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Over the last few weeks, Top Rank has added a lot of new talent to their formidable stable.

• The newest member of the Top Rank family is WBA #4 junior middleweight contender Vito “White Magic” Mielnicki Jr., (18-1, 12 KOs), who has inked a long-term promotional contract. The date of Mielnicki’s Top Rank debut will be announced shortly.
• Welterweight prospect Art Barrera Jr., (5-0, 4 KOs) from the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy, recently inked a long-term promotional contract. He will fight July 13, on the ESPN+-streamed Alimkhanuly-Mikhailovich undercard at Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
• Argentinian power puncher Gustavo Lemos (29-1, 19 KOs), who recently lost a controversial decision to Richardson Hitchins, signed a long-term promotional pact. A world-ranked contender at lightweight and junior welterweight, Lemos will be co-promoted by Top Rank in association with O.R. Promotions. His ring return date will be announced shortly.
• Junior welterweight contender Elvis “The Dominican Kid” Rodriguez (15-1-1, 13 KOs), previously promoted by Top Rank from 2019 to 2021 has signed a long-term promotional deal. He makes his second Top Rank debut in a 10-rounder on the June 29 Teofimo-Claggett undercard at James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida.

Unbeaten heavyweight Jared “Real Big Baby” Anderson (17-0, 16 KOs) will step up against Martin Bakole (21-1, 15 KOs) on the stacked August 3 Crawford-Madrimov event in Los Angeles. Anderson is rated WBA #4, WBC #5, IBF #5, WBA #13. Bakole is rated WBA #1, WBC #10, WBO #11, IBF #14.

Interestingly, the card also features Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller against Andy Ruiz, so both big babies will see action in the ring and certainly will have things to say to each other at the press events.

The IBF purse bid for the world championship fight between undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and IBF #1 William Scull was supposed to take place today, June 6. However, the Canelo team asked for more time and this request was granted after discussions with the Scull team and the new date is now June 13.

For a while it looked as if Canelo might give up his IBF world championship belt with Scull able to fight for the vacant against someone else. But now there has apparently been another turnaround. Continue reading “Canelo-Scull Purse Bid Delayed”

Former highly decorated amateur Yosdiel Napoles (4-0, 4 KOs) of Cuba will challenge for his first pro title This Friday. Napoles will take on the much more experienced Wister Garcia of Venezuela. (20-3-1, 13 KOs).

The scheduled for 10 round bout will take place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Hollywood, Florida with a WBA regional title at stake. Napoles is on the face track but his team of Kris Lawrence (Heavyweight Factory Promotions) International Boxing Enterprise LLC, and trainer Rubio all believe he will be up for the task. Continue reading “Q&A Yosdiel Napoles”

By Mauricio Sulaimán
President of the WBC – Son of José Sulaimán

A very poignantly sad week for the Mexican boxing community, after the loss of two dear people beloved by us all.

Dr. José Luis Ibarra finally lost his battle against cancer, after fighting heroically and having won many rounds, being in the process of recovery; including attending our Acapulco Convention at the end of 2022 to receive an award for his bravery, and then being present at the Saúl Canelo Álvarez fight last year in Guadalajara. Continue reading “Boxing season concluded in Riyadh”

In a clash of seasoned junior middleweights, Vladimir Hernandez (15-6, 7 KOs) scored a spectacular sixth round knockout against Guido Emmanuel Schramm (16-3-2, 9 KOs) on Wednesday night at the Whitesands Events Center in Plant City, Florida. A left hook laid out Schramm face first to end it. Time was 2:59.

Patrice Volny 159.2 vs. Steven Butler 159.9
(WBC Francophone middleweight title)
Evgeny Shvedenko 168 vs. Osleys Iglesias 167.8
(IBO super middleweight title)
Arthur Biyarslanov 139.7 vs. Elias Mauricio Haedo 141.3
(NABF super lightweight title)
Shamil Khataev 161.7 vs. Ramadan Hiseni 161.5
Jose De Leon Jasso 139.2 vs. Jhon Orobio 139.3
Luis Santana 136.6 vs. Guillermo Leonel Crocco 134.2

Venue: Casino de Montreal, Montreal, Canada.
Promoter: Eye of the Tiger
TV: ESPN+

Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions presents another Hollywood Fight Nights event on Friday, July 26 at the Commerce Casino Events Center in Los Angeles and broadcast live globally on UFC Fightpass.

