Fightnews.com

By Zach Hirsch at the scales

Reggie Barnett Jr. 135 vs. Demarcus “Chop Chop” Corley 135
Leonard Garcia 165 vs. Joe Elmore 164.3
Bobo O’Bannon 247.9 vs. Arnold Adams 258.1
Kaleb Harris 164.9 vs. Noah Cutter 134.8
Melvin Guillard 183.8 vs. Scott O´Shaughnessy 184.9
Adrian Miles 227.5 vs. Jason Fish 224.4
David Diaz 136 vs. Spencer Ruggeri 134.7
Brad Kelly 166 vs. Elvin Brito 163.8
Tyler Hill 176 vs. Zion Tomlinson 176
Ryan Jones 185.7 vs. Eric Thompson 186

Promoter: Bareknuckle Fighting LLC- David Feldman
Site: Civic Center, Biloxi, Mississippi
TV: Bare Knuckle TV app bktvapp.com

After nearly 18 months, WBC/IBF light heavyweight world champion Artur Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KOs) will make his first title defense as a unified world champion Saturday against Adam Deines (19-1-1, 10 KOs) from Megasport Arena in Moscow. Beterbiev, boxing’s only world champion with a 100 percent knockout rate, returns to his home country for the first time as a professional.

Here are some of Beterbiev’s thoughts before his showdown against Deines:

“It’s been a difficult year for everyone. Now, I’m feeling good. I had a very good preparation, very good camp in Russia. We’re ready for a fight,” stated Beterbiev.

“I’m very happy to have a fight in my home country. We studied Adam. We watched some videos. We have a couple of strategies.” Continue reading “Beterbiev: We’re ready for a fight”

Veteran Texas fighter Bryan “The Warrior” Vera is in a win-or-retire fight April 17th versus former New England middleweight champion Kendrick “Peppa” Ball in the 8-round main event for the vacant World Boxing Council USNBC (U.S.) Silver super middleweight title at New England Sports Center in Derry, New Hampshire.

Fighting out of Austin, the 39-year-old Vera has rejuvenated his career by winning his last two fights, both at New England Sports Center, his last this past November. Vera burst upon the boxing scene 16 years ago in the first season of The Contender, Reality Television series. He went on to defeat a trio of world champions – Andy Lee, Sergio Mora (twice) and Serhiy Dzinziruk – capturing five regional titles including the NABO middleweight crown. Continue reading “It’s win or retire for Bryan Vera”

Karim Guerfi 117.5 vs. Lee McGregor 118
(European bantamweight title)

Maxi Hughes 134 vs. Paul Hyland Jr 134.5
Jamie Robinson 141.75 vs. Billy Allington 141.25
Eryk Apresyan 152.75 vs. Nathan Bendon 153
Sean Duffy 134 vs. Paul Holt 134
Shabaz Masoud 122.25 vs. Louis Norman 122

Venue: University of Bolton Stadium, Bolton, England
Promoter: MTK Global
TV: ESPN+

Cruiserweight Krzysztof Glowacki says there are weaknesses in Lawrence Okolie’s game and has promised to take ‘his’ WBO world title back home with him to Poland after he beats the unbeaten Englishman at the SSE Arena, Wembley this Saturday.

Glowacki (31-2, 19 KOs) climbed off the canvas to score an eleventh round knockout over Germany’s Marco Huck to claim the WBO crown in 2015 before widely outpointing America’s Steve Cunningham at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn in his first defense.

‘Glowka’, who is trained by Fiodor Łapin, was originally scheduled to face former Team GB star ‘The Sauce’ on December 12, however, the week prior to the fight, Glowacki tested positive for COVID-19. Continue reading “Glowacki: I will beat him up”

Lawrence Okolie and Krzysztof Glowacki faced off at today’s final press conference ahead of Saturday’s WBO cruiserweight title fight at The SSE Arena in London live on Sky Sports in the UK and on DAZN in the U.S. and more than 200 countries and territories.

Krzysztof Glowacki: “This is a privilege for me, I will fight strongly and I’m very confident for Saturday night. Okolie is an undefeated fighter so I’m expecting a very tough fight. It will be a strong fight; we can guarantee it so you cannot miss this one.”

