LAS VEGAS (February 5, 2019) – Super welterweight contender Erickson Lubin will enter the ring under the guidance of coach Kevin Cunningham for the first time when he steps into the ring this Saturday against former world champion Ishe Smith as part of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING COUNTDOWN from Dignity Health Sports Park, formerly StubHub Center, in Carson, California and presented by Premier Boxing Champions.

The digital presentation will stream on the SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel and SHOWTIME Boxing Facebook page beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, and will also feature a showdown between super lightweights Juan Heraldez and Eddie Ramirez, all leading up to that evening’s SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING event. The three-fight SHOWTIME telecast begins live at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT headlined by super featherweight world champion Gervonta Davis defending his title against former world champion Hugo Ruiz.

Lubin will fight for the second time since losing his first world title challenge to Jermell Charlo in 2017, and for the first time with his new coach. The Orlando-native began training camp in West Palm Beach, but has been training in Las Vegas for the last month since the team moved west to finish the training camp for Adrien Broner’s fight against Manny Pacquiao.

Here is what Lubin had to say about Saturday’s fight and more:

On his matchup against Ishe Smith:

“Ishe Smith has been in the ring with the best of them and he’s never been stopped. He knows how to fight and I’m expecting him to be at this best. I will have to dictate the pace right from the opening bell. My goal is to be the first person to take him out, but if it goes the distance, I’m okay with that as well. I’m going to win this fight and win it impressively.”

On training with new coach Kevin Cunningham:

“Kevin is a no-nonsense type of guy. He’s going to tell you the truth if you like it or not. If I’m doing something wrong in his eyes, he’s going to speak on it right away. He’ll do the same if I’m doing something right, so I like his style of training and I’m learning more each day we are together. This will be our first fight together and I’m excited to get back in the ring. We have a nice game plan in place that we will execute on fight night.”

On training in Las Vegas for the first time in his career:

“Training in Las Vegas is no joke, because we are training in higher elevation than what I’m used to in Florida. Getting away from the distractions at home has been relaxing. I’ve been getting great sparring and my timing is right on point. Las Vegas is definitely the place to be for high level sparring and training.”

On fighting in Southern California for the second time in his career:

“I really like fighting on the west coast. The fans are great, and the weather is beautiful. I know we’ll be fighting outdoors so I’m looking forward to that. Everyone knows this venue has hosted some really good fights. I’m looking to steal the show on Saturday night.”

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ABOUT DAVIS VS. RUIZ
Gervonta Davis vs. Hugo Ruiz pits the WBA Super Featherweight World ChampionDavis against the former world champion Ruiz in the main event of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING on Saturday, February 9 from Dignity Health Sports Park, formerly StubHub Center, in Carson, California and presented by Premier Boxing Champions.

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING coverage begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and features undefeated super lightweight Mario Barrios taking on Mexico’s Richard Zamora and former world champion Javier Fortuna battling lightweight contender Sharif Bogere.

Tickets for the event, promoted by Mayweather Promotions, TGB Promotions and Sampson Boxing, are on sale now and can be purchased at AXS.com.

For more information visit www.SHO.com/Sports and www.premierboxingchampions.com follow on Twitter @ShowtimeBoxing, @SHOSports, @PremierBoxing @MayweatherPromo, @TGBPromotions and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SHOSports, www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions and Facebook.com/MayweatherPromotions.

Newly crowned IBF Lightweight champion Richard Commey is waiting for results of an MRI on his knuckle before knowing if he can make the unification bout with Vasyl Lomachenko on April 12, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“There seems to be an issue with a ligament on his right hand, his right knuckle,” Lou DiBella, Commey’s promoter, told ESPN on Tuesday. “Before there is any definitive prognosis, they want him to have an MRI and whatever other imaging they need to do. Richard went to see the hand specialist [on Tuesday]. The doctor sent him for imaging, which he will have done on Wednesday, and on Thursday the doctor will review everything and give us a prognosis about whether he will be able to fight on April 12.

“My perspective is that I’m not going to play doctor. Right now, there is an issue that has to be dealt with, and on Thursday we’ll know the extent of it.”

St. Petersburg, FL (February 5, 2019) World Ranked Light Heavyweight contender “Hot Rod” Radivoje Kalajdzic (24-1, 17 KOs) has thrown down the gauntlet to Staten Island, NY native Marcus Browne (23-0, 16 KOs) for a rematch of their highly controversial clash in 2016.

“I saw Browne’s fight against Badou Jack and it’s the same amateurish style since he turned pro, holding at the first sign of trouble,” said the 27-year-old Kalajdzic, who has called St. Petersburg, Florida, his home for 15 years. Browne won a 12-round unanimous decision against Jack on January 19, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, seizing the interim WBA Light Heavyweight Title and the WBC Silver Light Heavyweight Title.

Promoted by DiBella Entertainment, Kalajdzic lost a hotly contested split decision over eight rounds to Browne, the only blemish on an otherwise perfect eight-year career. The bout took place on April 16, 2016, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn and was scored 76-74 both ways, and 76-75 Browne.

“I slipped in the first round and he hit me when I was down and the referee ruled it a knockdown. From then on, I won the second, fourth, the sixth where I legitimately dropped him, and the last two rounds. So even counting my knockdown in the first, I still should have won the fight as the one judge correctly scored it for me,” said Kalajdzic.

“I’ve watched Browne’s most recent fights and he’s a front runner. As soon as the going gets tough, he starts holding. The referee finally took a point away for excessive holding in the Jack fight, which Browne should have been penalized for in our fight.

“I’ve wanted the rematch for three years. I’m sure Browne would be happy fighting some run-of-the-mill, faded contender and avoid me, but it’s time to do it again. Anytime, anywhere, I’ll fight him in his backyard. He can’t beat me. He didn’t the first time and he won’t on the second try.”

Five months after the Browne fight, Kalajdzic was featured on Showtime’s “ShoBox” series and impressively knocked out the previously unbeaten Travis Peterkin in the fifth round. After beating Peterkin, “Hot Rod” took an extended period of time off to ensure the complete recovery of a lingering hand injury. In early 2018, he was given a clean bill of health and returned to the ring with two sensational first round knockouts versus Brad Austin and Alex Theran.

“After his long layoff, Hot Rod is back with a bang, having KO’d his last two opponents,” said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. “No disrespect to Marcus Browne, who looked sensational against Jack, but everyone in Team Hot Rod Kalajdzic views his record as 25-0. The boxing world knows that Hot Rod beat Marcus Browne the first time and I know that the boxing world would love to see it again. In the meantime, Hot Rod’s next fight will be announced shortly and he’ll continue his march toward a light heavyweight title.”

Las Vegas – UFC® will return to Philadelphia with a bout guaranteed to deliver fireworks, as No. 6 ranked lightweight contender Edson Barboza takes on No. 7 Justin Gaethje. In a pivotal strawweight bout, No. 6 ranked contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz faces No. 8 Michelle Waterson. UFC FIGHT NIGHT® ON ESPN: BARBOZA vs. GAETHJE takes place at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, March 30 with ESPN airing the Main Event and Prelims live at 5 p.m. ET and ESPN+ kicking off the event with a live stream of the Early Prelims at 3:30 p.m. ET. ESPN Deportes will air the Prelims live at 5 p.m. ET and stream the Main Event in Spanish at 7 p.m. ET on the ESPN App. All UFC live events on ESPN+ will also be available in English and Spanish.

A devastating Muay Thai specialist, Barboza (20-6, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) has delivered some of the most spectacular knockouts in UFC history. During his run, he has earned thrilling wins against Beneil Dariush, Gilbert Melendez, Anthony Pettis and Paul Felder. He now looks to continue building on the momentum of his recent victory over Dan Hooker with another show-stealing performance against one of the division’s most aggressive finishers.

Known as the “The Highlight,” Gaethje (19-2. Fighting out of Arvada, Colo.) has proven to be must-watch television since joining the UFC in 2017. He has earned five performance bonuses in only four appearances, including legendary wars with Dustin Poirier and Eddie Alvarez, as well as incredible knockouts against James Vick and Michael Johnson. Gaethje is now poised to once again steal the show against one of the most dangerous strikers on the UFC roster.

A former title challenger, Kowalkiewicz (13-3, fighting out of Lodz, Poland) aims to reassert herself as one of the top competitors in the strawweight division. During her UFC run, she has netted impressive victories over current champion Rose Namajunas, Felice Herrig, Randa Markos and Heather Jo Clark. Kowalkiewicz now hopes to make a statement against a tough and surging veteran contender.

Currently riding a two-fight win streak, Waterson (16-6, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) looks to continue her ascent up through the rankings. A former Invicta champion, she has secured thrilling victories against Paige VanZant, Felice Herrig, Cortney Casey and Jessica Penne. She is now gunning to establish herself as a title threat in the talent-rich strawweight division.

Announced bouts on the card include:

No. 13 ranked strawweight contender Alexa Grasso (10-2, fighting out of Guadalajara, Mexico) looks to get back in the win column against unbeaten Marina Rodriguez (10-0-1, fighting out of Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil)
Ross Pearson (22-14 1NC, fighting out of Sunderland, England) makes his 26th UFC appearance against tough Desmond Green (21-8, fighting out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Kennedy Nzechukwu (6-0, fighting out of Dallas, Tex.) looks to remain undefeated against battle-tested Paul Craig (9-3, fighting out of Coatbridge, Scotland)
Featherweight prospects collide when Sodiq Yusuff (7-1, fighting out of Bladensburg, Md.) faces Sheymon Moraes (11-1, fighting out of Los Angeles, Calif.)
Sabina Mazo (6-0, fighting out of Huntington Beach, Calif. by way of Medellín, Colombia) takes on Maryna Moroz (8-3, fighting out of Volnogorsk, Ukraine) in a strawweight bout

For the latest information on additional bouts for this event, please visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.

Visit UFC.com for information and content to support your UFC coverage. Please click here to apply for the event.

To subscribe to ESPN+, visit www.espnplus.com/ufc.

UFC FIGHT NIGHT® ON ESPN: BARBOZA vs. GAETHJE will air live from Wells Fargo Center on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Saturday, March 30, with the ESPN broadcast prelims kicking off the ESPN broadcast at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT. Early prelims stream on ESPN+ at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT.

Tickets for UFC FIGHT NIGHT® ON ESPN: BARBOZA vs. GAETHJE go on sale Friday, Feb. 8 at 10 a.m. ET and are priced at $179, $154, $124, $94, $84 and $74 (not including fees). Tickets are available for purchase online at WellsFargoCenterPhilly.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person.

UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 10 a.m. ET via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, Feb. 7 starting at 10 a.m. ET. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

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About UFC®

UFC® is a premium global sports brand and the largest Pay-Per-View event provider in the world. UFC boasts 278 million fans worldwide and has produced over 460 events in 24 countries since its inception in 1993. Acquired in 2016 by global sports, entertainment and fashion leader Endeavor (formerly WME | IMG), together with strategic partners Silver Lake Partners and KKR, UFC is headquartered in Las Vegas with a network of employees around the world. UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe, while programming is broadcast in over 165 countries and territories to 1.0 billion TV households worldwide in over 40 different languages. UFC FIGHT PASS®, the world’s leading digital subscription service for combat sports, delivers exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content to fans around the world. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram: @UFC.

About ESPN+

ESPN+, which surpassed one million paying subscribers in just five months, is the premium multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN.

ESPN+ will offer UFC fans 20 exclusive UFC on ESPN+ Fight Nights per year, as well as an extensive lineup of on-demand UFC programming, original shows (including “Dana White’s Contender Series”), classic fights and more. In addition to live and on-demand UFC content included in the ESPN+ subscription, fight fans will be able to purchase and watch UFC PPV events via ESPN+ and within the ESPN app, for a separate cost.

In addition to UFC, ESPN+ offers fans thousands of additional live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, as well as premium editorial content. ESPN+ is an integrated part of the ESPN App, the leading sports app and the premier all-in-one digital sports platform for fans. The ESPN App is available across nearly all major mobile and connected device platforms and delivers a rich, personalized experience that curates ESPN’s content around each fan’s individual tastes. ESPN+ is also be available through ESPN.com.

About ESPN

ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment enterprise, features more than 50 assets – eight U.S. television networks, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN International, ESPN The Magazine and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.

Jordan Gill faces Mexico’s Emmanuel Dominguez for the WBA International Featherweight crown at the East of England Arena in Peterborough on March 2, live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in the US.

The Chatteris man headlines the next instalment of the JD NXTGEN series with his first fight in his home county for five years after he stopped Ryan Doyle to claim the Commonwealth Featherweight title in October.

‘The Thrill’ looked flawless against Doyle, dominating proceedings throughout before producing an impressive stoppage in round seven to win the first title of his professional career, and the Dave Coldwell-trained talent is hungry for more titles in 2019.

“I’m buzzing to have the chance to bring a big event to the area and put on a show for the fans,” said Gill. “I hope it’s a huge success and will be the first of many shows in the city. With the venue being so close to my hometown I’m confident it will be a complete sell-out.

“I haven’t seen much of Dominguez, but Mexicans are renowned for their toughness and I can’t see him being any different. These are exactly the sort of fights I want to be involved in this year. It’s all about pushing on to the World stage now and this is the next step in that direction.”

Richard Riakporhe produced a stunning comeback to stop Sam Hyde in the battle of the unbeaten Cruiserweights last time out in Manchester, and the Dillian Whyte-mentored Londoner makes the first defence of his WBA Inter-Continental title against Belfast’s 12-1 Tommy McCarthy next month.

Unbeaten Indiana Super-Middleweight contender Anthony Sims Jr fights for the second time in the UK after an explosive debut in Cardiff last summer. The 23-year-old has reached 17-0 in the paid ranks with 16 of those wins coming inside the distance and is widely tipped to reach the top of the sport.

Nottingham’s Leigh Wood clashes with Ghana’s Abraham Osei Bonsu for the vacant Commonwealth Featherweight crown. ‘Leigh-thal’, a former Midlands Area Champion, is unbeaten in nine since a loss to Gavin McDonnell for the British Super-Bantamweight title.

Heavy-handed Super-Middleweight prospect John Docherty looks to make if four knockouts from four fights after impressing again on the Garcia vs. Cheeseman undercard at The O2 and Leeds Super-Bantamweight and former Team GB amateur standout Qais Ashfaq aims to go 5-0, and there’s also action on the undercard for Wisbech Super-Welterweight Joe Steed and St Ives Super-Lightweight Bradley Smith.

“It’s great to bring championship boxing to a completely new area on March 2,” said Eddie Hearn. “We have already seen from Jordan’s ticket requests how popular this will be and it’s a great night of boxing. Jordan is another one of those young stars ready to step up to the next level, some have managed to do it and some haven’t – now it’s his turn.

“Anthony Sims Jr has become a real fan favourite in the UK and is set for a huge 2019. Richard Riakporhe against Tommy McCarthy is a great 50-50 Cruiserweight match up and exciting Nottingham star Leigh Wood challenges for his first major title. Beneath the championship fights the card is stacked with young talent and we look forward to a great crowd in Peterborough on March 2.”

Las Vegas (February 5, 2019) – Three Time World Champion Jessie Vargas has confirmed that he will appear, have a booth and hold a Meet & Greet with his fans at the Las Vegas Convention Center for the fifth Annual Box Fan Expo on Saturday May 4, 2019 from 10am to 5pm, during Cinco De Mayo weekend. The Boxing Expo will also coincide with the highly anticipated fight between Canelo Alvarez vs Danny Jacobs, that will take place later that evening at the T-Mobile arena.

Vargas will make his fifth appearance at this years’ Expo and will be signing gloves, photos, personal items and also have his own brand of merchandise for sale. Boxing enthusiasts will have an opportunity to also take pictures with this fan friendly Boxing Star. Vargas last two competitive performances resulted in a draw versus top fighters Adrien Broner and Thomas Dulorme.

Vargas is a Mexican American professional boxer who is a former two-weight world champion, having held the WBA (Regular) and IBO super lightweight titles in 2014 and the WBO welterweight title in 2016.

About Box Fan Expo
Box Fan Expo has been a huge success with fans and boxing industry people. Many boxing stars have attended the last four Expos such as Floyd Mayweather, Mike Tyson, Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns, Juan Manuel Marquez, Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Roy Jones Jr., Marcos Maidana, Andre Ward, Errol Spence Jr., Sergio Martinez, Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia, Tim Bradley, Deontay Wilder, Amir Khan, Shawn Porter, Fernando Vargas, Zab Judah, James Toney, Vinny Pazienza, Mikey Garcia , Mia St.John, Leo Santa Cruz, Abner Mares Maricela Cornejo, Badou Jack, Terry Norris , Riddick Bowe , Earnie Shavers, Leon Spinks, Danny Jacobs, Jorge Linares, Brandon Rios and many more…

Exhibitors such as boxing gear, apparel, new equipment’s, energy drinks, alcohol, supplement products, broadcasting media, sanctioning bodies and other companies who wish to participate will once again have a chance to showcase their brand to fans, media and the boxing industry.

Tickets to the Box Fan Expo are available online at:
https://boxfanexpo.eventbrite.com

Box Fan Expo is the ultimate boxing fan experience event, which allows fans to Meet and Greet Boxing Superstars of today, current and former world champions, Legends of the sport and other boxing Celebrities at their booth. On Site, fans will experience different activities from Autograph Sessions, Photo Sessions, FaceOff with your favorite boxers, as well as a chance to purchase merchandise and memorabilia from their booth, plus so much more… you won’t want to miss this must-attend Expo!

Box Fan Expo will also feature top boxing organizations, promoters, ring card girls, famous trainers and commentators as well as boxing gear companies “ALL UNDER ONE ROOF”.

Throughout the next several months leading up to the Event, there will be weekly updates on the many stars that will commit their appearance at the Boxing Expo. And for anyone in the Boxing industry or other Exhibitors (non-industry), who would like to be involved and reserve a Booth, contact Box Fan Expo:

Telephone number: (514) 572-7222 or Las Vegas Number (702) 997-1927

For any inquiries please email: boxfanexpo@gmail.com

For More information on Box Fan Expo visit: http://www.boxfanexpo.com

Follow Box Fan Expo on Twitter and Instagram: @BoxFanExpo

Follow Box Fan Expo on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/BoxFanExpo

Tom Farrell will challenge Philip Bowes for the Commonwealth Super-Lightweight crown at The M&S Bank Arena Liverpool on March 30, live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in the US.

Farrell, 16-1, was last in title action in September 2017 when he lost out to Ohara Davies for the WBA International strap, and the popular Liverpudlian is itching to be involved in big title action again.

Leytonstone’s Bowes stopped Tanzanian Benson Nyilawila in two rounds to win the belt at York Hall over the weekend and the 34-year-old, trained by former British Champion Darren Hamilton and Leon McKenzie, is already targeting more titles at 140lbs.

“We’ve had our eyes on the Commonwealth title for a few weeks now as we knew Philip Bowes was going to be fighting for it,” said Bowes. “When we saw him win it in good fashion at the weekend we thought it’d be the perfect fight for us and I’m buzzing to get in there on March 30.

“Philip is a tricky opponent, he’s got a nice relaxed style and he’s going to be well-prepared on March 30. He’s going to be full of confidence coming off the back of a good win and I think it will be an exciting fight for the fans. I’ll probably be on early so it should be a strong start to the night.

“My loss to Ohara Davies was a bad night at the office for me. People that are close to me know what went wrong on that night and I’ve never made any excuses. I know that I wasn’t myself but I’ve had a good phase of rebuilding over the past year. I’ve got a fight in a couple of weeks just to get my sharpness back, I’m already feeling fit so it’s great that Liverpool show is another eight weeks off. I’m going to be in great shape come fight night.”

Bowes vs. Farrell is part of a huge night of action in Liverpool.

Main event sees former WBO Super-Welterweight World Champion Liam Smith makes his long-awaited Liverpool homecoming against Sam Eggington.

Newly-crowned European Super-Lightweight Champion Joe Hughes clashes with Liverpool’s British Champion Robbie Davies Jr in a mouth-watering domestic showdown, with both belts on the line.

Former Great Britain teammates Anthony Fowler and Scott Fitzgerald look to settle their longstanding feud in a dynamite Super-Welterweight clash.

Popular Heavyweight David Price fights in Liverpool for the first time in nearly three years as he looks to make a fresh charge on the Heavyweight division following his recent win over Tom Little at The O2.

There’s also action for rising Liverpool Cruiserweight talent Craig Glover, ‘Miss GB’ Natasha Jonas and undefeated Super-Lightweight Ged ‘G-Man’ Carroll.

Anthony Yigit (21-1-1, 7 KOs) will face Mohamed Khalladi (10-7-1, 5 KOs) in an eight round super lightweight contest on February 16 at CGM Arena in Koblenz.

The Swedish southpaw returns having proved his star potential with a heroic performance against Ivan Baranchyk in their World Boxing Super Series Quarter-Final clash for the IBF World Super Lightweight title on October 27.

