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The Website where Boxing and its Legends come to Life!

 

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Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk is already making rumblings for a huge third fight in his trilogy with Tyson Fury

Story by Alex and John Rinaldi

Just when when you think that Tyson Fury will never return again to the ring – a door has suddenly flown open, and just like they did to Michael Corleone in The Godfather III, they are pulling the Gypsy King back in.

 Like an old comrade, the present Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk is requesting and seeking a third fight against his British gypsy rival.

 Of course, this was expected by THE USA BOXING NEWS, because boxing history has a clear barometer of situations like this.

 Usyk is calling for the shot simply because he cannot make the same money with any other fighter as he could facing Fury. Also, the Ukrainian heavyweight, having beaten Fury twice, has no fear of giant Brit.  As a matter of fact, he probably feels he can beat him in this last bout of their potential trilogy.

Reportedly, the Gypsy King has responded to Usyk’s call-out with a clear message on social media declaring himself ready to square off against Oleksandr Usyk for the third time.

Before this scenario can happen Usyk has to retain his title against the reigning IBF heavyweight title holder Daniel Dubois in their rematch at Wembley Stadium on July 19.

Their first fight was in August of 2023 when Usyk stopped Dubois in the 9^th round.

This time, Dubois is coming into the ring more confident especially after winning a magnificent crushing fifth round KO victory against former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. In that fight Dubois knocked Joshua down four times; once in the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th rounds. It was in that 5^th round that Joshua was counted out.

Still, Usyk is confident of beating Dubois a second time and is already setting his sights on Fury.

Usyk has claimed he will only fight twice more before hanging up his gloves, with a clash against Fury or Joshua.

This time, Fury wants the fight to take place in Britain. Dubious of not getting a fair shake in Saudi Arabia, where he found himself coming up short twice on the horrible judges’ scorecards, he will only agree fight in Britain.

Concerning Usyk, Fury minced few words when he said, ” [I] Beat the f***er 2 times the world knows the truth.”

The USA Boxing News also believes that Fury should have been awarded victories in both of those fights and that the Ukraine War softened their feelings towards the Ukrainian Usyk.

Besides the judges and the annoying announcers at DAZN – Fury was never given any of the close rounds or the balance of any doubt.

Tyson Fury has said he is ready to face Usyk for a third time, and wants it to happen in the UK.

“Any time, any place. Sucker, UK next time 100k people,” announce Fury.

A Fury-Usyk III fight could easily draw over 100,000 fans, most of whom will be Brits waving the Union Jack.

The Gypsy King has previously had two stadium fights, beating Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora at Wembley and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, respectively, in 2022. 

In the meantime, Fury could take on another challenge and finally face Anthony Joshua. That could be a great fight – especially for Fury. Joshua has showed and displayed that his chin has crystallized and that Fury would probably knock him out within nine rounds.

On his Instagram account – while pointing down the camera, Fury quipped: “You know what’s coming.”

Hopefully what is coming is a third fight in their trilogy with Fury finally winning either by decision or knockout.

Regardless of the money, Fury would be ill advised to fight again in Saudi Arabia.

Notwithstanding, with retirement on his horizon, Usyk looks to fill up his bank account with one more terrific payday – then call it quits.

Although we consider him a cancer to the sport – Usyk has justified his position and never backed down to either Fury or Joshua.

For the sake of heavyweight boxing – Fury needs to capture the title again.

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OVERSEAS BOXING MATCHES

By Per-Ake Persson

 

Pezhman Seifkhani outpoints Eduardo Giustini to capture EBU Silver Heavyweight Title in Firenze, Italy

Firenze, Italy. Swedish heavyweight champion Pezhman Seifkhani (17-1, 12 KO’s) won the vacant EBU Silver title on a unanimous decision against the Italian title holder Eduardo “Dado” Giustini (17-4, 6 KO’s) in the headliner of a RCC promotion at the Palazzo Wanny.

