According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, a bout between IBF Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and Wladmir Klitschko appears to be close to fruiyion provided the WBA will sanction the bout.

“We will go with the WBA ruling,” Klitschko manager Bernd Boente said. “We hope they rule quickly because Dec. 10 is not far away.”

“For Wladimir it is very important to have the WBA title in a fight with Joshua,” Boente said. “We made a deal with Eddie easily. We tried to find an agreement and we made a deal. If the fight doesn’t happen now and Wladimir and Joshua both win their next fight, we can do the fight under the same deal next year and it would be even bigger. The framework is there.”

“For Wladimir, it’s also about the WBA title. For him, this is important,” Boente said. “It is his mission. He is serious when he says it is not only about the money.”

“The WBO wants a tournament, which is up to them,” Boente said. “We love the WBO. Wladimir held the WBO title for a long time and it was the first world title he won. He respects the WBO, but if they do a tournament Wladimir would not participate. At this stage of his career it makes no sense.”

“Once the WBA made their ruling to uphold their standard split, it became just a matter of still talking to Al and trying to finalize a deal, but it’s just too late now for the fight to be on Dec. 10,” Golovkin promoter Tom Loeffler said. “We had Madison Square Garden on hold, and they’ve been a good partner to us, so I don’t like having to leave them with an open Saturday night. HBO also was ready to go, but we are going to push it back into early 2017.”

“As soon as we can get the deal agreed to we’ll figure out a date and location,” he said. “But first we have to make the fight. Optimally, it will stay at Madison Square Garden. Our goal is to not go to a purse bid because a promotion is more effective when both sides are happy with the deal.”

“By the time contracts are signed and fighters are in training camp, it just wasn’t realistic to keep the December date, unfortunately,” Loeffler said. “If we had the contracts signed today, OK, maybe we could do it. But we’re not there yet. The contract isn’t signed and there’s no telling when it would be signed.”

“It’s not by our choice,” Loeffler said.

Welterweight contender Felix Diaz will return on December 10th in his native Dominican Republic, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“Felix Diaz wants a big fight and he wants to stay on people’s radar, and you can’t do that if you don’t fight,” promoter DiBella said. “He wants to fight [unified junior welterweight world champion] Terence Crawford, but he has to stay active and keep making a name for himself to get those kinds of fights. The win against Sammy Vasquez was a start. I look forward to seeing him back in the ring.”

We want to get him back in the ring this year, no matter what kind of fight it is,” DiBella said. “There isn’t a big fight for him right now, but Felix Diaz is unlike a lot of fighters. He is willing to fight for the money that is there for the level of fight this will be. But he is extremely popular in the Dominican Republic, so he is going to fight on the island in sort of a homecoming fight.”

“We’ll publicize the fight as much as we can and keep the pressure on everybody and try to force the issue that Felix Diaz deserves a big fight,” DiBella said. “He’s an Olympic gold medalist, extremely talented; he was crowd-pleasing against Sammy Vasquez, and the only loss of his career is a loss you can easily argue wasn’t really a loss to Lamont Peterson. Felix Diaz is a beast in the ring, but he has to earn his shot and that’s what he is doing. Credit to him. He’s going to stay active and force his way into a big fight.”

Tomoki Kameda scored an explosive 1st round stoppage over Edgar Martinez in a scheduled 10-round featherweight bout in Mexico City.

Kameda hurt Martinez with a right hand. Kameda followed uo with a 6 punch barrage that capped off by a huge left hook that dropped Martinez and the fight was stopped at 1:17.

Kameda of Osaka, JAP is 32-2 with 20 knockouts. Martinez is 18-14-1.

WBA Super Featherweight champion Jezreel Corrales will make the 1st defense of his title against the man he won it from, Takashi Uchiyama on December 31st in Japan.

“I am eager to regain my belt since I was careless in the first encounter,” said Uchiyama, who would become the oldest Japanese fighter to win a world title if he regains the belt.

Ricardo Rodriguez won a 10-round unanimous decision over David Quinjaro in a super flyweight bout at the Tony Rosa Community Center in Palm Bay, Florida.

