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The World Boxing Organization (WBO) has announced at the 36th annual convention from Punta Cana that it will host a referee and judges seminar on Wednesday Oct.25 at the Polideportivo Alexis Arguello in Managua, Nicaragua as part of the activities leading up to the anticipated WBO Nights of Champions card on Friday, October 27th . The show is toppled by the WBO Jr flyweight defense of Jonathan “Bomba” Gonzalez against challenger Gerardo Zapata of Nicaragua along with multiple regional titles on the undercard and broadcasted live on ESPN+ & ESPN Knockout. Continue reading “WBO announces Oct 25 seminars”

The WBC has confirmed Julio Cesar Martinez as sole flyweight champion after McWilliams Arroyo has declined to fight Martinez consequently vacating his interim title. Martinez and Arroyo were set to meet countless times before their technical draw which resulted from an accidental headbutt and afterward as well. The fight was set for May 5th on the undercard of Canelo vs Ryder, but Arroyo did not accept to fight in Mexico. They were set to meet this coming December as the result of a purse bid and Arroyo will not honor such fight, so he has lost his privileges and interim belt.

The World Boxing Association (WBA) Championships Committee ordered the bout between cruiserweight champion Arsen Goulamirian and his mandatory challenger Yuniel Dorticos. The committee gave a 30-day period to negotiate the bout, which began this Tuesday, October 10, and will end next November 10. Both parties received the formal notification signed by Carlos Chávez, president of the championships committee. If both parties do not reach an agreement or any of them refuses to sign the contract, the WBA may call for a purse bid.

Report/Photos by David Finger

Day one of the 36th Annual WBO Congress kicked off Tuesday morning (October 10th) at the Barcelo Bavaro Palace Resort and Convention Center with an introduction of the committee members before splitting off into separate events. For the officials, an ABC referee seminar kicked off at 8:30 while others took part in the WBO executive meeting. The executive meeting was an educational one, with two medical presentations relevant to the sport of boxing. First, Dr. Michael Gonzalez and Doctor Jorge Miranda-Massari, both experts on nutrition, gave a presentation on “Metabolic Correction for Physiological Optimization in Boxing”. Although the title of the session sounded somewhat intimidating to the layperson, Doctors Miranda and Gonzalez had a clear and conversational style that easily broke down the importance of nutrition as well as tips for fighters both pre and post-fight to maximize the impact of good nutrition. From there, Dr. Juan Carlos Devia Ramos presented a presentation on Injuries in Sports, with a heavy emphasis on head and brain injury and the long term impact of brain trauma. Both presentations and their power points are available on the WBO website. Continue reading “36th Annual WBO Congress Day One”

Jeter Promotions returns to The Hall at Live! Casino & Hotel in Hanover, Maryland on Saturday. This will be the 13th event promoted by Jeter Promotions at the venue located 11 miles from downtown Baltimore.

In the main event, Jaqeem Hutcherson (9-1-1, 0 KOs) battles fan-favorite Brandon Chambers (9-1-1, 5 KOs) in an eight-round battle for the UBF All America and UBO Intercontinental super bantamweight titles. This fight is a local showdown between Maryland-based fighters. Continue reading “Boxing back in Hanover, Maryland”

DAZN has picked up the November 11 MarvNation card at the Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California. Headlining the event will be Irma “Torbellino” Garcia vs Stephania Silva for the vacant IBF female jr. bantamweight world title. The card will also feature “El Feroz” Fernando Vargas Jr, Miguel Gaona, and Nathan “El Morenito” Rodriguez.

The Alabama Boxing Hall of Fame has announced its class of 2024.

Inductees are:
Pro Boxer – Otis Griffin
Amateur Boxer – Charles Campbell, Wendell Charleston
Old Timer – Izzy Jannazzo, Battling Bozo Hambright
Manager/Trainer/Promoter – TC Collins, Cheffy Reyna
Support Personnel – Dr. David Williams, Dave Godber

The induction ceremony will take place as part of a live pro fight card in 2024. Details to come

All-action super lightweight Cletus “The Hebrew Hammer” Seldin (27-1, 23 KOs) returned with a come-from-behind sixth round TKO against Patrick Okine (21-6-2, 18 KOs) on Tuesday night at Sony Hall in New York City. The 37-year-old Seldin pressed the action but showed some ring rust after two years out of the ring. Seldin dropped Okine in round six and got the stoppage with his follow-up barrage. Time was 2:22.

Other Results:
Michael Hughes W6 Nelson Morales (welterweight)
Christina Cruz W6 Josefina Vega (female super flyweight)
Christian Otero W6 Carlos Marrero (super lightweight)

Japanese world champion Takuma Inoue (18-1, 4 KOs) will defend his WBA bantamweight crown against Filipino former world champion Jerwin Ancajas (34-3-2, 23 KOs) on Wednesday, November 15, at Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. Inoue, the younger brother of pound-for-pound king Naoya Inoue, looks to make the first defense of his strap, while Ancajas aims to secure a world title in a second weight class.

