Fightnews.com

By Hesiquio Balderas

Fightnews.com® had the chance to talk to renowned boxing manager and two-time BWAA manager of the year Frank Espinoza. He is expecting an all-out war when his fighter Joet Gonzalez challenges for the world featherweight title against WBO champion Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete.

“I’m not taking anything away from Navarrete,” said Espinoza. “He’s a good champion, he has an awkward style and that makes him dangerous. He can punch but so does Joet, who is a well-rounded fighter. He wants to make a statement in this fight and does not take Navarrete lightly. Continue reading “Espinoza: Navarrete-Joet a classic fight”

The WBC unveiled the “Teotihuacano Belt” at the weekly “Coffee Tuesday.” The belt will be awarded to the winner of the fight between the WBC/WBA/WBO super middleweight champion Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez and IBF champ Caleb Plant, who clash on November 6, in Las Vegas.

This is the latest in a series of special and unique belts WBC has had designed to reward. laud and applaud the fights that stand out in the history of boxing, particularly the great boxers who battle on the two most important dates for Mexican boxing, May 5 (Battle of Puebla) and September 15 (Independence Day).

In the latest edition of the classic Mexico vs. Puerto Rico rivalry, undefeated junior welterweight Danielito “El Zorro” Zorrilla, (16-0, 12 KOs) scored a second round KO over former world title challenger Pablo Cesar Cano (33-8-1, 23 KOs) in the TrillerVerz II main event on Tuesday night in the Hard Rock LIVE at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. A left hook to body hurt Cano. A few seconds later, Cano took a knee. He tried to get up but couldn’t. Time was :35. Zorrilla won the NABO title.

Junior welterweight prospect Nahir “Woo” Albright (14-1, 7 KOs) scored a six round destruction of Michael “The West Texas Warrior” Dutchover (15-2, 10 KOs). Albright dropped Dutchover with a right hand late in round one. He put Dutchover down again with a barrage of punches in round two. A third knockdown with a right lead at the end of round three. No knockdown in round four, but Dutchover suffered a bad cut over his left eye. Dutchover was down again in round six and barely survived the round. The bout was stopped by the ring doctor after the round.

Unbeaten junior welterweight Miguel “Explosivo” Madueno (25-0, 23 KOs) scored an entertaining ten round TKO over game Sonny Fredrickson (21-4, 14 KOs). Über aggressive Madueno rained non-stop power shots four the first four rounds. A point was deducted from Madueno for holding Fredrickson’s head down and hitting. Fredrickson staged a brief rally, but Madueno was stronger down the stretch and got a referee’s stoppage in round ten. Time was 2:04.

Cruiserweight Yunieski “The Monster” Gonzalez (21-3, 17 KOs) scored a second round KO over Tommy “Kryptonite” Karpency (30-8-1, 19 KOS). A vicious liver shot put Karpency down for the count. Time was 2:03.

In a four-round light heavyweight bout, Bryce Henry (5-0, 4 KOs) scored a fourth round KO over Juan De Angel (22-14-1, 20 KOs).

Triller Fight Club has officially announced that ‘The Takeover’ Teofimo Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) will defend his undisputed lightweight world titles (WBC, WBA, WBO, IBF) against mandatory challenger ‘Ferocious’ George Kambosos Jr., (19-0, 10 KOs) on Monday, October 4 in the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden and live on Pay-Per-View (8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT) with a freeview starting at 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT.

Presented in association with DiBella Entertainment, advance tickets priced at $306, $206, $106, $81 and $56, will go on-sale tomorrow. The event will be broadcast live on a $49.99 pay-per-view.

Headlining the undercard, Daniel ‘El Gallo’ Gonzalez (20-2-1, 7 KOs) clashes with Petros Ananyan (15-2-2, 7 KOs), in a scheduled 10-round junior welterweight bout. Continue reading “Lopez-Kambosos Ticket Alert”

Two-division kingpin Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete (34-1, 29 KOs) will defend his WBO featherweight world title against mandatory challenger Joet Gonzalez (24-1, 14 KOs) on Friday, October 15 at Pechanga Arena San Diego.

