Munguia back at it on Saturday vs. unbeaten Surace |
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Top Rank Boxing on ESPN: Munguia vs. Surace will be presented live on Saturday, December 14th at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT exclusively on ESPN+ in the U.S. The event will take place at Estadio Caliente in Tijuana, Mexico. In the ten-round main event, super middleweight contender and Tijuana native Jaime Munguia will take on France’s undefeated Bruno Surace. Munguia (44-1, 35 KOs), a former junior middleweight titlist, has pursued greatness in 2024. In January, he delivered a ninth-round knockout against former title challenger John Ryder, setting the stage for a world championship showdown with fellow Mexican Canelo Alvarez in May. Despite overcoming a fourth-round knockdown, the 28-year-old lost a unanimous decision. Munguia rebounded during in September, scoring a tenth-round knockout over the previously unbeaten Erik Bazinyan.
Surace (25-0-2, 4 KOs), an undefeated 26 year-old whose only setbacks are two early-career draws, is stepping onto the international stage for the first time. He is coming off a strong 2023 campaign, highlighted by victories over Milos Jankovic in May and previously unbeaten Jhon Jader Obregon in December.
ADDITIONAL BOUTS
Alan Picasso vs. Isaac Sackey;
Jorge Garcia Perez vs. Kudratillo Abdukakhorov;
Sebastian Hernandez vs. Sergio Martin Sosa; and
Undercard Christian Islas Roldan vs. Juan Anacona.
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Munguia back at it on Saturday vs. unbeaten Surace
Top Rank Boxing on ESPN: Munguia vs. Surace will be presented live on Saturday, December 14th at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT exclusively on ESPN+ in the U.S. The event will take place at Estadio Caliente in Tijuana, Mexico. In the ten-round main event, super middleweight contender and Tijuana native Jaime Munguia will take on France’s undefeated Bruno Surace. Munguia (44-1, 35 KOs), a former junior middleweight titlist, has pursued greatness in 2024. In January, he delivered a ninth-round knockout against former title challenger John Ryder, setting the stage for a world championship showdown with fellow Mexican Canelo Alvarez in May. Despite overcoming a fourth-round knockdown, the 28-year-old lost a unanimous decision. Munguia rebounded during in September, scoring a tenth-round knockout over the previously unbeaten Erik Bazinyan.
Surace (25-0-2, 4 KOs), an undefeated 26 year-old whose only setbacks are two early-career draws, is stepping onto the international stage for the first time. He is coming off a strong 2023 campaign, highlighted by victories over Milos Jankovic in May and previously unbeaten Jhon Jader Obregon in December.
ADDITIONAL BOUTS
Alan Picasso vs. Isaac Sackey;
Jorge Garcia Perez vs. Kudratillo Abdukakhorov;
Sebastian Hernandez vs. Sergio Martin Sosa; and
Undercard Christian Islas Roldan vs. Juan Anacona.
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Antonio Vargas: "Fighting for the WBA interim title is a dream come true" |
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Bantamweight Antonio Vargas (18-1, 10 KOs) is on a nine-fight winning streak. This Friday, December 13th, Vargas will take on the undefeated Winston "El Fantasma" Guerrero (22-0, 13 KOs) for the vacant WBA interim bantamweight title at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida. The bout will be televised live on DAZN as part of MVP’s Most Valuable Prospects series. Vargas has been on a mission to solidify his place among the bantamweight elite, and this fight represents the culmination of years of dedication and perseverance.
“This streak is a testament to the hard work and sacrifices I’ve made in and out of the ring,” said Vargas. “Each fight has been a stepping stone, and I’ve learned something new every time I’ve entered the ring. It’s been an incredible journey to get here. This is the opportunity I’ve been working toward my entire career. Fighting for the WBA interim title is a dream come true, and I’m ready to seize this moment. Guerrero is a tough opponent, but I’ve prepared for this my whole life.”
“Antonio has worked incredibly hard to get to this point, and his commitment has been nothing short of inspiring,” said Boxlab Promotions President Amaury Piedra. “This fight against Guerrero is going to be one fans won’t want to miss. It’s a clash between two determined fighters, and I have no doubt Antonio will rise to the occasion and show why he’s the WBA’s top contender.”
“There were moments where the road felt uncertain, but I never lost faith in myself or my team,” concluded Vargas, from Kissimmee, FL. “Staying focused on my goals and trusting the process kept me moving forward. My faith has been a guiding light through it all. Since I was a kid, I’ve dreamed of becoming a world champion. Now, I’m just one fight away from that reality. It’s an emotional and exciting time, but I’m staying grounded and focused on the task at hand.”
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Antonio Vargas: "Fighting for the WBA interim title is a dream come true"
Bantamweight Antonio Vargas (18-1, 10 KOs) is on a nine-fight winning streak. This Friday, December 13th, Vargas will take on the undefeated Winston "El Fantasma" Guerrero (22-0, 13 KOs) for the vacant WBA interim bantamweight title at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, Florida. The bout will be televised live on DAZN as part of MVP’s Most Valuable Prospects series. Vargas has been on a mission to solidify his place among the bantamweight elite, and this fight represents the culmination of years of dedication and perseverance.
“This streak is a testament to the hard work and sacrifices I’ve made in and out of the ring,” said Vargas. “Each fight has been a stepping stone, and I’ve learned something new every time I’ve entered the ring. It’s been an incredible journey to get here. This is the opportunity I’ve been working toward my entire career. Fighting for the WBA interim title is a dream come true, and I’m ready to seize this moment. Guerrero is a tough opponent, but I’ve prepared for this my whole life.”
“Antonio has worked incredibly hard to get to this point, and his commitment has been nothing short of inspiring,” said Boxlab Promotions President Amaury Piedra. “This fight against Guerrero is going to be one fans won’t want to miss. It’s a clash between two determined fighters, and I have no doubt Antonio will rise to the occasion and show why he’s the WBA’s top contender.”
“There were moments where the road felt uncertain, but I never lost faith in myself or my team,” concluded Vargas, from Kissimmee, FL. “Staying focused on my goals and trusting the process kept me moving forward. My faith has been a guiding light through it all. Since I was a kid, I’ve dreamed of becoming a world champion. Now, I’m just one fight away from that reality. It’s an emotional and exciting time, but I’m staying grounded and focused on the task at hand.”
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Introducing junior lightweight Dedrick Crocklem |
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Dedrick Crocklem, a seven-time national amateur champion, has inked a long-term promotional contract with Top Rank. The 20 year-old junior lightweight will turn pro on Friday, Jan. 10th in a four-rounder against Nesly Trezile at Emerald Queen Casino in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington. Crocklem, who is managed by James Prince and co-promoted by Antonio Leonard, won the U.S. Olympic Team Trials last December. Crocklem said, “This opportunity means a lot. I always wanted to turn pro with Top Rank because of how they move their fighters and the exposure I’ll receive. I chased the Olympic dream and am ready to show I’ll be a top dog soon.”
“Dedrick Crocklem stood out among the Team USA amateurs, and we are excited to watch his professional journey unfold,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “He has a real aggressive, crowd-pleasing style. Tacoma has a rich boxing history, and I believe Dedrick will be his city’s next world champion.”
Crocklem won over 150 fights in the unpaid ranks, captured a pair of Youth National Championships (2020 and 2021), and a gold medal at the 2022 National Championships. He’s experienced on the international stage and earned a bronze medal at the 2022 Youth World Championships in La Nucía, Spain. After winning the U.S. Olympic Team Trials at 139 pounds, he bested an impressive international field in April at the USA Boxing International Invitational in Pueblo, Colorado.
Crocklem moved to Tacoma as a child and started training at age 8 under the guidance of Jason Hamilton. He’ll turn pro with Hamilton as his chief second as he looks to continue Tacoma’s storied fistic tradition. This lineage includes 1972 Olympic gold medalist Sugar Ray Seales, 1976 Olympic gold medalist Leo Randolph, former junior welterweight world champion Johnny Bumphus, and two-time junior lightweight world champion Rocky Lockridge.
“Being around all the greats in Tacoma means a lot,” Crocklem said. “There’s something different out here, and it’s pushing me to be the best.”
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Introducing junior lightweight Dedrick Crocklem
Dedrick Crocklem, a seven-time national amateur champion, has inked a long-term promotional contract with Top Rank. The 20 year-old junior lightweight will turn pro on Friday, Jan. 10th in a four-rounder against Nesly Trezile at Emerald Queen Casino in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington. Crocklem, who is managed by James Prince and co-promoted by Antonio Leonard, won the U.S. Olympic Team Trials last December. Crocklem said, “This opportunity means a lot. I always wanted to turn pro with Top Rank because of how they move their fighters and the exposure I’ll receive. I chased the Olympic dream and am ready to show I’ll be a top dog soon.”
“Dedrick Crocklem stood out among the Team USA amateurs, and we are excited to watch his professional journey unfold,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “He has a real aggressive, crowd-pleasing style. Tacoma has a rich boxing history, and I believe Dedrick will be his city’s next world champion.”
Crocklem won over 150 fights in the unpaid ranks, captured a pair of Youth National Championships (2020 and 2021), and a gold medal at the 2022 National Championships. He’s experienced on the international stage and earned a bronze medal at the 2022 Youth World Championships in La Nucía, Spain. After winning the U.S. Olympic Team Trials at 139 pounds, he bested an impressive international field in April at the USA Boxing International Invitational in Pueblo, Colorado.
Crocklem moved to Tacoma as a child and started training at age 8 under the guidance of Jason Hamilton. He’ll turn pro with Hamilton as his chief second as he looks to continue Tacoma’s storied fistic tradition. This lineage includes 1972 Olympic gold medalist Sugar Ray Seales, 1976 Olympic gold medalist Leo Randolph, former junior welterweight world champion Johnny Bumphus, and two-time junior lightweight world champion Rocky Lockridge.
“Being around all the greats in Tacoma means a lot,” Crocklem said. “There’s something different out here, and it’s pushing me to be the best.”
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ESPN+ to stream Grandelli vs. Lorente from Italy |
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Italian featherweight Francesco Grandelli will square off against Spain’s Cristobal Lorente in the twelve-round main event this Friday, Dec. 13th at the Palazzetto Dello Sport Carbonia in Carbonia, Italy. Grandelli-Lorente and undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+ starting at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT. Grandelli (18-3-2, 4 KOs) rebounded from his 2023 loss to Mauro Forte with a decision win over Emiliano Salvini that July and a second-round stoppage of then-unbeaten Stefan Voda in December. The 30-year old returns home following a decision defeat versus Scotsman Nathaniel Collins on enemy turf in May. Lorente (19-0-1, 8 KOs) is an eight-year pro coming off a breakout performance against Forte, defeating him via twelve-round majority decision in July.
In other streaming action from Carbonia, Italy:
Fabio Turchi (23-3, 16 KOs) vs. Viktar Chvarkou (5-18, 3 KOs), six rounds, cruiserweights;
Patrick Cappai (11-0, 2 KOs) vs. Tasha Mjuaji (17-12-3, 5 KOs), six rounds, featherweights; and
Stefano Lai (5-0, 1 KOs) vs. Sebastiano Argiolas (4-1, 3 KOs), six rounds, junior middleweights.
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ESPN+ to stream Grandelli vs. Lorente from Italy
Italian featherweight Francesco Grandelli will square off against Spain’s Cristobal Lorente in the twelve-round main event this Friday, Dec. 13th at the Palazzetto Dello Sport Carbonia in Carbonia, Italy. Grandelli-Lorente and undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively in the U.S. on ESPN+ starting at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT. Grandelli (18-3-2, 4 KOs) rebounded from his 2023 loss to Mauro Forte with a decision win over Emiliano Salvini that July and a second-round stoppage of then-unbeaten Stefan Voda in December. The 30-year old returns home following a decision defeat versus Scotsman Nathaniel Collins on enemy turf in May. Lorente (19-0-1, 8 KOs) is an eight-year pro coming off a breakout performance against Forte, defeating him via twelve-round majority decision in July.
In other streaming action from Carbonia, Italy:
Fabio Turchi (23-3, 16 KOs) vs. Viktar Chvarkou (5-18, 3 KOs), six rounds, cruiserweights;
Patrick Cappai (11-0, 2 KOs) vs. Tasha Mjuaji (17-12-3, 5 KOs), six rounds, featherweights; and
Stefano Lai (5-0, 1 KOs) vs. Sebastiano Argiolas (4-1, 3 KOs), six rounds, junior middleweights.
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A look at tonight's ProBox show in Florida |
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ProBox TV’s Wednesday Night Fights returns today with a ten-round main event between Jonhatan Cardoso and Eduardo Ramirez at the ProBox TV Events Center in Plant City, Florida. Cardoso (17-1 with 15 KOs) trains in Brazil but finishes his camps in Florida with Marc Farrait. The 25-year old is riding a three-fight win streak after his lone loss, including a split-decision victory over Adam Lopez in May on ProBox TV. Ramirez (28-4-3 with 13 KOs) is 1-2 in his last three outings, but the losses came against former champions Mark Magsayo and Isaac Cruz. The 31 year-old Mexican moves back to lightweight for this bout, where he previously lost to Cruz.
The co-feature highlights the return of featherweight Luis Nunez (19-0 with 13 KOs), who is trained by Bob Santos. Nunez, age 25, ends a year-and-a-half layoff after last fighting in April 2023. His opponent, Leonardo Baez (21-5 with 12 KOs) steps into the ring for the first time in three years. Baez, age 29, from Mexico, last fought titleholder Rey Vargas, losing by unanimous decision. The bout is scheduled for ten rounds.
Bantamweight Katsuma Akitsugi (11-0, 2 KOs) continues his rise at age 27. Training out of Wild Card Boxing in Hollywood, California, Akitsugi has defeated four unbeaten fighters in his career. He faces Aston Palicte (28-6-1 with 23 KOs), a former junior bantamweight title challenger from the Philippines. Palicte, age 33, has shared the ring with Kazuto Ioka and Donnie Nietes Palicte fought Nietes to a draw with a world title on the line. Their ten-round bout promises fireworks.
In the TV opener, light heavyweight Dante Benjamin (9-0-1, 7 KOs), from Cleveland, takes on Augusta, Georgia's Aaron Casper (7-7-2 with 5 KOs). Benjamin, age 22, is competing for the second time in 2024 after a busy 2023. Casper, age 35, looks to play spoiler in this scheduled six-round fight.
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A look at tonight's ProBox show in Florida
ProBox TV’s Wednesday Night Fights returns today with a ten-round main event between Jonhatan Cardoso and Eduardo Ramirez at the ProBox TV Events Center in Plant City, Florida. Cardoso (17-1 with 15 KOs) trains in Brazil but finishes his camps in Florida with Marc Farrait. The 25-year old is riding a three-fight win streak after his lone loss, including a split-decision victory over Adam Lopez in May on ProBox TV. Ramirez (28-4-3 with 13 KOs) is 1-2 in his last three outings, but the losses came against former champions Mark Magsayo and Isaac Cruz. The 31 year-old Mexican moves back to lightweight for this bout, where he previously lost to Cruz.
The co-feature highlights the return of featherweight Luis Nunez (19-0 with 13 KOs), who is trained by Bob Santos. Nunez, age 25, ends a year-and-a-half layoff after last fighting in April 2023. His opponent, Leonardo Baez (21-5 with 12 KOs) steps into the ring for the first time in three years. Baez, age 29, from Mexico, last fought titleholder Rey Vargas, losing by unanimous decision. The bout is scheduled for ten rounds.
Bantamweight Katsuma Akitsugi (11-0, 2 KOs) continues his rise at age 27. Training out of Wild Card Boxing in Hollywood, California, Akitsugi has defeated four unbeaten fighters in his career. He faces Aston Palicte (28-6-1 with 23 KOs), a former junior bantamweight title challenger from the Philippines. Palicte, age 33, has shared the ring with Kazuto Ioka and Donnie Nietes Palicte fought Nietes to a draw with a world title on the line. Their ten-round bout promises fireworks.
In the TV opener, light heavyweight Dante Benjamin (9-0-1, 7 KOs), from Cleveland, takes on Augusta, Georgia's Aaron Casper (7-7-2 with 5 KOs). Benjamin, age 22, is competing for the second time in 2024 after a busy 2023. Casper, age 35, looks to play spoiler in this scheduled six-round fight.
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Akhmadaliev faces Espinoza for interim belt on Saturday |
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The latest instalment of the Monte-Carlo Showdown will take place in the Salle Des Étoiles at Sporting Monte-Carlo on Saturday December 14th, shown live worldwide on DAZN. Uzbekistan’s former IBF / WBA super bantamweight champion Murodjon "MJ" Akhmadaliev (12-1, 9 KOs) takes on Mexican knockout artist Ricardo Espinoza (30-4, 25 KOs) for the interim WBA title. Akhmadaliev (pictured) is the top ranked WBA 122 pounder and, after the division's undisputed world champion Naoya Inoue received special permission to delay his WBA mandatory, Akhmadaliev got opportunity to fight for the WBA interim belt. Espinoza is a Mexican puncher with experience in the United States who is facing the most important fight of his career and is on a hot streak. He has not lost a fight since 2021 and has knocked out in four of his last five fights.
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Akhmadaliev faces Espinoza for interim belt on Saturday
The latest instalment of the Monte-Carlo Showdown will take place in the Salle Des Étoiles at Sporting Monte-Carlo on Saturday December 14th, shown live worldwide on DAZN. Uzbekistan’s former IBF / WBA super bantamweight champion Murodjon "MJ" Akhmadaliev (12-1, 9 KOs) takes on Mexican knockout artist Ricardo Espinoza (30-4, 25 KOs) for the interim WBA title. Akhmadaliev (pictured) is the top ranked WBA 122 pounder and, after the division's undisputed world champion Naoya Inoue received special permission to delay his WBA mandatory, Akhmadaliev got opportunity to fight for the WBA interim belt. Espinoza is a Mexican puncher with experience in the United States who is facing the most important fight of his career and is on a hot streak. He has not lost a fight since 2021 and has knocked out in four of his last five fights.
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Boxing film "Day Of The Fight" out now for limited theatrical run |
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A new boxing movie, Day of the Fight, is out on a limited theatrical release since December 6th. The black-and-white movie follows a once-renowned [fictional] boxer as he takes a journey through his past and present on the day of his first fight since he left prison. The film immerses viewers in the harsh, unvarnished world Mike Flannigan, played by Michael Pitt, inhabits. His is a world populated by people who love him but are wary of trusting him again. Joe Pesci (who was in the boxing classic Raging Bull) plays his estranged father, while Steve Buscemi appears as his uncle. The story unfolds over the course of a single, tension-filled day as Mike prepares for his first fight in years, an event that’s about far more than winning or losing . It’s his shot at reclaiming a sliver of dignity and mending the fractured relationships he left behind. The film is directed by Jack Huston.
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Boxing film "Day Of The Fight" out now for limited theatrical run
A new boxing movie, Day of the Fight, is out on a limited theatrical release since December 6th. The black-and-white movie follows a once-renowned [fictional] boxer as he takes a journey through his past and present on the day of his first fight since he left prison. The film immerses viewers in the harsh, unvarnished world Mike Flannigan, played by Michael Pitt, inhabits. His is a world populated by people who love him but are wary of trusting him again. Joe Pesci (who was in the boxing classic Raging Bull) plays his estranged father, while Steve Buscemi appears as his uncle. The story unfolds over the course of a single, tension-filled day as Mike prepares for his first fight in years, an event that’s about far more than winning or losing . It’s his shot at reclaiming a sliver of dignity and mending the fractured relationships he left behind. The film is directed by Jack Huston.
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Delusional IBA leader thinks his organization will be allowed to run Olympic boxing in 2028 |
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[Despite his organization being thrown out of the Olympics for corruption,] IBA president Umar Kremlev remained positive about the IBA’s future role at the Olympic Games. The basis for his belief is a change of guard that Kremlev hopes will take place at the International Olympic Committee. He told the IBA convention that, "The Olympics has always been around, and boxing has always been part of the Olympics, including in 2028 [Editor's note: boxing has not yet been approved as an Olympic sport for 2028]. If people try to scare you that it won’t be possible and to move small national federations left and right, I want all the federations to stay true to us. As for the International Olympic Committee, the election happens in March – so we shall see. The situation and the leadership will change."
World Boxing, the amateur federation formed last year, has thrown its hat in the ring to become the IOC's designated organization in charge of the 2028 Olympic boxing tournament: “World Boxing welcomes the [April 2024] decision by CAS [the arbitration body for Olympic disputes] to withdraw recognition of IBA and the subsequent comments by the International Olympic Committee in which it expressed a desire to partner with a new International Federation that is committed to ‘good governance, the integrity of competitions, transparency of finances and accounts, and autonomy’. That 'International Federation' [should be] World Boxing. The decision by CAS and the comments from the IOC send a clear and unambiguous message to all national federations that if they want boxers from their country to have the life-changing opportunity to continue to compete at future Olympic Games then they must now support and seek to join World Boxing, which is the last remaining hope for the sport to retain its status as an Olympic sport beyond Paris 2024. There is no alternative and the IOC has made it clear that the ‘National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and National Boxing Federations hold the future of Olympic boxing in their own hands’.