The much smaller Italian, a southpaw, boxed and moved well but did not do much offensively as the big Swede patiently stalked him. After the sixth round Giustini, 35, tried to pick up the pace but walked into a counter in the eighth and went down. He did not appear hurt and was up fast but the round was lost, and the same thing happened in the eleventh and with two 10-8 rounds against him the victory was out of his grasp.

At the end the judges had it 117-109 twice and 117-110.

The EBU Silver title is a relatively new invention from the EBU, who now has skipped the EU title. The holder of a Silver belt gets a #4 rating and as Bruce Springsteen once wrote “Out of Small Things, Big Things Come.”

Seifkhani, of Orebro, Sweden, 34, has been a pro since 2015 with long layoffs due to injuries and difficulties getting fights and this was by far the biggest win of his career. 

Photo: Seifkhani and Giustini at the weigh in.

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Undefeated super middleweight contender Darius “DFG” Fulghum has proven that he belongs among the world’s top contenders

Story by Bob Trieger

LOS ANGELES (April 2025) – Undefeated super middleweight Darius “DFG” Fulgham (14-0, 12 KOs) recently proved, once again, that he belongs among the world’s top contenders in his weight class.

Ranked No. 4 in the world by the World Boxing Association (WBA), Houston-based Fulghum made the second defense of his World Boxing Association (WBA) Continental Super Middleweight title on February 14th, annihilating Detroit veteran Winfred “Hotboy” Harris, Jr. (22-3-2, 10 KOs) by turning in a completely dominant performance enroute to a fourth-round stoppage.

Fulghum vs. Harris, Jr. was the 10-round, co-featured event on a Golden Boy Promotions card, headlined by Oscar Duarte vs. Miguel Madueno, that was streamed on DAZN live from Honda Center. 

Harris, Jr., who has only been stopped once in his previous 26 pro fights, faced an opponent in Fulghum who pressed him from the opening bell, dropping him in the second, after which Harris, Jr. went into survival mode, holding and clinching in the fourth round until referee Jerry Cantu mercifully waved off the fight.

Fulghum, 28, understands and appreciates the developmental process in boxing. Despite his one-sided beatdown of Harris, Jr., Fulghum wasn’t totally satisfied with his performance.

“I think my performance was good for the fans,” Fulghum explained, “but I still have a lot to learn and by my standards, mentally, I needed to show more. I needed to show him he didn’t belong in the same ring as me, but I kept loading up instead of putting my punches together. Not going for the knockout  was the biggest lesson I learned.

“I know I belong with the best at 168; there’s nobody I can’t beat. I’m getting more experienced for when my time comes. I try not to think about it and trust my team (promoter Golden Boy and manager 3 PM), so I’m taking it one fight at a time. There are a lot of great fighters in this division.”

Realizing the entire super middleweight division will be wide open when Canelo Alverez retires, Fulghum broke down the leading WBA super middleweights:

WBA Super Champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs), Mexico

“Canelo has been in this game for two decades. He is a great fighter who has earned his position. A great  counter puncher with a high boxing IQ, great defense, and solid jab. Good boxers with great movement can give him some trouble. I hope Canelo is still in this division when I’m in position to fight him.”

WBA Interim Champion Caleb “Sweethands” Plant (23-2, 14 KOs), USA

“I like him a lot. He’s a great fighter and I like how he keeps coming forward. He has a high boxing IQ and he may be the toughest fighter in the division.”

No. 1 rated Christian “Solide” Mbilli (28-0, 23 KOs), 2016 French Olympian, Cameroon

“I want to fight him. He had a lot of hype coming up and is an exciting fighter. He has a high-pressure style, but he’s limited. He’s a good boxer but his jab isn’t great
and opponents who catch-and-shoot can give him trouble.”

No. 2 rated Lester Martinez (19-0, 16 KOs), Guatemala

“I haven’t seen much of him. I do know he has had a few fights fall out.”

No. 3 rated Bektemir “Bully” Melikuziev (15-1, 10 KOs), 2016 Olympic Silver Medalist, Uzbekistan

“A tough guy with a lot of experience. He always brings it and has good foot movement. But he lacks a solid jab and swings his punches wide. It would be easy to make this fight because he’s promoted by Golden Boy like I am.”

