Fightnews.com

By Przemek Garczarczyk

By Miguel Maravilla
Video: Prezemek Garczarczyk

It was another battle Saturday night at the Stub Hub Center in Carson, California, as undefeated middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KOs) retained his middleweight titles against Vanes Martirosyan. With the win, Golovkin tied Bernard Hopkins’ record of 20 successful middleweight title defenses. “This is a huge win. It’s a record,” stated GGG.

“We’re proud of this accomplishment to tie a record with this performance. These 20 defenses have been against different opponents,” trainer Abel Sanchez pointed out.

“For Golovkin to tie this record, we thought it would never be broken,” promoter Tom Loeffler added. Continue reading “Golovkin equals Hopkins with 20th defense”

By Przemek Garczarczyk

What would you say to the next contender for Golovkin, perhaps Canelo Alvarez?
Vanes Martirosyan: Canelo has a lot to prove. I see why he’s eating that kind of meat, trying to get the extra edge. The man (Golovkin) is the real deal. 36 years old and he’s still fighting like that? …I wanted to see what the guy had. I went inside to brawl with the guy and he got me good. Good for him.
What would you say to Canelo?
Vanes: Run!

By Miguel Maravilla

After making the most of his world title opportunity, Vanes “The Nightmare” Martirosyan (36-4-1, 21 KOs) was courageous in defeat to undisputed middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (38-0-1, 33 KOs) Saturday night at the Stub Hub Center in Carson, California.

Vanes, accompanied by his trainer Edmund Taravedyan, spoke with media following the fight.

Vanes Martirosyan: “I’m OK and better now. I was prepared for a different Gennady. He surprised me. What a hell of a fighter he is. Going into this fight I wanted to see what he had…Gennady is one hell of a puncher. My ring rust showed, my timing was off. Those two years really affected me.”

Edmund Taravedyan: “Golovkin has a tremendous jab. He wanted to engage. I give Vanes lots of credit. Gennady is a hell of a champion.”

By Rocky Morales at ringside
Photos: Sumio Yamada

Undefeated middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (36-0-1, 34 KOs) successfully defended his WBA and WBC titles with a devastating second round KO over WBC #1 super welterweight and all too willing challenger Vanes “The Nightmare” Martirosyan (36-4-1, 21 KOs) on Saturday night at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

Martirosyan looked good in the first round and even landed a couple solid combinations on Golovkin. Golovkin, however, turned it up a couple notches in the second round and seemed to declare war on Martirosyan. The end came in the middle of the round when GGG landed a solid right uppercut to the chin of Martirosyan, then followed up with a barrage of savage punches and punctuated it with one final shot as Martirosyan was headed face down and splayed out on the canvas. Time was 1:53. Continue reading “Golovkin destroys Martirosyan in two”

On Saturday night, DiBella Entertainment returned to the Fox Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino, in Mashantucket, CT, with the latest installment of its popular Broadway Boxing series.

In the main event, Australian world-ranked lightweight contender “Ferocious” George Kambosos Jr., 136, of Sydney, impressed in his DBE and US debut, demolishing Jose Forero, 140, in just 108 seconds. Kambosos felled Forero, of San Francisco, Panama, twice with his powerful straight right. The contest concluded shortly thereafter when Kambosos battered Forero with a barrage, ending with a cracking left hook to force a stoppage. Ranked #5 by the WBA and #11 by the WBO, Kambosos is now 14-0 (8 KOs), while Forero dropped to 13-7-1 (11 KOs). He is training in Los Angeles under the guidance of a fellow Australian transplant, former heavyweight contender Justin Fortune. Continue reading “Kambosos demolishes Forero in one”

By Rocky Morales at ringside
Photos: Sumio Yamada

Undisputed female welterweight champion Cecilia Braekhus (33-0, 9 KOs) retained her WBC/IBF/WBA/WBO/IBO titles with a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Kali Reis (13-7-1, 4 KOs).

This marked a record 22nd world title defense for Braekhus. She controlled the first half of the bout with her superior ring generalship and superior counter punching. Reis, to her credit, kept coming and made things very interesting in the second half of the bout as she repeatedly landed a hard right cross, one that put Braekhus down late in the seventh round. Reis had far more power than one would expect from a boxer with only a 20% KO ratio. By the end of the ten round bout, the decision was still up in the air but the judges rewarded Braekhus’ early dominance and scored it 96-93, 97-92 and 96-93, all in favor of Braekhus. Continue reading “Braekhus gets by Reis”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos: Naoki Fukuda

In a grudge six-round exhibition (not a fight authorized by our commission) between former world champs, three-time titleholder Koki Kameda (33-2, 18 KOs), 118, dropped former conqueror Pongsaklek Wongjongkam (91-5-2, 47 KOs), 117.5, and halted him at 0:12 of the second round on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.