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Delusional IBA leader thinks his organization will be allowed to run Olympic boxing in 2028
[Despite his organization being thrown out of the Olympics for corruption,] IBA president Umar Kremlev remained positive about the IBA’s future role at the Olympic Games. The basis for his belief is a change of guard that Kremlev hopes will take place at the International Olympic Committee. He told the IBA convention that, "The Olympics has always been around, and boxing has always been part of the Olympics, including in 2028 [Editor's note: boxing has not yet been approved as an Olympic sport for 2028]. If people try to scare you that it won’t be possible and to move small national federations left and right, I want all the federations to stay true to us. As for the International Olympic Committee, the election happens in March – so we shall see. The situation and the leadership will change."
World Boxing, the amateur federation formed last year, has thrown its hat in the ring to become the IOC's designated organization in charge of the 2028 Olympic boxing tournament: “World Boxing welcomes the [April 2024] decision by CAS [the arbitration body for Olympic disputes] to withdraw recognition of IBA and the subsequent comments by the International Olympic Committee in which it expressed a desire to partner with a new International Federation that is committed to ‘good governance, the integrity of competitions, transparency of finances and accounts, and autonomy’. That 'International Federation' [should be] World Boxing. The decision by CAS and the comments from the IOC send a clear and unambiguous message to all national federations that if they want boxers from their country to have the life-changing opportunity to continue to compete at future Olympic Games then they must now support and seek to join World Boxing, which is the last remaining hope for the sport to retain its status as an Olympic sport beyond Paris 2024. There is no alternative and the IOC has made it clear that the ‘National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and National Boxing Federations hold the future of Olympic boxing in their own hands’.
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Sam Noakes moving up the lightweight ranks |
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Sam Noakes W12 Ryan Walsh... After Sam Noakes' win last weekend in London's Wembley Arena, promoter Frank Warren is very pleased with the British boxer's positioning in the lightweight division. Warren wrote: "The rise of Sam Noakes continues unabated following his near shutout decision victory over an always gallant Ryan Walsh [29-5-2]. Sam did everything right against an experienced and dangerous opponent, although I suspect if he had stepped on it a bit in the closing stages he could have got Ryan out of there. Sam is in a great position with the titles he holds – European, British, Commonwealth– so now it is a case of striking when the time is right." Noakes is 16-10 with 14 KOs.
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Sam Noakes moving up the lightweight ranks
Sam Noakes W12 Ryan Walsh... After Sam Noakes' win last weekend in London's Wembley Arena, promoter Frank Warren is very pleased with the British boxer's positioning in the lightweight division. Warren wrote: "The rise of Sam Noakes continues unabated following his near shutout decision victory over an always gallant Ryan Walsh [29-5-2]. Sam did everything right against an experienced and dangerous opponent, although I suspect if he had stepped on it a bit in the closing stages he could have got Ryan out of there. Sam is in a great position with the titles he holds – European, British, Commonwealth– so now it is a case of striking when the time is right." Noakes is 16-10 with 14 KOs.
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Carlos De Leon Castro pleased with hometown win |
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Carlos De Leon Castro TKO1 Jose Alfredo Guevara ... Junior lightweight Carlos De Leon Castro (3-0, 2 KOs) picked up a win in front of his hometown fans this past Saturday with a first-round knockout of Jose Alfredo Guevara (2-3-1, 1 KO) at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The scheduled four-round bout was part of a DAZN-broadcast event promoted by Universal Promotions and Matchroom Boxing. De Leon Castro, a standout amateur and one of Boxlab Promotions’ brightest prospects, overwhelmed Guevara with a combination of body and head shots. The decisive sequence came at the 2:30 mark of round one when De Leon Castro landed a left hook to the body followed by a left hook-straight right combo to the head, forcing the referee to stop the fight.
"Fighting in my hometown of San Juan, in front of my family, friends, and supporters, was an unforgettable experience,” said De Leon Castro. “Hearing the crowd roar after the knockout was a moment I’ll cherish forever. Fighting on DAZN allows me to show the world my skills. It’s an honor to represent Puerto Rico on such a big platform and prove why I’m one of the sport’s top young fighters."
"Carlos showed why he’s one of the most exciting prospects in boxing,” said Amaury Piedra, President of Boxlab Promotions, as he praised De Leon Castro’s performance and shared his vision for the fighter’s future. “His poise, power, and precision were on full display. In 2025, we’ll continue to develop him, taking on tougher challenges as we move closer to title contention. The future is very bright for Carlos."
"This is just the beginning,” concluded De Leon Castrp. “In 2025, I’m planning to stay busy, keep improving, and work my way toward bigger fights. My goal is to become a world champion and bring pride to Puerto Rico."
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Carlos De Leon Castro pleased with hometown win
Carlos De Leon Castro TKO1 Jose Alfredo Guevara ... Junior lightweight Carlos De Leon Castro (3-0, 2 KOs) picked up a win in front of his hometown fans this past Saturday with a first-round knockout of Jose Alfredo Guevara (2-3-1, 1 KO) at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The scheduled four-round bout was part of a DAZN-broadcast event promoted by Universal Promotions and Matchroom Boxing. De Leon Castro, a standout amateur and one of Boxlab Promotions’ brightest prospects, overwhelmed Guevara with a combination of body and head shots. The decisive sequence came at the 2:30 mark of round one when De Leon Castro landed a left hook to the body followed by a left hook-straight right combo to the head, forcing the referee to stop the fight.
"Fighting in my hometown of San Juan, in front of my family, friends, and supporters, was an unforgettable experience,” said De Leon Castro. “Hearing the crowd roar after the knockout was a moment I’ll cherish forever. Fighting on DAZN allows me to show the world my skills. It’s an honor to represent Puerto Rico on such a big platform and prove why I’m one of the sport’s top young fighters."
"Carlos showed why he’s one of the most exciting prospects in boxing,” said Amaury Piedra, President of Boxlab Promotions, as he praised De Leon Castro’s performance and shared his vision for the fighter’s future. “His poise, power, and precision were on full display. In 2025, we’ll continue to develop him, taking on tougher challenges as we move closer to title contention. The future is very bright for Carlos."
"This is just the beginning,” concluded De Leon Castrp. “In 2025, I’m planning to stay busy, keep improving, and work my way toward bigger fights. My goal is to become a world champion and bring pride to Puerto Rico."
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Saad Fathi Saad wins in Libya |
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Saad Fathi Saad W10 Charles Manyuchi ... Saad Fathi Saad won a light heavyweight bout this weekend by defeating Charles Manyuchi by unanimous decision in Libya. The judges’ scorecards were 100-90, 96-94 and 96-93, all in favor of Fathi, who fought from start to finish in the fight to win this valuable victory in a packed house. Fathi Saad lives in France but was born in Libya. His record is now 6-1. Manyuchi, from Zimbabwe, is now 29-5-1.
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Saad Fathi Saad wins in Libya
Saad Fathi Saad W10 Charles Manyuchi ... Saad Fathi Saad won a light heavyweight bout this weekend by defeating Charles Manyuchi by unanimous decision in Libya. The judges’ scorecards were 100-90, 96-94 and 96-93, all in favor of Fathi, who fought from start to finish in the fight to win this valuable victory in a packed house. Fathi Saad lives in France but was born in Libya. His record is now 6-1. Manyuchi, from Zimbabwe, is now 29-5-1.
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Mauricio Sulaiman reelected as WBC president |
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[As expected,] Mauricio Sulaimán was was re-elected as president of the WBC for a period of four more years. The election results were revealed during the first day of activities of the 62nd Annual Convention of the WBC, which is taking place in Hamburg, Germany. In 2014, when the unfortunate death of Mauricio's father and predecessor, José Sulaimán occurred, Mauricio was elected to step in, with two years left on his father's term. Two years later, at the WBC convention in Miami, Mauricio was elected to his first term.
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Mauricio Sulaiman reelected as WBC president
[As expected,] Mauricio Sulaimán was was re-elected as president of the WBC for a period of four more years. The election results were revealed during the first day of activities of the 62nd Annual Convention of the WBC, which is taking place in Hamburg, Germany. In 2014, when the unfortunate death of Mauricio's father and predecessor, José Sulaimán occurred, Mauricio was elected to step in, with two years left on his father's term. Two years later, at the WBC convention in Miami, Mauricio was elected to his first term.
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VADA kicks off the Fighter Health Podcast |
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While combat sports fans can choose from a wide selection of podcasts that break down fights and preview upcoming bouts, a new podcast from a pair of industry veterans is the first to focus exclusively on the health and safety of the athletes. Sponsored by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), the Fighter Health Podcast, from boxing journalist Kieran Mulvaney and Dr. Margaret Goodman, neurologist and VADA founder, bills itself as an “open conversation on fighter safety and clean sport,” and will feature an in-depth interview every episode. The Fighter Health Podcast is presently available on Substack and Spotify and will shortly be available on other platforms. New episodes will post twice a month.
The first two episodes, presently available, feature Dr. Goodman providing background on VADA, and Andy Foster, executive director of the California State Athletic Commission, discussing measures the Golden State is taking to improve fighter pay and welfare.
Future interview subjects will include fighters, trainers, cutmen, referees, judges, commissioners, ringside physicians, drug testing technicians, and more. Each will offer insight on the realities of the fight business and how best to provide combat athletes with better medical, financial, and legal protection.
“I’m excited to have this opportunity to work with such a widely respected figure as Margaret,” said Mulvaney, who is presently a writer for BoxingScene, having previously been a podcaster for both HBO and Showtime. “I’ve known Margaret for 20 years, and in all that time she has consistently placed the welfare and interests of fighters at the forefront of everything she does. The fighters are the only truly indispensable people in boxing and MMA; we expect so much of them but spend far too little time considering their welfare. But from cutting weight to opponents taking PEDs, to the struggle for money, to say nothing of the intrinsic dangers of being in the ring or the cage, fighters undergo struggles that so many of us aren’t even aware of. If we can help shed even a little light on those problems, and on what we can do to help protect the men and women who put their health at risk for our entertainment, I’ll be happy.”
“It’s a privilege to have Kieran shepherd this project,” added Goodman. “Combat sports safety should always be at the forefront and it’s our aim to tell the untold stories of those who protect the athletes.”
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VADA kicks off the Fighter Health Podcast
While combat sports fans can choose from a wide selection of podcasts that break down fights and preview upcoming bouts, a new podcast from a pair of industry veterans is the first to focus exclusively on the health and safety of the athletes. Sponsored by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA), the Fighter Health Podcast, from boxing journalist Kieran Mulvaney and Dr. Margaret Goodman, neurologist and VADA founder, bills itself as an “open conversation on fighter safety and clean sport,” and will feature an in-depth interview every episode. The Fighter Health Podcast is presently available on Substack and Spotify and will shortly be available on other platforms. New episodes will post twice a month.
The first two episodes, presently available, feature Dr. Goodman providing background on VADA, and Andy Foster, executive director of the California State Athletic Commission, discussing measures the Golden State is taking to improve fighter pay and welfare.
Future interview subjects will include fighters, trainers, cutmen, referees, judges, commissioners, ringside physicians, drug testing technicians, and more. Each will offer insight on the realities of the fight business and how best to provide combat athletes with better medical, financial, and legal protection.
“I’m excited to have this opportunity to work with such a widely respected figure as Margaret,” said Mulvaney, who is presently a writer for BoxingScene, having previously been a podcaster for both HBO and Showtime. “I’ve known Margaret for 20 years, and in all that time she has consistently placed the welfare and interests of fighters at the forefront of everything she does. The fighters are the only truly indispensable people in boxing and MMA; we expect so much of them but spend far too little time considering their welfare. But from cutting weight to opponents taking PEDs, to the struggle for money, to say nothing of the intrinsic dangers of being in the ring or the cage, fighters undergo struggles that so many of us aren’t even aware of. If we can help shed even a little light on those problems, and on what we can do to help protect the men and women who put their health at risk for our entertainment, I’ll be happy.”
“It’s a privilege to have Kieran shepherd this project,” added Goodman. “Combat sports safety should always be at the forefront and it’s our aim to tell the untold stories of those who protect the athletes.”
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Junior lightweight championship overview |
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Here is a look at the recent lineage of the four major championships in the junior lightweight (130-pound) weight class. The current champions are Emanuel Navarrete (WBO), O'Shaquie Foster (WBC), Anthony Cacace (IBF) and Lamont Roach (WBA). Boxingtalk will be updating and expanding this recent history of the junior lightweight class from time to time.
WBO / DEC. 8, 2024: In Phoenix, Emanuel Navarrete stopped Oscar Valdez in round six with a left hook to the body, retaining his WBO junior lightweight world title. Navarrete (39-2-1, 32 KOs) had already bested Valdez (32-3, 24 KOs) once, by decision in August 2023, but this time, the fighting pride of Nogales, Mexico, did not see the final bell. Navarrete knocked down Valdez three times, including at the end of the opening round. While Valdez succeeded in small pockets, the three-division champion landed the harder, more telling blows. It was a return to form for Navarrete, who bounced back from May's decision loss to Denys Berinchyk for the WBO lightweight title. He came back to the junior lightweight ranks and used his awkward style and looping punches to once again blunt Valdez's aggression.
WBC / NOV. 3, 2024: O'Shaquie Foster (23-3, 12 KOs) is now a two-time junior lightweight champion. Foster regained the WBC world title with a split decision victory over Robson Conceição (19-3-1, 9 KOs) on Saturday evening at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. Two judges scored it 115-113 for Foster, while one scored it 115-113 for Conceição. Conceição dethroned Foster with a hard-fought verdict in July, prompting the rematch less than four months later. By the seventh, Foster began to wear down Conceição. The Brazilian fired back, but Foster consistently defended against Conceição’s right hand, countering sharply with a right of his own. In the tenth, Foster buzzed Conceição with a one-two, but Conceição survived before trading blows in the championship rounds.
WBC / JULY 26, 2024: The WBC Board of Governors has ordered a direct rematch between WBC 130-pound champion Robson Conceciao and the man he controversially beat for the title last month, former champ O'Shaquie Foster. On July 6th, Conceicao upset Foster by split decision to win the WBC title in a tactical affair. Conceicao fell short in world title bids three times before but this time, the judges though he did just enough to win. The verdict that sparked immediate debate. Conceicao (19-2-1, 9 KOs) prevailed by scores of 116-112 and 115-113, while Foster held a 116-112 edge on the third card. Boxingtalk reviewed the fight and scored it 115-113 for Foster.
IBF / MAY 19, 2024: Anthony Cacace (22-1, 8 KOs) is now the IBF champion after stopping Wales' Joe Cordina (17-1, 9 KOs) in round eight in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia. Cacace, from Belfast, Northern Ireland, became a world champion at the advanced age of 35. Punchstats credited Cacace with outlanding Cordina, 282 punches to 113. Cacace was breaking down Cordina against the ropes when the referee delcared the bout over and Cacace the new champion.
WBO / MAY 19, 2024: He tried moving up to 135 pounds, but Emanuel Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs) failed in his attempt to become a four-division champion.On the same day Oleksandr Usyk captured the undisputed world heavyweight championsip, Usyk's 2012 Olympic temmate, Denys Berinchyk defeated Navarrete by split decision to win the vacant WBO lightweight world title in San Diego. Berinchyk prevailed by scores of 116-112 and 115-113, while Navarrete won the third card, 116-112. Navarrete remains the WBO 130-pound champion.
WBA / NOV. 26, 2023: In Las Vegas, Lamont Roach wrested away Héctor García’s WBA super featherweight title in his second attempt at a belt. Roach dropped García in the twelfth round and wound up winning a split decision by scores of 116-111, 114-113 and 113-114 in a technical and strategic fight. [The result is controversial as Roach appeared to knock Garcia down with an improper blow to the back of the head]. The knockdown caused the WBA title to change hands as it allowed Roach to avoid a split-draw. The punch in question was a the left hook that landed with 1:20 left in the fight and drove García into the canvas for the second time in his career. In 2019, Roach came up short in his first title shot against Jamel Herring, also a southpaw
WBO / NOV. 16, 2023... Robson Conceicao of Brazil showed incredible heart, battling through two knockdowns and an apparent broken nose to get a draw against WBO champion Emanuel Navarrete. Conceicao, age 35, is a three-time Olympian, gold medal winner and three time world title challenger. After a legitimate loss to Shakur Stevenson and a controversial one to Oscar Valdez in prior title fights, Conceicao was all smiles after the bruising stalemate. Official scores were 113-113 (twice) and 114-112 (Navarrete). With the draw, Navarrete retains his title.
IBF / NOV. 4, 2023: The IBF 130-pound title remained with Joe Cordina of Wales who edged Edward Vazquez of Texas via a debatable majority decision. After twelve exciting and very competitive rounds in Monte Carlo, the three neutral judges scored it 114-114 and 116-112 (twice) for Cordina. Now 19-2 including the World Series of Boxing, Cordina is regarded as one of the best British fighters today and is a two-time champion. Cordina's first reign ended due to injury, and both of his losses date back to the Word Series of Boxing. Vazquez returns to Texas at 15-2, with both losses being controversial. Most feel Vazquez was robbed against Raymond Ford in 2022.
WBC / OCT. 29, 2023: O'Shaquie Foster was in position to lose by split decision before gaining a thrilling twelfth-round technical knockout victory over Eduardo Hernandez on Saturday. Fighting a Mexican in Cancun, Mexico, Foster and Hernandez went to war in round eleven. Foster was then three minutes away from losing his title to some very bad judging, as he entered the final round trailing on two of the official scorecards by 110-99 and 107-102. Foster led on the third scorecard by 106-103 but that would not have been enought to save his title. So he came out aggressively and kept his WBC super featherweight championship by knocking Hernandez down and then stopping him. It was dramatic stuff from the Houston resident, who is now 21-2 on ths his career. Boxingtalk salutes Hernandez, who is now 34-2, as well as Foster.
WBO / AUG. 12, 2023: Emanuel Navarrete defeated former two-division champion Oscar Valdez in a classic Mexican war held in Glendale, Arizona. Navarrete, a three-division champion, retained the WBO junior lightweight championship by unanimous decision. The official scores were 116-112, 118-110 and 119-109. Navarrete threw 1038 punches according to Compubox, outlanding Valdez 216-140. Valdez finished with swelling plus a deep bruise under his right eye. Valdez has now failed in his last two title fights, vs. Shakur Stevenson and now Navarrete.
IBF/ APRIL 24, 2023: Joe Cordina became a two-time IBF 130-pound champion, winning a unanimous decision over Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov in a thriller of a bout held in Cordina's native Wales. The two men both entered the fight undefeated, as Cordina briefly held the title last year but had to give it up due to injury. The vacant belt was then won by Rakhimov last November, setting up Saturday's match
WBC / FEB. 12, 2023: With the words “ice water” and “shock the world” etched on his trunks, O’Shaquie Foster produced the fight of his life, coolly and methodically outboxing two-division champion Rey Vargas to capture the vacant WBC junior lightweight championship in his first title shot at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Foster, who normally switches to southpaw in his fights, fought orthodox for the entire twelve rounds with the objective of befuddling Vargas. He won by scores of 116-112, 117-111 and 119-109 in a dominant, albeit very competitive win. “I can’t put it into words (what this means),” Foster said in the ring afterward. “I know my mom, my uncle, my grandpa, they are all looking down on me.” Vargas was returning to the Alamodome after winning the WBC featherweight championship in his last bout with a decision victory over Mark Magsayo at the same venue last July. He still holds that title, so a return to 126 pounds may be in the cards for Vargas.
WBO / FEB. 4, 2023: In Glendale, Arizona, Mexico's Emanuel Navarrete (37-1) survived a knockdown and stopped Australia's Liam Wilson (11-2) in a thriller to earn the vacant WBO 130-pound championship. By claiming the title recently vacated by Shakur Stevenson, Navarrete become a three-division champion. Though Wilson lost, he established himself as a skillful and exciting boxer, and earned a return invitiation to the world stage. In round four, Navarrete was knocked down for the first time in his career. As Navarrete lunged forward with a punch, Wilson caught him with a combination that floored and hurt Navarrete. Luckily for him, Navarrete got critical extra seconds of recovery time as his mouth piece needed to be replaced, and Navarrete struggled to put in correctly. Round seven saw Navarrete swing the momentum his way, as blood began to flow freely from Wilson's nose. In round eight, Wilson appeared to be fighting the wrong kind of fight, looking for one big shot while Navarrete landed multiple blows upstairs and downstairs. Navarrete's body work paid off in round nine, as he knocked down Wilson in the first minute with a one-two combination. Wilson got up, but was clearly drained. He absorbed a lot of hard punches, stumbled badly in the middle of the ring, and seemed unable to tie up Navarrete up. When Navarrete trapped Wilson against the rope and began raining in punches, the referee had no choice but to stop the bout.
WBA / JAN. 8, 2023: In Washington D.C., Gervonta Davis defeated WBA 130-pound champion Hector Luis Garcia in a 135-pound bout in which Garcia's title was not at stake. Davis' feared punching power did not produce the knockout the fans were looking for, but it nonetheless proved to be Garcia's undoing. After seven competitive rounds, Davis began consistently landing power punches in round eight. Garcia was staggered but survived until the end of the round. Garcia was guided back to his corner in clear distress and told trainer Bob Santos he could not see. Garcia did not come out for round ten, and Davis was the winner by technical knockout. Davis remains the WBA regular title holder in the lightweight division, while the battered Garcia also retains the WBA junior lightweight title, which was not on the line because this was a lightweight bout. Davis led the cards at the time of the stoppage, 78-74 (twice) and 79-73. Punchstats gave Davis the lead in punches landed, 99-55.
