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WBA regular heavyweight champion Mahmoud “Diamond Boy” Charr (34-4, 20 KOs) of Germany will defend his title against two-time former world title challenger and WBA #10 rated Kubrat “The Cobra” Pulev (30-3, 14 KOs) on March 30 at the Arena Sophia in Sophia, Bulgaria. The fight will be presented by Epic Sports & Entertainment, led by CEO Ivaylo Gotzev.

“Everything is finally coming together and we are all in alignment. This fight promises to deliver an old school heavyweight barn burner. Both men are ready and it’s a make or break fight for them both. There is a lot on the line. This fight sets up multiple angles and we are excited about this year’s plans, watch this space,” said Gotzev.

By Gabriel F.Cordero

Sad to report the passing of legendary boxing official Manuel Landero of Panama at the age of 98. Landero had been a member of the WBA since 1967 when he joined the officers’ committee and eventually ended up as a supervisor in world title fights. In 1982, it was Landero who nominated Gilberto Mendoza Sr. for president of the WBA. He then carried out extensive lobbying to convince other WBA members to elect Mendoza.

By Jeff Zimmerman

Super middleweight star Edgar Berlanga talked about his upcoming fight this weekend against the undefeated Irishman Padraig McCrory at the Caribe Royale in Orlando and live on DAZN. He opened up about his career where he won his first sixteen fights by first round knockout, plus his “bite fight” vs. Angulo. He spoke about a Canelo-Benavidez potential showdown and what a Super Fight against them and Munguia at Madison Square Garden – Mexico vs. Puerto Rico – would look like. Plus, he shared a non-profit close to his heart – Cristian Rivera Foundation https://cristianriverafoundation.org/ – created in 2009 by family friend John Rivera to help find a cure for DMG/DIPG (diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma) after his son Cristian passed away at the age of six from DIPG.

Photo credit: Ed Mulholland @muls96 / Matchroom Boxing

WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez (20-2, 15 KOs) previewed his title defense against unbeaten contender Angelino Cordova (18-0-1, 12 KOs) during a virtual press conference this week. They fight March 30 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The bout is available via free access on Amazon Prime Video to all fans regardless of Prime membership or purchase of the Tszyu-Thurman PPV card later that evening.

Martinez and Cordova were originally scheduled to fight to fight on the final Showtime telecast in December, however, Martinez experienced visa issues trying to enter the country, forcing the bout to be rescheduled.

“I was very frustrated to have this fight postponed the first time, but now we’re just looking forward to the fight happening and having my hand raised,” said Martinez. Continue reading “JC Martinez: I’m the best at 112 pounds”

Former undisputed lightweight champion and current WBC super lightweight champion Devin “The Dream” Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) and popular contender Ryan Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) will host a multi-city press tour to promote their April 20 world championship clash, with stops in New York City (February 27, Palladium Times Square at 1:30PM ET) and Los Angeles (February 29, Avalon Hollywood at 1PM PT). Both stops will be open to the public. Get there early.

The Haney-Kingry fight will be available in the U.S. on DAZN PPV, while the rest of the world gets it with their DAZN subscription.

By Brad Snyder-The Undercard
Photos by Bob Ryder

Salita Promotions introduced “Big Time Boxing” and debuted boxing Tuesday night at the Wayne State Fieldhouse on the campus of Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Big Time Boxing USA is set to be a regular boxing program on the DAZN network. Continue reading “Holmes lights up Harrington”

Unbeaten IBF #5, WBO #5, WBA #8, WBC #11 super middleweight Edgar Berlanga (21-0, 16 KOs) is a -550 favorite over WBA #3 Padraig McCrory (18-0, 9 KOs) when they collide on Saturday night on DAZN from Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida.

There is also wagering interest in the winning method since Berlanga, who opened his career with 16 consecutive first round KOs, now has a streak of five consecutive decision wins.

Here’s how that stacks up:

Berlanga By Decision: +105
Berlanga By KO/TKO/DQ: +130
McCrory By Decision: +850
McCrory By KO/TKO;DQ: +800
Draw: +2500

Unbeaten WBA #3 super middleweight Padraig McCrory (18-0, 9 KOs) believes Edgar Berlanga (21-0, 16 KOs) and his team have made a mistake in picking him to fight this Saturday when they clash at Caribe Royale in Orlando, live worldwide on DAZN.

