McGregor needs one round to win European title |
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Lee McGregor TKO1 Karim Guerfi... Lee McGregor produced a sensational performance, stopping Karim Guerfi in round one to win the European bantamweight title on Friday’s MTK Fight Night. McGregor (10-0, 8 KOs) dropped Guerfi (29-5, 9 KOs) three times in round one, with the first two knockdowns coming from body shots, before a left hook ended the fight. The win means that in just his tenth professional fight, McGregor has become British, Commonwealth, and now European bantamweight champion.
The first knockdown came 50 seconds into the fight, as McGregor dropped Guerfi with a brilliant body shot. The Frenchman got back to his feet, but less than a minute later, another body shot sent him back to the canvas. He got up again, but the onslaught from McGregor continued, and a left hook brought the fight to the end.
McGregor said: “I said from the start of the lead up to this fight that people will see a completely different Lee McGregor. Huge credit has to go to Ben Davison, because he’s made me a complete different fighter and that showed tonight. My physical strength, mental strength and lots else has been improved, and I’m a proper professional now. I sacrificed so much away from my family for this fight, but there was no denying me. I knew I wouldn’t return home without this belt.” source: mtk
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McGregor needs one round to win European title
Lee McGregor TKO1 Karim Guerfi... Lee McGregor produced a sensational performance, stopping Karim Guerfi in round one to win the European bantamweight title on Friday’s MTK Fight Night. McGregor (10-0, 8 KOs) dropped Guerfi (29-5, 9 KOs) three times in round one, with the first two knockdowns coming from body shots, before a left hook ended the fight. The win means that in just his tenth professional fight, McGregor has become British, Commonwealth, and now European bantamweight champion.
The first knockdown came 50 seconds into the fight, as McGregor dropped Guerfi with a brilliant body shot. The Frenchman got back to his feet, but less than a minute later, another body shot sent him back to the canvas. He got up again, but the onslaught from McGregor continued, and a left hook brought the fight to the end.
McGregor said: “I said from the start of the lead up to this fight that people will see a completely different Lee McGregor. Huge credit has to go to Ben Davison, because he’s made me a complete different fighter and that showed tonight. My physical strength, mental strength and lots else has been improved, and I’m a proper professional now. I sacrificed so much away from my family for this fight, but there was no denying me. I knew I wouldn’t return home without this belt.” source: mtk
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Spotlight on Hooker-Ortiz |
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Vergil Ortiz Jr. (16-0, 16 KOs) and former 140-pound titlew holder Maurice “Mighty Mo” Hooker (27-1-3, 19 KOs) will fight tonight (Saturday, March 20th) at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. The Golden Boy Promotions' show will be streamed live on DAZN worldwide. Here is what they had to say:
VERGIL ORTIZ JR,
“I’m very thankful to be fighting back at home again, especially after fighting in a bubble last year. It was a really cool experience. I found that I really love the fans. I enjoy the fans. So, what better place to come back and fight than in the Dallas Fort Worth area?” “This fight is really special to me. I asked for this fight at 140 pounds. He was a good fighter then, and he is a good fighter now. I want to fight the best. The only way to be the best is to fight the best. I feel very confident. I have the confidence of my promoter and team behind me. I had a great camp, and I am ready to go.” “We will find out on Saturday if my power and size will be too much for him. I have never been in the ring with him before, so I don’t know how he will take it. But it’s not just power with me. It’s not just my physical attributes. My best attribute is my thinking ability, and I’m going to do a lot of that on Saturday.” “This is going to be one of the first fights in Dallas between two world class natives of the area. We are going to put a really great show. I’m really excited about it. We’ve trained really hard, and I hope you all enjoy the show.”
MAURICE HOOKER
“This fight will mean everything to me. I’m happy to be back at home where fans at home can see me. And it’s great to give to the fans something special after all they have been going through.” “I have been watching Vergil Ortiz for a while now. I have been supporting him since he started because he is from Dallas. His 16-0 with 16 knockouts don’t mean nothing to me until we get in the ring. I mean, it’s cute, but we will see in the ring.” “I’m excited. My team is excited. I’ve worked hard. The fact that I’ve been called the underdog has pushed me more. I’ve prepared well for this fight. I’m going to go in the ring, do my business, and have fun with it.”
PROMOTER OSCAR DE LA HOYA
“Everyone is saying that he is the next big thing in the welterweight division. And he is. But first he has to get past Maurice Hooker, and that is no easy test. This is a real fight and a tough test for him. If he beats him, then he is going straight to the top of the division, where are lots of big fights to make. I can’t say who I want him to see next because this Saturday’s fight is a big test.” “Hooker’s style, abilities and experience make him dangerous. He’s going to show Vergil different angles. It’s a different style than what Vergil has faced in the past. But Vergil has a great corner. He is a great fighter and has great team. They’ve studied Maurice. So that’s why I feel this will be an amazing fight.”
Ortiz Jr. vs Hooker is a 12-round fight for the WBO International Welterweight Championship presented by Golden Boy. The event is sponsored by Hennessy “Never Stop. Never Settle” and “BetOnline – Your Online Sportsbook Experts.” The fight will take place on Saturday, March 20 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas and will be streamed live exclusively on DAZN worldwide, including the U.S. and Mexico.
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Spotlight on Hooker-Ortiz
Vergil Ortiz Jr. (16-0, 16 KOs) and former 140-pound titlew holder Maurice “Mighty Mo” Hooker (27-1-3, 19 KOs) will fight tonight (Saturday, March 20th) at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. The Golden Boy Promotions' show will be streamed live on DAZN worldwide. Here is what they had to say:
VERGIL ORTIZ JR,
“I’m very thankful to be fighting back at home again, especially after fighting in a bubble last year. It was a really cool experience. I found that I really love the fans. I enjoy the fans. So, what better place to come back and fight than in the Dallas Fort Worth area?” “This fight is really special to me. I asked for this fight at 140 pounds. He was a good fighter then, and he is a good fighter now. I want to fight the best. The only way to be the best is to fight the best. I feel very confident. I have the confidence of my promoter and team behind me. I had a great camp, and I am ready to go.” “We will find out on Saturday if my power and size will be too much for him. I have never been in the ring with him before, so I don’t know how he will take it. But it’s not just power with me. It’s not just my physical attributes. My best attribute is my thinking ability, and I’m going to do a lot of that on Saturday.” “This is going to be one of the first fights in Dallas between two world class natives of the area. We are going to put a really great show. I’m really excited about it. We’ve trained really hard, and I hope you all enjoy the show.”
MAURICE HOOKER
“This fight will mean everything to me. I’m happy to be back at home where fans at home can see me. And it’s great to give to the fans something special after all they have been going through.” “I have been watching Vergil Ortiz for a while now. I have been supporting him since he started because he is from Dallas. His 16-0 with 16 knockouts don’t mean nothing to me until we get in the ring. I mean, it’s cute, but we will see in the ring.” “I’m excited. My team is excited. I’ve worked hard. The fact that I’ve been called the underdog has pushed me more. I’ve prepared well for this fight. I’m going to go in the ring, do my business, and have fun with it.”
PROMOTER OSCAR DE LA HOYA
“Everyone is saying that he is the next big thing in the welterweight division. And he is. But first he has to get past Maurice Hooker, and that is no easy test. This is a real fight and a tough test for him. If he beats him, then he is going straight to the top of the division, where are lots of big fights to make. I can’t say who I want him to see next because this Saturday’s fight is a big test.” “Hooker’s style, abilities and experience make him dangerous. He’s going to show Vergil different angles. It’s a different style than what Vergil has faced in the past. But Vergil has a great corner. He is a great fighter and has great team. They’ve studied Maurice. So that’s why I feel this will be an amazing fight.”
Ortiz Jr. vs Hooker is a 12-round fight for the WBO International Welterweight Championship presented by Golden Boy. The event is sponsored by Hennessy “Never Stop. Never Settle” and “BetOnline – Your Online Sportsbook Experts.” The fight will take place on Saturday, March 20 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas and will be streamed live exclusively on DAZN worldwide, including the U.S. and Mexico.
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Maxi Hughes wins British title on weird ending |
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Maxi Hughes KO8 Paul Hyland Jr.... Elsewhere on MTK Fight Night in Bolton, England, Maxi Hughes (23-5-2, 5 KOs) achieved a lifelong dream, defeating Paul Hyland Jr. (20-3, 7 KOs) to win the vacant British lightweight title. Hughes kept up his superb run during lockdown, having now beaten Jono Carroll, Viktor Kotochigov and Hyland in the space of seven months. Both men fought evenly in the opening stages, but Hughes' body shots soon proved to be the difference. One of those body shots crippled Hyland in round eight, and after it originally appeared that he would go down, he remained up and referee Mark Lyson [at first signalled Hyland to a neutral corner but quickly] ordered the fighters to box on. Hyland continued to walk away with his back turned, and Hughes landed a legal shot that sent the Belfast man to the canvas. He was deemed unable to fight by the count of ten, with Hughes claiming the win. Hughes said: “Some people might call it luck, but I call it years of hard work paying off. I took my opportunity when it came and now look at this. For anybody out there, keep being true to your dreams. I had a goal to win the British title, and now I want to keep on achieving. I knew I could get the wins on the big stage, and this means the world to me.” source: mtk global
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Maxi Hughes wins British title on weird ending
Maxi Hughes KO8 Paul Hyland Jr.... Elsewhere on MTK Fight Night in Bolton, England, Maxi Hughes (23-5-2, 5 KOs) achieved a lifelong dream, defeating Paul Hyland Jr. (20-3, 7 KOs) to win the vacant British lightweight title. Hughes kept up his superb run during lockdown, having now beaten Jono Carroll, Viktor Kotochigov and Hyland in the space of seven months. Both men fought evenly in the opening stages, but Hughes' body shots soon proved to be the difference. One of those body shots crippled Hyland in round eight, and after it originally appeared that he would go down, he remained up and referee Mark Lyson [at first signalled Hyland to a neutral corner but quickly] ordered the fighters to box on. Hyland continued to walk away with his back turned, and Hughes landed a legal shot that sent the Belfast man to the canvas. He was deemed unable to fight by the count of ten, with Hughes claiming the win. Hughes said: “Some people might call it luck, but I call it years of hard work paying off. I took my opportunity when it came and now look at this. For anybody out there, keep being true to your dreams. I had a goal to win the British title, and now I want to keep on achieving. I knew I could get the wins on the big stage, and this means the world to me.” source: mtk global
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Thysse, Knapp to feature in separate bouts in June South African show |
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In a video announcement, former champion Brian Mitchell revealed upcoming bouts for South African two junior middleweights, Brandon Thysse and Roarke Knapp. The duo will be in separate bouts on the next Golden Gloves show, which will be held at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park on June 26th. Thysse (13-2-1) will face Tomi Silvennoinen of Finland. Thysse's last two fights were wins over Knapp and Boyd Allen, both by stoppage. Silvennoinen is 9-3 and has lost two straight by decision. Knapp (11-1-1) is matched against Howard Cospolite of France. Knapp rebounded from the loss to Thysse with two late 2020 wins over domestic competition. Cospolite is 18-8-3 and is coming off a June points loss to Germany's Jack Culcay.
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Thysse, Knapp to feature in separate bouts in June South African show
In a video announcement, former champion Brian Mitchell revealed upcoming bouts for South African two junior middleweights, Brandon Thysse and Roarke Knapp. The duo will be in separate bouts on the next Golden Gloves show, which will be held at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park on June 26th. Thysse (13-2-1) will face Tomi Silvennoinen of Finland. Thysse's last two fights were wins over Knapp and Boyd Allen, both by stoppage. Silvennoinen is 9-3 and has lost two straight by decision. Knapp (11-1-1) is matched against Howard Cospolite of France. Knapp rebounded from the loss to Thysse with two late 2020 wins over domestic competition. Cospolite is 18-8-3 and is coming off a June points loss to Germany's Jack Culcay.
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Tonight: Jackie Nava marks twenty years in the game |
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Tonight (Saturday), the "Aztec Princess" Jackie Nava returns home to face Karina Fernández at the Grand Hotel Tijuana, to be broadcast by Azteca 7, the House of Boxing. Nava (37-4-4, 16 KOs) and “Fernández (14-5-1, 3 KOs) are set for ten rounds at super bantamweight. Nava, who has won championships in two divisions, will begin the celebration of her twentieth anniversary in professional boxing, as her pro debut was in May 2001. The 40 year-old Nava will also be looking to extend her unbeaten streak to 15, dating back to 2011.
Fernández has never been stopped, and of her five defeats, three have been against champions Lourdes Juárez, Linda Laura Lecca and Yamileth Mercado.
On the same show, Héctor “Tix Tix” Reyes (18-0 13 KOs) will step into the ring for eight junior middleweight rounds against Ramón “Cholo” Barajas (14-23, 4 KOs).
Weigh-in report:
Jackie 'Princesa Azteca' Nava 121.4 poundss vs. Karina 'Bella' Fernández 120.1.
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Tonight: Jackie Nava marks twenty years in the game
Tonight (Saturday), the "Aztec Princess" Jackie Nava returns home to face Karina Fernández at the Grand Hotel Tijuana, to be broadcast by Azteca 7, the House of Boxing. Nava (37-4-4, 16 KOs) and “Fernández (14-5-1, 3 KOs) are set for ten rounds at super bantamweight. Nava, who has won championships in two divisions, will begin the celebration of her twentieth anniversary in professional boxing, as her pro debut was in May 2001. The 40 year-old Nava will also be looking to extend her unbeaten streak to 15, dating back to 2011.
Fernández has never been stopped, and of her five defeats, three have been against champions Lourdes Juárez, Linda Laura Lecca and Yamileth Mercado.
On the same show, Héctor “Tix Tix” Reyes (18-0 13 KOs) will step into the ring for eight junior middleweight rounds against Ramón “Cholo” Barajas (14-23, 4 KOs).
Weigh-in report:
Jackie 'Princesa Azteca' Nava 121.4 poundss vs. Karina 'Bella' Fernández 120.1.
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Undercard results from England |
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Jamie Robinson D8 Billy Allington... On the MTK Fight Night undercard, Jamie Robinson and Billy Allington couldn’t be separated after eight hard-fought rounds, with theiur junior welterweight fight ending in a 76-76 draw. Each boxer had portions of success during the fight, with Robinson appearing to get the better of the middle rounds, while Allington came on strong towards the back end of the fight. It appeared at the final bell that the fight could have gone either way, and referee Howard Foster didn’t he couldn’t split the two men, scoring the bout even. Robinson said: “He had a good start in round one, but I felt I won rounds two to six, then I thought he won seven and eight. That makes it five rounds to three for me. We can get it on again. If we get the rematch I would be a completely different fighter. I felt like the 15 months out of the ring was a telling sign. I was falling in on my shots and my timing was off.”
Allington said: “If I’m being totally honest I think boxing is about hit and not get hit. If you look back at the footage I felt everything was hitting me on my gloves. I genuinely believe I won that fight. Every man is entitled to their opinion, but I was comfortable in there. I love what I do though and it was good to be back in the ring. This is just part of the journey.”
Nathan Bendon W6 Eryk Apresyan... There was an upset on the card, as Nathan Bendon picked up a six-rounds points victory over previously undefeated Eryk Apresyan. The junior middleweight Apresyan started well in the fight, but it all changed when Bendon rocked Apresyan in round three, with the Polish Apresyan showing bravery to stay in the contest. Bendon began to take over during the closing stages, and Apresyan also had a point deducted for holding in round six by the referee. That proved to be costly, as Mark Lyson scored the bout 57-56 in Bendon’s favour, earning him the upset victory. Bendon said: “I took the fight on 4 days notice. I’m always ready to fight and fit in camp, and with a proper eight week camp I think I’ll have put him away. I’m always sparring a lot and I train six days a week. I’m a fitness freak. I thought he was gone in the third round but I was loading up a bit. Jon Pegg was telling me I had to pace myself, and then we took the win on points.”
Sean Duffy TKO3 Paul Holt... Lightweight Sean Duffy marked his first fight since October 2019 with a TKO victory, as he stopped former Midlands Area champion Paul Holt in round three. Duffy was landing the better of the punches and Holt began to struggle as the fight went on. The end looked to be approaching as the fight entered round three, and it didn’t take long for Duffy to make his impact, landing a big body shot that dropped Holt, who couldn’t make it back to his feet, securing the win for Duffy, who said: “I’ve had over a year out of the ring but have been training constantly with the likes of Anthony Cacace and Paul Hyland Jnr, so I was glad to be back in there. I was a bit rusty at the start as you can imagine, but I did exactly what I wanted to do. I got a cut from a headbutt, but that didn’t put me off the gameplan. I worked on the body shots a lot and we got him out of there. I love this sport and I enjoy being in the ring. I’m grateful to be able to step in and take part in events like this during the times we’re in.”
Shabaz Masoud TKO1 Louis Norman... Super bantamweight Shabaz Masoud returned to the ring in style as he picked up a dominant fourth round stoppage victory over former English champion Louis Norman. Masoud was competing in his first fight since November 2019, but it was clear that he hasn’t missed a beat, as ‘The Maverick’ dominated the action from the first bell. He knocked his opponent down at the end of round three, and while Norman may have been able to make it to the end of the round, two further knockdowns came at the start of round four, with the corner throwing in the towel as Masoud extended his record to 8-0. Masoud said: “I’m back and a lot better than I’ve ever been before. I’ve had 16 months out of the ring and I’ve been with Ben Davison for a full year, and I need to thank him and MTK Global for helping me improve. As soon as I started picking up the pace I got him out of there. Everyone thinks I’ve got pillow fists, but when you face me and get smacked then you’ll know about it. Credit to Louis Norman for taking the fight. I don’t avoid anybody, and I want a British title by the end of the year.” source for all results: mtk global
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Undercard results from England
Jamie Robinson D8 Billy Allington... On the MTK Fight Night undercard, Jamie Robinson and Billy Allington couldn’t be separated after eight hard-fought rounds, with theiur junior welterweight fight ending in a 76-76 draw. Each boxer had portions of success during the fight, with Robinson appearing to get the better of the middle rounds, while Allington came on strong towards the back end of the fight. It appeared at the final bell that the fight could have gone either way, and referee Howard Foster didn’t he couldn’t split the two men, scoring the bout even. Robinson said: “He had a good start in round one, but I felt I won rounds two to six, then I thought he won seven and eight. That makes it five rounds to three for me. We can get it on again. If we get the rematch I would be a completely different fighter. I felt like the 15 months out of the ring was a telling sign. I was falling in on my shots and my timing was off.”
Allington said: “If I’m being totally honest I think boxing is about hit and not get hit. If you look back at the footage I felt everything was hitting me on my gloves. I genuinely believe I won that fight. Every man is entitled to their opinion, but I was comfortable in there. I love what I do though and it was good to be back in the ring. This is just part of the journey.”
Nathan Bendon W6 Eryk Apresyan... There was an upset on the card, as Nathan Bendon picked up a six-rounds points victory over previously undefeated Eryk Apresyan. The junior middleweight Apresyan started well in the fight, but it all changed when Bendon rocked Apresyan in round three, with the Polish Apresyan showing bravery to stay in the contest. Bendon began to take over during the closing stages, and Apresyan also had a point deducted for holding in round six by the referee. That proved to be costly, as Mark Lyson scored the bout 57-56 in Bendon’s favour, earning him the upset victory. Bendon said: “I took the fight on 4 days notice. I’m always ready to fight and fit in camp, and with a proper eight week camp I think I’ll have put him away. I’m always sparring a lot and I train six days a week. I’m a fitness freak. I thought he was gone in the third round but I was loading up a bit. Jon Pegg was telling me I had to pace myself, and then we took the win on points.”
Sean Duffy TKO3 Paul Holt... Lightweight Sean Duffy marked his first fight since October 2019 with a TKO victory, as he stopped former Midlands Area champion Paul Holt in round three. Duffy was landing the better of the punches and Holt began to struggle as the fight went on. The end looked to be approaching as the fight entered round three, and it didn’t take long for Duffy to make his impact, landing a big body shot that dropped Holt, who couldn’t make it back to his feet, securing the win for Duffy, who said: “I’ve had over a year out of the ring but have been training constantly with the likes of Anthony Cacace and Paul Hyland Jnr, so I was glad to be back in there. I was a bit rusty at the start as you can imagine, but I did exactly what I wanted to do. I got a cut from a headbutt, but that didn’t put me off the gameplan. I worked on the body shots a lot and we got him out of there. I love this sport and I enjoy being in the ring. I’m grateful to be able to step in and take part in events like this during the times we’re in.”
Shabaz Masoud TKO1 Louis Norman... Super bantamweight Shabaz Masoud returned to the ring in style as he picked up a dominant fourth round stoppage victory over former English champion Louis Norman. Masoud was competing in his first fight since November 2019, but it was clear that he hasn’t missed a beat, as ‘The Maverick’ dominated the action from the first bell. He knocked his opponent down at the end of round three, and while Norman may have been able to make it to the end of the round, two further knockdowns came at the start of round four, with the corner throwing in the towel as Masoud extended his record to 8-0. Masoud said: “I’m back and a lot better than I’ve ever been before. I’ve had 16 months out of the ring and I’ve been with Ben Davison for a full year, and I need to thank him and MTK Global for helping me improve. As soon as I started picking up the pace I got him out of there. Everyone thinks I’ve got pillow fists, but when you face me and get smacked then you’ll know about it. Credit to Louis Norman for taking the fight. I don’t avoid anybody, and I want a British title by the end of the year.” source for all results: mtk global
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The Boxingtalk Scoreboard |
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Juan Esteban Garcia D10 Moises Caro Gutierez ... Undefeated Mexican light flyweights Juan Esteban Garcia (9-0-2) and Moises Caro Gutierez (8-0-2) rematched on Thursday March 18th in Mexicali, with the same result. The pair had fought to a draw in June of 2019, and regrouped with two and three victories respectively to set up an anticipated second go-around. And once again it was a competitive and close fight, with both men reluctant to take a backward step, which resulted in quite a few clinches. Both had their moments, and in several rounds it appeared hard to separate them. After ten rounds of entertaining, but sometimes messy, action, the judges scored the fight 97-93 (Garcia), 95-95 and 94-96 (Gutierez) for another draw. The fight was the main event of a show promoted by Lider Promotion, headed by Ignacio Marmolejo Alvarez.