The event is co-headlined by a WBC regional title fight doubleheader featuring world ranked Omar Trinidad, (15-0-1, 12 KOs) making the first defense of his WBC Continental Americas featherweight title against southpaw Viktor Slavinskyi, (15-2-1, 7 KOs).

Fighting in the welterweight division, hard-hitting Freddie Roach-trained Gor Yeritsyan, (18-0, 14 KOs) looks to stay perfect defending his WBC Continental Americas title against fellow undefeated Aram Amirkhanyan, (15-0-1, 4 KOs).

Both bouts are scheduled for ten rounds.

Heavyweights Johnny Fisher and Alen Babic faced off today at the launch press conference at Matchroom HQ in Brentwood, Essex, England, ahead of their July 6 clash at the Copper Box Arena in London – shown live worldwide on DAZN.

Alen Babic: “Thank you for having me everybody it’s so beautiful to be here. Listen, Johnny Fisher I think is a great fighter, but I think he is a young fighter. I had 100 amateur fights, most of them were tougher than me and him both. I had 12 professional fights; I was tested so many times. I was tested so many times. I went through all of them, almost – all but one.

“This is his first test… Continue reading “Fisher-Babic Kickoff Press Conference”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

This title is a parody of the masterpiece movie “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington” starring James Stewart in 1939. “Monster” Naoya Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs), the unified world super bantamweight champion, has left for New York in order to attend the award-giving ceremony of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Naoya was named the BWAA’s Boxer of the Year and will receive the prestigious Sugar Ray Robinson Award there on this coming Friday. The Monster will be accompanied by his manager/promoter Hideyuki Ohashi, former WBC/WBA world minimumweight champ. Congrats.

Photos

IBF welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis says he is still fighting next month in his hometown of Philadelphia. Ennis’ opponent and mandatory challenger Cody Crowley pulled out on Tuesday due to complications in his recovery from eye surgery last November. Boots took to social media to inform his fans that the fight date is still on.

Former four-division world champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner (35-4-1, 24 KOs) and fan-favorite Blair “The Flair” Cobbs (16-1-1, 10 KOs) faced off at the final press conference for their WBC People’s Championship main event on Friday night at the Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida,

Adrien Broner: “I want to thank everyone for showing up. I apologize for being late. I want to tell you guys what I tell everyone else. You can’t fight for me. You guys aren’t going to lose this weight for me. And you guys sure aren’t going to run your mouth for me. So, I am not going to stop doing what I am doing just to please you. You aren’t going to put food on my plate or no money in my pocket. I had to handle business. I had to get my work done before I came here to talk shit…I am here to put my life on the line. On June 7 I am not coming to just put on a show for the fans. I am coming to die if I have to.”

Blair Cobbs: “Thank you, everybody, for showing up to this one. This one is going to be a very big attraction. Just in case you don’t know who I am, it’s the most exciting man in boxing, Blair “The Flair” Cobbs. The limousine-riding, the jet-flying, the kiss-stealing, wheeling, dealing son-of-a-gun. I’m having a hard time keeping these alligator boots down. We’re going to have a great time. I just cannot wait to get my hands on Adrien Broner. Look, he had a good run, but now it’s time for his demise.”

Fanmio has announced the co-main event for “Last Man Standing: Diaz vs. Masvidal” as two-time former middleweight world champion Daniel “Miracle Man” Jacobs (37-4, 30 KOs) returns to action to take on Shane Mosley Jr. (21-4, 12 KOs) in a 10-round super middleweight showdown on Saturday, July 6 in a PPV from Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

The card is headlined by the pro boxing battle between MMA fighters Nate Diaz and Jorge “Gamebred” Masvidal.

On Saturday, July 27, undisputed female middleweight world champion Claressa “GWOAT” Shields (14-0, 2 KOs) rises two weight classes to vie for a world title in a fourth division against WBC female heavyweight champion Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse (7-1, 2 KOs). The vacant WBO female light heavyweight championship will also be on the line on July 27, as both main event fighters aim to unify 175-pound titles in a very special edition of “Big Time Boxing USA” at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit that will air live on premier global sports platform DAZN.

