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By TMZSports.com

Floyd Mayweather isn’t jumping right back into the ring with Manny Pacquiao … instead, he’s taking a tune-up fight in Tokyo, with the big money Pacman rematch to follow … TMZ Sports has learned. Mayweather called out Manny last weekend, telling Pacquiao and the world he wanted to run back the 2015 superfight in December.

It looks like Floyd is adjusting course a bit … ’cause sources close to TBE tell us he’s actually eyeing 2 comeback fights … starting with a massive boxing event in Tokyo.

Couple of interesting points here … we’re told Floyd hasn’t yet picked an opponent — and he ain’t just lookin’ at boxers — he’s also checking out kickboxers and MMA fighters. Continue reading “Floyd to fight in Tokyo BEFORE Pacquiao rematch?”

Lee Baxter Promotions has a good boxing card on tap for Saturday, September 29th at The Cornwall Civic Centre in Cornwall, Canada. In the main event, the WBO-NABO championship is on the line when current champion Albert Onolunose (23-1-1, 7 KOs) takes on current WBA-NABA Canadian champion Patrice Volny (11-0, 8 KOs) in a 10 round title fight with massive implications in Canada’s middleweight picture.

The Calgary-based, Nigerian-born. Onolunose, who won the title in his last light against Francis Lafreniere, is taking on one of Montreal’s hottest young fighters in Volny who is coming off a brutal TKO victory and title defense over Calgary’s rugged Janks Trotter this past May. Continue reading “Onolunose-Volny collide Sept 29 for NABO belt”

According to WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman, VADA has confirmed that WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez had an adverse finding in a recent random drug test and protocols will begin immediately. It is reported that the substance was a compound commonly found in cocaine.

Benavidez has the right to challenge the finding and open the “B” sample, but he has already fessed up via social media “I would like to sincerely apologize to the WBC for my actions. I am embarrassed to have this happen and to my all my fans that I lost the respect of, I know a lot of people won’t see me the same but I am young and it was a mistake on my behalf.”

The WBC’s “Clean Boxing Program” requires all champions and rated fighters in each weight class to comply with year-round blood and urine testing administered by VADA. Benavidez could be facing a fine and/or suspension.

World Boxing Super Series super middleweight final reserve Chris Eubank Jr. faces JJ McDonagh over ten rounds on the George Groves vs Callum Smith undercard on 28 September at The Indoor Sports Hall at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Eubank Jr. (26-2, 20 KOs), who was defeated in a thrilling semi-final by Groves, will be on standby to enter the final in the unlikely scenario of one of the original participants being unable to compete.

“I have been training hard in Vegas, and I am looking be a part of the event in Jeddah,” said Eubank Jr. “I am preparing for any scenario that may present itself.” Continue reading “Eubank-McDonagh on Groves-Smith undercard”

By Marco Bratusch

Former European junior welterweight champion Anthony Yigit (21-0-1, 7 KOs), a young, skilled southpaw from Sweden, officially relinquished his continental belt last week as he is already scheduled to take on hard-hitting Ivan “Beast” Barancyk (18-0, 11 KOs) on October 27 in New Orleans for the vacant IBF belt, a bout which also happens to be a quarter-final for World Boxing Super Series tournament’s second season in the 140-pound division. The vacant European belt will be disputed between Italian Andrea Scarpa (23-4, 10 KOs) and Joe Hughes (16-3-1, 7 KOs), with the purse bid deadline set for October 10 at noon by the EBU. Hughes is a solid fighter with a good level of opposition in domestic fights while Scarpa, who also had his biggest fights in the UK in 2016 where he beat John Wayne Hibbert in an eye-catching battle, followed it up with lackluster performance in front of Ohara Davies who utterly dominated the bout. Continue reading “European Boxing Updates”

Police investigating Billy Joe Saunders after viral video he posted on social media

World Boxing Organization (WBO) middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders has apologized for a disturbing video he posted on social media calling it “banter went wrong.”