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The Boxingtalk Scoreboard
Juan Esteban Garcia D10 Moises Caro Gutierez ... Undefeated Mexican light flyweights Juan Esteban Garcia (9-0-2) and Moises Caro Gutierez (8-0-2) rematched on Thursday March 18th in Mexicali, with the same result. The pair had fought to a draw in June of 2019, and regrouped with two and three victories respectively to set up an anticipated second go-around. And once again it was a competitive and close fight, with both men reluctant to take a backward step, which resulted in quite a few clinches. Both had their moments, and in several rounds it appeared hard to separate them. After ten rounds of entertaining, but sometimes messy, action, the judges scored the fight 97-93 (Garcia), 95-95 and 94-96 (Gutierez) for another draw. The fight was the main event of a show promoted by Lider Promotion, headed by Ignacio Marmolejo Alvarez.
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Introducing junior welterweight Ernesto “Erny” Matos |
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Miami junior welterweight Ernesto “Erny” Matos is the latest boxer to sign a managerial contract with Ryan Roach’s Fighter Locker. A standout amateur who captured top honors at the 2014 and 2019 USA National Championships, Matos will soon make his professional debut. “I signed with Ryan Roach because, ever since I met him, he has been very attentive towards me, always checking up on me, and I realized how well he treats his fighters. Ryan definitely has the right head on his shoulders, and I believe he can definitely help me make some noise in the sport.”
The 25 year-old Matos, who trains at the famed 5th Street Gym in Miami, started boxing at the age of 12. He was introduced to boxing by his father, who trained his son everyday at a park in Miami Beach. “Shortly after, I told him I wanted to fight, and he was shocked,” Matos remembered. “We haven’t stopped since.”
Roach said, “Erny is a great addition to the team because he was one of the top amateurs in the United States. He will transition smoothly to the professional ranks. He has a ton of talent and is a very smart fighter. I can't wait to get him going.”
A self-claimed strategic, counter-puncher, Matos also says he has no problem whatsoever getting into a brawl, and like most young boxers his long-range goal is to fight for a world title, although he’s also a student of boxing. “I definitely want to fight as much as possible to get the professional fighting feel and slowly gain experience and get my name known,” Matos added. “Of course, the main goal is to fight for a world championship, and I know that with hard training and dedication it will come.
“I’ve always been a (Floyd) Mayweather (Jr.) fan, but I’m also a huge fan of (Vasyl) Lomachenko and (Gennady) Golovkin. I believe a mixture of those three will make the unstoppable boxer.”
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Introducing junior welterweight Ernesto “Erny” Matos
Miami junior welterweight Ernesto “Erny” Matos is the latest boxer to sign a managerial contract with Ryan Roach’s Fighter Locker. A standout amateur who captured top honors at the 2014 and 2019 USA National Championships, Matos will soon make his professional debut. “I signed with Ryan Roach because, ever since I met him, he has been very attentive towards me, always checking up on me, and I realized how well he treats his fighters. Ryan definitely has the right head on his shoulders, and I believe he can definitely help me make some noise in the sport.”
The 25 year-old Matos, who trains at the famed 5th Street Gym in Miami, started boxing at the age of 12. He was introduced to boxing by his father, who trained his son everyday at a park in Miami Beach. “Shortly after, I told him I wanted to fight, and he was shocked,” Matos remembered. “We haven’t stopped since.”
Roach said, “Erny is a great addition to the team because he was one of the top amateurs in the United States. He will transition smoothly to the professional ranks. He has a ton of talent and is a very smart fighter. I can't wait to get him going.”
A self-claimed strategic, counter-puncher, Matos also says he has no problem whatsoever getting into a brawl, and like most young boxers his long-range goal is to fight for a world title, although he’s also a student of boxing. “I definitely want to fight as much as possible to get the professional fighting feel and slowly gain experience and get my name known,” Matos added. “Of course, the main goal is to fight for a world championship, and I know that with hard training and dedication it will come.
“I’ve always been a (Floyd) Mayweather (Jr.) fan, but I’m also a huge fan of (Vasyl) Lomachenko and (Gennady) Golovkin. I believe a mixture of those three will make the unstoppable boxer.”
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Parker to face Chisora on May 1st |
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Derek Chisora and Joseph Parker (pictured) will collide in a heavyweight clash on a night of action that also sees Katie Taylor defend her undisputed world lightweight championship against Natasha Jonas and undefeated WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol defend against Craig Richards. The action will be live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and on DAZN in all markets excluding the UK, Ireland, China, New Zealand and Samoa. Chisora (32-10, 23 KOs) was last seen pushing Ukraine’s pound-for-pound star Oleksandr Usyk all of the way in their twelve-round battle last October, and the fan favourite is chomping at the bit for his next challenge.
A meeting between the pair scheduled for October 2019 fell through at three-and-a-half weeks’ notice when Parker’s team revealed he was suffering from the aftereffects of a spider bite. Chisora, who was unconvinced with Team Parker’s reasons for pulling out in 2019, has labelled Parker a ‘chicken’ in recent weeks and says he has unfinished business with the Heavyweight contender.
Former WBO champion Parker (28-2, 21 KOs) is fresh off a hard-fought 12-round decision over long-time amateur nemesis Junior Fa at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand last month that settled an 11-year old rivalry with his compatriot, a win that he hopes will kickstart his route back to the top of the Heavyweight division.
New Zealand’s Parker is well known on these shores having defended his WBO Title against Hughie Fury at Manchester Arena in September 2017, before taking unified ruler Anthony Joshua the distance at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff in March 2018. His last appearance in the UK came against Dillian Whyte in a dramatic points loss in July 2018.
“We’ve been here before, in 2019 I flew to Vegas to film the ‘Face To Face’ with Parker, I called Haye as soon as I left and told him, ‘This guy isn’t going to get in the ring with me’, I could see the fear in his eyes,” said Chisora. “Now, second time around I hope he fights, I’m looking forward to the fight, I cannot wait to get back in the ring! I love fighting, it is what I love the most. Good luck to Joseph Parker and his new team, we shall see you for WAR on May 1st!”
“I’m excited to start this new chapter in my career with a new coach and some fresh ideas,” said Parker. “I’ve settled in and Andy and I are bonding well. Chisora and I have unfinished business and inside the ring one of us will get the job done. I am well aware that a win on British soil and on world-wide television will put me in pole position whereas a loss will be catastrophic. I am more than up for the challenge. Bring it on Del Boy.”
Russia’s Bivol (17-0, 11 KOs) is regarded as one of the best technical boxers in the sport, mixing his dazzling skills with KO power. The 30-year-old was elevated to full WBA 175lbs World Champion from interim champion ahead of his 12th pro fight with Trent Broadhurst in Monte Carlo in November 2017 and celebrated with a one-punch KO in the first round. Bivol has subsequently defended his crown five times, but has been away from the ring since October 2019 when he widely outpointed Lenin Castillo at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
Richards (16-1-1, 9 KOs) delivered a Fight of the Year contender last time out in December against fierce rival Shakan Pitters as he stopped the Birmingham man in nine rounds to earn the British Light-Heavyweight crown. ‘Spider’ is ranked at No.8 in the WBA world rankings and has earned his shot by remaining undefeated since sole career loss against Frank Buglioni in October 2017.
“I have been out of the ring for a year and a half and I have sorely missed boxing,” said Bivol. “I can’t wait to step through the ropes for my next fight on May 1st. I have always wanted to fight in the UK and I’m happy to tick that box. Craig Richards is a fast and technical boxer and I’m expecting a great fight as I make another defence of my World Title.”
“I feel good and I feel very confident,” said Richards. “I know that he’s renowned as one of the best fighters out there, but I just believe that I’ve got the tools to beat him and I’m very confident in my abilities. I know I’ve got power as well, and I’ve got a very good chin. We’ve been planning for everything and anything.
“We know he’s been operating at world level for a long time and can bring different things to the table. I raise the level of my performance against my better opponents. The bigger the fight the better I perform. A fight like Bivol will allow me to go through my gears to show what I’m really about.”
Having previously campaigned at Super-Middleweight, Eubank Jr (29-2, 22 KOs) returned to the Middleweight division to claim the WBA Interim Middleweight Title for the second time with a TKO win in December 2019, while making his US debut at the Barclays Centre in New York. In what will be his first fight back in the UK in over two years, the Brighton man faces Manchester’s Marcus Morrison (23-3, 16 KOs), who is enjoying a seven-fight winning streak that stretches back to June 2018.
“This is a good fight for me,” said Eubank Jr. “Since signing with Sauerland my camp has been firing on all cylinders, I’ve been training with Roy in Miami and focussing on improving my game. I have the absolute best people around me, I have everything I need to push on to that next level and dominate the Middleweight scene.
“People have a lot to say about me and my career. There’s talks about why fights haven’t happened previously, but all I’ve been doing is focussing on number one, training hard and making sure I’m always ready. I’m now in the best place I can be and I’m ready to take what is mine.”
“I’m well aware that this is a massive opportunity and fight for me and my career,” said Morrison. “I got into boxing at the age of 7, and these are the type of fights I’ve always wanted to be involved in. Chris is a very good fighter, and I know what he brings to the table. I honestly believe the best version of me is still to be seen, and I look forward to showing it on the night. I can’t afford to not leave everything in there on May 1.”
“This is one of the strongest shows we’ve promoted and there is still even more to come,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “Chisora vs. Parker is a brilliant style match up that has been brewing for years and Taylor vs. Jonas is one of the biggest fights in women’s boxing. The Eubanks are always box office and it’s a massive chance for Marcus Morrison after his brilliant win in Italy. Craig Richards goes for World Title glory against the brilliant Russian Dmitry Bivol and there are further announcements to follow. Buckle up and enjoy this one!”
"Chisora realises this is a massive opportunity to gate-crash the Heavyweight division,” said David Haye of Hayemaker Promotions. “He has come close, in his last battle against unified Cruiserweight world champion Usyk, two of the judges’ score cards had it 7 rounds to 5 – winning just one more round would have captured a draw and Derek would have retained his WBO International Title that night. Since, he has been working, living the life of a professional. Derek doesn’t simply want to beat Joseph Parker, he wants to make a statement to the world. This is his time.”
“There’s definitely unfinished business between Parker and Chisora,” said David Higgins, Founder and Director of DUCO Events. “I think the fight will be a real fan pleaser. It could be the Heavyweight Fight of the Year. You’ve got Chisora who likes to stand and trade and come forward, and then you’ve got Parker who has the speed and the pedigree. This fight has got a bit of history and it has been building for a while. It’s fantastic that it’s finally happening. This is a proper 50-50 matchup where the winner could go on to a World Title shot and the loser will go to the scrapheap. Credit to both Parker and Chisora for putting it all on the line.”
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Parker to face Chisora on May 1st
Derek Chisora and Joseph Parker (pictured) will collide in a heavyweight clash on a night of action that also sees Katie Taylor defend her undisputed world lightweight championship against Natasha Jonas and undefeated WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol defend against Craig Richards. The action will be live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and on DAZN in all markets excluding the UK, Ireland, China, New Zealand and Samoa. Chisora (32-10, 23 KOs) was last seen pushing Ukraine’s pound-for-pound star Oleksandr Usyk all of the way in their twelve-round battle last October, and the fan favourite is chomping at the bit for his next challenge.
A meeting between the pair scheduled for October 2019 fell through at three-and-a-half weeks’ notice when Parker’s team revealed he was suffering from the aftereffects of a spider bite. Chisora, who was unconvinced with Team Parker’s reasons for pulling out in 2019, has labelled Parker a ‘chicken’ in recent weeks and says he has unfinished business with the Heavyweight contender.
Former WBO champion Parker (28-2, 21 KOs) is fresh off a hard-fought 12-round decision over long-time amateur nemesis Junior Fa at Spark Arena in Auckland, New Zealand last month that settled an 11-year old rivalry with his compatriot, a win that he hopes will kickstart his route back to the top of the Heavyweight division.
New Zealand’s Parker is well known on these shores having defended his WBO Title against Hughie Fury at Manchester Arena in September 2017, before taking unified ruler Anthony Joshua the distance at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff in March 2018. His last appearance in the UK came against Dillian Whyte in a dramatic points loss in July 2018.
“We’ve been here before, in 2019 I flew to Vegas to film the ‘Face To Face’ with Parker, I called Haye as soon as I left and told him, ‘This guy isn’t going to get in the ring with me’, I could see the fear in his eyes,” said Chisora. “Now, second time around I hope he fights, I’m looking forward to the fight, I cannot wait to get back in the ring! I love fighting, it is what I love the most. Good luck to Joseph Parker and his new team, we shall see you for WAR on May 1st!”
“I’m excited to start this new chapter in my career with a new coach and some fresh ideas,” said Parker. “I’ve settled in and Andy and I are bonding well. Chisora and I have unfinished business and inside the ring one of us will get the job done. I am well aware that a win on British soil and on world-wide television will put me in pole position whereas a loss will be catastrophic. I am more than up for the challenge. Bring it on Del Boy.”
Russia’s Bivol (17-0, 11 KOs) is regarded as one of the best technical boxers in the sport, mixing his dazzling skills with KO power. The 30-year-old was elevated to full WBA 175lbs World Champion from interim champion ahead of his 12th pro fight with Trent Broadhurst in Monte Carlo in November 2017 and celebrated with a one-punch KO in the first round. Bivol has subsequently defended his crown five times, but has been away from the ring since October 2019 when he widely outpointed Lenin Castillo at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
Richards (16-1-1, 9 KOs) delivered a Fight of the Year contender last time out in December against fierce rival Shakan Pitters as he stopped the Birmingham man in nine rounds to earn the British Light-Heavyweight crown. ‘Spider’ is ranked at No.8 in the WBA world rankings and has earned his shot by remaining undefeated since sole career loss against Frank Buglioni in October 2017.
“I have been out of the ring for a year and a half and I have sorely missed boxing,” said Bivol. “I can’t wait to step through the ropes for my next fight on May 1st. I have always wanted to fight in the UK and I’m happy to tick that box. Craig Richards is a fast and technical boxer and I’m expecting a great fight as I make another defence of my World Title.”
“I feel good and I feel very confident,” said Richards. “I know that he’s renowned as one of the best fighters out there, but I just believe that I’ve got the tools to beat him and I’m very confident in my abilities. I know I’ve got power as well, and I’ve got a very good chin. We’ve been planning for everything and anything.
“We know he’s been operating at world level for a long time and can bring different things to the table. I raise the level of my performance against my better opponents. The bigger the fight the better I perform. A fight like Bivol will allow me to go through my gears to show what I’m really about.”
Having previously campaigned at Super-Middleweight, Eubank Jr (29-2, 22 KOs) returned to the Middleweight division to claim the WBA Interim Middleweight Title for the second time with a TKO win in December 2019, while making his US debut at the Barclays Centre in New York. In what will be his first fight back in the UK in over two years, the Brighton man faces Manchester’s Marcus Morrison (23-3, 16 KOs), who is enjoying a seven-fight winning streak that stretches back to June 2018.
“This is a good fight for me,” said Eubank Jr. “Since signing with Sauerland my camp has been firing on all cylinders, I’ve been training with Roy in Miami and focussing on improving my game. I have the absolute best people around me, I have everything I need to push on to that next level and dominate the Middleweight scene.
“People have a lot to say about me and my career. There’s talks about why fights haven’t happened previously, but all I’ve been doing is focussing on number one, training hard and making sure I’m always ready. I’m now in the best place I can be and I’m ready to take what is mine.”
“I’m well aware that this is a massive opportunity and fight for me and my career,” said Morrison. “I got into boxing at the age of 7, and these are the type of fights I’ve always wanted to be involved in. Chris is a very good fighter, and I know what he brings to the table. I honestly believe the best version of me is still to be seen, and I look forward to showing it on the night. I can’t afford to not leave everything in there on May 1.”
“This is one of the strongest shows we’ve promoted and there is still even more to come,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “Chisora vs. Parker is a brilliant style match up that has been brewing for years and Taylor vs. Jonas is one of the biggest fights in women’s boxing. The Eubanks are always box office and it’s a massive chance for Marcus Morrison after his brilliant win in Italy. Craig Richards goes for World Title glory against the brilliant Russian Dmitry Bivol and there are further announcements to follow. Buckle up and enjoy this one!”
"Chisora realises this is a massive opportunity to gate-crash the Heavyweight division,” said David Haye of Hayemaker Promotions. “He has come close, in his last battle against unified Cruiserweight world champion Usyk, two of the judges’ score cards had it 7 rounds to 5 – winning just one more round would have captured a draw and Derek would have retained his WBO International Title that night. Since, he has been working, living the life of a professional. Derek doesn’t simply want to beat Joseph Parker, he wants to make a statement to the world. This is his time.”
“There’s definitely unfinished business between Parker and Chisora,” said David Higgins, Founder and Director of DUCO Events. “I think the fight will be a real fan pleaser. It could be the Heavyweight Fight of the Year. You’ve got Chisora who likes to stand and trade and come forward, and then you’ve got Parker who has the speed and the pedigree. This fight has got a bit of history and it has been building for a while. It’s fantastic that it’s finally happening. This is a proper 50-50 matchup where the winner could go on to a World Title shot and the loser will go to the scrapheap. Credit to both Parker and Chisora for putting it all on the line.”
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Katie Taylor to defend vs. Natasha Jonas on May 1st |
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Ireland's Katie Taylor has agreed to defend her four-belt world lightweight championship against former amateur rival Natasha Jonas on May 1st at a location still to be determined. Taylor (17-0, 6 KOs) defeated Jonas (9-1-1, 7 KOs) in the quarter-final stages of the London 2012 Olympic Games on route to capturing Ireland’s first gold medal of the summer. The pair will meet again nearly ten years down the line with Taylor’s WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO titles on the line.
Since their first meeting in the amateurs, Taylor has gone on to cement herself as the best (or second best if you are a Claressa Shields fan) female fighter on the planet by winning world titles in the 135- and 140-pound divisions and remaining undefeated in all 17 of her professional contests. ‘KT’ was last seen outclassing Miriam Gutierrez with a masterful display in November.
‘Miss GB’ came agonisingly close to winning her first world title at the age of 36 last summer when she battled to a thrilling draw with WBC and IBO 130-pound champion Terri Harper at Matchroom Fight Camp. It was the first time that two British women had competed against each other for a world title, and the all-action fight lived up to the occasion.
“Natasha proved in her last fight that she is still performing at the highest level so it’s a great challenge for me and I’m really looking forward to it,” said Taylor. “It’s a fight that people have been asking for and those are the type of fights you want to be part of. People still talk about our fight in the 2012 Olympics and I think that proved to be a real eye opener for people in terms of what women’s boxing is all about. I’m expecting another tough fight on May 1st and I’m looking forward to successfully defending my Titles.”
“I’m really excited about getting the fight, I made a lot of noise about not wanting to go down in level or class after establishing myself on the world stage in my last fight,” said Jonas. “I know Katie is a different type of animal to Terri Harper, but I believe every time I’m asked to step up, I do. I said I wanted to be a champion and anybody at 130 to 140 was in my sights, I know I’m a world class boxer and I can win a World Title.
“From the minute Eddie signed me this fight has been on the cards. Me and Katie had a great story from the Olympics, and we have both been pioneers in our own way. I’m glad that it’s happening and it’s a great fight for women’s boxing and for British and Irish boxing.”
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Katie Taylor to defend vs. Natasha Jonas on May 1st
Ireland's Katie Taylor has agreed to defend her four-belt world lightweight championship against former amateur rival Natasha Jonas on May 1st at a location still to be determined. Taylor (17-0, 6 KOs) defeated Jonas (9-1-1, 7 KOs) in the quarter-final stages of the London 2012 Olympic Games on route to capturing Ireland’s first gold medal of the summer. The pair will meet again nearly ten years down the line with Taylor’s WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO titles on the line.
Since their first meeting in the amateurs, Taylor has gone on to cement herself as the best (or second best if you are a Claressa Shields fan) female fighter on the planet by winning world titles in the 135- and 140-pound divisions and remaining undefeated in all 17 of her professional contests. ‘KT’ was last seen outclassing Miriam Gutierrez with a masterful display in November.
‘Miss GB’ came agonisingly close to winning her first world title at the age of 36 last summer when she battled to a thrilling draw with WBC and IBO 130-pound champion Terri Harper at Matchroom Fight Camp. It was the first time that two British women had competed against each other for a world title, and the all-action fight lived up to the occasion.
“Natasha proved in her last fight that she is still performing at the highest level so it’s a great challenge for me and I’m really looking forward to it,” said Taylor. “It’s a fight that people have been asking for and those are the type of fights you want to be part of. People still talk about our fight in the 2012 Olympics and I think that proved to be a real eye opener for people in terms of what women’s boxing is all about. I’m expecting another tough fight on May 1st and I’m looking forward to successfully defending my Titles.”
“I’m really excited about getting the fight, I made a lot of noise about not wanting to go down in level or class after establishing myself on the world stage in my last fight,” said Jonas. “I know Katie is a different type of animal to Terri Harper, but I believe every time I’m asked to step up, I do. I said I wanted to be a champion and anybody at 130 to 140 was in my sights, I know I’m a world class boxer and I can win a World Title.
“From the minute Eddie signed me this fight has been on the cards. Me and Katie had a great story from the Olympics, and we have both been pioneers in our own way. I’m glad that it’s happening and it’s a great fight for women’s boxing and for British and Irish boxing.”
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Matchroom hoping for 60,000 fans at Alvarez-Saunders |
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Matchroom announced today that Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (pictured) and Billy Joe Saunders will have their super middleweight unification blockbuster at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday May 8th, live worldwide on DAZN. With coronavirus restrictions easing in Texas, Matchroom hopes to have 60,000 fans in attendance. Ticket pre-sales will begin on Tuesday March 23rd with general sale commencing on Friday March 26th at SeatGeek.com. Alvarez will put his WBC and WBA titles on the line at the home of the Dallas Cowboys on Cinco de Mayo weekend, with Saunders bringing his WBO strap across the pond.
“We are proud to host a boxing match of this magnitude as we welcome back Canelo Alvarez to AT&T Stadium to take on Billy Joe Saunders,” said Dallas Cowboys Owner, President and General Manager Jerry Jones. “AT&T Stadium was built to house the greatest sporting events on the planet, and we feel we have another incredible boxing event on the horizon with this matchup taking place in Arlington on May 8th.”