In the world championship co-feature, Artem Dalakian (22-0, 15 KOs) puts his WBA flyweight world title on the line against Japanese contender Seigo Yuri Akui (18-2-1, 11 KOs).

Inoue-Ancajas, Dalakian-Akui, and additional undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. in the early morning hours on ESPN+.

WBC heavyweight boxing world champion Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury is set to face MMA star Francis Ngannou on October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The fight kicks off Riyadh Season, one of the world’s leading entertainment festivals, which runs throughout the winter months in the Kingdom’s largest city.

Promoted by Queensberry, Top Rank and GIMIK Fight Promotions, the all-heavyweight Fury-Ngannou card will stream live on ESPN+ PPV in the United States beginning at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT. Priced at $79.99 across all distributors, it also will be available via cable and satellite pay-per-view providers.

Undefeated two-time super middleweight world champion David “El Monstruo” Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) and unbeaten two-division champion Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade (32-0, 19 KOs) will go face-to-face at a press conference in Los Angeles this week to kickoff their showdown for Benavidez’s WBC interim super middleweight title headlining a SHOWTIME PPV on Saturday, November 25 from Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

Femke Hermans 152.9 vs. Mary Spencer 153.4
(IBF female super welterweight title)

Erik Bazinyan 166.4 vs. Ronald Ellis 167.1
(NABF/NABA super middleweight title)

Leila Beaudoin 129.9 vs. Estrella Valverde 129.8
Jose Lopez 148.3 vs. Christopher Guerrero 149.5
Luca Spadaccini 175.8 vs. Mehmet Nadir Unal 177.8
David Benitez 173.6 vs. Imam Khataev 176.6
Jesus Solis Reyes 133.3 vs. Jhon Orobio 134.4
Wilkens Mathieu 167.2 vs. Cäsar Lopez Romo 164.3

Venue: Cabaret du Casino de Montréal
Promoter: Eye of the Tiger
TV: ESPN+

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

The world is united in prayers for peace, following the terrible events of this past weekend in the never-ending cycle of conflict between Israel and Palestine. More war, in addition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, bringing death, destruction, chaos and grief. This violence impacts the daily life of families, schools, livelihoods, and generations in every way imaginable. The only thing we can do is ensure that harmony and unity prevail in our close circles. Let’s all pray for peace in the world, to end the cowardly attacks to innocent people and civilians, to end brutality and chaos and stop terrorism. Continue reading “WBC promotes dignity of women with boxing”

Elite boxing trainer Brian “Bomac” McIntyre has avoided the usual five-year minimum jail term for possessing a gun in the UK. Judge Nicholas Dean acknowledged that the case had “exceptional circumstances” and that the gun was brought into the country accidentally and sentenced BoMac to a 20 month jail term, suspended for two years. Among those testifying on BoMac’s behalf was undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford. BoMac is reportedly already headed back to Omaha, Nebraska.

A group of current and retired women boxers are demanding twelve round bouts with three-minute rounds for championship fights. Currently women’s bouts generally max out at ten, two-minute rounds, although the upcoming Serrano-Ramos bout will be contested with 12/3. As such, Serrano’s undisputed women’s featherweight title will not be on the line although some organizations will certainly sanction the bout.

“As women, we have had to fight inch by inch to earn the same equity and respect freely awarded to men. In our sport, we have made progress, but there is still far to go. For too long, we have been underpromoted and undercompensated. This has finally started to change as all of us have proven that women’s boxing captures the attention of sports fans and creates moments the world will never forget – – and we create these moments despite how rarely we are afforded the same time and opportunity to showcase our skill as our male counterparts. Continue reading “Women demand 12 round fights”

By David Finger

The 36th annual WBO Congress kicked off Monday (October 9th) at the Convention Center located at the All-Inclusive Barceló Bávaro Palace Hotel in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

The event opened Monday morning with the ever popular golf tournament and concluded that evening with the welcome reception back at the Convention Center. Business will start on Tuesday morning at with the ABC referees seminar and the WBO executive meeting both scheduled to kick off at 8AM. Also scheduled to kick off tomorrow morning is the opening ceremony which also will take place at the Barceló Bávaro Convention Center.

Photos

Both WBO interim heavyweight champion Zhilei Zhang and former interim champion Joe Joyce have successfully completed the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) testing process for their rematch, which was held in London on September 23rd. All tests for both men returned negative results. Between the two fights, Zhang passed eleven VADA tests, with two additional ones conducted by the British Boxing Board of Control. Joyce underwent a similar number of examinations. The two Olympic silver medalists weighed a combined 568 pounds when they entered the Wembley Arena ring, where the left-handed Zhang emerged victorious in round three with a one-punch, right hook knockout. The right-handed KO violently confirmed the April result in which Zhang’s left hand was responsible for closing Joyce’s eye for a sixth-round technical knockout. Continue reading “Zhang, Joyce passed 13 doping tests this year”

Cletus Seldin 142.4 vs. Patrick Okine 137.2
Michael Hughes 143.4 vs. Nelson Morales 147.8
Christina Cruz 114.2 vs. Josefina Vega 111.2
Christian Otero 138.8 vs. Carlos Marrero 136.8
Famous Wilson 163.8 vs. Derrick Vann 166.6

Venue: Sony Hall, NYC
Promoter: Boxinginsider
TV: Boxinginsider YouTube Channel

Interesting Saturday this week with two big world title fights.