Lawrence Okolie: “I think that everything’s all about timing. It’s been a good ride to get here, and I feel like it’s my time to go out there and become world champion. There’s nothing for me to be tense about, I’ve done all the training so it’s just about going in there and getting it done. Continue reading “Okolie-Glowacki final press conference”

On April 16, at Allianz Cloud in Milan (Italy), 27-year-old Italian cruiserweight Fabio Turchi (18-1 with 13 KOs) will fight French champion Dylan Bregeon (11-0-1 woth 3 KOs) for the vacant European Union belt in the main event of the show promoted by Opi Since 82-Matchroom-DAZN and streamed live by DAZN. Fabio Turchi is #6 in the European Boxing Union rankings and #9 in the IBF ranking. The European champion is Tommy McCarthy who defeated Turchi on points by split decision on October 11, 2019 in Trento (Italy): 116-112, 115-113 and 112-116. Fabio didn’t like the decision and wants the rematch. Defeating Bregeon for the European Union title is a step in that direction. Continue reading “Turchi vows to beat Bregeon”

The Boxeo Telemundo winter season comes to an end this Friday with two hot prospects in the 10 round main event. Frank “El Castigador” Gonzalez (8-1, 4 KOs) will take on Saul “The Beast” Sanchez (15-1, 8 KOs) for the vacant WBA Fedecentro bantamweight title. The card will air with a live audience from the Bryan Glazer JCC center in Tampa, Florida.

Gonzalez will be making his Telemundo main event debut. This will also be his first 10 round fight, but he says he ready. Continue reading ““El Castigador” Gonzalez on Telemundo Friday”

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® caught up with one of Golden Boy’s top, young talent’s undefeated Hector Valdez (13-0, 8 KOs) as he comes back home to Dallas to face Alberto Torres (11-3-3, 4 KOs) this Saturday, March 20 at Dickies Arena in Ft Worth, TX, headlined by rising star Vergil Ortiz Jr. who faces former 140lb world champ Maurice “Mighty Mo” Hooker with the main card shown live on DAZN.

–

Update: Pablo César Cano vs Johnathan Navarro has been canceled due to undisclosed reasons and now there’s a new co-main: Anabel Ortiz vs Seniesa Estrada

By Hesiquio Balderas

Veteran contender Pablo César Cano (33-7, 23 KOs) is looking to secure a knockout when he faces top contender Johnathan Navarro (17-0, 9 KOs) as the co-main event of the Ortiz Jr. vs. Hooker main event that will be held in the Dickies Arena, in fort Worth, Texas. The event is the return of Golden Boy Promotions to an open public arena.

Fightnews.com® spoke exclusively to Cano. Continue reading “Interview: Pablo Cesar Cano”

Joe “The Beast” Smith Jr. (26-3, 21 KOs) and Maxim Vlasov (45-3, 26 KOs) are headed to the Sooner State to fight for the vacant WBO light heavyweight world title on ESPN April 10 at Osage Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They were originally scheduled to fight February 13, but Vlasov tested positive for COVID-19 prior to the weigh-in, forcing a postponement.

In the 10-round co-feature, unbeaten heavyweight contender Efe Ajagba (14-0, 11 KOs) will take on Brian “MVP” Howard (15-4, 12 KOs). The undercard on ESPN+ includes heavyweights Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson, Trey Lippe Morrison (16-0, 16 KOs), and Jeremiah Milton (2-0, 2 KOs) in separate bouts.

Alberto Machado 135 vs. Angel Fierro 134.8
(WBO NABO lightweight title)

José Martínez 117.8 vs. Israel González 117
(WBO NABO bantamweight title)

Venue: Albergue Olimpico, Salinas, Puerto Rico
Promoter: Ring City
TV: NBCSN

Rising welterweight star Jaron “Boots” Ennis (26-0, 24 KOs) faces former world champion Sergey Lipinets (16-1-1, 12 KOs) in a twelve-rounder on Showtime April 10 from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

In the co-feature, Eimantas Stanionis (12-0, 9 KOs) meets former world title challenger Thomas Dulorme (25-4-1, 16 KOs) in a 12-round WBA welterweight title eliminator. The telecast opener features IBF junior bantamweight champion Jerwin “Pretty Boy” Ancajas (32-1-2, 22 KOs) defending his title against Jonathan Rodríguez (22-1, 16 KOs) in a 12-round bout.

By Joe Koizumi

IBF interim 122-pound champ Ryosuke Iwasa (27-3, 17 KOs), a Japanese southpaw, will go and fight Murodjon Akhmadaliev (8-0, 6 KOs) in quest of his full WBA and IBF belts in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on April 3. It was announced here by Celes Kobayashi Gym yesterday (Tuesday).

2016 Olympic bronze medalist Akhmadaliev, 26, captured both belts by a hairline split decision (all 115-113; two to one) over Daniel Roman in Miami in January of the previous year. Continue reading “Iwasa to face WBA, IBF 122lb champ Akhmadaliev”

Boxing legend Julio Cesar Chavez and Hector Camacho Jr. came face to face Tuesday to announce their PPV exhibition fight that will take place on Saturday, June 19th at The Jalisco Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico

Julio Cesar Chavez: First I said no, because he is too young for me. But when they told me it was a tribute to my great friend (Camacho Sr.), who is in heaven, I accepted immediately. Between Mexico and Puerto Rico there has always been a great rivalry, but “Macho” Camacho never bothered my family, he never offended me or used rude words. And we became great friends, I love him to heaven, he knows it. Although now he must be angry about the beating I’m going to give his son.”

