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Tito Acosta 108 vs. Carlos Buitrago 107.2
(WBO junior flyweight world title)

Kevin Nieves 140 vs. Jean C. Torres 139
Bryan Chevalier 126 vs. Ricardo Rodriguez 125
Edwin Valentin 130 vs. Pedro Vincente 130

Venue: Coliseo de Puerto Rico Center, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico
Promoter: Miguel Cotto Promotions/H2 Entertainment
TV: PPV

By Jeff Zimmerman
Photos: Noe Gonzalez

Errol Spence Jr 146.75 vs. Carlos Ocampo 146.5
(IBF welterweight title)

Danny Roman 121.75 vs. Moises “El Chucky” Flores 123.5
(WBA super bantamweight title)
Note: Flores only made it down to 123, but the bout is still on. Chucky is ineligible to win the WBA super bantamweight world championship. Per WBA rules, “if a champion makes weight and a challenger fails, the champion shall retain the title, even if he loses the bout.”

Javier Fortuna 139.75 vs. Adrian Granados 139.75
Yordenis Ugas 158.5 vs. Jonathan Bautista 164.5
Roberto Marroquin 136 vs. Jesus Aginaga 131.5
Stephen Fulton 122.75 vs. Jesus Ahumada 122.5
Adrian Taylor 184.5 vs. Chris Harris 184.5
Angel Carvajal 119 vs. Fernando Garcia 120.75
Eminantas Stanionis 148.5 vs. Erick Martinez 148.25
Alejandro Guerrero 134.5 vs. David Fabela 134.5

Venue: Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Tostitos Plaza
Promoter: TGB Promotions
TV: Showtime

Former WBO junior welterweight champion Mike Alvarado, female fighter Mikaela Mayer, and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Robson Conceicao will see action on the June 30 undercard at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. The card will be headlined by WBO super middleweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez’s title defense against Alexis Angulo and 140-pound contender Alex Saucedo’s homecoming bout against the hard-hitting Lenny Zappavigna.

Alvarado (38-4, 26 KOs) will fight Martin Martinez (17-4-1-1, 10 KOs) in a 10-round welterweight bout, Mayer (5-0, 3 KOs) will face fellow unbeaten Sheena Kaine (5-0, 1 KO) in a six-round lightweight contest, and Conceicao (7-0, 4 KOs) will take on Gavino Guaman (5-2, 1 KO) in an eight-round super featherweight bout. Continue reading “Mike Alvarado on Ramirez-Angulo undercard”

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

WBO #11 lightweight George “Ferocious” Kambosos (14-0, 8 KOs) is working as chief sparring partner to future Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao (59-7-2, 38 KOs). Pacman hasn’t had a KO since 2009, but Kambosos is confident Manny will not only defeat WBA welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse (39-4, 35 KOs) on July 15 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but will stop him early.

“I believe Manny (Pacquiao) can knock Matthysse out,” Kambosos told The Manila Times. “Matthysse’s defense is not superb and he relies only on his offense. This is perfect for a fighter like Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao’s hand speed, combination punching, and power will lead to a knock out over Matthysse. Pacquiao is still at the top of his game!”

Dereck Chisora and Carlos Takam will meet in a crunch Heavyweight clash at The O2 in London on July 28. Both men find their careers on a knife-edge going into the clash, with Finchley man and former World title challenger Chisora seeking a big win to fire his name into the mix for major title fights having been edged out by Agit Kabayel for the European title in Monaco in November following a narrow defeat to headliner Dillian Whyte in a fight of the year contender in Manchester in December 2017.

Takam is back in the UK following his spirited challenge against Anthony Joshua for the IBF, WBA and IBO World titles at Principality Stadium in Cardiff in October. The Frenchman came in at ten days’ notice to replace Kubrat Pulev and became the first man to take Joshua into the championship rounds before getting stopped in the tenth. That sterling performance followed hot on the heels of giving Whyte’s opponent in London, Joseph Parker, a real test in his New Zealand backyard in May 2016, being edged out on points by the Kiwi. Continue reading “Chisora-Takam clash on Whyte-Parker bill”

Mercito “No Mercy” Gesta (32-2-2, 17 KOs) of San Diego, Calif. captured the NABO Lightweight Title against Roberto “Tito” Manzanarez (35-2, 28 KOs) of Phoenix, Arizona via 10-round majority decision victory in the main event of the June 14 edition of Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif. One judge scored the fight a 95-95 draw, which was overruled by two scores of 96-94 in Gesta’s favor.

