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After a fracas at Friday’s weigh-in, WBC #2 super lightweight Jose “Chon” Zepeda (35-2, 27 KOs) needed just 1:45 to get revenge against Josue “The Prodigy” Vargas (19-2, 9 kOs) on Saturday night at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. Zepeda brutally dropped Vargas two times to retain his WBC silver belt and is now positioned for a world title opportunity in 2022. Zepeda’s brother and trainer was banned from ringside after the weigh-in melee.

“I was ready. I was 100 percent ready, and I told him in the press conference there’s levels to this. He was the one who wanted to fight me. I just accepted the fight, and it showed today that boxing is not a game in there. There’s levels to this.” Continue reading “Zepeda annihilates Vargas in one”

Unbeaten IBF #3, WBA #5, WBO #5, and WBC #8 welterweight Jaron “Boots” Ennis (28-0, 26 KOs) destroyed Thomas Dulorme (25-6-1, 16 KOs) in the first round on Saturday night at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Ennis obliterated Dulorme twice to end it after just 1:49. This was Boots’ eleventh career first round knockout.

“It was a good knockout,” said Ennis. “You know me, I wanted to show my skills and abilities. I’m just thankful for this opportunity. Now it’s on to the next. Let’s get the big names…I’ve been ready for a world title two years ago. I want the top guys: Errol Spence Jr., Yordenis Ugas, Shawn Porter, Terence Crawford, Keith Thurman. I’m ranked #3 in the IBF, so Errol Spence Jr. is who I want next.” Continue reading “Ennis destroys Dulorme in one”

Bantamweight Jonas Sultan (18-5, 11 KOs) won a ten round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten bantamweight Carlos Caraballo (14-1, 14 KOs) in the Zepeda-Vargas co-feature on Saturday night at MSG’s Hulu Theater in New York City. Sultan dropped Caraballo in round two. Sultan dropped Caraballo again in round three, but Caraballo got a knockdown when Sultan’s glove touched the canvas. Sultan dropped Caraballo again in rounds six and nine. Despite four knockdowns, scores were only 94-93 3x for Sultan.

Sultan stated, “This is boxing. This is war. And I came to win tonight. Caraballo is a tough man, but I wanted this one.” Continue reading “Sultan takes Caraballo’s “O””

By Kurt Wolfheimer at ringside

Welterweight Shinard “Showtime” Bunch (17-1-1, 14KOs) put on a nearly flawless performance with a first round blowout of thirty-seven fight veteran Wifredo Buelvas (22-15,16 KO’s. Bunch trapped Buelvas in the corner and sent him to the canvas with a short left on the chin. The tough Columbian rose to his feet.but Bunch would not let him off the hook as he landed a blistering right hand which sent Buelvas crashing to the canvas. Buelvas landed on his back with the back of his head bouncing off the canvas. the bout was immediately waived of without a count .at 1:52 of the opening round. The four-bout card was was promoted by Hard Hitting Promotions. Continue reading “Bunch destroys Buelvas in AC”

214lb heavyweight Alen “The Savage” Babic (9-0, 9 KOs) blew away two-time world title challenger Eric Molina (28-8, 20 KOs) in two rounds on Saturday night at The O2 in London. Babic dropped the 39-year-old Molina seconds into round one and then floored him four times in round two to end it. Time was 1:30. After the fight, Babic called out Dave Allen. He will return in December. As for Molina, promoter Eddie Hearn stated, “That’s his last payday from us.”

In a WBC/IBF women’s super featherweight unification clash, Chantelle Cameron’s (14-0, 8 KOs) outscored “Merciless” Mary McGee (27-3, 15 KOs) over ten rounds. Scores were 100-90, 99-91, 99-92. Continue reading “Babic crushes Molina in two”

By Héctor Villarreal

Panamanian superfly prospect Ronal “El Gallito” Batista (13-2, 8 KOs) outpointed Mexican Hytan Ramos (40-5-2, 2 KOs) over 8 rounds (78-74, 78-74, 77-75) on the second event of the Boxeo Caliente series promoted by Sampson Boxing on Friday night at Hotel El Panama.

Cuban Pablo Vicente (18-1, 15 KOs) went to the distance with Javier Herrera (17-5-1, 8 KOs) from Argentina, to score a unanimous decision (98-90, 98-90, 99-89) to claim the WBC super feather championship of the Americas.

Jonathan “El Bloque” Torres (3-0, 0 KOs) overcame a knockdown in the 4th and final round to escape with a win by unanimous decision over debutant Alcibiades Ballesteros.

As a late substitute, Venezuelan veteran, based in Panama, Juan “Pequita” Lopez (15-9-1, 14 KOs) demolished Mexican Jesus Guzman (7-5, 5KOs) by impressive KO with his first punch in round 7 of a fight scheduled to 8. This was the second brutal KO given by Lopez in the last 9 days, after stopping Jesus Mojica (7-2, 5 KOs) on October 20, also as an underdog.

