Fightnews.com

By Joe Koizumi
Photo by Naoki Fukuda

We yesterday watched all the three Japanese contestants victorious in the world title tripleheader in Tokyo, Japan. It’s time to count and confirm our world titleholders so far. Let’s get it on.

Undisputed 122 Naoya Inoue 26-0, 23 KOs
WBA 118 Takuma Inoue 19-1, 5 KOs
WBO 118 Junto Nakatani 27-0, 20 KOs
WBA 115 Kazuto Ioka 31-2-1, 16 KOs
WBO 115 Kosei Tanaka 20-1, 11 KOs
WBA 112 Seigo Yuri Akui 19-2-1, 11 KOs
WBC, WBA 108 Kenshiro Teraji 23-1, 14 KOs
WBC 105 Yudai Shigeoka 8-0, 5 KOs
IBF 105 Ginjiro Shigeoka 10-0, 8 KOs

There are nine world champs. This reporter remembers the day of more than ten world titleholders here, and if we call that good old days the golden age of boxing in Japan, the current state of only nine titlists is still developing to expect a brighter future. We should be humble and should not be overconfident over the current situation since we may see hungry challengers all over the world. We should cultivate more and more young aspirants for fame and fortune with more efforts since boxing is technically changing day after day. The golden age of boxing in Japan is yet to come.

Unbeaten Josue Francisco Aguero (11-0, 6 KOs) of Argentina demolished Francisco Javier Lucero (16-5-4, 12 KOs) of Mexico in round one Saturday night at the Casino Buenos Aires in Buenos Aires, Distrito Federal, Argentina. Midway through round one, Aguero caught Lucero with a quick left hook to the chin that sent Lucero hard to the canvas. Lucero beat the count but Aguero immediately overwhelmed him with a high volume of punches against the ropes prompting the referee to stop the bout. Aguero retained his WBA Fedelatin Super Featherweight title. The official time of the stoppage was 1:16.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

“Monster” Inoue’s brother WBA bantamweight champ Takuma Inoue (19-1, 5 KOs), 117.75, impressively kept his belt as he beautifully scored a one-punch knockout over ex-IBF junior bantam ruler Jerwin Ancajas (34-4-2, 23 KOs), 117.75, at 0:44 of the ninth round on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.

It was Takuma’s best performance as he displayed his hand speed, quick reflexes and determination in infighting and stunned the crowd by an unexpected knockout victory. We knew Ancajas as a dangerous southpaw puncher, but Takuma dared to mix it up in the close quarter and dominated the processing with his faster hands. Continue reading “Takuma Inoue-Ancajas Full Report”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten two-division champ Junto Nakatani (27-0, 20 KOs), 117.5, very impressively captured the WBC bantamweight belt as he dropped defending titlist Alejandro Santiago (28-5-5, 14 KOs), 117.75, from Mexico, twice and scored a spectacular TKO victory at 1:12 of the sixth round on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.

Former WBO junior bantam ruler Junto had a severe weight problem due to his exceptional height in his previous division, renounced his 115-pound belt and had an ambitious crack at the world bantam belt against Santiago who had acquired the vacant WBC title by beating veteran ex-champ Nonito Donaire last July. But it was Nakatani’s night since Santiago couldn’t show anything out of his arsenal before the trick happened. Continue reading “Nakatani-Santiago Full Report”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Formerly three-division WBO champ Kosei Tanaka (20-1, 11 KOs), 114.75, acquired the vacant WBO junior bantamweight belt as he had a tough time with durable Mexican warrior Christian Bacasegua (22-5-2, 9 KOs), 114.75, but earned a unanimous decision (116-111, 117-110, 119-108) over twelve hard-fought rounds on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. The official tallies were as follows: Don Trella (US) 116-111, Pat Russell (US) 117-110 and Surat Soikrachang (Thailand) 119-108—all in Kosei’s favor. Bence Kovacs (Hungary) was the referee. Continue reading “Tanaka-Bacasegua Full Report”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Hard-punching southpaw bantam prospect Riku Masuda (4-1, 4 KOs), 117.75, demonstrated his vaunted power punching in polishing off WBO#6 ex-world title challenger Jonas Sultan (19-7, 11 KOs), 117.5, at 2:21 of the opening session in a scheduled eight supporting a world title tripleheader on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Masuda, whose amateur mark was 52-14 including 22 stoppages, failed to win the national 118-pound belt from unbeaten world-rated Seiya Tsutsumi only to lose a close decision (96-94 twice, 97-93) last August. The quick demolition was produced by a haymaker, a southpaw left to the midsection. Sultan fell in agony to be unable to beat the count though he almost raised himself. The ref tolled the fatal ten. Continue reading “Masuda-Sultan Full Report”

