Rances Barthelemy captured the vacant IBF Lightweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Denis Shafikov at the Palms in Las Vegas.

It was a close and action filled fight early as Shafikov came out throwing many punches in bunches and got an early lead.  Shafikov suffered a cut around his right eye in round seven.  That gave Barthelemy a traget and he became more active and took the second half of the fight and won by scores of 119-109 and 116-112 twice.

Barthelemy of Cuba is now 24-0.  Shafikov of Russia is 36-2-1.

Murat Gassiev and Isiah Thomas fought to a no-contest after three rounds when a punch from Gassiev landed after the bell and Thomas could not continue.

Gassiev landed two right hands with the latter landing after the bell.  Thomas staggered to his corner and referee Jay Nady ruled that he was in diminished condition to continue.

In a terrific back and forth brawl, Eric Walker sprung a minor upset by winning an 8-round  decision over Chris Pearson in a battle of previously undefeated Super Welterweights.

Thomas of Detroit is 15-0.  Thomas is 22-0.

In round four, Walker landed a huge uppercut that was followed by a right that hurt Pearson.  Pearson came back to land some solid shots that snapped the head back of Walker.  the two exchanged power shots with Walker getting the better of the action.

Walker of Louisiana won by scores of 80-72, 79-71 and 78-74 and is 12-0.  Pearson is 13-1.

Good looking prospect Gervonta Davis scored a sensational 9th round stoppage over Luis Sanchez in a scheduled 10-round Lightweight fight.

It was a competitive fight until round eight when Davis landed a left uppercut that sent Sanchez to the canvas.  It was the same punch but a much more wicked uppercut that sent Sanchez down face first and bloody.  Referee Kenny Bayless stopped the bout at 2:05 for round nine.

Davis, 133 lbs of Baltimore, MD is 14-0 with 13 knockouts.  Sanchez, 131.3 lbs of Cancun, MX is 17-5-1.

Al Haymon has settled a lawsuit with promoters, Bad Dawg productions over the contract of Rances Barthelemy, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“The lawsuit filed in Miami by Bad Dog Productions against Warriors Boxing and Promotions, et al., has reached an amicable settlement through which Bad Dog assigned all of its promotional rights concerning Rances Barthelemy to Warriors in exchange for a payment by Warriors. The terms of the settlement are confidential,” Fors said.

“If after their corresponding voluntary defenses one boxer is unable to fight the other for the undisputed WBC middleweight championship of the world, the unable fighter will lose his status as champion or interim champion,” said WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman. “The fighter able to fight will be named undisputed WBC world champion.

“Canelo versus GGG is one of the most important events in the sport of boxing, and their promotional companies and partners have been communicating openly and in good faith. The ultimate goal of all involved is to make certain that the best conditions are secured for their fighters and the boxing world, and to preserve their full commitment to abide by, and respect, the governing WBC rules and regulations.”

“Do we want to do the fight with Golovkin? Absolutely,” said Golden Boy vice-president Eric Gomez told ESPN.com. “It will come down to negotiation and making sure the terms are adequate enough to do the fight, but as far as Canelo wanting the fight to happen and as far as us wanting the fight to happen, yes, we want the fight. It’s the fight the fans want and we want to give it to the fans. We will sit down and negotiate the terms and make sure they’re fair and everybody is happy, but first, we had to agree to do the interim fights. That was a big step.

“We have a very, very good relationship with Tom, but right now, we’re focused on May. Canelo is excited about fighting on Cinco de Mayo. We’ll concentrate on that and focus on who he will fight next, and then we’ll turn our attention to Golovkin and sit down with K2 and see what we come up with.”

“Canelo just made 155 with no problem,” Gomez said. “[The weight] is hard to discuss right now. We both agreed to do voluntary fights. After, we will sit down like gentlemen and negotiate everything.”

“Whatever the WBC sets forth we will follow,” Gomez said. “We always have. But the way we’re working with Tom and the relationship we have, it would be hard to see a scenario where this goes to a purse bid.”

“We will negotiate everything in good faith,” said K2’s Tom Loeffler. “It was agreed between both parties to build up the fight and maximize the exposure and revenue. Everyone believes this would be the biggest fight in boxing. The agreement we reached with Golden Boy and the WBC means that by the end of May, Gennady will be part of the biggest fight in boxing or he will add the WBC title to his other two titles.

“Canelo is a proud fighter. If he didn’t care about the title, he wouldn’t have bothered with this agreement [for the voluntary fights]. The purpose of agreeing to it is to make their fight even bigger.”

TUCSON, Ariz. – Oscar Valdez came to his boyhood home looking for a victory that would prove he belongs.

Mission accomplished.

Valdez left no doubt about his world-class credentials Saturday night with a beautiful left hook, a signature shot, that stopped Filipino Ernie Sanchez and put the two-time Mexican Olympian at the table of title contenders.

“A sweet shot,’’ Valdez (18-0, 16 KOs) said after a third-round TKO that brought Tucson Community Center crowd of about 3,000 to its feet.

Valdez went on to say he would fight any of the 126-pound champions. That’s a long list. An impressive one, too. For now, it’s probably led by Leo Santa Cruz. But a showdown with Santa Cruz probably would be tough, if not impossible, to put together. Bob Arum promotes Valdez. Santa Cruz is an Al Haymon fighter. Friendly, they’re not.

Arum also said he doesn’t want to put Valdez into a tough fight with Vasyl Lomachenko, whom he also promotes. Lomachenko beat Valdez as an amateur at the 2009 World Championships. For now, at least, Lomachenko-Valdez appears to be a fight that the public can only imagine. Not now, but maybe later.

His immediate pursuit of a major title might take him to different weight class. Junior feather? Junior-lightweight?

Wherever it takes him, it was clear Saturday that he won’t be denied for long. His compact, active style and power will crash a lot of doors.

He dropped the brave Sanchez (15-7-1, 6 KOs) with a short shot that possessed power that, he said, traveled from his knuckle all the way up to his elbow.

Somehow, Sanchez got up. But his feet were unsteady. His eyes were vacant. He stumbled one way. Then, another. He was out on his feet. Referee Wes Melton rushed in with a timely stoppage at 59 seconds of the round.

The crowd erupted into cheers for Valdez.

For Jose Benavidez Jr, however, there were only boos in what was a tale of two performances on one card. It was also a defining example of what fans want to see. It starts with knockouts. It ends with them.

Benavidez won, scoring a unanimous decision over Sidney Siqueira. He remained unbeaten (24-0, 16 KOs). He didn’t lose anything, other than some popularity.

During the late rounds and after the scores were announced, the crowd booed. It expected dominance from the Phoenix fighter, a WBA junior-welterweight champion. It didn’t get it, at least not until the 10th and final round when Benavidez dropped Siqueira with a right to the body and sent crashing into a neutral corner with a left.

“The crowd doesn’t win fights,’’ Benavidez said.

But it does pay the bills.

Benavidez, who said he battled the flu a week ago and was more than four pounds heavier than the contracted weight on Friday, looked less than sharp.

“I was definitely not 100 percent,’’ said the Phoenix fighter, who agreed to pay Siqueira $2,000 for coming in heavier than the mandated 148 pounds. “I don’t want to make excuses. I also understand that the crowd didn’t understand I’d been sick for the last week. I felt fast, but I just didn’t have my usual power.

“If I had been my usual self, I would have knocked out this guy in three to four rounds.

Benavidez came away with the victory, scoring a unanimous decision. There was no doubt in the 100-90, 99-91, 100-90 scores, all one-sided and in favor of Benavidez, whose title was not at stake

But questions were attached to it. You could hear them in the boos from fans restless for the stoppage that Valdez would later deliver. Sigueira was undersized and unknown. He had fought and lost a bout for a lightweight title in his native Brazil in his last outing.

“ It was learning experience,’’ said Benavidez, who hopes to use the lessons in his next bout.
He was asked if he still hoped reigning Fighter of the Year Terence Crawford.

“Absolutely,’’ he said.

He didn’t lose any confidence either.

On The Undercard

Super-middleweight prospect Jesse Hart (19-0, 16 KOs) of Philadelphia started the show with a quick finish. In an empty arena, Andrik Saralegui of Tijuana was one of the few people to take a seat. Actually, Saralegui (19-4, 15 KOs) was put there, first by an immediate blitz of about five punches from Hart and then an uppercut to the body that ended it 54 seconds after opening bell.

