Recognized Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has been ordered to defend his title against unheralded Alex Leapai according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“I’ve never heard of Alex Leapai until the fight with Boytsov,” Klitschko told ESPN.com. “I think he did a great job to win that fight and become official mandatory for WBO title. I’m looking forward to that challenge from Alex and I’m sure he will give his best in that fight against me.”

“We accept the decision by the WBO,” Boente said of making Leapai the mandatory challenger. “I saw Leapai’s courageous fight against No. 1 and unbeaten Boytsov. He looked strong, can take a punch and had Boytsov twice on the floor. We have no idea about the date and arena. First we have to discuss with Leapai’s management.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the November 23rd bout between Manny Pacquiao – and Brandon Rios did about 500,000 buys on Pay Per View.

“The numbers are coming in like we expected,” sais Top Rank’s Bob Arum Arum. “There was a little delay because of Thanksgiving, but it will be somewhere in the area of 500,000 buys. We ran all our numbers on something a little less than 500,000 but figuring we’d do around 500,000, and that’s what we’re going to wind up doing. It means 490,000 or 510,000, something like that.”

“It’s very, very difficult when you’re not doing the fight in the United States,” Arum said. “But the deal we structured with (the Venetian Macao, the host casino) was to make up for that.

“The [pay-per-view] industry told us when you do an event that far away you can expect to do maybe 30 percent of what you would ordinarily do on the fight. We did a lot better. We performed better than that, so I think it was a big success. We had a huge audience on television in China.”

“We’ll have Manny fighting back in the United States with Zou Shiming on the undercard and do a pay-per-view in China, where it will be on Sunday morning,” Arum said.

As for Pacquiao’s opponent in April, Arum said there are three names under consideration: a fifth fight with Marquez, a rematch with welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley (who claimed a highly controversial split decision against Pacquiao in June 2012), and newly crowned junior welterweight titlist Ruslan Provodnikov of Russia.

“It’ll be one of those guys,” Arum said. “We’re gonna get it done sometime this month I hope. I want to start promoting it. What we’re hoping to do is get Manny over here in January to do press conferences for the fight and also to do rallies in places like Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C., for relief for the victims of the typhoon in the Philippines.”

Three of the most popular fighters of the past decade, Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad and Joe Calzaghe will highlight the 2014 Hall of Fame class that will be enshrined in Canastota, New York on June 8th.

“I am honored and appreciative to be chosen for the International Boxing Hall of Fame’s Class of 2014 and I thank everyone who has been a part of this journey with me,” said De La Hoya, who has struggled with substance abuse issues during retirement but also founded Golden Boy Promotions, one of the leading promotional companies in the world.

“This is the dream of everyone who puts on a pair of gloves and steps between the ropes, and through the good and the bad, you always hope that when all is said and done, you put on good fights, entertained the fans and will be remembered for what you did in the ring. To know that I will be in the Hall of Fame with the greats of this sport is humbling, but it’s also put a smile on my face that isn’t coming off anytime soon.”

“This is tremendous news. I’ve spent many years in boxing, and I am very happy,” Trinidad said. “This is a great honor for me, my father [and trainer, Felix Trinidad Sr.], my family and my whole team. I’m extremely happy to be inducted with all the Puerto Rican boxers already in the Hall of Fame. This is the biggest triumph in my career.”

“I’m so excited. I’m very proud and humbled,” Calzaghe said. “I think it’s amazing to be inducted. This is a massive, massive honor, just fantastic. To receive this honor and be up there with all the legends is the ultimate honor for me. I’m so happy right now, and I can’t wait to come to Canastota.”

They will be enshrined June 8 during the 25th annual inductions ceremony at the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y. Also elected were British promoter Barry Hearn and referee Richard Steele in the nonparticipant category, journalist Graham Houston and photographer Neil Leifer in the observer category, George Chaney, Charles Ledoux and Mike O’Dowd in the old-timers category and Tom Allen in the pioneer category.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former IBF Jr. Middleweight champion Cornelius Bundrage will meet Joey Hernandez in an elimination bout on January 24th.

“The fight is all signed, sealed and delivered. Both guys signed their contracts,” Gomez said. “K9 really wants another title shot and Hernandez is a very hungry fighter, so I think it should be a good fight. It’s a very important fight for both guys.”

The bout will take place at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif., as part of a “Golden Boy Live” card (Fox Sports 1), although Gomez said it has not yet determined if the bout would be part of the telecast.

“That purse bid was crazy, but this fight is more for the opportunity than the purse,” Bundrage said at the time. “But I will beat Joey Hernandez and then go get my belt back.”

Adonis Stevenson retained the WBC Light Heavyweight title with a sixth round stoppage of mandatory contender Tony Bellew at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City, Canada.

In round six, Stevenson dropped Bellew with a perfect left hand. Stevenson then landed two more crunching lefts that snapped the head of Bellew back violently and referee Michael Griffin stopped the bout at 1:50 of round six.

Stevenson, 174 1/2 lbs of Montreal is now 23-1 with 21 knockouts. Bellew, 175 lbs of Liverpool, ENG is now 20-2-1.

Sergey Kovalev retained the WBO Light Heavyweight with a two round destruction of Ismayl Sillakh.

After a good boxing 1st round by both, Kovalev dropped Sillakh just seconds into the second round with a hard right hand. Sillakh was clearly hurt but ate a devastating three punch combination that decked Sillakh on hos side and the fight was stopped at 52 seconds of round two

Kovalev of Fort Lauderdale, FL is now 23-0-1 with 21 knockouts. Sillakh, 174 1/2 lbs of Simi Valley, CA is now 21-2.

Nate Diaz destroyed Gray Maynard in round one of their Lightweight bout at the Mandalay Bay In Las Vegas.