Showtime has a great match with recently elevated WBO super welterweight champion Tim Tszyu (23-0, 17 KOs) making his first world title defense against upset artist Brian Mendoza (22-2, 16 KOs) from the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Broadbeach, Queensland, Australia. Mendoza is coming off a spectacular KO win over previously unbeaten Sebastian Fundora.

ESPN counters with a middleweight title unification between WBO champion Zhanibek Alimkhanuly (14-0, 9 KOs) and IBF champ Vincenzo Gualtieri (21-0-1, 9 KOs) from the brand new Fort Bend Community Center in Rosenberg, Texas. Unbeaten lightweight Keyshawn Davis will also see action.

Also that night, DAZN has a $54.99 PPV featuring the return of Tommy Fury (9-0, 4 KOs) against YouTuber KSI. In the co-feature, Logan Paul boxes MMA fighter Dillon Danis. This streams from the AO Arena in Manchester, England.

Matchroom Boxing won the promotional rights for the WBA super bantamweight eliminator bout between Uzbekistan’s Murodjon Akhmadaliev and Mexico’s Kevin Gonzalez, which was held this Monday morning via zoom. Matchroom got the promotional rights after offering $120,000 for the fight between the number one and the number two ranked boxers.

As stated in the rules of the pioneer body, Matchroom gave three options to carry out the fight, December 9 in San Francisco, December 16 in Arizona, and December 23 in Abu Dhabi.

The signed contracts for the bout must be sent to the WBA Championships Committee within 20 days from the time of the bidding, so they should be received by October 29. As provided in such cases, the purse split will be 50% for each fighter and the fight must take place between November 23, 2023 and January 9, 2024.

By Ron Jackson

Reigning South African bantamweight champion Ronald “King” Malindi died on Saturday after having spent nearly two months in the Helen Joseph Hospital, where he had been admitted after being shot in the head and chest in the Westbury Township.

The 29-year-old fighter who was a taxi driver lived in Brixton and was originally from Tshakhuma outside of Thohoyandou. Continue reading “SA bantamweight champion Malindi dies”

Dan Otter (Three Lions Promotions) will present a 12-round WBC cruiserweight final eliminator contest between former WBC world title challengers Ryan “The Bruiser” Rozicki (19-1, 18 KOs) and Nigeria’s Olanrewaju “God’s Power” Durodola (43-9, 39 KOs). The clash will talke place Saturday, December 2nd at The Emera Centre Stadium in Sydney, NS Canada.
The winner will become the mandatory challenger of the world champion.

The cruiserweight title, which was vacated by Badou Jack, will be contested by WBC ranked #1 Noel Gevor Mikaelyan (26-2-0, 11 KOs) and former WBC world titleholder and WBC ranked #2 Ilunga Junior Makabu (29-3, 25 KOs) on November 4th in Miami, Florida. Continue reading “Rozicki-Durodola WBC final eliminator Dec 2”

Photos: Sumio Yamada

Check out this GIANT photo gallery from the historic card in Tokyo where brothers Ginjiro Shigeoka and Yudai Shigeoka both claimed world titles + Dlamini-Kameda.

Photos

Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez commented on his successful debut as a cruiserweight on Saturday night at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

“This is a new beginning for me,” said Ramirez. “I came back stronger, faster and I came forward. I was a lot smarter in the ring. I think it was a great performance for me. I don’t have anything to say except thank you, Joe Smith, I think he’s a great fighter and tough opponent. I wish him all the best. We had to take care of business in the ring. I felt like I was ahead on the cards. I never took any chances because he has heavy hands and brings a lot of heat to the ring.”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Former OPBF/WBO AP middleweight champ Kazuto Takesako (16-1-1, 15 KOs), 160, regained the vacant OPBF (Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation) belt by chalking up a fine TKO victory over Korean Woo-Hyun Ma (6-2, 3 KOs), 158.75, at 0:53 of the tenth round in a scheduled twelve on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. Having suffered his first defeat at the hand of unbeaten world-rated Meiirim Nursultanov of Kazakhstan via eighth round stoppage in Korea this April, Takesako faced the Korean early starter who aggressively took the initiative, leading on the open scoring after the fourth: 39-37 twice, 38-38. Takesako, however, started his engine late from the fifth, dropping Ma three times in rounds five, six and eight. The 32-year-old game Japanese puncher finally caught up with the durable Korean, 27, and floored him with a fusillade of punches with the ref’s prompt intervention in the fatal tenth. Continue reading “Takesako stops Ma, wins vacant OPBF 160lb belt”