The Massachusetts Commission denied WBO Middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders a license to defend against Demetrius Andrade on October 20th due to failed banned substance test, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

As soon as Saunders’ positive Voluntary Anti-Doping Association urine test came to light on Sept. 26, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn made a deal with Kautondokwa for him to be on standby because it was uncertain if Saunders would be issued a license. So Kautondokwa, who is from Namibia, has been in the gym training since, and Hearn told ESPN that his visa has been secured.

“I felt like it was 50-50 that he’d be licensed. Billy had his case but unfortunately he failed a VADA test which he signed up for, which the commission ruled on,” Hearn said. “We have to move on. Our focus is on Demetrius Andrade becoming middleweight champion of the world and mixing with Canelo (Alvarez), Gennady Golovkin and Danny Jacobs, all of those guys. It’s disappointing but the focus is on Andrade becoming a champion on Oct. 20.”

WBO president Francisco “Paco” Valcarcel told ESPN that the sanctioning body will send Saunders a letter asking him to show cause why he should not be stripped of the world title.

“Once you sign a contract to fight you have to comply with the contract. He didn’t comply with the rules and regulations and so he wasn’t licensed,” Valcarcel said. “It’s something he created, something he did. It wasn’t because of something that happened. But we have to give him due process.”

Even though Andrade will still fight for high stakes, Ed Farris, his manager, said Andrade is upset by the turn of events.

“Demetrius is devastated,” Farris told ESPN. “He wanted Saunders under any circumstances because he felt beating him would give him the credibility of beating the world champion. He wanted Saunders. He’s been training for him. He said that is who he wanted. He said that’s who’s going to make me better. At the end of the day, the commission did the only thing they could do. Demetrius is crushed. Down the road I guess we’ll find out if there’s ever going to be a Saunders fight, but he wanted to fight Saunders regardless of the positive test.”

Kautondokwa, who last fought in March, is an unknown fighter. He has had 16 of his fights in Namibia and one in Ghana, and never faced a notable opponent.

“He’s a handful and a bit crude,” Hearn said of Kautondokwa’s style. “It’s a very difficult situation. It’s a nightmare for Demetrius. He’s been getting ready for a slick southpaw in Saunders and now he has to go in with an orthodox puncher. The only thing we know about Kautondokwa is he’s a huge puncher.”

Hearn said he wasn’t concerned that the card would suffer with Saunders being dropped.

“Saunders isn’t a huge name for Boston,” he said. “Demetrius is the local fighter. It’s not as attractive of a fight, being honest, but the card is still very strong.”

Former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury finally entered into the WBC Clean Program ahead of his WBC Heavyweight title fight with Deontay Wilder, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

On Monday, Mauricio Sulaiman announced that Fury had taken care of it.

“Tyson Fury has sent WBC Clean Boxing Program enrollment forms to VADA,” he said.

Lou DiBella, Wilder’s promoter, told ESPN that he contacted Dr. Margaret Goodman, the president of VADA, on Monday about a drug-testing program specific to the bout.

“It’s very quick to start up the program,” DiBella said. “Now that Fury’s paperwork is in and he is enrolled, we can start it almost immediately. Everything will get worked out this week now that the paperwork is in and then the testing can start. As soon as I found out that Fury sent in his forms, I sent Margaret an email and we will talk about getting the program set up.”

Former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has yet to enroll in the WBC Clean program for his December 1st title opportunity with Deontay Wilder.

“To date, VADA has not received Clean Boxing Program enrollment forms on Mr. Fury,” Dr. Margaret Goodman, the president of VADA, told ESPN. “Mr. Wilder remains enrolled in the Clean Boxing Program.”

“Fury must enroll,” Sulaiman told ESPN on Sunday. “He personally committed to me to enroll. I will write to him right now. If he doesn’t enroll the fight will not be sanctioned by the WBC.”

When made aware of the fact that Fury had not enrolled in the testing program, Shelly Finkel, one of Wilder’s managers, said he looked into it.

“I just think it was an oversight,” Finkel told ESPN. “I spoke to George Warren, (Fury promoter) Frank Warren’s son, and he said it will get taken care of immediately and don’t worry at all.”

In what should have been the most shining moment in the career of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s career might very well be it’s darkest moment.

Nurmagomedov choked out UFC superstar Conor McGregor in the 4th round to retain the lightweight championship, but what happened after well overshadow a great performance from the undefeated Russian.

Nurmagomedov took McGregor down in round’s one, two and four, almost getting a coveted stoppage in round two as he pounded away at a prone McGregor.  McGregor inched back in the fight in round three by landing some good left hands.

In round four, Khabib got McGregor down and was able to get the rear choke and McGregor tapped out at 4:04.

After the fight, Khabib climbed the cage and leaped into the crowd where McGregor’s cornermen where situated.  A melee ensued and spilled out into the crowd, causing a scary situation.  Then part of Khabib’s entourage leaped into the cage and a couple landed sucker punches on McGregor.

The situation should produce major infractions Khabib, risking his title because a lengthy suspension is warranted.

Khabib is 27-0.  McGregor is 21-4.

Tony Furguson stopped Anthony Pettis after round two of their lightweight war.

After a good round one, Furguson got caught with a huge right hand the jaw but Pettis’ head was bleeding..  The doctor came into check, but Pettis was allowed to continue.  Furgison came back to land some hard punches which caused a massive cut around the left eye of Pettis.

After the round, Pettis claimed he may have broke his hand, and the fight was stopped.

Furguson, 155 lbs of Orange County, CA is 25-3.  Pettis, 156 lbs of Milwaukee, WI is 21-8.

Dominick Reyes won a unanimous decision over former world title challenger Ovince Saint Preux in a light heavyweight bout.

In round one, Reyes rocked Saint Preux several times with hard kicks and punches.  In round three, Saint Preux was cut over his left eye from an elbow.  Reyes drilled Saint Preux with a massive left hand just as the bell sounded to end the fight.

Reyes, 204.5 lbs of Victorville, CA won by scores of 30-27 and is now 10-0.  Saint Preux, 205 lbs of Knoxville, TN is 23-12.

Derrick Lewis saw his UFC title shot going down the drain until he was somehow able comeback and same Alexander Volkoff in the final round of their heavyweight fight.

Lewis was lethargic and losing the first two-plus rounds until he landed a massive right hand the rocked Volkoff to the canvas.  Lewis pounded Volkoff until the bout was stopped at 4:49.

Lewis of Houston is now 21-5-1.  Volkoff is now 30-7.

Michelle Waterson won a unanimous decision over Felice Herrig in a strawweightbout.

Waterson won by scores of 30-27, 30-26 and 29-28 to raise her mark to 16-6.  Herrig is 14-8.

Justin Formiga won a unanimous decision over Sergio Pettis in a flyweight bout.

Formiga won by tallies of 30-26 and 29-28 twice and is now 22-5.  Pettis is 17-4.

Vicente Luque stopped Jalin Turner in the 1st round of their welterweight bout.

Luque dropped Turner with a left hand and perched to land several hard and unanswered punches until the bout was stopped at 3:47.