Rodriguez, 115 lbs of Ciudad. MX won by scores of 99-91 and 98-92 twice and is now 15-3. Quinjaro, 114 lbs of Caguas, PR is 16-7-1.

Andre Byrd won a 4-round unanimous decision over Javier Garcia in a welterweight bout.

Byrd, 146 lbs won by scores of 40-36 twice and 39-37 and is niw 4-2-1. Garcia, 148 lbs is 8-13-1.

Joshua Pagan remained undefeated with a 4-round unanimous decision over Tom Mills in a welterweight bout.

Pagan scored a knockdown in round three from a body shot. Pagan scored another knockdown in round four from a right hand.

Pagan, 138 lbs won by scores of 40-34 on all cards and is now 4-0. Mills, 142 lbs is 1-6.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the September 17th Canelo Alvarez – Liam Smith Pay-Per-View card generated close to 300,000 buys.

“We’re going to wind up doing close to 300,000 homes, which is great when you combine that with almost 52,000 fans we had in the crowd,” Oscar De La Hoya said. “We’re very happy, extremely happy with the numbers.”

“Obviously, nobody had ever heard of Liam Smith, and when you have to try and sell a pay-per-view fight with somebody that nobody has ever heard of, you have a tough job ahead of you,” De La Hoya said. “We were able to attract the fans who love boxing, and they were treated to a special fight. When it was all said and done it was a terrific fight, a lot of action.”

“I’m sure when Canelo decides to fight at 160 next year there will be plenty of name fighters and opponents who will bring excitement and great fights and the fans will acknowledge that and, once again, he will do even bigger pay-per-view numbers,” De La Hoya said.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Top Rank has signed Honduran Olympian Teofimo Lopez.

Lopez will make his professional debut in a four-round bout against an opponent to be determined on the Manny Pacquiao-Jessie Vargas undercard on Nov. 5 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

“He’s one of my homies,” Arum joked, because they are both originally from Brooklyn. “I think this kid is a real talent. The [matchmakers] are really high on him. He’s a real strong kid and has a really big future as a professional. He can fight. He’s a good fighter. If he wasn’t we wouldn’t have signed him, but it’s a shame he wasn’t part of the U.S. Olympic team. There’s amateur boxing politics.”

“I’ve sparred with a lot of pros,” Lopez said. “Sometimes they would invite me to go to their training camps, sometimes they were here in my area [in Florida]. I’ve been in training camp with Shawn Porter at the time he was fighting Keith Thurman, and Brad Solomon, helping them get ready for their fights, and they were both 20 pounds bigger than me.

“I also sparred with Guillermo Rigondeaux and Luke Campbell, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist. I’ve sparred with many, many, many professionals since I was 13 years old. I’m an entertainer — got to entertain! My style — I’m technical, very technical. I’m very smart when I’m in the ring, like Albert Einstein. I’m like a Sugar Ray [Leonard], Floyd Mayweather. I’m a boxer, but if the knockout comes, it comes.”

Arum said he might not be done yet signing 2016 Olympians.

“We may do a deal with one or two others but we’re not actively looking,” Arum said.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, undefeated Jose Ramrez will battle Gabriel Bracero on December 2nd on Unimas in Fresno, California.

“As Jose moves up the ladder to a world championship fight, his opponents will be getting better and the fights will be more difficult,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said. “But Top Rank believes Jose Ramirez will win a world title and bring it home to the Central Valley. To do that, he first has to get past Gabriel Bracero.”

“Gabe’s a much better fighter than a lot of people give him credit for,” said Lou DiBella, his promoter. “He has failed when he’s stepped up but he had his moments against Diaz and Malignaggi. He’s a tough guy. Ramirez is a good fighter but he’s untested. This is a test for the kid. It’s going to be a good scrap. It’s a good opportunity for Gabe and for the kid to test himself against a real opponent.”

“I’m happy that Bob and I were able to do things together,” DiBella said. “Bob and I talk regularly again and I think it’s good we can do some smaller stuff together, and I hope it’s a precursor to doing some bigger stuff together.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former junior welterweight world champion Aaron Pryor passed away this morning at the age of 60 in Cincinnati.

