Jean Pascal scored a decisive 12 round unanimous decision over Lucian Bute in a Battle of former Montreal based world champions before a sold crowd of 20, 479 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Pascal came out working the body. In round two, Pascal shook Bute with a flurry of punches that also produced a mouse under the left eye of Bute. Pascal was effective with the right in round three. Bute scored later in the round with an uppercut and straight left. In round four, Pascal landed another hard flurry for which Bute looked shaky but took well. Pascal continued to dominate the action for which Bute had no answer for. In fact, there were times were Bute looked like he was there just to watch Pascal as his punch about was around 25 punches per round for the first 11 frames.

Bute had his fire lit before the final frame as he ferociously came out and landed many hard blows on Pascal in thee corner which was much to the delight of the massive crowd assembled at Bell Centre. That rally was too little and much too late for Bute, who may have saved a little face with the attempt of the late heroics.

Pascal, 175 lbs of Montreal won by scores of 116-112, 117-110 and 117-111 and is now 29-2-1. Bute, 173.6 lbs of Montreal is no 31-2.

Undefeated Heavyweight Mike Perez and Carlos Takam battled to a 10 round draw.

It was a tale of two fights as Perez seized a slight advantage early by landing some short shots inside and was effective with the overhand left. In round three, Perez was cut around the right eye from an accidental headbutt. That gave Takam the confidence to begin coming forward and dominated the fight on the inside. Takam clearly had the advantage in the later rounds but in the judges eyes, Perez took enough rounds early to salvage a draw by scores of 96-94 and 95-95 twice.

Perez of Cork, Ireland is now 20-0-1. Takam, 256 lbs of France is now 29-1-1.

Horacio Garcia scored a 1st round stoppage over Fernando Lumacad in the 1st round of their 10 round Super Bantamweight bout at Complejo Panamericano in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Garcia trapped Lumacad on the ropes and landed a right hand that sent Lumacad to the canvas and he could not beat the referee’s 10 count.

Garica of Guadalajara, Mexico is now 25-0 with 17 knockouts. Lumacad of General Santos City, Philippines is now 29-7-3.

Yazmin Rivas scored a 10 round unanimous decision over Calixta Silgado in a Super Bantamweight bout.

Scores were 100-90 on all cards for Rivas who is now 29-8. Silgado is now 11-3-2.

Soledad Vargas (1-0) scored a unanimous decision over Livier Munoz (0-5) in a Minimumweight bout.

Israel Meza (2-0-1) scored a 4 round unanimous decision over Adalberto Garcia (1-1-2) in a Super Flyweight bout.

Miguel Cobarrubias (2-1-1, 1 KO) scored a 1st round stoppage over Luis Angel Hernandez (2-9) in a scheduled four round Lightweight bout.

Ivan Redkach scored a ten round unanimous decision over Tony Luis in a 10 round Lightweight bout at the Cook Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee.

Luis matched Redkach in the first two minutes until he got caught at the end of the first round from a right hook that sent him to the canvas. Luis and Redkach fought pretty even over the next several round until Luis ate a big right hook that staggered Luis in round six. Later in the round, the two clashed heads and Luis & Redkach were both bleeding from their forehead. Luis landed a good left hand that hurt Redkach at the end of the round. The fight was nip and tuck and the tenth round was a microcosm of that as they both landed big shots down the stretch.

Redkach, 134 1/4 lbs of Los Angeles won by scores of 99-90, 97-92 and 97-93 and is now 16-0. Luis, 134 1/2 lbs of Cornwall, ONT, CAN is now 17-2.

“I won the fight clearly,’’ said Redkach, the WBC’s No. 13-ranked contender. “I learned a lot. Tony is a true warrior. He made the fight a dirty fight and I got sucked into that game.

“I will take this as a lesson learned into my next training camp and improve on it.’’

Luis was livid with the scoring. “There’s always room for improvement and I didn’t fight the perfect fight, but I thought this was a much, much closer fight,’’ he said. “I felt I was hurting him, and he was getting tired. I felt I’d knocked him down in the first, but the referee didn’t call it even though his gloves hit the canvas. The ref was breaking us up too soon. He wouldn’t let me work.

“This is very disappointing to say the least.’’

Frank Galarza scored a shocking 2nd round stoppage over previously undefeated John Thompson in a scheduled eight round Jr. Middleweight bout.

After a 1st round where Thompson boxed well, Galarza came out and landed a big right hand that buckled Thompson and thunderous left hook sent Thompson crumpled to the canvas and the fight was stopped 16 seconds into the 2nd round.

Galarza, 153 1/2 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is now 12-0-2 with 8 knockouts. Thompson, 153 1/4 lbs of Newark, NJ is now 14-1.

“Considering this was on a national stage, it has to be one of the very best wins in my career.’’

“Our game plan was to feel him out in the first and then step it up,’’ Galarza said. “The key was to get to him first, to not let him get off.’’

Antoine Douglas took an easy eight round unanimous decision over Marquis Davis in a Middleweight fight featuring undefeated fighters.

Douglas came out with bad intentions as he ripped a big barrage of power punches off of Davis. In round three, Douglas started getting through with some hard uppercuts. he went on to land a nice one-two combination in the round. Davis showed a solid chin. Douglas continued to win rounds and came out in round six throwing more power shots. During that round, a hard left hand knocked a tooth right out of Davis mouth. Douglas cruised down the stretch and even hurt Davis with about twenty seconds left and won the easy decision by scores of 80-72, 80-72 and 79-73.

Douglas, 158 lbs of Burke, VA is now 12-0. Davis, 159 1/2 lbs of Tampa, FL is now 8-1-2.

In an entertaining eight round Jr. Welterweight bout, Maurice Hooker and Abel Ramos battled to a majority draw.

