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Former world champion Ishe Smith (29-8, 12 KOs) battles top 154-pound contender Julian “J-Rock” Williams (23-1-1, 15 KOs) in a 10-round super welterweight clash that headlines Premier Boxing Champions on Bounce live from The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on Saturday, November 18.

In the co-feature, Lionell Thompson (18-4, 11 KOs) clashes with unbeaten prospect Earl Newman (10-0-1, 7 KOs) in a 10-round light heavyweight bout. Televised coverage begins with unbeaten 2012 Olympic silver medalist Tugstsogt Nyambayar (8-0, 8 KOs) and Xavier Martinez (9-0, 5 KOs) going head-to-head in a 10-round featherweight fight.

WBA super flyweight champion Kal Yafai says he will send out a statement to the 115lb division that he’s coming for all the belts when he defends his crown against unbeaten mandatory challenger Sho Ishida at Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday. Yafai puts the strap on the line for the second time and against a second opponent from the land of the rising sun having been taken 12 rounds by the gritty Suguru Muranaka in May.

The unbeaten Birmingham star now travels to Wales to put the belt on the line against Ishida, the tall 25-year-old fighting outside his homeland for the first time. Yafai expects another tough contest but the 28-year-old says he’s ready to dazzle and prove he can head Stateside and dominate the weight-class. Continue reading “Yafai: I’ll send a message to super-fly rivals”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Boxing Beat

It is customary in Japan that a newly crowned world champion engages in a press conference with the media on the next day of his coronation. The new WBA middleweight titlist Ryota Murata replied to our press people’s questions, and reviewed his impressive victory last night. Murata appeared in a television program early in the morning since he became a national hero again as he once did so in the Olympic Games in London in 2012.

“I applied the pressure to N’Dam from the start of the fight and it worked well. My combinations coupled with body shots were certainly so effective that N’Dam seemed to have difficulty to breathe smoothly. So I was going to accelerate my attack to hurt him more, and he abruptly quit. I wish to have my name known in the world from now on since I’m still less known and less evaluated by the international boxing world.” Continue reading “WBA 160lb champ Murata headed to US next summer”

Heavyweight Robert Helenius says he’ll knock out Dillian Whyte and ruin his world title dreams when they clash for the WBC Silver title at Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday. “I will definitely win by knockout,” said Helenius. “He will definitely fall. I know it will be a tough fight, but it will be a tough fight for Dillian more than it will be for me, and it will be a loss on his record, that’s it. I hope he stands and fights with me and doesn’t run, as his reputation suggests.

“I have absolutely no worries about ring rust because I am always, always in training. I feel I have ten years left in boxing, and during this time I will definitely become world heavyweight champion. I have no doubts. Continue reading “Helenius: I will definitely KO Whyte”

By Jeff Zimmerman
Photos: Tiffany Syfan

At 27, super middleweight Rob Brant (22-0, 15 KOs) is undefeated and training partners with two world champions, Errol Spence Jr. and Jermell Charlo, out of the R&R Boxing Club in Dallas, Texas, yet he still fights under the radar and is relatively unknown to most boxing fans.

However, that could all change when he treks across the globe in what could be his breakout fight when he takes on former two-time world champion Juergen Braehmer (48-3, 35 KOs) in the super middleweight quarterfinal as part of the World Boxing Super Series in Brahemer’s hometown of Schwerin, Germany no less on Friday. Continue reading “Brant aims for breakout win vs. Braehmer”

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

Dean Lonergan, promoter of WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn, says Horn is open to giving WBA/WBC champion Keith Thurman the thrashing he deserves.

“If at any stage Thurman wants to come to Brisbane to try and unify the titles, he will get the same warm welcome and outcome that was served up to our good friend Mister Pacquiao,” said Lonergan. “The Hornet is the world’s strongest welterweight and is open to any and all challenges. Should Keith Thurman want to make the mistake of getting into a fight he won’t win and get the thrashing he deserves, he should man up and get his promoters to call me rather than talk tough from 9000 miles away.”

In the meantime, Horn will clash with WBO #10 Gary Corcoran on December 13 in Brisbane.