“We are heartbroken and sad to announce that our beloved Aaron passed away at home surrounded by his family at 5:57 a.m.,” Frankie Pryor, his widow, said in a statement. “He was known around the world as ‘The Hawk’ but to our family he was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend. We appreciate the outpouring of condolences and sympathy and ask that our family be allowed time to grieve and mourn his loss. We will announce plans for a public memorial shortly.”

Pryor is survived by his wife, Frankie, sons Aaron Jr. and Antwan Harris, daughter, Elizabeth and grandsons Adam, Austin and Aaron Pryor III.

Former world flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada won a 10-round unanimous decision over Raymond Tabugon in a super flyweight bout at Estadio Francisco León García in Sonora, Mexico.

Estrada, 116 lbs of Sonora, MX won by scores of 100-90 on all cards and is now 34-2. Tabugin, 116 1/2 lbs of General Santos City, PHL is 18-6-1.

Emanuel Navarrete won a 10-round split decision over Martin Casillas in a super bantamweight bout,

Casillas, 123 lbs of Zumpango, MX won by scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 99-90 is now 17-1. Casillas, 122 lbs of Ciudad, MX is 15-9-1.

Yuri Alcantara made Brad Pickett tap at of the 1st round of their bantamweight bout

Alcantara rocked Pickett with hard strikes that bloodied his nose and then Alcantara got Pickett in an armbar and made Pickett tap at 1:59.

Alcantara, 136 lbs of Soure, BRA is now 33-7-1. Pickett, 136 lbs of London is 26-12.

Damian Stasiak submitted Davey Grant with an armbar in the 3rd round of their bantamweight bout.

The time of the tapout was 3:56 of round three, for Stasiak, 135 lbs of Lodz, POL and is now 10-3. Grant, 135 lbs of Bishop Auckland, UK is 10-3.

Leon Edwards submitted Albert Tumenov in the 3rd round of their welterweight bout.

In round three, Edwards got Tumenov on the ground and got around him into a rear naked choke and Tumenov tapped at 3:01.

Edwards, 169 lbs of Birmingham, UK is now 12-3. Tumenov, 169 lbs of Fairfield, NJ is 17-4

Mark Diakiese thrilled the hometown fans as he stopped Lukasz Sajewaky in the 2nd round of their lightweight fight.

Diakiese landed 7 hard shots on the cage that finally dropped Sajewsky and the fight was stopped at 4:20 of round two.

Diakiese, 156 lbs of Manchester, UK is 10-0. Sajewsky, 156 lbs of Gdnasnk, POL is 13-3,

Former world title challenger Orlando Cruz stopped Gabino Cota in round seven of their scheduled 10-round super featherweight bout.

Cruz dropped Cota with a straight left in round two.

In round seven, Cruz landed a hard left hand that was followed by a vicious combination that sent Cota to the canvas.

Cruz 130 lbs of Quintana, PR is now 25-4-1 with 13 knockouts. Cota of Mexico is 19-7-1.

Sammy Valentin, Jr. stopped Joaquin De La Rosa in round four of their scheduled 6-round welterweight bout.

In round four, Valentin landed a left to the body that was followed up by 2 head shots that sent De La Rosa on his back and the fight was stopped.

valentin, 145 lbs is now 9-0. De La Rosa, 144 lbs is 6-1-1.

Diego Magdaleno won a 10-round unanimous decision over Art Hovhannisyan in a super lightweight bout at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles.

Both guys were cut over their eyes. Magdaleno, 137 lbs of Las Vegas won on all cards by a tallies of 99-91 and is now 29-2. Hovhannisyan, 137 lbs of Glendale, CA is 17-3-3.

“Entering the ring, every boxer has a chance to get the knockout-and that’s what I came for. However, I’m satisfied with the unanimous decision that I received tonight,” said Magdaleno. “Hovhannisyan was a tough opponent, but I was able to outbox him. The energy at LA FIGHT CLUB was one I have never seen before, and that definitely propelled me to put my all in to this fight, especially after taking a year off. I’m more ready than ever, and I’m looking forward to the new opportunities after winning this fight.”

