Fightnews.com

By Joe Koizumi
Photos: Naoki Fukuda

WBO junior bantamweight champion Kazuto Ioka (27-2, 15) and challenger Ryoji Fukunaga (15-4, 14 KOs), both of Japan, participated in a weigh-in ceremony at the fight venue Ota-city General Gymnasium on Thursday afternoon in Tokyo, Japan. Ioka tipped the beam at the class limit of 52.1 kilogram, while Fukunaga 52.0 kilogram (the figures in pound will be announced at the title bout that will start at 6:30 PM tomorrow). Ioka had been once slated to face IBF ruler Jerwin Ancajas for unification on New Year’s Eve, but it was the Omicron variant that accounted for an abrupt cancellation that prevented Ancajas party from entering Japan. Continue reading “Ioka, Fukunaga make weight”

WBA featherweight super champion Leo “El Terremoto” Santa Cruz takes on Keenan “Bedo” Carbajal on February 5 at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The bout will be a non-title ten-rounder in the super featherweight division and will serve as the co-feature of the Thurman-Barrios PPV. Santa Cruz hasn’t fought in the featherweight division for three years but he has plans to return to the 126-pound ranks.

“I wanted to see how I felt in this training camp before making a decision about what weight I fight at in the future,” said Santa Cruz. “Now I’ve dropped the weight easily, so as long as everything goes well on February 5, I’ll be back at 126 in my next fight.”

Former unified welterweight world champion Keith “One Time” Thurman talked about his February 5 PPV clash against former super lightweight world champion Mario “El Azteca” Barrios on February 5 from Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Thurman. “I’m not injured anymore and I feel great. I’m excited to perform for the fans in Las Vegas once again. It’s not ideal to have a layoff like I had, but you just have to roll with things in life. I’ve spent a lot of time meditating and prioritizing different things. Now the date is set and I can’t wait to get back in action. I truly love this sport. Continue reading “Thurman: I’m coming for greatness”

WBA #8 middleweight Kanat Islam (28-0, 21 KOs) takes on Jimmy “Kilrain” Kelly (25-2, 10 KOs) in the main event on January 21 at the White Sands Event Center in Plant City, Florida. In the co-main event, welterweight Jose Miguel Borrego (19-3, 16 KOs) will be facing “Pistol” Pete Dobson (14-0, 9 KOs). Also in action is welterweight Mark Reyes Jr. (14-1, 12 KOs) against Erick Bone (25-6, 12 KOs). Boxing luminaries Paulie Malignaggi, Roy Jones Jr, and Antonio Tarver will be on hand. The event is presented by Probox Promotions.

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with the undefeated, rising lightweight star Frank “The Ghost” Martin (14-0, 10 KOs) who faces hard-hitting Romero Duno (24-2, 19 KOs) this Saturday, Jan 1 on the “free” Fox portion of the FOX Sports PBC ppv headlined by Luis Ortiz vs. Charles Martin. Martin discusses his start in boxing in Indianapolis and winning the 2016 National Golden Gloves, training under former trainer of the year Derrick James and working with pound-for-pound star Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr., who is also his promoter. Martin also shared his thoughts on what makes the lightweight division so tough with the likes of Tank, Haney, Kambosos, Teofimo and KingRy and much more in this exclusive interview.

_

By Mauricio Sulaimán
Son of José Sulaimán – President of the WBC

This is the last column I will be writing in 2021, a year that will remain in the memory of humanity as one of the most challenging, which made us change and modify our way of living, one that has brought us hope to move forward and brought guidance and knowledge to adjust to everything related to our way of interacting with others, with our loved ones and with our own selves.

For me, it was a year full of satisfaction both on a professional and personal level, but there was an event that has touched me to the depths, and I want to share this experience with you because it is something that has affected my wife, me, and especially my youngest son.

It is a fact and a reality that derived from my work. I must travel constantly. I live with a different rhythm. I have no schedules and for the same reason, I am absent in my family routine. This is where my wife has done a wonderful job to handle everything related to our kids. Everything related to schools basically lays on her. This is how I grew up, too, with my mother at the forefront of the family routine while my father went out to conquer the world. Continue reading “A Complicated Process Inside a Family”

A $10 million purse demand by WBC mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte is not sitting well with Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, who co-promotes WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. “We have offered him a deal with 25 percent and a guarantee and let him negotiate from that, but again he says he wants eight-figures, over ten million, which is out of the question. I don’t know what he is talking about,” Arum told IFL TV. “The WBC will be talking about 25 percent and 75 percent for the champion but he needs to come to the table with a normal type of negotiation.”

