Callum Smith (23-0, 17 KOs) is expecting the best version of Juergen Braehmer (49-3, 35 KOs) before their Ali Trophy semi-final clash in the super middleweight edition of the World Boxing Super Series February 24 at the Arena Nürnberger Versicherung.

“I have had a good training camp,” said Smith. “I have improved over the sparring sessions, now it’s all about the getting the tactics right and perform on the night and I should come out on top.”

Both 27-year-old Smith and 39-year-old Braehmer appeared as serious contenders to win the Muhammad Trophy with their quarter-final performances last year.

Britain’s Smith claimed a 116-112, 117-110, 117-111 victory on the judges’ cards after a thrilling match against Sweden’s Erik Skoglund at the Echo Arena in Liverpool.

Germany’s Braehmer, a former two-time light heavyweight champion, proved age is just a number when he beat American hope Rob Brant in dominant fashion at the Kongresshalle in Schwerin with the judges scoring it 119-109, 118-110 and 116-112 in favour of the 39-year-old veteran.

“Braehmer looked good against Brant,” said Smith. “He is a good fighter, he is experienced. He has been there and done it, a former two-time world champion. He is an awkward fighter and he knows he is awkward and he uses it to his own advantage.”

“I have to concentrate on me. If I do what I do good, I will be too good for Braehmer on the night. I am expecting a good fight, I am expecting the best version of Juergen Braehmer, but we have everything covered to make sure I will proceed to the final.”

“It’s a big opportunity for Braehmer nearing the end of his career. What better way to finish than winning this tournament. But I feel that whatever he brings I got the answer for it. I know that I am capable of coming through and look good doing it.”

Tickets for the Ali Trophy semi-final Smith vs. Braehmer at the Arena Nürnberger Versicherung, Germany on February 24 are available via eventim.de.

19 February 2018 – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: The largest global sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), has just announced its return to Malaysia’s bustling capital city of Kuala Lumpur. ONE: VISIONS OF VICTORY is set to ignite the Axiata Stadium on 9 March with another evening of authentic martial arts action. In the main event, reigning ONE Flyweight World Champion Adriano Moraes of Brazil will defend his title against Reece “Lightning” McLaren of Australia. In the co-main event, former welterweight world title challenger Agilan “Alligator” Thani will take on Amitesh Chaubey.

Ticket information for ONE: VISIONS OF VICTORY is available at www.onefc.com.

Chatri Sityodtong, Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship, stated: “It’s going to be a phenomenal year for martial arts in Malaysia, as ONE Championship continues to showcase Asia’s greatest cultural treasure on the global stage. Malaysia has an incredible group of talented athletes and it is our privilege to share their amazing stories. ONE Flyweight World Champion Adriano Moraes returns to action to face rising star Reece McLaren in what should be an epic showdown of top flyweights.”

29-year-old Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes of Brazil is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with well-rounded striking and grappling skills. He is the reigning ONE Flyweight World Champion, and one of the most highly-skilled and dominant world champions in martial arts. Rarely opposed in the ONE Championship cage, Moraes has thoroughly defeated all-comers in his division, including talented Filipino flyweight Danny “The King” Kingad in his most recent title defense. Moraes will next defend his title against Reece McLaren.

26-year-old Reece “Lightning” McLaren is an Australian flyweight from Toowoomba, Australia, who sports a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a BJJ record of 270-28-0. In the cage, he owns a professional record of 10-5. McLaren made his ONE Championship debut in 2015 with a spectacular submission victory over Mark Striegl, and then followed up that win with a unanimous decision victory over the highly-regarded talent Muin Gafurov. In December of 2016, he challenged Bibiano Fernandes for the ONE Bantamweight World Championship, falling by split decision. In his most recent bout, McLaren impressed in his flyweight debut, submitting top contender Anatpong Bunrad with a first round brabo choke. Next for McLaren is a shot at reigning ONE Flyweight World Champion Adriano Moraes.

Agilan “Alligator” Thani of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is a 22-year-old martial artist and one of the top welterweights in ONE Championship. Thani’s quick rise through the ranks has seen him amass a stellar 8-1 professional record, including a title shot against former ONE Welterweight World Champion Ben Askren in May of 2017. Although Thani fell short of victory against the American, he gained a great amount of experience as a result and has emerged as a more seasoned combatant. All but one of Thani’s victories have come by exciting finish. The young Malaysian has shown steady improvement in each outing and he will now face Amitesh Chaubey in his next appearance.

Amitesh Chaubey is a 27-year-old martial artist from Lucknow, India and a welterweight newcomer in ONE Championship. He owns a professional record of 8-5 and is a former SFL Welterweight Champion known for his knockout power. Primarily a boxing stylist who stifles opponents with his quick hands and fluid combinations, Chaubey joins a deep ONE Championship welterweight division looking for a new champion. He takes on former welterweight title challenger Agilan Thani in his promotional debut.

19-year-old Christian “The Warrior” Lee, younger brother of reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee, began his professional career on an absolute tear, railing off five straight victories by thrilling finish. He has impressed fans with his ability to seek out stoppage wins over top-caliber opponents. A former Pankration World Champion, Lee toppled Japanese veteran and former ONE Lightweight World Champion Kotetsu Boku in his most recent bout, winning by first-round technical knockout to improve his record to 8-1. Known as a creative and fluid striker with unorthodox grappling technique, Lee is now set to face another Japanese veteran in Kazunori Yokota.

Veteran martial artist Kazunori Yokota of Chiba, Japan is a martial arts fixture with over 12 years of professional experience under his belt. A champion of Japanese promotion, DEEP, Yokota is one of the toughest competitors at featherweight as he has constantly punished his opponents and grinded out impressive victories. Yokota made his ONE Championship debut in May of 2016, challenging former ONE Featherweight World Champion Marat Gafurov for the title. Yokota sports a stellar record of 26-7-3 and in his most recent bout, submitted his opponent in another promotion. Now, Yokota is set to take on the surging Christian Lee.

Malaysia’s Gianni Subba is a 25-year old flyweight talent from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. He spends time carefully honing his craft with talented teammates, including brother Keanu, at Bali MMA in Indonesia. A winner of six of his last seven bouts, Subba is a seasoned athlete with a stellar 9-2 clip in his young career. Five of his nine wins have come either by submission or by crowd-pleasing knockout. In his next assignment, the crafty wushu specialist Danny Kingad poses a stern challenge.

Top flyweight talent from the famed Team Lakay of Baguio City, Danny “The King” Kingad is a regional wushu champion with a wushu record of 29-1 and a martial artist with a professional record of 8-1. A true warrior from the mountains of the Philippines and one of the top prospects to come out of the country, Kingad is a tremendous striker who possesses well-rounded grappling skills. In his most recent bout, Kingad suffered the first defeat of his career after being submitted by reigning ONE Flyweight World Champion Adriano Moraes in the first round. Kingad will now return to action against Gianni Subba.

Luis “Sapo” Santos is a martial arts veteran from Brazil with over 70 fights on his record and over half of his wins ending by devastating knockout. With a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and a penchant for spectacular finishes, Santos has emerged as one of the promotion’s most overwhelming physical specimens — a top contender capable of finishing any bout in a variety of different ways at any given moment. Known for his aggressiveness and brute strength, Santos looks to continue finding success inside the ONE Championship cage in his next bout against Kiamrian Abbasov.

24-year-old Kiamrian Abbasov of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan is a martial arts veteran with a professional record of 18-3. He is currently riding a 10-bout win streak and hasn’t lost a match since 2015. Known as one of the top welterweights to emerge from Central Asia, Abbasov is a former Prime Selection GP Welterweight Champion with a handful of spectacular finishes. Of his 18 career victories, three have come by submission and nine by thrilling knockout. He makes his ONE Championship debut against the dangerous Luis Santos.

Women’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Michelle Nicolini is a martial artist competing in the ONE Championship women’s strawweight division. An eight-time BJJ world champion and Hall-of-Famer, Nicolini’s elite grappling skills have brought her great success since transitioning to the cage, as she now owns a solid 4-1 professional record which includes four impressive submission victories. Nicolini made her ONE Championship debut in November of 2016, figuring in a first-round submission victory over Mona Samir. An extremely technical grappler, Nicolini is scheduled to take on Iryna Kyselova in her next appearance.

22-year-old Iryna “Delsa” Kyselova is a Europe West Fight Champion and a top-notch grappler. Hailing from Donskoe, Ukraine, she is 11-2 as a professional and will be making her ONE Championship debut. Representing YK Promotion, Kyselova is currently riding a four-bout winning streak. Nine of her total victories have come by finish, including seven submissions and two knockouts. A new player at women’s strawweight, Kyselova will take on grappling star Michelle Nicolini.

Ahmed “Wolverine” Mujtaba is a Pakistani martial artist competing in ONE Championship’s stacked featherweight division. He owns an impressive professional record of eight wins with only one defeat, with almost all of his wins coming by spectacular finish. Mujtaba is known for his tremendous grappling technique which has led to four submissions out of eight total victories. A former UGB MMA Featherweight Champion, Mujtaba makes his highly-anticipated return to the ONE Championship cage against Ma Jia Wen.

Freestyle wrestling standout Ma Jia Wen is a 21-year old martial artist from Tianjin, China with a 4-2 record. He is part of a rapid rising contingent of talented Chinese fighters who have shown great promise in combining the various aspects of striking and grappling. In his last outing, Ma Jia Wen he notched a second-round stoppage win Indonesia’s Yohan Mulia Legowo, marking his second-straight technical knockout victory. He has another tall order in front of him in his next bout, as he goes head-to-head with top talent Ahmed Mujtaba.

Former amateur standout “Jungle Cat” Muhammad Aiman of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is one of the country’s fastest rising young martial arts talents. Featuring a well-rounded skill set, Aiman has impressed in his time inside the ONE Championship cage thus far, defeating Hisyam Samsudin by unanimous decision in his first match in the promotion before stopping Brazilian grappler Eduardo Novaes in his second outing. In his most recent contest, Aiman thoroughly dominated Chinese prospect Yang Fei to win a unanimous decision. The 23-year-old former MIMMA Featherweight Champion based out of Bali, Indonesia is now set to take on his next challenge in the Philippines’ Burn Soriano.

Burn “Hitman” Soriano of Ilocos Sur, Philippines, is coming off a tough contest against China’s Chen Lei last November. The Filipino featherweight features an aggressive style, with solid power and seasoned grappling technique leading to all of his wins to date coming by way of finish. His 15-second spinning back fist knockout of Indonesia’s Mario Sitya Wirawan in 2016 was one of the fastest stoppages in ONE history. A national kickboxing champion with a kickboxing record of 14-3, Soriano has shown steady improvement over his last few contests and now looks for victory next against Muhammad Aiman.

18-year-old “Shadow Cat” Jihin Radzuan of Johor Bahru, Malaysia is a highly-touted young martial arts prospect and former FIOGA Wushu WOrld Champion making her ONE Championship debut. A well-rounded competitor, Radzuan is a Muay Thai and wushu practitioner with a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. A former Southeast Asian Open Gold and Silver Medalist in Muay Thai, Radzuan is known for her varied striking skills and terrific knockout power. Radzuan will take her first step inside the ONE Championship cage in Kuala Lumpur to face Puja Tomar.

Atomweight competitor Puja Tomar is a martial artist from Muzaffarnagar, India with a professional record of three wins and two losses. With a knack for showcasing her solid striking skills, Tomar has recorded all three of her victories by knockout. Competing largely in her home country of India, the former India wushu champion Tomar now makes her second appearance on the biggest stage in Asian martial arts as she is set to face Jihin Radzuan in the ONE Championship cage.