In a clash of unbeaten super middleweights, WBO #5, IBF #7, WBA #8, WBC #10 Edgar “The Chosen One” Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) scored a sixth round KO against WBA #3, IBF #13 Padraig McCrory (18-1, 9 KOs) on Saturday night at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida. Berlanga began to rough up McCrory in round three and started to connect with big shots in round four. Berlanga continued to batter McCrory and put him down to end it in round six. Time was 2:44. After five straight decisions, Berlanga got his first KO since December 2020.

2020 Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz (3-0, 1 KO) dominated Brayan Zamarippa (14-3, 5 KOs) over ten rounds in a bout for the IBF International and WBA Continental Latin-American lightweight titles. Cruz in control every minute, but the rugged Zamarippa was able to endure ten rounds of punishment. Scores were 100-90 3x.

In a WBA welterweight eliminator, WBA #1 Shakhram Giyasov (15-0, 9 KOs) scored a technical decision over #5 Pablo Cesar Cano (35-9-1, 25 KOs). Giyasov, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist, dropped Cano with a body shot in round three, then methodically outpointed Cano until Cano fell awkwardly and injured his ankle in round eleven. The bout went to the scorecards with Giyasov winning 109-99 3x.

In a WBA bantamweight eliminator, WBA #2 Antonio Vargas (18-1, 10 KOs) scores an seventh round TKO against WBA #3 Jonathan Rodriguez (17-2-1, 7 KOs). Vargas recovered from a first round knockdown to drop Rodriguez in round two, however, Vargas was deducted two points for hitting Rodriguez when he was down. Vargas took over after that, flooring Rodriguez again in round seven. Rodriguez’s corner didn’t let him come out for round eight.

In a clash between unbeaten flyweights, 2020 Olympian Yankiel Rivera (5-0, 2 KOs) took a hard fought ten round unanimous decision over Andy Dominguez (10-1, 5 KOs) in a clash for the WBA and WBC Continental Americas titles. Rivera won the first eight rounds, but was rocked badly in round nine. Scores were 99-91 3x.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda (to come soon)

“Monster” Inoue’s brother WBA bantamweight champ Takuma Inoue (19-1, 5 KOs), 117.75, impressively kept his belt as he beautifully scored a one-punch knockout over ex-IBF junior bantam ruler Jerwin Ancajas (34-4-2, 23 KOs), 117.75, at 0:44 of the ninth round on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.

It was Takuma’s best performance as he displayed his hand speed, quick reflexes and determination in infighting and stunned the crowd by an unexpected knockout victory. We knew Ancajas as a dangerous southpaw puncher, but Takuma dare to mix it up in the close quarter and dominated the processing with his faster hands. As the contest progressed, it became Takuma’s fight, whipping the Filipino veteran with good left hooks to the face and solid body shots to weaken and slow him down. It was early in round nine that Takuma boldly mixed it up and landed a vicious right uppercut to the midsection. Ancajas knelt down in pain to be unable to beat the count. Mark Nelson tolled the fatal ten to declare a fine knockout of the champion Takuma. His brother Naoya quickly climbed up to the ring and celebrated his brother’s spectacular knockout in his first defense.

Promoter: Teiken Promotions.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda (to come soon)

Unbeaten two-division champ Junto Nakatani (27-0, 20 KOs), 117.5, very impressively captured the WBC bantamweight belt as he dropped defending titlist Alejandro Santiago (28-5-5, 14 KOs), 117.75, twice and scored a spectacular TKO victory at 1:12 of the sixth round on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.