Luque is now 14-6-1. Turner is 7-4.

Aspen Ladd stopped Tonya Evinger in round one of their bantamweight bout.

Ladd got Evinger on the ground and pounded away until the bout was stopped at 3:26.

Ladd is now 7-0. Evinger is 19-7-1.

Scott Holtzman stopped Alan Patrick at in round three of their lightweight bout.

Holtzman pounded Patrick while on the ground, and the bout was stopped at 3:42.

Holtzman is 12-2. Patrick is 15-2.

Welterweights Jessie Vargas and Thomas Dulorme fought to a 12-round draw in the main event of Matchroom Boxing’s maiden voyage on stream service DAZN. the card took place at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago.

In round three, Vargas was cut over the right from an accidental headbutt.

In round ten, Vargas dropped Dulorme with a short left hook. Dulorme pulled even in the last ten seconds of the fight as he decked Vargas with a counter right hand.

Vargas took a card 115-111, while two cards were even at 113-113.

Vargas, 147 lbs of Las Vegas is 28-2-2. Dulorme, 146 1/2 lbs of Carolina, PR is 24-3-1.

Artur Beterbiev retained the IBF Light Heavyweight title and kept his perfect knockout streak intact by stopping Callum Johnin in the 4th round.

In round one, Beterbiev dropped Johnson with a right hand after Johnson got stuck in the ropes. In round two, it was Johnson he sent Beterbiev hard to the canvas with a short left hook. In round three, Johnson was cut over the right eye.

In round four, it was a short right to the nose that dropped Johnson in the corner. he tried to get up and got to his feet just as the referee rached the count of ten and the fight was over at 2:36.

Beterbiev, 174 1/2 lbs of Montreal via Russia is 13-0 with 13 knockouts. Johnson, 174 3/4 lbs of England is 17-1.

Jarrell Miller stopped former cruiserweight world champion Tomasz Adamek in round two of their scheduled ten-round heavyweight bout.

Miller landed a huge uppercut that sent Adamek to his knee.  He was wobbly upon getting up, and the fight was halted at 2:21.

Miller, 317 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is 22-0-1 with 19 knockouts.  Adamek of Poland is 53-6.

Danny Roman stopped Gavin McDonnell in round ten to retain the WBA Super Bantamweight title.

Roman dominated action, and in round ten, he bludgeoned McDonnell as he dropped hard with a vicious of punches and the fight was stopped.

Roman is now 26-2-1 with 10 knockouts.  McDonnell is 20-2-2.

“I wanted to go to the body,” said Roman after the fight. “We needed to break him down.”

“The right hand landed early in the fight so we knew it was going to be there,” said Roman, who is represented by long time promoter Thompson Boxing and new partner Matchroom Boxing. “I just had to wait for the right time. It was there in the tenth. I landed a strong right to his chin that buckled him. I followed up with two left upper cuts and that was it for him.”

“I’ll fight any of the other champions in this division,” Roman said. “Let’s make a unification fight. I want all the belts.”

Jessica McCaksill won the WBC Super Lightweight title with a ten-round unanimous decision over Erica Anabella Farias.

McCaskill of Chicago won by scores of 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94 and is now 6-2. Farias is now 26-3.

Anthony Sims, Jr. stopped Marlon Aguilar in round six of a scheduled eight-round light heavyweight bout.

Sims, 173 1/2 lbs of Plainfield, IN is 16-0 with 15 knockouts. Aguilar, 174 lbs of Mexico is 19-6.

In round one, Aguilar began to bleed from the nose.

Reshat Mati stopped Adan Ahumada in round three of a scheduled four-round welterweight bout.

Mati dropped Ahumada with a body shot that was followed up by a short right, and the bout was halted at 1:52.

Mati, 146 lbs of Brooklyn is 1-0 with one knockout. Ahumada, 150 lbs of Matamores, MEX is 3-6-2.

Nikita Ababiy needed just 28 seconds to dispose of Jake Henriksen in a scheduled four-round middleweight bout.

Ababiy landed a crushing body shot that put Henriksen down for the count.

Ababiy, 159 lbs of Brooklyn is 1-0 wit one knockout. Henriksen, 160 1/2 lbs of Fargo, ND is 2-3.

Matt Cameron stunned heralded prospect Nkosi Solomon by winning a four-round unanimous decision in a heavyweight bout.

In round three, Cameron dropped Solomon with a hard right hand. In round four, Solomon was docked a point for holding. Seconds later, it was a left hook that dropped Solomon for a 2nd time.

Cameron, 221 lbs of Chicago won by scores of 39-33 on all cards and is now 3-1-1. Solomon, 217 1/2 lbs of Brooklyn is 0-1.

Jack Catterall won a 12-round unanimous decision over Ohara Davies in a junior welterweight clash.

Catterall, 139.9 lbs won by scores of 118-110 and 115-113 twice, and is now 23-0. Davies, 139.9 lbs is 18-2.

Heavyweight prospect Daniel DuBois remained undefeated by decisioning former world title challenger Kevin Johnson in a 10-round bout.

DuBois, 239 lbs won by a 100-91 score, and is 9-0. Johnson, 256 lbs is 32-11-1.

Nicola Adams won the WBO Interim Flyweight title with a 10-round unanimous decision over Isabel Millan.

Adams, 111.9 lbs won by scores of 97-93 twice and 96-94, and is now 5-0. Millan, 110.4 lbs is 22-5-1.

Sam Bowen stopped Horacio Cabral in round four of their scheduled 12-round super featherweight bout.

Bowen dropped Cabral in the 4th round, and the bout was stopped.

Bowen, 129 lbs is 14-0 with 10 knockouts. Cabral is 21-3.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Shakur Stevenson will fight Viorel Simion on October 13th in Omaha, Nebraska.

was due to fight Duarn Vue in his first scheduled 10-round bout, However, Vue (14-1-2, 4 KOs), 32, of Madison, Wisconsin, withdrew from the fight on Wednesday because of a detached retina.

“He will test Shakur Stevenson from the opening bell to the final bell,” Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti told ESPN. “Shakur has trained to go 10 rounds, and he’ll need it.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, NBC is nearing a television deal with NBC.

The kickoff show is being contemplated for Dec. 29 on NBC in Atlantic City, New Jersey, with subsequent shows ticketed for NBC Sports Net.

In a surprising move, Canelo Alvarez will take on WBA Super Middleweight champion Ricky Fielding on December 15th at Madison Square Garden, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“I’m very excited to announce my next fight. Next December 15th at the New York MSG,” Alvarez wrote on social media. “Taking a big challenge. I will fight for the world title at 168 pounds versus Rocky Fielding, the current WBA champion!”

No word of what broadcast outlet that bout will be aired on.

In a back and forth war that saw over 2,200 punches thrown, Oscar Negrete and Joshua Franco battled to a ten-round split draw in a bantamweight bout at The Hanger at The OC Fair Event Center in Costa Mesa, California

In round seven, Negrete began to swell under his right eye.

The two trades punches through the fight that saw the fighters be separated by one punch as Negrete landed 352 of 1111 punches, while Franco landed 351 of 1146 punches. The scores were indicative as each fighter won a card 96-94, and 3rd card was even at 95-95.

