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Photos: Sumio Yamada

Check out this GIANT photo gallery from last night’s world title doubleheader in Las Vegas for some incredible shots + scorecards.

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On February 23, the Colisée Desjardins in Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada, will pulsate to the beat of the Quebec-Ontario rivalry as Montrealer Steven “Bang Bang” Butler (33-4-1, 27 KOs) and Torontonian Steve Rolls (22-3, 12 KOs) face off in Eye of the Tiger’s first event in the region. The showdown between the top two Canadian middleweights will be broadcast simultaneously on the ESPN+ network and PunchingGrace.com.

After making changes to his training regimen with the help of his new trainer John Scully, Butler returned to victory in his fight against Ivan Alvarez, stopping him in the 9th round last Saturday. Rolls is coming off a loss to Austim “Ammo” Williams.

Shakur Stevenson captured the vacant WBC lightweight crown with a unanimous decision win against Dominican puncher Edwin De Los Santos on Thursday night in Las Vegas, but neither fighter was satisfied afterward.

Shakur Stevenson: “I had a bad performance tonight. That’s all I’m really focused on. I wasn’t feeling too good, so I’ll live with it. It’s okay. I came here and got the victory, and that’s all I wanted to do. I just didn’t feel good. I didn’t feel good before the fight. Honestly, I had already told myself that if I feel like this in the ring and if it’s not going well, I’m going to make sure that I box and get the victory.”

Edwin De Los Santos: “We all know what happened. He came for a track meet. He didn’t come to fight. I showed that I am on a higher level because he never stood and fought like he does with other fighters. I did my job. He came to survive. That’s what he did. They gifted him the title, but I’m the people’s champion.”

After their all action majority draw on Thursday night, both Emanuel Navarrete and Robson Conceição were open to a return match.

Emanuel Navarrete: “The decision is well-deserved. Robson is a great fighter. He left his heart in the ring. There were some details with regard to technique, but we accomplished what we said we would do. We gave a great show for the fans. And, at least, I am very happy to come away with the title. He deserves the rematch, but that decision doesn’t depend 100 percent on me. But, if it does happen, I would train even better. He knows how I fight, and I know how he fights, so it would make for an excellent fight.”

Robson Conceição: “It was a hard fight. He is very strong. It was a difficult. But I know what I did tonight. It was a good fight. It deserves a rematch. If we do get the rematch, we will both train harder and will give an even better fight.”

Two-weight world champion Shakur Stevenson (21-0, 10 KOs) outpointed knockout artist Edwin De Los Santos (16-2, 14 KOs) over twelve rounds to claim the vacant WBC lightweight world title on Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It was a slow-paced tactical fight with not much action that brought boos from the crowd. Scores were 115-113, 116-112, 116-112.

Over the twelve rounds, Stevenson landed just 19 power punches, De Los Santos landed 14.

Report/Photos: David Finger

The final day of the 61st annual WBC Convention concluded at the Hilton in Tashkent, Uzbekistan with a continuation of several reports starting with the amateur committee report. It was noted the growth and international nature of WBC Amateur, with over 19 countries taking part in the Amateur Committee workshop the previous day. WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman also noted the important role it will need to play in the future of the sport, citing the problems associated with the International Boxing Association (IBA).

“There may not be boxing in the Olympics (in Los Angeles in 2028),” Sulaiman said, citing how the IBA has been kicked out of the Olympic movement and no replacement has yet to emerge. Continue reading “WBC Day Five Convention Report”

WBO junior lightweight champion Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete (38-1-1, 31 KOs) and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Robson Conceicao (17-2-1, 8 KOs) battled to a twelve round majority draw in a great fight on Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. After Conceicao outboxed Navarrete for the first three rounds, Navarrete dropped Conceicao in round four. Conceicao rebounded well, but Navarrete floored him again with a body shot in round seven. Conceicao again had success outboxing Navarrete, but was hurt to the body in round ten. After wobbling back to his corner in round eleven, Conceicao showed great heart to win round twelve. Scores were 114-112 Navarrete, 113-113, 113-113. Navarrete retains the title.

In a clash between unbeaten welterweights, Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 19 KOs) won a ten round snoozer over Quinton Randall (13-1-1, 3 KOs) on Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. A fight that looked good on paper never heated up. Scores were 99-91, 99-91, 97-93.

Two early knockdowns propelled unbeaten bantamweight Floyd “Cashflow” Diaz (10-0, 3 KOs) to an eight round split decision over Max Ornelas (15-2-1, 5 KOs). Ornelas rallied back to win on one card 76-74, but the other two judges had Diaz up 77-73, and 78-72.

