Joseph Parker won a 12-round unanimous decision over Derek Chisora in a spirited heavyweight rematch in Manchester, England.

In round two, Parker started to batter Chisora on the ropes, and badly hurt Chisora in round three with a hard right hand followed by a combination. In round four, Parker landed a booming right that sent Chisora into the ropes that was ruled a knockdown. Chisora tried to mount a serious rally at the end of the round.

In round seven, Parker dropped Chisora with a right uppercut. Just like in round three, Chisora rallied with a big flurry at the end of the frame. In round eight, it was another uppercut that sent Chisora into the corner for a knockdown. Parker was not able to finish Chisora, but he won by scores of 115-110, 115-111 and 114-112.

Parker landed 144 of 464 punches; Chisora was 122 of 468.

Parker, 251 lbs of Auckland, NZ is 30-2. Chisora, 248.8 lbs of Finchley, ENG is 32-12.

Lelesadjo stops Cullen in 6

Kevin Lelesadjo stopped Jack Cullen in round six of their 12-round super middleweight bout.

The left eye of Cullen began to bleed in round five. In round six, Lelesadjo dropped Cullen with a hard left to the body and Cullen could not beat the count at 1;11

Lelesadjo, 167.8 lbs of Saint-Maur, FRA is 17-0 with 15 knockouts. Cullen, 167.8 lbs of Little Leaver, ENG is 20-3-1.

Barrett Decisions Tarimo

Zelfa Barrett won a 12-round unanimous decision over Bruno Tarimo in a super featherweight bout.

In round three, Barrett dropped Tarimo with a hard right hand.

Barrett landed 148 of 577 punches; Tarmio was 84 of 520.

Barrett, 129.8 lbs of Manchester, ENG won by scores of 117-110 twice and 116-111 and is now 27-1. Tarimo, 128.8 lbs of Southport, AUS is 26-3-2.

Richards Decisions Gongora

In a battle of undefeated super middleweight, Lerrone Richards won a 12-round split decision over Carlos Gongora.

Richards, 167.2 lbs of New Malden, ENG won by scores of 115-113 twice. Gongora won a card 116-112.

Richards landed 114 of 484 punches; Gongora was just 95 of 443.

Richards is now 16-0. Gongora, 168 lbs of Esmeraldes, ECU is 20-1.

Babic Stops Spilmont in 6

Alen Babic remained perfect by stopping David Spilmont in round six of their scheduled eight-round heavyweight bout.

In round one, Babic rocked Spilmont several times. Spilmont hurt badly with a hard left hook in round three. In round fourm, Babic dropped Spilmont with an overhand left.

In round six, Babic landed a big left hook that set off a six-punch flurry that folded Spilmont down to the canvas, and the fight was stopped at 53 seconds.

Babic, 216 lbs of Zegreb, CRO is 10-0 with 10 knockouts, Spilmont, 252 lbs of Saint-Michel, FRA is 11-8-1.

Nyika Stops Carpin in 1

David Nyika stopped Anthony Carpin in round one of their scheduled four-round cruiserweight bout.

Nyika, 199.3 lbs of Hamilton, NZ is 2-0 with two knockouts. Carpin, 203 lbs of France is 5-7-1.

In a bloody affair, Artur Beterbiev stopped mandatory challenger Marcus Browne in round nine of their 12-round bout to retain the IBF/WBC Light Heavyweight titles at Bell Centre in Montreal.

Browne got off to a good start as over the first couple of rounds, he was able to box and move as Beterbiev was trying to figure out the southpaw.

In round four, an unintentional clash of heads opened up big cuts on both men. Beterbiev was cut down his forehead, while Browne was cut over his left eye.

In round seven, Beterbiev landed a hard left to the body that followed up by a flush right to the head that sent Browne to the canvas. In round nine, Beterbiev landed a vicious body shot that was followed by an uppercut that sent Browne down for the 10-count at 46 seconds.

Beterbiev, 175 lbs of Montreal via Russia is now a perfect 17-0 with 17 knockouts. Browne, 174.6 lbs of Park Hill, NY is 24-2.

Dicaire Stops Lozano in 7; Wins 154 lb Title

Marie Eve Dicaire became a two-time world champion as she stopped Cynthia Lozano in round seven to win the IBF Junior Welterweight title

In round three, Lozano began to swell under her right eye. Dicaire dominated the fight against Lozano who looked levels below the Canadian champion. Lozano would try to run in only to get time and time again until the fight was stopped 1:03.

Dicaire, 153 lbs is 18-1 as she notched her first stoppage. Lozano is 9-1.

Rolls Stops Brooker in 9

Steve Rolls stopped Christopher Brooker in round nine of a scheduled 10-round super middleweight bout.

In round nine, Rolls landed hard right that drove Brooker into the ropes and followed up by three more right hands and a little left that put Brooker down for the 10-count. at 1:32.

Rolls, 166.8 lbs of Toronto is now 21-1 with 12 knockouts. Brooker, 166.4 lbs of Philadelphia is 16-9.

Pellerin Decisions Rivas

In a lackluster 10-round cruiserweight fight Yan Pellerin won a unanimous decision over Francisco Rivas.

Pellerin, 199 lbs won by scores of 100-90 on all cards, and is now 13-1. Rivas, 198.2 lbs is 15-3.

Biyarslanov stopes Ayala in 1

Arthur Biyarslanov remained undefeated by stopping Alan Ayala in round one of a scheduled eight-round junior welterweight bout.

In round one, Biyarslanov dropped Ayala with a left to the body. He finished the fight with a hard barrage of punches that put Ayala down again, and the fight was stopped at 2:40.

Biyarslanov, 139.6 lbs of Toronto is 9-0 with seven knockouts. Ayala, 138.8 lbs is 9-3.

Jukembayev stops Martinez in 1

Batyr Jukembayev stopped Juan Jose Martinez in the opening round of their middleweight bout.

In round one, Jukembayev landed a left hand that drover Martinez into the ropes for a knockdown. Jukembayev landed a big combination that forced a referee stoppage at 1:09.

Jukembayev, 150.4 lbs is now 19-1 with 15 knockouts. Martinez, 158 lbs is now 28-11.

The Davie PAL in Davie Florida has produced elite champions for years under the watchful eye of legendary coach, the late Peter Balcunas. Many champions and such names as Teofimo Lopez, Xander Zayas.  Now with the conclusion of the 2021 USA Boxing Nationals in Shreveport, Louisiana, New head coach Rob Nonies, a protege of Balcunas, has crowned its newest Champion Super Heavyweight Lorenzo Medina. Medina won two competitive matches in the tournament to bring home the gold and the number #1 ranking in the Youth Super Heavyweight Division 

Lorenzo’s first win came against Braulio Arcos-Rodriguez of Chicago, Illinois scoring a Unanimous decision, 5-0. In the Championship bout, Lorenzo faced Frederico Pacheco out of Los Angeles, California. Lorenzo won 4:1 to take home the national title. Medina captured the hearts of many spectators as he was the smaller boxer in both matches.  Medina’s father Alex Lopez and DAVIE PAL assistant coach Wilgen Vasquez were in the corner of Medina for both matches.

Nonies has coached Medina since he was 8 years old. Medina who is now just 17 years old had his first competitive boxing match in 2019.  Now after only 12 fights he has now put himself on track for top ELITE Ratings with a #1rannking in the Youth Division. Medina supplements his training at  Bay to Bay Boxing in Hollywood Florida with professional boxing trainers Coach Jeff Poritz & Coach Kevin Gleason from and Stay Ready Boxing.

Nonito Donaire defended the WBC Bantamweight title with a 4th round stoppage over Reymart Gaballo at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

It was a competitive fight with Gaballo trying to land quick power shots. Donaire was countering well with some solid punches of his own. In round four, Donaire landed a perfect left hook to the body that put Gaballo on the canvas. Gaballo tried to get up but went right down again and was counted out at 2:59.

Donaire, 117.2 lbs of the Philippines is 42-6 with 28 knockouts. Gaballo, 117 lbs of General Santos City, PHl is 24-1

Cody Crowley scored a mild-upset when he took a 10-round unanimous decision over Kudratillo Abdukakhorov in a welterweight bout.

In round two, Abdukakhorov dropped Crowley with a straight left hand. In round five, Abdukakhorov was cut on his forehead from a punch.

Crowley, 145.4 lbs of Peiterborough, CAN won by scores of 98-91, 97-92 and 95-94 ands is now 20-0. Abdukakhorov, 146.2 lbs of Uzbekistan is 18-1.

Brandun Lee remained undefeated with a 7th round stoppage over Juan Herladez in a 10-round junior welterweight fight.

In round seven, Lee landed a perfect 1-2 that put Heraldez on the deck and the fight was stopped at 2:11.

Lee, 140 lbs of La Quinta, CA is 24-0 with 22 knockouts. Heraldez, 144 lbs of Las Vegas, NV is 16-2-1.

PHILADELPHIA–Former two-time world title challenger, Jesse Hart stopped David Murray in round three of their super middleweight turned cruiserweight bout that headlined a nine bout card at the 2300 Arena.

The show was promoted by RDR Promotions.

Hart dropped Murray with a short jab in the opening frame. Hart sent Murray to the deck again in round three as he hurt Murray with power shots and followed that up with a hard left hook. Murray was in trouble, and Hart sensed that. Hart jumped on Murray and landed a hard flurry of punches and the fight was stopped at 2:20.

Joshafat Ortiz remained undefeated by winning an eight-round unanimous decision over Rondale Hubbert in a junior welterweight fight.

In the opening seconds, Hubbert’s dropped Ortiz with a right hand. That was high point of the fight as Ortiz started to box and move very effectively as he picked Hubbert apart from the outside. Hubbert would look to land a big shot, but he was never close to striking lightning again.

Ortiz of Reading, PA, won by scores of 58-55, 59-55 and 57-56 and he is now 8-0. Hubbert of Fargo, NC is 14-19-3.

Nafear Charles won a six-round unanimous decision over Jonathan Hernan Godoy in a junior welterweight bout.

Charles won on all cards 58-56 and is now 8-0-1. Godoy is now 5-12.

Steven Pichardo and DeWayne Williams battled to a six-round draw in a middleweight bout.

Scores were 59-55 for Williams; 58-56 for Pichardo and 57-57.

Pichardo is now 8-1-1. Williams is 3-4-1.

Boimah Karmo remained undefeated with a four-round majority decision over Denzel Fudd in a welterweight.

Karmo of Philadelphia won by scores of 40-36, 39-37 and 38-38 and is now 2-0-1. Fudd is 0-2.

Raekwon Butler won a six-round unanimous decision over Derrick Whitley in a welterweight fight.