Hector Camacho Jr: “I have been waiting for the opportunity for this fight for years. I will be well prepared, very skinny as you like. This fight is going to be days before the anniversary of my father’s death, so it will be a very emotional fight for me.”

Four-division world champion and legendary Mexican boxer Erik Morales, who is the trainer of Tijuana’s Angel Fierro, previewed his fighter’s matchup against Puerto Rico’s Alberto Machado ahead of Thursday night’s Ring City USA main event. Morales was unable to make the trip to Puerto Rico to be in his fighter’s corner, but he spoke with the media on Tuesday.

In addition to Machado-Fierro, he spoke about Estrada-Chocolatito 2, who wins a possible fight between Manny Pacquiao and Mikey Garcia, and he didn’t rule out fighting again himself! Continue reading “Interview: Erik Morales”

After holding a virtual convention in 2020, the World Boxing Council will hold its 59th Annual Convention in Thailand from November 8 to 12, 2021. Preparations have begun and the WBC is getting ready for a historic and unforgettable convention. Thailand has been a regular stop for the annual WBC event, most recently in 2013.

WBC #1 bridgerweight Oscar “Kaboom” Rivas (27-1, 19 KOs) scored an easy third round TKO over Sylvera “Sly” Louis (8-5, 4 KOs) on Tuesday night at Quebec Plaza Hotel in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Rivas pressed the action and dropped Louis in round two. Louis stayed on his stool after round three. 🙁

Rivas previously beat Louis in a four rounder back in 2012. Louis was lured out of retirement to take this rematch.

Afterward, Rivas stated he prepared well for this new weight division, he’s ready for anything that will be thrown at him, and he intends to become a world champion in 2021.

Unbeaten IBF #6, WBO #7 super middleweight “Vicious” Patrice Volny (16-0, 10 KOs) scored a fifth round KO over Janks Trotter (10-6-2, 10 KOs). Volny dropped Trotter with a right hand in round two and battered Trotter to the canvas twice in round five to end it. Time was 1:56. Volny previously scored a first round TKO against Trotter three years ago. Continue reading “Rivas beats Louis again, Volny triumphs”

Heavyweight favorite Joey Dawejko (20-8-4, 11 KOs) will take on Brandon Spencer (9-18-3, 6 KOs) in the headline bout on Saturday, April 3rd at The 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dawejko is looking to get back in the win column coming off a loss to undefeated contender Frank Sanchez in March 2020.

Fans will be allowed into the event promoted by RDR Promotions. All Covid-19 Protocols will be followed, and masks must be worn at all times. Continue reading “Joey Dawejko returns April 3 in Philly”

Sorry to report the passing of cruiserweight boxer Ryan White Mountain Soft. Details are sketchy, but he was reportedly shot and killed on Sunday by Standing Rock Reservation police in McLaughlin, South Dakota. Soft was just 30 and had a pro record of 4-12-1 with 1 KO, often against strong opponents. His final fight was against former world champion Tavoris Cloud in November 2020. Continue reading “RIP Ryan White Mountain Soft”

“If you avoid your mandatory again, how will you look at yourself in the mirror and say that you are the true champion, Estrada?“

By Thainchai Pisitwuttinan and Damrong Simakajornboon

Former two-time WBC super flyweight champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai talks to Fightnews.com® to weigh-in on his planned mandatory world title challenge against WBC/WBA super featherweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada, rumors of Estrada-Chocolatito 3, and discusses Chocolatito’s next steps.

You have seen the fight between Estrada and Chocolatito. Now that the unification fight is done. You are the mandatory challenger of Estrada. What is your plan?

I want to fight Estrada next. It was promised to me that I will get to fight the winner of Estrada and Chocolatito by August or September this year. I will have trilogy with Estrada next. Then, after Estrada, I will have the trilogy with Chocolatito if the fans want to see it. Continue reading “Sor Rungvisai: Estrada should fight me next”

Former four-weight world champion Donnie “Ahas” Nietes has had his opponent confirmed for next month’s fight at Caesars Palace Bluewaters Dubai on April 3. Nietes (42-1-5, 23 KOs) will take on WBA #8 Pablo Carrillo (25-7-1, 16 KOs) for the vacant WBO International super flyweight title. The bout will be featured on the undercard of the Jamel Herring-Carl Frampton WBO super featherweight title fight and seen on ESPN+.

By Boxing Bob Newman

Boxing fans are always curious to see how the progeny of famous boxing dads will fare in the ring when they take up the profession themselves. After a 5-0 start in the paid ranks, Evan “Yung Holy” Holyfield talks about following in the footsteps of his legendary Hall-of-Fame dad, Evander “Real Deal” Holyfield. Holyfield’s new trainer, Cincinnati’s Mike Stafford shares his thoughts on his new assignment in working with “Yung Holy” as well.

–