Kameda, 31, annihilated the pathetic Thai old soldier, 40, and decked him with a southpaw one-two combination, when the referee Iida promptly declared a stoppage. Continue reading “Kameda-Pongsaklek Report/Photos”

By Miguel Maravilla and Rocky Morales at ringside

Unbeaten super lightweight Ryan “Blue Chip” Martin (22-0, 12 KOs) kept his perfect record intact with a dominating victory over one time Amir Khan conqueror and current gatekeeper, Breidis Prescott (31-13, 22 KOs). Martin pressed the action and landed swift and crisp combinations throughout the bout. In the fourth round, Prescott went down from a legitimate body shot, doing an Academy Award worthy flop job to sell it to the referee as a low blow. After Prescott was allowed a couple minutes to recover, action resumed and it didn’t take long for Martin to drop Prescott again, this time with an actual low blow. With replays showing on the big screen for the referee to see, Martin was deducted a point for the low blow. Round five action saw Martin drop Prescott with a right cross but Prescott would get up to fight on for the duration of the eight round bout with not much further damage. By scores of 79-71, 79-73 and 79-71, Martin wins a unanimous decision. Continue reading “Undercard Results from Carson, California”

In a grudge rematch, former cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew (30-2-1, 20 KOs) scored a crushing fifth round KO over former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (28-4, 26 KOs) on Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London. Bellew dropped Haye twice in round three. Bellew continued to batter Haye throughout round four as Haye appeared to have reinjured his right leg. In round five, Haye went down face first after taking a big left hook from Bellew. He again beat the count, but the bout was stopped soon after by referee Howard Foster.

Tony Bellew: “It’s been a great journey. Who’s next? I don’t know. I am a walking Super Series. Every fight I’m in is a Super Series. I need that mega star.”

David Haye: “Bellew fought a very good fight and I didn’t, simply. Tony was a better man, I couldn’t quite make it happen.”

Unbeaten bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Rodriguez (18-0, 12 KOs) scored a one-sided twelve round unanimous decision over former two-division champion Paul Butler (26-2, 14 KOs) to claim the vacant IBF world title on Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London. Rodriguez dropped Butler twice in round one and then dominated the rest of the fight with sharp and accurate punches. Scores were 118-108, 120-106, 120-106.

Only Rodriguez was eligible to win the title because Butler weighed in just under the super bantamweight limit.

2012 Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell (18-2, 15 KOs) scored a fifth round TKO over Troy James (20-6-1, 5 KOs) on Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London. Campbell, rebounding from a world title loss to WBA lightweight champion Jorge Linares last September, dropped James in rounds two and four, and got a referee’s stoppage after dealing more punishment in round five. Next up for Campbell is expected to be a WBA eliminator against nemesis Yvan Mendy. Note: Welterweight James outweighed Campbell by 11 pounds on the scales for this bout.

Super middleweight John Ryder (26-4, 14 KOs) scored a second round KO over World Boxing Super Series participant Jamie Cox (25-2, 14 KOs).

2016 Olympic silver medalist “Juggernaut” Joe Joyce (4-0, 4 KOs) seized the Commonwealth heavyweight title from Lenroy Thomas (22-5-1, 10 KO) in only his fourth professional fight. Joyce dropped Thomas with body shots in rounds one and two before the bout was halted. Continue reading “Luke Campbell wins comeback fight”

“I told (Tom Loeffler): When my guy knocks your guy off, don’t get mad because it’s just a sign from heaven. (…) When you have a fight that is destined for greatness, you can feel it. The atmosphere is in the air. God is in the plan in this fight…I can see an undefeated woman fighting. Nine years reigning. They say the first on HBO, only because HBO was behind. I did it with Christy Martin years and years ago. I told them, ‘If Christy Martin don’t fight, Tyson don’t fight.’ Don’t even pull that with me. That was with Showtime. You gotta give the women their rights and Christy Martin stole the show. I gave her a BMW for a present.