Negrete, 118 lbs of Los Angeles is 18-1-1. Franco, 117.4 lbs of San Antonio is 14-1-1.

“It was a great fight, but I felt I won,” said Oscar Negrete. “He [Franco] threw a lot of punches, but I blocked most of them. To tell the truth, it made me uncomfortable when he threw a lot and then suddenly clinched. He’s very talented. I give him my respect. He is a warrior. It ended in a draw, but we’ll see if we get the rematch.”

“I can’t complain. It was a close fight,” said Joshua Franco. “I landed the better shots and hurt him with clean punches. He kept throwing and throwing, which is not what I expected, but I adjusted. I would love a rematch.Danielito Zorrilla stopped Dakota Linger in round two of a scheduled eight-round bout of previously undefeated super lightweights.

In round two, Zorrilla landed three crushing uppercuts that busted up the nose of Linger that caused an eight-count. Referee Thomas Taylor stopped the bout at 2:59.

Zorrilla, 140 lbs of Toa Baja, PR is 9-0 with eight knockouts. Linger, 139.4 lbs of Buckhannon, WV is 10-1-2.

“I did well and fought calmly, like a professional,” said Danielito Zorrilla. “I was comfortable and worked well. I have to talk to my promoter to see what’s next, but I want to fight before the year ends.”Jousce Gonzalez and Ivan Delgado fought to a six-round majority draw in a super featherweight bout.

In round four, blood started to come out of the nose of Delgado.

Scores were 58-56 for Gonzalez and two cards were 57-57.

Gonzalez, 129.6 lbs of Glendora, CA is 8-0-1. Delgado, 128.6 lbs of South Central Los Angles, CA is 12-1-2.

Gonzalez outlanded Delgado 104-80.

“It was a good fight, but I won,” said Jousce Gonzalez. He’s a tough fighter, but I felt I landed more shots and controlled the fight at a distance.”

“I felt I did enough to win,” said Ivan Delgado. “He missed most shots, while landed harder and cleaner punches.”
Carlos Caraballo stopped Felipe Rivas in the 6th and final round round of their bantamweight bout.

In round two, Caraballo dropped Rivas with a jab to the body. In round four, Rivas started bleeding from his mouth.

Caraballo continued to pound away on Rivas until the fight was stopped at 1:47 of round six.

Caraballo, 118 lbs of Guayanilla, PR is now 9-0 with nine knockouts. Rivas, 117.8 lbs of Nogales, MEX is 17-22-4.

“I did a good job and finished matters in the last round,” said Carlos Caraballo. “He did his job. He came out hard and he worked, but I did enough to make the referee end the fight.”

Former heavyweight title holder, Joseph Parker will be back in action on December 15th in his native New Zealand, According to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“Whoever they put in front of me I need to get the job done — and get it done well,” Parker said. “Having experienced what it is like to reach the pinnacle of the sport, and then come back down again after a couple of tough defeats, I’m more motivated than ever to get back on top.

“I could have and should have won that fight [against Whyte], but that’s boxing. It’s now time to get back to work. I can’t wait to fight again in Christchurch. I’ve got really good memories from my last time there [a fourth round KO of Solomon Haumono in July 2016]. It’s a great homecoming for me.”

Said Kevin Barry, Parker’s trainer: “After a five-year undefeated run that took Joseph all the way to winning the WBO world title we now find ourselves in very unusual territory — coming off back-to-back losses. Joe has never been in this position before and needs a top performance.”

Duco Events promoter David Higgins said there were other possibilities for Parker’s return, but the team felt it would be good for Parker to fight at home again after the back-to-back road losses.

“We had plenty of options for Joseph’s return fight after a couple of tough but highly credible losses,” Higgins said. “But Christchurch was a clear front-runner from very early on. We’ve got great partners in the city.”

Lightweight champion Mikey Garcia has reached a deal to take on Richard Commey, avoiding a purse bid, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“We had to come to a decision and a conclusion here — either Mikey would have to give up his IBF title or defend it against Commey and the decision was to defend it,” promoter Rochard Schaefer told ESPN. “Now we have to select a date and a site. We have a little time to do that. I’ll be working on that with (Garcia adviser Al) Haymon and (Commey promoter) Lou DiBella during this week and next.”

“We made a deal for the fight, a real deal,” DiBella told ESPN. “Mikey Garcia isn’t walking through Richard Commey. Richard Commey is a tough fighter. He’s the kind of fighter who is a high-risk, no-reward type of opponent. But anyone who knows anything about boxing knows Richard Commey is a good fighter and top lightweight contender but obviously he is not bringing big money to the table. But Garcia wants to keep his title so he has to fight Commey. You got to give the guy credit. Mikey’s not afraid of anyone. It’s a great opportunity for Commey to prove himself.”

“Mikey has plenty of options at 135, 140 or even 147 pounds,” Schaefer said. “But that’s the beauty of things when you’re a talented fighter like Mikey. He decided to do this fight now but going forward he can have a big fight in any of those three weight classes. Mikey knows this is a tough fight. It’s a helluva fight, one of those fights where their styles will make a good fight. They seem made for each other.

“And what it shows you is that Mikey is the kind of fighter who doesn’t shy away from fighting anybody. He is willing to take on the best in each division. He’s the kind of fighter who is looking for the biggest challenges. So now I will be talking with Lou so we can finalize the details within the IBF time frame.”

Christina Hammer has an undisclosed medical issue that has postponed her November 17th middleweight unification bout with Claressa Shields in Atlantic City, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“I told Claressa that I will have all the discussions necessary with all the relevant parties to try meet her desire to fight in 2018, but those discussions haven’t taken place yet,” Mark Taffet, Shields’ manager, told ESPN.

“We were informed it is not an injury but a medical condition for which she will be treated and expects to fully recover,” Taffet said. “We are just beginning discussions with Hammer’s team, [Shields’ promoter] Salita Promotions, Showtime and Boardwalk Hall so we have nothing further to report at this time.”

Brandon Figueroa remained undefeated by stopping former world title challenger Oscar Escandon in the 10th and final round of their super bantamweight bout at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California.

In round 10, Figueroa landed a perfect uppercut that dropped Escandon on his front. Escandon tried to get up, but fell right back down, and the bout was stopped at 1:42.

Figueroa, 122.4 lbs of Werlasco, Texas is now 17-0 with 12 knockouts. Escandon, 123 lbs of Colombia is 25-5.

Joe Joyce remained undefeated by stopping Iago Kiladze in round three of a scheduled 10-round heavyweight bout.

In round two, Joyce dropped Kiladze with a hard right in the corner. In round three, it was a left body shot that sent Kiladze to the canvas. Joyce finished the bout in round five with a hard left hook that sent Kalidze to the canvas, and the fight was over at 41 seconds.

Joyce, 263 lbs of England is 6-0 with six knockouts. Kiladze, 218 lbs of Georgia Republic is 26-4.

Joey Spencer remained perfect with a 1st round stoppage over Cory Macon in a middleweight bout.