Yigit stood toe-to-toe with Baranchyk in a fan friendly contest at the Lakefront Arena in New Orleans, but severe swelling around the Swede’s left eye forced the ringside doctor to stop the fight at the end of the seventh-round.

The 27 year-old says he cannot wait to get back in action as he looks to put into practice the lessons learnt from his first career loss, and having gained international acclaim for his brave display, engineer a return to the World stage.
“The ring is where I feel at home, so I can’t wait to get back, especially in Germany as I’ve always had great support from the German fans,” says Yigit.

“I’ve learned a lot since my fight with Baranchyk. We’ve studied what went wrong and looked at what could’ve gone better. We also saw a lot of good things that we have developed on and improved even further.

“I got an amazing reception after the fight. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring home a win, but I did win many fans that night. They really like the way I fought.

“The irony is that it was my swollen eye that got me famous worldwide, and now that it’s healed, I don’t think people will recognise me anymore so I’ve got to make sure I get famous for my boxing next time.

“I haven’t lost any motivation. All I wanted since that fight was to get back into the ring and to keep walking the path to the top. I started training four weeks after my last fight, so I skipped Christmas and went straight into camp.

“I’ve been preparing in Las Palmas, Spain. Sweden is very cold at the moment, and Las Palmas provides me with a good climate and all the facilities I need.

“I want to get back to winning ways and keep active. It’s important I learn from my previous fights to make sure I keep developing. There’s a lot of fine tuning to be done but I’m confident I will be back on the World stage soon!”

Yigit says he will not take Khalladi for granted, having been warned of his opponent’s toughness by one of the Tunisian-born Italian’s former foes.

“He’s definitely a dangerous opponent,” he says. “A black horse, if you will. He doesn’t have a spotless record but he has fought guys that were supposed to beat him and given them trouble. My friend, Finnish fighter Jarkko Putkonen, got a draw with him in Finland and he told me not to underestimate him.”

Abass Baraou tops the bill in Koblenz with a WBC International Super Welterweight title fight against former World Champion Carlos Molina, while Leon Bunn looks to continue his unbeaten run against Viktor Polyakov, and 17 year-old female amateur star Sophie Alisch makes her paid debut.

Tickets for the CGM Arena on February 16 are available via www.eventim.de.

SAM MAXWELL WILL seek to win his first professional title in Leicester on February 23 when he fights Kelvin Dotel for the WBO European super lightweight title.

The 10-0 (8 KOs) former Team GB member from Liverpool has been promising a big 2019 and he launches his campaign at the Morningside Arena on a bill also featuring Anthony Yarde taking on Travis Reeves with the WBO Intercontinental light heavyweight title at stake, as well as British super featherweight champion Sam Bowen returning after an impressive stoppage win last time out at the arena.

The Spaniard Dotel holds a record of 14-4 (7 KOs), having won the Spanish welterweight title in 2015 and the IBF International title in 2018. In his last fight in December he defeated the then 18-0 Mishiko Beselia via a sixth round stoppage.

For Maxwell, 30, winning the WBO belt is first and foremost in his ambitions for the year ahead.

“Yeah definitely, it is a massive title and a massive opportunity for me that I am looking forward to,” reacted Maxwell, who now trains in Glasgow under trainer Danny Vaughan.

“I think it is perfect timing for me because I am peaking and I aimed for this to be my year.

“It is when I wanted a shot and it has been delivered to me.

“From Dotel’s record he has boxed at a higher level than me and in his last fight he beat an undefeated opponent. I have watched a few videos of him and he is a good all-round boxer who looks like he has got a bit of power as well. So it should be a good fight,” he added, knowing full well that recent history has provided evidence of the dangers of overlooking Spanish fighters operating at European level.

“Definitely, I always look at it as if they come from Spain or France they are usually very respectable opponents and I will have to be at my best – and I’m going to be.”

Maxwell has linked himself to a potential showdown with Ohara Davies and the Hackney man responded on ‘The Boxing Podcast’ by reasoning that he needs to prove himself a contender before he would entertain stepping in the ring.

Maxwell has no argument with this train of thought and intends on making a start by collecting his first belt, live on BT Sport.

“Those comments make sense because I am just a 10-0 opponent at the moment and not really on his radar. If I perform as well as I know I can and win this title, I’ll start pricking some ears up and people will start taking an interest in me.

“Then big fights like this can happen.”

Maxwell v Dotel features on a card topped by Anthony Yarde’s defence of his WBO Intercontinental light heavyweight title against Travis Reeves at the Morningside Arena, along with British super featherweight champion Sam ‘Bullet’ Bowen. Local fighters CJ Challenger and Kyle Haywood do battle for the vacant Midlands Area super welterweight title, with Nathan Gorman, Lyon Woodstock, Ryan Garner, Willy Hutchinson, Tommy Fury, Ryan Hatton and Mark Chamberlain also featuring on the card.

Tickets are available from £40 are on sale NOW via Eventbrite

RIVERSIDE, CALIF. (February 15, 2019) – Once-beaten contender “Mad Man” Marcos Hernandez will look to continue his winning streak from “The Contender Season Five”, when he rematches Jeison Rosario live on FS1 and FOX Deportes Saturday, February 23 from the Armory in Minneapolis and presented by Premier Boxing Champions.

Coverage on FS1 and FOX Deportes begins live at 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT and is headlined by former WBC super-middleweight champion Anthony Dirrell facing Avni Yildirim for the vacant WBC Super Middleweight Championship.

The 25-year-old from Fresno, California is looking to continue his journey to a world title as he has beaten four well-regarded prospects in only fifteen fights. Hernandez is currently training with Henry Ramirez in Riverside, California, and looking forward to his rematch with Rosario, who he fought to a draw last February in Texas.

Tickets for the event, which is promoted by Warriors Boxing and TGB Promotions, are on sale now, and can be purchased at the Armory at http://ArmoryMN.com/ and through Ticketmaster.

Here is what Hernandez had to say about his upcoming matchup and more:

On his rematch against Jeison Rosario:
“I fought Jeison Rosario almost one year ago exactly. I have a lot of respect for him because we fought to a draw, but that being said, I felt I got the better of him. This not a six-round bout like our first match, this is a ten-round fight, and I know what needs to be done to further my career with my performance in this fight.”

On his recent training camp:
“I really like training with Henry Ramirez in Riverside, California. Henry is a cool guy who’s trained a lot of top fighters and knows what it takes to get the job done. In Fresno there were many distractions, so moving away from my family, my wife and kids, it is a sacrifice that I make to go to the next level. This is a job and I treat it like a job. I am doing everything possible to be a contender.”

On fighting on this PBC event on FS1 and FOX Deportes:
“I’m very excited as this is my third time on FS1. I love what Premier Boxing Champions is doing for the sport of boxing, bringing fights to network television. FS1 has been good to me and I am excited that one of my biggest wins will be on FS1 so everyone can watch it.”

On his goals for 2019:
“I want to stay active, but my focus is solely on Rosario and getting that win. My hopes are to get in with a fighter with a big name. I’ve fought a lot of tough fighters, but not a lot of big-name fighters yet. I am hoping that by the end of this year I can fight one of those fighters’ people have seen on television for years.”

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ABOUT DIRRELL VS. YILDIRIM
Dirrell vs. Yildirim will see former super middleweight world champion Anthony Dirrell face top contender Avni Yildirim for the vacant WBC Super Middleweight World Championship in the main event of Premier Boxing Champions on FS1 and FOX Deportes on Saturday, February 23 from The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Coverage begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and features welterweight championship contender Jamal James fighting in his hometown for a third straight time against Janer González in a special 10-round attraction in the co-feature.

Fans can live stream the fights on the FOX Sports app, available in English or Spanish through the FOX, FS1, FS2 or FOX Deportes feeds. The fights are available on desktop at FOXSports.com and through the app store, or connected devices including Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, Xbox One and Roku.

A purse bid for the rematch between Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury has been pushed back a week, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“We have extended [for] one week the free negotiations, per their request,” WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman said.

Shelly Finkel, Wilder’s co-manager, said the discussions are going well.

“We’re in strong negotiations and hopefully we will get things done,” he said. “I don’t think we are going to need a purse bid.”

Abner Mares has to pull out of his fight with Gervonta Davis with a Detached Retina.

“It happened in a sparring session. It happened on Wednesday [Jan. 23]. I got hit in the eye,” said Mares, who wore a patch over his eye during an interview with Kate Abdo that aired on Sunday on “Inside PBC Boxing,” the FS1 news and interview show about Premier Boxing Champions fights and fighters that he co-hosts. “I felt the pain, but I went through it. I still sparred. I came back on Friday [Jan. 25] for another sparring session, I got hit again. It’s a contact sport, and my eye got super red. And it was that Friday and Saturday where I started seeing clouds and just blurred vision, and I told my wife, and my wife was like, ‘You got to get it checked.’ I said, ‘No, I’m good.’

“So, Monday came and I was gonna go to the gym. I had another sparring session ready for Monday. But my wife insisted to go see the doctor. So, she won, and I went to the doctor, a specialist, and he said, ‘Abner, you have a detached retina. You’re not gonna be able to fight.’ … It was really hard for me to hear those words once again. It was devastating.”

“In reality, people didn’t know what I was going through,” said Mares, who pursued the fight, for which he would have to move up another weight class. “They didn’t know the pain I was going through. I’m not that type of person. I’m not that type of fighter. I called out Davis. I wanted him.”

“It’s been a tough week. … I know that I’m going to come back strong after this,” Mares said. “It’s just a matter of healing, resting and doing what the doctors say.”

“My doctor is one of the best, and if he says, ‘Abner, you’re good to go,’ I’m going to up there and continue to become a world champion once again,” Mares said. “And if he says no, I’m ready for retirement. But I honestly feel I’m gonna come back and I’m gonna conquer that and become a world champion once again.”

“I do have a bad elbow, but not that bad to cancel the fight,” Mares said. “I mainly said elbow because I was afraid. I didn’t want people to know about my eye. I said if I tell people about my eye, people are gonna think, ‘That’s it, he’s not fighting anymore, it’s a red flag.’

“I don’t know, I was scared, honestly. I was scared to let the people know that I’m going through this. I don’t want people to see me as handicapped. I don’t want people to feel that I can’t fight anymore, because I know I can. I just wanted to hide it. No one knew. I just recently told my manager and my promoter; no one knew. Only my family members, and it was hard.”

NEW YORK (February 4, 2019)- On a night with three world title fights, it was boxing’s hottest star that stole the show at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, as Teofimo Lopez bloodied, battered, beat up and knocked out former two-time world title challenger Diego Magdaleno in the 7th round of their NABA/NABF/USBA Lightweight Title bout.

