Fightnews.com

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum is confident former world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko will challenge WBA, WBO, IBF champion George “Ferocious” Kambosos in Australia late in 2022.

“Kambosos will make a voluntary defense then could fight Lomachenko in Australia,” Arum told Sky Sports. “I have promoted fights in Australia. It’s a great place for fights. They have great fans who would welcome Lomachenko. I am optimistic that at the end of next year we will have Loma back fighting for the titles.”

Bob Arum, of course, promoted the WBO welterweight championship bout between Manny Pacquiao and Jeff Horn that attracted 51,000 fans in Brisbane in 2017.

Jesse Hart 176.8 vs. David Murray 189
Nafear Charles 138.4 vs. Jonathan Hernan Godoy 140.8
Joshafat Ortiz 131.2 vs. Rondale Hubbert 139
Steven Pichardo 159 vs. Dewayne Williams 160
Boimah Karmo 151 vs. Denzel Fudd 150
Jerrod Miner 117 vs. Edwin Cortes 114.2
Derrick Whitley 144 vs. Raekwon Butler 140
Jose Nieves 124 vs. Josh Aarons 124.8
Felix Parrilla 132.8 vs. Ryan Venable 140.8

Venue: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia
Promoter: RDR Promotions
Stream: BXNGTV.com
1st Bell: 7 PM

Nonito Donaire 117.2 vs. Reymart Gaballo 117
(WBC bantamweight title)

Kudratillo Abdukakhorov 146.2 vs. Cody Crowley 145.4
Brandun Lee 140 vs. Juan Heraldez 144*
Heraldez has two hours to lose 2 pounds.

Venue: Dignity Health Sports Park , Carson, California
Promoter: TGB Promotions
TV: Showtime

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Conor Benn 146.5 vs. Chris Algieri 146
(WBA Continental title)

Katie Taylor 134.75 vs. Firuza Sharipova 134.25
(undisputed female lightweight title)

Venue: M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN

Vasyl Lomachenko 134.4 vs. Richard Commey 134.2
Jared Anderson 240 vs. Oleksandr Teslenko 213.8
Keyshawn Davis 137.8 vs. Jose Zaragoza 136.2
Nico Ali Walsh 159.2 vs. Reyes Sanchez 161.8
Xander Zayas 152.6 vs. Alessio Mastronunzio 152.2
Pablo Valdez 146 vs. Julio Cesar Sanchez 149.6
James Wilkins 127.2 vs. Juan Tapia 129.4
Joe Ward 175.2 vs. Britton Norwood 176.4
Kelvin Davis 144 vs. Ryan Schwartzberg 144.8
John Bauza 140.2 vs. Michael Williams Jr. 138.6

Venue: Madison Square Garden, NYC
Promoter: Top Rank
TV: ESPN, ESPN+

WBO bantamweight champion John Riel Casimero has had to pull out of tomorrow’s fight with Paul Butler after being too ill to make it to the weigh-in. Butler now faces Joseph Agbeko for the WBO interim title tomorrow after both men weighed in at the bantamweight limit.

Casimero has been ordered to “show cause” by submitting a medical certification and medical record pertaining to his admittance at the American Hospital Dubai in Dubai, UAE. Failure to comply will result in Casimero being stripped of the title and the Butler-Agbeko winner being elevated to full status as the WBO bantamweight champion.

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IBF flyweight champion Sunny Edwards and challenger Jayson Mama both weighed 111.5 for their world title fight which has been elevated to the main event Saturday night at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.