“From the beginning of her career, Claressa has been on a quest to make her story a part of history,” said promoter Dmitriy Salita. “This fight is one of Claressa’s hardest challenges, moving up two weight divisions to challenge the current heavyweight world champion. It’s ‘Claressa vs. Vanessa’ for the unified world title in Detroit, one of boxing’s historic homes. There is no better venue for this epic showdown than the beautiful, world-class Little Caesars Arena.”

Two-time world title challenger Steven Butler (34-4-1, 28 KOs) faces countryman Patrice Volny (18-1, 12 KOs) in the 10-round middleweight main event this Thursday at Casino de Montreal in Montreal, Canada. Promoted by Eye of The Tiger, Butler-Volny and undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+.

In other streaming action from Montreal:

• Osleys Iglesias (10-0, 9 KOs) vs. Evgeny Shvedenko (16-1-1, 7 KOs), 12 Rounds, Super Middleweights
• Arthur Biyarslanov (14-0, 12 KOs) vs. Elias Mauricio Haedo (14-5, 10 KOs), 10 Rounds, Junior Welterweights
• Shamil Khataev (12-0, 3 KOs) vs. Ramadan Hiseni (18-1-1, 6 KOs), 10 Rounds, Middleweights
• Mary Spencer (8-2, 6 KOs) vs. April Hunter (7-1), 10 Rounds, Junior Middleweights
• Jhon Orobio (9-0, 8 KOs) vs. Jose De Leon Jasso (13-4-1, 6 KOs), 8 Rounds, Junior Welterweights
• Leila Beaudoin (11-1, 1 KO) vs. Lizbeth Crespo (15-7, 4 KOs), 8 Rounds, Lightweights
• Luis Santana (11-0, 5 KOs) vs. Guillermo Leonel Crocco (20-3-1, 6 KOs), 8 Rounds, Junior Welterweights

WBO #4, WBC #7, IBF #12 featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (11-0, 7 KOs) is on the brink of a world title opportunity. But first, he’ll need to overcome tough Jose Enrique Vivas (23-3, 12 KOs) in a 10-rounder on ESPN Saturday at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Carrington-Vivas will serve as the co-feature to the junior middleweight showdown between Xander Zayas and former world champion Patrick Teixeira.

“Jose Enrique Vivas is a great dance partner,” said Carrington. “He’s never been stopped. He’s a really tough guy, but I like fighting tough guys. I get to show how not tough they are when it comes to facing me. I will be the first person to stop him. And it’s because of the way I’ve been training, how hard I’ve been training, and what I know I’m going to bring to the table. It’s just like in my last two fights. It’s about how I have been feeling.” Continue reading “Shu Shu: I will be the first person to stop Vivas”

Hollywood Fight Nights this Friday night, June 7 at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, CA is sold-out, it was announced today by Tom Loeffler, President of 360 Promotions.

Friday’s show features unbeaten WBC #10, IBF #11 super welterweight ‘King’ Callum Walsh (10-0, 8 KOs) defending his WBC Continental Americas title against Carlos Ortiz, (14-5, 14 KOs), scheduled for ten rounds.

The six-fight event can be seen on UFC Fightpass.

Undefeated super welterweeight Xander Zayas (18-0, 12 KOs), who signed with Top Rank at 16 as their youngest prospect ever, is now 21 and headlining for the first time in New York City on the eve of this weekend’s famed Puerto Rican Day Parade. Zayas must pass his toughest test to date against former world champion Patrick Teixeira (34-4, 25 KOs) inside The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

“In this fight, I have to be intelligent,” sais Zayas. “I have to follow the game plan. I have to block out all the emotions that will be a part of that night. Obviously, it’s an important night for Puerto Ricans. But we’re going to have to block that out. We’re going to have to be patient and work little by little. I have 10 rounds to do the damage that I want to do and to put on a great show.”