IBF / NOV 6, 2022: In Abu Dhabi, Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov won the vacant IBF 130-pound title after the IBF stripped Joe Cordina for having hand surgery. Rakhimov defeated Zelfa Barrett by ninth-round technical knockout. The new champ is from Tajikistan and boasts a pro record of 16-0-1 with the draw coming in a prior IBF title shot vs. Joseph "JoJo" Diaz last year. Barrett was doing well in the fight as a whole, even knocking Rakhimov down with a huge uppercut early in the contest. But according to DAZN, something happened in the ninth round and Barrett's leg appeared to be injured. It looked like Barrett couldn't put full weight on his right leg, and Rakhimov took advantage with a flurry of hard shots to knock Barrett down twice. At the point the fight was stopped, the referee did not administer a count, although Barrett's corner was ready to throw in the towel. The British Barrett is now 28-2.
IBF / OCT. 5, 2022: Joe Cordina had this to say about getting stripped by the IBF of his 130-pound championship because he had hand surgery (he posted a picture on social media to prove it): "Absolutely gutted. Worked my whole life to become a world champion and I haven’t even had the chance to defend the title Feel like I’ve been robbed !!" Zelfa Barrett will face Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov for the vacant IBF 130-pound championship on a Matchroom show at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Saturday November 5th. Rakhimov (16-0-1, 13 KOs) gets a second opportunity to fight for the 130-pound crown following his draw with an overweight Joseph Diaz last year.
WBC & WBO / SEPT. 23, 2022: At Thursday's weigh-in in Newark, New Jersey, hometown hero Shakur Stevenson could not get below 131.6 pounds, and therefore lost the WBO and WBC 130-pound championships on the scale. His ESPN main event vs. Robson Conceição is still on, with the Brazilian challenger still eligible to win the titles. If Stevenson wins the twelve-round bout, the two titles become vacant. Conceição made weight with a bit to spare at 129.6. [Stevenson won the fight, so the titles remained vacant until February 2023 when O'Shaquie Foster defeated Rey Vargas for the WBC and Emanuel Navarrete stopped Liam WIlson for the WBO].
WBA / AUG. 21, 2022: Hector Luis Garcia of the Dominican Republic dethroned Roger Gutierrez for the WBA 130-pound championship. From San Juan de la Maguana, Garcia (16-0) proved that his dominant win against Chris Colbert in February wasn’t a fluke. Garcia, a former Olympian, dictated the action and survived a late rally to wrest the WBA title from Gutierrez via unanimous decision. Scores were 117-111 (twice) and 118-110.
IBF / JUNE 4, 2022: Wales has a new world champion as Joe Cordina had a dream-come-true moment in Cardiff. Fightng in front of a passionate hometown crowd, Cordina claimed the IBF 130-pound championship from Japan's Kenichi Ogawa with a turn-out-the-lights right hand. The one-punch, knockout-of-the-year candidate came in round two and saw Ogawa struggling to stand up, only to fall back down as the referee reched the ten count. Cordina was outboxed in the first round, but he made it all irrelevant with one punch a round later. He's been credited as the 13th world champion from Wales. Cordina is listed as 15-0, but Boxingtalk recognizes the World Series of Boxing as professional, so we report him as 17-1. Ogawa, a former drug cheat in 2017, is now 26-2-1.
WBC & WBO / MAY 21, 2022: WBO junior lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson unified two titles when he outboxed WBC champion Oscar Valdez via unanimous decision on Saturday in front of 10,102 fans in Las Vegas. After twelve rounds, the judges declared Newark, New Jersey's Stevenson the winner by scores of 118-109 (twice) and 117-110. Stevenson (20-0 including the World Series of Boxing) established the southpaw jab in the early going, and Valdez (30-1, 23 KOs) could not get his offense going outside of pockets of success in the third round. In the sixth, Stevenson spun Valdez into the ropes and knocked him down with a right hand. It was all Stevenson in the second half of the fight, who built an insurmountable lead on the cards. Valdez won the final round on all three judges' cards, but it was too little, too late.
IBF / NOV. 21, 2021... In the Madison Square Garden co-feature, Japan's Kenichi Ogawa became the new IBF super featherweight champion, dropping South Africa's Azinga Fuzile three times on the way to a unanimous decision. Official scores were 115-110 (twice) and 114-111 for Ogawa to claim the vacant title. A former drug cheat, Ogawa is now 26-1-1 but also has a no contest after testing positive in a fight vs. Tevin Farmer in 2017. Fuzile is now 15-2. The title became vacant ealier this year when JoJo Diaz failed to make the 130-pound limit for a fight.
WBO / OCT. 24, 2021: In Atlanta, Shakur Stevenson stopped Jamel Herring (23-3, 11 KOs) on cuts in round ten to become the new WBO junior lightweight champion. There were no knockdowns, but Herring was well behind on the cards and a cut over his left eye was rapidly worsening from Stevenson's punches. Although he was not badly hurt, Herring did not complain much about referee Mark Nelson's stoppage. The undefeated Stevenson is now a two-division title holder (as well as an Olympic silver medalist), having previously won a featherweight title before moving up in weight. As soon as the fight ended, talk began about Stevenson's next foe. The top name on his list is the WBC champion at 130 pounds, Mexico's Oscar Valdez.
WBC / SEPT. 11, 2021: In Tucson, Arizona, WBC 130-pound champion Oscar Valdez started slow but got some home cooking to help him remain a champion. Robson Conceicao was fighting the fight of his life, likely winning the first five rounds although not getting credit from the judges for it. The champion then turned it around. Valdez retained his title Friday evening with a unanimous decision over 2016 Brazilian Olympian gold medalist Conceicao. Official scores were 115-112 (twice) and a corrupt or incompetent 117-110. [Punchstat numbers favored Conceicao widely, 141 punches landed to 83. Valdez's face was completely marked up from the punches he absorbed. The referee did his part to assist Valdez by making a ridiculous and unjustified point deduction againt the challenger for a minor tap to the back of the head. Not even a warning for Conceicao but Valdez did the same thing and suffered no penalty. Valdez probably should not have even been allowed to fight, as he tested positive for a VADA-banned substance last week.
WBC / FEB. 20, 2021: In Las Vegas, Oscar Valdez and Miguel Berchelt promised an all-Mexican clash for the ages. They delivered. Valdez knocked out Berchelt with a left hook at the end of the tenth round to win the WBC super featherweight title from Berchelt, who was making his seventh title defense. The hook crumpled Berchelt, who fell face-first to the canvas, and referee Russell Mora immediately waved off the fight. Valdez, a former WBO featherweight champion, is now a two-division champion and a major star in boxing. Berchelt (38-2, 34 KOs) had been badly hurt and knocked down in the fourth, but steadied himself and continued to pressure Valdez (29-0, 23 KOs) throughout the middle rounds. Valdez turned the tide once again in the ninth with a knockdown, and with the tenth round in hand, he lowered the boom.
WBA / JAN. 2, 2021: Venezuela's Roger Gutierrez defeated Nicaragua's Rene Alvarado by an extremely narrow unanimous decision in Dallas on Saturday. Gutierrez, who had a prior loss to Alvarado in 2017, scored three knockdowns this time around and needed every one of them to capture the three scorecards by 113-112. It was a very close fight that had Alvarez ahead but things were still up for grabs going into the final round. A twelfth-round left hook from Gutierrez sent Alvarado to the canvas for the third time and proved to be the difference on the scorecards. With the win, Gutierrez acquires the WBA regular junior lightweight title in a situation hopelessly mucked up by the WBA. Right now Gervonta Davis holds the WBA super championship in this division and also the WBA regular championship at lightweight, but under the WBA rules, a super championship in the super featherweight should never have been issued. So Gutierrez has a stronger claim to being the WBA 130-pound champion.
WBO / MAY 26, 2019: Marine Corps veteran Jamel Herring completed his Hollywood story, upsetting WBO junior lightweight champion Masayuki "The Judge" Ito via unanimous decision Saturday evening at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida. It was a highly active yet largely tactical match-up between Ito (25-2-1, 13 KOs) and veteran challenger Jamel Herring (20-2, 10 KOs). With Herring’s stamina fading slightly down the stretch, Ito’s best rounds came in the final quarter of the fight, however it was too little too late as Herring won a unanimous decision by scores of 116-112 and 118-110 (twice). Herring accomplished his championship dream on Memorial Day weekend in front of a host of active and reserve U.S. Marines.
WBO / JULY 29, 2019: Masayuki Ito traveled halfway around the world but he will return home with the WBO 130-pound championship. Ito, from Tokyo, defeated Puerto Rico's Christopher “Pitufo” Diaz via unanimous decision (116-111, 117-110, 118-109) on Saturday evening at the Kissimmee (Florida) Civic Center. Ito claimed the title that had been vacated by Vasyl Lomachenko. Ito (24-1-1, 12 KOs) knocked down Diaz (23-1, 15 KOs) in the fourth round and controlled the tempo of the fight,
WBC / JAN 29, 2017: The WBC 130-pound title now belongs to Miguel Berchelt, who punished Francisco Vargas in Indio, California. The HBO Boxing After Dark fight went on a couple of rounds too long as Berchelt turned Vargas’ face into a bloody wreck. The ringside physician declined two opportunities to stop the fight, and when it was over, the cut above Vargas’ left eye was longer than the eye itself. Berchelt is now 30-1, with lone loss coming in 2014 to non-contender Luis Eduardo Florez. Bechelt’s first defense could be against former WBC champion Takashi Miura, who won an eliminator on the undercard. Another possibility is Orlando Salido, a former featherweight champion who recently drew with Vargas. Meanwhile, Vargas is now 23-1-1, and showed some effects from back-to-back wars vs. Miura and Salido.
IBF / JAN. 14, 2017: Baltimore's Gervonta "Tank" Davis (17-0 with 16 KOs) punished and stopped Jose Pedraza (22-1 with 12 KOs) to claim the IBF 130-pound championship. Just 22 years old, Davis is built like Mike Tyson. He certainly fought in a Tysonesque manner, bulling forward to take the Puerto Rican Pedraza's title in round seven. Davis started aggressively and landed some hard shots in the opening round. Davis continued to show he meant business, hitting Pedraza when Pedraza was down on a slip in round two and engaging in rabbit punches in round three. In the fourth round, Pedraza made some adjustments, landing enough to make Davis shake his head no, trying to indicate he wasn't hurt. In the fifth, Pedraza controlled the action for most of the round until both men put on a display of machismo, thrilling the crowd by trading punches with their hands down. Davis hurt Pedraza badly with a left hook to the ribs, forcing Pedraza to fight the remainder of the round with his right hand down to cover the rib. Davis punished the one-handed Pedraza accordingly, and it looked as though the fight might be stopped by the ringside doctor between rounds. The seventh round eventually got started, and the weakened Pedraza could no nothing but absorb punishment against the ropes. A hard combination punctuated by a right decked Pedraza. The Puerto Rican beat the count but the referee wisely ended the bout immediately.
WBC / JUNE 6, 2016: Francisco Vargas and Orlando Salido fight to a draw. WBC / NOV. 21, 2015: In Las Vegas, Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura gave boxing fans an instant classic. The Mexican Vargas (23-0-1) took the WBC 130-pound championship from Japan's Takashi Miura (29-3-2). In round one, Vargas nearly knocked Takashi down with a looping right hand. Despite doing his best to make it an early night, Vargas was unable to finish Miura off. Soon, Miura began to time his left hand and he dropped Vargas with a straight right hand at the end of round four. After being cut under his right eye by an accidental clash of heads in the earlier rounds, Miura opened a cut on top of Vargas' eye turning his face into a bloody mask. Rounds 5-8 were all Miura, as the soon-to-be-ex champ landed the cleaner, harder shots for the majority of those frames. But Vargas was not to be denied. He came out blazing in the ninth and dropped Miura with a series of heavy shots. After flopping around on the canvas, Miura made it to his feet and his found his balance. After not punching back for nearly 30 seconds, referee Tony Weeks appeared to stop the bout just when it seemed Miura was getting his feet back under him.
WBO / JUNE 11, 2016: Ukrainian Vasiliy Lomachenko defeated Roman "Rocky" Martinez in a fifth-round knockout at Madison Square Garden to become the WBO junior lightweight champion. Lomachenko, a two-time Olympic champion, is now a two-division professional champion. Lomachenko made a successful debut at 130 pounds with a spectacular, fifth-round knockout of Martinez. IBF / JUNE 14, 2015: In the opening bout of the Showtime doubleheader from Birmingham, Alabama, Jose Pedraza (20-0, 12 KOs) dominated Andrey Klimov (20-1, 9 KOs) from the opening bell to claim the vacant IBF junior lightweight title with a unanimous decision victory. The Puerto Rican Pedraza, making his 2015 debut, triumphed by the scores of 120-108 (twice) and 119-109. The IBF title was last held by Cuba's Rances Barthelemy.
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Junior lightweight championship overview
Here is a look at the recent lineage of the four major championships in the junior lightweight (130-pound) weight class. The current champions are Emanuel Navarrete (WBO), O'Shaquie Foster (WBC), Anthony Cacace (IBF) and Lamont Roach (WBA). Boxingtalk will be updating and expanding this recent history of the junior lightweight class from time to time.
WBO / DEC. 8, 2024: In Phoenix, Emanuel Navarrete stopped Oscar Valdez in round six with a left hook to the body, retaining his WBO junior lightweight world title. Navarrete (39-2-1, 32 KOs) had already bested Valdez (32-3, 24 KOs) once, by decision in August 2023, but this time, the fighting pride of Nogales, Mexico, did not see the final bell. Navarrete knocked down Valdez three times, including at the end of the opening round. While Valdez succeeded in small pockets, the three-division champion landed the harder, more telling blows. It was a return to form for Navarrete, who bounced back from May's decision loss to Denys Berinchyk for the WBO lightweight title. He came back to the junior lightweight ranks and used his awkward style and looping punches to once again blunt Valdez's aggression.
WBC / NOV. 3, 2024: O'Shaquie Foster (23-3, 12 KOs) is now a two-time junior lightweight champion. Foster regained the WBC world title with a split decision victory over Robson Conceição (19-3-1, 9 KOs) on Saturday evening at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. Two judges scored it 115-113 for Foster, while one scored it 115-113 for Conceição. Conceição dethroned Foster with a hard-fought verdict in July, prompting the rematch less than four months later. By the seventh, Foster began to wear down Conceição. The Brazilian fired back, but Foster consistently defended against Conceição’s right hand, countering sharply with a right of his own. In the tenth, Foster buzzed Conceição with a one-two, but Conceição survived before trading blows in the championship rounds.
WBC / JULY 26, 2024: The WBC Board of Governors has ordered a direct rematch between WBC 130-pound champion Robson Conceciao and the man he controversially beat for the title last month, former champ O'Shaquie Foster. On July 6th, Conceicao upset Foster by split decision to win the WBC title in a tactical affair. Conceicao fell short in world title bids three times before but this time, the judges though he did just enough to win. The verdict that sparked immediate debate. Conceicao (19-2-1, 9 KOs) prevailed by scores of 116-112 and 115-113, while Foster held a 116-112 edge on the third card. Boxingtalk reviewed the fight and scored it 115-113 for Foster.
IBF / MAY 19, 2024: Anthony Cacace (22-1, 8 KOs) is now the IBF champion after stopping Wales' Joe Cordina (17-1, 9 KOs) in round eight in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia. Cacace, from Belfast, Northern Ireland, became a world champion at the advanced age of 35. Punchstats credited Cacace with outlanding Cordina, 282 punches to 113. Cacace was breaking down Cordina against the ropes when the referee delcared the bout over and Cacace the new champion.
WBO / MAY 19, 2024: He tried moving up to 135 pounds, but Emanuel Navarrete (38-2-1, 31 KOs) failed in his attempt to become a four-division champion.On the same day Oleksandr Usyk captured the undisputed world heavyweight championsip, Usyk's 2012 Olympic temmate, Denys Berinchyk defeated Navarrete by split decision to win the vacant WBO lightweight world title in San Diego. Berinchyk prevailed by scores of 116-112 and 115-113, while Navarrete won the third card, 116-112. Navarrete remains the WBO 130-pound champion.
WBA / NOV. 26, 2023: In Las Vegas, Lamont Roach wrested away Héctor García’s WBA super featherweight title in his second attempt at a belt. Roach dropped García in the twelfth round and wound up winning a split decision by scores of 116-111, 114-113 and 113-114 in a technical and strategic fight. [The result is controversial as Roach appeared to knock Garcia down with an improper blow to the back of the head]. The knockdown caused the WBA title to change hands as it allowed Roach to avoid a split-draw. The punch in question was a the left hook that landed with 1:20 left in the fight and drove García into the canvas for the second time in his career. In 2019, Roach came up short in his first title shot against Jamel Herring, also a southpaw
WBO / NOV. 16, 2023... Robson Conceicao of Brazil showed incredible heart, battling through two knockdowns and an apparent broken nose to get a draw against WBO champion Emanuel Navarrete. Conceicao, age 35, is a three-time Olympian, gold medal winner and three time world title challenger. After a legitimate loss to Shakur Stevenson and a controversial one to Oscar Valdez in prior title fights, Conceicao was all smiles after the bruising stalemate. Official scores were 113-113 (twice) and 114-112 (Navarrete). With the draw, Navarrete retains his title.
IBF / NOV. 4, 2023: The IBF 130-pound title remained with Joe Cordina of Wales who edged Edward Vazquez of Texas via a debatable majority decision. After twelve exciting and very competitive rounds in Monte Carlo, the three neutral judges scored it 114-114 and 116-112 (twice) for Cordina. Now 19-2 including the World Series of Boxing, Cordina is regarded as one of the best British fighters today and is a two-time champion. Cordina's first reign ended due to injury, and both of his losses date back to the Word Series of Boxing. Vazquez returns to Texas at 15-2, with both losses being controversial. Most feel Vazquez was robbed against Raymond Ford in 2022.
WBC / OCT. 29, 2023: O'Shaquie Foster was in position to lose by split decision before gaining a thrilling twelfth-round technical knockout victory over Eduardo Hernandez on Saturday. Fighting a Mexican in Cancun, Mexico, Foster and Hernandez went to war in round eleven. Foster was then three minutes away from losing his title to some very bad judging, as he entered the final round trailing on two of the official scorecards by 110-99 and 107-102. Foster led on the third scorecard by 106-103 but that would not have been enought to save his title. So he came out aggressively and kept his WBC super featherweight championship by knocking Hernandez down and then stopping him. It was dramatic stuff from the Houston resident, who is now 21-2 on ths his career. Boxingtalk salutes Hernandez, who is now 34-2, as well as Foster.
WBO / AUG. 12, 2023: Emanuel Navarrete defeated former two-division champion Oscar Valdez in a classic Mexican war held in Glendale, Arizona. Navarrete, a three-division champion, retained the WBO junior lightweight championship by unanimous decision. The official scores were 116-112, 118-110 and 119-109. Navarrete threw 1038 punches according to Compubox, outlanding Valdez 216-140. Valdez finished with swelling plus a deep bruise under his right eye. Valdez has now failed in his last two title fights, vs. Shakur Stevenson and now Navarrete.
IBF/ APRIL 24, 2023: Joe Cordina became a two-time IBF 130-pound champion, winning a unanimous decision over Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov in a thriller of a bout held in Cordina's native Wales. The two men both entered the fight undefeated, as Cordina briefly held the title last year but had to give it up due to injury. The vacant belt was then won by Rakhimov last November, setting up Saturday's match
WBC / FEB. 12, 2023: With the words “ice water” and “shock the world” etched on his trunks, O’Shaquie Foster produced the fight of his life, coolly and methodically outboxing two-division champion Rey Vargas to capture the vacant WBC junior lightweight championship in his first title shot at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Foster, who normally switches to southpaw in his fights, fought orthodox for the entire twelve rounds with the objective of befuddling Vargas. He won by scores of 116-112, 117-111 and 119-109 in a dominant, albeit very competitive win. “I can’t put it into words (what this means),” Foster said in the ring afterward. “I know my mom, my uncle, my grandpa, they are all looking down on me.” Vargas was returning to the Alamodome after winning the WBC featherweight championship in his last bout with a decision victory over Mark Magsayo at the same venue last July. He still holds that title, so a return to 126 pounds may be in the cards for Vargas.
WBO / FEB. 4, 2023: In Glendale, Arizona, Mexico's Emanuel Navarrete (37-1) survived a knockdown and stopped Australia's Liam Wilson (11-2) in a thriller to earn the vacant WBO 130-pound championship. By claiming the title recently vacated by Shakur Stevenson, Navarrete become a three-division champion. Though Wilson lost, he established himself as a skillful and exciting boxer, and earned a return invitiation to the world stage. In round four, Navarrete was knocked down for the first time in his career. As Navarrete lunged forward with a punch, Wilson caught him with a combination that floored and hurt Navarrete. Luckily for him, Navarrete got critical extra seconds of recovery time as his mouth piece needed to be replaced, and Navarrete struggled to put in correctly. Round seven saw Navarrete swing the momentum his way, as blood began to flow freely from Wilson's nose. In round eight, Wilson appeared to be fighting the wrong kind of fight, looking for one big shot while Navarrete landed multiple blows upstairs and downstairs. Navarrete's body work paid off in round nine, as he knocked down Wilson in the first minute with a one-two combination. Wilson got up, but was clearly drained. He absorbed a lot of hard punches, stumbled badly in the middle of the ring, and seemed unable to tie up Navarrete up. When Navarrete trapped Wilson against the rope and began raining in punches, the referee had no choice but to stop the bout.
