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Former two-time world champion Anthony “The Dog” Dirrell and Kyrone “Shut It Down” Davis both made weight for their WBC super middleweight eliminator taking place this Saturday on FOX from Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles. Dirrell weighed in at 167.4 pounds and Davis scaled in at 167.6 pounds.

Other Weights:
Jesús Ramos 146.8 vs. Jesús Emilio Bojórquez 146.2
Vito Mielnicki Jr. 146.4 vs. Nóe López 146
Michel Rivera 144.4 vs. Anthony Mercado 146
Anthony Cuba 134.2 vs. Diego Elizondo 135
Romuel Cruz 122.4 vs. Luis Valdés 122.4
José Valenzuela 134.8 vs. Clay Burns 134.8
Leon Lawson 152.2 vs. Ramal Amanov 153.8
Arnold Alejandro 131.2 vs. Jeremy Abram 129.4

Venue: Shrine Auditorium
Promoter: TGB Promotions
TV: FOX

Unbeaten super middleweight Daniele Scardina (19-0, 15 KOs) scored an eighth round TKO over Cesar Nunez (17-3-1, 9 KOs) to claim the vacant European Union belt on Friday night at the Allianz Cloud in Milan, Italy. Scardina, who lives in Miami Beach where he trains at the legendary 5th Street Gym, progressively broke down Nunez and got a referee’s stoppage with a barrage of punches. Time was 2:55.

Impact Boxing will kick off its 2021 schedule on March 6th from the Delray Beach Boxing Club in Delray Beach, Florida. In the main event, light heavyweight Steve Geffrard (17-2, 12 KOs) takes on veteran Denis Grachev (20-11-1, 11 KOs) in an eight-rounder. The card can be seen on Impact Network, a basic cable channel that reaches over 93 million homes. Continue reading “Geffrard-Grachev clash March 6”

Canelo Alvarez 167.6 vs. Avni Yildirim 167.6
(WBC/WBA super middleweight titles)

Zhilei Zhang 256.2 vs. Jerry Forrest 236
Diego Pacheco 168 vs. Rodolfo Gomez 167
Alexis Espino 167.8 vs. Ashton Sykes 164.2
Aaron Aponte 139.8 vs. Harry Gigliotti 139.2
Keyshawn Davis 136.6 vs. Lester Brown 134.6

Venue: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Florida
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN

Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, (41-0, 27 KOs), the Mexican light heavyweight contender and undefeated former world champion, has signed a multi-fight deal with Golden Boy. Details for Ramirez’s imminent return will be announced shortly.

“After several discussions, Golden Boy Promotions made the most sense and felt like the best partners for me,” said Ramirez. “They understood the goals and the agendas I have and I have full faith in Oscar and the team to make the big fights happen. I look forward to working with them closely and to this new chapter of my career.”

Kamshybek Kunkabayev 199.7 vs. Server Emurlaev 199.9
Nurtas Azhbenov 134.9 vs. Evgeny Smirnov 134.9
Bagdat Uaydayev 125.6 vs. Sagyndyk Moldashev 125.2
Abay Tolesh 158.9 vs. Vasily Shtyk 158.7
Talgat Shayken 146.6 vs. Evgeny Pavko 146.1

Venue: Tynyshpayev Academy of Transport & Communications, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Promoter: MTK Global
TV: ESPN+

Heavyweight Junior Fa weighed in at 260.3 pounds, 20.3 pounds heavier than former WBO heavyweight champion Joeseph Parker, who scaled in at 240. Parker (27-2, 21 KOs) and Fa (19-0, 10 KOs) will fight for the vacant WBO Oriental heavyweight title on Saturday at the Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. DAZN will stream the event in the U.S. at 1:30AM ET/10:30PM PT.

“Junior’s a tough fighter,” said Parker. “I’ve known this from our amateur days and I always knew our paths would cross again. He’s undefeated and poses a real threat to my hopes of becoming a two-time heavyweight world champion. Continue reading “Fa outweighs Parker by 20 pounds”

After Thursday’s press conference in Miami, WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez pulled out of his defense against McWilliams Arroyo in Saturday’s Canelo-Yilirim co-feature. Martinez said on social media that he aggravated a previous injury this week and doctors advised him to not fight. Arroyo may face another opponent for the WBC interim belt on the card.

Trainers Eddy Reynoso and Joel Diaz weigh-in on Saturday’s clash in Miami between WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Saul Alvarez and Avni Yildirim.

Joel Diaz: “It was a great experience for me when I was called by Avni’s manager in regard to this great opportunity. Flew into Turkey, started training over there. Everything was great, we’ve been putting in some great work. I believe we can do something with Avni. If not, I wouldn’t be here…Putting a plan against Canelo Alvarez for me, is really tough because Canelo is not an easy fighter to face. Like every coach, like every fighter we have to take risks. We’re up for the challenge.”

Eddy Reynoso: “We were very happy after that fight in December (against Callum Smith) and very happy after the results with Oscar Valdez. We know we have a tough fight against Yildirim, he’s trained by Joel. We know it’s not going to be easy but we’re gonna give a good fight.”

By Przemek Garczarczyk

“The reason I can fight every two months and sustain this kind of activity: A lot of guys when they win they celebrate, go out, spend the money on material stuff. I invest in me,” says unbeaten heavyweight Michael Coffie. Last month Coffie knocked out Darmani Rock on FOX to improve to 12-0, 9 KOs. The former Marine talks about living and breathing boxing, his mental approach, and why an iron chin definitely helps when you step into the ring vs. 250+ pound men.

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Former two-time WBC super middleweight champion Anthony “The Dog” Dirrell and Kyrone “Shut It Down” Davis went back and forth at a final press conference Thursday to preview their main event showdown taking place this Saturday on FOX from Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles.

Anthony Dirrell: He’s fat. He’s not big, he’s fat. He ate up to the weight. He’s not big. He’s fat. He’s a 160-154 opponent. He knows what he got himself into.

Kyrone Davis: He’s gotta fight me. It is what it is. He can talk about it, but he’s got to get in the ring on Saturday.

WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Saul Alvarez and Avni Yildirim pose after the final press conference for the Matchroom boxing card taking place this Saturday at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, FL.

Canelo Alvarez: “I respect all fighters. I respect the challenger that’s in front of me right now. I know he’s a strong fighter. I know he has a lot of tools. I have the same mentality. I’m trying to do my job, and I’m trying to make history. I love being here. I love being in the gym. It’s my life. We’re going to take these fights fight-by-fight, and hopefully I can fight 4 times this year. I’m focused on my rival Saturday. I know right now, this fight is the only one that exists for me, and I’m focused on what I have to do, my job for Saturday.”

Avni Yildirim: “I’m ready to be here. Saturday is a big night for me and for my country, for all the fans. It’s a big chance for me, a big chance for my country. Everyone is waiting for the WBC belt. Maybe after the world championship title, boxing will get so big in my country. He’s a big champion, everyone knows that. I’m ready for the world championship title for the big chance. It’s my time. Saturday, for everyone, it’s showtime.”

Triller Fight Club (TFC) took another massive step forward in its growing sports and entertainment business when it today won the purse bid to stage the IBF mandatory fight between undisputed lightweight champion Teófimo López and George Kambosos Jr. Triller bid $6 million, far outpacing Matchroom’s bid of $3.5 million and Top Rank’s bid of $2.3 million. The date and venue will be announced in the coming weeks.

This is the latest addition to a growing presence for Triller Fight Club. TFC’s April 17 card featuring Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren will be its first in a series of 2021 special events, following the debut Tyson vs. Jones PPV event in 2020.