Former WBO junior bantam ruler Junto had a weight problem due to his exceptional height in his previous division, and then had an ambitious crack at the world bantam belt against Santiago who had acquired the WBC title by beating veteran ex-champ Nonito Donaire last July.

But it was Nakatani’s night since Santiago couldn’t show anything out of his arsenal before the trick happened. Utilizing his height and reach, the tall southpaw handled the much shorter champ from the outset. After the fourth, the open scoring system indicated all 40-36 in his favor. Junto began to accelerate his attack from the fifth, and exploded his secret weapon—a lethal southpaw straight left. He landed it right to the face in round six, and Alejandro badly hit the deck. Though he managed to stand up and resume fighting, he had no power left to respond to the challenger’s attack. Nakatani again exploded his solid combinations to floor him again.

The champ’s cornerman Romuro Quirarte asked for a stoppage from the apron to the referee Laurence Cole, who then declared a halt. Following his splendid stoppage of Andrew Moloney last May, Junto again demonstrated his power punching to impress the crowd at Ryogoku Sumo Arena.

Promoter: Teiken Promotions.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda (to come soon)

Formerly three-division WBO champ Kosei Tanaka (20-1, 11 KOs), 114.75, acquired the vacant WBO junior bantamweight belt as he had a tough time with durable Mexican warrior Christian Bacasegua (22-5-2, 9 KOs), 114.75, but earned a unanimous decision (116-111, 117-110, 119-108) over twelve hard-fought rounds on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.

It wasn’t Tanaka’s best performance despite prefight favorable odds for him, as he forgot to use his trademark footwork and was forced to mix it up almost throughout the contest. Bacasegua kept on going forward to exchange body shots in the close range, and Tanaka was forced to respond to his persistent attacks in the close quarter. But Tanaka caught the Mexican with good combinations and scored a knockdown midway in round eight. Since then, Tanaka regained his footwork and fought well with fast combinations to the fading foe.

For Tanaka it was his fourth WBO belt in as many different categories.

Promoter: Teiken Promotions.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda (to come soon)

Hard-punching southpaw prospect Riku Masuda (4-1, 4 KOs), 117.75, demonstrated his vaunted power punching in polishing off WBO#6 ex-world title challenger Jonas Sultan (19-7, 11 KOs), 117.5, at 2:21 of the opening session in a scheduled eight supporting a world title tripleheader on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Masuda, whose amateur mark was 52-14 including 22 stoppages, failed to win the national 118-pound belt from unbeaten world-rated Seiya Tsutsumi only to lose a close decision last August. The quick demolition was produced by a haymaker, a southpaw left to the midsection. Sultan fell to be unable to beat the count though he almost raised himself. The ref mercilessly tolled the fatal ten.

Promoter: Teiken Promotions.

Undefeated welterweight Gor Yeritsyan (18-0, 14 KOs) outworked Quinton “Quickdraw” Randall, (13-2-1, 3 KOs) over ten rounds to claim the vacant WBC Continental Americas title on Friday night at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California. Technical fight that never really heated up. Scores were 99-91, 100-90, 100-90.

Unbeaten super lightweight knockout artist Cain Sandoval (12-0, 11 KOs) went the distance for the first time against 2008 Olympian Javier “El Intocable” Molina (22-6, 9 KOs). Sandoval pressed the action and punished the body of Molina, who was savvy enough to not get caught. Scores were 100-90 3x.

In an upset, former world title challenger Blake “Il Capo” Caparello (35-4-1, 15 KOs) knocked out WBC #8, WBA #14 cruiserweight Simone “The Italian Tank” Federici (20-3-1, 8 KOs) in the fifth round on Friday night at the Paramount in Huntington, New York. A short left hook sent Federici to the canvas. The 37-year-old Caparello claimed the WBC Continental Americas and NABA Gold belts.

Caparello-Federici was elevated to the main event when the original headliner between super welterweights Wendy Toussaint and Mponda Kalunga was scrapped due to visa issues.