“I knew what to expect from my opponent, but I feel like I didn’t fight as well as I should have. However, I did fight with my whole heart,” said Hovhannisyan. “Going forward, I’ll be looking over the tape with my coach to go over my mistakes and what I should work on. I want to thank Golden Boy for tonight’s event and this opportunity. The next steps are getting rest and healing my hand which was hurt in the fight.”

Damon Allen and Luis Arceo fought to a draw in a eight-round super lightweight bout.

Allen was bleeding from the nose in round five.

All three judges saw the fight 78-78. Allen, 136 lbs of Philadelphia is 10-0-1. Arceo, 137 lbs of Auguascalientes. MX is 28-15-5.

“I knew it was going to be a tough fight because Arceo had a ton of experience under his belt,” spoke Damon Allen. “I made the fight harder than it had to be. It was a learning experience, and we are definitely going back to the drawing board after this. I want a rematch.”

“I honestly feel like I was robbed,” said Luis Arceo. “Each time I would unleash my punches, he would run away. I was the tougher fighter, and I am glad that the judges saw that. I entered the ring as the underdog, and with this draw I feel like I was vindicated.”

Maricela Cornejo won a six-round unanimous decision over Eliza Olson in a female super middleweight bout.

Cornejo, 166.6 lbs of Los Angeles, CA won by scores of 59-55 twice and 58-56 and is now 5-2. Olson, 167 lbs of Sam Bruno, CA is 9-7-3

.”I used my jab, and kept my distance because Olson is known as an unpredictable fighter,” said Maricela Cornejo. “I wasn’t pleased with the outcome-we all want to win via knock out-but I love the fact that I got to demonstrate good footwork and skills that will continue to empower women’s boxing. I’m excited to be a part of LA FIGHT CLUB, and I know that I’ll be back.”

Joseph Aguirre stopped Roberto Rivera in round five of their scheduled six-round super lightweight bout.

Aguirre dropped Rivera in the 5th with a body and shot and was stopped just seconds after getting to his feet at 1:45.

Aguirre, 136.8 lbs of Cancun, MX is 15-0 with nine knockouts. Rivera, 136.8 lbs of Tijuana, MX is 6-3.

“He had a tough punch, and his uppercuts were a wall that kept me from going in,” said Aguirre after his knock-out win. “I wanted to finish him off earlier, and I knew that I had to work him by starting with the body and working myself up. It was a tough match, but I got the knock out for being the better fighte

David Mijares stopped Jason Gavino in the 1st round of their scheduled 4-round welterweight bout.

The time of the stoppage was 2:22 for Mijares, 139.4 lbs of Santa Monica, CA and is now 4-0 with 3 knockouts. Gavino, 140.6 lbs of Tijuana, MX is 3-4.

“I knew entering the ring I had to take him seriously, especially after one of his jabs to my lead hand,” said David Mijares. “I knew that my punch to the body had hurt him because I felt him shake. I am excited to go eat some food, and then hit the gym again to train.”

Opening up the night, Mexico City’s Marvin Cabrera (1-0, 1 KO) won his first fight in afour-round welterweight bout against Jose Caro (0-4) of Tuscon, AZ with a left hook to the face leaving Caro unstable and leading the referee to stop the fight at 1:17 within the first round, landing Cabrera the technical knockout of the fight.

“It feels great to get my first win here at the Belasco,” spoke Cabrera. “I have made many sacrifices, especially leaving my entire family in Mexico, and this first win has proven it is worth it, and those sacrifices are paying off. It’s only the beginning.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Super Welterweight champion Canelo Alavrez does not need surgery on his injured right thumb.

“Canelo came up to Los Angeles [on Wednesday], and we took him to see the doctor, who took off the cast he had on from the doctor in Mexico,” Golden Boy president Eric Gomez told ESPN on Thursday. “The doctor did another MRI and came to the same conclusion as the doctor in Mexico, which is that Canelo doesn’t need surgery. He needs to rest the hand.

“He put another on and will take it off on Nov. 10, and then Canelo can start using the hand. If he has any more discomfort, he needs more rest. If he doesn’t feel any discomfort or pain, then he’s ready go.”