Diaz continuously pounded Maynard in the face with about 15 vicious shots, bloodying the nose of Maynard in the process and the fight was stopped at 2:38 of round one.

Diaz, 156 lbs of Stockton, CA is now 18-9. Maynard, 156 lbs of Santa Cruz, CA is now 12-4-1-1.

Juliana Pena captured the Ultimate Fighter 18 women’s title with a 1st round stoppage over Jessica Rakoczy in a Bantmweight bout.

Pena pounded out Rakoczy on the ground until the fight was stopped at 4:59 of round one.

Pena, 134 lbs of Spokane, WA is now 6-2. Rakoczy, 132 lbs of Las Vegas is now 2-4-1.

Chris Holdsworth submitted Davey Grant to win the Ultimate Fighter 18 championship in round two of their Bantamweight bout.

Holdsworth submitted Grant with a rear naked choke at 2:10 of round two.

Holdworth, 136 lbs is now 6-0. Grant 135 lbs of England is now 9-1.

Jessamyn Duke scored a three round unanimous Patty Morgan in a bantamweight bout.

Duke, 136 lbs of Glendale, CA won by scores of 30-27 on all cards and is now 3-0-1. Morgan, 136 lbs of Arlington, MA is now 2-1.

Raquel Pennington scored a three round unanimous decision over Roxanne Moddaferi in a Bantamweight bout.

Pennington almost choked out Moddaferi in the last minute of the bout. Scores were 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 for Pennington, 135 lbs of Colorado Springs, CO and is now 4-4. Moddaferri, 134 lbs of Las Vegas, NV is now 15-11.

Akira Corassani scored a 1st round disqualification victory over Maximo Blanco in a Featherweight bout.

Blanco hit Cirassani with a knee to the nose while Corassani was on the canvas at 25 seconds into the 1st round.

Corassani, 146 lbs of New York, NY is 14-4. Blanco, 146 lbs of Tokyo, JAP is now 9-5-1-1.

Tom Ninimaki scored a 3 round split decision over Rami Yahya in a Featherweight bout.

Ninimaki, 145 lbs of Finland won two cards 30-27 and 29-28 while Yahya, 146 lbs of Basillia, BRA won a card 29-28.

Ninimaki is now 21-5-1. Yahyah is now 19=8.

Jared Roshalt scored 3 round unanimous decision over Walt Harris in a Heavyweight bout.

Scores were 29-28 on all cards for Roshalt, 240 lbs of Arlington, TX and is now 9-1. Harris, 244 lbs of Coconut Creek FL is now 6-2.

Shawn Spencer scored a three round unanimous decision over Drew Dover. All scores were 30-27.

Former Light Heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver scored a 4th round stoppage over Mike Sheppard in a scheduled 10 round Heavyweight bout at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida.

In round four, Tarver landed a big left uppercut that plummeted Sheppard on the canvas. Tarver jumped on Sheppard and dropped him a second time from a flurry of punches. Sheppard was buckled from a right hook and dropped three punches later and the fight was stopped at 1:33.

Tarver, 221 lbs of Orlando, FL is now 30-6 with 21 knokouts. Sheppard, 227 3/4 lbs of Elizabeth, WV is now 21-16-1.

Randy Caballero remained undefeated by scoring a 7th round stoppage over Jesse Cruz in a scheduled ten round Bantamweight bout.

In round six, Caballero landed a right to the body that sent Cruz to the canvas. Caballero continued the assault in round seven as he dropped Cruz again from another big flurry of punches. Caballero was relentless with his activity and the fight was stopped at the end of the round. The official time was 2:59.

Caballero, 118 1/2 lbs of Cochella, CA is now 20-0 with 12 knockouts. Cruz, 118 1/2 lbs of Miami is now 10-6-1

Thomas Williams Jr. scored the biggest win of his young and undefeated career as he scored a 10 round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Yusaf Mack in a Light Heavyweight bput.

The two traded heavy shots throughout the exciting slugfest with Williams getting the better of the action as he staggered Mack several times and cut him over the right eye.

Williams, 174 3/4 lbs of Washington, DC won by scores of 99-91, 98-92 and 92-92 and is now 15-0. Mack, 175 lbs of Philadelphia is now 31-7-2.

Manny Pacquiao came back from the devastating knockout of a year ago to Juan Manuel Marquez to score an easy 12 round unanimous decision over former Lightweight champion Brandon Rios at the Cotai Arena at the Venetian in Macau, China.

Pacquiao came out in round one and showed blazing speed with his left hand. Pacquiao continued to pepper Rios with straight left hands and blazing four and five punch combinations that started bleeding around Rios’ left eye in round six.

Pacquiao continued to land ripping punches and rocked Rios several times with flush lead lefts. By the 11th round, Rios right eye was swelling from the effects of the offensive assault of Pacquiao. Pacquiao toed with Rios for much of the fight but Rios was tough as he tried to the very end. Pacquiao looked as good as could be and showed that rest did him well as he cruised to victory to the tune of 120-108, 119-109 and 118-108.

Pacquiao is now 55-5-2. Rios of Oxnard, CA is now 31-2.

Evgeny Gradovich retained the IBF Featherweight title with a 9th round stoppage from the man he won the title from in Billy Dib.

Gradovich dominated the bout as he landed some tremendous hard right hands and systematically beat Dib down. From about round six on, Gradovich started pounding Dib abd scored a knockdown in round six from an overhand right. With Dib’s left closing, Gradovich landed some hard right hands and mixed in uppercuts that lifted the head of Gradovich up to the point where Dib’s trainer Billy Huessein stopped the bout.

Gradovich of Russia is now 18-0 with 9 knockouts. Dib of Australia is now 36-3.