Saunders is the fourth Briton to face the Mexican star and the second to do so at AT&T Stadium, after Canelo defeated Liam Smith there in September 2016. (The others were Rocky Fielding and Callum Smith). May 8th will also be the fifth stadium show for Canelo in the Lone Star state having fought twice at the Alamodome in San Antonio and at Minute Maid Park, Home of the Houston Astros.
“It’s an absolute honor to bring this huge event to the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on May 8th,” said Eddie Hearn, Managing Director of Matchroom Sport. “Last year Canelo missed out on his historic Cinco De Mayo fight, and to bring over 60,000 fans together at this iconic stadium this year is a dream come true. This fight is the biggest of 2021 so far with Canelo looking to unify the division once more against undefeated two-weight World champion Billy Joe Saunders. We want to thank Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys and AT&T Stadium for their efforts to bring this global event to their stunning facility and we look forward to giving the fans a momentous occasion and a Cinco de Mayo celebration they will never forget.”
“For 2021’s biggest boxing event to date, it’s hard to imagine a better place than AT&T Stadium,” said DAZN EVP Joseph Markowski. “We look forward to delivering a world-class event from this world-class venue to DAZN subscribers across the globe.”
Tickets go on pre-sale on Tuesday March 23 from 10am CT. Pre-sale ends at 10pm CT on Thursday March 25, and tickets then go on general sale at 10am CT on Friday March 26 at SeatGeek.com
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Matchroom hoping for 60,000 fans at Alvarez-Saunders
Matchroom announced today that Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (pictured) and Billy Joe Saunders will have their super middleweight unification blockbuster at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday May 8th, live worldwide on DAZN. With coronavirus restrictions easing in Texas, Matchroom hopes to have 60,000 fans in attendance. Ticket pre-sales will begin on Tuesday March 23rd with general sale commencing on Friday March 26th at SeatGeek.com. Alvarez will put his WBC and WBA titles on the line at the home of the Dallas Cowboys on Cinco de Mayo weekend, with Saunders bringing his WBO strap across the pond.
“We are proud to host a boxing match of this magnitude as we welcome back Canelo Alvarez to AT&T Stadium to take on Billy Joe Saunders,” said Dallas Cowboys Owner, President and General Manager Jerry Jones. “AT&T Stadium was built to house the greatest sporting events on the planet, and we feel we have another incredible boxing event on the horizon with this matchup taking place in Arlington on May 8th.”
Saunders is the fourth Briton to face the Mexican star and the second to do so at AT&T Stadium, after Canelo defeated Liam Smith there in September 2016. (The others were Rocky Fielding and Callum Smith). May 8th will also be the fifth stadium show for Canelo in the Lone Star state having fought twice at the Alamodome in San Antonio and at Minute Maid Park, Home of the Houston Astros.
“It’s an absolute honor to bring this huge event to the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on May 8th,” said Eddie Hearn, Managing Director of Matchroom Sport. “Last year Canelo missed out on his historic Cinco De Mayo fight, and to bring over 60,000 fans together at this iconic stadium this year is a dream come true. This fight is the biggest of 2021 so far with Canelo looking to unify the division once more against undefeated two-weight World champion Billy Joe Saunders. We want to thank Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys and AT&T Stadium for their efforts to bring this global event to their stunning facility and we look forward to giving the fans a momentous occasion and a Cinco de Mayo celebration they will never forget.”
“For 2021’s biggest boxing event to date, it’s hard to imagine a better place than AT&T Stadium,” said DAZN EVP Joseph Markowski. “We look forward to delivering a world-class event from this world-class venue to DAZN subscribers across the globe.”
Tickets go on pre-sale on Tuesday March 23 from 10am CT. Pre-sale ends at 10pm CT on Thursday March 25, and tickets then go on general sale at 10am CT on Friday March 26 at SeatGeek.com
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Weigh-in report from Moscow: Beterbiev and Deines make weight |
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Here are the boxers' weights for Saturday's ESPN+ televised bouts from Moscow. The ESPN+ stream begins at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT:
Beterbiev's WBC/IBF Light Heavyweight Championships — 12 Rounds
Artur Beterbiev (champion) 174.6 pounds -vs.- Adam Deines 174.3;
Super middleweights — 12 Rounds
Azizbek Abdugofurov 167.9 -vs.- Pavel Silyagin 167.9;
Junior welterweights — 10 Rounds
Khariton Agrba 140.1 -vs.- Helber Rojas 138.2;
Junior middleweights — 10 Rounds
Alexander Besputin 150.6 -vs.- Viktor Plotnikov (not yet available*)
(Jr. Middleweight — 10 Rounds)
(ESPN+, 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT)
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Weigh-in report from Moscow: Beterbiev and Deines make weight
Here are the boxers' weights for Saturday's ESPN+ televised bouts from Moscow. The ESPN+ stream begins at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT:
Beterbiev's WBC/IBF Light Heavyweight Championships — 12 Rounds
Artur Beterbiev (champion) 174.6 pounds -vs.- Adam Deines 174.3;
Super middleweights — 12 Rounds
Azizbek Abdugofurov 167.9 -vs.- Pavel Silyagin 167.9;
Junior welterweights — 10 Rounds
Khariton Agrba 140.1 -vs.- Helber Rojas 138.2;
Junior middleweights — 10 Rounds
Alexander Besputin 150.6 -vs.- Viktor Plotnikov (not yet available*)
(Jr. Middleweight — 10 Rounds)
(ESPN+, 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT)
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Angel Fierro gets huge road win over ex-champ Alberto Machado |
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Angel Fierro KO6 Alberto Machado... Mexican lightweight Angel Fierro rose from the canvas twice en route to a stunning comeback knockout win in the sixth round against former 130-pound title holder Alberto Machado as Mexico won the latest chapter of the iconic Puerto Rico vs. Mexico ring rivalry in the Ring City USA main event in Salinas, Puerto Rico. Tijuana’s Fierro (18-1-1, 14 KOs) handed Machado (22-3, 18 KOs) his first professional loss in Puerto Rico. Machado, 30, scored a knockdown in each of the first two rounds with well-placed right-hand counter punches. Fierro displayed a durable chin and beat the count easily both times, signaling that he was not hurt by the crunching power punches. Fierro was down 48-45 on all three judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage.
“I’m happy, I faced a top-notch fighter tonight in Alberto Machado,” said Fierro, who was a three-to-one underdog. “He is world class and dropped me twice. But I am ecstatic that I was able to come back and beat a fighter of his caliber.”
The 22-year-old lightweight turned the fight around in the fourth round as he dedicated himself to a vicious body attack against Machado. The body work paid dividends as he found openings throughout the fifth and sixth round, ultimately leading to a vicious left hand that sent the former titlist to the canvas for the first and only time in the fight. Fierro credited finding his second wind to his two-year-old daughter back in Mexico.
“He dropped me twice in the beginning of the fight,” added Fierro. “When I got back to my corner, I told them, ‘remind me of my daughter.’ Because with this fight I can change her life and that’s exactly what they did after the third round. They motivated me and that’s exactly what I did.”
Prior to the fight, Fierro told the Ring City USA broadcast team, “the best judge is a knockout when you’re fighting in someone else’s hometown.” The Mexican warrior, who replaced undefeated prospect Hector Tanajara on one week’s notice, delivered on his promise to take matters into his own hands.
“We found a lot of gaps in Machado’s game in the sixth round,” stated Fierro. “I took advantage of them and I turned it around. I told you in the interview (before the fight), I didn’t come here to be a tourist in Puerto Rico. I came here to win.” source: ring city
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Angel Fierro gets huge road win over ex-champ Alberto Machado
Angel Fierro KO6 Alberto Machado... Mexican lightweight Angel Fierro rose from the canvas twice en route to a stunning comeback knockout win in the sixth round against former 130-pound title holder Alberto Machado as Mexico won the latest chapter of the iconic Puerto Rico vs. Mexico ring rivalry in the Ring City USA main event in Salinas, Puerto Rico. Tijuana’s Fierro (18-1-1, 14 KOs) handed Machado (22-3, 18 KOs) his first professional loss in Puerto Rico. Machado, 30, scored a knockdown in each of the first two rounds with well-placed right-hand counter punches. Fierro displayed a durable chin and beat the count easily both times, signaling that he was not hurt by the crunching power punches. Fierro was down 48-45 on all three judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage.
“I’m happy, I faced a top-notch fighter tonight in Alberto Machado,” said Fierro, who was a three-to-one underdog. “He is world class and dropped me twice. But I am ecstatic that I was able to come back and beat a fighter of his caliber.”
The 22-year-old lightweight turned the fight around in the fourth round as he dedicated himself to a vicious body attack against Machado. The body work paid dividends as he found openings throughout the fifth and sixth round, ultimately leading to a vicious left hand that sent the former titlist to the canvas for the first and only time in the fight. Fierro credited finding his second wind to his two-year-old daughter back in Mexico.
“He dropped me twice in the beginning of the fight,” added Fierro. “When I got back to my corner, I told them, ‘remind me of my daughter.’ Because with this fight I can change her life and that’s exactly what they did after the third round. They motivated me and that’s exactly what I did.”
Prior to the fight, Fierro told the Ring City USA broadcast team, “the best judge is a knockout when you’re fighting in someone else’s hometown.” The Mexican warrior, who replaced undefeated prospect Hector Tanajara on one week’s notice, delivered on his promise to take matters into his own hands.
“We found a lot of gaps in Machado’s game in the sixth round,” stated Fierro. “I took advantage of them and I turned it around. I told you in the interview (before the fight), I didn’t come here to be a tourist in Puerto Rico. I came here to win.” source: ring city
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Glowacki determined to regain cruiserweight title |
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Poland's Krzysztof Glowacki says there are weaknesses in Lawrence Okolie’s game and has promised to reclaim the currently vacant WBO cruiserweight championship by defeating the British contender at The SSE Arena, Wembley this Saturday, live on Sky Sports in the UK and on DAZN in the U.S. and elsewhere. Glowacki (31-2, 19 KOs) climbed off the canvas to score an eleventh-round knockout over Germany’s Marco Huck to claim the WBO crown in 2015 before outpointing America’s Steve Cunningham in his first defense. Trained by Fiodor Łapin, Glowacki was originally scheduled to face Okolie on December 12th, however, the week prior to the fight, Glowacki tested positive for te coronavirus.
The 34 year-old Glowacki lost his title to Oleksandr Usyk but regained the WBO interim belt in 2018. In 2019, he suffered a controversial stoppage loss to Mairis Briedis in Briedis' hometown, but has since been given a clean bill of health and is chomping at the bit for his ring return following a 21-month hiatus. “I’m very happy I can finally fight after such a long layoff,” said Glowacki. “I was absolutely devastated when I found out I was Covid positive, but every cloud has a silver lining. Now I feel better than in December. When I came back to training after Covid, I had some stamina issues, but everything is OK now. I feel pumped up and ready. I’m hugely motivated for this fight. I’m going to have a great opponent in front of me who has big ambitions of his own. I heard Okolie had some plans to unify, but he has to beat me and it’s not going to happen. I will retrieve my belt and I will bring it back to Poland. I will become WBO World Champion for the third time in my career, there is no other option."
Glowacki continued, “Okolie is unbeaten, he’s big and he’s strong. He has long arms and a huge reach, but I’ve noticed some weaknesses that you will see on the night. I’m ready for this fight and I’m ready to beat him. You will see on Saturday how I will beat him up. I’ve had a lot of sparring partners who were tall and uncomfortable. The support I receive from the Polish people will always motivate me. It’s a shame that they cannot support me in person because a lot of people would have turned out to support me in London, but instead they will be cheering me on in front of their televisions. I’ll bring the belt home for them.”
Okolie vs. Glowacki tops a huge night of action in London as Welsh junior lightweight Joe Cordina (11-0, 7 KOs) meets Belgium’s Faroukh Kourbanov (17-2, 3 KOs) over ten rounds... Liverpool junior middleweight Anthony Fowler (13-1, 10 KOs) returns against Spain’s Jorge Fortea (21-2-1, 7 KOs)... cruiserweight Chris Billam-Smith (11-1, 10 KOs) looks to keep his KO streak going against Vasil Ducar (9-3-1, 8 KOs)... Ramla Ali (1-0) faces Bec Connolly (3-8) in her second pro fight... featherweight Ellie Scotney (1-0) meets Mailys Gangloff (4-1, 1 KO) over six rounds and middleweight Bradley Rea (9-0, 3 KOs) takes on Lee Cutler (7-0, 4 KOs).
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Glowacki determined to regain cruiserweight title
Poland's Krzysztof Glowacki says there are weaknesses in Lawrence Okolie’s game and has promised to reclaim the currently vacant WBO cruiserweight championship by defeating the British contender at The SSE Arena, Wembley this Saturday, live on Sky Sports in the UK and on DAZN in the U.S. and elsewhere. Glowacki (31-2, 19 KOs) climbed off the canvas to score an eleventh-round knockout over Germany’s Marco Huck to claim the WBO crown in 2015 before outpointing America’s Steve Cunningham in his first defense. Trained by Fiodor Łapin, Glowacki was originally scheduled to face Okolie on December 12th, however, the week prior to the fight, Glowacki tested positive for te coronavirus.
The 34 year-old Glowacki lost his title to Oleksandr Usyk but regained the WBO interim belt in 2018. In 2019, he suffered a controversial stoppage loss to Mairis Briedis in Briedis' hometown, but has since been given a clean bill of health and is chomping at the bit for his ring return following a 21-month hiatus. “I’m very happy I can finally fight after such a long layoff,” said Glowacki. “I was absolutely devastated when I found out I was Covid positive, but every cloud has a silver lining. Now I feel better than in December. When I came back to training after Covid, I had some stamina issues, but everything is OK now. I feel pumped up and ready. I’m hugely motivated for this fight. I’m going to have a great opponent in front of me who has big ambitions of his own. I heard Okolie had some plans to unify, but he has to beat me and it’s not going to happen. I will retrieve my belt and I will bring it back to Poland. I will become WBO World Champion for the third time in my career, there is no other option."
Glowacki continued, “Okolie is unbeaten, he’s big and he’s strong. He has long arms and a huge reach, but I’ve noticed some weaknesses that you will see on the night. I’m ready for this fight and I’m ready to beat him. You will see on Saturday how I will beat him up. I’ve had a lot of sparring partners who were tall and uncomfortable. The support I receive from the Polish people will always motivate me. It’s a shame that they cannot support me in person because a lot of people would have turned out to support me in London, but instead they will be cheering me on in front of their televisions. I’ll bring the belt home for them.”
Okolie vs. Glowacki tops a huge night of action in London as Welsh junior lightweight Joe Cordina (11-0, 7 KOs) meets Belgium’s Faroukh Kourbanov (17-2, 3 KOs) over ten rounds... Liverpool junior middleweight Anthony Fowler (13-1, 10 KOs) returns against Spain’s Jorge Fortea (21-2-1, 7 KOs)... cruiserweight Chris Billam-Smith (11-1, 10 KOs) looks to keep his KO streak going against Vasil Ducar (9-3-1, 8 KOs)... Ramla Ali (1-0) faces Bec Connolly (3-8) in her second pro fight... featherweight Ellie Scotney (1-0) meets Mailys Gangloff (4-1, 1 KO) over six rounds and middleweight Bradley Rea (9-0, 3 KOs) takes on Lee Cutler (7-0, 4 KOs).
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Ring City undercard results |
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Jose Martinez D10 Israel Gonzalez ... In the Ring City co-feature in Puerto Rico, Jose “Chiquiro” Martinez (21-1-3, 14 KOs) of Mayaguez, P.R. and Israel Gonzalez (26-4-1, 11 KOs) of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, fought to a majority draw in their ten-round bantamweight affair. While one ringside judge gave Gonzalez, 24, the edge on the scorecards (96-94), the remaining two judges scored it identically at 95-95. Ring City’s unofficial scorer Steve Smoger had Gonzalez edging the hometown fighter 97-93.
“I felt his punches, but I was the superior fighter tonight,” said Gonzalez. “He might have won three rounds but it’s OK. I’m thankful to Puerto Rico and all of the people that gave me an opportunity to be here.”
The 28-year-old Martinez did his best work on the inside as he attempted to neutralize the five-inch reach advantage of the younger Gonzalez and led on two of the scorecards through the midway point of the fight. Meanwhile, Gonzalez flashed excellent hand speed in the back-and-forth affair and stole many of the later rounds when he found his second wind. This marked the third draw for Martinez over his last seven fights and the first for Gonzalez.
“I feel happy, satisfied with the work I did,” said Martinez. “I understand that I was fighting against a strong opponent and that I won. I pushed more. I was on top of him, but these things happen in boxing. Now it’s a matter of continuing to train, maintain myself and seek that title opportunity.”
Joe Ward W6 Marco Delgado... Ireland’s Joe Ward (3-1, 2 KOs) avenged his only professional loss with a dominating unanimous decision victory over Marco Delgado (7-2, 5 KOs) in their six-round light heavyweight tilt. In October 2019, the 15-time Irish National Champion Ward faced Delgado in his professional debut and suffered a dislocated kneecap which led to a technical knockout victory for the Turlock, Calif. native. Under the tutelage of two-division world champion Joey Gamache, the 29-year-old Ward displayed his amateur pedigree as he attempts to fast-track his pro career.
Alma Ibarra W8 Maricela Cornejo... In the second fight of the telecast, Alma Ibarra (7-1, 4 KOs) earned a hard-fought unanimous decision over Maricela Cornejo (13-4, 5 KOs) in an eight-round middleweight fight. Two of the ringside judges scored seven rounds for Ibarra (79-73) while the third saw it 77-75 for the winner. Ibarra, who hails from Monterrey, Mexico, brought the fight to the Los Angeles native throughout the fight and was the far busier fighter.
“Now the world knows who Alma Ibarra is and what she is made of,” said the victor. “To everyone, I was a stranger. And to fight against someone who is very recognized worldwide in Maricela Cornejo and beat her, this opened many doors for us.”
Ibarra, 32, returned from a 16-month layoff following her first professional defeat against Raquel Miller in 2019. Ibarra, who had a successful amateur career, looked comfortable as she commanded the ring against the seasoned professional in 33-year-old Cornejo. Ibarra, a natural welterweight, was fighting at the heaviest weight of her career (156 lbs.).
“I felt very good, very strong, as this is a division that I am not used to,” said Ibarra. “I always fight in lower divisions, we had to go up two divisions to take this great opportunity, and well, I think we were not wrong to take this risk.”
MORE RESULTS
Angel Acosta (22-2, 21 KOs) of Barrio Obrero Santurce, Puerto Rico, earned a victory on the scorecards for the first time in his professional career, earning a unanimous decision over Gilberto Mendoza (17-10-3, 8 KOs) of Baja California, Mexico, in an eight-round super flyweight fight...
Fighting in his hometown of Salinas, Edwin Valentin (10-0, 9 KOs) remained perfect with a fifth-round technical knockout victory over fellow Puerto Rican Hector Marengo (7-15-4, 4 KOs)...
In the opening fight of the evening, Jose Roman (11-0, 5 KOs) of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, bested Roque Junco (10-8-1, 6 KOs) via unanimous decision in an eight-round welterweight fight. source for all results: ring city
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Ring City undercard results
Jose Martinez D10 Israel Gonzalez ... In the Ring City co-feature in Puerto Rico, Jose “Chiquiro” Martinez (21-1-3, 14 KOs) of Mayaguez, P.R. and Israel Gonzalez (26-4-1, 11 KOs) of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, fought to a majority draw in their ten-round bantamweight affair. While one ringside judge gave Gonzalez, 24, the edge on the scorecards (96-94), the remaining two judges scored it identically at 95-95. Ring City’s unofficial scorer Steve Smoger had Gonzalez edging the hometown fighter 97-93.
“I felt his punches, but I was the superior fighter tonight,” said Gonzalez. “He might have won three rounds but it’s OK. I’m thankful to Puerto Rico and all of the people that gave me an opportunity to be here.”
The 28-year-old Martinez did his best work on the inside as he attempted to neutralize the five-inch reach advantage of the younger Gonzalez and led on two of the scorecards through the midway point of the fight. Meanwhile, Gonzalez flashed excellent hand speed in the back-and-forth affair and stole many of the later rounds when he found his second wind. This marked the third draw for Martinez over his last seven fights and the first for Gonzalez.
“I feel happy, satisfied with the work I did,” said Martinez. “I understand that I was fighting against a strong opponent and that I won. I pushed more. I was on top of him, but these things happen in boxing. Now it’s a matter of continuing to train, maintain myself and seek that title opportunity.”
Joe Ward W6 Marco Delgado... Ireland’s Joe Ward (3-1, 2 KOs) avenged his only professional loss with a dominating unanimous decision victory over Marco Delgado (7-2, 5 KOs) in their six-round light heavyweight tilt. In October 2019, the 15-time Irish National Champion Ward faced Delgado in his professional debut and suffered a dislocated kneecap which led to a technical knockout victory for the Turlock, Calif. native. Under the tutelage of two-division world champion Joey Gamache, the 29-year-old Ward displayed his amateur pedigree as he attempts to fast-track his pro career.
Alma Ibarra W8 Maricela Cornejo... In the second fight of the telecast, Alma Ibarra (7-1, 4 KOs) earned a hard-fought unanimous decision over Maricela Cornejo (13-4, 5 KOs) in an eight-round middleweight fight. Two of the ringside judges scored seven rounds for Ibarra (79-73) while the third saw it 77-75 for the winner. Ibarra, who hails from Monterrey, Mexico, brought the fight to the Los Angeles native throughout the fight and was the far busier fighter.
“Now the world knows who Alma Ibarra is and what she is made of,” said the victor. “To everyone, I was a stranger. And to fight against someone who is very recognized worldwide in Maricela Cornejo and beat her, this opened many doors for us.”
Ibarra, 32, returned from a 16-month layoff following her first professional defeat against Raquel Miller in 2019. Ibarra, who had a successful amateur career, looked comfortable as she commanded the ring against the seasoned professional in 33-year-old Cornejo. Ibarra, a natural welterweight, was fighting at the heaviest weight of her career (156 lbs.).
“I felt very good, very strong, as this is a division that I am not used to,” said Ibarra. “I always fight in lower divisions, we had to go up two divisions to take this great opportunity, and well, I think we were not wrong to take this risk.”
MORE RESULTS
Angel Acosta (22-2, 21 KOs) of Barrio Obrero Santurce, Puerto Rico, earned a victory on the scorecards for the first time in his professional career, earning a unanimous decision over Gilberto Mendoza (17-10-3, 8 KOs) of Baja California, Mexico, in an eight-round super flyweight fight...