With Whyte currently tied up in an arbitration proceeding with the WBC, Arum stated that Andy Ruiz and Robert Helenius are “the two principal guys” he and Frank Warren are considering as Fury’s next challenger.

Inbox

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Mick Akkawy, the Australian trainer of WBA, IBF, WBO, WBC franchise lightweight champion George “Ferocious “Kambosos, has been presented with the WBC trainer’s belt for training Kambosos for his upset victory over Teofimo Lopez on November 27 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The belt is designed in the form of the traditional towel worn by boxing trainers.

“George gave the WBC belt to me when he arrived home from America,” said Akkawy. “I had come home on a earlier flight. I had worked with George for his IBF elimination bout with Lee Selby in Australia and in England. We then worked together for the Teofimo Lopez fight for several months when the fight was postponed several times. We had good sparring partners in Lenny Zappavigna and Terry Nicholas in Australia. Continue reading “Kambosos trainer Akkawy gets WBC belt”

With the new Omicron strain of covid spreading, European countries are starting to shut down again. It was announced that the January 15 match in Paris between heavyweight contenders Tony Yoka and Martin Bakole is being postponed due to restrictions the government is putting on crowd sizes. Only 2,000 would be admitted into the 16,000 seat arena. ESPN+ had planned to air the bout in the USA.

Unbeaten WBA #13 lightweight contender Frank Martin (14-0, 10 KOs) will square off against Romero Duno (24-2, 19 KOs) in a 10-round showdown live on FOX Saturday, January 1 kicking off the New Year from Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. The FOX broadcast begins at 5PM ET/2PM PT and will also see undefeated Cuban heavyweights go toe-to-toe as Geovany Bruzon (6-0, 5 KOs) battles 2016 Olympian Lenier Pero (5-0, 3 KOs) in the 10-round co-feature.

The two-hour FOX kickoff show precedes the all-heavyweight Pay-Per-View telecast featuring WBC #6, IBF #10, WBO #15 contender Luis “King Kong” Ortiz against former heavyweight champion and IBF #2 rated Charles Martin in the main event.

NEW OPPONENT FOR FRANK SANCHEZ

WBC #5, WBO #5 heavyweight contender Frank “The Cuban Flash” Sanchez will now face Christian Hammer in the PPV co-main event. Hammer replaces Carlos Negron, who was forced to withdraw after a positive COVID test.

* * *

Bettors have jumped all over Jonnie Rice for his rematch with Michael Coffie. Rice opened as a +250 underdog. He is now a -150 favorite.

We have some boxing odds from Bet365 for the $39.99 all-heavyweight pay-per-view on New Year’s Day from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

In the main event, Luis Ortiz is a 5:1 favorite over Charles Martin, Frank Sanchez is 25:1 over Carlos Negron, Jonathan Rice opened as a +250 underdog, then was quickly bet down to +120 for his rematch with Michael Coffie (-164), and Viktor Faust is a 50:1 favorite over Iago Kiladze. The bout between Gerald Washington and Ali Eren Demirezen is off the board so far.

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Former WBC heavyweight champion Pinklon Thomas (43-7-1, 34 KOs) talks to Peter Maniatis about defeating Tim Witherspoon for the WBC heavyweight crown, defending successfully against Mike Weaver, losing the world title to Trevor Berbick, being stopped by Mike Tyson, and what a great man Angelo Dundee was. Continue reading “Interview: Pinklon Thomas”

Local super featherweight favorite Matt “Sweet Child” Conway (20-2, 8 KOs) will fight for the vacant IBA title headlining Gionta Management’s “Winter Mayhem” card on January 15th at Pittsburgh Shrine Center in Cheswick, Pennsylvania. Conway takes on cross-state rival Avery Sparrow (10-3, 3 KOs) of Philadelphia in the 12-round main event.

In the co-feature, lightweight Ryizeemmion “The Humble Beast” Ford (6-1, 4 KOs) takes on Lonnie Jackson, Jr. (5-2-2, 2 KOs) in a six-rounder.

“We have a great, action-packed show lined up here to start the new year,” promoter Derek Gionta said. “Matt Conway versus Avery Sparrow is a TV-caliber fight. Each fight on the undercard is very intriguing as well. Expect fireworks!”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Australian boxing’s activity was stopped for several months because of Covid-19 during the year but the high point of 2021 came when George “Ferocious” Kambosos captured the IBF, WBA, WBO, and WBC franchise lightweight crown by outpointing Teofimo Lopez in Madison Square Garden on November 17. He will make his first defense of the championship in Australia, probably against WBC champion Devin Haney or former world champion Vasiliy Lomanchenko

Kambosos received global exposure on Fightnews.com® in 2016 first with several video interviews later. Fightnews.com congratulates George on a great victory. Continue reading “Aussie Roundup 2021”

Unfortunately, the GGG-Murata middleweight unification fight scheduled for this week got canceled due to Japan’s border closure to foreigners to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

However, there is still one more world title fight to come in 2021. On Friday (December 31), WBO super flyweight champion Kazuto Ioka defends his title against Ryoji Fukunaga in Tokyo. Ioka is a four-division world champion. No U.S. TV as of now.

