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By Boxing Bob Newman at ringside

Hometown boy Oscar Valdez, carried the hopes of Tucson on his back in his first defense of the WBC super featherweight title against old amateur foe Robson Conceição of Bahia, Brazil on Friday night before 4,545 at the AVA Amphitheater at Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Arizona. This was a rematch 12 years in the making, as Conceição had bested Valdez during the 2009 PanAm games. This was also a battle of highly skilled multi Olympians as Valdez represented Mexico twice while Conceição went for the gold thrice, finally pulling off the trick in his homeland during the 2016 Rio Olympic games.

It was definitely a Mutt & Jeff affair as Conceição, at 5’10” towered over the 5’5.5″ Valdez.

Conceição appeared confident and relaxed as he moved forward behind his jab, Valdez for his part trying to defend and mount an offense against his towering, crafty foe. Valdez began the third nicely as he buried a wicked left hook the body following up to the head of Conceição, bringing the crowd to its feet. But Conceição regained his composure and boxed neatly for the remainder of the round. Valdez was able to mount a brief, fleeting body attack in the fourth, but it seemed minimal against Conceição’s ring generalship, jabbing and moving. Continue reading “Valdez beats Conceição, retains WBC 130lb title”

By Boxing Bob Newman at ringside

There was definitely bad blood between super featherweights Gabriel Flores, Jr. of Stockton and Mexicali’s Luis Alberto Lopez during the press conference and weigh-ins, where Flores, Jr. formed his fingers into the shape of a pistol and pointed it gang-style to Lopez’ face. That fuel carried over into the ring tonight at the AVA Amphitheater at Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Arizona. Continue reading “Upset: Lopez takes WBO #11 Flores’ 0”

By Boxing Bob Newman at ringside

Defending WBO flyweight champion Junto Nakatani made his American debut in defense of his title against former WBO light fly champ Angel “Tito” Acosta on Friday night at the AVA Amphitheater at Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Arizona. In a cautious first round, the lanky Nakatani probed with his right jab from the southpaw stance, while Acosta tried to find a way to land anything. A hard left late in the round caused Acosta to stumble back into his own corner and Nakatani to pursue with a flurry. Acosta punched his way out and escaped the round.

In the second, a flurry of punches caused blood to start pouring from Acosta’s nose. After a prolonged visit from the ringside physician, Acosta was allowed to continue, only to get more leather laid on him. As Acosta was backed into Nakatani’s corner, he caught the oncoming champ with a huge right, nearly dropping him! Nakatani recovered quickly and survived the round.

The third saw another visit from the doctor, this time shorter and the action resumed. Nakatani had success with sneaky lead lefts that caught Acosta flush, further damaging his mouth and nose. Moments into the fourth, Acosta’s corner signaled to referee Rocky Burke that their charge had had enough, prompting Burke to wave it off at 0:32. Continue reading “Nakatani stops Acosta, retains WBO fly belt”

By Boxing Bob Newman at ringside

Hot Puerto Rican prospect Xander Zayas took on Albuquerque, NM native Jose Luis Sanchez in a scheduled six round jr. middleweight bout. The much taller Zayas used his slick left jab to dictate his offense and his deft footwork to maneuver his defense from the get-go. Zayas preferred to control the action from ring center and he did so very smoothly and effectively. A wicked left-right to the head of Sanchez drove the Mexican to a neutral corner, wobbly and hurt. Zayas went for broke, but Sanchez did just enough to keep himself in the fight. Zayas seemed gassed after the onslaught and Sanchez had a brief moment of his own. A hard left by Zayas and a miss by Sanchez caused the Mexican to seemingly be knocked down, but referee Rocky Burke ruled it a slip. In the fourth, Sanchez connected on some solid shots that had the Mexican-American crowd hollering for the upset. Zayas worked his way out of trouble with counters and a controlled, if slower, pace. As the sun began to dip below the AVA amphitheater roof, it became a potential impediment, blazing right into the eyes of the West-facing fighter, whoever it was at the time. Zayas poured what he had left into the sixth and final round- backing Sanchez into his own corner for another mini-barrage, but the tough Mexican held his ground, and survived the distance. In the end, Zayas took a harder-than-the-scores-reflected unanimous decision by scores of 60-54 and 60-53 x 2. He moves to 10-0, 7 KOs, while Sanchez dips to 11-2–1, 4 KOs. It was a fitting birthday gift for Zayas who turns 19 years old today. Continue reading “Undercard Results from Tucson, Arizona”

Premier Boxing Champions is saving the Mexican Independence Day Weekend for boxing fans.