Fighting in his hometown of Salinas, Edwin Valentin (10-0, 9 KOs) remained perfect with a fifth-round technical knockout victory over fellow Puerto Rican Hector Marengo (7-15-4, 4 KOs)...
In the opening fight of the evening, Jose Roman (11-0, 5 KOs) of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, bested Roque Junco (10-8-1, 6 KOs) via unanimous decision in an eight-round welterweight fight. source for all results: ring city
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Beterbiev return is only a day away |
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After nearly 18 months, WBC/IBF light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KOs) will make his first title defense as a unified champion Saturday against Adam Deines (19-1-1, 10 KOs) at the Megasport Arena in Moscow. Beterbiev, boxing's only world champion with a 100 percent knockout rate, returns to his home country for the first time as a professional. Deines, who resides in Germany, has won a pair of bouts since the lone loss of his career. Here is what Beterbiev had to say, "It's been a difficult year for everyone. Now, I'm feeling good. I had a very good preparation, very good camp in Russia. We're ready for a fight... I'm very happy to have a fight in my home country. We studied Adam. We watched some videos. We have a couple of strategies... You never hear predictions from me. I'm a simple boxer. I'm not like Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali can say, 'I'll knock him out in eight rounds, or ten rounds', but I'm not like this. I'm focused on doing my best."
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Beterbiev return is only a day away
After nearly 18 months, WBC/IBF light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KOs) will make his first title defense as a unified champion Saturday against Adam Deines (19-1-1, 10 KOs) at the Megasport Arena in Moscow. Beterbiev, boxing's only world champion with a 100 percent knockout rate, returns to his home country for the first time as a professional. Deines, who resides in Germany, has won a pair of bouts since the lone loss of his career. Here is what Beterbiev had to say, "It's been a difficult year for everyone. Now, I'm feeling good. I had a very good preparation, very good camp in Russia. We're ready for a fight... I'm very happy to have a fight in my home country. We studied Adam. We watched some videos. We have a couple of strategies... You never hear predictions from me. I'm a simple boxer. I'm not like Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali can say, 'I'll knock him out in eight rounds, or ten rounds', but I'm not like this. I'm focused on doing my best."
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Late opponent change for comebacking Besputin |
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Russian welterweight Alexander Besputin (16-0 including the World Series of Boxing), who was originally scheduled to fight Maximiliano Ricardo "El Picante" Veron, will now take on Viktor Plotnikov (33-10, 15 KOs) in a ten-rounder on Saturday in Moscow. Besputin-Plotnikov will open the ESPN+ portion of the broadcast (1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT). A twelve-round super middleweight battle of unbeatens - Azizbek Abdugofurov vs. Pavel Silyagin — is the new co-feature and will air immediately preceding Beterbiev vs. Deines on ESPN and ESPN Deportes portion (also simulcast on ESPN+) on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT. Besputin is returning from an absence related to PED issues.
Also on the undercard, Russian junior middleweight Ramzan Baysarov (11-1) will fight Venezuela's Michel Marcano (21-2-1).
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Late opponent change for comebacking Besputin
Russian welterweight Alexander Besputin (16-0 including the World Series of Boxing), who was originally scheduled to fight Maximiliano Ricardo "El Picante" Veron, will now take on Viktor Plotnikov (33-10, 15 KOs) in a ten-rounder on Saturday in Moscow. Besputin-Plotnikov will open the ESPN+ portion of the broadcast (1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT). A twelve-round super middleweight battle of unbeatens - Azizbek Abdugofurov vs. Pavel Silyagin — is the new co-feature and will air immediately preceding Beterbiev vs. Deines on ESPN and ESPN Deportes portion (also simulcast on ESPN+) on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT. Besputin is returning from an absence related to PED issues.
Also on the undercard, Russian junior middleweight Ramzan Baysarov (11-1) will fight Venezuela's Michel Marcano (21-2-1).
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Weigh-in report from England |
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Here are the boxers' weights for Friday’s MTK Fight Night event at the University of Bolton Stadium in England:
European Bantamweight Championship, 12 Rounds
Karim Guerfi, champon, (117 pounds 6oz) vs. Lee McGregor (118lbs)
Vacant British Lightweight Championship, 12 Rounds
Maxi Hughes (134lbs 1oz) vs. Paul Hyland Jr. (134lbs 9oz)
Junior welterweights, 8 Rounds
Jamie Robinson (141lbs 12oz) vs. Billy Allington (141lbs 5oz)
Junior middleweights, 6 Rounds
Eryk Apresyan (152lbs 11oz) vs. Nathan Bendon (153lbs)
Lightweights, 4 Rounds
Sean Duffy (134lbs) vs. Paul Holt (134lbs)
Super Bantamweights, 6 Rounds
Shabaz Masoud (122lbs 5oz) vs. Louis Norman (121lbs 14oz)
Lee McGregor feels he wants it a lot more than champion Karim Guerfi ahead of their European bantamweight title showdown on Friday’s MTK Fight Night. British and Commonwealth champion McGregor (9-0, 7 KOs) will look to add another belt to his collection when he challenges Guerfi (29-4, 9 KOs) at the University of Bolton Stadium. The undefeated Edinburgh star is excited to finally have the chance to face Guerfi, and is confident that he will have far too much for the Frenchman. McGregor said: “There will be doubters, but I believe in myself and my team believes in me and that’s all that matters. I’m very confident I can pull this off. Guerfi may be a lot more experienced than me, but I’m younger, fresher and hungrier than him."
He continued, “My professional career has been fast-tracked. I fought for my first title in just my fourth professional fight which doesn’t happen very often with many fighters. I could now be British, Commonwealth and European champion after just 10 fights of my career, and that is something which I would be very proud of. I feel like I’ve really gelled with Ben Davison since we started working together. He’s been fixing me and helping to make me the finished article, so I’m excited to see how far we can go.”
Elsewhere on Friday’s massive event, Maxi Hughes meets Paul Hyland Jr
Lightweights, 4 Rounds
Sean Duffy (134lbs) vs. Paul Holt (134lbs)
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Weigh-in report from England
Here are the boxers' weights for Friday’s MTK Fight Night event at the University of Bolton Stadium in England:
European Bantamweight Championship, 12 Rounds
Karim Guerfi, champon, (117 pounds 6oz) vs. Lee McGregor (118lbs)
Vacant British Lightweight Championship, 12 Rounds
Maxi Hughes (134lbs 1oz) vs. Paul Hyland Jr. (134lbs 9oz)
Junior welterweights, 8 Rounds
Jamie Robinson (141lbs 12oz) vs. Billy Allington (141lbs 5oz)
Junior middleweights, 6 Rounds
Eryk Apresyan (152lbs 11oz) vs. Nathan Bendon (153lbs)
Lightweights, 4 Rounds
Sean Duffy (134lbs) vs. Paul Holt (134lbs)
Super Bantamweights, 6 Rounds
Shabaz Masoud (122lbs 5oz) vs. Louis Norman (121lbs 14oz)
Lee McGregor feels he wants it a lot more than champion Karim Guerfi ahead of their European bantamweight title showdown on Friday’s MTK Fight Night. British and Commonwealth champion McGregor (9-0, 7 KOs) will look to add another belt to his collection when he challenges Guerfi (29-4, 9 KOs) at the University of Bolton Stadium. The undefeated Edinburgh star is excited to finally have the chance to face Guerfi, and is confident that he will have far too much for the Frenchman. McGregor said: “There will be doubters, but I believe in myself and my team believes in me and that’s all that matters. I’m very confident I can pull this off. Guerfi may be a lot more experienced than me, but I’m younger, fresher and hungrier than him."
He continued, “My professional career has been fast-tracked. I fought for my first title in just my fourth professional fight which doesn’t happen very often with many fighters. I could now be British, Commonwealth and European champion after just 10 fights of my career, and that is something which I would be very proud of. I feel like I’ve really gelled with Ben Davison since we started working together. He’s been fixing me and helping to make me the finished article, so I’m excited to see how far we can go.”
Elsewhere on Friday’s massive event, Maxi Hughes meets Paul Hyland Jr
Lightweights, 4 Rounds
Sean Duffy (134lbs) vs. Paul Holt (134lbs)
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Tonight: Chop Chop Corley makes bare knuckle debut |
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Tonight (Friday), at the Biloxi Civic Center in Biloxi, Mississippi, former WBO junior welterweight champion DeMarcus ‘Chop Chop’ Corley makes his bare knuckles debut against Reggie ‘Eaz-E’ Barnett Jr. of Virginia Beach, VA. Incredibly, the 46 year-old Corley weighed in at 135 pounds for this fight, five pounds lower than his championship weight all the way back in 2001-2003, the years of his reign. With a current boxing record of 55-33-1 with 28 knockouts, Corley defeated Felix Flores for his title in June 2001 and defended against Ener Julio and Randall Bailey. In June 2003, Corley lost a split decision to Zab Judah. In his next fight, Corley fought twelve rounds against boxing legend Floyd Mayweather. Among the other champions on Corley’s resume are Miguel Cotto, Junior Witter, Devon Alexander, Marcos Maidana, Lucas Matthysse, Ruslan Provodnikov and Viktor Postol.
The popular Barnett Jr. sports a BKFC record of 5-1. With victories over Travis Thompson, Clay Burns, Rusty Crowder and Matt Murphy, Barnett Jr. will look to stay in the win column following a unanimous decision victory over Abdiel Velazquez on September 9, 2020. His only loss came to then BKFC World Champion Johnny Bedford on June 22, 2019 at BKFC-6.
Headlining the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship pay-per-view event (available on Fite.TV) is a lightweight grudge match between Leonard ‘Bad Boy’ Garcia, (18-13-1), fighting out of Lubbock, TX and Joe ‘The Hitman’ Elmore, (13-12), of Atlanta, GA. “Leonard Garcia against Joe Elmore is a true bad-blood match and perfect for our main event,” said BKFC President David Feldman. Both guys have wanted to fight each other for a long time and both have promised to finish the other in striking fashion. DeMarcus Corley is a former world champion boxer who has fought numerous big names over the last twenty years and surely will be tested by Reggie Barnett Jr. who is excited to welcome him to BKFC.”
Garcia made his BKFC debut on February 2, 2019 at BKFC-4: USA vs. Mexico with a sensational second round knockout of Julian Lane. Against Elmore he will be looking to bounce back into the win column following a loss to Jim Alers at BKFC-7 on August 10, 2019.
Moving quickly through the BKFC ranks, Elmore stopped Will Chope in the first round at BKFC-11 on July 24, 2020 and followed that up with a unanimous decision victory over Tom Shoaff on September 11, 2020 at BKFC-12.
BKFC 16 weigh-in results below:
Joe Elmore (165 pounds) vs. Leonard Garcia (165.2);
Demarcus Corley (135.2) vs. Reggie Barnett Jr. (135);
Arnold Adams (247.9) vs. Bobo O’Bannon (258.1);
Noah Cutter (165.5) vs. Kaleb Harris (164.5);
Scott O’Shaughnessy (184.9) vs. Melvin Guillard (183.8);
Jason Fish (224.6) vs. Adrian Miles (227.5);
Spencer Ruggeri (134.7) vs. David Diaz (136);
Elvin Brito (163.8) vs. Brad Kelly (166);
Zion Tomlinson (176) vs. Tyler Hill (176); and
Eric Thompson (186) vs. Ryan Jones (185.7).
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Tonight: Chop Chop Corley makes bare knuckle debut
Tonight (Friday), at the Biloxi Civic Center in Biloxi, Mississippi, former WBO junior welterweight champion DeMarcus ‘Chop Chop’ Corley makes his bare knuckles debut against Reggie ‘Eaz-E’ Barnett Jr. of Virginia Beach, VA. Incredibly, the 46 year-old Corley weighed in at 135 pounds for this fight, five pounds lower than his championship weight all the way back in 2001-2003, the years of his reign. With a current boxing record of 55-33-1 with 28 knockouts, Corley defeated Felix Flores for his title in June 2001 and defended against Ener Julio and Randall Bailey. In June 2003, Corley lost a split decision to Zab Judah. In his next fight, Corley fought twelve rounds against boxing legend Floyd Mayweather. Among the other champions on Corley’s resume are Miguel Cotto, Junior Witter, Devon Alexander, Marcos Maidana, Lucas Matthysse, Ruslan Provodnikov and Viktor Postol.
The popular Barnett Jr. sports a BKFC record of 5-1. With victories over Travis Thompson, Clay Burns, Rusty Crowder and Matt Murphy, Barnett Jr. will look to stay in the win column following a unanimous decision victory over Abdiel Velazquez on September 9, 2020. His only loss came to then BKFC World Champion Johnny Bedford on June 22, 2019 at BKFC-6.
Headlining the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship pay-per-view event (available on Fite.TV) is a lightweight grudge match between Leonard ‘Bad Boy’ Garcia, (18-13-1), fighting out of Lubbock, TX and Joe ‘The Hitman’ Elmore, (13-12), of Atlanta, GA. “Leonard Garcia against Joe Elmore is a true bad-blood match and perfect for our main event,” said BKFC President David Feldman. Both guys have wanted to fight each other for a long time and both have promised to finish the other in striking fashion. DeMarcus Corley is a former world champion boxer who has fought numerous big names over the last twenty years and surely will be tested by Reggie Barnett Jr. who is excited to welcome him to BKFC.”
Garcia made his BKFC debut on February 2, 2019 at BKFC-4: USA vs. Mexico with a sensational second round knockout of Julian Lane. Against Elmore he will be looking to bounce back into the win column following a loss to Jim Alers at BKFC-7 on August 10, 2019.
Moving quickly through the BKFC ranks, Elmore stopped Will Chope in the first round at BKFC-11 on July 24, 2020 and followed that up with a unanimous decision victory over Tom Shoaff on September 11, 2020 at BKFC-12.
BKFC 16 weigh-in results below:
Joe Elmore (165 pounds) vs. Leonard Garcia (165.2);
Demarcus Corley (135.2) vs. Reggie Barnett Jr. (135);
Arnold Adams (247.9) vs. Bobo O’Bannon (258.1);
Noah Cutter (165.5) vs. Kaleb Harris (164.5);
Scott O’Shaughnessy (184.9) vs. Melvin Guillard (183.8);
Jason Fish (224.6) vs. Adrian Miles (227.5);
Spencer Ruggeri (134.7) vs. David Diaz (136);
Elvin Brito (163.8) vs. Brad Kelly (166);
Zion Tomlinson (176) vs. Tyler Hill (176); and
Eric Thompson (186) vs. Ryan Jones (185.7).
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A few words with bantamweight Saul "The Beast" Sanchez |
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Bantamweight Saul "The Beast" Sanchez (15-1, 8 KOs), will be looking to make a statement tonight (Friday, March 19th), when he takes on Frank "El Castigador" Gonzalez (8-1, 4 KOs) in a bout scheduled for ten rounds. The card, which will be promoted by All-Star Boxing and televised on Telemundo, will take place at the Bryan Glazer Family JCC in Tampa, Florida. Here is what Sanchez, who is promopted by Thomspn Boxing had to say:
On making his 2021 debut on Telemundo: "This is another great opportunity to fight on Telemundo, the premier Spanish network for boxing. I had an incredible performance last time I fought on Telemundo, and I plan to do the same in this fight. I know I’m close to getting a very big fight. There are some major fights down the road, which are coming shortly."
On recent training camp: "My training camp was great, working with coach Manny Robles and Edgar Jasso was amazing. I am learning a lot in the gym, and I’m being pushed daily. I got a lot of hunger in me and I’m a motivated fighter. I feel like I am coming into my own."
On what a win will do for his career: "This will be a major win [and] I will get a higher world ranking, and that sets up the fights I have been hoping for against the best fighters in the division. A win will get me that much closer to my dream of boxing a world champion."
On his matchup with Gonzalez: "Frank Gonzalez is a good fighter, but I also see he makes a lot of mistakes. I’m going to capitalize on those mistakes, and I feel like he is the perfect opponent for me at this time. I’m going to show the world what I am truly capable of, and prove that I’m worthy of a top 15 ranking.”
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A few words with bantamweight Saul "The Beast" Sanchez
Bantamweight Saul "The Beast" Sanchez (15-1, 8 KOs), will be looking to make a statement tonight (Friday, March 19th), when he takes on Frank "El Castigador" Gonzalez (8-1, 4 KOs) in a bout scheduled for ten rounds. The card, which will be promoted by All-Star Boxing and televised on Telemundo, will take place at the Bryan Glazer Family JCC in Tampa, Florida. Here is what Sanchez, who is promopted by Thomspn Boxing had to say:
On making his 2021 debut on Telemundo: "This is another great opportunity to fight on Telemundo, the premier Spanish network for boxing. I had an incredible performance last time I fought on Telemundo, and I plan to do the same in this fight. I know I’m close to getting a very big fight. There are some major fights down the road, which are coming shortly."
On recent training camp: "My training camp was great, working with coach Manny Robles and Edgar Jasso was amazing. I am learning a lot in the gym, and I’m being pushed daily. I got a lot of hunger in me and I’m a motivated fighter. I feel like I am coming into my own."
On what a win will do for his career: "This will be a major win [and] I will get a higher world ranking, and that sets up the fights I have been hoping for against the best fighters in the division. A win will get me that much closer to my dream of boxing a world champion."
On his matchup with Gonzalez: "Frank Gonzalez is a good fighter, but I also see he makes a lot of mistakes. I’m going to capitalize on those mistakes, and I feel like he is the perfect opponent for me at this time. I’m going to show the world what I am truly capable of, and prove that I’m worthy of a top 15 ranking.”
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Savannah Marshall books title defense for next month |
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Savannah Marshall will defend her WBO middleweight title against former super middleweight title holder Femke Hemans next month. The fight will take place on Saturday, April 10th, live on Sky Sports in the UK and on DAZN in the USA, with Marshall making the first defense of her world title. [No venue was listed in the press release]. Marshall (9-0, 7 KOs) was last in action in October where she stopped Hannah Rankin, while Hermans (11-3, 4 KOs) has lost to Claressa Shields, but picked up the European championship in what amounted to a stay-busy win in December.
Marshall said: “I’m really happy and I can’t wait for fight night in three weeks’ time. I’m very aware of Femke Hermans, a very good fighter. She’s been in with the best, she’s a former WBO champion, so I’m sure she’s going to try and get her belt back. I know she’s no pushover and I’m looking forward to getting in there. For me, this is probably my toughest test to date. The reigning European Champion. She lost out on a close decision to the world super middleweight Champion, so I know it’s going to be a tough fight. I never go into a fight thinking I’m going to stop someone but I know if I land, whoever I land on, I will hurt them. I’m just looking forward to putting on a good display and showcasing my skills.”
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Savannah Marshall books title defense for next month
Savannah Marshall will defend her WBO middleweight title against former super middleweight title holder Femke Hemans next month. The fight will take place on Saturday, April 10th, live on Sky Sports in the UK and on DAZN in the USA, with Marshall making the first defense of her world title. [No venue was listed in the press release]. Marshall (9-0, 7 KOs) was last in action in October where she stopped Hannah Rankin, while Hermans (11-3, 4 KOs) has lost to Claressa Shields, but picked up the European championship in what amounted to a stay-busy win in December.
Marshall said: “I’m really happy and I can’t wait for fight night in three weeks’ time. I’m very aware of Femke Hermans, a very good fighter. She’s been in with the best, she’s a former WBO champion, so I’m sure she’s going to try and get her belt back. I know she’s no pushover and I’m looking forward to getting in there. For me, this is probably my toughest test to date. The reigning European Champion. She lost out on a close decision to the world super middleweight Champion, so I know it’s going to be a tough fight. I never go into a fight thinking I’m going to stop someone but I know if I land, whoever I land on, I will hurt them. I’m just looking forward to putting on a good display and showcasing my skills.”
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Introducing Canadian super bantamweight Amanda Galle |
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Toronto's Amanda Galle has conquered the national stage in Canada. Now she's ready for the world stage. Galle, a super bantamweight, has signed a co-promotional agreement with DiBella Entertainment and Lee Baxter Promotions. The three-time Canadian National champion is now 4-0 as a professional and holds the Canadian women's title, coming off of a dominant victory against Shelly Barnett in January of 2020. Like many fighters, her career has been slowed by the global pandemic, but an affiliation with DiBella Entertainment, perhaps the most committed promoter of women's boxing in the United States, will correct that course. Galle's amateur accomplishments also include four Ringside National titles. As a professional, she's looking to meet up with some of her elite amateur contemporaries in pursuit of a world title down the road.
That road might not be particularly long for Galle, who showed in her shutout of Barnett that she is ready to be on the fast track. Barnett most recently went the distance with Olympic medalist Marlen Esparza.
“I am super excited to be working with the most renowned promoter of female boxing, Mr. Lou DiBella, with DiBella Entertainment out of New York, in a co-promotion with Lee Baxter from my backyard in Toronto,” said Galle. “The timing is in accordance with the huge leap forward that I’ve seen in women's boxing, with the recent pay-per-view event featuring several prominent female fighters and all-women’s cards on the horizon. I have the best of both worlds, the ability to stay active locally with Baxter and DiBella matching me against international competition to move up the world rankings, as he has done with so many of his fighters.”
“Amanda is a very skilled fighter with the potential to become a world champion,” said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. “Under Lee Baxter’s guidance, she will be developed at home in Toronto and, with DiBella Entertainment, Amanda will expand her fan base and stature in the US and abroad, as she moves up the ladder facing top opposition.”
“We think that Amanda has all the tools to become the next breakout boxing star in Canada, regardless of gender,” said promoter Lee Baxter. “It's obvious that she's ready to be fast-tracked toward a world title, and she carries herself like a superstar. She's a phenomenal fighter, but she's also a big personality and an entertainer. She belongs on the big stage and, along with Lou DiBella, we'll be able to give her the platform to truly shine.”
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Introducing Canadian super bantamweight Amanda Galle
Toronto's Amanda Galle has conquered the national stage in Canada. Now she's ready for the world stage. Galle, a super bantamweight, has signed a co-promotional agreement with DiBella Entertainment and Lee Baxter Promotions. The three-time Canadian National champion is now 4-0 as a professional and holds the Canadian women's title, coming off of a dominant victory against Shelly Barnett in January of 2020. Like many fighters, her career has been slowed by the global pandemic, but an affiliation with DiBella Entertainment, perhaps the most committed promoter of women's boxing in the United States, will correct that course. Galle's amateur accomplishments also include four Ringside National titles. As a professional, she's looking to meet up with some of her elite amateur contemporaries in pursuit of a world title down the road.
