The most anticipated boxing exhibition, perhaps in history, took place tonight at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. YouTube sensation Logan Paul surprisingly took the 50-0, 12-time, five-division boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather the distance in an eight-round exhibition.  The brave YouTube star stepped to the 44-year-old retired Mayweather in the opening round ending the first round with a flurry at the end of the round, not many if any landed. The 26-year-old Paul intelligently used his size advantage on Mayweather, at times like a weighted blanket. Mayweather was able to counter punch the bigger Paul and landed a strong left hook in round four that seemed to show flashes of the Floyd Mayweather of old. There were times it looked as if the Champ was going to kick it up a notch and take out the younger Paul, but the young Maverick survived the biggest night of his life.  At the end of the day, it was about entertainment, and the crowd, although a bit disappointed they did not see a knockout, they did witness the greatest boxer of our era for perhaps the final time in a big-time boxing event.

FLOYD MAYWEATHER“He was strong, tough and better than I thought he was. I was surprised by him tonight. That was some good little work. 

“Even without much experience, he knew to use his weight to tie me up tonight. 

“I had fun tonight. I thank all the fans who came out, you’re all unbelievable.”
LOGAN PAUL“I don’t want anyone to tell me anything is impossible ever again. The fact that I got in here with one of the greatest boxers of all time, it proves the odds can be beat. Anyone can beat the odds and do great things in life. This is one of the greatest nights of my life, I’m happy.

“It’s an honor to share the ring with Floyd. He’s one of the GOATs. This is one of the coolest things ever.”

Badou Jack KO’s Late Replacement Colina in Four

Light heavyweight Badou Jack 24-3-3 (14KO) dropped Dervin Colina 15-1(13KO) 3 times in the fourth round to secure a KO win.  Jack was dominant from the opening bell, starting unusually fast, letting his hands go. Colina often held and was deducted 2 points for holding to avoid the attack from Jack.  Colina was a late replacement after Jean Pascal tested positive for a number of banned substances, perhaps Jack’s unusual early aggression was frustration stemming from Pascal’s positive tests, in which he was very vocally upset on social media.

Badou Jack

On the Jean Pacal rematch falling out…

“People can say it’s bad luck but this is all from God. And I just have to be patient. This is God’s plan.

“The game plan was just to outbox him. Everything else will come. Definitely, hit the body. He was a little soft in the body but give him respect. He came out on short notice. He was supposed to fight next week but this is a different level.

“My goal is to become a three-division world champion. I walk around very heavy. I’m about to be 38 this year and I don’t like to cut weight so I’ll get with my team and see what’s next.

“He was trying to hold a lot and survive. I fight better when I fight better opponents. I was a little sloppy. The world class fights are when I perform the best.”

Luis Arias Upsets Jarrett Hurd in the Rain in Miami

In a thrilling junior middleweight battle, Luis Arias fought the fight of his life with a hard-earned split decision victory over former unified 154-pound champion Jarrett Hurd 24-2(16KO). Arias 19-2-1(9KO) started fast and very aggressive from the opening bell, often landing an overhand right while coming forward. Arias baited Hurd into an early inside brawl when midway through the second round a torrential Miami downpour halted the action when Arias slipped on the wet CashApp logo in the center of the ring. The rain slowed and Arias went right back to work coming after Hurd mauling with overhand rights.  Hurd had his moments in the middle rounds while taking a lot of shots himself. In a wild 9th round after another rain clean-up, Hurd scored a knockdown, however, it was a slip from the wet canvas.  Arias went on to potentially win the 9th round.  Arias came forward in the final round looking to take Hurd out, both fighters took several shots including a big shot from Hurd at the final bell that appeared to drop Arias. The official cards read 95-94 Hurd, 97-93 Arias 96-93 Arias. 15Rounds.com scored 97-92 Arias.

Luis Arias

“I came in here and challenged the No. 1 guy at 154 pounds and we fought somewhere halfway and I was able to edge a decision. Props to Jarrett Hurd. You fought a great fight. Honestly, you could have had me out of there. I was definitely buzzed. If you would have found a way, I definitely would have gone down.

“He is a great fighter and like I told him afterwards, he came in here and fought his heart out. He definitely should have taken more time off with what he was dealing with outside of the ring.

“We’re here. I never quit on myself. People close to me were telling me to get a job and quit boxing. I just beat a former champion. Don’t ever give up on yourself.

“I would like to thank Ismael Salas as well. I came to him semi-late. About six or seven weeks and I needed to change something in my game plan to beat Jarrett. The things I was doing before would have gotten me a loss tonight. I needed somebody to just tweak a little bit and put my game up a little bit so I could beat this champion. Jarrett is a hell of a fighter and he’s not done.

“My key to victory was staying confident. Staying confident and sticking to the game plan. Knowing I’m the better fighter. Knowing I’m in better shape and I hit harder. I’m a better boxer and my defense is better. I’m better than him and I just proved it.

“The game plan was to jump on him, get the early lead and keep it. I felt like in the middle rounds I was wining the fight but you never know because I wasn’t the A-side in this fight. I buzzed him a lot especially on the inside. If we were fighting at 154, he would have gotten knocked out. Everybody knows it.

“I’ve been around the Charlos. They are great champions. I’m not going to sit here and call out [Jermell] Charlo. I have to earn my stripes. Had I beat Hurd at 154, maybe I could mention him. But I can’t. The goal is to go down to 154 pounds and fight a former challenger.”

Jarrett Hurd

“I’m not sure what went wrong tonight. I believe I won the fight. I had a knockdown. I could make a hundred excuses but it wasn’t a great performance.

“The plan coming out in the first round was to box. I wasn’t as confident in my feet as the rain came down, so I had to go toe-to-toe more. That wasn’t really what we trained for, so I was a bit sloppy.

“I’ll take the rematch at whatever weight. I know I’m the better man.”

Chad Johnson dropped in Exhibition

Six-time NFL Pro Bowler Chad “Ocho Cinco” Johnson showed up, and showed out in his hometown of Miami in a four-round battle with MMA and bare-knuckle veteran Brian Maxwell. The southpaw “Ocho Cinco” got off to a good start showing his boxing skills with footwork, athleticism, catching Maxwell with right hooks, and occasional straight left hands while avoiding Maxwell’s attack, most of the early rounds. The fight turned scrappy at times with Maxwell from Roanoke, VA who holds a combined record of 2-6 in MMA and Bareknuckle saw an opportunity to take his idol down.  Maxwell kept pressing and caught Johnson relaxing a bit in the final round and dropped the former Pro Bowler Johnson who got up to see the final bell. 15Rounds.com scored the fight 38-37 Maxwell.  The fight was declared a Spirited Exhibition by ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr.

Johnson has been training in the offseason since high school and held his camp for this fight with the Charlo Brothers in Houston. Johnson said afterward he was happy to “Get this off of his bucket list” and “I am ready for Conor”.

Brian Maxwell

“Ask the world who Brian Maxwell is now. Brain Maxwell is here. Thank you, Chad. It was an honor fighting my idol and I appreciate it.”

Chad Johnson

“I had fun. I had two months to get ready for this and I want to thank God for keeping us safe out there. I want to thank Floyd, Leonard Ellerbe and my whole team for allowing me to check this off my bucket list. My life has always been about taking chances and doing crazy stuff and this is just one off my bucket list. It’s a message for a lot of people who are scared to fail, scared to lose, scared to take chances to go out there and live. Don’t be scared to fail, it’s okay. I don’t box. I fight but it ain’t in the ring so of course I was a little sloppy.”

Mayweather Promotions Adrian Benton improved to 5-0 (3KO) with a unanimous decision win over the hard-charging Pedro Cruz 1-1(1KO) fighting out of San Jose California. Cruz came forward the whole fight and found early success, finding the swift-footed Benton in a competitive scrap. Benton started timing Cruz with counterpunching and angles, separating with the lead as the fight wore on. By the fourth round, Benton was having his way with Cruz, who never stopped coming forward. The cards read 40-36 thrice.  I gave Cruz the second round.

Hard punching super lightweight Jean Carlos Torres 19-0 (15 KO) dropped Zack Kuhn 10-8-1 three times on his way to a destructive second-round knockout. A slow-starting first round quickly heated up when Torres started letting his hands go, dropping Kuhn twice in the first round. A ripping left hook from Torres immediately dropped Kuhn ending the fight at 41 of round two.

Highly decorated amateur and Mayweather Promotions rookie Jalil Hackett out of Washington D.C. took his talents to Miami, and made an impressive successful debut with an early first-round destruction over debuting Dallas, TX product Angelo Diaz.  Hackett came out firing, hitting Diaz nearly at will, and finally dispensed Diaz in the corner with a slick hook and straight right hand resulting in a knockout win 1:10 of round one.

The Floyd Mayweather vs Logan Paul event kicked off with competitive professional boxing as Buckeye, Arizona’s Dorian Mark Khan Jr 1-0 (1KO) who made his professional debut in hot Miami style with a TKO win over Jonathan Gray 0-4.  The southpaw Kahn was sharpshooting from round one, and aggressively progressed through round two dropping the game Gray who, by advisement of his corner did not answer the bell through for the third round.

A huge crowd collected at the Hard Rock live in Hollywood Florida for the Logan Paul Floyd Mayweather weigh-in.

26 year old, 6’ 3” Logan Paul weighed 189.5 a day ahead of his clash with boxing great 44 years old 5’ 8” Floyd Mayweather who came in 34.5 pounds lighter at 155.  

The exhibition is set for tomorrow with no rehydration rule in place meaning Paul could come in much heavier.  The match will be held with 10-ounce gloves and no scoring or decision will be called at the conclusion.  Knockouts are legal.

“I’ve been here before, I know what it takes,” Mayweather said. “I fought every different style you can possibly fight. Height don’t win fights, weight don’t win fights, fighting wins fights and I can fight.”

“He’s not ready,” Paul said after weighing in. “He doesn’t know what to expect. This isn’t the biggest fight of my life, it’s the biggest fight of his life. … I’m going to get it done, it’s a fight and anything can happen. Floyd’s not ready, that’s all I can say.”

Also weighing in for a separate exhibition matchup was Former NFL star wide receiver and Miami native Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson 179.5 who will be making his unofficial boxing debut against MMA and bare-knuckle boxing veteran Brian Maxwell 183.5.  This match will be the first of four on the main card starting at 8 pm EST.  (PPV $49.99)

PHILADELPHIA–Genc Pllana stopped hometown favorite Brandon Robinson in the eighth and final round of their super middleweight clash that headlined the evening session of a King’s Promotions day-night doubleheader at the 2300 Arena

It was a spirited bout throughout the contest that saw Pllana forge ahead on the strength of a jab that he followed up by flurries of scoring blows that weren’t impactful, but more of controlling shots. Robinson created some offense of his own against the awkward Pllana. In the later rounds, it seemed that Pllna was wearing Robinson, and in round eight he cracked Robinson with a hard right hand in the corner that put Robinson down, and the fight was stopped at 33 seconds.

Pllana of Hagerstown, MD is 9-3-1 with five knockouts. Robinson of Philadelphia is 15-3.

In a battle of undefeated lightweights,, James Bernadin took a six-round unanimous decision over Osvaldo Morales.

Bernadin of Lancaster, PA won by scores of 60-54, 59-55 and 58-56 and is now 4-0-1. Morales of Harrisburg is 4-1.

Fan-favorite Elijah Morales won a four-round unanimous decision over Andres Abarco in a welterweight fight.

Morales of Trenton, NJ won by scores of 40-36 on all cards and is now 8-0, Abarco of Normandy Park, WA is 2-5.

Jonathan Rodriguez won a four-round unanimous decision over Sebastian Baltazar in a bantamweight contest.

Rodriguez of Bethlehem, PA won by scores twice and 39-37 and is now 9-1. Baltazar if Tacoma, WA is 1-5.

Rafiq Muhammad remained undefeated by stopping Rasheed Johnson in round four of their scheduled six-round welterweight fight.

In round four, Muhammad dropped Johnson with a hard right hand in the corner. Johnson was hurt, yet tried to fight back, but caught again and was driven into the ropes where he ate several more flush shots and the fight was stopped at 2:40

Muhammad of Richmond, VA is 5-0 with three knockouts. Johnson of Philadelphia is 7-4.

Khainell Wheeler stopped Vincent Baccus in round one of their scheduled six-round super middleweight clash.

In round one. Wheeler dropped Baccus with an uppercut. Seconds later it was a counter right that hurt Baccus and backed him into the ropes that was followed up by a right that sent Baccus down and the fight was stopped at 2:46.

Wheeler of Bethlehem, PA is 5-1 with five knockouts. Baccus of Okmulgee, OK is 4-3-1.

Roudly Lolo stopped debuting Eric Monroe in the opening round of their scheduled four-round middleweight fight.

The came out and set a furious pace as they landed some hard shots until one blasted off of the head of Monroe that sent the first-time to the canvas. Lolo landed a flurry of punches that sent Monroe plummeting down, and the fight was stopped at 1:43.

Lolo of Harrisburg, PA is 1-0-1 with one knockout. Monroe of Philadelphia is 0-1.