Andy Ruiz scored a stoppage over Tor Hamer after three round of their ten round Heavyweight bout after Hamer did not come out for the fourth round.

After a pretty good first two rounds for Hamer, Ruiz stated to take over as he started landing hard combinations and body shots. Hamer looked spent and decided after three rounds that he had enough.

Ruiz is now 21-0 with 15 knockouts. Hamer of New York is 21-3.

Chinese Olympic hero Zou Shiming scored a six round unanimous decision over Juan Tozcano in a Flyweight bout.

Shiming looked more polished then he did in either of his previous two bouts as he sat down on his punches and landed hard shots. Toscano was cut around the right in round three. Shiming continued to land hard combinations. The fight could have been stopped at any point as he was bloodied, battered and taking a beating but he lasted until the final bell.

Shiming, 111 1/2 lbs of China won by scores of 60-54, 60-54 and 60-52 and is now 3-0. Tozcano, 110 lbs of Esonada, MX is now 4-1.

Felix Verdejo scored a six round unanimous decision over Petchsamuthr Duanaaymukdahan in a six round Lightweight bout.

Verdejo showed early in round one that there was a clear class difference as he fired off shots with both hands. Verdejo landed a booming right hand that started round three and his opponent took it well and came back to fire some shots. Verdejo coasted down the stretch while Duanaaymukdahan had a point deducted a point in the final round for a low blow.

Verdejo of Puerto Rico won by scores of 60-53 on all cards ans is now 9-0. Duanaaymukdahan of Bankok, Thailand is 8-2..

Rex Tso scored a 1st round knockout over Susu Sithjadaeng in a scheduled 6 round Super Flyweight bout.

Rios dropped Sithjadaeng and then landed about 30 unanswered blows before the fight was stopped at 2:29.

Tso, 117 lbs of Hong Kong, CHN is now 11-0 with 7 knockouts. Sithjadaeng, 117 1/2 lbs of Thailand is now 7-4.

Kuok Kun Ng won a four round unanimous decision over You-Jie Zeng in a Jr. Middleweight bout.

Scores were 40-36 on all cards for NG, 151 1/2 lbs of Macau, China is now 2-0. Zeng, 147 1/2 lbs of Bangkok, THI is now 4-5.

Ik Zeng scored a six round majority decision over Hero Tito in a Lightweight bout.

Scores were 6054, 60-54 and 57-57 for Zeng, 137 1/2 lbs of Dalina, China and is now 14-0. Tito, 138 lbs of Milan, Indonesia is now 7-3.

Hermanito De La Torre scored a 3rd round stoppage over Jason Butar Butar in a scheduled 6 round Light bout.

De La Torre landed a big uppercut that was followed by a push but was ruled a knockdown and Butar was down for the 10 count at 1:23 of round three.

De La Torre is now 11-0 with 6 knockouts. Butar Butar is now 15-12-1.

With the help pf referee Howard Foster, Carl Froch was able to retain his WBA/IBF Super Middleweight with a 9th round stoppage over previously undefeated George Groves in Manchester, England.

Groves dominated the early part of the fight as he viciously dropped the champion with a huge right hand. Froch was very wobbly as he stumbled to the ropes just before the end of the 1st round. Groves could not miss Froch with jabs and right hands. The action was furious with guys landing heavy shots that thrilled the 20,000 fans. Groves started to develop a welt under his left eye. That did not bother Groves as he continued to land piston jabs and laser right hands to the face of Froch.

In round nine, the two had a serious exchange with Froch getting the better. Froch landed two hard shots and Groves was attempting to mount offense while being a bit staggered and for some reason referee Howard Foster stopped the bout at 1:33 of the 9th.

Froch is 32-2 with 23 knockouts. Groves is now 19-1.

Scott Quigg retained the WBA Super Bantamweight title with a 2nd round destruction over Diego Silva.

Quigg dropped Silva with a body shot in round two and finished him with a devastating right to the head that plummeted Silva to the canvas and the fight was over at 1:41 of round 2.

Quigg, 121 1/2 lbs is now 27-0-2 with 20 knockouts. Silva, 121 1/4 lbs of Argentina is now 29-3-4.

Former Middleweight world title challenger Andy Lee scored a 2nd round stoppage over Ferenc Haffner in a scheduled six round bout.

Lee Dropped Hafner in the 1st round from a body shot. In round two, Lee dropped Hafner from a right hook to the head and then again from a straight left and the fight was stopped at 1:19 of round 2.

Lee, 163 1/2 lbs is now 31-2 with 22 knockouts. Hafner, 161 3/4 lbs is now 21-5.

Anthony Crolla scored a 6th round stoppage over Stephen Foster Jr in a scheduled 12 round Lightweight bout.

Crolla dominated the action until Foster could not come out for the 7th round.

Crolla is now 134 1/2 lbs is now 27-4-1 with 10 knockouts. Foster Jr., 134 lbs is now 31-5-1.

2012 British Olympian Luke Campbell scored a 4 round decision over Chuck Jones in a Jr. Welterweight bout.

The score by the referee was 40-35 for Campbell, 137 lbs and he is now 4-0. Jones, 142 lbs is 4-13-2.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, injured Heavyweight Magomed Abdusalamov is back on life support after being briefly being taken off it. Abdusalamov was injured during his November 2nd bout with Mike Perez in New York.

“His temperature shot up to 103, so his body wasn’t ready yet (to come out of the coma), so they put him back on life support and (into) the medically induced coma,” Lewkowicz said. “Terrible setback. No clue when they are trying to bring him out again.”