Brazilian middleweight Esquiva Falcao (12-0, 9 KOs), a silver medalist the London Olympics, encountered some early trouble with Hector Munoz’ early aggressiveness. But a Falcao left knocked down Munoz (22-13-1, 14 KOs), a well-traveled Albuquerque fighter.. In the fourth, a quick succession of Falcao punches landed, prompting Melton to stop it at 2:26 of the round.

Super-lightweight Luis Ramos (25-3, 10 KOs) was introduced as the wrong fighter by the ring announcer in the initial intros. The announcer got it corrected. Then, Ramos, of Santa Ana, Calif., made sure there was no mistaken identity in asserting himself with power in both hands for a one-sided decision over Moises Delgadillo (17-13-2, 8 KOs) of Guadalajara.

Phoenix featherweight Carlos Castro (14-0, 6 KOs) employed a precise and painful body shot, landing a short left that sent Sergio Najera (10-23-2, 4 KOs) of Tijuana into agony, onto the canvas and done for the night in a TKO at 1:28 of the third round.

In one of the most anticipated fights in a long time, Conor McGregor stamped his ticket to superstardom with a 1-punch 13 second knockout over long time champion, Jose Aldo to win the UFC Featherweight title at UFC 194.

Aldo leaned in a through a right hand (that connected) but McGregor connected with a thudding left to the jaw that sent Aldo down and out. McGregor landed 2 hammer shots for good measure and the fight was stopped at 13 seconds.

McGregor, 145 lbs of Dublin, IRE is 19-2. Aldo, 145 lbs of Rio De Janeiro, BRA is 25-2.

Luke Rockhold won the UFC Middleweight title with a 4-round beatdown of previously undefeated Chris Weidman.

Rickhold had a good first two rounds as he landed some solid kicks. Weidman was coming on in round three when he attempted an ill advised spinning kick for which Rockhold was able to go behind and get Weidman to the ground. From there, Rockhold pounded away on Weidman, leaving the now former champion a bloody mess and lucky to get out of the round. In round four, Rockhold was able to seize control and get Weidman down again and landed some more punches and elbows and referee Herb Dean waved the fight off at 3:12.

Rockhold, 185 lbs of Santa Cruz, CA is 15-2. Weidman, 185 lbs of Baldwin, NY is 13-1.

Yoel Romero won a split decision over Jacare Souza in a Middleweight bout.

Romero dropped Souza in round one from a perfect spinning back fist. Souza spent the majority of the round on his back eating punches via the Ground & Pound. Souza was able to take Romero down and land some good shots in round three but it wasn’t enough as Romero took cards by 29-27 and 29028 tallies while Souza won a card 29-28.

Romero, 185 lbs of Coconut Creek, FL is now 11-1. Souza of Rio Di Janeiro, BRA is 22-4-1.

Damian Maia beat up Gunner Nelson to win a lopsided unanimous decision in a Welterweight bout.

Nelson was hurt in round one and he had a welt under his right eye. Maia continued to pound away on Nelson’s head and bloodied his nose. Maia cruised to the victory of 30-26 and 30-25 twice.

Maia, 170 lbs of Sao Paulo, BRA is 22-6. Nelson, 170 lbs of Iceland is 14-2-1.

Max Holloway won a three round unanimous decision over Jeremy Stephens in a Featherweight bout.

Holloway won by scores of 30-27 twice and 29-28 and is now 15-3. Stephens is 24-12.

Urijah Faber won a unanimous decision over Frankie Saenz in a Bantamweight bout.

Faber, 136 lbs of Sacramento, CA is 33-8. Saenz, 135 lbs of Glendale, AZ is 11-3.

Tecia Torres won a 3-round unanimous decision over Jocelyn Jones Lybarger in a Straweight bout.

Torres, 116 lbs of Coconut Creek, FL, won by scores of 30-27 on all cards is now 7-0. Lybarger, 116 lbs of Glendale, AZ is 6-2.

Leonardo Santos knocked out Kevin Lee in the first round of their Lightweight bout.

Santos landed a perfect right to the jaw that sent Lee down and the fight was stopped at 3:26.

Santos, 156 lbs of Rio de Jenairo, BRA is 15-4-1. Lee, 156 lbs of Las Vegas is 11-2.

Wallry Alves scored a 1st round choke out of previously undefeated of Colby Covington in a Welterweight bout.

Alves got the guillotine choke and the fight was stopped at 1:26.

Alves, 171 lbs of Rio de Jineiro is now 11-0. Covington, 170 lbs of Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Pedro Campa remained undefeated by scoring a 10-round unanimous decision over Alan Herrera in Glendale, California.

Campa won by scores of 100-90 and 98-92 twice and is now 17-0. Herrera is 21-4-1.

Sullivan Barrera remained undefeated as he stopped former world title challenger Karo Murat in round five of a scheduled 10-round Light Heavyweight bout.

At the end of round four, Barrera landed a right to the body and a left to the top of the head that sent Murat to the canvas. Clearly still hurt, Murat ate a huge flurry of power shots at the beginning of round five and the bout was stopped at 25 seconds.

Barrera, 172 lbs of Guantanamo, CUB is 17-0 with 12 knockouts. Murat, 174 lbs of Berlin, GER is 27-3-1.

Arif Magomedov remained undefeated by scoring a 7th round stoppage over Jonathan Tavira in a scheduled 10-round Middleweight bout.

In round four, Magomedov dropped Tavira with a right hand in the corner.

Magomedov dropped Tavira again in round seven from a heavy combination and the fight was stopped upon Tavira getting to his feet at 55 seconds.

Magomedov, 159 lbs of Russia is now 17-0 with 10 knockouts. Tavira, 159 lbs of Mexico is 12-4.

In a battle of former lightweight beltholders, Omar Figueroa won a 12-round unanimous decision over Antonio De Marco in what amounted to a Jr, Middleweight fight at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

It was an entertaining battle that saw Figueroa land 414 punches to DeMarco’s 208.

Figueroa of Weslaco, TX won by scores of 116-112 twice and 115-113 and is now 26-0-1. DeMarco of Tijuana, MX 31-6.

Chris Arreola escaped with a 12-round split decision over Travis Kauffman in a Heavyweight bout.

Kauffman scored a knockdown in round three when he landed a right t the body that was finished by a combination to the head. Kauffman seemed to control the fight but two judges disagreed by giving Arreola the nod at 114-113, while Kauffman took a card at 114-113.

Arreola is 37-4-1. Kauffman is 30-2.

Victor Ortiz came off a year layoff to stop Gilberto Sanchez-Leon in round right of their scheduled 10-round Welterweight bout.

In round one, Ortiz landed a right uppercut that sent Sanchez-Leon to the canvas. In round three it was a right to the head that sent Sanchez-Leon to the canvas. Seconds later, Sanchez-Leon was docked a point for holding. Ortiz continued to batter Sanchez-Leon and the fight was stopped at 2:57 of round eight.

Ortiz, 150 lbs of Oxnard, CA is 31-5-1 with 24 knockouts. Sanchez-Leon, 150 lbs of Mexicali, MX is 31-15-2.

Mario Barrios scored a 6th round stoppage over Manuel Videz in a scheduled 8-round Super Featherweight bout.

Barrios landed a right uppercut that was followed by a thunderous left hook to the temple that dropped Videz and he could not beat the ten count at 31 seconds.

Barrios of San Antonio, TX is 14-0 with 8 knockouts. Videz of Panama City, PAN is 18-5.

Brandon Figueroa won a 4-round unanimous deicison over Francisco Munro in a Bantamweight bout.

Figueroa won two cards 40-36 and a third card read 39-37.

Gausha dropped El Harrak in round two from a sharp right hand

By Norm Frauenheim-

TUCSON, Ariz. – Jose Benavidez Jr. agreed to pay unknown Brazilian Sidney Siqueira $2,000 Friday after he was more than four pounds heavier than the contracted weight for a featured bout Saturday on Unimas’ Solo Boxeo series.

The fighters’ corner men and officials from the Arizona State Boxing & MMA Commission met a couple of times in a busy ballroom during the weigh-in at the Tucson Community Center, finally striking an agreement that saved the bout from getting scratched from a card featuring featherweight prospect Oscar Valdez (17-0, 15 KOs) against Filipino Ernie Sanchez (15-6-1, 6 KOs).