Hisyam “Zephyrus” Samsudin of Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia is a former WBF Asia-Pacific Light Heavyweight Boxing Champion who trains at the highly-regarded Borneo Tribal Squad with former female strawweight talent Ann “Athena” Osman and coach AJ “Pyro” Lias Mansor. Samsudin likes to pepper opponents with heavy handed strikes, utilizing his world-class boxing base to break down opponents. Samsudin’s next assignment is against Jerome S. Paye.

Liberian martial artist Jerome S. Paye made his ONE Championship debut in February 2016 against China’s Li Hao Jie. Across his career, Paye has showcased a well-rounded set of techniques, stifling his opponents with an array of striking combinations and techniques. With the ability to make bouts difficult for any opponent, Paye has shown incredible heart and determination in his time inside the ONE Championship cage. A taekwondo specialist, this time Paye will take on Malaysia’s Hisyam Samsudin.

Striking specialist Riski “King Kong” Umar is a 25-year-old ONE Championship flyweight contender from Ternate, Indonesia. A Muay Thai and taekwondo practitioner, Umar is unbeaten as a professional, honing his skills out of Bali MMA with other world-class talents. In his most recent contest, Umar needed just one round to knock out Egi Rozten with punches. Training out of Bali, Indonesia, Umar is set to return in his third appearance inside the ONE cage, this time against Khon Sichan.

30-year-old Khon Sichan of Siem Reap, Cambodia is a striking specialist with dynamic martial arts background. A former KWC 1 Flyweight Tournament Champion, Sichan also sports a kun khmer record of 29-9-3 in addition to his ONE Championship record of 2-2. Representing PROKOUT Top Team and Team Phnom Penh MMA, Sichan returns to the ONE Championship cage to face the rising Riski Umar at a 62.5kg catchweight.

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 is the largest global sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, ONE Championship is the home of martial arts. The world’s most exciting martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia, featuring some of the world’s best martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. In addition to its digital platforms, ONE Championship broadcasts to over 1.7-billion potential viewers across 136 countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including Fox Sports, ABS-CBN, Astro, ClaroSports, Bandsports, Startimes, Premier Sports, Thairath TV, Skynet, Mediacorp, OSN, and more.

Daniel Jacobs will face undefeated Polish dangerman Maciej Sulecki at Barclay Center, Brooklyn on April 28 on a huge night of action live on HBO and Sky Sports, as Katie Taylor aims to unify the Lightweight division against Victoria Bustos and Jarrell Miller and Johann Duhaupas clash in an eliminator for the WBA World Heavyweight title.

Jacobs is back in action at the scene of his biggest career victory, a stunning first round knockout of Brooklyn rival Peter Quillin in December 2015. Known as the “Miracle Man”, for his miraculous recovery from cancer in 2012, Jacobs is returning to battle following a dominant 12-round unanimous decision over then undefeated Luis Arias in November at NYCB Live, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Challenging for Middleweight supremacy in March 2017, Jacobs lost a very hotly contested and controversial 12-round decision to Gennady Golovkin in New York City, the first distance fight for Golovkin in nine years.

Jacobs is currently world ranked #2 by the WBA and #3 by the WBC, IBF and WBO in addition to being ranked #3 by ESPN.com. This will be his fifth time fighting in his hometown venue, Barclays Center and his second fight under new promoter Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing USA.

“I’m very excited to be back in the Barclays Center, it always feels like home fighting there,” said Jacobs. “I want to thank Eddie Hearn, HBO and Brett Yormark for making it possible.”

“I’m looking forward to fight Sulecki on April 28, he’s an undefeated guy that I know will be looking to make a name for himself by beating me. I’m looking to have a great training camp and get myself focused to really put on a show for the Brooklyn fans come April 28.”

A native of Warsaw, Poland, now living in Florida, Sulecki capped a very successful 2017 with a ten round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Jack Culcay in October at the Prudential Center in Newark. Over the course of his eight years as a professional, Sulecki has compiled wins against notables including Hugo Centano Jr., Grzegorz Proksa, Darryl Cunningham and Damian Ezequiel Bonelli. Sulecki is ranked #6 in the world by the WBO.

“This is an excellent opportunity for me to fight one of the very best Middleweights in the world,” said Sulecki. “I’ll be very well prepared to stay undefeated and defeat Jacobs in front of the Polish boxing fans at Barclays Center as I continue my march to become a world champion.”

Heavy-handed Miller scored two dominant stoppages in 2017. Fighting for the first time at Barclays Center in July 2017, Miller stopped former world title challenger Gerald Washington at the end of eight rounds.

Following that up most recently, Miller stopped former world title challenger Mariusz Wach in the ninth round in November 2017 at Nassau Coliseum.

Duhaupus stormed through 2017 with three dominant wins including an eighth-round stoppage of Newfei Quatah in December in Levallois-Perret, France.

Among the top names Duhaupus has battled over his thirteen-year professional career are WBC Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder, Alexander Povetkin, Robert Helenius, Manuel Charr and Erkan Teper. Miller is currently world ranked #3 by the WBO, IBF and WBA while Duhaupus is world ranked #7 by the WBC.

“Nothing makes me more gratified and blessed to do what I love best and that’s to get back in the ring and continue to solidify my place as the next Heavyweight Champion of the world,” said Miller.

“This fight on April 28 is just the next step to being recognized as the best in the world and a training ground for Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder. Thank you HBO, Eddie Hearn and Dmitry Salita for this amazing opportunity. Big Baby Miller and Big Baby Promotions is here.”

“A top Heavyweight does not have to be heavy or light, fat or slim – a Heavyweight just needs to be strong,” said Duhaupas. “I will show on April 28 that I am strong enough to beat Jarrell Miller.”

Taylor puts her title on the line for the second time after the Irish star landed the title in Cardiff in October in Cardiff against Anahi Sanchez and successfully defended it against Chicago’s Jessica McCaskill in London in December.

Long-reigning IBF champion Bustos is in her sixth defence of the IBF strap she won back in September 2013, all in her native Argentina, and the 29 year old has also fought for the WBC Super-Lightweight strap in her impressive career at the top level.

Taylor is gunning to end Bustos’ run as champion in style on her return to Brooklyn where she boxed in July 2017, launching her bid to collect all the Lightweight titles in 2018.

“Becoming unified champion is very important to me,” said Taylor. “Last year was great but I’m not really one for looking back and it’s all about the next challenge. I believe that winning my first world title as a pro is just the start of it, I want to fight all the other champions and unify the Lightweight division.

“Bustos is one of the longest reigning champions in women’s boxing so I’m expecting a very tough fight. I’ve been back in training camp in Connecticut since the beginning of the month so the hard work has started and I’m excited to have the chance to win another World title.

“I got a great reception when I fought there last year so I’m really looking forward to boxing there again. It’s a unification fight and the Barclays Center is a fitting venue for a big fight like that.”

Additionally, fighting in separate 10-round bouts, former Heavyweight world title challenger ARTUR ‘The Pin’ SZPILKA, (20-3-0, 15 KO’s), of Wieliczka, Poland, returns along with emerging, unbeaten knockout artist SHOHJAHON ERGASHEV, (11-0-0, 11 KO’s), a native of Uzbekistan, now fighting out of Brooklyn, New York, against opponents to be announced.

“I’m delighted to stage our first show at Barclays Center – it’s a huge night of World Championship Boxing,” said Eddie Hearn, President of Matchroom Boxing. “Daniel Jacobs faces a tough test against Maciej Sulecki and I believe victory will lead him to the winner of ‘GGG’ and Canelo the following week. That’s what Daniel wants, that’s what HBO wants and it’s what the fans should demand.

“There is also a brilliant heavyweight match up between Brooklyn’s own Jarrell Miller and France’s Johan Duhuapas who we saw go 11 exciting rounds with Deontay Wilder stateside – the winner will progress to a shot at the Heavyweight World title.

“Also, the biggest star in women’s boxing, WBA Lightweight Champion Katie Taylor goes for unification glory against IBF Lightweight Champion Victoria Bustos and Polish Heavyweight contender Artur Szpilka will bring his Polish army of fans along for his return. Additionally, unbeaten knockout artist Shohjahon Ergashev is also in action following his impressive victory in January. There is plenty more to be added, this is going to be a stacked night of boxing from start to finish.”

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Danny Garcia scored a 9th round stoppage over Brandon Rios in a scheduled 12-round welterweight bout at The Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

It was a fan-friendly fight with Garcia dominating the action with right hands and body work in the middle of the ring.  Rios kept on coming and landed some good right hands when he was able to trap Garcia on the ropes, but those moments were few and far between.

In round nine, Garcia landed a booming right hand to the jaw that bent Rios over back and falling to the canvas.  Rios got to his feet, but he stumbled toward referee Kenny Bayless, and the fight was stopped at 2:25.

Garcia, 146.5 lbs of Philadelphia is now 34-1 with 20 knockouts.  Rios, 146.5 lbs of Oxnard, CA is 34-4-1.

“I felt the ring rust a little bit in the beginning,” said Garcia, who recorded the 20th knockout of his career. “He’s a good inside fighter and he was giving me some good uppercuts. I felt good, it was a good nine rounds. He came to fight. I came to box, I did that. I came to bang, and I gave the fans what they wanted – a knockout.

“I just noticed when I was getting my punches off he was standing right in front of me and I just let it go. As soon as I got the fight in the middle of the ring where I wanted I landed good shots. I was just letting my hands go and the punch landed.”

“The loss was tough. I have the mindset of a winner,” Garcia said. “I hate losing. I took it like a true champion and I bounced back like a true champion.

“I would love the rematch with Keith Thurman. It’s on him. Whenever he’s ready we’ll fight.”

“I’m mad. I don’t like going out like that,” Rios said. “I’m a warrior, I got back up and I wanted to continue. I guess they stopped it but I’m mad. I’m mad because I got up.

“I was doing good. I got lazy with the jab and he came over with the right hand and he caught me. I’m a warrior. I’m still in the game. I didn’t think he did much to hurt me. I think it was closer than what he thought it was. He just caught me with a lucky punch. I was ready to continue.”

David Benavidez retained the WBC Super Middleweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Ronald Gavril in a rematch of a fight from September, also won by Benavidez.

Benavidez landed hard and crisp shot that backed up Gavril.  Gavril was able to get in a good shot, but he wasbeing out landsed three and four to one in most occurrences. In round four, Benavidez rocked Gavril with a hard right.  In round five, Gavril began to bleed from his nose.

Benavidez had Gavril in trouble in several rounds over the second half of the fight, but Gavril showed an iron chin, and kept in trying until the final bell.

Benavidez, 167 lbs of Phoenix, AZ won by scores of 120-108 twice and 119-109 to remain perfect at 20-0.  Gavril, 167.25 lbs of Las Vegas, NV is now 18-3.

“I knew he was going to come aggressive. He’s a one-trick opponent,” Benavidez said. “I knew I could jab and box him all day. When I saw the opening I took it. I didn’t knock him out though – he’s a tough son of a gun.

“Both my hands hurt but I have that warrior’s mentality so I kept pushing.

“I want to be the best in division. So whoever they put in front of me that’s what I want to do.

“He tried to box me on the outside,” Gavril said. “It was good fight. He was the better man tonight. What can I say? I want to go back in the gym and come back stronger.”

Yordenis Ugas punched his ticket to an eventual title shot scored a 7th round stoppage over Ray Robinson in a schedule 12-round welterweight fight.

In round one, Ugas landed a hard right that dropped Robinson.  At the end of round four, Robinson dropped Ugas, but the punch came after the bell, and Robinson was deducted a point.

In round seven, Ugas landed a perfect right hand that sent Robinson to the canvas.  Robinson was shaken up, and Ugas saw that so the Cuban jumped all over Robinson by landing seven hard right hands in the corner before referee Robert Byrd stopped the bout at

Ugas, 147 lbs of Santiago, CUB is 21-3 with 10 knockouts.  Robinson, 146 lbs of Philadelphia is 24-3.