WBA / JAN. 8, 2023: In Washington D.C., Gervonta Davis defeated WBA 130-pound champion Hector Luis Garcia in a 135-pound bout in which Garcia's title was not at stake. Davis' feared punching power did not produce the knockout the fans were looking for, but it nonetheless proved to be Garcia's undoing. After seven competitive rounds, Davis began consistently landing power punches in round eight. Garcia was staggered but survived until the end of the round. Garcia was guided back to his corner in clear distress and told trainer Bob Santos he could not see. Garcia did not come out for round ten, and Davis was the winner by technical knockout. Davis remains the WBA regular title holder in the lightweight division, while the battered Garcia also retains the WBA junior lightweight title, which was not on the line because this was a lightweight bout. Davis led the cards at the time of the stoppage, 78-74 (twice) and 79-73. Punchstats gave Davis the lead in punches landed, 99-55.
IBF / NOV 6, 2022: In Abu Dhabi, Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov won the vacant IBF 130-pound title after the IBF stripped Joe Cordina for having hand surgery. Rakhimov defeated Zelfa Barrett by ninth-round technical knockout. The new champ is from Tajikistan and boasts a pro record of 16-0-1 with the draw coming in a prior IBF title shot vs. Joseph "JoJo" Diaz last year. Barrett was doing well in the fight as a whole, even knocking Rakhimov down with a huge uppercut early in the contest. But according to DAZN, something happened in the ninth round and Barrett's leg appeared to be injured. It looked like Barrett couldn't put full weight on his right leg, and Rakhimov took advantage with a flurry of hard shots to knock Barrett down twice. At the point the fight was stopped, the referee did not administer a count, although Barrett's corner was ready to throw in the towel. The British Barrett is now 28-2.
IBF / OCT. 5, 2022: Joe Cordina had this to say about getting stripped by the IBF of his 130-pound championship because he had hand surgery (he posted a picture on social media to prove it): "Absolutely gutted. Worked my whole life to become a world champion and I haven’t even had the chance to defend the title Feel like I’ve been robbed !!" Zelfa Barrett will face Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov for the vacant IBF 130-pound championship on a Matchroom show at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Saturday November 5th. Rakhimov (16-0-1, 13 KOs) gets a second opportunity to fight for the 130-pound crown following his draw with an overweight Joseph Diaz last year.
WBC & WBO / SEPT. 23, 2022: At Thursday's weigh-in in Newark, New Jersey, hometown hero Shakur Stevenson could not get below 131.6 pounds, and therefore lost the WBO and WBC 130-pound championships on the scale. His ESPN main event vs. Robson Conceição is still on, with the Brazilian challenger still eligible to win the titles. If Stevenson wins the twelve-round bout, the two titles become vacant. Conceição made weight with a bit to spare at 129.6. [Stevenson won the fight, so the titles remained vacant until February 2023 when O'Shaquie Foster defeated Rey Vargas for the WBC and Emanuel Navarrete stopped Liam WIlson for the WBO].
WBA / AUG. 21, 2022: Hector Luis Garcia of the Dominican Republic dethroned Roger Gutierrez for the WBA 130-pound championship. From San Juan de la Maguana, Garcia (16-0) proved that his dominant win against Chris Colbert in February wasn’t a fluke. Garcia, a former Olympian, dictated the action and survived a late rally to wrest the WBA title from Gutierrez via unanimous decision. Scores were 117-111 (twice) and 118-110.
IBF / JUNE 4, 2022: Wales has a new world champion as Joe Cordina had a dream-come-true moment in Cardiff. Fightng in front of a passionate hometown crowd, Cordina claimed the IBF 130-pound championship from Japan's Kenichi Ogawa with a turn-out-the-lights right hand. The one-punch, knockout-of-the-year candidate came in round two and saw Ogawa struggling to stand up, only to fall back down as the referee reched the ten count. Cordina was outboxed in the first round, but he made it all irrelevant with one punch a round later. He's been credited as the 13th world champion from Wales. Cordina is listed as 15-0, but Boxingtalk recognizes the World Series of Boxing as professional, so we report him as 17-1. Ogawa, a former drug cheat in 2017, is now 26-2-1.
WBC & WBO / MAY 21, 2022: WBO junior lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson unified two titles when he outboxed WBC champion Oscar Valdez via unanimous decision on Saturday in front of 10,102 fans in Las Vegas. After twelve rounds, the judges declared Newark, New Jersey's Stevenson the winner by scores of 118-109 (twice) and 117-110. Stevenson (20-0 including the World Series of Boxing) established the southpaw jab in the early going, and Valdez (30-1, 23 KOs) could not get his offense going outside of pockets of success in the third round. In the sixth, Stevenson spun Valdez into the ropes and knocked him down with a right hand. It was all Stevenson in the second half of the fight, who built an insurmountable lead on the cards. Valdez won the final round on all three judges' cards, but it was too little, too late.
IBF / NOV. 21, 2021... In the Madison Square Garden co-feature, Japan's Kenichi Ogawa became the new IBF super featherweight champion, dropping South Africa's Azinga Fuzile three times on the way to a unanimous decision. Official scores were 115-110 (twice) and 114-111 for Ogawa to claim the vacant title. A former drug cheat, Ogawa is now 26-1-1 but also has a no contest after testing positive in a fight vs. Tevin Farmer in 2017. Fuzile is now 15-2. The title became vacant ealier this year when JoJo Diaz failed to make the 130-pound limit for a fight.
WBO / OCT. 24, 2021: In Atlanta, Shakur Stevenson stopped Jamel Herring (23-3, 11 KOs) on cuts in round ten to become the new WBO junior lightweight champion. There were no knockdowns, but Herring was well behind on the cards and a cut over his left eye was rapidly worsening from Stevenson's punches. Although he was not badly hurt, Herring did not complain much about referee Mark Nelson's stoppage. The undefeated Stevenson is now a two-division title holder (as well as an Olympic silver medalist), having previously won a featherweight title before moving up in weight. As soon as the fight ended, talk began about Stevenson's next foe. The top name on his list is the WBC champion at 130 pounds, Mexico's Oscar Valdez.
WBC / SEPT. 11, 2021: In Tucson, Arizona, WBC 130-pound champion Oscar Valdez started slow but got some home cooking to help him remain a champion. Robson Conceicao was fighting the fight of his life, likely winning the first five rounds although not getting credit from the judges for it. The champion then turned it around. Valdez retained his title Friday evening with a unanimous decision over 2016 Brazilian Olympian gold medalist Conceicao. Official scores were 115-112 (twice) and a corrupt or incompetent 117-110. [Punchstat numbers favored Conceicao widely, 141 punches landed to 83. Valdez's face was completely marked up from the punches he absorbed. The referee did his part to assist Valdez by making a ridiculous and unjustified point deduction againt the challenger for a minor tap to the back of the head. Not even a warning for Conceicao but Valdez did the same thing and suffered no penalty. Valdez probably should not have even been allowed to fight, as he tested positive for a VADA-banned substance last week.
WBC / FEB. 20, 2021: In Las Vegas, Oscar Valdez and Miguel Berchelt promised an all-Mexican clash for the ages. They delivered. Valdez knocked out Berchelt with a left hook at the end of the tenth round to win the WBC super featherweight title from Berchelt, who was making his seventh title defense. The hook crumpled Berchelt, who fell face-first to the canvas, and referee Russell Mora immediately waved off the fight. Valdez, a former WBO featherweight champion, is now a two-division champion and a major star in boxing. Berchelt (38-2, 34 KOs) had been badly hurt and knocked down in the fourth, but steadied himself and continued to pressure Valdez (29-0, 23 KOs) throughout the middle rounds. Valdez turned the tide once again in the ninth with a knockdown, and with the tenth round in hand, he lowered the boom.
WBA / JAN. 2, 2021: Venezuela's Roger Gutierrez defeated Nicaragua's Rene Alvarado by an extremely narrow unanimous decision in Dallas on Saturday. Gutierrez, who had a prior loss to Alvarado in 2017, scored three knockdowns this time around and needed every one of them to capture the three scorecards by 113-112. It was a very close fight that had Alvarez ahead but things were still up for grabs going into the final round. A twelfth-round left hook from Gutierrez sent Alvarado to the canvas for the third time and proved to be the difference on the scorecards. With the win, Gutierrez acquires the WBA regular junior lightweight title in a situation hopelessly mucked up by the WBA. Right now Gervonta Davis holds the WBA super championship in this division and also the WBA regular championship at lightweight, but under the WBA rules, a super championship in the super featherweight should never have been issued. So Gutierrez has a stronger claim to being the WBA 130-pound champion.
WBO / MAY 26, 2019: Marine Corps veteran Jamel Herring completed his Hollywood story, upsetting WBO junior lightweight champion Masayuki "The Judge" Ito via unanimous decision Saturday evening at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida. It was a highly active yet largely tactical match-up between Ito (25-2-1, 13 KOs) and veteran challenger Jamel Herring (20-2, 10 KOs). With Herring’s stamina fading slightly down the stretch, Ito’s best rounds came in the final quarter of the fight, however it was too little too late as Herring won a unanimous decision by scores of 116-112 and 118-110 (twice). Herring accomplished his championship dream on Memorial Day weekend in front of a host of active and reserve U.S. Marines.
WBO / JULY 29, 2019: Masayuki Ito traveled halfway around the world but he will return home with the WBO 130-pound championship. Ito, from Tokyo, defeated Puerto Rico's Christopher “Pitufo” Diaz via unanimous decision (116-111, 117-110, 118-109) on Saturday evening at the Kissimmee (Florida) Civic Center. Ito claimed the title that had been vacated by Vasyl Lomachenko. Ito (24-1-1, 12 KOs) knocked down Diaz (23-1, 15 KOs) in the fourth round and controlled the tempo of the fight,
WBC / JAN 29, 2017: The WBC 130-pound title now belongs to Miguel Berchelt, who punished Francisco Vargas in Indio, California. The HBO Boxing After Dark fight went on a couple of rounds too long as Berchelt turned Vargas’ face into a bloody wreck. The ringside physician declined two opportunities to stop the fight, and when it was over, the cut above Vargas’ left eye was longer than the eye itself. Berchelt is now 30-1, with lone loss coming in 2014 to non-contender Luis Eduardo Florez. Bechelt’s first defense could be against former WBC champion Takashi Miura, who won an eliminator on the undercard. Another possibility is Orlando Salido, a former featherweight champion who recently drew with Vargas. Meanwhile, Vargas is now 23-1-1, and showed some effects from back-to-back wars vs. Miura and Salido.
IBF / JAN. 14, 2017: Baltimore's Gervonta "Tank" Davis (17-0 with 16 KOs) punished and stopped Jose Pedraza (22-1 with 12 KOs) to claim the IBF 130-pound championship. Just 22 years old, Davis is built like Mike Tyson. He certainly fought in a Tysonesque manner, bulling forward to take the Puerto Rican Pedraza's title in round seven. Davis started aggressively and landed some hard shots in the opening round. Davis continued to show he meant business, hitting Pedraza when Pedraza was down on a slip in round two and engaging in rabbit punches in round three. In the fourth round, Pedraza made some adjustments, landing enough to make Davis shake his head no, trying to indicate he wasn't hurt. In the fifth, Pedraza controlled the action for most of the round until both men put on a display of machismo, thrilling the crowd by trading punches with their hands down. Davis hurt Pedraza badly with a left hook to the ribs, forcing Pedraza to fight the remainder of the round with his right hand down to cover the rib. Davis punished the one-handed Pedraza accordingly, and it looked as though the fight might be stopped by the ringside doctor between rounds. The seventh round eventually got started, and the weakened Pedraza could no nothing but absorb punishment against the ropes. A hard combination punctuated by a right decked Pedraza. The Puerto Rican beat the count but the referee wisely ended the bout immediately.
WBC / JUNE 6, 2016: Francisco Vargas and Orlando Salido fight to a draw. WBC / NOV. 21, 2015: In Las Vegas, Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura gave boxing fans an instant classic. The Mexican Vargas (23-0-1) took the WBC 130-pound championship from Japan's Takashi Miura (29-3-2). In round one, Vargas nearly knocked Takashi down with a looping right hand. Despite doing his best to make it an early night, Vargas was unable to finish Miura off. Soon, Miura began to time his left hand and he dropped Vargas with a straight right hand at the end of round four. After being cut under his right eye by an accidental clash of heads in the earlier rounds, Miura opened a cut on top of Vargas' eye turning his face into a bloody mask. Rounds 5-8 were all Miura, as the soon-to-be-ex champ landed the cleaner, harder shots for the majority of those frames. But Vargas was not to be denied. He came out blazing in the ninth and dropped Miura with a series of heavy shots. After flopping around on the canvas, Miura made it to his feet and his found his balance. After not punching back for nearly 30 seconds, referee Tony Weeks appeared to stop the bout just when it seemed Miura was getting his feet back under him.
WBO / JUNE 11, 2016: Ukrainian Vasiliy Lomachenko defeated Roman "Rocky" Martinez in a fifth-round knockout at Madison Square Garden to become the WBO junior lightweight champion. Lomachenko, a two-time Olympic champion, is now a two-division professional champion. Lomachenko made a successful debut at 130 pounds with a spectacular, fifth-round knockout of Martinez. IBF / JUNE 14, 2015: In the opening bout of the Showtime doubleheader from Birmingham, Alabama, Jose Pedraza (20-0, 12 KOs) dominated Andrey Klimov (20-1, 9 KOs) from the opening bell to claim the vacant IBF junior lightweight title with a unanimous decision victory. The Puerto Rican Pedraza, making his 2015 debut, triumphed by the scores of 120-108 (twice) and 119-109. The IBF title was last held by Cuba's Rances Barthelemy.
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Scrappy Ramirez to face Ephraim Bui on Saturday |
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Fighting this Saturday night for the first time since the initial loss of his pro career in April, super flyweight John “Scrappy” Ramirez (13-1, 9 KOs) will be seeking redemption in a ten-round match versus Ephraim Bui (10-0, 8 KOs). Ramirez vs. Bui is on a Golden Boy-show headlined by Alexis Rocha vs. Raul Curiel, streaming live on DAZN from Toyota Arena in Ontario, California. Despite a limited amateur career, Ramirez fought numerous bouts during the pandemic. But he lost a twelve-round decision in Brooklyn to Fernando David Jimenez (16-1, 5-1, 11 KOs) for the vacant WBA 115-pound title.
It was simply a case of too much, too soon for Ramirez, who now fully comprehends the maturation process in pro boxing. “I’m a much more seasoned fighter now,” Ramirez said. “I’ve been around the block, going twelve rounds in my last fight, and I’m more patient and calculated, knowing how to set things up. I know I have the skills to be world champion, but I lacked experience that I now have. I know what to expect and I just need to follow the game plan and be me. I got it... The Jimenez fight is in the past. I’m a firm believer in learning from situations. I’ve played other sports and lost. In a way, it is a blessing for me. I have a great team behind me and good support. I’ve learned from the loss but I’m not thinking about that fight anymore. I got my lesson and learned from it for bigger and better things that are coming for me.”
A gym rat, Ramirez isn’t concerned about his eight-months out of the ring, largely because he continued working hard to additionally develop his craft, barely taking a break. “It’s a problem if you just sit and aren’t active,” WBA No. 7 rated Ramirez spoke about his inactivity, “but I used the time to improve and for personal growth. I used it wisely to better my craft. I’m optimistic; I’m going to end the year with a bang. I always look at the light through the dark. I have everything it takes to become world champion.”
“Scrappy” Ramirez is a charter member of 3 Point Management (3 PM), which has a growing stable of gifted boxers including WBA & WBO cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs), super middleweight Darius “DFG” Fulgham (13-0, 11 KOs), light heavyweight Champion Kareem “Supreme” Hackett (12-1, 6 KOs) and German junior welterweight Simon “Saucy” Vollmer (6-0, 2 KOs).
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Scrappy Ramirez to face Ephraim Bui on Saturday
Fighting this Saturday night for the first time since the initial loss of his pro career in April, super flyweight John “Scrappy” Ramirez (13-1, 9 KOs) will be seeking redemption in a ten-round match versus Ephraim Bui (10-0, 8 KOs). Ramirez vs. Bui is on a Golden Boy-show headlined by Alexis Rocha vs. Raul Curiel, streaming live on DAZN from Toyota Arena in Ontario, California. Despite a limited amateur career, Ramirez fought numerous bouts during the pandemic. But he lost a twelve-round decision in Brooklyn to Fernando David Jimenez (16-1, 5-1, 11 KOs) for the vacant WBA 115-pound title.
It was simply a case of too much, too soon for Ramirez, who now fully comprehends the maturation process in pro boxing. “I’m a much more seasoned fighter now,” Ramirez said. “I’ve been around the block, going twelve rounds in my last fight, and I’m more patient and calculated, knowing how to set things up. I know I have the skills to be world champion, but I lacked experience that I now have. I know what to expect and I just need to follow the game plan and be me. I got it... The Jimenez fight is in the past. I’m a firm believer in learning from situations. I’ve played other sports and lost. In a way, it is a blessing for me. I have a great team behind me and good support. I’ve learned from the loss but I’m not thinking about that fight anymore. I got my lesson and learned from it for bigger and better things that are coming for me.”
A gym rat, Ramirez isn’t concerned about his eight-months out of the ring, largely because he continued working hard to additionally develop his craft, barely taking a break. “It’s a problem if you just sit and aren’t active,” WBA No. 7 rated Ramirez spoke about his inactivity, “but I used the time to improve and for personal growth. I used it wisely to better my craft. I’m optimistic; I’m going to end the year with a bang. I always look at the light through the dark. I have everything it takes to become world champion.”
“Scrappy” Ramirez is a charter member of 3 Point Management (3 PM), which has a growing stable of gifted boxers including WBA & WBO cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs), super middleweight Darius “DFG” Fulgham (13-0, 11 KOs), light heavyweight Champion Kareem “Supreme” Hackett (12-1, 6 KOs) and German junior welterweight Simon “Saucy” Vollmer (6-0, 2 KOs).
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Bantamweights featured on Orlando show at WBA convention |
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The WBA's KO Drugs show will kick off the 103rd WBA Convention on Friday at the Caribe Royale Hotel in Orlando, Florida. The DAZN-broadcasted show will be promoted by Boxlab and MVP. The main fight will be the interim bantamweight championship between Antonio Vargas and Winston Guerrero. Another important fight will be that of Orlando native Jeovanny Estela, who will clash with Venezuelan Jocksan Blanco at junior middleweight. In addition, Cuban heavyweight Lenier Peró will step into the ring to face Walter Burns of the United States. Another Cuban, junior middleweight Alex Bray, will fight Filipino Daniel Lim. KO Drugs is the boxing event that takes place at every convention and this time it will be on the first day.
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Bantamweights featured on Orlando show at WBA convention
The WBA's KO Drugs show will kick off the 103rd WBA Convention on Friday at the Caribe Royale Hotel in Orlando, Florida. The DAZN-broadcasted show will be promoted by Boxlab and MVP. The main fight will be the interim bantamweight championship between Antonio Vargas and Winston Guerrero. Another important fight will be that of Orlando native Jeovanny Estela, who will clash with Venezuelan Jocksan Blanco at junior middleweight. In addition, Cuban heavyweight Lenier Peró will step into the ring to face Walter Burns of the United States. Another Cuban, junior middleweight Alex Bray, will fight Filipino Daniel Lim. KO Drugs is the boxing event that takes place at every convention and this time it will be on the first day.
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Team Combat League to return for third season |
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Team Combat League (TCL) announced an agreement with FuboTV Inc. to broadcast TCL content on Fubo Sports, Fubo’s free ad-supported streaming TV network, ahead of TCL’s upcoming third season. Set to begin another season of fast-paced action on March 20, 2025 in Boston, TCL has changed modern perceptions of professional boxing by offering a team model of national competition. Now with 12 teams in four divisions competing out of major U.S. markets, TCL and its firework-filled format has quickly solidified into a viable, fan-friendly disruptor in the boxing marketplace. TCL boxers compete in 18 individual one-round contests and accumulate points for their respective teams. Like other league-based sports, TCL pits male and female competitors in heated “city vs. city” matchups, spanning eight different weight classes, to determine playoff matchups which culminate with the spectacular Mega Brawl finals.
TCL President Dewey Cooper expressed his excitement to be expanding the breakout boxing concept onto FuboTV and its huge reach of subscribers in North America and Europe.
Launched in 2019 and female-founded, Fubo Sports features live sports, topical shows and award-winning documentaries. Fubo Sports, owned and operated by live TV streaming platform Fubo, streams over 550 hours of live content each year. Stream TCL on Fubo Sports for free on Amazon Freevee, LG Channels, Samsung TV Plus, Sling Freestream, The Roku Channel, VIZIO WatchFree+, Tubi, Plex and Tablo TV. Fubo Sports is also available as part of Fubo’s subscription packages that aggregate more than 400 live sports, news and entertainment networks.
