Fightnews.com

Christian Tapia 130 vs. Mason Menard 129.2
(NABA Super Featherweight Title)

Dylan Price 119 vs. Edwin Rodriguez 118
Anthony Young 146.8 vs. Todd Manuel 146.4
Ricardo Caraballo 111.4 vs. Harold Lopez 111.8
Jerome Conquest 140.4 vs. Wilfredo Garriga 140
Brendan O’Callaghan 158 vs. Anthony Young 154
Desmond Lucas 146.4 vs.Trey Martin 147.4
Isaiah Wise 158.6 vs. Luis Solis 159.8

Venue: Showboat Hotel, Atlantic City
Promoter: Hard Hitting Promotions
Stream: Flo Combat
Doors: 6 PM ET/1st Bell: 7 PM ET

USA lightweight Keyshawn Davis, considered to be USA Boxing’s best gold medal hope, scored a key win over top-seeded Sofiane Oumiha of France in a Round of 16 bout on Saturday in the Kokugikan Arena at the Tokyo Olympics. Davis (3-0, 2 KOs as a pro) staggered Oumiha with a huge right hand in round two and the bout was halted. Rio Olympics silver medalist Oumiha was definitely rocked and took a standing eight count, but he seemed ready to resume when the ref abruptly waved it off to the surprise of everyone. Oumiha complained bitterly to no avail. Davis will move on to the quarterfinals against Russian Gabil Mamedov.

Davis, along with USA super heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr., USA featherweight Duke Ragan, and USA female welterweight Oshae Jones remain in the gold medal hunt.

Unbeaten junior middleweight Evan “Yung Holy” Holyfield (7-0, 5 KOs) scored a third round KO over Agustin Cicero (16-19-3, 7 KOs) on Friday night at the Castleton Banquet & Conference Center in Windham, New Hampshire. Holyfield dropped Cicero four times in round two, but Cicero survived the round. Holyfield then dropped Cicero again 11 seconds into round three and the bout was halted. Holyfield, son of ring legend Evander Holyfield, was fighting in his first six-rounder.

Castleton Banquet & Conference Center, Windham, New Hampshire
Evan “Yung Holy” Holyfield (6-0, 4 KOs)
vs. Agustin Cicero (16-18-3, 7 KOs)
6 round junior middleweight bout

Michael Coffie 271.3 vs. Jonathan Rice 268.6
Vito Mielnicki Jr 147 vs. Noah Kidd 144.6
Joey Spencer 156.5 vs. James Martin 151.5

Andre Dirrell 175.5 vs. Christopher Brooker 175
Norman Neely 226.2 vs. Juan Torres 247.9
Karl Dargan 137.5 vs. Ivan Delgado 139.5

Michael Anderson 147.9 vs. DeMarcus Rogers 146.5
Nicky Vitone 142.7 vs. Jordan Rosario 143.5
Malik Nelson 129.8 vs. Alejandro Ramirez 134.5
Quadir Albright 143.2 vs. Jared Tallent 143.2

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

RayJay Bermudez 140 vs. Bergman Aguillar 140
James Perella 147 vs. Rakim Johnson 148
Francis Hogan 159 vs. Isiah Hart 166
Eric Goff 140 vs. Austin Reed Ward 145
Jonathan de Pina 135 vs. Mike Fowler 134
James Murrin 147 vs. Maycow Oller 150
Alex Rivera 129 vs. Richard Bernard 130
Bernard Joseph 192 vs. Francisco Neto 187

Venue: Moseley’s On The Charles in Dedham, Massachusetts
Promoter: Vertex Promotions
Note: This will be the first professional boxing match ever held in Dedham, Mass., which borders Boston, as well as the first pro show in Massachusetts in 18 months.

Super lightweight Karl Dargan (19-1, 9 KOs) will take on Ivan Delgado (13-3-2, 6 KOs) in an eight-round attraction, while unbeaten heavyweight Norman Neely (8-0, 7 KOs) faces Juan Torres (6-3-1, 3 KOs) in a six-round battle as part of the FS1 telecast this Saturday from Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

The previously scheduled Maliek Montgomery vs. Ángel Contreras and Paul Kroll vs. Justin DeLoach matches slated to appear on FS1 were canceled after positive COVID-19 tests for Montgomery and DeLoach.

The FS1 main event featuring Andre Dirrell against Chris Brooker is still intact.

Not much TV boxing scheduled tonight, but all is not lost. Tonight’s sold out Boston Boxing Promotions show at the Castleton in Windham, New Hampshire, will be streamed on its YouTube page. It has a pretty interesting headliner with Evan “Yung Holy” Holyfield (6-0, 4 KOs) vs. Agustin Cicero (16-18-3, 7 KOs) in a six round junior middleweight bout. Of course, Evan is the son of ring legend Evander Holyfield. Nine other bouts are also on tap. Continue reading “Evan Holyfield in action tonight”

Can Xu 125.2 vs. Leigh Wood 125.3
(WBA featherweight title)

Tommy McCarthy 199.25 vs. Chris Billam-Smith 199.3
Campbell Hatton 135.6 vs. Jakub Laskowski 135.5
Anthony Fowler 155.25 vs. Rico Mueller 156
Avni Yildirim 163 vs. Jack Cullen 163.5
Sandy Ryan 144.5 vs. Kirstie Bavington 144.25

Venue: Fight Camp, Brentwood, Essex, England
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN

Promoter Mick Hennessy has put all the top boxing talent in his stable on his September 10 card at the Coventry Skydome Arena in Coventry, England, live and free in the UK and Ireland on Channel 5. The arena will be open to full capacity.