Valdez, a two-time Mexican Olympian when went to grade school in Tucson, was at 127.6 pounds. Sanchez was 127.4 for a 10-round bout on a card scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. (MST)

The $2,000 will come out of Benavidez purse, estimated to be $10,000, according to his father and trainer, Jose Benavidez, Sr., who said the contract mandated that neither be heavier than 148 at the formal weigh-in.

“The fight is on,’’ said the senior Benavidez, who said his son couldn’t make the weight because of the flu. “He got sick. But we knew this fight was coming and we felt it was important.’’

Benavidez (23-0 16 KOs), who holds a WBA junior-welterweight title, tipped the scale at 152.4 pounds. Siqueira (21-9-1, 13 KOs), who last fought at 135 pounds, was 145.6.

“I got sick about a week ago,’’ said Benavidez, whose 140-pound title won’t be at stake. “When I got sick, I was at about 154. But I had to eat while I was trying to get over the flu. That’s why I couldn’t get down to 148.

Benavidez is lobbying for a shot at reigning Fighter of the Year Terence Crawford, a junior-welterweight who is still on Manny Pacquiao’s short list for what is supposed to be the Filipino Congressman’s final fight in April. Pacquiao also is considering Timothy Bradley. He was supposed to announce his choice Friday night, but he postponed the decision.

Meanwhile, Benavidez, of Phoenix, called out Crawford during a media workout Thursday in Tucson.

“I want Crawford,’’ he said. “Let’s make it happen. I’m undefeated, young and ready. Let’s see if he accepts the challenge.’’

Felix Verdejo scored an explosive 2nd round stoppage over Josenilson Dos Santos in a scheduled 10-round Lightweight bout at Coliseo Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Verdejo landed a perfect right hand to the chin that sent Dos Santos down. Dos Santos got to his feet but stumbled all over the ring and the fight was stopped at 2:21 of round two.

Verdejo, 134 1/2 lbs of San Juan, PR is 19-0 with 14 knockouts. Dos Santos, 134 lbs of Sao Paulo, BRA is 27-4.

In what was a thrilling Fight of the Year candidate, Nonito Donaire was able to hang on and win the WBO Super Bantamweight title with a grueling 12-round unanimous decision over Cesar Juarez

In round four, Donaire sent Juarez to the canvas froma straight right. Moments later, Donaire landed a laser left hook that slumped Juarez in the corner to the canvas. In round five, Donaire began to swell under his left eye.

Juarez began to turn the tide in round seven as he came forward and landed some hard shots. The same continued in round eight as he pounded Donaire for the first two minutes of the round. The two exchanged pounding power shots over the last thirty seconds that left Donaire with a cut around the right eye. Round nine, saw Juarez trap Donaire on the ropes throughout the stanza as he landed hard flurries but Donaire would shoot off hard rights and big left hooks that would land flush. The two continued to war in round ten as Doaire landed a big right that drew blood from the nose of Juarez. Juarez landed a big left that sent Donaire to the canvas that was ruled a slip. Later in the round, Donaire connected with a thumping left hook. The two landed some incredible shots that showcased each other’s chins down the stretch.

Donaire, 122 lbs of San Mateo, CA won by scores of 117-109 and 116-110 twice and is now 36-3. Juarez, 122 lbs of Mexico is 17-4

Regis Prograis remained undefeated as he stopped Abel Ramos after 8 rounds of their scheduled 10-round Super Lightweight bout in Houston, Texas.

Ramos was cut badly over his right eye in round five and he suffered a beating that forced the corner to stop the bout after round 8.

Prograis, 140 lbs of Houston, TX is 16-0 with 13 knockouts. Ramos, 139 lbs of Casa Grande, AZ is 14-1-2.

Dardan Zenunaj scored a stoppage after round seven in a scheduled 8-round Lightweight bout with previously undefeated Bryant Cruz.

Zenunaj, 131 1/2 lbs of Belgium is 11-1 with 9 knockouts. Cruz, 132 3/4 lbs of Port Chester, NY is 16-1.

Zenunaj dropped Cruz with a left hand in round four.

At the end of round seven, it was a right that sent Cruz to the canvas and the fight was stopped by the corner in between rounds.

In a battle of previously undefeated Middleweight Steve Rolls stopped Steed Woodall in round four of their scheduled 8-round bout.

In round three, Woodall dropped Rolls with a counter right. In round four, Rolls landed some right hand that drew blood from Woodall’s nose. Moments later, Rolls landed some hard rights that staggered Woodall into the corner and after a barrage the fight was stopped at 2:46.

Rolls, 159 1/2 lbs of Toronto, CA is 13-0 with 7 KO’s. Woodall, 159 1/4 lbs of Bormingham, UK is 9-1-1.

Ivan Baranchyk scored an explosive 1st round stoppage over Shadi Shawareb in a scheduled 8-round Jr. Welterweight bout.

Baranchyk landed a hard right that buckled and dropped Shawareb. Shawareb spit out his mouthpiece and the bout was stopped at 2:28.

Baranchyk, 139 1/4 lbs of Amusk, RUS is now 9-0 with 8 knockouts. Shawareb, 140 1/2 lbs of Oklahoma City, OK is 9-1-2-1,

Frankie Edgar stated his case for a shot at UFC Featherweight champion Connor McGregor by taking out Chad Mendes in 1 round in their scheduled 5-round bout at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

Edgar landed a perfect left hook to the jaw that dropped Mendes and the fight was immediately stopped at 2:28 of round one.

Edgar, 146 lbs of Toms River, NJ is now 19-4-1. Mendes, 145 lbs of Sacramento, CA is 17-4.

Ryan Hall won the Ultimate Fighter 22 Lightweight title with a unanimous decision over Artem Lobev.

Hall, 155 lbs of Falls Church, VA won on all cards by a 30-26 tally and is now 5-1. Lobov, 155 lbs of Dublin, IRE is 12-11-1.

Tony Furguson choked out Edson Barboza in the 2nd round of their Lightweight bout.

Both guys were a bloody mess beginning in the opening frame. Furguson took Barboza down and got him in a front choke that made Barboza tap out at 2:54 of round two.

Furguson, 156 lbs of Orange County, CA is 21-3. Barboza, 155.5 lbs of Rio de Jinairo, BRA is 16-4.

Evan Dunham won a 3-round unanimous decision over Joe Lauzon in a Lightweight bout.

Dunham, 156 lbs of Las Vegas, NV won by scores of 30-26 twice and 30-27 and is now 17-6. Lauzon, 155.5 lbs of Bridgewater, MA is 25-12.

Tatsua Kawajiri won a 3-round unanimous decision over Jason Knight in a Featherweight bout.

Knight was cut under his right eye in round two.

Kawajiri, 146 lbs of Ibarki, JAP won by scores of 30-27 on all cards and is now 25-8-2. Knight, I’Belvlede, MS is 16-2.

Julian Erosa won a 3-round unanimous decision over Marcin Wrzosek in a Lightweight fight.

Erosa, 155 lbs of Yakima, WAS won by scores of 29-28 twice while Wrzosek took a card 29-28.

Erosa is now 15-3.

Gabriel Gonzaga won a 3-round unanimous decision over Konstantin Erokhin in a Heavyweight bout.

Gonzaga, 263 lbs of Lowell, MA won by scores of 30-27 twice and 30-28 and is now 17-0. Erokhin, 230 lbs of Moscow, RUS is 9-3,

Ryan LaFlare won a 3-round unanimous decision over Mike Pierce in a Welterweight bout.

LaFlare, 171 lbs of Farmingdale, NY won by scores of 30-27 and 29-28 twice and is now 12-1. Pierce, 170.5 lbs of Portland. OR is 17-7.

Geanne Herrea scored a second round knockout over Joby Sanchez in a Flyweight bout

Sanchez was cut over the left eye in round two. Later in the round Herrera landed a perfect left hook that sent Sanchez down. Herrera landed five punches while a prone Sanchez was on the ground and the fight was halted at 4:28 of round two.

Herrera, 126 lbs of Tampa, FL is 9-1. Sanchez, 125 lbs of Albuquerque, NM is 7-2.

Chris Gruetzemacher won a three round unanimous decision over Abner Lloveras in a Lightweight bout.

Llovares began to bleed from over his right eye in round two.

Scores were 29-28 on all cards for Gruetzemacher, 156 lbs of Glendale, AZ and is now 13-1. Lloveras, 155 lbs of Barcelona, SPA is 19-8-1.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Manny Pacquiao WILL NOT announce his April 9 opponent as previously planned.