Hooker was the choice early as he jabbed well and started mixing some solid chopping right hands over the first five frames. In round five, Ramos was showing the effects of the punches as he had a swelling around his left eye. Ramos came back to have a big round seven as he mashed some hard shots to the body and head of a visibly tired Hooker. He continued the assault in round eight as he landed a hard left that sent the mouthpiece of Hooker flying. The two battled all the way until the bell, with the last two rounds being big for Ramos to secure the draw by the scores of 77-75, 76-76 and 76-76.

Hooker, 141 1/2 lbs of Dallas, T is now 12-0-2. Ramos, 141 1/2 lbs of Casa Grande, AZ is now 8-0-1.

Longtime power player and WBC President Jose Sulaiman passed away on Thursday at the age of 82 in Los Angeles according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

His death was confirmed by his son, Mauricio Sulaiman, who was his chief lieutenant with the WBC and is expected to take the reins of the organization.

“He certainly treated all fighters as his sons and daughters, he suffered from their problems and worked every single day of his life to try to make boxing better and safer,” the WBC said in a statement. “Regardless if the boxer was an amateur or if he was Mike Tyson or (Julio Cesar) Chavez, he would treat them the same and would relentlessly try to help each one at all times.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, The California Commission denied Welterweight Robert Guerrero’s request to break his contract with Golden Boy Promotions.

“At this time, the California State Athletic Commission declines to accept Mr. Robert Guerrero’s request for arbitration to determine the validity of the ‘term sheet’ dated January 15, 2013, between Robert Guerrero (Boxer) and Golden Boy Promotions, LLC, (Promoter),” the commission said in a letter sent to Golden Boy and Team Guerrero. “The ‘term sheet’ provides that the parties agree to be governed by the laws of the State of New York. Without making any express or implied findings, the California State Athletic Commission directs the parties to resolve their differences in New York.”

“The most productive thing is for Robert and his team to sit down with us and see what we can work out,” said Golden Boy Promotions Richard Schaefer said. “I know we have done a terrific job promoting Robert Guerrero’s career so far, and I look forward to promoting more of his fights in the future. The most productive thing is to get him back in the ring as soon as possible and put this behind us.

Bruce Zabarauskas, Guerrero’s attorney, who signed off on the agreement with the New York language in it, did not have settling the differences on his mind.

“The fight is just starting,” he told ESPN.com.

Luke Rockhold scored a 1st round stoppage over Costas Philippou in a scheduled 5 round Middleweight bout in Daluth, Georgia.

Rockhold landed a kick to the stomach and Philippou crumbled to the canvas and the fight was stopped at 2:31 of round one.

Rockhold, 185 lbs of San Jose, CA is now 11-2. Philippou, 185 lbs of Long Island, NY is now 12-4-1.

Brad Tavares scored a 3 round unanimous decision over Lorenz Loarkin in a Middleweight fight.

Scores were 29-28 on all cards for Tavares, , 185 lbs of Las Vegas is now 12-2. Larkin, 185 lbs of Riverside, CA is now 14-2-1.

TJ Dillashaw scored a 3 round unanimous decision over Mike Easton in a Bantamweight fight.

Dillashaw, 135 lbs of Sacramento, CA won by scores of 30-27 on all cards and is now 10-2. Easton, 135 lbs of Camps Springs, MD is now 13-4.

Yoel Romero scored a 3rd round stoppage over Derek Brunson in a Middleweight bout.

Romero punched out Brunson while he was on the ground and the bout was stopped at 3:23.

Romero, 185 lbs of Coconut Creek, FL is now 7-1. Brunson, 185 lbs of Wilmington, NC is now 11-3.

John Moraga won a 3 round split decision over Dustin Ortiz.

Moraga, 126 lbs of Phoenix, AZ won two cards via 29-28 and is now 14-2. Ortiz, 124 lbs of Franklin, TN won a card 29-28 but is now 12-3.

Cole Miller scored a 2nd round choke out over Sam Sacilia in a Featherweight bout.

Miller made Sacilia tap out with a Rear Naked choke at 1:54 of round two.

Miller, 145 lbs of Coconut Creek, FL is now 21-8. Sacilia, 145 lbs of Spokane, WA is now 12-4

Ramsey Nijam scored a 3 round unanimous decision over Justin Edwards in a Lightweight bout.

Scores were 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 for Nijam, 155 lbs of Orem, UT and is now 9-4. Edwards, 155 lbs of Bellfontaine, OH is now 9-4.

Elias Silverio scored a 3 round unanimous decision over Isaac Valle-Flagg in a Lightweight bout.

Scores were 30-27 on all cards for Silverio, 155 lbs of Sao Paulo, Brazil and is now 10-0. Valle-Flagg, 155 lbs of Albuquerque, NM is now 14-4-1.

Trevor Smith scored a 3 round split decision over Bobby Houston in a Middleweight fight.

Scores were 29-28 twice for Smith and 29-28 for Houston.

Smith, 186 lbs of Turkiwilla, WA is now 11-4. Houston, 185 lbs of Omaha, NE is now 4-2.

Louis Smolka scored a 3 round unanimous decision over Alpteyin Ozklic in a Flyweight bout.

Scores were 29-28 on all three cards for Smolka, 125 lbs from Kapolet, HI and is now 70. Ozklic, 125 lbs of St. Louis, MO is now 9-2.

Former IBF Middleweight champion Darren Barker has announced his retirement due to injuries following his December knockout to defeat to Felix Sturm According to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“I’m so proud and happy at what I’ve achieved. When I won my first national (amateur) title as a kid I could have retired a happy boy then, so to have won all the major titles possible for me I’m a very, very happy man,” Barker said. “I did this all for my (late) brother Gary — we did it mate! I’m now looking forward to sitting back and being a keen fan and wishing all my fellow countrymen all the best in their careers.”

“I would like to thank my family for their support, without them none of what I achieved would have been possible,” Barker said. “My fantastic friends and all the fans that brought tickets to my fights and traveled the country and world supporting me, I really appreciate it and thank you.