“I felt like I was the stronger fighter by far and he didn’t hurt me. He lost a point for hitting me after the bell sounded, and knocked me down, but even that didn’t hurt me. He was very awkward and his style threw off my timing.

“Luckily I was able to land body shots that I knew were hurting him. I was able to dictate the pace and we never in trouble.

“I want Errol Spence next. Everyone wants Errol.”

Victor Ortiz and Devon Alexander battle to a 12-round majority draw in a welterweight bout at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas.

In round two, Ortiz was cut over his right eye.

Ortiz won a card at 115-113, while two cards read even at 114-114.  Ortiz, 146.4 lbs of Garden City, KS is 33-6-3.  Alexander, 146.6 lbs of St. Louis, MO is 27-4-1.

“I absolutely thought I won the fight,” said Alexander. “The last few rounds I probably gave him, but I thought I out landed him in the 12th. I thought I did enough to win. I gave him three rounds.”

“I thought the decision was a little off and I thought I did enough to win,” said Ortiz. “The first few rounds were a little complicated. He’s a great boxer and he was timing me just right. I wasn’t leaving the line of fire.”

“The eye was tough to overcome,” said Ortiz. “I can’t really see out of it. I really had to listen to my corner. I tried to stay composed as I could, but he’s a really good fighter.”

“My game plan was to be smart,” said Alexander. “Victor always has problems with people that are faster and have more ring IQ. I wanted to put him in the state of mind that he can’t win.”

“I would love a rematch,” said Alexander. “That’s up to my team to see what’s next, but I’ll fight anybody. I’m a real fighter.”

“A rematch would be awesome,” said Ortiz. “If both teams agree and the fans want it, let’s make it happen.”

Caleb Plant won a 12-round unanimous decision over Rogelio Medina in a super middleweight elimination bout.

In round three,  Medina began to bleed from his nose.  Plant landed the superior punches and used a terrific jab to keep the hard charging Medina at bay.  Medina made an effort in the final part of the final, but Plant was never threatened, and by scores of 120-108, 119-108 and 117-111  to raise his perfect mark to 17-0.  Medina, 168.8 lbs of San Luis, MEX is 38-9.

“It was a tough fight tonight against a tough competitor who puts everything on the line,” said Plant. “I’m happy we got the job done tonight.”

“I stuck to the game plan and I did exactly what I said I was going to do,” said Plant. “I boxed his ears off for 12 rounds.”

“He never had me hurt, but I found his style very difficult,” said Medina. “He moves a lot and he’s pretty quick, so that was tough to deal with.”

“I think I felt the struggle to make weight a little bit,” said Medina. “I was a little tired in the later rounds and it probably was due to the drain to make weight. But it is what it is.”

“I want (IBF 168-pound champion) Caleb Truax,” said Plant. “He was calling me out when I was 12-0. I’m on the doorstep knocking now, let’s see if he still wants it. He can either ship me the IBF belt to my doorstep, or I’ll come take it off his waist.”

2016 U.S. Olympian remained undefeated by winning a four-round unanimous decision over Jorge Rojas in a lightweight bout.

Balderas, 133 lbs of Santa maria, CA won b y scores of 40-36 on all cards and is now 4-0.  Rojas, 132.6 lbs of Puebla, MEX is now 4-3-1.

“I felt good in there,” said Balderas. “I need to learn to relax a little bit more in the ring. I hurt him in the first round and I could have finished him quickly. My corner reminded me to slow down, but I was still throwing everything with power. I’m going to keep working on my composure in the gym. I can’t kill everyone in the first round.”

“I’m going to keep picking up my opposition this year,” said Balderas. “Rojas had a really good chin. I’m going to stay in great shape so I’m ready whenever the call comes. I’m going to keep working and aiming for that world title shot down the road.”

Follow all the action from The Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas as former two-weight champion Danny Garcia takes on former lightweight champion Brandon Rios.  The exciting co-feature will be a rematch between WBC Super Middleweight champion David Benavidez defending against Ronald Gavril.  The card opens at 10 PM ET / 7 PM PT with a welterweight elimination bout between Yordenis Ugas and Ray Robinson

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Round 1: Garcia lands a jab..body shots..1-2..Combination..Double left

Round 2 Left hooks from Garcia..Combination..Jab from Rios..

Round 3 Double left hook to the body from Garcia..Counter..combination..Over hand right from Rios..Hard right from Garcia..Right from Rios..Double left hook from Garcia.

Round 4 Jab and right from Rios..Lead right from Garcia.Right..right uppercut from Rios…Ripping right from Garcia..and another..Big right and Rios smiles at Garcia

Round 5 Garcia lands a big right..Good left hook from Rios..2 right uppercuts..Right uppercut on inside..Check left hook and hard uppercut from Garcia,,,over hand right…Lead left uppercut..Combination..Right from Rios..Garcia comes back with a right

Round 6 Rios lands a short right and left..Counter right from Garcia..Right uppercut on inside from Rios..Short left..Garcia lands a jab

Round 7 Good exchange..Garcia lands a jab to the body..Hard right..lead right to the body..Good combination..Counter left hook..right..3 punch combination..Counter right..Body

Round 8 Rios lands 2 uppercuts on the inside..3 punch combination from Garcia..Right uppercut on inside by Rios..good body work..double jab from Garcia..right/left combination…Right from Rios..Body..Garcia lands a combination to the face..Counter left from Rios

Round 9 Garcia lands a combination to the body..right to head..double left hook..Garcia lands a short left to the body..Big Right..right cross..HUGE RIGHT AND DOWN GOES RIOS…RIOS STUMBLING TOWARDS REFEREE KENNY BAYLESS AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

Round 1 Benavidez backs up Gavril with a right.  Over hand right..Body work from Gavril..Benavidez lands a jab

Round 2 Gavril lands a jab to the body..Benavdiez lands a right and left hook..Jab..Double jab/right hand to the body..Right..Left uppercut..left hook..Piston-jab..Body from Gavril..Counter right from Benavidez..1-2..Hard combination..Body shot from Gavril

Round 3 Right from Benavidez..Combination from Gavril..Uppercut from Benavidez..Right to body from Gavril..Combination from Benavidez..lead left

Round 4 Huge right rocks Gavril..Flush right..Combination..double right..2 big uppercuts..4 punch combination..1-2..Gavril attacking the body..combination

Round 5 Uppercut from Benavidez..Jab from Gavril..Right on the ropes from Benavidez..Left uppercut..Jab..Right backs u Gavril..Jab..Blood from the nose of Gavril..Nice right from Gavril..

Round 6 Good right from Gavril..6 punch combination from Benavidez..hard right and left..Right to head from Gavril..left to body..right to head..Jab from Benavidez..

Round 7 Gavril lands a combination..Benavidez lands a combination

Round 8 Right from Gavril..Sweeping left hook from Benavidez..jab to the body..Left uppercut..Left hook to the bidy..Right to the body..flush shots

Round 9 Jab from Benavidez..triple jab..left hook..left ti the body..Ripping body punches..Gvaril lands a combination on the ropes..

Round 10 Combination from Benavidez..

Round 11 Doctor checking out Gavril..3 punch combination from Benavidez..

Round 12 Right from Gavril..Right..right..Benavidez jabbing

Benavidez landed 315-942 punches…Gavril 176-757

Round 1 Robinson lands a counter left..Counter right from Ugas…HARD RIGHT AND DOWN GOES ROBINSON..Nice combination from Robinson..counter from Ugas

Round 2 Ugas lands a right to the body..Straight right..Right uppercut..Right..Right hook from Robinson..Counter right from Ugas

Round 3 Nice combination from Ugas..Good left from Robinson..Sweeping right..Counter left..Right to body..Right from Robinson

Round 4 Trading jabs to the body..Good combination from Robinson..Counter right from Ugas..Check hook from Robinson..Right from Ugas and a body shot..Right..Counter right..Right behind the guard..Body..Straight backs up Robinson..Good exchange..Robinson lands a right that drops Ugas after the bell..ROBINSON DEDUCTED A POINT

Round 5 Right to body from Ugas..Right..right hook from Robinson..Right..Right to body and combination..Short left from Robinson..

Round 6 Counter right from Ugas…Right to body..Right to body

Round 7 BIG RIGHT AND DOWN GOES ROBINSON…UGAS ALL OVER ROBINSON..7 HARD RIGHTS IN THE CORNER AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

Follow all the action as George Groves defends the WBA Super Middleweight title against Chris Eubank, Jr. in the semifinal of the World Boxing Super Series.  The action begins at 5 PM ET / 2 PM PT and 10 PM in the UK

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Round 1: Groves land a jab…jab..Eubank lands a jab

Round 2 Jab from Eubank..Right from Groves..left..Good right from Eubank..Jab from Groves..

Round 3 Left and right from Groves..Hard left and right from Eubank..Eubank cut over the right eye..jab from Groves..Cut caused from an accidental head clash.

Round 4 Good right from Groves..Lead left and right from Eubank..Left hook

Round 5 Lead left hook from Eubank..Uppercut and left hook..Chopping right from Groves..Right on inside from Eubank

Round 6 Lots of rough housing..Right from Groves..Jab..

Round 7 Good right from Eubank..Jab..Right from Groves..Hard right

Round 8 Right from Groves..Right from Eubank..Long right..Guys swinging wild

Round 9 Eubank going after Groves..Lands an uppercut…Combination at the bell

Round 10 Lead left from Eubank..Jab..jab from Groves..1-2..Left to body from Eubank..Eubank lands good body shots on the ropes..

Round 11 Left hook from Eubank..Hard right from Groves..Jab..Eubank throwing desperation punches

Round 12 Good right from Eubank…Groves ducking punches on the ropes..Good right uppercut from Groves.Hard right from Eubank Huge shots by by both guys,,,Big right from Eubank..Uppercut from Groves

117-92 Punch advantage for Groves

117-112; 116-112; 115-113 FOR GEORGE GROVES

George Groves retained his WBA Super Middleweight title with a hard fought 12-round unanimous decision over Chris Eubank, Jr. in an entertaining bout and thus Groves advances to the final of the World Boxing Super Series.

The bout took place at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

In round three, Eubank was cut over the right eye.  The pace picked up as the fight went on with both guys throwing and mostly missing wild shots.  Groves deep pedigree seemed to be the difference as when the fight was fought at distance, it was Groves jab that was the difference in the fight.  Each guy landed several power shots, and the final round was extremely entertaining as both guys stood toe to toe which was much to the delight of the packed house at The Manchester Arena.

Groves won by scores of 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 and he is now 28-3.  Eubank is 26-2.

“The better man won on the night,” said Groves. “Credit to Junior for getting through 12 rounds, I didn’t think he would. Chris didn’t lie when he said he was going to grit it out. That was a terrific fight for the fans.”

“I couldn’t see out of my right eye for most of the fight but a cut’s a cut and you have to deal with it,” said Eubank Jr.

“George has got the heart of a true champion and did what he had to do. I thought I did enough in the later rounds to win it. But hopefully, we’ll get the rematch on.”

“My shoulder feels pretty sore but I wasn’t going to let anything beat me tonight.”

Ryan Walsh and Isaac Lowe battled to a 12-round split draw in a featherweight contest.

Walsh took a card 116-114, Lowe won a card 115-114 and a 3rd card read 115-115.

Walsh is 22-2-2.  Lowe is now 14-0-3.

Tommy Langford won a 12-round unanimous decision over Jack Arnfield in a middleweight bout.

Langford, 159.2 lbs of Birmingham, UK won by scores of 116-111, 116-113 and 117-111 to raise his record to 20-1. Arnfield, 159.2 lbs of Blackpool, UK is 25-3.

