Fightnews.com

By Joe Koizumi

IBF junior flyweight champion Sivenathi Nontshinga (13-1, 10 KOs), from South Africa, will defend his belt against #2 Masamichi Yabuki (16-4, 15 KOs), ex-WBC 108-pound titlist, on Saturday in Tokoname city, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Both tipped the beam half a pound lighter than the limit at 107.5. For Nontshinga it will be his first defense since he regained the IBF belt from Mexican grudge rival Adrian Curiel this February, while Yabuki will make his second world title shot since he forfeited his WBC light fly belt to Kenshiro Teraji in their rematch in 2022. It will take place at Aichi Sky Expo by Kameda Promotions.

Lightweight Gabriel Flores Jr (24-2, 8 KOs) returns tomorrow night in Stockton, Calif. against Dennis Contreras (24-14-1, 22 KOs) in an eight-round main event, streamed live on BLK Prime.

Weigh-in results:

Gabriel Flores Jr 135 vs. Dennis Contreras 136.6
Dominique Francis 130.8 vs. Julio Carrera 130.8
Andrew Rodriguez 114 vs. Marcelino Rangel 114.6
Jessie James Guerrero 112.8 vs. Bryan Santiago 114
Steve Canela 136.2 vs. David Music 136.8
Jennah Creason 148.8 vs. Roshetta Vatuvel 154.8
Tatiana Almaraz 110.6 vs. Vickie Zhao 108.8
Kyle Lacanlale 122.6 vs Ricardo Antonio Luna 124.8

Artur Beterbiev 174.9 vs. Dmitrii Bivol 174.12
(undisputed light heavyweight title)

Jai Opetaia 198.9 vs. Jack Massey 199.12
(IBF cruiserweight title)

Fabio Wardley 241.6 vs. Frazer Clarke 271.3
(British heavyweight title)

Chris Eubank Jr 159.12 vs. Kamil Szeremeta 159.12
Skye Nicolson 125.9 vs. Raven Chapman 125.9
Ben Whittaker 174.9 vs. Liam Cameron 174.6

Venue: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Promoter: Matchroom, Queensberry, Top Rank
TV: ESPN+ (Beterbiev-Bivol), DAZN (undercard fights)

Jose Angel Garcia Rodriguez 130 vs. Maximo Toala Medina 132
Noli Valenzuela Tavera 129 vs. Victor Vazquez 127
Kevin Lara Acevedo 122 vs. TBA
Francisco J. Ramos Gomez vs. 160 Gustavo Boites 161
Alejandro Ledezma Esparza 132 vs. Oscar Romo Zaragoza 132
Carolina Alvarez Sanchez 123 vs. Grecia Fernanda Gutierrez Cabrera 123
Hector AlejandroHdz. Glez. 134 vs. Edyy Guzman Aldaco ?
Maximiliano Cortina Vega 109 vs. Aldo Yaiv 114
David Gutierrez Garcia 162 vs. Alan Yael Cerda Flores 159
Diego Garcia Molina 140 vs. Christopher Yamil Flores Flores 140
Saul Joel Renteria Barreto 135 vs. Jorge Alberto Martinez 136

Venue: Arena Jalisco Guadalajara, Mexico
Promoters: Ramon Arellano(Arellano Boxing)/Guzman Boxing promotions

Bryce Henry 158.2 Yoenlis Hernandez 159
Armando Martinez 129 D’Angelo Keyes 132

Venue: Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood, Florida.
Promoter: Kris Lawrence (Heavyweight Factory)
Matchmaker: Henry Rivalta

WBC/IBF/WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) and WBA light heavyweight king Dmitry Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) will meet on Saturday in a legacy-defining battle for the undisputed championship on Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The winner will become the division’s first undisputed ruler of the modern era and the first since Roy Jones Jr. defeated Reggie Johnson in 1999. Beterbiev-Bivol will be a special one-fight presentation streaming live and exclusively on ESPN+ in the United States at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

Artur Beterbiev: “It’s not my business {to think about other fighters}. I have a fight this Saturday. I’m only focused on this fight…I want a good fight. I’m preparing for a good fight. We’ll see…Be ready, Dmitry. I will be ready.”