PHILADELPHIA–Devar Ferhadi won an eight-round unanimous decision in a battle of super middleweights that headlined the King’s Promotions matinee portion of a day-night doubleheader at the 2300 Arena.

Ferhadi of Frederick, Maryland, won by scores of 80-72 and 79-73 twice to raise his perfect mark to 9-0. Mansfield, of Burlington, NC is 7-4-1.

Andrew Rodgers scored an upset as he took a six-round unanimous decision over Greg Outlaw in a junior welterweight fight.

The fight was hotly contested throughout with Rodgers getting inside on the longer Outlaw. In round five,, the pressure of Rodgers forced a knockdown.

That was the difference in the fight as Rodgers won by scores of 58-55 twice and 57-56 to improve to 5-9. Outlaw of Bowie, MD is 8-1.

Joseph Jackson remained undefeated with an opening round stoppage over Terrance Williams in a junior middleweight bout.

Jackson landed a perfect left hook to the body that sent Williams down for the 10-count at 2:42.

Jackson of Greensboro, NC is 17-0 with 13 knockouts. Williams of Harrisburg, PA is 5-5-1.

Christian Bermudez remained undefeated with a 47 second stoppage over Lawrence Mertagh in a junior welterweight bout.

Bermudez of Brooklyn is 4-0 with three knockouts. Mertagh of Brooklyn was making his pro debut.

Kashon Hutchinson stopped previously undefeated Edgar Torres 46 seconds into round one of their scheduled six-round welterweight bout.

In round one, Hutchinson dropped Torres with a flurry of head shots. Hutchinson followed up with a some flush power shots, and the fight was stopped after a perfect left to the head that rocked Torres at 46 seconds.

Hutchinson of Reading, PA is 8-5 with two knockouts. Torres of Springfield, VA is 8-1-1.

Quadir Albright stopped Isaac Hayne in the opening round of a battle of pro debuting junior welterweights.

Albright landed a leaping right that sent Haynes down and the fight was stopped 65 seconds into the contest.

Albright of Philadelphia is 1-0 with one knockout/ Haynes of Albany, NY is 0-1.

15ROUNDS.COM Johnny Farace was on hand in Miami, Florida where YouTube sensation Logan Paul worked out for the media at the legendary 5th Street Gym in Miami Beach. Paul and Hall of Famer Floyd Mayweather are just days away from their highly anticipated June 6 showdown. Paul was very confident stating he would hand the legend Mayweather his first loss.  Paul stated he weighed194 today after a long camp in Puerto Rico with trainer Milton Lacroix and his team. He also said they do not have Floyds hat.  Paul looked very good on the jump rope, and threw some heavy punches on the gigantic heavy bag at the legendary 5th Street Gym.  His mitt work was questionable however as he resembled the novice professional he actually is despite landing a PPV fight with who was once a king of the sport. Mayweather sees this as a legal robbery and showed much emotion and anger after the younger Paul snatched his hat in Miami a couple of weeks ago.  

Devin Haney retained the WBC Lightweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over former three-division champion Jorge Linares at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Haney dominated the action as he mixed up his punches as he started featuring the his jab. That punch set up good rights and uppercuts that built him a good lead as the headed to the last part of the fight.

In round 10, Linares landed a hard right at the bell that rocked Haney and buckled his legs, Haney survived a few anxious moments but literally held on for the victory by scores of 116-112 twice and 115-113.

Haney landed 215 of 675 punches; Linares was 116 of 620.

Haney, 135 lbs of Las Vegas is now 26-0. Linares, 135 lbs of Barinas, VEN is 47-6.

“The fans want to see that,” said Haney. “They want to see if I can go in there and walk my opponent down. Hit him with big shots. I showed I can do it all, I can box, I can bang, I can take a shot and face adversity and get the job done.
 
“It was a good shot, but I wasn’t hurt, sometimes when you get hit by a good shot, you have to be smart, continue the game plan, and I did that and got the win.
 
“I knew he was going to come here and give it everything, it was a huge opportunity for him, he would be willing to get knocked out to go for the win, take my biggest shots to get this title.
 
“I just kept smart, used the jabs, feinted and landed shots in the 12th round. You are going to get hit with big shots in boxing. I didn’t get dropped; I didn’t get hurt. You see fighters get dropped and get up from big shots and people praise them, I didn’t get dropped, I stayed on my feet, kept throwing shots and closed it out.
 
“I want to fight the best, I stayed focused on Jorge this week, I knew he was a tough competitor, and I got the job done with the game plan. If Teofimo Lopez wants to do it next, let’s do it for all the belts, the real undisputed.”

Cameron stops Hernandez in 5; Defends Super Lightweight Title

Chantelle Cameron defended the WBC Super Bantamweight world title with a fifth round stoppage over former world champion Melissa Hernandez.

Cameron dropped Hernandez with a right hand in round four. Cameron dominated the fight, but for some reason the fight was stopped during a lull in the action.

Cameron, 139,2 lbs of Northampton, UK is now 14-0 with eight knockouts. Hernandez, 136.2 lbs of Miami, Lbs is 23-8-3.

Quigley wins Majority Decision over Mosley Jr.

Jason Quigley won a 10-round majority decision over Shane Mosley Jr, in a middleweight bout.

Quigley landed 159 of 496 punches; Mosley was 144 of 572.

Quigley, 159.4 lbs of Bellybofey, IRE won by scores of 97-93, 96-94 and 95-95 and is now 19-1. Mosley, 160 lbs of Pomona, CA is 17-4.

Fuzile stops Ward in 7

Azinga Fuzile stopped Marti J Ward in round seven of their scheduled 12-round super featherweight bout.

In round four, Fuzile dropped Ward with a right hook to the side for the head.

In round seven, It was another right hook the sent Ward down again. The two banged legs, and Ward was the worse off of that exchange. Ward got to his feet with his face all bloody and the fight was stopped at 1:10.

Fuzile, 129,2 lbs of East London, SA is 15-2 with nine knockouts. Ward, 129.6 lbs of Brentwood, UK is 24-2-2.

Coe Stops Tadd in 2

Khalil Coe made a successful pro debut with a 2nd round stoppage over Nathaniel Tadd in a light heavyweight bout.

In round one, Coe dropped Tadd twice. First he hurt Tadd with a body shot. Coe followed up with a flurry of body shots that sent Tadd down to the canvas. Coe went right back to that body, and landed a big uppercut and down went Tadd for a second time. In round two, It was another left to the body that sent Tadd down for a third time, and the fight was stopped at 1:10.

Coe, 176.2 lbs of Jersey City, NJ is 1-0 with one knockout. Tadd, 179 lbs of Houston is 2-5.

Reshat Mati remained undefeated with a six-round unanimous decision over Ryan Pino in a welterweight bout.

Mati, 145.8 lbs of Staten Island, NY won by scores of 60-54 and 58-56 twice and is now 10-0. Pino 146.8 lbs of San Juan, PR is 8-7-2.

Ramla Ali remained undefeated by winning a six-round unanimous decision over Mikayala Nebel in a featherweight contest.

Ali, 124 lbs of London, UK won by scores of 60-54 on all cards, and is now 3-0. Nebel, 124.6 lbs of Las Vegas is 4-9.

Amari Jones stopped Jonathan Burrs in the first round of their four-round super welterweight bout.

Jones landed a hard left that dropped Burrs and when Burrs got to his feet, the fight was stopped at 2:56.

Jones, 153.6 lbs of Las Vegas is 2-0 with two knockouts. Burrs, 153 lbs of Frederick, MD is 3-4.

Esteban Bermudez shocked previously undefeated Carlos Canizales to win the WBA Light Flyweight title in Mexico City.

In round six, Bermudez landed a hard left that put Canizales on his back. Canizales got to his feet only to eat another hard hook to the head that sent him sprawling on his back, and the fight was stopped.

Bermudez is now 14-3-2 with 10 knockouts. Canizales is now 22-1-1.

David Carmona won a 10-round unanimous decision over Belmar Preciado in a super bantamweight contest.

Carmona is now 22-6-5. Preciado is 21-4-1.

Elvis Garcia stopped Luis Montiel in the first round.

LAS VEGAS – No dispute.

Josh Taylor made sure of it, knocking down Jose Ramirez twice enroute to winning all of the pieces to the junior-welterweight title with unanimous decision Saturday night in front of a small crowd at Virgin Hotels and an ESPN audience.

 The judges scored it the same way. It was 114-112 — once, twice, three times — all for Taylor. The margin was only two points, a nod perhaps to Ramirez’ toughness. But the difference between the two was clear, indisputable. There was no argument. No need for a rematch.

Taylor moved toward an even bigger date, perhaps with leading pound-for-pound contender Terence Crawford at a heavier weight, welter. But there were no lingering questions Saturday about who he was. There’s not a better 140-pound fighter on this planet or any other.

“I have been waiting for this moment all my life,’’ he said to a crowd of fellow Scots who chanted his name and waved the Scottish flag.

Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs) seized the moment midway through the fight with all of his advertised guile and power. He had promised to knock out Ramirez (26-1, 12 KOs). But that was the only promise he didn’t keep. He knocked put everything else, including some early doubt.  

Ramirez was first to enter the ring, wearing a robe in bright colors and dark shoes. Taylor followed, clad in Scottish tartan and a waistband in gold. It was a clash of culture. A clash of colors. A clash of styles.

After a couple of days marked by escalating trash talk, they had finally arrived at the moment when they would communicate with hands bound in white gloves and loaded with dark intent.  

Ramirez was the first to strike. For three plus rounds, he moved forward throwing right hand leads with his first step toward Taylor. It appeared to surprise Taylor. For few moments, the Scotsman looked uncertain, even dazed. But he would recover, adjust and mount the fight’s second and third strikes.

Late in the fourth and throughout the fifth, Taylor seemed to regain his footing and eventually the momentum. He imposed his will, if not his superior height on Ramirez, moving forward in much the same way that Ramirez had in the earlier rounds.

In the sixth, Taylor caught, a left-handed counter that landed on Ramirez’ chin and dropped him onto the canvas. In the seventh, Taylor struck again, this time in the split second after referee Kenny Bayless separated them. Bayless stepped back from the break and Taylor fired a left uppercut.

Ramirez was back on the canvas, down for a second time. He got up. But the spring in that first forward step was gone.

Suddenly, Taylor looked bigger.

Looked stronger.

Looked to be in control.

He was.

“We used his aggression against him,’’ Taylor said. “No disrespect. I’ve got nothing but love for Ramirez. This week was no disrespect. It was all part of the mind games to get in his head, to make him more eager to jump in at me and be more aggressive, to use his aggression against him.”

Ramirez wasn’t finished after the knockdowns. He never is. He carried on the fight with the resilience that has been a trademark to his career and his character. In the eleventh, an incoming Ramirez appeared to stun Taylor, who fell into him and then hung onto him. But it wasn’t enough and Taylor knew it. He waved a gloved right hand at the crowd, limited to 750 people by COVID protocol, as he walked to his corner after the eleventh.

One more round, and there would be no dispute.  

“I’ve got nothing but love for Ramirez. This week was no disrespect. It was all part of the mind games to get in his head, to make him more eager to jump in at me and be more aggressive, to use his aggression against him.

“I thought the scorecards were a little tight. I thought they were well wider than that. I wasn’t too happy with the selection of the judges, but I wasn’t going to moan. I was confident in winning this fight anyway.”

Ramirez said, “He took advantage of some of those clinches but, hey, I got back up and tried to give it my best and stay smart. I was never hurt. I was aware. I was just disappointed every time it happened. I tried to shake it off and get back to my rhythm. But it was overall a good fight. Hopefully, I get back and I learn from my mistakes. You win some and you lose some. 

“I felt like I landed some clean shots. It came down to the clinches. He would let his hands go as soon as he got his chance and I think I left it to the referee to do his part and it was a lack of experience on my part.”

Zepeda Decisions Lundy

Jose Zepeda didn’t have much time to celebrate. He won with precise punches. Then, he went back to work as a hopeful observer.

Zepeda (34-2, 26 KOs) kept himself in line for a junior-welterweight title with a unanimous decision, 98–92 on all three cards, over Hank Lundy (31-9-1, 14 KOs) Saturday in the Theater at Virgin Hotels.

Then, he took seat, hopeful for a shot at the winner of the next fight, Jose Ramirez-versus-Josh Taylor for all of the pieces to the 140-pound title. Zepeda, of Long Beach, Calif., looked solid against Lundy, a Philadelphia fighter. For 10 rounds, it was all business for Zepeda, who was coming off a wild Fight of the Year in October when he got up from four knockdowns to knock out Ivan Baranchyk. In 2019, he lost a majority decision to Ramirez.     

Sims Upsets Rodriguez via Majority Decision

The show began with an upset. Kenneth Sims Jr. scored it, opening the ESPN telecast for the Jose Ramirez-Josh Taylor bout with a stunner, a majority decision over junior-welterweight prospect Elvis Rodriquez at Las Vegas’ Virgin Hotels. Rodriguez (11-1-1, 10 KOs), of the Dominican Republic, started strong. But he appeared to tire midway through the eight-rounder. Sims (16-2-1, 5 KOs), began to catch up with him, rocking him with repeated blows and staggering him in the closing moments of a bout that ended with him leading on two cards, 78-74 on each. On the third, it was a draw, 76–76.  

