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By Boxing Bob Newman

Due to inclement weather and flash flood warnings in San Juan this past Tuesday night, former two-time WBA Jr. Lightweight champion Samuel Serrano was unable to attend the Meet the Champs cocktail event. Disappointed but undeterred, this writer made arrangements through some of his local Boricua connections and the champ and his wife Marta were able to come to the host hotel Marriott today. The IBF convention was officially over and the board of directors was in a private meeting as is customary at the end of every convention.

However, this writer thought it would be rude to have the champ all to himself so we politely interrupted the meeting, much to the pleasure of President Daryl Peoples and the remaining board members, who all agreed unanimously to take a break and greet a champ and pose for photos. Serrano hugged and shook hands with everyone, then displayed some of his trademark “El Torbellino” (Whirlwind) speed by throwing a furious flurry of punches, to the joy of everyone on hand! A new, “Where Are They Now” interview will be forthcoming!

IBF welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis defends his crown against unbeaten mandatory challenger Cody Crowley July 13 clash at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, live worldwide on DAZN. Ennis and Crowley came face-to-face for the first time at a launch press conference Friday in Philadelphia – where Ennis fights at home for the first time since November 2018.

Cody Crowley: “Listen, this is a real-life Rocky Story. I’ve had my whole, entire life taken from me. I’m ready to die on July 13. He has a man in front of him who is ready to die. I’m serious…the last time I was going for the IBF, I was going against the #1 contender, and I went from #6 after I beat him to #14. So that tells you none of this s*** is real and it’s all f****** illusions. I don’t care about this IBF title. I don’t need the title. And I don’t need any of your guys’ acceptance. I’m whole in myself and I’m happy. I’m just proud of myself to be here. All the s*** that I’ve been through, I pulled on and I kept going.”

Jaron Ennis: “My main focus right now is Cody Crowley. My eyes are on him. After this? Definitely undisputed, for sure. I want to go and collect all the rest of the belts, then go up to 154 and do the same thing there…by the time I fight on July 13, it’s going to be a year. Everybody’s missed me. I’m the best. I’m the best at this game, I’m the most exciting in this game and the fans love to see knockouts, so of course they’re going to come out to see me. For sure. They’re going to come and see me put on a show, beat him up, beat him down, then get the knockout…I want to thank Cody for coming out to fight. I appreciate that. But I’m sorry it had to be you.”

Report/Photo: Boxing Bob Newman

It was a small but hearty throng that managed to attend the closing meeting of the 39th annual IBF convention this morning at 9:30 a.m. The size was not surprising given the hard night of partying at the annual awards banquet last night. President Daryl Peoples thanked Jeanette Salazar and her hard-working behind the scenes staff, to the board of directors to the convention goers themselves for a successful gathering this year. It was announced that next year’s 40th convention will return to the birthplace of the IBF in Atlantic City. While nothing is signed yet, it looks like Caesars will be the host hotel and the dates will be pushed back to the traditional Memorial Day week. Thank you, IBF, President Peoples and the staff for another successful convention. See you all next year on the boardwalk!

After a nearly four-year layoff, former cruiserweight champion Marco Huck (42-5-1, 28 KOs) will return to the ring in a heavyweight bout on June 29 at the Estrel Hotel in Germany. The 39-year-old “Käpt’n” Huck will face 6’6 Evgenios Lazaridis (19-5, 13 KOs).

“I am highly motivated to finally get back into the ring and give the fans a great boxing match!,” said Huck. “I want to go back to the top against the best boxers. I want to win the world title and bring it back to Germany.”

Report/Photos: Boxing Bob Newman

The IBF 39th annual awards banquet was held Thursday night in San Juan, Puerto Rico at the Marriott Grand Ball room. It was a neat and tidy affair as dinner was promptly served, followed by the annual awards which were as follows:

Jersey Joe Walcott Award
Subriel Matias

Female Fighter of the Year
Amanda Serrano

Fight of the Year
IBF– Ginjiro Shigeoka vs. Rene Cuarto

Female – Chantelle Cameron vs. Katie Taylor II

Continue reading “IBF 39th Annual Awards Banquet”

Christian Carto 121 vs. Jesus Martinez 120.4
Atif Oberlton 175.4 vs. Juan Barajas 172.2
Nancy Franco 117.4 vs. Bree Howling 119.2
Michaele Nogue 137 vs. Stephanie Han 134.8
David Thomas 144 vs. Muhammad Robinson 143
David Whitmire 146.4 vs. Breydon Glaude 148.6
DeMarcus Layton 150.6 vs. Ibrahim Robinson 148