Former Middleweight champion Jermain Taylor will return to the ring on December 14th against JC Candelo in San Antonio according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“Al (Haymon, Taylor’s manager) asked us to put him on the card and we put him on the card,” said Golden Boy Promotions Richard Schaefer, who has a very close relationship with Haymon, told ESPN.com on Tuesday

“This opportunity for Jermain came up so we’ve been training really hard,” Taylor’s trainer Pat Burns told ESPN.com. “He looks fantastic. He’s excited and in great spirits. In the last year the highest he went up to was 177 pounds. As soon as I got here (to Little Rock for training camp) on Oct. 14, he was about 170. After two workouts he was 166, which is absolutely perfect.”

“I think people should be entitled to their own opinion if a fighter should retire or not, but it’s a personal thing and I am not going to go and tell somebody they should retire,” Schaefer said. “Whether Jermain should retire or not, it’s not up to me to decide. Jermain Taylor is not a stupid guy. If he feels he has the necessary tools to compete, and so do the people around him, then let him do that.

“Let him try that and see where it will take him. He’ll have this fight and take it from there. He and his team can make that assessment.”

Former two division world champion David Haye has pulled out his bout with Tyson Fury for the 2nd time, this time for a shoulder injury that required immediate surgery according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

The bout was originally scheduled for September 28th but a cut over Haye’s eye forced a postponement to February 8th.

“I genuinely believed the shoulder injury wasn’t that bad,” Haye said. “But the doctor sent me for a detailed MRI scan and within 24 hours I was told the full extent of the damage. Twenty-four hours after that I was in the operating theater.

“It’s a crushing blow for me. I had big plans for next year and the ultimate goal was to win back the world heavyweight title, something my amazing fans deserve.

“What I didn’t anticipate was that this year would be the unluckiest of my career and that a number of injuries would disrupt my plans so much. Perhaps it just wasn’t meant to be. The boxing gods keep hinting that maybe enough is enough and that it’s time to finally hang up my gloves.”

“The surgery and subsequent results are a bitter pill to swallow because I truly felt I had a lot more to offer and was looking forward to paying back my loyal fans with some great fights in 2014,” Haye said. “But I’ve been boxing for 23 years now, amateur and pro, and this has clearly taken its toll on my body. I can only offer my sincerest apologies to all those fans who have followed me over the years and, like me, wanted to finish on a real high. This wasn’t how I wanted to end 2013.

“If I’m now destined to have won the European championship, the unified world cruiserweight championship and the WBA heavyweight championship of the world, then so be it. I’m proud of these achievements and consider my boxing career a huge success.”

It started at yesterday’s weigh-in when Edwin Rodriguez failed to make weight for his WBA Super Middleweight clash with Andre Ward. Then he and Ward engaged in an ugly fight that saw Ward easily score a twelve round unanimous decision ast the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California.

The fight started out with Rodriguez running across the ring and trying to bully Ward. Ward would have nine of that as he started drilling Rodriguez with pinpoint shots with both hands. Ward was dominating the fight with both hands and featured a hard power jab. In round four, the fight turned ugly as inordinate amount of clutching and grabbing by both men forced referee Jack Reiss to not only pause the bout but take two points away from each man, warn them and suggest that the commission fine both fighters. Reiss also intimated that he was hit by a stray punch.

“We had two highly trained athletes full of adrenalin and emotion,” the veteran referee observed. “I deducted two points from each of them and warned them that the deduction of another point would result in a disqualification. That was done with the intent to produce an exciting, competitive fight all the way to its conclusion. And it did.”

That admonishment seemed to work as the bout picked up a better flow but unfortunately for Rodriguez it was all Ward as he continued to rock Rodriguez with body shots, hard jabs and even an uppercut that hurt Rodriguez in round eleven.

Despite being off 14 months for shoulder surgery, Ward solidified his status among the pound for pound elite bu pounding out the decision by scores of 118-106, 117-107 and 116-108 to raise his perfect mark to 27-0. Rodrigiez or Worcester, MA is now 24-1.

“We knew he would come out and try and bull me,” said Ward, who showed no ill effects from his inactivity following surgery to his right shoulder.

“Instead of trying to win rounds he was looking to land one big shot. He wanted to make it ugly and hope he could land something big. Jack Reiss did a tremendous job keeping the action going.”

“He was putting his head down a little too much,” a frustrated Rodriguez pointed out. “Andre Ward is very tricky, but does not have a lot of power in his right hand. I am just disappointed in my performance. The weight had nothing to do with it. He’s a good fighter. What can I say?”

Former world champion Daniel Ponce De Leon scored a ten round unanimous decision over Joksan Hernandez in a Super Featherweight bout at the Oasis Hotel in Cancun, Mexico.

De Leon landed an over hand left that buckled Hernandez that made Hernandez glove touch the canvas and was ruled a knockdown. The two traded heavy shots after that to finish the round. Hernandez gave a good effort but De Leon landed the more telling blows throughout the bout.

De Leon, 130 lbs of Chihuahua, Mexico is now 45-5. Hernandez, 130 lbs of Ensenada, MX is 23-6-1.

Roberto Manzanarez stopped veteran Alejandro Barrera in round three of their scheduled ten round Lightweight bout.

Barrera scored a knockdown in round. In round two he sent Barrera to the canvas from a left to the head and finished things with a hard left to the body sent crumpled Barrera to the canvas in round three and the bout was stopped.

Manzanarez, 134 1/2 lbs of Los Mochis, MX is now 25-1 with 21 knockouts. Barrera, 135 1/2 lbs of Mexico City is now 22-16.

Juan Pablo Sanchez scored a 5th round stoppage over Raul Hinojosa in a scheduled 10 round Super Featherweight bout.

Sanchez, 130 lbs of Tabasco, MX is now 26-11 with 12 knockouts. Hinojosa, 130 1/4 lbs of Mexico City is now 11-3-1.