Sims remarked, “I got a baby on the way, so that’s all the extra motivation I needed.” 

Mexican featherweight Jose Vivas overcame two knockdowns and a point reduction for a low blow to score a unanimous, yet narrow decision over Louie Coria of Moreno Valley, Calif. Vivas (21-1, 11 KOs) looked beaten in the third when Coria (12-5, 7 KOs) dropped him twice. But Rivas, a Manny Robles-trained fighter, came roaring back with an aggressive inside attack. Over the next five rounds, Vivas rocked him with repeated body blows. The judges noticed. All three scored it, 75-74, for him in the final fight on the ESPN+ portion of the Ramirez-Taylor card. 

Las Vegas junior-lightweight Andres Cortes (14-0, 7 KOs) relied on aggressiveness in a tough fight to stay unbeaten, scoring a 77-75, 78-74, 75-3 decision over Eduardo Garza (15-4-1, 8 KOs), a Texas fighter who kept it close with body punching throughout eight rounds of the fourth fight on Ramirez-Taylor card.  

Cuban featherweight Robeisy Ramirez (7-1, 4 KOs) combined precision and power to score repeatedly over six rounds for a one-sided decision over Ryan Allen (10-5-1, 5 KOs) of Las Vegas. Allen’s hands-down defense left him wide open for repeated blows from Ramirez throughout the third bout on the Jose Ramirez-Josh Taylor card.  

Raymond Muratalia (12-0 10 KOs), a lightweight from Fontana, Calif.,  had all the advantages. His strength, size and power overwhelmed Jose Gallegos (20-11, 15 KOs) midway through the fifth round of a scheduled eight-rounder. It was over, a TKO, at 1:40 of the round during the second fight on card featuring Jose Ramirez-Josh Taylor at Las Vegas’ Virgin Hotels.

Javier Martinez remained undefeated with a fourth round stoppage over Calvin Metcalf in a scheduled six-round middleweight bout.

In round four, Martinez landed a perfect right hook to the head that sent Metcalf down and out at 1:33.

Martinez, 162.5 lbs of Milwaukee, WI is 4-0 with two knockouts. Metcalf, 160.4 lbs of Kansas City, MO is 10-6-1.

Jonathan Rodriguez stopped Armando Torres in round four of a scheduled 10-round light flyweight bout between former world title challengers at the Bryan Glazer Family JCC Auditorium in Tampa, Florida.

In round four, Torres was cut over his left eye from a headbutt. The fight went on, but not for much longer, as Rodriguez landed flurries that made Torres turn his back on two occasions and the fight was stopped.

Rodriguez, 108 lbs of Caguas, PR is now 24-3-1 with 14 knockouts. Torres, 108 lbs of Mexico is 26-19.

In a battle of undefeated super featherweights, Otar Eranoyan won a 10-round unanimous decision over Juan Argel.

In round four, Eranosyan was cut around his right eye. That did not deter Eranosyan as he won by scores of 100-90 twice and 99-91, and is now 8-0. Argel is 8-1.

Congratulations to 15rounds.com own Norm Frauenheim for placing 1st place in the BWAA Writing Awards in the column category.

Frauenheim’s winning entry, Defiance not enough to keep coronavirus off an island or the UFC on ESPN, Dana White taps out beat all other submissions in the category.

Well deserved for a great writer and better person.

Congrats Norm

Brandon Figueroa stopped Luis Nery in round seven to add the WBC Super Bantamweight title to add to his WBA belt at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

It was a rugged fight with the fight being mostly contested on the inside. Nery got the better of most of the first part of the fight. The tide began to turn at the end of round six with Figueroa landing power shots on the inside. In round seven he continued the accuracy until he landed perfect left to the solar plexus that sent Nery down for the count at 2:!8.

Figueroa, 121.2 lbs of Weslaco, TX is now 22-0-1 with 17 knockouts. Nery, 122 lbs of Tijuana, MEX is 31-1.

Brandon Figueroa

“It feels amazing, this is a dream come true. I know everyone doubted me, but here I am with the belt. It’s all thanks to hard work and dedication.

“You saw tonight what I can do. I brought it to him and the hard work paid off. We did our homework. We did a great job in the gym and just took it to him.

“The plan was to break him. Joel Diaz told me to pressure him and that he wouldn’t last. That’s exactly what happened.

“I knew he was getting tired, he was trying to box me. I saw him breathing heavy. My team just said it was time to go get him.

“We’ve been waiting for this fight against and it’s finally gonna happen. I knew I had to get through Luis Nery first. Everything has it’s time. I envisioned that I was going to beat Nery and now I see myself beating Fulton. I know he’s coming with everything he’s got and that we’re gonna give the fans a hell of a show.”

Stephen Fulton

“Hell of a performance by Brandon tonight. That’s what I predicted would happen. This is my time now though. I’ve been waiting for this moment to finally fight Brandon.

“I knew that Brandon would fight how he always fights. I’m just ready for my time against him. We’re going to put on a hell of a performance. Congratulations to him tonight, but I’m coming next.”

Roman decisions Espinoza

Former unified world champion Danny Roman won a 10-round unanimous decision over Ricardo Espinoza in a super bantamweight fight

It was a spirited battle that was fought at close quarters throughout. In round eight, Espinoza began bleeding from his face.

Roman landed of 220 of 756 punches; Espinoza was 190 of 724.

Roman, 122 lbs of Los Angeles won by scores of 98-92 twice and 97-93 and is now 29-3-1. Espinoza, 121.6 lbs of Tijuana, MEX is 25-4.

Danny Roman:

“This win is a step closer to getting back on top and getting a world title once again. I knew he was a tough fighter who hit hard, so I had to fight smart and make adjustments.

“I started to get my distance and started fighting my fight and controlling the ring. Once I did that, everything started to fall into place. I was surprised he went the distance, but he has a lot of heart. He’s a tough fighter.

“I’m the mandatory, so I want a title shot now. I want the winner of the main event.

“I won the mandatory for the WBC belt in September against Payano. I am the mandatory to fight the champion. I had a great fight tonight and I believe deserve the chance.

“I still got it, I am still up there. I am just waiting to get back on top.

On Murodjon Akhmadaliev: “I still want the rematch. I still have unfinished business in MJ. I don’t know what he’s got scheduled but I will take that fight.

“He was bleeding, he was hurt. But he came to fight. He came to die in the ring. He has a lot of guts. But it was my night.” 

“He was open for those uppercuts. I adjusted to his fighting style, he was more aggressive than I thought he would be. But then when I adjusted, those uppercuts were there for me all night.”

“The guy hits hard. He is a strong fighter. But you know what? I was more resistant and I took his shots. He wasn’t able to take my shots.”

Ricardo Espinoza:

“I felt good overall. I could have pressured him a bit more, close his angles, but it was a good fight.

“Now I want to rest and look forward to my next fight. You win some, you lose some, and tonight I lost.

“Danny is a tough fighter who withstood a lot of shots to the head, a quality opponent.”

Martinez Decisions Burgos

Xavier Martinez remained undefeated with a 10-round unanimous decision over three-time world title challenger Juan Carlos Burgos in a junior lightweight bout.

Martinez landed 329 of 891 punches; Burgos was 261 of 830.

Martinez, 131.6 lbs of Sacramento, CA won by scores of 99-91 on all cards and is now 17-0. Burgos, 131.8 lbs of Tijuana, MEX is 34-5-2.

Xavier Martinez:

“I wasn’t surprised he came forward. He’s a tough competitor. I thank him for taking the fight, he was tough as hell. These kind of fights are going to help me get better.

“It was a fun fight. I know the fans enjoyed the fight. I thought I could have done better, but I was landing clean, hard shots throughout. Even when he was throwing, I was slipping a lot of them and catching him. I showed I can hang in there with tough fighters.

“I could have boxed him more but I wanted to give the fans action. There’s nothing to complain about – I got the victory. I made it tougher on myself but I will learn from it. It’s back to the drawing board but it’s a great victory.

“I fought two very experienced fighters back to back. I like these fights and I won’t complain. Whatever my team has in store for me, I will take it.

“It wasn’t that close. I could give him a round or two. There was a round or two where I stepped back too much. Even when he was throwing, I was catching and slipping.

“I do have a rivalry with Chris Colbert. That’s not a secret, everyone knows that. If we can make that happen, that would be cool. That would be a really fun fight for both of us. He’s a boxer, I come forward. We will cause a lot of fireworks with that one.”

Juan Carlos Burgos:

“I am happy and excited to put on a good show. All in all, I am just glad that the fans enjoyed the fight.

“He was a great opponent. Many people don’t know that I was brought in on late notice. Just two weeks in advance. That’s not an excuse but just the reality. Martinez fought a hell of a fight. He is definitely one of the best opponents I have ever faced.

On the scorecards: “I was shocked. I was surprised. I did not think I only won one round. The public opinion and the fact that the fans were booing is what I take with me today. The fans spoke louder than the cards. I am glad to have given them an exciting fight.”

Joshua Buatsi stopped Daniel Dos Santos in round four of their scheduled 10-round light heavyweight at The Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

In round four, Buatsi landed a devastating overhand right to the face of Dos Santos, who like a ton of bricks, and the fight was over at 2:44.

Buatsi, 174 lbs of Croydon, ENG is 14-0 with 12 knockouts. Dos Santos, 174.1 lbs of Point-Sainte-Maxence, FRA is 15-1.

“I hope he’s okay,” Buatsi told Matchroom. “We’ve seen this happen to many fighters. You box someone they say you’re levels above and it’s a banana skin situation. I’m glad I handled it. The most important thing is I hope he’s okay. We’ve seen these type of fighters come and cause upsets recently and I was adamant it wasn’t going to happen to me. I’m glad it went well.

“I remain optimistic all of the time in the moves that I make and this is one of them. We will have a week or so off and then we’re back in the gym to keep building. Going in we had little footage of him. Usually you can watch who you’re going to fight to get a feel. He looked very good in the one bit of footage we had of him. I had to learn round by round what he was like.

“Virgil gave me the perfect instructions and I followed them. I haven’t got here by being given it. The little that I’ve earnt, I had to work hard for it. I thank god for everything that we’ve got but I work hard for it. When I step in that ring it’s a dog mentality. This is a fight. I’m here to take everything. We’re here to win but we’re not here to hurt anyone. The time that we’re in the ring, yes, we want to win, and we want to entertain. We’re not here to hurt anyone in the long-term.”

Richards Decisons De Carolis

Lerrone Richards won an easy 12-round unanimous decision over Giovanni De Caolins in a super middleweight.

Richards, 167 lbs of New Malden, ENG won by scores of 120-108 twice and 119-109, and is now 15-0. De Carolis, 167.4 lbs of Vitebo, ITA is 28-10-1.

“I said I was going to conquer Europe, and I’ve done it,” Richards told Matchroom. “I’m very pleased and I’m very happy. I wanted this so bad to complete the collection. British, Commonwealth and now the European Super-Middleweight Champion. I’m very happy.

“It’s all of the drilling and all of the work in the gym. I’d like to thank my team – Dave Coldwell, Danny Wilson and my nutritionist Lee for getting me in the best shape possible for this fight. I’m going to be very difficult to beat. I said this from the start. It’s all about the skills, and I have them in abundance. I showcased a little bit of that tonight.

“There were points in the fight where I decided to sit in the pocket and work with him. I could have gone up the gears a little bit more tonight. I felt like what I was doing was enough. My team are very happy with my performance.

“I started from the bottom and worked my way up – I backed myself. There’s something to learn at every level. We’ll see what the team says the best options are for me. The next step now is fringe world level.”

Jason Cunningham dropped Gamal Yafai three-times en-route to a 12-round unanimous decision in a super bantamweight bout.

In round two, Cinningham dropped Yafai with a straight left. In round four, Cunningham dropped Yafai with a counter left. In round six, Cunningham dropped Yafai.

Yafai rallied down the stretch and hurt Cunningham down the stretch, but it was too little-too late as Cunningham won by scores of 115-110 and 114-111 twice.

Cunningham, 121.8 lbs of Doncaster, ENG is 29-6. Yafai, 121. lbs of Birmingham, ENG is 18-2.

Cunningham avenged a loss to Gamal’s brother Khalid.

“We’re buzzing,” said Cunningham. “We’re from a little town called Doncaster. We’ve got a British, European and World Champion – that’s some doing that. In at three weeks’ notice – I won my second Commonwealth Title at three weeks’ notice. They tried catching me out tonight, I don’t care what anyone says – that’s what they’ve done. 

“I’ve stayed prepared, stayed disciplined and dedicated. This is what happens when you stick to it. I was in this venue last time I had a big fight against Michael Conlan. I pushed Michael Conlan hard. I had to grit in late on tonight – he hurt me a few times to the body. I’ll never quit. It’s my boxing ability that sets me above the rest. I’m an awkward tall southpaw.

“I said I knew I had the tools to do it. I said I’d have done a better job if I had more notice but to be fair, I dropped him three times and it was quite comfortable really. I knew to keep calm and carry on what I was doing. I stuck to it and this is my reward. I made a lot of people in Doncaster a lot of money tonight.