Zach Parker stopped Adasat Rodriguez in round two of their scheduled ten-round super middleweight bout.

Parker dropped Rodriguez in round two from a hard left hook. With just seconds remaining in the round, Parker landed a series of crunching rights that sent Rodriguez down again, and the fight was stopped at 2:59.

Parker, 168 lbs of Woodvail, UK is 15-0 with 11 knockouts. Rodriguez, 168 lbs of Santa Cruz, Spain is 16-7-2.

Luther Clay won a decision over Danny Craven in a six-round middleweight bout.

Clay, 147.7 lbs of Southhampton, UK won by a referee score of 58-57, and is now 7-1. Craven, 154.3 lbs of Warrington, UK is 3-2.

Swedish heavyweights Otto Wallin (19-0, 13 KOs) and Adrian Granat (15-1, 14 KOs) will meet in a grudge match for the European Union title on April 21 at the Gärdehov ice hockey arena in Sundsvall, Sweden.

The 26 year-old fighters have been on a collision course since joining the professional ranks in 2013, and following years of speculation, now the time has come to see who is Sweden’s number one heavyweight.

Wallin, the current WBA Continental Champion, has a record of 19 wins and 0 defeats, while Granat, a former IBF International Champion, has suffered just 1 defeat in his 16 contests, and boasts a frightening near perfect KO ratio of 88%.

Having previously exchanged barbs in the press, there is no love lost between the warring heavyweights, and as anticipation for a fight has grown so to have their hostilities which have reached boiling point ahead of this championship contest.

“I don’t like him,” says Granat, who must travel to Wallin’s hometown of Sundsvall for the fight. “Boxing is supposed to be entertainment, but he’s not entertaining. He’s not got an entertaining boxing style or personality. I think he’s dull all the way through, and I’m 100% confident I will win this fight.

“He’s got a weak mind and no punch so it’s going to be difficult for him. He’s fought lower level journeymen his whole career so it’s going to be a big step up for him to face me, and I think he’s going to notice the difference.

“For me, it doesn’t matter that the fight is in Sundsvall. I think that’s great. It’s going to be fun. I look forward to the crowd booing me in, and they’ll be booing me even more at the end when Otto is lying on the canvas!”

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this fight and finally we will see who is the best heavyweight in Sweden,” said Wallin. “I’m very confident I will win. I’m confident in my ability and in my work rate. I know when I enter the ring, I would have prepared to the best of my ability and done everything possible to win.

“Granat is a big guy with some strength, but I believe I’m the better boxer. I’ve known him for many years since we were amateurs so I know what to expect. I don’t think he’s improved and I don’t think he understands what it takes to become something in this game.

“He’s always tried to do things the easy way. He’s disrespected me and he’s disrespected his other opponents. I want to show him that’s not the way to behave. This is a gentleman’s sport, and I plan to teach him a lesson.”

“This is going to be a fantastic fight,” said Wallin’s promoter Nisse Sauerland. “It’s a fight the fans wanted and we’re very happy that we’ve been able to deliver it. On April 21, Sweden’s top two heavyweights will go toe-to-toe, and I believe the winner of this fight will go on to become a World Champion.”

Granat’s promoter Erol Ceylan adds: “I think that Adrian is well aware of his situation. He will give everything to defeat him. Wallin may have home advantage but he will need to withstand the pressure that comes with that first. I think he does not know how strong Adrian is. This is going to be a great fight. A huge heavyweight fight that will be talked about for years to come.”

Tickets for the EU Heavyweight title fight between Otto Wallin and Adrian Granat on April 21 at the Gärdehov in Sundsvall will go on sale Tuesday, February 20 at 12.00 and are available online via www.ticketmaster.se.

NEW YORK (Feb. 16, 2018) – Beginning next Friday, Facebook FIGHTNIGHT LIVE serves up tripleheader action inside the squared circle. To open the weekend, the fan-friendly boxing and MMA streaming service partners once again with renowned promoter Jimmy Burchfield Sr. for a red-hot CES Boxing card to start the boxing year in New England. Fans from across the globe can catch all the action beginning at 8 p.m. ET live from Twin River Casino in Rhode Island on any device wherever Facebook is available.

“This is an exciting main event between two deserving championship contenders and there’s no better partner than FIGHTNIGHT LIVE to provide fight fans all around the globe a front-row seat to the action. Ray Oliveira Jr. has paid his dues though the years while other fighters in New England have had the opportunity to see their name in lights. Now he gets his shot to headline for the first time in his career while competing for his first championship,” said Burchfield, Sr.

Recently hitting the 1,000,000 views mark, Friday’s show rings the opening bell on FIGHTNIGHT LIVE’s Feb. 23-24 back-to-back-to-back Friday and Saturday shows spanning from the casinos of New England to the Boardwalk of Atlantic City.

“At this point, CES and FIGHTNIGHT LIVE are family,” said Mark Fratto, Principal of Linacre Media. “We know each other, we love working on shows with the Burchfield and CES Family and have relationships with the promoters and fighters that extend long past the bell. These are great people and great athletes and we’re excited as always to give them a platform to showcase their talent and tell their stories. What a great way to open a jam-packed weekend of Facebook fights.”

CES Boxing kicks off the 2018 Twin River Casino Fight Series on Friday, Feb. 23, with Fall River, Mass., junior middleweight Ray Oliveira Jr. (9-1, 1 KO) headlining for the first time in his career and vying for the World Boxing Union (WBU) Super Welterweight Canadian-American-Mexican (CAM) Championship in an eight-round showdown against New Haven, Conn., veteran Edwin Soto (11-2-2, 4 KOs), plus a six-round heavyweight co-feature between Sicilian Juiseppe Cusumano (13-1, 11 KOs) and battle-tested Pittsburgh, Pa., native Fred Latham (9-1-2, 5 KOs).

Over the first nine-plus months of programming, the numbers on the 12-show FIGHTNIGHT LIVE series have showed promise and potential for the new platform with an average of close to 90,000 fight fans tuning in per event and more than one-million fans served.

The Sept. 9 “Real Deal Promotions: Empire State” from Resorts World Casino (225,000), the August CES “Super Saturday” from Foxwoods (203,000), the Sept. CES “Twin River Twinbill” from Lincoln, R.I. (157,000) all topped 150,000 views, and collectively the 12-show series saw a total of more than 21,000 total hours of Facebook video consumed by 1,067,435-plus users across all devices.

In addition to the raw viewership numbers, the fully-interactive, fan-friendly productions have seen more than 142,000 collective live post engagements (nearly 12,000 per show), including almost 97,000 “likes” or “loves,” more than 22,000 comments and almost 6,000 shares.

FIGHTNIGHT LIVE broadcasts are viewed by 76 percent men, 24 percent women. The top demographic is comprised of males ages 25-34, which encompasses approximately 30.0 percent of the audience, on average.

The Sept. 9 “Real Deal Promotions: Empire State” set a new bar with 224,658 views and the Sept. 15-16 DiBella-CES doubleheader carried the series to three-quarters-of-a-million views in just over four months. The Feb. 10 Hard-Hitting Promotions “Philly Fight Night” show stands out individually with 3,421 live hours of content viewed, while the Sept. 15 DiBella card saw more than 40,000 viewer interactions including almost 39,000 “likes” or “loves.”

The FIGHTNIGHT LIVE page on Facebook has more than 80,000 fans and more than 82,000 followers. And Facebook itself has taken notice – the world’s No. 1 social network recently profiled FIGHTNIGHT LIVE on its “Success Stories” media blog, noting the series’ use of industry best practices for production and interactivity:
https://www.facebook.com/facebookmedia/success-stories/fightnight

Facebook FIGHTNIGHT LIVE has been delivered to fans absolutely free since its May 2017 launch courtesy of series corporate partners like Elite Heat Water, Montauk Iced Tea (montaukbev.com), Mr. Custom Made (mrcustommade.com) and BallWash (ballwash.com).

On Friday night, Feb. 23, live from live from Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I., fans can expect a high-impact, multi-camera streaming experience complete with graphics, animations, replays, interviews and an announce team anchored by blow-by-blow announcer Michael Woods of the TalkBox Podcast, NYFights.com and The Ring and analyst Xavier Porter of BrooklynFights.com and Notorious Boxing. To provide spectators with a fully-interactive ringside experience, commentators will ask and respond to questions from the Facebook audience throughout the broadcast.

Created and produced by Linacre Media out of New York City, the FIGHTNIGHT LIVE series features professional announcers, multiple camera angles, television graphics, replays and behind-the-scenes access and interviews. The streamed shows are available globally wherever Facebook is available. The initiative not only enables fans from around the world to tune in, but also gives up-and-coming fighters a global platform to showcase their abilities, gives promoters an accessible “broadcast” solution and gives sponsors the ability to reach a mass audience via branded content.

More FIGHTNIGHT LIVE Winter/Spring 2018 dates will be officially announced in the coming weeks.

FIGHTNIGHT LIVE is available online at: https://www.facebook.com/FaceFIGHTNIGHTLIVE/

Follow all the action via social media at FaceFIGHTNIGHTLIVE on Facebook, @FaceFIGHTNIGHTLIVE on Instagram and@FIGHTNIGHTLIVE_ on Twitter, or by using the hashtag #FIGHTNIGHTLIVE. For the latest Linacre Media events and broadcast schedule, follow@LinacreMedia across all social platforms or use the tags #LinacreMediaEvents or #LinacreMediaOnTV.

Follow all the action as Ray Beltran and Paulus Moses vie for the vacant WBO Lightweight title.  The action kicks off at 9 PM ET / 6 PM PT with welterweight battle between Egidijus Kavaliauskas and former world champion David Avanesyan.  The show kicks off with Olympic Silver Medal winner Shakur Stevenson taking on Juan Tapia in a Featherweight bout.

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Round 1: Beltran lands a right..2 hard lefts..Jab from Moses…Right for Beltran

Round 2 Beltran lands a left to the body..Both land lefts..Beltran gets in a left..Moses lands 2 rights..Beltran cut over the left eye

Round 3 Good right from Moses..Jab and right..

Round 4 Good jab from Moses..Uppercut..Long right from Moses..Right and double left from Beltran..

Round 5 Right from Moses..Hard left from Beltran..jab from Moses..Beltran cut under his left eye

Round 6 Moses lands a right

Round 7 Good 1-2 from Moses..Short right from Beltran

Round 8 Beltran working on the inside..

Round 9  Hard right buckles Beltran..Left from Beltran..1-2..2 body shots…Moses lands a jab..Combination from Beltran

Round 10 Hard right and left from Beltran

Round 11 Beltran lands a left to the body..Right to body and another

Round 12  Beltran outlanding Moses

117-111, 117-111 and 116-112 FOR RAY BELTRAN

Round 1 

Round 2 Kavaliauskas lands a right..Jab from Avanesyan..Right from Kavaliauskas

Round 3 Crisp right from Avanesyan…Kavaliauskas lands a combinations drives Avanesyan back..Left hook..

Round 4 Avanesyan switches southpaw..Lands a left..Right from Kavaliauskas..Jab..Rght,..

Round 5 Good body shot from Kavaliauskas

Round 6 Kavaliauskas lands a hard right…Avanesyan is hurt…HARD FLURRY OF UNANWERED PUNCHES AND THE FIGHT IS STOPPED

Round 1 Stevenson lands a jab..Short right uppercut

Round 2 Stevenson lands a right hook..

Round 3 Stevenson lands a jab…Hard right hook..Good body work

Round 4 Hard lead left from Stevenson…

Round 5 Straight left from Stevenson.. Stevenson outlanding Tapia 73-15

Round 6 2 hard body shots and  a left hurt Tapia..Body work..right to body

Round 7  Body shot and 3 punch combination from Stevenson..Good right from Tapia..B;ood from mouth of Tapia..Jab from Stevenson..lead left

Round 8 Good combination from Stevenson

Ray Beltran won the vacant WBO Lightweight title with a tough 12-round unanimous decision over Paulus Moses at the Grand Sierra Hotel in Reno, Nevada.