The video shows Saunders seated in his Rolls Royce offering a woman on the street “£150 of crack” in exchange for performing a sex act on a friend riding in his car. Saunders also offered the drugs to the woman if she assaults a random pedestrian walking by. After the woman punched the man in the face, Saunders drove away laughing.

The BBBoC has already charged Saunders with “misconduct” and will hold a disciplinary hearing on the incident next week.

Nottingham police are also investigating the video, which a spokesman called “sickening,” and they say the footage shows several possible crimes being committed including “an offer to supply drugs” and “assault” among others.

Saunders is scheduled to defend his belt against Demetrius Andrade on October 20 in Boston, Massachusetts. Too early to tell if this incident will jeopardize that fight.

Two of boxing’s most exciting fighters return to the ring

Four-time world champion in three weight divisions and Olympic Gold Medalist Yuriorkis “El Ciclon de Guantánamo” Gamboa and former featherweight champion Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez will headline in separate bouts on a November 10 card at a venue to be named in Miami, Florida.

In the main event, Gamboa (28-2, 17 KOs), from Guantanamo, Cuba now living in Miami, Florida will battle two-time world title challenger Miguel Beltran, Jr. (33-6, 22 KOs) from Los Mochis, Mexico. “Juanma” Lopez (35-6, 32 KOs) from Caguas, Puerto Rico will fight an opponent to be named in the co-feature.

The card will be billed as “Redemption in Miami” and be televised on pay-per-view. More details to come shortly.

By Gabriel F. Cordero

WBA/WBC middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will have an extraordinary tribute and reception in Mexico City. Plans call for “Canelo” Alvarez to be in Mexico City in October to officially receive the WBC’s world championship belt that he won by defeating Gennady Golovkin last Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

A source has commented that the WBC President Mauricio Sulaimán is planning a gala event for the popular Mexican champion. The WBC is currently hard at work preparing for its 56th annual convention to be held from September 30 to October 5 in Kiev, Ukraine. One of the issues to be resolved at the convention is the situation involving current WBC interim middleweight champion Jermall Charlo.

Sampson Lewkowicz of Sampson Boxing has announced the signing of a trio of undefeated Dominican prospects to promotional contracts: featherweight Ranfis Javier Encarnacion (13-0, 10 KOs), super featherweight Michael “La Salsa Michell” Rivera (14-0, 9 KOs), and super lightweight Starling “Exparquison” Castillo (6-0, 5 KOs). “All three fighters are eager to take the same path their countrymen took to the world championship and I am going to provide it for them,” stated Lewkowicz. “Like I do with all my fighters, I am currently securing all of their P1 work visas, so they can fight in the United States starting in 2019.”

The Heavyweight Factory’s latest promotional signing, undefeated welterweight Derrieck Cuevas (17-0-1, 14 KOs), will face veteran Silverio Ortiz (37-22, 18 KOs) over 10 rounds on the undercard of “Rumble at the Rock 2,” the professional boxing event on September 28 in the Hard Rock Event Center at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

In the night’s 10-round main event, undefeated Logan “The Korican Kid” Yoon (12-0, 10 KOs) will defend his WBO-NABO Youth Junior Welterweight Championship against John “El Emperador” Rentería (16-4-1, 12 KOs). The co-main is Mussa “Warrior” Tursyngaliyev (7-0, 6 KOs) versus Deivi “El Cabo” Bassa (20-5, 12 KOs) for the WBA International featherweight title. In an “All Florida” showdown, undefeated welterweight Livan “Machine Gun Kid” Navarro (8-0, 5 KOs) will face Armando “The Gentleman” Alvarez (18-1, 12 KOs).

Undefeated middleweight prospect Cem Kilic will now face fellow undefeated prospect DeAndre Ware on September 28, in the opening bout on ShoBox from Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, Calif. The eight-round fight will now be contested at 168-pounds. Ware replaces Donnie Marshall, a natural middleweight, who elected to pull out of the fight when the scheduled 160-pound bout moved to 168 pounds.