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Team Combat League to return for third season
Team Combat League (TCL) announced an agreement with FuboTV Inc. to broadcast TCL content on Fubo Sports, Fubo’s free ad-supported streaming TV network, ahead of TCL’s upcoming third season. Set to begin another season of fast-paced action on March 20, 2025 in Boston, TCL has changed modern perceptions of professional boxing by offering a team model of national competition. Now with 12 teams in four divisions competing out of major U.S. markets, TCL and its firework-filled format has quickly solidified into a viable, fan-friendly disruptor in the boxing marketplace. TCL boxers compete in 18 individual one-round contests and accumulate points for their respective teams. Like other league-based sports, TCL pits male and female competitors in heated “city vs. city” matchups, spanning eight different weight classes, to determine playoff matchups which culminate with the spectacular Mega Brawl finals.
TCL President Dewey Cooper expressed his excitement to be expanding the breakout boxing concept onto FuboTV and its huge reach of subscribers in North America and Europe.
Launched in 2019 and female-founded, Fubo Sports features live sports, topical shows and award-winning documentaries. Fubo Sports, owned and operated by live TV streaming platform Fubo, streams over 550 hours of live content each year. Stream TCL on Fubo Sports for free on Amazon Freevee, LG Channels, Samsung TV Plus, Sling Freestream, The Roku Channel, VIZIO WatchFree+, Tubi, Plex and Tablo TV. Fubo Sports is also available as part of Fubo’s subscription packages that aggregate more than 400 live sports, news and entertainment networks.
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Madrimov temporarily sidelined with acute bronchitis |
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Boxing fans have been wondering how junior middleweight Israel Madrimov would be able to fulifill his murderous boxing schedule of two extremely difficult fights in Saudi Arabia in two months. Madrimov, a former WBA champion, was booked for Serhii Bohachuk on December 21st and Vergil Ortiz Jr. on February 22, 2025, which under the best of circumstances would have been a difficult turnaround. But the issue has now been resolved, as Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, tweeted: "It was confirmed by doctors this evening that Israil Madrimov is suffering from acute bronchitis and has to withdraw from the Dec. 21st fight with Bohachuk. British fighter Ishmael Davis will replace Madrimov who will now rest and recover for his scheduled fight on Feb. 22nd fight with Ortiz."
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Madrimov temporarily sidelined with acute bronchitis
Boxing fans have been wondering how junior middleweight Israel Madrimov would be able to fulifill his murderous boxing schedule of two extremely difficult fights in Saudi Arabia in two months. Madrimov, a former WBA champion, was booked for Serhii Bohachuk on December 21st and Vergil Ortiz Jr. on February 22, 2025, which under the best of circumstances would have been a difficult turnaround. But the issue has now been resolved, as Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, tweeted: "It was confirmed by doctors this evening that Israil Madrimov is suffering from acute bronchitis and has to withdraw from the Dec. 21st fight with Bohachuk. British fighter Ishmael Davis will replace Madrimov who will now rest and recover for his scheduled fight on Feb. 22nd fight with Ortiz."
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Taiwo Agbaje to face Filipino Brian J. Wild in Nigeria |
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At Yakubu Gowon Stadium in Port Harcourt in Nigeria on Friday December 13th, Taiwo Agbaje (16-0 with 11 KOs) will face Filipino Brian James Wild (12-1-1 with 6 KOs)in a featherweight contest promoted by Zeus Sports & Entertainment Promotions. Agbaje turned pro in 2018, and has so far pushed aside every challenge presented to him. In 2022, he made a statement by stopping another Filipino warrior in Richard Pumicpic. In fellow southpaw Wild, he will be in with a young and hungry co-challenger who is full of confidence that he can spoil the party. Wild has only lost to undefeated contender Subaru Murata in Japan, so going abroad for a huge task is nothing new to the 23-year old.
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Taiwo Agbaje to face Filipino Brian J. Wild in Nigeria
At Yakubu Gowon Stadium in Port Harcourt in Nigeria on Friday December 13th, Taiwo Agbaje (16-0 with 11 KOs) will face Filipino Brian James Wild (12-1-1 with 6 KOs)in a featherweight contest promoted by Zeus Sports & Entertainment Promotions. Agbaje turned pro in 2018, and has so far pushed aside every challenge presented to him. In 2022, he made a statement by stopping another Filipino warrior in Richard Pumicpic. In fellow southpaw Wild, he will be in with a young and hungry co-challenger who is full of confidence that he can spoil the party. Wild has only lost to undefeated contender Subaru Murata in Japan, so going abroad for a huge task is nothing new to the 23-year old.
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Finol defeats Olympic gold medalist Zoirov |
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Yoel Finol W10 Shakhobidin Zoirov... On an IBA show in Dubai, Venezuelan bantamweight Yoel Finol won the tightest contest of the evening, beating 2016 Olympic champion Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan by a majority decision. Zoirov (11-1-1 including the World Series of Boxing) opened in a strong manner and Finol (13-5 including the World Series of Boxing) had to respond in the second round to make sure his opponent knew of his abilities. Both had fought several times over three rounds but would face the uncharted ten-round territory between each other for the first time. The familiar swagger of Finol returned in round three who looked confident by the bell. It was a clash of styles, with Zoirov more compact with less movement, while Finol was keener to shake and shimmy, moving around the ring more and throwing his hands in longer combinations. In the eighth round, Zoirov looked to have the momentum as the Venezuelan started to tire while trying to defend himself with a swollen eye. It was an uphill battle after a strong start for Finol and he had to impress in the final round to win. Finol's his hard work seemed to pay off, with one judge calling a draw and the other two scoring 96-94 in favor of Finol. Zoirov held an amateur win over Finol.
Arlen Lopez KO10 Nikita Zon... Two-time Olympic champion Arlen Lopez knocked out the plucky Nikita Zon in the final moments of their light heavyweight match at the Agenda Arena. The Cuban Lopez was set to face another Russian, Sharabutdin Ataev, but Ataev fell ill, meaning Zon was a late replacement. But Zon fancied his chances of winning and refused to admit he was the underdog when asked at the press conference. Including The World Series of Boxing, Lopez is 25-9. The Cuban stood his ground well and had control of the contest in the early rounds. Zon looked the busier boxer but was not efficiently landing. Soon, passivity threatened an undoing for Lopez, who looked shocked by Zon’s resurgence in the sixth round and would be on the receiving end of a corkscrew uppercut in the seventh. Another great left came from Zon in the eighth, but Lopez was resilient and returned the punch. Round nine started with a great left from Zon, but just as momentum seemed to be with the Russian and an upset loomed, it was quickly sapped just seconds later. A great right blow from Lopez dropped Zon to the floor and he faced a count from the referee. With both boxers looking to end on a high note, Lopez landed a great left hook to drop the Russian again and once he got back to his feet was able to drop him a third time. One more heavy blow knocked Zon into the ropes and the bout was ruled a knockout just seconds from the end of the ten-round contest as Lopez directed words towards Zon’s corner in his celebration.
ADDITIONAL RESULTS
Jose Miguel Borrego defeated Ryan Martin of the United States in a welterweight bout. The Mexican advanced well on the front foot and had a strong end to the second round before making Martin the victim of a third-round knockdown, who beat the count after facing a hard left hook. A fantastic fourth round for both boxers would signal what to expect for the rest of the contest which was full of action but favored Borrego.
The Philippines’ Weljon Mindoro continued to live up to his “knockout artist” reputation with a fourth-round stoppage against Joel Camilleri of Australia. This was a super middleweight contest. A beautiful left shot from Camilleri hit Mindoro flush in the face in the second round, and the Filipino responded with a sweet right uppercut into Camilleri’s corner in the third round. Despite that early setback, the Australian was composed and landed several lovely blows while leaning against the ropes to end the third in good stead.
But Mindoro came back again and caused a standing count against Camilleri. The Australian faced a torrent of offense and walked onto a right uppercut to face another count. Still trying to battle his way to the end of the fourth round in a bid to regain composure, he was facing more and more punishment to the point where his corner threw the towel in. Mindoro celebrated with a backflip in elation, while Camilleri, who until the fourth round had looked the better boxer, looked bemused by how quickly his fortune had changed. Legendary Filippino boxer Manny Pacquiao entered the ring to congratulate the compatriot and put the champion’s belt around his waist.
Lightweight Jose Quiles from Spain defeated Ardit Murja of Albania to claim victory after previous losses to Sofiane Ouimha and Javier Ibañez. The highlight was a lovely left hand from Quiles rocked Murja in the sixth round and the Spaniard would go on the attack to ensure another round win.
Democratic Republic of Congo’s Patrick Mukala defeated Paulinus Ndjolonimu of Namibia in quick fashion at light heavyweight. From the first bell, Mukala was in charge against his much taller opponent. Ndjolonimu improved early in the fourth round, providing a challenge to Mukala, but as the fifth round started, Mukala looked hungry to end the contest – landing the perfect right hook that the Namibian could not respond to. He hit the canvas and the match ended by knockout.
Giorgi Kushitashvili defeated Artush Hovhannisyan in the 86kg division. The Georgian was proficient throughout, landing crisper punches than his Armenian opponent, who tired with less efficient strikes. Both boxers were struggling with the eight-round endurance contest by the final round, which led to the pace slowing down, but Kushitashvili was in control throughout.
In the opening round, Puneh Akhundtabarmazandarani of Iran defeated Xenia Jorneac from Romania in the women’s 57kg division by a unanimous decision.
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Finol defeats Olympic gold medalist Zoirov
Yoel Finol W10 Shakhobidin Zoirov... On an IBA show in Dubai, Venezuelan bantamweight Yoel Finol won the tightest contest of the evening, beating 2016 Olympic champion Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan by a majority decision. Zoirov (11-1-1 including the World Series of Boxing) opened in a strong manner and Finol (13-5 including the World Series of Boxing) had to respond in the second round to make sure his opponent knew of his abilities. Both had fought several times over three rounds but would face the uncharted ten-round territory between each other for the first time. The familiar swagger of Finol returned in round three who looked confident by the bell. It was a clash of styles, with Zoirov more compact with less movement, while Finol was keener to shake and shimmy, moving around the ring more and throwing his hands in longer combinations. In the eighth round, Zoirov looked to have the momentum as the Venezuelan started to tire while trying to defend himself with a swollen eye. It was an uphill battle after a strong start for Finol and he had to impress in the final round to win. Finol's his hard work seemed to pay off, with one judge calling a draw and the other two scoring 96-94 in favor of Finol. Zoirov held an amateur win over Finol.
Arlen Lopez KO10 Nikita Zon... Two-time Olympic champion Arlen Lopez knocked out the plucky Nikita Zon in the final moments of their light heavyweight match at the Agenda Arena. The Cuban Lopez was set to face another Russian, Sharabutdin Ataev, but Ataev fell ill, meaning Zon was a late replacement. But Zon fancied his chances of winning and refused to admit he was the underdog when asked at the press conference. Including The World Series of Boxing, Lopez is 25-9. The Cuban stood his ground well and had control of the contest in the early rounds. Zon looked the busier boxer but was not efficiently landing. Soon, passivity threatened an undoing for Lopez, who looked shocked by Zon’s resurgence in the sixth round and would be on the receiving end of a corkscrew uppercut in the seventh. Another great left came from Zon in the eighth, but Lopez was resilient and returned the punch. Round nine started with a great left from Zon, but just as momentum seemed to be with the Russian and an upset loomed, it was quickly sapped just seconds later. A great right blow from Lopez dropped Zon to the floor and he faced a count from the referee. With both boxers looking to end on a high note, Lopez landed a great left hook to drop the Russian again and once he got back to his feet was able to drop him a third time. One more heavy blow knocked Zon into the ropes and the bout was ruled a knockout just seconds from the end of the ten-round contest as Lopez directed words towards Zon’s corner in his celebration.
ADDITIONAL RESULTS
Jose Miguel Borrego defeated Ryan Martin of the United States in a welterweight bout. The Mexican advanced well on the front foot and had a strong end to the second round before making Martin the victim of a third-round knockdown, who beat the count after facing a hard left hook. A fantastic fourth round for both boxers would signal what to expect for the rest of the contest which was full of action but favored Borrego.
The Philippines’ Weljon Mindoro continued to live up to his “knockout artist” reputation with a fourth-round stoppage against Joel Camilleri of Australia. This was a super middleweight contest. A beautiful left shot from Camilleri hit Mindoro flush in the face in the second round, and the Filipino responded with a sweet right uppercut into Camilleri’s corner in the third round. Despite that early setback, the Australian was composed and landed several lovely blows while leaning against the ropes to end the third in good stead.
But Mindoro came back again and caused a standing count against Camilleri. The Australian faced a torrent of offense and walked onto a right uppercut to face another count. Still trying to battle his way to the end of the fourth round in a bid to regain composure, he was facing more and more punishment to the point where his corner threw the towel in. Mindoro celebrated with a backflip in elation, while Camilleri, who until the fourth round had looked the better boxer, looked bemused by how quickly his fortune had changed. Legendary Filippino boxer Manny Pacquiao entered the ring to congratulate the compatriot and put the champion’s belt around his waist.
Lightweight Jose Quiles from Spain defeated Ardit Murja of Albania to claim victory after previous losses to Sofiane Ouimha and Javier Ibañez. The highlight was a lovely left hand from Quiles rocked Murja in the sixth round and the Spaniard would go on the attack to ensure another round win.
Democratic Republic of Congo’s Patrick Mukala defeated Paulinus Ndjolonimu of Namibia in quick fashion at light heavyweight. From the first bell, Mukala was in charge against his much taller opponent. Ndjolonimu improved early in the fourth round, providing a challenge to Mukala, but as the fifth round started, Mukala looked hungry to end the contest – landing the perfect right hook that the Namibian could not respond to. He hit the canvas and the match ended by knockout.
Giorgi Kushitashvili defeated Artush Hovhannisyan in the 86kg division. The Georgian was proficient throughout, landing crisper punches than his Armenian opponent, who tired with less efficient strikes. Both boxers were struggling with the eight-round endurance contest by the final round, which led to the pace slowing down, but Kushitashvili was in control throughout.
In the opening round, Puneh Akhundtabarmazandarani of Iran defeated Xenia Jorneac from Romania in the women’s 57kg division by a unanimous decision.
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More results from Puerto Rico |
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Yankiel Rivera TKO4 Angel Gonzalez... Puerto Rican flyweight Yankiel Rivera (7-0) put on a dominant performance, defeating Angel Gonzalez of the United States by fourth-round technical knockout at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan. The 27-year old dominated a more experienced opponent even though Gonzalez came into the bout undefeated. Rivera, a 2021 Olympian for Puerto Rico, faced an aggressive opponent, but he worked very well with his movement in the ring and was able to counter-attack in a good way to nullify his opponent and in the end land a right hook that sent him to the canvas with no chance of recovery. Gonzalez's record dropped to 14 wins, 1 loss and 7 knockouts. Henry Lebron W10 Christopher Diaz ... In an all Puerto Rican junior lightweight contest, Henry Lebron defeated Christopher "Pitufo" Diaz via ten-round unanimous decision in a competitive fight. The judges’ scorecards read 97-93 and 96-94 (twice). Lebron had to use all his resources to contain “Pitufo” and get the victory. The 27-year old remains undefeated in 20 fights, 10 by knockout, while Diaz has 29 wins, 5 losses and 19 knockouts.
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More results from Puerto Rico
Yankiel Rivera TKO4 Angel Gonzalez... Puerto Rican flyweight Yankiel Rivera (7-0) put on a dominant performance, defeating Angel Gonzalez of the United States by fourth-round technical knockout at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan. The 27-year old dominated a more experienced opponent even though Gonzalez came into the bout undefeated. Rivera, a 2021 Olympian for Puerto Rico, faced an aggressive opponent, but he worked very well with his movement in the ring and was able to counter-attack in a good way to nullify his opponent and in the end land a right hook that sent him to the canvas with no chance of recovery. Gonzalez's record dropped to 14 wins, 1 loss and 7 knockouts. Henry Lebron W10 Christopher Diaz ... In an all Puerto Rican junior lightweight contest, Henry Lebron defeated Christopher "Pitufo" Diaz via ten-round unanimous decision in a competitive fight. The judges’ scorecards read 97-93 and 96-94 (twice). Lebron had to use all his resources to contain “Pitufo” and get the victory. The 27-year old remains undefeated in 20 fights, 10 by knockout, while Diaz has 29 wins, 5 losses and 19 knockouts.
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Kazakhstan's Sultan Zaurbek gets win in Ireland |
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Sultan Zaurbek W10 Damian Wrzesinski ... In Waterford, Ireland, Kazakh junior lightweight Sultan Zaurbek (19-0, 13 KOs) defeated Poland's Damian Wrzesinski (28-4-2, 7 KOs) by unanimous decision. Zaurbek scored a knockdown in the tenth and final round, and the judges scored it 97-92 (twice) and 98-91. The fight was shown on ProBox's YouTube channel.
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Kazakhstan's Sultan Zaurbek gets win in Ireland
Sultan Zaurbek W10 Damian Wrzesinski ... In Waterford, Ireland, Kazakh junior lightweight Sultan Zaurbek (19-0, 13 KOs) defeated Poland's Damian Wrzesinski (28-4-2, 7 KOs) by unanimous decision. Zaurbek scored a knockdown in the tenth and final round, and the judges scored it 97-92 (twice) and 98-91. The fight was shown on ProBox's YouTube channel.
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BKFC announces heavyweight title fight |
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On Saturday’s broadcast on The BKFC App it was announced that Mick Terrill will defend his BKFC heavyweight championship for the second time against the undefeated “Big” Ben Rothwell on the KnuckleMania V on Jan. 25 in BKFC’s Pennsylvania debut at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Arena. The card will be shown live globally on DAZN.
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BKFC announces heavyweight title fight
On Saturday’s broadcast on The BKFC App it was announced that Mick Terrill will defend his BKFC heavyweight championship for the second time against the undefeated “Big” Ben Rothwell on the KnuckleMania V on Jan. 25 in BKFC’s Pennsylvania debut at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Arena. The card will be shown live globally on DAZN.
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Navarrete KOs Valdez in return to junior lightweight |
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Emanuel Navarrete KO6 Oscar Valdez.. Emanuel Navarrete proved— once again — why he's a complex puzzle to solve. "El Vaquero" stopped Oscar Valdez in round six with a left hook to the body, retaining his WBO junior lightweight world title on Saturday evening at Footprint Center. Navarrete (39-2-1, 32 KOs) had already bested Valdez (32-3, 24 KOs) once, by decision in August 2023, but this time, the fighting pride of Nogales, Mexico, did not see the final bell. Navarrete knocked down Valdez three times, including at the end of the opening round. While Valdez succeeded in small pockets, the three-division champion landed the harder, more telling blows. It was a return to form for Navarrete, who bounced back from May's decision loss to Denys Berinchyk for the WBO lightweight title. He came back to the junior lightweight ranks and used his awkward style and looping punches to once again blunt Valdez's aggression.
[Editor's note: Navarrete, a three-division champion, looked impossibly big for the 130-pound division. The ESPN announcers reported he had gone up to 145 pounds between Friday's weigh-in and Sautrday's fight].
“I had to work hard in each round. I had to push him back. He comes forward. I had to push him back. And that was the right strategy to take down a Valdez who is always strong," Navarrete said. “I told everyone before that I would have a new left hand. And that’s what has happened. It felt really good. We are now starting a second stage of my career. And I plan to take advantage of it.”
Valdez, a former two-division champion, said, “We tried. That’s the most important thing. We tried to get the victory. Sorry to those who came to see me. I wish it was a better result. Maybe next time. No excuses from me. He beat me well."
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Navarrete KOs Valdez in return to junior lightweight
Emanuel Navarrete KO6 Oscar Valdez.. Emanuel Navarrete proved— once again — why he's a complex puzzle to solve. "El Vaquero" stopped Oscar Valdez in round six with a left hook to the body, retaining his WBO junior lightweight world title on Saturday evening at Footprint Center. Navarrete (39-2-1, 32 KOs) had already bested Valdez (32-3, 24 KOs) once, by decision in August 2023, but this time, the fighting pride of Nogales, Mexico, did not see the final bell. Navarrete knocked down Valdez three times, including at the end of the opening round. While Valdez succeeded in small pockets, the three-division champion landed the harder, more telling blows. It was a return to form for Navarrete, who bounced back from May's decision loss to Denys Berinchyk for the WBO lightweight title. He came back to the junior lightweight ranks and used his awkward style and looping punches to once again blunt Valdez's aggression.
[Editor's note: Navarrete, a three-division champion, looked impossibly big for the 130-pound division. The ESPN announcers reported he had gone up to 145 pounds between Friday's weigh-in and Sautrday's fight].
“I had to work hard in each round. I had to push him back. He comes forward. I had to push him back. And that was the right strategy to take down a Valdez who is always strong," Navarrete said. “I told everyone before that I would have a new left hand. And that’s what has happened. It felt really good. We are now starting a second stage of my career. And I plan to take advantage of it.”
Valdez, a former two-division champion, said, “We tried. That’s the most important thing. We tried to get the victory. Sorry to those who came to see me. I wish it was a better result. Maybe next time. No excuses from me. He beat me well."