“Vanes is ready to go, something is gonna happen. It’s an irresistible force against an immovable object. Something has got to give. And give it will on Cinco de Mayo,” legendary boxing promoter Don King told Fightnews.com® about tonight’s WBA/WBC middleweight title bout between Gennady Golovkin (37-0- 1, 33 KOs) and Vanes Martirosyan (36-3- 1, 21 KOs).

By Joe Koizumi

In a grudge six-round exhibition (not a fight authorized by our commission) between former world champs, three-time titleholder Koki Kameda (33-2, 18 KOs), 118, dropped former conqueror Pongsaklek Wongjongkam (91-5-2, 47 KOs), 117.5, and halted him at 0:12 of the second round on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Kameda, 31, annihilated the pathetic Thai old soldier, 40, and decked him with a southpaw one-two combination, when the referee Iida promptly declared a stoppage. It wasn’t a fight authorized by the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC), which only approved it as an exhibition with 10-ounce gloves for six rounds with no decision (should it have gone the distance). Pongsaklek had defeated Kameda to have him suffer his career-first defeat to capture the WBC flyweight belt from him in 2010. Continue reading “Kameda halts Pongsaklek in grudge exhibition”

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

Australian middleweight champion Daniel Toussaint (13-0, 8 KOs) outscored New Zealand’s, Gunner Jackson (27-11-4, 12 KOs) over ten rounds with the Australian title up for grabs at the Hellenic Club, Canberra, ACT, on Friday. Scores 99-91, 97-93, 98-92. Southpaw Toussaint outworked Jackson in most of the rounds connecting with accurate head and body shots. Jackson had taken current WBA middleweight champion Ryota Murata and former WBA super middleweight champion Anthony Mundine the ten round distance in 2015. The classy Canberra based middleweight received maximum exposure in 2017 when he defeated Shane Mosley Jr on the undercard of Jeff Horn vs. Manny Pacquiao WBO welterweight title bout with a live gate of 51,000 in Brisbane that was televised globally on ESPN.

By Przemek Garczarczyk
‏
I asked promoter Tom Loeffler to clarify IBF situation before tonight’s HBO clash between Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and Vanes Martirosyan at the StubHub in Carson, California. “Gennady still has the title, it’s not sanctioned by IBF but they are not going to strip him,” stated Loeffler.

George Kambosos Jr. 136 vs. Jose Forero 140
Shelly Vincent 127 vs. Edina Kiss 127
Mykquan Williams 139 vs. Orlando Felix 139
Khiry Todd 143 vs. Adrian Sosa 142
Bakhodir Jalolov 244 vs. Hugo Trujillo 256
Khalid Twaiti 125 vs. Joseph Cole TBA
Lamont Powell 156 vs. Amadeu Cristiano 162
Irvin Gonzalez Jr. 128 vs. Jonathan Perez 130
Davhon Shelton 136 vs. Carlos Galindo 138
Hurshidbek Normatov 155 vs. Ronald Montes 154

Venue: Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, Connecticut
Promoter: DiBella Entertainment
TV: dbe1.com (PPV)

By Héctor Villarreal

After 11 exciting fights, the main event of the card La Batalla de los Núñez, presented by Sparta Promotions in Fantastic Casino Albrook Mall, Panama, had an unexpected end. Fighting for the vacant WBA Fedelatin bantamweight title, Cuban prospect Leosdan Nuñez (7-0, 4 KOs) and local veteran Ricardo “El Matematico” Núñez (29-7, 23 KOs) had intensely battled for two rounds and a half when a headbutt opened a severe cut on Leosdan´s forehead.

Referee Hector Afu, who had previously warned Ricardo twice because of dangerous head movements, ordered the deduction of two points on each judge’s card and ask the doctor for revision. Leosdan was declared unable to continue and Afu disqualified the local fighter declaring the Cuban a winner and new champion. Continue reading “Núñez defeats Núñez by DQ”

During Friday night’s boxing telecast, promoter Oscar de la Hoya updated ESPN’s Bernardo Asuna on the latest with Mexican superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

“The last exam that Canelo was put through was a hair follicle test,” said Oscar. “Whatever they want to take Canelo through, he will do. This whole thing with the levels being so minute with Clenbuterol is ridiculous.