Normally the coveted date has some of the biggest fights of the year, but with the Canelo-Plant PPV getting pushed back to November, DAZN’s proposed Mikey Garcia card falling apart, and Showtime’s Figueroa-Fulton showdown getting kayoed by COVID, PBC saw an opportunity.

They hastily arranged back-to-back cards on FS1 September 18 and September 19 at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield, California. For short notice, it’s not bad matchmaking. Continue reading “PBC announces Sept 18, 19 boxing lineup”

WBC Statement: We were informed that the Narong Bunchan vs. Glen Tapia, to be held in Dubai on September 12, was being promoted with visual elements of our organization. However, we want to clarify that, for this fight, no world title and/or WBC affiliate belt will be disputed.

The WBC did not receive any request to sanction this fight and considering their latest performances, inactivity, and other factors of the fighters, we would not be willing to do so. Continue reading “WBC disavows Bunchan-Tapia fight”

IBF #7, WBC #10, WBO #15 rated Tony Yoka (11-0, 9 KOs) broke down and stopped previously unbeaten Peter Milas (15-1, 11 KOs) in seven rounds on Friday night at the famous Roland Garros Tennis Stadium in Paris, France. 2016 Olympic gold medalist Yoka progressively broke down the mobile Milas, finally dropping him twice in round seven to end it.

IBF #4, WBC #9, WBO #13 heavyweight Filip “El Animal” Hrgovic (13-0, 11 KOs) crushed previously unbeaten Marko Radonjic (22-1, 22 KOs) on Friday night at Wörthersee Stadium in Klagenfurt, Austria. Hrgovic was careful of Radonjic’s power in round one, but he dropped Radonjic FOUR times in round two. Radonjic was down again in round three but survived. When Radonjic came out for round four, the referee immediately waved it off.

According to Hrgovic’s promoter, all of the IBF top 15 turned down the opportunity to face him in a final eliminator to become mandatory challenger for Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight crown.

WBC silver middleweight champion Sam Eggington (31-7, 18 KOs) retained his title with a hard fought split decision over previously undefeated Bilel Jkitou (15-1, 6 KOs) on Friday night at the Coventry SkyDome Arena in Coventry, England. It was a slugfest from start to finish with Eggington prevailing on two cards 117-111 and 117-112. Jkitou was ahead on the third card 116-112.

WBA #14 super welterweight Souleymane Cissokho (14-0, 9 KOs) defended his WBA Intercontinental strap with a fourth round TKO against Ismail Iliev (13-3-1, 3 KOs) on Friday night at the famous Roland Garros tennis stadium in Paris, France. Cissokho cut Iliev over the left eye in round three. Cissokho dropped Iliev in round four and Iliev didn’t come out for round five.

WBC #5, IBF #7, WBO #10, WBA #12 light heavyweight Mathieu Bauderlique (21-1, 12 KOs) was victorious when WBC #3 rated former world title challenger Igor Mikhalkin (24-3, 11 KOs) couldn’t continue after round seven. Mikhalkin’s face was pretty swollen suggesting a possible broken jaw. Bauderlique wins the vacant European Union light heavyweight title.

WBA #3, WBC #11, WBO #14 super middleweight John Ryder (30-5, 17 KOs) tested the light heavyweight waters against Jozef Jurko (8-2, 6 KOs) on Friday night at Worthersee Stadium, Klagenfurt, Austria. Ryder took control in round three and battered Jurko until the bout was stopped in round five. Time was 1:29.

The WBA has ordered a world title bout between Ryder and regular champion David Morrell Jr., but promoter Eddie Hearn is interested in putting Ryder against WBA light heavyweight champion Dimitry Bivol.

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Super middleweight Abass Baraou (10-1, 7 KOs) was victorious when Jay Spencer (11-2, 7 KOs) simply quit after taking a few body shots in round one.

Unbeaten super lightweight Dalton Smith (9-0, 7 KOs) took a one-sided ten round unanimous decision over Brian Pelaez (10-6, 1 KO) to claim the WBA Intercontinental title. Scores were 99-91 3x.

Super middleweight Abass Baraou (10-1, 7 KOs) was victorious when Jay Spencer (11-2, 7 KOs) simply quit after taking a few body shots in round one.

6’5 light heavyweight John Hedges (3-0, 0 KOs) outpointed journeyman Frane Radnic (11-26, 10 KOs) over eight.