That road might not be particularly long for Galle, who showed in her shutout of Barnett that she is ready to be on the fast track. Barnett most recently went the distance with Olympic medalist Marlen Esparza.
“I am super excited to be working with the most renowned promoter of female boxing, Mr. Lou DiBella, with DiBella Entertainment out of New York, in a co-promotion with Lee Baxter from my backyard in Toronto,” said Galle. “The timing is in accordance with the huge leap forward that I’ve seen in women's boxing, with the recent pay-per-view event featuring several prominent female fighters and all-women’s cards on the horizon. I have the best of both worlds, the ability to stay active locally with Baxter and DiBella matching me against international competition to move up the world rankings, as he has done with so many of his fighters.”
“Amanda is a very skilled fighter with the potential to become a world champion,” said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. “Under Lee Baxter’s guidance, she will be developed at home in Toronto and, with DiBella Entertainment, Amanda will expand her fan base and stature in the US and abroad, as she moves up the ladder facing top opposition.”
“We think that Amanda has all the tools to become the next breakout boxing star in Canada, regardless of gender,” said promoter Lee Baxter. “It's obvious that she's ready to be fast-tracked toward a world title, and she carries herself like a superstar. She's a phenomenal fighter, but she's also a big personality and an entertainer. She belongs on the big stage and, along with Lou DiBella, we'll be able to give her the platform to truly shine.”
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Catching up with WBC interim flyweight champion McWilliams Arroyo |
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Ivan Montiel : I have been wanting to talk with you since last month when you became WBC interim flyweight champion by defeating Abraham Rodriguez. I know you were extremely busy in training camp and the results came out as you wanted. I knew it was a matter of time until you were going to get a title like you’ve been wanting.
McWilliams Arroyo: Thanks, it’s been a long journey but as I always say. I love boxing. It feels good when you work hard and see the results. It’s good to achieve what you want and that right there was one of my goals, I thank God each and every day.
IM: I should ask you about your promoter Miguel Cotto since I saw an interview with him and noticed that he said something to you immediately after your win over Rodriguez.
MA Cotto congratulated me and said better things are coming my way. It was a great moment for me since Cotto is a future hall of famer as well as my promoter. Cotto was a great Puerto Rican champion so for him to get up in that ring to celebrate my win, it was an honor. I have a lot of respect for Miguel Cotto.
IM: Talk to us about your experience when you got back to Puerto Rico!
MA: It was great! I celebrated in Farjado, where there was a celebration of Carabana. I traveled all around Farjado thanking everyone for their support. It was a great moment but it actually took place a few days after I arrived back home due to coronavirus restrictions. Due to the coronavirus, I did not think that there would be so many fans but there were lots of of them honking their horns in celebration. I it was a special moment.
IM: That reminds me of the times Felix “Tito” Trinidad returned back home after his wins!
MA: Nah, Tito is Tito if you know what I mean! I even went to celebrate Tito’s wins while growing up. That right there was amazing! I once heard Cotto say each boxer is different. Cotto did not want to be compared to other great Puerto Rican fighters. Every fighter is different.
IM: Yes, I do recall hearing Cotto say that (laughs) Talk to us about your original fight, a challenge vs. WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez getting cancelled?
MA: Well [when Martinez announced his injury] the WBC took action and honored me [by sanctioning an interim title fight for me]. I thank the WBC for that. I worked very hard for this fight, I did my part.
IM: I am happy for you. Scott Shaffer from Boxingtalk.com asked me what was going on as soon as he found out about your fight versus Martinez getting cancelled. We were wondering what happened, and I was worried.
MA: I thought the fight was not going to happen but I stayed focused, maintained my weight and everything turned out well.
IM: We know you're always working hard. We know that you’re always in the gym and ready but that night you proved it. It was a scary scene, you went into that ring as if someone stole your lunch!
MA: (laughs) You’re not the first one who saids that. The woman who called me for the walk-out to go out to the ring there actually said I should walk out there as fast as I can since it was a long walkway. I then thought to myself why is she saying this, although I was anxious to get inside that ring. I was so ready to fight that I got upset having to wait longer since I thought that the fight before me was going to end quickly. It is what it is, I was already warmed up! I then got a little cold but then thought alright, this woman wants me to go in that ring fast as possible so I will go fast!
IM: How did it feel to be fighting on a Canelo Alvarez undercard?
MA: It felt great, it felt nice! To fight under one of boxing’s best pound-for-pound best fighters, it’s a blessing. It was a great opportunity, I enjoyed that moment.
IM: Talk to us about having to switch opponents from Martinez to Rodriguez? Did you know anything about Abraham Rodriguez beforehand?
MA: No, I did not know anything about him. But as an amateur, I had to adjust to different styles. That amateur experience helped even since I became a professional fighter. I was not nervous, I adapted and took care of that moment. When my team first walked into my room I thought maybe we are going to talk about business. Once my team informed me that my fight versus Martinez was cancelled I thought this can’t be happening. I was shocked since you know that a fight versus Martinez getting cancelled is not the first time. As you know, we were supposed to fight in August 2020 and Martinez pulled out three weeks before. I understand that sometimes things happen but once I got this news again I thought to myself what the heck is happening? This is the second time Martinez has pulled out with me but in total he’s pulled out of fights three times- once when he was supposed to fight someone else.
IM: Exactly and that is why we here at Boxingtalk were wondering what was going on.
MA: I was out of the ring for 14 months just waiting to fight Martinez you know. As I said to you before, I do not let anything bother me. What is ring rust? I just stepped into that ring like I was not out of the ring for so long. I was ready as always and thank God that everything went well for us and that I was victorious.
IM: Your are 35 years of age but you sure did not look it.
MA: No, I do not look it! I showed what I can do and I feel great! I am in the best condition. That's not to say that I will be fighting for the next ten years but I want to take full advantage of this moment and hopefully fight another three years. I want to make money and have fun.
IM: I sometimes hear boxing fans question boxer’s legs as they age yet your legs did not give out at all.
MA: I worked very hard, training camp was tough, my conditioning coach did an amazing job with me. My trainer did an excellent job and we actually did more sparring than we are used to doing. The sparring I did was in preparation for Martinez... I got the best of my sparring sessions and it showed when I faced Rodriguez.
IM: We sure saw an amazing performance by you that night. Your thoughts on Francisco Estrada -Roman "Chocolotito" Gonzalez II? [This interview was conducted shortly before Estrada won that fight last Saturday].
MA: I sure hope that I can fight the winner. I already lost to Chocolatito but I learned a lot from that loss. I know it will be a good fight if I can get that rematch versus Chocolatito. I am also willing to fight Estrada, I will fight anyone at 112-115, I will fight anyone between that weight. My job as you know is to train, but who to fight, I let Miguel Cotto Promotions decide. The day I first signed with Miguel Cotto Promotions I was told to drop down to 112 although I wanted to continue fighting at 115 since I tend to eat more. They said we will make you champion at 112 and they sure kept their promise. That one year and two-month layoff was not Miguel Cotto Promotions fault nor did it have to do anything with coronavirus since we were scheduled to fight August 2020. I am glad to be part of Miguel Cotto Promotions and wished that I would have signed with them a long time ago.
IM: I am proud of what Miguel Cotto Promotions and what they have done with your career. Your final thoughts on Estrada versus Chocolatito rematch?
MW: It should be an excellent fight which I am going to pay close attention to. The best man will win. I give Chocolatito the advantage because of their previous fight even though Estrada won by knockout. Let’s not forget Estrada was in a war, he got knocked down and got hit a couple of times and even got cut by a legal punch. It was a big fight, it was a tough fight. I think Chocolatito might be better off in terms of damage, Estrada took a lot of punches. I am not saying that Chocolatito will win but he’s going into this rematch with his advantages. If I was Estrada I would have wait a few more months. I believe that tough fights can something out of a fighter.
IM: When exactly can we expect you back in the ring?
MA: I am hoping either May or June hopefully we will be back by then. I am already back in training, I was just running again. It’s time to grind, it’s time to work... I want everyone to know that when boxing fans mention myself and my brother Joe [McJoe Arroyo, 18-4] they know that we are willing to fight the best! Nobody can say that we are picking fights and that we don’t want to fight anyone. Here I am willing to fight anyone, I am willing to fight whenever. Once again, my job is to train and fight, I leave the rest to Miguel Cotto Promotions. If they say jump I will jump! I am in a better situation since I have the WBC interim flyweight title. I sure hope that better things come my way now.
IM: Let’s say you cannot get rematches versus Estrada or Chocolatito is there anyone else that your thinking of facing?
MA: Anyone! I want to fight the other champions in my division and even Martinez if he heals. I am hearing that Martinez will be ready in May yet I question it since he’s supposedly hurt but he’s [supposedly going to be] ready to fight in May? Miguel Cotto Promotions has a plan and I will see what they say next!
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Catching up with WBC interim flyweight champion McWilliams Arroyo
Ivan Montiel : I have been wanting to talk with you since last month when you became WBC interim flyweight champion by defeating Abraham Rodriguez. I know you were extremely busy in training camp and the results came out as you wanted. I knew it was a matter of time until you were going to get a title like you’ve been wanting.
McWilliams Arroyo: Thanks, it’s been a long journey but as I always say. I love boxing. It feels good when you work hard and see the results. It’s good to achieve what you want and that right there was one of my goals, I thank God each and every day.
IM: I should ask you about your promoter Miguel Cotto since I saw an interview with him and noticed that he said something to you immediately after your win over Rodriguez.
MA Cotto congratulated me and said better things are coming my way. It was a great moment for me since Cotto is a future hall of famer as well as my promoter. Cotto was a great Puerto Rican champion so for him to get up in that ring to celebrate my win, it was an honor. I have a lot of respect for Miguel Cotto.
IM: Talk to us about your experience when you got back to Puerto Rico!
MA: It was great! I celebrated in Farjado, where there was a celebration of Carabana. I traveled all around Farjado thanking everyone for their support. It was a great moment but it actually took place a few days after I arrived back home due to coronavirus restrictions. Due to the coronavirus, I did not think that there would be so many fans but there were lots of of them honking their horns in celebration. I it was a special moment.
IM: That reminds me of the times Felix “Tito” Trinidad returned back home after his wins!
MA: Nah, Tito is Tito if you know what I mean! I even went to celebrate Tito’s wins while growing up. That right there was amazing! I once heard Cotto say each boxer is different. Cotto did not want to be compared to other great Puerto Rican fighters. Every fighter is different.
IM: Yes, I do recall hearing Cotto say that (laughs) Talk to us about your original fight, a challenge vs. WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez getting cancelled?
MA: Well [when Martinez announced his injury] the WBC took action and honored me [by sanctioning an interim title fight for me]. I thank the WBC for that. I worked very hard for this fight, I did my part.
IM: I am happy for you. Scott Shaffer from Boxingtalk.com asked me what was going on as soon as he found out about your fight versus Martinez getting cancelled. We were wondering what happened, and I was worried.
MA: I thought the fight was not going to happen but I stayed focused, maintained my weight and everything turned out well.
IM: We know you're always working hard. We know that you’re always in the gym and ready but that night you proved it. It was a scary scene, you went into that ring as if someone stole your lunch!
MA: (laughs) You’re not the first one who saids that. The woman who called me for the walk-out to go out to the ring there actually said I should walk out there as fast as I can since it was a long walkway. I then thought to myself why is she saying this, although I was anxious to get inside that ring. I was so ready to fight that I got upset having to wait longer since I thought that the fight before me was going to end quickly. It is what it is, I was already warmed up! I then got a little cold but then thought alright, this woman wants me to go in that ring fast as possible so I will go fast!
IM: How did it feel to be fighting on a Canelo Alvarez undercard?
MA: It felt great, it felt nice! To fight under one of boxing’s best pound-for-pound best fighters, it’s a blessing. It was a great opportunity, I enjoyed that moment.
IM: Talk to us about having to switch opponents from Martinez to Rodriguez? Did you know anything about Abraham Rodriguez beforehand?
MA: No, I did not know anything about him. But as an amateur, I had to adjust to different styles. That amateur experience helped even since I became a professional fighter. I was not nervous, I adapted and took care of that moment. When my team first walked into my room I thought maybe we are going to talk about business. Once my team informed me that my fight versus Martinez was cancelled I thought this can’t be happening. I was shocked since you know that a fight versus Martinez getting cancelled is not the first time. As you know, we were supposed to fight in August 2020 and Martinez pulled out three weeks before. I understand that sometimes things happen but once I got this news again I thought to myself what the heck is happening? This is the second time Martinez has pulled out with me but in total he’s pulled out of fights three times- once when he was supposed to fight someone else.
IM: Exactly and that is why we here at Boxingtalk were wondering what was going on.
MA: I was out of the ring for 14 months just waiting to fight Martinez you know. As I said to you before, I do not let anything bother me. What is ring rust? I just stepped into that ring like I was not out of the ring for so long. I was ready as always and thank God that everything went well for us and that I was victorious.
IM: Your are 35 years of age but you sure did not look it.
MA: No, I do not look it! I showed what I can do and I feel great! I am in the best condition. That's not to say that I will be fighting for the next ten years but I want to take full advantage of this moment and hopefully fight another three years. I want to make money and have fun.
IM: I sometimes hear boxing fans question boxer’s legs as they age yet your legs did not give out at all.
MA: I worked very hard, training camp was tough, my conditioning coach did an amazing job with me. My trainer did an excellent job and we actually did more sparring than we are used to doing. The sparring I did was in preparation for Martinez... I got the best of my sparring sessions and it showed when I faced Rodriguez.
IM: We sure saw an amazing performance by you that night. Your thoughts on Francisco Estrada -Roman "Chocolotito" Gonzalez II? [This interview was conducted shortly before Estrada won that fight last Saturday].
MA: I sure hope that I can fight the winner. I already lost to Chocolatito but I learned a lot from that loss. I know it will be a good fight if I can get that rematch versus Chocolatito. I am also willing to fight Estrada, I will fight anyone at 112-115, I will fight anyone between that weight. My job as you know is to train, but who to fight, I let Miguel Cotto Promotions decide. The day I first signed with Miguel Cotto Promotions I was told to drop down to 112 although I wanted to continue fighting at 115 since I tend to eat more. They said we will make you champion at 112 and they sure kept their promise. That one year and two-month layoff was not Miguel Cotto Promotions fault nor did it have to do anything with coronavirus since we were scheduled to fight August 2020. I am glad to be part of Miguel Cotto Promotions and wished that I would have signed with them a long time ago.
IM: I am proud of what Miguel Cotto Promotions and what they have done with your career. Your final thoughts on Estrada versus Chocolatito rematch?
MW: It should be an excellent fight which I am going to pay close attention to. The best man will win. I give Chocolatito the advantage because of their previous fight even though Estrada won by knockout. Let’s not forget Estrada was in a war, he got knocked down and got hit a couple of times and even got cut by a legal punch. It was a big fight, it was a tough fight. I think Chocolatito might be better off in terms of damage, Estrada took a lot of punches. I am not saying that Chocolatito will win but he’s going into this rematch with his advantages. If I was Estrada I would have wait a few more months. I believe that tough fights can something out of a fighter.
IM: When exactly can we expect you back in the ring?
MA: I am hoping either May or June hopefully we will be back by then. I am already back in training, I was just running again. It’s time to grind, it’s time to work... I want everyone to know that when boxing fans mention myself and my brother Joe [McJoe Arroyo, 18-4] they know that we are willing to fight the best! Nobody can say that we are picking fights and that we don’t want to fight anyone. Here I am willing to fight anyone, I am willing to fight whenever. Once again, my job is to train and fight, I leave the rest to Miguel Cotto Promotions. If they say jump I will jump! I am in a better situation since I have the WBC interim flyweight title. I sure hope that better things come my way now.
IM: Let’s say you cannot get rematches versus Estrada or Chocolatito is there anyone else that your thinking of facing?
MA: Anyone! I want to fight the other champions in my division and even Martinez if he heals. I am hearing that Martinez will be ready in May yet I question it since he’s supposedly hurt but he’s [supposedly going to be] ready to fight in May? Miguel Cotto Promotions has a plan and I will see what they say next!
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Mladen Miljas to have his day in court against Greg Cohen |
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Undefeated Canadian heavyweight Mladen Miljas is suing his promoter Greg Cohen and Greg Cohen Promotions. On Wednesday, a preliminary injunction hearing was calendared for April 9th to decide whether Miljas can seek fights outside the promotional agreement he signed with Cohen's company. Specifically, on April 9th, Miljas will be seeking a ruling that would prohibit Cohen from: contacting third parties with the intent to persuade them to terminate or cancel existing business relationships or contracts with Miljas; dissuading anyone from entering into business relationships or contracts with Miljas; and making false or defamatory statements about Miljas including making claims that Miljas remains subject to the promotional agreement he signed with Cohen. The dispute is being litigated in federal court in the Southern District of Iowa, which has scheduled a hearing to decie the motion on April 9th in Des Moines. Miljas is also suing for an award of monetary damages, but that will not be decided on April 9th
Cohen's defense is that he has offered the required number of fights to Miljas, but Miljas turned them down. On February 16th, the court held a hearing on the same issue, but the judge ordered Cohen to provide supporting documentation for his claim that Miljas was unreasonably rejecting the fight opportunities that Cohen presented. Cohen submitted his evidence and Miljas responded, but the court stated that Cohen's submssion did not resolve whether Miljas unreasonably declined fights. The court wrote, "Specifically, the affidavits submitted by Miljas and Cohen cannot be reconciled absent a credibility determination by the Court. This will be a live hearing and any testimony the parties wish to offer should be presented in-person."
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Mladen Miljas to have his day in court against Greg Cohen
Undefeated Canadian heavyweight Mladen Miljas is suing his promoter Greg Cohen and Greg Cohen Promotions. On Wednesday, a preliminary injunction hearing was calendared for April 9th to decide whether Miljas can seek fights outside the promotional agreement he signed with Cohen's company. Specifically, on April 9th, Miljas will be seeking a ruling that would prohibit Cohen from: contacting third parties with the intent to persuade them to terminate or cancel existing business relationships or contracts with Miljas; dissuading anyone from entering into business relationships or contracts with Miljas; and making false or defamatory statements about Miljas including making claims that Miljas remains subject to the promotional agreement he signed with Cohen. The dispute is being litigated in federal court in the Southern District of Iowa, which has scheduled a hearing to decie the motion on April 9th in Des Moines. Miljas is also suing for an award of monetary damages, but that will not be decided on April 9th
Cohen's defense is that he has offered the required number of fights to Miljas, but Miljas turned them down. On February 16th, the court held a hearing on the same issue, but the judge ordered Cohen to provide supporting documentation for his claim that Miljas was unreasonably rejecting the fight opportunities that Cohen presented. Cohen submitted his evidence and Miljas responded, but the court stated that Cohen's submssion did not resolve whether Miljas unreasonably declined fights. The court wrote, "Specifically, the affidavits submitted by Miljas and Cohen cannot be reconciled absent a credibility determination by the Court. This will be a live hearing and any testimony the parties wish to offer should be presented in-person."
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Smith-Vlasov, Ajagba-Howard booked for April 10th |
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Joe Smith Jr. (pictured) and Maxim Vlasov are headed to the Sooner State to fight for the vacant WBO light heavyweight title on Saturday, April 10th at Osage Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They were originally scheduled to fight Feb. 13th, but Vlasov tested positive for the coronavirus prior to the weigh-in, forcing a postponement. In the ten-round co-feature, unbeaten heavyweight Efe Ajagba will take on Brian “MVP” Howard. Smith-Vlasov and Ajagba-Howard will be broadcast live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes (simulcast on ESPN+) at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ at 5:30p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT, including a trio of big-punching heavyweights: Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson and Tulsa natives Trey Lippe Morrison (16-0, 16 KOs) and Jeremiah Milton (2-0, 2 KOs). Ticket information wiill be announced shortly.
“Joe Smith Jr. deserves this opportunity, and I know Maxim Vlasov will give him a great challenge,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “The light heavyweight division is one of the hottest in boxing, and the winner will have no shortage of lucrative opportunities.”
Smith (26-3, 21 KOs), the “Common Man” from Long Island, New York, hopes his 2021 kicks off where 2020 concluded. Last August, he broke through inside the MGM Grand Las Vegas Bubble, knocking former WBO champion Eleider “Storm” Alvarez out and through the ropes. Smith has won three straight bouts since his first world title opportunity in March 2019, a unanimous decision loss to WBA champion Dmitry Bivol. He became a household name in boxing in 2016 when he knocked living legend Bernard Hopkins through the ropes and into retirement.
“I am extremely motivated after all I have been though in my career,” Smith said. “I am proud of all I have accomplished, and I am confident I will bring the belt home on April 10 and move forward with my goal of unifying belts and proving I am the best light heavyweight in the world.”
Smith is promoted byJoe DeGuardia of Star Boxing who said, “We all worked very hard to get Smith and Vlasov back in the ring as soon as possible, not just for the fans that love to watch the Common Man fight, but for Joe, who is very anxious to become world champion. The blue-collar banger will be ready to fight and thrill the fans. He is laser-focused and fully intends on bringing the WBO world title to Long Island on April 10th.”
Vlasov (45-3, 26 KOs), from Samara, Russia, is 3-0 at light heavyweight since moving down from cruiserweight, where he challenged for an interim title. He had a banner 2019 at light heavyweight, knocking out the 14-1 Omar Garcia, avenging a previous defeat with a unanimous decision over Isaac Chilemba, and shutting out the 15-0 Emmanuel Martey over ten rounds.
“I am ready to return to the ring and become the new WBO light heavyweight world champion,” Vlasov said. “The postponement was a minor setback, but it will be worth the wait when I have that belt around my waist.”
Ajagba (14-0, 11 KOs) was a 2016 Nigerian Olympian. At 26 years old, he’s already stopped Amir Mansour and Razvan Cojanu. He made his Top Rank debut last September and outlasted veteran Jonathan Rice via decision over ten rounds.
Howard (15-4, 12 KOs) is an eleven-year pro who has split a pair of bouts since moving up to heavyweight. In August 2019, he knocked out 2008 Puerto Rican Olympian Carlos Negron in the first round then was stopped by Frank Sanchez.