Butler, 140 lbs of Brooklyn, NY won by scores of 59-55 twice and 58-56 and is now 4-1. Whitley, 144 lbs is now 6-3-1.

Edwin Cortes made a successful pro debut with a four-round unanimous decision over Jerrod Miner in a bantamweight fight.

Cortes, 114.2 lbs of Millville, NJ won by scores of 40-36 on all cards and is 1-0. Miner, 117 lbs of Philadelphia is 2-13-2.

Felix Parrilla remained undefeated with a 4th round stoppage over Ryan Venable in the final round of their super featherweight bout.

In round one, Parrilla floored Venable with a hard left hook. In round three, Payyilla was deducted a poiny for low blows. Later in the round, Parrilla decked Venable with a perfect overhand right. In round four, Parrilla dropped Venable with a body shot, Later in the round, it was two chopping right hands the put Venable down again. The fight stopped after a barrage of punches in the corner at 2:38.

Parrilla, 132.8 lbs of New Haven, CT is 3-0 with three knockouts. Venable, 141 lbs of Roanoke, VA is 2-9.

Jose Nieves won a four-round unanimous decision over Josh Aarons in a super bantamweight bout.

Nieves scored a knockdown in round four, and won by scores of 40-35 on all cards.

Nieves, 124 lbs of Woodbridge, NJ is 2-0. Aarons, 124.8 lbs of Williamsport, PA is 0-2.

Vasilily Lomachenko won a 12-round unanimous decision over Richard Commey in a battle of former world champions at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York.

In round seven, Lomachenko dropped Commey with a left hand.

Lomachenko, 134.4 lbs of Ukraine won by scores of 119-108 twice and 117-110, and is now 16-2. Commey, 134.2 lbs of Accra, GHA is 30-4/

Anderson Takes Out Teslenko in 2

Jared Anderson remained perfect by taking out Oleksandr Teslenko in round two of a scheduled eight-round heavyweight bout.

In round two, Anderson landed a crunching right and left hook to the head that sent Teslenko dropping down to the canvas. Teslenko got to his feet, but the fight was called off at 1:33.

Anderson, 240 lbs of Toledo, OH is 11-0 with 11 KO’s. Teslenko, 213.8 lbs of Chevisi, UKR is 17-2.

Keyshawn Davis Shines in Top Rank Debut

Prized Olympic prospect, Keyshawn Davis sizzled in his Top Rank debut by stopping Jose Zaragoza in round two of a scheduled six-round lightweight bout.

Davis landed a big uppercut that put Zaragoza down for the 10-count at 2:51.

Davis, 157.8 lbs of Roanoke, VA is 4-0 with three knockouts. Zaragoza, 136.2 lbs of Jackson, MS is 6-4-2

Nico Ali Walsh Decisions Sanchez

Nico Ali Walsh remained undefeated with a four-round majority decision over Reyes Sanchez in a middleweight bout.

Ali Walsh, 159.2 lbs of Las Vegas won by scores of 40-36, 39-37 and 38-38 and is now 3-0. Sanchez, 162.8 lbs of Topeka, KS is 6-1.

Xander Zayas stopped Alesio Mastronunzio in round one of a six round junior welterweight boyt.

Zayas decked Mastronunzio with the first punch which was a perfect counter right just 10 seconds into the fight. Zayas battered Mastronunzio throughout the round until it was stopped at 2:52.

Fan-favorite Pablo Valdez remained undefeated with a 4th round stoppage over Julio Cesar Sanchez in a scheduled six-round welterweight fight.

Valdez dropped Sanchez four timed in the fourth round before the fight was halted.

Valdez, 146 lbs of New York is 6-0 with five knockouts. Sanchez, 149.6 lbs of Santo Domingo, DR is 11-4.

In a battle of undefeated junior welterweights, John Bauza took apart Michael Williams Jr, by scoring a 4th round stoppage in a scheduled eight-round bout,

In round two, Bauza clocked Williams with an overhand left that sent him to the deck. Williams kneeling on the canvas in an effort to slow down Bauza’s attack. In round four, Bauza dropped Williams three times. The first came from a combination on the ropes. The 2nd came from a perfect left. Williams finished the fight with a perfect straight left to the face and the fight was stopped at 2:18.

Bauza, 140.2 lbs of Puerto Rico is now 16-0 with seven knockouts. Williams, 138.9 lbs of Fayetteville, NC is 19-1.

James Wilkins won a eight-round unanimous decision over Juan Tapia in a junior lightweight fight.

In round four, Wilkins dropped Tapia with a strong jab.

Wilkins, 127.2 lbs of Staten Island, NY won by scores of 77-74, 77-75 and 76-75 and is now 10-2. Tapia, 128.4 lbs of Brownsville, TX is 10-4.

Kelvin Davis remained undefeated with a 2nd round stoppage over Ryan Schwartzberg in a welterweight fight.

Schwartzberg could not see and the fight was stopped in the corner.

Davis, 144 lbs of Norfolk, VA is 3-0 with two knockouts, Schwartzberg, 144.8 lbs of Davie, FL is 1-4-1.

Joe Ward stopped Britton Norwood in round one of a scheduled six-round light heavyweight bout.

In round one, Ward dropped Norwood with a combination to the chin. With Norwood hurt, Ward was all over Norwood and the fight was stopped at 1:35.

Ward, 175.2 lbs of Athlone, IRL is 6-1 with three knockouts. Norwood, 176.4 lbs of Jackson, MS is 10-3-1.

Dmitry Bivol retained the WBA Light Heavyweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Umar Salamonov in Russai.

Bivol won by scores of 119-109, 118-109 and 118-110 and is now 19-0. Salamonov is 26-2.

Conor Benn scored an explosive 4th round stoppage over former world champion Chris Algieri in a scheduled 12-round welterweight bout at the Liverpool Arena in Liverpool, England.

In round two, Benn landed a left hook that sent Algieri tumbling into the ropes. In round four, Benn landed a crushing 1-2 with the right hand landing flush on the jaw that saw a motionless Algieri crashing to the canvas, and the fight was immediately called off at 2:58.

Benn, 146.5 lbs of Brentwood, ENG is 20-0 with 13 knockouts. Algieri, 146 lbs of New York is 26-4.

Taylor defends Undisputed Lightweight Title with Decision over Sharipova

Katie Taylor defended the undisputed lightweight title with a 10-round unanimous decision over Firuz Sharipova.

Taylor, 134.6 lbs of Bray, IRE won by scores of 98-92, 97-92 and 96-93 and is now 20-0.. Sharipova, 143.25 lbs of Taraz, KAZ.

Agyarko Stops Larios in 9

Caoimhin Agyarko stopped Noe Larios jr. in round nine of their scheduled 10-round middleweight bout.

In round nine, Agyarko landed a hard left hook that hurt Larios. Agyarko landed a hard combination on the ropes, and the fight was stopped at 2:08.

Agyarko, 159.3 lbs of Belfast, NI is 10-0 woth seven knockouts. Larios, 160 lbs of California 14-1.

In a battle of 13-0 super featherweights, Joe Cordina took a 10-round unanimous decision over Miko Khatchatryan super featherweight bout.

Cordina, 129.9 lbs of Cardiff, WAL won by scores of 100-90 and 98-92 and is now 14-0. Khatchatryan, 129.75 lbs of Liege, BEL is 13-1.

Peter McGrail stopped Engel Gomez at 2:18 in round two of their six-round super bantamweight fight.

McGrail dropped Gomez with a hard 1-2 and the fight was stopped.

McGrail, 123.25 lbs of Liverpool, ENG is 2-0 with one knockout.

Paddy Lacey remained undefeated with a four-round decision over Vasif Mamedov on a super welterweight fight.

Lacey, 157.1 lbs of Chester, ENG won by a 40-36 score and is now 3-0, Mamedov, 160.3 lbs of Perm, RUS is 2-8-2.

Jordan Gill and Alan Isaias Liques Castillo battled to a no-contest after an accidental headbutt caused a bad cut on the forehead of Gill at the end of round three.

Gill, 128.6 lbs of Chatteris, ENG is 26-1-1. Castillo, 127 lbs of Cordoba, ARG is 27-11-1.

Callum French made a successful pro debut with a six-round decision win over Rustem Fatkhullin in a super lightweight contest.

French, 140.4 lbs of Gatheshead, ENG won by a 60-54 score and is 1-0. Fatkhullin, 140.75 lbs of UFA, RUS is 8-17.

Joe McGrail made a successful pro debut with a 2nd round stoppage over Francisco Rodriguez in a super bantamweight clash.

In round two, McGrail dropped Rodriguez with a right hand. The fight was stopped after the 2nd round.

McGrail, 121 1/4 lbs of Liverpool, ENG is 1-0 with one knockout. Rodriguez, 117.7 lbs is 0-4.

Sunny Edwards won a 12-round unanimous decision over Jayson Mama to retain the IBF Flyweight Title at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.

In round two, Edwards was cut on his forehead from an accidental headbutt.

Edwards registered a knockdown in round 10.

Edwards, 111 lbs of London, ENG won by scores of 118-109 twice and 117-110 and is now 17-0. Mama, 111 1/2 lbs of General Santos City, PHL is 16-1.

Nietes and Jimenez Battle to Draw

Former multi-division world champion Donnie Nietes and Norberto Jimenez battled to a 10-round draw in a super flyweight fight.

Each fighter won a card by a 96-94 score and a third card was 95-95.

Nietes, 115 lbs of the Philippines is 43-1-6. Jimenez of the Dominican Republic is 30-9-5/

Jalolov Destroys Calimeno in 46 Seconds

2021 Olympic Gold Medal winner Bakhodir Jalolov needed just 46 seconds to take out Julio Cesar Calimeno in an eight-round heavyweight bout.

Jalolov landed the first and only punch of the fight, a straight left that put Calimeno down for the 10-count.

Jalolov, 249 lbs of Uzbekistan is 9-0 with nine knockouts. Calimeno, 201 lbs of Colombia is 4-2.

de Bruijn Decisions Valtierra

Anthony de Bruijn won a six-round majority decision over Diego Valtierra in a super featherweight bout.

de Bruijn of the Netherlands won by scores of 59-55, 58-56 and 57-57 and is now 11-0-1. Valtierra of Spain is 6-5.

Carroll Stops Mesquita in 2

Former world title challenger Jono Carroll stopped Aeilo Mesquita in round two of a scheduled eight-round lightweight bout.

In round two, Carroll dropped Mesquita with a left hand. Moments later, a right hook sent Mesquita to a knee. Carroll sent Mesquita down for a 3rd and final time with a hard left to the head, and the fight was over at 2:27.

Carroll, 132.3 lbs of Dublin, IRE is 21-2-1 with six knockouts. Mesquita, 132.6 lbs of Brazil is 20-6-1.

