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WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol (17-0, 11 KOs) and challenger Craig Richards (16-1-1, 9 KOs) faced off during their final press conference ahead of their WBA world title fight on Saturday night at the AO Arena in Manchester, England.

Dmitry Bivol: “I missed fighting, I’m really looking forward to getting in the ring and making a great fight for all of the boxing fans. I have a dream to be the undisputed champion, I have goals to fight in Saint Petersburg, to fight in America, to fight in England. Now I’ve accomplished one of my goals. Continue reading “Bivol-Richards Final Press Conference”

London/ESPN+ (Friday)

• IBF featherweight champion Moruti Mthalane is a narrow -150 favorite against Sunny Edwards
• Unbeaten WBO #1 junior featherweight Michael Conlan is a little over 4:1 against Ionut Baluta

London/DAZN (Saturday)

• Former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker is less than a 2:1 favorite against Dereck Chisora
• WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol is a 32:1 favorite against Craig Richards
• Undisputed female champion Katie Taylor is a 5:1 favorite against Natasha Jones

Los Angeles/FOX (Saturday)

• Erislandy Lara is a 23:1 favorite against Thomas LaManna in a clash for the vacant WBA middleweight title
• Eduardo Ramirez is a 12:1 favorite against Isaac Avelar in a clash for the vacant WBA interim featherweight title

Los Angeles/PPV (Saturday)

• Former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz is a 23:1 favorite against Chris Arreola

Moruti Mthalane 111.9 vs. Sunny Edwards 111.3
(IBF featherweight title)

Michael Conlan 122 vs. Ionut Baluta 122
Troy Williamson 153 vs. Kieran Smith 153.5
Jordan Ellison 141 vs. Ryan Garner 136.75
Naheem Ali 156.25 vs. Joshua Frankham 153
Paul Cummings 155.75 vs. Levi Frankham 158.25
Dale Arrowsmith 159.75 vs. Jonathan Kumuteo 158.3
Stephen Jackson 119.75 vs. Andrew Cain 121.75

Venue: York Hall, London
Promoter: Queensberry
TV: ESPN+ (USA), BT Sport 1 (UK)

By Ray Wheatley – World of Boxing

Hall of Fame broadcaster “Colonel” Bob Sheridan talks to Fightnews.com® about former world heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, whom he rates as the best he has seen.

HOLMES WAS THE GREATEST

“Larry Holmes and Muhammad Ali both at their very best. That would be a real tough fight for Muhammad because of Larry’s jab. Also Larry’s versatility. He got knocked out three times in fights but came back to win those fights against Renaldo Snipes in Pittsburg and then against Ernie Shavers in Las Vegas also Mike Weaver in Madison Square Garden especially against Snipes when he went down and his eyes were rolling back but he got up to beat Snipes and he got up to beat Shavers and he got up to beat Weaver. No other heavyweight has done that in the history of boxing. When they were not only knocked down but knocked out and came back to win the fight. Larry Holmes rates number one in my rating. Continue reading “The Colonel rates Larry Holmes”

WBA heavyweight champion in recess Mahmoud Charr (31-4, 17 KOs) will now fight Christopher Lovejoy (19-0, 19 KOs) on May 15 in the Baaden Sports Studio in Cologne, Germany. Promoter Erol Ceylan initially wanted to stage the event in his in-house gym in Hamburg. Charr has been out of action for three and a half years. Lovejoy promoter Don King has filed a lawsuit trying to stop Lovejoy’s participation.

Other heavyweights scheduled include Victor Faust and Christian Hammer, as well as super-lightweight Volkan Gökcek.

Former unified heavyweight champion Andy “The Destroyer” Ruiz Jr. and all-action heavyweight Chris “The Nightmare” Arreola went face-to-face Wednesday at the final press conference before they meet in the FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View main event this Saturday, May 1 from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

“We finally have the chance to give the fans what they want to see Saturday night. It’s going to be a privilege.” – Ruiz

“Just seeing Andy today gets my blood going, because I’m ready to fight right now.” – Arreola

Full Quotes

Bek Bully vs. Gabe Rosado in co-feature

Jaime Munguia (36-0, 29 KOs) will return to the ring on June 19 against Maciej Sulecki (29-2, 11 KOs) in a 12-round defense of his WBO intercontinental middleweight title. The fight will take place at The University of Texas at El Paso’s Don Haskins Center and will be streamed live exclusively on DAZN worldwide, excluding Mexico. The event will be held under strict COVID-19 fan safety protocols and with a reduced event capacity below 40%.

“Although there have been several changes, we are happy because things are back on track for Jaime Munguia’s return on June 19,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy. “I’m confident that he will deliver a tremendous performance against Maciej Sulecki and show everyone why he deserves an opportunity to become a two-division world champion. Continue reading “Munguia-Sulecki back on”

Canelo on kidnapping, COVID, Mayweather, Oscar

Boxing superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez SPEAKS ENGLISH and reveals for the first time that he was responsible for negotiating the release of his kidnapped brother, suspects local law enforcement may have been involved and is spending less and less time in Mexico due to safety concerns.

On this weekend’s episode of In Depth with Graham Bensinger, the historically private athlete invited Graham Bensinger to his Guadalajara ranch and also opened up about his family, his battle against COVID-19 just six weeks prior to his last fight (vs. Yildirim), and a request he made to his siblings after his brother’s murder allegations.

Plus, Canelo shares harsh criticism for Oscar De La Hoya and the entire team at Golden Boy Promotions, and he talks of hypothetically knocking out Floyd Mayweather Jr. Continue reading “Explosive Canelo Interview”

Derek Chisora believes he puts “the fear in god” in Joseph Parker and says he expects the former WBO Heavyweight world champion to run when they clash over 12 rounds at the AO Arena, Manchester this Saturday May 1, live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and on DAZN in all markets excluding the UK, Ireland, China, New Zealand and Samoa.

Former world title challenger Chisora (32-10, 23 KOs) was last seen pushing Ukraine’s pound-for-pound star Oleksandr Usyk all of the way in their 12-round battle for the WBO Intercontinental Heavyweight Title at The SSE Arena, Wembley last October, and the fan favorite is chomping at the bit for his next challenge. Continue reading “Chisora: I put the fear of God in Joe”