Dmitry Bivol: “In my training camp, in my head, I always try to visualize how it will go. And there are a lot of different scenarios. And usually, that fighter will be more calm when he realizes that he’s ready for everything. If he trains for some things in his training camp, and this happens in the ring, he’s more confident in those situations. And, of course, against Beterbiev, we had to do a great camp. We had to think about different scenarios, and we did. And now I’m just curious how it will be in the ring.”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

It was an affair of a 40-year-young national champ defending his belt against a challenger, 39. Veteran late-bloomer Yuichi Ideta (19-6-1, 10 KOs), 153, impressively kept his Japanese super welterweight belt when he swarmed over JBC#3 Hisashi Kato (12-13-2, 8 KOs), 153.5, and finally halted him at 2:44 of the fifth round in a scheduled ten on Tuesday in Tokyo, Japan. Taking the pace from the outset, the champ caught up with the southpaw challenger, dropping him twice in round four. Despite his persistent retaliation Ideta accelerated his attack to prompt the referee Yoshida’s well-received intervention. It was Ideta’s third successful defense to his credit. Continue reading “Ideta, 40, halts Kato, 39; keeps Japanese 154lb belt”

WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol is a narrow -140 favorite to defeat WBC/IBF/WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (+120) in their clash on Saturday for the undisputed world championship. Bivol-Beterbiev headlines a big card at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The fight will stream exclusively on ESPN+ in the U.S. starting at 6 p.m. ET/ 3 p.m. PT.

The Best Panamanian prospects support Nuñez-Corrales

By Héctor Villarreal

For its most important card of the season, Laguna Premium Boxing reunites most of the Panamanian talented fighters to face opponents of their same level to support the Pink-blue Ribbon, cancer awareness campaign.

In a long awaited clash, world-ranked lightweight, Ricardo “The Scientist” Núñez (24-6, 22 KOs) faces former WBA super featherweight titlist Jezreel “Invisible” Corrales (26-7, 10 KOs) to head the KO to Cancer card scheduled for Saturday, October 19 at the Arena Roberto Durán. Continue reading “KO to Cancer card in Panama Oct 19”

The WBC has received official confirmation from bridgerwieght champion Lawrence Okolie that he has decided to relinquish his world title in order to pursue his dream of becoming heavyweight champion. Consequently interim champion Kevin Lerena is hereby confirmed as WBC world bridgerwieght champion.

Former junior welterweight champion Subriel Matías (20-2, 20 KOs), from Fajardo, Puerto Rico, returns to the ring on November 9 at the Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum in Bayamón, Puerto Rico in a 10 round bout in the junior welterweight division against world contender Roberto Ramírez (26-3-1, 19 KOs), of México.

The anticipated return of Matías headlines a a event presented by Fresh Productions, where all undercard fighters will face top Mexican contenders. Taínos vs. Aztecas will be distributed live on a $39.95 pay per view.

The co-main event will be a world title final eliminator for the number one ranking position of the IBF at bantamweight division (118 pounds), when two-time world champion Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Rodríguez (22-3, 13 KOs), from Vega Baja and ranked number three by the organization, faces Mexican ranked number five José Salas (15-0, 10 KOs), from Tijuana in a 12-round fight. Continue reading “Subriel Matías returns Nov 9 on PPV”

The WBO has ordered middleweight world champion Zhanibek Alimkhanuly and mandatory challenger Hamzah Sheeraz to commence negotiations and have 15 days to reach an agreement. Failure to reach an agreement within the time provided herein will result in this Committee ordering purse bid proceedings. The minimum acceptable bid is $200,000. Any of the parties involved may request a purse bid ceremony at any time during the negotiation process.

Former WBO super welterweight champion Tim Tszyu held a Las Vegas media workout on Monday ahead of his showdown against unbeaten IBF super welterweight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev
on Prime Video Saturday, October 19 live from the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida.