Spencer dominated from the opening bell as he repeatedly hurt Macon and then landed a booming right that sent Macon down for the count at 2:36.

Spencer, 155.8 lbs of Union City, CA is 5-0 with five knockouts, Macon, 153 lbs of Durham, NC is 0-3.

In a battle of undefeated heavyweights, Efe Ajagba needed one right hand to dispose of Nick Jones in their scheduled six-round bout.

Ajagba landed a hard right that sent Jones down face-first, and the bout was stopped at 2:25.

Ajagba, 238 lbs of Ugehlli, Nigeria is 7-0 with six-knockouts. Jones, 213.6 lbs of Okunulgee, OK is 7-1.

Stephen Fulton remained undefeated with an eight-round unanimous decision over German Meraz in a featherweight bout.

In round eight, Fulton dropped Meraz with a right to the body.

Fulton, 126 lbs of Philadelphia won by scores of 80-71 on all catds, and is now 14-0. Meraz, Meraz, 125.8 lbs of Agua Prieta, MEX is 61-50-2.

Jesse Rodriguez won an eight-round unanimous decision over Edwin Reyes in a light flyweight bout.

Rodriguez, 107.6 lbs of Los Angeles won by scores of 80-72 twice and 79-73 to go to 7-0. Reyes, 107.4 lbs of Las Vegas is 8-4-3.

Kody Davies won an eight-round unanimous decision over Jerhed Fenderson in a light heavyweight bout.

Davies, 175 lbs of England won on all cards by 80-72 cards is now 7-0. Fenderson, 174.8 lbs of Las Vegas is 4-7.

Omar Juarez made a successful pro debut with a unanimous decision over Matt Gaver in a super lightweight bout.

Arnold Alejandro stopped Francisco Camacho in round five of their scheduled six-round featherweight bout.

Camacho was bleeding from the right side of his head in round three.

In round five, Alejandro landed a hard left that drove Camacho to the corner. Alejandro followed up with a combination that floored Camacho, and the bout was stopped at 1:50.

Alejandro, 125.6 lbs of Dallas, TX is 8-0 with seven knockouts. Camacho, 124.4 lbs of Matamores, MEX is 7-9-1.

Jose Balderas remained undefeated with a four-round unanimous decision over Ivan Martino in a bantamweight fight.

Balderas, 118.3 lbs of Santa Maria, CA won by scores of 40-36 twice and 39-37 and is now 5-0. Martino, 118.3 lbs of San Felipe, MX is 3-3.

Former three-division world champion Jorge Linares stopped Abner Cotto in round three of a scheduled 12-round super lightweight bout at The Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California.

In round two, Linares put Cotto down with a hard right hand. I round three, Liares landed another perfect that sent Cotto hard down to the canvas. Cotto continued, and ate a big body punch for which he complained that it was a low blow. Linares jumped on Cotto and they both fell to ground. Cotto got up but wobbled into the ropes and the bout was stopped at 1:31.

Linares, 137.4 lbs of Barinas, VEN is 45-4 with 28 knockouts. Cotto, 137.8 lbs of Aguas Buenas, PR is 23-4.

Romero Duno scored three-knockdowns en-route to an eight-round unanimous decision over Ezequiel Avilez in a lightweight bout.

In round one, Dino dropped Avilez with a perfect short right uppercut.

In round six, Duno landed a big right that made Avilez gove hot the mat for a knockdown. Moments later it was a perfect left hook that put Avilez on the seat of his pants.

Duno, 134.4 lbs of General Santos City, PHL won by scores of 78-71 on all cards, and is now 18-1. Avilez, 134.6 lbs of Ensenada, MEX is 16-3-3.

Travell Mazion annihilated Alan Zavala in the 1st round of their scheduled eight-round super welterweight bout.

Mazion dominated and then landed a huge left hook that sent Zavala on his back for the 10-count at 2:39

Mazion 153.2 lbs of Autsin, TX is 14-0 with 12 knockouts. Zavala, 152.6 lbs of Tijuana, MEX is 15-3.

Oscar Duarte stopped Roger Gutierrez after round four of their scheduled eight-round lightweight bout.

In round four, Gutierrez was docked two points for an intentional headbutt. Gutierrez seemed to do that out of desperation and after the round, he could not continue.

Duarte, 134 lbs of Parra, MEX is 15-0 with 10 knockouts. Gutierrez, 134.4 lbs of Maricaibo, MEX is 19-4-1.

Friday, September 28, 2018 – With another great night of world-class professional boxing at the Hard Rock Event Center at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., promoter Kris Lawrence and The Heavyweight Factory returned with “Rumble at the Rock 2.”

In the 10-round main event, Honolulu, Hawaii’s undefeated Logan “The Korican Kid” Yoon 13-0(10 KOs) successfully defended his WBO-NABO Youth Junior Welterweight Title with a hard-earned unanimous decision victory over former WBA Fedecentro Super Lightweight, WBA Fedecaribe Welterweight and WBA Fedecentro Welterweight Champion John “El Emperador” Rentería 16-6-1(12 KOs) of Panama. 19-year-old Yoon worked steadily behind his jab making way for his straight left hand to get inside and was very accurate and busy with short sharp combinations. Renteria found success with his straight right-hand counter defending the constant attack but overall was outworked and outclassed by The Korican Kid in a majority of this entertaining tilt. Yoon’s’ attack was constant to the final bell winning most rounds on all scorecards. The final cards came in at 100-90 99-91 and 98-92

In the co-main event promising undefeated welterweight Livan “Machine Gun Kid” Navarro 9-0(5 KOs), a former heavily decorated amateur living in Miami via Havana Cuba squared off with once-beaten former WBC Latino Welterweight Champion and fellow Cuban Armando “The Gentleman” Alvarez 18-2(12 KOs) of Key West. In a fun, scrappy back and forth engagement, both fighters tested each other’s power, skill, and chin. Navarro came out very aggressive and mean to face the more experienced Alvarez and took an early lead outworking him with punches from every angle. Alvarez exchanged fire and started to get into a rhythm and had some nice middle rounds when Navarro seemed to slow his attack a bit. Midway through round seven The Machine Gun Kid stepped on the gas again and fought hard and more aggressive to the final bell. Navarro remains unbeaten with a unanimous decision victory with the cards reading 98-92 and 97-73 twice.

Undefeated welterweight Puerto Rican power puncher Derrieck Cuevas18-0-1(14KO) put tough Mexican veteran Silverio Ortiz 37-23(18KO) on the canvas at the very end of the third round, a product of a beautiful left hook. It seemed at this point the fight may be over, Ortiz had other plans, he came forward finding a home for his wild overhand right often set up by a big left hook to the body. Cuevas, making his debut for The Heavyweight Factory stayed focused while sharp shooting the hard-charging Mexican. Ortiz threw the overhand right so often he often caught Cuevas behind the head and was charged a valuable point in round 7, which was one of the best rounds of the fight. Cuevas was able to punch between the wild relentless overhand rights and body shots from Ortiz and won by a unanimous decision win with the cards reading 95-93 96-92 and an odd 98-90.