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Robeisy Ramirez says 'no mas' to Rafael Espinoza |
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Rafael Espinoza TKO6 Robeisy Ramirez... It was an odd ending, but once again, Rafael Espinoza (pictured) got the best of Robeisy Ramirez. Espinoza defended the WBO featherweight world title with a sixth-round TKO, earning the stoppage after Ramirez turned away and complained of double vision early in the round. [Editor's note: The ending was reminiscient of Roberto Duran's famous 'no mas' surrender in the rematch with Sugar Ray Leonard. Ramirez got punched in the eye at the end of round five and immediately raised a hand and turned away to indicate he was done fighting].
Espinoza (26-0, 22 KOs) dethroned Ramirez (14-3, 9 KOs) via majority decision last December in an action classic that featured a dramatic twelfth round. This time around, the end came suddenly and shockingly. Ramirez led 48-47 on two cards and trailed 49-46 on the third when the fight was stopped. “I was just doing my job. Obviously, I caught him," Espinoza said. "I was barely getting started. Honestly, I think the pressure and the rest of the rounds were going to be very difficult for him. This means that he felt my power. He felt my hand. Perhaps he thought that he wouldn’t be able to handle it. But it happened. I won.
“I’ve said it from the start. I want to be a legend. I want to be a Mexican boxing great. I want to fight against anyone. I want the people to know that I’m here to give them great fights.”
Ramirez said, “He got me with his elbow twice in the fourth round [Editor's note: replays were questionable about backing that claim up]. That’s when I started to see double. I told the referee. He did his job. He scolded him, but the damage had been done already. I think {abandoning the fight} was the best decision. I did that instead of taking more punches, especially since I have double vision, and I couldn’t be at my best. That’s the best decision in order to take care of my health. If I can’t continue because of my vision, it’s better to stop.”
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Robeisy Ramirez says 'no mas' to Rafael Espinoza
Rafael Espinoza TKO6 Robeisy Ramirez... It was an odd ending, but once again, Rafael Espinoza (pictured) got the best of Robeisy Ramirez. Espinoza defended the WBO featherweight world title with a sixth-round TKO, earning the stoppage after Ramirez turned away and complained of double vision early in the round. [Editor's note: The ending was reminiscient of Roberto Duran's famous 'no mas' surrender in the rematch with Sugar Ray Leonard. Ramirez got punched in the eye at the end of round five and immediately raised a hand and turned away to indicate he was done fighting].
Espinoza (26-0, 22 KOs) dethroned Ramirez (14-3, 9 KOs) via majority decision last December in an action classic that featured a dramatic twelfth round. This time around, the end came suddenly and shockingly. Ramirez led 48-47 on two cards and trailed 49-46 on the third when the fight was stopped. “I was just doing my job. Obviously, I caught him," Espinoza said. "I was barely getting started. Honestly, I think the pressure and the rest of the rounds were going to be very difficult for him. This means that he felt my power. He felt my hand. Perhaps he thought that he wouldn’t be able to handle it. But it happened. I won.
“I’ve said it from the start. I want to be a legend. I want to be a Mexican boxing great. I want to fight against anyone. I want the people to know that I’m here to give them great fights.”
Ramirez said, “He got me with his elbow twice in the fourth round [Editor's note: replays were questionable about backing that claim up]. That’s when I started to see double. I told the referee. He did his job. He scolded him, but the damage had been done already. I think {abandoning the fight} was the best decision. I did that instead of taking more punches, especially since I have double vision, and I couldn’t be at my best. That’s the best decision in order to take care of my health. If I can’t continue because of my vision, it’s better to stop.”
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New champion alert: Richardson Hitchins tops Liam Paro for IBF 140-pound title |
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Richardson Hitchins W12 Liam Paro... Brooklyn, New York has a new champion, as Richardson Hitchins went down to Puerto Rico and took the IBF junior welterweight championship away from Australia's Liam Paro. After four close rounds, Hitchins begans working behind a sharp jab and using his superior length to bloody Paro's nose and generally frustrate him. Official scores were 116-112 (twice) for Hitchins, overruling an indefensible 117-111 card for Paro. This was Paro's first title defense after taking the IBF belt away from Subriel Matias. His loss spoiled the dream of an all-Australian title fight between Paro and former world lightweight champion George Kambosos.
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New champion alert: Richardson Hitchins tops Liam Paro for IBF 140-pound title
Richardson Hitchins W12 Liam Paro... Brooklyn, New York has a new champion, as Richardson Hitchins went down to Puerto Rico and took the IBF junior welterweight championship away from Australia's Liam Paro. After four close rounds, Hitchins begans working behind a sharp jab and using his superior length to bloody Paro's nose and generally frustrate him. Official scores were 116-112 (twice) for Hitchins, overruling an indefensible 117-111 card for Paro. This was Paro's first title defense after taking the IBF belt away from Subriel Matias. His loss spoiled the dream of an all-Australian title fight between Paro and former world lightweight champion George Kambosos.
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Delgado and Torrez win on Phoenix undercard |
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Lindolfo Delgado TKO5 Jackson Marinez... On the Top Rank show in Phoenix on Saturday, Mexican junior welterweight Lindolfo Delgado (22-0, 16 KOs) stopped Dominican veteran Jackson Marinez (22-4, 10 KOs) in the fifth round. Delgado floored Marinez with a right uppercut in the fifth, and as soon as Marinez got to his feet, Delgado sensed the end was near. He belted Marinez with a right uppercut to the body that finished things off.
Richard Torrez Jr. TKO3 Issac Muñoz... U.S. Olympic silver medalist Richard Torrez Jr. (12-0, 11 KOs) stopped Issac Muñoz (18-2-1, 15 KOs) in three rounds in the heavyweight division. Torrez found his rhythm by the start of the third and began landing left hands at will, both to the head and the body. Consecutive lefts to the head eventually forced referee Raul Caiz Jr. to intervene as Muñoz endured a one-sided beating against the ropes. Muñoz, probably Mexico's top-rated heavyweight excluding Andy Ruiz, suffered his first stoppage defeat.
ADDITIONAL RESULTS
Featherweight Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez (12-0, 7 KOs) secured an eight-round unanimous decision over Argentina’s Gerardo Antonio Perez (12-7-1, 3 KOs). Gonzalez cruised to victory by combining straight right hands, left hooks to the body, and evasive head movement. The judges scores were 80-72 (twice) and 79-73.
In the super flyweight category, southpaw Steven Navarro (5-0, 4 KOs) authored a second-round TKO against Gabriel Bernardi (7-2, 3 KOs). A Navarro right hook at the start of the second initiated the onslaught, followed by two knockdowns that forced referee Raul Caiz Jr. to stop the action at 2:29.
Welterweight Giovani Santillan (33-1, 18 KOs) rebounded from his first pro loss by dispatching Fredrick Lawson (30-6, 22 KOs) in one round. Aggressive from the opening bell, Santillan pinned Lawson against the ropes, landing several unanswered shots to end the round. Lawson retired on his stool following the end of the first.
Unbeaten Robert Garcia-trained welterweight Art Barrera Jr. (7-0, 5 KOs) earned a second-round TKO against Juan Carlos Campos Medina (4-2, 3 KOs). Barrera was relentless with hooks and right hands, battering Medina against the ropes and forcing referee Wes Melton to halt the contest at 2:58.
Last-minute replacement Kevin Mosquera (3-0, 1 KO) edged out Mexico's Cesar Morales (0-1) via majority decision. The two lightweights engaged in consistent back-and-forth action, with Mosquera scoring a crucial knockdown in the final round. Mosquera got the win by scores of 38-38, 39-36 and 38-37.
Las Vegas junior lightweight DJ Zamora (15-0, 10 KOs) registered a second-round knockout over Roman Ruben Reynoso (22-6-2, 10 KOs).
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Delgado and Torrez win on Phoenix undercard
Lindolfo Delgado TKO5 Jackson Marinez... On the Top Rank show in Phoenix on Saturday, Mexican junior welterweight Lindolfo Delgado (22-0, 16 KOs) stopped Dominican veteran Jackson Marinez (22-4, 10 KOs) in the fifth round. Delgado floored Marinez with a right uppercut in the fifth, and as soon as Marinez got to his feet, Delgado sensed the end was near. He belted Marinez with a right uppercut to the body that finished things off.
Richard Torrez Jr. TKO3 Issac Muñoz... U.S. Olympic silver medalist Richard Torrez Jr. (12-0, 11 KOs) stopped Issac Muñoz (18-2-1, 15 KOs) in three rounds in the heavyweight division. Torrez found his rhythm by the start of the third and began landing left hands at will, both to the head and the body. Consecutive lefts to the head eventually forced referee Raul Caiz Jr. to intervene as Muñoz endured a one-sided beating against the ropes. Muñoz, probably Mexico's top-rated heavyweight excluding Andy Ruiz, suffered his first stoppage defeat.
ADDITIONAL RESULTS
Featherweight Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez (12-0, 7 KOs) secured an eight-round unanimous decision over Argentina’s Gerardo Antonio Perez (12-7-1, 3 KOs). Gonzalez cruised to victory by combining straight right hands, left hooks to the body, and evasive head movement. The judges scores were 80-72 (twice) and 79-73.
In the super flyweight category, southpaw Steven Navarro (5-0, 4 KOs) authored a second-round TKO against Gabriel Bernardi (7-2, 3 KOs). A Navarro right hook at the start of the second initiated the onslaught, followed by two knockdowns that forced referee Raul Caiz Jr. to stop the action at 2:29.
Welterweight Giovani Santillan (33-1, 18 KOs) rebounded from his first pro loss by dispatching Fredrick Lawson (30-6, 22 KOs) in one round. Aggressive from the opening bell, Santillan pinned Lawson against the ropes, landing several unanswered shots to end the round. Lawson retired on his stool following the end of the first.
Unbeaten Robert Garcia-trained welterweight Art Barrera Jr. (7-0, 5 KOs) earned a second-round TKO against Juan Carlos Campos Medina (4-2, 3 KOs). Barrera was relentless with hooks and right hands, battering Medina against the ropes and forcing referee Wes Melton to halt the contest at 2:58.
Last-minute replacement Kevin Mosquera (3-0, 1 KO) edged out Mexico's Cesar Morales (0-1) via majority decision. The two lightweights engaged in consistent back-and-forth action, with Mosquera scoring a crucial knockdown in the final round. Mosquera got the win by scores of 38-38, 39-36 and 38-37.
Las Vegas junior lightweight DJ Zamora (15-0, 10 KOs) registered a second-round knockout over Roman Ruben Reynoso (22-6-2, 10 KOs).
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Bentley picks up Euro and British middleweight titles |
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Denzel Bentley W12 Brad Pauls... In the main event of Queensberry Promotions' show in London, Denzel "Too Sharp" Bentley defeated Brad Pauls to claim Pauls' British and European middleweight championship. Bentley won a unanimous decision by scores of 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112. Bentley (21-3-1) secured the win by scoring a knockdown in round ten with a shot that caught Pauls in the eye. Bentley is now a three-time British champion as Pauls (19-2-1) entered the fight with the Lonsdale belt. Bentley also picked up the vacant European title. As the boxers were ranked first and second in the WBO, the fight will also likely put Bentley in line for a crack at WBO/IBF champion Janibek Alimkhanuly.
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Bentley picks up Euro and British middleweight titles
Denzel Bentley W12 Brad Pauls... In the main event of Queensberry Promotions' show in London, Denzel "Too Sharp" Bentley defeated Brad Pauls to claim Pauls' British and European middleweight championship. Bentley won a unanimous decision by scores of 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112. Bentley (21-3-1) secured the win by scoring a knockdown in round ten with a shot that caught Pauls in the eye. Bentley is now a three-time British champion as Pauls (19-2-1) entered the fight with the Lonsdale belt. Bentley also picked up the vacant European title. As the boxers were ranked first and second in the WBO, the fight will also likely put Bentley in line for a crack at WBO/IBF champion Janibek Alimkhanuly.
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Okolie enters heavyweight division with a bang |
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Lawrence Okolie TKO1 Hussein Muhamed... Although he was grossly overweight, Lawrence Okolie did not need to worry about conditioning in his heavyweight debut. Okolie, a previous cruiserweight and bridgerweight champion turned up at 260 pounds but didn't get tested at all by Germany's Hussein Muhamed (18-2). Okolie landed a big right hand in round one that put Muhamed down on the canvas. Muhamed arose on shaky legs and the referee stopped the bout. A 2016 Olympian, Okolie fought at 224 pounds as recently as May, and is now 23-2 including the World Series of Boxing.
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Okolie enters heavyweight division with a bang
Lawrence Okolie TKO1 Hussein Muhamed... Although he was grossly overweight, Lawrence Okolie did not need to worry about conditioning in his heavyweight debut. Okolie, a previous cruiserweight and bridgerweight champion turned up at 260 pounds but didn't get tested at all by Germany's Hussein Muhamed (18-2). Okolie landed a big right hand in round one that put Muhamed down on the canvas. Muhamed arose on shaky legs and the referee stopped the bout. A 2016 Olympian, Okolie fought at 224 pounds as recently as May, and is now 23-2 including the World Series of Boxing.
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Watch: Adeleye goes upside Dacres' head for KO1 |
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David Adeleye KO1 Solomon Dacres... In heavyweight action in London, David Adeleye knocked out previously undefeated Solomon Dacres in the first round of a battle between top-shelf heavyweights at the domestic level. Adeleye closed the show with a left hand off the top of Dacres' head. He was coming off a loss to another rising British heavyweight, Fabio Wardley. Adeleye is now 13-1 and perhaps a top twenty heavyweight. Dacres goes back to the drawing board at 9-1.
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Watch: Adeleye goes upside Dacres' head for KO1
David Adeleye KO1 Solomon Dacres... In heavyweight action in London, David Adeleye knocked out previously undefeated Solomon Dacres in the first round of a battle between top-shelf heavyweights at the domestic level. Adeleye closed the show with a left hand off the top of Dacres' head. He was coming off a loss to another rising British heavyweight, Fabio Wardley. Adeleye is now 13-1 and perhaps a top twenty heavyweight. Dacres goes back to the drawing board at 9-1.
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Pulev defeats Charr for WBA regular title |
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Kubrat Pulev W12 Mahmoud Charr... Fighting in Sofia, Bulgaria, local hero Kubrat Pulev won a tough battle between aging heavyweights. Pulev defeated Mahmoud Charr to win the WBA regular title. The bout was properly scored a unanimous decision, 117-111 (twice) and 116-111. The bout was slowed by dozens of clinches and referee warnings but there were also plenty of clean punches landed, mostly by Pulev. A two-time Bulgarian Olympian, Pulev is now 32-3 with the only losses coming against Vitali Klitschko, Anthony Joshua and a controversial loss to Derek Chisora. Charr, a medical miracle who fights with two artificial hips, is now 34-5. This was Charr's fourth fight in the last seven years, and he reacquired the WBA regular title in a lawsuit, not in the ring.
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Pulev defeats Charr for WBA regular title
Kubrat Pulev W12 Mahmoud Charr... Fighting in Sofia, Bulgaria, local hero Kubrat Pulev won a tough battle between aging heavyweights. Pulev defeated Mahmoud Charr to win the WBA regular title. The bout was properly scored a unanimous decision, 117-111 (twice) and 116-111. The bout was slowed by dozens of clinches and referee warnings but there were also plenty of clean punches landed, mostly by Pulev. A two-time Bulgarian Olympian, Pulev is now 32-3 with the only losses coming against Vitali Klitschko, Anthony Joshua and a controversial loss to Derek Chisora. Charr, a medical miracle who fights with two artificial hips, is now 34-5. This was Charr's fourth fight in the last seven years, and he reacquired the WBA regular title in a lawsuit, not in the ring.
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Boxingtalk's Saturday fight predictions |
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Here are Boxingtalk's predictions for today's biggest fights:
Emanuel Navarrete (38-2-1) vs. Oscar Valdez (32-2) II (WBO junior lightweight title) … prediction: Navarrete by unanimous decision;
Rafael Espinoza (25-0) vs. Robeisy Ramirez (14-2) II (WBO featherweight title) … prediction: Ramirez by decision;
Liam Paro (25-0) vs. Richardson Hitchins (18-0) (IBF junior welterweight title)… prediction: Hitchins by decision;
Mahmoud Charr (34-4) vs. Kubrat Pulev (31-3) (WBA regular heavyweight title)… prediction: Pulev by unanimous decision:
Ryan Rozicki (20-1) vs. Yamil Alberto Peralta (17-1) II (vacant WBC interim cruiserweight title)… prediction: Peralta by decision;
Lindolfo Delgado (21-0) vs. Jackson Marinez (22-3) (super lightweights) … prediction: Delgado by late knockout;
Giovani Santillan (32-1) vs. Fredrick Lawson (30-5) (welterweights) … prediction: Santillan by late knockout;
Richard Torrez Jr. (11-0) vs. Isaac Munoz (18-1-1) (heavyweights) … prediction: Torrez Jr. by mid to late knockout.
Marc Castro (13-0) vs. Agustin Exequiel Quintana (20-2-1) (lightweights) … prediction: Castro by unanimous decision;
Henry Lebron (19-0) vs. Christopher Diaz (29-4) (junior lightweights) … prediction: Lebron by decision;
Yankiel Rivera (6-0) vs. Angel Gonzalez (14-0) (flyweights) … prediction: Rivera by unanimous decision.
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Boxingtalk's Saturday fight predictions
Here are Boxingtalk's predictions for today's biggest fights:
Emanuel Navarrete (38-2-1) vs. Oscar Valdez (32-2) II (WBO junior lightweight title) … prediction: Navarrete by unanimous decision;
Rafael Espinoza (25-0) vs. Robeisy Ramirez (14-2) II (WBO featherweight title) … prediction: Ramirez by decision;
Liam Paro (25-0) vs. Richardson Hitchins (18-0) (IBF junior welterweight title)… prediction: Hitchins by decision;
Mahmoud Charr (34-4) vs. Kubrat Pulev (31-3) (WBA regular heavyweight title)… prediction: Pulev by unanimous decision:
Ryan Rozicki (20-1) vs. Yamil Alberto Peralta (17-1) II (vacant WBC interim cruiserweight title)… prediction: Peralta by decision;
Lindolfo Delgado (21-0) vs. Jackson Marinez (22-3) (super lightweights) … prediction: Delgado by late knockout;
Giovani Santillan (32-1) vs. Fredrick Lawson (30-5) (welterweights) … prediction: Santillan by late knockout;
Richard Torrez Jr. (11-0) vs. Isaac Munoz (18-1-1) (heavyweights) … prediction: Torrez Jr. by mid to late knockout.
Marc Castro (13-0) vs. Agustin Exequiel Quintana (20-2-1) (lightweights) … prediction: Castro by unanimous decision;
Henry Lebron (19-0) vs. Christopher Diaz (29-4) (junior lightweights) … prediction: Lebron by decision;
Yankiel Rivera (6-0) vs. Angel Gonzalez (14-0) (flyweights) … prediction: Rivera by unanimous decision.
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Watch: Two-second KO in BKFC fight |
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Saturday’s BKFC event in Atlanta featured what seems to be the fastest knockout in combat sports history, as North Carolina featherweight Justin Watson recorded a two-second, one-punch KO victory over Cole Ferrell. The two-second KO was enabled by BKFC rules, which have the combatants starting in the center of the ring, not in their corners like standard boxing. The record was previously held by Ulysses Diaz, who scored a three-second KO over Donelei Benedetto at BKFC 14 in 2020. Watson improved his BKFC record to 1-2 with the jaw-dropping win after entering the contest as a +607 betting underdog according to NXTbets. The Atlanta product Ferrell, who boasts an 11-1 professional MMA record, is now 1-1 in his BKFC career.
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Watch: Two-second KO in BKFC fight
Saturday’s BKFC event in Atlanta featured what seems to be the fastest knockout in combat sports history, as North Carolina featherweight Justin Watson recorded a two-second, one-punch KO victory over Cole Ferrell. The two-second KO was enabled by BKFC rules, which have the combatants starting in the center of the ring, not in their corners like standard boxing. The record was previously held by Ulysses Diaz, who scored a three-second KO over Donelei Benedetto at BKFC 14 in 2020. Watson improved his BKFC record to 1-2 with the jaw-dropping win after entering the contest as a +607 betting underdog according to NXTbets. The Atlanta product Ferrell, who boasts an 11-1 professional MMA record, is now 1-1 in his BKFC career.
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BKFC results from Atlanta |
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In the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) main event at the sold-out Gas South Arena in Atlanta. former BKFC bantamweight champion Keith "The Rockstar" Richardson needed just 21 seconds to steamroll Michael "Papa G" Larrimore. The South Carolina product is now 5-1 and back in the win column after losing his belt to Alberto “El Indio” Blas in June. “I’m back, baby,” Richardson told the jam-packed Gas South Arena. “The belt belongs in South Carolina at Modern Warrior MMA.” Larrimore, who represents Tampa, FL, is now 2-1 in his BKFC career.
Chicago welterweight Derrick "Superman" Findley edged out fan-favorite Atlanta fighter Joe "Hitman 187" Elmore for the split decision victory in their back-and-forth showdown. Two judges scored the highly competitive fight 48-47 in favor of Findley, while one judge had it 49-46 for Elmore. With the win, the former World Boxing Council United States middleweight championship challenger evened his BKFC record to 2-2. In traditional boxing, Findlay sports a mark of 36-31-1. Elmore's record fell to 2-4. “BKFC, y’all are (expletive) dope, man,” Findley told the Gas South Arena. “This is the #1 combat sport in the world and I’m proud to be a part of it. Let’s go. Thank you to the judges for scoring this fight fairly — I did what I had to do to get the win. I want some of the big fish now — let’s get it!”