“I feel good, though I’m surprised he moved so much,” said Mercito Gesta. “I was really eager to cut the distance and hit him. My trainer Freddie [Roach] told me I needed to land more combinations, but it’s clear that Manzanarez is tough and can take a punch. I can’t wait for what’s next.”

“I felt I won this fight,” said Roberto Manzanarez. “I dominated more rounds than Gesta. I kept him at a distance and controlled the pace. I kept touching him with long shots. I want the rematch, but I have to check with my team to see what’s next.” Continue reading “Gesta tops Manzanarez for NABO 135lb title”

By Jeff Zimmerman
Photos: Noe Gonzalez

IBF Welterweight Champion Errol Spence Jr. (23-0, 20 KOs) and Carlos Ocampo (22-0, 13 KOs) spoke to the media one last time Thursday at the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco as they get ready to square off for Spence Jr. welterweight title Saturday night. The fight will also be shown live on SHOWTIME Championship Boxing.

Spence Jr. already considered one of boxing’s pound for pound best, could become a household name Saturday night if all the “stars” align. Make no mistake, this homecoming is all about him and whether he could carry the city of Dallas on his broad shoulders for future, major fights. Continue reading “Spence Jr. a household name?”

By David Finger

There has been little question that upstart boxing management company MTK Global is set on establishing themselves as major players in the world of boxing. But it is their latest signings of four talented amateurs from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan that could prove to be the company’s biggest coup of the year.

The most noteworthy is 2016 Olympic gold medalist Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan, who left Rio as one of the hottest boxing prospects in the sport. Continue reading “MTK Global inks Olympic gold medalist Zoirov”

WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin is almost a 2:1 favorite over Canelo Alvarez in their grudge rematch set for September 15th in Las Vegas. Odds courtesy of Bovada.

Gennady Golovkin -190 vs. Saul Alvarez +155

Here are the results from today’s official weigh-in ahead of tomorrow night’s Hayemaker Ringstar event at York Hall, Bethnal Green, London. 2016 Olympian and Commonwealth heavyweight champion Joe Joyce (4-0, 4 KOs) will now face late replacement Ivica Bacurin (29-13-1, 18 KOs), who steps in for Richard Lartey.

Joe Joyce 251 vs. Ivica Bacurin 206
Michael Page 177.5 vs. Michal Ciach 178.5
Kody Davies 171 vs. Eric Mokonzo 171.25
Ruqsana Begum 113 vs. Danielle Hodges 111
Linus Udofia 163.5 vs. Eric Nwankwo 164.3
Sam Smith 133.25 vs. Anisha Basheel 134
Savannah Marshall 165 vs. Alejandra Ayala 164

Any fighter wishing to apply for help from the fund should send an email to: [email protected]

The Association of Boxing Commissions is responsible for passing minimum standards for the sports, maintaining suspensions, and recognizing sanctioning bodies. The ABC also abides by its internal Bylaws, which mandate the creation of a Retired Fighter Charity. The charity was created formally in 2017 and gifted three recipients at the Banquet Dinner which concluded the 2017 annual Conference.

At this year’s Conference a Casino Night Fund Raiser will be held Monday night, July 30, 2018 at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, Florida. Plans have been made by the Retired Fighter Fund’s first Board of Directors to gift $10,000 or more this year to eligible fighters who have given their all to the combative sports.