“Tony Sims — he constantly got the best out of me and he’s more than a fantastic trainer. He’s a mentor and very good friend. (Promoter) Eddie Hearn and the rest of the guys at Matchroom Sport for getting me the big fights and elevating me to another level and, ultimately, getting me the fight that helped me realize a dream, and I’ve also met some friends for life there.”

“It is with both sadness and joy that Darren Barker announces his retirement from the sport today,” said Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn. “Darren has been an exemplary role model for any young fighter and a wonderful ambassador for boxing. The sport of boxing is in Darren’s blood.”

“Darren has overcome many adversities in his career,” Hearn said. “The greatest (was) the loss of his brother Gary at just 19, but a series of career-threatening injuries have made Darren’s journey even more remarkable and no one will ever forget that magical night in Atlantic City on Aug. 17, 2013, when Darren realized his dream by capturing the IBF world middleweight title against Daniel Geale.

“Unable to run in his preparation for that fight (because of the hip problem), Darren adapted his training and summoned the most incredible amount of mental desire to win. I will never forget Michael Buffer’s words ‘and the new…,’ a moment that made us all so proud but no one more than his late brother Gary. I feel that night took a piece of Darren’s soul and whilst in his preparation for the Sturm fight he showed the same amount of intensity and desire, the damage on his body and numerous operations meant that he was unable to give Felix the fight he needed to defend his title.

“(After) a visit to the hospital for treatment to his hip and the disappointment of losing his world title, Darren’s family a friends made their way back to the hotel. We shared a beer and just by looking in his eyes I knew it was all over but Darren Barker was at peace, the struggle was over but he had achieved all he ever wanted.”

Former Lightweight champion Antonio Demarco stopped Jesus Gurrola in round two of a scheduled 10 round Jr. Welterweight bout at Casino Hipodromo Agua Caliente in Tijuana, Mexico.

DeMarco dropped Gurrola in round one from a right hook and he finished the fight in round two when he knocked Gurrola down in round two from a straight left. Gurrola spit his mouthpiece out and the fight was stopped at 2:57 of round two.

DeMarco, 145 3/4 lbs of Tijuana, Mexico is now 30-3-1 with 23 knocmouts. Gurrola, 145 3/4 lbs of Mexicali. MX was stopped for the 1st time and is now 20-6-3.

Rodrigo Garcia remained perfect by scoring a 4th round stoppage over Claudinei Lacerda in round four of a scheduled 8 round Jr. Welterweight bout.

Garcia landed a barrage of punches and the fight was stopped at 2:17 of round four.

Garica, 148 1/2 lbs of Santa Ana, CA is now 15-0 with 10 knockouts. LaCerda, 148 1/2 lbs is now 16-10

Juan Antonio Rodriguez scored an eight round majority decision over late replacement Yenifel Vicente in a Jr. Lightweight bout at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington.

Rodriguez used his size to push the action. Vicente fought well in spots as he tried to use quick shots as he went up two weight classes on five days notice.

Rodriguez, 129 lbs of Mexico won by scores of 77-75 on two cards and 76-76 and is now 25-4. Vicente, 129 lbs of the Dominican Republic is now 25-2-2.

Zahir Raheem scored a ten round unanimous decision over Bayan Jargal in a Jr. Welterweight bout.

Scores were 99-91, 91-91 and 97-93 for Raheem, 139 lbs and is now 35-3. Jargal, 139 1/2 lbs of Mongolia is now 17-5-3.

Lateef Kayode remained undefeated by scoring a 6th round stoppage over Jonta Willis in a scheduled eight round Heavyweight bout.

Willis was solid throughout the contest and started to really dominate after the fourth round. In the sixth round, Kayode landed body shots that sent Willis across the ring. Kayode landed a barrage of punches on the ropes and the fight was stopped at 1:07 of round six.

Kayode, 222 lbs of Hollywood, CA is now 20-0 with 16 knockouts. Wllis, 219 1/4 lbs is now 9-8-1.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Adrien Broner will exercise his rematch clause and get right back in with the man who took his WBA Welterweight title in Marcos Maidana.

“My mind is set on war,” Broner told ESPN.com on Friday. “I had a bad night. He was the better man that night, but he didn’t beat me. He outhustled me. I respect everything. I respect him. But I’m ready to go back to war and get my belt back.

“I’m taking boxing back to what it used to be. They created a monster. (The loss) woke up a monster.”

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer said he thinks the fight will be either April 19 or April 26, and will take place at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., or San Antonio’s Alamodome, site of the December fight.

“I think the first fight was a helluva fight and a fight of the year candidate,” said Schaefer, who originally said at ringside after the fight that there was no rematch clause but corrected his mistake Friday. “Adrien is still very young, and he wants to set the record straight. And for Maidana, I am sure he is licking his chops to get his hands on Broner again.

“I don’t think there was much love between those two before the fight, during the fight or after the fight. I know we can expect fireworks again in the lead up to the fight, at the press conferences and during the fight. As a fight fan, I am excited. I can’t wait.”

“I wanted to go right back to camp after the fight, but I knew my body wasn’t able to go to camp physically,” Broner said. “But mentally I wanted to box. I know what I gotta do in the rematch and I will do it. It will be a different outcome. I am starting to get myself ready. It’ll be another good fight. I gotta go get mine back.”

“I got real people in my corner,” Broner said. “And I’m not going to change no trainers. It has nothing to do with the trainer. My trainer (Mike Stafford) can’t fight for me. I have a helluva coach. He’s one of the best in the world. So I took a loss. But my check was amazing.”

“We are open to hear offers as always, and Broner may be of them, I guess,” Contursi told ESPN.com. “All we know is Maidana has earned the right to fight for big money after his impressive win over Broner and after being one of the most attractive fighters out there in the last few years. … But if Golden Boy and Al Haymon (adviser to Maidana, Broner and Mayweather) think a rematch with Broner is the best option, we will wait for their offer.”

Said Broner: “The rematch will have a different outcome guaranteed. I’m happy for (Maidana). I want him to have his 15 minutes of fame. At the end of the day, nobody is talking about his victory. They are talking about Adrien Broner’s loss. Some people don’t even know who I lost to. They just know I lost.”

