DENVER – Among boxing’s myriad of adages is the one that says you must beat the champ – meaning beat the champ down – to take his belt. Russian Ruslan “Siberian Rocky” Provodnikov did exactly that to American light welterweight champ “Mile High” Mike Alvarado, stomping into Alvarado’s hometown and breaking his spirit.

Saturday at 1stBank Center, Provodnikov (23-2, 16 KOs) did the previously unthinkable before a soldout crowd of more than 7,000 Coloradoans, all on hand to cheer Alvarado (34-2, 23 KOs), punching the Coloradoan to a point of submission, dropping him twice and making him thrice refuse referee Tony Weeks’ inquiries about fitness to continue after round 10.

“I asked Mike two or three times, ‘Do you want to continue?’” Weeks said afterwards. “And Mike answered each time, ‘No.’”

“That’s how you become a world champion!” an elated Provodnikov said through his translator. “I went to his hometown. It was a tough fight, I knew it was a tough fight. That is now you become a world champion.”

From the very first round, one man’s punches told more than the other’s. Alvarado, who began tight, hands too high, skips too skittish, was moved sideways by Provodnikov’s hooks, even when Alvarado blocked them. Right hands from the Russian appeared to make Alvarado’s face wince before the first 90 seconds were complete.

“He’s the hardest puncher I’ve ever faced,” Alvarado said after being beaten.

Alvarado collected himself and made rounds 2 through 7 considerably more competitive than the first, switching styles almost constantly, from orthodox to southpaw, from uppercut specialist to defensive specialist, dropping his lead hand at times, leaping in with lead uppercuts at others. The boxing approach ultimately did not serve Alvarado.

“It just wasn’t Mike’s night,” said his trainer, Shann Vilhauer. “He was too defensive. He’s been reading his own clips since the (Brandon) Rios fight, thinking he’s this great boxer. This guy was tailor-made for him, but he was too defensive.”

In round 8, what appeared to that point a competitive scrap became a destruction, as Provodnikov’s fully committed punches cracked the façade of Alvarado’s poise. Twice Alvarado went down, waited for Tony Weeks’ count to near 10, touched his own chest then rose to fight on.

But by the 10th round, Alvarado, a large egg-shape swelling his right eye shut, was a broken man, walking at the round’s completion to the wrong corner, having to be fished from across the blue mat by trainer Shann Vilhauer. Referee Weeks went to the corner behind them and confirmed Alvarado had neither the will nor the ability to continue.

“I made him not want to fight me anymore, and that is the best outcome I could think of,” said Provodnikov. “After the eighth round, I just needed to stay calm.

“Mike Alvarado. He’s a real man, a real world champion.”

JUAN DIAZ VS. JUAN SANTIAGO
When Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz is at his best, every round bears a close resemblance to its predecessor. In Saturday’s co-main event, Diaz was at his best.

Making the second appearance in a nascent comeback, Diaz (38-4, 19 KOs) decisioned local lightweight Juan Santiago (14-11-1, 8 KOs) by lopsided unanimous scores of 97-93, 99-91 and 100-90.

“It felt great,” Diaz said of his victory afterwards. “I needed the rounds. It was a good fight.”

Diaz fought in his typical, self-possessed way, never overcommitting to any advantage, never fretting at an eaten punch, focusing on his opponent’s chest, measuring the patterns of his torso, relentlessly punching, regardless of effect. Saturday, though, he did a bit more jabbing than has been his custom.

“I believe that I have one of the best jabs in boxing,” Diaz said. “It’s undiscovered, but I believe tonight it showed.”

Diaz spun his shoulders, every left hook to the body opening the possibility of a right to the head, until Santiago, like so many men before him, lost his effect. For a beaten man, though, Santiago did not fight with reservation – often finishing rounds with a flurry and greeting his local fans with a raised left glove. Nothing Santiago did was enough; he was outclassed from the beginning but did his job, giving Diaz’s continuing comeback, and new jab, a firm chin to slam against.

“When I fight the best guys in boxing, (the jab) will come in handy,” Diaz said.

UNDERCARD
The final non-swing portion of the undercard saw two local welterweights do battle, as Denver’s Daniel Calzada and Longmont’s Carlos Marquez made the sort of entertainingly violent match that can happen when limited local fighters, guys who’ve seen one another round the gyms for years, fight for bragging rights, not titles. Each guy fought without regard for personal safety for all six rounds of a match Calzada won by majority decision: 57-57, 59-55, 58-56.

Accompanied to the ring by his famous uncle Acelino “Popo” Freitas, undefeated Brazilian super featherweight Vitor Jones de Oliveira (1-0-0-1, 1 KO) – and man whom Banner Promotions publicist Marc Abrams says “will transform boxing” – brought early and merciless ruin to local fighter Martin Quezada (2-8, 2 KOs) in Saturday’s fourth fight.

Possibly the best four-round fight in recent Colorado history happened before that, when local super featherweight David Escamilla (3-0, 1 KO) matched up with Mexican Jair Quintero (2-1-1), in a back-and-forth affair that saw each man rocked and winded at various moments of their 12 minutes of combat. Ultimately, the local prizefighter prevailed by three unanimous-decision scores of 39-36, but the match was closer than its scorecards would indicate.

The evening’s second match saw undefeated Puerto Rican super featherweight Starling Cordero (7-0, 3 KOs) race out his corner and race directly through overmatched Mexican Abraham Rubio (3-2-1, 1 KO), stopping him at 1:39 of round 1, after dropping him once and striking him with a large number of uncontested blows.

Saturday began with a heavyweight mismatch between Iowan Donovan Dennis (9-1-0-1, 7 KOs) and Hugo Arceo (3-1-1, 3 KOs), of nearby Boulder, and ended with one too many felled mouthpieces for Arceo, giving Dennis the win by knockout at 2:33 of round 3. Despite being staggered once in the second round, Dennis generally clobbered Arceo, dropping the face-bloodied Coloradoan, and his mouthpiece, numerous times.

Opening bell rang on a sparsely occupied 1stBank Center at 5:28 PM local time.

DENVER – The crowd was over capacity at the weighin, and so was light welterweight “Mile High” Mike Alvarado, the hometown favorite. A little bit of vigilance got the crowd back under capacity, and it worked for Alvarado’s weight too.

Friday at Diego’s Mexican Food & Cantina, a medium-sized eatery in the center of this city, Alvarado (34-1, 23 KOs) and Russian challenger Ruslan Provodnikov (22-2, 15 KOs) each made weight, eventually, for their Saturday title fight at 140 pounds. Provodnikov needed only one try to weigh 139.8. But Alvarado marked 141.1 on his first try, a pound over the contracted weight for their title match, left the restaurant, returned two hours later and marked 139.8.