Arum spokesman Fred Sternburg told ESPN.com on Thursday night, “I was asked to tell you on Bob’s behalf that, unfortunately, Top Rank will not have an announcement on truTV as originally planned as Manny is not ready to make a decision on his opponent yet,” Sternburg said.

Trenton, NJ – In the main event from the Sun National Bank Center, Yenifel Vicente scored a scary one-punch knockout over Juan Dominguez that led to Dominguez being carried out of the ring in a stretcher.

The third round had just begun when Vicente floated a weak jab in Dominguez’s direction, followed by a vicious overhand right. In reaction to the jab, Dominguez pulled straight back, far enough to elude the jab, but not far enough to escape the overhand right that followed. The punch, which Dominguez never saw coming, instantly ended the fight, as it sent him flailing to the ground, where he would remain motionless until paramedics removed him from the ring in stretcher.

From the opening bell the fight saw good action, and both boxers found their share of success. Halfway through the first round Vicente seemingly wobbled “Baby Tito”, albeit briefly. Dominguez was able to recover and launch his own offensive attacks during the final third of the first frame.

In the second round, Dominguez was deducted one point by referee Earl Brown after he hit Vicente below the waist on two occasions.

But it was only twenty seconds into the third round that Brown stood over a sprawled out Dominguez, calling an obvious halt to the bout.

With the victory, Vicente earns arguably the biggest win of his career and improves his record to 28-3-2, 20 KO. Dominguez suffers his first professional loss and is now 19-1, 13 KO.

In an eight round middleweight bout former Virginia Golden Gloves champion, Immanuwel Aleem upped his perfect record to 15-0, 9 KO with a hard earned split decision victory over Colombian Carlos Galvan (11-4-1, 10 KO). Both technically sound fighters found their share of success throughout the bout, but ultimately it was Aleem who landed the more impressionable blows.

Judge John McKai and Lawrence Layton scored the bout for Aleem, 77-75 and 78-74, respectively. While John Stewart saw the fight in favor of Galvan, scoring it 77-75 for the Colombian.

In the first of the televised bouts on Fox Sports 1, Keith “Machine Gun” Tapia (17-0, 11 KO) slugged out a unanimous decision victory over Philadelphia’s Garret Wilson (16-10-1, 9KO). The first round saw immediate action with the Puerto Rican Tapia coming out of his corner like a man possessed, immediately rushing to greet Wilson and let his hands fly – setting a fast-paced tone that would define the fight over the first six rounds.

The second round saw even more fireworks than its predecessor, sparked by a Wilson right hand that caught Tapia on the top of his head, briefly wobbling him. Tapia responding by unleashing a barrage of punches on Wilson, which turned into a barbaric exchange that ultimately left Tapia with a cut over his left eye. Midway through round three, Wilson landed another flush right that seemed to momentarily shake Tapia. Again, the Puerto Rican immediately responded with a monster right of his own, which led to a vicious trading of blows while Wilson’s back was against the ropes.

The fourth and fifth rounds played host to more willing exchanges by the cruiserweights, highlighted by Wilson’s landing of two clean overhand rights in the fourth and a counter left uppercut from Tapia toward the end of round five. In the sixth, Tapia found success with lead left hooks and uppercuts. Earlier in the fight, Tapia was trying to set up right hands behind his jab, but in the sixth stanza his change of approach resulted in the “Machine Gun” landing some of his best power shots.

Toward the end of the ninth, Tapia again unloaded on Wilson, who somehow managed to stay on his feet as he absorbed huge right hands and two head-snapping uppercuts.

Somehow, the fight went the distance and when it was all said and done, Tapia earned the decision from the ringside judges.

Judge John Stewart scored the bout 97-93, while Robin Taylor and Lawrence Layton had it 99-91.

“I never looked for a knockout and I knew he was a tough son-of-a-gun,” Tapia said afterward. “I respect him one-thousand percent…this was my toughest fight.”

After a fourteen-month layoff, former light heavyweight champion, “Bad” Chad Dawson stepped back between the ropes and scored a unanimous decision victory over Shujaa El Amin. After a tentative first round that was highlighted by a Dawson low blow, action picked up in the second round when the former champ landed a beautifully thrown left uppercut right on the button. Dawson followed that up with a flurry of punches that sent El Amin retreating toward a neutral corner, where he would cover up for the duration of the round. The rest of the fight played out like the movie Groundhog Day – where round after round Dawson would back El Amin into a corner, before settling in and letting his hands fly. To his credit, El Amin absorbed everything Dawson had to offer, and never found himself in danger of losing via knockout. However, he also never put himself in a position to win a round.

At the conclusion of round ten, all three judges scored it a shutout: 100-90, Dawson.

“I showed I was prepared to go ten rounds, I said I could go ten rounds,” Dawson said. “I think I’m 2 or 3 fights away from a title fight.”

Dawson’s record improves to 33-4, 18 KO, while El Amin’s slips to 12-9, 6 KOs.

In a four round heavyweight scrap, Dan Pasciolla (6-1) earned a unanimous decision over Corey Morley (0-1-1). Working well behind an effective jab, Pasciolla controlled the tempo of the fight — keeping his smaller, heavier opponent at a safe distance throughout. At the end of round four, all three judges turned in scorecards of 40-36, Pasciolla.

Philadelphia super middleweight Christopher Brooker (5-1, 5 KO) scored a sixth round TKO over Oklahoma’s Zaccariah Kelly (5-13, 5 KO). Brooker used his height and reach advantage to keep Kelly at distance throughout most of the bout. In the firth round, Brooker began raining bombs on Kelly, sending him into survival mode. Referee Earl Brown debated stopping the fight late in the round, but just when he seemed ready to jump between fighters, the bell sounded. Kelly lasted just :32 into the sixth and final round before Brown stepped in to call a halt to the bout.

In his professional debut, Baltimore’s Jordan “Shortdog” White (1-0, 1 KO) needed just twenty seconds and three punches to KO Puerto Rico’s Jose Roman (0-4). A straight left hand sent Roman to the canvas where he would fail to beat referee Sparkle Lee’s ten count. White’s career begins 1-0, 1 KO, while Roman remains winless and drops to 0-5.

In a welterweight bout, Chicago’s Alex Martin stayed undefeated with a unanimous decision victory over Cameron Kreal of Las Vegas. Martin’s record goes to 11-0, 5 KO, while Kreal’s drops to 8-9-2, 1 KO. All three judges scored it a shutout for Martin, 60-54.

Jose Ramirez shook off a 2nd round knockdown to win an 8-round unanimous decision over Johnny Garcia at the Save Mart Arena in Fresno, California.

Ramirez was able to come back and win out the rest of the bout and win by scores of 79-73 twice and 77-74.

Ramirez, 140 lbs of Avenal, CA is 16-0. Garcia, 139 3/4 lbs of Holland, MI is 19-4-1.

Jose Louie Lopez remained undefeated by scoring a 2nd round stoppage over Dave Courchaine in a scheduled 4-round Super Middleweight bout.

In round two, Lopez dropped Courchaine with a right to the top of the head. Courchaine got to his feet, but not for long as Lopez dropped Courchaine again with a three-punch combination and the fight was stopped at 2:32.

Lopez of Fresno, CA. is now 7-0. Courchaine is 2-7.

Moises Fuentas won a 12-round split decision over Francisco Rodriguez Jr. in a Light Flyweight bout at Gimnasio Municipal Gustavo Díaz Ordaz in Tecate, Baja California, Mexico.

Scores were 116-112 twice for Fuentas. Rodriguez took a card 116-112.

Fuentas, 107 lbs of Mexico City, MX is 23-2-1. Rodriguez, 108 lbs of Monterrey, MX falls to 17-4-1.

Felipe Cayetano scored a stoppage after round 6 of his scheduled 10-round Super Bantamweight bout over Felipe Orucuta.

The time of the finish was 10 seconds into round seven.

Cayetano, 119 1/2 lbs of Tijuana, MX is 18-4 with 9 knockouts. Oracuta, 119 lbs of Mexico City, MX is 31-4.

Rafael Rivera remained undefeated by taking a 10-round split decision over former world champion Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. in a Featherweight bout at Osceola Heritage Center in Kissimmee, Florida.

Vazquez registered a knockdown with a left hook.

Rivera, 122 3/4 lbs of Tijuana, MX won by scores of 96-93 & 95-94 while Vazquez took a card 98-91.