By Ricardo Ibarra

Just nine fights into his professional career, Spokane, Washington’s Patrick “The Natural” Ferguson (9-0, 9 KOs) will take his first crack at a minor title this Saturday at the Majestic Valley Arena in Kalispell, Montana, squaring off with experienced journeyman Damon Reed (49-19, 32 KOs) in a ten round battle for the vacant WBC United States (USNBC) cruiserweight title. Continue reading “Ferguson-Reed collide in Montana”

By Ricardo Ibarra

Tacoma, Washington’s Marquice “Tree” Weston (10-1-1, 6 KOs) will step back into the ring in search of his fourth consecutive win on Saturday night at the Green River Conference and Event Center in Auburn, Washington, facing off with Steven Lyons (3-1) in the six round main event of Pacific Northwest Professional Boxing Promotions’ stacked nine-bout card. Continue reading “Weston-Lyons clash Saturday in Auburn, WA”

By Robert Coster

Boxing returns to Haiti with a gala card offering 3 regional title bouts this coming Thursday. In the main event, local hero WBA #2 Evens “The Sun City Kid” Pierre (28-1, 18 KOs) will be defending his WBA lightweight Fedelatin title against Mexican Jesus Laguna (21-10-2, 18 KOs). The hard-punching Laguna is the case of a boxer who has turned his career around and is on a streak of 9 straight victories, all by knockout. Continue reading “3 titles at stake in Haiti on Thursday”

By Ron Jackson

Supreme Boxing Promotions presented an action-packed tournament before a capacity crowd at the Blairgowrie Recreation Centre in Randburg on Sunday afternoon, with Xolani Mgidi from Mpumalanga stopping the local favorite Hloni Maboko in the eighth round in a lightweight contest. Continue reading “Mgidi beats Maboko in an upset”

The World Boxing Association (WBA) Championships Committee has announced that the super welterweight title held by Demetrius Andrade has been vacated. The reason why the undefeated Andrade gave is he wants to go up to the middleweight division immediately and he requested to be ranked in that category to be able to fight for another WBA championship in the future. Andrade has 25 wins in his professional career and knows no defeats, with 16 of his opponents having fallen by knockout. He had earned the title last March, when he defeated Jack Culcay by split decision. He vacated the title before making his first defense, which was expected for the end of the year. Erislandy Lara remains the WBA “super” champion in the division.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

2012 Olympic gold medalist Ryota Murata (13-1, 10 KOs), 160, impressively captured the WBA middleweight belt as he kept stalking defending champ Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (36-3, 21 KOs), 158.75, France, positively threw punches to the elusive target and finally had him retire in the corner after the seventh session on Sunday in Tokyo, Japan. Murata had failed to win the belt, losing a controversial split verdict to N’Dam this May. In a highly anticipated grudge fight, Murata looked so much determined that he was very aggressive from the opening session.

Until the end of the seventh round, Raul Caiz Jr. (US), Robert Hoyle (US) and Pinit Prayadsab (Thailand) all had Murata leading on points: 69-64, 68-65 and 70-63 respectively. The third man was Kenny Bayless (US). Continue reading “Murata halts N’Dam to win WBA 160lb belt”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten KO artist Daigo Higa, 112, extended his unblemished mark to 14-0, 14 KOs and successfully retained his belt when he kept swarming over French challenger Thomas Masson (17-4-1, 5 KOs), 111.75, all the way, finally dropped the taller foe and had him retire because of his injured right optic at 1:10 of the seventh round on Sunday in Tokyo, Japan. It’s the non-stop punching Henry Armstrong stylist Higa’s initial defense since he captured the WBC belt via sixth-round TKO victory over Juan Hernandez this May.