Vulnerability is an odd thing to express in the leadup to a match considered by those who should know a certain candidate for 2013 fight of the year, one that pits Alvarado, whose match a year ago this week with Brandon Rios led 2012 fight-of-the-year polling till December, and Ruslan Provodnikov, whose March match with welterweight champion Timothy Bradley leads this year’s polling, but vulnerability is the very element both men showed in a recent episode of “Face Off with Max Kellerman” – admitting to fear and consciousness of how much their profession imperils them.

Odder still, this profession of fear, as neither man fights like he is aware there are consequences for collecting another man’s punches to the body and head. Alvarado is athletically gifted as any prizefighter, capable, that is, of employing reflex and coordination to offset other men’s offenses, serving thrice the abuse he collects, but he eschews prudence at most turns, planting instead and trading with men who haven’t another recourse. He did not do this at the beginning of his career, when he was on a short list of his promoter’s favorite prospects, but he does today because he is now 33 years-old, no longer fleet of foot as before, and watching what appear to be few grains of sand in an hourglass before his fighting- and lifestyles do him in.

Provodnikov understands the science of prizefighting, too, and understands them well enough not to employ them when to do so might surely benefit an opponent. Provodnikov figures to be the larger man in Saturday’s match, coming, as he is, down from 147 pounds to contest Alvarado’s light welterweight title.

But Alvarado struggled more mightily to make weight, needing almost exactly the allotted two hours after Friday’s official weighin to come in below 140. It is unlikely weight will affect either fighter; both men looked healthy and good from Friday’s cantina, a venue that was warm with bodies and entirely overstuffed with them as well, causing employees to begin citing fire marshals and capacity restrictions 15 minutes before the first fighters took the scale. Diego’s was long, not wide, and with barely a full door from which celebrities might escape, those unable to maneuver their ways inside had the consolation of HBO’s broadcasting crew and former champions like Juan Diaz and Acelino Freitas forced to pass within arms’ reach, availing themselves to many more photos than likely planned.

Boxing comprises many fights that should entertain but might not, last week’s match between Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez was a timely example, but Saturday’s fight is not one of those. Rather Alvarado-Provodnikov is a rarest spectacle: A fight that cannot help but be excellent before a partisan and boxing-starved crowd.

Doors open at 5:00 PM local time. 15rounds will have full ringside coverage.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, WBA Heavyweight champion Beubut Shumenov will defend his title against Tamas Kovacs on December 14th in Las Vegas as part of the Adrien Broner – Marcos Maidana card.

“Beibut is a very talented and exciting fighter in one of the best divisions of the sport,” said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer. “We have big plans for him and are excited to be working with him and his team.”

Golden Boy Live!Series on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes showcased a number of up and coming prospects. The evening was capped with a main event light middleweight bout where Jermell “Iron Man” Charlo 22-0, 11 KO’s used a late fight surge to overwhelm and stop Jose Angel Rodriguez late in the final round of their televised bout. Charlo the WBC Continental Americas and the NABF light middleweight champion started the bout strong and rocked Jose Angel Rodriguez early in round one to set the tempo, however that tempo was slowed in the mid rounds where Rodriguez seemed to neutralize the attack of Charlo with slick counter punching and feints. The mid rounds were close chess match style rounds that slightly favored Charlo. At the end of Round 5 the action picked up when Charlo landed a few nice straight punches and caught Rodriguez against the ropes, Charlo failed to sustain the attack but the barrage did manage to slow a quickly bruising Rodriguez. Rodriguez answered the bell for round six with a noticeable mouse under his right eye compliments of a great left hook from Iron Man. As the fight wore on Charlo started landing frequent clean punches winning each round but not by an overwhelming margin. As the rounds wore on Rodriguez wore down and Charlo gradually turned the heat up and in the final round he blasted Rodriguez with neck snapping punches from close range. Charlo smelled the end and finished the show at 1:4 of the 10th and final round where referee Sam Burgos stepped in to save the tough but beaten Rodriguez. Where the fight was not overly exciting it was technical showcase and show of closing power by Charlo. Charlo was a bronze medalist at the 2005 Junior Olympics at the age of 15. He finished his amateur career with a record of 56-8. Charlo has been busy in 2013, winning both the WBC Continental Americas and USBA Junior Middleweight Titles with victories over Harry Joe Yorgey and Demetrius Hopkins.

Welterweight Martin Lagunas Jr. made a very successful pro debut with a dominant and strong performance. Lagunas, who was a former national amateur champion threw heavy punches from the opening bell catching Larry Yanez with meaningful punches early on. Yanez was able to establish an early jab, however Lagunas took that away with great heavy counter punching. As round two wore on Lagunas started landing bigger and bigger shots until a thunderous combo floored the game Yanez with the end coming at 1:56 of round number 2.

The second bout of the evening barely got on its way when Willie Jones landed a thunderous left uppercut to the body of Jose Segura Torres at just 56 seconds of the first round. Jones improved to 3-0(2KO),where Torres dropped literally to 1-5

Three time US Olympian Rau’Shee Warren improved to 8-0(3KO) with a quick win over tough, experienced and tested Jhon Alberto Molina 32-25(20KO). Warren, fighting for the sixth time in 2013 came out punching with power from the opening bell. A slick straight left dropped the Colombian Molina in round one while the former Olympian chased stalked Molina steady for 4 rounds landing shots one and two at a time. All three cards read 40-35 to finalize a unanimous decision.

In an interesting match-up of unbeaten southpaws Errol “The Truth” Spence 9-0(7K0) clashed with tough Ghanaian Emmanuel Lartei Lartey 15-1(7KO). Spence was the predator throughout the chess match of southpaws. Spence landed a heavy straight left in the opening round that established momentum while Ice Cold’s corner begged for their fighter to move forward instead of backwards. The only problem was Spence and his heavy shots that kept Lartey from taking a step forward. Spence controlled the fight by being first and keeping his s All three judges saw the bout 79-73 in favor of Spence.

Hard Hitting light welterweight Jeffrey Fontanez 13-0(10KO) looked impressive with a fourth round TKO over tough journeyman Gerardo Zayas.

Notable Boxers in attendance, Roy Jones Jr., Antonio Tarver, Adrian Broner, Paulie Malignaggi, Bermane Stiverne, Daniel Edouard, Luis Ortiz, Micheal Moorer.

LAS VEGAS – Timothy Bradley now has decision victories over two of the very best prizefighters in a generation. The victories may both be controversial, but this much is not: In a collective 72 minutes of trying, neither man ever caught Bradley cleanly enough to hurt him for an instant.

Saturday at Thomas & Mack Center on the UNLV campus, American Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley (31-0, 12 KOs) decisioned Mexican Juan Manuel “Dinamita” Marquez (55-7-1, 40 KOs) by split scores of 115-113, 113-115 and 116-112, in a fight that saw only four rounds scored unanimously, one way or the other, by the judges. The 15rounds.com ringside scorecard dissented from the official decision, marking a 116-114 tally for Marquez.