Rivera is 21-0-2-1. Vazquez Jr. 123 1/4 lbs of Puerto Rico is 24-6-1.

Alexander Brand won a 10-round split decision over Medzhid Bektemirov in a Super Middleweight bout.

It was Bektemirov who got things started early as in round one he sent Brand to the canvas with a left hook. Brand came back to win most of the round decisively to win by scores of 98-91 twice while Bektemirov took a card 95-94.

Brand 168 3/4 lbs of Colombia is 25-1. Bektemirov, 170 1/2 lbs of Houton TX is 16-1.

BROOKLYN, NY – In the Battle for Brooklyn, Daniel Jacobs retained his middleweight title and shocked the Barclay’s Center crowd by scoring a first round stoppage over Peter Quillin. Less than a minute into the opening round, Jacobs connected with a huge overhand right that buckled Quillin’s knees. From that point on, it was all-in or bust for Jacobs who rained down a barrage of punches on the staggering Quillin. The definitive punch came courtesy of another Jacobs overhand right that landed flush on Quillin’s temple. The crushing blow offset Quillin’s equilibrium, locked his knees, and sent him awkwardly stumbling across the ring. Referee Harvey Dock took a look at Quillin, and briefly hesitated before he jumped between the fighters to stop the contest. The time of the stoppage was 1:25 of round one.

“I hope he’s okay,” Jacobs said. “I was patient and when I came with an uppercut I knew I hurt him and that’s when I went for the kill.

“I told him I love him. Me and Peter go back to the Golden Glove days. I respect him to death, but I knew this fight would be my night. There are no lucky shots in boxing. Obviously I caught him with a shot. Once I knew I had him hurt I kept going.

“I saw his eyes and it looked like his equilibrium was off. I’m not a referee, but if I was I probably would have still gave him another opportunity.”

“I definitely would give him a rematch,” Jacobs continued. “I’m willing to fight him next if that’s what the fans want.”

Quillin seemed to disagree with the stoppage until watching the replay during his SHOWTIME post-fight interview.

“That’s right on the temple,” Quillin said. “In the moment you don’t know what happens until you see it in the replay.

“This is a time you sit with your family and figure out what you have to do. I have a lot of options, maybe a rematch is the best option.

“I can’t think of a better person to lose to than Danny Jacobs.”

Jesus Ceullar v Jonathan Oquendo — 12 Rounds, for Cuellar’s WBA Featherweight Championship

In Saturday night’s co-feature, Jesus Cuellar (28-1, 21 KO) decisioned Jonathan Oquendo (26-5, 16 KO) by wide margins to retain his WBA featherweight title.

Cuellar was the more active fighter throughout the bout, throwing over 300 more punches than his counterpart. He was also the fighter who pressed the action, forcing Oquendo to a fight mostly defensive-style bout.

The largely uneventful contest did feature a flash knockdown in the fourth found when Cuellar and Oquendo’s legs tangled and a straight left hand sent an off-balance Oquendo briefly to the mat.

The knockdown had no significant impact on the fight, as all three judges scored the fight in favor of Cuellar by significant margins.

Judges Kevin Morgan and John McKaie scored the bout 116-111, while Robin Taylor scored it a shutout for Cuellar, 120-107.

15Rounds.com scored the bout 118-109, Cuellar.

“We knew the fight would be difficult but we accomplished everything we wanted to during training camp,” Cuellar said. “The only thing that was left was the knockout, but because of the movement of his head it was impossible.

“First we’re going to rest and then we’re going to determine what’s next,” Cuellar said.
“We’ll have two more fights at featherweight and then move up in weight. Hopefully we get Leo Santa Cruz next.”

After the fight, Oquendo acknowledged that he didn’t properly implement his game plan.

“I have to give credit to Cuellar. I never got to use my game plan and he fought a good fight and he’s a good champion,” Oquendo said. “I needed to start more aggressive but I started boxing. That was my mistake. The head butt made it hard for me to see as well.

“I have time to come back and get another world title opportunity. I am disappointed, but I will be back in the gym ready to get back to work soon.”

—

Chris Algieri v Erick Bone – 10 rounds, welterweight

Chris Algieri (21-2, 8 KO) bounced back from consecutive losses to Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan to earn a unanimous decision victory over Erick Bone (16-3, 8 KO). Algieri never looked sharp or comfortable against his Ecuadorian counterpart, often finding himself engaging blow-for-blow with his Ecuadorian counterpart. “I probably fought on the inside a little too much,” Algieri admitted after the fight.

Although he threw less punches than Bone, Algieri connected on 49% of his power punches, and landed 247 total punches, to Bone’s 185.

In the eight round, due to an undetected tangle of feet, Algieri knocked an off-balance Bone to the canvas with a straight right hand. That knockdown, which should have been ruled a slip or a trip, ended up being the deciding point on judge Julie Lederman’s scorecard who saw the fight 95-94, Algieri. Judges Ron McNair and Steve Weisfeld scored the bout wider with scores of 97-92.

“Erick said that he was going to have surprises, but I had a few of my own in there,” Algieri said. “I boxed a little bit and slugged more than I should have, but I was just having fun. He’s got a good punch, he’s an underestimated fighter and you could tell he was in great shape.

“This is big. Bone is a real tough guy and I felt in control. I thought the fight was mine the whole way. I wanted to get the knockout, but he was in great shape. I’m looking forward to big fights in 2016.”
—

Marcus Browne v Francisco Sierra — 10 rounds, light heavyweight

Former three-time New York Golden Gloves champion Marcus Browne stayed undefeated and earned his 17th professional victory with a TKO3 over his Mexican foe, Francisco Sierra. Browne shell-shocked Sierra in the first round, landing shot after shot, and within the first 90 seconds of the match had opened up a huge cut over Sierra’s right eye that continued to worsen as the fight progressed.

Between rounds three and four, referee Earl Brown called a halt to the bout, acting on advice from the ringside physician, who inspected Sierra’s cut and felt it best that the fight be stopped.

“I saw I cut him early, but I had to stay persistent and consistent,” said Browne, of Staten Island. “I had to work the jab and keep working it. I felt like I seized this opportunity to put my name out there.

“It is an honor to fight at Barclays Center for the 10th time. It was a nice stoppage – not necessarily the kind of stoppage that you want, but a stoppage is a stoppage.”
—

Yuri Foreman v Lenwood Dozier, 8 rounds, welterweight

In an eight round bout, former welterweight champion Yuri Foreman fought his way to a unanimous decision victory over Lenwood Dozier. Foreman, who hadn’t entered the ring in over two years before this contest, never seemed to get into his signature stick-and-go rhythm that propelled him to his championship back in 2009. Because of this, he found himself on the receiving end Dozier’s right hand on numerous occasions – including a stunning overhand shot in the middle of the first round. To his credit, Foreman was able to weather all storms, and at the conclusion of round eight, all three judges – Julie Lederman, Ron McNair, and Frank Lombardi – turned in scores of 77-75, Foreman.

Foreman’s record improves to 33-2, 9 KO, while Dozier’s record falls to 9-10, 4 KO.

—

Will Rosinsky v Joe Smith, Jr. — 10 rounds, light heavyweight

Joe Smith, Jr. (20-1, 16 KO) decisioned fellow New York light heavyweight Will Rosinsky (19-3, 10 KO) to notch the biggest win of his career. Smith Jr. used his bigger frame to impose his will on his smaller opponent – often walking Rosinsky backward before settling in to throw heavy punches. Both fighters excited early arrivers at the Barclay’s Center with their willingness to take a punch in order to land their own; engaging in numerous ruthless exchanges throughout. At the conclusion of the fight, all three judges scored the fight in favor of Smith Jr. Judge Ron McNair saw it 98-92; Frank Lombardi scored it 97-93; and Steve Weisfeld had it 96-92.

—

Luis Garcia v Willie Williams – 4 rounds, cruiserweight

Undefeated Cuban cruiserweight Luis Garcia scored a first round TKO over Willie Williams. With the win, Garcia, who now fights out of Cork, Ireland improves his record to 13-0, 10 KO, while Williams’ record now reads 14-11-2, 4 KO.

—

Titus Williams v Emmanuel Castro — 6 rounds, featherweight

In a six round bout that saw both fighters hit the canvas in round one, Long Island’s Titus Williams (4-0, 2 KO) outlasted Los Angeles’ Emmanuel Castro to stay undefeated. Williams earned a unanimous decision victory by scores of 60-54, 60-53, and 59-54.