Emanuel Medina (5-0, 4 KO’s) scored a 2nd round stoppage over Maximiliano De La Cruz (0-2) in a Welterweight bout.

Donald Cerrone choked out Evan Dunham in the 2nd round of theor Lightweight bout.

Cerrone choked out Dunham at 3:49 of round 2 with the triangle.

Cerrone, 155 lbs is 21-5-1. Dunham, 146 lbs, is 14-5.

Thales Leites scored a three round unanimous decision over Ed Herman in a Middelweight bout.

Leites, 186 lbs of Rio Di Janeanaro, BRA won by scores of 30-27 on all cards and is now 22-4. Herman, 186 lbs of Fort Collins, CO is now 21-9-1.

Rick Story scored a three round unanimous decision over Brian Ebersole in a Welterweight bout.

Scores were 30-27 on all cards for Story, 170 lbs of Vancouver, WA and is now 16-7. Ebersole, 171 lbs of Phuket, Thailand is now 50-16-1.

Erik Perez scored a three round unanimous decision over Edwin Figueroa in a Bantamweight bout.

Perez, 135 lbs of Albuquerque, NM won by scores of 30-27 on all cards and is now 14-5. Figueroa, 135 lbs of mcKinney, TX is now 9-4.

Vyacheslav Glazkov scored a ten round unanimous decision over very late replacement and tough as nails Garrett Wilson in a Heavyweight bout at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.

Wilson took the fight on Wednesday night after Tomasz Adamek had to pull out due to an illness.

Wilson came out firing big hayemakers in round one. Glazkov buckled Wilson in round two with a couple of flush right hands. Round three saw Glazkov continue to land right hands in between the wild attempts of offense from Wilson. Glazkov was cut over his right eye in round three as a result of an accidental headbutt. Glazkov continued to dominate the boxing aspect of the fight. Wilson would fight in spurts and landed a huge uppercut in round seven that rocked Glazkov.

Both guys tried very hard until the final bell with Wilson unsuccessfully trying to land the one equalizing punch.

Glazkov, 222 lbs of Ukraine won by scores of 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93 and is now 16-0-1. Wilson, 204 lbs of Philadelphia was making his Heavyweight debut is now 13-7-1.

Karl Dargan scored a ten round unanimous decision over Michael Brooks in a bout that featured previously undefeated Lightweights.

Dargan controlled the action with his boxing ability where Brooks was lunging in and trying to land the big shot. Brooks started to swell around the right eye in round four but that was never an issue as the fight went on. Dragan focused on the body and landed some nice combinations upstairs. Knowing he was behind, Brooks tried to pick up the pace in the final round and got through with a couple shots. The final round provided a lot of action with Dargan getting the better of the action.

Dargan, 134 lbs of Philadelphia won by scores of 99-91, 99-91 and 98-92 and is now 14-0. Brooks, 134 1/s lbs of Long Island, NY is now 10-1-1.

Super Middleweight Edwin Rodriguez was 2 pounds over the 168 pound weight limit for his Saturday fight with champion Andre Ward in Ontario, California according to Dan Rafel of espn.com

“We’re going to work on [losing the 2 pounds]. I feel pretty good,” Rodriguez said while still at the scale after being overweight. “I’m gonna work on it.”

“I think there’s a chance Edwin might not be able to make this weight again,” Lou DiBella, Rodriguez’s promoter, told ESPN.com. “He couldn’t lose another ounce. He couldn’t even spit.”

For missing weight, the commission fined Rodriguez 20 percent of his career-high $1 million purse. Of the $200,000 fine, half will go to the commission and the remaining $100,000 will be given to Ward, boosting his purse from $1.9 million to $2 million.

As part of a deal made with the Ward camp, Rodriguez is required to reweigh at 9 a.m. PT on Saturday and cannot be heavier than 180 pounds.

“It’s at his peril,” DiBella said.

“I’m greatly disappointed and I’m really annoyed,” DiBella said. “I’m not a hypocrite. I’ve been public about this situation with other fighters and talked about their unprofessionalism, and I’m not going to change my tune because he’s my fighter.

“This is the opportunity of your lifetime, this is everything to this kid and his family, and I’m greatly disappointed. I truly believe in him as a fighter and that he had a chance to do something great, and now he is in a situation where he can’t win the belt, and he has been docked money his family desperately needed, and I have a hard time believing he will be at his best. I have empathy if he simply couldn’t make the weight, but that doesn’t change the annoyance or disappointment or stop me from saying I’m sorry on behalf of his team to Andre Ward, Ward’s team, HBO and to the fans.”

Top Rank has signed 2012 Olympic Silver Medal winner Esquiva Falcao of Brazil according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“We are thrilled that Esquiva has joined Top Rank. He has so much talent and we look forward to letting that talent shine on an international stage,” Top Rank president Todd duBoef said. “Brazil boasts a robust media market and a rabid fan base. There is a reason why Brazil is hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. We look forward to using those platforms in promoting Esquiva.”

Lightweight beltholder Yuriorkis Gamboa was arrested Wednesday on a Domestic Violence charge according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“There’s an allegation that was sufficient enough to get him arrested, but we’re not ready to make any statement yet,” Gamboa’s attorney Tony Gonzalez told ESPN.com. “This is recent and unexpected. It’s two misdemeanor counts, not felony charges. We’re going to deal with. I haven’t had a chance to talk to (Gamboa) yet in any detail, only briefly when we were at the courthouse.

“Until we get a little further along and see what’s going on we have no comment on it. We’ll deal with it. If there’s any light at the end of the tunnel it’s that we’re dealing with misdemeanor charges. I’m not downplaying misdemeanor charges. Anything like this is serious, but there’s two sides to every story.”

“It is the second time, but the first time there was no conviction, just allegations,” Gonzalez said.