“I showed my class, I was levels above him in terms of boxing ability. Usually you get a good ten weeks’ notice for a European Title fight – it was the biggest fight of my life. I’ve been out of the ring since February last year. Tonight was just my night, I knew I was all wrong for him.”

Tommy McCarthy stopped Alezandru Jur in round six of a scheduled 12-round cruiserweight bout,

In round four, McCarthy dropped Jur with a left to the body. Two rounds later, it was another left to the body, but this time Jur was down for the count of 10 at 2:09.

McCarthy, 199.4 lbs of Belfast, NI is 18-2 with nine knockouts. Jur, 198.7 lbs of Ordea, ROM is 19-5.

“I’m delighted,” McCarthy told Matchroom. “I got a few rounds in and a stoppage. I got everything that I wanted. We prepared for Jur to give me a good test. I don’t think he expected me to come out the way that I did. It threw him off a bit. I can’t complain.

“I thought it was all over after the first knockdown. Feinted to the head, left hook to the body and he went over. He went into survival mode after that. It was the same again with the next one. I’ve been working hard with my team all through camp. We’ve been doing all sorts of drills. We’ve been working on being explosive. The S and C training was all focused on me being explosive. I’m a hard puncher.

“Everything was perfect this camp – no injuries. I was driving them shots through him, it was great. The pandemic has been great for me, I’ve kept my head down, stayed in the gym and worked on my whole game. I hope everybody is buzzing back home in Belfast.

“I’ve got no problem fighting Chris Billam-Smith, it’s easy work. If this is the hurdle that I have to jump over for a World Title fight, then so be it. Chris Billam-Smith, stop Tweeting about me, stop talking about me – we’ll see you at Fight Camp.”

Dalton Smith remained undefeated with a beatdown sixth round stoppage over Lee Appleyard in a scheduled 10-round junior welterweight bout.

Smith dominated throughout until the fight was stopped at 2:44

Smith, 139.9 lbs of Sheffield, ENG is 8-0 with seven knockouts. Aplleyard, 139.1 lbs of Rotherham, ENG is 16-6-1.

“I’ve got my first professional Title,” said Smith. “I’ve dreamt about this since I was a little boy. I’m English Champion! It’s the starting block for me. When the fight first got announced, I thought, ‘it’s just an English Title’, but now I’ve got it it’s like, ‘wow, I’m a professional Champion now’. It feels good.

“All credit to Lee – he’s one tough kid. I was prepared for a fast-paced ten rounds tonight, but he was just taking a few too many shots in there. I’m good friends with Lee out of the ring. When you go in there it’s just business. I could see his face was getting bust up pretty bad. I kind of felt sorry for him in a way. I’ve got respect for him. I knew eventually the shots would come and I knew he wasn’t going to last long.

“I’m happy with my performance. You want to win in style. The knockouts are good. We want to win but we don’t want anyone to come out of there hurt. People forget that was my eighth pro fight there. Lee is an experienced guy and he’s been in with some top kids. He’s been those championship rounds.

“I’m taking my time, I’m 24. I’ve got one shot at boxing; I want to make sure that I do it right. I’m not in there with no mugs – they’re real contenders. That was a good step up and I proved what I’m about. I’m not a championship round fighter yet. Kay Prosper just boxed for the European Title – they’re the type of fights that I want. I want to get those championship rounds in, I’m in a tough division. Maybe I’ll get over to the States in my next fight, get a bit of experience over there. I’d love to do that.”

Solomon Dacres made a successful pro debut with an easy six-round unanimous decision over Mladen Manev in a heavyweight bout.

Dacres, 221.1 lbs of Birmingham, ENG won by a 60-54 score and is 1-0. Manev, 233 lbs of Sofia BUL is 3-9.

“It was good to get six rounds under my belt,” Dacres told Matchroom. “I know a lot of people like to get the big Heavyweights that get them out of there in one round, but you don’t learn much from that. I got to show my skills. I didn’t just go for all power. I’ve got plenty more in the tank, so it was good to get the rounds in.

“I showed my hand speed at times. I showed I can box. I didn’t rush it. I’ve varied the power up. It’s all building up. We’re training to be a twelve-round fighter, not just a one or two round knockout artist. You don’t gain much from getting someone that is going to fall over after a round. Six tough rounds, I got to go through the gears, show a bit of what I’m about and learn a little bit as well.

“I was pretty relaxed to be honest. I’ve had plenty of amateur fights. I know that I prepared very hard. It felt good to get in there. Hard work is at the route of it all. If you put that hard work and dedication in, the sky is the limit. I’ll keep putting my head down in the gym and performing in the ring.”

Jair Valtierra stopped Emanuel Lopez in round three of a scheduled 10-round lightweight bout at Auditorro Blackberry in Mexico City.

Valtierra landed a left to the body that sent Lopez down to a knee for the 10-count.

Valtierra is now `15-0 with eight knockouts. Lopez is 30-13-1.

Jonathan Ramirez stopped Jose Carillo in round four of their six-round junior lightweight fight.

Ramirez is now 1-4-1.

Axel Rai Miranda stopped Jesus Tampa in the opening round of debuting flyweights.

Rashiem Jefferson Jr. remained undefeated with a six-round unanimous decision over Diuhl Olguin in a featherweight in front of a near (Covid-Restricted) capacity at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.

Jefferson, 127 lbs of Philadelphia won by scores of 60-54 twice and 59-55 and is now 6-0. Olguin, 129 lbs of Guadalajara, MEX is 15-17-4.

Edgar Cortes took a split decision from previously undefeated Alexander Castellano in bantamweight contest.

Cortes, 117.9 lbs of Millville, NJ won by scores of 58-56 twice, while Castellano took card by a 58-56 tally.

Cortes is now 8-6-1. Castellano, 119.6 lbs of Tonawanda, NY is now 4-1.

Shinard Bunch obliterated Diego Vicente Perez in 34 seconds of their six-round junior welterweight bout.

Seconds into the bout, Bunch landed a jab to the body the sent Perez to the canvas. Perez got to his feet, but not for long as Bunch landed an overhand right that sent Perez to the deck, and the fight was stopped at 34 seconds.

Bunch, 142.2 lbs of Trenton, NJ is now 15-1 with 13 knockouts. Perez, 142.7 lbs of Buenos Aries, ARG is 13-13-1.

Donald Smith needed just 60 seconds to take out Jonathan Lecona Ra:mos in their six-round featherweight bout.

Smith landed a body shot that sent Lecona down for the 10-count at 1:00.

Smith, 127.2 lbs of Philadelphia is now 12-1 with eight knockouts. Ramos, 127.3 lbs of Mexico City is 18-30-5.

Rasheen Brown remained undefeated with a 2nd round stoppage over Nathan Benichou in a scheduled four-round junior lightweight fight.

The time of the stoppage was 1:38 for Brown, 129 lbs of Philadelphia who is now 8-0 with five knockouts. Benichou, 129.8 lbs of Puebla, MEX is 2-4.

Tahmir Smalls stopped David Veras Pena in the opening round of their four-round welterweight bout.

Smalls hurt Pena with a chopping right. He followed up with a hard flurry and the fight was stopped at 1:42.

Christian Bermudez stopped Joseph Santana in round two of a scheduled four-round junior welterweight bout.

Bermudez dropped Santana in round two, and the bout was stopped at 31 seconds.

Bermudez, 141.3 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is 2-0 with two knockouts. Santana, 135.2 lbs of Providence, RI is 0-4.

Canelo Alvarez looked befuddled at times, but he turned it on in round eight, and stopped Billy Joe Saunders after that frame to retain the WBA/WBC and win the WBO Super Middleweight title from Billy Joe Saunders in front of an American indoor record of 73, 126 fans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Alvarez came out landing thudding power shots against the slick jabbing Saunders. Saunders found a rhythm in the middle frames as he was able to get his jab and uppercuts working he began to give the Mexican icon problems.

With the fight seemingly close, Alvarez stepped on the gas in round eight, as he got back to landing hard punches, which included a uppercut that caused the right eye to close. After the round, Saunders was distressed by the eye and his corner pulled the plug on the fight.

Alvarez, 167.4 lbs of Guasalajara, Mexico now owns three of the four recognized titles and will to become undisputed with a proposed Fall showdown with Caleb Plant. Alvarez is now 56-1-2 with 38 knockouts. Saunders, 167.8 lbs of Hatfield, UK is 30-1.

Soto stops Takayama; Retains Light Flyweight title

Elwin Soto made the third defense of the WBO Light Flyweight title with a controversial ninth-round stoppage of former world champion Katsunari Takayama.

Soto dominated by landing the harder punches; Takayama kept himself in the bout by landing some nice flurries throughout.

In round nine, Soto was landing some good power shots, but Takayama was throwing back, but for some reason, referee Laurence Cole stepped in and stopped the bout with both guys in mid-flurry at 2:44.

Soto, 107.8 lbs of Baja California, MEX is 19-1 with 13 knockouts. Takayama, 107.6 lbs of Osake, JAP is 32-9.

Cissokho survives knockdown; Decisions Conway

Souleymane Cissokho won a 10-round split decision over Kieron Conway in a super welterweight fight.

In round four, Conway began leaking blood from his nose.

In round nine, Conway dropped Cissokho with hard uppercut to the face.

Cissokho landed 115 of 539 punches; Conway was 84 of 403.

Cissokho won by scores of 96-93 and 95-94 while Conway somehow got a card 97-92.

Cissokho, 153.6 lbs of Bagnolet, FRA is now 13-0. Conway, 154 lbs of Northampton, UK is 16-2.

Sanchez wins Technical Decision over Aguilera

Frank Sanchez remained undefeated with a technical unanimous decision over Nagy Aguilera when Aguilera could not continue after getting hit behind the head in the 6th round of their 10-round heavyweight bout.

Sanchez dominated the fight, and in round six, Sanchez landed a shot that scraped the back of Aguilera’s head that sent him down. He could not continue and the fight went to the judges scorecards, which all read 60-54 in favor of Sanchez.

Sanchez landed 81 of 240 punches; Aguilera was 32 of 181.

Sanchez, 237 lbs of Guantanamo, CUB is 18-0. Aguilera, 238.2 lbs of Houston, TX is 21-11.

Marc Castro remained undefeated with a fourth round stoppage over Irving Castillo in a lightweight bout.

In round one, Castillo began to bleed from the nose. In round four, Castro dropped Castillo, and the fight was stopped at 2:04.

Castro, 132 1/4 lbs is 3-0 with three knockouts. Castillo is 9-2.

Keyshawn Davis remained perfect with a six-round unanimous decision over Jose Antonio Meza in a junior welterweight bout.

Davis, 138 lbs of Norfolk, VA won by scores of 60-54 on all cards and is now 3-0. Meza, 138 lbs of Gomez Palico, MEX is 6-5.

Christian Gomez Duran stopped Xavier Wilson in round two of their scheduled eight-round welterweight bout.

Duran dropped Wilson with a hard over rand fight and the fight was stopped.

Duran, 147 lbs of Guadalajara, MEX is 20-2-1 with 18 knockouts. Wilson, 147.8 lbs of San Antonio, TX is 11-3-1.

Kelvin Davis survived a last minute knockdown, but still hung on to win a four-round unanimous decision over Jan Marsalek in a welterweight bout.

Davis was breezing along until he ate a overhand right that sent him to the canvas. Davis was hurt, but time ran out for Marsalek.

Davis, 143.8 lbs of Norfolk, VA won by scores of 38-37 on all cards, and is now 2-0. Marsalek, 144.4 lbs of Czech Reoublic is 8-3.

George Acosta won a 10-round unanimous decision over Gadwin Rosa in a junior lightweight contest.

Acosta, 128 lbs of Sinaloa, MEX won by scores of 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94 and is now 12-1. Rosa, 130 lbs of Vieques, PR is 11-2.

Pedro Salome won a four-round split decision over Hector Bayanilla in a super bantamweight contest.

Salome won two cards 39-37; Bayanilla won a card 39-37.

Salome, 123 lbs of Los Angeles is 3-0-1. Bayanilla, 123 lbs of Ponce, PR is 2-1-1.

According to various reports, Lightweight contender Felix Verdejo turned himself into FBI after the body of 27 year-old Keishla Rodriguez was found.

A criminal complaint filed by the FBI accuses Verdejo of punching Rodriguez in the face and injecting her with a syringe filled with an unidentified substance bought at a public housing complex. It alleges that he then bound her arms and feet with wire and tied a heavy block to her before throwing her off a bridge at 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

The complaint states that Verdejo then shot at Rodriguez’s body as he stood on the bridge. The complaint says a witness it did not identify helped Verdejo kidnap and kill Rodriguez.

The formal charges have not been announced as of this writing.

Rodriguez was allegedly pregnant with Verdejo’s child. The mother of Rodriguez stated that her daughter was about to see Verdejo, who coming over to see the results of the pregnancy test.

“I told her, be careful, because he had already threatened her” and told her not to have the baby, mentioning his career and family, Kelia Ortiz said.