Unbeaten 2020 Olympian middleweight Troy Isley (11-0, 4 KOs) got past Vladimir Hernandez (14-6, 6 KOs) via eight round unanimous decision in a bout that could have gone either way. Scores were 77-75 3x.

Unbeaten lightweight Emiliano “El General” Vargas (8-0, 7 KOs), son of ring legend Fernando Vargas, made quick work of Brandon Mendoza (6-3, 6 KOs). Vargas dropped Mendoza in round one. At the beginning of round two, video showed Mendoza’s glove touched the canvas for a second knockdown in round one. It was all academic as Vargas laid out Mendoza face first 57 seconds into round two.

In a clash between unbeaten heavyweights, Jackson Murray (6-0, 4 KOs) scored a six round unanimous decision over Steven Torres (6-1-1, 6 KOs). Murray dropped Torres in round three en route to a 60-53 3x shutout.

Unbeaten lightweight Abdullah Mason (11-0, 9 KOs) laid out Jose Cardenas (7-2, 5 KOs) with a crushing straight left hand at 1:55 of round two.

Unbeaten jr welterweight Hugo Micallef (9-0, 2 KOs) was victorious when Sergio Odabai (6-2-1, 3 KOs) remained on his stool after round four. One-sided fight.

Unbeaten super middleweight Giovanni Sarchioto (9-0, 8 KOs) scored a third round KO over Lucas de Abreu (14-5, 11 KOs). Sarchioto finished de Abreu with two knockdowns in round three. Time was 2:06.

Unbeaten WBO #3, IBF #5, WBC #6, WBA #8 super middleweight Diego Pacheco (19-0 16 KOs) and Marcelo Coceres (32-5-1 18 KOs) faced off at the final press conference for their clash on Saturday night at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California, live worldwide on DAZN.

Diego Pacheco: “I feel Coceres is the toughest opponent on my resume yet. He’s a great fighter, he’s been in a lot of good fights, but I feel I am a way better fighter. I think my skills and hard work will outshine him and I am super confident in the work I have put in, the training camp we had, the sparring, everything. This is the biggest fight of my life, and I can’t wait to put on a show in front of my home fans.”

Marcelo Coceres: “I am always prepared for war. Pacheco is not going to have it easy at all. I have all this experience and the willingness to win this fight, and it’s an opportunity that when it came along, I was delighted to take it on.”

WBA #9 super lightweight Adam Azim came face-to-face with champion Franck Petitjean at today’s final pre-fight press conference ahead of his EBU European title challenge on Saturday night at The Halls in Wolverhampton, England, live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland and Peacock in the USA.

Adam Azim: “I’m taking that European title. If I break my hand, if I get a cut, I don’t care. I’m taking it with both hands. I’m not here to joke about. My last performance, I had a tough opponent but I’m a different fighter now. I’ve had great sparring, great nutrition, everything has gone so well. I’m taking that European title back to Slough. I want to make a massive statement. I don’t want to be going out of the ring having just won it, I want to win by knockout!”

Franck Petitjean: “I am the champion but I’m the outsider. It’s not a problem for me because I know what it is and I’m ready. I have a lot of experience. He’s very fast but it’s not track and field, it’s boxing.”

Continue reading “Azim-Petitjean Final Press Conference”

Photos: Top Rank

Check out this GIANT Fury-Usyk photo gallery from today’s press conference for some great shots.

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Unbeaten WBO #3, IBF #5, WBC #6, WBA #8 super middleweight Diego Pacheco (19-0 16 KOs) headlines for the third straight fight on Saturday night – but this time the stakes are raised as he welcomes Marcelo Coceres (32-5-1 18 KOs) to his Los Angeles hometown as they clash at YouTube Theater, live worldwide on DAZN.

Pacheco is looking to cap a brilliant 2023 with a third KO win as a bill topper, and this time in front of his hometown fans. The LA talent pummeled Jack Cullen into submission in four rounds in Liverpool, England, in April, and was at his scintillating best in his last outing in July where he blitzed the dangerous Manuel Gallegos inside four rounds in Monterrey, Mexico – ending matters with a vicious attack after flooring Gallegos in the fourth with a trademark body shot and became the first man to stop the Mexican later in the round. Continue reading “Pacheco: Headlining at home is a dream”

Boxing’s two heavyweight world champions will finally meet to crown the one and only undisputed champion of the world. WBC champion Tyson ‘The Gypsy King’ Fury will fight WBO/IBF/WBA unified champ Oleksandr Usyk in a history-making showdown on Saturday, February 17, at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Fury and Usyk came face-to-face at a press conference held in London on Thursday, November 16.