Fighting out of Miami via Ekibastuz, Kazakhstan’s Mussa “Warrior” Tursyngaliyev (8-0, 6 KOs) the WBA International Featherweight Champion, had his hands full with Monteira, Colombia’s Deivi “El Cabo” Bassa (20-6, 12 KOs). The “Warriors” superior footwork and counterpunching shined throughout the bout as he wore El Cabo down, with angels, counterpunching and blistering straight right hands that snuck through the high guard of the Colombian Bassa. A nice technical showing from the Kazakhstani who remains undefeated.

Featherweight Jessy Cruz 14-7-1(6KO) stopped Sergio Aguilar 2-10(2KO) at the end of round three. Often do we see an awkward fight between a southpaw and orthodox fighter, and this fight was no different including an odd ending which had Aquilar staying put on his stool when the bell sounded for round four. Round three saw its only true action of the scheduled six-rounder with a nice assault coming from “Beast Boy” Cruz, who is always in a great fight, at the end of the round. Not sure from this vantage point what made Aguilar quit, punches, heart or injury? Officially a TKO win for Cruz.

Miamian Jorge De Jesus Romero 11-0(9KO) was launching bombs on Jeno Tonte 8-4(7KO) from Budapest Hungary while working hard to keep his hard-hitting reputation intact. It was a constant attack from Romero that broke the Hungarian fighter down fast. Round three Romeros’ pressure had Tonte on a retreat of survival who was finally trapped in a corner by a barrage of punches when referee Sam Burgos stepped in to stop the action at of 2:47 of round 3.

Lightweights Dustin “DGA” Arnold 6-1(2KO) and Raul Chirino 12-10(6KO) gave the crowd a great entertaining clash. Arnold established the early rounds behind a strong jab and right hand. Chirino caught a groove in the late rounds but it was Arnold who was more accurate and landed the more meaningful punches throughout this 6 round lightweight battle. The crowd was alive and on their feet as both Arnold and Chirino fought like warriors to the final bell. The scorecards were 58-56 59-55 twice with the card.

Opening Rumble at the Rock II was Super Middleweight Cuban and former youth Amateur world Champion Irosvani Duvergel improved to 4-0(2KO) with a unanimous decision win over Emmanuel Sanchez 7-10-1(1)KO. Duvergel was hoping to get a KO in his second showing at the Hard Rock Event Center here at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, however, could not catch the fleet-footed Texan Sanchez with anything of true substance. Duvergel chased Sanchez without ever cutting the ring nor landing more than one punch at a time. All three judges scored 40-35

Joshua Greer stopped Giovvani Delgado in round three of their scheduled eight-round super bantamweight bout.

In round three, Greer landed a booming right that hurt Delgado. Greer pounced on Delgado and landed several hard unanswered shots and the bout was stopped at 1:49.

Greer of Chicago is 18-1-1 with 10 knockouts. Delgado of Tacubaya, MEX is 16-8.

Genesis Servania stopped Carlos Carlson in round three of a scheduled eight-round featherweight bout of former world title challengers.

In round three, Servania landed a hard right that sent Carlson to the canvas. Carlson sat on his knee until referee Marcos Rosales counted ten, and Carlson jumped up but it was too late.

Servania, 123 1/2 lbs of Cebu City, PHL is 32-1 with 15 knockouts. Carlson, ,123 1/4 lbs of Tijuana, MEX is 22-5.

Former world champion Rico Ramos won an eight-round unanimous decision over Daniel Olea in a featherweight bout.

In round one, Ramos dropped Olea with a left uppercut. Olea was cut from from his lip in round two.

Ramos, 129 1/2 lbs of Pico River, CA won by scores of 8071 on all cards, and is now 30-5. Olea, 123 14/4 lbs is 13-6-2.

Ashkat Ualikhanov won an entertaining six-round unanimous decision over Angel Hernandez in a super middleweight bout.

Ualikhanov, 141 3/4 lbs of Oxnard, CA won by scores of 59-55 and 58-56 twice, and is now 4-1. Hernandez, 146 1/2 lbs of McAllen, TX is 13-11-2.

Janibek Alimkhanuly won a six-round unanimous decision over Carlos Galvan in a super middleweight bout.

Alikkhanuly of Almaty, KAZ won by scores of 60-54 on all cards, and is now 3-0. Galvan of Apartado, COL is 16-8-1.

Callum Smith won the WBA Super Middleweight title as well as the World Boxing Super Series titles with a 7th round stoppage over George Groves in Saudi Arabia.

Smith buckled Groves with a hard right in round three. Smith had some swelling under his right eye in round four.

In round seven, Smith landed a wicked left hook that hurt Groves, who then retreated into the corner. Smith was all over Groves with lefts and rights and put Groves down with a body shot for the ten count at 2:04.

Smith of Liverpool, England is now 25-0 with 18 knockouts. Groves of London is 28-4.

Former world title challenger Chris Eubank, Jr stopped JJ McDonagh after round three of their scheduled ten-round super middleweight bout

In round one, Eubank dropped McDonagh with a left hook to the head. Eubank continued to dominate the bout, and McDonagh did not answer the bell to start round four from what looked like a shoulder injury.

Eubank, 167.9 lbs of Brighton, UK is 27-2 with 21 knockouts. McDonagh, 165.1 lbs of Ireland is 16-5.

Darren Surtees stopped Kane Baker in rouns two of their eight-round super lightweight bout.

Surtees scored two knockdowns, and the fight was stoped.

Surtees, 141.3 lbs of Durham, UK is 9-0 with six knockouts. Baker, 143 lbs of Birmingham, UK is 8-5.

Zuhayr Al Qatani remained undefeated with a four-round unanimous decision over Mohammad Mahmoud in a super lightweight bout.

Al Qatani, 139.6 lbs of Saudi Arabia won all cards 39-37. Mahmoud, 141.5 lbs of Plymouth, UK is 0-6.

Mikael Lawal stopped Tommas Kozma in round three of a scheduled eight-round cruiserweight bout.

Lawal dropped Kozma with a right to the top of the head, and the bout was stopped at 2:19.

Lawal, 198.4 lbs of London is 8-0 with six knockouts. Kozma, 188.7 lbs of Hungary is 6-7-3.

Kem Ljungquist stopped Murad Omar after round two of their scheduled eight-round heavyweight bout.

Ljungquist hurt Omar badly in round three, and the bout was stopped.

Ljungquist, 229 lbs of Denmark is 5-0 with three knockouts. Omar, 256.6 lbs of Cairo, EGY is 4-2.

A possible rematch between retired former middleweight champion Sergio Martinez and Julio Cesar Chavez has been bandied about, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“It’s not true,” Promoter Eddie Hearn told ESPN about a deal being close. “Yes, I have spoken to both fighters regarding the fight, but there is no contract, nothing signed, no deal in place. It’s something that has been discussed, but a deal is not imminent. It’s not at all done.”

“I’m curious about the fight, but honestly I don’t think it has legs, no pun intended,” Hearn said of the fight rumored for Nov. 17 either in Las Vegas or a site in Texas.