Argenis Mendez has appealed his 2nd round knockout to Rances Barthelemy that cost him his IBF Jr. Lightweight title when Barthelemy landed the decisive blows after the bell according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“It’s pretty simple,” attorney Pat English told ESPN.com. “The bell rang and punches were thrown after the bell. Punches after the bell hit Mr. Mendez and the rules say that is a foul. Mr. Mendez was unable to continue. It’s very clear that it should be handled as a no contest.”

Barthelemy’s team was notified of the appeal and will submit its own comments, Warriors Boxing’s Leon Margules, Barthelemy’s promoter, said Thursday night.

“We have until January 17th to respond,” he said. “But the referee is the sole arbiter of the fight. There’s no question that Rances was on his way to the knockout victory, and anyone who watched the fight knows that. He was hurt badly even before the knockout.

“Everything has to be evaluated. There is a reason the referee is a sole arbiter of the fight and he made a decision. Do I think he did a good job? I think that he maybe he saved the kid (Mendez) from further punishment. He called the knockout a legal blow. To take my fighter’s title away from him that he earned in the ring is wrong.”

“Mr. Podgorski erred, pure and simple. He had a bad night, with many good ones,” English wrote in the appeal. “This protest is a way of rectifying that bad night, not a condemnation.”

Former two division champion Tomasz Adamek will take on Vyacheslav Glazkov in a Heavyweight bout on March 15th at the Sands in Bethlehem according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

The bout, which will be televised on NBC Sports Network was originally to take place on November 16th but Adamek withdrew due to an illness and he was replaced by Garrett Wilson.

“We had the right to reschedule the bout between Adamek and Glazkov in the contract and we invoked that right away,” said Main Events Kathy Duva. “We want to do the fight. The fighters want to do the fight. We think it’s a terrific fight and meaningful heavyweight fight and we didn’t want to lose it. Tomasz was sick for a few days and now he is fine.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will take on Alfredo Anguko on March 8th in Las Vegas and will be televised via Showtime Pay Per View.

“The fight is done. Signed, sealed and delivered,” said Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer. “Both guys are excited and ready to put on a show. These are two Mexican warriors and two of the most exciting fighters in the sport and it will be a toe-to-toe battle. That is what we are calling the card, ‘Toe to Toe.'”

“Canelo is a huge star, so going on pay-per-view was not an issue,” Schaefer said. “You see it when he goes somewhere in Los Angeles or Mexico. He has that charisma where people are drawn to him. I saw that in San Antonio in December when he came to the (Marcos Maidana-Adrien Broner card). The ovation he got was crazy. People embrace him. The fans go nuts, the females love him. You win some and you lose some. He had his first loss against Mayweather, the best fighter in the world, and there is no shame in that.

“But just because you lose to Floyd doesn’t mean you lose. He’s been exposed to so many people because of it, and that increased exposure is a good thing for Canelo and his career.

“His eye is fine. He was cleared about six weeks after the fight with Lara and he didn’t need surgery,” Michael Miller, Angulo’s manager, said. “He’s very excited and he’s looking forward to fighting Canelo. People know they’re going to get a helluva show no matter who wins. Nobody will be a loser that night because it’s going to be a memorable fight I believe.

“Angulo is going to hit Canelo and we’ll see what he can do when he gets by a big puncher.”

If Schaefer get the deal done, junior featherweight titlist Leo Santa Cruz (26-0-1, 15 KOs) would defend his belt in a mandatory defense against former two-time junior bantamweight titleholder and Mexican countryman Cristian Mijares.(49-7-2, 24 KOs), who has won two fights in a row since losing a split decision to Victor Terrazas for a vacant title in April. Santa Cruz then knocked out Terrazas in the third round in his first defense to win the title on Aug. 24.

Schaefer is also hoping to finalize a pair of lightweight bouts. In one fight, interim titlist Omar Figueroa (22-0-1, 17 KOs) would make his first defense against Ricardo Alvarez (23-2-3, 14 KOs), Canelo’s older brother.

Figueroa won the vacant interim belt in July by outpointing Nihito Arakawa (24-3-1, 16 KOs) in a savage fight of the year candidate and has not fought since. Neither has Japan’s Arawaka, who would return to face former junior lightweight and featherweight titlist Jorge Linares (35-3, 23 KOs) — a Venezuelan who lives in Japan — in the opener of the pay-per-view.

“When they have these infomercials on TV and you are ready to dial the phone and buy the product, I want this card to be an infomercial for the sport of boxing,” Schaefer said. “You announce the main and people get excited. But you say, ‘But wait, there’s more.’ I don’t have all three of these fights done yet, but I am working to get them done.

“It’s one of those cards where you can be proud of putting it on because you know when people turn on the TV you know they are going to be entertained.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former world champion Robert Guerrero has taken the legal steps to get out of his contract with Golden Boy Promotions.

“What his issues are, I can’t tell you. You’d have to ask him,” Golden Boy Promotions chief executive Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com on Wednesday. “We have totally complied with our contract with regard to the minimum purses and the number of fights, so I don’t know what they are basing this on.”

“Robert wouldn’t have authorized the arbitration if he was happy with Golden Boy,” Bruce Zabarauskas, Guerrero’s attorney, told ESPN.com, declining to go into the particulars of why Guerrero was unhappy.

“The contract was not signed under California law, it was done under New York law, so you can’t have the California commission rule on a New York promotional contract,” Schaefer said. “Most of our promotional agreements are governed by New York law because that is where most of our sponsor deals and television deals are also governed, and we want to have consistency. Guerrero agreed to have his contract under New York law, and he was legally represented when he signed it.”

Zabarauskas disputed Schaefer’s view of the California commission’s jurisdiction.

“You have a California fighter and a California promoter,” he said of Guerrero, who is from Gilroy, Calif., and Golden Boy, which is based in Los Angeles. “If you buy Golden Boy’s position, they can evade California commission rules whenever they want.”