It was a grueling contest that saw Moses have some success with hard rights and a nice jab that cut Beltran under both eyes.  Beltran swept the latter part of the fight, and that titlted the scores in his favor to the tune of 117-111 twice and 116-112.

Beltran, 134 1/2 lbs of Phoenix, AZ is now 35-7-2.  Moses, 134 lbs of Namibia is now 40-4.

Egis Kavaliauskas remained undefeated and stopped former interim world titlist David Avanesyan in round six of their scheduled ten round welterweight bout.

Kavaliauskas landed a hard right in round six that hurt Avanesyan.  Kavaliauskas jumped on his prey, and landed a hard flurry of power shots and the fight was stopped.

Kavaliauskas, 146 1/2 lbs of Lithuania is now 19-0 with 16 knockouts.  Avanesyan, 147 lbs of Russia is 23-3.

2016 Olympic Silver Medal winner Shakur Stevenson remained undefeated by winning an eight-round unanimous decision over Juan Tapia in a featherweight bout.

Stevenson, 125 1/2 lbs of Alexandria, VA won all cards 80-72 and is now 5-0.  Tapia, 124 1/2 lbs of Brownsville, TX is 8-2.

In a battle of undefeated lightweights, 2016 Olympic Gold Medal winner Robson Conceicao won a six-round unanimous decision over Ignacio Holguin.

Conceicao, 132 1/2 lbs of Bahia, BRA won by scores of 60-52 on two cards and 60-54 and is now 6-0.  Holguin, 132 3/4 lbs of San Antonio, TX is 4-1-1.

Sagadat Rachmankulov made a successful pro debut by stopping Noel Esqueda in round five of their scheduled six-round welterweight bout.

Rachmankulov hammered Esqueda with a hard left hook and a left to the top of the head that had Esqueda buckling, and referee Jay Nady stopped the bout at 1:51.

Rachmankulov, 148 lbs of Kazakhstan is 1-0 with 1 knockout.  Esqueda, 148 lbs of Wichita, KS is 8-5-2.

Former world title challenger Bryant Jennings dropped Akhror Muralimov four times en roue to a 3rd round stoppage in a scheduled eight-round heavyweight bout.

In round one, Jennings scored two knockdowns. In round two, Jennings dropped Muralimov with a right hand. Jennings dropped Muralimov with a hard right in round three. He finished it off with another knockdown, and the fight was stopped at 1:22.

Jennings of Philadelphia is now 22-2. Muralimov is 16-4.

ALexander Besputin stopped Wesley Tucker at 3:00 of round five of their scheduled eight-round welterweight bout.

Besputin is 9-0. Tucker is 14-2.

WBC Welterweight World Title Eliminator

Danny Garcia – 146 ½ pounds

Brandon Rios – 146 ½ pounds

Referee: Kenny Bayless; Judges: Dave Moretti (Nev.), Glenn Trowbridge (Nev.), Steve Weisfeld (N.J.)

WBC Super Middleweight World Championship

David Benavidez – 167 pounds

Ronald Gavril – 167 ¼ pounds

Referee: Russell Mora; Judges: Robert Hoyle (Nev.), Glenn Feldman (Conn.), Julie Lederman (N.Y.)

IBF Welterweight World Title Eliminator

Yordenis Ugas – 147 pounds

Ray Robinson – 146 pounds

Referee: Robert Byrd; Judges: Tim Cheatham (Nev.), Dave Moretti (Nev.), Steve Morrow (Calif.)

FLASH QUOTES:

DANNY GARCIA:

“I have to go in there and prove myself, just like I do every other time. It’s the underdog on top. That’s how I go. I got that chip on my shoulder and I’m going to out there and perform and get the job done.

“I’m going to do what I want to do. It’s the Danny Garcia show. Prediction: Danny Garcia on top – I’m going to put him to sleep.”

BRANDON RIOS:

“I can win fighting my style, hell yeah. That’s how I won my world title. He’s nobody special. Everyone thinks he’s something special. He’s nobody special. I’m ready for that guy.

“When I do it right, when I’m disciplined and I’m concentrated and I’m focused, I’m an animal. I’m going to win this fight. At the end of 12 rounds, I’m winning.”

DAVID BENAVIDEZ:

“I have a game plan for you guys to see on Saturday night and I’m going to show you – I’m going to get the knockout.

“You’re going to have to tune-in to see. It’s going to be a war like I’ve been telling you all along.”

RONALD GAVRIL:

“I believe I won the first fight with the knock down. I’m ready for the rematch. I’m ready 100 percent. I’m coming to hurt him. I’m not coming to play.

“He knows me. Everyone knows me now. I only trained four weeks for the first fight. This time I had eight weeks. My prediction: the new WBC Super Middleweight Champion.”

# # #

For more information visit www.SHO.com/Sports and www.premierboxingchampions.com, follow on Twitter @SHOSports, @ShowtimeBoxing, @PremierBoxing, @MayweatherPromo, @TGBPromotions, and @MandalayBay or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ShoBoxing, www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions and www.facebook.com/MayweatherPromotions. Premier Boxing Champions is presented by Corona Extra, La Cerveza Mas Fina.

Los Angeles, CA (February 16, 2018) Former world champion and #1 ranked mandatory challenger JUAN FRANCISCO ‘El Gallo” ESTRADA, (36-2-0, 25 KO’s), closed his Hermosillo, Mexico training camp in style on Friday afternoon with a final sparring session in front of a huge crowd of local media and supporters. Estrada will challenge WBC Super Flyweight World Champion SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI, (43-4-1, 39 KO’s), in the 12-round headliner at the highly anticipated SUPERFLY 2 event set for Saturday, February 24, 2018 at the ‘Fabulous’ Forum and televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark® beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT.

“I’m ready for The Champ, this has been a tremendous camp with great sparring, “ said Estrada who was accompanied by his trainer ALFREDO CABALLERO. “It’s great to be here in front of the media and my supporters, many of whom are coming to the fight.”

“As soon as I was offered the fight I accepted, it’s a great opportunity to become a world champion again and to honor Mexico.”

“I know how good Sor Rungvisai is from his last two fights with Roman Gonzalez, he’s very strong but I have the skills to defeat him. “

“The whole country of Mexico and boxing fans all over the world will be watching SUPERFLY 2 and I look forward to putting on a spectacular performance for them.”

Photos/Team Estrada

————————————–

SUPERFLY 2 is headlined by WBC Super Flyweight World Champion SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI, (43-4-1, 39 KO’s), of Si Sa Ket, Thailand, defending his title over 12-rounds for the second time against former world champion and #1 ranked mandatory challenger JUAN FRANCISCO “El Gallo” ESTRADA, (36-2, 25 KO’s), of Sonora, Mexico. The event will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark® beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT. The bout is also being contested for the vacant RING Magazine title.

Co-featured on the HBO Boxing After Dark telecast, former WBC Super Flyweight World Champion, CARLOS ‘Principe’ CUADRAS, (36-2-1, 27 KO’s), of Mexico City, MX faces hard-hitting, two-time world title challenger MC WILLIAMS ARROYO, (16-3, 14 KO’s), of Fajardo, Puerto Rico in an outstanding ten round super flyweight clash.

Opening the telecast, the Fighting Pride of the Philippines and three-time world champion DONNIE NIETES, (40-1-4, 22 KO’s) will make the first defense of his IBF Flyweight World Title over 12-rounds against two-time world champion and mandatory challenger JUAN CARLOS REVECO, (39-3-0, 19 KO’s) from Las Heras, Argentina.

Headlining the non-televised portion of the event, four-time world champion in two divisions and #2 ranked BRIAN “The Hawaiian Punch” VILORIA, (38-5, 22 KO’s) of Los Angeles, CA via Waipahu, Hawaii will challenge undefeated and #1 ranked ARTEM DALAKIAN, (15-0, 11 KO’s), of Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine in a scheduled 12-round bout for the vacant WBA Flyweight World Title.

Tickets for SUPERFLY 2, priced at $250, $150, $100, $60 and $30 are now on sale and can be purchased through Ticketmaster (Ticketmaster.com, 1-800-745-3000) and the Forum Box Office. The Forum is located at 3900 W. Manchester Blvd, Inglewood CA 90305. Doors will open at 3:30 p.m. on the night of the event.

SUPERFLY 2 is presented by Tom Loeffler’s 360 Promotions in association with Nakornluong Promotions and Zanfer Promotions. Cuadras vs. Arroyo is presented in association with Promociones del Pueblo and PR Best Boxing. Nietes vs. Reveco is presented in association with ALA Promotions. Viloria vs. Dalakian is presented in association with Teiken Promotions.

SOCIAL MEDIA

#SUPERFLY2

Twitter

@Srisaket_ssr

@GalloEstrafaOfi

@CuadrasOficial

@BrianViloria

@360Promotions

@TomLoeffler1

@ZanferBox

@ALAPromotions1

@HBOboxing

@theforum

ORANGE, Calif. (Feb. 16, 2018) – The scheduled championship fight between Erick Ituarte (19-1-1, 3 KOs) and challenger Jose Ramirez (27-6-2, 16 KOs) has been cancelled.

As a result, the 8-round bout between super bantamweights Isaac Zarate (13-3-3, 2 KOs) and Christian Ayala (12-1, 4 KOs) has been elevated as the main event at Friday’s “Path to Glory.”

The six-bout card originates from the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, Calif.

The 6-round co-feature remains the same with elite prospect Ruben Villa (9-0, 4 KOs) defending his unbeaten mark against Juan Sandoval (7-20-1, 4 KOs).

General admission ($40) and ringside ($100) tickets will be available for purchase today beginning at 5:30 p.m. local time from the will call booth at the Doubletree Ontario.

All fights will be live streamed on TB Presents: Path to Glory via our Facebook page and ThompsonBoxing.com.

The livestream starts at 8:00 p.m. PT / 11:00 p.m. ET with Beto Duran as the blow-by-blow announcer and Steve Kim providing expert color commentary.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. local time with the first bout at approximately 8:00 p.m. The Doubletree Hotel is located at 222 N. Vineyard Ave. in Ontario, CA 91764 and can be reached at 909-937-0900.

“Path to Glory” is presented by Thompson Boxing Promotions and sponsored by Everlast.

For more information, please visit ThompsonBoxing.com. To follow the conversation on social media, please use #PathToGlory, #TBPresents, and #ThompsonBoxing.

For regular updates on our fighters, events, and promotions, please check our Facebook Page, watch our YouTube channel on Thompson Boxing TV, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @ThompsonBoxing.

Las Vegas, NV (February 19, 2018) – Roy Jones Jr. Boxing Promotions has an opportunity for one of their stars to take that important next step from prospect to legitimate contender in just one night. Undefeated Texan, WBA #2 John “The Phenom” Vera 18-0 (11KO) will take on WBA #3 Michael Soro 31-2(21KO) on Saturday March 24 in Marseilles,France. Winner will be the mandatory contender at 154lbs and will receive a world title opportunity in 2018.

Back in November the World Boxing Association (WBA) ordered that the top two ranking contenders face each other for the final WBA eliminator, with the winner facing Erislandy Lara in 2018. Originally it was scheduled for WBA #1 Kanat Islam 25-0 (20KO) from Kazakhstan to face WBA #2 John Vera 18-0 (11KO) but for some reason Islam made himself “unavailable” to face Vera after several attempts to put a deal in place.

“This is what Roy Jones Jr. Boxing Promotions has been working towards for John and we are excited to have John showcase his skills to the world,” stated Keith Veltre, CEO & Co-Founder of https://www.facebook.com/RJJBoxing/. “John is incredibly dedicated to his craft and will give 110% for this fight against Soro.”