Venue: Live! Casino Philadelphia 1st Bell: 7 PM ET
Promoter: King’s Promotions
Stream: BXNGTV.com

Arnold “AG” Gonzalez 147 vs. Esneiker “La Maravilla” Correa 149
(WBA FEDECENTRO welterweight title)

Mikiah Kreps 121.2 vs. Melissa Parker 122
Alexander Castellano 121 vs. Miguel Carrizo 122
Gerffred Nagyot 139.6 vs. Luis Perez Salas 141
Anthony Bizzaro 138 vs. Carlos Aguilera 136
Samir Alowbali 118 vs. Josh Aarons 121
Alexander Hernandez 154 vs. Tivan Young 151
Michael Vega 140.2 vs. Edgar Macz-Sagui 140.6

Venue: Seneca Niagara Resort and Casino Events Center
Promoter: All Star Boxing
TV: ESPN Knockout (Latin America)

Newly elevated WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames will defend his title against Terrell Gausha on June 15 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Gausha, 36, (24-3, 12 KOs), a 2012 U.S. Olympian, won his most recent fights against Brandyn Lynch and KeAndrae Leatherwood, after losing a 12-round unanimous decision to Tim Tszyu in March 2022.

Adames-Gausha will be on the PBC undercard of the previously announced twinbill featuring “Tank” Davis against Frank “The Ghost” Martin and David Benavídez versus Oleksandr Gvozdyk.

Report/Photos: Boxing Bob Newman

The morning session of day two of the 39th Annual IBF Convention taking place at the San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino in San Juan, Puerto Rico, consisted of the medical seminar with four very interesting talks.

Dr. Domenic Coletta, Jr. gave a talk entitled, “Ringside Medicine- The Role Of The Physician.” Coletta gave a brief history of the sport, especially in terms of administration and medical involvement.

He then embarked on several bullet points:

• Profile of a Ringside Physician (usually ER doctors)
• Medical Testing Review (neurological, EKG, Hepatitis)
• Pre-fight Exam (pre-existing injuries)
• Working the Fight (remember your role, don’t get caught up in the fight as a fan)
• Post-fight (assess any injuries on each fighter)
• Evaluations/Suspensions (based on injuries)

Dr. Rick Weinstein was up next, delivering his talk, “The Aging Boxer.” Weinstein felt this subject was especially timely with the return, in a sanctioned fight, of Mike Tyson, who will be 58 when he enters the ring against Jake Paul in July. The bout will be sanctioned by the state of Texas, 2-minute rounds will be in effect and the glove size is still being determined, but it is speculated that a larger glove (greater than 10 ounces) will be used. Continue reading “IBF 39th Convention Day 2 Report”

With WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev out of commission with a ruptured meniscus, the WBO Championships Committee has ordered the camps of WBO #1 ranked Joshua Buatsi and #3 Anthony Yarde to commence negotiations for an interim title fight. The camps have ten days to negotiate an agreement. If no deal is reached, the committee will order a purse bid with a minimum bid of $300,000.

Juan Francisco “Gallo” Estrada and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez faced off at the launch press conference for their WBC super flyweight title on June 29 at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, live worldwide on DAZN.

Juan Francisco Estrada: “I think Bam is a good fighter but you do have to say that. But I think if you look at his best victories like Cuadras, Rungvisai, then those guys were on the way out. The only good victory that he’s had was the Sunny Edwards fight, which I was present for. Obviously that was at a lower weight and we’ll have to see what he’s like up here fighting against me at this higher weight class because I think that will be the difference on the night. Let’s see what happens on June 29 because I also come into this with a winning mentality and the mentality of winning this fight convincingly. If it is by KO, then even better.”

Jesse Rodriguez: When it’s just me and him in the ring, I’m going to take what he has. I’m a different breed and I’m a different animal. Come June 29 the whole world is going to see that. I’ve proved people wrong, time after time. I’m just here to prove people wrong…people didn’t think I could stop Sunny [Edwards]. I’m pretty sure they don’t expect me to stop Estrada. But I believe in myself that I can do it and my team believes it. It’s a very hard task to do but it is possible because nothing is impossible. So, come June 29 I feel like I am going to shock the world.

Heavyweight Junior Fa surprised the boxing world in recent days when he abruptly announced his retirement, thus withdrawing from his scheduled bout on May 25 against Arslanbek Makhmudov. IBF #12, WBC #14 rated Makhmudov will now face Miljan Rovcanin (27-3, 18 KOs) on the big Eye of the Tiger card at the Gervais Auto Centre in Shawinigan, Québec, Canada. Rovcanin is the main sparring partner for Filip Hrgovic.

