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By Jeff Zimmerman

IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. (23-0, 20 KOs) hosted Media Day at his home gym, R&R Boxing Club in Dallas, Texas as he prepares for his 2nd title defense against Carlos Ocampo (22-0, 13 KOs) on Saturday, June 16th at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco and the headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys. It was a packed house in the sweltering gym as Spence Jr. hit the mitts of his trainer Derrick James and pounded the heavy bag.

Spence Jr. looked lean and fit and in great spirits and is excited to be fighting back at home for only the 2nd time of his career. Continue reading “Errol Spence Jr. Media Day”

Story by John DiSanto – PhillyBoxingHistory.com

In Philly, the word on the street is that welterweight Jaron “Boots” Ennis, 19-0, 17 KOs, is boxing’s next big star, and some say the best to come along since Meldrick Taylor electrified the City of Brotherly Love by winning an Olympic Gold Medal at age 17, and world championships in two weight divisions as a professional. Big shoes to fill for sure. However, Ennis’ rise thus far suggests we should indeed believe the hype.

Ennis takes the next step in his budding career on Friday night in Atlantic City when he faces veteran “Mighty” Mike Arnaoutis, 26-10-2, 13 KOs, in the 10-round main event at the Showboat Hotel & Casino. The fight is significant for Ennis because, in Arnaoutis, the 20-year-old prospect takes on arguably his biggest “name” opponent to date. Continue reading “Ennis meets Arnaoutis in AC gateway fight”

The Salita Promotions professional boxing event on Friday, June 22, at the Masonic Temple in Detroit, is heating up even more with the announcement of an intriguing match-up of promising light heavyweight prospects with local ties.

In a fight with explosive action written all over it, Detroit’s own James “The Equalizer” Ballard (10-1, 3 KOs) will face undefeated Aslambek Idigov (12-0, 5 KOs), from Detroit via Grozny, Russia, over 10 exciting rounds. Fighting mostly in his home city, the 28-year-old Ballard has become a fan favorite for his fearlessly aggressive style. Ballard says he refuses to lose on his home turf of Detroit. Continue reading “Prospects clash on Shields-Gabriels undercard”

By Boxing Bob Newman

IBF president Daryl Peoples invited several members of the WBA Board of directors to the 35th IBF convention in St. Vincent, Italy. At tonight’s “Meet The Champs” event, WBA President Gilberto Jesus Mendoza spoke about the relationship between the two organizations and presented Peoples with a miniature WBA belt as a token of their friendship and continued commitment toward the betterment of boxing.

WBA lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko posted on social media that he will be back later this year after recovering from a shoulder injury in his bruising May 12 fight with Jorge Linares.

Loma posted the following on Instagram:

“Tomorrow I undergo surgery for a torn Labrum in my right shoulder suffered during the 2nd round of my fight against Jorge Linares. I was aware something was not right with my shoulder straight away, but I could not disappoint my fans with excuses. Thank you for the overwhelming kind words I’ve already received. I’ll be back in the ring THIS year.”

By Boxing Bob Newman

Day two of the 35th annual IBF convention began with a memorable jaunt to Italy’s highest peak- Monte Bianco, aka Monte Blanc on the French side of the Alps, aka White Mountain. The entire trip including the two-stage gondola cable ride to the top and lunch from the midway observation point lasted roughly five and a half hours.

While temperatures back in St. Vincent were in the 60s at the start of the trip, the temps up at the summit were less forgiving: 32°. Between the clouds due to the 11,371 ft. altitude and the blinding snow, visibility was zero from the top deck. By lunchtime however, there was some break in the clouds, a little sun and some breathtaking scenery. The tour wound up roughly an hour early, allowing delegates time to relax before the “Meet the Champs” event at La Rascard Salon et Terrasse. Continue reading “2018 IBF Convention, Day Two”

By Mauricio Sulaiman
WBC President – Jose Sulaiman’s son

May 24 will be registered in the books of history as a great day for the sport of boxing, human equality and inclusion, as the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, signed the presidential pardon of boxer Jack Johnson at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC.

Jack Johnson was the first black boxer to conquer the heavyweight championship of the world. He suffered the discrimination and racial abuse of power, which caused him jail time but most importantly the loss of his honor, as his name was tainted for generations to come. Continue reading “The 12th Round: The presidential pardon of Jack Johnson”

Canelo Alvarez promoter Oscar de la Hoya says Gennady Golovkin can take it or leave it, but there can be no change in the purse split, which is reportedly 65/35 in Canelo’s favor. GGG says he wants 50/50.

The much-anticipated Ali Trophy Super-Middleweight Final between George Groves & Callum Smith is set to go ahead later this summer.

Contrary to some reports on social media that the Hammersmith fighter had been replaced, Comosa AG, the company behind the World Boxing Super Series, will be delaying the British super-fight until late August or early September to allow Groves as much time as possible to take part in the concluding night of the 168lb competition.

The WBA Super Champion (28-3, 20KOs) dislocated his shoulder in the final round of his semi-final win over Chris Eubank Jr in February. There had been the desire from Comosa AG to complete the competition by late July, but after boardroom discussions and consulting the public demand it has been decided to postpone the final further.