Gervonta Davis fought through an injured left hand, but was able to hold on a win a 12-round unanimous decision over tough challenger Isaac Cruz to retain the WBA Lightweight title in front of an enthusiastic crowd at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The fight was entertaining with Davis looking to land uppercuts with both his left and right hands. Cruz lived up to his pressure fighting scouting report as he tried to stay in the chest of Davis. Davis was able to build up an early lead by landing those uppercuts and hard left hands. Somewhere towards the middle of the fight, Davis seemed to hurt his left hand.

Cruz was able to close the gap down the stretch as he was able to land some good combinations. Davis did a terrific job in round 12, as he was clearly hurt, but able to avoid Cruz’s aggressive onslaught and land some solid counters of his own.

Davis landed 133 of 462 punches; Cruz 121 of 553.

Davis, 134.5 lbs of Baltimore, MD won by scores of 116-112 and 115-113 twice to raise his mark to 26-0. Cruz, 134.5 lbs of Mexico City is 22-2-1.

“That’s my style. ‘Pitbull’ is always going to be on the attack,” said Cruz. “I think we retained rhythm from the start to the end.”

“He’s a shorter fighter, so I was throwing down on the top of his head,” said Davis. “I hit him with my knuckle and messed it up. I hurt my hand in the sixth round. No matter if the opponent is taller or shorter, I’ve got to get through it. He’s a warrior. Even though he didn’t win, a star was born tonight.”

“It was right around the fifth round I saw that his hand wasn’t working correctly,” Cruz observed.

“Viva Mexico. I have nothing to say, the fans are speaking on who won this fight,” he said.

“L.A., we did it for Kobe,” said Davis. “At the beginning of the fight, he came on strong. I felt as the fight was going, he was breaking down. But I hurt my hand, so I wasn’t able to get him out of there.

“Whatever the best opportunity is for me, I’ll do it. All of them guys are easy work. I’m the top dog.

Fundora Decisions Garcia

In a battle of undefeated super welterweight’s, 6’7″ Sebastian Fundora won a 12-round unanimous decision over Sergio Garcia.

In round four, both guys began to bleed as Fundora started to leak from his nose and Garcia started to bleed around the right eye. It was a tough fight on the inside with Garcia trying to back up Fundora. Fundora was efficient with his volume punching.

Fundora landed 187 of 717 punches, Garcia was 163 of 778.

Garcia took some late rounds to make the scores close, but Fundora won by scores of 118-110, 117-111 and 115-113.

Fundora, 153.25 lbs of Coachella, CA is 18-0-1. Garcia, 153.5 lbs of Spain is 33-1.

“I was using my distance a lot more. I wanted to display something different than what I’m used to,” said Fundora. “Height was definitely a difference in this fight.”

“Maybe things could have been different if I had been more aggressive from the beginning,” said Garcia. “I shouldn’t have let myself get carried away by what he was doing.”

“We just beat the No. 2 in the WBC, so we have No.1, and we have the champion,” said Fundora. “Whoever they give us next, we’re ready for.”

Adames Decisions Derevyanchenko

Carlos Adames won a 10-round majority decision over former world title challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko in a middleweight bout.

It was an action packed fight that saw both guys land serious leather on their opponent. Adames landed the flashier punches and pushed the action, and won by scores of 97-93, 96-94 and 95-95.

Adames landed 161 of 564 punches; Derevyanchenko was 157 of 562.

Adames, 159.5 lbs of Washington Heights, NY is 21-1. Derevyanchenko, 159.5 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is 13-4.

“This means a lot for me in my career and this is a big accomplishment winning against a fighter of his caliber,” said Adames, who was born in the Dominican Republic and fights out of Washington Heights in New York City.

“I am aggressive and speedy by nature, so I came in ready to do my thing. He started slow, wanting to see what would happen, and simply had the wrong game plan. He got a bit tired as the fight went on, took a lot of hard shots from me and it was evident that I caused him a lot of damage.”

“I expect my opponent to fight the same style. It was nothing special for me, just a quality fight,” said Derevyanchenko.

“He stayed southpaw, that was the difference in the fight. I don’t know what I’ll do next. I need a little bit of rest and then I will go back to the gym because I love boxing and I love the show.”

“This gives me an opportunity to move on,” said Adames. “I dominate at both 154 and 160, so wherever they give me the opportunity to fight for a championship is where I’ll go.”

Ramirez Decisions Marriaga

Eduardo Ramirez won a 10-round unanimous decision over Miguel Marriaga in a super featherweight bout.

In round three, Ramirez dropped Marriaga with a straight left. Ramirez continued to beat up Marriaga with hard combinations throughout the contest.

Ramirez landed 280 of 76 punches; Marriaga was 159 of 689.

Ramirez, 129.5 lbs of Durango, MEX won by scores of 99-90 on all cards and is now 26-2-3. Marriaga, 129.5 lbs of Arjona, COL is 30-5.

“I would like to thank the fans, SHOWTIME and the Montiel family for supporting me. Marriaga was a tough opponent, but I managed to dominate,” said Ramirez. “I had a varied fighting style and kept him on his toes the whole time.”

“We started out strong, but then things got progressively harder. Having said that, we are pleased with the work we put in today,” said Marriaga. “We should have been more savvy, but we tried our hardest in the face of a great opportunity that unfortunately we could not take advantage of.”

“Now I’m going to relax with my family and enjoy the holidays,” said Ramirez. “Then hopefully 2022 will come with a title shot for me.” 

Devin Haney remained undefeated and retained the WBC Lightweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over former junior lightweight champion Joseph Diaz Jr. at The MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The fight was very competitive and entertaining as their styles meshed well. Haney trying to box and land hard body shots long right hands from distance. He was able to did that easily over the first three rounds. Diaz started to get going in round four as he started to press forward and land some solid left hands. Haney continued his gameplan and he started to counter Diaz.

The rounds were very close and they took on a pattern of Haney boxing consistently with Diaz flurrying in the middle of the round. Haney was very effective with his right uppercut, with Diaz doing well with the left.

With Haney seemingly up a few rounds going in to the 12th round, Diaz threw caution to the wind, and buckled Haney with an overhand left. Haney did well to recuperate and start to give as good as he received. It was the early rounds that Haney banked plus a few in later part of the fight that got Haney the victory by scores of 117-111 twice and 116-112.

Haney landed 164 of 614 punches; Diaz was 140 of 573.

Haney, 135 lbs of Las Vegas is now 27-0. Diaz, 134.4 lbs of California is 32-2-1.

Love Stops Diaz in 3

Montana Love remained undefeated with a 3rd round stoppage over Carlos Diaz in a scheduled 10-round welterweight bout.

In round two, Love dropped Diaz with a left uppercut that was followed by a right hook. It was the same combination that put Diaz down again in the round. Love dropped Diaz for a 3rd time in the round when he landed a left right to the head. In round three, Love landed a straight left that drove Diaz to the corner. Two more shots later, and the fight was stopped at 1:22.

Love, 143.8 lbs (3.8 lbs over the Contract weight) of Cleveland, OH is now 17-0-1 with nine knockouts. Diaz, 139.8 lbs of Guadalajara, MEX is 29-2-2.

Mccaskill Stops Wyatt in 7; Retains Undisputed Titles

Jessica McCaskill retained the Undisputed Lightweight Welterweight World Title with a 7th round stoppage over late-replacement Kandi Wyatt.

In round three, Wyatt began to bleed from her nose. McCaskill beat down Wyatt. The challenger stood tough and took all of McCaskill’s leather, and even would get in a nice right of her own.

McCaskill had a big round six as she battered Wyatt. At the end of the round, referee Celestino Ruiz told Wyatt that he had her on a short rope. True to form, McCaskill landed 2 flush rights to start round seven, and the fight was stopped at 19 seconds.

McCaskill, 146.4 lbs of Chicago is 11-2 with four knockouts. Wyatt, 146.2 lbs of Calgary, CAN is 10-4.

Hrgovic stops Ahmatovic in 3

Filip Hrgovic remained undefeated by stopping previously undefeated Emir Ahmatovic in round three of a 10-round heavyweight bout.

In round two, Hrgovic dropped Ahmatovic twice. The first came from a chopping right to the head. The 2nd knockdown was similar as it was another chopping shot in the corner. In round three, it was yet another chopping right that put Ahmatovic down again and the fight was stopped at 30 seconds.

Hrgovic, 246.8 lbs of Croatia is 14-0 with 12 knockouts, Ahmatovic, 228.4 lbs of Germany is 10-1.

“From the opening bell, I knew he wasn’t on my level,” said Hrgovi?. “It was a matter of time before he was going down. I took my time. I didn’t rush. He went down twice in the second round and by the third round I knew he was finished. This is why I want big fights. Then you will see my true potential.”

Castro Stops Solis in 2

Marc Castro remained undefeated with a 2nd round stoppage over Ronaldo Solis in a scheduled six-round lightweight bout.

In round one, Castro dropped Solis with a hard 1-2 combination. In round two, Castro landed a booming right in the corner and out Solis down, and the fight was stopped at 43 seconds.

Castro, 136.4 lbs of Fresno, CA is 5-0 with five knockouts. Solis, 130.8 lbs of Cancun, MEX is 4-3-1.

Austin Williams stopped Quatavious Cash in the 2nd round of their scheduled eight round middleweight fight.

Williams landed a crushing left to the face that dropped Cash. The referee stopped the bout at 26 seconds.

Williams, 160 lbs of Houston is 9-0 with seven knockouts. Cash, 160 lbs of Atlanta is 14-3-1.

Alexis Espino and Rodolfo Gomez Jr. battled to an eight-round draw.

Scores were 77-75 for Gomez and 76-76 twice.

Espino, 167.4 lbs of Las Vegas is 9-0-1. Gomez of Laredo, TX is 14-5-2.

Amari Jones kept his perfect stoppage streak with a 6th and final round stoppage over Timothy Lee in a middleweight bout.

It was a good action fight that saw Jones drop Lee in the opening frame. Jones started to land heavy shots in round five. Jones poured it on in round six and the fight was stopped at 2:40.

Jones, 160 lbs of Las Vegas is 5-0 with five knockouts. Lee, 159.4 lbs of Las Vegas is 5-2.

Ricardo Sandoval stopped former world title challenger Carlos Buitrago in round seven of their scheduled 10-round flyweight bout.

Sandoval dominated the fight, and the fight was stopped after a Sandoval flurry at 46 seconds.

Sandoval, 111.8 lbs of Rialta, CA is 20-1 with 15 knockouts. Buitrago, 113 lbs of Nicaragua is 32-7-1.

Luis Alberto Lopez scored a stunning 7th round stoppage over previously undefeated Isaac Lowe in a IBF Featherweight Elimination bout at York Hall in London.