“This is my ticket to the boxing hall of fame,” said a jubilant Bradley after the victory, his voice drowned-out by boos from the partisan-Mexican crowd.

There were very few rounds of the 12 in which one man clearly outclassed the other, and until the final two seconds of the match, no moment in the fight when one man clearly hurt the other. As feared, two superbly professional fighters offset one another’s strengths, with each man missing far more often than he landed cleanly.

“You don’t have to knock the other guy out to win a fight,” said Marquez afterwards, characteristically disgruntled after a decision loss. “I thought that I clearly won.”

From the opening instant of the match, when the men strolled from their corners and began a very wide, very respectful circle, until the 35:58 mark of the fight, when the men silently agreed to break the counsel of their trainers and engage one another maniacally, the fight was a tactical one bound to lead to frustrated fans and questions about scoring. Such frustration and scoring inquiries, though, will be shown, by time, to be misplaced.

“I’ve been robbed six times in my career,” said Marquez nevertheless.

The Mexican, for all his mastery, never solved Bradley. While Bradley appeared to exalt too much in his not getting hit by Marquez, showboating when he should have been countering, potshotting when he should have been using combinations, Marquez was not mobile enough to outwork Bradley for sustained periods of time, and Marquez was also, in the evening’s largest surprise, inaccurate when he did have open looks at Bradley.

“I’ve always tried to fight for the fans,” said Bradley, while those same fans lustily booed him.

After 11 even rounds in which one man was elusive while the other was predatory if immobile, in the final instants of round 12, in a moment of sudden suspense that would be ultimately inconsequential, Bradley staggered Marquez with a counter left hook, sending the Mexican spinning and spasming leftwards. Bradley then raised his hands and posed like a statue, enjoying already a victory that was barely assured.

Bradley, as is his tendency, apparently knew something the rest of us didn’t.

ORLANDO SALIDO VS. ORLANDO CRUZ
Topping an undercard filled with novelties, into the co-main event ring came Puerto Rican featherweight Orlando Cruz, boxing’s first active fighter to announce publicly that he is gay, his fighting attire adorned in rainbows, his ringside entourage preceded by a rainbow flag, and his black gloves highlighted with pink, to fight Mexican stalking horse Orlando Salido. But as boxing rarely respects decorum or politics, no matter how well scripted, Cruz’s fabulous ring entrance was the last enjoyable part of his night.

Saturday’s co-main event ended at 1:05 of round 7 – with Salido knocking Cruz out.

After two uneventful rounds that saw Salido (40-12-2, 28 KOs) too slow to find Cruz (20-3-1, 1 KOs) and Cruz too light-hitting to punish Salido’s navigational errors, things changed in the third, and Salido began to use his awkward crossover style to drive heavy lefts and crisp rights into Cruz’s body and face.

By the middle of round 4 it was apparent that, for all his flair and fashion sense, Cruz simply did not have heavy enough hands to keep a veteran attrition fighter like Salido off him. Salido casually stepped backwards and recollected himself after every exchange won by Cruz, while Cruz was forced to flee exchanges in which Salido proved superior, skipping sideways, leaping out the way of body punches, and having his balance regularly compromised by Salido’s strikes – even, or perhaps especially, when they missed.

One does not make his living in this sport without toughness, though, and Cruz fought back gamely in the fifth, absorbing Salido right crosses to the body that moved him backwards, and taking even sterner abuse in the sixth. As the rounds progressed and Cruz’s activity diminished, it became increasingly important for Cruz’s corner to look for a chance to save its brave fighter from himself.

The corner never had to intervene, however, as Salido caught Cruz on the ropes with an overhand-right, left-uppercut combo, both punches landing to Cruz’s increasingly battered head, Cruz dropped, the 10-count completed without incident, and Orlando Salido was the new WBO featherweight champion of the world.

VASYL LOMACHENKO VS. JOSE RAMIREZ
What sort of a monster makes his professional debut in a 10-round match for a minor featherweight title? Two-time gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko, that’s who – and that’s how promoter Top Rank wishes Saturday viewers to remember the new Russian prospect’s debut.

Fighting with technical proficiency from a southpaw stance, Lomachenko (1-0, 1 KO) dropped Mexican Jose Ramirez (24-3-2, 15 KOs) with a body shot in the opening 90 seconds. For a southpaw to overcome angular problems enough to land that punch is no mean feat. For him to land it on a Mexican in the opening round, though, is still more impressive.

Rounds 2 and 3 saw less explosiveness from the Russian, as he absorbed some blows and landed many more, occasionally employing the nifty trick of sending himself to the ropes, so as to spring from them with a harder counter, quicker-arriving for being enhanced by the ropes’ elasticity.

Early in the next round, Lomachenko stopped Ramirez with what appeared to be a double left uppercut to the solar plexus, causing the Mexican to stop, drop and begin rolling about the blue mat, showing the sort of anguish that can be given a prizefighter solely by a punch to the body. No 10-count was necessary, Ramirez was still writhing at the count of 20, and Lomachenko had his first professional victory at 0:59 of round 4.

SEAN MONAGHAN VS. ANTHONY SMITH
Most every insider regards New York light heavyweight Sean Monaghan as a novelty concept, a way for promoter Top Rank to exploit an Irish marketplace of fight fans. Monaghan’s victory over unheralded Pennsylvanian Anthony Smith did little to disabuse anyone of that, in Saturday’s first televised fight.

While Monaghan (19-0, 12 KOs) was able to strike Smith (14-2, 10 KOs) with impunity at the open, worrying little about counterpunches or meaningful traps, he was unable to hurt Smith through six minutes of assault. That changed in round 3, when Smith unadvisedly tried applying a wee bit of offensive pressure and got clocked by Monaghan. Sensing his opponent was stunned, Monaghan transformed from a light-hitting boxer to a light-hitting hurricane, striking Smith with a dozen or so unanswered punches until referee Tony Weeks waved the match off at 2:49 of round 3.

And like that, the WBC Continental Americas Light Heavyweight Title was successfully defended.

UNDERCARD
A few years back, and understandably, a parade of Manny Pacquiao-inspired fighters began to emerge from the Philippines; they are all southpaws, they all like to bounce, and they all tend to leap in with their hands perilously low. Filipino featherweight Jun Doliguez is yet another in what promises to be a generation-length parade. Fighting a journeyman Mexican, Geovanny Caro (23-14-4, 19 KOs), in Saturday’s fourth match, one who nevertheless appeared not to know he was fated to lose, Doliguez (17-0-1, 13 KOs) leaped in, leaped out, bounced a lot and kept his lands low. He got stunned a few times by headbutts, and buckled once by a right hand, à la his role model, but otherwise won in excellent fashion, dropping Caro twice with straight left hands, and stopping the overmatched Mexican at 2:53 of round 6. Doliguez is clearly not Pacquiao, but he likes contact and will make a fun spectacle every match.