Tim Tszyu: “I bring the heat every time I get in the ring. I’m coming in with aggression on October 19 and I’m leaving with that IBF belt. Continue reading “Tszyu: I’m leaving with that IBF belt”

WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol during today’s Media Day ahead of Saturday night’s show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

WBC/IBF/WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev was also on hand a little later.

Beterbiev and Bivol look to crown the first undisputed light heavyweight world champion this century. That bout will stream on ESPN+.

The undercard can be seen on DAZN (no PPV in the US). Fights include:

• IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia will defend his title against British fighter Jack Massey.
• Middleweight Chris Eubank Jr. competes for the first time since September 2023 when he fights Kamil Szeremeta.
• British heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke will rematch after the two men did battle back in March.
• Also, unbeaten 2020 Olympian Ben Whittaker meets Liam Cameron, WBC female featherweight champion Skye Nicolson collides with Raven Chapman, and Mohammed Alakel faces Jesus Gonzalez.

Saturday night’s super middleweight fight between Omar Chávez and Misael Rodríguez was cancelled at the last minute at the Vicente Segura Bullring in Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico. Both fighters made weight on Friday and were on hand for the bout, however the Rodriguez camp chose not to fight when Chavez rehydrated some ten pounds over an agreed rehydration weight. Omar Chávez is the son of ring legend Julio Cesar Chavez.

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Former IBF junior light champ Kenichi Ogawa (29-2-1-1NC, 20 KOs), 131.75, returned to the ring warfare and scored a lopsided knockout of Filipino Alan Alberca (13-9, 8 KOs), 127, after three knockdowns at 1:04 of the fourth round in a scheduled eight on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. The veteran Ogawa, 36, forfeited his IBF belt to Joe Cordina via one-punch second-round demolition in Cardiff, Wales in 2022. Having registered three victories since, Ogawa, a muscular hard-puncher, had a thirteen-month hiatus, but displayed a spectacular finish to impress the audience. His very first left-right shot in the first session badly dropped Alberca flat, but the Filipino barely resumed fighting gamely only to sink with a couple of visits to the deck with vicious body shots in the fatal third. Ogawa is expected to get another title shot to win back the world belt. Continue reading “Ex-IBF champ Ogawa returns, finishes Alberca”

Wins vacant WBO AP 122lb belt

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by Naoki Fukuda

Unbeaten Japanese KO artist Subaru Murata (8-0, 8 KOs; amateur 68-12, 15 stoppages), 121.75, impressively acquired the vacant WBO Asia Pacific junior feather belt when he put on a give-and-take performance and finally decked also unbeaten Kaito Yamasaki (9-1, 5 KOs; amateur 24-15, 5 stoppages), 121.75, for the count at 2:46 of the ninth round in a scheduled twelve on Saturday in Tokyo, Japan. The fast-moving southpaw took the initiative and floored the game compatriot with a southpaw right hook that had Yamasaki hit the canvas with the glove. But it was Yamasaki that connected with a countering right, badly dropping the aggressor midway in round seven. Busily moving to-and-fro, Murata (no relation to ex-Olympic gold medalist Ryota Murata) had the upper hand again and finally battered him down for the full count. Continue reading “Unbeaten Murata demolishes Yamasaki”

By Joe Koizumi
Photos by The Won Promotions

Hard-punching southpaw Thailander Phongthep Homjui (15-1-2, 8 KOs), 139, acquired the vacant WBA Asia super lightweight belt when he edged previously unbeaten Korean KO artist Yoon Tak (7-1, 7 KOs), 139.5, by a hairline split decision (95-94, 96-94, 94-95) over ten hard-fought rounds in on Thursday in Seoul, Korea. It was such a give-and-take affair that it might be called Korea’s Fight of the Year. Phongthep scored an eye-catching knockdown with a southpaw left hook in the end of the opening session. The Thailander was in command in the first three rounds, but the taller Korean took back the initiative from the fourth on with solid combinations upstairs and downstairs. The fading Thailander, however, showed his last surge down the stretch, eking out a very close verdict. The Korean judges might be influenced by Phongthep’s opening attack, though this reporter saw it 95-94 for Yoon Tak, a game hard-hitting prospect. The Korean 140-pounder may deserve a rematch. Continue reading “Homjui edges Tak, wins vacant WBA Asia 140lb belt”