Just seconds into the fight, Lopez landed a perfect left hook that sent Lowe to the canvas. Later in the round, Lowe landed several hard power shits to get him back into the fight. In round two, Lopez again dropped Lowe, this time from a straight right hand.

In round seven, Lopez landed a hard body shot on the inside the was followed by a couple of head shots that put Lowe down for the count at 2:38.

Lopez, 125 lbs of Mexicali, MEX will now face nrw champion Kiko Martinez with a record of 24-2 with 13 knockouts. Lowe, 125 lbs of England falls to 21-1-3.

Elliot Whale remained undefeated with a six-round decision over Moroslav Serban in a welterweight contest.

Whale, 149.2 lbs of Kent, ENG won by a 60-54 score and is now 5-0. Serbam, 148.7 of the Czech Republic is now 13-8.

Former world champion, Charlie Edwards stopped Jacob Barretto in round two of a scheduled eight-round bantamweight bout.

In round one, Barreto began to bleed from his nose.

In round two, Edwards landed a short left hook that snapped Barreto’s head back and folded him to the canvas for the 10-count at 1:35.

Edwards, 118.5 lbs of Surrey, ENG us 17-1 with seven knockouts. Barreto, 119.2 lbs of Santa Cruz, SPA is 13-4.

Inder Singh Bassi won a four-round decision over Vasif Mamedov in a middleweight fight.

In round three, Mamedov began to bleed from his nose.

Bassi, 158 lbs of Essex, ENG won by a 40-36 score and is now 5-1. Mamedov, 161.3 lbs lbs of Perm, RUS is 2-7-2.

Shiloh DeFreitas stopped Dario Boroso in round two of a four-round welterweight bout.

Defreitas landed a hard left to the body that sent Boroso to a knee. Seconds later, it was another thudding left to thebody that put Boroso down and the fight was stopped at 2:26.

Defreitas, 146.7 lbs of London, ENG is 2-0 with two knockouts. Boroso, 146.8 lbs of Croatia is 1-17.

Nina Hughes made successful pro debut with a six-round decision over Claudia Ferenczi in a super bantamweight bout.

Hugues, 120.2 lbs of Essex, ENG won by a 60-54 score and is 1-0. Ferenczi, 120.8 ls of Slovakia is 20-87-6.

Kerman Lejarraga stopped Jack Flatley in round nine of their 12-round junior middleweight bout in Spain.

In round one, Lejarraga dropped Flatley with a jab.

In round nine, Lejarraga dropped Flatley “Flat” on his back with a right hand, and the fight was stopped.

Lejarraga is now 34-2 with 26 knockouts. Flatley is 17-2.

NEW YORK–In a rematch of heavyweights, Jerry Forrest and world-ranked Michael Hunter battled to a 10-round split draw at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.

It was Forrest who landed the more impactful shots, and seemed to Hunter in trouble throughout the fight. Hunter rallied down the stretch to make it closer on the cards as it looked like Forrest deserved the verdict.

Forrest landed 110 of 402 punches; Hunter was 126-of 458.

Each fighter won a card 96-94 and a 3rd card was 95-95.

Hunter of Las Vegas is now 20-1-2. Forrest of Newport News, VA is 26-4-2.

The fight was a rematch of Hunter taking an eight-round unanimous decision on June 21, 2014.

George Arias won eight-round split decision over Cassius Chaney in a heavyweight bout.

Arias landed 79 of 309 punches; Chaney was 45 of 225.

Arias took two cards by 99-91 and 97-93. Chaney won a card 96-94.

Arias is now 17-0. Chaney is 21-1.

Khainell Wheeler took a six-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Frederick Julan in a light heavyweight bout.

Julan landed 105 of 322 punches; Wheeler was 83 of 285.

Wheeler won by scores of 59-55 twice and 58-56 and is now 6-1. Julan is 12-1.

Mike Balogun stopped Trey Lippe Morrison in round one of their scheduled 10-round bout.

Balogun dropped two knockdowns and the bout was stopped at 2:40.

Balogun is now 18-0 with 14 knockouts. Morrison is 18-1.

Joe Jones stopped Junior Wright in round two of a scheduled six-round heavyweight bout.

Jones dropped Wright at the end of round one. Jones finished him off 13 seconds into round two.

Jones is now 13-4 with 10 knockouts. Wright is 18-4-1.

Photos by Nolan Shaffer

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (November 24, 2021) Welterweight Jimmy Brenes scored a first round TKO in the first round of his pro debut against Herbert Cruz Lopez (0-1) on the undercard of Hernandez vs. Esquivel in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Brenes, who hails from Nicaragua, currently trains with Reniel Aponte and Mike Robles of KO Fitness Center in Hialeah, Miami. As a 95-15 amateur, Brenes competed in the Pan American Games, won Florida State Golden Gloves as well as the Florida State PAL Championship, before joining the Nicaraguan Olympic Team.

Trainer Mike Robles said, “He fought great. Very selective, not rushing anything, but very effective on his punches landed. Great performance coming from an elite amateur transforming to the pro style.” His opponent Herbert Cruz is a naturally bigger fighter who fought his pro debut two weight classes higher at 157 pounds. “So it’s showing our KO Fitness work. He displayed our work awesomely.”

At KO Fitness, Mike and Reniel also train Reniel’s son, the highly touted prospect Aaron Aponte (4-0, 2 KOs),who was also an elite level amateur turned pro in 2020, super featherweight Luis Melendez (17-1, 13 KOs), undefeated welterweight Harold Calderon (26-0, 17 KOs) and other up and comers.

The card was promoted by Eddie Hearn and Canelo Alvarez with the main card broadcast on DAZN.

Stephen Fulton retained the WBO and captured the WBC Super Bantamweight titles with a 12-round majority decision over Brandon Figueroa in a Fight of the Year Candidate in a battle of undefeated champions at The Park Theater in Las Vegas.

The stood toe-to-toe for much of the fight with Figueroa pushing the action and Fulton countering effectively. Not much separated the two combatants as the waged a savage war that thrilled the crowd in attendance as well as viewing audience on SHOWTIME. Fulton seemed to rally in the later rounds and picked up the win by scores of 116-112 twice and 114-114.

Fulton, 121.75 lbs of Philadelphia is 20-0. Figueroa, 121.75 lbs of Weslaco, TX is 22-1-1.

Aleem Decisions Baez

Raeese Aleem kept his perfect record intact with a 10-round majority decision over Eduardo Baez in a super bantamweight bout.

In round six, Baez was cut on the forehead by an accidental headbutt.

Aleem, 121.75 lbs of Muskegon, MI won by scores of 98-92, 96-94 and 95-95 and is now 19-0. Baez, 121.5 lbs of Mexicali, MEX is 19-2-2.

Russell Decisions Santiago

Gary Antonio Russell remains undefeated with a 12-round majority decision over Alejandro Santiago in a bantamweight contest.

Russell, 117.5 lbs of Capitol Heights, Maryland won by scores of 96-94 twice and 96-94 and is now 19-0. Santiago, 118 lbs of Tijuana, MEX is 24-3-5.

George Kambosos Jr. won the Undisputed Lightweight Title with a 12-round split decision over Teofimo Lopez at The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden

Lopez came out extremally fast as he tried to stay true to his word and knock Kambosos out in the opening round. Late in the round, it was Kambosos who landed a huge right hand to the chin that sent Lopez to the deck. In round four, there was a cut over the left eye of Kambosos.

In round 10, Lopez sent Kambosos down with a hard combination. In round 11, Lopez was cut badly over the left eye.

Kambosos, 134.4 lbs of Sydney AUS won by scores of 115-111, 115-113 and Lopez won a card 114-113. Kambosos is now 20-0. Lopez, 135 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is 16-1.

Ogawa Decisions Fuzile; Wins IBF 130 lb. Title

Kenichi Ogawa won the vacant IBF Junior Lightweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision beatdown over Azinga Fuzile

In round five, Ogawa landed a huge right that dropped Fuzile to a knee.

In round nine, Fuzile started to bleed from his nose and was cut over the right eye. In round 12, Ogawa landed a hard right hand that sent Fuzile down again. Just before the fight ended, Ogawa put a capper on the fight by florring Fuzile again.

Ogawa, 129.4 lbs of Tokyo, JAP won by scores of 115-110 twice and 114-111, and is now 26-1-1-1. Fuzile, 129.6 lbs of East London, SA is 15-2.

Ford Stops Caraballo in 8

Raymond Ford remained undefeated with an 8th round stoppage over Felix Caraballo in a scheduled 10-round featherweight bout.

In round, eight, Ford landed a vicious eight-punch combination that forced a referee stoppage at 2:10.

Ford, 126 lbs of Camden, NJ is now 10-0-1 with six knockouts. Caraballo, 125.4 lbs of Mayaguez, PR is 13-4-2.

Zhang Stops Lewis in 2

Zheilei Zhang remained undefeated with a 2nd round stoppage over Craig Lewis in a heavyweight bout.

In round two, Zhang landed a big left that sent Lewis down. Seconds later, it was another straight left thatput Lewis down for a 2nd time, and the fight was stopped after the corner threw in the towel at 2:!0.

Zhang, 274 lbs of Zhoukou, CHN is 23-0-1 with 18 knockouts. Lewis, 273.4 lbs of Detroit is 14-5-1-1.

Ramla Ali remained undefeated with a four-round unanimous decision over Isela Vera in a super bantamweight fight.

Ali, 122 lbs of London, ENG, won by scores of 40-36 on all cards and is now 4-0. Vera, 121 lbs of Long Beach, CA is 1-1.

Christina Cruz remained undefeated with a six-round unanimous decision over Maryguenn Vellinga in a flyweight bout.

Cruz, 111.6 lbs of New York won by scores of 60-54 twice and 59-55 to raise her mark to 2-0. Velinga, 110.8 lbs of Park City, UT is 3-2-2.

In a battle of pro debuting bantamweights, Anthony Herrera stopped Jonathan Herrera in round two of a scheduled four-round bout.

The fight was stopped after a barrage of punches, and the fight was stopped at 2:32.

Anthony, 118 lbs of Los Angeles is 1-0 with one knockout. Jonathan, 115.4 lbs of Mexico City is 0-1.

Hector Gabriel Flores stopped former world title challenger Jay Harris in round six of their 10-round light flyweight bout at the Vale Sports Arena in Cardiff, Wales

In round six, Flores dropped Harris with a left to the body. Later in the round, Flores landed a left to the body that sent Harris to a knee and the fight was stopped at 132.

Flores, 107.5 lbs of Tijuana, MEX is 19-0-4 with 10 knockouts. Harris, 108 lbs of Swansea, WAL is 18-3.

Robinson Decisions Dragone

Jacob Robinson won a 10-round decision over Angelo Dragone in a featherweight fight.