If Mikael Zewski’s fans traveled from Canada to see their favorite welterweight defeat an overmatched Californian by violent stoppage, they almost got what they came for. Zewski (21-0, 16 KOs), who is charismatic and hails from a fight-crazed nation, whacked away at Riverside’s Albert Herrera (9-10-1, 5 KOs) for five rounds, busting-up Herrera’s face till the Californian’s corner abided no more and stopped the match, providing Zewski a TKO-5 for his resume, at which time Herrera leaped off his stool, grinned broadly and made a lap round the canvas waiving to what few fans were in the arena.

The second match of the night saw McCumby (13-0, 10 KOs) decision game West Virginian Eric Watkins (10-5-1, 4 KOs), but not before landing on the canvas. After dominating the first round and part of the next, McCumby, who sacrifices all sorts of defense for power and has little head movement on the way in, got caught with a right hand as he threw a right hand, and he dropped quickly. McCumby rose and appeared fine, but he was absolutely knocked to the blue mat by a fighter with only four knockouts in 15 previous prizefights. McCumby then restored order in the fourth round, dropping Watkins and commencing to beat him severely for the next 2 1/2 rounds, winning a unanimous decision: 59-53, 59-53 and 58-53.

Saturday’s card began with a classic case of a dull boxer with good reflexes against a pressure fighter without them, when Louisiana welterweight Brad Solomon (21-0, 8 KOs) outclassed Kenny Abril (14-7-1-1, 7 KOs), moving and infrequently landing meaningful punches and more infrequently having meaningful punches landed on him, en route to a unanimous decision: 79-73, 79-73 and 80-72. It is imperative, with his style, that Solomon remain undefeated.

Opening bell rang on a cavernous Thomas & Mack Center at 3:39 PM local time.

Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank

IBF Welterweight champion Devin Alexander will defend his crown against Shawn Porter on November 30th in San Antonio according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

In the co-feature Super Bantamweight titlist Leo Santa Cruz will fight Cesar Seda.

“I am saying [Alexander-Khan] is not happening and I’m going to be exploring some other opportunities for Amir,” said Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer. “That’s all I am prepared to say and I have nothing to say about Floyd Mayweather.

“But Amir wouldn’t have gone to training camp if it wouldn’t have been to get ready for Devon Alexander. There is no question he was planning on fighting Devon and we were planning on the fight. Now Team Khan and me are exploring some other opportunities. Whether they happen or not, I don’t know.”

“Devon is a pro and when he realized the Khan fight was not going to happen, he was OK. He is the kind of fighter who fights anyone. We have some of the other 147 pounders who were busy with other fights over the next two months, so we can see the winner of Alexander-Porter fighting the winner of some of the other fights.”

“Shawn Porter wanted an opportunity for a big fight and here it is. Let’s see what he can do,” Schaefer said. “This is his chance. I believe in giving fighters opportunities. He has a chance at a world title and I’m sure he will make the best out of it. I think he deserves a shot. I try to give our guys an opportunities to fight for a world title if I can. I can only give him them an opportunity. It’s up to them to capture the moment and show the world what they can do.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former world champions Zab Judah and Paulie Malignaggi will square in an all Brooklyn showdown on December 7th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

“That’s their home and they want to be No. 1 at home,” Golden Boy Promotions chief executive Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com on Friday after finalizing the fight. “I think it’s a fascinating fight. This is about pride. These guys do not want to lose in front of their home crowd, especially to another guy who is also from their hometown. So it’s about pride, Brooklyn pride. It’s the Battle of Brooklyn.

“I think the fight could have been made for more money for us, but it’s made now and it’s a fight the fans still want to see. We’re going to battle for Brooklyn,” Malignaggi told ESPN.com. “We’ve circled each other’s orbit for a long time.”

“When you saw Paulie fight Adrien Broner in June, that was the best Paulie Malignaggi we’ve seen in a long time even though he didn’t get the decision,” Schaefer said. “And when Zab Judah fought Danny Garcia, same thing. So now they’ll fight each other, and if they both fight as well as they fought in their last fights, this is going to be a great fight.

“It never happened. I know it’s surprising,” Malignaggi said. “I think I sparred everyone else there was to spar in New York. I think it’ll be a good fight. I know it’s hard to pick a winner. There are advantages for both of us. We’ll get the answer on Dec. 7.”

In the co-feature, Schaefer said that interim junior middleweight titlist Erislandy Lara (18-1-2, 12 KOs), 30, a Cuban defector living in Houston, would face fellow southpaw and former titleholder Austin Trout (26-1, 14 KOs), 28, of Las Cruces, N.M., in a matchup of slick boxers

“Most people have Lara and Trout in their top-10 rankings at 154 pounds and it’s a 50-50 kind of fight,” Schaefer said. “Trout is coming back to New York where he beat Cotto and he’s ready to go. Lara is coming off a big win against Angulo and taking on another top guy. It’s a meaningful matchup between two of the best 154 pounders and the winner is in line for a big fight.”

Schaefer said a third bout — while not officially on the card yet — probably will open the telecast and feature super middleweight titlist Sakio Bika against Anthony Dirrell in a match that had been scheduled for Oct. 26 but postponed because Bika hurt his shoulder and had to miss some training time.

“The fight is done, but I’m still in discussions with Showtime about making the card a tripleheader,” Schaefer said.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, three world title fights will be featured on an an explosive card that will be headlined by WBA Welterweight champion defending against Adrien Brone on December 14th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and will be available via Showtime Pay Per View.

The fight, long in discussions, will headline a loaded card, which also includes the return of former welterweight titlist Victor Ortiz from an 18-month layoff, on Dec. 14 (Showtime PPV) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Golden Boy Promotions chief executive Richard Schaefer told ESPN.com.

“This is one of the best fights you can make in boxing. It’s a fight we were asked about time and again by media and fans,” Schaefer said. “They kept asking me, ‘Can you make that fight?’ It was like when I was being asked if I could make Mayweather-Canelo Alvarez and Danny Garcia-Lucas Matthysse. It’s one of those fights that everywhere I went people were asking me, ‘Are you going to get it done?’ Well, I got it done.”

“Props to Broner to stepping up to the plate and taking on a guy like Maidana with huge knockout power and to Maidana to take on a guy people discuss as a future pound-for-pound star,” Schaefer said. “It’s as hot of a fight as you could make in any division. I’m excited about the fight. It has fireworks written all over it.”

“Maidana is a hell of a fighter. He will come to fight but, at the end of the day, this is my breaking point into taking over boxing and I will not let this guy kill my vibe,” Broner told ESPN.com. “The game is mine and I am the best. My big brother Floyd got a few more fights left (and then) I will carry the torch and sit on top alone.