Former Heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. had to shake off an early knockdown, but righted himself to win a 12-round unanimous decision over Chris Arreola in front of a restricted sellout of 3,940 fans at The Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

In round two, it was Arreola who landed a chopping right that sent former champ, Ruiz down to a knee. That was the high-point for Arreola as Ruiz was able to get in a rhythm and land hard three-punch combinations throughout that were mostly of the Jab/:eft-hook/Right Hand variety, Arreola seemed like he would be dangerous, but that was thwarted as in round eight, Arreola seemed to hurt his left shoulder after absorbing a right from Ruiz Ruiz was methodical down the stretch and boxed his way to a 118-110, 118-110 and 117-109 victory.

Ruiz landed 161 of 626 punches; Arreola was 109 of 521.

Ruiz, 256 lbs of Imperial, CA is 34-2. Arreola, 228.6 lbs of Los Angeles is 38-7-1.

ANDY RUIZ JR. “Chris is a veteran and a hard puncher. We did what we had to do tonight. We got the victory that we wanted. I was at my lowest point and now I have to climb the ladder again. I’m thankful for the victory and I’m ready to move on to the next.
“He got me with a good clean right hand in the second round. I was too overconfident and dropped my hand a bit. Hats off to him. We just kept pushing and pushing. I switched up and started focusing on counterpunching and working the body.

“I felt a little rust and I know other fighters can relate to that. If he wants to run it back, we’ll run it back with him.”

“I just have to get back to work. I learned a lot about throwing different combinations in training, but the rust showed in the ring. Arreola was very good tonight.
“When you go down, you just have to climb back up. That’s exactly what I did. I got dropped, but I got up and got the victory. 
“I could have done a lot more. I couldn’t really find my distance, but some of that was Arreola doing a good job. I could have kept my hands up better, but I just need to get back in the gym and stay busy. 
“I got a little overconfident in the early rounds. The most important thing was that we came back and got the victory. 
“I’m going to stick around this weight, but I’m going to tighten everything up. I faced a strong veteran who knew exactly what he was doing. 
“A fight against Luis Ortiz would be an exciting matchup. I have to get back to training so I can keep feeling better in the ring. I’m actually happy to get the 12 rounds in.”

CHRIS ARREOLA“I respect the judges, but I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. He might have won, but don’t tell me I only won two or three rounds. 
“I got hit in the shoulder and it kinda threw it off. It wasn’t a big deal though. It’s a part of boxing. I didn’t take too much punishment. I’m ready to run it back with Andy.”

“A lot of punches he threw were hitting my gloves. He never put me in danger. It’s dejecting to not get the respect from the judges that I feel I deserve.

“There’s no moral victory. I came here to beat Andy. He might have beat me, but I felt like he won seven rounds at the most.

“I give me and Joe a lot of credit. We trained hard for this fight. I did everything I had to do in the gym.

“I was a better fighter than Andy Ruiz expected. This version of Ruiz would knock Joshua out, but I was in great condition and ready for everything he had to offer.

“I absolutely hurt him, but Andy is a dangerous fighter. I didn’t want to get hit with a suckerpunch like Anthony Joshua.

Ramos stops Figueroa After 6

Abel Ramos dominated and beat up Omar Figueroa Jr as the fight was stopped after round six of their scheduled 12-round welterweight bout.

Ramos landed a plethora of hard shots on an awkward style of Figueroa, who would be holding his glove up on the side of face, Ramos started breaking down Figueroa in round five, as Figueroa was developing a mouse under his right eye. In round six, Ramos dominated Figueroa by landing hard thudding shots to the head of body. Figueroa was spitting up blood and the fight was stopped in the corner.

Ramos, 146.6 lbs of Casa Grande, AZ is 27-4-2 with 21 knockouts. Figueroa, 146.4 lbs of Weslaco, TX is 28-2-1.

ABEL RAMOS“Omar is a very tricky fighter. He has an awkward defense and it was hard to catch him clean at first, but the fight overall went as planned.
“I trained so hard for this fight. I knew my career was on the line. I knew I needed a win and I knew Omar would bring a good fight. I’m glad to be back on the winning side and I’m ready to take on the best of the division.
“We trained to attack the body. Our plan from the beginning was to pressure him. We wanted to score points to the body. I could hear him groaning and I knew once I hurt him bad, that the fight was over. 
“I missed the feeling of the crowd cheering. My adrenaline was through the roof. They give you excitement and we missed that in boxing.”

Fundora Stops Cota in 4!

6’7″ Sebastian Fundora continues to be one of boxing’s most exciting and unique performer as he stopped Jorge Cota in round four of their scheduled 12-round junior middleweight fight.

The two stood toe-to-toe for the whole fight as they were winging and whaling shots on one another. In round two, Cota was cut on his nose. Fundora continued to lay a beating on a game Cota, who kept trying to fight back and land an ois fhccasional overhand shot. In round four, Fundora hurt Cota with chopping lefts and body shots. Cota was staggered but he was getting caught and the fight was stopped at 2:35.

Fundora, 152.8 lbs of Coachella, CA is 17-0-1 with 12 knockouts. Cota, 153.4 lbs of Los Mochis, MEX is now 30-5.

SEBASTIAN FUNDORA“I’m extremely grateful to fight in front of the fans tonight. It was fun to hear the cheers, the boos and everything. I’m honored to be in this position.
“It was a good trading fight. We were hitting each other, but my punches were doing more damage and that’s why the referee stepped in. I think he could have been stopped earlier in the round. I just kept fighting until the end.
“I saw his leg wobble in the first round, but he took it and kept coming. The second time I saw it, I knew I had to go for the kill.
“My message to the rest of the division is that we’re here. If youre ready for war, we’re ready to take it. Bring it on.”

Ramos decisions Molina

Jesus Ramos remained undefeated with a 10-round unanimous decision over Javier Molina in a welterweight bout.

Ramos was cut over his right eye in round six. In round seven, Molina was deducted a point for hitting behind the head.

Ramos landed 135 of 579 punches; Molina was 77 of 413.

Ramos, 150 lbs of Casa Grande, AZ won by scores of 99-90 twice and 97-92 and is now 16-0. Molina, 149.2 lbs of Norwalk, CA is 22-4.

JESUS RAMOS“It was my second time going the distance and that’s what we wanted. We love knockouts, but we’re glad at this point in my career that I got the experience. I thank Molina for taking the fight, he’s a great fighter. 
“I might have been looking for a knockout too much in the early rounds. I got used to it and I settled down and I felt like I was breaking him down little by little. He was trying to survive a little bit, so it made it harder to get the knockout. 
“I learned a lot today. I’m going to keep building on that. I feel like I have a lot of momentum. It was a big step up for me and I feel like I showed a lot. I showed I have good conditioning and good movement along with my power. 
“My father told me to invite him to come to me. We were pressuring him to start. My dad had me change it up. He came in a little bit, but then he backed off. That’s how I tried to counteract his movement.”

Lara Knocks Out LaManna in 1; Wins Middleweight Title

Erislandy Lara won the WBA Middleweight title with a devastating 1st round knockout of Thomas LaManna.

Lara landed a huge left to the head that put LaManna on his back and the fight was stopped at 1:30.

Lara, 159.4 lbs of Guantanamo, CUB is 28-3-3 with 16 knockouts. LaManna, 159 lbs of Millville, NJ is 30-5-1.

ERISLANDY LARA – KO1 at 1:20
“He said at the press conference that he was going to knock me out, but he ran right into that punch. Maybe he was overthinking it all along. 

“I felt strong and sharp tonight at middleweight, but I still want all of the big fights at 154-pounds too. I want the winner of the Jermell Charlo-Brian Carlos Castano unification fight. (WBC Middleweight Champion) Jermall Charlo is like family, we worked in the same gym for years, but this is a sport and I’d welcome the challenge.

“I feel great physically. I’m going to keep doing this until my body tells me I can’t do it anymore. I don’t feel like I’ve taken a lot of punishment in my career and I know I have at least another three years of my prime left.”

Ramirez Stops Avelar in 3; retains Interim Featherweight title

Eduardo Ramirez retained the WBA Interim Featherweight title with a third round stoppage over Isaac Avelar.

In round three, Ramirez dropped Avelar with a perfect right hook. Ramirez finished the fight woth another huge hook that rocked Avelar and the fight was called off at 1:16.

Ramirez, 125.4 lbs of Los Mochis, MEX is 25-2-3 with 12 knockouts. Avelar, 125 lbs of Mexico is 17-3.

“I am beyond happy right now. I’m just elated and moved by having been able to fulfill the promise I made to my baby boy Eduardo Ramirez Jr. He just turned two years old and I wasn’t able to be there to give him a hug for his birthday, but I had promised him that I would bring the title back home to him as a gift, and that is exactly what I’m doing now. 
“You have to have a stone-cold mindset, and that’s what we had to finish Avelar off. We were able to connect the right combinations to finish the fight off exactly how we wanted.

“This was a perfect coronation. To be honest, I would now like to have the chance to fight against Leo Santa Cruz. I previously fought against Miguel Flores, who barely lasted 4-5 rounds against me, but Leo couldn’t knock him out. This convincing knockout should be my ticket to have that opportunity”. 

Adrian Granados and Jose Sanchez battled to a eight-round draw in a welt welterweight contest.

Granados took a card 77-75, while two cards were even at 76-76.

Granados, 146.6 lbs of Mexico City is 21-8-3. Sanchez, 146.2 lbs of Albuquerque, NM is 11-1-1.

Carlos Negron won a eight-round unanimous decision over Scott Alexander in a heavyweight bout.

Negron, 238. lbs of Villaba, PR won by scores of 79-73, 78-74 and 77-75 and is now 23-3. Alexander, 235 lbs of Los Angeles, CA is 16-4-2.

Anthony Garnica remained undefeated with a four-round unanimous decision over Jesse Bassie i a featherweight fight.

In round one, Garnica dropped Bazzi with a right hand.

Garnica, 125.2 lbs of San Francisco, CA won by scores of 40-35 on all cards and is now 6-0. Bassie, 126.4 lbs of Deerborn, MI is 1-2.

Fernando Molina won a six-round unanimous decision over Prisco Marquez in a lightweight bout.

Molina landed 116 of 358 punches; Marquez was 44 of 264.

Molina, 133.6 lbs of Guadalajara, MEX won by 60-53 scores on all cards and is now 6-0. Marquez, 135 lbs of Liberal, KS is 4-3-1.

Former Heavyweight champion Joseph Parker survived a opening seconds knockdown to comeback and win s 12-round split decision over Derek Chisora at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

Chisora floored Parker in the opening 10 seconds when he landed an overhand right to the top of the head. The fight had some good back and forth moments and some sloppy moments, but it was an entertaining scrap that saw each have some good moments throughout the fight.

Chisora landed 245 of 613 punches; Parker was 181 of 593.

Parker, 241,2 lbs of Auckland, NZ won by scores of 116-111 and 115-113. Chisora took a card 115-113.

Parker is 29-2. Chisora, 250.8 lbs of Finchley, ENG is 32-11.

“I am feeling it,” Parker told Matchroom. “Derek landed a lot of shots on me. I’ll probably feel it more tomorrow. The plan was to come out and box smartly and stay focused. I got caught right at the beginning. I think it was round the back of the head, I didn’t see it.

“The plan was to box and move and be smart. With the guidance of Andy I was able to box. We didn’t have the longest time together. I know I needed a lot of work. I need to keep learning from Andy and practicing the things we work on in the gym. 

“It was a tough fight and I got caught right at the beginning. I just had to dig deep and stay focused and follow the plan that we had in place. Swayed off a bit, but Derek is a very tough opponent. He came forward, put pressure on me from the beginning. Threw big bombs and landed a lot. 

“The boxing skills won me some rounds towards the end. It was a very close fight. I thought it could go either way, and I’m very thankful and blessed to get the win today. He brought the smoke. If you want to feel it, jump in the ring with him. 

“It’s very achievable [World Title fight]. I just have to get back to the training. There’s a lot of things I have to work on. I had a good plan in place. There’s still a lot I can show, I just have to keep working with Andy, and more camps ahead. We could do it next fight.”

Taylor wins narrow decision over Jonas; Retains Undisputed Lightweight Title

.Katie Taylor retained her undisputed lightweight world titles with a close unanimous decision over Natasha Jonas in a battle of Olympians.

Taylor, 134.8 lbs of Bray, IRE won by scores of 96-94 and 96-95 twice and is now 18-0. Jonas, 134.7 lbs of Liverpool, UK is 9-2.

“Again, it was probably a bit too exciting for my liking,” Taylor told Matchroom. “It was definitely a toe to toe battle in there. I thought I was a bit flat early on, but I dug deep to win the championship rounds. I definitely showed the heart of a champion in there and that’s what won me the fight in the end.

“She showed everything it takes to win a World Title in her last two performances. Tonight was a brilliant showcase for women’s boxing and boxing overall. Every time we fought as amateurs it was that type of fight as well. I’d prepared for a hard ten-round battle tonight and that’s exactly what it was.

“Eddie was saying that fight would have brought the PPV sales up a small bit. That’s obviously a great start. I feel sorry for the main event coming out after that fight. It was a thrilling fight. I’m just delighted to come out of it with the belts and still undefeated. 18-0, onwards and upwards. This is what I’m in the sport for, I want to be involved in the biggest fights. There’s plenty of those fights out there for me.”