In round six, Robinson was deducted a point for holding. In round eight. Robinson landed a perfect right uppercut to the chin of Dragone, who started to look like a beaten man with his right eye a bloody mess.

Robinson, 125.6 lba of Cardiff won by a 95-94 score and is now 9-2. Dragone, 126 lbs of Wales is 5-3.

Ennis-Brown decisions Combi

Akeem Ennis-Brown won a 10-round unanimous decision over Daniel Alejandro Combi in a junior welterweight bout.

In round five, Ennis-Brown was cut around the right eye.

Ennis-Brown of England won by scores of 99-91 and 98-92 twice and is now 15-1. Combi of Argentina is 9-5.

Kyran Jones won a four-round decision over Ivan Fleischhauser in a middleweight bout.

Jones registered a first-round knockdown.

Jones, 163 lbs of Wales won by a 40-35 score and is now 2-0. Felischhauser, 160 lbs of Russia is 1-10.

Ben Crocker stopped Sultan Ahmet in round two of their four-round welterweight bout.

In round two, Crocker dropped Ahmet with a hard right to the body. The towel was thrown in and the fight was stopped at 54 seconds .

Crocker, 149 lbs of Swansea, WAL is 2-0 with one knockout. Ahmet, 148.4 lbs of England is 0-1.

Muhammad Waseen won a 12-round unanimous decision over Ronald Barrera in a flyweight bout in Dubai.

Waseem, 112 lbs won by scores of 115-114, 117-111 and 115-113 and is now 12-1. Barrera of Colombia is 23-4.

Jack stops Crossed in 2

Former two-division world champion Badou Jack made his cruiserweight debut with a 2nd round stoppage over Sam Crossed in a scheduled 10-round bout.

In round two, Jack dropped Crossed with a right hand. Moments later, it was another straight right hand that put Crossed down. The fight was over when Jack landed a left to the body that put Crossed down for a 3rd and final time at 2:20.

Jack of Las Vegas via Stockholm, SWE is 25-3-3 with 15 knockouts. Crossed, 194 lbs of Greenbelt, MD is 11-2-1.

Davies Decisions Mwangi

Ohara Davies won a 10-round unanimous decision over Nicholas Mwangi in a junior welterweight bout.

Davies, 139.3 lbs of England won by scores of 99-89 on all cards and is now 23-2. Mwangi, 139.75 lbs of Kenya is 10-4-1.

Bader Samreem stopped Digari Mahesh in the opening round of their six-round lightweight bout.

In round one, Samreem dropped Mahesh with a right hand. It was a booming right hand that put Mahesh down for a 2nd time. Samreem ended things with a hard four punch combination that was punctuated by a right to the head that put Mahesh down again and, the fight was stopped at 2:51.

Samreem of Jordan is 4-0 with three knockouts. Mahesh of India is 5-3-1.

Fielding Stops Danso in 3

Rocky Fielding stopped Emmanuel Danso in round three of a scheduled eight-round light heavyweight bout.

In round two, Danso was deducted a point for holding. Later in the round, Fielding sent Danson to the canvas with a left hand. Danso did not answer the bell for round three.

Fielding, 174.3 lbs of Liverpool, England is 33-6 with 17 knockouts. Danso, 169 3/4 lbs of Accra, GHA is 32-7.

LAS VEGAS — Shawn Porter announced Saturday that will retire during the post-fight news conference following his stoppage loss to Terence Crawford for the welterweight title at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.

“I am ending my career tonight,” Porter (31-4-1, 17 KOS) said after father and trainer Kenny Porter ended it in the 10th-round of a bout televised by ESPN+ pay-per-view.

Porter was knocked down twice in the 10th by Crawford (38-0, 29 KOs).

In losing for the first time by stoppage, Porter was knocked down as many times within one round as he was in his career — first by Adrian Broner and then by Errol Spence Jr.

LAS VEGAS – In the end, it was Terence Crawford’s dance floor.

He danced with his family. Danced with his mom. Maybe he danced to the top of the pound-for-pound debate.

Neither the dance nor the debate figures to end anytime soon. Above all, Crawford proved he still belongs on any dance floor and in any debate with a 10^th-round stoppage of Shawn Porter Saturday night in front of a capacity crowd at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.

Porter came as advertised. He knows a lot of dance steps. But he couldn’t sustain them against the patient Crawford. He knows how to wait. Knows how to adjust. And how to finish.

The finish came at 1:21 of the 10^th round after two knockdowns of Porter. Porter’s first trip to the canvas started with a left-uppercut from. The return trip started with a combination followed by a left hand to the head. Frustrated, Porter got up and stomped his foot.

 But the gesture was futile. It was over. His father and trainer, Kenny Porter, was already up the steps with towel in hand. The towel was never thrown. The referee and inspector for the Nevada Commission saw it and acted. Kenny Porter would later say his son wasn’t properly prepared, confirming rumors that Shawn Porter had a problematic camp.

For Crawford, however, it was a moment that punctuated what he wanted to accomplish.

The belt, the World Boxing Organization’s version of the welterweight. Title, was still in his dangerous hands. More important, he strengthened his claim on the top spot in the pound-for-pound debate. Canelo Alvarez, are you listening?

One potential Crawford rival, however, was there. Listening and watching. Errol Spence had a ringside seat.

“Now wait, my thing is, who’s No. 1 in the welterweight division now?” Crawford said in a comment clearly intended for Spence.

At the top of the 147-pound division, it’s either Spence or Crawford. There is nobody else. Crawford made sure of it by eliminating Porter from any real say-so in the weight class. Crawford also has the last word, at least for now.

“You know who I want,’’ said Crawford, who collected about $6 million, $2 million more than Porter’s $4 million payday. “I’ve been calling him out all day. Maybe, Spence will get his tail out of his butt and fight me.’’

Maybe.

For now, there are questions about where Crawford is headed. Promotionally, he’s a free agent. His victory of Porter was the last fight on Top Rank contract.

Top Rank’s Bob Arum is confident he can re-sign him. Arum is already talking about a fight between Crawford and junior-welterweight champion Josh Taylor, who is preparing to move up in weight

For now, however, Crawford only wanted to celebrate a night that began with Porter coming out fast, moving forward and attacking throughout the first three minutes. For one round, it worked. He appeared to win the round with his aggressiveness.

He also was sending a message, one that he wore on the back of his black-and-orange robe. Marvelous War, it said. It was a tribute to legendary warrior, Marvin Hagler. It was note of respect to the past. But it was also a look at the immediate future, a sign of what Porter intended to do.

To wit: Crawford better be ready to brawl. He was. Porter unleashed a whirlwind of an arsenal — conventional, unconventional and often a blur of both.

“I figured that I had the reach and he had to take chances to come to him and he did what he normally does,’’ Crawford said.  “He tried to maul and push me back but I used my angles and I pushed him back at times as well.  Shawn Porter is a slick fighter he was doing some things in there and made me think

“I know I caught him with a good uppercut and then when I caught hidm with another left hook clean in his face that he was real hurt and his dad did the right thing by stopping it because I was coming with a vengeance.’’

In the end, there was nothing else to do but dance to Chaka Khan’ “Ain’t Nobody.’’

For one night, nobody but Terence Crawford.

Falcao wins technical decision in dull bout stopped by head butt

It was called an eliminator. In one way, it was. The crowd cheered when the final six rounds of the Esquiva Falcao-Patrice Volny was eliminated because head butt.

The butt came late in the sixth after Volny (16-1, 10 KOs), of Montreal, swung his head into Falcao’s face. The bout, so-called eliminator for a shot at the International Boxing Federation’s middleweight title. Everything before then was boring. Think deadly dull.

After it was determined that Falcao could not continue, the scorecards were turned in and counted. Two scores, 57-56 and 58-56 were for Falcao, an Olympic silver medalist from Brazil The third — a head scratcher — was for Volny, 86-84. Falcao (29-0, 20 KOs) got the victory by technical decision.

The crowd got some relief. At least, it was over.

Kazak middleweight Alimkhanuly wins stoppage

Janibek Alimkhanuly (11-0, 7KOs) ), a heavy-handed middleweight from Kazakhstan, administered a beating, landing lethal left hands that rocked Hassan N’Dam around the ring and off the ropes, virtually everywhere except on to the canvas.

Somehow, N’Dam (38-6, 21 KOs) , a former middleweight champion from Cameroon, stayed on his feet throughout the bout on a card featuring Crawford-Porter. But that wasn’t enough for him to have even a slim chance of winning. Finally, Kenny Bayless stopped it at 2:46 of the eighth round of a bout that could have easily been stopped a round or two earlier.

Unbeaten Raymond Muratalla wins fifth-round TKO

There was no stopping Raymond Muratalla (13-0, 11 KOs), a lightweight from Fontana CA. Elias Araujo (21-4, 8KOs), of Argentina, couldn’t. But Allen Huggins could. And did.

Huggins stepped in and ended the bout at 2:20 of the fifth round in the first ESPN + PPV bout on the Crawford-Porter card. Araujo protested, first in anger. Then, in tears. But the referee had seen enough. Muratalla began to land punch after punch. Blood began to drip from a cut on Araujo’s cheek and from his nose.

Huggins saved him from what would have been a bad beating.  

Dogboe wins majority decision

LAS VEGAS –Isaac Dogboe, a fighter from Ghana once projected to be a star, continued to try to regain some of his abundant promise, scoring a narrow victory — majority decision — over Puerto Rican Christopher Diaz (26-4, 16 KOs) on a card featuring Crawford-Porter.

Dogboe , a former 122-pound champion now at featherweight, won his third straight since his career(26-4, 16 KOs) was sidetracked by successive losses to Emanuel Navarrete.

Head butt leads to no decision

There was blood. But there was no decision.

Adan Ochoa (12-2, 5 KOs), a featherweight from Long Beach CA, was badly cut above his right eye in a head butt with Adam Lopez (15-3, 6 LOs of Glendale CA during the first round of a scheduled eight-rounder. on the Crawford-Porter card.

Late in the second, the blood began to flow into Ochoa’s eye. Just as the bell rang to start the third, the fight was stopped, declared a no decision because it had not gone at least four rounds.

Karlos Balderas wins fourth-round stoppage

Karlos Balderas (11-1, 10 KOs), a junior-lightweight from Santa Maria CA, was bigger and just better, scoring repeatedly with combinations, including a headrocking left-right that finished Julio Cortez (15-4, 11 KOs) of Ecuador at 2:13 of the fourth round in the second bout on the Crawford-Porter card.

First Bell: Tiger Jonson kicks off his career and Crawford-Porter card with TKO win

It was first bell. A debut, too.