“In terms of GGG talking so negatively about Canelo and putting him down all the time, I strongly feel, and this is very serious, I strongly feel that GGG, those last three rounds he felt against Canelo in Las Vegas, that power punching that he felt against Canelo, the fact that he couldn’t drop or stop or hurt Canelo, he knows that that rematch, whenever it happens… Continue reading “Oscar: Canelo/Clenbuterol thing is ridiculous”

By Kurt Wolfheimer at ringside

Super middleweights Darren “Bossman” Goodall (5-0-1, 4 KOs) and Tahlik Taylor (3-10-1, 1KO) slugged it out over six rounds in the main event, but when the dust settled it was ruled a draw. The battle at the Birchwood Manor in Whippany will easily be a strong candidate for the New Jersey fight of the year. The seven-bout card promoted by Andre Kut’s KEA Boxing Promotions, had KOs, upsets and even a split decision which left the crowd satisfied as the night came to a close. In the co-feature of the evening, Marcus Beckford (5-8-3, 1 KO) used a slick counterpunching style to squeeze out a split decision upset of Philly welterweight Ardrick “The Hitman” Butler. Continue reading “Unbeaten Goodall draws with Taylor”

By Miguel Maravilla at ringside

NABF super featherweight champion Ryan “The Flash” Garcia (15-0, 13 KO) of Victorville, California scored a ten round unanimous decision over Puerto Rican former world title challenger Jayson “La Maravilla” Velez (26-5-1, 18 KOs) on Friday night at the Stub Hub Center headlining a special edition of Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN. All three judges scored the bout 99-91.

Garcia opened up connecting with his flash left hook as Velez took it and stood inside close cutting the distance. Boxing from a distance, Garcia connected Velez with some solid straight rights in the second as the Puerto Rican kept coming. Velez pressed in the third but Garcia connected with another solid right countering Velez on his way inside. Circling the ring and keeping his distance Garcia boxed in the fourth as Velez continued to go forward. Garcia connected Velez with a crunching body shot in the fifth that stopped the Puerto Rican’s momentum but he continued to fight on. Continue reading “Garcia, O’Sullivan victorious”

Gennady Golovkin 160 vs. Vanes Martirosyan 159.6
(WBA, WBC, IBF middleweight titles)

Cecilia Braekhus 145.8 vs. Kali Reis 144.8

Venue: StubHub Center, Carson, California
Promoter: 360 Promotions
TV: HBO

Only Emmanuel “Manny” Rodriguez (17-0, 12 KOs) will be eligible to win the vacant IBF bantamweight title after opponent Paul Butler failed to make weight today in London. The digital scale showed Butler to be 3.5 pounds heavy during their Friday morning weigh-in. He was granted two hours to shed the excess poundage but refused to be weighed in a second attempt.

“I’m ready to fight Butler with those extra pounds,” said Rodriguez. “I’m not worried, so I accepted it. He’s not a 122-pounder. He’s fought 115 and 118 pounds. I’m not worried that hasn’t worked hard enough to make weight and is this heavy. He relies a lot on his speed and that’s going to decrease a bit with those extra pounds, but I’m not counting on that. I’m just waiting for the best version of Butler. In the end, the title goes to Puerto Rico!”

Bantamweight Paul Butler issued a statement via social media addressing his failure to make weight (by a wide margin) for Saturday’s IBF world title fight against Manny Rodriguez.

“First of all, I know failing weight in my biggest fight to date looks unprofessional and I understand the stick I’m getting. Believe me, I’m gutted and heartbroken I can’t win that world title tomorrow, but I didn’t fail it without trying. I’d never do that! I tried like you’d never believe. I will be staying at bantamweight. There is a couple of reasons for failing weight. My apologies go to the Rodriguez team, the Matchroom Team, my fans and most of all my trainer and manager Joe Gallagher for all the hard work he’s put in. I hope you all still enjoy the fight and the card tomorrow.”

Tony Bellew 210.4 vs. David Haye 220.25

Paul Butler 121.5 vs. Manny Rodriguez 117.7
(IBF bantamweight title)
Butler has two hours to lose the weight. No weight was announced but the digital scale read 121+ The MC said Butler was “slightly over.”

Lenroy Thomas 230.5 vs. Joe Joyce 251.5
Martin J. Ward 129.25 vs. James Tennyson 129.75
John Ryder 166.25 vs. Jamie Cox 167
Joshua Buatsi 178.25 vs. Stephane Cuevas TBD
Luke Campbell 136.6 vs. Troy James 147

Venue: O2 Arena, London
Promoter: Matchroom
TV: AWE