2022 starts with a bang. A $39.99 all-heavyweight pay-per-view on Saturday (January 1) offers up five fights from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

The PPV line-up is:

Luis Ortiz vs. Charles Martin
Frank Sanchez vs. Carlos Negron
Jonathan Rice vs. Michael Coffie 2
Gerald Washington vs. Ali Eren Demirezen
Viktor Faust vs. Iago Kiladze

Prior to the PPV, FS1 will broadcast some of the undercard action (fighters are TBA).

By the way, the boxing PPV starts at 8PM ET/5PM PT, so it will go head-to-head with the end of the Rose Bowl (probably a blowout) and the meaningless Sugar Bowl. No conflict with either of the CFP national championship semifinal games.

By Ron Jackson

Kevin Lerena (26-1, 13 KOs) who made his mark in the cruiserweight class winning the South African title and the IBO belt, has now officially announced that will be fighting in the heavyweight division in the future.

He is scheduled to meet the 35-year-old Bogdan Dinu (20-3, 16 KOs) from Romania on February 26 next year at Emperors Palace near Kempton Park in what is really his second fight in the heavyweight class, having stopped Patrick Ferguson in five rounds in his last fight. Continue reading “Can Kevin Lerena make it at heavyweight?”

19-year-old welterweight prospect Vito “White Magic” Mielnicki Jr. (10-1, 7 KOs) scored a tenth round TKO over Nicholas “Nice Nick” DeLomba (16-4, 5 KOs) in the main event of a special FOX-televised Christmas Day boxing card at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Mielnicki launched a major assault in round three but DeLomba survived. After that, it was a methodical performance by Mielnicki until he rocked DeLomba in round ten and DeLomba’s corner pulled their man out. DeLomba complained to no avail. Time was 1:49.

Unbeaten WBA #6 super welterweight Yoelvis Gómez (5-0, 5 KOs) destroyed “Cassius” Clay Collard (9-6-3, 4 KOs) in the first round. Gomez dropped Collard in round one and got a referee’s stoppage after a vicious follow-up barrage. Time was 2:11. Collard created a buzz last year with three straight wins over unbeaten fighters, but he is now firmly entrenched at journeyman status after suffering his fourth straight loss.

Unbeaten middleweight Joey Spencer (13-0, 10 KOs) scored an explosive fifth round knockout against Limberth Ponce (18-5, 11 KOs). A left/right combination finished Ponce after four competitive rounds. Time was 1:24. Continue reading “Mielnicki, Gomez, Spencer stop foes”

Vito Mielnicki Jr 146.4 vs. Nicholas DeLomba 145.4
Joey Spencer 156.4 vs. Limberth Ponce 155.6
Rajon Chance 125 vs. Elon De Jesús 123.8
Yoelvis Gómez 157.4 vs. Clay Collard 158.8
Malik Nelson 127.6 vs. Prince Martin 126
Kenneth Sims, Jr. 145.8 vs. Keeshawn Williams 146.4
Travon Marshall 149.6 vs. Brian Jones 148.8
Michael Anderson 147 vs. Noe López 146.6
Vincent Gigante 144.8 vs. Robbie Rose 146.8
Dwyke Flemmings 153.2 vs. George Gethers 152.2
Elijah Flores 142.8 vs. Shannon Hawkins 143

Venue: Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey
Promoter: TGB Promotions
TV: FOX, FS1

Forget football and basketball. There’s plenty of live boxing on Christmas Day.

Welterweight Kenneth Sims Jr. (16-2-1, 5 KOs) will take on undefeated prospect Keeshawn Williams (8-0-1, 2 KOs) in an eight-round showdown that tops an FS1 boxing telecast from Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The FS1 show will begin at 6PM ET/3PM PT and also features unbeaten super welterweight prospect Travon Marshall (3-0, 2 KOs) in a four/six-round fight against Brian Jones (15-12, 9 KOs), plus a six-round welterweight duel between Michael Anderson (21-3-1, 15 KOs) and Noe Lopez (10-4-1, 4 KOs).