“He made a career-high payday last year and we put him in with Andre Berto in a big fight before that,” Schaefer said. “We gave him the exposure he wanted and he made a lot of money. I’m proud of how we have promoted Robert Guerrero and of the money we have made for him.

“The guy was on my ass to get him the Mayweather fight for a long time. Finally, I get him the deal and now he is unhappy. I don’t understand.”

“They insisted on the extension or they wouldn’t give him the Mayweather fight,” Zabarauskas said.

“If Robert wants to fight, we have a fight for him. We have lots of fights for him,” Schaefer said, ticking off the numerous name fighters he promotes in and around Guerrero’s 147-pound weight class, including titleholders Shawn Porter and Marcos Maidana, Thurman and former titleholders Adrien Broner, Paulie Malignaggi and Victor Ortiz as well as junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia. “There are more. The list goes on and on. Robert turned down a couple of fights, but I am just going to let this play out and deal with it. We have to wait to hear from California if there is a hearing or not. In the meantime, we will keep offering him fights.”

“They made us one offer for one fight (with Thurman) that didn’t comply with our agreement,” he said.

“I’m going to have to have a serious word with Floyd,” Schaefer said. “These guys beg me for Mayweather and then I deliver them the fight and they lose, and I guess they blame me. You saw it with Juan Manuel Marquez. I got him the fight with Mayweather and he lost every second of every round. You saw it with (Shane) Mosley, who lost almost every second of every round and you saw it with Guerrero. I don’t know what Floyd is doing to these guys.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, WBA Lightweight champion Richar Abril will defend his title against Edward Troyanovsky in Russia.

“I have a deal with Abril,” Promoter Vlad Hrunov told ESPN.com on Wednesday. “It’s a big fight for our country.” The fight will be Abril’s second bout outside the United States. In 2011, he traveled to Panama and won a unanimous decision against Panama’s Miguel Acosta in a 135-pound interim title bout.

Former IBF Middleweight champion Daniel Geale will take on Garth Wood on February 19th in Sydney, Australia according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“I’m glad Daniel is fighting as he needs to stay busy,” said Geale’s promoter Gary Shaw.

“Wood is a dangerous and risky fight against a wild puncher,” Geale told ESPN.com. “I have been training hard for my comeback fight. I’m not going to take this fight lightly. We needed a fight to keep active, the opportunity arose, and my management arranged it. It will be an interesting fight with different styles.

“I can’t wait to get back in there and pursue my journey to become a world champion again. I believe the plan is to fight GGG sometime in 2014. It would be ideal to be able to take a title to the table. We will see what happens.”

“Geale wants to fight GGG in April, and I have spoken to HBO about the fight and all they say is that they are interested, but they are exploring other options,” Shaw said. “What can be a better option than Geale, a true 160-pounder and a former world champion who beat [Felix] Sturm [in a unification fight] on German soil? And even though Daniel did not get the decision in [against Barker] he is willing to come back just to fight GGG.

“What I don’t understand is that after the Barker fight, HBO said they wanted Geale back, and now they have gone silent. I know GGG would fight Geale as [Golovkin’s team] asked if we wanted the fight in Monte Carlo, but Geale wants to fight him on HBO.”

“Daniel has been the best fighter to come out of Australia in 20 years with what he has done, going overseas and beating the champions on their turf,” Wood told the (Sydney) Telegraph, referring to Geale’s two title victories in Germany against Sturm in 2012 and Sebastian Sylvester in ’11.

“And even though Murray being canceled was a disappointment, I believe everything happens for a reason and it has led me to this, my biggest fight by far, and deservedly so.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com. Yenifel Vicente will fight Jose Angel Rodriguez this Friday night on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights.

Rodriguez was originally supposed to fight 130-pound contender Arash Usmanee in the 10-round main event at the Emerald Queen Hotel & Casino in Tacoma, Wash. However, Usmanee suffered an ankle injury and withdrew from the fight on Sunday, leaving promoter Greg Cohen and the network scrambling for a replacement opponent.

It is a new year and 15rounds.com has a new official round card girl adorning the top of its homepage in the lovely Ndia Sky.

Ms. Sky made her round card debut at “Showdown at the Fairgrounds” last July 20th at the Placer County Fair & Events Center in Roseville, California. Having made just as indelible of an impression on the fight crowd as some of the fighters on the card, Ms. Sky was brought back by the promoters for “Showdown at the Fairgrounds II” last October.

“Being a round card girl gets my adrenaline going,” says Ms. Sky. “I love the atmosphere at a boxing event. I like to see the excitement in the individuals in the crowd as I walk the ring, holding the card.”

Now counting a rapidly increasing number of boxing fans among the nearly 1,500 followers of her Facebook page and nearly 8,000 followers on Instagram, Ms. Sky hopes to one day show fans what round it is at a major network or pay-per-view boxing event.

“I like using my energy to hype the crowd,” explains Ms. Sky. “I also enjoy taking photographs with the fans before and after the events. There is nothing like being front row at a fight.”

For booking or more information, follow Ndia Sky on Facebook at Facebook.com/ndiasky or on Instagram at Instagram.com/ndiasky

Photos by Jason Pachura

Arash Usmanee injured his ankle and will not be able to fight Juan Antonio Rodriguez this Friday night as part of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

Jr. welterweight Zahir Raheem (34-3, 21 KOs) squaring off with Bayan Jargal (17-4-3, 11 KOs) in a scheduled 10-round bout is the co-feature.

There is a chance that undefeated Heavyweight Lateef Kayode could see action in a new man event bout.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Light Heavyweight Thomas Oosthuizen is injured and will not fight Eleider Alvarez and was also dropped by his promoted Rodney Berman.

“He’s done,” Berman said. “He’s had so many chances and blown every one. Golden Gloves is the promoter of champions, of men of credibility, good standing and dignity. Tommy has let us all down. Fighters are meant to be role models, but he’s fallen very short.”