“He’s open to a fight in the first quarter, assuming there’s no discomfort with his hand, but we’ll have to play it by ear,” Gomez said. “We’ll have to make a determination if we want to do a fight then or if Canelo wants to rest it until fighting in May.”

“Linares injured his right hand in the sixth round of the ferocious battle versus Anthony Crolla, and after analyzing the situation and confirming with Dr. Jedediah Jones, it has been concluded that Linares will not be able to fight for some time,” WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said on Thursday. “The WBC is hereby confirming that Dejan Zlaticanin is free to make a voluntary title defense of his WBC lightweight title.”

“It’s still swollen, but thankfully there is no break,” Diaz said. Linares’ injury is in a different spot on his right hand than the previous one that led to the 11-month layoff, said Golden Boy Promotions matchmaker Robert Diaz.

“Right after the fight Eddie and Crolla were saying they want the rematch next but a couple of weeks have passed, and sometimes things change,” Diaz said. “So next week I’ll send Eddie an email and see what they want to do and get it in writing. The most important thing is to see when Linares’ hand is ready to go. If Eddie and Crolla want the rematch, Jorge will be available for it.”

Unified Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury failed a 2nd cocaine test, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.
VADA president Dr. Margaret Goodman sent Fury and others associated with the rematch a letter confirming the test results, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN.com.

“This letter is to advise you that the ‘A’ sample urine specimen number 4006217 collected from Tyson Fury on September 21, 2016, through his participation in the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) program has been analyzed for anabolic agents, diuretics, beta-2 agonists, stimulants and drugs of abuse,” the letter said. “The results of the analyses are as follows: Adverse. Urine specimen contains benzoylecgonine.

“Please also note that — due to varying shipping times — laboratory results for earlier specimen collections may not be available until after the results of subsequent collections in some instances,” the letter said. “Mr. Fury has the right to promptly request analysis of the ‘B’ sample at his expense. Please be aware that VADA does not adjudicate results nor determine whether sanctions are appropriate. As with all results, adverse findings are reported to the relevant commission(s) who may make such determinations. Please do not hesitate to let us know if you have any questions regarding this matter.”

Former world title challenger George Groves will take on Eduard Gutknecht on November 18th in London, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“I’m extremely happy to announce this fight and am excited to be headlining on Channel 5,” Groves said. “I have been fortunate in my boxing career so far to experience almost everything the sport has to offer but to be fighting live on terrestrial TV is something that has always been very high up on my bucket list.

“It goes without saying that I am now determined to challenge again, and this time succeed, in becoming a world champion. I feel that working alongside Cyclone Promotions for this fight, as well as with my promoters Team Sauerland, with the opportunity to be back headlining in front of a home crowd close to West London, is the perfect move for me — especially with the chance to showcase myself to a larger audience.”

Said Shane McGuigan, Groves’ trainer: “This is a must-win fight for George. We’ve worked extremely hard this year, and Nov. 18 is a chance for George to make another important step towards becoming a world champion. Eduard Gutknecht is a proven operator who we cannot afford to take lightly. Eddy has a high-punch output and is extremely durable, so we are preparing for 12 hard rounds.”

Gutknecht (30-4-1, 13 KOs), a 34-year-old Kazakhstan native living in Germany, lost a decision to Robert Stieglitz in a 2010 world title bout and another decision to Juergen Braehmer in a world title fight in March. He bounced back from that loss with a third-round knockout win against Artem Redko on June 18.

He said he will be fighting Groves in his hometown.

“I will come to London on Nov. 18 full of energy and conquer,” he said. “I only want to fight winners and make them lose. George Groves is a winner and a world-class fighter, but so am I. The fans in London are in for a hell of a fight.”

Evander Holyfield, Marco Antonio Barrera and Johnny Tapi lead this year’s 1st year-names on the Hall of Fame Ballot, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“I’m honored,” Holyfield said after being informed Tuesday night by ESPN.com that he was on the ballot. “What can you say when you’ve done what I’ve done? It do speak for itself. I had a good amateur career, became the first undisputed cruiserweight champ of the world and then undisputed heavyweight champ. I fought them all. I fought everyone who was the best at my time of boxing and did real well. If you’re the best, you’re going to be in the Hall of Fame.