Lopez’s work began to show as early as round two, when his power punching opened up a cut on the bridge of Magdaleno’s nose. Lopez continued to pound away on Magdaleno. Soon after, Magdaleno’s face was a bloody mess as a result of vicious shots landed by Lopez.

In round six, a powerful left hook finally sent Magdaleno to the canvas. Most who saw the fight felt the contest should have been halted there. Lopez landed two devastating left hooks that put out Magdaleno in the 7th frame, and the fight was stopped at 1:08.

“I take nothing away from Diego Magdaleno. We picked our shots, and we knew that in the later rounds, he’d drown in those deep waters,” Lopez said. “As the competition gets tougher, you will see more of what I can do. I dissected him like a surgeon.”

Lopez took a major leap into securing a major fight in his next bout.

“I think Teofimo has clearly proven that he’s not just a prospect or a contender. He is a world champ right now, and the only thing that is missing is the belt,” said David McWater of Split-T Management.

CARSON, Calif. (February 4, 2019) – Unbeaten Super Featherweight Xavier Martinez will clash with Colombia’s Deivi Bassa and lightweight contender Ladarius Miller is set to battle Daulius Prescott in non-televised undercard action on Saturday, February 9 from Dignity Health Sports Park, formerly StubHub Center, in Carson, California.

The main event of a SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING tripleheader features unbeaten WBA Super Featherweight Champion Gervonta Davis defending his title against former world champion Hugo Ruiz in an event presented by Premier Boxing Champions.

The unbeaten Martinez (12-0, 8 KOs) has stopped his last four opponents, including a technical knockout victory over Oscar Bravo in his last fight in September. The 21-year-old from Sacramento, Calif. will be looking to do the same when he steps in for a 10-round bout against Bassa (20-7, 12 KOs), a 37-year-old southpaw from Monteira, Colombia. Bassa is looking to rebound from a unanimous decision loss to Jonathan Oquendo in his last fight in December.

Miller (18-1, 5 KOs) has used his boxing ability to make a steady climb up the lightweight ladder with impressive victories over Jamel Herring and Dennis Galarza. The 25-year-old, a southpaw who was born in Memphis and now lives in Las Vegas, is coming off a majority decision victory over Ricardo Garcia in his last fight in December. He is catching Barranquilla, Colombia’s Prescott (32-10, 24 KOs) as he is trying to rebound from a decision loss to Matt Conway in December.

In other non-televised undercard action undefeated featherweight Angelo Leo (15-0, 8 KOs) meets Alberto Torres (11-1-3, 4 KOs) in an eight-round bout, unbeaten Jose Balderas (5-0) competes in a six-round super bantamweight fight against Jerrod Miner (1-3-2, 1 KO), flyweight Ava Knight (17-2-4, 5 KOs) takes on Luna del Mar Torroba (12-9-2, 2 KOs) in an eight-round match, Mexican lightweight Francisco Ochoa (13-0, 8 KOs) steps in against Luis May (21-11-1, 8 KOs) for a six-round bout and Maurice Lee (9-1-1, 5 KOs) faces Lennard Davis (4-1-4, 3 KOs) in a six-round super lightweight bout.

The fights continue with undefeated welterweight Emmanuel Medina (15-0, 9 KOs) against Carlos Velasquez (26-33-2, 16 KOs) in an eight-round bout, Lorenzo Simpson (1-0, 1 KO) meeting Jonell Christmas (0-1) in a four-round super middleweight bout and Genisis Libranza (17-1, 10 KOs) taking on Gilberto Mendoza (11-6-2, 4 KOs) in an eight-round super flyweight match.

Rounding out the night of action is undefeated Israel Luna taking on Angel Carvajal in a four-round super bantamweight match.

# # #
ABOUT DAVIS VS. RUIZ
Gervonta Davis vs. Hugo Ruiz pits the WBA Super Featherweight World ChampionDavis against the former world champion Ruiz in the main event of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING on Saturday, February 9 from Dignity Health Sports Park, formerly StubHub Center, in Carson, California and presented by Premier Boxing Champions.

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING coverage begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and features undefeated super lightweight Mario Barrios taking on Mexico’s Richard Zamora and former world champion Javier Fortuna battling lightweight contender Sharif Bogere.

The event is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, TGB Promotions and Sampson Boxing and tickets are sale now and can be purchased at AXS.com.

For more information visit www.SHO.com/Sports and www.premierboxingchampions.com follow on Twitter @ShowtimeBoxing, @SHOSports, @PremierBoxing @MayweatherPromo, @TGBPromotions and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SHOSports, www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions and Facebook.com/MayweatherPromotions.

OAKLAND, Calif. (February 4, 2019) – Undefeated super lightweight contender Mario Barrios will look to continue his push toward a world title shot when he faces Mexico’s Richard Zamora (19-2, 12 KOs) live on SHOWTIME this Saturday, February 9 from Dignity Health Sports Park, formerly StubHub Center, in Carson, Calif, and presented by Premier Boxing Champions.

The three-fight SHOWTIME telecast begins live at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and is headlined by super featherweight world champion Gervonta Davis defending his title against former world champion Hugo Ruiz.

The 23-year-old from San Antonio can increase his knockout streak to seven on February 9, all since he moved up to 140-pounds. Here is what Barrios (22-0, 14 KOs) had to say about his upcoming matchup and more from training camp in Oakland, Calif.:

On his matchup with Richard Zamora:

“Zamora is my toughest opponent to date in my opinion. He’s won his last five fights, so I know he’s coming into this fight with a lot of confidence. He has power in both hands and he’s very tough. But I’m going into this fight with a lot of confidence myself. This is going to be a war and one I’m looking forward to. I have no doubt in my mind that I’m going to come out on top.”

On his recent training camp:

“Camp started back home with my dad Martin and he really got me ready before I left for California. I’ve spent the last six weeks training in the Bay Area with Virgil Hunter. I’ve also been training with Victor Conte and Remi Korchemny at the SNAC facility. Right now, my body is in the best shape of my life. I got good sparring with Devin Haney and a few other top-level fighters. All the hard work is almost done. We have one week left and then its fight week. Virgil and I are working great together and I’m ready to go.”

On fighting in the co-main event on SHOWTIME:

“I’m very excited to be fighting on SHOWTIME on a big card once again, this time in the co-main event. I’m going to bring a lot of excitement to those watching on TV. My style is fan-friendly and everyone tuning in is going to see the next superstar in boxing. I’m going to take full advantage of this opportunity fighting on the big stage.”

On when he’ll be fighting for a world title:

“I’m currently ranked No. 1 in the WBA, so I know a world title shot is very close. Right now, my main focus is defeating Zamora. I must get past this fight and then it’s time to face all the top guys in the super lightweight division. I’m looking to be in a world title fight sometime this year.”

# # #

ABOUT DAVIS VS. RUIZ
Gervonta Davis vs. Hugo Ruiz pits the WBA Super Featherweight World ChampionDavis against the former world champion Ruiz in the main event of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING on Saturday, February 9 from Dignity Health Sports Park, formerly StubHub Center, in Carson, California and presented by Premier Boxing Champions.

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING coverage begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and features undefeated super lightweight Mario Barrios taking on Mexico’s Richard Zamora and former world champion Javier Fortuna battling lightweight contender Sharif Bogere.

The event is promoted by Mayweather Promotions, TGB Promotions and Sampson Boxing and tickets are sale now and can be purchased at AXS.com.

For more information visit www.SHO.com/Sports and www.premierboxingchampions.com follow on Twitter @ShowtimeBoxing, @SHOSports, @PremierBoxing @MayweatherPromo, @TGBPromotions and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SHOSports, www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions and Facebook.com/MayweatherPromotions.

Philadelphia, PA (FEBRUARY 4, 2019) – On Friday night , March 1st, another great All-Philadelphia matchup will take place as Tyrone Brunson will take on Jamaal Davis in a 10-round bout for the Pennsylvania State Junior Middleweight Title at 2300 Arena
in South Philadelphia.

There has been much talk recently on the concept of All-Philadelphia fights taking place in the historic fight city.

The show’s promoter, Marshall Kauffman of King’s Promotions sees the value of such matchups and the interest it brings to the Philadelphia boxing scene.

“I have seen so much discussion recently about these Philadelphia matchups on social media. These fights bring a lot of excitement and interest to any event that has a fight such as Brunson and Davis. We did the fight between Brandon Robinson and Christopher Brooker in 2017. That fight was not even the main event, and there was more interest in that fight then any on the card. I expect Tyrone and Jamaal to have large rooting sections, and the fight is very meaningful. Tyrone is knocking on the door of a big fight while Jamaal can get there with a win. It is a great style matchup, and I don’t think either guy really cares that the other is from Philly. That’s what makes this not only a good matchup, but people are talking about this fight. Tickets are going very well for March 1st, and a good reason for it is that two guys from Philly are willing to lay it on the line to get to the next level. They understand that a win over the other is a huge feather in their cap,” said Kauffman.

In the eight-round co-feature, Tyrone Crawley, Jr. (7-1-1) of Philadelphia takes on Victor Vazquez (10-5, 4 KOs) of Yonkers, New York in a junior welterweight fight.

Joseph George (8-0, 6 KOs) of Houston, Texas battles Oscar Riojas (17-11-1, 6 KOs) of Monterrey, MEX in a super middleweight fight.

In six-round bouts:

Nahir Albright (4-1, 1 KO) of Philadelphia battles Roy McGill (6-1, 3 KOs) of Harrisburg, PA in a super lightweight contest.

Rasheed Johnson (4-2, 1 KO) of Philadelphia fights Vincent Floyd (4-5-1, 2 KOs) in a clash of Philadelphia based welterweights.

Antonio DuBose (9-2-1, 2 KOs) of Philadelphia, PA fights Danny Flores (15-14, 8 KOs) of Mexico City, Mex in a super featherweight match.

In four-round bouts:

James Martin (3-0, 1 KO) of Philadelphia fights Rick Pyle (1-1) of Harrisburg, PA in a welterweight fight.

Rasheen Brown (2-0) of Philadelphia fights Hugo Rodriguez (0-2) of Monterrey, Mexico in a super bantamweight fight.

Kendall Cannida (2-1) of Philadelphia, PA fights Angel Rivera (4-0, 3 KOs) of Harrisburg, PA in a light heavyweight fight.

Tickets are $100, $75 and $50 and can be purchased at www.2300arena.com

LUCIEN REID says it will be a knockout 2019 with Indi Sangha the first to feel the force.