One such recipient will be Daniel Franco, 26, of Rancho Cucamonga, California who suffered a near-fatal brain injury in a boxing match on June 10, 2017. Continue reading “ABC makes 10K donation to fighter’s fund”

By Jeff Zimmerman

Long time Nevada boxing judge Chuck Giampa died on Tuesday at a hospice in Las Vegas. Giampa started his career in 1985 at Caesars Palace and judged his last fight in 2008, when Joe Calzaghe won a split decision against Bernard Hopkins at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Giampa judged 458 bouts in his illustrious career that included the biggest names in boxing, including: Floyd Mayweather Jr – Oscar de la Hoya, Marco Antonio Barrera – Rocky Juarez, Jermain Taylor – Ronald “Winky” Wright, Pernell Whitaker – Oscar de la Hoya, Erik Morales – Manny Pacquiao, Cory Spinks – Zab Judah, Lennox Lewis – David Tua, Paulie Ayala – Johnny Tapia, Michael Moorer – George Foreman, Lennox Lewis – Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson – Evander Holyfield rematch just to name a handful of Giampa’s great fights. Continue reading “Famed boxing judge Chuck Giampa passes”

Credit Golden Boy President Eric Gomez for coming up with the twist that convinced Gennady Golovkin to take short money again against Canelo Alvarez. Terms are still being kept under wraps.
———-
Middleweight contender Spike O’Sullivan has been promised a spot on the Golovkin-Canelo undercard.
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Golovkin had an agreement to go against WBO champ Billy Joe Saunders in August if the Canelo fight didn’t come through. Saunders even pulled out of a June 23 defense against Martin Murray. Maybe he’ll land on the GGG-Canelo undercard also.
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Had terms not been reached with GGG, Canelo was hoping to line up Daniel Jacobs. Speaking of Jacobs, the IBF has ordered Jacobs to face Sergei Derevyachenko for the vacant IBF middleweight title (formerly held by GGG). If the camps don’t reach a deal, a purse bid will be called.

By Ron Jackson

Simphiwe Khonco returns to action after being inactive for more than 13 months when he defends the IBO minmumweight belt against Filipino, Toto Landero in Umtata on Sunday, July 22. It is quite sad that the talented Khonco (18-5, 7 KOs) who will be 32-years-old on June 26 has been inactive since June 10 last year. He won the IBO belt in June 2016 and has made successful defenses against Nkosinathi Joyi and Lito Dante, both on points. Continue reading “Khonco returns to action against Landero”

By Marco Bratusch

At the beginning of June, the European Boxing Union held its anticipated General Assembly and Annual Convention meeting in Belgrade, Serbia. It was the customary occasion to fulfill multiple duties and several discussions have streamed as well among the members over technical, medical and regulations matters at Falkensteiner Hotel’s convention center. The representatives of almost 50 countries have attended the Assembly.

Arguably the most important event of the weekend was the election of the President and the 10 countries members of the Board, being the current year an elective year.

As expected, President Bob Logist’s mandate was confirmed and thus extended for another four-year span. That was the third election for the former Belgium referee and judge as the EBU’s head. Continue reading “EBU General Assembly and 2017 Awards”

Light Heavyweight prospects Umar Salamov (20-1, 15 KOs) and Brian Howard (13-1, 10 KOs) will meet in a 10-round matchup that will open the Showtime Boxing: Special Edition tripleheader Friday, June 22 live from Masonic Temple in Detroit.

In the main event, unified champions from different divisions will meet in the middle. Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and Unified Super Middleweight World Champion Claressa Shields will face Unified Jr. Middleweight World Champion Hanna Gabriels for the vacant IBF and WBA Middleweight World Championships. Both fighters have a lot at stake when they meet as Shields will look to become a two-division champion and Gabriels will seek to win titles on a third weight class. In the co-feature bout, women’s unified WBC and WBO Middleweight World Champion Christina Hammer will defend against former world champion Tori Nelson as all four women’s middleweight world titles will be at stake. Continue reading “Salamov-Howard added to June 22 Showtime telecast”

The final “La Batalla” press conference was held today in advance of this Saturday’s pay-per-view card, headlined by the 12-round main event between World Boxing Organization (WBO) Light Flyweight World Champion Tito Acosta (17-1, 17 KOs) and challenger Carlos “Chocorroncito” Buitrago (30-3-1, 17 KOs) at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico Center in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico,

Tito Acosta: “I am very excited about this Saturday night’s fight. I’ve been training really hard to get a big win over Buitrago. I only have one thing to tell him about Saturday: he will fail to capture the title and I will remain as a world champion in front of all my fans in Puerto Rico.”