Unbeaten WBA featherweight champion Nick Ball (21-0-1, 12 KOs) stopped challenger Ronny Rios (34-5, 17 KOs) in the tenth round on Saturday night at the M&S Bank Arena in Ball’s hometown of Liverpool, England. The aggressive Ball came out throwing hard. He dropped Rios in round three, then battered Rios for the rest of the round. Rios was game and he bloodied Ball’s nose, but Ball’s brutal attack continued. Ball floored Rios again in round ten to end it. Time was 2:06.

Promoter Dan Otter (Three Lions Promotions) was in Mexico City Friday to meet with WBC President Mauricio Sulaimán for the purse bid between WBC cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian (27-2, 12 KOs) promoted by Don King and mandatory challenger Ryan Rozicki (20-1, 19 KOs) promoted by Otter. The two sides were able to reach an agreement and the bout will now take place December 7 at the Centre 200 in Sydney Nova Scotia, Canada hometown of Rozicki.

“We were able to make a deal with Don King minutes before the deadline and we are overly excited to bring this world title to Canada. Ryan is ready to become world champion and eager to get in the ring,” said Otter.

WBA featherweight champion Nick Ball (20-0-1, 11 KOs) and challenger Ronny Rios (34-4, 17 KOs) both made weight for Saturday’s world championship fight at the M&S Bank Arena in Ball’s hometown of Liverpool, England. Ball weighed 125.1 lbs., while Rios scaled in at 125.6 lbs. Ball-Rios will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ in the U.S. with fights starting at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT.

On October 3, the WBO World Championship Committee issued a ruling granting sanction approval of the WBO/IBF unified middleweight championship contest between Zhanibek Alimkhanuly and Andrei Milkhailovich scheduled for October 4 in Australia. The Alimkhanuly/Milkhailovich was conducted, but only the IBF middleweight championship was at stake.

According to WBO rules, any champion who conducts a contest in the champion’s weight division which is not a defense of the title can result in that title being vacated.

Team Alimkhanuly has now been ordered to “SHOW CAUSE” within the next 5 days as to why the WBO should not declare their middleweight championship “vacant” due to failure to comply with terms and conditions
established in the “resolution” dated October 3.

On Wednesday, October 2, a video went viral of Terence Crawford stating, “if Fundora’s licking his chops over my performance vs Israil Madrimov, then I should be licking my chops because Madrimov knocked Fundora out in sparring.”

Since then, the Fundora team have been receiving notifications of Crawford’s accusations. Hence, on Thursday, October 3, Coach Fundora spoke to Madrimov’s trainer, Joel Diaz, regarding the viral statement made by Terrance Crawford. During the conversation between Coach Diaz and Coach Fundora, Diaz mentioned that Madrimov’s Manager, Vadim Kornilov, was very perturbed at the statements made by Crawford on a sparring session that happened over five years ago in which neither of them ever touched the canvas. Continue reading “Fundora answers Crawford”

WBO #1 ranked Light heavyweight Anthony Yarde returns to the ring as part of BOXXER’s fight night on Saturday, October 19th at the Copper Box Arena in London, live on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland and on Peacock in the USA.

The former two-time world title challenger will provide chief support for the explosive super lightweight contest between fast-rising star Adam Azim and Ohara Davies. Opponent is TBA.

Unified WBO/IBF middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 KOs) retained his world titles with a ninth round TKO over Andrei Mikhailovich (21-1, 13 KOs) on Friday night at the Star in Sydney, Australia. Alimkhanuly dropped Mikhailovich hard in round two and Mikhailovich looked done but Alimkhanuly let him off the hook. After that, Mikhailovich gamely pressured Alimkhanuly and made the champion work hard, but it was Alimkhanuly who landed the harder shots. Alimkhanuly rocked Mikhailovich again in round nine and the bout was waved off by the referee. Time was 2:45.