After the failed attempt the WBA ordered that WBA #3 Michael Soro was the next in line for the opportunity. Soro, who fought for the “interim” WBA World Championship back on July 1st against undefeated Brian Carlos Castano 14-0(10KO) from Argentina fought gamely against the much smaller Castano losing a close SD12. Soro returned five-months later to defeat Ivan Montero 20-3(8KO) from Mexico securing another world title opportunity.

In order to get another shot, Soro will have to defeat the ultra talented, former NABA Champion and undefeated WBA #2 contender John Vera from Ft. Worth Texas.

“Folks are in for a night of action on March 24th,” stated John Vera. “As always my team and I won’t cut any corners and are making calculated moves to ensure we are ready to be victorious. Fighting in France is a huge motivator for me and Its time to show the world who John Vera is”

Vera will definitely pose a problem for Soro with his six-foot frame, southpaw stance and footwork. Vera is very good and controlling the distance and dictating the pace with his long jab and his ability to change directions with his footwork. Vera was last seen in action on September 29th in Dallas Texas when he defeated Sunday Ajuwa 15-2(13KO) by TKO3.

Vera vs. Soro for the mandatory position is a very intriguing match up in styles. Can the more conventional fighter in Soro use his pressure to disrupt the boxing prowess of Vera? Or will Vera sturdy Texas chin and boxing IQ be to much for the Frenchmen to over come? On Saturday March 24 we will all find out.

INFORMATION: This event is scheduled to be televised on https://www.mycanal.fr/ Follow John “The Phenom” Vera on his road to victory on IG: https://www.instagram.com/johnverajr88/ &
Facebook http://@johnverajr88

Willy Hutchinson won a decision over Eric Mokonzo in a six-round cruiserweight bout.

In round four, Mokonzo was deducted a point for holding. In round five, Hutchinson landed a right that was followed up by a left that sent Mokonzo to the canvas.

Hutchinson, 175.5 lbs won by a referee score of 60-52, and is now 3-0. Mokonzo, 186.1 lbs is 2-7.

Linus Udofia won a four-round unanimous decision over William Warburton in a middleweight bout.

Udofia is now 7-0. Warburton is 24-128-1.

Kathy Duva: Welcome everyone to the Sergey Kovalev vs. Igor Mikhalkin and Dmitry Bivol vs. Sullivan Barrera international media conference call. This is Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events. I just want to, on a personal note, tell everybody it’s great to have you back after these few months. This is a long cold winter. Happy to be able to get back into action.

Thank you to all the media who have dialed in on this call today to discuss two sensational championship fights in the light heavyweight division. Both bouts will air on HBO World Championship Boxing®, live from The Theater at Madison Square Garden, on Saturday, March 3rd at 10:05pm, ET/PT.

The main event between Sergey Kovalev and Igor Mikhalkin is a 12-round match-up for the WBO Light Heavyweight World Title. The co-main event, which features WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion, Dmitry Bivol vs. Sullivan Barrera is a 12-round title fight.

Tickets range from $50 to $300. They are moving very well and are available online at ticketmaster.com, in person at Madison Square Garden box office, and directly through Main Events by dialing our office at 973-200-7050, or sending an email to boxing@mainevents.com. The event is promoted by Main Events, Krusher Promotions and World of Boxing in association with EC Box Promotions and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing®.
We’ll also be featuring, for those who can be there in person, a fantastic undercard. Jolene Mizzone has always outdone herself and we will be featuring 11 bouts of all young prospects, some local, some from Eastern Europe and all over the world, who are going to be in great, competitive fights. It’s a good night to be there in person.

Sullivan Barrera: I feel alright. My training camp, we are going well too. I have been waiting my whole life for the title fight, so that’s the day finally here. Very important fight for me, so I’m very happy for that.

Question: Sullivan, can you tell us what went into your decision to take the Bivol fight over fighting Kovalev in the main event that night?

Barrera: I was offered the Sergey Kovalev fight initially for a substantial amount more money than the second time but at that time there was no title fight on the line. I felt that after the Wardfight, I was worthy of finally fighting for a title. The second time around when they offered me the Kovalev fight, it was for considerably less money, and they wanted to extend my contract. That is the reason why I decided to fight Bivol.

Question: Sullivan, can you tell us what you think of Bivol so far and if you think what people have been saying about him is justified based on what he’s done in the ring thus far.

Barrera: I respect all fighters. Bivol is a young, talented fighter. I respect anyone that gets in the ring. At the end of the day, when he steps into the ring, he’s going to have to prove everything that all the writers are saying about him.

Question: Why would this fight be different than Bivol’s previous fights? Because Sullivan obviously is the most experienced or most accomplished fighter that Bivol will have fought.

Barrera: All of my opponents have been younger than me. The importance here is that it’s a title fight and I am going in there knowing that it’s a title fight. I am preparing like this is the most important fight. I understand that Bivol is a younger guy and I’m used to that.

Question: What does Sullivan expect from fighting Bivol?

Barrera: I think in the past he hasn’t fought anyone with the experience that I have had and it should be a very competitive fight.

Question: Cuban boxers have had some recent defeats. The fighters that are left are [Luis] Ortiz, Erislandy Lara and Sullivan Barrera. Do you think you can be the show face for the Cuban boxing system?

Barrera: Of course, yes. I believe so.

Question: Kathy, why was Sullivan offered less money to fight Bivol than Kovalev?

Duva: Well, actually, while we were discussing the Kovalev fight, a lot of numbers got thrown around, but as far as the offer is concerned, it was the same, the actual offer. That’s my recollection of the negotiation.

Question: Sullivan also made a reference about extending the contract but I’m a little confused by that. Wouldn’t him becoming champion extend the contract?

Duva: Not at that time, no. Sullivan has been with Main Events a long time, that contract was running out and we were working on another one, where that was not featured in the contract. We did absolutely ask for options, it’s a voluntary defense and that’s typically the way things work.

Question: Sullivan, what weaknesses do you see in Dmitry Bivol that you feel you’ll be able to expose on March 3rd?

Barrera: The biggest difference is the experience. I feel that I’ve fought a lot more experienced fighters and I believe, strongly, that that will be the biggest difference come March 3rd.

Question: If Main Events was able to take you from a virtually unknown commodity of the United States, to a world champion who’s fighting on HBO, why wouldn’t you want to extend your contract with them?

Barrera: I never said that I was never going to re-sign with them or to continue to do business with them. Just that the offer that was made to me initially for the Kovalev fight was something that wasn’t up to par with what I wanted, and I am very thankful for everything Main Events has done for me and continues to do for me. What the future holds is after this fight.

Question: In this fight, is Sullivan betting on himself to improve the offers that he receives from Main Events?

Barrera: Yes, once I am a champion, the WBA champion, of course, I’ll be a champion, the offers do get much better.

Duva: Thank you Sullivan. Dmitry Bivol is the WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion. He is a fantastic fighter. We are partners with World of Boxing on this promotion and delighted to be working with him.

Question: Dmitry, earlier Sullivan said that the reason that he took the fight against you as opposed to Kovalev was about money. Why do you think that he took the fight?

Dmitry Bivol: I do not have any reason not to believe that Sullivan took the fight was because of the money, but at this point, it doesn’t matter why he decided to do it because now the only thing that’s left is the fight itself.

Question: Do you think that Sullivan views him as an easier opponent than Kovalev?

Bivol: At first, those were the thoughts that I might have had that maybe he thought I was a weaker opponent, but now that Sullivan has stated that it’s because of the money, I understand that maybe Sullivan is correct, he just did it because of the money. I don’t necessarily have a reason to not believe Sullivan.

Question: Dmitry, what is your opinion of Sullivan Barrera who obviously has a lot of international experience and has fought some top light heavyweights?

Bivol: Of course, I know that Sullivan has lots of experience and lots of fights behind him, but I know that I also have a lot of experience, might not as much as Barrera, but still lots of experience, good quality fights. I believe that I’ve got good qualities that I can trust. I can trust in myself to win this fight.

Question: How much do you feel that you have to prove yourself in this fight because Sullivan obviously is the best opponent that you have faced?

Bivol: I am definitely aware that Barrera is probably one of the best fighters that I’ve ever faced, probably the best fighter. But to me, every fight is important, and every fight, everything’s on the line, so I need to go out and do my best and make sure that I show my best qualities and do my best fighting.

Question: Dmitry, do you believe that perhaps because of the fact that you’ve only had 12 fights and you were a champion at an early age, you’re considered a rookie, so to speak, and that Barrera accepted you because of the fact that you were the lesser opponent in terms of a championship fight as opposed to Sergey Kovalev, or Superman Stevenson who’s fighting Badou Jack?

Bivol: I said before, at first, I might have thought that maybe Barrera decided to fight me because I’m a weaker opponent between the two. But, as Barrera stated, he accepted the fight over Kovalev specifically because of the money. So now, I know that that is why that fight was arranged. At the end, though, I am very happy that Barrera decided to fight me and I have no reason not to trust Barrera that he picked me specifically because of the money. So that is why I’m happy that we get to fight.

Question: Knowing that this is your title fight, you’re defending your title fight against, as expected, the veteran, which is Barrera, who’s fought Andre Ward and fought Joe Smith and guys with more fights than you. Without giving out any trade secrets, what are you doing extra to make sure that your hand is raised in victory March 3rd in terms of training?

Bivol: I believe that a person must do what he knows how to do. I know my good qualities and I make sure that every time I’m in practice, I’m perfecting the art of boxing. I’m perfecting my skills. I know that I’m not perfect but I want to make sure that I keep on working towards perfection. Nothing specific new is happening in camp; camp is always tough and camp is always good. It’s pretty much the same, the only thing that’s different maybe is tougher sparring partners, but other than that, I know my skills and I know that I want to continue doing what I do best, which is boxing.

Question: Dmitry, this is your New York City debut. How do you feel about fighting at the Theater at Madison Square Garden?

Bivol: I’m very excited about my debut in New York and, of course, to be fighting at Madison Square Garden. My trainer’s dream is to have his main fighter fight in the main event, in Madison Square Garden. This is a small step towards that dream for him.

Question: What are Barrera’s strengths and weaknesses that you’ve seen in his fight?

Bivol: Every fighter has his own weaknesses. I don’t necessarily want to discuss what Barrera’s weaknesses are. I think the best way to see it is just to see the fight and see where he was stronger and where he was weaker.

Question: We saw Andre Ward handle Sullivan Barrera rather easily. Will Dmitry look to deploy some of the same tactics?

Bivol: Ward showed a lot of good speed in a fight. He showed a lot of good movement, a lot of body movement in the fight, and possibly this is some of the things I would like to use in the fight as well.

Question: We’ve seen Sullivan go down in the first round of each of his last two fights. Will you look to jump on him? Do you see yourself getting off to a fast start knowing that in the last two fights whether he came out cold or for whatever the reason he’s been down early?

Bivol: I’m not lining up to necessarily knock him down or send him down in the first round. I’m going to assess the situation to see how the fight is going. And, of course, if there’ll be opportunities where I’m able to capitalize on them, for sure I will do it, but I will have to decide on my feet. I am training for all 12 rounds. I’m not sure if it’s going to go that long, but I’m training my stamina to make sure that I’ve got enough energy for all 12 rounds.

Question: It’s The Garden in New York, do you want this to be an all-out war, a dog fight, or would you prefer it to be a high IQ boxing match basically?

Bivol: When I come out to fight, I always try to fight with a high IQ. I want to make sure that I’m responsible for the movement that I make and I understand what’s going on. I’m always thinking on my feet. But, of course, after the fight, I want to make sure that the fight was also entertaining for the fans and the fans would like to see me fight again and are excited about me fighting.