Jorge Lara remained undefeated with a 10 round majority decision over Jairo Hernandez in a Super Bantamweight fight.

Scores were 97-96, 96-94 and 95-95 for Lara who is now 25-0-1. Hernandez is now 10-5.

Horacio Garcia scored a 2nd round stoppage over Cesar Saucedo in a Light Fkyweight bout.

Garcia dropped Saucedo in both round’s one and two and the fight was stopped.

Garcia is now 24-0 with 16 knockouts. Saucedo is now 3-2.

Rances Barthelemy won the IBF Jr. Lightweight title with a controversial 2nd round stoppage over Argenis Mendez at the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN

In round one, Barthelemy buckled Mendez with a hard left that he followed up with a flurry along the ropes. In round two, Barthelemy landed three hard left hooks that sent Mendez to the canvas. Mendez got to his feet and ate a vicious three punch combination that sent Mendez plummeting to the canvas. The deciding blows seemed to come after the bell but the ruling stood as a knockout victory at 2:59 for Barthelemy.

Barthelemy, 129 lbs of Cuba is now 20-0 with 13 knockouts. Mendez, 128 1/2 lbs of Dominican Republic is 21-3-1.

Duran and Caleb Truax battled to a ten round draw in a Super Middleweight bout.

Duran landed more punches as he worked the jab that bloodied the nose in Truax as early as round four. Truax best punching was done by the right hand and the uppercut.

Duram landed 121 of 447 punches as compared to 106 of 678 for Truax.

All three judges scored the fight 95-95.

Duran, 161 1/2 lbs of Paterson, NJ is now 28-11-3. Truax, 163 lbs of Osio, MN is now 23-1-2.

Erickson Lubin scored a one round destruction over Luis Santiago in a scheduled four round Welterweight bout.

Lubin landed a body punch that sent Santiago down for the ten count at 1:01 of round one.

Lubin, 147 lbs is now 2-0 with 2 knockouts. Santiago is 0-1.

avontae Starks scored a knockdown en route to a six round split decision over Limberth Ponce in a Jr. Middleweight bout.

Starks dropped Ponce in round two and coasted to the victory by scores of 57-56 for Ponce and two cards read 57-56 for Starks

Starks, 154 lbs of Minneapolis, is now 8-0. Ponce, 154 1/2 lbs is now 6-1.

Former two division world champion Abner Mares injured a rib during sparring and his February 15th rematch with the man who took his Featherweight title Jhonny Gonzalez will have to be postponed according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“I got a call from directly Abner [on Monday afternoon] and he said that he suffered a rib injury last week in sparring and that he tried to see if he could shake it off but he had to go and see the doctor and that the doctor told him he should not have any contact for several weeks,” said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer. “So that necessitates that we move the date of the fight and it will not happen on Feb. 15.”

Schaefer said that Golden Boy matchmaker Eric Gomez informed Gonzalez’s team of the situation. Schaefer said he also informed Showtime Sports chief Stephen Espinoza.

“I will be working next week with Stephen to see what we want to do,” Schaefer said. “I need to talk to venues and coordinate with Showtime to find a different date. Abner wants this fight and so does Jhonny, so it’s just a matter of finding a different date that works.”

Frank Espinoza, Mares’ manager — and no relations to Showtime’s Espinoza — said Mares was in training camp in Mexico City when he suffered the injury.

“He said that his ribs were very sore and when I reached out to talk to Richard [on Monday], he said there is nothing that we can do as far as rescheduling the fight until next week, after the holiday, when the Showtime people are back in the office,” Espinoza said. “Of course, Abner is disappointed. He was ready to go in and win the world title again.

“This is boxing and accidents happen in sparring. Unfortunately, he got hurt. So now we will wait and talk to Golden Boy about a new date.”

WBO Lightweight champion Ricky Burns will defend his title against top contender Terrence Crawford on March 1st in Glasgow, Scotland according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“I hope Burns is ready to walk to hell and back,” Crawford said. “I’m going to fight with all my heart. I have the determination and the skill to win the world title and bring it home.”

Added Top Rank’s Bob Arum, Crawford’s promoter, “We believe Terence Crawford is ready to win the title and take it home to Omaha.”

“I have a point to prove [against Crawford]. I’ve had two bad performances. We’ve made a few changes and some adjustments,” Burns said. “We’re going to be doing things differently, and fingers crossed that we see a new Ricky Burns on March 1. As soon as the jaw injury happened against Beltran I went into survival mode. Everybody knew that something was wrong, even if they didn’t know exactly what it was.

“When the final bell went, I wasn’t caring about the decision. I just knew that I had done damage. The first couple of months after the operation were a nightmare. They told me to watch what I was eating and I could hardly open my mouth. I couldn’t speak.”

Although many will pick the younger, faster, fresher Crawford to win, Burns, who will be making his fifth title defense, is confident.

“Everybody is writing me off again with Terence but that doesn’t bother me,” said Burns, 30, a former junior lightweight titlist. “I like being the underdog and I can’t wait to get back out there again in front of another great Glasgow crowd.”

“This is a must-win fight for Ricky and perhaps the toughest of his incredible career,” said Matchroom Promotions Eddie Hearn. “Ricky is more determined than I’ve ever seen him, and to have that frame after the injury that he suffered during the Beltran fight is testament to the type of character and fighter he is.

“Crawford is hot property in the States but we managed to bring him here, out of his comfort zone. And right now Ricky needs the people of Scotland behind him more than ever. March 1 will be a special night at the SECC, the latest chapter of the remarkable Ricky Burns story.”