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Smith-Vlasov, Ajagba-Howard booked for April 10th
Joe Smith Jr. (pictured) and Maxim Vlasov are headed to the Sooner State to fight for the vacant WBO light heavyweight title on Saturday, April 10th at Osage Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They were originally scheduled to fight Feb. 13th, but Vlasov tested positive for the coronavirus prior to the weigh-in, forcing a postponement. In the ten-round co-feature, unbeaten heavyweight Efe Ajagba will take on Brian “MVP” Howard. Smith-Vlasov and Ajagba-Howard will be broadcast live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes (simulcast on ESPN+) at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ at 5:30p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT, including a trio of big-punching heavyweights: Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson and Tulsa natives Trey Lippe Morrison (16-0, 16 KOs) and Jeremiah Milton (2-0, 2 KOs). Ticket information wiill be announced shortly.
“Joe Smith Jr. deserves this opportunity, and I know Maxim Vlasov will give him a great challenge,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “The light heavyweight division is one of the hottest in boxing, and the winner will have no shortage of lucrative opportunities.”
Smith (26-3, 21 KOs), the “Common Man” from Long Island, New York, hopes his 2021 kicks off where 2020 concluded. Last August, he broke through inside the MGM Grand Las Vegas Bubble, knocking former WBO champion Eleider “Storm” Alvarez out and through the ropes. Smith has won three straight bouts since his first world title opportunity in March 2019, a unanimous decision loss to WBA champion Dmitry Bivol. He became a household name in boxing in 2016 when he knocked living legend Bernard Hopkins through the ropes and into retirement.
“I am extremely motivated after all I have been though in my career,” Smith said. “I am proud of all I have accomplished, and I am confident I will bring the belt home on April 10 and move forward with my goal of unifying belts and proving I am the best light heavyweight in the world.”
Smith is promoted byJoe DeGuardia of Star Boxing who said, “We all worked very hard to get Smith and Vlasov back in the ring as soon as possible, not just for the fans that love to watch the Common Man fight, but for Joe, who is very anxious to become world champion. The blue-collar banger will be ready to fight and thrill the fans. He is laser-focused and fully intends on bringing the WBO world title to Long Island on April 10th.”
Vlasov (45-3, 26 KOs), from Samara, Russia, is 3-0 at light heavyweight since moving down from cruiserweight, where he challenged for an interim title. He had a banner 2019 at light heavyweight, knocking out the 14-1 Omar Garcia, avenging a previous defeat with a unanimous decision over Isaac Chilemba, and shutting out the 15-0 Emmanuel Martey over ten rounds.
“I am ready to return to the ring and become the new WBO light heavyweight world champion,” Vlasov said. “The postponement was a minor setback, but it will be worth the wait when I have that belt around my waist.”
Ajagba (14-0, 11 KOs) was a 2016 Nigerian Olympian. At 26 years old, he’s already stopped Amir Mansour and Razvan Cojanu. He made his Top Rank debut last September and outlasted veteran Jonathan Rice via decision over ten rounds.
Howard (15-4, 12 KOs) is an eleven-year pro who has split a pair of bouts since moving up to heavyweight. In August 2019, he knocked out 2008 Puerto Rican Olympian Carlos Negron in the first round then was stopped by Frank Sanchez.
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Sirotkin to face Dignum on April 17th MTK Fight Night |
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Russian middleweight Andrey Sirotkin has accepted a dangerous road assignment vs. Danny Dignum on an MTK Fight Night set for Saturday April 17th at the University of Bolton Stadium in Bolton, England, to be broadcast live on IFL TV. Both Sirotkin and Dignum appear in Boxingtalk's middleweight rankings. Sirotkin (19-1, 7 KOs) holds wins over the likes of Ryan Ford and Ricardo Mayorga. Dignum (13-0, 7 KOs) last competed in March 2020 when he stopped Alfredo Meli.
Elsewhere on the card, Dan Azeez (12-0, 8 KOs) defends his English light heavyweight title against Ricky Summers (17-2-1, 6 KOs), while Joe Ham (16-2, 6 KOs) and Jack Bateson (12-0, 3 KOs) collide over eight rounds.
Olympic silver medallist John Joe Nevin (14-0, 4 KOs) is back for the first time since November 2019, squaring off with Shaun Cooper (10-2) in a six-round clash, and Lewie Edmondson (4-0, 1 KO) returns to action.
Paul Ryan’s professional debut against Kyle Hughes (2-2) will now take place on this card too, plus Paul McCullagh (1-0) meets Anthony Woolery (2-3), and Inder Bassi (2-1) goes up against MJ Hall.
MTK Global Promoter Lee Eaton said: “We’re ecstatic to announce this huge event for next month, and it’s an incredible main event between Danny Dignum and Andrey Sirotkin. There aren’t many fighters out there who would choose to face someone as tough as Sirotkin, but Danny is keen to prove to everybody just how talented he is and send out a big statement to the rest of the middleweight division. It’s a packed card, with Dan Azeez defending his English title against Ricky Summers, Joe Ham taking on Jack Bateson, plus the likes of John Joe Nevin, Lewie Edmondson, Paul Ryan, Paul McCullagh and Inder Bassi all in action, so we can’t wait.”
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Sirotkin to face Dignum on April 17th MTK Fight Night
Russian middleweight Andrey Sirotkin has accepted a dangerous road assignment vs. Danny Dignum on an MTK Fight Night set for Saturday April 17th at the University of Bolton Stadium in Bolton, England, to be broadcast live on IFL TV. Both Sirotkin and Dignum appear in Boxingtalk's middleweight rankings. Sirotkin (19-1, 7 KOs) holds wins over the likes of Ryan Ford and Ricardo Mayorga. Dignum (13-0, 7 KOs) last competed in March 2020 when he stopped Alfredo Meli.
Elsewhere on the card, Dan Azeez (12-0, 8 KOs) defends his English light heavyweight title against Ricky Summers (17-2-1, 6 KOs), while Joe Ham (16-2, 6 KOs) and Jack Bateson (12-0, 3 KOs) collide over eight rounds.
Olympic silver medallist John Joe Nevin (14-0, 4 KOs) is back for the first time since November 2019, squaring off with Shaun Cooper (10-2) in a six-round clash, and Lewie Edmondson (4-0, 1 KO) returns to action.
Paul Ryan’s professional debut against Kyle Hughes (2-2) will now take place on this card too, plus Paul McCullagh (1-0) meets Anthony Woolery (2-3), and Inder Bassi (2-1) goes up against MJ Hall.
MTK Global Promoter Lee Eaton said: “We’re ecstatic to announce this huge event for next month, and it’s an incredible main event between Danny Dignum and Andrey Sirotkin. There aren’t many fighters out there who would choose to face someone as tough as Sirotkin, but Danny is keen to prove to everybody just how talented he is and send out a big statement to the rest of the middleweight division. It’s a packed card, with Dan Azeez defending his English title against Ricky Summers, Joe Ham taking on Jack Bateson, plus the likes of John Joe Nevin, Lewie Edmondson, Paul Ryan, Paul McCullagh and Inder Bassi all in action, so we can’t wait.”
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Weigh-in report from Puerto Rico |
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Former WBA junior lightweight title holder Alberto Machado (22-2, 18 KOs) of Puerto Rico and Mexico's Angel Fierro (17-1-1, 13 KOs) both made the lightweight limit of 135 ahead of their ten-round bout today (March 18th) on NBC Sports Network (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT), live from Albergue Olimpico (Olympic Center) in Salinas, Puerto Rico. In the chief supportt, Jose ‘Chiquro’ Martinez, (21-1-2, 14 KOs), of Las Marias, Puerto Rico, clashes with three-time title challenger Israel ‘Jiga’ Gonzalez (26-4, 11 KOs) of Mexico, in a ten-round bantamweight bout. A six-round light heavyweight fight will round out the main card on NBC Sports Network featuring Irish Joe Ward, (2-1, 2 KOs) who will look to avenge his pro debut setback against Marco ‘El Muneco’ Delgado, (7-1, 5 KOs), of Turlock, Calif. Here are the weights and officials from Puerto Rico:
Lightweights – 10 Rounds
Alberto Machado – 135 pounds -vs.- Angel Fierro – 134.8
Referee: Jose Hiram Rivera; Judges: Robin Taylor, Donald Trella, Hernando Steidel
Bantamweights – 10 Rounds
Jose Martinez – 117.8 -vs.- Israel Gonzalez – 117
Referee: Melba Santos; Judges: Charlie Ruiz, Gerardo Martinez, Hernando Steidel
Light Heavyweights – 6 Rounds
Joe Ward – 173.8 -vs.- Marcos Delgado – 173.6
Referee: Jose Hiram Rivera; Judges: Jose Roberto Torres, Charlie Ruiz, Gerardo Martinez
Middlweights – 8 Rounds
Maricela Cornejo – 158.2 -vs.- Alma Ibarra – 156
Referee: Melba Santos; Judges: Charlie Ruiz, Gerardo Martinez, Hernando Steidel
Super Flyweights – 8 Rounds
Angel Acosta – 114 -vs.- Gilberto Mendoza – 113
Referee: Jose Hiram Rivera; Judges: Jose Roberto Torres, Gerardo Martinez, Charlie Ruiz
Welterweights – 8 Rounds
Jose Roman – 146.6 -vs.-Roque Junco – 146
Referee: Melba Santos; Judges: Hernando Steidel, Gerardo Martinez, Charlie Ruiz
Lightweights – 6 Rounds
Edwin Valentin – 135 -vs.- Hector Marengo – 135.2;
Referee: Billy Rosario; Judges: Jose Roberto Torres, Hernando Steidel, Charlie Ruiz.
Headlining the Twitch undercard broadcast, which begins at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT, three-time world title challenger Maricela ‘La Diva’ Cornejo, (13-4, 5 KOs), of Los Angeles, Calif. faces off against Alma Ibarra (7-1, 4 KOs) of Monterrey, Mexico. In an eight-round super flyweight battle, former world champion and knockout artist Angel ‘Tito’ Acosta, (21-2, 21 KOs), of San Juan, Puerto Rico, battles Gilberto Mendoza (17-9-3, 8 KOs) of Modesto, Calif. Also on the Twitch undercard is an eight-round welterweight fight between Jose “Cheito” Roman (10-0, 5 KOs) and Roque Junco (10-7-1, 6 KOs) and a six-round lightweight battle featuring top undefeated prospect Edwin ‘The Chin’ Valentin (9-0, 8 KOs) fighting in his hometown of Salinas when he faces veteran Hector Marengo (7-14-4, 4 KOs) of Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
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Weigh-in report from Puerto Rico
Former WBA junior lightweight title holder Alberto Machado (22-2, 18 KOs) of Puerto Rico and Mexico's Angel Fierro (17-1-1, 13 KOs) both made the lightweight limit of 135 ahead of their ten-round bout today (March 18th) on NBC Sports Network (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT), live from Albergue Olimpico (Olympic Center) in Salinas, Puerto Rico. In the chief supportt, Jose ‘Chiquro’ Martinez, (21-1-2, 14 KOs), of Las Marias, Puerto Rico, clashes with three-time title challenger Israel ‘Jiga’ Gonzalez (26-4, 11 KOs) of Mexico, in a ten-round bantamweight bout. A six-round light heavyweight fight will round out the main card on NBC Sports Network featuring Irish Joe Ward, (2-1, 2 KOs) who will look to avenge his pro debut setback against Marco ‘El Muneco’ Delgado, (7-1, 5 KOs), of Turlock, Calif. Here are the weights and officials from Puerto Rico:
Lightweights – 10 Rounds
Alberto Machado – 135 pounds -vs.- Angel Fierro – 134.8
Referee: Jose Hiram Rivera; Judges: Robin Taylor, Donald Trella, Hernando Steidel
Bantamweights – 10 Rounds
Jose Martinez – 117.8 -vs.- Israel Gonzalez – 117
Referee: Melba Santos; Judges: Charlie Ruiz, Gerardo Martinez, Hernando Steidel
Light Heavyweights – 6 Rounds
Joe Ward – 173.8 -vs.- Marcos Delgado – 173.6
Referee: Jose Hiram Rivera; Judges: Jose Roberto Torres, Charlie Ruiz, Gerardo Martinez
Middlweights – 8 Rounds
Maricela Cornejo – 158.2 -vs.- Alma Ibarra – 156
Referee: Melba Santos; Judges: Charlie Ruiz, Gerardo Martinez, Hernando Steidel
Super Flyweights – 8 Rounds
Angel Acosta – 114 -vs.- Gilberto Mendoza – 113
Referee: Jose Hiram Rivera; Judges: Jose Roberto Torres, Gerardo Martinez, Charlie Ruiz
Welterweights – 8 Rounds
Jose Roman – 146.6 -vs.-Roque Junco – 146
Referee: Melba Santos; Judges: Hernando Steidel, Gerardo Martinez, Charlie Ruiz
Lightweights – 6 Rounds
Edwin Valentin – 135 -vs.- Hector Marengo – 135.2;
Referee: Billy Rosario; Judges: Jose Roberto Torres, Hernando Steidel, Charlie Ruiz.
Headlining the Twitch undercard broadcast, which begins at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT, three-time world title challenger Maricela ‘La Diva’ Cornejo, (13-4, 5 KOs), of Los Angeles, Calif. faces off against Alma Ibarra (7-1, 4 KOs) of Monterrey, Mexico. In an eight-round super flyweight battle, former world champion and knockout artist Angel ‘Tito’ Acosta, (21-2, 21 KOs), of San Juan, Puerto Rico, battles Gilberto Mendoza (17-9-3, 8 KOs) of Modesto, Calif. Also on the Twitch undercard is an eight-round welterweight fight between Jose “Cheito” Roman (10-0, 5 KOs) and Roque Junco (10-7-1, 6 KOs) and a six-round lightweight battle featuring top undefeated prospect Edwin ‘The Chin’ Valentin (9-0, 8 KOs) fighting in his hometown of Salinas when he faces veteran Hector Marengo (7-14-4, 4 KOs) of Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
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What's next for McCaskill: Taylor or Shields? |
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Fresh off her second consecutive victory over future Hall of Famer, Cecilia Braekhus, undisputed world welterweight champion, Jessica McCaskill (pictured) is looking to fight the biggest names on the female circuit. McCaskill of Chicago, outpointed Braekhus by scores of 100-89, 99-90 and 98-91 to win her fifth consecutive and raise her record to 10-2. "I felt my aggression was really good, just keeping the pressure non-stop, and we are ready for what is next. She was running in, and crowded herself, and I figured if she was going to run in, I would have to get at least one or two shots off, and she kept doing it, so I kept doing it as well. I wanted to move and show some more angles, but she kept coming straight in, so she was right there," said McCaskill.
"A fight with Katie Taylor might be the next thing on the agenda. If that is what it is, that would be great. If that does not work out, then there are a couple of other names out there. As for Claressa Shields, McCaskill thinks a fight with her can happen, "That could be a possibility if Claressa could come down to 147 pounds. At first, she said that she would not give up any weight, and now she is saying she would, so we are just going to have to see if they are going to take this seriously."
Said McCaskill's promoter, Leon Margules of Warriors Boxing, "Jessica proved yet again that she is one of the top fighters in the world. She has now dominated the fighter that has been the long-time pound for top boxer. We would love to fight anyone, and a fight with Katie Taylor would most certainly have a different outcome then their first fight. Fights with Taylor or Claressa would be historic fights as it would match two of the reigning undisputed champions against each other."
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What's next for McCaskill: Taylor or Shields?
Fresh off her second consecutive victory over future Hall of Famer, Cecilia Braekhus, undisputed world welterweight champion, Jessica McCaskill (pictured) is looking to fight the biggest names on the female circuit. McCaskill of Chicago, outpointed Braekhus by scores of 100-89, 99-90 and 98-91 to win her fifth consecutive and raise her record to 10-2. "I felt my aggression was really good, just keeping the pressure non-stop, and we are ready for what is next. She was running in, and crowded herself, and I figured if she was going to run in, I would have to get at least one or two shots off, and she kept doing it, so I kept doing it as well. I wanted to move and show some more angles, but she kept coming straight in, so she was right there," said McCaskill.
"A fight with Katie Taylor might be the next thing on the agenda. If that is what it is, that would be great. If that does not work out, then there are a couple of other names out there. As for Claressa Shields, McCaskill thinks a fight with her can happen, "That could be a possibility if Claressa could come down to 147 pounds. At first, she said that she would not give up any weight, and now she is saying she would, so we are just going to have to see if they are going to take this seriously."
Said McCaskill's promoter, Leon Margules of Warriors Boxing, "Jessica proved yet again that she is one of the top fighters in the world. She has now dominated the fighter that has been the long-time pound for top boxer. We would love to fight anyone, and a fight with Katie Taylor would most certainly have a different outcome then their first fight. Fights with Taylor or Claressa would be historic fights as it would match two of the reigning undisputed champions against each other."
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Late results from Quebec: Bouchard and Volny win on undercard |
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Sebastien Bouchard W6 Mario Perez... In the co-feature from Quebec City on Tuesday, popular Canadian welterweight Sebastien Bouchard (19-2, 8 KOs) took a six-round unanimous decision from Mario Perez (20-8-5, 12 KOs). Bouchard bounced back from his only loss a professional, when Avez Hussian (13-1) stopped him in the fourth round in November 2019.
Patrice Volny KO5 Janko Trotter... In an All-Canadian super middleweight clash, undefeated middleweight Patrice Volny moved up for his 16th straight victory without a defeat. Volny registering his tenth knockout, the end coming in the fifth round of a rematch against former Canadian middleweight champion Janko Trotter. Volny won the first encounter three years ago by way of a first-round technical knockout. Promoter Yvon Michel commented, “This gala was made possible thanks to a colossal collective effort on the part of all stakeholders, starting with the entire GYM team, Santé Public Québec, the RACJ (Quebec commission), the management and employees of the Hotel Plaza Québec, our partners and associates and by all the participants who subjected themselves to difficult conditions, the required tests and who all fought with heart and determination! Thank you to everyone who attended the event on site or via television. This is a fresh start, and we will be back very soon."
MORE RESULTS
Also fighting on the undercard was heavyweight Alexis Barriere (1-0, 1 KO), whose pro-debut resulted in his second-round stoppage of Colin Sangster (2-1, 2 KOs)...
Heavyweight Francis Charbonneau (3-1, 2 KOs) won a six-round split decision over Alexandre Roberge (1-1).
As previously reported, Oscar “Kaboom” Rivas (27-1, 19 KOs) returned to the ring for the first time in 20 months at Quebec Plaza Hotel in Quebec City, Ontario, Canada. The eight-round bridgerweight bout was a rematch between Rivas (26-1, 18 KOs) and Sylvera “Sly” Louis (8-4, 4 KOs). Making his bridgeweight debut, the WBC #1 ranked Rivas outclassed his opponent until Louis failed to continue fighting after three rounds, headlining GYM’s first promotion in 16 months due to coronavirus pandemic restrictions. “I felt very strong physically and my reflexes were sharp,” Rivas said after the fight. “I feel like I’m going to show some great things in this new weight class (201-224 lbs.). My goal is to become world champion and I will wait for what comes.” Rivas, a 2008 Colombia Olympian, won the first fight with Louis by way of a four-round majority decision nearly nine years ago. source for all results: GYM Groupe Yvon Michel)
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Late results from Quebec: Bouchard and Volny win on undercard
Sebastien Bouchard W6 Mario Perez... In the co-feature from Quebec City on Tuesday, popular Canadian welterweight Sebastien Bouchard (19-2, 8 KOs) took a six-round unanimous decision from Mario Perez (20-8-5, 12 KOs). Bouchard bounced back from his only loss a professional, when Avez Hussian (13-1) stopped him in the fourth round in November 2019.
Patrice Volny KO5 Janko Trotter... In an All-Canadian super middleweight clash, undefeated middleweight Patrice Volny moved up for his 16th straight victory without a defeat. Volny registering his tenth knockout, the end coming in the fifth round of a rematch against former Canadian middleweight champion Janko Trotter. Volny won the first encounter three years ago by way of a first-round technical knockout. Promoter Yvon Michel commented, “This gala was made possible thanks to a colossal collective effort on the part of all stakeholders, starting with the entire GYM team, Santé Public Québec, the RACJ (Quebec commission), the management and employees of the Hotel Plaza Québec, our partners and associates and by all the participants who subjected themselves to difficult conditions, the required tests and who all fought with heart and determination! Thank you to everyone who attended the event on site or via television. This is a fresh start, and we will be back very soon."
MORE RESULTS
Also fighting on the undercard was heavyweight Alexis Barriere (1-0, 1 KO), whose pro-debut resulted in his second-round stoppage of Colin Sangster (2-1, 2 KOs)...
Heavyweight Francis Charbonneau (3-1, 2 KOs) won a six-round split decision over Alexandre Roberge (1-1).
As previously reported, Oscar “Kaboom” Rivas (27-1, 19 KOs) returned to the ring for the first time in 20 months at Quebec Plaza Hotel in Quebec City, Ontario, Canada. The eight-round bridgerweight bout was a rematch between Rivas (26-1, 18 KOs) and Sylvera “Sly” Louis (8-4, 4 KOs). Making his bridgeweight debut, the WBC #1 ranked Rivas outclassed his opponent until Louis failed to continue fighting after three rounds, headlining GYM’s first promotion in 16 months due to coronavirus pandemic restrictions. “I felt very strong physically and my reflexes were sharp,” Rivas said after the fight. “I feel like I’m going to show some great things in this new weight class (201-224 lbs.). My goal is to become world champion and I will wait for what comes.” Rivas, a 2008 Colombia Olympian, won the first fight with Louis by way of a four-round majority decision nearly nine years ago. source for all results: GYM Groupe Yvon Michel)
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McGregor: "I’m younger, fresher and hungrier than Guerfi" |
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Challenger Lee McGregor feels he wants it a lot more than champion Karim Guerfi ahead of their European bantamweight title showdown on Friday’s MTK Fight Night. British and Commonwealth champion McGregor (9-0, 7 KOs) will look to add another belt to his collection when he challenges Guerfi (29-4, 9 KOs) at the University of Bolton Stadium. The undefeated Edinburgh star is excited to finally have the chance to face Guerfi, and is confident that he will have far too much for the Frenchman. McGregor said: “There will be doubters, but I believe in myself and my team believes in me and that’s all that matters. I’m very confident I can pull this off. Guerfi may be a lot more experienced than me, but I’m younger, fresher and hungrier than him."
