G. Leon Scott Shaffer Stephen Edwards Benny Henderson jr. Bert Sugar Ray Campbell Darren Nichols John McCormick Christian Schmidt Socrates Palmer Doveed Linder Matthew Goldstein Rob Soucy Tommy Canez Mike Walters The Nonpareli Hilario Michael Herron Cara Castronuova Alonzo Benezra Michael Gonzalez Cory Rapacz Wyatt Johnston Ramon Rodriguez Hector Linares Alex Stone Tim Schluter Dan Rodkewich Tiffany Leon Jenny Nichols Rick Pineda

On Saturday May 3rd, the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world will look to remain on top in what figures to be a very entertaining fight. Floyd Mayweather puts his WBC welterweight championship on the line against Marcos Maidiana who will be risking his WBA strap. After some uncertainty, the MGM Grand in Las Vegas was confirmed as the venue. Maidana became a player in the Mayweather sweepstakes after his dominant victory over Adrien Broner in December. Amir Khan, who was thought to have the opportunity to face Floyd wrapped up, is now scrambling to save face after wasting nearly a year waiting around for Mayweather.

Press Release: In Las Vegas on Saturday, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (43-1-1, 31 KOs) landed a left uppercut that rocked Alfredo "El Perro" Angulo's head back at 0:47 of the tenth round. Sensing Angulo was taking too much punishment, referee Tony Weeks stepped in and halted the exciting battle. Looking to bounce back from the first loss of his career when he faced pound-for-pound champ Floyd Mayweather last September, Canelo displayed accuracy and a strong left hook as he controlled the bout from the opening bell. Angulo gained some momentum in the second half of the fight, including a scintillating eighth round, which Angulo won on all three judges' scorecards. The two Mexican warriors exchanged blows and taunted each other for more punishment in a potential 2014 Round of the Year candidate.

Saul Alvarez TKO10 Alfredo Angulo... Returning from his lopsided decision loss to pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. last September, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez looked like a star again on Saturday night against Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo. Showcasing his above average hand speed and varied combination punching, the former world junior middleweight champion punished his Mexican countryman en route to a tenth-round TKO. Referee Tony Weeks' ended matters after Angulo failed to defend himself from a left uppercut thrown from a distance (although one really shouldn't throw such a punch). The official time was 47 seconds. The stoppage was met with much dissent from the paying customers at the MGM Grand. While Angulo wasn't in danger of going down, the uppercut did cause him to take a couple of small steps backward. It was the last of many punches that landed with both speed and power. Alvarez improved his record to 43-1-1, with 31 knockouts, while Angulo fell to 22-4 with 18 KOs.

Leo Santa Cruz W12 Cristian  Mijares... WBC 122-pound title holder Leo Santa Cruz scored a near-shutout of Cristian  Mijares in a twelve-round unanimous decision (119-109, 120-108 twice) in Las Vegas on Saturday. The two-division champion Santa Cruz made his second successful 122-pound title defense, suffocating his opponent with more than 1,000 punches in what seemed like target practice against the former 115-pound champ. Santa Cruz (27-0-1, 15 KOs) showcased a tremendously effective uppercut, pressing forward throughout the fight despite a deep gash above his right eye that was caused by an accidental clash of heads. "This is my dream come true," Santa Cruz said. "Mijares is a great boxer, but I came here to do what I had to do to beat him. Of course he's very experienced and we had to be 100 percent. We practiced with lefties so we could be ready for everything. The blood was going to my eyes sometimes but it didn't bother me. If Carl Frampton is next, I want him next. I'll fight whoever they put in front of me." Mijares (49-8-2, 24 KOs) admitted he was frustrated by Santa Cruz's consistent pressure. "I did my job. It was difficult for me but I did everything I could," Mijares said. "It was difficult because of Leo's reach. He threw a lot of punches but he never  hurt me."

Jorge Linares W10 Nihito Arakawa... Jorge Linares (36-3, 23 KOs) and Nihito Arakawa (24-4-1, 16 KOs) exchanged almost 1,200 punches in ten brutal rounds as Linares won a hard-fought unanimous decision victory scored 98-92 and 100-90 twice. Both fighters overcame cuts, but Linares' combinations were the difference. He repeatedly landed punishing shots with ease against his Japanese opponent to record his fifth straight victory. "I knew that Arakawa could take a punch going into the fight," Linares said. "I hurt my right hand in the fourth round and that's why I relied so heavily on my left. I want to fight for the title as soon as [WBC title holder] Omar Figueroa Jr. is ready." Arakawa, who has quickly made a name for himself to boxing fans in the U.S. with  his aggressive and relentless approach to fighting, knew he didn't do enough to  earn the victory in just his second fight stateside. "I'm okay, but I'm disappointed I didn't win," Arakawa said. "I knew I wasn't winning, but I tried to fight as best I could. I couldn't make it happen. Linares is very  good and very strong."

Sergio Thompson W10 Ricardo Alvarez... In the opening bout of the pay-per-view telecast, late replacement Sergio "Yeyo" Thompson recorded a unanimous decision victory over Ricardo "Dinamita" Alvarez (97-91, 95-93 twice) after taking the bout on less than one week's notice. The all-action match featured little defense as the Mexican brawlers exchanged power shots for 10 rounds. Thompson (29-3, 26 KOs) knocked down Alvarez (23-3-3, 13 KOs) for the first time  in his career in the third round and scored another knockdown in the eighth round with a thundering overhand right. "I'm going to talk to my team to see if I should stay at 135 pounds," Alvarez said. "I threw punches like I normally do, but the power wasn't there." source: showtime press release

Rustam Nugaev TKO4 Marvin Quintero... In the main event in Pala California, Rustam Nugaev (27-6-1, 17 KOs) defeated Marvin Quintero (25-5, 21 KOs) in a lightweight bout.  Quintero was using his hand speed and lateral movement to get off his punches while Nugaev was establishing a ferocious body attack.  Both fighters were landing power shots, but Nugaev was landing the harder blows.  It was a close fight after four rounds but Quintero hurt his hand in the final seconds of the round.  Once the doctor deemed Quintero couldn't continue the fight was ruled a TKO in Nugaev's favor.  "I was just getting into a grove when the bout was halted," said Nugaev. "My body attack was starting to wear down Quintero.  I can see that he was starting to slow down as I was coming forward.  He was a very tough opponent and he was very effective with his punches but I was never hurt.  I feel I was on my way to knocking him out before the fight was stopped.  My promoter Gary Shaw has big plans for me this year and I'm ready to fight for a world title.  I'm taking on anyone who wants to step in the ring with me.  I will be a champion very soon, all I need is an opportunity."

 

Roman Morales W8 Khabir Suleymanov... In the eight-round co-feature, bantamweight Roman Morales (18-0, 9 KOs) defeated Russia's Khabir Suleymanov (16-4, 6 KOs). source for all results: gary shaw press release