In the 10-round co-feature, welterweight Giovani Santillan (27-0, 15 KOs makes his first hometown appearance in more than seven years against Angel “Relampago” Ruiz (17-1, 12 KOs). Continue reading “Navarrete-Gonzalez clash Oct 15”

Mexican superstar and unified WBA/WBC/WBO Super Middleweight World Champion Canelo Álvarez and undefeated IBF Super Middleweight World Champion Caleb “Sweethands” Plant will battle to crown an undisputed 168-pound world champion on Saturday, November 6 live on pay-per-view from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Tickets for the live event go on sale tomorrow, Wednesday, September 15 at 10 a.m. PT, and can be purchased at AXS.com. The event is promoted by Canelo Promotions and TGB Promotions and sponsored by Hennessy, “Never Stop. Never Settle,” and Value. Presale is today so if you have a code you can get better seats.

WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) will defend his title against mandatory challenger Shawn Porter (31-3-1, 17 KOs) in a PPV showdown on November 20 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Top Rank and PBC reached a deal shortly before a scheduled WBO purse bid.

Sampson Lewkowicz of Sampson Boxing has sign WBC #10 super featherweight Pablo “The Cuban Menace” Vicente (17-1, 15 KOs) to an exclusive promotional contract. The 28-year-old former Cuban National Team member make his Sampson Boxing debut on October 29 at the Centro de Convenciones Vasco Nunez de Balboa in Panama City in a 10-round showdown against Argentina’s Javier Herrera (17-4-1, 8 KOs) for the WBC Continental Americas Super Featherweight Championship.

“The Cuban Menace will be a world champion,” said Lewkowicz. “He is a very strong fighter with excellent power in his combinations and the skill level you would expect from an elite fighter.”

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Looks like WBO #1 light-middleweight Tim Tszyu (19-0, 15 KOs) might not be going straight to a showdown with WBO world champion Brian Castaño. According to Ben Damon of Fox Sports, Tszyu is interested in a contest against WBA #6 Terrell Gausha (22-2-1, 11 KOs) in Australia.

“A really tough fight for Tszyu,” said Damon, “but (Gausha) is someone he appears to be interested in fighting. There’s been bit of talk that maybe he could find his way over to Australia, as well.”

Besides Gausha, Tszyu also has his eye on WBC #4 Sebastian Fundora and WBC #2 Sergio Garcia.

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with 9x USA National Champion and Olympic Trials light flyweight winner Kentavias “Taae” Slay as he prepares for his pro debut this Saturday, Sept. 18 in Cancun, MX. Taae grew up outside of Dallas in Mesquite, TX, and now trains under the watchful eye of former world champion Wayne McCullough in Las Vegas. Taae shares how he got into boxing as well as training with rising star Vergil Ortiz Jr and that he likes watching legends like Pernell Whitaker and James Toney for their defensive mastery. Taae also talks about his work with lightweight champion Devin Haney and much more in this exclusive interview.

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On October 22 for the first time in history, the WBC bridgerweight title (under 224 pounds) will be on the line. WBC #1 Oscar “Kaboom” Rivas (27-1, 19 KOs) will face #3 rated Bryant Jennings (24-4, 14 KOs) for the green and gold belt of the new division at the renovated Olympia Theater in Montréal, Quebec, Canada.

This will be the second clash between Jennings and Rivas, who fought an extremely contested affair in January 2019 in Verona, New York. Rivas won by TKO12.

Rivas-Jennings marks the return of American television to Canada for the first time since December 2018, as ESPN+ retained the broadcast rights to the fight in the USA. The card will also be broadcast live in nearly 50 countries. Continue reading “The Bridgerweight Era Has Arrived”

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

The World Boxing Council invariably supports any situation that is beneficial to boxers; including new promotional companies, broadcast platforms, extraordinary tournaments, sponsoring companies, etc.

Part of our work as a regulatory body for this sport is also to promote and offer our platform to support such initiatives.

The WBC worked hard to achieve the very successful Super 6 tournament in the super middleweight division by Showtime, so did with the World Boxing Super Series. It also works along with Fundación Telmex Telcel to carry out the highly successful Ring Telmex program, which has generated 19 champions, or the SuperFly tournament which is still generating interesting matches involving those fighters.

We are currently experiencing a boxing trend with a wide variety of elements. Influencer and Youtubers events, participation of athletes from other sports inside the ring, mixed martial arts fighters trying boxing, and retired boxers returning to the ring. Continue reading “Boxing Legends Must Not Be Compromised”

By Bradley Snyder

Promoter Carlos Lllinas and Motor City Casino and Hotel Soundboard brought a sellout crowd of hungry boxing fans last Friday to witness Night of Knockouts XVIII, their first show since the pandemic.