Carlos Buitrago: “I feel healthy and strong. I had a very intense camp I came here with my mind clear and focus with my dream of becoming a world champion this victory is for my country of Nicaragua.”

Mercito Gesta 134.8 vs. Robert Manzanarez 134.8

Hector Acevedo 140 vs. David Thomas 139.4
Many Robles III 125.4 vs. Edgar Valerio 126
Luis Feliciano 139.8 vs. Daniel Montoya 140

Venue: Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California
Promoter: Golden Boy
TV: ESPN

Promoter Oscar de la Hoya has announced via Twitter that the September 15 rematch between WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez is a go. Terms not disclosed.

I’m happy to inform that we have a fight September 15!!!! #CaneloGGG2
Feliz De informar que si tenemos pelea Septiembre 15!!! #CaneloGGG2 pic.twitter.com/gI3QmR0eXe

— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) June 13, 2018

By Boxing Bob Newman

Former WBC/WBO and Linear middleweight champion Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik takes time to talk about his career, the ups and down in and out of the ring and what he’s up to now in this edition of “Where Are They Now?”

Unbeaten welterweight world champion Errol Spence Jr. spent time giving back in his hometown Wednesday, as he handed out meals at the Salvation Army in Dallas. He talked about his mandatory defense against Carlos Ocampo on Saturday at The Star in Frisco, Texas.

Errol Spence Jr: “I didn’t know who he was to tell you the truth. I didn’t know who he was. And I don’t really look at the rankings. So I think, like, two days after my fight, the IBF had ordered me to fight my mandatory then they said it was Carlos Ocampo. My original thought was just, ‘let’s do it.’ I’d rather get it out of the way now so it’s not a bump in the road later on when I’m trying to get bigger and better fights. So I’d rather get my mandatory out the way right now. Continue reading “Spence doesn’t see anything special about Ocampo”

WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin has rejected Golden Boy Promotions’ “final offer” to fight Canelo Alvarez in a September rematch. The split offered was 42.5% for GGG with Canelo getting 57.5%. The offer was only good until noon today. GGG wants 50/50. Stay tuned…

Former IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook will face Brandon Cook in a super welterweight title eliminator at The O2 in London as part of the undercard for the heavyweight blockbuster between Dillian Whyte and Joseph Parker on Saturday July 28.

Brook made his bow at super lightweight with a destructive second round win over Sergey Rabchenko in Sheffield in March – ‘The Special One’ has been called out by all the big-guns at 154lbs after crashing into the rankings with that win, and will arrow in on a World title crack if he can see off the dangerous Cook. The Canadian – who turns 32 today – will be desperate to hijack Brook’s dreams of landing another World title, and ‘Bad Boy’ Cook, rated number four with the WBO, nine in the WBA and 11 with the IBF, enters the fight on the wave of back-to-back early KO wins. Continue reading “Kell Brook returns on July 28 London card”

Golden Boy Promotions has issued a final offer to WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin to fight Canelo Alvarez in a September rematch. The split offered is 42.5% for GGG with Canelo getting 57.5%. The offer is only good until noon today.

The split in their first fight was 30/70 in Canelo’s favor. For the original rematch (cancelled due to Canelo testing positive for a banned substance), the split was 35/65 for Canelo. When rematch talks started again, Golovkin wanted 50/50. Team Canelo countered with 40/60 and now 42.5/57.5. Will GGG accept?

Stay tuned…

Former WBO lightweight champion Terry Flanagan (33-1, 13 KOs) had his 33-fight unbeaten streak snapped on Saturday night in his home city of Manchester when he lost a split decision to Maurice Hooker for the super lightweight version of the WBO belt.

“It wasn’t an easy night for Terry,” says Flanagan’s manager Steve Wood. “Hooker had those really long arms, and height, and Terry wasn’t able to get to him easily. But, although we know he didn’t box to his best ability, he still managed to get a close, split decision, and I thought the 117-111 scores on both sides were way off. Continue reading “Flanagan Camp plans next move”