Prior to the stoppage due to the ring physician’s advice midway in round seven just after a knockdown—Mike Ross (US), Alejandro Rochin (Mexico) both 60-54, and Jun-Bae Lim (Korea) 59-55, all for the 22-year-old young champ. Continue reading “WBC fly king Higa, 14-0, 14 KOs, stops Masson”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Fast-moving and quick-punching Ken Shiro (11-0, 5 KOs), 107.5, kept his WBC light-flyweight belt as he showed his second wind, exclusively battered the midsection of former champ Pedro Guevara (30-3-1, 17 KOs), 107.5, and earned a majority decision over twelve hard-fought rounds on Sunday in Tokyo, Japan. The official tallies were as follows: Mike Ross (US) 116-112, Jun-Bae Lim (Korea) both for Ken, Alejandro Rochin (Mexico) 114-114. The referee was Hector Afu (Panama).

Ken, who dethroned Ganigan Lopez this May, scored his initial defense against the more experienced and highly regarded ex-champ Guevara, who demonstrated his aggressiveness in the first four sessions, leading on points on the open scoring system—40-36, 39-37 twice for the Mexican. Continue reading “Ken barely edges Guevara; keeps WBC 108lb belt”

By Ron Jackson
Photos: Nick Lourens

In an action-packed tournament at Emperors Palace near Kempton Park on Saturday night, South African featherweight champion Azinga Fuzile provided the highlight of the night when he smashed former Commonwealth bantamweight and IBO junior-featherweight champion Tshifhiwa Munyai to defeat inside three rounds in the first bout of the Super 4 featherweight competition.

After a quiet opening round the 21-year-old southpaw Fuzile (57.14 kg) picked up the pace in the second round and dropped his more experienced opponent with a left to the head. Continue reading “Fuzile smashes Munyai in three rounds”

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

WBO #10 welterweight Gary Corcoran arrived in Brisbane ahead of his showdown against WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn for a Press Conference to announce the world title bout in Brisbane on December 13. Corcoran talked to Grantlee Kieza of the Courier Mail.

“I’ve been fighting all my life,” Corcoran said. “I’ve got eight brothers and they are all champion boxers, too. At school I was suspended 19 times, a lot of the time for fighting, so now I get my revenge over a schoolteacher. I know I can stop him inside the distance. Continue reading “WBO #10 Gary Corcoran arrives in Brisbane”

Last night at the historic San Francisco Armory, the “Back to Business” card took place with local welterweight Karim “Hard Hitta” Mayfield moving forward with a victory.

Mayfield (21-4-1, 11 KOs), cruised to a 6-round unanimous decision over outmatched Miguel Dumas (10-1, 7 KOs), giving him his first defeat. With the win, Mayfield captures he the WBU Welterweight Americas Belt. Scorecards read 60-54 twice, and 55-54. Continue reading “Mayfield victorious in San Francisco”

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

Former WBC super middleweight champion Sakio “The Scorpion” Bika (34-7-3, 22 KOs) outworked Serbian Geard Ajetovic (31-16-1, 16 KOs) over twelve rounds on Sunday for the vacant WBC International title at Star City Casino, Sydney, NSW, Australia. Bika controlled the bout in most of the rounds but some of his punches were below the belt and he was deducted two points by the referee. At the conclusion, Bika was awarded a unanimous decision.

Commonwealth welterweight champion Kris George (13-1, 7 KOs) stopped Jack Brubaker (13-2-1, 7 KOs) in round six of scheduled twelve round bout to retain the title. Brubaker was suffering from severe cuts and George was crowned the winner at 2.20 of round six.

Australian middleweight prospect Tim Tszyu (7-0, 5 KOs) outpointed Wade Ryan (14-6, 3 KOs) over ten rounds to capture the vacant WBC Asian Boxing Council Continental title. Tszyu was dropped in round one, but outworked his opponent in most of the rounds to be awarded the ten round unanimous decision. Continue reading “Bika, Tszyu, George victorious down under”

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

WBA#6 super-flyweight Andrew Moloney (15-0-0) captured the vacant Commonwealth crown with a fourth round stoppage of Tanzanian, Hashimu Zaberi (13-2-0) in a scheduled twelve round contest at the Function Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on Saturday. Zaberi retired in round four when he could not continue because of injuries sustained.