“I’m not just a boxer. I’m a megastar, and now I’m about to become a pay-per-view megastar. I’m not cocky. I’m very confident in the skill I was blessed with and I want everybody to come out and support me at the MGM Grand and watch on pay-per-view on Dec. 14.

• In the co-feature, Ortiz, 26, of Oxnard, Calif., will move up to junior middleweight to challenge titleholder Carlos Molina (22-5-2, 6 KOs), 30, of Chicago, who will be making his first defense after outpointing Ishe Smith to win the 154-pound title on the Mayweather-Canelo Alvarez undercard on Sept. 14.

Ortiz (29-4-2, 22 KOs) has not fought since suffering a badly broken jaw in a ninth-round knockout loss to Josesito Lopez in June 2012. That was Ortiz’s second loss in a row as he was knocked out by Mayweather in the fourth round of their high-profile bout in September 2011.

While his jaw was healing, Ortiz participated on “Dancing With the Stars,” and he has recently been filming a role in “The Expendables 3.”

“Victor’s jaw is healed and he’s good to go,” Schaefer said. “He’s excited about coming back and fighting for another world title in a division which is one of the hottest in the sport.”

• Interim welterweight titlist Keith Thurman (21-0, 19 KOs), 24, of Clearwater, Fla., will face Jesus Soto Karass in a fight that pits aggressive brawlers.

“On paper, this is a fight of the year candidate,” Schaefer said.

Thurman claimed his belt in July by stopping Diego Chaves in the 10th round of a slugfest.

Soto Karass (28-8-3, 18 KOs), 30, of Mexico, has won four of his last five bouts, including two upsets in a row, a decision against contender Selcuk Aydin and a 12th-round knockout of former welterweight titlist Andre Berto in July.

• In the opening bout, Mexican brawler Alfredo Angulo (22-3, 18 KOs), 31, will square off with Puerto Rico’s Jorge Melendez in a junior middleweight fight.

“Somebody’s gonna get knocked out,” Schaefer said. “And if Angulo loses again, it’s a huge setback.

“It don’t remember any pay-per-view that we’ve done with this kind of lineup where all you don’t really know the winner of any of the bouts,” Schaefer said.

Marvin Mabait scored a first round stoppage over Johny Garcia in a scheduled twelve round Bantamweight bout in Salon, Mexico.

The two fighters were in the middle of a flurry and it did not look like Garcia got hit with much of a punch but went to the canvas holding his eyes and was counted.

Mabait, 118 lbs of the Philippines is now 19-1-2 with 13 knockouts. Garcia, 118 lbs of Ciudad, MX is 18-5-1.

Iran Diaz (6-0-2) win a eight round split decision over Angel Aguilar in a Bantamweight bout.

Gabriel Acosta (3-0) won a four round unanimous decision over Antonio Lopez in a Bantamweight bout.

Irvin Marin (3-0) scored a four round unanimous decision Fernando Perez in a Super Featherweight bout.

Antonio Moran (11-0, 6 KO’s) scored a 1st round stoppage over Oscar Conde (3-7) in a Lightweight bout. Moran dropped Conde once from a right hand and then when he got up, Moran jumped all over him before the fight was stopped.

Timothy Bradley 146 – Juan Manuel Marquez 144.5
Orlando Salido 126 – Orlando Cruz 125
Jose Ramirez 126.5 – Vasyl Lomachenko 125
Seanie Monaghan 174 – Anthony Caputo Smith 175.5
Trevor McCumby ???? – Eric Watkins 175
Giovanni Caro ???? – Jun Doliguez 126
Alberto Herrera 147.5 – Mikael Zewski 147.5
Kenny Abril 146.5 – Brad Solomon 146.6

Former Lightweight champion Juan Diaz has signed a promotional deal with Top Rank according to Dan Rafael.

Diaz is scheduled to fight Juan Santiago on October 19th as part of the Mike Alvarado – Ruslan Provodnikov undercard in Broomfield, Colorado.

Diaz told ESPN.com that he signed an 18-month, six-fight deal with Top Rank, mainly because of his close relationship with company vice president Carl Moretti, who had worked with Diaz during the early part of his career when they were both with Main Events.

“I’ve known Carl for a long time, since the Main Events days [in the early 2000s], and it kind of made it easier for me to have more trust in Top Rank since I dealt with Carl before,” Diaz told ESPN.com. “I generally think the conversations I’ve had with Carl are genuine, and I believe he and Top Rank want the best for my career, so we signed the deal and I’m looking forward to being with them.”

“Juan and his team are great people to work with, and together we have a strategy that will bring Juan to the top of the [lightweight] division once again,” Moretti said. “Juan Diaz is still one of the most recognizable names to all boxing fans because of his fan-friendly style and the positive manner in which he carries himself in and out of the ring.

“What’s there not to like about him and the excitement he creates? For Top Rank, this was no-brainer to be involved with Juan and his career.”

“They’re just waiting to see what guys are available for me to challenge,” Diaz said. “Top Rank already promised me a title shot next year. Whether it be the summer or the end of next year, I know I’ll get that title shot, which put the exclamation point on everything, so I said, ‘Let’s do it,’ and I signed.

“I’m a realist. I know that I have a good name in boxing, but I’m not Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather. I can’t be a free agent for the rest of my fighting career. I knew I’d have to settle down with one promoter and let them help me in my road to becoming a champion again.”

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Miguel Cotto brought back memories of the past as he knocked out Delvin Rodriguez in round three of their scheduled twelve round Jr. Middleweight bout at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.

Cotto came out in round one by focusing his left to the body. Cotto continued his sharp shooting in round two and he finished the frame with a huge right and left to the chin.

In round three, it took just one left hook to the jaw that sent Rodriguez down in front of the ropes and referee Frank Santore stopped the fight immediately at 18 seconds of round three.

Cotto, 153.25 lbs of Caguas, PR will now seek a big fight with a record of 38-4 with 31 knockouts. Rodriguez, 154 lbs of Danbury, CT is now 28-7-3

Terrence Crawford scored a lack luster ten round unanimous decision over Andery Klimov in a fight that featured two undefeated Lightweights.

Crawford boxed from the pocket and switched to southpaw in round two. Crawford stayed there for the rest of the fight and was content on jabbing and landing an occasional straight left. Klimov did a little more then stick out the jab and never really threw any punches with purpose. Neither guy was ever in any type of danger. The fight was void of action until the final bell when the two engaged for the last ten seconds that saw Crawford land a hard left to the body and right to the head.

Crawford, 134 1/2 lbs of Omaha, NE won by scores of 100-90 on all cards and is now 22-0. Klimov, 134 1/2 lbs of Russia is now 16-1.

Super Prospect Felix Verdejo scored a second round stoppage over Gary Eyer in a scheduled six round Super featherweight bout.