UFC vet Nate “Mayhem” Maness was victorious in his BKFC debut, stopping Nick “No Holdz Barz” Burgos via standing finish in the third round of a bantamweight matchup. The Kentucky product was ruled the winner via TKO with just one second left in the third stanza. Burgos, who hails from Pennsylvania, is now 0-1.
Another UFC vet, Braxton "The Beautiful Monster" Smith, was also victorious in his BKFC debut, dropping Alex "The Rhino" Davis three times in a heavyweight showdown. The bout was called off 57 seconds into the third round, with the Austin, TX big man Smith taking home the win after picking himself up from the canvas once. Davis, a product of Coal Mountain, WV, sees his BKFC record drop to 1-1.
Atlanta featherweight Nathan "The Reaper" Rivera cruised to 3-0 in his BKFC career with a one-sided, unanimous decision victory over Justin "The Nightmare" Street. All three judges scored it 50-44 in favor of Rivera, who logged the sole knockdown of the fight. Street, who hails from Dearborn, MI, is now 1-2 under the BKFC banner.
Martinsville, VA’s "Ruthless" Joe Ray smashed his way to 2-0 in the BKFC’s heavyweight division with a third-round TKO over debuting Atlanta fighter Dexter Carthon. Ray sent Carthon to the canvas once in the contest, paving the way for the KO stoppage 68 seconds into the third frame.
Columbus, GA’s Joseph "The Dark Knight" Creer climbed to 3-2 under the BKFC banner with a unanimous decision victory over David Simpson in their light-heavyweight matchup. Two judges scored it 49-45, while one had it 50-44, all in favor of Creer, who’s now won three of his past four fights. Creer notched the sole knockdown of the fight. With the loss, the Smith Center, KS product Simpson’s BKFC record dropped to 2-4.
South African-born Lake Wylie, NC fighter Crystal "The Lovely" Van Wyk returned to the win column and climbed to 2-1 in her BKFC career with a unanimous decision victory over Emma "Eazy E" Murray in women’s strawweight action. All three judges scored it 48-47 in favor of Van Wyk. Murray, who represents Columbus, GA, is now 0-1.
Madcow, GA’s Ace “O’ Spades” Samples logged two knockdowns en route to a first-round knockout over “Savage” Mike Livingston in bantamweight action. Time of the stoppage was 1:08. Samples is now 2-1 with a pair of KOs in the BKFC Squared Circle. Livingston, who represents St. Louis, is now 0-3 under the BKFC banner.
Columbus, GA’s Daniel "Super" Cooper upped his BKFC record to 2-0 by stopping Louis Brewington in the opening round of their light heavyweight matchup. The bout was called to a halt with just two seconds remaining in the first round. Both of Cooper’s BKFC victories have come inside the distance. Brewington, who hails from Miami, is now 0-1 following his TKO loss.
Saturday’s BKFC event in Atlanta featured what seems to be the fastest knockout in combat sports history, as North Carolina featherweight Justin Watson recorded a two-second, one-punch KO victory over Cole Ferrell. The two-second KO was enabled by BKFC rules, which have the combatants starting in the center of the ring, not in their corners like standard boxing. The record was previously held by Ulysses Diaz, who scored a three-second KO over Donelei Benedetto at BKFC 14 in 2020. Watson improved his BKFC record to 1-2 with the jaw-dropping win after entering the contest as a +607 betting underdog according to NXTbets. The Atlanta product Ferrell, who boasts an 11-1 professional MMA record, is now 1-1 in his BKFC career.
BKFC 69 Results
Keith Richardson def. Michael Larrimore via KO in Round 1 (0:21)
Derrick Findley def. Joe Elmore via Split Decision (48-47x2, 46-49)
Nate Maness def. Nick Burgos via TKO in Round 3 (1:59)
Nathan Rivera def. Justin Street via Unanimous Decision (50-44x3)
Joe Ray def. Dexter Carthon via KO in Round 3 (1:08)
Joseph Creer def. David Simpson via Unanimous Decision (49-45x2, 50-44)
Crystal Van Wyk def. Emma Murray via Unanimous Decision (48-47x3)
Justin Watson def. Cole Ferrell via KO in Round 1 (0:03)
Braxton Smith def. Alex Davis via TKO in Round 3 (0:57)
Ace Samples def. Mike Livingston via KO in Round 1 (1:08)
Daniel Cooper def. Louis Brewington via TKO in Round 1 (1:58)
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BKFC results from Atlanta
In the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) main event at the sold-out Gas South Arena in Atlanta. former BKFC bantamweight champion Keith "The Rockstar" Richardson needed just 21 seconds to steamroll Michael "Papa G" Larrimore. The South Carolina product is now 5-1 and back in the win column after losing his belt to Alberto “El Indio” Blas in June. “I’m back, baby,” Richardson told the jam-packed Gas South Arena. “The belt belongs in South Carolina at Modern Warrior MMA.” Larrimore, who represents Tampa, FL, is now 2-1 in his BKFC career.
Chicago welterweight Derrick "Superman" Findley edged out fan-favorite Atlanta fighter Joe "Hitman 187" Elmore for the split decision victory in their back-and-forth showdown. Two judges scored the highly competitive fight 48-47 in favor of Findley, while one judge had it 49-46 for Elmore. With the win, the former World Boxing Council United States middleweight championship challenger evened his BKFC record to 2-2. In traditional boxing, Findlay sports a mark of 36-31-1. Elmore's record fell to 2-4. “BKFC, y’all are (expletive) dope, man,” Findley told the Gas South Arena. “This is the #1 combat sport in the world and I’m proud to be a part of it. Let’s go. Thank you to the judges for scoring this fight fairly — I did what I had to do to get the win. I want some of the big fish now — let’s get it!”
UFC vet Nate “Mayhem” Maness was victorious in his BKFC debut, stopping Nick “No Holdz Barz” Burgos via standing finish in the third round of a bantamweight matchup. The Kentucky product was ruled the winner via TKO with just one second left in the third stanza. Burgos, who hails from Pennsylvania, is now 0-1.
Another UFC vet, Braxton "The Beautiful Monster" Smith, was also victorious in his BKFC debut, dropping Alex "The Rhino" Davis three times in a heavyweight showdown. The bout was called off 57 seconds into the third round, with the Austin, TX big man Smith taking home the win after picking himself up from the canvas once. Davis, a product of Coal Mountain, WV, sees his BKFC record drop to 1-1.
Atlanta featherweight Nathan "The Reaper" Rivera cruised to 3-0 in his BKFC career with a one-sided, unanimous decision victory over Justin "The Nightmare" Street. All three judges scored it 50-44 in favor of Rivera, who logged the sole knockdown of the fight. Street, who hails from Dearborn, MI, is now 1-2 under the BKFC banner.
Martinsville, VA’s "Ruthless" Joe Ray smashed his way to 2-0 in the BKFC’s heavyweight division with a third-round TKO over debuting Atlanta fighter Dexter Carthon. Ray sent Carthon to the canvas once in the contest, paving the way for the KO stoppage 68 seconds into the third frame.
Columbus, GA’s Joseph "The Dark Knight" Creer climbed to 3-2 under the BKFC banner with a unanimous decision victory over David Simpson in their light-heavyweight matchup. Two judges scored it 49-45, while one had it 50-44, all in favor of Creer, who’s now won three of his past four fights. Creer notched the sole knockdown of the fight. With the loss, the Smith Center, KS product Simpson’s BKFC record dropped to 2-4.
South African-born Lake Wylie, NC fighter Crystal "The Lovely" Van Wyk returned to the win column and climbed to 2-1 in her BKFC career with a unanimous decision victory over Emma "Eazy E" Murray in women’s strawweight action. All three judges scored it 48-47 in favor of Van Wyk. Murray, who represents Columbus, GA, is now 0-1.
Madcow, GA’s Ace “O’ Spades” Samples logged two knockdowns en route to a first-round knockout over “Savage” Mike Livingston in bantamweight action. Time of the stoppage was 1:08. Samples is now 2-1 with a pair of KOs in the BKFC Squared Circle. Livingston, who represents St. Louis, is now 0-3 under the BKFC banner.
Columbus, GA’s Daniel "Super" Cooper upped his BKFC record to 2-0 by stopping Louis Brewington in the opening round of their light heavyweight matchup. The bout was called to a halt with just two seconds remaining in the first round. Both of Cooper’s BKFC victories have come inside the distance. Brewington, who hails from Miami, is now 0-1 following his TKO loss.
Saturday’s BKFC event in Atlanta featured what seems to be the fastest knockout in combat sports history, as North Carolina featherweight Justin Watson recorded a two-second, one-punch KO victory over Cole Ferrell. The two-second KO was enabled by BKFC rules, which have the combatants starting in the center of the ring, not in their corners like standard boxing. The record was previously held by Ulysses Diaz, who scored a three-second KO over Donelei Benedetto at BKFC 14 in 2020. Watson improved his BKFC record to 1-2 with the jaw-dropping win after entering the contest as a +607 betting underdog according to NXTbets. The Atlanta product Ferrell, who boasts an 11-1 professional MMA record, is now 1-1 in his BKFC career.
BKFC 69 Results
Keith Richardson def. Michael Larrimore via KO in Round 1 (0:21)
Derrick Findley def. Joe Elmore via Split Decision (48-47x2, 46-49)
Nate Maness def. Nick Burgos via TKO in Round 3 (1:59)
Nathan Rivera def. Justin Street via Unanimous Decision (50-44x3)
Joe Ray def. Dexter Carthon via KO in Round 3 (1:08)
Joseph Creer def. David Simpson via Unanimous Decision (49-45x2, 50-44)
Crystal Van Wyk def. Emma Murray via Unanimous Decision (48-47x3)
Justin Watson def. Cole Ferrell via KO in Round 1 (0:03)
Braxton Smith def. Alex Davis via TKO in Round 3 (0:57)
Ace Samples def. Mike Livingston via KO in Round 1 (1:08)
Daniel Cooper def. Louis Brewington via TKO in Round 1 (1:58)
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ProBox to air Irish show today |
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ProBox TV and Conlan Boxing join forces for War in Waterford, the latest event in ProBox TV's Contender series to be aired on ProBox's YouTube channel. In the main event, junior lightweight Sultan Zaurbek (18-0, 13 KOs), from Kazakhstan, takes on Poland's Damian Wrzesinski (28-3-2, 7 KOs), who pushed current Irish world champion Anthony Cacace all the way. The co-feature is another ten-rounder, which sees California's Jonathan Navarro (18-0, 9 KOs) face off with Mexico's Jair Valtierra, who is 17-3 with nine knockout wins. Navarro picked up an eight-round win over Clarence Booth on ProBox TV in July.
Also on the card, highly-touted Welsh boxers Ioan and Garan Croft make their professional debuts in middleweight four rounders and, over six, undefeated lightweight Brandon McCarthy will hope to move to 3-0 with a victory over Argentina‘s Sebastian Gabriel Chavez.
After the contender series card concludes, stick around on the ProBox TV app to watch some of the best local Irish boxers continue the fight, including an eagerly-anticipated clash of battle-tested Irish warriors, Dylan Moran and Tyrone McKenna. Moran (19-2, 9 KO’s) aims to prove he’s the top dog while the more experienced southpaw McKenna (23-5-1, 6 KO’s) hopes a win will position him for another major fight. And at super middleweight, Craig McCarthy and Graham McCormack will bid to steal the show over eight rounds.
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ProBox to air Irish show today
ProBox TV and Conlan Boxing join forces for War in Waterford, the latest event in ProBox TV's Contender series to be aired on ProBox's YouTube channel. In the main event, junior lightweight Sultan Zaurbek (18-0, 13 KOs), from Kazakhstan, takes on Poland's Damian Wrzesinski (28-3-2, 7 KOs), who pushed current Irish world champion Anthony Cacace all the way. The co-feature is another ten-rounder, which sees California's Jonathan Navarro (18-0, 9 KOs) face off with Mexico's Jair Valtierra, who is 17-3 with nine knockout wins. Navarro picked up an eight-round win over Clarence Booth on ProBox TV in July.
Also on the card, highly-touted Welsh boxers Ioan and Garan Croft make their professional debuts in middleweight four rounders and, over six, undefeated lightweight Brandon McCarthy will hope to move to 3-0 with a victory over Argentina‘s Sebastian Gabriel Chavez.
After the contender series card concludes, stick around on the ProBox TV app to watch some of the best local Irish boxers continue the fight, including an eagerly-anticipated clash of battle-tested Irish warriors, Dylan Moran and Tyrone McKenna. Moran (19-2, 9 KO’s) aims to prove he’s the top dog while the more experienced southpaw McKenna (23-5-1, 6 KO’s) hopes a win will position him for another major fight. And at super middleweight, Craig McCarthy and Graham McCormack will bid to steal the show over eight rounds.
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Yaqubov signs with Sampson Boxing and Jim Kambosos |
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Junior lightweight Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov, from Isfara, Tajikistan, has inked a managerial contract with Australia-based manager / agent Jim Kambosos and a long-term promotional deal with Sampson Lewkowicz's Sampson Boxing. Additionally, on Thursday December 12th, Yaqubov (21-1, 11 KOs) will return from a year of inactivity to face countryman Zafar Parpiev (13-2, 5 KOs) over eight rounds, on a card presented by Shamo Boxing. Kambosos and Lewkowicz say the intention is to keep Yaqubov active and relocate him to the United States to live and train, with the goal of guiding the talented southpaw to a world championship rematch with current WBC champion O'Shaquie Foster.
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Yaqubov signs with Sampson Boxing and Jim Kambosos
Junior lightweight Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov, from Isfara, Tajikistan, has inked a managerial contract with Australia-based manager / agent Jim Kambosos and a long-term promotional deal with Sampson Lewkowicz's Sampson Boxing. Additionally, on Thursday December 12th, Yaqubov (21-1, 11 KOs) will return from a year of inactivity to face countryman Zafar Parpiev (13-2, 5 KOs) over eight rounds, on a card presented by Shamo Boxing. Kambosos and Lewkowicz say the intention is to keep Yaqubov active and relocate him to the United States to live and train, with the goal of guiding the talented southpaw to a world championship rematch with current WBC champion O'Shaquie Foster.
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Weigh-in report from Phoenix |
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Here are the weigh-in results for Saturday's Top Rank show at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona:
WBO junior lightweight title - 12 rounds
Emanuel Navarrete 129.9 pounds vs. Oscar Valdez 130
Referee: Raul Caiz Jr.; Judges: Benoit Roussel, Steve Weisfeld, and Chris Wilson;
WBO featherweight title — 12 rounds
Rafael Espinoza 125.7 vs. Robeisy Ramirez 125.6
Referee: Chris Flores; Judges: Tim Cheatham, Zac Young, and Dennis O'Connell;
Above two fights will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT. The undercard bouts will be streamed on ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT.
Lindolfo Delgado 139.9 vs. Jackson Marinez 139.2 (ten rounds);
Richard Torrez Jr. 236.6 vs. Issac Munoz 252.1 (eight rounds);
Albert Gonzalez 127.2 vs. Gerardo Antonio Perez 127.7 (eight rounds);
Steven Navarro 115.6 vs. Gabriel Bernardi 115.4 (eight rounds);
Giovani Santillan 147.9 vs. Fredrick Lawson 146.3 (ten rounds);
Art Barrera Jr. 149.4 vs. Juan Carlos Campos Medina 149.7 (six rounds);
Cesar Morales 136.3 vs. Kevin Mosquera 136.4 (four rounds); and
DJ Zamora 131.3 vs. Roman Ruben Reynoso 131.9 (eight rounds).
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Weigh-in report from Phoenix
Here are the weigh-in results for Saturday's Top Rank show at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona:
WBO junior lightweight title - 12 rounds
Emanuel Navarrete 129.9 pounds vs. Oscar Valdez 130
Referee: Raul Caiz Jr.; Judges: Benoit Roussel, Steve Weisfeld, and Chris Wilson;
WBO featherweight title — 12 rounds
Rafael Espinoza 125.7 vs. Robeisy Ramirez 125.6
Referee: Chris Flores; Judges: Tim Cheatham, Zac Young, and Dennis O'Connell;
Above two fights will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT. The undercard bouts will be streamed on ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT.
Lindolfo Delgado 139.9 vs. Jackson Marinez 139.2 (ten rounds);
Richard Torrez Jr. 236.6 vs. Issac Munoz 252.1 (eight rounds);
Albert Gonzalez 127.2 vs. Gerardo Antonio Perez 127.7 (eight rounds);
Steven Navarro 115.6 vs. Gabriel Bernardi 115.4 (eight rounds);
Giovani Santillan 147.9 vs. Fredrick Lawson 146.3 (ten rounds);
Art Barrera Jr. 149.4 vs. Juan Carlos Campos Medina 149.7 (six rounds);
Cesar Morales 136.3 vs. Kevin Mosquera 136.4 (four rounds); and
DJ Zamora 131.3 vs. Roman Ruben Reynoso 131.9 (eight rounds).
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IBHOF announces class of 2025 |
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The International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum is thrilled to announce the newest class of inductees to be honored during the Hall of Fame Induction Weekend June 5-8, 2025 in “Boxing’s Hometown,” Canastota, New York. The Class of 2025 includes Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao, “The Pazmanian Devil” Vinny Paz and Michael “Second To” Nunn in the Men’s Modern category; Yessica “Kika” Chavez, Anne Sophie Mathis and Mary Jo Sanders in the Women’s Modern category; Cathy “Cat” Davis in the Women’s Trailblazer category; referee Kenny Bayless, cut man Al Gavin (posthumous) and referee Harry Gibbs (posthumous) in the Non-Participant category; broadcaster / journalist Randy Gordon and television producer Ross Greenburg in the Observer category; Rodrigo Valdez (posthumous) in the Old Timer category and Owen Swift (posthumous) in the Pioneer category. Inductees were voted in by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America and a panel of international boxing historians. Biographies on the Class of 2025 can be found on www.ibhof.com.
“We’re extremely excited about the Class of 2025 and are very much looking forward to honoring the newest class of inductees to earn boxing’s highest honor,” said Executive Director Edward Brophy.
The 2025 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend is scheduled for June 5-8th in “Boxing’s Hometown.” Many events will take place in Canastota and nearby Turning Stone Resort Casino throughout the four-day celebration including ringside talks, fist casting, fight night, 5K race / fun run, boxing autograph card show, banquet, parade and induction ceremony.
COMMENTS UPON RECEIVING INDUCTION NEWS
"I am so happy that I have been selected to enter the International Boxing Hall of Fame. This certainly is a wonderful Christmas gift. Throughout my career, as a professional fighter and a public servant, it has been my goal to bring honor to my country, The Philippines, and my fellow Filipinos around the world. Today, I am humbled knowing that in June, I will receive boxing's highest honor, joining our national hero, Flash Elorde, as well as my trainer and friend Freddie Roach. I am very grateful to those who voted for me, and I look forward to celebrating with family, friends, and fans at Induction Weekend in Canastota, New York." - Manny Pacquiao
“Thank God. I’ve been waiting on this moment for so long. God has truly blessed me. I want to thank the International Boxing Hall of Fame and all the voters. This is the highest achievement a boxer can have in the sport. As a small town guy from Iowa to reach the highest achievement in boxing makes me proud. This is the crowning moment of my career.” - Michael Nunn
“This is awesome! I love it. Wow! This is the best phone call I’ve ever taken! I’m so glad. Love it, love it, love it!" - Vinny Paz
“I gave everything to boxing. It was my work and my life but the most beautiful things in my life came from boxing. It is a legacy I will leave to my daughter. I’m amazed and this fills my heart so much. Boxing keeps giving me all the best.” - Yessica Chavez
“This is amazing news. I am overwhelmed. To be recognized by my peers is absolutely amazing. I am overjoyed.” - Mary Jo Sanders
“This is the most coveted award in the sport of boxing. I am truly humbled and thankful to the voting panel and to God for this honor.” - Kenny Bayless
"I’ve got a lot of great phone calls during my career – from Bert Sugar to be editor of The Ring to the governor to become the commissioner of New York. But this is the greatest boxing business call in my entire life. Am I dreaming? Is this true?" - Randy Gordon
“It’s a beautiful honor. I put my heart into it and all the colleagues I worked with over the years put everything into it as well and it’s an honor to represent them.” - Ross Greenburg
Complete event details can be found on www.ibhof.com.
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IBHOF announces class of 2025
The International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum is thrilled to announce the newest class of inductees to be honored during the Hall of Fame Induction Weekend June 5-8, 2025 in “Boxing’s Hometown,” Canastota, New York. The Class of 2025 includes Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao, “The Pazmanian Devil” Vinny Paz and Michael “Second To” Nunn in the Men’s Modern category; Yessica “Kika” Chavez, Anne Sophie Mathis and Mary Jo Sanders in the Women’s Modern category; Cathy “Cat” Davis in the Women’s Trailblazer category; referee Kenny Bayless, cut man Al Gavin (posthumous) and referee Harry Gibbs (posthumous) in the Non-Participant category; broadcaster / journalist Randy Gordon and television producer Ross Greenburg in the Observer category; Rodrigo Valdez (posthumous) in the Old Timer category and Owen Swift (posthumous) in the Pioneer category. Inductees were voted in by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America and a panel of international boxing historians. Biographies on the Class of 2025 can be found on www.ibhof.com.