Jim Lampley has pulled out from announcing the Holyfield-Belfort PPV card in Florida for undisclosed reasons. He will be replaced by Ray Flores. The rest of the team is Sean Porter, 50-Cent, and Sean Wheelock

On an alternate feed will be former president Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal, and Todd Grisham.

PPV buyers on FITE can flip between the main audio, the alternate audio, or Spanish audio.

The freeview fights before the Holyfield-Belfort PPV begins will feature super featherweight Anthony Chavez (9-1, 3 KOs) against Diuhl Olguin (15-19-4, 10 KOs) and pro-debuting middleweight Eleazer Silva against Terry Roscoe (2-5, 0 KOs).

Holyfield-Belfort, Silva-Ortiz, and Haye-Fournier will all be eight-rounders with two-minute rounds.

Evander Holyfield 225.4 vs. Vitor Belfort 206.2
Anderson Silva 192.6 vs. Tito Ortiz 200
David Haye 211.5 vs. Joe Fournier 195.5

Jono Carroll 130 vs. Andy Vences 129.4
(WBA super featherweight eliminator)

Anthony Chavez 129.2 vs. Diuhl Olguin 128
Eleazer Silva 158 vs. Terry Roscoe 155

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

Kerman Lerraja 153.4 v Dylan Charrat 153.4
(European super welterweight title)

Kiko Martinez 128 vs. Jayro Duran 128.7
Mary Romero 119 vs. Amy Timlin 120.3
Youssef Khoumari 133.6 vs. Vicente Martin Rodriguez 132
Cyrus Pattinson 151 vs. Dimitru Vicol 151.8
Moussa Gholam 131.1 vs. Mauro Alex Hasan Perounene 132.9
Cristobal Lorente 128.7 vs. Anuar Salas 127.8
Kiko Martinez 128 vs. Jayro Duran 128.7
Mary Romero 119 vs. Amy Timlin 120.3

Venue: Palau Olímpic Vall d’Hebron, Barcelona, Spain
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN

The International Boxing Federation has announced that George Martinez is the new IBF Ratings Chairman joining the Executive Staff. Additionally, IBF Board Member Ben Keilty will take on the role of Vice-Chairman of the IBF Ratings Committee and will oversee the Female Ratings specifically.

“George and Ben are both passionate and vastly knowledgeable about boxing,” said IBF President Daryl Peoples. “Having held the position of IBF Ratings Chairman for several years, I have great respect for what they will do and what they will bring to the table. These two gentlemen are committed to their new roles, and to continue to produce solid and fair ratings contributing to the IBF’s continued success.” Continue reading “George Martinez named IBF Ratings Chairman”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Sensational former K-1 world champ Yoshiki Takei (2-0, 2 KOs), 119.75, displayed an impressive stoppage of previously unbeaten KO artist Azusa Takeda (5-1, 5 KOs), 119.75, with a single southpaw right hook at 2:57 of the opening session in a scheduled six on Thursday in Tokyo, Japan.

Takei, 25, now handled by Ohashi Promotions and coached by former three-division titlist Akira Yaegashi, had registered a good ledger of 25-2, 16 KOs while fighting in the K-1 ring, where the stylish and slick-punching Yoshiki won the K-1 world grand prix tournament in 2017. Continue reading “Former K-1 champ Takei halts Takeda”

Former cruiserweight and heavyweight undisputed world champion Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield, UFC star Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort and all the undercard fighters faced off at the final press conference for Saturday’s PPV at the Hard Rock LIVE at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

Evander Holyfield vs. Vitor Belfort, heavyweight / eight rounds

Evander Holyfield: “I thought I was getting ready to fight Mike Tyson but now I’m fighting Vitor Belfort. So, I’ve been training for two years for that. When they asked me to fight Vitor I said if he wants to do it then I want to do it. I put the time in the last two years and I want to get paid for my time. It hasn’t been a week to get ready, I’ve been training for two years. I’m more than ready and look forward to the fight.”

Vitor Belfort: “It’s a joy to me to fight Evander Holyfield on Saturday night. I remember when I first fought in the UFC tournament, the same month I saw Evander fight Mike Tyson the second time. My dream was to see MMA become as big as boxing. He’s the heavyweight king and I’m looking forward to showing my boxing skills on Saturday night. It’s an amazing opportunity for me.” Continue reading “Holyfield-Belfort Final Press Conference”

By Joe Koizumi

WBC 108lb title bout re-scheduled

The WBC light-flyweight title bout between defending champ Kenshiro Teraji (18-0, 10 KOs) and #1 ranked Masamichi Yabuki (12-3, 11 KOs), both Japan, had been once slated in Kyoto on September 10, but Teraji tested positive for a COVID-19 PCR test, so it was postponed accordingly. The champ recovered so completely that Shinsei Promotions has announced it will take place at the same venue on September 22.