No. 5 Edgar “The Chosen One” Belanga (22-1, 17 KOs), USA

“He’s a hyped fighter and I’m not fond of the way he carries himself. He lost (to ‘Canelo’) and then went on a world tour. Who does that? And he called out (heavyweight) Anthony Joshua after he was knocked out. He is the guy I want to fight the most if I could fight anybody in our division. He’s always looking for a knockout and he’s not that solid a boxer.”

Fulghum was a decorated amateur boxer who was ranked No. 1 in the USA as a heavyweight, but as a professional he’s fought strictly as a super middleweight. He captured top honors at the 2018 National Golden Gloves Tournament and 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, both of these major amateur accomplishments achieved while he was earning a nursing degree from Prairie View A & M University.

Fulghum is working with 3 Point Management (3 PM), which has a growing stable of gifted boxers including WBA & WBO Cruiserweight World Champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs), WBO No. 1 & WBA No. 2-rated world super flyweight title challenger John “Scrappy” Ramirez (14-1, 9 KOs), former world heavyweight  champion/ WBC No. 4 rated Oleksandr “Nails” Gvozdyk (21-2, 17 KOs), former WBA Inter-Continental Light Heavyweight Champion Kareem “Supreme” Hackett (12-1, 6 KOs) and German junior welterweight Simon “Saucy” Vollmer (6-0, 2 KOs).

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Toro Promotions, Inc.

Flexing its Heavyweight Muscles Around the boxing world

Story by Leonard Carmichael

LOS ANGELES (April 2025) – Toro Promotions, Inc. has built a powerhouse stable of heavyweights that is making noise all around the boxing world.  

“When I see the same old, tired heavyweight names being run up the flagpole, over and over again, I just laugh,” United States matchmaker Whit Haydon said. “This group of heavyweights not only fits in on the world scene and is more capable of filling obvious void in talent, but will also inject badly needed life into what is for the most part stale.”

Last week in  Saudi Arabia, the one-two punch of Tostne “Mr. T” Rogava (11-0, 8 KOs) and Dante Stone (18-1, 12 KOs) both registered knockouts in the preliminary round of the inaugural Rydah Season/WBC Boxing Grand Prix.

Tostne, a Ukraine Olympian born in Georgia, used a devastating body attack to stop his Australian opponent, Lewis Clarke (6-2, 3 KOs), with a body shot at the 2:32 mark of the opening round, while Stone (18-1, 12), fighting out of Chandler, Arizona, extended his win streak to 18 with a second-round knockout of Indalesio Teran (3-1-1, 1 KO), of Mexico.

Tostne and Stone advanced to the round of 16 in June.

The single-elimination tournament is being streamed live exclusively on www.dazn.com/wbc. It started with a total of 128 fighters in four weight classes – featherweight, super lightweight, middleweight, and heavyweight.

All fighters are subjected to random drug testing in compliance with the WBC’s Clean Boxing Program, as well as Riyadh Season’s commitment to VADA testing.

The opening round of 32 matches had scheduled six-round bouts, which will increase to eight for the final rounds in each division, and participating fighters represent more than 40 countries from around the wo

 In addition to the $200,000 winner’s purse, the four divisional winners will receive the Jose Sulaimán Trophy, named after the late WBC President Jose Sulaimán, who first envisioned a prospect-based Boxing Grand Prix more than a decade ago. 

There is open scoring after the second and fourth rounds, a buzzer sounds 30 seconds prior to the end of each round, instant replay may be implemented, and no draws are guaranteed.

Meanwhile, the much avoided Nigeria-born Kingsley “The Black Lion” Ibeh (15-2-1, 13 KOs), fighting out of Phoenix, is riding a 10-fight win streak. The 6’ 4:, 285-pound former college (Washington University (Topeka, KS) and professional football player (Canadian Football League) is preparing to fight again in June.

Alexander “The Great” Flores (19-5-1, 17 KOs), of Rowland Heights, California, has lost only to three world champions — Joseph Parker, Charles Martin, and Luis Ortiz – in addition to Rogava and Stone. Flores returned earlier this month to the one-round Team Combat League as a member of the Nashville Smash, unloading a sensational left hook on the chin that put Alex Ajabor to sleep at the 1:18 mark.