The super-bantamweight faces the toughest test of his career so far when he meets southpaw Sangha (9-1) at London’s Royal Albert Hall at Friday March 8.

Reid (8-0) believes he is British title bound this year and is predicting an early night against his Birmingham rival despite having to go the distance in each of his last three fights,

London’s 2013 ABA Elite champion said: “Sangha is a tricky fighter, but he hasn’t been in with anyone as tricky as me or with an amateur background like mine.

“I boxed all around the world so I know how to deal with people very easily. I will figure him out quickly and take him out very early.

“One million per-cent I am getting back to stopping someone. He has a good record and will actually come to fight.

“The last three opponents have all come to survive. I have hit them once, they have felt a bit of power and run away and it is the worst thing ever.

“I can always tell by their faces. I hit them once, they cover up and I know what is going to happen. I am not learning anything from them other than beating someone up for a few rounds.”

The British super-bantamweight title is currently vacant and Reid hopes that the British Boxing Board of Control might consider matching him against Jazza Dickens for the vacant title.

Reid, 25, added: “I wants belts this year. I thought the Sangha fight might have been for a title given our records, but I need to fight someone like this to show I’m at a good level.

“By the end of this year I want to be British champion. The title is vacant and I don’t see many that could bother me.

“There are some fighters who look to be going in another direction, but there are plenty others where I would get the chance to fight for the British title outright.

“It is a winnable title and I reckon they will try and nominate Jazza Dickens for the vacant belt.

“I know he is a tough man, but when he comes up against a skilful boxer it is different. He can have a fight, but try having a fight with someone like me who can box.

“I know how well I can fight and with the team around me I don’t need to worry about people.

“I am sparring with Michael Conlan and Ryan Burnett. Charlie Edwards and Jordan Gill also come down. That is crazy sparring.

“Michael and Ryan are massive talents and I know that if I can hold my own against those two I can hold my own against anyone especially at British level.”

Sangha, 23, won his first nine fights, but suffered a setback in June when he lost against experienced English champion and former Commonwealth title challenger Michael Ramabeletsa.

Elsewhere on the show at the Royal Albert Hall, Nicola Adams OBE will look to make history and be the first female crowned World Champion at the venue as she challenges for the WBO World Flyweight Title on International Women’s Day. Daniel Dubois follows in the footsteps of British heavyweight greats to fight at the Hall and takes on Razvan Cojanu in his tenth fight. Liam Williams puts his newly won British Middleweight Title on the line against Brentwood bruiser Joe Mullender. GB Flyweight Harvey Horn and Cruiserweight talent James Branch also return.

Tickets are priced from £40 and are available to buy via RoyalAlbertHall.com
TICKETS START FROM £40
GRAND TIER: £100
LOGGIA: £100
SECOND TIER: £75

NUTLEY, NJ – February 4, 2019 – This past Friday night at The Main Street Armory in Rochester, New York, former middleweight title challenger, Dominic Wade returned to the ring after nearly a three-year layoff to blast out Martin Fidel Rios in the 1st round of their scheduled eight-round bout.

2018 National Golden Gloves Champion, Roney Hines made it four 1st round knockouts in as many fights as he stopped Sherman Artis Jr.

Wade of Largo, Maryland, dropped Rios twice in the 1st frame, with the finisher coming with a powerful left hook that sent Rios down for the count at 1:48.

With the win, Wade improves to 19-1 with 13 knockouts.

Hines of Cleveland, sent Artis down three times in the 1st round, as he focused on the body. The heavyweight is now 4-0 with four knockouts.

“I am very pleased in Dominic’s performance,” said Vito Mielnicki of GH3 Promotions. “I plan to keep him busy, and settle him at super middleweight. He has never lacked in ability, so in the next few months he should start to get in the mix for bigger fights. Roney had three quick wins last year, and he needed a little break. Now I will be moving him like I do with all of my young guys, and that is to basically fight monthly. By the end of the year, I feel that he will be on all of the top prospect lists. I expect both to fight on February 23rd and March 18th. Those fights will be announced shortly.”

BALTIMORE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT Travis Reeves will now be in the opposite corner to Anthony Yarde at the Morningside Arena in Leicester on February 23 after original opponent Mehdi Amar was forced to withdraw due to injury.

Reeves, 17-3-2, has suffered only one defeat in his last 17 fights in a challenge for the IBO world title against Karo Murat and last fought in January at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, where he recorded a unanimous points victory over Lanell Bellows.

With former European champion Amar not in a position to travel, Reeves will provide the next test on the journey to the top for Yarde, who will have his 18th professional fight in Leicester.

The 27-year-old has quickly switched his attention to the new challenge to be put in front of him.

“Injuries are unfortunately an unavoidable part of boxing and it is just the nature of the business,” reasoned the WBO Intercontinental champion.

“There is nothing anybody can do about it and I am just happy that a good replacement has been lined up for me.

“I have still got a job to do and I intend to put on a show in Leicester. Every fight and every win is important for me because everybody knows what is planned for me this year and I have got to move from strength to strength with no mistakes.

“Sergey Kovalev regained the WBO world title over the weekend with a strong performance but, as far as I am concerned, him holding the belt is just a temporary arrangement and it will be in my hands before too long.

“My time is coming but the next fight is always the most important and, for now, my focus is just on getting the job done in Leicester.”

Promoter Frank Warren added: “It is always a shame when you lose a good opponent, but we have a more than capable replacement in Travis Reeves, who has been active and is on a good run of form.

“This fight is about Anthony making a case for a world title shot and showing us all that he is ready to take the next big step. The light heavyweight division is right up there with the strongest in world boxing and Anthony is in a great position to make his entry into the elite and I firmly believe he has got what it takes.”

Anthony Yarde’s defence of his WBO Intercontinental light heavyweight title against Travis Reeves at the Morningside Arena shares top billing with British super featherweight champion Sam ‘Bullet’ Bowen. Local fighters CJ Challenger and Kyle Haywood do battle for the vacant Midlands Area super welterweight title, with Nathan Gorman, Lyon Woodstock, Ryan Garner, Willy Hutchinson, Tommy Fury, Ryan Hatton and Mark Chamberlain also featuring on the card.

Tickets are available from £40 are on sale NOW via Eventbrite

London (4 February 2019) The bitter animosity between British super-middleweight rivals James DeGale and Chris Eubank Jr. fired up again when the warring pair came head-to-head behind closed doors to film a special programme for fight broadcaster ITV Sport.

With the big-fight just under three weeks’ away, the bad blood is boiling up between the long-time enemies, who’s feud has stretched to nearly eight years, ahead of the ‘A Storm is Coming’ grudge fight promoted by Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) and Poxon Sports on Saturday 23rd February at The O2, exclusively live on ITV Box Office.

The fiery confrontation took place at a gritty converted former industrial factory in the backstreets of East London last week where DeGale and Eubank got up close-and-personal to film ITV Sports’ The Big Fight: DeGale vs Eubank Jr – Face to Face.

The special programme will broadcast on fight week and forms part of an unprecedented week of original programming content for ITV Sport, culminating in the big-fight on Saturday night.

DeGale and Eubank went face-to-face across a table with only ITV Sports’ man in the middle, the multi-award winning broadcaster Gabriel Clarke, who fired off hard-hitting questions to both fighters during a gripping and intense session that brought out the character, emotion and desire of both men ahead of their pivotal clash with everything on the line.

The 168 pound warrior have been priming their minds and bodies ready for the impending battle and with the clock ticking down towards their epic showdown, tensions were clearly running high and nearly boiled over as their escalating war of words and insults had two security guards poised to step in.

In one heated exchange DeGale ridiculed Brighton star Eubank Jr’s claims that he would outbox the more experience Olympic and Two-Time World Champion. DeGale stormed: “You think you can outbox me? I’ve won an Olympic Gold medal and world titles. You’re a joke.”

Eubank Jr. later ripped into DeGale and promised he would claim the rest his teeth, referring to the brutal world title unification fight between DeGale and Badou Jack in January 2017 when the Londoner’s two front teeth were punched out. Eubank mocked: “You’ve already had your two front teeth knocked out, I’m going to take the rest of them home with me.”

Even after Clarke had finished his questioning and filming had concluded, the pair continued to have an angry exchange and tellingly they bluntly refused to shake hands after Clarke looked for a sign of respect between them. DeGale coldly said, “I’m not shaking his hand until after the fight.”

The Big Fight: DeGale vs Eubank Jr – Face to Face certainly promises to be compelling and gripping viewing for the watching audience on ITV ahead of the eagerly anticipated DeGale v Eubank mega-fight when it premieres on Thursday 21st February at 2345.

Tickets available from www.AXS.com and Inner Ringside/VIP Hospitality from www.sportandmusic.co.uk

This fight will be shown exclusively on ITV Box Office. For further information and updates, please go to www.itvboxoffice.com

For further event information, please visit www.poxonsports.uk and www.premierboxingchampions.com or follow on Twitter and Instagram at @PoxonSports, @PremierBoxing, @ITVBoxOffice, @ITVBoxing and join the conversation with #DeGaleEubankJr

Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PoxonSports/, www.facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions and www.facebook.com/ITVBoxing/

NATHAN GORMAN BELIEVES a stoppage victory over Razvan Cojanu for Daniel Dubois at the Royal Albert Hall on March 9 might just prompt the Londoner to expedite a highly-anticipated encounter between two of the top young heavies in world boxing.

The Nantwich-based Gorman laboured a little in overcoming the tall and awkward Romanian in December and eventually prevailed via a convincing unanimous decision at the Manchester Arena.

Now it is Dubois’ turn to take the test against the former world title challenger and Gorman suspects a spot of one-upmanship will come into play when boxing returns to the spectacular South Kensington venue that could lead to a ‘down the line’ fight edging closer.

“It is a two-way street that fight,” explained the 22-year-old. “I can see either Daniel knocking him out early or Razvan cuddling him and doing little tricks then getting to round seven or eight and still doing the leaning on with little elbows, shoulder in the face.

“It will test Daniel’s heart but, on the other hand, he could have the perfect style and end up knocking him out.

“I hope he does, I really do,” added the 15-0 Gorman – who returns to the ring at the Morningside Arena in Leicester on February 23 – believing it will fuel the confidence of the 21-year-old Dubois to accept a thrilling domestic duel between the pair.

“He’ll probably think, in his own mind, if I’ve knocked Razvan out I can knock Nathan out and he might get the cojones to fight me.

“I’ll be there cheering him on.”