He continued, “My professional career has been fast-tracked. I fought for my first title in just my fourth professional fight which doesn’t happen very often with many fighters. I could now be British, Commonwealth and European champion after just 10 fights of my career, and that is something which I would be very proud of. I feel like I’ve really gelled with Ben Davison since we started working together. He’s been fixing me and helping to make me the finished article, so I’m excited to see how far we can go.”
Elsewhere on Friday’s massive event, Maxi Hughes meets Paul Hyland Jr. for the vacant British lightweight title and Padraig McCrory faces Germaine Brown in a clash of unbeaten super-middleweights,
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McGregor: "I’m younger, fresher and hungrier than Guerfi"
Challenger Lee McGregor feels he wants it a lot more than champion Karim Guerfi ahead of their European bantamweight title showdown on Friday’s MTK Fight Night. British and Commonwealth champion McGregor (9-0, 7 KOs) will look to add another belt to his collection when he challenges Guerfi (29-4, 9 KOs) at the University of Bolton Stadium. The undefeated Edinburgh star is excited to finally have the chance to face Guerfi, and is confident that he will have far too much for the Frenchman. McGregor said: “There will be doubters, but I believe in myself and my team believes in me and that’s all that matters. I’m very confident I can pull this off. Guerfi may be a lot more experienced than me, but I’m younger, fresher and hungrier than him."
He continued, “My professional career has been fast-tracked. I fought for my first title in just my fourth professional fight which doesn’t happen very often with many fighters. I could now be British, Commonwealth and European champion after just 10 fights of my career, and that is something which I would be very proud of. I feel like I’ve really gelled with Ben Davison since we started working together. He’s been fixing me and helping to make me the finished article, so I’m excited to see how far we can go.”
Elsewhere on Friday’s massive event, Maxi Hughes meets Paul Hyland Jr. for the vacant British lightweight title and Padraig McCrory faces Germaine Brown in a clash of unbeaten super-middleweights,
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Ellie Scotney ready for Friday's fight vs. Mailys Gangloff |
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British featherweight Ellie Scotney says fans can expect to see the best version of her when she steps through the ropes for the second time as a professional against France’s Mailys Gangloff (4-1) this Saturday at The SSE Arena, Wembley, live on Sky Sports in the UK and on DAZN in the U.S. and elsewhere. Scotney vs. Gangloff is on the undercard beneath cruiserweight Lawrence Okolie's attempt to become Britain’s next champion when he clashes with Krzysztof Glowacki for the vacant WBO crown. Scotney, a former amateur star, shined in her pro debut last October when she outpointed Bec Connolly over six rounds, dropping the tough 36 year-old in the third.
The Adam Booth-trained boxer, who celebrates her 23rd birthday today, is hoping to follow in the footsteps of her Matchroom stablemates Katie Taylor, Terri Harper, Chantelle Cameron and Savannah Marshall, amongst others, by winning World Titles of her own in the future, but must first impress against Gangloff. “I’m so excited to get back in the ring for my second professional fight and show what I’ve been working on in the gym,” said Scotney. “Bec Connolly was tough and game as you come, I felt I showed bits of what I can do but now it’s time to step-up once again. Mailys Gangloff was around on the amateur scene so she’s got that grade behind her. This is a great match and it’s another good fight for me. I know she’s certainly going to come to fight and with that you will see the best of me. Now you’re seeing that women can fight. They’re putting on good action and people are really getting invested in it. It’s been a great time in lockdown for women’s boxing. You’re starting to see the real depth that they’re getting coming through."
Scotney concluded, “Every fight I have got to tick another box and I believe I will do that in this fight. I am just starting to learn the style that suits me, this will be a great fight with Gangloff. It’s nice to hear that people are talking about me being a good prospect but talk is cheap! I’ve got to start delivering and it is very early days. I can’t run before I can walk, it’s one step at a time starting with March 20.”
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Ellie Scotney ready for Friday's fight vs. Mailys Gangloff
British featherweight Ellie Scotney says fans can expect to see the best version of her when she steps through the ropes for the second time as a professional against France’s Mailys Gangloff (4-1) this Saturday at The SSE Arena, Wembley, live on Sky Sports in the UK and on DAZN in the U.S. and elsewhere. Scotney vs. Gangloff is on the undercard beneath cruiserweight Lawrence Okolie's attempt to become Britain’s next champion when he clashes with Krzysztof Glowacki for the vacant WBO crown. Scotney, a former amateur star, shined in her pro debut last October when she outpointed Bec Connolly over six rounds, dropping the tough 36 year-old in the third.
The Adam Booth-trained boxer, who celebrates her 23rd birthday today, is hoping to follow in the footsteps of her Matchroom stablemates Katie Taylor, Terri Harper, Chantelle Cameron and Savannah Marshall, amongst others, by winning World Titles of her own in the future, but must first impress against Gangloff. “I’m so excited to get back in the ring for my second professional fight and show what I’ve been working on in the gym,” said Scotney. “Bec Connolly was tough and game as you come, I felt I showed bits of what I can do but now it’s time to step-up once again. Mailys Gangloff was around on the amateur scene so she’s got that grade behind her. This is a great match and it’s another good fight for me. I know she’s certainly going to come to fight and with that you will see the best of me. Now you’re seeing that women can fight. They’re putting on good action and people are really getting invested in it. It’s been a great time in lockdown for women’s boxing. You’re starting to see the real depth that they’re getting coming through."
Scotney concluded, “Every fight I have got to tick another box and I believe I will do that in this fight. I am just starting to learn the style that suits me, this will be a great fight with Gangloff. It’s nice to hear that people are talking about me being a good prospect but talk is cheap! I’ve got to start delivering and it is very early days. I can’t run before I can walk, it’s one step at a time starting with March 20.”
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Boots Ennis to face Sergey Lipinets on April 10th |
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Rising welterweight Jaron “Boots” Ennis (pictured) will face his most difficult test in pursuit of a world title shot as he headlines his first Showtime Championship Boxing against former junior welterweight title holder Sergey Lipinets. Thesy meet in a twelve-round, crossroads fight on Saturday, April 10th at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. in a Premier Boxing Champions event. In the co-feature, a pair of hard-hitting welterweights square off as Eimantas Stanionis takes another step up in class, this time against Thomas Dulorme in a twelve-round WBA eliminator. The telecast opener features a world title bout as IBF 115-pound champ Jerwin “Pretty Boy” Ancajas (32-1-2) defends his title against Mexico's Jonathan Rodríguez (22-1).
Ennis (26-0, 24 KOs) is the latest outstanding Philadelphia fighter. He combines boxing skills with natural power in both hands. After numerous appearances on ShoBox: The New Generation, the 23 year-old Ennis has graduated to headlining his first Showtime Championship Boxing telecast. Heading into his last bout against Chris van Heerden, Ennis was riding a streak of 16 consecutive knockouts. That streak ended when the fight was stopped after the first round due to an accidental clash of heads that opened a severe cut on the forehead of Van Heerden.
“I’m excited to be back April 10th,” said Ennis. “This is the type of fight I’ve been waiting for. I can’t wait to perform and put on a beautiful show. Y’all will see something special out of me come fight night. I’m excited to be the main event. It’s time for me to shine!”
The 31-year-old Lipinets (16-1-1, 12 KOs) established himself as a force at 140 pounds when he won the IBF world title with a victory over Akihiro Kondo in 2017. He lost the title to four-division champion Mikey Garcia in 2018 and then moved up to welterweight in 2019. He served notice that he would be a contender at welterweight when he scored a stoppage victory over ex-140-pound champion Lamont Peterson in 2019. Born in Kazakhstan and representing Russia, Lipinets now lives in Woodland Hills, California and is trained by Joe Goossen. Lipinets is coming off a hard-fought majority draw against undefeated Custio Clayton in October 2020.
“Training is grueling and I’m working hard with Joe Goossen to be at my best on fight night,” said Lipinets. “We have a tough, young fighter in Ennis who thinks I’m a stepping stone for him. But sometimes stepping stones trip you up, and I’ll be doing my best to trip him up on April 10. I’m just doing my best to get prepared for what I expect to be a dog fight. Every fan that knows boxing knows that this is going to be a real war and worth tuning in for. I expect we’ll be fighting in a phone booth at times, but I also expect him to try to use his reach and fight me at a distance at times. But no matter what he does, I’ll be ready for him.”
Stanionis (16-3 including the World Series of Boxing) has put together a string of victories. He enters the match against Dulorme with four consecutive knockout victories. The 26 year-old from Lithuania, who now lives and trains in California, picked up three solid victories in 2019, beating Samuel Figueroa via unanimous decision and scoring early stoppages against Julio Cesar Sanchez and Evincii Dixon. He then put the 147-pound division on notice with back-to-back dominating main event performances in November and December 2020, when he notched ninth-round knockouts over Justin DeLoach and Janer Gonzalez respectively.
“This is my first time fighting on Showtime and it feels like a dream come true,” said Stanionis. “Dulorme is experienced and has been a good fighter for a long time. On paper, this is my toughest fight, but I’m ready. I’ll be prepared for whatever he brings. With our styles, it’s going to be a war. I’m ready to fight right now. Somebody is going down and no matter what happens, the fans are going to win.”
The 31 year-old Dulorme (25-4-1, 16 KOs) has amassed a solid resume at 140 and 147 pounds during his career, climbing into the ring with champions Yordenis Ugas, Jessie Vargas and Terence Crawford. Born in Marigot, Guadeloupe but fighting out of and representing Carolina, Puerto Rico, Dulorme rebounded from a loss to Crawford for a 140-pound title by scoring back-to-back knockouts, followed by a decision loss to top welterweight Yordenis Ugas. He is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Jamal James in his last fight in August.
“I’m very excited for this fight on April 10th,” said Dulorme. “I came up short in my last fight for the title, but a win against Stanionis will put me right back into the position I want. He’s young and strong, but I have a lot more experience and I will show it in the ring and it will lead me to victory.”
Representing the Philippines, Ancajas (32-1-2, 22 KOs) was only 15 years old when he was spotted by boxing legend Manny Pacquiao. The young fighter blossomed under Pacquiao’s guidance, becoming the first champion under Pacquiao’s promotional banner when he outpointed McJoe Arroyo for the IBF 115-pound title in September 2016. The 29-year-old southpaw hasn’t lost since and will be making the ninth defense of his title when he faces Rodríguez. In his most recent outing in December, Ancajas stopped Miguel Gonzalez in six rounds.
“I am really looking forward to returning to the ring on April 10th for my first fight on Showtime,” said Ancajas. “Everybody knows the great rivalry between the Philippines and Mexico, and I look forward to adding another explosive fight to that history. Fight fans know where all the action fights are right now, and that’s the 115-pound division. I’m thankful for this opportunity and I plan to make the most of it.”
Mexico’s Rodríguez (22-1, 16 KOs) was given the nickname “Titan” because of his prodigious power. Since suffering a disputed split-decision loss to Jose Martin Estrada Garcia in March 2018, the 25-year-old has won six straight, including a first-round knockout victory over Julian Yedras last December. He will be making his U.S. debut against Ancajas.
“This is the opportunity of a lifetime for me,” said Rodríguez. “When I started boxing, it was my dream to fight for the world title and win it. On April 10, all of my dreams and hard work will come true when I hear ‘and the new IBF champion of the world.’”
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Boots Ennis to face Sergey Lipinets on April 10th
Rising welterweight Jaron “Boots” Ennis (pictured) will face his most difficult test in pursuit of a world title shot as he headlines his first Showtime Championship Boxing against former junior welterweight title holder Sergey Lipinets. Thesy meet in a twelve-round, crossroads fight on Saturday, April 10th at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. in a Premier Boxing Champions event. In the co-feature, a pair of hard-hitting welterweights square off as Eimantas Stanionis takes another step up in class, this time against Thomas Dulorme in a twelve-round WBA eliminator. The telecast opener features a world title bout as IBF 115-pound champ Jerwin “Pretty Boy” Ancajas (32-1-2) defends his title against Mexico's Jonathan Rodríguez (22-1).
Ennis (26-0, 24 KOs) is the latest outstanding Philadelphia fighter. He combines boxing skills with natural power in both hands. After numerous appearances on ShoBox: The New Generation, the 23 year-old Ennis has graduated to headlining his first Showtime Championship Boxing telecast. Heading into his last bout against Chris van Heerden, Ennis was riding a streak of 16 consecutive knockouts. That streak ended when the fight was stopped after the first round due to an accidental clash of heads that opened a severe cut on the forehead of Van Heerden.
“I’m excited to be back April 10th,” said Ennis. “This is the type of fight I’ve been waiting for. I can’t wait to perform and put on a beautiful show. Y’all will see something special out of me come fight night. I’m excited to be the main event. It’s time for me to shine!”
The 31-year-old Lipinets (16-1-1, 12 KOs) established himself as a force at 140 pounds when he won the IBF world title with a victory over Akihiro Kondo in 2017. He lost the title to four-division champion Mikey Garcia in 2018 and then moved up to welterweight in 2019. He served notice that he would be a contender at welterweight when he scored a stoppage victory over ex-140-pound champion Lamont Peterson in 2019. Born in Kazakhstan and representing Russia, Lipinets now lives in Woodland Hills, California and is trained by Joe Goossen. Lipinets is coming off a hard-fought majority draw against undefeated Custio Clayton in October 2020.
“Training is grueling and I’m working hard with Joe Goossen to be at my best on fight night,” said Lipinets. “We have a tough, young fighter in Ennis who thinks I’m a stepping stone for him. But sometimes stepping stones trip you up, and I’ll be doing my best to trip him up on April 10. I’m just doing my best to get prepared for what I expect to be a dog fight. Every fan that knows boxing knows that this is going to be a real war and worth tuning in for. I expect we’ll be fighting in a phone booth at times, but I also expect him to try to use his reach and fight me at a distance at times. But no matter what he does, I’ll be ready for him.”
Stanionis (16-3 including the World Series of Boxing) has put together a string of victories. He enters the match against Dulorme with four consecutive knockout victories. The 26 year-old from Lithuania, who now lives and trains in California, picked up three solid victories in 2019, beating Samuel Figueroa via unanimous decision and scoring early stoppages against Julio Cesar Sanchez and Evincii Dixon. He then put the 147-pound division on notice with back-to-back dominating main event performances in November and December 2020, when he notched ninth-round knockouts over Justin DeLoach and Janer Gonzalez respectively.
“This is my first time fighting on Showtime and it feels like a dream come true,” said Stanionis. “Dulorme is experienced and has been a good fighter for a long time. On paper, this is my toughest fight, but I’m ready. I’ll be prepared for whatever he brings. With our styles, it’s going to be a war. I’m ready to fight right now. Somebody is going down and no matter what happens, the fans are going to win.”
The 31 year-old Dulorme (25-4-1, 16 KOs) has amassed a solid resume at 140 and 147 pounds during his career, climbing into the ring with champions Yordenis Ugas, Jessie Vargas and Terence Crawford. Born in Marigot, Guadeloupe but fighting out of and representing Carolina, Puerto Rico, Dulorme rebounded from a loss to Crawford for a 140-pound title by scoring back-to-back knockouts, followed by a decision loss to top welterweight Yordenis Ugas. He is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Jamal James in his last fight in August.
“I’m very excited for this fight on April 10th,” said Dulorme. “I came up short in my last fight for the title, but a win against Stanionis will put me right back into the position I want. He’s young and strong, but I have a lot more experience and I will show it in the ring and it will lead me to victory.”
Representing the Philippines, Ancajas (32-1-2, 22 KOs) was only 15 years old when he was spotted by boxing legend Manny Pacquiao. The young fighter blossomed under Pacquiao’s guidance, becoming the first champion under Pacquiao’s promotional banner when he outpointed McJoe Arroyo for the IBF 115-pound title in September 2016. The 29-year-old southpaw hasn’t lost since and will be making the ninth defense of his title when he faces Rodríguez. In his most recent outing in December, Ancajas stopped Miguel Gonzalez in six rounds.
“I am really looking forward to returning to the ring on April 10th for my first fight on Showtime,” said Ancajas. “Everybody knows the great rivalry between the Philippines and Mexico, and I look forward to adding another explosive fight to that history. Fight fans know where all the action fights are right now, and that’s the 115-pound division. I’m thankful for this opportunity and I plan to make the most of it.”
Mexico’s Rodríguez (22-1, 16 KOs) was given the nickname “Titan” because of his prodigious power. Since suffering a disputed split-decision loss to Jose Martin Estrada Garcia in March 2018, the 25-year-old has won six straight, including a first-round knockout victory over Julian Yedras last December. He will be making his U.S. debut against Ancajas.
“This is the opportunity of a lifetime for me,” said Rodríguez. “When I started boxing, it was my dream to fight for the world title and win it. On April 10, all of my dreams and hard work will come true when I hear ‘and the new IBF champion of the world.’”
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Twitter chatter: update on Usyk-Joyce negotiations |
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Oleksandr Usyk (pictured) on negotiations with Joe Joyce for a heavyweight fight that would presumably be for the WBO interim title: "Joyce’s team made us an offer. The offer was unsuitable, so we made a more viable counter-offer. Joyce shouldn’t think too much of himself and fall in line with everyone else. I’ll be the one making the final decision."
Response from Joyce's promoter Frank Warren: "Hi Alex, we haven’t received any counter offer from you or your team. We made an offer to your manager again last week. Joe wants this fight. We want this fight. It sounds like you want this fight. Let’s get this made for the fans."
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Twitter chatter: update on Usyk-Joyce negotiations
Oleksandr Usyk (pictured) on negotiations with Joe Joyce for a heavyweight fight that would presumably be for the WBO interim title: "Joyce’s team made us an offer. The offer was unsuitable, so we made a more viable counter-offer. Joyce shouldn’t think too much of himself and fall in line with everyone else. I’ll be the one making the final decision."
Response from Joyce's promoter Frank Warren: "Hi Alex, we haven’t received any counter offer from you or your team. We made an offer to your manager again last week. Joe wants this fight. We want this fight. It sounds like you want this fight. Let’s get this made for the fans."
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Rivas wins tune-up; bridgerweight title fight next? |
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Oscar Rivas TKO3 Sylvera Louis... Colombian-born Oscar Rivas ended his long period of inactivity and is hoping to become the first WBC bridgerweight (224-pound) champion. Now living in Montreal, Rivas had no difficulty winning his rematch vs. Sylvera Louis on Tuesday in Quebec City. Fighting for the first time since 2019, Rivas (27-1, 19 KOs) won by stoppage following Louis's retirement (8-6) after the third round. Returning after an absence of four and a half years, Louis was knocked down in round two and could not deal with the fast pace set by Rivas, who had already beaten him once several years ago. Rivas is poised to fight either Kevin Lerena of South Africa or Bryant Jennings of the United States, and his promoter Yvon Michel mentioned that an announcement will be made soon, possibly at the beginning of April. Jennings, who Rivas already defeated in January 2019, is said to be reluctant to sign the contract to face the Colombian, which is why Lerena's name has surfaced in the past few hours. Jennings has lost two straight and has not won a fight since 2018. casource: rds
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Rivas wins tune-up; bridgerweight title fight next?
Oscar Rivas TKO3 Sylvera Louis... Colombian-born Oscar Rivas ended his long period of inactivity and is hoping to become the first WBC bridgerweight (224-pound) champion. Now living in Montreal, Rivas had no difficulty winning his rematch vs. Sylvera Louis on Tuesday in Quebec City. Fighting for the first time since 2019, Rivas (27-1, 19 KOs) won by stoppage following Louis's retirement (8-6) after the third round. Returning after an absence of four and a half years, Louis was knocked down in round two and could not deal with the fast pace set by Rivas, who had already beaten him once several years ago. Rivas is poised to fight either Kevin Lerena of South Africa or Bryant Jennings of the United States, and his promoter Yvon Michel mentioned that an announcement will be made soon, possibly at the beginning of April. Jennings, who Rivas already defeated in January 2019, is said to be reluctant to sign the contract to face the Colombian, which is why Lerena's name has surfaced in the past few hours. Jennings has lost two straight and has not won a fight since 2018. casource: rds
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Erik Morales talks about Angel Fierro and a potential comeback |
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Four-division champion and legendary Mexican boxer Erik Morales (pictured), who is the trainer of Tijuana’s Angel Fierro, previewed his fighter’s match-up against Puerto Rico’s Alberto Machado ahead of Thursday night’s Ring City USA main event. On Tuesday afternoon, Morales told reporters that Fierro will be looking for a knockout when he climbs inside the ropes to write the next chapter of the iconic Puerto Rico vs. Mexico ring rivalry, live from Albergue Olimpico (Olympic Center) in Salinas, P.R., and live on NBC Sports Network (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT). Morales was unable to make the trip to Puerto Rico to be in his fighter’s corner, but he spoke with the media on Tuesday just days before the biggest fight of Fierro’s professional career. Below are highlights from his conversation with the media:
ERIK MORALES
His assessment of Fierro: “Fierro is always working, always training. He was training to fight a guy very similar to Alberto Machado. Fierro is a fighter worth watching. He’s clean, young and strong. He’s going to give the fans a great fight on Thursday. He is a fighter who fights very well at a distance. He also throws very hard and when he’s throwing punches in bunches, you will see why we took this fight.”
On not being in Angel’s corner on Thursday: “We have been working together for 3 or 4 fights. Sometimes we rotate fighters in our gym because we can’t train them all. It’s been about a year. Fernando Fernandez has been training with me and other fighters with me since 1998 so he is in good hands.”
On Angel’s development: “He has learned a lot with us. When we got him, he used to jump a lot. But now he is better in his offense. He is a great fighter who is very tough. He is very strong.”
On Angel seizing this opportunity: “There are opportunities that don’t come very often. We lost a fight last time that we weren’t supposed to. But in this fight, he has an opportunity that he has to take advantage of, and he will. You’ll see him make the most of it on Thursday.”
On fighting in Puerto Rico: “We know we are in Puerto Rico so it’s complicated. It’s going to be a tough fight. That’s the tradition because it’s Mexico vs. Puerto Rico. But he is going to come here and beat Machado in his hometown. We trust that the judges will do their job but there’s no doubt about it, we are going for the knockout.”
On Angel’s Mexican style: “We will work based on our ability. Remember that we are Mexican, and we have a different way of boxing. Mexicans fight with more heart and more perseverance.”
On Francisco Estrada's win over Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez this weekend: “It was an interesting fight. Both fighters were active. The 117-111 card was off but the other two were good. It’s been a while since we’ve seen such a great, phenomenal fight.”