“As is the nature of injuries, especially the type of injury that George suffered, getting an exact recovery date is nearly impossible,” said Comosa AG’s Head of Boxing Kalle Sauerland. Continue reading “WBSS: Groves-Smith Update”

“I CAN’T SLEEP AT NIGHT KNOWING THAT PEOPLE THINK AJ IS BETTER THAN ME OR DEONTAY WILDER IS BETTER THAN ME…

…I’M GOING TO HIT AJ WITH 6 LEFT HOOKS IN A ROW!” @Tyson_Fury fires a warning ahead of his return to boxing on June 9th #HesBack

⚠️Strong Language⚠️ pic.twitter.com/g9HJx7UJXY

— Frank Warren (@frankwarren_tv) May 28, 2018

Zanfer Promotions has announced that former WBC bantamweight champion Luis “Pantera” Nery will not be fighting on June 9 as previously announced. Nery will instead await the resolution of his case with the WBC.

Earlier today, the WBC put out the following statement:

The World Boxing Council has been informed via the media, that former WBC bantamweight world champion Luis Nery is scheduled to fight, which has caused great confusion within the world boxing community, as he’s currently suspended indefinitely by the WBC in accordance with the pronouncement of March 2.

Along with his representatives, Luis Nery attended, an audience on March 9. During this hearing, the position of the WBC was to reach a settlement, after considering the best way to help the boxer return to the ring. And also to contest the world championship of the World Boxing Council… eventually. Continue reading “June 9 Nery fight canceled”

By Boxing Bob Newman

The 35th annual IBF Convention kicked off with a cocktail party in the Billia Hotel which is part of the St. Vincent Resort & Casino complex. The site lies in the picturesque Italian Alps town of St. Vincent, not far from Turin (Torino), home of the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Delegates began arriving earlier in the weekend and are still making their way from around the globe. Former title challenger and recent British heavyweight title winner Hughie Fury made the scene as he hopes to make a run up the IBF rankings for an eventual world title showdown with domestic rival and unified champ Anthony Joshua. WBA president Gilberto Jesus Mendoza and WBA board members Jose Oliver Gomez and George Martinez were also in attendance along with ring officials, promoters and members of the media.

After tomorrow’s trip to Monte Bianco, Italy’s highest peak, the popular “Meet the Champs” event will take place in the evening. The remainder of the week will see board of directors meetings, as well as the general sessions, ratings and the annual awards banquet.

The main stumbling block for the proposed September rematch between Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez is GGG wants a 50/50 split. The Canelo camp wants the same terms they agreed to before their May 5 fight was canceled, with Canelo getting the larger share.

WBA lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko has officially relinquished his WBO jr lightweight title. Christopher “Pitufo” Diaz and Masayuki Ito will likely fight for the vacant title in July.

2016 Olympic Bronze Medallist and heavyweight prospect Filip Hrgovic (4-0, 3 KOs) returns to the ring on June 9 in a ten-round contest against Mexico’s Filiberto Tovar (9-0, 5 KOs) in Munich, Germany.

Promoter Eddie Hearn says WBA super flyweight champion Kal Yafai could face Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez next.

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn will depart Brisbane on Wednesday for his showdown in Las Vegas on June 9 against Terrence Crawford and he’s confident of victory. “They’re trying to make me feel nervous and to doubt myself, but I haven’t done that for a second,” Horn told Fox Sports. “I’m not scared of this guy. You have to be confident in boxing. If you go in there thinking you’re going to lose then that’s exactly what will happen.

“I’ve worked harder for this fight than I ever have. I’ll be pushing hard, pressuring him throughout the fight. I’ll be thinking about my family, about my wife and daughter, going to the places that lift me when I need to dig deep.”

By Gabriel F. Cordero

In a shocker, little known super bantamweight Franklin Manzanilla (19-4, 18 KOs) busted up and stopped former world champion and WBC #1 rated Julio “El Pollito” Ceja (32-3, 28 KOs) on Saturday night at the Teatro Moliere in Mexico City. Manzanilla claimed the WBC silver belt when Ceja, who suffered a broken nose, didn’t come out for round five.

Unbeaten WBC #4 super featherweight Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez (25-0, 22 KOs) pummeled former 115lb interim champion Drian Francisco (29-6-1, 22 KOs) for two rounds and Francisco didn’t come out for round three. Quite the comeback for Hernandez, who took a bullet in the back in January.

In the main event, female boxer Ibeth Zamora (29-6, 12 KOs) became a three-division world champion after claiming the WBC female flyweight title by ten round unanimous decision over reigning champ Melissa McMorrow (10-7-3, 1 KO). Scores were 98-92, 100-90 and 98-92.

Former middleweight champion David Lemieux (39-4, 33 KOs) scored a one-sided twelve round unanimous decision over Karim Achour (26-5-3, 4 KOs) on Saturday night at the Centre Videotron in Quebec City. The hard-hitting Lemieux pretty much walked through the light-punching Achour and got a knockdown in the final stanza en route to a 119-108, 120-107, 119-107 verdict.

Now expected to move to super middleweight after this, Lemieux scaled in two pounds heavy at 162, and therefore could not win Achour’s WBC International and Francophone middleweight titles, which became vacant with Achour’s loss.

Photos: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

In the first world title bout between two Filipino fighters in 93 years, IBF junior bantamweight champion Jerwin “Pretty Boy” Ancajas (28-1-1, 19 KOs) outboxed countryman and mandatory challenger Jonas Sultan (14-4, 9 KOs) over twelve rounds retain his title on Saturday night at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California. Sultan was game, but Ancajas’ class showed as he won 119-109, 119-109, 117-111.

The last all-Filipino world title fight was when Pancho Villa defended the world flyweight title against Clever Sencio in Manila on May 2, 1925.

Note: It won’t be 93 years until the next one. Filipinos Donnie Nietes and Aston Palicte are set to collide in three months for the vacant WBO super flyweight title formerly held by Naoya Inoue who moved up to bantamweight. Continue reading “Ancajas beats Sultan to retain IBF 115lb title”