WBO AP 105lb title bout of Koura, Shigeoka set

The vacant WBO Asia Pacific 105-pound belt will be disputed by ex-OPBF titleholder Tsubasa Koura and unbeaten prospect Yudai Shigeoka in Tokyo on November 12. The belt had been vacated by Yudai’s twin brother Ginjiro Shigeoka to pave the way for Yudai to acquire the regional championship. Yudai had acquired the national amateur championships five times and compiled a brilliant mark of 82-10 before entering the paid ranks a couple of years ago.

(9-10-2021)

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Manny Pacquiao’s co-trainer and life-long best friend Buboy Fernandez says Pacman should end his career on a winning note. “It’s not nice seeing him retire from the sport of boxing coming off a loss,” Buboy told the Daily Tribune. “We’ve learned our lessons. We know what went wrong and we know what to do in the event he decides to fight again. It’s up to him. It’s his call, his decision to make.”

Greg Outlaw 145.7 vs. Edgar Torres 145.2
Christian Carto 120.3 vs. Yeison Vargas 120.6
Elijah Morales 145.3 vs. Kevin Davilla 144.7
Kashom Hutchinson 145.3 vs. Andre Byrd 147.4
LeAnna Cruz 115.3 vs. Delaney Bailey 116.9
Julian Gonzalez 129.2 vs. Ronny Arana 129.5
Quadir Albright 142.2 vs. Humberto Camareno Jr. 142.5

Venue: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia
Promoter: King’s Promotions
Stream: Flo Combat

The Championships Committee of the World Boxing Association (WBA) has ordered a purse bid for the super welterweight eliminator bout between Michel Soro (Gold champion) and Israil Madrimov (mandatory challenger) for next Monday, September 20.

All the parties involved received the official information. The bidding will take place via Zoom at 10:00 A.M. Panama time, and will be directed by Carlos Chavez, president of the Championships Committee. The purse split will be 50% for each fighter and the minimum amount to participate for the rights to promote the fight will be US$ 110,000.

With California Covid-19 regulations, causing people to now show a vax card or a covid negative test, putting a stop to indoor events over 1,000 people we decided that it was time that we go outdoors and let fans experience an outdoor Fight Club OC show under the stars. So the September 23rd and October 14th shows will be outdoor shows until things cool down in the world of Covid-19.

The main mall area of the OC Fair & Event Center, right outside The Hangar doors, will be converted to a Fight Club OC combative sports arena with over 1,500 fight fans treated to a six bout show. In the main event on September 23, undefeated WBC Youth super featherweight titleholder Manuel Jaimes (11-0-1, 9 KOs) faces  Emiliano Martin Garcia (16-6-1, 13 KOs) in an eight-rounder.

By Boxing Newman at the scale

Oscar Valdez 130 vs. Robson Conceição 129.6
(WBC Super Featherweight Title)

Gabriel Flores Jr. 129.6 vs. Luis Alberto Lopez 128.4

Junto Nakatani 111.4 vs. Angel Acosta 112
(WBO Flyweight Title)

Xander Zayas 151.8 vs. Jose Luis Sanchez 151.6
Lindolfo Delgado 141.6 vs. Miguel Zamudio 140.8
René Telléz Girón 132.2 vs. Eduardo Garza 132.6
Omar Aguílar 142.6 vs. Carlos Manuel Portillo 141.6

Venue: Casino del Sol, Tuscon, AZ
Promotor: Top Rank
TV: ESPN+

WBO junior lightweight world champion Jamel “Semper Fi” Herring will defend his world title against undefeated former featherweight world champion Shakur Stevenson on ESPN October 23 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta. At Thursday’s kickoff press conference, this is what Top Rank chairman Bob Arum and the fighters had to say.

Jamel Herring: “They’re making Shakur out to be the future superstar, but again, maybe he will be a future star in his own right, but right now, we’re focusing on the now. I still feel like I have things to prove to myself, and I’m just going to go out and do what I have to do.”

Shakur Stevenson: “It’s an amazing opportunity to be back here fighting for another world title. My last word title, I fought in October (2019 against Joet Gonzalez). This world title, I fight in October. It’s going to be no different. I’m coming here to dominate…at the end of the day, I’m coming in there to handle business, and I’m going to make sure I win.”

Continue reading “Herring-Stevenson Kickoff Press Conference”