Elsewhere on the show at the Royal Albert Hall, Nicola Adams OBE will look to make history and be the first female crowned World Champion at the venue as she challenges for the WBO World Flyweight Title on International Women’s Day. Liam Williams puts his newly won British Middleweight Title on the line against Brentwood bruiser Joe Mullender. Archie Sharp defends his WBO European Super Featherweight title and 14-0 unbeaten record against 11-0 Lucas Ballingall. Johnny Garton will also be in action defending his British Welterweight Title.

Tickets are priced from £40 and are available to buy via RoyalAlbertHall.com
TICKETS START FROM £40
GRAND TIER: £100
LOGGIA: £100
SECOND TIER: £75

4 February 2019 – Yangon, Myanmar: The largest global sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), has just announced the main event of ONE: REIGN OF VALOR, which is set for the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium on Friday, 8 March.

Reigning ONE Welterweight World Champion Zebaztian “The Bandit” Kadestam of Sweden will make the first defense of his World Title against Georgiy “Knight” Kichigin of Kazakhstan.

Ticket information for ONE: REIGN OF VALOR is available at www.onefc.com.

Kadestam captured the vacant ONE Welterweight World Championship with a stunning fifth-round knockout of previously unbeaten American Tyler McGuire last November. “The Bandit” took the welterweight throne by showcasing his dynamic striking skills, and now he looks to make his first ONE World Title defense against the veteran Kichigin.

Kichigin is a grappling specialist who hails from Almaty, Kazakhstan. He has amassed a stellar 20-5 professional mixed martial arts record, of which 16 victories have come by submission. “Knight” is currently riding an impressive 14-bout win streak, having not lost a match since November 2014. Now, he makes his way to ONE Championship to challenge for the ONE Welterweight World Title.

Former ONE Bantamweight World Title challenger Toni “Dynamite” Tauru is making his return to the ONE cage, following a short break from competition. The Finnish athlete, who is the Cage Warriors Bantamweight Champion, has been competing in ONE Championship since July 2015. Eight of Tauru’s 11 career victories have come by submission, proving his craftiness on the mat.

Gary “Saint Lion” Mangat of Williams Lake, British Columbia, Canada is making his promotional debut after having competed in SFL and Brave Combat Federation. He is a well-rounded striker and grappler, and is a 10th Planet Jiu-Jitsu product. A winner of his last three bouts, Mangat steps into the ONE cage and looks to extend his win streak against Tauru on the global stage for martial arts.

Bozhena Antoniyar grew up in Loikaw, the capital city of Myanmar’s Kayah State. She began training in martial arts at the age of 16, and ultimately became a two-time National Boxing Champion. In February 2018, she made her ONE Championship debut and set a record for the fastest finish in ONE women’s history with a 24-second technical knockout victory over Shwe Sin.

Stepping up to face Bozhena Antoniyar is Malaysia’s Audreylaura “Ice Comet” Boniface. Boniface trains out of Sabah’s renowned Borneo Tribal Squad under veteran coach AJ “Pyro” Lias Mansor. A Taekwondo black belt, Boniface seeks her first victory in the ONE cage against Antoniyar.

The Philippines’ Jomary “The Zamboanginian Fighter” Torres is looking to get 2019 off to a hot start when she faces promotional newcomer Lin “Fighting Sister” Heqin.

After kicking off her ONE Championship career with three straight victories, Torres stumbled in 2018, dropping her last two contests. “The Zamboanginian Fighter,” who trains under head coach and veteran mixed martial artist Rene Catalan at Catalan Fighting System, seeks to return to her winning ways this year. But in order to do that, she will have to get past Heqin.

Heqin is a 25-year-old Chinese martial arts star who is currently on a five-bout win streak. She possesses incredible power in her strikes and has registered multiple knockouts in her mixed martial arts career. “Fighting Sister” aims to make a statement in her ONE Championship debut by taking out Torres.

Making his professional mixed martial arts debut is Tial Thang, who squares off with Cambodian Kun Khmer practitioner Rin Saroth, a former KWC 3 Featherweight Tournament Finalist with a 110-22 record in Kun Khmer. Saroth made his ONE Championship debut in 2015 and has since posted victories over Mission Ali and Mario Satya Wirawan. Tial Thang and Saroth will face each other in a 68-kilogram catch weight bout.

Also, Myanmar rising star Phoe “Bushido” Thaw returns to action to face “The Iceman” Yohan Mulia Legowo of Indonesia.

Phoe Thaw, a Lethwei practitioner, burst onto the scene in impressive fashion. He won his first six mixed martial arts contests, five of which by knockout in the first round. Last October, he suffered the first setback of his career and now, he is looking to get back on track with a win over a veteran martial artist.

Legowo, on the other hand, is a pioneer of Indonesia’s mixed martial arts scene, having competed extensively in a local promotion before making his way to the global stage of ONE Championship. “The Iceman” aims to prove that his veteran experience will reign supreme against one of Myanmar’s favorite athletes.

Additional bouts at ONE: REIGN OF VALOR will be announced at a later date.

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™
ONE Championship (ONE) is the largest global sports media property in Asian history, and the largest producer of millennial live sports content in Asia. Headquartered in Singapore, ONE is the Home of Martial Arts, and is the world’s largest martial arts organization, hosting bouts across all styles of martial arts such as Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Karate, Kung Fu, Silat, Sanda, Lethwei, Mixed Martial Arts, Tae Kwon Do, Submission Grappling, and more. ONE hosts the biggest sports entertainment events across Asia, featuring some of the world’s best martial artists and world champions on the largest global media broadcast in Asia. ONE eSports, a subsidiary of ONE Championship, runs Asia’s largest global eSports Championship Series with some of the biggest blockbuster game titles in the world. In addition to its digital platforms, ONE Championship broadcasts to over 1.7 billion potential viewers across 138 countries with some of the largest global broadcasters, including Fox Sports, ABS-CBN, Astro, ClaroSports, Bandsports, Startimes, Premier Sports, Thairath TV, Skynet, Mediacorp, OSN, Great Sports, Tencent, and more.

Sergey Kovalev quieted his many nay-Sayers by putting on a boxing clinic, and recapturing the WBO Light Heavyweight decision with a 12-round unanimous decision over Eleider Alvarez in a rematch that took place at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.

Kovalev boxed very well as he showed consistent boxing with his jab that set up his workrate over the 36 minute fight.  Alvarez only threw 30 punches per round which did not provide him with the opportunities  to the land the big shots that propelled him to a knockout victory over Kovalev last August.

Kovalev took the advice of new trainer Buddy McGirt and took what the Alvarez gave him, which was jabbing through out the rounds and getting in his right hand which kept Alvarez on the defense.

Kovalev doubled up Alvarez on the punches landed, and won by scores of 120-108 and 116-112 to raise his mark to 33-3-1.  Alvarez is 24-1.

“We worked a lot on my jab,” Kovalev said. “Right now, I am working with {trainer} Buddy {McGirt} the way I was when I was an amateur

“After this, I want unification fights.”

Said Alvarez: “I don’t see myself as a loser tonight, but I do give him credit, especially in that 12th round. I think that he went out and proved that he wanted to win.”

Rising star, Teofimo Lopez, beat up, bloodied and battered Diego Magdaleno and stopped him in round seven of a scheduled ten-round lightweight fight.

Magdaleno’s face started chopping up in round two from the hard blows from Lopez.

In round six, Lopez landed a blistering left hook to the chin that Magdaleno to the canvas.’In round seven, Magdaleno landed two of the powerful and concussive left hooks on a beaten Magdaleno that plummeted him to the canvas at 1:08 and the fight was halted.

Lopez, 134.8 lbs of Brooklyn is 12-0 with 10 knockouts.  Magdaleno, 134.7 lbs of Las Vegas is 34-3.

“I take nothing away from Diego Magdaleno. We picked our shots, and we knew that in the later rounds, he’d drown in those deep waters,” Lopez said. “As the competition gets tougher, you will see more of what I can do. I dissected him like a surgeon.”

Oscar Valdez shook off 11 months of ring rust and stopped Carmine Tommasone in round seven to retain the WBO Featherweight title.

In round four, Valdez dropped Tommasone with a right hand.  Tommasone began to bleed from his nose.  Later in the round, Valdez sent Tommasone down with a hard jab.  In round five, Tommasone began to bleed from his mouth.  In round Round six, Valdez sent Tommasone down with a left hook.

Valdez ended things just nine seconds into round seven, Valdez dropped Tommasone with a perfect left uppecut to the chin and Tommasone went to the deck, and the fight was stopped.

Valdez, 125.8 lbs of Nogales. MEX is 25-0 with 20 knockouts.  Tommasone, 125.4 lbs of Italy is 19-1.

“I was very excited. I kind of didn’t want to get too crazy in there. It was tough the first round to get {my rhythm},” Valdez said. “But finally, I got the job done. I congratulate him. He’s a great fighter. I wish him nothing but the best.

“We started 2019 well. The sky’s the limit.”

Richard Commey stopped Isa Chaniev in the 2nd round to win the IBF Lightweight championship.

In round one, Commey landed a perfect right that dropped Chaniev hard to the canvas.  In round two, Commey rushed out and landed a perfect left hook that sent Chaniev to the deck.  Commey was all over Chaniev, and landed power shots.  As referee Laurence Cole stopped the bout, Commey added two more shots and sent Chaniev to the deck at 39 seconds.

Commey, 134.3 lbs of Accra, Ghana now will face WBA/WBO champion Vasyl Lomachenko on April 12th with a record of 28-2 with 25 knockouts.  Chaniev, 134 1/2 lbs of Russia is 13-2.

“This is everything for me. This is what I worked so hard for,” Commey said. “Finally being a world champion, I feel like I fulfilled a destiny for me.”

Next up for Commey is a potential showdown with WBA/WBO lightweight champion and pound-for-pound great Vasiliy Lomachenko. He hurt his right knuckle in the opening round, and if receives a clean bill of health, Lomachenko will be next.

“When I hit him in the first round, I hurt my right knuckle,” Commey said. “I’m going to have to get it looked at and see what happens.”

Janibek Alimkhanuly stopped Steven Martinez in round five of a scheduled eight-round middleweight bout.

In round three, Alimkhanuly dropped Martinez with a left to the body.  Alimkhanuly continied to pound away on Martinez, who had his nose bloodied in the fourth and finally was pulled out the fight 21 seconds into round five.

Alimkhanuly, 162 lbs of Kazakhstan is 5-0 with two knockouts.  Martinez, 160 1/2 lbs of Bronx, NY is 18-5.

“I showed what I was capable of against a tough opponent,” Alimkhanuly said. “I am close to world title contention. It’s going to be a big year for me in 2019. This is only the beginning of my journey.”