In the previously announced 10-round main event, top undefeated lightweight prospect Devin Haney will face three-time world title challenger Juan Carlos Burgos. The co-feature of the second Friday of back-to-back ShoBox telecasts will feature an immediate rematch of one of 2018’s most controversial fights between lightweights Thomas Mattice and Zhora Hamazaryan.

Lightweight Yvan Mendy believes he should have had a shot at a world title by now and is frustrated that Luke Campbell fought for one before him. Mendy outpointed Campbell back in 2015 and is aiming to go one better and knockout the Hull fighter when they rematch at Wembley Stadium Connected by EE on Saturday live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and DAZN in the US.

Since that win at The 02, Mendy has gone from strength to strength, piling up seven consecutive wins with three of them via stoppage. Continue reading “Mendy aims to KO Campbell this time”

By Karl Freitag

Not much happening yet in London for Saturday’s world heavyweight title fight between unified WBA/IBF/WBO champion Anthony Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs) and challenger Alexander Povetkin (34-1, 24 KOs).

Fight Week won’t really get underway until Wednesday when the fighters hold open workouts at the famed York Hall. The workouts start at 6PM.

On Thursday there will be a final press conference (media only), then Friday’s public weigh-in will take place at the Burgess Design Centre starting at 1PM.

Saturday’s fight in front of 90,000 at Wembley Stadium can be seen on DAZN in the U.S. and on PPV on the U.K. via Sky Sports Box Office. FYI: The U.K. PPV price is £19.95 ($26.20). DAZN is $9.99/mo and they have a 30-day free trial.

Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

WBC super featherweight world champion Miguel ‘El Alacrán” Berchelt and Miguel “Mickey” Roman went face-to-face on the arena floor of the Don Haskins Center, site of their Nov. 3 showdown that will, once and for all, settle this simmering grudge match. Berchelt (34-1, 30 KOs), from, Cancun, Mexico, is the 26-year-old champion looking to make his fourth successful title defense. Roman (60-12, 47 KOs), from Juarez, Mexico, is a 32-year-old who will be making his third attempt at a world title.

Roman and Berchelt met the media on Monday in El Paso, the middle stop of a three-city press swing that, if anything, has stoked the rivalry between the two.

Here is what they had to say 47 days away from one of the year’s most anticipated fights. Continue reading “Berchelt, Roman face-off at kickoff presser”

Power-punching IBF #1 Felix Alvarado (33-2, 29 KOs) of Managua, Nicaragua and IBF #3 Randy Petalcorin (29-2-1, 22 KOs) of General Santos City in the Philippines will fight for the vacant IBF light flyweight title. As previously announced the fight has been moved from Melbourne, Australia to Manila, Philippines on October 21st. Adding some spice to the event is that Manny Pacquiao´s MP Promotions will co-promote the event.

The venue switch does not concern Alvarez’ manager WRAM Boxing (William Ramirez) who is 100% confident that Alvarado has what takes to bring the world title back to Nicaragua. Continue reading “Alvarado Team shakes off venue switch”

Former WBA super welterweight world champion Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara (25-3-2, 14 KOs) says he was inspired by last Saturday night’s fight between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and he wants to fight either one of them. “I am ready to make a statement and to challenge either fighter at middleweight, whether it is Gennady Golovkin or Canelo Alvarez in a rematch…I am ready!” proclaimed Lara, who has been working hard in the gym with trainer Ronnie Shields in Houston, Texas, getting ready for his next fight date.

Dear Fight Fans,

On the night of Saturday, September 15, fans were set to be treated to what sports should be all about: the two best athletes in a sport squaring off against each other with the winner earning the title of the best in the business. This kind of an event – where an individual can be called the best in any sport — is truly rare.

Not only did the fight itself deliver all that was promised, against all kinds of pressure, Canelo Alvarez gave the performance of his lifetime to secure the unified middleweight championship of the world.