Tiger Johnson, a welterweight from Cleveland, kicked off his career and the card featuring Terence Crawford-versus-Shawn Porter with a stoppage of Antonius Grable (3-3-1, 3 KOs) in a Saturday matinee at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.

Johnson landed successive right hands, leaving Grable of Sarasota, FL dazed and done at 1:54 of the fourth round.

Just to make sure that everybody noticed, celebrated by walking toward retired welterweight champion Timothy Bradley, who was already in his ringside seat for he ESPN + pay-per-view telecast..

“I’m here, Tim,” Johnson shouted as he leaned over the ropes. “I’m here.”

PHILADELPHIA–Atif Oberlton stopped Brent Oren in round two of a scheduled sox-round light heavyweight bout in front of a large audience at the 2300 Arena.

Oberlton was patient early as landed some power punches. At the end of round one, Oberlton landed a hard left hand the bel.. That was a precursor of things to come as in round two, Oberlton ramped up the offense and dropped Oren twice. The second knockdown hurt Oren and the fight was stopped at 1:38.

Oberlton of Philadelphia was making his hometown debut and the heralded prospect is 4-0 with four knockouts. Oren of Harrisburg, PA is 4-7.

Quadir Albright needed just 29 seconds to destroy William Hernandez in their six-round junior welterweight bout.

Albright landed some vicious shots that hurt Hernandez. Albright landed more hard punches to a defenseless Hernandez and the fight was stopped.

Albright of Philadelphia is 4-0 with four knockouts. Hernandez of Kent, WA is 7-2.

James Bernadine made quick work by stopping Edgar Torres in just 76 seconds of their six-round welterweight fight.

In the opening seconds, Bernadine dropped Torres with a hard left hand. He was all over Torres and landed a hard flurry of punches and the bout was stopped.

Bernadine of Lancaster, PA is 5-0-1 with three knockouts. Torres of Woodbridge, VA is 8-3-1.

Jonathan Rodriguez and Roberto Pucheta battled to a six-round draw in a bantamweight contest.

Both fighters won cards by 59-56 scores and a third card read even at 57-57.

Rodriguez of Bethlehem, PA is 9-1-1. Pucheta of Mexico is 10-20-3.

Rasheed Johnson won a four-round split decision over Andres Abarca in a welterweight bout.

Johnson of Philadelphia took two cards by 39-37 tallies, while Abarca won a card 39-37.

Johnson is now 8-4. Abraca of Kent, WA is 2-6.

Julian Gonzalez stopped Tyriek Gainey in round one of their scheduled four-round junior lightweight bout.

Gonzalez dropped Gainey with a hard right hand. Gonzalez landed a flurry of punches that hurt Gainey on the ropes and the fight was stopped at 2:06.

Gainey of Reading, PA is 5-0 with five knockouts. Gainey of Paterson, NJ is 0-2.

Devon Young remained undefeated with a four-round unanimous decision over Nicoy Clarke in a heavyweight bout.

Young pounded away at a game Clarke and won by scores of 40-36 cards.

Young of Aiken, South Carolina is 2-0. Clarke of Jersey City, NJ is 2-7.

Demetrius Andrade remained undefeated and retained the WBO Middleweight title with a 2nd round destruction of Jason Quigley and SNHU Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire.

In round one, Andrade rocked Quigley with a right hook and a follow up shot put the Irish challenger on the canvas. In round two, Andrade landed a wicked overhand left that put Quigley down again. Andrade landed a leaping left that sent Quigley down and the fight was stopped at 2:24

Andrade, 160 lbs of Providence, RI is 31-0 with 18 knockouts. Quigley, 159 1/2 of Ireland is 19-2.

“I did what I said I would do, I looked good and felt good,” said Andrade. “I delivered a message tonight – what’s next and who’s next.
 
“Every time I get in the ring, I do something different, and I can do it all, and whatever I need. Patience. So many times, you see people get knocked down and then they knock the other guy down. So, I keep patient in there and wait for the shots to land. But you asked for KOs, and I give you KOs so let’s go.
 
“I’m 31-0, Olympian and World champion, so what more do I need to do?”

Martinez and Arroyo battle to a no-contest

The WBC Flyweight title bout was between Julio Cesar Martinez and McWilliams Arroyo was postponed three-times, They finally fought on Friday. The fight was full of action, but unfortunately the fight was ruled a no-contest after Arroyo was badly due to a headbutt after round two.

In round one, Arroyo with a hard right hand in between punches. Later in the round, Martinez caught Arroyo with a wicked right that sent him to the canvas. In round two, Arroyo was cut over his right eye. Later in the round, Martinez dropped Arroyo again with a left to the head. With Arroyo bleeding badly, the fight was ruled off after the round.

Martinez, 111.4 lbs of Mexico City is 18-1, 2 no-contest. Arroyo, 111.6 lbs of Fajardo, PR is 21-4, 1 NC

Akhmadaliev Decisions Velasquez; Retains Super Bantamweight Titles

Murodjon Akhmadaliev retained the IBF/WBA Super Bantamweight titles with a unanimous decision over sturdy late-replacement Jose Velasquez.

Akhmadaliev dominated the action as he backed up Velasquez with consistent punching for the duration of the fight.

Akhmadaliev landed 238 of 833 punches; Velasquez landed 170 of 551.

Akhmadaliev, 121.8 lbs of Uzbekistan won by scores of 119-109 on all cards and is now 10-0. Velasquez, 121.6 lbs of Quellon, CHL, stepped in for Ronny Rios who testes positive for COVID-19, is 29-7-2.

Reis Defeats Camara Via Split-Decision to become unified champion

In an action packed 10 round brawl, Kali Reis retained her WBA and won the vacant WBO Super Lightweight title over Jessica Camara.

Camara started strong and was able to get in some good left hooks. Reis came on down the stretch and showed championship experience.

In round 10, Camara was badly cut over her left eye.

The two waged a vicious war in that 10-round as Reis landed some hard punches.

Reis landed 158 of 556 punches; Camara was 159 of 547.

Reis, 138 lbs of Providence, RI won by scores of 97-93 twice with Camara taking a card 95-94

Reis is now 19-7-1. Camara, 139 lbs of Montreal is 8-3.

Reis will now take on Chantelle Cameron for the undisputed title.

“I thought I won the fight,” said Reis. “Jessica put up a brilliant fight, but I do feel I did the cleaner work. I’m so happy and I can’t wait to fight for the undisputed fight next year, that’s my dream.”

Demsey McKean stopped Don Haynesworth in round six of a scheduled eight-round heavyweight bout.

McKean dominated the action and landed a big flurry on the ropes in round six that forced a referee stoppage at 27 seconds.

McKean, 243 lbs of Queensland, AUS is 20-0 with 13 knockouts. Haynesworh, 293.6 lbs of New Rochelle, NY is 16-8-1.

Nelson Perez remained undefeated with a four-round unanimous decision over Raymundo Rios in a junior welterweight bout.

In round one, Perez dropped Rios with a left hook. In round two, Perez sent Rios down again with a left hook.

Perez, 140 lbs of Marlboro, MA won by scores of 40-34 on all cards, and is now 5-0. Rios, 139.6 lbs of Mexico is 3-8-2.

Thomas O’Toole made quick work of Mark Malone by scoring a 1st round stoppage in the four-round cruiserweight affair.

O’Toole landed a devastating left that sent Malone slumped to the canvas, and the fight was stopped at 1:31.

O’Toole, 186.8 lbs of Ireland is 2-0 with two knockouts. Malone., 198.6 lbs of Longview, TX is 1-1.

Khalil Coe and Aaron Casper battled to a four-round majority draw.

Coe, 175.8 lbs of Jersey City, NJ won by scores 39-37 and 38-38 twice.

Coe is 1-0-1. Casperm 174.8 lbs of Augusta, GA is 6-4-2.

PHILADELPHIA–Sonny Conto got a test for a couple of rounds, but he weathered some hard shots from Joel Caudle to knockout Caudle in round three of a scheduled six-round heavyweight bout in front of a capacity crowd at the inaugural fight card at Live Casino Hotel Philadelphia.

Caudle stood in and landed some flush shots. Conto gave as good as he received as he rocked Caudle several times over the first two rounds. In round three, Caudle continued to stand in and want to trade with the bigger Conto., but Conto landed a huge right hand that sent Caudle to the deck. Caudle got to his feet, but was wobbly, and referee Benjy Esteves stopped the fight at the end of round three.

Conto, 220.2 lbs of Philadelphia is 8-0 with seven knockouts. Caudle, 257.1 lbs of Raleigh, NC is 8-6-2.

In an entertaining contest, Christopher Burgos scored a mild upset by winning a six-round unanimous decision over Gerardo Martinez.

Burgos was able to land the more eye-catching blows in the fight, which saw each fighter take turns controlling the action.

Burgos, 138.9 lbs of Philadelphia won by scores of 59-55 twice and 58-56 and is now 3-4-1. Martinez, 138.7 lbs of Coatesville, PA is 5-2.

Daiyann Butt defeated Siefullah Wise via 3rd round disqualification in a scheduled six-round junior welterweight bout.

Wise was deducted points for holding and hitting in each of the first two rounds. Wise committed the same foul in round three, and referee Benji Esteves had seen enough and halted the action 53 seconds into round three.

Butt, 142.4 lbs of Philadelphia is 9-1. Wise, 144.6 lbs of Philadelphia is 4-7.

Jeremiah Kendrick made a successful pro debut with a opening round knockout of Tyrone Lewis in a scheduled four-round junior middleweight contest.

Kendrick landed a hard right to the head which stunned and hurt Lewis, and a follow up punch put him on the ground. Referee Shawn Clark stopped the fight upon Lewis getting to his feet at 1:05.

Bilal Quintyne needed a last second knockdown to eek out a four-round majority decision over Maurice Burke in a four-round battle of undefeated middleweights.

Burke controlled the first couple of rounds as he landed some solid right hands.

In round four, Quintyne dropped Burke with a hard right hand.

Quintyne, 159.8 lbs of Marietta, GA won by scores of 38-37 twice and 38-38 to raise his record to 2-0. Burke, 160.6 lbs of Philadelphia is 1-1.

Tariq Green made a successful pro debut with a four-round unanimous decision over Tunde Fatiregun in a light heavyweight battle.

Green, 174.5 lbs of Philadelphia won by scores of 40-36 and 39-37 twice and is now 1-0. Fatiregun, 176 lbs of New Brunswick, NJ is 1-1.

By Norm Frauenheim (Ringside) –

PHOENIX – There was a crowd of about 8,000. And there was an audience of one.

David Benavidez hopes he heard them.

All along, the Benavidez campaign has been about Canelo Alvarez. He’s been chasing Canelo for a couple of years. On Saturday, he delivered another performance in a homecoming that keeps him squarely in the mix for a shot at the undisputed super-middleweight champion.