Eubank Jr. Decisions Morrison

Chris Eubank Jr. won a 10-round unanimous decision over Marcus Morrison in a middleweight bout.

Eubank, 161.9 lbs of Brighton, ENG won by scores of 98-92 on all cards, and is now 30-2. Morrison, 161.8 lbs of Hattersley, ENG is 23-4.

“My last fight lasted two rounds, so really it’s been two years since I had a twelve-round fight,” Eubank Jr told Matchroom. “There was definitely some ring rust, and there was definitely some getting back into the swing of things. I had him hurt bad in the second round. I backed off. I wanted him to recover so that I could be seen again. 

“I’m back on TV, I’m back fighting, this is my home. This is my life; this is what I do. I wanted to go the distance and get those rounds in. I’m happy with the performance. I followed instruction; he was telling me to do things in the corner and I went out there and did it. That’s kind of alien to me. Usually most of my career has been dependent on what I want to do, my instincts and my reaction. But now we have a head coach in Roy Jones Jr and I full trust him. I’m happy to be paired with him.

“This is the beginning of a long and great journey for me. I want to be very active this year, I want to fight at least twice more. This is a good start. Full credit to Marcus. I’ve hit guys with shots like that and they’ve gone. He kept coming. A lot of respect for Marcus. There’s a lot of World Champions in the Middleweight division. There’s a lot of big names out there for me to go and fight. Golovkin is the end goal, and anyone with a World Title. I’m coming, they’re all on the radar.”

Bivol Defends Light Heavyweight Title with Decision over Richards

Dmitry Bivol defended the WBA Light Heavyweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Craig Rchards.

Bivol was 234 of 609 punches; Richards was just 76 of 756 punches.

Bivol, 174.2 lbs of Saint Petersburg, RUS won by score of 118-110, 115-114 and 115-113 and is now 18-0. Richards, 174.6 lbs of Crystal Palace, ENG is 16-2-1.

“I’m not happy but I’m okay,” Bivol told Matchroom. “It was a long rest for me and I went into the ring after one and a half years. It’s fine. My opponent was a good fighter, really good. He’s smart and he thinks. He was thinking for the whole fight.

“It’s okay. I was feeling that I’d won. I gave him a couple of rounds for recovery. I landed more clean punches. I respect him and I respected him before the fight. I think he can make problems for all fighters because of his style.

“He moved a lot. Fighters who move a lot and have good speed are really hard. He is a good fighter, but I have more weapons in my arsenal. I’m glad I have had another defence. Of course, I want unification fights. I still want them. I haven’t had a chance to fight for another belt, this is why I defend my belt.

“I’d like to fight for another belt, it would be a good challenge for me. I believe I can become the Undisputed World Champion one day, this is why I train, that’s why I have a good team. I believe one day I will be if I train hard. Thanks to everyone who supports me and watched this fight.”

Straffon stops Tennyson in 1st

Jovanni Straffon stopped James Tennyson in round one of a scheduled 12-round lightweight battle.

Straffon landed a booming right that put Tennyson on the canvas. Tennyson got to his feet but he was butchered against the ropes, and the fight was stopped at 2:10.

Straffon, 133.2 lbs of Mexico City is now 24-3 with 17 knockouts. Tennyson, ,134.7 lbs of Belfast, NI is 28-4.

“I dreamed about this several years ago,” Straffon told Matchroom. “I know I was up against everything. I knew he was a very strong fighter. He called himself ‘The Assassin’, but he was assassinated. He punches hard, but nothing punches harder than life.

“It has been a very good year for Mexican boxing. There has been lots of surprises and upsets. I’m not really surprised about what happened. I have been well prepared for a year. I knew I was the big underdog but now I’m the winner.

“I would really like the opportunity to work with Eddie Hearn. I would like to thank my manager and promoter. I hope some really good things are coming my way. I believe I just won an opportunity to get some of the tough and big names out there. Don’t give up on anything, always keep on dreaming because dreams do come true.”

Scott Fitzgerald stopped Gregory Trenel in round three of their scheduled eight-round super middleweight bout.

In round three, Fitzgerald landed a barrage of punches on the ropes, and the fight was stopped by referee Steve Gray at 2:43

Fitzgerald, 169.4 lbs of Preston, ENG is 15-0 with 10 knockouts.  Trenel, 166.2 lbs of Dainville, FRA is 13-7-2.

Johnny Fisher stopped Phil Williams in round three of a scheduled four-round heavyweight bout.

Fisher dominated and the fight was stopped at 1:40 of round three.

Fisher, 254.7 lbs of Romford, ENG is 2-o with two knockouts. Williams, 268.7

“I thought it was brilliant to get out on such short notice,” Fisher told Matchroom. “Credit to Sam Jones and Eddie Hearn for getting the fight there for me. Phil Williams is an awkward and tough opponent; he’s only been stopped four or five times in 30 bouts. Awkward fight, but I got him out of there and I showed I could go three rounds and keep a high pace.

“I’m trying to find the balance between having that killer instinct and sitting behind my boxing. Sometimes in there you probably get caught between the two. As I progress, I’ll be able to use that killer instinct more effectively. It was an awkward fight, but I showed that I’ve got the strength and the power to stop people. I stopped him in the third round. We’ll go against for the next one as soon as we can. 

“If you stay ready, you’ll get opportunities, especially at Matchroom and with S-JAM Boxing. I showed I can turn up and get the job done. I’m very grounded. I played rugby for a long time. That teaches you a lot of discipline. I’ve got family and a support network who believe in me. They always tell me the truth as well, and I’ll always be truthful about my own performances.

“It’s all systems go, ready for the next one. I’ve got to get that jab off, because in the gym it’s coming off lovely. When you get under them lights, you can have a bit of eagerness. I’ve only had four amateur senior fights and I’ve got a long way to go in the professional ranks.”

Campbell Hatton won a four-round decision Levi Dunn in a lightweight fight..

Hatton, 135.9 lbs of Manchester, ENG won by a 40-36 score and is now 2-0. Dunn, 134.5 lbs of Prestwich, ENG is 0-5.

“I could tell during the whole build up that I’d be a lot better in this fight,” Hatton told Matchroom. “I’ve just been so much more relaxed. It’s night and day. I’ve not watched it back yet, but I think I did show a lot smarter boxing and a bit more composure. 

“There’s still room for improvement but I’m buzzing with it. I’ve not had probably 10% of what I had to do last time. I’m grateful for it. I think I was hurting him a bit more this time. In a spar, it isn’t about taking them out is it. He was doing a lot of holding. He’s a tough kid and he’s done the job that he was here to do. I think I would have got him out of there if there was a bit less holding.

“My heroes have boxed here, so it’s a box ticked for me. It was weird walking down the ramp with no crowd. I can’t wait to do it again here when it’s packed. It’s not new to me now, I’ve got a bit more used to it. I’ll be straight back in the gym ready to go again. It’s all learning, and by keeping busy, I think I’ll be flying soon.”

Sunny Edwards outboxed longtime longtime champion Moruti Mthalne to capture the IBF Flyweight championship at York Hall in London, England.

Edwards landed 148 of 907 punches; Mthalane was 106 of 694.

Edwards, 111.3 lbs of England won by scores of 120-108, 118-111 and 115-113 and is now 16-0. Mthalane, 119. lbs of South Africa is 39-3.

Conlan wins Majority Decision over Baluta

Michael Conlan remained undefeated with a 12-round majority decison over Ionut Baluta in a super bantamweight fight.

Conlan landed 170 of 469 punches; Baluta was 97 of 782.

Conlan, 121.9 lbs of Dublin, Ireland won by scores of 117-112, 115-114 and 114-114 and is now 15-0.. Baluta 122 lbs of Madrid, SPA is 14-3.

Conlan said, “Baluta is a tough character, tougher than I thought. And he showed it in his last two performances. He’s as game as they come. But he was missing tons of punches, so I wasn’t really worried. But when {the first scorecard read} was a draw, I was like, ‘What’s going on here?’
 
“It was a good fight, good preparation for what’s to come.
 
“I’ll stay active. I’ll fight in August anyway, and I’ll get straight back in the gym.”

Troy Williamson stopped Kieran Smith in round six of a scheduled 12-round junior middleweight bout.

In round six, Williamson landed a a hard combination that put Smith down and out at 1:28. Smith was down for several minutes, but was able to get to his feet.

Williamson, 153 lbs is now 16-0-1 with 12 knockouts. Smith, 153.4 lbs of Scotland is 16-1.

Ryan Garner won a six-round decision over Jordan Ellison in a junior welterweight bout.

Garner was bleeding from his nose in round three.

Garner, 136.75 lbs of Southhampton, UK won by a 60-54 score and is now 10-0/ Jordan Ellison 141 lbs is 11-33-2.

Joshua Frankham won a four-round decision over Naeem Ali a junior middleweight bout.

Frankham, 152.9 lbs won by a 40-36 score and is now 3-0. Ali, 156.2 lbs is a robust 2-67-1.

Emanuel Navarrete made the 1st defense of the WBO featherweight title with a 12th round stoppage over Christopher Diaz at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, Florida.

In round four, Navarrete landed a leaping left uppercut to the bottom of the Diaz chin and put him on the seat of his pants.

In round seven, Diaz was deducted a point for hitting in the back. In round eight, Navarrete landed a left uppercut followed by a right hand that sent Diaz down. Seconds later, a ripping combination sent Diaz, who was now bleeding around his left eye, down again. In round 11, Diaz was bleeding from the nose and mouth.

A furious 12th round saw both guys stand toe-to-toe with both Navarrete and Diaz landing huge shots until a big right stopped Diaz in his tracks which gave Navarrete the opportunity to land some hard shots to the open face of Diaz. Diaz ate a big barrage of punches that finally sent him to the canvas. The fight was stopped by bith the corner and the referee at 2:49.

Navarrete, 126 lbs of Mexico is now 34-1 with 29 knockouts. Diaz, 125.8 lbs if Barranquilla, PR is 26-3.

Berlanga Goes Past one; Drops Nicholson Four times and wins Decision

Edgar Berlanga was finally forced to go past one round. In-fact he was taken the full eight-round distance and won a unanimous decision over Demond Nicholson in a super middleweight bout.

Berlanga was dominant in dropping Nicholson in rounds one, five, six and an almost fight ending right hand that put Nicholson down in round eight..

Berlanga landed 110 of 306 punches; Nicholson was 82 of 392.

Berlanga, 168.4 lbs of Brooklyn, NY won by scores of 79-68 and 79-69 twice and is now 17-0. Nicholson, 168.2 lbs of Laurel, MD is 23-4-1.

PHILADELPHIA–Victor Williams needed just 50 seconds in his pro debut to destroy Leonidias Flowers in a junior middlweight bout that capped off the matinee portion of a day-night double header at the 2300 Arena.

Willaims dropped Fowlkes with a big overhand right that sent Flowers to the canvas. Williams jumped on Flowers and the bout was stopped just 50 seconds into the contest.

Williams, who was a Wide Receiver at Dartmouth is 1-0. Flowers of Maryland is 2-2.

Dewayne Williams stopped Stephon Morris in the 2nd round of their middleweight bout.

In round two, Williams dropped Morris with a left hook. Willams hurt Morris again on the ropes, who took an eight count. Williams ended the fight by dropping Morris with a big hand and the fight was stopped at

Williams, 160.5 lbs of Philadelphia is 3-3 with three knockouts, Morris, 158.1 lbs of Baltimore is 4-2.

Mike Lee stopped Roy McGill in round three of a scheduled six-round super lightweight bout.

Th time was 2:26 for Lee, 142.6 lbs f Orange, NJ who is now 8-1 with six knockouts. McGill, 139.4 lbs of Harrisburg, PA is 6-4.

Jahvel Joseph remained undefeated and won a four-round unanimous decision over Carl Murphy in a super middleweight bout/

Joseph, 165.5 lbs of Bronx, NY won by scores of 40-36 on all cards and is nw 4-0. Murphy, 174.5 lbs of Harrisburg, PA is 2-3.

Steve Moore won a four-round unanimous decision over Phillip Davis in a welterweight bout.

In round one, Moore scored a knockdown with a hard right hand.

In round three, Moore sent Davis down with a right hand. Those two knockdowns were the difference as Moore, 143.4 lbs of New Jersey won by scores of 38-36 twice and 38-37 to raise his record to 6-8. Davis, 142.3 lbs of Massachusetts is 0-3.

John Leonardo destroyed Willie Anderson with the 1st punch and scored a knockout just seconds into their featherweight bout.

Leonardo landed a booming right that sent Anderson to the deck and the fight was stopped at 14 seconds.

Leonardo, 126.1 lbs of Englishtown, New Jersey is 1-0-1 with one knockout. Anderson, 123.3 lbs of Paulsboro, NJ is 0-5.

Nick Vitone and Matt Gaver fought to a four-round majority draw in a welterweight contest.

Vitone won a card 39-37. that was over ruled by two cards that were 38-38.

Vitone, 143.8 lbs of New Jersey is 4-0-1. Gaver of California is 1-5-2.