Dmitry Bivol 174.2 vs. Umar Salamov 175
(WBA light heavyweight title)

Magomed Kurbanov 154 vs. Patrick Teixeira 153.8

Venue: KRK “Uralets”, Ekaterinburg, Russia
Promoter: World of Boxing, RCC Boxing
TV: DAZN

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Today’s scheduled fight against Egorov is canceled

Unfortunately, World Boxing Association (WBA) cruiserweight super champion Arsen Goulamirian tested positive for Covid-19 and his defense against Aleksei Egorov today in Ekaterinburg, Russia, is called off. The 200-pound monarch was supposed to reappear in the ring after almost two years of inactivity but his final Covid test before the mandatory fight gave the result that will not allow him to return just yet.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

WBO#9, IBF#9 Keita Obara (25-4-1, 22 KOs), 147, kept his Japanese welterweight belt as he quickly decked JBC#3 Masaya Tamayama (14-3, 8 KOs), 147, in the opening session, opened a gash over the left optic and finally halted him with the deteriorated cut at 2:44 of the fifth round in a scheduled ten on Thursday in Tokyo, Japan.  Obara, a 5’11” hard-puncher, failed to win the IBF 140-pound belt with an annihilation by Edward Troyanovsky in Russia in 2016 and lost a unanimous 12-round decision to unbeaten Uzbekistani Kudratillo Abdukakhorov in Pennsylvania in 2019.  Keita, so powerful beyond the Japanese level, kept his national belt twice, and said he would like to meet name world-rated opponents in 2022. Continue reading “IBF/WBO#9 Obara halts Tamayama, keeps Japanese 147lb belt”

Adrian Corona 132.4 vs. Jesus Perez 133
Ali Akhmedov 170 vs. Paul Valenzuela Jr. 170.8
Marco Deckman 193.2 vs. Santario Martin 198.4
Ruben Islas 132 vs. Lucnor Diserne 135
Callum Walsh 155.6 vs. Earl Henry 156
Eric Priest 161.2 vs. Jamarcus Warren 161
Raul Chavez 131.4 vs. Luis Montellano 130
Dariial Kuchmenov 128.8 vs. Paul Amaro 132.6

Venue: The Quiet Cannon, Montebello, California
Promoter: Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions
TV: PPV / bxngtv.com ($19.99)

WBC bantamweight champion and future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire and unbeaten WBC interim champion Reymart Gaballo went face to face at the final press conference Thursday before they meet in an all-Filipino main event live on Showtime this Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

Nonito Donaire: “For me, after the Naoya Inoue fight, I saw that I still had a purpose in this sport. I came in strong against Nordine Oubaali in my last fight because I have that purpose. That purpose is to become undisputed champion of the world…Reymart is a really good fighter, but I’m very confident. I have bigger fish to go after following this fight. We’re both going to do our best but victory is the only thing I’m here for.”

Reymart Gaballo: “It’s an honor to fight my idol in the ring…this is going to be a very good fight and I’m going to do everything that I can to make sure that my hand is raised after the final bell rings.” Continue reading “Donaire-Gaballo Final Press Conference”

Welterweights Conor Benn and Chris Algieri faced off at the final press conference ahead of Saturday’s action at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, live worldwide on DAZN. The WBA Continental title is on the line.

Conor Benn: “I know Algieri’s going to come in there to win, I’ll exploit his mistakes because I see holes in his armor. I’m just ready to fight man, I always get like this during fight week, get intense and animated – ready to go. I want to get in there Saturday night and iron someone out…people say he can’t punch but anyone with 8oz gloves can punch. I’m well prepared, I’m not concerned about what he brings to the table because I know what I can do.”

Chris Algieri: “I’ve been around this game a long time and I’ve been in with the elite of the elite, I’ve been on both sides of the table. At the end of the day, skills pay the bills and experience kills, so we’re coming in here with our experience, our skills, and we’re going to utilize that plan to find a victory.” Continue reading “Benn-Algieri Final Press Conference”

Lightweights Vasiliy Lomachenko and Richard Commey faced off at the final press conference for their clash Saturday evening at Madison Square Garden New York City.

Vasiliy Lomachenko: “Madison Square Garden is a special place for me because during my professional career I had a lot of memorable fights here. It is the Mecca of Boxing. Thank you, Commey, you are a strong fighter. I think we are giving a very interesting fight to the fans. As I said before, he has big power and reach and has experience and a big heart. I’m very excited because this is the next step of my boxing career, and it will be very interesting for the fans.”