Tyson Fury: “Usyk, you can run, but The Gypsy King is coming to get you. This is my era, and your time is up. Your undefeated record AND your belts, they will be mine!”

Oleksandr Usyk: “I have no goal. Only the way. And my way is ‘The Undisputed.’ That is why this was the only fight for me. When that bell rings, I will bring the fire.”

Report/Photos: David Finger

Day four of the 61st annual WBC Convention in Tashkent, Uzbekistan continued with the eagerly anticipated sessions on ratings and mandatory challengers. However, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman kicked off the day with a president’s report, in which he discussed the activity of the WBC in 2023. He highlighted that there were 80 world, interim, or silver fights in 2023 and highlighted some of the promoters that have worked with the WBC in those 80 fights. Queensberry Promotions promoted 14 of those fights, followed by PBC, which promoted 13. Matchroom was right behind them at 12 and Top Rank was next on the list at 8 followed by Universum at 7. Continue reading “WBC Day 4 Convention Report”

Big-punching super welterweight Johan Gonzalez (34-2, 33 KOs) scored the first decision win of his career, taking a ten round majority decision over Guido Emmanuel Schramm (16-2-2, 9 KOs) on Wednesday night at the Whitesands Events Center in Plant City, Florida. Scores were 95-95, 97-93, 96-94.

Lightweight Justin “The Million Dollar Man” Pauldo (17-1, 8 KOs) was victorious when Jerry “The Joker” Perez (14-4-1, 11 KOs) was kept on his stool after round three due to an apparent broken nose.

Middleweight Jimmy “Kilrain” Kelly (28-3, 10 KOs) won by disqualification in round five when Juan Jose Velasco (24-6, 15 KOs) pushed the referee during a break following a headbutt.

Shakur Stevenson 133.8 vs. Edwin De Los Santos 134.3
(WBC lightweight world title)

Emanuel Navarrete 130 vs. Robson Conceição 129.3
(WBO junior lightweight world title)

Brian Norman Jr. 146.4 vs. Quinton Randall 145.8
Floyd Diaz 117.7 vs. Max Ornelas 117.9
Troy Isley 159.7 vs. Vladimir Hernandez 156.8
Emiliano Fernando Vargas 135.6 vs. Brandon Mendoza 134.9
Jackson Murray 230.7 vs. Steven Torres 240.7
Abdullah Mason 134.4 vs. Jose Cardenas 134.6
Hugo Micallef 142.7 vs. Sergio Odabai 141.7
Giovanni Sarchioto 167 vs. Lucas de Abreu 166.3

Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
Promoter: Top Rank
TV: ESPN, ESPN+

Deontay Wilder vs. Joseph Parker
Anthony Joshua vs. Otto Wallin
Dmitry Bivol vs. Lyndon Arthur
Daniel Dubois vs. Jarrell Miller
Frank Sanchez vs. Junior Fa
Jai Opetaia vs. Ellis Zorro
Filip Hrgovic vs. Mark De Mori
Arslanbek Makhmudov vs. Agit Kabayel

Date: December 23
Venue: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

O’Shaquie Foster (21-2, 12 KOs), the reigning WBC junior lightweight world champion, has signed a multi-fight promotional contract with Top Rank. A native of Orange, Texas, who trains out of Houston, Foster will make his Top Rank on ESPN debut in early 2024.

“O’Shaquie Foster is a supremely talented champion in the prime of his career,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “We are thrilled to welcome him to Top Rank, and I eagerly await his next world title defense.”

Queensberry, Top Rank & Riyadh Season will hold a press conference tomorrow in London to announce a new date for the Fury vs. Usyk undisputed heavyweight world championship contest, taking place in early 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The rumored date is February 17.

By David Finger

At the 61st annual WBC Convention in Tashkent, Uzbekistan the eagerly anticipated ratings session kicked off in the heavyweight division. The most recent WBC rankings were unveiled at the convention and perhaps the most notable development was the presence of Francis Ngannou, who lost a split decision to Tyson Fury earlier this month in his professional debut, ranked at #10. Although it is hard to deny that any fighter who drops the world champion and loses a split decision deserves a top ten ranking, it is nonetheless an unprecedented development to see a fighter with only one fight in the world rankings.