Enriko Gogokhia stopped Vitor Freitas in round three of their six-round junior welterweight bout.

Gogokhia dropped Freitas in the 1st round with a straight left that barely touched Freitas.  Gogikhia was cut on his forehead in round two from an accidental headbutt.  In round three, Gogokhia landed a little left to the body that put Freitas down, and the bout was stopped.

Gogokhia, 142 1/2 lbs of Georgia Republic is 10-0 with five knockouts.  Freitas, 141 lbs of Salvador, BRA is 15-4-1.

Jason Sanchez stopped Daniel Olea in round two of their scheduled eight-round featherweight bout.

Sanchez was dominant and landed a big right hand that dropped Olea and the bout was stopped at 1:35.

Sanchez, 125 1/2 of Albuquerque, NM is 14-0 with seven knockouts.  Olea, 125 1/2 of Mexico is 13-7-2.

“I wanted to be patient in there. I wasn’t necessarily looking for the knockout right away,” Sanchez said. “But the opportunity came, and I took advantage of the opening.”

In an entertaining ten-round junior middleweight scrap, Patrick Day won a unanimous decision over Ismail Iliev.

Day, 153 3/4 lbs of Freeport, NY won by scores of 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94 to raise his mark to 17-2-1.  Iliev, 154 lbs of Russia is 11-1-1.

Bakhram Murtazaliev stopped Elvin Ayala in round nine of their scheduled ten-round junior middleweight bout.

In round two, Murtazaliev was credited a knockdown when he landed a combination that made Ayala stumble into the ropes.

In round nine, Murtazaliev dropped Ayala with a hard right hand.  Seconds later, a follow flurry of hard power punches forced the ref to stop the bout at 2:05.

Murtazailev, 153 1/2 lbs of Russia is 15-0 with 12 knockouts.  Ayala, 154 lbs of New Haven, CT is 29-13-1.

Follow all the action as Eleider Alvarez tries to retain the WBO Light Heavyweight title against the man he won the belt from in Sergey Kovalev.  The action starts at 10 PM ET / 9 PM CT with 2 world title fights.  Richard Commey and Isa Chaniev battle for the IBF Lightweight title.  Oscar Valdez defend the WBO Featherweight title against Carmine Tommasonne.  Rising star Teofimo Lopez takes on former two-time world title challenger Diego Magdaleno.

NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED.  THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY

Round 1: Good body shot from Alvarez

Round 2 Right from Kovalev..Another..

Round 3 Left from Kovalev..Jab from Alvarez..Left hook from Kovalev..Kovalev outlanding Alvarez 47-28 through 3 rounds

Round 4  Body shot from Alvarez..Good uppercut from Kovalev..Left hook..Jab and right hand

Round 5 Good right from Kovalev..Left..Combination..Right from Alvarez..2 lefts and right from Kovalev..

Round 6 Right from Alvarez,,Good right..Right from Kovalev..Jab from Alvarez..Double left to body from Kovalev..Right from Alvarez…Swelling under right eye of Kovalev…Good right from Kovalev

Round 7 Good body work from Alvarez..Good right

Round 8 Good jab from Kovalev..Alvarez lands a right

Round 9  Good jab from Kovalev…2 more…Right hand land..Sweeping left..Over hand right from Alvarez..Hard jab from Kovalev…176-86 for Kovalev in punches landed

Round 10 3 punch combo from Kovalev..Left rocks Alvarez on the ropes

Round 11 Right from Alvarez..Double jab from Kovalev..Good counter right

Round 12 Right and left from Kovalev..Hard jab..Good right from Alvarez…Right from Kovalev..Right..

116-112 TWICE AND 120-108 FOR THE WINNER AND NEW CHAMPION SERGEY KOVALEV

Round 1 Hard right from Lopez

Round 2 Straight left from Magdaleno..Counter right from Lopez..Big right uppercut..Hard straight left..Uppercut and hard right..Left hook..sweeping right..Short right…Blood on bridge of Magdaleno’s nose..

Round 3 Lopez lands a counter uppercut..Straight right..Combination to the body

Round 4 Uppercut from Magdaleno…Combination from Lopez

Round 5 Right Hook from Magdaleno..Hard uppercut from Lopez..Left from Magdaleno..Lopez lands a punch from behind his back..

Round 6 Counter uppercut from Lopez..Hard right..HUGE LEFT HOOK AND DOWN GOES MAGDALENO..Big Right at the bell

Round 7 Lopez lands about 8 hard shots..Right uppercut...2 NASTY LEFT HOOKS AND DOWN GOES MAGDALENO…FIGHT OVER

Round 1 Right from Valdez..Tommasone goes to the body with a right..Jab from Valdez..

Round 2 Jab from Valdez..Nice right to the body

Round 3 Counter right from Valdez..Right to the body..

Round 4  Good left hook buzzed Tommasone…Blood from nose of Tommasone…RIGHT HAND AND DOWN GOES TOMMASONE…Jab and TOMMASONE GOES TO A KNEE

Round 5  Body shot from Valdez..Body/Right combo..Blood from Mouth of Tommasone

Round 6  Left froM VALDEZ AND DOWN GOES TOMMASONE..3 Punch combination

Round 7 HARD UPPERCUT TO THE CHIN AND TOMMASONE GOES DOWN AGAIN…FIGHT OVER

Round 1 Commey lands a left hook..Uppercut from Chaniev..Commey lands a right..Short right..another right..Straight right..Good exchange..COMMEY LANDS A PERFECT RIGHT AND DOWN GOES CHANIEV..Commey lands more power shots and then trips

Round 2 HUGE LEFT HOOK AND DOWN GOES CHANIEV…Commey all over Chaniev..STRAIGHT RIGHT AND LEFT AND DOWN GOES CHANIEV…FIGHT OVER

Charlie Edwards will make the first defence of his WBC Flyweight World title against Angel Moreno on a huge night of boxing in the capital at the Copper Box Arena on March 23, live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in the US.

Edwards ripped the famous green belt from Cristofer Rosales on an emotional night at The O2 in London in December, outclassing the Nicaraguan with a masterful display to take a well-earned unanimous decision.

The Croydon man, having lost out in his first bid for World honours against John Riel Casimero in 2016, was overcome with joy after fulfilling his childhood dream, and is excited to begin life as a World Champion against Spain’s Moreno.

“Moreno is a very tough and game fighter,” said Edwards. “He’s a mature man and he doesn’t shy away from any opportunities, he’s going to come to try and steal my title from me. This is a fight that I’m very confident of winning and a fight that I can look really good in. I’m looking forward to getting back in the ring with him, I sparred him ahead of the Casimero fight but I’m a completely different animal now.

“This is only the beginning, this is a new chapter in my career and this is where the real hard work starts. I want to be an active World Champion, I want to be in the ring fighting and getting better and pushing myself. I’m not in this game to take part, I want to be a multi-weight World Champion. I look forward to taking my first steps as a World Champion and defending my belt on March 23.”

Croydon’s fast-rising Light-Heavyweight star Joshua Buatsi takes a significant step up when he takes on the inform Liam Conroy for the vacant British title in just his tenth fight. Buatsi blasted out Renold Quinlan at The O2 in December to bring up his third successive stoppage win inside the opening round, but ‘JB’ expects a tougher night against former English Champion Conroy.

“This is a good benchmark to see where I’m at,” said Buatsi. “My team see me day in day out in the gym and this is the title they feel I’m ready for. Liam has won his last five fights by knockout and he’ll be heading into the fight full of confidence.

“There’s a good title at stake and he knows there’s a big reward if he beats me. For me, it’s a big stepping stone and another box to tick on my way to the top. This is an important fight for my career and I need to get the belt to move on.”

“I believe I can overpower him,” said Conroy. “I don’t believe he’s been in a situation as a professional in which someone can overpower him. I also don’t think he’s been in with anyone who can take what he’s got to give, which I will be able to.

“There’s plenty of hype around him but he deserves it because he trains hard and has already proved himself at the Olympics. I haven’t got the name he’s got but I’m looking to change that come fight night.

Cruiserweight rivals Lawrence Okolie and Wadi Camacho finally get it on in an all London affair, with the British and Commonwealth titles on the line. ‘The Sauce’ picked up the Lonsdale belt against Matty Askin at Wembley Stadium and puts his title on the line for the first time against the Canning Town ‘Machoman’.

Lewis Ritson defends his British Lightweight title against ‘The KO Kid’ Andy Townend in a guaranteed barnburner. The Geordie favourite is determined to return to winning ways after suffering the first loss of his career at the hands of Francesco Patera in October.

“This is a great show,” said Eddie Hearn. “A new hero of British boxing defending his World title in Charlie Edwards, with three brilliant British title clashes on the undercard. Everybody resonated with the story of Charlie Edwards after his memorable performance at The O2 in December. He makes his first defence of his title against seasoned pro Angel Moreno.

“Joshua Buatsi fights for the British title against the inform Liam Conroy, which is a significant step up. Lawrence Okolie finally gets the chance to fight Wadi Camacho for the British and Commonwealth titles after the all of the bad blood. Lewis Ritson returns from his disappointing defeat to defend his British title against big-punching Andy Townsend in what will be a brutal shootout, and there’s plenty more to be added to this stacked card.”

Ticket details will be announced soon.

Sergio Garcia won a 12-round unanimous decision over Ted Cheesman to retain the European Super Welterweight title at the O2 Arena in London

It was a high contact fight with Garcia getting much better of the exchanges. His worked showed as Cheesman was bleeding from his nose throughout the fight.

Garcia, 153.4 lbs of Spain won by scores of 119-109 twice and 115-114. Cheesman, 153.3 lbs of England is 15-1.

Craig Richards stopped Jake Ball in round three of a scheduled 10-round light heabyweight bout.

In round one, Richards sent Ball to the canvas with a right hand. In round two, it was a right to the body that sent Ball to a knee. In round three, it was a hook to the head that sent Ball down for a 3rd time. Ball was still hurt, and Richards jumped on him by landing several more hard blows before the fight was stopped at 2:27.

Richards, 174.8 lbs of 14-1 with eight knockouts. Richards, 174.5 lbs of Lightwater is 12-2.

Lawrecnce Okolie remained undefeated with a 2nd round stoppage over Tamas Lodi in a cruiserweight fight.

In round two, Okolie dropped Lodi with a perfect left hook.. At the end of the round, Okolie landed a flush right hand that put Lodi down for a second time. In the opening seconds of round three, Okolie sent Lodi down again with a right hand. Lodi went down for a fourth and final time with a short right to the chin, and the fight was stopped at 1:13.