• Unfairly criticized for not fighting “Mexican” enough in the first fight, he kept Gennady Golovkin on his heals all night, taking the action to the “boogeyman of boxing,” walking him down and controlling the pace.
• Repeatedly ravaged for two positive drug tests that showed minor traces of clenbuterol – a common occurrence in Mexico due to the contamination of beef across the country, Canelo submitted to more than 20 drug tests in the lead up to the fight and passed them all with flying colors.
• Saddled with a judge’s card of a year ago that he had nothing to do with; the pressure of millions of fans watching; and what many were describing as a must-win to stay relevant, Canelo delivered a near-flawless fight.

And yet…

It wouldn’t be boxing if thousands of keyboard warriors weren’t talking (or tweeting) complete nonsense in the hours and days after Canelo began to cement his legacy as an all-time great fighter. Continue reading “An Open Letter To Fight Fans from Oscar De La Hoya”

Heavyweight prospect Darmani Rock will take part in the eight-round main event on Saturday, October 6th at The 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. Local favorite Rock was the number-one amateur heavyweight in the United States and former Youth Amateur champion. As a pro, he is 12-0 with 7 KOs and is coming off a six-round unanimous decision win over Marquis Valentine on July 20th in Sloan, Iowa.

Appearing in the co-feature bout will be rising lightweight prospect Jeremy Cuevas (10-0, 8 KOs).

The show is promoted by Hard Hitting Promotions in association with Roc Nation Sports.

By Hesiquio Balderas
Photos: Rafael Soto/Zanfer

Abel Sanchez, the trainer of Gennady Golovkin who majorly helped promote the Canelo-Golovkin rematch with his comments that enflamed Canelo Alvarez and his camp, is already talking about a possible third fight.

“Congratulations to Canelo and his team, they did a great job,” stated Sanchez. “Eric Gomez told me right after the decision was announced, ‘let’s do the third fight.’ Obviously, Tom has to talk to Oscar about it. Hopefully, we can do it in May like it was first supposed to be!”

While you’re waiting for their third fight, check out Rafael Soto’s great Canelo-GGG 2 photo gallery… Continue reading “Canelo, GGG camps show interest in third fight”

By Karl Freitag

The biggest boxing match of this week won’t be on Showtime, ESPN platforms, HBO, Fox or any of the established broadcast players. Instead, Saturday’s heavyweight title fight between unified WBA/IBF/WBO world champion Anthony Joshua and challenger Alexander Povetkin in London will be seen in the U.S. exclusively on the just-launched DAZN streaming service.

A $9.99 a month subscription will get you 32 boxing events per year split between the U.S. and the U.K.

The line-up thus far is:

Sept 22: Anthony Joshua vs. Alexander Povetkin
Oct 6: Jessie Vargas vs. Thomas Dulorme
Oct 20: Billy Joe Saunders vs. Demetrius Andrade
Nov 10: Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tony Bellew

Plus, DAZN has picked up Season 2 of the World Boxing Super Series, which will bring six straight weeks of quarterfinal action in October and November.

Photo: Sumio Yamada

Going into the last round, all three judges had Canelo ahead 105-104. Two of the three judges (Dave Moretti and Steve Weisfeld) gave Canelo the final round and with it, the fight. Had GGG taken the final round on either of those two cards, the result would have been a draw.

By Miguel Maravilla

Newly crowned WBC and WBA middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (50-1-2, 34 KOs) was victorious over longtime champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs) Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Alvarez spoke to the media on his decision victory at the postfight press conference.

“Thank you all and everyone that believed in me,” said Canelo. “I am happy with the victory. It wasn’t easy. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the knockout. We worked hard to get the win. I want to thank my trainer Eddie and Chepo Reynoso who took me in as a kid and showed me everything I do.”

“My plan was to score the knockout. I had a tough opponent but we got the victory. I am satisfied with the work we did today. I’m happy that’s what got us the win. This is a very important victory for me and my country,” Continue reading “Canelo: My plan was to knock him out”