Richard Commey: I’m feeling good. I’m very excited. This is my second time coming here. The last time didn’t work out well for me {against Teofimo Lopez}, so I have the opportunity to right the wrong. I’ve got all of my country {Ghana} behind me. I’ve got all of the little children back home who want to be where I am, and I know it’s not an easy fight, but I’m coming. Losing is part of boxing, so regardless of how you lose, it’s all about coming back. So whatever happened with the Teofimo Lopez fight, it is what it is and I took it as a man. I knew I needed to come back and I came back very strong, and that is the reason why Loma chose me, and Saturday we are going to see what happens.”

In the co-feature, heavyweight Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson (10-0, 10 KOs) returns in an eight-rounder against Ukraine’s Oleksandr Teslenko (17-1, 13 KOs). Continue reading “Loma-Commey Final Press Conference”

WBC featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr. (31-1, 18 KOs) returns for the first time in nearly two years to make his mandatory defense against Mark Magsayo in a Showtime Championship Boxing main event on January 22 at a location to be determined. The rarely seen Russell has defended his WBC belt just five times since he dethroned Jhonny González in March 2015. Magsayo (23-0, 16 KOs), who is trained by Freddie Roach, is the number two contender for the WBC and is coming off a spectacular knockout of former champ Julio Ceja.

Former MMA world champion Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley discussed his upcoming PPV boxing rematch against YouTuber Jake “The Problem Child” Paul with media members on Thursday ahead of the sequel to their August clash won by Paul.

“I watched the first fight fully for the first time yesterday and I felt like I won rounds four through eight. And that’s not counting what should have been a 10-8 in round four with the knockdown. If I add in some more volume, I’m going to get the knockout. I don’t want to look ahead, but I’m not losing to Jake Paul. I’m getting the finish. I’m not leaving it in anyone else’s hands. That will probably set us up to fight a third time. Continue reading “Woodley: I’m not losing to Jake Paul”

Top Rank already has all five male Tokyo Olympians under contract: Troy Isley (3-0, 2 KOs), Tiger Johnson (1-0, 1 KO), and silver medalists Ragan (4-0, 1 KO), Keyshawn Davis (3-0, 2 KOs) and Richard Torrez Jr. (pro debut).

They have now inked a multi-year professional contract with featherweight prospect Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington, the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials champion at 125 pounds. Carrington missed out on an opportunity to qualify for Tokyo after the American qualifiers were canceled in 2020 and 2021.

Carrington, 1-0 as a pro, will be trained by Kay Koroma and his Top Rank debut is set for January 15 on the Joe Smith Jr.-Calum Johnson undercard at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, NY.

Don King Promotions won the auction for the World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight championship bout between Trevor Bryan and Mahmoud Charr. The auction was held today in Miami and King’s company won the rights after placing a bid of US$1,000,101.80 through its representative Tony Gonzalez.

The promoter informed that the possible venues for the fight are Warren, Ohio, Las Vegas, and South Florida, all with a date of January 29. The bout will continue the WBA continues world title reduction plan.

Today in Ekaterinburg, Russia, WBA super champion Arsen Gulamiryan (26-0, 18 KOs) and challenger Alexei Yegorov (11-0, 7 KOs) both made weight for their world title clash Friday night at the RCC Boxing Academy.

Gulamiryan weighed 197.5 pounds, while Egorov scaled in at 199.

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The WBC has officially ordered WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury to face mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte. WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman confirmed the news on social media. “The WBC hereby orders the start of the free negotiations period pursuant to the WBC Rules & Regulations for the mandatory bout between WBC World Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury and Mandatory Challenger and WBC Interim World Champion Dillian Whyte,” wrote Sulaiman. 