“He’s looking past me talking about [Jaime Munguia and Canelo Alvarez], he’s not worried about me but that’s a big mistake, he’s in for a nightmare,” said McCrory. “I’m definitely his hardest fight. I’m a big 168 and he’s never taken anyone’s ‘O’. He sounds confident but I think it’s all show. He’s trying to convince himself and on Saturday you’ll see that I’m his biggest test.  Continue reading “McCrory: I see myself knocking Berlanga out”

USBA junior middleweight beltholder Ardreal “Bossman” Holmes Jr. (15-0, 6 KOs) destroyed crosstown rival Marlon Harrington (10-2, 9 KOs) in two rounds on Tuesday night at Wayne State Fieldhouse in Detroit. Holmes dropped Harrington three times in round two to end it. Time was 1:25.

Undefeated IBF #7, WBO #8 light heavyweight Ali Izmailov (12-0, 8 KOs) successfully defended his USBA title with a punishing fourth round TKO against rugged Britton Norwood (13-5-1, 10 KOs). Izmailov dropped Norwood with a body shot in round two. Another body shot knockdown in round four and Norwood’s corner stopped the bout soon after. Time as 1:28.

Unbeaten cruiserweight Viddal Riley (10-0, 6 KOs) has signed a long-term contract extension with BOXXER and Sky Sports. Riley is also a rapper and a YouTube personality with 1.2 million followers.

The camp of heavyweight Daniel Dubois has passed on an EBU European title fight against Granit Shala. The EBU board then unanimously picked Joe Joyce to replace Dubois against Shala. We’ll see what happens.

Triller TV is presenting Hasim Rahman Jr (12-2, 6 KOs) against “a mystery opponent” on March 16. The fight will be a $19.99 PPV.

Super middleweight contenders Edgar Berlanga and Padraig McCrory face-off for the first time for Saturday’s fight at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida.

Surrounded by security, bitter rivals Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall wrapped up their two-city press tour on Tuesday to launch their rematch on April 27 at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, England, shown live on DAZN in the UK and around the world and on ESPN+ in the U.S.

Josh Taylor: “I’m looking forward to getting this fight done. The first one is done, he couldn’t beat me the first time and he certainly won’t beat me this time, so I’m looking forward to it…when I beat him this time again, he’s got nowhere to go. His biggest night is me and when I beat him again, he’ll have nowhere to go and he’ll retire without a prime, with no belts and he’ll never be a world champion…on April 27, I end Jack Catterall’s career, one that he never got going, and he’ll never be a world champion.”

Jack Catterall: It’s good to have the rematch locked in, and I’m ready to settle it…I think he’s there to be beaten and I’ve got his number, and it’s only a matter of time before he touches the canvas again. Josh, you are finished after this fight. In nine weeks’ time, we get to put him to bed.”

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

A historic meeting took place during the month of January, in which the most important promoters in the world met for an informal talk that was highly positive, and for which I am infinitely grateful for the trust from all of them, to serve as facilitator of said meeting that was held at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas.

Bob Arum and Carl Moretti of Top Rank; Tom Brown, TGB; Luis de Cubas, from PBC; Fernando Beltrán, from Zanfer; Eddie Hearn of Matchroom; Salvatore and Christian Cherchi, of Opi2000, and Tom Loeffler, of 360 Promotions, were present, while others, due to health or scheduling reasons, were unable to attend.

The main theme unanimously accepted is 1) the unity and respect that must exist between all members of the boxing industry, 2) working together to make the fights that the fans want to see happen, and 3) leaving behind individual egos and pretensions.

As Don King has always said, ‘Working together works.’ By the way, Don was confirmed to attend, unfortunately, medical issues have prevented him from flying for some time now. However, he keeps on working and is active. Continue reading “Working together for the good of boxing”

Super featherweights Jordan Gill and Zelfa Barrett faced off at a launch press conference ahead of their domestic clash at Manchester, England’s AO Arena on Saturday, shown live worldwide on DAZN.

Jordan Gill: “I’m like a half-Indian Golovkin…to be the best you have to beat the best. So, to have a claim to a World title you have to go through these fights. Zelfa is a very good fighter, he wants a World title shot and he’s probably at the front of the queue, so I have to beat him to leapfrog him. That’s why we’re here and we said yes to the fight, so I am looking forward to it.”

Zelfa Barrett: “This is what I have been waiting for and I’ll surprise you with how many tickets I sell because Manchester has been screaming for a fighter and I’m top of the tree. If I can get a win over Jordan, the world is mine and you can deliver me anything that you can, and I believe I will do.”