Mendez to defend WBO 105lb belt against Taniguchi

By Joe Koizumi

Ohashi Promotions on Friday announced a world title twinbill in Tokyo, Japan, on December 14. WBA/IBF bantamweight champion “The Monster” Naoya Inoue (21-0, 18 KOs) will put his belts on the line against Thailand’s hard-puncher Aran Dipaen (12-2, 11 KOs) in the main event. For Inoue, it will be the first time to appear here in Japan since his grueling fight with Nonito Donaire in November 2019. Dipaen, IBF Pan Pacific 118-pound titlist, previously fought in Japan and impressively dispatched Ryohei Arakawa in two quick rounds in 2019.

On the same bill, WBO 105-pound champion Wilfredo Mendez (16-1, 6 KOs), Puerto Rico, will defend his belt against WBO#1 Masataka Taniguchi (14-3, 9 KOs) over twelve frames. Taniguchi once had an ambitious shot at the WBO belt against Filipino Vic Saludar, losing a unanimous nod in February 2019. It was from Saludar that Mendez won the same belt in San Juan six months later. It will be a competitive confrontation of southpaws.

Lightweight Miguel Angel “El Gallo” Marrero (10-1-1, 4 KOs) scores a ten round unanimous decision over Victor Betancourt Jr. (27-4, 14 KOs) on Friday night at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Florida. Scores were 97-93, 96-94, 95-94.

Earlier, former IBF #1 light heavyweight contender Fanlong “Cold Blood” Meng (17-0, 10 KOs) remained undefeated with a ten round unanimous decision over Israel “Bumaye” Duffus (20-7, 17 KOs). Scores were 97-93, 97-93, 96-94.

In a huge upset, veteran super welterweight Juan Carlos Abreu (24-6-1, 22 KOs) knocked out highly regarded and previously unbeaten Tursynbay Kulakhmet (4-1, 3 KOs) in round seven to seize the WBC International title on Friday night at the famous York Hall in London. Abreu came off the canvas in round two to drop Kulakhmet and then lay him out face down with his follow-up barrage.

Unbeaten WBO #2 junior lightweight Archie “Sharpshooter” Sharp (21-0, 9 KOs) outpointed Alexis Boureima Kabore (28-5, 7 KOs) over ten rounds in the main event to retain his WBO Global belt. Scores were 100-90 3x.

Jamal “Shango” James 145.25 vs. Radzhab Butaev 146.25
(WBA welterweight title)

Jaron “Boots” Ennis 146.5 vs. Thomas Dulorme 146
Michel Rivera 138 vs. Matias Romero 135

Venue: Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas
Promoter: TGB Promotions
TV: Showtime

YouTuber Jake “The Problem Child” Paul (4-0, 3 KOs) will face undefeated professional boxer and U.K. reality TV star Tommy “TNT” Fury (7-0, 4 KOs) in a sanctioned eight-round cruiserweight bout after months of heated back-and-forth between the two men. Paul and Fury will headline a Showtime PPV event on Saturday, December 18 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The bout will be contested at a 192-pound catchweight. Continue reading “Jake Paul-Tommy Fury Dec 18 in Tampa”

Jose Zepeda 139.4 vs. Josue Vargas 139
(WBC silver super lightweight title)
After Zepeda and Vargas made weight, they jostled while posing and it quickly evolved in a melee.

Carlos Caraballo 117.6 vs. Jonas Sultan 117.6
Jonathan Guzman 123 vs. Carlos Jackson 123
Mathew Gonzalez 143 vs. Dakota Linger 141.8
Jahi Tucker 127.6 vs. Jorge Rodrigo Sosa 125.3
Pablo Valdez 148.4 vs. Alejandro Martinez 148.6
Raymond Cuadrado 129.6 vs. Michael Land 129.4
Kasir Goldston 142 vs. Marc Misiura 142.2

Venue: MSG Hulu Theater, New York City
Promoter: Top Rank
TV: ESPN+

Junior lightweights Luis Melendez (16-1, 13 KOs) and Thomas Mattice (17-2-1, 13 KOs), on less than two weeks’ notice, agreed to face off Friday, November 5 in the eight-round co-feature to the Mikaela Mayer-Maiva Hamadouche title unification tilt at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, part of Curio Collection by Hilton.

Melendez-Mattice replaces the Janibek Alimkhanuly-Hassan N’Dam middleweight showdown, which has been postponed to a later date.

Chantelle Cameron 139.6 vs. Mary McGee 139.7
(WBC/IBF female super lightweight titles)

Alen Babic 214.3 vs. Eric Molina 257

Johnny Fisher 242 vs. Alvaro Terrero 222
Craig Richards 175 vs. Marek Matyja 174.5
Youssef Khoumari 129.75 vs. Jorge Castaneda 129
Jordan Thompson 199.2 vs. Piotr Podlucki 195.3

Venue: The O2 in London
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN

Chantelle Cameron vs. Mary McGee is the main event in Saturday’s DAZN action at The O2 in London, but the clash between heavyweights Alen Babic and Eric Molina arguably could be.

“I want to be knocked out,” proclaimed the entertaining Babic at Thursday’s press conference. “How can you be fearful when I want to be defeated? I crave it, please somebody defeat me, I love it. I want to take the 0 from my record, I don’t like it. F**k you 0. Continue reading “Babic: I want to be knocked out”

The Telemundo Fall Series Finale main event this Friday will feature the classic rivalry between Puerto Rico & Mexico.