“I fought everybody. I didn’t make up excuses on why I shouldn’t fight this guy or that guy. I fought everyone I was supposed to. I’m glad I played by the rules and became the champ. I fought and did my very best.”

“I became four-time heavyweight champ of the world,” said Holyfield, who was 18-9-2 with 10 knockouts against titleholders and Hall of Famers. “Would have been five if they gave me the decision I deserved against the Russian guy.”

The holdovers on the 30-man modern ballot are Yuri Arbachakov, Ayala, Nigel Benn, Sot Chitalada, Donald Curry, Chris Eubank, Leo Gamez, Genaro Hernandez, Julian Jackson, Santos Laciar, Rocky Lockridge, Miguel “Happy” Lora, James “Buddy” McGirt, Henry Maske, Darius Michalczewski, Sung-Kil Moon, Moorer, Orzubek “Gussie” Nazarov, Sven Ottke, Vinny Pazienza, Gilberto Roman, Gianfranco Rosi, Samuel Serrano, Meldrick Taylor, Fernando Vargas, Wilfredo Vazquez Sr. and Ratanapol Sor Vorapin.

Unified Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has admitted cocaine use, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“Listen, I’ve done a lot of things in my life. I’ve done lots of cocaine. Lots of it,” Fury said in the interview. “Why shouldn’t I take cocaine? It’s my life, isn’t it? I can do what I want. Yeah, I have done cocaine. Plenty of people have done cocaine as well. What the f— has that got to do with anything?

“That ain’t a performance-enhancing drug. Am I not allowed to have a life now as well? Do they want to take my personal life off me, too? I’ve not been in a gym for months. I’ve not been training. I’ve been going through depression. I just don’t want to live anymore, if you know what I’m saying. I’ve had total enough of it. They’ve forced me to the breaking edge. Never mind cocaine. I just didn’t care. I don’t want to live anymore. So cocaine is a little minor thing compared to not wanting to live anymore.”

Asked whether he scrapped the July date because of his problems, as opposed to an ankle injury, Fury said he had.

“To be honest, yes,” he said. “I’ve not been in the gym for months. I’ve been AWOL. I’ve been out drinking, anything to get me mind off what’s been going on to me.”

“I’m going through a lot of personal demons, trying to shake them off,” Fury told Rolling Stone. “This has got nothing to do with my fighting. What I’m going through right now is my personal life. … They say I’ve got a version of bipolar. I’m a manic depressive. I just hope someone kills me before I kill myself.”

Fury said he was training in Holland this past May but was overwhelmed by depression and stopped.

“From that day forward, I’ve never done any training,” Fury said. “I’ve been out drinking, Monday to Friday to Sunday, and taking cocaine. I can’t deal with it, and the only thing that helps me is when I get drunk out of me mind.”

When Fury attended the Deontay Wilder-Artur Szpilka heavyweight title bout in January at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, he was seen by many, including media members, at an after party in the arena. Fury was drinking heavily.

“I’m in a very bad place at the moment,” Fury said. “I don’t know whether I’m coming or going. I don’t know what’s going to happen to me. I don’t know if I’m going to see the year out to be honest. I am seeing help, but they can’t do nothing for me. What I’ve got is incurable. I don’t want to live. All the money in the world, fame and glory, means nothing if you’re not happy. And I ain’t happy. I’m very far from it.”

“Because of my background, because of who I am and what I do — there’s hatred for Travelers and gypsies around the world,” said Fury, an Irish Traveler, which is a group of about 40,000 nomadic, religious people who live throughout Ireland and the United Kingdom and fight among themselves for sport. They have been persecuted for centuries.
“They’ve tried to get me chucked out of boxing because they cannot tame me, they cannot hire me, I’m not for sale, no one can turn a key in my back, no one can do nothing to stop me,” Fury said. “So now they’re saying I took some cocaine and whatever. Listen, if I had some smack, I’d take it. If I had heroin, I’d take that, never mind cocaine, for what they’ve done to me. It’s a travesty what they’ve done.

“I want to expose them for what they are. The British Boxing Board of Controls is in on it too. They’re all in it together. The drug-testing companies are in on it as well.”