Okolie, 199.8 lbs of Hackney, and is now 11-0 with eight knockouts. Lodi, 199.5 lbs of Hungary is 20-12-2.

It was announced after the fight that Okolie would fight Wadi Camacho on March 23rd.

Felix Cash demolished Rasheed Abolaji in round one of a scheduled 12-round middleweight bout.

In round one, Cash dropped Abolaji with a hard jab. Moments later, Cash dropped Abolaji with a perfect overhand right that sent him on his stomach. Abolaji got to his feet, but stumbled back, and the bout was stopped at 2:45.

Cash, 159.6 lbs of Workingham is 11-0 with seven knockouts. Abolaji, 157.8 lbs of Nigeria is 11-5-1.

Fabio Wardley destroyed Morgan Dessaux in the 1st round of their scheduled six-round heavyweight tilt.

Wardley landed a booming right uppercut that was followed up with a short left that dropped Dessaux, and the fight was stopped at 1:43.

Wardley, 229 lbs of Ipswich is 6-0 with five knockouts. Dessaux, 215 lbs of France is 5-5

Scott Fitzgerald remained undefeated by stopping Radoslav Mitev in round two of their scheduled six-round middleweight bout.

In round one, Fitzgerald dropped Miev with a right to the head. In round two, Fitzgerald had an all-out assault until he dropped Mitev with an uppercut. The fight was stopped upon a bloodied Mitev getting to his fight at 1:27.

Fiztgerald, 159.9 lbs of Preston is 12-0 with nine knockouts. Mitev, 156.9 lbs of Bulgaria is 12-46-2.

John Docherty stopped Przemyslaw Binienda in the 1st round of their scheduled four-round light heavyweight bout.

In round one, Binienda began to bleed from his nose. Docherty landed a hard combination that was punctuated by a straight left that plummeted Binienda into the ropes and the bout was stopped at 1:59.

Docherty, 170.4 lbs of Montrose is 3-0 with three knockouts. Binienda, 173.4 lbs of Poland is 2-23.

London (2 February 2019) American Omar Douglas aims to rip up Lee Selby’s big ring return and his designs of becoming Wales’ first ever recognised two-time and two-weight world champion when they clash on Saturday 23rd February at The O2, promoted by Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) and Poxon Sports.

Douglas and Selby clash as one of the supporting bout to the main attraction between arch rivals James DeGale and Chris Eubank Jr. in their blockbuster battle, that also features the heavyweight collision between Commonwealth Champion Joe Joyce and challenger and Former World Champion Bermane Stiverne and the British Light-Heavyweight Title Eliminator between Andre Sterling and Ricky Summers, exclusively live on ITV Box Office.

Selby, the Former IBF World Featherweight Champion, makes his debut in the lightweight division as he starts his campaign to win a second World title in a higher weight class before the end of 2019 and carve his name into Wales’ rich boxing history records.

The stakes are high with the sparkle and riches of potential mega-fights against the likes of top pound-for-pounders Vasyl Lomachenko and Mikey Garcia in Selby’s sights and a slip up against Douglas could have devastating consequences.

Dangerman Douglas, from Wilmington, Delaware, has made it clear that he is not coming to London to make up the numbers and has his own plan of getting a World title shot by claiming Selby’s high-profile scalp.

The big-hitting 27-year-old, known as ‘Super O’, poses a massive threat to the Barry boy and brings a top record of 19 wins from 21 fights – 13 of those wins have come by stoppage and 12 have been inside three rounds – and is a former NABA Super-Featherweight Champion.

Douglas said, “This is a huge life changing opportunity for me and I’d be a fool not to take what is put in front of me on a plate,”

“I’m not the B-side or coming into the fight to make up the numbers, I’m coming to London with my own agenda. I’ve got my own plans and ambitions of becoming a World Champion and I’m not changing that for nobody,”

“I love the challenge, I rise to it. Fighting away from home, in another country, in front of Selby’s fans, this is what I dream of, upsetting the odds and winning,”

“Selby hasn’t fought anyone like me before, sure, he’s a decent boxer and he’s resilient but I bring more to the table. He’s a former World Champ and I respect that, but I will coming out of that ring the winner,”

“I know that beating him will open big doors for me. I know that Selby’s got his plans and what he wants to do, but I want to be fighting for a World title this year and any Champions at 130 or 135 pounds I’m after them.”

Tickets available from www.AXS.com and Inner Ringside/VIP Hospitality from www.sportandmusic.co.uk

This fight will be shown exclusively on ITV Box Office. For further information and updates, please go to www.itvboxoffice.com

For further event information, please visit www.poxonsports.uk and www.premierboxingchampions.com or follow on Twitter and Instagram at @PoxonSports, @PremierBoxing, @ITVBoxOffice, @ITVBoxing and join the conversation with #DeGaleEubankJr

Become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PoxonSports/, www.facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions and www.facebook.com/ITVBoxing/

ALPINE, Cal. (February 2, 2019) – The next great Filipino boxer, “Mighty” Aston Palicte, knocked out his previously unbeaten Puerto Rican opponent Jose “Chiquiro” Martinez in the second round of this past Thursday night’s World Boxing Organization (WBO) Junior Bantamweight World Title Eliminator, before a sold-out crowd in the Oak Ballroom at Viejas Casino and Resort in Alpine, California.

Palicte vs. Martinez, presented by Roy Jones Jr. (RJJ) Boxing Promotions in association with Miquel Cotto Promotions, was the inaugural event live-streamed on UFC Fight Pass® under a new agreement between Palicte’s promoter, RJJ Boxing, and FIGHT PASS, to live stream up to 72 professional boxing events over the next three years.

Palicte (25-2-1, 21 KOs), rated No. 1 by the WBO, took on No. 2- ranked Martinez, the reigning North American Boxing Organization (NABO) champion, in the main event to determine the mandatory challenger for WBO junior bantamweight title-holder Donnie Nietes, the four-division world champion, also from the Philippines.

Palicte was coming off a controversial 12-round split draw with Nietes last September for the then vacant WBO Junior bantamweight championship. Many at ringside felt that Palicte should have won the Filipino showdown and now he will have a richly deserved match.

“I knew Aston wanted to make a statement against Martinez and boy did he ever deliver,” RJJ Boxing CEO/Co-Founder Keith Veltre said. “What a way to start our series on UFC Fight Pass. From the opening fight to the main event there was nothing but action. Our matchmaker, Guy Taylor, has been delivering great content.”

After a standard feeling-out first round, Palicte exploded in the second round, as he walked through Martinez’ punches, showing no respect for his opponent’s power. Palicte dropped Martinez with an overhand right, repeating the decking moments later with the same punch. Martinez beat the count, but Palicte unleashed a flurry of unanswered punches, which resulted in the referee halting the action.

“I will start the process on making a deal with Nietes’ people,” Veltre added. “We’re looking forward to seeing Aston become world champion.”

In the co-featured event, a rare showdown between a pair of unbeaten prospects, Fort Worth, Texas featherweight Edward “Kid” Vasquez (6-0) out-boxed Brandon “2 Smooth” Cruz (6-1, 4 KOs), fighting out of nearby San Diego, in a back-and-forth fight for a key win by way of a sixth-round split decision.

Compton, CA junior featherweight Daniel Constantino (3-2-1, 1 KO) pulled off a mild upset in the FIGHT PASS opener, defeating San Diego’s Dilan “El Rey” Miranda (4-2, 3 KOs) by way of a six-round majority decision.

San Diego featherweight Jessica Juarez (2-0, 1 KO) won a four-round majority decision over Kailyn Hansen (1-3). Redlands, CA welterweight Anthony “The Future” Franco (4-1-1) and Los Angeles heavyweight Oscar Torrez (4-0, 1 KO) both won four-round unanimous decision, respectively, against Los Angeles’ David Morales and Ignacio Zambrano (2-5), of Whittier, CA.

Below are the official results:

OFFICIAL RESULTS

MAIN EVENT – WBO Jr. BANTAMWEIGHT WORLD TITLE ELIMINATOR
Aston Palicte(25-2-1, 21 KOs), Bago City, Negros Occidental, Philippines
WTKO2 (2:18)
Jose Martinez (20-1-2, 13 KOs), Las Marias, Puerto Rico lbs.

CO-FEATURE – FEATHWERWEIGHTS
Edward Vasquez (6-0, 0 KOs), Fort Worth, Texas
WDEC6 (59-55, 58-56, 54-55)
Brandon Cruz (6-1, 4 KOs), San Diego, California

JUNIOR FEATHERWEIGHTS
Daniel Constantino (3-2-1, 1 KO), Compton, California
WDEC6 (59-55, 59-55, 57-57)
Dilan Miranda (4-2, 3 KOs), San Diego, California by way of Mexico

FEMALE FEATHERWEIGHTS
Jessica Juarez (2-0, 1 KO), San Diego, California
WDEC4 (40-36, 40-36, 38-38)
Kailyn Hansen (1-3, 0 KOs), Whittier, California

WELTERWEIGHTS
Anthony Franco (4-1-1, 0 KOs), Redlands, California
WDEC4 (40-36, 39-37, 38-38)
David Morales (2-2-1 (0 KOs) Los Angeles, California.

HEAVYWEIGHTS
Oscar Torres (3-1, 1 KO), Los Angeles, California
WDEC4 (40-36, 40-36, 40-36)
Ignacio Zambrano (2-5, 0 KOs), Torrance, California

FIGHT PASS is a digital subscription service that is now available in more than 200 countries and territories. In 2019, FIGHT PASS will showcase more than 200 exclusive events featuring top promotions from around the world, providing fans with a front row seat to a broad spectrum of competitive fighting, including mixed martial arts, boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, individual and team submission grappling, and more.

Fight fans may access FIGHT PASS on personal computers, iOS and Android mobile devices, Apple TV, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, LG Smart TVs, and Sony TVs with Android TV.

INFORMATION:

Websites: www.RoyJonesJrBoxing.com, www.www.promocionesmiguelcotto.com, www.Vieja.com
Twitter: @RoyjonesJRfa, @RoyJonesJrOfficial, @CottoPromotions, @RealMiguelCotto, @viejascasino, @AstonPalicte, @elreymiranda, @UFCFightPass
Instagram: @RoyJonesJRboxing, @RoyJonesJrOfficial, @artofmusiclv, @rivalboxinggear, @CottoPromotions, @RealMiguelCotto, @Viejascasinoresort, @astonmightypalicte
Facebook: /RJJBoxing, /ViejasCasinoAndResort, /MiguelCottoPromotions, RealMiguelCotto