Verdejo wobbled Eyer a couple of times in round one. Verdejo landed ripping shots in round two that started Eyer’s nose to leak blood. After the doctor looked at Eyer’s nose, Verdejo opened up couple of rights and two wicked left hooks that forced referee Tellis Asselminios to stop the bout at 2:52 of round two.

Verdejo, 133 1/2 lbs of San Juan, PR is now 8-0 with six knockouts. Eyer, 132 1/2 lbs of Duluth, MN is now 11-4-1.

Moises Carrasquillo Jr. scored a four round unanimous decision over Steven Chadwick in a Middleweight bout.

Carrasquillio dominated the bout and bloodied the nose of Chadwick in round two.

Scores were 40-36 on all cards for Carrisquillo, 161 1/2 lbs of Orlando and is now 4-0. Chadwick, 160 1/2 lbs of Jacksonville, FL is 2-5.

Ricky Tomlinson and Lamar Charalton battled to a four round draw in a Featherweight bout.

Each fighter won a card at 39-37 while a third card read even at 38-38.

Tomlinson, 124 3/4 lbs of Thonosissia, FL is 1-0-1. Charlton, 124 3/4 lbs of Ocala, FL is now 1-4-2

Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank

It wasn’t pretty but Wladimir Klitscho made another title defense of the WBA/WBC/IBF Ring Magazine Heavyweight Wladimir Klistchko defended his crown against WBA regular champion Alexander with a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision in Moscow, Russia.

Pobetkin tried to start out quick but without much success. In round two, Klitschko landed a short left hook that Povetkin down for the 1st time in his career. The fight never had any flow to it due to Klitschko holding and headlocking Povetkin any time that Povetkin got close. The fight was essentially put out of reach when Klitschko dropped Povetkin three times.

The first came from a hard 1-2 combination. The second came after Klitschko rocked Povetkin with a big right hand, the champion jumped all over Povetkin and sent him to the canvas after a big flurry of punches. Klitschko hurt Povetkin with a left and sent him to the canvas for a fourth time in the fight and third in round seven with a follow up left hand.

Povetkin did well to make it out of the round and to the final bell but he never had Klistchko in any trouble despite continuing to try more then most previous Klitschko opponents. Klitschko did well to hold, grab and push Povetkin down to the canvas several more times and was even penalized a point in round eleven by referee Luis Pabon.

Klitschko went 61-3 with a decision that read 119-104 on all cards. Povetkin loses for the first time and is now 26-1.

Matthew Villabueva stopped Daniel Lozano after round eight of a scheduled twelve round Super Flyweight bout at the A La Carte Event Pavilion in Tampa, Florida.

The fight was stopped in between round eight and nine.

Villanueva, 114 lbs of Palmdale, CA is now 11-0-1 with 9 knockouts. Lozano, 114 lbs of Bowling Green, FL is now 11-1.

Toribio Ramirez scored a four round unanimous decision over Harold Torres in a Featherweight bout.

Scores were 40-36 on all cards for Ramirez, 124 1/2 lbs who was making his pro debut. Torres, 124 1/2 lbs is now 0-3.

Luis Olivares remained undefeated with a four round unanimous decision over Hector Marengo in a Jr. Welterweight bout.

Scores were 40-36 on all cards for Olivares, 137 lbs and is now 6-0. Marengo, 135 lbs is now 6-6-4.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, WBA Featherweight champion Nicholas Waters will defend his title against Alberto Garza on November 9th in Corpus Christi, Texas.

It will be the debut for Waters under the Top Rank banner.

“Garza should be a good test for Walters,” said Top Rank Vice-President Carl Moretti. “Garza is experienced, and his style is to hit and get hit, so it should be a good fight. Hopefully, Walters will make a statement.”

“Walters would provide an excellent challenge for Donaire in 2014 as well as give Donaire an opportunity to fight for a featherweight title,” Moretti said.

IBF Middleweight champion Darren Barker will defend his crown on December 7th against long reigning belt holder Felix Sturm in Stuttgart, Germany according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“We have been in discussions with Felix Sturm’s team since the Daniel Geale fight, and with purse bids approaching they made their intentions quite clear,” said Barker’s promoter Eddie Hearn. “Felix is the fight we want both financially and from a legacy perspective and once we were able to introduce our necessary demands, which included a potential second fight in the UK and neutral officials, then this was an opportunity Darren could not turn down.

“Even though defeat would lead to an immediate rematch in London, we are all confident that Darren will defend his title in style on Dec. 7 in Germany.”

BROOKLYN–2008 U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali scored a got off the deck once and scored two knockdowns of his own to scor an eight round unanimous decision over tough Jay Krupp in front of 3,059 patrons at the Barclay Center

In round one, both landed several power shots with Ali rocking Krupp. Just before the bell, Krupp landed a hard left hook that put the hometown “World” kid on his back. Krupp continued to press and landed a couple of more lefts in the second frame while Ali was efficient with the jab.

In round three, Ali landed a perfectly timed right hand that rocked Krupp and the follow up crushing left hook sent him to the canvas. Ali drilled Krupp for the rest of the round but Krupp was able to get out of the frame. Krupp steadied himself and landed a couple good shot in round four but it was probably not enough to take the freame. Round five saw Ali come out and land a nice right hand. Later in the round Krupp jumped in and landed a couple of left hooks. In round seven, Krupp hung tough and landed some good shots in some furious exchanges.

In the eighth and final round, Ali sealed the deal when in a big exchange, he caught Krupp with a hard right hand that sent Krupp to the canvas for a second time.

Ali, 146.6 lbs of Brooklyn won by scores of 79-72, 78-71 and 77-72 and remains perfect at 17-0. Krupp, 146.4 lbs of Catskill, NY is now 17-6.

Michael Perez pounded out a ten round unanimous decision over Miguel Zuniga in a Lightweight bout.

Perez controlled the action early as he used his speed and movement. In round four, there was good two-way action before Zuniga landed a nice left hook.

In round six, Zuniga landed a big shot that drove Perez back. Zuniga worked well in the corner while Perez did well tp unch out in round seven. Round eight saw Zuniga land a clipping right and a cut formed around the left eye of Perez. The two traded some good power shots to start round nine with Perez getting the better of the action. Later in the round, Perez rocked Zuniga with several shots to the head. Zuniga tried to press forward to start the final round and landed a hard straight right to the face.

Perez, 139.2 lbs of Newark, NJ won by scores of 99-91, 96-94 and 96-94 and is now 19-1-2. Zuniga, 139.6 lbs of San Diego is now 13-3.

2012 U.S. Olympian Marcus Browne went the distance for the first time and won a eight round unani,ous decision over Lamont Williams in a Light Heavyweight bout.

Browne dominated and landed many hard straight lefts that Williams took and on occasion fired back and landed of his own.

Browne, 175.8 lbs of Staten Island, NY won by scores of 79-72, 79-72 and 76-75 and is now 7-0. Williams, 175.2 lbs of Gardens, CA is now 5-2-1.