WBO Middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders tested positive for banned substance and thus putting into question his July 20th defense against Demetrius Andrade in Boston, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

The test results were returned Wednesday, and VADA president Dr. Margaret Goodman notified the parties involved in a letter obtained by ESPN:

“The results of the analysis are as follows: Adverse. Urine specimen number 4248408: oxilofrine detected. Note the following is also contained on the laboratory report: ‘Opinions: oxilofrine may have resulted from the administration of ephedrine which was also detected but below the decision limit of 11ug/ml. The estimated concentration of ephedrine is 4.6 ug/ml.'”

“Billy Joe will apply for a license in Massachusetts and they will make the decision if he is allowed to box,” promoter Eddie Hearn told ESPN. “The most important thing is that Demetrius Andrade fights for the world title on Oct. 20. If Billy Joe Saunders is ruled out and stripped of the title, we will be looking to make a fight for the vacant world title.”

“If Saunders is stripped, we will do whatever we can to make sure Andrade is fighting for the vacant title on Oct. 20,” Hearn said.

Paco Valcarcel, president of the WBO, whose belt Saunders holds, told ESPN that the sanctioning organization has received the drug test results but would not make any decisions regarding the belt until Massachusetts decides whether it will license Saunders.

“If he doesn’t get licensed, we will strip him,” Valcarcel said. “If he gets licensed, we will still investigate the doping and at that time determine if we will sanction the fight.”

“Mr. Saunders is not in breach of British Boxing Board of Control/United Kingdom Anti-Doping regulations,” Robert Smith, the British Boxing Board of Control general secretary, wrote in a letter to VADA and the promoters, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN. “Please note, in Great Britain in-competition testing is the evening of the contest, anything prior to that is out of competition.

“In addition, Mr. Saunders has been tested a number of times in 2018, all negative, his last out of competition test by UKAD was on 24th September 2018 and I will advise of the result when it is made available.”

Former Saunder opponent David Lemieux was not amused by Saunders test result.

“U dirty cheating scumbag, ur not only a miserable human being but ur also a dirty cheap cheating rotten p—k #billyjoesaunders u should be banned from boxing,” he wrote.

HBO is dropping boxing after 2018, thus ending a 45 year run of being the premier network in the United States.

“Our mission at HBO Sports is to elevate the brand. We look for television projects that are high-profile, high-access, and highly ambitious in the stories they seek to tell and the quality of production in telling them,” HBO Sports said in a statement. “Boxing has been part of our heritage for decades. During that time, the sport has undergone a transformation. It is now widely available on a host of networks and streaming services. There is more boxing than ever being televised and distributed. In some cases, this programming is very good. But from an entertainment point of view, it’s not unique.

“Going forward in 2019, we will be pivoting away from programming live boxing on HBO. As always, we will remain open to looking at events that fit our programming mix. This could include boxing, just not for the foreseeable future. We’re deeply indebted to the many courageous fighters whose careers we were privileged to cover.”

“There have been hundreds of dedicated and remarkably creative men and women who have delivered the best in television production for HBO’s coverage of boxing and we are so grateful for their contributions,” HBO’s statement continued. “It has been a wonderful journey chronicling the careers and back stories of so many spectacularly talented prizefighters.

“We are a storytelling platform. The future will see unscripted series, long-form documentary films, reality programming, sports journalism, event specials and more unique standout content from HBO Sports. We are constantly evaluating our programming to determine what resonates with our subscribers. Our audience research clearly shows the type of programming our subscribers embrace. For HBO Sports, it’s programming that viewers can’t find elsewhere.”

“My 30-year love affair with HBO continues, and I am motivated and prepared to support storytelling initiatives in the sports department,” Blow by blow announcer, Lampley said. “So I will remain in place.”

Former world champion Victor Ortiz was arrested on the accusations of 3 sexual assualts, just days before his fight with John Molins, Jr., according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

His bail was set at $100,000.

Ortiz turned himself in at approximately 3 p.m. PT, and was charged by the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office with forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and forcible digital penetration, according to the police report.

According to Dan Rafael, the September 15th rematch featuring Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin did around 1.1 million Pay-Per-View buys.

The fight generated at least $94 million in domestic linear television sales for the HBO PPV telecast, which had a suggested retail price of $84.95 but had a higher price in most markets for those who ordered in high definition.

The live gate figures were released on Monday by the Nevada State Athletic Commission and the fight notched the fourth biggest in boxing and Nevada history. The fight generated $23,473,500 from the sale of 16,732 tickets at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The promoters gave away 1,451 complimentary tickets, according to the commission report.

Former WBC Bantamweight champion Luis Nery will be back in action on October 6th after a suspension for failing to make weight, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“Former WBC bantamweight champion Luis Nery has fully complied with the WBC requirements as per the ruling issued by the WBC Board of Governors regarding his weight management problem, which led to him losing his world championship early this year,” the WBC said in announcing the end of Nery’s suspension. “The WBC hereby confirms that Luis Nery suspension ended on Sept. 1 and he is now eligible to compete for a WBC championship.”

Anthony Joshua retained the IBF/WBA/WBO Heavyweight titles with a 7th round stoppage over mandatory challenger Alxander Povetkin in front of 80,000 at Wembley Stadium in London.

Povetkin rocked Joshua at the end of round one with a hard right hand.  Joshua was bleeding from his nose as Povetkin was able to sneak some counter right hands.  In round four, Povetkin was cut over his left eye from a punch.

In round seven, Joshua landed a booming 3 punch combination that sent Povetkin crashing down in his corner.  Povetkin was able to get to his feet, but that only prolonged the inevitable as Joshua pounced on his prey and landed several more flush power shots that had the referee stop the fight as Povetkin fell for a 2nd time at 1:59.

Joshua, 246.5 lbs of Watford, England is now 22-0 with 21 knockouts.  Povetkin, 222 lbs of Russia is 34-2.

Luke Campbell avenged a defeat to Yvan Mendy by turning the tables, and winning a 12-round split decision in a lightweight bout.

Campbell used a nice body attack and moved nicely throughout the 12 round affair.

Campbell, 134.6 lbs of Hull, England won by scores 119-109, 118-111 and 116-112 and is Now 19-2.  Mendy, 134.7 lbs of France is 40-5-1.

In an ugly cruiserweight contest, Lawrence Okolie won a 12-round unanimous decision over Matty Askin.

Okolie was deducted point’s in rounds five for headbutt, in round eight for a low blow, and round 11 for holding.

Okolie, 199.3 lbs of Hackney, England won by scores of 116-110, 114-112 and 114-113 to stay perfect at 10-0.  Askin, 199.8 lbs of Blackpool, England is 22-4-1.

Sergey Kuzmin stopped David Price after round four of their scheduled ten round heavyweight bout.

Price had his moements, but was exhausted after round four, and he pulled the plug on the fight.

Kuzmin, 244.6 lbs of Russia is 13-0 with 10 knockouts.  Price, 265.4 lbs of Liverpool, England is 22-6.

Shakram Giyasov remained undefeated by stopping Julio Laguna in round four of their scheduled eight-round welterweight bout of undefeated fighters.

Giyasov landed a huge flurry that sent Laguna to the canvas, and the bout was stopped at 38 seconds.