“We’re extremely excited about the Class of 2025 and are very much looking forward to honoring the newest class of inductees to earn boxing’s highest honor,” said Executive Director Edward Brophy.
The 2025 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend is scheduled for June 5-8th in “Boxing’s Hometown.” Many events will take place in Canastota and nearby Turning Stone Resort Casino throughout the four-day celebration including ringside talks, fist casting, fight night, 5K race / fun run, boxing autograph card show, banquet, parade and induction ceremony.
COMMENTS UPON RECEIVING INDUCTION NEWS
"I am so happy that I have been selected to enter the International Boxing Hall of Fame. This certainly is a wonderful Christmas gift. Throughout my career, as a professional fighter and a public servant, it has been my goal to bring honor to my country, The Philippines, and my fellow Filipinos around the world. Today, I am humbled knowing that in June, I will receive boxing's highest honor, joining our national hero, Flash Elorde, as well as my trainer and friend Freddie Roach. I am very grateful to those who voted for me, and I look forward to celebrating with family, friends, and fans at Induction Weekend in Canastota, New York." - Manny Pacquiao
“Thank God. I’ve been waiting on this moment for so long. God has truly blessed me. I want to thank the International Boxing Hall of Fame and all the voters. This is the highest achievement a boxer can have in the sport. As a small town guy from Iowa to reach the highest achievement in boxing makes me proud. This is the crowning moment of my career.” - Michael Nunn
“This is awesome! I love it. Wow! This is the best phone call I’ve ever taken! I’m so glad. Love it, love it, love it!" - Vinny Paz
“I gave everything to boxing. It was my work and my life but the most beautiful things in my life came from boxing. It is a legacy I will leave to my daughter. I’m amazed and this fills my heart so much. Boxing keeps giving me all the best.” - Yessica Chavez
“This is amazing news. I am overwhelmed. To be recognized by my peers is absolutely amazing. I am overjoyed.” - Mary Jo Sanders
“This is the most coveted award in the sport of boxing. I am truly humbled and thankful to the voting panel and to God for this honor.” - Kenny Bayless
"I’ve got a lot of great phone calls during my career – from Bert Sugar to be editor of The Ring to the governor to become the commissioner of New York. But this is the greatest boxing business call in my entire life. Am I dreaming? Is this true?" - Randy Gordon
“It’s a beautiful honor. I put my heart into it and all the colleagues I worked with over the years put everything into it as well and it’s an honor to represent them.” - Ross Greenburg
Complete event details can be found on www.ibhof.com.
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Davis vs. Roach will be a Baltimore vs. D.C. classic |
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WBA lightweight champion and Baltimore’s own Gervonta “Tank” Davis will face WBA junior lightweight champion and Washington, D.C.-native Lamont Roach in a PBC pay-per-view event on Prime Video on Saturday, March 1st at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The two champions continued their war of words at a press conference in Washington, D.C. on Thursday ahead of their lightweight championship clash. Tickets for the live event are on sale now and through ticketmaster.com. The event is promoted by GTD Promotions and TGB Promotions. Here is what the fighters had to say Thursday from Burr Gymnasium at Howard University:
GERVONTA DAVIS
“Come March the first, we dance.
“I haven’t been watching his fights too much, but I’ve been in the gym with him and I know how he moves. I’ll get in camp and get up to date on him. I know for sure he’s definitely tough and has sneaky power. He’s had sneaky power since we were kids. We’re gonna figure out what he’s best at, and we’ll take it away from him.
“I make sure I’m on top of my stuff. It’s boxing, so anything can happen. Boxers have off nights. We gotta do everything to be on top of our game.
“He better not bring his family. That’s what I’ve been saying. He might be my people, but we gotta get it on. I don’t care who he come with. None of them can stop this.
“I’m not just repping Baltimore, I’m repping people all over. Everyone who’s going through something. If people doubt you, or you think your back is against the ropes, I do it for you.
“I’m from Baltimore and he’s from D.C., so you know there’s something to this. But I do always feel like D.C. is home, because I’ve always had to beat these guys in the amateurs and they became my boys.”
LAMONT ROACH
“I’ve got D.C. in here. They know what’s up and they know what’s up with me. His team knows my work, up close and personal. We got a lot for him and come March 1, we’re gonna kick some ass.
“I’ve gotten better in every aspect since the amateurs. I was one of the best boxers in the country as an amateur, and I’m much better now.
“Look at the people here for me. That’s who I do it for. I do it for the people with me. My whole family is from D.C. Like my entire family. They’re gonna celebrate with me in Brooklyn.
“I can do whatever I want. He’s not doing anything to me. He’s got nothing for me. It’s just me and him. He can’t be worried about these other people.
“My advice to the kids who want to fight is to keep your head down. I didn’t get this far by half-assing anything. I put that work in. I advise any youngin’ to go chase their dream. If it was easy, everyone would do it, so you just gotta keep pushing.”
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Davis vs. Roach will be a Baltimore vs. D.C. classic
WBA lightweight champion and Baltimore’s own Gervonta “Tank” Davis will face WBA junior lightweight champion and Washington, D.C.-native Lamont Roach in a PBC pay-per-view event on Prime Video on Saturday, March 1st at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The two champions continued their war of words at a press conference in Washington, D.C. on Thursday ahead of their lightweight championship clash. Tickets for the live event are on sale now and through ticketmaster.com. The event is promoted by GTD Promotions and TGB Promotions. Here is what the fighters had to say Thursday from Burr Gymnasium at Howard University:
GERVONTA DAVIS
“Come March the first, we dance.
“I haven’t been watching his fights too much, but I’ve been in the gym with him and I know how he moves. I’ll get in camp and get up to date on him. I know for sure he’s definitely tough and has sneaky power. He’s had sneaky power since we were kids. We’re gonna figure out what he’s best at, and we’ll take it away from him.
“I make sure I’m on top of my stuff. It’s boxing, so anything can happen. Boxers have off nights. We gotta do everything to be on top of our game.
“He better not bring his family. That’s what I’ve been saying. He might be my people, but we gotta get it on. I don’t care who he come with. None of them can stop this.
“I’m not just repping Baltimore, I’m repping people all over. Everyone who’s going through something. If people doubt you, or you think your back is against the ropes, I do it for you.
“I’m from Baltimore and he’s from D.C., so you know there’s something to this. But I do always feel like D.C. is home, because I’ve always had to beat these guys in the amateurs and they became my boys.”
LAMONT ROACH
“I’ve got D.C. in here. They know what’s up and they know what’s up with me. His team knows my work, up close and personal. We got a lot for him and come March 1, we’re gonna kick some ass.
“I’ve gotten better in every aspect since the amateurs. I was one of the best boxers in the country as an amateur, and I’m much better now.
“Look at the people here for me. That’s who I do it for. I do it for the people with me. My whole family is from D.C. Like my entire family. They’re gonna celebrate with me in Brooklyn.
“I can do whatever I want. He’s not doing anything to me. He’s got nothing for me. It’s just me and him. He can’t be worried about these other people.
“My advice to the kids who want to fight is to keep your head down. I didn’t get this far by half-assing anything. I put that work in. I advise any youngin’ to go chase their dream. If it was easy, everyone would do it, so you just gotta keep pushing.”
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Navarrete vs. Valdez II final presser quotes |
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Two world title rematches are set to light up Arizona, the Grand Canyon State, with legacies and redemption on the line. Three-division champion Emanuel “El Vaquero” Navarrete (pictured, 38-2-1, 31 KOs) defends his WBO junior lightweight title against former two-division king Oscar Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) in an all-Mexican main event this Saturday, Dec. 7th, at Footprint Center in Phoenix. Navarrete aims for a knockout in the sequel, while the Eddy Reynoso-trained Valdez believes he can turn the tables and become a three-time world champion. In the co-feature, Rafael “El Divino” Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs) defends his WBO featherweight world title against Cuba’s Robeisy “El Tren” Ramirez, the man he unseated one year ago to seize the crown. Espinoza looks to prove that his title-winning effort was no fluke, while Ramirez is eager to show what he can do at his best after personal issues hindered his preparation for their first encounter. Navarrete-Valdez 2 & Ramirez-Espinoza 2 will be broadcast LIVE on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT.
The ESPN+-streamed undercard begins at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT and includes the return of unbeaten Mexican junior welterweight Lindolfo Delgado (21-0, 15 KOs), who will face Jackson Marinez (22-3, 10 KOs) in a ten-round clash. U.S. Olympic silver medalist Richard Torrez Jr. (11-0, 10 KOs) makes his fourth appearance of the year in an eight-round heavyweight tilt against Mexican Issac Muñoz (18-1-1, 15 KOs), while welterweight contender Giovani Santillan (32-1, 17 KOs) looks to bounce back from his first pro defeat in a 10-rounder versus Fredrick Lawson (30-5, 22 KOs).
This is what the fighters had to say at Thursday's press conference:
Emanuel Navarrete
“We all know that we both plan to come out and give a war and leave everything in the ring again. And what better way to do it than by having a co-main event that's gonna eat things up?”
“The bar is gonna be set really high and so we're gonna have to try to do better than that. It's gonna be hard especially with these two great people {Espinoza and Ramirez} right next to us. It's gonna be difficult for both me and Valdez. However, we don't need much. All we need is for the bell to ring for us to go to war.”
“I'm focused 100 percent on him. I haven't thought about anything beyond Valdez. And now he's coming with a different strategy. The first fight helped us learn about each other. And now we will use the tools that we extracted from the first fight. And, aside from using our experience with each other, we will also come with the same heart as last time. And so, I can't say much, but no doubt it will be not just a fight but an epic event, especially with the co-main before us."
Oscar Valdez
“The {Liam Wilson fight} was very important for me because boxing penalizes you if you have a lot of losses. It’s not like other sports where you can lose and you can do better in the next season. In boxing, most people don’t want to see you again after a couple of losses. So, doing that fight was very important for me. That’s why there was so much emotion for me after that fight. And that fight got me the ticket for this rematch.”
“This is not an easy fight. This is a hard task. But nothing in life that is worth it is going to be easy. It’s always going to be hard. So, we trained hard. I’m excited for this. I’m excited to face the great ‘Vaquero' once again. It’s going to be a great fight.”
"I visualized this. I feel I can do a lot more in the sport. After I lost, I went back home and was obviously sad and disappointed in my performance. But then you go back to the gym, and you start to work out. Then, you start to see that you can do better. So, you have to visualize it first. And now we are here. Let’s get it on.”
Rafael Espinoza
“God's timing is perfect. We waited a bit for the rematch, but now we are here. And like I've said since the first fight, I've always wanted a rematch. because it was a war where we both gave everything. So, he deserved it, I deserved it, and the people deserved it."
“Knowing you are a champion affects you mentally. As a champion, you know that you have a big commitment, and so I've become a better person and a better fighter as a result, and I'm enjoying it.”
“Yes, we all know about my height advantage, but I also have another advantage, and that's my heart. So, I'm going to show my heart by giving everything in the ring this Saturday.”
Robeisy Ramirez
“Well, it's no secret that we're not the only fighters here. The main event will also be a war. So I'm happy to be here. I'm excited to be with these champs here. And overall, we want the public to enjoy this event.”
“I think that to mention things from the past right now is unnecessary because it sounds like excuses, and I will never give excuses in this sport. Simply put, I think that I learned how you should fight when you're not at 100% physically and mentally.”
“It was very nice to see my parents again recently. It had been six years. It's no secret that I can't return to Cuba, and so it filled me with a lot of satisfaction to be able to see them, to embrace them, to spend time with them, and I hope that after this victory, I can repeat that as soon as possible.”
Lindolfo Delgado
“{My last bout against Bryan Flores} was not easy. It was a tough fight. I’m happy with the result. I’m happy it ended that way because it took me out of my comfort zone and pushed me to be better, work harder, and prepare for what is next.”
“This is what I’ve been waiting for. I’m focused on my fight because I know it’s a tough fight. I’m looking for an opportunity at a world title. I have what it takes to fight against anyone and against any of those champs. I’m just waiting for that opportunity.”
Richard Torrez Jr.
"I was saying I don't care about {the knockout streak}, but in the Uber back to the hotel from the venue {following a DQ win in September}, the driver asked me, 'What's your record?' I was like 11-0 with, oh, 10 knockouts. So, that does kind of sting a little bit. But, at the end of the day, I'm here to win, and I'm here to put on good performances. I did that last time, and I'm looking to continue doing that."
"{Muñoz} is rated the number one heavyweight in Mexico. He's been on the amateur scene for a while, and he knows what he's doing. I'm really excited for this fight."
"Every time I train, I train for a world championship fight. I don't train for the opponent. I train to be the best boxer I can be, and on Saturday night, you will see that."
Giovani Santillan
"Losing is tough, but it's part of the sport. And that's what I signed up for, to take on the hard, tough fights. Sometimes you lose, but that one loss is not going to hold me back from getting to where I want to get to."
"Ever since I went back to camp, everyone has been supportive. They all believe in me, and since then, it's been about working on strategy and game plan for this fight. But also my preparation. A lot of it has to do with my weight cut and things like that."
"That's the way I was raised by my dad. Sometimes, you fall, but you get back up and keep going. That's the mentality I've had since {my defeat}."
Saturday, December 7th
ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ (10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT)
Emanuel Navarrete vs. Oscar Valdez, 12 rounds, Navarrete's WBO Junior Lightweight World Title
Rafael Espinoza vs. Robeisy Ramirez, 12 rounds, Espinoza's WBO Featherweight World Title
ESPN+ (5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT)
Lindolfo Delgado vs. Jackson Marinez, 10 rounds, Delgado's WBO Latino Junior Welterweight Title
Richard Torrez Jr. vs. Issac Muñoz, 8 rounds, Torrez's Jr. NABF Heavyweight Title
Albert Gonzalez vs. Gerardo Antonio Perez, 8 rounds, featherweight
Steven Navarro vs. Gabriel Bernardi, 6 rounds, junior bantamweight
Giovani Santillan vs. Fredrick Lawson, 10 rounds, welterweight
Art Barrera Jr. vs. Juan Carlos Campos Medina, 6 rounds, welterweight
Cesar Morales vs. Kevin Mosquera, 4 rounds, lightweight
DJ Zamora vs. Roman Ruben Reynoso, 8 rounds, junior lightweight
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Navarrete vs. Valdez II final presser quotes
Two world title rematches are set to light up Arizona, the Grand Canyon State, with legacies and redemption on the line. Three-division champion Emanuel “El Vaquero” Navarrete (pictured, 38-2-1, 31 KOs) defends his WBO junior lightweight title against former two-division king Oscar Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) in an all-Mexican main event this Saturday, Dec. 7th, at Footprint Center in Phoenix. Navarrete aims for a knockout in the sequel, while the Eddy Reynoso-trained Valdez believes he can turn the tables and become a three-time world champion. In the co-feature, Rafael “El Divino” Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs) defends his WBO featherweight world title against Cuba’s Robeisy “El Tren” Ramirez, the man he unseated one year ago to seize the crown. Espinoza looks to prove that his title-winning effort was no fluke, while Ramirez is eager to show what he can do at his best after personal issues hindered his preparation for their first encounter. Navarrete-Valdez 2 & Ramirez-Espinoza 2 will be broadcast LIVE on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT.
The ESPN+-streamed undercard begins at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT and includes the return of unbeaten Mexican junior welterweight Lindolfo Delgado (21-0, 15 KOs), who will face Jackson Marinez (22-3, 10 KOs) in a ten-round clash. U.S. Olympic silver medalist Richard Torrez Jr. (11-0, 10 KOs) makes his fourth appearance of the year in an eight-round heavyweight tilt against Mexican Issac Muñoz (18-1-1, 15 KOs), while welterweight contender Giovani Santillan (32-1, 17 KOs) looks to bounce back from his first pro defeat in a 10-rounder versus Fredrick Lawson (30-5, 22 KOs).
This is what the fighters had to say at Thursday's press conference:
Emanuel Navarrete
“We all know that we both plan to come out and give a war and leave everything in the ring again. And what better way to do it than by having a co-main event that's gonna eat things up?”
“The bar is gonna be set really high and so we're gonna have to try to do better than that. It's gonna be hard especially with these two great people {Espinoza and Ramirez} right next to us. It's gonna be difficult for both me and Valdez. However, we don't need much. All we need is for the bell to ring for us to go to war.”
“I'm focused 100 percent on him. I haven't thought about anything beyond Valdez. And now he's coming with a different strategy. The first fight helped us learn about each other. And now we will use the tools that we extracted from the first fight. And, aside from using our experience with each other, we will also come with the same heart as last time. And so, I can't say much, but no doubt it will be not just a fight but an epic event, especially with the co-main before us."
Oscar Valdez
“The {Liam Wilson fight} was very important for me because boxing penalizes you if you have a lot of losses. It’s not like other sports where you can lose and you can do better in the next season. In boxing, most people don’t want to see you again after a couple of losses. So, doing that fight was very important for me. That’s why there was so much emotion for me after that fight. And that fight got me the ticket for this rematch.”
“This is not an easy fight. This is a hard task. But nothing in life that is worth it is going to be easy. It’s always going to be hard. So, we trained hard. I’m excited for this. I’m excited to face the great ‘Vaquero' once again. It’s going to be a great fight.”
"I visualized this. I feel I can do a lot more in the sport. After I lost, I went back home and was obviously sad and disappointed in my performance. But then you go back to the gym, and you start to work out. Then, you start to see that you can do better. So, you have to visualize it first. And now we are here. Let’s get it on.”
Rafael Espinoza
“God's timing is perfect. We waited a bit for the rematch, but now we are here. And like I've said since the first fight, I've always wanted a rematch. because it was a war where we both gave everything. So, he deserved it, I deserved it, and the people deserved it."
“Knowing you are a champion affects you mentally. As a champion, you know that you have a big commitment, and so I've become a better person and a better fighter as a result, and I'm enjoying it.”
“Yes, we all know about my height advantage, but I also have another advantage, and that's my heart. So, I'm going to show my heart by giving everything in the ring this Saturday.”
Robeisy Ramirez
“Well, it's no secret that we're not the only fighters here. The main event will also be a war. So I'm happy to be here. I'm excited to be with these champs here. And overall, we want the public to enjoy this event.”
“I think that to mention things from the past right now is unnecessary because it sounds like excuses, and I will never give excuses in this sport. Simply put, I think that I learned how you should fight when you're not at 100% physically and mentally.”
“It was very nice to see my parents again recently. It had been six years. It's no secret that I can't return to Cuba, and so it filled me with a lot of satisfaction to be able to see them, to embrace them, to spend time with them, and I hope that after this victory, I can repeat that as soon as possible.”
Lindolfo Delgado
“{My last bout against Bryan Flores} was not easy. It was a tough fight. I’m happy with the result. I’m happy it ended that way because it took me out of my comfort zone and pushed me to be better, work harder, and prepare for what is next.”
“This is what I’ve been waiting for. I’m focused on my fight because I know it’s a tough fight. I’m looking for an opportunity at a world title. I have what it takes to fight against anyone and against any of those champs. I’m just waiting for that opportunity.”
Richard Torrez Jr.
"I was saying I don't care about {the knockout streak}, but in the Uber back to the hotel from the venue {following a DQ win in September}, the driver asked me, 'What's your record?' I was like 11-0 with, oh, 10 knockouts. So, that does kind of sting a little bit. But, at the end of the day, I'm here to win, and I'm here to put on good performances. I did that last time, and I'm looking to continue doing that."
"{Muñoz} is rated the number one heavyweight in Mexico. He's been on the amateur scene for a while, and he knows what he's doing. I'm really excited for this fight."
"Every time I train, I train for a world championship fight. I don't train for the opponent. I train to be the best boxer I can be, and on Saturday night, you will see that."
Giovani Santillan
"Losing is tough, but it's part of the sport. And that's what I signed up for, to take on the hard, tough fights. Sometimes you lose, but that one loss is not going to hold me back from getting to where I want to get to."
"Ever since I went back to camp, everyone has been supportive. They all believe in me, and since then, it's been about working on strategy and game plan for this fight. But also my preparation. A lot of it has to do with my weight cut and things like that."
"That's the way I was raised by my dad. Sometimes, you fall, but you get back up and keep going. That's the mentality I've had since {my defeat}."
Saturday, December 7th
ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ (10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT)
Emanuel Navarrete vs. Oscar Valdez, 12 rounds, Navarrete's WBO Junior Lightweight World Title
Rafael Espinoza vs. Robeisy Ramirez, 12 rounds, Espinoza's WBO Featherweight World Title
ESPN+ (5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT)
Lindolfo Delgado vs. Jackson Marinez, 10 rounds, Delgado's WBO Latino Junior Welterweight Title
Richard Torrez Jr. vs. Issac Muñoz, 8 rounds, Torrez's Jr. NABF Heavyweight Title
Albert Gonzalez vs. Gerardo Antonio Perez, 8 rounds, featherweight
Steven Navarro vs. Gabriel Bernardi, 6 rounds, junior bantamweight
Giovani Santillan vs. Fredrick Lawson, 10 rounds, welterweight
Art Barrera Jr. vs. Juan Carlos Campos Medina, 6 rounds, welterweight
Cesar Morales vs. Kevin Mosquera, 4 rounds, lightweight
DJ Zamora vs. Roman Ruben Reynoso, 8 rounds, junior lightweight
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