—

Heather Hardy v Noemi Bosques — 8 rounds, bantomweight

Brooklyn’s Heather Hardy defeated Florida’s Noemi Bosques for the second time in seven months via a unanimous decision. Hardy earned a split decision victory of Bosques back in May, but this time around left no doubts in the judge’s minds as she dominated the contest from start to finish. Judge’s scorecards read 80-72, twice, and 79-73, all in favor of Hardy.

Cristian Javier Medina and Patricio Valentin Pitto battled to a 10-round draw at Club Social y Cultural El Cruce in Malvinas Argentinas, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Each fighter won a card at 96-94 and a 3rd card read even at 95-95.

Medina, 198 3/4 lbs if 12-1-3. Pitto, 194 lbs is 9-2-3.

Juan Radolfo Juarez won a 6-round unanimous decision over Abel Nicholas Adriel in a Middleweight bout.

Juarez, 159 3/4 lbs won by scores of 59-57 twice and 58-58 ans is now 16-0. Adriel, 159 lbs is 17-12-3.

“At 900,000 buys and $58 million in PPV revenue, Cotto-Canelo performed superbly,” said HBO senior vice president Mark Taffet, who oversees the network’s pay-per-view franchise. “Not since [Lennox] Lewis-[Mike] Tyson in 2002 has a pay-per-view fight generated at least 900,000 buys without featuring [Floyd] Mayweather, [Manny] Pacquiao or [Oscar] De La Hoya.

“It puts an exclamation point on the biggest year in pay-per-view history. I couldn’t be more thrilled for boxing, Golden Boy, Roc Nation and the fans.”

“It was an incredibly strong performance in a historical context,” Taffet said. “It’s very significant for a fight to do 900,000 when it doesn’t involve one of the biggest stars in the history of pay-per-view: Mayweather, De La Hoya, Pacquiao, Tyson and [Evander] Holyfield.”

“Canelo is now officially the biggest star in all of boxing. Period,” De La Hoya said. “And by committing to fight on Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day — boxing’s two biggest annual dates — Canelo’s popularity will only continue to soar for years to come.”

“I was fortunate to do [the first pay-per-view] Evander Holyfield-George Foreman and then have a few pretty good fights in between,” Taffet said with a laugh. “So to end with Cotto-Canelo, it couldn’t have been a more satisfying finale for me.”

Just disposed Heavyweight champion, Wladimir Klitschko will exercise his contractual rematch clause with Tyson Fury following Saturday’s fight which saw Fury lift the Heavyweight championship from Klitschko in Dusseldorf, Germany, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“I was really frustrated directly after the fight, but after some short nights, I now know that I want to show that I am much better than my performance on Saturday,” Klitschko said. “I couldn’t show my full potential at any time. This is what I want to change in the rematch — and I will. Failure is not an option.”

“There will be a huge worldwide interest in this fight, which already can be billed as the fight of the year 2016,” Bernd Boente, Klitschko’s manager, said. “We received so many questions of fans and journalists after last Saturday. The new champion and his challenger will answer all of them inside the ring.”

Mick Hennessy, Fury’s promoter, told ESPN.com that their side was thrilled that Klitschko elected to go for the rematch.

“We relish [that he exercised] that option,” Hennessy said. “There’s no bigger fight than fighting Wladimir again. [A title unification fight with Deontay] Wilder is nowhere near as big. And [mandatory challenger Vyacheslav] Glazkov? Come on. He’s an unknown. He doesn’t bring anything to the table in any way shape or form. … We were worried Wladimir wouldn’t take the rematch. We are delighted. It’s good that Wladimir made the decision quickly. We can strike while the iron’s hot. We’ll see an even better Tyson in the rematch.”

Klitschko’s decision to take the rematch isn’t a surprise, although he took time to digest the defeat. On Monday, Klitschko wrote on social media: “I still don’t believe I actually lost. Man, I’m suffering.”

“We’ll be looking at venues everywhere and we’ll go where it will gross the most money,” Hennessy said. “There are massive stadiums here in England but everyone wants the fight. I’ve had contacts from abroad, the (United Arab Emirates) as well. We are excited — both sides are to make this a super fight.”

“We are very, very happy with Tyson’s situation in this deal as champion. We’re done,” Hennessy said.

Hennessy said if the Fury-Klitschko rematch happens without the IBF involved, so be it.

“If they’re going to manipulate this situation to have two average fighters not worthy of the heavyweight title fighting (for the IBF belt), they’re going to push Tyson, who is the lineal champion, into a position where he will do a press conference put that belt into the (trash) bin,” he said. “We feel they’ve shown zero respect for the new champion or for the former champion, who held their title for 9½ years.

IBF number-one contender, Vyacheslav Glazkov and his team led by promoters Main Events have called for a purse for a mandatory title shot with new champion Tyson Fury, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

Fury was ordered by the IBF on Monday to next face Vyacheslav “Czar” Glazkov. The camps were given 30 days to make a deal, or a purse bid would be ordered. However, on Tuesday, Main Events promoter Kathy Duva, who represents Glazkov, informed the IBF they were unwilling to participate in negotiations with Fury promoter Mick Hennessy and requested an immediate purse bid, which is allowable under IBF rules, although the fight is unlikely to happen.

The IBF sent a letter to all its registered promoters announcing a purse bid to take place at noon ET Dec. 11 at IBF headquarters in Springfield, New Jersey. The promoter who puts forth the biggest bid will win promotional rights to the bout. The minimum bid is $200,000, but the bout would almost certainly go for millions more.

Duva said though she asked for an immediate purse bid on Fury-Glazkov, she and Hennessy are talking about the fight.

“We got on the phone [Tuesday], and we had a pleasant conversation, and we’ll have another one [Wednesday],” Duva told ESPN.com.

Duva asked for the purse bid immediately to secure her fighter’s position. Had she not, Fury could have asked the IBF for an exception to fight an optional defense before the mandatory bout.

“But once we asked for the immediate purse bid, it is no longer possible [under IBF rules] for the Fury people to ask for a special exception, so that was a tactical move,” Duva said. “I am protecting my fighter’s position.”

She said she is still negotiating the fight with Wilder. Whatever happens, Glazkov will get a shot, be it against the recognized champion Fury, titleholder Wilder or a vacant title bout against Martin.

“We’re still gathering information on everything, but we’ll come to a decision quickly on what we want to do,” Duva said. “I need to speak to my fighter and his manager [Egis Klimas] before anything is decided.”

Carlos Ocampo won a 10-round unanimous decision over Jorge Paez Jr. in a Welterweight bout at Arena Tequisquiapan in Tequisquiapan, Queretaro, Mexico.

Ocampo of Ensinada, MX won by scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 99-92 and is now 17-0. Paez of Mexicali, MX is 39-7-2.

Emanuel Navarette scored a 3rd round stoppage over Ramsas Agaton in a scheduled 10-round Bantamweight bout.

Navarette is now 12-1. Atagaon is 9-8-3.

Uriel Perez scored a 5th round stoppage over Miguel Angel Bautista in a scheduled 6-round Lightweight fight.

Perez dropped Bautista with a right to the head in round four. Perez finished the fight in the next round when he landed a perfect right that sent Bautista to the canvas and the fight was stopped at 1:32 of round five.

Perez of Quintana, MX is 7-1 with 6 knockouts. Bautista of Mexico City, MX is 5-3-2.

James DeGale defended his IBF Super Middleweight World Championship in a thriller over hometown favorite and former champion Lucian Bute on Saturday in the main event of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING.

It was the first title defense for DeGale, the 2008 Olympic gold medalist from Britain who went on the road to Boston to win the title earlier this year and chose to defend in hostile territory.

Bute, who was attempting to win back the IBF belt he defended nine times between 2007 and 2012, put on an inspired and gutsy performance in an electric atmosphere to open the new Videotron Centre in Quebec City.  But the unbelievable pace, as well as an arsenal of overhand rights, body shots and combos from the younger DeGale (22-1, 14 KOs) proved to be the difference as DeGale prevailed 116-112, 117-111 (twice).

“I’m young and I’m fresh. I’m peaking right now,” DeGale said.  “I’m ready for the best in the world. Credit to Bute – he’s a great champion and believe me, he will be back.”

“Like I’ve said in the past, he is a world-class fighter. I’ve still got things to work on in the next three or four years and I’m going to be my best.”