Chris Weidman 184 vs. Anderson Silva 185
(for middleweight title)
Ronda Rousey 135 vs. Miesha Tate 135
(for women’s bantamweight title)
Josh Barnett 252 vs. Travis Browne 242
Jim Miller 156 vs. Fabricio Camoes 156
Diego Brandao 153 vs. Dustin Poirier 146
Estevan Payan 145.5 vs. Robert Peralta 145.5
Jim Miller vs. Fabricio Camoes
William Macario 171 vs. Bobby Voelker 171
Siyar Bahadurzada 171 vs. John Howard 171
Dennis Siver 145 vs. Manvel Gamburyan 146
Gleison Tibau 156 vs. Michael Johnson 156
Uriah Hall 185 vs. Chris Leben 185.5

Brandao 7 pounds over

Former Featherweight title holder Chris John announced his retirement in Indonesia.

“Now that I have achieved more than I have ever dreamt of in my career, I would like to formally announce my retirement,” John said at the ceremony, which took place at the television studios of RCTI, the Indonesian national network that carried his fights. “I would like to give back to the sport of boxing, which has been so good to me and given me and my family a better life, and continue to represent Indonesia as best as I can.

“Most importantly, now I will spend time with my wife and children. The most important title I have held in my life is father.”

“My first defense of my title was against Osamu Sato in Japan. I knew it would be very hard to win against a Japanese in Japan because they are all warriors,” John said. “But I knew I had to represent my people of Indonesia and make them proud. This was a very special moment in my career.”

“My trainer, Craig Christian, he has been like a second father to me,” John said. “His knowledge and wisdom has taught me so much. Every time I fought, I feel like he is in the ring with me. From Craig I learned my three D’s — dedication, discipline and determination. Sampson Lewkowicz, from Las Vegas, he has guided my career, and I cannot thank him enough. Craig gave him the name ‘Picasso’ because in boxing he is a legendary artist.”

“I was 20 years old, fighting Muhammad Alfaridzi at the Indosiar Studio in Jakarta in July 1999. It was for [the Indonesian] national featherweight title,” John said. “I was knocked down two times in Round 1 and I had my nose broken in Round 1, and had massive bleeding. But I would never let this opportunity pass. As my father taught me, success is when opportunity meets preparation, and I was well prepared, and in the 12th round, I knew I had the opportunity for the KO and had no [other] option because so much blood was coming from my nose.”

“I did my best to attempt to equal the record of 19 WBA world featherweight title defenses but lost,” John said. “But that’s boxing. You cannot win all the time.

“Vetyeka is a good boxer, and give him full credit for the win. He deserves it. But I could no longer make the featherweight limit, and it was the toughest challenge of my career just to make the weight to be able to defend my title.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Bermane Stiverne will meet Chris Arreola for the WBC Heavyweight title that was vacated by Vitali Klitschko earlier this week.

Stiverne already scored a unanimous decision over Arreola on April 27.

“Here we are. We got the order from the WBC to fight Arreola for the vacant title. It’s a fight we will happily do,” said Stiverne’s manager Cam Estephan told ESPN.com. “We would have hoped to take the belt from Vitali but this was not something in our control. I respect what he is trying to do in the political arena. Now we are facing a guy we already beat. We’re looking to do it again.

“We feel like Bermane dominated the fight with Arreola in April. But we do have a lot of respect for Arreola and his team, so we take nothing for granted. We will be diligent and put more of an exclamation point on things and send Wladimir Klitschko a message as well. His brother didn’t want to fight Bermane, so when we’re done with Arreola, let’s do it and unify all the titles.”

“I know there were a lot of questions about Don King and the relationship with Bermane,” Estephan said. “We have come to a very good agreement that everybody is happy with this past Tuesday. We are gonna do things together and hopefully bring the heavyweight division back to North America. We have a good agreement with Don King and we feel like we’re a strong team.”

“I know there were a lot of questions about Don King and the relationship with Bermane,” Estephan said. “We have come to a very good agreement that everybody is happy with this past Tuesday. We are gonna do things together and hopefully bring the heavyweight division back to North America. We have a good agreement with Don King and we feel like we’re a strong team.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, WBC Heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko will vacate his title to concentrate on his political career in the Ukraine.

“I want to thank the WBC and its president, Don Jose Sulaiman, for the support in our fight for democracy and freedom in Ukraine,” Klitschko said. “It was and is a great honor to hold the WBC title, and I’ve always done it with pride. The offer of the WBC gives me the theoretical possibility to return to the boxing ring, which I cannot imagine at all to the current state.

“Right now, my full concentration is on politics in Ukraine, and I feel that the people need me there. My brother [and unified heavyweight champion] Wladimir will ensure more sporting success and I will, as always, support him as much as he currently supports me in my political fight.”

This is the second time in his career that Vitali Klitschko has been designated as a “champion emeritus.”

“Vitali Klitschko is fighting the fight of his life, this time outside the ring,” said WBC executive secretary Mauricio Sulaiman, son of the ill Jose Sulaiman. “Vitali is showing to the world what is the true heart of a champion by leading his countrymen to battle in the streets in their search of human equality, rights and peace for the great country of the Ukraine.

“With the current extreme and delicate political situation in the Ukraine, Vitali has answered his country’s call to fight for human rights and equality. Accordingly, Vitali will not be able to provide the WBC with a predictable time frame to return to the ring. In light of those considerations, the WBC voted unanimously to name Vitali Klitschko WBC heavyweight champion emeritus. Very few great fighters have received such an honorable distinction, which will entitle Vitali to fight for the WBC heavyweight world championship when he is ready to return to the ring. … We all wish him great success in his political career.”

SAN ANTONIO – Adrien Broner calls himself The Problem because he thought he’d never have one. Marcos Maidana proved just how wrong he was.

Maidana was his problem, again and again, throughout 12 surprising rounds Saturday night at the Alamodome. In the end, Broner was left with multiple problems. But let’s start with the biggie. Broner, a big betting favorite, lost for the first time.

But, it turns out, Broner had an edge in only flamboyance. All of the other advantages belonged to Maidana. The Argentine’s power, resilience and nasty grit were just too much for Broner, who entered the ring with About Billions spelled out in gold sequins on the back of his robe and trunks. He left looking like a broken man. There were no billions in his loss to Maidana. There wasn’t even a single scorecard in his favor.