Hometown super middleweight hero Lester Martinez (17-0, 15 KOs) of Guatemala TKO’d Ruben Angulo (11-9-2, 5 KOs) of Colombia on Friday night at the Parque de la Industria, Guatemala City, Guatemala. Martinez steadlily broke down Angulo from round one with punches to the body and head. Martinez turned it up near the end of round two firing a rapid combination to the head that sent Angulo crashing to the canvas where he was counted out by the referee. Martinez won the vacant WBC Latino title. Martinez began his professional career debuting with a knockout of former world champion Ricard Mayorga back in 2019.

Former world title challenger David Jimenez (15-1, 11 KOs) of Costa Rica defeated local favorite Pablo Macario (8-6, 4 KOs) in the 10 round flyweight co-feature. Jimenez dominated the action and was in control of the bout overall. Macario fought gamely all night and had the support of the fans on hand but Jimenez was a bit too seasoned for him. The official judges scorecards read 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92 all in favor of Jimenez.

Immanuwel Aleem 167.6 vs. Malcolm Jones 166.4
(WBC Continental Americas & UBO Continental titles)

Jaqeem Hutcherson 122 vs. Brandon Chambers 121
(UBO Inter Continental title)

Joseph Veazy 144.2 vs Jose Belloso 142.6
Ahmad Muhammad Jones 146 vs Corey Champion 145.4
Vincent Mosca 179.2 vs Zak Kelly 175
Ezri Turner 157.4 vs Jeremiah Truhlar 160
Ishmael Dixon 154.6 vs Walter Sanders 163.8
Tanisha Faquiri 135.4 vs Kenneth Agnew 138.2
Courtney Brown 152 vs Victor Williams 147.6
Boris Nde 140.6 vs Carlos Marrero 139.2

Venue: Maryland Live Casino, Hanover, Maryland
Promoter: Christen & Tony Jeter (Jeter Promotions)
Matchmaker: Nick Tiberi

By Jeff Zimmerman

Fightnews.com® sat down with soon to be inducted Hall of Famer Michael Moorer, the former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion of the world. Moorer shared his memories of winning the WBO heavyweight title in 1992 when he stopped Bert Cooper and the upset of Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield in ’94 for his WBA and IBF belts. He also recalled the KO by “Big George” Foreman seven months later, a fight he was dominating through 9 rounds.

Moorer talked about training at the famous Kronk Gym with the late, great Emanuel Steward as an amateur then pro and opened up about his disgust for the business of boxing and the struggles that many fighters face today when their career is over including himself. He also shared insight of the heavyweight division today with thoughts on Fury-Usyk and Joshua-Ngannou plus the light heavyweight clash between Bivol-Beterbiev and much more in this riveting exclusive interview.

Kevin “BIg Gulp” Nagle 287.5 vs. Alfred Trevino 229
Anthony Andreozzi 177.5 vs. Igor Pessoa 170.5
Greg Bono 164 vs. Bruno Dias 166
Ryan Clark 158 vs. Jay Gregory 159
Ricky Ford 158 vs. Erick Alves 159
Joe Bush 147.5 vs. Rakim Johnson 151.5

Venue: Veterans Club, Bridgewater, Massachusetts
Promoter: Granite Chin Promotions

By Robert Coster

Former flyweight title contender Ignacio “Nacho” Espinal of the Dominican Republic passed away last week at the age of 75. Espinal, whose career spanned from 1969 to 1981, was called by many experts a world champion without a crown.

He decisioned future WBA flyweight king Betulio Gonzalez in his hometown of Caracas, Venezuela, but Ignacio will mostly be remembered for his three memorable WBC title fights in Merida, Mexico, against WBC champion and future Hall of Famer Miguel Canto in 1973, all in the same year (!). Continue reading “Remembering Ignacio Espinal”

IBF featherweight champion Luis Alberto “Venado” Lopez is determined to turn his third world title defense into a war of attrition. Lopez (29-2, 16 KOs) will defend against Japanese contender Reiya Abe (25-3-1, 10 KOs) on ESPN+ Saturday, March 2 at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.

Lopez-Abe will serve as the co-feature to the vacant WBA featherweight world championship showdown between Uzbek phenom Otabek Kholmatov and American standout Raymond Ford.