“It was a good learning expierience going the distance for the first time. He was a lot sturdier”, said Browne

Claude Staten Jr. and Derrick Bivins fought to a four round majority draw in a Featherweight bout.

Scores were 40-36 for Bivins while two cards read even at 38-38.

Bivins, 121.6 lbs of Philadelphia is 1-1-2. Staten, 123 lbs of Brooklyn is 1-0-1.

D’Mitrius Ballard remained undefeated by pounding out a four round unanimous decision over Lekan Byfield in a Super Middleweight bout.

Scores were 40-36 on all cards for Ballard, 167 lbs of Temple Hills, MD and is now 3-0. Byfield, 163.8 lbs of Terrytown, NY is now 3-6-2.

In the opening bout of the night, Jamel Herring scored a stoppage before round four of a scheduled six round Super Lightweight bout over Justin Robbins.

In a battle of undefeated Super Featherweights,

Herring, 135 lbs of Coarm, NY is now 5-0 with 3 knockouts. Robbins, 136.2 lbs of Springfield, IL is now 2-4.

Glen Tapia scored a fifth round stoppage over Elco Garcia in a scheduled ten round Middleweight bout at Ballys Atlantic City.

Tapia dominated the action and began to pummel Garcia with hard shots in round five before dropping just before the end of the round. Garcia staggered to his feet but referee Benji Esteves stopped the bout at 2:59 of round five.

Tapia, 155 1/2 lbs of Passaic, NJ is now 20-0 with 12 knockouts. Garcia, 155 1/2 lbs of Colorado is now 27-9.

David Gonzales remained undefeated with a four round unanimous decision over Ray Velez in a Welterweight fight.

Scores were 39-37 on all cards for Gonzales, 142 lbs of Philadelphia and is now 3-0. Velez, 141 lbs of Brooklyn, NY is now 3-4.

Julian Rodriguez made a short yet successful pro debut as he needed just 51 seconds to knockout Kevin Benson in scheduled four round Jr. Welterweight bout.

Rodriguez landed right to the head that stunned Benson and then followed up with two hard blows that sent him crumpled for referee Steve Smoger’s ten count.

Rodriguez, 140 lbs of Hasbrook Heights, NJ is 1-0 with one knockouts. Benson 139 1/2 lbs of Omaha, NE 1-2.

Good looking Super Featherweight prospect Gabino Saenz scored a first round stoppage over Dominic Coca in a scheduled six round bout.

Saenz dropped Coca once and the fight was stopped at 2:27 after a barrage of punches.

Saenz, 127 3/4 lbs is now 11-0-1 with eight knockouts. Coca, 128 1/2 lbs is 8-5.

Former world title challenger Diego Magadaleno pitched a shutout over Edgar Riovalle in a ten round Lightweight bout.

Magadeno, 131 1/2 lbs won by scores of 100-90 on all cards and is now 24-1. Riovalle, 132 lbs is now 36-16-2.

Middleweight prospect Matt Korobov scored a eight round unaninous decision over former Contender winner Grady Brewer.

Korbov dominated and scored a knockdown from a left hook in round five.

Scores were 80-71, 80-71 and 79-72 for Korobov and is now 21-0. Brewer is now 30-17.

David Carmona scored a ten round unanimous decision over Antonio Tostada in a ten round Super Flyweight bout in Polanco, Mexico.

Carmona dropped Tostada in round two and won by scores of 98-91, 97-92 and 97-92.

Carmona is now 16-1-4. Tostada is now 11-1.

Carlos Ruiz remained perfect with a six round unanimous decision over Geovanny Lopez in a Super Featherweight bout.

Ruiz is now 9-0. Lopez is 3-14-1.

Luis Grajeda scored a vicious 1st round knockout over Josue Atilano Mendoza in a scheduled eight round Jr. Middleweight bout.

The time of the stoppage was 2:51 and Mendoza was down for several minutes after the knockout.

Grajeda is now 16-1-1 with 12 knockouts. Lopez is now 11-5-3.

WBA Lightweight champion will defend his title against Jorge Linares on November 10th in Tokyo, Japan according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“That is a difficult fight but I have all the confidence in Jorge,” Golden Boy matchmaker Robert Diaz, who has worked with Linares for several years, told ESPN.com on Thursday. “He is ready.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Robert Byrd has been tabbed the referee for the October 12 bout between Juan Manuel Marquez and Timothy Bradley.

The judges will be judges Robert Hoyle, Patricia Morse Jarman and Glenn Feldman.

The commission also appointed the officials for the vacant featherweight world title bout on the undercard between former titlist Orlando Salido (39-12-2, 27 KOs) of Mexico and Orlando Cruz (20-2-1, 10 KOs) of Puerto Rico.

After more questions for Kizer, the commission voted 5-0 on his recommendations of referee Kenny Bayless and judges Jerry Roth, Glenn Trowbridge and Ed Kugler, a judge from Colorado.

Future Super Middleweight world title challenger George Groves will change trainers from Adam Booth to Paddy Fitzpatrick before he challenged IBF Super Middleweight champion Carl Froch on November 23rd.

“I am extremely happy to name Paddy Fitzpatrick as my new trainer going into what is the biggest fight of my life,” Groves said in a statement on Monday. “Paddy and I have worked closely together in the past and already have a very good relationship, one built over many years. Not only has he worked my corner for important fights, we have also spent a lot of time together when abroad on training camps, where Paddy has overseen a number of significant sessions.

“Although this is a fresh change for me, I’m working with someone I know and respect, and someone who knows my game inside out. We both know how the other works, so it won’t take long to hit the ground running.”

“His experience and knowledge of the game is world-class and he is, without doubt, the perfect trainer to help me prepare for my next fight,” Groves said. “He has a great energy, both in the gym and on fight night, and I feel totally comfortable in his presence. I’m looking forward to working with Paddy on a full-time basis and I’m excited to start adding many more tools to my arsenal. By the time Nov. 23 arrives, I’ll be better than ever. And more than capable of dethroning Carl Froch.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the bout between Heavyweights David Haye and Tyson Fury has been rescheduled for February 8th, 2014 after a cut suffered by Haye forced the postponement of the bout scheduled for this Saturday.

“News of the date in February is music to my ears,” Haye said. “I was absolutely devastated this weekend, and felt as though I’d let a lot of people down. But now, with this new date, I couldn’t be happier.

“My fans will still get the chance to see what they all wanted to see this weekend. They’ll get to see Tyson Fury sparked out in a spectacular fashion.”

“Sparring eight days before a fight is nothing new or unusual,” Haye said. “I’ve done this before fights in the past and never had an issue. Also, look at the history books. George Foreman sparred and got cut eight days before his ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ with Muhammad Ali, causing a six-week postponement. And Sugar Ray Leonard sparred and got knocked down five days before his fight with Marvin Hagler but still managed to go on and win.