Following the FS1 telecast, FOX will air more live boxing from the same venue with welterweight Vito Mielnicki Jr. taking on Nicholas DeLomba in the 10-round main event. The broadcast will also see unbeaten prospect Joey Spencer battling Limberth Ponce for eight-rounds of middleweight action in the co-main event, plus featherweights Rajon Chance and Elon de Jesus duel in a six-round rematch, and unbeaten super welterweight prospect Yoelvis Gomez faces Clay Collard in a six-round attraction.

After two straight losses and nearly three years out of the ring, former Top Rank middleweight Konstantin Ponomarev (35-2, 14 KOs) badly needed a win. He got it on Friday night with a second round knockout over 41-year-old Charlan Takam (1-13, 1 KO) at the EcoTime Sports Complex in Miass, Russia. The mismatch was pretty much one-way traffic, ending with a dazed Takam sitting on the ropes for the count.

In a clash of former world title challengers, WBO #4 light heavyweight Maxim Vlasov (46-4, 26 KOs) scored a ten round unanimous decision over former WBA title challenger Felix Valera (19-5, 16 KOs) on Friday night at Soviet Wings Sports Palace in Moscow, Russia. Rebounding from his narrow WBO world title loss to Joe Smith Jr. in April, Vlasov dropped Valera in round two and twice in round four, however, the very tough Valera managed to hang in for the full ten rounds.

2020 Olympic featherweight gold medalist Albert Batyrgaziev (5-0, 5 KOs) scored a fourth round TKO over former world title challenger Franklin Manzanilla (20-8, 19 KOs). Batyrgaziev pressured Manzanilla the whole fight and dropped him twice in round four to end it.

Unbeaten super lightweight Khariton Agrba (7-0, 4 KOs) stopped 38-year-old Petr Petrov (42-7-2, 23 KOs) in three rounds. You might remember Petrov winning ESPN’s Boxcino lightweight tournament in 2014.

Super middleweight Yamaguchi Falcao (19-1-1, 8 KOs) meets Fernando Ezequiel Farias (10-1-2, 4 KOs) in the main event of “Down & Dirty” on February 19 at Melrose Memorial Hall in Melrose, Massachusetts. Originally from Brazil but living and training in Florida, 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Falcao won all three of his fights in 2021 while capturing the WBC Latino, WBA Fedecaribe, and ABF Continental Americas titles. Falcao-Farias is scheduled for ten rounds for Falcao’s WBC Latino title.

In the co-featured bout of the evening, rising middleweight Connor Coyle (14-0, 6 KOs) meets Martel Fidel Rios 23-20-4, 13 KOs). Continue reading “Falcao headlines Feb 19”

WBC #13 and WBO #14 light heavyweight Ali Izmailov (6-0, 4 KOs) will return to action against Israel Duffus (20-7, 17 KOs) on the untelevised undercard of the January 7 ShoBox: The New Generation event from the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida. The fight with Duffus will be Izmailov’s second with new trainer John David Jackson.

“I am twice the fighter I was last time you saw me,” said Izmailov through an interpreter. “I have had more time to work with John David Jackson and with all that he is teaching me, I have become a new kind of animal. You will see me destroy to the head and body with non-stop intelligent pressure.” Continue reading “Ali Izmailov returns Jan 7”

Former world champion Felix Sturm, 42, has signed a promotional agreement with Ludger Inholte’s newly founded LIB Boxpromotion and returns to the ring on March 26 in an IBO world super middleweight title eliminator against István Szili at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, Germany.

IBF #1 featherweight contender Luis Alberto “El Venado” Lopez (24-2, 13 KOs) has signed a new multi-year promotional contract with Top Rank.

Probellum has announced the promotional signing of cruiserweight Noel Michelin (25-2, 10 KOs).

Former IBF super middleweight world champion Caleb “Sweethands” Plant returned to his hometown of Ashland City, Tennessee, to give out 100 hams to local families.

The Staples Center in Los Angeles, site of many legendary boxing matches, will now be called the Crypto.com Arena.

6’6 super welterweight Sebastian “Towering Inferno” Fundora vs. Erickson Lubin is being mooted as the co-feature for Benavidez-Lemieux early next year.

The WBO World Championship Committee has reviewed the medical evidence supplied by John Riel Casimero and ruled that Casimero will retain his WBO bantamweight championship status. Casimero was scheduled to defend against mandatory challenger Paul Butler on December 11, but Casimero pulled out before the fight due to illness. The WBO gave Casimero ten days to deliver proof of his condition, which he has complied with.

Butler was offered a chance to face Joseph Agbeko for an interim title, which Butler declined. The WBO World Championship Committee gave Probellum 15 days to determine whether they will proceed to reschedule the Casimero-Butler mandatory bout.

The Committee also prohibited Casimero from fighting YouTuber Jormiel Labador in a PPV fight on December 28 or taking any other fight before making his mandatory defense.