The other major development was the WBC board voting to switch places of #12 Joe Joyce and #14 Daniel Dubois in the rankings. The move was suggested to Francis Warren by Mauricio Sulaiman after Warren asked to see Dubois move up from #14, citing his performance in his word title fight with Oleksandr Usyk. Continue reading “Ngannou gets WBC #10 ranking”

With the Fury-Usyk showdown being pushed off the December 23 date, a mega replacement event is in the works with both Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua fighting in separate bouts.

The lineup reportedly includes:

Deontay Wilder vs. Joseph Parker
Anthony Joshua vs. Otto Wallin
Dmitry Bivol vs. Lyndon Arthur
Daniel Dubois vs. Jarrell Miller
Frank Sanchez vs. Junior Fa
Jai Opetaia vs. Ellis Zorro
Filip Hrgovic vs. Mark De Mori

Everything will be confirmed tomorrow at a press conference in London. The December 23 event will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

In a slugfest, NABF junior welterweight champion Steve Claggett (37-7-2, 25 KOs) hammed out a ten round unanimous decision over Miguel Madueno (30-2, 28 KOs) on Tuesday night at the Casino De Montreal. Claggett and Madueno went toe-to-toe the whole way with Claggett earning a 99-91, 99-91, 98-92 verdict.

Two-time middleweight world title challenger Steven Butler (33-4-1, 27 KOs) scored a ninth round KO over Ivan Alvarez (32-15-4, 21 KOs). After a tough eight rounds, Butler dropped Alvarez twice in round nine to end it. Time was 2:36.

Olympic Bronze Medalist Imam Khataev (5-0, 5 KOs) knocked out Fernando Galvan (8-9-1, 2 KOs) in round two of a light heavyweight bout. Time was :44.

Hard-hitting IBF 140-pound world champion Subriel Matias, unbeaten top contender Shohjahon Ergashev, WBA Super Featherweight World Champion Hector Luis Garcia and mandatory challenger Lamont Roach previewed their respective SHOWTIME PPV undercard world title fights during a virtual press conference Tuesday before they step into the ring on Saturday, November 25 from Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

Subriel Matias

“My preparations have been great. I’m healthy and we’re heading into the home stretch before the fight. I can tell you this, the fight won’t reach the final bell because if you look at the way both of us like to fight and how our fights have gone, you can expect a knockout. Continue reading “Matias-Ergashev/Garcia-Roach Press Quotes”

The final press conference was held Tuesday for the world title doubleheader on THURSDAY night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Shakur Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) faces Edwin De Los Santos (16-1, 14 KOs) for the vacant WBC lightweight world title and WBO junior lightweight champion Emanuel “Vaquero” Navarrete (38-1, 31 KOs) defends two-time world title challenger Robson Conceição (17-2, 8 KOs).

Shakur Stevenson: “This means the world to me. I’ve been grinding my whole life for these moments. I’m back in the same situation I was before, fighting for another vacant title. I’m just here to do what I got to do. I’m focused. I’m ready. Showtime on Thursday…my performance is based on how I feel. I’m performing for myself. I know that if I come in at my best, I will be hard to deal with for everybody.”

Edwin De Los Santos: “Like I’ve always said, I’m not here to hesitate, I’m here to fight…I know that with the help of God I am going to be victorious, and the win will change my life. On November 16, you will see an upset. Don’t be surprised.”

Emanuel Navarrete: “Robson represents an enormous threat in this fight. His style is very difficult. He’s a fighter who has an Olympic style. That makes it difficult for anyone with my style. But we worked on that. We worked on that in order to make the fight easier for me in that regard.”

Robson Conceição: “It’s tough to get three title opportunities. But that’s what happened in the amateurs. It took me three attempts to become an Olympic champion. So, the same will happen in professional boxing.”

By David Finger

Day three of the 61st annual WBC Convention in Tashkent, Uzbekistan continued with a series of presentations, and although fans were a bit disappointed that the ratings committee meeting would not take place on day three (it will kick off on Thursday) it was nonetheless an exciting an informative day filled with exceptional presentations.

Before the first session, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman took some time to thank the WBC Board of Governors before reiterating that 2023 was “a great year for WBC.” Noting that the WBC had 24 championship fights over the year, Sulaiman then introduced what he promised would become one of the biggest developments of the sport in the coming years: BoxMed.

BoxMed, quite simply, is a cell phone application (app) that will collect data on fighters and create a central database for the sport. A app that will create an individual ring history of every fighter. He then turned the presentation over to Dr. Ricardo Moriel of the WBC Medical Committee, who also spoke on the BoxMed app. Continue reading “WBC Convention Day Three Report”