Although another undefeated heavyweight, Gurgen “Big Gug” Hovhannisyan (8-0, 7 KOs), isn’t promoted by Toro, he is managed by Vartan Torosyan, who also manages Rogava, and his brother is Toro’s promoter, Azat Torosyan. The 6’ 7”, 300-pound Armenian boxer knocked out Dajuan Calloway (11-3) in the fifth round this past weekend. Hall of Famer Joe Goossen trains Hovhannisyan and Rogava.

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3 Point Management signs 13-0 Russian Middleweight Petr “The Surgeon” Khamukov

Story by Salvador Ramirez

LOS ANGELES (April, 2025) – 3 Point Management (3 PM) has announced the signing of undefeated Russian middleweight Petr “The Surgeon” Khamukov (13-0, 6 KOs), one of the most accomplished Russian amateur boxers, to an exclusive managerial contract.

Now residing in Woodland Hills (CA), Khamukov is a promotional free agent who is trained by Danny Salazar. Khamukov had 350 amateur matches, represented his native country in the 2016 Olympics – the only Russian to qualify for the same Olympics in two weights classes (middleweight and light heavyweight) – and he captured gold medals at the 2015 European Championships and 2016 Russian National Championships.

Khamukov, 33, has had a difficult time securing significant fights, which is the primary reason he decided to sign with 3 PM. His last fight was last May, in which Petr stopped Esau Herrera de la Cruz (21-16-1) in the third round.

“I saw the situation at 3 PM,” Khamukov explained why he signed with 3 PM. “I want to be world champion; they want to add another world champion to its team. Their desire to help me is why I signed. I hope to come back, probably in May, and my goal is to be ranked in the top 10 by the end of this year. I want to be world champion and won’t stop until I succeed.”

A self-described old-school, classic boxer, Khamukov came to the United States to enhance his pro boxing career, saying Russia is not as focused on pro boxing as in the United States, noting that the amateur boxing program back home remains strong.

Khamukov joins the growing 3 Point Management (3 PM)  stable of gifted boxers including WBA & WBO Cruiserweight World Champion/Ring Magazine No. 1 rated Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs), former WBC World Light Heavyweight Champion/WBC No. 4 rated Oleksandr “Nails” Gvozdyk (20-2, 16 KOs), world super flyweight title challenger/WBO No. 1 rated John “Scrappy” Ramirez (14-1, 9 KOs), WBA #4 rated super middleweight Darius “DFG” Fulgham (14-0, 12 KOs), former WBA Inter-Continental Light Heavyweight Champion Kareem “Supreme” Hackett (12-1, 6 KOs) and German junior welterweight Simon “Saucy” Vollmer (7-0, 3 KOs).

Salazar realizes he’s training a future star, one who only needs a break in terms of having major fights against name opponents.

“His 350 amateur matches mean he has a lot of experience,” Salazar noted. “We just added a little American and Mexican styles. He can fight in any way. He’s such a technician, eager to learn, and never says no when we tell him to do something. He’s more than ready for 10-round fights, but nobody wants to fight him at 160. We can go down to junior middleweight for the proper fight, but he’s ready for anybody at 160. We just haven’t been able to get those fights and that’s why we’re with 3 PM. We’ll continue to work on the basics, but what he needs are fights. Nobody wants to fight Petr!”

“The Surgeon” is prepared to operate on the elite of the world middleweights.

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BOXING INSIDER BRINGS DOMINGUEZ BACK TO SONY HALL MAY 9

The All-star card also features unbeaten females, local and national amateur stars

Story by Salvador Ramirez

Boxing Insider Promotions returns to Sony Hall for its 12th boxing event in Times Square on Friday Night May 9 for an action-packed night of NYC club boxing on Broadway. Tickets are on sale now.

The main event features a 10-round flyweight clash between Sony Hall Favorite Andy Dominguez (12-1, 6 KOs) and Nelvis Rodriguez (10-2, 5 KOs). Andy is a NYC fan favorite making his 5th appearance on the Boxing Insider at Sony Hall series.