The lineup includes WBC silver middleweight beltholder Sam Eggington, cruiserweight Isaac Chamberlain, welterweight Stevie McKenna, light heavyweight Shakan Pitters, middleweight River Wilson Bent, welterweight Kaisee Benjamin, super middleweight Idris Virgo, super welterweight Brett McGinty, heavyweight Tommy Welch, and super welterweight Michael Hennessy Jr.

Looks like a Canelo-Plant unification clash is dead for the time being. Canelo needs a new opponent quickly to keep his traditional Mexican Independence Day fight date. Canelo’s team has reportedly reached out to WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.

2012 Olympic gold medalist and lightweight contender Luke Campbell has announced his retirement from boxing.

WBA President Gilberto Jesús Mendoza and female champion Hanna Gabriels will present the WBA light flyweight championship belt to Esteban Bermúdez on Tuesday at a ceremony in Mexico City. Bermúdez dethroned Carlos Canizales in May.

USA welterweight Delante Johnson suffered a unanimous decision defeat against 2012 gold medalist Roniel Iglesias of Cuba in their quarterfinal match on Friday in the Kokugikan Arena at the Tokyo Olympics. Iglesias moves on to the semi-final and is assured of at least a bronze.

Earlier, female welterweight Oshae Jones, the final USA woman boxer in the Olympics, assured herself of at least a bronze medal with a split decision over Dominican Maria Moronta Hernandez to move to the semi-final. Jones dropped Hernandez in round two.

USA super heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr., USA lightweight Keyshawn Davis, and USA featherweight Duke Ragan remain in the medal hunt.

Promoter Damon Feldman told TMZ he has a PPV card in the works featuring former heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe and former jr welter/welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi. The event would happen on October 2 at the James L. Knight Arena in Miami.

The 53-year-old Bowe would take on former NBA star Lamar Odom, while the 40-year-old Malignaggi would meet TikToker Corey B. In another bout, rapper Aaron Carter is slated to face TBA.

Fighters competing on FOX this Saturday, July 31 previewed their respective matchups during a virtual press conference Thursday before they enter the ring at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Unbeaten rising heavyweight Michael Coffie and late sub Jonnie Rice meet in the main event.

Michael Coffie: “When I look at Jonnie Rice, I think he might be more durable than Gerald Washington. To me, that just makes this a better fight.”

Jonnie Rice: “I have to give it my all on Saturday. I have to do my best to impress everyone. This is my time to show everyone who I am.”

Full Quotes

Broadcast history will be made Saturday, Aug. 14 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as Crystina Poncher and reigning WBO junior lightweight world champion Mikaela Mayer will form boxing’s first-ever all-female broadcast team.

Poncher (play-by-play) and Mayer (color commentary) will call the international broadcast of the tripleheader featuring the third fight between WBA super flyweight world champion Joshua “El Profesor” Franco and former world champion Andrew “The Monster” Moloney, undefeated junior welterweight contender Arnold Barboza Jr. against Antonio Moran, and the professional debut of middleweight Nico Ali Walsh, grandson of Muhammad Ali.

The international broadcast will be available to millions of fight fans in more than 150 countries. Viewers in the United States, however, will likely be getting an all-male broadcast crew.

Unbeaten two-time world champion David “El Bandera Roja” Benavídez (24-0, 21 KOs) will square off against former champion José Uzcátegui (31-4, 26 KOs) in a WBC super middleweight title eliminator as Benavídez returns to his hometown of Phoenix for the first time in six years in the Showtime main event on Saturday, August 28 from Footprint Center – home of the Phoenix Suns.

The telecast will also feature the return of longtime contender José Benavídez (27-1, 18 KOs), the older brother of David Benavídez facing Francisco Emanuel Torres (17-3, 5 KOs)  in the 10-round super welterweight co-main event. Kicking off the telecast is undefeated super bantamweight Carlos Castro (26-0, 11 KOs) taking on former title challenger Óscar Escandón (26-5, 18 KOs) in a 10-round super bantamweight bout.

The Benavídez brothers and Castro hail from Phoenix and have their sights set on impressing their hometown fans.

Conor Benn has tested positive for COVID-19 and is out of Saturday’s Fight Camp main event vs. Adrian Granados. New date to be announced shortly. The Xu Can vs. Leigh Wood WBA featherweight world title fight will now headline Saturday’s show on DAZN.

USA super heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr. won by unanimous decision over Algerian Chouaib Bouloudinats at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan in the Tokyo Olympics. Torrez dropped Bouloudinats in round one. He will move on to Sunday’s quarterfinal against Cuban Dainier Pero.