Representatives of former heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin and Bermane Stiverne will have a purse bid this Friday for a proposed WBC Interim title fight, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“I would like to thank Don King and the honorable Mauricio Sulaiman of the WBC for giving me this opportunity to fight for the heavyweight title once again,” Stiverne said. “For the betterment of boxing in general, and the heavyweight division in particular, I plan to knock Povetkin out and bring this title to America. Then I will get my revenge against Wilder, when he is ready.”

“I have been taking calls, for weeks, from interested parties, and we will consider all options,” said King, who will control where the fight will take place if he wins the purse bid.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, WBA Super Featherweight champion Jason Sosa will take on Stephen Smith on November 12th in Monte Carlo.

“We are fighting Stephen Smith Nov. 12 in Monte Carlo. Davis or his team priced themselves out,” said Sosa co-promoter Russell Peltz.

“I’m delighted to have this fight, really grateful for the opportunity as I believe it’s a fight I will win,” Smith told ESPN.com on Saturday. “The fact that I got the chance so soon after Pedraza was even better. I was happy to fight again straight after that fight (against Brizuela), and it has proved beneficial now with this opportunity coming about.

“I think Sosa is a good, solid fighter without being spectacular in any area in particular. He has had a couple of decent results lately — drawing with Walters, then beating Fortuna — although, like many, I thought Walters won. [Sosa’s] confidence should be high, and I should be facing him at his best, which I’m relishing.”

John Lineker won a 5-round split decision in a bantamweight bout in Portland, Oregon.

Lineker, 136.5 lbs (1.5 over the contracted weight) won two cards at 48-47 while Dodson took a card 48-47.

Lineker is now 29-7. Dodson, 135 lbs of Albuquerque, NM is 19-8.

Alex Oliveira stopped Will Brooks in the 3rd round of their lightweight bout.

Brooks fought with a hurt rib for much of the bout and was on the defensive until he was down and took punches from Oliverira and the bout was stopped at 3:30.

Oliveira, 161.5 lbs (5.5 pounds over the contracted weight) of Tres Rio, BRA is 15-3-1-1. Brooks, 156 lbs of Coconut Creek, FL is 18-2.

Zak Ottow won a split decision over Joshua Burkman in a welterweight bout.

Ottow, 171 lbs of Milwaukee, WI won two cards by 29-28 scores while Burkman took a card 29-28.

Ottow is now 14-3. Burkman, 171 lbs of Draper, UT is 29-14-1.

Brandon Moreno choked out Louis Smolka in the 1st round of their flyweight bout.

Moreno got Smolka in a guillotine until Smolka slumped and tapped out at 2:23.

Moreno, 126 lbs of Tijuana, MX is 12-3. Smolka, 126 lbs of Kapolei, HI is 11-2.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Roman Gonzalez will drop his flyweight titles and remain at super flyweight after capturing the WBC super flyweight title against Carlos Cuadras on September 10th.

“He treasures this (flyweight) title very much, but is excited another boxer with his same dream will have a chance to become a WBC world champion and that feeling overwhelms him,” Carlos Blandon, Gonzalez’s manager, told ESPN.com.

To fill the flyweight vacancy, the WBC has ordered its two top-rated contenders to meet: Nawaphon Sor Rungvisai (36-0, 28 KOs), 25, of Thailand, and Juan “Churritos” Hernandez Navarrete (33-2, 24 KOs), 29, of Mexico. If their camps do not make a deal for the fight, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman announced that a purse bid would be scheduled to take place Oct. 21 at the offices of the sanctioning organization in Mexico City.

Emmanuel Dominguez stopped Alejandro Hernandez in round four of their scheduled 10 round super bantamweight bout at Auditorio Blackberry in Mexico City.

Dominguez dropped Hernandez with a vicious left to the body and he was down for the count at 1:20.

Dominguez, 121 lbs of Mexico is 19-5-2 with 14 knockouts. Hernandez, 122 lbs of Ciudad, MX is 31-12-2.

Hugo Guarneros stopped Zacarias Medina in round seven of their scheduled 8-round Flyweight bout.