Kathy: I would like to thank you Dmitry Bivol for joining us. Next on the line we have Igor Mikhalkin joining us from Germany with his promoter Erol Ceylan.

Question: Igor, I wanted to ask you, just looking at Kovalev fights in the past, will you focus on what everybody sees as his biggest weakness and go to the body? Is that something you’re going to stress going into this fight?

Igor Mikhalkin: I am going to judge it by the situation. I’m going to see how it goes, and try to hit in the head as well as go in the body. I’m going to assess the situation as the fight proceeds.

Question: Coming into The Garden, fighting on the big stage on HBO on the main event, if you could write the perfect script, how would he want this fight to play out?

Mikhalkin: [chuckles] Obviously, it’s a dream of every boxer to fight in the main event, Madison Square Garden. It’s obviously a dream fight for me. It’s very important for me. I’m very excited about it. And I’m not only fighting the main fight on the main card, I’m also fighting the main fighter in the light heavyweight division, so I’m going to write the perfect script on March 3rd and, hopefully, I’m victorious.

Question: Would you want it to end in a knockout or do you just want to win?

Mikhalkin: I’m going for points. I’m going for doing a good job boxing. I never was a puncher, so I never necessarily aim for a knockout. I conditioned to fight all 12 rounds, and I enjoy fighting all 12 rounds, so I’m going to go and fight technically and see how it goes.

Question: Igor, you’re making your debut in the Mecca of Boxing Madison Square Garden have you begun to develop perhaps a little bit of butterfly stage fright not only because this is your debut, but you’re fighting, like it was mentioned before, the number one. And what extra are you doing to make sure that your hand, not Sergey’s, is raised in victory on March third?

Mikhalkin: I’m conditioning and training really hard. I’m making sure I’m very well prepared for the fight. This is most likely the most important fight in my career. This is the greatest opponent I’ve ever fought. Before every fight, of course, there’s a little bit of butterflies. Because it’s Madison Square Garden as opposed to another arena, it’s not any more frightening than other places. I’m happy to be there. I’m happy to make my debut in Madison Square Garden, and I’m making sure that I’m training really hard to keep this fight in my favor.

Question: In terms of advantages or disadvantages, is the fact that he is a southpaw and fought very well, he has a very good record of 21 victories, nine knockouts, does a southpaw stance create advantage, you think?

Mikhalkin: Yes. The answer to your question is yes. I think being at southpaw is going to be to my advantage. The short answer is yes, I think so.

Question: Earlier, Igor, you said that you train for the distance and there is evidence of that in your record. Your last several fights, have gone to distance, but you haven’t been in there with somebody like Kovalev. Have you been sparring with bigger punchers than normal in an effort to try to simulate that power?

Mikhalkin: I have been inviting sparring partners that are bigger punchers that are trying to imitate, let’s say, the style of Kovalev. I’m prepared for when it’s time to fight on March 3rd.

Question: Are there any nuances? Is there anything else that you’re doing differently than normal?

Mikhalkin: Nothing specific. At the beginning of the training camp I thought maybe something needs to be changed, but then I realized that training is already good and so I am continuing to train very hard. Continuing to condition myself and make sure that everything goes well on March 3rd. So, not anything specific was changed, just hard training and training all the time.

Duva: I will like to thank Erol Ceylan and Igor Mikhalkin for joining us. Now we have two-time World Champion Sergey Kovalev on the line and Egis Klimas, his manager.

Question: Sergey, welcome back to New York City. This will be your second fight. You’re fighting a southpaw, what do you know about Igor?

Sergey Kovalev: Hi everybody. My pleasure to be back in New York fighting against Igor Mikhalkin. I know this guy from amateurs when I was maybe 17 or 18. And right now, we’re fighting in Madison Square Garden, so it’s interesting for me.

Question: What are his strengths and weaknesses that you know of Igor? If you’ve seen him in amateurs, you’ve seen him fight, maybe you just quarreled with him at amateurs?

Kovalev: I know that he is a nice guy and very good boxer. He’s IBO champion and that he wants to get the champion world titles. I will defend my WBO title March 3. I don’t know any more about him.

Question: Sergey, I was just wondering if you could tell us what Mikhalkin can do to make things difficult for you in the fight that you have to guard against. Being a southpaw, being a boxer, being a guy who moves, how do you guard against that to make sure you get the knockout?

Kovalev: I’m not going to do some something extra to get a victory over Igor Mikhalkin because I’m back already as champion of the world in my last fight. I should be ready for everything because I am very motivated right now. I think Mikhalkin is very excited about the fight with me. It’s going to be a very interesting fight because we are trained mentally, Russians, and never step back, just the fighting till the end. We’re ready to fight for the world title.

Question: Sergey, will you be disappointed if you’re not able to knock him out?

Kovalev: It’s not my goal to knock somebody out every round, every minute. I don’t think about it. I just get into the ring. We’ll get into the ring and I’m going to do my best job for boxing fans. What will happen, we will see. Everybody will see March 3rd. Watch HBO or come to Theater Madison Square Garden.

Question: Going into this fight, I know you talked a little bit about not worrying about the knockout, but you wouldn’t be “Krusher” Kovalev if you don’t knock the people out. That’s what people want. How important is it for you to be in this stage satisfying fans with this fight?

Kovalev: I will be very happy after the fight when I will get the victory over Igor by knockout. I’m really happy when my boxing fans are happy of results of the fight.

Question: Kathy, I want to ask you because I believe that you guys announced your date first, March 3rd, your fight with the main event with HBO. The other guys came in and they announced their date. Did they try to work with you at all or did anybody exchange any words saying, “Hey, look. We already got this date set in New York,” or is it just one of those things they announced it and everybody goes?

Duva: Nobody spoke to me. As you know, we announced this date on the night of Sergey’s last fight back in November. There are many dates that are held throughout the year for boxing events. They do not happen for various reasons. I can only worry about things I can control. Unfortunately, one of those things. We’re very happy with the response thus far from the fans with the ticket sales. At this point, we’ve already exceeded what we did last time. In fact, that was the case early on, actually, a couple weeks into the sales for the fight. We’re expecting a big robust crowd. I would advise anyone, especially, really not just the Sergey fans but the boxing fans, this is a great show, top to bottom. It’s not just about coming to see one fight, it’s about coming for the whole night. We will not disappoint you.

Question: Sergey, in your last several fights, you’ve been in there with pretty much nothing but the best of the best. Is it difficult for you to get motivated for a fight like Igor the same way as a Hopkins or an Andre Ward?

Kovalev: For me, every fight is like a call. It’s a call. Right now, this call I got Igor Mikhalkin, nobody except him. I’m ready to fight anybody. Who’s else right now is ready? Only Igor Mikhalkin. We have the best guys right now. Somebody can come and they have another belt and they defend the title against another challenger. And I’m fighting anybody who is ready to get into the ring against me. And Igor Mikhalkin got the call.

Question: Okay. You haven’t fought any southpaws since 2014 when you fought [Cedric] Agnew and [Blake] Caparello, two southpaws back-to-back. Who were some of the guys you’ve been sparring with to prepare for your first lefty in about four years?

Kovalev: It’s a little bit difficult to find somebody who looks like Igor Mikhalkin. But I’m ready because I have sparred already like three weeks with a southpaw. And day-by-day, spar-by-spar, I feel much better and more comfortable against southpaw. And this thing that will be interesting fight. I’m really excited that I’m fighting early on this year already and I’m really happy that I’m back on the high level to box high stakes.

About March 3: The Saturday, March 3 main event between Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev and Igor Mikhalkin is a 12-round match-up for the WBO Light Heavyweight World Title at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The co-main event features WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion Dmitry Bivol versus Sullivan Barrera in a 12-round title fight. Tickets range from $50 to $300 and are available at TicketMaster.com and the Madison Square Garden box office. The event is promoted by Main Events, Krusher Promotions and World of Boxing in association with EC Box Promotions and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing® at 10:05 p.m. ET/PT.

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New York City (February 16, 2018) Top local prospects will be featured at the debut event presented by Evander Holyfield’s Real Deal Sports & Entertainment at the historic Kings Theatre on Saturday, March 10, 2018.

Advance tickets for ‘Real Deal, Showcase Series II’, presented in association with World of Boxing, priced at $150, $125, $75 and $50 are now on sale online through the Kings Theatre website, www.KingsTheatre.com.

Among the fighters featured on the card is undefeated middleweight knockout artist, Edgar ‘The Chosen One’ Berlanga, (7-0-0, 7 KO’s) of Brooklyn. Only 20-years-old, Berlanga has stopped all seven of his foes as a professional in the first round. Most recently he stopped Jaime Barboza on January 26 in the first round in Philadelphia, PA. Barboza had previously gone the distance in his previous five fights against top contenders and prospects including Gary O’Sullivan, Esquiva Falcao, Nick Brinson, Kyrone Davis and Russell Lamour.

Berlanga will face-off against battle tested veteran Elie Augustama, (6-7-0, 3 KO’s), of Haiti in a scheduled six round bout. Augustama has clashed with a number of top prospects, most recently going the distance with undefeated Nicklaus Flaz on October 28, 2017.

Undefeated Mexican/American, Brooklyn native Julian Sosa, (10-0-1, 3 KO’s), will look to kick-off his 2018 campaign in style facing Dominican Wilmer Rodriguez, (9-1-0, 7 KO’s) in an eight-round junior welterweight battle.

The 22-year-old Sosa closed 2017 with a unanimous decision over Erick Daniel Martinez on October 14. Rodriguez will look to stay in the win column following a fourth-round knockout of Oscar Leon on January 26 in Santo Domingo.

Former New York Golden Gloves Champion, ‘The Brooklyn Torch’ Justin Biggs, (2-0, 2 KO’s), will also look to stay undefeated in his third professional bout. The junior middleweight followed up his knockout victory in his professional debut with a third-round stoppage of Simon Sayes on November 18, 2017.

Undefeated junior flyweight prospect Natalie Gonzalez, (3-0-0, 1 KO), of New Rochelle, New York will look to jump-start her career with her first bout in fifteen months. Gonzalez will face battled test Hungarian veteran Judit Hachbold, (4-3-0), in a scheduled six rounder.

Ukrainian heavyweight prospect Iegor Plevako, (5-0-0, 3 KO’s), will also be making the first start of his 2018 campaign at Kings Theatre on March 10. With three victories in 2017, Plevako returns to action following a unanimous decision victory over Sherman Artis Jr. on November 18.

Making his highly anticipated United States debut will be undefeated junior welterweight prospect Batyr Ahmedov, (2-0-0, 2 KO’s) of Crimea, Russia. Ahmedov was a quarterfinalist representing Turkey in the 2016 Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and finished with an amateur record of 88-8.

Also featured in separate bouts on the Real Deal Boxing event at Kings Theatre is undefeated cruiserweight prospect Joe Jones, (9-0-0, 7 KO’s), of Jersey City, New Jersey and welterweight newcomer Cesar Francis, (3-0-0, 2 KO’s) of Brooklyn, New York along with Ridgewood, New York welterweight Mathew Gonzalez, (3-0-0, 2 KO’s), and undefeated super bantamweight Khalid Twaiti, (2-0-0, 1 KO) of Brooklyn.

Rounding out the card, Bronx native, junior welterweight Josue ‘The Prodigy’ Vargas, (9-1-0, 5 KO’s), will battle in a scheduled six rounder.

Further details on these bouts will be announced shortly.

Real Deal Sports & Entertainment is proud to partner with Medical Arts Radiology (www.medicalartsradiology.com) and Venum (www.venum.com).