Jake Paul destroyed Ben Askren in the opening round of their cruiserweight bout at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Paul landed a crushing right to the jaw of Asken that sent him plummeting to the canvas, Askren got to his feet, but was ruled unable to continue at 1:59.

Paul is 3-0 with three knockouts. Asken is 0-1.

Prograis wins Technical Decision over Redkach

Regis Prograis won a technical unanimous decision over Ivan Redkach in a junior welterweight bout.

Prograis dominated the action and in round six, it looked like Prograis landed a perfect body punch the sent Redkach to the canvas. Redkach rolled around the ring in “pain” claiming to be hit low. Replays showed it was a good body punch and they went to the scorecards as Redkach could not continue

What should have been a knockout was scored 60-54, 60-54 and 59-55 for Prograis who is now 26-1. Redkach is 23-6-1.

Cunningham Decisions Mir

Steve Cunningham won a six-round unanimous decision over former UFC champion Frank Mir.

Cunningham of Philadelphia won by scores of 60-54 twice and 58-56 is now 30-9. Mir is 0-1.

Joe Fournier Stops Reykon after 2

Joe Fournier stopped Reggaetón singer Reykon after round two of their fight,

In round two, Fournier decked Reykon with a left hook to the head. Later in the round, Reykon took a knee. Reykin had enough after the round and the fight was stopped.

Fournier is 9-0 with nine knockouts. Reykon is 0-1.

Dylan Price thrilled his adoring fans and looked explosive in taking out Elias Joaquino in round two of their scheduled eight-round bantamweight bout at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.

Price dropped Joaquino with a hard left uppercut in the 2nd frame that sent the visitor from the Philippines. It was a left hook that did Joaquino in as Price connected and the dumped his opponent on the canvas and the fight was stopped at 1:54.

Pr

Donald Smith stopped Braulio Avila in four of their scheduled junior lightweight bout.

Smith dominated by pounding away at the ample body of Avila. Finally the fight was stopped at 1:51 of round four.

Smith of Philadelphia is 11-1 with seven knockouts. Avila of Mexico is 3-8.

Naheem Parker took out Matt Apolinaris in round three of their four-round lightweight bout.

Parker was rocked in the opening round by a left hook from Apolinaris, but was able to right himself and come back and hurt Apolinaris with several shots before the fight was stopped at 2:14 of round three.

Parker of Philadelphia is 2-0 with one knockout. Apolinaris is 1-1.

Isaiah Johnson looked explosive in taking out David Loueiro in the 1st round of their four-round super lightweight bout.

Johnson landed hard and flush shots to the face of Loureiro and the fight was tsopped at 1:14.

Johnson of Sickerville, NJ is 1-0 with one knockout. Loureiro is 0-1.

Boimah Karmo won a four-round unanimous decision over Rahiem Cooke in a welterweight bout.

Karmo won by scores of 40-36 twice and 39-37 and is now 1-0. Cooke is 0-1.

Demetrius Andrade retained the WBO Middleweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Liam Williams at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

In round one, Williams began to swell from around his right eye. In round two, Andrade floored Williams with a perfect one-two.

Andrade cruised for the most part. Williams fought hard and won some rounds, but he did not win enough as Andrade won by scores if 118-109 twice and 116-111.

Andrade, 159.4 lbs of Providence, RI is 30-0. Williams, 160 lbs of Wales is 23-3-1.

Gongora stops Pearson in 8

Carlos Gongora stopped Christopher Pearson in round eight of a scheduled 12-round super middleweight fight.

Gongora dropped Pearson with a straight left hand for the 10-count at 2:13.

Gongora, 167 lbs, 12oz is now 20-o with 15 knockouts. Pearson, 167 lbs, 8 oz is 17-3.

Biyarslanov Decisions Mercado

In a battle of undefeated lightweights, Arthur Biyarslanov won an eight round majority decision over Israel Mercado.

Biyarslanov, 136.8 lbs of Toronto, CAN won by scores of 78-74, 77-75 and 76-76-76 and is now 8-0. Mercado, 136 lbs, 12 oz is 9-1.

Fabio Turchi won a 12-round unanimous decision over Dylan Bregeon in a cruiserweight bout in Milan, Italy.

Turchi won by scores of 115-113 on all cards, and is now 19-1. Bregeon of France is 11-1-1.

Jaron Ennis remained undefeated with an emphatic 6th round stoppage over Sergey Lipinets in a welterweight bout at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Round three, Ennis dropped Lipinets with an uppercut. In round six, Ennis rocked Lipinets with a right hook that was followed by a hard left that put Lipinets flat on his back and the fight was stopped at 2:11

Ennis, 146.4 lbs of Philadelphia is 27-0 with 25 knockouts. Lipinets, 146.8 lbs of Russia is 16-2.

Jaron Ennis

“Most definitely I think I graduated tonight. It’s on the up and up now. It’s onto bigger and better fights now.

“That’s what we work on in the gym, a lot of power shots, just having fun and doing my thing.

“I’m comfortable on both sides (righty or lefty). It’s natural for me and I don’t know when I switch. Everything is all natural. That’s about it.

“I saw that he wasn’t really as good on the inside as me and that’s why I started getting a little closer and I started touching and looking for my big shot, and I found it.

Do you think it will be hard to get a fight now?  

“No, I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe one of those guys will give me a fight and will want to fight me. We’ll see.

Where can you improve?

“Just staying more relaxed, and I did that tonight. I’m going to keep working on being calm and composed. Jabbing more and get out of the way.”

“I’ll always be hard on myself when I look back at my performance. My goal is to keep getting better, sharper, faster and stronger so I can become world champion.

“As long as I keep fighting top guys, I’m happy. I feel like I will be world champion by the end of this year or beginning of next year. Patience is the key though.

“I saw I was breaking him down, so I started walking toward him and getting closer. He wasn’t fighting as well on the inside as I was. Eventually, I caught him with a big hook, then the uppercut and that was it.

“I don’t think it was my hardest fight. I was in there having fun and doing what I wanted. I don’t take anything away from Lipinets, because he’s a great fighter, but I was just doing me, being relaxed and putting on a show.

“Hopefully the other top welterweight fighters want to take me on. I want to elevate my career and go down in history as a Hall of Famer.

“Lipinets has been in there with the best before, so I wasn’t surprised he held up for a while. I knew he’d be durable. That’s why I didn’t jump on the gas right away. I just took my time and broke him down.

“I might have to become a mandatory to get the title fight. Until then, I’m going to keep working to fight the best fighters available to me.

“I saw he was getting frustrated and I was breaking him down mentally and physically. I’m not like those others guys he fought, I can do it all. I can fight inside and out.

“I knew the knockout was coming. I just kept listening to my corner and my dad kept telling me to take my time. I knew eventually it would come and it did.

“I definitely feel like I’m getting stronger fight by fight. I was getting stronger as the fight went on round by round. I would have had that power in the 12th round if we had gotten there.”

Stanionis decisions Dulorme

Eimantas Stanionis won a 12-round unanimous decision over Thomas Dulorme in a welterweight bout.

Stanionis landed 232 of 613 punches; Dulorme was 193 of 765.

Stanonis, 147 lbs of Lithuania won by scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113 and is now 13-0. Dulorme, 146.4 lbs is 26-51.

Eimantas Stanionis

“I said before my fight I wanted to test myself against the top welterweights in the division. In my country [Lithuania] this is the first time they are showing my fight on television live so everybody is very excited and everybody is watching. It was big, big pressure. I’m very grateful for this opportunity.

“I want to test every time I step into the ring what kind of level I can achieve, you know. With what kind of fighters that I can compete.

“I think I am top 10 [in my division]. It’s my opinion. I need experience. I think I can hang with top guys. I’ve been sparring with world champions and I did very well so I’m confident I can beat anybody in the welterweight division. Of course, I need experience. I’ve only got like 15 pro fights.”

“It’s been a dream since I was a kid watching SHOWTIME to be on this stage. I’m proud of what I’ve achieved. I’ve had a long hard journey to get here, but it’s been worth it.

“Dulorme was a little bit awkward. It was hard to throw my right hand because he was catching me on the body. I couldn’t hit as hard as I wanted to because of hand injuries. I felt my hands hurt a few times when I was hitting him, but it should be okay.

“He was quicker and more explosive than I thought he’d be. On video he does not look as explosive. He was a smart fighter and he used a lot of good movement. You can’t take anything away from him. He’s a warrior.

“Everything was on point in training camp. Me and Marvin Somodio make a great team, we click very well and I think we have even more to look forward to in the future.

“Dulorme always threw back at me, even if I hurt him. I knew that if I was wild, he could have caught me with a good shot. I have more confidence in myself now because I know I can go 12 rounds with a good fighter. I know how the pressure will hit me now. Anything can happen in this sport, so I made sure I was prepared coming into this fight.”

Ancajas defends IBF Junior Bantamweight Title with decision over Rodriguez

Jerwin Ancajas defended his IBF Junior Bantamweight title for the 9th time with a hard fought 12-round unanious decision over Jonathan Rodriguez.

In round eight, Ancajas landed a hard flurry in the corner that was followed up by a left that put Rodriguez on the canvas. The two stood in the pocket and landed hard power shots throughout the contest, with Ancajas seemingly landing the harder shots with Rodriguez landing flashy and flush combinations.

Ancajas landed 232 of 758 punches; Rodriguez was 273 of 826.

Ancajas, 1148 lbs of the Philippines won by scores of 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112 to raise his record to 33-1-2. Rodriguez, 115 lbs of Mexico is 21-2.

Jerwin Ancajas

“We made a lot of sacrifices for this defense. This fight was very hard for me. I was happy to get the knock down because Rodriguez is tough, but I have strong boxing. This was my toughest world title defense. For me, I will wait for the plan of my coaches and promoter and hope to get a chance for a unification fight.”

“I’m very happy to get the win. I waited a long time for the opportunity to get back in the ring and it’s exciting to win in my first fight on this stage fighting on SHOWTIME. It’s a big win for my whole team.

“This was my toughest fight so far. It was the hardest of any of my nine defenses and it’s exciting that it was on a big card. I trained hard for this opportunity and it feels great to get the win.

“I thought he was going to be stopped because I saw him look at his corner and it didn’t look like he wanted to go on. But he got up and fought and I respect him for doing that.

“This was a good experience for me and I thank for Jonathan for bringing the fight. He’s also going to get better from the experience tonight.

“I want to fight all of the other champions in this division. Estrada, Chocolatito and all of the big names. I proved again that I’m a real champion and I deserve to be on the level with the rest of the champions.”

Jonathan Rodriguez

“I don’t think it was a just decision. I thought maybe a split decision, and I would accept it a little more. But we knew coming in that the judges were against us in this fight.

“I did have to recuperate (after the eighth-round knockdown). He hit me with a good shot, and I got knocked down.

“No, no, no. I was definitely motivated to keep fighting. I wasn’t going to quit. But I knew I had to keep fighting in this heroic fight. Now, people know I’m a great rival here and anybody who wants to fight me, I will be ready to fight them. And they saw today what I can do in the ring.”

Joe Smith Jr. pounded out a hard fought 12-round majority decision over Maxim Vlasov to win the WBO Light Heavyweight title at the Osage Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma

In round one, Smith was cut over his right eye from a punch of Valsov. The two fought hard, taking turns winning rounds. Everytime one of the fighters would gain advantage, the adversary would come back and seize control of the action. Smith landed several hard shots and seemed to have Vlasov in trouble. Vlasov was crafty throughout.

Smith landed 226 of 888 punches; Vlasov was 214 of 863.

Both guys were marked up facially, but in the end, it was Smith who by scores of 115-113, 115-112 and 114-114.

Smith, 174 lbs of Long Island, NY is 27-3. Vlasov, 175 lbs of Russia is 45-4.

Smith said, “It’s a great feeling. It was definitely a close, tough fight. I give it to Vlasov. Great fighter. He really put on a great show tonight and toughed it out. I believe that round where I hurt him there… I believe he had his head down, and I should’ve got the knockout. I think I would’ve got the stoppage in {the 11th} round, but he pulled it off and made it out on his feet. I believe I got the victory tonight because they saw I landed the harder shots. He landed a lot of punches. It was a great fight.

“I want the other belts. I want the big fights out there. Now I gotta get back in the gym and keep working on my technique and stuff. I believe I’m going to start unifying belts.”

Vlasov disagrees with Smith’s assessment of the fight and believes the world title should be going home to Russia.

“This was a very hard-fought, competitive fight,” Vlasov said. “I thought I was winning rounds and was well ahead. Against the aggressive style of Joe Smith, I came forward the entire fight. I felt confident I was winning and was securing rounds in the bank with the judges. I never felt that I was behind at any stage of the fight. This was my opportunity to show the world I was a world champion, and I did that, and Joe Smith knows I did that.” 

Ajagba Destroys Howard in 3

Efe Ajagba viciously stopped Brian Howard in round three of their scheduled 10-round heavyweight bout.

In round three, Ajagba landed a huge right hand that twisted Howard completely around as he fell hard the canvas with his legs wrapped up underneath him.