The time of of the stoppage was 2:43 for Guarneros, 112 lbs is now 10-1-1. Medina, 116 lbs is 2-3.

Uriel Lopez won a 6-round unanimous decision over Jorge Adame in a super bantamweight bout.

Scores were 58-56 twice and 58-55 for Lopes, 121 3/4 lbs and is now 10-5-1. Adame, 123 lbs is 4-4-1.

John Vera stopped Milorad Zizic in round two of their scheduled eight-round super welterweight bout.

In round two, Vera dropped Zizic with a right hand. Vera ended thing with a left hook that dropped Zizic and the bout was stopped at 2:15.

Vera, 154 lbs of Fort Worth, TX is 15-0 with 10 knockouts. Zizic, 153 1/2 lbs of Las Vegas is 12-2.

Petr Petrov earned a mandatory world title shot at the WBA Lightweight title with a stoppage after six rounds over Michael Perez in a scheduled twelve round bout at the Fantasy Springs Casino Resort in Indio, California.

In round two, Perez was bloodied over his right eye and Petrov was cut on his forehead. Later in the round, Petriv dropped Perez with a hard right to the head. Petrov continued the assault and continued to batter and hurt Perez as he evenly dispersed his punches to the head and body. As the blood continued over Perez’right eye, Petrov never let up.

Finally, trainer Robert Garcia decided his fighter had enough and stopped the fight after the sixth round.

Genaro Gamez stopped Vernin Alston in the first round of a scheduled six-round lightweight bout.

Gamez dropped Alson with a hard right hand. He finished things with a huge left hook that sent Alston through the ropes and on his rear end on the apron and the fight was stopped at 1:30.

Gamez, 134.4 lbs of San Diego is 3-0 with three knockouts. Alston, 131.2 lbs of Durham, NC is 9-7-1.

Alexis Rocha remained undefeated with a 1st round stoppage over Colbert Lozoya in a scheduled four round welterweight bout.

Rocha sent Lozoya to the canvas in the first round with a hard three punch combination. The fight was stopped at 1:40.

Rocha, 147.8 lbs of Santa Ana, CA is 5-0 with four knockouts. Lozoya, 147.6 lbs of El Paso, TX is 7-14.

Mike Lee won a ten-round unanimous decision over Chris Traietti in a light heavyweight bout at the UIC Forum in Chicago, Illinois.

Lee sent Traietti to the canvas in round two with a right to the head.

Lee, 173 lbs of Chicago won by scores of 99-90 twice and 98-91 and is now 18-0. Traietti, 174 lbs of Quincy, MA is now 21-4.

In round six, Traietti nose started to bleed.

Alantez Fox stopped Ronald Montes in round two of their scheduled eight round middleweight bout.

Fox dropped Montes with a left body shot and he could not beat the count at 2:59.

Fox, 163.5 lbs of Forestville, MD is 21-0-1 with 10 knockouts. Montes, 162 lbs of Barranquilla, COL 17-4.

Ed Brown remained undefeated by stopping Roberto Acevedo in a scheduled eight-round welterweight bout.

The time was 1:43 of for Brown, 144 lbs of Chicago, IL is 19-0 with 16 knockouts. Acevedo, 140.5 lbs of Union City, NJ is 13-17-3.

John Lineker 136.5 – John Dodson 135
Will Brooks 156 – Alex Oliverira 161.5
Joshua Burkman 171 – Zak Ottow 171
Luis Smolka 126 – Brandon Moreno 126
Henrique de Silva 206 – Joachim Christensen 205
Hacran Dias 148.5 – Andre Fili 146
Shamil Abdurakhimov 256 – Walt Harris 254
Keita Nakamura`170.5 – Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos 17
Nate Marquardt 186 – Tamdan McCrory 185
Jonathan Wilson 205 – Ion Cutelaba 206
Cody East 264.5 – Curtis Blaydes 265.5
Kelly Faszholz 134.5 – Ketlen Vierira 136

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, The October 8th battle between Juan Manuel Lopez and Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. had been delayed three weeks due to a recent power outage in Puerto Rico.

The fight, originally stated for October 8th will now take place on October 29th.