“Rovcanin is a good veteran who combines size and punching power. The only defeats he suffered were at the hands of the American super prospect, Jared Anderson, and the only man to defeat Arslanbek, Agit Kabayel,” said Makhmudov’s trainer Marc Ramsay.

In addition to Makhmudov-Rovcanin, the main event will feature WBC #2, WBA #2, IBF #3, WBO #4 super middleweight Christian ‘Solide’ Mbilli (26-0, 22 KOs) against Mark Heffron (30-3-1, 24 KOs). ESPN+ will televise.

By Joe Koizumi

The newly crowned WBO bantamweight champion Yoshiki Takei (9-0, 8 KOs) established some remarkable records upon his coronation this Monday in Japan, as follows:

1. Takei is the 100th world champion ever produced from boxing clubs here in Japan (only those authorized by the Japan Boxing Commission) since Yoshio Shirai acquired the world flyweight belt by dethroning Dado Marino at Korakuen Baseball Stadium, Tokyo, on May 19, 1952.
2. Japan has completely dominated all the four world championships in the bantamweight category—WBC Junto Nakatani, WBA Takuma Inoue, IBF Ryosuke Nishida and WBO Yoshiki Takei.
3. Now Japan holds no less than ten world champions in the smaller divisions:122 Naoya Inoue (Undisputed)
   118 Nakatani, Takuma Inoue, Nishida and Takei
   115 Kazuto Ioka (WBA)
   115 Kosei Tanaka (WBO)
   112 Seigo Yuri Akui (WBA)
   108 Kenshiro Teraji (WBC, WBA)
   105 Ginjiro Shigeoka (IBF)

We hope to watch world bantam tournaments by our champs.

Lightweights Vasiliy Lomachenko and George Kambosos faced off at the final press conference for their clash for the vacant IBF world title taking place this weekend at the RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia. Loma and Kambosos locked eyes for three-and-a-half minutes before they were separated.

The card will air in the United States on Saturday night at 10PM ET/ 7PM PT on ESPN. The Australian telecast will start at 10AM in Perth.

Vasiliy Lomachenko: “We have a fight. We prepared very hard. And like I said, it will be very interesting…I’m just looking forward to the IBF title. I need to take my title, and then after that, I can think about my future.”

George Kambosos Jr: “I’m extremely confident. I bring that confidence from my preparation. I’ve had a tremendous training camp. The confidence is higher than ever. When I beat Lomachenko, there will be no more road for him to go. This is retirement for him.”

In a crossroads fight, former world junior welterweight champion Sergey Lipinets (18-3-1, 13 KOs) spoiled the U.S. debut of British star Robbie Davies Jr (23-5, 15 KOs) with an exciting ten round unanimous decision on Wednesday night at the Whitesands Events Center in Plant City, Florida. Davies rocked Lipinets in both rounds three and four. Lipinets broke Davies’ nose and dropped him in round five. Lipinets dropped Davies twice in round eight, but then Davies rocked Lipinets again at the end of the round. In the end, scores were 95-92, 96-91, 98-89. Great fight!

Unbeaten heavyweight Fernely Feliz Jr (8-0, 6 KOs) scored an eight round unanimous decision against durable Cesar Navarro (11-2, 9 KOs). Scores were 78-74, 79-73, 79-73.

Unbeaten super featherweight Tsendbaatar Erdenebat (10-0, 5 KOs) scored a third round TKO against Alberto Mercado (17-7-1, 4 KOs). The bout was stopped due to a nasty cut suffered by Mercado.

Report/Photos: Boxing Bob Newman

After a tremendously successful and fun Meet The Champs cocktail event last night, Wednesday morning kicked off with the general assembly in the ballroom of the Marriott San Juan.

As per usual, self-introductions were in order to start things off. Everyone from the IBF board members, fighters, managers, promoters, judges, referees, commissioners, media members and even spouses all took the microphone to introduce themselves and what their affiliation with the IBF is.

President Daryl Peoples started off with mention of some pending rules changes within the IBF, some very significant, as well as stressing “training, training, training” for ring officials. Peoples briefly touched on strict rules coming up on doping. “No six months, no one year, but a TWO YEAR ban for PED offenders.” Continue reading “IBF 39th Annual Convention Day 1 Report”

Former three-division world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko is a 7:1 favorite to defeat former unified champion George Kambosos in their clash for the vacant IBF lightweight world title taking place this weekend at the RAC Arena in Perth, Western Australia. Loma opened as a -550 favorite.