Ajagba, 236 lbs of Nigeria is 15-0 with 12 knockouts. Howard, 218 lbs of Lake Wells, FL is 15-5.

Ajagba said, “I felt good. I tried to pick the punches, use the jab. This guy is very slick sometimes. I tried to do the job. He was shaky, so when I went back to the corner after the first round, my coach told me to take my time, start with the body, leave the head.
 
“I trained for this fight, took my time, started with my boxing foundation, and came back strong. This camp was the best one for me, the best camp ever in my boxing career.
 
 “It’s my time to shine, so I’m coming for the heavyweights.”

Jared Anderson remained perfect by stopping Jeremiah Karpency in round two of a scheduled eight-round heavyweight bout.

In round one, Anderson landed a perfect right to the body that sent Karpency down to the canvas. In round two, it was another right to the body that sent Karpency to a knee for the 10-count at 34 seconds.

Anderson, 253.8 ls of Toledo, OH is 9-0 with nine knockouts. Karpency, 226.6 lbs of Adah, PA is 16-3-1.

Anderson said,  “I knew he was going to find a spot to fall. I respect him for getting in there and showing up today. It’s a man’s sport. I’m just grateful to be here, thankful for the opportunity.

“I {saw} the shot. His hands kept going up. I kept throwing my jab, looking for openings, feinting, moving around the ring, and it just came. It was a good shot, and he didn’t want to get back up.

“Everybody who says they’re the biggest and the baddest, come see ‘Big ‘Baby’ then.

“I want to thank Toledo, my city. A lot of them came out to Oklahoma, and I wanted to put on a show for them. I can’t wait for what is next.

Albert Bell remained undefeated by winning an eight-round unanimous decision over Manuel Rey Rojas in a junior lightweight bout.

In round two, Rojas was cut on the outside of his right eye. In round two, a headbutt opened up a cut on the left side of his head.

Bell landed 114 of 392 punches; Rojas was 94 of 383.

Bell, 132.2 lbs of Toledo, OH won by scores of 78-74 on all cards and is now 18-0. Rojas, 132 lbs of Dallas, TX is 20-5.

Robson Conceicao stopped Jesus Antonio Ahumada in round seven of a scheduled eight-round junior lightweight bout.

In round five, Ahumada started to bleed and have a lot of swelling on his face. In round seven, Conceicao landed a hard left that put Ahumada down. Ahumada got to his feet, but the fight was stopped at 1:20.

Conceicao, 128.4 lbs of Bahia, BRA is now 16-0 with eight knockouts. Ahumada, 129 lbs of Mexico is 17-4.

Trey Lippe Morrison stopped Jason Bergman in round three of a scheduled eight-round heavyweight bout, when Bergman could not continue due to a leg injury.

Bergman seemed to have scored a knockdown in round one when he landed a left hand that put Morrison on the deck, but it was ruled no-knockdown.

In round three, Bergman seemed to have twisted his ankle and fell to the canvas, and the bout was stopped at 1:27.

Morrison, 225.8 lbs of Tulsa is now 17-0 with 17 knockouts. Bergamn, 256 lbs of Adah, PA is now 27-20-2.

Duke Ragan won a six-round unanimous decision over Charles Clark in a featherweight bout.

Ragan, 125.8 lbs of Cincinnati, OH won by scores of 60-54 on all cards and is now 4-0. Clark, 126.6 lbs of Dallas, TX is 3-7-1.

Jeremiah Milton stopped Jayvone Dafney in the 1st round of their four-round heavyweight bout.

Milton landed a booming right that made Dafney prone on the top rope and the fight was stopped at 1:19.

Milton, 231.8 lbs of Tulsa, OK is 3-0 with three knockouts. Dafney, 226 lbs of McComb, MS is 2-3.

Sonny Conto Knocked out Waldo Cortes in the opening round of their scheduled four-round heavyweight bout.

Conto landed a booming right hand that sent Cortes plummeting to the canvas, and the fight was stopped at 1:41.

Conto, 230.4 lbs of Philadelphia is 7-0 with six knockouts. Cortes, 262 lbs of Phoenix, AZ is 6-4.

Conor Benn Scored an impressive 1st round stoppage over Samuel Vargas in the opening round of heir scheduled 12-round welterweight bout at the Copper Box Arena in London England.

Vargas landed a hard right that was followed by a uppercut that hurt Vargas. Benn jumped all over Vargas and landed vicious flurry and the fight was stopped at 1:20.

Benn, 146.6 lbs of Essex, ENG is 18-0 with 12 knockouts. Vargas, 146.6 lbs of Bogota, COL is 31-7.

“I train hard for it,” said Benn. “Again, you’re talking levels. It shows the level I’m at. Errol Spence, Danny Garcia, Vergil Ortiz, Amir Khan – nobody banged him out like that. First round, first round! He came and he was game. He took my belt off me in the week and I had a little stare down with him.

“He was telling me he was ready to fight, and he was talking a good game. He said I had no power. It’s irrelevant because a lot of people can talk. My shots were landing flush. You could tell they were hurting him. When I first hit him it landed swiftly and I thought, ‘right, this is going to be a much quicker night than I thought’.

“I’ve been working on my power with my strength and conditioning coach Dan Lawrence. We’ve been working with Tony, endless hours. First to arrive last to leave. He’s always pushing me. I told you lot I’d knock him out in the first round. I was cool, calm and collected. I work so hard. 

“Give me Amir Khan. I know he’s too busy on reality TV. If he wants it, he can have it. I can deal with pressure. I can cope with it. I can live with it, no problem. I’m ready for the top dogs – Shawn Porter, Adrien Broner? Forget the word prospect, I ain’t a prospect no more.”

Marshall stops Lindberg in 3; Retains Middleweight Title

Savannah Marshall remained undefeated and retained her WBO Middleweight title with a 3rd round stoppage over late-replacement Maria Lindberg

In round two, Marshall dropped Lindberg with a right hand. In round three, it was a left hook that put Lindberg on the deck, and she was counted out at 1:11.

Marshall, 159.9 lbs of Hartlepool, ENG is 10-0 with eight knockouts. Lindberg, 154 lbs of Malmo, SWE is 19-7-2.

“To be honest, I really didn’t think it would pan out like that,” said Marshall. “Maria is one tough woman. She keeps herself in shape all year round. She’d never been stopped in 27-fights. I thought I was in for a bit of a tough night’s work.

“Once I started finding my range with the jab then the backhand just found its way home and I don’t think she could handle the power. She just said there she’s never been dropped in 23 years! I’m quite proud of that.

“On Sunday, I didn’t even think I was going to fight, and then they brought Maria in. It kind of rocked the boat a bit. A quick change of tactics and we got the job done. She’s been in with some good girls, Christina Hammer, she’s boxed for numerous World Titles. She wanted mine, but she’s not getting it. I’m truly grateful to Maria for stepping up. Big thanks to her.

“I’ve heard whispers we’re going back to Newcastle in July, hopefully with crowds. I’d love to box for the IBF Title which is vacant. I feel good at this weight, I’m a big Middleweight. Me against Shields is the only fight at the bigger weights. It has to happen really. There’s nowhere else for her to go. She needs me just as much as I need her.”

Courtenay Decisions Bridges in war; Wins Bantamweight Title

Shannon Courtenay won the WBA Bantamweight with a unanimous decision over Ebanie Bridges in a toe-to-toe slugfest

In round two, both Bridges and Courtenay were cut from a headbutt. Bridges on her forehead, and Courtenay around her right ear. In round five, the left eye of Bridges started to swell.

Bridges continued to push the pace and even hurt Courtenay in round seven. Courtenay had a strong final few rounds, and won y scores of 98-92 twice and 97-94.

Courtenay, 117.1 lbs of Watford, ENG is 7-1. Bridges, 117 lbs of New South Wales, AUS is 5-1.

“Amazing. I don’t want to cry. Amazing,” said Courtenay. “I feel like my jab won me the fight to be honest. My conditioning, my attrition, all of the hard work. My two coaches Charlie and H kill me on a daily basis. They kill me in the gym. I hate them for it, but it bloody paid off. My nice jab, my fitness and my conditioning won me that fight.

“I have to give credit to her because that was a bloody good fight. She was tougher than I thought she’d be. I knew if I stuck to my boxing I’d win. I had to keep listening to Charlie – he kept saying, ‘box, box, box’. When I was getting into a war it was stupid of me. The jab won me the fight.

“There was respect before I got in the ring because anybody that gets in the ring deserves respect. I now have more respect for her. When it was a shootout that was my own stupidity. I’ve come a long way. I’ve said it all week. Tonight is proof that anyone can turn their life around.

“I’m a different person to who I was back then. I’m a World Champion baby! I’m wearing this belt everywhere. This is such a proud moment for me. This is such a good example to young girls that you can turn your life around. I can’t put it into words.”

Farooq Decisions Espinoza

Kash Farooq win a 10-round unanimous decision over Alexander Espinoza in a bantamweight bout.

It was an action packed fight that saw both fighters scrap from in close. In round seven, Farooq was cut around his right eye, The blood was caused by a head clash.

Farooq, 117 lbs of Glasgow, SCO won by scores of 97-93, 97-94 and 97-95 and is now 15-1. Espinoza, 117.8 lbs of Managua, NIC is 20-3-2.

“I’m over the moon with the performance,” Farooq told Sky Sports. “I knew it was going to be a tough fight. I came as an underdog, he was the champion. He took some really heavy shots and he kept coming and coming. 

“When you’re a champion you don’t want to give your belt up. He just wanted to win. That’s why he came here. I wasn’t going to be denied. It’s a lot of hard work in the gym. Practice, practice and practice. It’s second nature because I’ve been working on this for such a long time. I can see the punches coming.”

Campbell Takes Out Frohlich in 2

Nick Campbell made a successful pro debut with a 2nd round stoppage over Petr Frohlich in a scheduled six-round heavyweight bout.

Campbell dropped Frohlich in the 2nd frame with a right. He finished off the fight with a flurry that forced a referee stoppage at 41 seconds.

Campbell, 248.8 lbs of Glasgow, SCO is 1-0 with one knockout. Frohlich, 226.6 lbs of Most, CZE is 2-31-1.

“I like to try and stay humble, I expected to get rid of that guy to be honest with you,” said Campbell. “I know he’s not been knocked out many times in his losses and he’s tough. He took some shots there. I’m pleased with how it went. I put him down once and then the referee jumped in and stopped it.

“In my opinion it was the dream debut. Making my debut on a stage like that after everything that happened in the past year is something that I’d have never of dreamed of. I’m just buzzing to be here and to be talking to you. I’m happy with my performance. I went in there and I had a high work rate. I was just trying to display the things we’d been working on in the gym.

“I can’t thank my team enough for all of the hard work they’ve put into me. They’re the best team around in my opinion. All of the people that have been singing my praises, that was for you, so thank you. I’m a bit older than most people that make their debut, but I feel young. Every fight that I have is a step further than people thought I could go. I’m just here to prove people wrong and work hard.”

Jamel Herring stopped former two-division world champion Carl Frampton to retain the WBO Junior Lightweight world title at Caesars Palace Dubai.

Herring dominated the fight by boxing. He began to break the smaller Frampton down, and in round five. In round six, Herring dropped Frampton for a second time with a powerful left, Frampton tried to fight on, but began to take a battering and the fight was stopped at 1:40.

Herring of Coram, NY is 23-2 with 11 knockouts. Frampton of Belfast, IRE is 28-3.

Frampton announced his retirement after the fight.

“I’m just honored to share the ring with him, Herring said. “He’s a two-division world champion. He’s done great in the sport of boxing, and it was just an honor.
 
“It was an emotional rollercoaster just to get here. My last outing was not my best. People doubted me. They called me every name in the book, but even with the cut, I wasn’t going to give up. I wasn’t going to quit, and Carl Frampton is a tremendous champion. I’ve been a fan since day one. It’s tough to see any veteran of the sport go out like that.”

Frampton said, “I said before the fight I’d retire if I lost, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I want to just to dedicate my life to my family now. Boxing has been good to me. It’s also been bad to me, but the last few years with these boys have been the best years of my career. I just want to go home to my beautiful wife and kids, and that’s it.

“I just got beat by the better man. I really struggled to get inside on him.”

Nietes Decisions Carillo

Former four-division world champion Donnie Nietes won a 10-round unanimous decision over Pablo Carillo in a super flyweight fight.

Nietes landed 97 of 425 punches; Carrillo was 81 of 416.

Nietes, 114 1/2 lbs of The Philippines won by scores of 99-91, 98-92 and 96-95 and is now 43-1-5. Carillo, 114 1/2 lbs is 14-3-1.

Keyshawn Davis stopped Richman Ashelley after round four of their scheduled six-round lightweight fight.

Davis is 2-0 with two knockouts. Ashelley is 10-2.

Fahad Al Bloushi won a four-round unanimous decision over Suraj in a super featherweight fight.

Bloushi is 4-1. Suraj is 2-2.

Tursymbay Kulakhmet stopped Heber Rondon in round one of their scheduled 10-round super welterweight bout.

Kulakhmet dropped Rondon twice with vicious hook, and the bout was stopped/

Kulakhmet is now 3-0 with two knockouts. Rondon is 20-1.