Benavidez (25-0, 25 KOs) beat a tough Kyrone Davis (16-3-1, 6 KOs), forcing Davis’ corner to throw in the towel early in the seventh round at The Footprint Center.

“I think everybody wants to see me fight Canelo, right? Benavidez said in the middle of the ring moments after his victory.

The crowd roared yes. A Showtime audience heard it. Maybe, Canelo did too. The echoes will be there weeks from now as Canelo thinks about who’s next. There’s plenty of talk about a Benavidez-Canelo showdown on May 7. It’s a perfect match – Benavidez, a Mexican-American against Canelo, a Mexican — for the Cinco de Mayo celebration.

But Canelo, deliberate in the ring and out of it, said he won’t be in a rush to make a decision. He has the belts. He has the pay-per-view numbers. He has options aplenty. He has the time. He’s has it all.

For now, Benavidez can only wait. That won’t be easy.

“I don’t care what his assessment of my fight is,’’ Benavidez said of Canelo. “But they keep putting these contenders in front of me. 

“…They need to give me the opportunity. I’ll go through anybody.’’

At 24, Benavidez is still a maturing fighter with poise and power. He’s anxious to test that poise, use the power against the biggest name in the game.

Both were evident, again and again, through six rounds against Davis, who took huge shots from a relentless assault from the taller Benavidez.

Benavidez is known for throwing a so-called volume of punches. But there was no silencing Davis, a Terence Crawford sparring partner who agreed to the fight just two weeks before opening bell.  In the end, Davis trainer Stephen Edwards stepped in with a timely decision. It was time to end it. He did so at 47 seconds of the round

“David Benavidez is a tremendous fighter,’’ Edwards said. “He’s a monster.

“We fought. We tried to win. We didn’t come here to lay down. I think a lot people through that was the case. But I love this kid. I didn’t want to see him get hurt.’’

Seconds after the towel landed in the center of the ring, Benavidez showed his appreciation for Davis. He hugged him.

“He thanked me, thanked me for being a warrior,’’ Davis said.

David Benavidez’ victory helped his family and his fans forget about brother Jose Benavidez Jr.’s debatable majority draw with Argentine Francisco Torres (17-3-1, 5 KOs) in 10-round fight contracted to be at 159 pounds. Two judges scored it 95-95 each. One judged scored it 96-94 for Jose, who was fighting for the first time in three years. 15 Rounds scored it 96-94 for Torres.  

“I don’t know how I got a draw,’’ Jose Jr. (27-2, 18 KOs) said.  “We can run it back. I beat him. I thought I beat him. He kept running. He didn’t want to stay in the pocket. I can’t do anything about the judges’ decisions. I felt good. He just kept holding. I beat him every round. What can I do?

“I beat him. I beat him. He wasn’t hitting me hard. He just kept holding.’’

But the crowd seems to think otherwise. It booed Jose Benavidez. It cheered Torres.

In the end, however, there were only cheers.

For both David Benavidez and Davis.

Best of the Undercard

Junior-middleweight Elijah Garcia (9-0, 8 KOs) of nearby Glendale AZ, opened the show, flashing some prospect possibilities with a succession of power shots for a fifth-round TKO of Todd Manuel (2-91-1, 6 KOs) of Rayne, LA.

The Rest

Micky Scala (3-0, 1 KO), a Mesa AZ junior-middleweight who recently signed with Floyd Mayweather, endured some head-rocking shots, countered and in the end won a four-round unanimous decision over Martez Jackson (5-6-3, 2 KOs) of Macon GA.

Jesus Ibarra (12-0, 6 KOs), a junior-welterweight from Mesa AZ, calls himself Monsoon. He showed why in the second, storming Mexican Hector (12-14-2, 6 KOs) for a TKO victory at 2:05 of the round.

Farid Ngoga (12-0, 11 KOs), a junior-middleweight from Glendale AZ, employed a mix of speed and precision for a unanimous decision over Isaac Freeman (3-10-2, 3 KOs) of Los Angeles.

Junior-lightweight Jonathan Fierro (12-0, 11 KOs) didn’t waste any time. It took him 29 seconds to blow out fellow Mexican Victor Ruiz (13-12, 11 KOs). Officially it was a technical knockout. Nothing technical about it.

Phoenix featherweight Keenan Carbajal (23-2-1, 15 KOs) was too big for an overmatched Josean Bonilla (12-7-2, 9 KOs), who was bloodied and beaten after three rounds. The referee ended it after just two second of the fourth.

Jaime Munguia won a 12-round unanimous decision over Gabriel Rosado in a middleweight bout at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Califormia.

It was an exciting fights with both fighters standing toe-to-toe for most of the fight, but Mungua won by scores of 119-109, 118-110 and 117-111.

Munguia, 160 lbs of Tijuana, MEX is 38-0. Rosado, 159.4 lbs of Philadelphia, PA is 26-14-1.

Rocha stops Barraza in 9

Alexis Rocha beatdown Jeovannis Barraza and stopped him in round nine of a scheduled 10-round welterweight bout.

Rocha hit Barraza with everything and beat him up until the fight was stopped at 33 seconds.

Rocha, 146.2 lbs of Santa Ana, CA is 18-1 with 12 knockouts. Barraza, 146.4 lbs of Barranquilla, COL is 23-2.

Ballard Decisions Valenzuela

D’Mitrius Ballard remained undefeated with a 10-round unanimous decision over Paul Valenzuela Jr. in a middleweight bout.

Ballard, 159.8 lbs of Temple Hills, MD won by scores of 98-92 on all cards and is now 21-0-1. Valenzuela, 160 lbs of Mexico is 26-10,

Zepeda stops Moralde in 4

William Zepeda remained undefeated and notched his 14th straight knockout as he stopped John Moralde in round four of a scheduled 10-round lightweight bout.

Zepeda was the class in the fight as he dominated Moralde from the beginning. In round four, Zepeda landed a vicious flurry in the corner, and the fight was stopped at

Zepeda, 134.4 lbs of San Mateo, MEX us 24-0 with 22 knockouts. Moralde, 133.8 lbs of Miami, FL is 24-5.

Kiko Martinez became a two-weight world champion as he won the IBF Featherweight champion as he scored a shocking 6th round knockout of defending champion Kid Galahad at The Sheffield Arena in Sheffield, England

In round three, Martinez started to bleed over his right eye. In round five, Martinez dropped Galahad with a big overhand right. Martinez landed the first punch of round six just seconds into the stanza on the face of Galahad, who fell straight on his back and the fight was over at six seconds.

Martinez, 125.3 lbs of Alicante, SPA is 43-10-2 with 30 knockouts. Galahad, 125.5 lbs of Sheffield, ENG is 28-2.

Baumgardner Stops Harper in 4; Wins WBC Super Featherweight Title

Alycia Baumgardner scored a sensation 4th round stoppage over Terri Harper to win the WBC Super Featherweight championship.

In round four, Baumgardner landed a perfect over hand right that froze the reigning champ on her feet. The fight was stopped just as Baumgardner landed a left hook at 23 seconds.

Baumgardner, 129.5 lbs of Detroit, MI is 11-1 with seven knockouts. Harper, 129.4 lbs of Denby Main, ENG is 11-1-1.

Billiam-Smith Decisions Bregeon

Chris Billam-Smith retained his European Cruiserweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Dylan Bregeon.

Billiams-Smith, 199.2 lbs of Bournemouth, ENG won by scores of 120-109 and 119-109 twice and is now 14-1. Bregeon, 197.5 lbs of Nantes, FRA is 11-2-1.

In round four, Bregeon was cut around his right ear.

Dixon Decisions McCrory

Donte Dixon remained undefeated with a eight-round decision over Jordan McCrory in a super featherweight contest.

In round six, Dixon dropped McCrory with a body shot. Later in the round, McCrory was deducted a point for holding.

Dixon, 126.1 lbs of Sheffield, ENG won by an 80-71 tally and is now 6-0. McCrory, 131.3 lbs of Cambusling, SCO is `19-8-1.

Hunt Decisions Flint

Dom Hunt won a 10-round decision over James Flint in a battle of undefeated welterweights.

Hunt, 145.2 lbs of Wakefield, ENG won by a 98-93 score and is now 8-0. Flint, 145.5 lbs of Doncaster, ENG is 9-1-1.

By Norm Frauenheim–

PHOENIX – It was a pound that won’t matter Saturday, but it left questions that could have a heavy influence on David Benavidez’ career beyond his date against Kyrone Davis.

Benavidez came in at 169 pounds Friday, one more than the super-middleweight limit at the formal weigh-in at an outdoor pavilion in front of the Footprint Center, the Suns home arena in downtown Phoenix.

There were no immediate consequences. No penalty. The Showtime-televised bout, a scheduled 10-rounder, is contracted for 168, plus or minus a pound. Davis, a Terence Crawford sparring partner who agreed to the fight two weeks ago, was at 167.75.

“No title involved,’’ Benavidez promoter Sampson Lewkowicz. “No problem.’’

One-hundred-and-sixty-eight pounds – not an ounce more – is the weight at which Benavidez hopes to fight Canelo Alvarez, who won all of the significant pieces to the super-middleweight title last week in an 11th-round stoppage of Caleb Plant in Las Vegas.

Benavidez’ fight Saturday in his first Phoenix homecoming in more than six years has been called an audition. A stepping-stone.

“Sometimes, with stepping-stones, you trip,’’ Davis (16-2-1, 6 KOs) said.

Benavidez didn’t exactly trip when he stepped on and then off the scale. But he did raise some alarms. Although unbeaten, Benavidez (24-0, 21 KOs) has lost the World Boxing Council’s version of the super-middleweight title twice, first for testing positive for cocaine in 2018 and then last August for failing to make weight.

Benavidez was 2.8 pounds over the limit the day before a scheduled title defense against Roamer Alexis Angulo. The next day – August 15, he blew out Angulo, scoring a 10^th-round stoppage at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. But the WBC belt had already been stripped from him. He’s been chasing it — and Canelo — ever since.

Then, he blamed the scale fail on Pandemic protocol that had closed gyms and saunas. Then, Benavidez said he was sure he could still make the weight. He turns 25 on Dec. 17. He’s young man still growing into his prime. He’s going to grow out of the super-middleweight division. The question is when.

“Maybe two more fights,’’ his father and trainer Jose Benavidez Sr. said earlier this week.

Benavidez hopes for only one against Canelo, perhaps on May 7 in celebration of next year’s annual Cinco de Mayo holiday. Benavidez, a Mexican-American, against Canelo, a Mexican, looks like a perfect fit. But only if Benavidez can still be perfect on the scale, which means 168 and not an ounce more.