Giyasov, 143.2 lbs of Uzbekistan is now 5-0 with five knockouts.  Laguna, 142 lbs of Nicaragua is 14-1.

O’Shaquie Foster won a 10-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Jon Fernandez in a super featherweight bout at The Firelake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

Foster moved, and punched off the ropes that befuddled the power punching Fernandez.

Foster, 129 1/2 lbs of Houston, Texas won by scores of 98-92 on all cards, and is now 14-2. Fernandez,z 129 3/4 lbs of Spain is 16-1.

Foster landed 145 of 407 punches. Fernandez was 102 of 611.

This was the best fight of my career,” said Foster, who was appearing on the ShoBox series for the fourth time. “I knew I had it in me, I just never put it together. I have a new team, I have a new trainer, a new strength and conditioning coach. This was what I dreamed of and we put in the work to make it happen.

“I knew he was a puncher and he’d come forward the whole fight. I knew I had to work off my jab and use my lateral movement. He had a little power, but he never got me clean. We’re going to sit down and look at the drawing board. I can tell you this, we’re not the B-side anymore.”

“His style was frustrating, but we were expecting it,” said the 23-year-old Fernandez, who was widely regarded as one of the top prospects in boxing. “We thought his conditioning would go down and he’d slow down in the later rounds. He didn’t (slow down) and that surprised me.

“I feel like we can still get better and better. We just had a bad game plan for this fight.”

Irvin Gonzalez won an eight-round unanimous decision over Carlos Ramos in a battle of undefeated featherweights.

Gonzalez, 126 lbs of Worcester, MA won by scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 78-74 to raise his mark to 11-0. Ramos, 125 1/2 lbs of Madrid, SPA is 9-1.

Gonzalez landed 72 of 464 punches. Ramos was just 38 of 225.

“It took me a few rounds to figure him out, but once I did he didn’t have anything on me,” said Gonzalez. “He only had the left hand and that was about it. He really didn’t throw any punches.

“This was a big learning experience for me. This was my second eight-rounder and it opened my eyes a little bit. I know I’m conditioned well but I have to go back to work.”

In a fight between undefeated lightweights, Steven Ortiz won an eight-round majority decision over Wesley Ferrer.

Ortiz, 134 1/2 lbs of Philadelphia won by scores of 78-74, 77-75 and 76-76, and is now 9-0. Ferrer, 134 3/4 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is 12-1-1.

“I think it was a pretty close fight,” said a disappointed Ferrer. “I thought I was winning the first few rounds, but I know I got out-worked in the last two rounds. At the end of the day, the judges saw something else and he got the win. If I won the last few rounds I would have won the fight.”

“I was coming off a long layoff and wasn’t as sharp as I should have been,” said the 25-year-old Ortiz. “I landed the sharper jabs and landed the harder shots. I think my ring experience and ring generalship was the difference in the fight.

“I want to come back a lot sharper and a lot smarter. At the end of the day, it was a learning experience. I got the win against a tough guy.”

In a battle of undefeated super featherweights, Misael Lopez won a eight-round unanimous decision over James Wilkins.

In round five, Wilkins was deducted a point for a low blow.

Lopez, 128 3/4 lbs of Denver, CO won by scores of 79-72, 77-74 an 76-75 and is now 9-0. Wilkins, 128 1/2 lbs of Staten Island, NY is 5-1.

Lopez landed 249-790 punches. Wilkins was 132-530.

“I think the difference was I was able to make him miss, land the cleaner shots and used my boxing to dictate the pace,” said the 22-year-old Lopez. “I’m looking to keep going and stay on the big stage. Hopefully people and promoters will notice that I’m the real deal.”

“I think I did enough to pull it off,” said Wilkins. “I could see a split decision, maybe, but I dropped him and that wins the fight. That was a 10-8 round. I want to go back to the gym, work hard and get right back. You haven’t seen the last of me.”

The WBA Heavyweight title bout between Manuel Charr and Fres Oquendo is off after Charr tested positve for a banned substance, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“This letter is to advise you that Mr. Manual Charr’s ‘A’ sample urine specimen number 4256987 collected on August 31, 2018 in Cologne, Germany through his participation in the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) program has been analyzed for anabolic agents, diuretics, beta-2 agonists, stimulants, IRMS, EPO, and drugs of abuse. The results of the analysis are as follows: Adverse. Urine specimen number 4256987: epitrenbolone and drostanolone metabolites detected,” VADA said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN.

“The message came that I tested positive. My manager, Christian Hunter, and my promoter, Bernd Trendelburg, have cancelled the fight without informing me before or contacting me. I am very disappointed in this approach,” Charr said in a statement. “I can’t explain the result, but I will do anything to solve it. I am now waiting for the result of the ‘B’ sample and I have once again undergone an independent and voluntary doping test. The results are expected to be published on Saturday.

“I have always been clean in all the fighting, and I can therefore definitely not explain how this result. I’m in shock myself, dear fans, especially as I’m in the final (stages) of the fight preparation. The defense of the championship has been my life for months. I am preparing for this fight with great discipline. During my (training) I take various supplements. It will be examined whether the food supplements may have influenced the doping sample.”

“The WBA should do the right thing and crown me champion,” Oquendo said in a statement provided to ESPN. “I shouldn’t be punished for something I’m doing right, which is not cheating.”

“We have read reports that Charr’s promoter has canceled the fight following Charr’s positive doping test. Except for the VADA letter, we have not heard anything official,” Square Ring CEO John Wirt, who co-promotes Oquendo with Bobby Hitz, told ESPN. “Obviously, if the fight is canceled it will be another injustice in a long line of huge disappointments in Fres’ path to fight for the WBA (‘regular’) heavyweight title.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, trainer Teddy Atlas will be back in the corner to train Oleksandr Gvozdyk for November 1st title opportunity against Adonis Stevenson on November 1st.

“They’ve been waiting for an answer for a couple of weeks,” said Atlas, a longtime ESPN boxing analyst.

“I wanted to meet him and his family. So I did. I met him, spent two days with him, we watched film, had lunch and dinner on the first day, and then we spent the second day in the gym working together,” Atlas said. “I met his family. He has three young children and a wife, and I trust Egis as a person. I told him that the first prerequisite to even entertaining the thought of coming back to training is if I thought they were good people. If I didn’t think that, I wouldn’t even entertain it.

“That is the first thing — do I want to spend time with this person? And I felt that I would want to be around a person like that. And then the next thing was can I help him and is he conducive to being trained? Will he allow himself to be coached? The answer was yes from what I could see, and they’re asking for my help, so can I help him? I feel I can help him.”

“I had to ask myself, ‘Am I ready to do this again?’ Are you emotionally ready to do this again? I’ve been training fighters since I was a kid, since I was 21 years old training [Hall of Famer] Wilfred Benitez. That took me a couple of weeks to decide,” Atlas said. “It’s not something to decide on in a couple of days. And after all these years training fighters, your neck hurts, your shoulder, the back.”