By Brad Snyder/The Undercard

Ardreal Holmes Jr 153.2 vs. Marlon Harrington 153.8
(USBA super welterweight title)

Ali Izmailov 174.6 vs. Britton Norwood 175
(USBA light heavyweight title)

Joseph Hicks Jr. 157.2 vs. Ricardo Ruben Villalba 155
Da’Velle Smith 162.2 vs. Rolando Wenceslao Mansilla 162.6
Cameran Pankey vs. Juan Hernandez Martinez (will weigh in tomorrow)

Venue: Wayne State Fieldhouse, Detroit, MI
Promoter: Salita Promotions
TV: DAZN @ 8 PM

*NOTE: The co-main event for the USBA Light Heavyweight Championship will feature a pair of popular former world champion trainers in opposite corners, as former two-weight world champion John David Jackson, who trains Ali Izmailov will be pitted against former two-weight world champion and 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist Joel Casamayor, who trains Britton Norwood.

Last month, the WBA Championships Committee ordered a fight between WBA super flyweight champion Kazuto Ioka and #1 rated John “Scrappy” Ramirez with a February 15 deadline. Ioka, however, has reportedly petitioned the WBA for permission to instead fight a unification clash with WBC champ Juan Francisco Estrada targeted for July 3 in Tokyo.

Team Ramirez is hoping that the WBA will deny Ioka’s request and order him to fight “Scrappy” within 90-days or be stripped of the world title belt.

“It would be easy to get frustrated when you don’t get what you want,” Ramirez explained, “but I remind myself to trust the process. I know my team is doing its part and I am, too. It’s all about trusting the process and I’m a strong believer in that. I need to stay patient and focused in the gym, on my vision and my dream. Continue reading “Scrappy hopes WBA enforces title shot”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Undisputed world super bantam champion Naoya “The Monster” Inoue, who brilliantly conquered the four belts in just two bouts over Stephen Fulton and Marlon Tapales, was named Japan’s Boxing of the Year today (Monday) here in Tokyo, Japan. It was more than a unanimous decision—a shutout selection by our Sports Writers Association as well as the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC). It was the seventh acquisition (in six consecutive years) that Inoue was given the highest fistic award here in Japan. Naoya said, “I wish to keep winning until the end of my career.” We hope so.

The other recipients of prestigious awards were as follows:

• Technique: Kenshiro Teraji, WBC, WBA light flyweight ruler
• Valuable victory: Junto Nakatani, WBO junior bantam titlist
• Excellent boxers: WBA super fly kingpin Kazuto Ioka, WBA bantam champ Takuma Inoue, WBC minimum titleholder Yudai Shigeoka, IBF minimum titlist Ginjiro Shigeoka
• Efforts: former Japanese bantam champ Seiya Tsutsumi
• Knockout: Naoya Inoue
• Rookie citation: Tenshin Nasukawa
• Female Boxer of the Year: WBO junior bantam ruler Mizuki Hiruta
• Fight of the Year (world): Naoya Inoue vs. Stephen Fulton
• Fight of the Year (domestic): Seiya Tsutsumi vs. Kazuki Anaguchi (who unfortunately passed away after this grueling bout for the national bantam belt)
• Best trainer: Shingo Inoue (the father of “Monster” Naoya and Takuma Inoue)

More Photos

Former undisputed super lightweight champion Josh Taylor and archrival Jack Catterall had to be separated during their face-off at the launch press conference ahead of their grudge rematch on April 27 at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, England.

The sworn enemies have been embroiled in a heated war of words since February 2022 when Taylor won a hugely controversial split decision to retain his then-undisputed 140lb crown. The decision caused outrage among some boxing fans and the two have been at loggerheads ever since.

The International Olympic Committee has rejected a request from ring legend Manny Pacquiao to allow him to compete for a medal in the coming 2024 Paris Olympics. The IOC refused to waive the 40-year-old age limit for boxing atheletes for Pacman, who was hoping to be allowed to fight at the age of 45.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

If both are brittle-chinned hard-punchers, it will become such a fight like this. The tide busily turning almost in every round, it was a see-saw bout with each almost stunning the rival each other. Former champ Kosuke Saka (23-7, 20 KOs), 130, regained the Japanese super feather belt as he finally emerged victorious via TKO route over badly-bleeding Ken Koibuchi (10-7-1, 9 KOs), 130, at 0:44 of the fifth round in a scheduled ten on Friday in Tokyo, Japan. Continue reading “Saka halts Koibuchi, regains Japanese 130lb belt”

Lightweight Carlos Maria Alanis (13-1, 5 KOs) of Argentina stopped countryman Jonathan Joel Arena (14-15, 4 KOs) on Saturday night at the Club Atletico Temperley in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina. Alanis implemented a steady body attack from round one and it would pay dividends in the second half of the fight. Arena fought gamely and had some moments. Alanis dropped Arena in round seven with a timely body shot. Arena beat the count but a flurry against the ropes moments later saw the referee wave off the bout and Alanis was the winner by TKO7 and the new South American lightweight champion.