The World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight purse bid for the mandatory fight between Yordenis Ugás and Eimantas Stanionis, scheduled to be held tomorrow, was suspended after both sides reached an agreement. The teams of both boxers communicated the arrangement to the WBA with details of the date, place, and conditions of the negotiations to be announced once everything is totally finalized.

Two important purse bids for WBA mandatory fights will take place on Thursday in Miami, Florida.

The first will be the heavyweight title between champion Trevor Bryan and champion in recess Mahmoud Charr at 11:00 a.m. local time, which will be followed by the welterweight title between super champion Yordenis Ugas and his mandatory challenger Eimantas Stanionis.

Both bouts were ordered with the intention of furthering the WBA’s world title reduction plan and pit well-ranked fighters against each other in fights that are competitive and of interest to the public. Continue reading “Bryan-Charr, Ugas-Stanionis purse bids tomorrow”

Showtime will show a replay of the pay-per-view clash between WBA lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Isaac “Pit Bull” Cruz to open Saturday’s live telecast from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, featuring the all-Filipino showdown between WBC bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (41-6, 27 KOs) and unbeaten Reymart Gaballo (24-0, 20 KOs).

Unbeaten welterweights collide in the co-feature with Kudratillo Abdukakhorov (18-0, 10 KOs) against Cody Crowley (19-0, 9 KOs). And in the opening bout, unbeaten super lightweight Brandun Lee (23-0, 21 KOs) takes on Juan Heraldez (16-1-1, 10 KOs). Good card top to bottom.

Probellum has announced that Saturday’s world title twinbill from Dubai will be available on AXS TV and Fight Network starting at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT.

“We’re thrilled to announce news of Probellum’s broadcast deal across the USA and Canada, giving millions of fight fans the opportunity to watch our huge events this month,” said Richard Schaefer, President of Probellum. “One of our key goals when we launched Probellum was to make our events accessible to all, and this broadcast deal with AXS TV and Fight Network will achieve just that, allowing fans to witness some of the very best boxers from around the world.” Continue reading “Probellum announces broadcast deal”

90 years young; 2,119 fight cards and counting

Top Rank chairman Bob Arum has hit yet another milestone. Arum, the Brooklyn-born one-time federal prosecutor whose boxing career began with “The Greatest,” turns 90 years old today.

Arum is back in his old stomping grounds to promote Saturday’s ESPN-televised clash between former pound-for-king Vasiliy Lomachenko and former lightweight world champion in the 12-round main event at Madison Square Garden. Lomachenko-Commey marks the 2,120th fight card of his promotional career.

Arum’s inaugural promotion took place in Toronto on March 29, 1966, when Muhammad Ali defended his heavyweight title against George Chuvalo. In the 55-plus years since Ali-Chuvalo, Arum has promoted many of boxing’s biggest superstars, including 27 Ali fights, the entire middleweight championship run of Marvelous Marvin Hagler, George Foreman’s triumphant return to the ring that culminated in his second heavyweight title, and Manny Pacquiao’s rise to modern-day legend. Continue reading “Happy Birthday Bob Arum!”

Things ended on a heated note in London today as the UK press tour for February’s showdown between undisputed super lightweight champion Josh Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs) and challenger Jack Catterall  (26-0, 13 KOs) concluded in the nation’s capital.  Taylor, generally not given to outbursts, was provoked when Catterall told press conference host Adam Smith, Sky Sports Head of Boxing Development, that he saw “several ways” to beat Taylor in Glasgow in February.

“How? In what way? How are you going to do it?” snapped Taylor.
“There’s several ways,” replied Catterall.
“Go on, how? Tell me one,” said Taylor, fixing Catterall with a stare.
“By turning up and being Jack Catterall. I’ll get in there and punch your head in!” said the challenger.
“You’ll punch my head in? Easy as that!?” scoffed Taylor.
“Well it won’t be easy, but I’m going to,” shrugged Catterall.
Taylor shook his head and laughed. “Go back to bed.”

Continue reading “Taylor-Catterall Press Tour Ends”