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Website: www.TheRealDealBoxing.com, www.KingsTheatre.com

Former heavyweight contender David “Nino” Rodriguez, well-known former boxing manager Ivaylo Gotzev and Laredo, Texas-based businessman and boxing historian Arturo Ortiz are proud to announce the formation of Lone Star Boxing Promotions, LLC.

The trio, with Gotzev acting as CEO, Rodriguez as President and Ortiz as Vice-President, say they plan to bring big-time, televised and competitive fights back to the state of Texas, as well as across the country.

Lone Star Boxing Promotions will present its first event on Saturday, April 7, at the Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Texas, featuring former multiple-time world champion Ricardo Mayorga taking on hometown veteran Rodolfo “Cobrita” Gomez Jr. in a super middleweight 10-rounder.

Lone Star was formed, Rodriguez says, after his retirement from fighting (due to a spinal injury), when he called up his trusted friends Gotzev and Ortiz to talk about stepping into the promotional arena.

“The difference between Lone Star Boxing and other promotional firms is that we will treat the fighters ethically and fairly,” said Rodriguez. “I spent 20 years as a boxer and contender and I know the good, the bad and the ugly sides of boxing. I will not treat any fighter that signs with Lone Star any different than I would want to be treated myself. I will be honest and upfront with every fighter, therefore setting a new standard of ethics and honesty in our sport. We hope to make Lone Star the standard of boxing when it comes to our fighters’ welfare.”

“We won’t be afraid to get our hands dirty and will plant ourselves in the location of the fight for a month or more leading up to the shows,” added Gotzev, who may be best known for his outstanding work with former WBC heavyweight champion Samuel Peter. “We want to deliver the best shows by putting together great match-ups and then getting the excitement going straight to the fans from the area. We’re not going to be promoters on paper and at the mercy of network executives giving away handouts. We are ready to work the old-fashioned way and make history.”

The pair say the addition of Ortiz, heavily connected to the Texas boxing scene, will prove extremely advantageous to their mission.

“Arturo knows the people we need to know to make our first show a smashing success,” said Rodriguez. “He is well-respected in Laredo and his name adds a great deal of credibility to our endeavor.”

The plan, however, is to branch out to multiple towns around the United States and the world.

“This is only the beginning,” said Gotzev. “We are already planning events in other cities and signing fighters to our promotional stable. I’m very happy to be in business with these two friends and looking forward to a bright future for Lone Star Boxing Promotions.”

MIAMI (February 16, 2018) – Unbeaten heavyweight contender Luis “The Real King Kong” Ortiz is finally nearing his first world title opportunity as he prepares to take on WBC Heavyweight World Champion Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder Saturday, March 3 live on SHOWTIME from Barclays Center, the home of BROOKLYN BOXING™.

The Premier Boxing Champions event will see undefeated former 154-pound champion Jermall Charlo take on Hugo Centeno, Jr. for the interim WBC middleweight title in the co-feature. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT with top super middleweight contender Andre Dirrell battling hard-hitting Jose Uzcategui in a rematch for the IBF Interim 168-pound world title.

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by DiBella Entertainment and TGB Promotions, start at $50 and are on sale now. To purchase tickets, visit Ticketmaster.com, BarclaysCenter.com, or call 800-745-3000. Tickets for the event can also be purchased at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center.

Ortiz spoke on a variety of topics as he heads into the highly anticipated showdown with Wilder. Here is what Ortiz had to say from training camp in Miami:

On Deontay Wilder…
“He’s talking too much. He’s going to have to back that up in the ring. He says he’s going to kill ‘King Kong.’ He’s going to knock me out. I want to watch him try. I’m not like those other guys he fought. I’m a real fighter. Tough and with a lot of experience. I’ve been fighting since I was 10 years old.

“He doesn’t intimidate me. His trash talk makes me laugh. It’s just a lot of noise. I’m hungry. I’m doing this for my family. He better take me seriously because he’s going to find himself on the canvas before he knows it. I’m going to show the world who ‘King Kong’ is.”

On his confrontation with Wilder after Ortiz’s last fight…
“Someone told me Wilder was in the crowd, I smiled. I was glad to see him. I knew what he wanted.

“I’m not the kind that likes to trash talk, but I’ve had it with this guy. He talks too much. He has a big mouth. He has insulted me and has said too many dumb things. So when I saw him ringside I told him to get inside the ring and to tell the world once and for all that he was going to fight me. He says he wants to fight the top fighters. I’m a top fighter. Let’s do it.”

On testing positive for a banned substance during training for the first scheduled fight against Wilder…
“A lot of people that believe in me and know me well, know that I would not do anything that can jeopardize my future as a boxer. I have too much at stake: my family, my children and the possibility to provide for them.

“I had been taking that medicine for two years. It was my mistake not to disclose that prescription drug in the paperwork. I never thought a prescription was going to bring me so much trouble. I was taking this medicine to treat high blood pressure, but apparently it’s also used to go to the bathroom a lot and mask other things. I drink two gallons of water per day. I go to the bathroom a lot already. I never put two and two together. I’m clean. The dose they found in my system was too low to mask anything at all. If I would have known this prescription drug was not allowed, I would have told my trainer and my doctor.

“I’m a heavyweight I don’t need to make weight. Why am I going to go to the trouble of taking an illegal substance that makes you go to the bathroom a lot? I have no need. I simply didn’t know it was banned. If I would have known, I would have said something to my trainer or to the doctors.

“I think the fight was not meant to be at that point in time last year. Destiny played a part. It was supposed to be postponed. Now there are no excuses.”

On how important this fight is for him…
“Every fight I’ve had in my career has been important. The key is always to avoid thinking that it’s win or die because that can put you off center. So the way I see it is that this fight is important for me because I have to win it. And I’m going to. It’s a world championship, but for me it’s just another day at work. My only goal is to win this fight. Win. Win. Win. By winning this fight, everything else unfolds. I get a title and I help my family.”

On what’s going to happen on fight night…
“When I get in the ring, all I will be thinking about is the strategy we put together in the gym. My family is always there. They go to every fight. That was my promise to them when I had to leave them behind in Cuba to come to the United States. They will come with me wherever I go. If I gas out, I look at them and they keep me going. They are my motivation and they will help me achieve this victory.”

# # #

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According to Dan Rafael of espn.com is reporting that a proposed lightweight title bout between Jorge Linares and Vasyl Lomachenko is not not imminent due to a proposed May 12 day not being right for Linares promoter Golden Boy Promotions.

Top Rank planned to stage the fight as the main event of an ESPN card on May 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York. However, Golden Boy said that date is unacceptable because it has an HBO event that night — the probable return of junior middleweight world titleholder Sadam Ali for his first defense since sending Miguel Cotto into retirement in December, along with the replay of the May 5 pay-per-view rematch between middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez.

According to Top Rank President Todd duBoef, he spoke to Honda and Teiken executive Akemi Irie about the date, and they settled on May 12.

“Akemi said May 12, fine, great,” duBoef said. “I said, ‘Let me know what you need for the fight. Mr. Honda came with a number; I gave him a counteroffer. Then he came back to me and said, ‘Can you do it for this number?’ And I said, ‘For you, yes, I can.’ He said give me [last weekend] to make sure we’re good. He calls me on Monday night, and he says we’re all good, please have somebody from Top Rank call Golden Boy and do the details on travel, tickets, the minutia. The first thing we resolved, before the money, was the date because of the sensitivity to Linares’ health.

“First I heard that there was a problem with May 12 was after [Top Rank vice president] Carl [Moretti] had a conversation about it with [Golden Boy president] Eric Gomez on Tuesday. Mr. Honda called me about it apologizing and very upset. He said they knew May 12 from the beginning, and he was very disappointed.”

“That’s the date held by ESPN, and I’m not going to drag over Jorge Linares,” duBoef said. “Lomachenko is fighting May 12 on ESPN, and we’d like for him to fight Linares. So would Mr. Honda and Linares.”

“Golden Boy has also been talking to us for quite a while about a live fight on May 12,” HBO Sports spokesman Ray Stallone told ESPN in a statement. “HBO has not received any offer on a Linares-Lomachenko fight yet. We look forward to receiving one — since we do have a first/last [contractual option] with Jorge Linares and have interest in the fight. We are not standing in the way of anything.”

“We told Mr. Honda no problem, try to get a deal done, but we can’t do the fight a week before the pay-per-view or the week after because we’re doing an HBO event,” Gomez said. “But I have a solution. If Arum is committed to Madison Square Garden and it has to be May 12, HBO would buy the fight. I spoke to Peter Nelson and he will absolutely buy the fight and based on the numbers Honda gave us, HBO will pay more. Now that’s a solution. We’re flexible. We can do it on HBO. If Arum is committed to ESPN then let’s pick another date.”

“It’s not in consideration for me to go on HBO,” he said. “We have an agreement with Mr. Honda and he was telling Golden Boy that we all believe the best place for this fight is on ESPN, a sports platform with the most amount of homes and the best possible viewership. Coming off nearly 2 million viewers for the Rigondeaux fight we are going to keep the momentum going regardless of if it’s Linares or the winner of Friday night’s fight.”

George Groves and Chris Eubank Jr. went nose to nose and eye to eye for a very last time at a tense weigh-in before their Ali Trophy semi-final Saturday at the Manchester Arena.

“I told him he’s not ready, I can see it in his eyes … ,“ said Eubank Jr. after weighing in at 76 kg in front of a packed crowd.

“George doesn’t want to be here. I want this more than anything I’ve ever wanted. He doesn’t realize the danger he’s in. I am going to knock him out cold!”

Groves (75,8 kg), who is the underdog with the bookies, said:

“I’m excited, I made weight, I’m ready to go!”

“I’m in the prime of my career, fighting better than ever.”

On an enticing 50-50 undercard of Saturday’s semi-final, Tommy Langford (72,2 kg) defends his British middleweight title against Jack Arnfield (67,2 kg) and Ryan Walsh (57 kg) faces Isaac Lowe (57 kg) for the British featherweight title.

For details on how to watch the hotly anticipated Ali Trophy semi-final and the undercard, go to itvboxoffice.com.

A limited number of tickets are available here.

ORANGE, Calif. (Feb. 16, 2018) – Los Angeles native and WBA Super Bantamweight Champion Danny Roman (23-2-1, 9 KOs) arrived in Tokyo on Thursday and held a media workout the next day in advance of his first world title defense.

Roman defends against No. 11 rated challenger Ryo Matsumoto (21-1, 19 KOs) of Japan on Wednesday, Feb. 28.

The 12-round world championship fight, dubbed “The Challenge,” is promoted by Thompson Boxing Promotions in association with Ohashi Promotions and will take place from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

On Thursday, Roman was greeted by the Japanese media upon arriving at Tokyo International Airport. The following day, Roman took part in a media workout for the local press.

“I’m ready and well prepared to defend my title,” Roman said. “Matsumoto presents a tough challenge, but that’s nothing new for me. I’m going to fight my fight and not let him get comfortable.”

The “Baby Faced Assassin” decided to arrive approximately two weeks prior to his title defense to acclimate to the weather and time change.

“I came in early last time I was here in September so we decided to follow the same script,” said Roman, who is trained and managed by Eddie Gonzalez. “It makes sense to get used to the new time zone and develop a routine and comfort zone before my big fight against Matsumoto.”

Roman traveled to the island nation in September and knocked out former champion Shun Kubo in the ninth round.

Roman, 27, dominated the fight from start to finish. He won every round on every scorecard with the exception of the first round on one score sheet. He battered Kubo on multiple occasions, dropping him in the seventh and eighth rounds before finishing him off in the ninth.

To watch Roman’s KO win over Shun Kubo that earned him the WBA championship, please click here.

For more information, please visit ThompsonBoxing.com.

For regular updates on our fighters, events, and promotions, please check our Facebook Page, watch our YouTube channel on Thompson Boxing TV, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @ThompsonBoxing.