In his previous bout this past summer, Alanis went the distance versus world-ranked Liam Wilson in the latter’s native Australia. Wilson is well known for his thriller last year where he nearly upset three división world champion Emmanuel Navarette. Wilson will now face former multi división world champion Oscar Valdez next month.

Photos: Sumio Yamada

Check out this GIANT Foster-Nova photo gallery for some incredible shots + the scorecard + action from the Cortes-Chevalier, Carrington-Torres, and Vianello-Johnson fights.

Photos

Becomes IBF 130 lb. Mandatory Challenger

By Boxing Bob Newman

In an important bout that flew under the radar, IBF #3 Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov and #4 rated Eduardo Nuñez, squared off in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, to decide the #1 mandatory position at Jr. Lightweight.

Local hero Rakhimov was coming in off his lone loss 10 months ago- a tough, split decision, title-losing effort against Joe Cordina in Cardiff, Wales. Nuñez, of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, was making a relatively quick return to the ring after blowing out Oscar Escandon in two rounds in Cancun last October.

The first half of the fight was tactical warfare as each man tried to gain their edge, taking turns coming forward while the other looked to see what his foe had to offer. By the second half of the fight, Nuñez seemed to be taking over, if ever so slightly. He began to land telling power shots on Rakhimov, who seemed unable to get off the ropes, or was hoping Nuñez would punch himself out. Nuñez was so squared up, that all his punches appeared to be hooks, whether right or left. Jabs were mostly out the window in favor of sledgehammer blows.

Rakhimov would rally in the ninth, for what would be the last time. Rakhimov got a much needed reprieve from referee Mark Nelson, who called time as he instructed Rakhimov’s corner to secure some loose tape on the glove in the tenth. But that would be it as Nuñez sensed his time had come. He came out guns blazing, raining blow after blow- 20 unanswered in all, to the head of a helpless Rakhimov, who bravely, but perhaps foolishly, never went down. Referee Nelson stepped in to rescue the battered hometowner, with only 15 seconds elapsed in the 11th. Continue reading “Nuñez overwhelms and stops ex-champ Rakhimov”

Oluwafemi Oyeleye 155 vs Wilfrido Buelvas 150
Noah Norman 133 vs Dan Van Fossen 133.8
Joshua Jones 137 vs Ryan Schwartzburg 138
Daniel Fry 224 vs Jesse Hayward 275.6
Tahmir Smalls 153 vs Bruno Leonardo Romay 150.8
Richard Johnson 155.4 vs Desmond Carr 155
Mike Scott 159.4 vs John Hawks 160
Juan Marrero 137 vs Darus Somieari 137.6
Alex James 180.6 vs Rancy Slanger 177.8
Antonio Allen 159 vs Jason Moreno 156.8

Venue: 2300 Arena
Promoter: R&B Promotions
Stream: Combatsportsnow.com
1st Bell: 7:05 PM ET

After 16 consecutive first round KOs, followed by five consecutive decision wins, unbeaten IBF #5, WBO #5, WBA #8, WBC #11 super middleweight Edgar Berlanga (21-0, 16 KOs) believes he’s ready to get another KO when he faces WBA #3- rated Padraig McCrory (18-0, 9 KOs) at Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida, next Saturday on DAZN.

“The twelfth round of my last fight [against Jason Quigley], I feel like that’s really woken me up,” said Berlanga. “I haven’t missed anything, I know I have got the power to hurt anybody, and I feel different as a fighter, mentally, physically and spiritually. I know that there’s going to be fireworks coming from me on February 24, that’s a fact. I’m coming for the KO. He can say whatever he wants, but at the end of the day we have to go in there and tussle.

“Me at my best, nobody is f**king with me. When I am 100 percent, which you’ll see on February 24, I am unstoppable. Continue reading “Berlanga: I’m coming for the KO”