The main event had cruiserweight Taylor Duerr (11-0-2, 7 KOs) in total control over six Rounds against Jose Obando (20-31-2, 15 KOs). Obando, the type of opponent known for his durability, took a beating in the ring and on the scorecards. Taylor easily won the fight by UD (60-54, 60-54, 60-54). Continue reading “Late Results from Detroit”

Welterweight Greg Outlaw (9-1, 4 KOs) stopped Edgar Torres (8-2-1, 4 KOs) in round two of their scheduled six-rounder on Friday night in the main event of a seven-bout card in front of a near-capacity crowd at 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. In round two, Outlaw landed a booming uppercut that sent Torres on his back. Torres was able to get to his feet, only to eat a huge barrage of punches, for which was punctuated by another uppercut, and the bout was stopped at 1:47.

Bantamweight Christian Carto (18-1, 14 KOs) returned after a 31-month layoff and took out Yeison Vargas (17-8, 12 KOs) in the opening round. Carto looked quick under new trainer Bozy Ennis, and dropped Vargas with a hard combination. He ended things with a terrific left hook to the body that sent Vargas down for the 10-count at 2:53 of round one. Continue reading “Late Results from Philadelphia”

My name is Stephen Blea and this is an open letter which I have decided to write with regards to my scoring from last Friday night in the Valdez vs Conceicao fight in Tucson, Arizona, 10 Sept. 21.

I have been involved in boxing as a ring official both in the amateur and professional fields for more than 30 years. I have officiated over 60 championship title fights as a judge and referee in several countries of the world including Japan, Thailand, Korea, China, Russia, Mexico, and the USA. I have judged over 200 fights and refereed over 500 Pro fights, with no controversy.

I have watched the fight and thoroughly analyzed it, [my] 117-110 score is not accurate and does not represent the actions in the ring and I feel I have let down my federation the NABF, my organization the WBC, and most importantly our sport and the fighters inside the ring. Continue reading “Valdez-Conceicao judge apologizes for 117-110”

Looks like all the two-minute/eight-rounders on the Holyfield-Belfort card were changed to exhibitions after being billed as real fights. That means Anderson Silva doesn’t get his brilliant KO of Tito Ortiz on his record.

Coming in on one week’s notice is tough. Coming in on one week’s notice when you’re 58? If Holyfield had a full eight-week camp like Belfort, maybe he would have done better.

Tuesday’s previously announced TrillerVerz II co-feature of Franchon Crews-Dezurn vs. Elin Cederroos fight for the undisputed women’s super middleweight title has been replaced by a clash between lightweights Michael Dutchover and Nahir Albright.

WBC silver middleweight champion Sam Eggington threw a staggering 1317 punches in his war against Bilel Jkitou last Friday night in Coventry, England. Even more amazing is that not once throughout the whole fight did referee Mark Lyson have to separate the pair for clinching or holding, or to speak or warn either fighter. Worth catching a replay of this fight somewhere if you didn’t see it.

Pablo Cesar Cano 139.7 vs. Danielito Zorrilla 140
Michael Dutchover 137 vs. Nahir Albright 137.7
Miguel Angel Madueno Angulo 139.9 vs. Sonny Fredrickson 141
Yunieski Gonzalez 183.8 vs. Tommy Karpency 187
Bryce Henry 164.8 vs. Juan De Angel 172.9

Venue: Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida
Promoter: Triller
TV: FITE.tv

WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has vowed that he will knock out Deontay Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) in even more devastating fashion than last time when the two men meet in their PPV showdown next month at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Fury said: “This time, I’m going to absolutely obliterate him. It isn’t going to seven rounds this time, I’m going to get him out of there nice and quick.

“He was the biggest puncher in history, but I knocked him out. I’m the biggest and toughest puncher. He’s only a threat in somebody’s nightmares but not in mine. Continue reading “Fury: I’m going to absolutely obliterate him”

Two-time world champion Amir Khan and the Super Boxing League have announced the inaugural Amir Khan Crypto Fight Night on October 16 at La Perle in Dubai, UAE. The event will feature pro boxing matches as well as bouts between some of the world’s leading crypto traders.

The main event will be a clash between crypto traders RookieXBT and Loomdart with the winner getting the one-off WBC Crypto belt. The co-feature has heavyweight Hemi “The Heat” Ahio (17-0, 12 KOs) against Mohammad Ali Bayat Farid (17-2-1, 17 KOs) for the vacant WBC Asia heavyweight title. Continue reading “Amir Khan announces fight card in UAE”

A press conference is planned for this week to announce “La Ultima Batalla” (The Last Stand) featuring the return of boxing legend Marco Antonio Barrera against two-time world champion Daniel Ponce De Leon in the six-round welterweight main event on November 20 at the Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort & Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Also listed for that event is heavyweight Johnathon Rice (fresh off his nationally televised KO of Michael Coffie), undefeated super featherweight Abel Mendoza, and welterweight Josh “Pitbull” Torres. Tickets for the eight-fight event promoted by Tapia Promotions will go on sale Monday.