Following a recent training session in Santa Fe Springs, California, this is what Lopez had to say:

“I decided to do my camp here in Los Angeles so I can be a little closer to my family. I also like it because of the altitude I get to experience when I go to the mountains. There are a lot of good spots to run out here. I feel great out here.” Continue reading “Venado Lopez promises war”

Edgar Berlanga 167.8 vs. Padraig McCrory 167.8
Andy Cruz 135 vs. Brayan Zamarripa 135
Shakhram Giyasov 146.8 vs. Pablo Cesar Cano 146.2
Antonio Vargas 117.6 vs. Jonathan Rodriguez 118
Yankiel Rivera 111.8 vs. Andy Dominguez 111.6
Aaron Aponte 141 vs. Joseph Fernandez 140.4
Herich Ruiz 223.4 vs. Joshua Brice ??

Venue: Caribe Royale, Orlando, Florida
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: DAZN

The grudge rematch between bitter rivals Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall taking place at the First Direct Arena in Leeds on Saturday April 27, shown live on DAZN in the UK and around the world and exclusively on ESPN+ in the U.S., has sold out in less than a day after going on sale to the general public at midday.

“What an incredible response for an unmissable all-British grudge match,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “The First Direct Arena in Leeds is completely sold out. The controversy of the first fight will be settled in an unbelievable night on April 27, live and exclusive on DAZN in the UK and around the world, part of your subscription on the global home of boxing.”

By Héctor Villarreal

After closing 2023 with the most exciting and competitive card of the year in Panama, the promotion company Laguna Premium Boxing announced its premiere in 2024, Boxing Summer Fest, a festival of mostly unbeaten fighters which promises to be the best of the season. The company returns to the iconic Arena Roberto Duran for this 12-fight show scheduled for Thursday, April 4th.

“We are going to show that there is a new generation of quality boxers in Panama, to whom we have given the opportunity to show their talent in our promotions and who are willing to face each other, the good ones against the good ones, most of them risking their undefeated status,” said company president Rousse Laguna de Moreno, whose husband, former super world champion Anselmo “Chemito” Moreno, continues to demonstrate skills as matchmaker. Continue reading “Laguna Premium announces Boxing Summer Fest”

WBA regular heavyweight champion Mahmoud Charr and Kubrat Pulev faced off at the kickoff press conference for their March 30 clash at the Arena Armec in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Mahmoud Charr: “Kubrat was a great amateur boxer and also had good fights as a professional. But when he comes under pressure, he collapses.”

Kubrat Pulev: “I will face a very serious opponent who, like me, has a lot of experience. He has a lot hard fights behind him. I approach the training process with absolute respect and awe for my opponent. Rest assured that I will go into the fight in top shape and then God will decide. I will do everything to win and become world champion!”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

WBA bantamweight title bout
Takuma Inoue 117.75
Jerwin Ancajas 117.75

WBC bantamweight title bout
Alejandro Santiago 117.75
Junto Nakatani 117.5

WBO junior bantamweight title bout
Kosei Tanaka 114.75
Christian Bacasegua 114.75

Fight Venue: Ryogoku Sumo Arena, Tokyo, Japan
Promoter: Teiken Promotions
TV: ESPN+ (4am ET, 1am PT)

More Photos

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

“Monster” Naoya’s cousin WBO AP 140-pound champion Koki Inoue (17-2, 14 KOs), 140, a hard-punching tall southpaw, attempted to avenge his previous 2020 TKO loss to Daishi Nagata (19-3-2, 6 KOs), now the OPBF counterpart, but lost all regional belts by a majority decision (115-113, 116-112, 114-114) over twelve give-and-take rounds on Thursday in Tokyo, Japan.

The tide very busily turned after Koki battered Daishi with furious combinations in the first and the latter fought back hard to take back the initiative from the second round on. Nagata kept peppering the fading Inoue to pile up more points in the process and withstood Inoue’s last surge in the final two rounds. The crestfallen Koki told he would hang up gloves for good like last time he had lost to Nagata. It was Nagata that unified the OPBF and WBO AP belts to his credit. Continue reading “Nagata edges Inoue, unifies OPBF, WBO AP belts”