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

Former 2012 London Olympian Jai Opetai (13-0, 10 KOs) scored a knockout in round one over American, Frankie Lopez (9-1, 7 KOs) to capture the IBF World Youth cruiserweight title at the Function Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australian on Saturday. Opetai,22years, represented Australia at the London Olympics in 2012 and in 2011 captured the world junior light heavyweight championship. Jai is trained by his father Michael Opetai.Lopez is trained by Hall of Famer Virgil Hill

By Ray Wheatley — World of Boxing

Australian super middleweight prospect Bilal Akkawy (15-0-1, 13 KOs) stopped Argentine veteran Carlos Adan Jerez (45-21-3, 18 KOs) in round three of a scheduled ten round bout at Club Punchbowl in Sydney, NSW, Australia on Saturday. The visitor could not continue after taking heavy punishment from Akkway.

Jerez, 38 years, travelled to Australia in 2010 and dropped a twelve round decision to Anthony Mundine and had also been the ten round distance with Saul Canelo Alvarez in 2008.

Report/Photos Boxing Bob Newman

Undefeated featherweight Alberto Machado (19-0, 16 KOs) scored an eighth round knockout over Jezreel Corrales (22-2, 8 KOs) to claim the vacant WBA”regular” super featherweight title on Saturday night at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. Only Machado was eligible to win the WBA title as Machado lost his WBA belt on the scale Friday.

Corrales got off to an early lead and knocked down Machado in round five. In round six, Machado stormed back and hurt Corrales. Corrales had the edge in round seven. The end came in round eight, when Machado turned around a losing fight with a left-right combo, dropping Corrales, who got up wobbly and was not allowed to continue by referee Mark Nelson. Time was 2:15. Continue reading “Machado KOs Corrales for WBA 130lb title”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten former amateur prospect Shuichiro Yoshino (6-0, 4 KOs), 134.75, impressively acquired the vacant Japanese lightweight belt when he finally halted durable and game Spicy Matsushita (17-10-1, 2 KOs), 134.75, at 1:23 of the seventh round in a scheduled ten on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan.

Yoshino connected with more accurate combinations, leading on points after the fifth on open scoring system—49-46, 48-47 twice all for him. The taller Matsushita came out fighting in round six, but Yoshino decked the more experienced rival twice prior to the referee’s intervention in the fatal seventh.

Photos

In a shocker, unheralded junior welterweight Carlos “Torito” Jimenez (15-8, 7 KOs) scored a sudden seventh round TKO over previously unbeaten WBO #12 rated Pedro “Roca” Campa (28-1, 21 KOs) on Saturday night at the Estadio Centenario in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. The bout was halted at 2:55 of the seventh after Jimenez caught Campa with a left to the chin. Campa said later that he thought the round was over and he had let his guard down when he got clocked.

In the co-feature, female super bantamweight Yazmin “Rusita” Rivas (37-10-1, 10 KOs) won a split decision over Yareli “Chololita” Larios (13-1, 2 KOs) in a bout for the WBC International title.

By Przemek Garczarczyk at ringside
Photos: Stephanie Trapp/Ringstar

In the fourth and final cruiserweight division quarterfinals match of the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) tournament, undefeated IBF champion Murat “Iron” Gassiev (25-0, 18 KOs) successfully defended his world title with a spectacular third round KO over former two-time world champion Krzysztof “Diablo” Wlodarczyk (53-4-1, 37 KOs) on Saturday night at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Gassiev laid out Wlodarczyk for the count with left hooks to the head and body at 1:57. He will now face WBA champ Yunier Dorticos in the WBSS semi-final in January.

In a WSBB cruiserweight substitute fight, Mateusz “Master” Masternak (40-4, 27 KOs) scored an impressive seventh round TKO over Stivens “Superman” Bujaj (16-2-1, 11 KOs). Masternak dropped Bujaj in round seven and the bout was stopped after the round.

Unbeaten super welterweight Maciej Sulecki (26-0, 10 KOs) took an unpopular ten round unanimous decision over former WBA champion “Golden” Jack Culcay (22-3, 11 KOs). Culcay seemed to give at least as good as he got, but judges saw it for Sulecki 98-92, 97-93, 96-94. photos