Middleweight Glen Tapia (24-5, 16 KOs) returned with a brutal first round KO against Narong Bunchan (28-9, 22 KOs) on Sunday night at La Perle in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Tapia bum-rushed Bunchan firing a non-stop barrage of punches that drove Bunchan into the ropes. Bunchan was given a count. Tapia then battered him to the canvas as the bout was stopped. Time was :47.

“I wanted to show the world that I’m back!” proclaimed an emotional Tapia afterward. It was Tapia’s first fight after a four-year break. He ended a four-fight losing streak with the win. Tapia plans to return to the ring next month, again in the UAE.

Former world champions Riddick Bowe and Amir Khan were at ringside.

In a WBA super middleweight eliminator, WBA #1 Aidos Yerbossynuly (16-0, 11 KOs) scored a tenth round knockout over WBA #10 rated Lennox Allen (22-2, 14 KOs) on Sunday night at the Jekpe-Jek Arena, in Astana, Kazakhstan. Competitive fight until Yerbossynuly caught Allen in a corner and blasted him to his knees for the count.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

In a show featuring six bouts, four were cancelled chiefly because of coronavirus infections of the participants and only two games took place on Saturday at the Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan. As the scheduled main event of Shokichi Iwata (6-0, 4 KOs) and Rikito Shiba (5-1, 3 KOs) in quest of the vacant Japanese 108-pound belt resulted in a cancellation due to Iwata’s testing positive for the PCR test at the weigh-in (though both made weight), Teiken Promotions quickly declared the incomplete show to be free by having all the already sold tickets refunded. The slated semi-windup became the main event with JBC#1 Yuki Nagano (19-3, 15), 147.25, demolishing #2 and ex-WBO AP ruler Yuki Beppu (21-3-1, 20 KOs), 146.75, at 0:51 of the fifth round in an eight-round eliminator to decide the next mandatory challenger to the national welterweight champ Keita Obara. Continue reading “Nagano repeats victory over Beppu”

Vitor Belfort: “It was a legendary moment for me to fight tonight. I’m very blessed. It was a great environment here, great fights and competition. We can all learn from the sport of boxing about how to adapt. We should be more caring for each other in this great country of America. You never judge how many victories you have, you judge by the quality of your opponents. When you fight someone, the two warriors gain immediate respect for each other. For me to be able to compete with Holyfield is a dream. Yes, I challenge Jake Paul to a thirty-million-dollar winner take all fight, he cannot say no to me, he needs a real fight.”

Evander Holyfield: “I wasn’t able to bounce back like I used to. I let him get too close. But he’s strong and he pushed me but I wasn’t hurt. I’m not hurt at all. Yes, I’m still interested in fighting Mike Tyson.” Continue reading “Belfort-Holyfield Quotes”

44-year-old UFC legend Vitor Belfort scored a first round TKO over 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield (44-11-2, 29 KOs) on Saturday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Belfort dropped Holyfield with an uppercut, then got the referee’s stoppage with his follow-up barrage. Time was 1:49.

Holyfield complained about the stoppage, saying he wasn’t hurt. Belfort called out Jake Paul in a $30 million winner take all match. The offer is also open to Canelo, although that’s less than his normal purse.

Is a boxing match between UFC legends, Anderson Silva scored a brutal first round knockout over Tito Ortiz. Ortiz aggressively pressured Silva, who countered and hurt Ortiz. He then blasted Ortiz to the canvas for the count. Silva defeated former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in June, so he can box at a decent level.

In a WBA super featherweight eliminator, Jono Carroll (22-6, 5 KOs) won a close ten round majority decision over Andy Vences (23-3-1, 12 KOs). Vences had Carroll pretty busted up by round eight. Doctors gave Carroll a good look after the round, which seemed to wake up Carroll who then rallied in the final two rounds. In the end, scores were 95-95, 97-93, 97-93 for Carroll. Vences looked shocked when the decision was announced.

Former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (29-4, 26 KOs) carried his friend business magnate Joe Fournier (9-1, 9 KOs) over eight uneventful two-minute rounds that resembled a sparring session. Haye never opened up and won easily 79-72, 80-71, 79-72. After the fight, Haye called out WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

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