USA middleweight Troy Isley bowed out in the round of 16, losing a narrow 3-2 decision to Russian Gleb Bakski representing the Russian Olympic Committee since the country of Russia is banned.

USA welterweight Delante Johnson, USA lightweight Keyshawn Davis, and USA featherweight Duke Ragan are all still in the medal hunt.

* * *

In another notable bout, pro heavyweight Bakhodir Jalolov (8-0, 8 KOs) of Uzbekistan took a unanimous decision over Abdullayev Mahammad in super heavyweight action. Jalolov is promoted by DiBella Entertainment and is 6-0 in the U.S. He will next face Satish Kumar of India.

In other super heavyweight action, Frazer Clarke (UK), Mourad Aliev (France), and Ivan Veriasov (Russia) all advanced to the quarterfinals.

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Former world champion turned lawyer Lovemore Ndou, who is also an Australian Hall of Fame inductee and author, is contemplating making a ring return to raise money for South Africa. And Anthony Mundine and Floyd Mayweather junior are on his hit list.

Ndou’s move follows the recent violent riots and looting that have swept his home country over the past week.

“I’m doing it for a good cause, Lovemore said. Continue reading “Ndou calls out Mayweather to help South Africa”

Tonight’s Roy Jones Jr. Boxing Promotions card in Mexico, slated to be streamed live on UFC Fightpass, has been canceled due to COVID-19 issues. “COVID-19 is on the rise, and we needed to protect our fighters, as well as respect the local boxing commission’s restrictions,” RJJ Boxing CEO and co-founder Keith Veltre said. “We fully expect to continue promoting shows again in Mexico after conditions there improve.”

The Tapia name continues to live on in the sport of boxing this Saturday night at the Inn of the Mountain Gods in Mescalero, New Mexico. Festivities will kick off at noon with a string of amateur bouts. Johnny Tapia’s son Johnny Lorenzo Tapia will be making his amateur debut. Pro bouts will begin at 6:30pm. A total of eight bouts are set to take place. Several boxers are scheduled to make their pro debut. The co-main event will be former featherweight contender Antonio Escalante (29-10, 20 KOs) of El Paso, Texas taking on Adam Ochoa (5-2-1, 3 KOs) of Amarillo, Texas. The main event will be Josh Torres (22-7-2, 13 KOs) of Albuquerque, New Mexico fighting Jose Morales (8-9) of Lubbock, Texas. Continue reading “Tapia Legacy Continues Saturday”

By Miguel Maravilla

He is back! “The Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KO’s) of East L.A returns to the ring as he takes on UFC fighter, Vitor ‘The Phenom’ Belfort (1-0, 1 KO) of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. De La Hoya and Belfort will square off on Saturday, September 11th in headlining ‘LEGENDS II’ at the Staples Center in Los Angeles live on Fite.TV and Triller.

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“I’m doing this for the right reasons. I can’t wait to fight Belfort and get back in that ring,” De La Hoya told Fightnews.com®. “It will be a fun fight and it will be intense. This will be a fight.”

Fight night will also mark the 20th Anniversary of 9-11. De La Hoya talked about fighting on that day.

“It’s going to be intense for a lot of people. It will be emotional, what people went through. Wow, 20 years, we remember. We will always remember.” Continue reading “Oscar: I’m doing this for the right reasons”

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with super welterweight and undefeated Golden Boy prospect Alex Rincon (8-0, 6 KOs) who takes on Sanny Duversonne (11-3-2, 8 KOs) on Saturday, Aug 14 at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, TX, headlined by Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Egidijus “Mean Machine” Kavaliauskas, promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and streamed live on DAZN. Continue reading “Interview: Alex Rincon”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

A very bizarre happening was seen in a Japanese national bantamweight title bout for the vacant belt （renounced by Yusuke Suzuki） on Monday in Tokyo, Japan. JBC#1 Kyosuke Sawada (14-2-2, 6 KOs), 118, a prohibitive favorite unbeaten in his last fifteen bouts including a draw, badly decked JBC#2 southpaw Ikuro Sadatsune (11-4-4, 4 KOs), 118, with his opening attack in the first session, but an accidental collision of heads in round two had each so profusely streaming blood from the forehead that the ring physician had to advise the ref Yoshida to inevitably call a halt. Continue reading “Sawada, Sadatsune draw in Japanese 118lb title bout”

The September 18 fight between Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant for the undisputed super middleweight title, which was supposed to be practically a done deal, has apparently fallen apart. Plant told ESPN that he agreed to everything but Team Canelo’s “ridiculous requests” became too much.
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Even without Alvarez-Plant, there are still four PPV boxing events scheduled within seven weeks, Pacquiao-Spence (August 21), Paul Woodley (August 29), De La Hoya-Belfort (September 11) and Fury-Wilder (October 9), so fans’ PPV budgets are already stretched thin. If Alvarez-Plant is resurrected on September 18, that would make five PPVs in less than two months.
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All five members of the U.S. Men’s Olympic team are still in the medal hunt. No big-name pros or ex-champions competing in Tokyo this year.