ducking him but we signed the contract for the fight first. It took him longer. Shakur claimed he wanted this fight and now he’s become a target. Careful what you wish for. Continue reading “Espinoza: Valdez ready for disrespectful Stevenson”

Savannah “The Silent Assassin” Marshall’s defense of her WBO world female middleweight title against former titleholder Femke Hermans has moved to April 2 and will headline on Sky Sports in the UK. The show, previously scheduled for March, will take place at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, England. Earlier this month, Marshall was in Cardiff to watch bitter rival Claressa Shields defend her world titles and she became embroiled in a war of words with Shields, raising tensions between the two to a fever pitch. Marshall must now make sure she defeats Hermans to set up the showdown with Shields.

Also confirmed for the card is “The Albanian King” Florian Marku (10-0, 6 KOs) facing Chris ‘Rock n Rolla’ Jenkins (23-4, 8 KOs) in a welterweight clash, and heavyweight Nathan Gorman (18-1, 12 KOs) will take on Scott Alexander (16-4-2, 8 KOs).

Watch the full episode of The Tartan Tornardo featuring Josh Taylor before he defends his undisputed jr. welterweight world championships against Jack Catterall this Saturday on ESPN+.

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Former junior lightweight and lightweight world champion Jose “Sniper” Pedraza (29-3, 14 KOs) hopes to join an elite list of Puerto Rican fighters to win world titles in three weight classes. He can take a giant leap towards that goal when he battles former unified world champion Jose Ramirez in a 12-round junior welterweight main event Friday, March 4 at Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. The winner will be positioned to fight for a world title later this year.

This is what Pedraza had to say after a recent training session in Puerto Rico. Continue reading “Pedraza: Ramirez fight all or nothing”

The WBO World Championship Committee has ordered the camps of Jaime Munguia and Zhanibek Alimkhanuly to commence negotiations to fight for the WBO interim middleweight championship. The parties are granted 10 days to reach an agreement. If an accord is not reached within that time frame, a purse bid will be ordered with a minimum acceptable bid of $200,000. Any of the parties involved may request a purse bid ceremony at any time during the negotiation process.

WBC mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte made WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury wait, but in the end he signed the contract to fight Fury just hours before the deadline. Whyte objected to the 80/20 split in Fury’s favor, but after a record $42 million purse bid he stood to lose an $8 million payday if he didn’t ink the deal. Fury-Whyte is expected to take place April 23 at the massive Wembley Stadium in London.

“Oh my God!,” said Fury in a statement. “Dillian Whyte has signed his contract for $8 million, what a surprise. What an absolute idiot. Should this even be a talking point? The man has signed for the biggest payday ever in his life.

He sarcastically added, “Oh my God! My head hurts from all the mind games that Dillian Whyte’s been playing on me. Oh my God! I’m so sore. I don’t know whether I’m coming or going. My training camp’s a mess.”

“I’m going to bust Dillian Whyte like a water balloon,” Fury concluded.

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Undisputed IBF, WBA, WBO and WBC franchise lightweight champion George “Ferocious” Kambosos Jr. talks to Peter Maniatis about capturing the world titles from Teofimo Lopez and defending the championship in Melbourne in 2022 and how much his father Jimmy Kambosos has helped his career.

“I am the biggest name in Australian boxing and I think the hottest name in boxing currently,” said Kambosos. “Everyone wants a piece and the Kambosos name is worldwide at the moment.” Continue reading “Interview: George “Ferocious” Kambosos Jr.”

Both the WBA “super” and WBA “regular” championships will be on the line on the same card as WBA regular ruler Radzhab Butaev (14-0, 11 KOs) meets #1 contender Eimantas Stanionis (13-0, 9 KOs) on the April 16 event that will feature Yordenis Ugas against Errol Spence Jr. in a unification for the WBC, WBA, and IBF belts.