“Hopefully, we can put this situation behind us and ’50’ can get things worked out for the fight with Garcia and Gamboa can fight him in January,” Gonzalez said.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, injured Heavyweight Magomed Abdusalamov is expected to survive after being placed in a coma following his loss to Mike Perez on November 2nd in New York.

“A week ago, the doctors thought he was not going to make it, that he would not survive. They said they were 100 percent sure he would not make it,” said Nathan Lewkowicz of Sampson Boxing. “Now they think it has turned around. They say he is going to make it now. They have seen progress with his motor skills from the tests they have been doing.

“The words out of their mouth after the surgery were, ‘We don’t think he’s going to make it.’ They said that to the family. Now, based on how he’s progressed in these different tests, they changed their view. From what the doctor is saying the brain swelling has subsided.”

“They think they will try to wake him up in two or three days and see how he reacts,” Lewkowicz said. “We don’t know if his speech will be slurred or if he will be blind, which are major possibilities. The stroke could hinder some of his motor skills. He might not be able to speak well. He might be blind. The best we hope for is that he can lead a normal life.”

“They did a test by pinching his arm and he was smacking the doctor’s hand away, showing his motor skills are coming back. They weren’t expecting that,” Lewkowicz said. “It’s amazing progress. It’s good news. He’s still young, only 32, and was in good health before what happened. So that is very helpful.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former world champion Jorge Arce will fight Jose Carmona in a Featherweight bout this Saturday night in Mexico.

“It took me a long time to analyze the situation,” Arce said. “I feel that my body is still responding well and with the support of my family and my promoter [Zanfer’s Fernando Beltran], I have decided to give it one more chance.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, undefeated Lamar Russ will step in for the injured Willie Nelson and face former world title challenger Matthew Macklin on December 7th in Atlantic City on HBO.

“This is a huge step up for the kid [Russ] but he really wants the opportunity,” said Lou DiBella, who promotes Russ and Macklin. “I think it’s a huge step up for Lamar, but he’s a terrific prospect and obviously we’ll see if he is ready for this kind of fight. He’s certainly a good young fighter. He doesn’t have the experience or the seasoning that Matt has, but he’s talented and he’s new blood in the division, and I know he will try. Matt welcomed the challenge and was willing to fight him. He knows he is fighting a hungry fighter.”

“I give Macklin respect for taking Russ, an unknown but hungry guy,” DiBella said. “And you have to respect Russ to taking this huge step up because he wants to fight on HBO. I give [Russ manager] Egis Klimas major props also for taking the fight. His attitude is that fighters fight and if you’re offered an opportunity you take it, because the worst that happens is you do your best and can’t pull it off. If Russ performs well, even if he loses, with only 14 fights, it won’t hurt him.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Willie Nelson is out of his December 7th bout with Matthew Macklin due to an elbow injury.

“Darnell Boone tied him up and Willie heard a pop in his elbow,” said Lou DiBella, who promoted bith Nelson and Macklin. “We got verification over the weekend that he has the tear and can’t fight Macklin. Willie is probably going to be out for about four months. He probably won’t be able to fight until about mid-March.”

“Willie is very upset,” DiBella said. “He was prepared and he was psyched for this fight with Matt. But at least it wasn’t a total tear or a career-threatening injury. He’s upset but there’s nothing he can do about it, and he knows it could have been a lot worse. He had a sense as soon as he heard the pop that there was something wrong. So we’ll find a replacement to fight Macklin.”

Another opponent HBO suggested — whom Macklin and DiBella accepted — was Max Bursak (28-1-1, 12 KOs) of Ukraine.

“We tried to make that fight, which was HBO’s idea,” DiBella said. “But Bursak’s trainer vetoed the fight because it was on too short notice, so we’re working on another opponent.”

Fidel Maldonado scored a seventh round stoppage over Luis Ramos in a scheduled ten round Jr. Welterweight bout at Cowboys Dance Hall in San Antonio, Texas.

The fight started with fireworks as the two came out swinging ferociously with Maldonado getting the better of the exchange as he opened up a cut over the left eye of Ramos. Maldonado dominated most of the action going forward. The action slowed up for a few round until Maldonado dropped Ramos twice in round six. the fight could have been stopped right there but Ramos was able to fight on. It would not be much longer as Maldonado scored a knockdown early in round seven and the fight was stopped at 17 seconds of round seven

Maldonado, 140 lbs of Albuquerque, NM is now 17-2 with 14 knockouts. Ramos, 139 3/4 lbs of Big Bear, CA is now 23-2.

Former world title challenger Fernando Guerrero scored a razor thin ten round unanimous decision over Raymond Gatica.

In round one, Gatica landed a big left that sent Guerrero to the canvas. Guerrero started to box well over the middle rounds. Gatica continued to pressure Guerrero. In round eight, Guerrero was rocked by hard left hand and then he ate about six hard shots on the ropes. In round ten, Gatica landed a big left that rocked Guerrero again that almost had Guerrero on the canvas. Guerrero came back with a nice right. Gatica was bleeding from the mouth as the fight finished.

Guerrero, 162 1/2 lbs of Sailsbury, MD won by scores of 96-93 on all cards and is now 26-2. Gatica, 160 lbs of Austin, TX is now 13-2.

2012 U.S. Olympian Terrell Gausha scored a one punch knockout over Andres Calixto in the first round of their scheduled eight round Middleweight bout.

Gausha landed a hard right hand behind a short jab that bounced off the top of Calixto’s head and sent him down on his stomach for the ten count at 1:50 of round one.

Gausha, 158 lbs of Cleveland, OH is now 7-0 with 5 knockouts. Calixto, 159 3/4 lbs of Delixas, MX is now 12-5.