Lightweight Victor Betancourt Jr. (27-3-14 KO’s) of Mexicali, Mexico will take on Miguel Angel “El Gallo” Marrero (9-1-1, 4 KOs) of Manati, Puerto Rico.in a ten-rounder for the vacant WBA Fedecentro title.

The site of the event will be the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, FL with (All Star Boxing) Felix “Tutico” Zabala promoting.

Betancourt Jr. has fought outside of Mexico multiple times so he has no concern for fighting Marrero in front of a pro-Puerto Rico crowd. He is also moving up to a new weight class where there are many high-profile names. An impressive win on Telemundo along with winning the WBA Fedecentro lightweight title would be a good first step toward future opportunities. Continue reading “Betancourt Jr. headlines Telemundo tonight”

By Gabriel F. Cordero

In a historic day for world boxing, the presidents of the four main organizations met within the Annual Congress of the World Boxing Organization (WBO) in Puerto Rico seeking that a single champion per division prevails.

Mauricio Sulaimán from the World Boxing Council (WBC), Gilberto Mendoza from the World Boxing Association (WBA), Daryl Peoples from the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and host Francisco Valcárcel from the Organization World Cup (WBO), met making it clear the importance of maintaining relationships for the benefit of the sport.

They will look for the unification fights between the champions. The WBA reaffirmed its plan to try to have only one champion in each division.

By David Finger

Boxing fans in Las Cruces, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas will have the opportunity to watch several of their local prospects in action this Saturday, October 30th…just not at the same venue as they were originally told.

The October 30th “Fright Night” card was supposed to take place at the Las Cruces Convention Center before it was announced that the fight was cancelled. But the event was saved by matchmaker Isidro Castillo, who was able to salvage the card and secure a new venue in the Pan American Center (also in Las Cruces). Continue reading “Southwest prospects featured in Las Cruces, NM”

WBA Welterweight Champion Jamal “Shango” James and unbeaten contender Radzhab Butaev went face-to-face at a final press conference Thursday before they meet in the SHOWTIME main event this Saturday, at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

Thursday’s press conference also featured undefeated rising welterweight star Jaron “Boots” Ennis and veteran contender Thomas Dulorme, who meet in the co-main event, plus unbeaten lightweight contender Michel Rivera and Matías Romero, who square off to open the telecast.

Here is what the fighters had to say Thursday: Continue reading “James-Butaev Final Press Conference”

Jeovanis Barraza 153.5 vs. Jorge Martin Garcia 153.5
Anthony Hines 157.5 vs. Fidel Monterrosa 157.5
Dennis Ventura 235 vs. Vercell Webster 236.5
Sean Bey 222.5 vs. Brandon Grundy 266
Gabriel Morales 145 vs. Paulo DeSouza ??
Jonathan De Pina 135 vs. Stacey Anderson 136.5
Alexandro Paulino (137 vs. Christian Danilo Guido??

Venue: Melrose Memorial Hall in Melrose, Massachusetts
Promoter: Reyes Boxing
TV: throwdownsports.com

Miguel “El Gallo” Marrero 135 vs. Victor Betancourt Jr 134
(WBA Fedecentro lightweight title)

Fanlong “Cold Blood” Meng 174.5 vs. Israel “Bumaye” Duffus 175
Gianni Garcia 118 vs. Savion Morales 118
Luis Cabrera 134 vs. Eduardo Melendez 134

Venue: Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Florida
Promoter: All Star Boxing
TV: Telemundo

By Héctor Villarreal

Hytan Ramos 114.75 vs Ronal Batista 115

Pablo Vicente 129.5 vs Javier Herrera 129.25
Sebastian Papeschi 161.25 vs Hector Zepeda 160
Jonathan Torres 145.25 vs Alcibiades Ballesteros 145.25
Jesus Guzman 126.75 vs. Juan Lopez 123.5
Alexis Moreno 129 vs. Juan Fong 130

Sampson Boxing
Hotel El Panama
TyC Sports

Uzcategui tests positive for banned substance

Unbeaten two-time world champion David “El Bandera Roja” Benavídez (24-0, 21 KOs) will make his homecoming return to Phoenix, Ariz. against 168-pound contender Kyrone Davis (16-2-1, 6 KO) in a 10-round match that headlines live on SHOWTIME Saturday, November 13.

Benavídez was originally scheduled to fight in a WBC eliminator against former world champion Jose Uzcátegui, who was forced to withdraw due to a failed pre-fight drug test.

After two highly successful outdoor Fight Club OC shows in September and October, Fight Club OC will return to the friendly confines of The Hangar for their Thursday, November 11th six bout show.

But with Covid-19 restrictions still in place for indoor events over 1,000 fans, Fight Club OC is going to make it very easy for unvaccinated fans who want to attend. Currently, fans have to show a Vaccination Card or negative Covid test within the past 72 hours to attend on November 11th, but at the Thursday, November 11th show, fans can get a FREE Covid-19 Antigen test with results in 10 minutes.