Sad to report the passing of Walter “Butch” Flansburg, the former President of the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame, at the age of 77. After serving in the US Marine Corps, Walter moved to Florida in the early 80s and got into boxing as a photographer. He then became President of the National Boxing Association (NBA), a position he held from 1997 to 2018. In 2009, he founded the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame which flourished under his leadership to become one of the premier Hall of Fame programs in boxing.

“Butch dedicated a good portion of his life to the sport of boxing,” said Fightnews.com® Editor-in-Chief Karl Freitag. “In addition to the many hours he spent with his FBHOF work, he was passionate about supporting community boxing programs that teach discipline, dedication, respect, personal control, and give our young people something positive to say ‘yes’ to. He was a great man who made things better for everyone around him and it was a privilege to have known him.”

The return of undisputed super lightweight champion Josh Taylor highlights this weekend’s ring action. There’s also a Sunday DAZN card, a Showtime tripleheader and probably a Rigo stream.

THURSDAY
The semifinals of the World Cup Boxing Series’ (WCBS) inaugural “4-Man Lightweight Tournament” Luis “Koreano” Torres (14-0, 9 KOs) vs. Rodolfo “Rudy” Flores (14-5, 6 KOs) and Isai “Gaga” Hernandez (11-2-2, 7 KOs) vs. Irving “Poderoso” Castillo (11-2, 7 KOs) from Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico, on UFC Fightpass.

FRIDAY
Two-time Olympian and world rated middleweight contender Kanat “QazaQ” Islam (28-0, 22 KOs) faces former world title challenger Jimmy “Kilrain” Kelly (25-2, 10 KOs) in Plant City, Florida. There will be a PPV stream for this event.

SATURDAY
Former world champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (20-2, 13 KOs) will fight Vincent Astrolabio (16-3, 12 KOs) in Dubai. No stream announced yet.

Undisputed super lightweight champion Josh Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs) defends against WBO #1 Jack Catterall (26-0, 13 KOs) on ESPN+ from Glasgow, Scotland.

Unbeaten super featherweight Chris “Primetime” Colbert (16-0, 6 KOs) takes on late sub Hector Garcia (14-0, 10 KOs) in a WBA ellininator in the SHOWTIME main event at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Also on that card, IBF junior bantamweight world champion Jerwin Ancajas (33-1-2, 22 KOs) defends his title against Fernando Martinez (13-0, 8 KOs.

SUNDAY
DAZN presents WBO cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie (17-0, 14 KOs) defending his belt against Michal Cieslak (21-1, 15 KOs) at the O2 Arena in London.

Lightweight contender Javier “El Abejon” Fortuna (37-3-1, 26 KOs) returned to the ring Sunday night and blew out Rafael Hernandez (32-15-3, 25 KOs) in the first round at the Pabellon de Esgrima, Centro Olimpico, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Fortuna, a former WBA featherweight and super featherweight world champion, dropped Hernandez twice in the one-sided bout. It was Fortuna’s first fight since losing to JoJo Diaz last July.

In the co-feature, former WBC/WBA/IBF super welterweight champion Jeison “Banana” Rosario (22-3-1, 16 KOs) smashed Jesus Perez (12-6-1, 9 KOs) in four rounds. Rosario dropped Perez at the end of round two and got the stoppage in round four.

Unbeaten super featherweight Chris “Primetime” Colbert held a media workout in his hometown of Brooklyn last week as he prepares for his WBA title eliminator against undefeated Dominican Olympian Hector Garcia in the SHOWTIME main event on Saturday from The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

“He’s going to learn firsthand how dangerous I am,” said Colbert. “I’m not worried about anything he brings to the ring. I love when people think that power is going to save them against me.  I don’t really know anything about Garcia. I know he’s got two arms and two legs, and beyond that I expect him to bring his A-game, because he has to against me. There’s no way that I’m letting him come in as a late replacement and beat me. Continue reading “Colbert: I’m all about making adjustments”