“Foreman and Leonard are two of the greatest fighters of all time, so if it was good enough for them, it’s certainly good enough for little old me.”

“Not only that, those guys were preparing to face the likes of Ali and Hagler, while I was preparing to fight Tyson Fury, a man whose greatest triumph to date is shedding a few stone on Belgium’s ‘Biggest Loser’ fat camp,” Haye said. “These things sometimes happen in training, and to suggest I decided against wearing a head-guard, or that the cut was premeditated, shows a clear lack of knowledge and understanding.

“This camp was no different to any other, aside from the fact it ended on an unlucky and sour note.”

“Tyson Fury might start to get brave now that he’s received a stay of execution — and he might call me names and accuse me of ducking him — but that will all be short-lived, I can promise you,” he said. “After hearing the nonsense he has come out with in the last few days, I’m even more determined to expose him in front of millions. And only the possibility of getting another chance to land punches on his massive head and doughy gut has helped cheer me up.

“The cut will heal, the fight will happen next year, and the fans will go home happy. The only difference now is that Tyson Fury gets an even nastier beatdown than he would have received first time round. Once again, I’d like to apologize to the fans for the inconvenience caused by the postponement, and also because they will now have to endure a few more months of rubbish spewing from the mouth of Tyson Fury. I had hoped to silence him for good on Saturday night.”

Evgeny Gradovich will defend the IBF Featherweight title against the man he won it from in Billy Dib on November 23rd in Macao, China as part of the Manny Pacquiao – Brandon Rios card.

“Gradovich got rid of his mandatory in his last fight, he’s exciting to watch and we felt it was important to live up to the commitment to Dib for a rematch since he gave Gradovich the opportunity,” said Top Rank’s Todd duBoef said. “It was an excellent fight on ESPN2, so why not put this one on the Pacquiao-Rios show and then the winner can look at bigger matches in 2014.

“I’m excited to return to Macau to fight on the Pacquiao versus Rios card and I know I will fight even better this time,” Gradovich said. “I had very little time to train before fighting Dib the first time. I think it was just 29 days before the fight when we got the call. This time I have much more time to focus and technically be better in my performance against Dib.

“I’m extremely excited that the rematch has been made,” Dib said. “Our first battle was a good one. I feel I have developed into a more fan friendly fighter. Gradovich is a good fighter and I expect another all-out war with him. I look forward to recapturing the IBF championship and setting up a trilogy with Gradovich.

“The fact that the fight is on such a big stage is so exciting. Finally I feel that I have the chance to show the world that I can mix it with the best of them. I truly believe in my heart I’m winning this championship back.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, WBA Featherweight champion Nicholas Waters has signed a promotional deal with Top Rank and will defend his title on November 9th in Corpus Christie, Texas.

“We found out he was [a free agent] and we jumped on him because, obviously, we are concentrating on that division,” siad Top Rank CEO Bob Arum. “We have some major fights that can be made there and the more good fighters you can have in that weight class, the better the fights you can make.

“So now we have [titleholder Evgeny] Gradovich, the winner of the Orlando Salido-Orlando Cruz [vacant title] fight [on Oct. 12], Walters, Nonito Donaire, we just signed [two-time Olympic gold medalist Vasyl] Lomachenko and there’s [junior featherweight champ] Guillermo Rigondeaux. So there are a lot of great fights we want to do in that division.”

“It’s a dream and a privilege come true for me to be with Top Rank, as they have made many great fighters with the likes of [Muhammad] Ali, [Sugar Ray] Leonard and [Oscar] De La Hoya, just to name a few,” Walters said. “I hope that they will help me reach my different goals in the future.”

“I know that Nicholas is a spirited and a disciplined fighter whose boxing style will please the boxing fans of America and he will be an exciting TV fighter, which will make both Top Rank and HBO happy,” manager Jacques Deschamps said.

“He’s a capable and strong son of a gun,” Arum said. “He’s heavy handed and he comes forward and makes a good fight. He’s a good puncher and he’ll make a pleasing fight and we can put him with any of these featherweights we have and HBO will buy it.

“I talked to Donaire, for example, and he’d love to fight him next year. The guys aren’t going to duck him. So we needed to get him a fight before the end of the year, so we’ll have him on the card in Corpus Christi and then look for a bigger fight for him next year.

Wilson Reis scored a three round unanimous decision over Ivan Menjivar in a Bantamweight bout.

Scores were 29-28 on all cards for Reis, 135 lbs of Philadelphia, PA and is now 17-4. Menjivar, 136 lbs of Montreal is now 25-11.

Steven Thompson stopped Chris Clements in round two of their Welterweight bout.

Thompson landed three hard punches that sent Clements plummeting into the cage and the fight was stopped at 1:27 of round two.

Thompson, 170/5 lbs of Simpsonville, SC is now 8-1. Clements, 169.5 lbs of of London ONT is now 11-5-1.

Mitch Gagnon scored a 1st round stoppage over Dustin Kiman in a Bantamweight bout.

Gagnon choked out Kiman at 4:05 of round one.

Gagnon, 136 lbs of Sudbury, ONT is now 10-2. Kiman, 135 lbs of Honolulu, HA is now 11-1.

John Makdessi scored a first round stoppage over Renee Forte.

Makdessi landed a hard punch that sent Forte to the canvas. Makdessi landed several punches to the face of a defensless Forte and the fight was stopped at 2:01 of round one.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, former two division champion David suffered a cut over his left eye and his fight with Tyson Fury stated for next Saturday is now off for the time being.

“Gutted isn’t even the word,” Haye said. “Mentally, I’m on the floor at the moment. I’m devastated most of all for my loyal fans, my family and my team, as well as Tyson Fury and his team.

“I know injuries and cuts are part and parcel of our sport, but this doesn’t change the feeling of disappointment and sadness I’m experiencing right now. To everyone who has bought tickets, booked hotels, and followed this fight since it was announced, there is absolutely nothing I can do except apologize from the very bottom of my heart. Even when everything seems to be right on track, sometimes life throws you a curveball. I will somehow have to try and make the best of this horrible situation. But, right now, I’m in bits about what has happened.”

Former world champion Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. scored a twelve round unanimous decision over Guillermo Avila in a Super Bantamweight bout at the Kissimmee Civic Center in Kissimmee, Florida.

Scores were 116-112 on all cards.

Vazquez, 122 lbs of Bayamon, PR is now 23-3-1. Avila, 122 lbs of Jalisco, MX is now 13-1.

Israel Vazquez remained undefeated with a six round unanimous decision over Felipe Rivas in a Light Flyweight bout.

Scores were 60-54, 60-54 and 58-56 for Vazquez, 108 lbs and is now 9-0-2. Rivas, 109 lbs is now 14-14-1.