The judges were unanimous for Maidana. Laurence Cole scored it 117-109, Nelson Vazquez had it 116-109 and Stanley Christodoulou 116-110, all for the heavy-handed Argentine.

Maidana re-defined those AB initials on the front of Broner’s robe. They could have meant Approaching Bankruptcy in this stunning bout, Broner’s second and perhaps last attempt at welterweight.

“I showed I had a lot of heart,’’ Maidana said.

Actually, Maidana showed a lot more than that. He fought with urgency, almost as if he knew this was his career’s last chance in an arena named for a one history’s famous last stands. Maidana (35-3, 31 KOs) made an immediate statement, stunning Broner (27-1, 22 KOs) with a left hook against the ropes.

That left hand punctuated the fight early, midway and in the end. It knocked down Broner in the second and again in the eighth. It was always there, slowing down Broner just as though it looked as if he were about to dictate the pace and perhaps the result. Broner raced to his dressing room without facing the media. His only quote came through a spokesperson. He asked for another chance.

“I’ll tell you one thing, I want a rematch,’’ Broner said through the spokesperson. “I don’t want a warm-up fight. I want a rematch.’’

Maidana had no problem with that request.

“Sure, I’ll do a rematch,’’ said Maidana, who never seemed bothered by the power shots thrown by Broner, a former lightweight and maybe a future one.

Maidana spoke with confidence that he could repeat a victory that included some rough moments. In the eighth, Maidana was penalized one point after dropping Broner to his knees. The penalty was for an infraction that looked to be an elbow and/or head butt to Broner’s chin. It left Broner rolling around in the canvas in apparent pain. There was also a look of anguish, if not self-doubt. It almost appeared that Broner wondered what he had gotten himself in to.

“It was a dirty fight,’’ Maidana said. “I had to get dirty.’’

He had to be The Real Problem.

The Best of the Undercard

· Florida welterweight Keith Thurman calls himself One Time. It’s etched across the belt of his trunks. It’s supposed to be a promise. It’s what he intends to do to the other guy. One time early in the first round, however, it almost happened to Thurman (22-0, 19 KOs). Jesus Soto Karass (28-9-3, 18 KOs), Antonio Margarito’s old sparring partner, hurt him with a winging right. Thurman was quick to recover, landed a left for a knockdown in the sixth and went on to win by a wicked stoppage at 2:21 of the ninth. Soto Karass dropped his hands after he was rocked by a left from Thurman, who followed with three successive punches – two lefts and a right.

· If there’s a sure sign of Leo Santa Cruz’ imminent stardom, it’s in the margins. It’s not if he wins. It’s how. Santa Cruz (26-0-1, 15 KOs) wasn’t happy with his unanimous decision over Puerto Rican Cesar Seda (25-2, 17 KOs). “I wanted to give the fans of San Antonio a better fight,’’ said the Los Angeles super-bantamweight, who retained his acronym-sanctioned version of the title. In the fifth, Santa Cruz knocked down Seda, who argued that he was robbed. But even the knockdown wasn’t enough for Santa Cruz, his own worst critic and a good bet to improve.

· Beibut Shumenov looks awkward. Looks slow. But don’t let looks fool you. His power is real. Shumenov 14-1, 9 KOs), another Kazakhstani with a big punch, knocked down Tamas Kovacs (23-1, 14 KOs) once in the first round, again in the second and finished the Slovakian by TKO at 2:55 of the third. In his first fight in a year-and-a-half, Shumenov kept his acronym-sanctioned light-heavyweight belt and maybe moved to the front of the line as a possible challenger to Bernard Hopkins, who watched from a ringside seat.

The Controversial

Former super-middleweight champion Jermain Taylor was off TV. Some thought he should been off the card, too. But he wasn’t. Taylor was licensed to fight in his second comeback since suffering a reported brain bleed in a loss to Arthur Abraham in 2009. Taylor (32-4-1, 20 KOs) was never in danger in this one, scoring a fifth-round knockdown en route to a seventh-round TKO of faded J.C. Candelo (32-13-4, 21 KOs) of Houston.
The Rest

· Junior-welterweight Ricardo Alvarez (28-4, 20 KOs) has none of his brother’s red hair, but some of his luck. Alvarez, Canelo’s brother, got a 10-round majority decision – a controversial one, too – over Rod Salka (18-3, 3 KOs) of Bunola, PA.

· In a television opener, Toledo lightweight Robert Easter Jr. (8-0, 8 KOs) scored a first-round knockout by dropping Chilean Hardy Paredes (16-13, 10 KOs) with a paralyzing body shot 2:30 after the opening bell.

· Three-time Olympian Rau’Shee Warren stayed unbeaten as a pro bantamweight with an 8-round, unanimous decision over Mexican Jose Silveria (15-10, 6 KOs). But there’s some discrepancy about Warren’s record. The official program and FightFax listed him at 16-0 with three KOs before opening bell. According to BoxRec, he’s now 9-0, his record since his final amateur bout at the 2012 London Games.

· In a swing bout, lightweight Jamel Herring (6-0, 3 KOs) of Coram, N.Y., probably left Showtime producers scrambling to fill some air time. Herring made making quick work out of Lance Williams (6-3, 6 KOs) of Muscatine, Iowa, scoring a second round TKO in the final second of the second round.

Gamalier Rodriguez scored a eighth round stoppage over Aldimar Dos Santos in a scheduled ten round featherweight bout at Coliseo Roger L. Mendoza in Caguas, Puerto Rico.

Dos Santos was bleeding out of the left ear when the fight was stopped.

Rodriguez, 125 1/4 lbs of Bayamon, PR is now 23-2-3 with 16 knockouts. Dos Santos, 125 1/2 lbs of Sao Paulo, BRA is now 19-6.

Erickson Martell scored a six round unanimous decision over Juan Herrera in a Flyweight bout.

Martell , 112 1/2 lbs of the Dominican Republic is now 12-4-1. Herrera, 112 3/4 lbs of Naguabo, PR is now 9-7.