Nobody expects Canelo to wait around. He’s boxing biggest draw. He has a banquet full of options, one that grew this week with news that Ryota Murata will fight old Canelo rival Gennadiy Golovkin in Japan Dec. 29 in a middleweight bout.

If the winner agrees to move to 168, Canelo could choose to settle his differences with Golovkin with a third fight or expand his brand to Asia with a fight against Murata in Japan.

If not that, a jump to light-heavyweight is a possibility. So, too, is Jermall Charlo, an unbeaten WBC champ at middleweight who Canelo mentioned last Saturday after his crushing victory over Plant.

For now, at least, Benavidez can only wait. And make weight.

In another Showtime bout Saturday, Benavidez’ older brother, Jose, comes back after nearly more than three years against Argentine Francisco Torres. In a bout contracted to be at 159 pounds, Jose Benavidez Jr., (27-1, 18 KOs) a former welterweight, was at 158.75 pounds. Torres (17-3, 5 KOs) was at 157.50.

The Showtime telecast is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m., ET/6 p.m. PT. In Arizona (Mountain time), the non-televised part of the card is scheduled to begin at 4:40 p.m.

By Norm Frauenheim (Ringside)-

LAS VEGAS – It was a coronation.

Canelo’s coronation

It even included a crown, worn by Saul Canelo Alvarez as he paraded around the ring moments after his eleventh-round stoppage of Caleb Plant for all the pieces to the super-middleweight title Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena

It was a crown symbolic of a lot. He’s the first undisputed champion in the history of a division that dates back to 1967. That’s 54 years. Lots of kings come, go and are toppled within that time span.

We’ll have to wait and see how long Canelo’s reign lasts. But his history will endure mostly because of his deliberate, tireless pursuit of excellence. Go ahead and argue all you want about how he would do in another generation or against legends that were around half-a-century ago. But it’s hard to argue with numbers. And Canelo is putting up a lot of them.

With the super-middleweight title, the Mexican, already a champion at junior-middleweight, middleweight and light-heavyweight, is just the sixth unified champion in any division during boxing’s four-belt era.

Yeah, the battered game has been corrupted by too many belts, too many acronyms and too many weight classes. That said, Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) has been winning as many of them as he can. That’s all he can do. He stays busy in a sport increasingly defined by more and more idle time. Yet in 11 months, Canelo fought four times to win all four of the 168-pound titles.

He’s the reigning exception. Let him wear that crown. It fits.

It also rests on a redhead that had been fitted for it long before he ever began his 168-pound campaign. Plant (21-1, 12 KOs) was just the last domino to fall, just another piece on Canelo’s blueprint to dominance.

Plant, who held the International Boxing Federation’s version of the belt never had much of a chance throughout Showtime’s pay-per-view telecast. The betting odds declined before opening bell, from 10-to-1 to 7-1. Money on Plant was coming in from a crowd that loves to play longshots. Maybe, they were betting on Canelo breaking an ankle on his way to the ring and up those three steps through the ropes.

Didn’t happen.

Canelo’s predictable dominance was apparent from the first round to the end – 1:01 of the eleventh. That’s when Canelo finished Plant with a succession of punches for a second knockdown in the round. The first knockdown was the result of a crushing left hand and successive rights as Plant fell onto his hands and knees on the canvas, a beaten challenger.

“It wasn’t easy to get to this place,’’ said Canelo, whose ability to conquer the challenges were compensated Saturday night by a $40-miliion payday.

It probably won’t be easy to move on either. A date with David Benavidez, who fights next Saturday night in Phoenix? A move back up to light-heavy?

“We don’t know,’’ Canelo said. “First, we need to rest.’’

There were no immediate comments from Plant, a Tennessean who collected $10-million.

He and Canelo hugged in the middle of the ring after the fight. Plant was then taken to Las Vegas’ University Medical Center for observation.

“I have a lot of respect for Caleb Plant,’’ said Canelo, who was angered by much of Plant’s pre-fight trash talk. “He was a difficult opponent with a lot of ability, and I do respect him. We are both men at the end of the day. He wanted to fight me and still continue. I told him there’s no shame. We had a great fight tonight.

“He was making the fight pretty difficult, but Eddy (Reynoso) told me to just stick to the game plan in the last two rounds. In the end, I got him. That’s the way it had to finish. He was already hurt and I went for the kill.”

There’d be no crown if King Canelo hadn’t.

Anthony Dirrell wins, scoring a huge KO

It was a lousy day for just about anybody wearing Michigan State gear other than Anthony Dirrell.

Dirrell, wearing the Spartan logo on green trunks trimmed in white, won a few hours Saturday after the No. 3 Spartans lost at Purdue in the final fight before the Canelo Alvarez-Caleb Plant ,main event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Dirrell (34-2-2, 25 KOs), a super-middleweight from Flint MI, did it spectacularly

Violently, too.

He delivered a right-handed wheelhouse upper-cut for a concussive knockout of Marcos Hernandez (15-5-2, 3 KOs) at 22 seconds of the fourth round. Hernandez never saw the punch coming. He had to be helped onto a stool, where he sat and tried to regain his consciousness for a few very long moments..  

Rey Vargas says unbeaten, wins unanimous decision

Unbeaten Rey Vargas, a force at junior featherweight, moved up the scale. And he brought the force with him. He also stayed unbeaten.

Vargas (35-0, 22 KOs), long and lanky at 122 pounds, looked just as long and lanky at 126 Saturday with a skillful decision over fellow-Mexican Leonardo Baez (21-5, 12 KOs) on the pay-per-view part of the Showtime telecast of a card featuring super-middleweight Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant. 

Vargas, a junior-featherweight champion trained by Mexican geat Nacho Beristain, employed his long arms and punching precision to leave Baez bloodied under one eye and beaten on every scorecard —  100-90, 99-91, 100-90.   

Elvis Rodriguez storms back from loss with big KO

Elvis Rodriguez (12-1-1, 11 KOs) began to put prospect back into his resume.

The junior-welterweight from the Dominican Republic did so with power, scoring two knockdowns — one in the fourth and again in the fifth — for a convincing victory over Juan Pablo Romero (14-1, 9 KOs) of Mexico.He knocked out Romero with sweeping left hook in the closing seconds of the fifth round. Rodriguez, trained by Freddie Roach, raised a lot of questions about his future with a majority decision loss to Kenneth Sims Jr in May. He delivered a couple of answers Saturday night on the Canelo-Plant undercard.

Super-flyweight Fernando Diaz scores super KO

Fernando Diaz (10-1-1, 3 KOs), a super-flyweight from southern California, executed a left hook with perfect timing and unerring precision in the fourth fight on the Canelo-Plant card Saturday.. It landed,– boom — on Jan Salvatierra’s chin late in the fifth round.

Somehow, Salvatierra (7-1, 3 KOs) picked himself up and and on to his feet. But he didn;t stay there for long. Within a couple of seconds, he fell forward and into the ropes, a loser by knockout at 2:16 of the round.

Jose Antonio Meza survived a 1st round knockdown to eek out an eight-round unanimous decision over Jose Gomez in a super featherweight bout.

Meza, 132 lbs of Durango, MEX won by 76-75 tallies on all cards and is now 8-6. Gomez, 131 lbs of Huntington Park, CA is 12-1.

Mexican flyweight Velazquez scores scorecard shutout

Mexican flyweight Josesito Velazquez (14-0-1, 9 KOs) possessed more power and .and a lot  more aggression, both enough to score a unanimous decision over Gilberto Mendoza (19-1-3, 10 KOs) of San Francisco in an eight-rounder, the second fight on the Canelo-Plant card. Velazquez scored a shutout (80-72) on all three scorecards. 

First Bell: Rances Barthelemy opens the show with TKO win

In an empty building and in front of vacant seats, Cuban Rances Barthelemy (29-1-1, 15 KOs) got things started with a second round TKO of Argentine Gustvao Vittori (25-10-1, 12 KOs) in a junior-welterweight matinee on a card featuring Canelo Alvarez-Caleb Plant Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Barthelemy, a former junior-lightweight and lightweight champion, landed a quick succession of punches that put Vittori down in his corner, finished at 1:54 of the second round. 

BY Norm Frauenheim-

LAS VEGAS – It was part weigh-in. Part popularity contest.

Caleb Plant made the weight and – from the sound of it – a ton of more enemies.

On any scale, Canelo Alvarez won Friday’s weigh-in by thunderous acclamation for Saturday night’s super-middleweight fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

That wasn’t exactly a surprise. Showtime’s pay-per-view telecast (6p.pm PT/9 pm ET) has always been Canelo’s show. He’s the draw, the irreplaceable dynamic that stirs up the interest, if not the drama. The odds say so. Canelo was still a 10-1 favorite late Friday, according to BetMGM.

The purses say so, too. Canelo will collect at least $40 million, or four times more than Plant’s $10-million guarantee, according to multiple sources.

Canelo, who was at the 168-pound limit Friday, appears to be close to having it all. A final piece, Plant’s International Boxing Federation belt, is expected to be in his possession. sometime Saturday night.

A lot of it depends on Plant (21-0, 12 KOs), however. Can he surprise – stun – the heavily-favored Canelo? His agile footwork and hand speed might give Canelo (56-1-2, 38 KOs) some trouble in the early rounds. Still, the questions are whether he has any real power and whether he can survive a predictable Canelo assault to body and head in the later rounds.

There were no sounds of doubt in Friday’s weigh-in crowd. There were only jeers, all for Plant at every turn. First, there were boos when he stepped onto the scale. Then, there were insults when he stepped off after weighing 167 pounds.

Plant fired back, mocking the Canelo crowd with gestures and words. He looked angry. Then, the Tennessee native turned defiant, sounding like a southern-fried Vanilla Ice.

“It’s easy to sit in those seats,’’ Plant said. “It ain’t easy to stand up here.’’

Canelo, of course, is saying that Plant won’t be standing at all when it’s over. The Mexican superstar says he’ll stop Plant between the seventh and ninth rounds.

With his growing command of English and all its expletives, Canelo trash-talked Plant while the two glared at each other. They were separated by the scale, regulators and promoters. Everybody was anxious to avoid an encore of the brawl that erupted two months ago during a news conference in Los Angeles.

Behind them, stood Mike Tyson, a former heavyweight champion known for wild news conferences and wilder moments. He was standing not far from the floor where he bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear in the notorious Bite Fight in 1997.

Tyson likes Canelo. He picks him to win

“He’s the he best fighter of his generation,’’ said Tyson, who at the time almost looked as if he were relieved not to be involved in any of the tension, words and other signs of imminent hostility.

Showtime’s Jim Gray asked him if he missed the scene, a mix of chaos and nervous anticipation.

“Not so much,’’ said Tyson, a Canelo fan who also knew how Plant felt.

He’s been there, a sign perhaps that just about anything can happen Saturday night.    Attachments area