The card will air in the United States on Saturday night at 10PM ET/ 7PM PT on ESPN. The Australian telecast will start at 10AM on Sunday in Perth.

The WBC cruiserweight title fight between world champion Norair “The Dark Horse” Mikaeljan (27-2, 12 KOs) and number one challenger Ryan “The Bruiser” Rozicki (20-1, 19 KOs) will now headline promoter Don King’s June 7th card at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

The previously announced main event for the WBC People’s Championship featuring Adrien “The Problem” Broner (35-4-1, 24 KOs) against Blair “The Flair” Cobbs (16-1-1, 10 KOs) isn’t officially off, but it looks shakey.

According to DKP, the bout will happen “…if Broner shows up. Blair will be there.”

Continue reading “June 7 DKP card reshuffled”

Golden Boy Promotions announced today the signing of WBA #1 ranked super lightweight Kenneth “Bossman” Sims Jr. (20-2-1, 7 KOs), who will make his Golden Boy debut this summer.

“With a #1 ranking in the WBA, tremendous skills and a dynamite team behind him, Kenneth Sims is poised to make some real noise in the 140-pound division,” said promoter Oscar De La Hoya. “Inside the company, we have a slew of mouth-watering match-ups for Kenneth that could quickly propel him into the world championship picture.”

The WBC Board of Governors has decided to confirm Carlos Adames as the WBC reigning middleweight champion as he is being elevated from interim champion to WBC world champion.

Adames replaces Jermall Charlo, who was arrested on Monday in Pearland, Texas for DWI, fleeing a police officer, and leaving the scene of a crash after being involved in a collision with another vehicle. He was released after posting bail.

The WBC says it will continue to do as much as possible to support Charlo during his difficult times with regards to mental wellness and after a thorough evaluation of the situation and understanding of the facts, they may rank Jermall at super middleweight.

Charlo hadn’t defended his WBC title since June 2021.

Promoter Sampson Lewkowicz has announced that he has renewed his long-term promotional contract with WBC and WBC #4, WBO #9 and IBF #10 lightweight Edwin “La Granada” De Los Santos (16-2, 14 KOs). The 24-year-old De Los Santos, a hard-punching southpaw from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, has been with Lewkowicz’s Sampson Boxing for most of his career and found success in the United States, with nationally televised victories over fellow contenders, Luis Acosta (then 12-0), Jose Valenzuela (then 12-0) and Joseph Adorno (then 17-2-2).

Photos: Sumio Yamada

Check out this GIANT Canelo-Munguia photo gallery for some incredible shots + the scorecard.

Photos

Report/Photos: Boxing Bob Newman

For starters, this was not a typical IBF Meet the Champions cocktail event. The champions in attendance were not just IBF champions, nor were they just from Puerto Rico, this event was a full-blown banquet! Several hundred guests were in attendance.

Puerto Rico’s own WBO President Francisco Paco Valcarcel was on hand.

The champions in attendance included:
Ginjiro Shigeoka, Tomoki Kameda, Antoine Vanackere, Chantelle Cameron, Amanda Serrano, Miyo Yoshida, Michael Nunn, Juan LaPorte, Alberto Machado, Daniel Santos, Felix Trinidad, Rafael Del Valle, Wilfredo Mendez, Alfredo Escalera, Ivan Calderon, and Shane Mosley. Continue reading “IBF 39th Annual Meet The Champions Event”

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

This past Saturday Mexico once again remained on top of the world, after the sensational fight that Saul Canelo Álvarez and Jaime Munguía gave us in Las Vegas, during the celebration of Cinco de Mayo. The famous anniversary date which has, for decades, become a tradition to host the greatest champion of the moment; Salvador Sanchez, Julio Cesar Chavez, Erik Morales, De la Hoya, Mayweather and today’s king Canelo Alvarez have “owned” such date.

Canelo vs Munguia was a fast-paced thrilling fight, spiced with nonstop action. The young Munguía managed to land hard punches on Canelo several times and clearly dominated the beginning of the fight, making it highly dramatic. Continue reading “Cinco de Mayo, Viva Mexico, like the good old days”

Sergey Lipinets 141.6 vs. Robbie Davies Jr 141.6
Fernely Feliz Jr 204.2 vs. Cesar Navarro 216
Tsendbaatar Erdenebat 137 vs. Alberto Mercado 137
Robert Meriwether III 132 vs. Victor Manuel Lopez Gala 131.8
Terrence Williams 147 vs. Jonathan Ariel Sosa 147

Date: Wednesday, May 8
Venue: Whitesands Events Center, Plant City, Florida
Promoter: Probox
TV: ProboxTV