On a possible fight between Manny Pacquiao and Mikey Garcia: “Mikey Garcia is a great fighter. Manny Pacquiao is very, very strong though. Pacquiao shows that there are levels to this game. I think that experience will win out and Pacquiao wins.”
On whether he will fight again: “Yes, it’s very possible that you will see me. Maybe Morales vs. Barrera 4.”
The full Ring City card, which features six matchups and fighters at different levels in their professional careers, will stream live around the world on Twitch at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.
In the co-feature, Jose ‘Chiquro’ Martinez, (21-1-2, 14 KOs), of Las Marias, Puerto Rico, clashes with Israel ‘Jiga’ Gonzalez (26-4, 11 KOs) of Los Cabos, Mexico, in a ten-round bantamweight bout. A six-round light heavyweight fight will round out the main card on NBC Sports Network featuring Irish’ Joe Ward, (2-1, 2 KOs), of Moate, Ireland, who will look to avenge his pro debut setback against Marco ‘El Muneco’ Delgado, (7-1, 5 KOs), of Turlock, Calif.
Headlining the Twitch undercard broadcast, which begins at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT, Maricela ‘La Diva’ Cornejo, (13-4, 5 KOs), of Los Angeles, Calif. faces off against Alma Ibarra (7-1, 4 KOs) of Monterrey, Mexico. In an eight-round flyweight battle, former WBO 108-pound champion Angel ‘Tito’ Acosta, (21-2, 21 KOs), of San Juan, Puerto Rico, battles Gilberto Mendoza (17-9-3, 8 KOs) of Modesto, Calif. Also on the Twitch undercard is a six-round junior lightweight battle featuring Edwin ‘The Chin’ Valentin (9-0, 8 KOs) fighting in his hometown of Salinas when he faces veteran Hector Marengo (7-14-4, 4 KOs) of Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
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Erik Morales talks about Angel Fierro and a potential comeback
Four-division champion and legendary Mexican boxer Erik Morales (pictured), who is the trainer of Tijuana’s Angel Fierro, previewed his fighter’s match-up against Puerto Rico’s Alberto Machado ahead of Thursday night’s Ring City USA main event. On Tuesday afternoon, Morales told reporters that Fierro will be looking for a knockout when he climbs inside the ropes to write the next chapter of the iconic Puerto Rico vs. Mexico ring rivalry, live from Albergue Olimpico (Olympic Center) in Salinas, P.R., and live on NBC Sports Network (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT). Morales was unable to make the trip to Puerto Rico to be in his fighter’s corner, but he spoke with the media on Tuesday just days before the biggest fight of Fierro’s professional career. Below are highlights from his conversation with the media:
ERIK MORALES
His assessment of Fierro: “Fierro is always working, always training. He was training to fight a guy very similar to Alberto Machado. Fierro is a fighter worth watching. He’s clean, young and strong. He’s going to give the fans a great fight on Thursday. He is a fighter who fights very well at a distance. He also throws very hard and when he’s throwing punches in bunches, you will see why we took this fight.”
On not being in Angel’s corner on Thursday: “We have been working together for 3 or 4 fights. Sometimes we rotate fighters in our gym because we can’t train them all. It’s been about a year. Fernando Fernandez has been training with me and other fighters with me since 1998 so he is in good hands.”
On Angel’s development: “He has learned a lot with us. When we got him, he used to jump a lot. But now he is better in his offense. He is a great fighter who is very tough. He is very strong.”
On Angel seizing this opportunity: “There are opportunities that don’t come very often. We lost a fight last time that we weren’t supposed to. But in this fight, he has an opportunity that he has to take advantage of, and he will. You’ll see him make the most of it on Thursday.”
On fighting in Puerto Rico: “We know we are in Puerto Rico so it’s complicated. It’s going to be a tough fight. That’s the tradition because it’s Mexico vs. Puerto Rico. But he is going to come here and beat Machado in his hometown. We trust that the judges will do their job but there’s no doubt about it, we are going for the knockout.”
On Angel’s Mexican style: “We will work based on our ability. Remember that we are Mexican, and we have a different way of boxing. Mexicans fight with more heart and more perseverance.”
On Francisco Estrada's win over Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez this weekend: “It was an interesting fight. Both fighters were active. The 117-111 card was off but the other two were good. It’s been a while since we’ve seen such a great, phenomenal fight.”
On a possible fight between Manny Pacquiao and Mikey Garcia: “Mikey Garcia is a great fighter. Manny Pacquiao is very, very strong though. Pacquiao shows that there are levels to this game. I think that experience will win out and Pacquiao wins.”
On whether he will fight again: “Yes, it’s very possible that you will see me. Maybe Morales vs. Barrera 4.”
The full Ring City card, which features six matchups and fighters at different levels in their professional careers, will stream live around the world on Twitch at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.
In the co-feature, Jose ‘Chiquro’ Martinez, (21-1-2, 14 KOs), of Las Marias, Puerto Rico, clashes with Israel ‘Jiga’ Gonzalez (26-4, 11 KOs) of Los Cabos, Mexico, in a ten-round bantamweight bout. A six-round light heavyweight fight will round out the main card on NBC Sports Network featuring Irish’ Joe Ward, (2-1, 2 KOs), of Moate, Ireland, who will look to avenge his pro debut setback against Marco ‘El Muneco’ Delgado, (7-1, 5 KOs), of Turlock, Calif.
Headlining the Twitch undercard broadcast, which begins at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT, Maricela ‘La Diva’ Cornejo, (13-4, 5 KOs), of Los Angeles, Calif. faces off against Alma Ibarra (7-1, 4 KOs) of Monterrey, Mexico. In an eight-round flyweight battle, former WBO 108-pound champion Angel ‘Tito’ Acosta, (21-2, 21 KOs), of San Juan, Puerto Rico, battles Gilberto Mendoza (17-9-3, 8 KOs) of Modesto, Calif. Also on the Twitch undercard is a six-round junior lightweight battle featuring Edwin ‘The Chin’ Valentin (9-0, 8 KOs) fighting in his hometown of Salinas when he faces veteran Hector Marengo (7-14-4, 4 KOs) of Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
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Estrada apologizes for Nicaraguan flag gesture gone wrong |
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WBC/WBA 115-pound champion Juan Francisco “Gallo” Estrada apologized for wearing the flag of Nicaragua upside down, prior to his fight last Saturday against Román “Chocolatito” González. The gesture was meant to honor Gonzalez, a Nicaraguan hero, and his countrymen. “It was a 100% involuntary mistake. I respect the Nicaraguan people and I am very grateful for the expressions of support and affection that they have given me throughout my career, and how wonderful that they treated me when I went to this country as a guest in 2019,” stated Estrada. "I in no way intended to offend the Nicaraguan people or show a lack of respect for its flag. To the contrary, it was in homage and gratitude to this nation. Unfortunately, neither my team, nor I, realized that their national flag was in a bad position, neither when taking the photograph nor when publishing it. Heartfelt apologies," he reiterated.
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Estrada apologizes for Nicaraguan flag gesture gone wrong
WBC/WBA 115-pound champion Juan Francisco “Gallo” Estrada apologized for wearing the flag of Nicaragua upside down, prior to his fight last Saturday against Román “Chocolatito” González. The gesture was meant to honor Gonzalez, a Nicaraguan hero, and his countrymen. “It was a 100% involuntary mistake. I respect the Nicaraguan people and I am very grateful for the expressions of support and affection that they have given me throughout my career, and how wonderful that they treated me when I went to this country as a guest in 2019,” stated Estrada. "I in no way intended to offend the Nicaraguan people or show a lack of respect for its flag. To the contrary, it was in homage and gratitude to this nation. Unfortunately, neither my team, nor I, realized that their national flag was in a bad position, neither when taking the photograph nor when publishing it. Heartfelt apologies," he reiterated.
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Matchroom announces next Italian card |
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Matchroom and OPI Since 82 return to the Allianz Cloud in Milan on Friday April 16th with a show featuring cruiserweight Fabio Turchi vs. Dylan Bregeon and lightweight Francesco Patera vs. Devis Boschiero, live on DAZN. Florence’s Turchi (18-1, 13 KOs) bounced back from his first career loss to Tommy McCarthy by defeating Nikolajs Grisunins last October, and now the "Stone Crusher" faces France's Bregeon (11-0-1, 3 KOs).
In the twoother featured bouts, former European champion Patera (23-3, 8 KOs) looks to extend his five-fight winning streak against Italy’s Boschiero (48-6-2, 22 KOs) and there will be a battle of unbeaten super middleweights vying for the Italian title, namely Ivan Zucco (12-0, 10 KOs) and Luca Capuano (11-0, 2 KOs).
Matchroom Sport Managing Director Eddie Hearn said: “On a huge week for the cruiserweight division that sees Lawrence Okolie take on Krzysztof Glowacki for the WBO title, I’m delighted to announce Fabio Turchi’s return to the ring as he looks to climb the rankings towards a title shot of his own. We know just how good Francesco Patera is from his win over Lewis Ritson in Newcastle, and I’m confident his clash with Boschiero won’t disappoint. We look forward to another great night in Milan, with all of the action shown around the world on DAZN.”
Christian Cherchi of OPI Since 82 said: “Another important test is waiting Fabio Turchi in his challenge against Dylan Bregeon. Franceso Patera will finally meet Devis Boschiero andd there’s an interesting Italian title battle between undefeated Ivan Zucco and Luca Capuano. A stacked undercard features Samuel Nmomah, Mauro Forte, Armando Casamonica and Mohammed Obbadi. Don’t miss it, live and on demand on DAZN!”
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Matchroom announces next Italian card
Matchroom and OPI Since 82 return to the Allianz Cloud in Milan on Friday April 16th with a show featuring cruiserweight Fabio Turchi vs. Dylan Bregeon and lightweight Francesco Patera vs. Devis Boschiero, live on DAZN. Florence’s Turchi (18-1, 13 KOs) bounced back from his first career loss to Tommy McCarthy by defeating Nikolajs Grisunins last October, and now the "Stone Crusher" faces France's Bregeon (11-0-1, 3 KOs).
In the twoother featured bouts, former European champion Patera (23-3, 8 KOs) looks to extend his five-fight winning streak against Italy’s Boschiero (48-6-2, 22 KOs) and there will be a battle of unbeaten super middleweights vying for the Italian title, namely Ivan Zucco (12-0, 10 KOs) and Luca Capuano (11-0, 2 KOs).
Matchroom Sport Managing Director Eddie Hearn said: “On a huge week for the cruiserweight division that sees Lawrence Okolie take on Krzysztof Glowacki for the WBO title, I’m delighted to announce Fabio Turchi’s return to the ring as he looks to climb the rankings towards a title shot of his own. We know just how good Francesco Patera is from his win over Lewis Ritson in Newcastle, and I’m confident his clash with Boschiero won’t disappoint. We look forward to another great night in Milan, with all of the action shown around the world on DAZN.”
Christian Cherchi of OPI Since 82 said: “Another important test is waiting Fabio Turchi in his challenge against Dylan Bregeon. Franceso Patera will finally meet Devis Boschiero andd there’s an interesting Italian title battle between undefeated Ivan Zucco and Luca Capuano. A stacked undercard features Samuel Nmomah, Mauro Forte, Armando Casamonica and Mohammed Obbadi. Don’t miss it, live and on demand on DAZN!”
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Philadelphia heavyweight Joey Dawejko sets return for April 3rd |
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Philadelphia heavyweight Joey Dawejko (20-8-4 with 11 KOs) will take on Brandon Spencer (9-18-3 with 6 KOs) in the headline bout on Saturday, April 3rd at 2300 Arena in the City of Brotherly Love. The card is promoted by RDR Promotions. Dawejko is looking to get back in the win column after a loss to undefeated Frank Sanchez in March 2020. Now 30 years old, Dawejko is a former Junior World Amateur champion, and a 12-year pro with wins over Derric Rossy (28-7), Natu Visinia (11-1), Demetrius Banks (9-1) and Kelvin Nunez (15-0). Spencer, from Augusta, Georgia, is an 11-year veteran has two wins over Dylan Courson.
On the same show, Nahir Albright (10-1, 4 KOs) of Sicklerville, NJ battles Dante Cox (6-1, 4 KOs) of Elkridge, MD in a lightweight bout...
Benny Sinakin (6-0, 3 KOs) of Philadelphia battles Afumwa King (2-1, 1 KO) of the Bronx, NY in a light heavyweight affair...
Michael Moore (18-3, 8 KOs) of Cleveland, Ohio will see action in a super middleweight contest against Alvaro Enriquez (14-25-2, 5 KOs) of Mexico...
Mike Hilton (10-0, 7 KOs) of Trenton, NJ battles Twon Smith (3-4, 2 KOs) of Oklahoma City in cruiserweight fight...
Matthew Gonzalez (11-0, 7 KOs) of Ridgewood, New York will take Luis Eduardo Florez (25-18, 21 KOs) of Colombia in a welterweight fight and ...
In a four-round bout, Jahdon Ervin of St. Clair, PA will make his pro debut against Kareem Gladney (0-3) in a middleweight bout.
Still looking for opponents are new RDR Promotions signee Mark Dawson (7-0-1, 3 KOs), Rasheen Brown (6-0, 3 KOs) and Tahmir Smalls (2-0, 2 KOs).
Tickets can be purchased from the fighters or by emailing rricerivew@yahoo.com
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Philadelphia heavyweight Joey Dawejko sets return for April 3rd
Philadelphia heavyweight Joey Dawejko (20-8-4 with 11 KOs) will take on Brandon Spencer (9-18-3 with 6 KOs) in the headline bout on Saturday, April 3rd at 2300 Arena in the City of Brotherly Love. The card is promoted by RDR Promotions. Dawejko is looking to get back in the win column after a loss to undefeated Frank Sanchez in March 2020. Now 30 years old, Dawejko is a former Junior World Amateur champion, and a 12-year pro with wins over Derric Rossy (28-7), Natu Visinia (11-1), Demetrius Banks (9-1) and Kelvin Nunez (15-0). Spencer, from Augusta, Georgia, is an 11-year veteran has two wins over Dylan Courson.
On the same show, Nahir Albright (10-1, 4 KOs) of Sicklerville, NJ battles Dante Cox (6-1, 4 KOs) of Elkridge, MD in a lightweight bout...
Benny Sinakin (6-0, 3 KOs) of Philadelphia battles Afumwa King (2-1, 1 KO) of the Bronx, NY in a light heavyweight affair...
Michael Moore (18-3, 8 KOs) of Cleveland, Ohio will see action in a super middleweight contest against Alvaro Enriquez (14-25-2, 5 KOs) of Mexico...
Mike Hilton (10-0, 7 KOs) of Trenton, NJ battles Twon Smith (3-4, 2 KOs) of Oklahoma City in cruiserweight fight...
Matthew Gonzalez (11-0, 7 KOs) of Ridgewood, New York will take Luis Eduardo Florez (25-18, 21 KOs) of Colombia in a welterweight fight and ...
In a four-round bout, Jahdon Ervin of St. Clair, PA will make his pro debut against Kareem Gladney (0-3) in a middleweight bout.
Still looking for opponents are new RDR Promotions signee Mark Dawson (7-0-1, 3 KOs), Rasheen Brown (6-0, 3 KOs) and Tahmir Smalls (2-0, 2 KOs).
Tickets can be purchased from the fighters or by emailing rricerivew@yahoo.com
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Joe Ward looks to avenge loss to Marco Delgado |
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Ireland's “Mighty” Joe Ward will return to the ring this Thursday, March 18th, on Ring City USA’s NBC Sports Network card, beginning at 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT, in Salinas, Puerto Rico. The entire event will also be streamed live internationally on Twitch. The 27 year-old Ward (2-1, 2 KOs), a native of Westmeath will seek revenge in a six-round light heavyweight rematch against Marco Delgado (7-1, 5 KOs), of Turlock, CA. Ward first faced Delgado in his pro debut at New York’s Madison Square Garden in October 2019. In the second round of their fight, Ward suffered a serious knee injury, which required surgery. Since his ring return in 2020, Ward, now trained by former champion Joey Gamache and Jimmy Payne, has picked up two victories. Delgado is coming off of a big win against the previously unbeaten 6-0 Burley Brooks, on December 5, 2020, in Texas.
“I'm really looking forward to this fight. It's a massive opportunity for me to put things right on national television,” said Ward. “I've been working hard and staying focused, despite everything that's been going on, so I feel ready to go out and perform. I want to thank my entire team, from my trainers, Jimmy Payne and Joey Gamache, to my promoter, Lou DiBella, and my managers, Adam Glenn and Joe Winters, for getting me this opportunity. This is bittersweet because my manager and friend, Joe Winters, passed away two months ago due to Covid-19. He was a great man who meant a great deal to me. I know how happy and proud he would have been to see me back in the ring, but losing him has just given me more drive and more purpose. He always said that I would be a world champion and I want to prove him right, for myself and for him.”
“On Thursday night, Ireland’s Joe Ward has a chance at redemption, facing the man who shared the ring with him on the night his knee dislocated and he lost his pro debut. Marco Delgado just defeated an unbeaten prospect and is now 7-1. This is a very significant fight and career-defining moment for both Joe and Marco,” said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. “With the passing of Jimmy Glenn and his friend and co-manager Joe Winters from the coronavirus, while recovering from knee surgery, Joe has had to endure a lot, but he has shown the strength of character to move forward and work toward achieving his dream.”
“We're incredibly excited about this opportunity,” said Adam Glenn, CEO of Times Square Boxing. “This has been a really tough year for Joe and the whole team, from the unfortunate knee injury, to the delays and difficulties due to Covid-19, to the devastating loss of Joe Winters, my business partner and co-manager of Joe, to Covid-19. Through it all, Joe Ward has been working hard and we're incredibly proud of his perseverance and drive. A rematch with Delgado is an opportunity to set things right and remind everyone of why Joe is one of the most exciting prospects to ever come out of Ireland.”
A member of Ireland's 2016 Olympic team, Ward is joined by undisputed world champion Katie Taylor as the only Irish boxers to win more than one European Elite gold medal. His acclaimed amateur career includes three gold medals at the European Amateur Championships (2017, 2015, 2011), a gold medal at the World Youth Championships (2010), and a gold medal at the World Junior Championships (2009).
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Joe Ward looks to avenge loss to Marco Delgado
Ireland's “Mighty” Joe Ward will return to the ring this Thursday, March 18th, on Ring City USA’s NBC Sports Network card, beginning at 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT, in Salinas, Puerto Rico. The entire event will also be streamed live internationally on Twitch. The 27 year-old Ward (2-1, 2 KOs), a native of Westmeath will seek revenge in a six-round light heavyweight rematch against Marco Delgado (7-1, 5 KOs), of Turlock, CA. Ward first faced Delgado in his pro debut at New York’s Madison Square Garden in October 2019. In the second round of their fight, Ward suffered a serious knee injury, which required surgery. Since his ring return in 2020, Ward, now trained by former champion Joey Gamache and Jimmy Payne, has picked up two victories. Delgado is coming off of a big win against the previously unbeaten 6-0 Burley Brooks, on December 5, 2020, in Texas.
“I'm really looking forward to this fight. It's a massive opportunity for me to put things right on national television,” said Ward. “I've been working hard and staying focused, despite everything that's been going on, so I feel ready to go out and perform. I want to thank my entire team, from my trainers, Jimmy Payne and Joey Gamache, to my promoter, Lou DiBella, and my managers, Adam Glenn and Joe Winters, for getting me this opportunity. This is bittersweet because my manager and friend, Joe Winters, passed away two months ago due to Covid-19. He was a great man who meant a great deal to me. I know how happy and proud he would have been to see me back in the ring, but losing him has just given me more drive and more purpose. He always said that I would be a world champion and I want to prove him right, for myself and for him.”
“On Thursday night, Ireland’s Joe Ward has a chance at redemption, facing the man who shared the ring with him on the night his knee dislocated and he lost his pro debut. Marco Delgado just defeated an unbeaten prospect and is now 7-1. This is a very significant fight and career-defining moment for both Joe and Marco,” said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. “With the passing of Jimmy Glenn and his friend and co-manager Joe Winters from the coronavirus, while recovering from knee surgery, Joe has had to endure a lot, but he has shown the strength of character to move forward and work toward achieving his dream.”
“We're incredibly excited about this opportunity,” said Adam Glenn, CEO of Times Square Boxing. “This has been a really tough year for Joe and the whole team, from the unfortunate knee injury, to the delays and difficulties due to Covid-19, to the devastating loss of Joe Winters, my business partner and co-manager of Joe, to Covid-19. Through it all, Joe Ward has been working hard and we're incredibly proud of his perseverance and drive. A rematch with Delgado is an opportunity to set things right and remind everyone of why Joe is one of the most exciting prospects to ever come out of Ireland.”
A member of Ireland's 2016 Olympic team, Ward is joined by undisputed world champion Katie Taylor as the only Irish boxers to win more than one European Elite gold medal. His acclaimed amateur career includes three gold medals at the European Amateur Championships (2017, 2015, 2011), a gold medal at the World Youth Championships (2010), and a gold medal at the World Junior Championships (2009).
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Abdugofurov in tough fight after long layoff |
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Uzbekistan's Azizbek Abdugofurov (13-0, 5 KOs), whose last fight was at light heavyweight, will drop back down to super middleweight with a tough assignment against Pavel Silyagin (16-1 including the World Series of Boxing), this Saturday, March 20th at the Khodynka Ice Palace in Moscow. The main event that night will be a light hevyweight championship bout between Artur Beterbiev and Adam Deines. Silyagin, one of Russia’s strongest prospects, has been more active, defeating Venezuela's Omar Garcia by knockout earlier this year, while Abdugofurov has not fought since August 2019 when he knocked out Russia's Gasan Gasanov in four rounds.
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Abdugofurov in tough fight after long layoff
Uzbekistan's Azizbek Abdugofurov (13-0, 5 KOs), whose last fight was at light heavyweight, will drop back down to super middleweight with a tough assignment against Pavel Silyagin (16-1 including the World Series of Boxing), this Saturday, March 20th at the Khodynka Ice Palace in Moscow. The main event that night will be a light hevyweight championship bout between Artur Beterbiev and Adam Deines. Silyagin, one of Russia’s strongest prospects, has been more active, defeating Venezuela's Omar Garcia by knockout earlier this year, while Abdugofurov has not fought since August 2019 when he knocked out Russia's Gasan Gasanov in four rounds.
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