“Oleksandr was looking to step up and be trained by Teddy,” Klimas told ESPN. “I know Teddy for a long time. He’s not committing just because. He thought about this very deeply. It wasn’t an easy decision for him to make. When he spent time with Oleksandr, with his family and in the gym, it looks like they clicked. Teddy said he would think about it. I spoke to him three or four times after that and he wasn’t sure, but [on Monday] when we spoke, he said he will take the opportunity and that he would try to help Oleksandr as much as he can.”

“I’m already looking at film, and I’ve already got a few pages of notes and things that have to be worked on, things that need to be corrected,” Atlas said. “You’re fighting the second-hardest puncher in boxing [behind heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder]. You can’t make mistakes with a guy like this. You have to be technically solid, and you have to have a very definitive plan on how to go about winning this fight. We will work on that. There’s no real margin for error.

“[Gvozdyk] behaves like a fighter. He’s got good instincts. From a technical aspect, he just has to take it to the next level, but he has the right ideas. He has to expand on the ideas.”

The father/trainer of Joe Calzaghe, Enzo Calzaghe passed away at age 69, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

No cause of death was announced, but the family said in a statement, “The family are devastated to have to announce the death of our beloved Enzo. Joe and all of the Calzaghe family would like to thank the public for their well wishes and kind thoughts, especially the outpouring of support from within the boxing community.

“Enzo led an incredible life both inside and outside of the boxing gym and his loss is a devastating one for the entire Calzaghe family. We please ask that people respect our privacy at this difficult time.”

Enzo Calzaghe also trained other fighters, including former junior welterweight world titlist Gavin Rees, former cruiserweight titleholder Enzo Maccarinelli and former light heavyweight titlist Nathan Cleverly.

“A teacher, a trainer and a great man,” Cleverly wrote on social media. “He predicted early on in my teen years that I would become a world champion. He taught me so much.”

LAS VEGAS –Forget all the insults, promises and allegations. The wait wasn’t a whole lot of fun. In the end, however, the fight made all of that waiting oh-so-forgettable.

Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin delivered the drama Saturday night before a rocking crowd of 21,965 at T-Mobile Arena throughout 12 pulsating rounds, each of which was hard to score, yet might eventually add up to a trilogy. For now, there’s bound to be controversy.

Canelo won a majority decision in the middleweight rematch of their controversial draw last September.

“That was a great fight’’ Canelo (50-1-2, 34 KOs) said after taking GGG’s championship belts and ending his claim on a record for title defenses in the HBO pay-per-view bout. “But in the end, it was a victory for Mexico. And again, it was an opportunity, and I want to shout out to my opponent, the best in the sport of boxing. I am a great fighter, and I showed it tonight.

“If the people want another round, I’ll do it again. But for right now, I will enjoy time with my family.’’

In boxing, of course, majority only means that not everybody agrees with the 115-113 scorecards turned in by judges Dave Moretti of Nevada and Steve Weisfeld of New Jersey. The third judge, Glenn Feldman of Connecticut, had a different opinion. He scored it, 114-114, a draw that might have been the very hard to accept after last September’s messy result.

On this card, it was 115-113 for Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs). Go ahead and argue. The fight was that close. The good news was that there was no wacky, bird-brain card like the 118-110 number for Canelo turned in by Adelaide Byrd a year ago.

Canelo’s aggressiveness over the first seven to eight rounds might have been enough to get the nod from Moretti and Weisfeld. He moved forward, ever forward. However, he often moved straight into a GGG jab that was as consistent as it was precise. It left him with a huge gash over his left eye.

That GGG jab and a Canelo pursuit that included some terrific body punches appeared to leave the bout even after eight rounds. The next three rounds were just about as even. The guess was that the twelfth would be decisive. At least, GGG trainer Abel Sanchez thought so.

“We had a great fight, the one we expected the first time around,’’ Sanchez said. “I had it close going into the 12^th round. We had good judges who saw it from different angles. I can’t complain about the decision, but it’s close enough to warrant a third fight. Canelo fought a great fight. Congratulations.’’

GGG got cut over his right eye in the 12^th. The blood fell like tears across the multiple bruises on his face as he left the ring. He didn’t stop to speak to the media in the immediate aftermath of the fight.

After arriving in his dressing room, he spoke to a media-relations representative, who relayed his quotes to press row.

“I’m not going to say who won,’’ GGG said. “The victory belongs to Canelo, according to the judges. I thought it was a very good fight for the fans. It was exciting. I thought I fought better than he did.’’

Then, he was asked about a third fight.

“Under the right circumstances,’’ GGG said.

The second fight has already put some those circumstances in place.

Mungia scores quick stoppage, leaving HBO with 90 minutes to fill before the GGG-Canelo rematch 

Jamie Mungia kept himself in the mix for a middleweight title Saturday night with some of the raw power that has marked his emergence from unknown to dangerous.

Mungia (31-0, 26 KOs, of Tijuana,  battered Canadian Brandon Cook (20-2, 13 KOs) around the ring like a young Antonio Margarito for two rounds and then finished him with a couple of rough-and-tumble knockdown in the third. Referee Tony Weeks finally ended at 1:03 of the third in another quick stoppage that left the HBO pay-per-view telecast with about 90 minutes of air time to fill before the Canelo Alavrez-Gennady Golovkin rematch at T-Mobile Arena.

“This was part of my development,” Mungia said.  “I was not as focused in my last fight. But this time I came more relaxed. I was looking for the knockout too much. But now you’ve seen the results of my work. With each fight you will see me getting better. I just want to show that I can get better and that I want to face the best, so I can show that I am the best.”

Lemieux has one-punch answer for Spike O’Sullivan’s trash talk

The Face-offs were contentious. The fight was a blowout.

He entered the T-Mobile Arena’s ring as former pound-for-pound champion. He left it after delivering powerful reminder as to why he was one.

Dallas junior-welterweight Vergil Ortiz (11-0, 11 KOs), one of boxing’s best young prospects, was everything he was supposed to be, delivering speed and power for a second-round demolition of Roberto Ortiz (35-3-2, 26 KOs) of Mexico. In the final bout before the HBO pay-per-view telecast of the Gennady Golovkin-Canelo Alvarez card, Vergil Ortiz dropped Roberto with a right early in the second. Moments later, he landed a blinding succession of punches. Referee Vic Drakulich had seen enough. At 1:03 of the second, he ended it.

Alexis Rocha stays unbeaten with one-sided decision

Alexis Rocha, a super-welterweight from Santa Ana, Calif., did some damage early, then scored some easy points and finished still unbeaten in the third bout on the non- televised portion of the Canelo-GGG card.

First Bell: Canelo-Golovkin card off to an early start and fast finish

It was an early start and a quick finish.

New York welterweight Brian Ceballo (5-0, 3 KOs) wasted little time, finishing an afternoon matinee within two rounds after the first bell Saturday on a card featuring the Gennady Golovkin-Canelo Alvarez rematch at T-Mobile Arena.

Ceballo knocked down David Thomas (6-4-1, 2 KOs) of Orange, Tex., in the first. In the opening seconds of the second, Thomas was defenseless, hands down and a wide-open target for a succession of straight hands from Ceballo. At 34 seconds of the round, referee Jay Nady ended it.