2012 U.S. Olympian Jose Ramirez obliterated Erick Hernandez in just 47 seconds of their scheduled six round Jr. Welterweight bout at West Hills College Golden Eagle Arena in Lemoore, California.

Ramirez landed a perfect left hook that sent Hernandez down for the first time. Just seconds later, Ramirez landed a devastating double left hook to the head that sent Hernandez down under the bottom rope and the fight was stopped.

Ramirez, 142 1/2 lbs of Avenal, CA is now 7-0 with 5 knockouts. Hernandez, 143 1/2 lbs of Cancun, MX is now 4-5-1.

Alejandro Perez scored a 2nd round stoppage over Miguel Zamudio in a scheduled 10 round Super Featherweight bout.

Perez scored a knockdown from a body punch in round two and Zamudio could not beat the count of 10 at 1:51 of round two.

Perez, 128 lbs of Salinas, CA is now 19-3-1 with 13 knockouts. Zamudio, 129 lbs of Guasave, MX is now 25-3-1.

Yoshi Fujji and Christian Silva fought to a four round draw in a Featherweight bout.

Scores were 39-37 Silva, 39-37 Fujji and 38-38

Fujji, 123 3/4 lbs of Fresno, CA is now 3-3-2. Silva, 125 1/2 lbs of Sun Valley, CA is now 2-3-1.

Mikey Garcia had to climb off the canvas and come back to score an 8th round stoppage over Roman Martinez and win the WBO Jr. Lightweight championship at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Garcia boxed very well for most of the fight the exception of a brief moment in round 2 when he was caught with a sneaky right hand that sent him to the canvas. That advantage was short lived for Martinez as Garcia started finding a range with his power shots. In round six, a left hook wobbled Martinez. Garcia finished the round landing a nice right hand and a body shot. Garcia continued landing good shots and in round eight he landed a perfect left to the body that sent Martinez down on all fours. he was unable to beat the count and the fight was over at 56 seconds of round eight.

Garcia of Oxnard, CA is now 33-0 with 28 knockouts. Martinez of Puerto Rico is now 27-2-2.

Nonito Donaire made it two for two against Vic Darchinyan as the Filipino Flash had to come from behind to score a ninth round stoppage in their Featherweight bout.

Both guys landed hard shots for the first eight rounds with Darchinyan landing more often and even rocking Donaire, the heavy favorite several times. Finally in round nine, Donaire dropped Darchinyan with a huge left hook. Donaire went in and landed a huge flurry of punches and the fight was stopped at 2:06 of the ninth round. Donaire was down 78-74 on two cards while a 3rd card was even at 76-76.

Donaire is now 32-2 with 21 knockouts. Darchinyan falls to 39-6-1.

Demetrius Andrade won the WBO jr. middleweight championship with a workmanlike split decision over 2004 U.S. Olympian and previously undefeated Vanes Martirosyan.

Andrade of Providence, Rhode Island, is now 20-0 with 13 knockouts and is promoted by Arthur Pelullo’s Banner Promotions and Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing.

Andrade proved early that he had the heart of a champion as he came back from a flash first -round knockdown.

Andrade got off the deck and dominated the rest of the bout as he stuck his hard right jab consistently in
Martirosyan’s face.

Andrade’s best round was the sixth when he hit Martirosyan with repeated power shots that raised swelling around his left eye.

Andrade was never challenged down the stretch as he put on a beautiful boxing exhibition that Martirosyan had no answer for.

According to Compubox Andrade landed 219 of 769 while Martirosyan only managed 83 of 443.

Two judges had Andrade winning by scores of 117-110 and 114-113, While a third judge turned in a dubious card that had Martirosyan ahead 115-112.

“He caught me but I stayed focused,” said Andrade about the knockdown. “I stayed focused and continued to jab and started to pick him apart. I started to feel comfortable inside and won the fight.”

On becoming a world champion, “This feels great and my time is now.”

Said co-promoter Arthur Pelullo, “This is what we envisioned when we signed him. That was to become world champion and he did that tonight. We feel that he is on track to become the best jr. middleweight in the world. Winning this belt puts him in the mix to be able to prove that.”

Hekkie Budler scored a 4th round stoppage over Hugo Hernan Verchelli in the 4th round of their scheduled 12 round Minimumweight title at the Emperors Palace in Kempton Park, South Africa.

Budler dropped Verchelli three times in round four. First from a left hook. The 2nd from a barrage of punches that was finished with a body shot and the third and final from the same combination and the fight was stopped at 2:29 of round four.

Budler, 104 3/4 lbs is now 24-1 with 7 knockouts. Verchelli, 104 1/4 lbs is 11-2.

Thomas Oosthuizen won a 12 round majority decision over Ezequiel Maderna in a Super Middleweight bout.

Oosthuizen fought through a bloody nose to win by scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 114-11-4.

Oosthuizen, 167 3/4 lbs is 22-0-2. Maderna, 168 lbs of Argentina is 20-2.

Adam de Moor scored a 1st round stoppage over Nkosinthi Tshinave in a scheduled eight round Jr. Welterweight bout.

de Moor scored three knockdowns on hard left hands and the fight was stopped at 2:41.

de Moor, 139 1/2 lbs is now 9-1 with 7 knockouts. Tshinave, 138 1/2 lbs is now 15-10-2.

Former UFC Light Heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort stopped Veteran Dan Henderson in the 1st round of their Light Heavyweight bout in Brazil.

Belfort dropped Henderson with left uppercut and Belfort jumped on a fallen Henderson. Henderson was able to get to his feet but was immediately dropped with a kick to the head and the fight was stopped at 1:17 of round one.

Belfort, 204 lbs of Boca Raton, FL is now 24-10. Henderson, 204 lbs of Temecula, CA is now 29-11.