Bute (32-3, 25 KOs) didn’t look anything like the fighter that lost to Carl Froch in 2012.  But while the 35-year-old stalked the switch-hitting DeGale with a relentless attack, he couldn’t do enough to overpower the supremely active Brit, who threw 524 power punches compared to 278 for Bute.

“I think it was a great fight.  I did my best tonight,” Bute said.  “I think it was a close fight.  He’s an Olympic champion, he’s a world champion.  If the judges give him the decision I respect that. I’ll be back in the gym to work hard and continue to fight.  I think it was a very close fight.  I’m happy with my performance and I’ll be back in the gym to get back in the ring one more time.

“The last three years were difficult for me.  After I lost to Carl Froch that was a very difficult period for me.  I took a break, and now I’m back.  I feel great, I feel healthy and now I have one more chance to be back on the top.

“Maybe a few rounds I waited too much and didn’t put the punches together and I let James fight me.  When I pushed pressure and pushed back I won the round.”

Eleider Alvarez earned a title shot at Adonis Stevenson by winning a 12-round majority decision over Isaac Chilemba in a Light Heavyweight bout.

Alvarez of Montreal won by scores of 118-110, 115-113 and 114-14 and is now 19-0.  Chilemba is 24-3-2.

“I knew I had to finish the later rounds strong, but I believe I did enough to win the fight,” Alvarez said.  “I’m ready to accept the challenge and face Stevenson. To be the world champion, you have to beat the champion. So that’s what I aim to do.”

“I thought I did enough to win it,” Chilemba said.  “But it is what it is. I guess you can call it a hometown decision.”

After the fight, SHOWTIME Sports host Brian Custer sat down with Stevenson to get his thoughts on Alvarez-Chilemba and his future.

“It was a close physical fight,” Stevenson said.  “He (Alvarez) won this fight but it was very close.”

“We talk about Kovalev because the WBC still ranks him the No. 1 contender.  I want this fight to happen.  The fans want it to happen.  I said June is perfect for me.  He said ‘OK, June,’ Kathy Duva said ‘No problem, June.’  Then she said on HBO.  I said, ‘Forget about the TVs, let them talk.’  We want the fight to happen.  Let the TVs work together and make it happen.

“I want to fight Kovalev.  That’s the best opportunity for me because I want his titles.  For sure, this fight will happen in June.  I don’t have a problem; my team doesn’t have a problem.  I want this fight in June.

Kovalev is scared.  I talked to him, saw it in his eyes that he’s scared of me.  It will happen, but I know Kovalev is scared.  I want Kovalev.  I’m very hungry to get his titles.”

Adrian Granados foiled the title hopes of previously undefeated Amir Imam by shaking off a 1st round knockdown to come back to win an 8th rounds stoppage in a scheduled 10-round Super Lightweight bout.

Imam dropped Granados with a powerful left hook in round one.  Granados didn’t seemed to fazed after that as he started to land sharp hard combinations and started to push Imam back.  In round seven, Imam was bleeding from his nose and seemed to be wearing down.  That seemed to be true as in round eight, Granados landed a hard combination that rocked his head back and the fight was stopped at 2:34 of round eight.

Granados of Cicero, IL is now 17-4-1 with 12 knockouts.  Imam, who had a mandatory title shot with Viktor Postol is now 18-1.

“It feels great. Once I had him wobbled I was like, ‘you’ve got to get him now. This time you’re not taking it from me.’  It was a flash knockdown. He caught with the right hand, but I was alright. I just popped right up and I knew he was going to try and finish me. We got out of it and went right back to work.”

“I know people might say I shouldn’t have taken this fight, but I needed this fight in between as a tune-up for my next fight because I didn’t want to wait for the six to eight months for the world title shot.

“The key to the fight was my jab, I just didn’t use it enough,” Imam said.  “But that’s the way it goes and I’m going to definitely come back stronger. I wasn’t thinking anything after that first-round knockdown.  I’ve done that many times and didn’t think the fight was over.  I wasn’t surprised at all by the way he came out. I know how he fights. He’s a good fighter and that’s all there is to it.”

Former Colombian Olympian Oscar Rivas scored a 2nd round stoppage over Joey Abell in a 10-round Heavyweight bout.

In round two, Rivas landed a combination on the ropes that set up two flush lefts that slumped Abell on the ropes and a follow up right drilled a prone Abell at 46 seconds of round two.

Rivas of Montreal is 18-0 with 13 knockouts.  Abell of Coon Rapids, MN is 31-9.

Tyson Fury ended the decade long Heavyweight title reign of Wladimir Klitschko by winning a 12-round unanimous decision at the Esprit Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany.

It was a jab-fest early with not much going on.  Fury was slightly more aggressive.  In round five, Klitschko was cut under the left eye from an accidental headbutt.

In round nine, Klitschko landed a big right but he was out done as he was drilled with punishing left hook.  It was more of the same as Fury’s movement would befuddle Klitschko.  Klitschko was cut in three places including around both eyes and his forehead.  Fury landed a a huge left hook in round eleven, but that round advantage was done in by Fury being docked a point for hitting behind the head.  Klitschko had his best round in the final round as he got in some good left hooks but it was too little, too late as Fury lifted the titles and ended the decade reign of Klitschko.

Fury won by scores of 116-111 and 115-112 twice and is now 25-0.  Klitschko is 64-4.

Jermall Charlo retained the IBF Jr. Middleweight title with a 4th round stoppage over Wilky Campfort in Dallas, Texas.

In round two. Charlo dropped Campfort with a stiff jab. In round three, Charlo landed a right to the head that put Campfort on the canvas for a second time. In round four, it was a combination that sent Campfort to a knee. Campfort got to his feet but he said he could not see and the fight was stopped at 1:16 of round four.

Charlo, 154 lbs of Houston, TX is 23-0 with 18 knockouts. Campfort, 153.2 lbs of Tampa, FL is 21-2.

Errol Spence remained perfect with a 5th round stoppage over Alejandro Barrera in a scheduled 12-round Welterweight bout.

In round five, Spence dropped Barrera with a series of body shots in the corner. Spence finished the fight with a series of punches on a bloody Barrera and the fight was stopped just as Barrera fell to the canvas at 46 seconds of round three.

Spence of Desoto, TX is 19-0 with 16 knockouts. Barrera of Monterrey, MX 26-3.

Erickson Lubin scored an explosive second round stoppage over Alexis Camacho in a scheduled 8-round Jr, Middleweight bout.

Lubin dropped Camacho in round one with a right hook to the side of the head. In round two, Lubin landed a perfect right hand that sent Camacho down for the ten count at 42 seconds in round two.

Lubin, 154.4 lbs of Orlando, FL is 13-0 with 10 knockouts. Camacho, 153 lbs of Monterrey, MX is 21-6.

Eddie Ramirez won a 8-round unanimous decision over Balil Mahasin in a Super Lightweight bout.

Ramirez, 141.6 lbs of Aurora, IL won by scores of 78-74 and 77-75 twice and is now 12-0. Mahasin, 141.8 lbs of Oakland, CA is 7-2-1.

Ryan Karl scored a 5th round stoppage over Ken Alvarez in a scheduled 6-round Super Welterweight bout

Karl dropped Alvarez seconds into the fight with a left hook. In round three, Karl sent Alvarez to the canvas with a left. In round five, It was a right that sent Alvarez to the deck and the corner stopped the fight at 2:45 of round five.

Karl, 140.8 lbs of Brennan, TX is 11-0 with 8 knockouts. Alvarez, 141.6 lbs of Dominican Republic is 7-3-2.

Steve Lovett won via 2nd round disqualification over Samuel Miller in a scheduled 6-round Light Heavyweight bput.

Miller was tossed from the fight after being docked 3 points for low blows and then a 4th low blow ended the fight at 2:13 of round two.

Lovett, 177 lbs of New South Wales, AUS is 15-0. Miller, 177.2 lbs of Colombia is 29-13.

John Molina scored a 3rd round stoppage over Jorge Romero in a scheduled 8-round Welterweight bout.

Molina landed a hard right that hurt Romero in round three. Molina landed a hard combination that forced the fight to be stopped at 47 seconds of round three.

Molina, 142.6 lbs of Covina, CA is 28-6 with 23 knockouts. Romero, 143.2 lbs of Culican, MX is 24-11.

Lara
‘CUBA’ ‘CUBA’ ‘CUBA’ ‘CUBA’ with a heavy spanish accent was the chant coming from a soggy and packed Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida tonight as Miami’s favorite son Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara destroyed former champion Jan Zevek with a third round stoppage. From the opening bell Lara showed he was the champion in his fair test opposite a faded and worn former champion.