On May 29, the WBO Championship Committee issued a purse bid order for a Joshua Buatsi vs. Anthony Yarde interim light heavyweight title bout. The Committee outlined specific provisions, most notably granting Yarde 72 hours to personally confirm in writing to the WBO whether he would participate. The time elapsed without formal communication from Yarde prompting the WBO to determine that he was uninterested, and therefore, unavailable to fight. The Committee has now ordered an interim title match between Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson. The camps have ten days to negotiate a deal or a purse bid will ensue.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Hard-punching perennial contender Yamato Hata (15-2, 14 KOs), 129.75, impressively captured the OPBF 130-pound belt when he caught up with defending champ Kosuke Saka (23-8, 20 KOs), 130, and halted him at 2:32 of the third round in a scheduled twelve on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. From the outset Hata, a sumo wrestler’s relative, stayed aggressive with more combinations to the onrushing but less aggressive champ. The younger southpaw challenger, in round three, connected with solid combinations to have the champ so rubbery-legged near the ropes that the ref Nakamura took a well-received count against Saka. When they resumed fighting, it was Hata that swarmed over the still groggy champ to prompt the third man’s intervention. Continue reading “Hata dethrones OPBF 130lb champ Saka”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Ten-time amateur national champ with a 154-20 mark, WBO#14 Japanese southpaw Kenji Fujita (7-0, 3 KOs), 125.5, kept his WBO Asia Pacific featherweight belt as he complied good points in the first half, suffered a left hand fracture in the eighth but eked out a close but unanimous decision (116-111, 115-112, 114-113) over Filipino Rodex Piala (10-1, just a KO), 125.5, over twelve on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Scoring a flash knockdown of the Filipino in round two, Fujita looked to show an easy triumph over the slower and less aggressive challenger. But the tide turned from the tenth on, as Fujita only kept circling without throwing positive shots while Piala displayed his last surge to the fast-moving and elusive champ. Continue reading “WBO#14 Fujita defeats Piala, keeps WBO AP 126lb belt”

In a crossroads heavyweight showdown, “Big Bang” Zhilei Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KOs) knocked out “The Bronze Bomber” Deontay Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) in round five on Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The 41-year-old Zhang, with a 68-pound weight advantage, stalked the 38-year-old Wilder, who looked to catch Zhang with right hands. Zhang worked over Wilder on the ropes for a stretch in round two. Zhang continued to walk down Wilder as the action slowed. Zhang laid out Wilder in round five with a right hand that spun him around and a follow-up right that ended Wilder’s night. Time was 1:51.

Team Queensberry defeated Team Matchroom 10—0 to win the inaugural 5v5 competition.

In a clash for the IBF interim heavyweight title, former WBA “regular” heavyweight champion and IBF #4 rated “Dynamite” Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) stopped previously unbeaten IBF #1 Filip “El Animal” Hrgovic (17-1, 14 KOs) in round eight on Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Good fight with both landing big shots. Hrgovic repeatedly connected ealy on with hard right hands – that Dubois somehow took. Hrgovic bled from cuts over both eye. Dubois rocked a tiring Hrgovic in round seven and the bout was stopped by the referee at :57 of round eight. Queensberry went up 8-0 in the 5v5 tournament.

WBA light heavyweight champion Dimitry Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) scored a sixth round TKO over previously unbeaten IBF #2, WBA #7 Malik Zinad (22-1, 16 KOs) on Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Bivol dropped Zinad with a right/left combination in round one and later got a referee’s stoppage with a barrage of punches in round six. Time was 2:06. It was Bivol’s first KO since 2018. Next up for Bivol is an October 12 undisputed showdown with WBC/IBF/WBO champion Artur Beterbiev.

Sheeraz stops Ammo Williams, Hutchinson tops Richards

Unbeaten WBA #9 Nick “Wrecking” Ball (20-0-1, 11 KOs) dethroned previously unbeaten WBA featherweight champion Ray “Savage” Ford (15-1-1, 8 KOs) by twelve round split decision on Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ball pressed the action and outworked Ford for the first half of the fight. Ford broke Ball’s nose in round seven and got the better down the stretch. In the end, the scores were 115-113 Ford, 115-113, 115-113 Ball.

In a WBC middleweight eliminator between unbeaten fighters, WBC #2 Hamzah Sheeraz (20-0, 16 KOs) scored an eleventh round TKO over WBC #5 Austin “Ammo” Williams (16-1, 11 KOs). Williams rocked Sheeraz in round one, but Sheeraz found his range and dominated Williams after that. Sheeraz dropped Williams at the end of round ten and got a referee’s stoppage in round eleven. Time was :45. The win put the Queensberry team ahead 6-0 against the Matchroom squad after three bouts, ensuring at least a draw in the 5v5 tourney.

WBC #7, WBO #7 light heavyweight and former amateur champion Willy Hutchinson (18-1, 13 KOs) scored a twelve round unanimous decision over former world title challenger and WBA #4 rated Craig “The Spider” Richards (18-4-1, 11 KOs). Scores were 116-112, 117-111, 119-109.