Cezar Mutante Ferreira scored a 3 round split decision over Daniel Sarafian in a Middleweight fight.

Scpres were 30-27 and 30-28 for Ferreira and 29-28 for Sarafian.

Ferreira, 185 lbs is 5-2. Sarafian, 186 lbs is now 9-4.

Omari Akhmedov scored a comeback 1st round stoppage over Thiago Perpetuo in a Middleweight bout.

Perpetuo was landing some hard shots when Akemedov, who was going backwards landed a short left hand that dropped Perpetuo and a follow up barrage had the fight stopped at 3:31 of round one.

Akhmedov, 182 lbs is now 12-0. Perpetuo, 185 lbs is now 9-3-1.

Rafael Feijao scored an explosive 1st round stoppage over Igor Pokrajac in a Light Heavyweight bout.

Feijoa landed six unanswered kicks that was followed by 3 more punches before the fight was stopped at 1:18 of round one.

Feijao, 205 lbs of Rio De Jeinaro, is now 12-4-1. Pokrajac, 204 lbs is now 25-11-1.

Brandon Thatch scored a 1st round stoppage over Paulo Thiago in a Welterweight fight.

Thatch landed a crushing knee to the ribs the crumpled up Thiago and the bout was stopped at 2:10.

Thatch, 170 lbs of Denver, CO is now 11-1. Thiago, 170 lbs of Brasilia, BRA is now 15-6.

Ryan LaFalre scored 3 round unanimous decision over Santiago Ponzinibbio in a Welterweight bout.

Scores were 30-27 on all cards for LaFlarem 171 lbs and is now 9-0. Ponzinibbio, 170 lbs is now 18-2.

Jeremy Stephens scored a vicious 1st round stoppage over Rony Jason in a Featherweight bout.

Stephens landed a perfect kick to the head that knocked out Jason and a follow up punch ended things at 40 seconds of round one.

Stephens, 146 lbs of San Diego, CA is now 22-9. Jason, 146 lbs of Quaxeda Cerra, BRA is now 14-4.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Jamaican featherweight Nicholas Walters calls himself the “Axe Man,” and in the opening round of Saturday’s final off-television fight, Walters showed exactly why, blasting Mexican Alberto Garza with shots square to the belly for whose power Garza appeared wholly unprepared. Those body shots began a performance eclipse for the Mexican that Walters completed soon after.

Jack-knifing a Mexican prizefighter in a title match is no mean feat, and yet Walters (23-0, 19 KOs) turned the trick with nearly every body shot he landed on Garza (25-6-1, 20 KOs), dropping him in round 4 with a punch that was on the belt-line and clean but ruled a low blow, and stopping him with a right cross to the head a few seconds later. The official line went: Walters by knockout at 1:57 of round 4.

Afterwards, an elated Walters made a number of menacing gestures for television’s benefit, all while smiling, and then went to Garza’s corner to check on his devastated opponent. Promoter Bob Arum, too, appeared elated, leaning over the top rope to say about Walters to those gathered at ringside: “He hits hard!”

REST OF UNDERCARD
The penultimate off-television match of the nine-fight card saw Detroit super featherweight Erick De Leon (6-0, 2 KOs) easily decision Phoenix’s Jesus Aguinaga (1-2) by three scores of 40-36.

Saturday’s fourth match featured highly touted Mexican featherweight Oscar Valdez (8-0, 7 KOs) against Floridian Jesus Lule Raya (6-7, 1 KO), a man who did not know what his record did and who slugged-back at Valdez and took the Mexican prospect’s very best shots before succumbing to a Valdez right uppercut at 2:38 of round 5. Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., ringside as part of TV Azteca broadcasting duties, expressed impassioned praise for Valdez, raising his distinctive voice to shout over the din about Valdez’s technique and precision.

Before that came a six-round scrap between undefeated local bantamweight Oscar Cantu (6-0, 1 KO) and undefeated Georgian Roberto Ceron (3-1, 1 KO), two light-hitting prizefighters who nevertheless entertained the American Bank Center crowd with six spirited sets and a knockdown Cantu scored in round 4, en route to unanimous-decision scores of 60-53, 59-54 and 59-54.

The evening’s second bout saw highly touted Mexican welterweight, fighting by way of Oklahoma, Alex “El Cholo” Saucedo (11-0, 8 KOs) beat down Steven Hall (6-5, 6 KOs), a rugged Englishman who has made nearby San Antonio his home while enchanting its boxing fans. From the opening minute it was apparent Hall hadn’t ammunition enough to keep Saucedo at bay, with “El Cholo” turning over fully his every hook and counter, while Hall was only able to soldier on and collect a preordained beating that mercifully ended at 0:11 of round 3.

Before that California featherweight “Vicious” Victor Pasillas (6-0, 3 KOs) stopped overmatched Kentuckian Salvador Perez (2-3-2) with a nifty right-hook counter at 0:30 of round 2.

Opening bell rang on a sparsely occupied American Bank Center at 5:25 PM local time.

Photos by Chris Farina / Top rank

Mikey Garcia 128 3/4 vs. Rocky Martinez 129 3/4
(WBO jr lightweight title)
Nonito Donaire 125 1/4 vs. Vic Darchinyan 125 3/4
Vanes Martirosyan 153 3/4 vs. Demetrius Andrade 153 3/4
(Vacant WBO jr middleweight title)
Nicholas Walters 125 vs. Alberto Garza 125 1/2
(WBA featherweight title)
Oscar Valdez 127 3/4 vs. Jesus Lule 127 3/4
Alex Saucedo 145 1/4 vs. Steve Hall 146
Erick De Leon 129 3/4 vs. Jesus Aguinaga 130 1/4
Oscar Cantu 117 1/2 vs. Roberto Ceron 118 1/4