Live on ESPN, Premier Boxing Championships provided a night of boxing in Hialeah Florida where Lara successfully defended his WBA super welterweight title for the fourth time and retained his IBO strap. Lara did it by winning every second of the fight and knocking the Solovian off balance with straight hard left hand shots setting up that inevitable “wait for it” moment. In the final seconds of round 2 Lara landed a straight left that wobbled Zavek who was happy to hear the bell 6 seconds later. The odd end came at :41 of round three as Lara set up another straight left off of a throw away hook that snapped Zavek’s head back so far he could have counted stars if it wasn’t raining. Lara actually took a step back after the shot at which time Zavek oddly turned away with a no mas limp stiff arm towards the Champion. Zavek complained early of a shoulder injury however the shoulder appeared to be fine, its this sports writer’s opinion he just said “Ni? Ve?” The Cuban Champion improved to (22-2-2, 13 KO) and is willing to face anyone from 154-160 as quoted in a post fight interview. “Canelo doesn’t want to see me because he knows I beat him in the first fight,” Lara said. “And GGG [Golovkin] can come get it if he wants as well. I’m ready to fight anybody at 154 to 160 pounds. Bring on the best.”

Emmanuel Rodriguez 14-0(10KO) retained his WBA Fedelatin bantamweight title and WBC Latino bantamweight title with a seventh round TKO over Dominican boxer Elicer Aquino 17-2-1(11KO). Rodriguez knocked Aquino down in round three and around the ring for the rest of the fight while knocking his mouthpiece out several times throughout the fight. Sam Burgos took a point from the Dominican and Rodriguez went ahead and finished it himself by speeding his punches up with combinations to a nice end at 2:44 of round seven where Burgos stepped in to save the Dominican from further punishment.

Undefeated Heavyweight John Wesley Nofire improved to 19-0(15KO) with a stoppage over once promising Cuban Yasmany Consuegra who lost his third in a row to drop to 17-3(14KO). Nofire came out with a fast jab early to start the fight and try to establish pace and distance. The Cuban consistently fell in while punching the 6’6” Oklahoma native which caused a lot tangles early on. Nofire got a better sense of his distance in round three and started coming underneath while the Cuban fell in which gave him enough room to punch and this is where he hurt Consuegra. A great flurry late in round three had Consuegra caught in his own corner taking a beating by the big powerful Oklahoman nearly prompting a stoppage only to be saved by the bell. However the Cuban corner felt that was enough and waved the fight off between rounds giving the big man from Oklahoma a TKO win officially at 2:59 of round four.

Super Welterweight Daquan Arnett 15-1(9KO) looked powerful with a strong performance in a first round knockout win over once heralded Cuban prospect and amateur star Yudel Johnson 17-3(9KO). The end came at 2:47 of the very first round.

Super Lightweight Jose Quezada easily improved to 9-0(6KO) with a 2nd round KO win over Daniel Lorenzana 4-7-1(2KO).

In an entertaining bout between two South Florida welterweights Jeff Souffrant from Davie FL and Gregory Moore from Miami, FL battled to the final bell which Souffrant earned a unanimous decision win to sharpen his record to 2-1, where Moore fell to 1-1.

It will be a battle of world champions on the Fox network on January 23, 2016 when Danny Garcia takes on Robert Guerrero on the first bout on the network in nearly 20 years, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“I’m excited to be fighting in prime time on Fox and to get back in the ring in such a big way,” Garcia said. “I know people are going to say this is a Puerto Rico versus Mexico matchup, but I fight for all Latinos and I have the fan-friendly style to back it up. Guerrero comes to fight, and he’s faced the best in the sport. This is a huge opportunity for me to show why I’m a star. There’s no better place to do that than in Los Angeles, where stars are born.”

“Garcia and Guerrero are two of the toughest guys in the sport today,” said Tom Brown, whose TGB Promotions is promoting the card on behalf of PBC. “They leave it all in the ring every time out and they’re going to give the great Los Angeles sports fans a memorable night of action. There’s no better way to start off the New Year and no more suited venue for it than Staples Center.”

“If there ever was a fight that defined the word ‘war,’ it’s this fight,” Guerrero said. “What a great way to kick off the return of prime-time boxing on Fox. I guarantee this is going to be a historic fight. A Mexican-American versus a Puerto Rican-American — it’s a bitter rivalry. Danny Garcia is a great champion, and I know we’re going to put on a tremendous show. Jan. 23, it’s going to be fireworks, and I can’t wait.”

“We’re thrilled to present the first professional boxing on Fox in almost 20 years with Premier Boxing Champions’ exciting prime-time Saturday shows,” said David Nathanson, the Fox Sports head of business operations. “With the success of the PBC’s Tuesday night boxing series on FS1 and Fox Deportes, we knew boxing would make a great addition to Fox alongside the Fox Sports portfolio.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, longtime HBO executive Mark Taffet will leave the company at the end of the year.

“I recognized early on that boxing had a unique characteristic which would lead to success on pay-per-view,” Taffet told ESPN.com. “The opportunity to watch a big fight in the comfort of your living room was a significant improvement over the then-existing big-fight experience of having to drive to an arena or racetrack [to watch on closed circuit], where picture quality and sound were poor at best and the possibility of having food and beverage being tossed through the air was great.”

“My intention is to work with the fighters, promoters and entities that will be most directly involved in the formation of the next great era of boxing,” he said. “That also includes sites, sponsors and foreign broadcasters, all the key players necessary. Most likely I’m going to speak with people who HBO is already involved with, but I will be on the other side.

“I have the passion to want to be part of it. I feel the best way to do that at this point is not with HBO but with entities on the other side of the playing field. It will give me tremendous fulfillment. I have no intention of leaving boxing.”

“At this point in my life and career, as we begin the inevitable transition period to boxing’s next great era, I believe my greatest contribution to the sport going forward is not with HBO. … I was blessed to have one of the greatest runs in the history of HBO Sports.

“I came to work every one of my 11,576 days with passion, energy, a commitment to excellence and the desire to win. We dared to be great and, thanks to an incredible team of professionals at HBO Sports, we were.”

“I was fortunate to learn a very valuable lesson in just our first two pay-per-view fights,” Taffet said. “Holyfield-Foreman generated 1.4 million buys while a great fight the following month, James Toney versus Michael Nunn, generated just 19,000 buys. From that day forward, I never forgot that pay-per-view was a business of hits and misses, and asking people for their money rather than just their time was a very significant proposition.

“Of all the things I’ve done over the past 25 years, the most rewarding was being able to provide a television platform with significant earning capability for scores of incredibly talented fighters in lighter weight classes who were previously underappreciated in a heavyweight-dominated environment. It was the [Michael] Carbajal-[Chiquita] Gonzalez [junior flyweight title] fight in 1993, where each fighter earned $1 million, which opened the door for a future which included great fights of Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez.”

“My quarter-century at HBO Sports is bookended by Holyfield-Foreman and pay-per-view’s first great year in 1991 on one end, and Mayweather-Pacquiao and the biggest year in the history of the sport on the other,” Taffet wrote to his colleagues. “And in between, not only mega fights like De La Hoya-Mayweather, Lewis-Tyson, De La Hoya-Trinidad, Mayweather-Cotto and De La Hoya-Pacquiao; but also some of the biggest multi-fight matchups, including Pacquiao-Marquez I-IV, the Holyfield-[Riddick] Bowe trilogy, Barrera-Morales trilogy, Pacquiao-Morales trilogy, Holyfield-Lewis I and II, De La Hoya-Mosley I and II, and the middleweight world championship series culminating in Trinidad-Hopkins. The greatest events, staged at the greatest venues — Caesar’s Palace outdoor stadium, MGM Grand Garden Arena, Madison Square Garden, Staples Center, Mandalay Bay, Thomas & Mack Center and Cowboys Stadium.

“I had the incredible opportunity to learn this sport and business through days, nights and years with boxing’s legendary promoters Don King, Bob Arum and Dan Duva — larger-than-life figures who took me behind the curtain and inside the control center to collaborate on some of the most exciting and fulfilling experiences of my life.”

“I’ve been asked if my dreams came true during my era at HBO,” Taffet wrote. “The truth is, as a hardworking kid from humble beginnings in Jersey, I never even dreamed of anything as extraordinary as what I experienced.”