An eight-round female co-feature has undefeated female lightweights Catherine Aiura (5-0, 3 KOs) of Chicago against Peggy Whitmore (5-0, 1 KO) of Cleveland. 

The co-feature showcases featherweight Yandiel Lozano, a highly touted Puerto Rican prospect is making his pro debut in a six-rounder in association with Queensbury Promotions and Shelly Finkel. 

Another six-round bout features unbeaten junior featherweight Giovanni Figueroa (5-0-1, 5 KOs) from the Bronx, who has stopped all but one opponent in the first round.

Also in a six-rounder, welterweight Yoel Angeloni (5-0, 3 KOs), a Cuban-Italian southpaw with a 130-2 amateur record, returns after a March TKO win in Association with Dibella Entertainment. 

Additionally, Bronx junior middleweight Sharif One debuts in a four-rounder against Austin Spivey.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. ET, with the first bout at 7:30 p.m. ET at Sony Hall, 235 W. 46th Street, Manhattan.

• Tickets: https://www.ticketweb.com/event/fight-night-in-times-square-sony-hall-tickets/14390463?pl=sonyhall&REFID=250509artist

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Headlining again at home a dream come true for 16-0-1 junior middleweight Anthony Velasquez

By Salvador Ramirez

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 2025) – It’s always been a dream of unbeaten Springfield (MA) junior middleweight prospect Anthony “ATV” Velazquez (16-0-1, 14 KOs) and this Saturday night (Apr. 26) he will headline a card presented by Reyes Boxing for the second time in his last three fights.

Last September, Velasquez won a 10-round unanimous decision over Florent Dervis (10-1) for the vacant North American Boxing Federation (NABF) Junior 147-pound title.

Velasquez, 29, takes on Yusuph “Mr. Mwanza” Metu (11-1, 8 KOs), of Tanzania, at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. The 32-year-old Metu will be fighting in the United States for the first time, as well as only his second outside of his native Tanzania, in which he suffered his lone loss, by way of a 10-round unanimous decision, last September in Moscow to Albert Khamkhoev (10-0, 4 KOs) for the Eurasian Super Welterweight Championship.

“It feels great to be headlining again at home in Springfield,” Velasquez said. “It had always been a dream of mine since I was 11. A have a lot of people supporting me here and a lot of kids look up to me. I didn’t have someone growing up here. People here expect big things from me. There are negative environments everywhere; sports are positive for kids, and I use that for motivation.

“I know my opponent is 11-1, my size, and fighters from Africa are tough and always in shape with a lot of pride. Training camp has been great. It’s been long, 14 weeks, and I’m ready to fight right now. I’ve had a lot of 10-round sparring sessions with a lot of good (his head coach” Hector Bermudez’ fighters, depending on who was in camp. All of them are undefeated.”

Under the guidance of his adviser, Gunther Feingold, Velasquez is happy with the way he is being moved, in addition to understanding he’s outgrown the New England boxing scene and likely will soon be fighting on larger platforms.

“His (Gunther) plan is to get me in bigger fights to move me into the ratings.” promotional free agent Velasquez explained. “This is my second scheduled 10-rounder, the more the better, and I hope to stay busy through the end of the year. I’m in the groove and we’ll see who is next after this fight. Promoters are watching now. I believe in my adviser, and this is my time to make a move in my weight class.”

Anthony “ATV” Velasquez is living the dream in terms of headlining at home; however, his ultimate boxing dreams include title belts, major fights with name boxers, promotional contract, and a memorable career. 

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Kansas Boxing Phenom Marco “El Tiburón” Romero Following the process for an elite prospect

By Bob Trieger

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (April 2025) – In his first scheduled six-round bout on April 12^th, Kansas boxing phenom Marco “El Tiburón” Romero (6-0, 5 KOs) only needed only-half of a round to mow down yet another opponent as he continues his aggressive fight schedule.

The 19-year-old Romero, a 23-time national amateur champion, stopped Heber Rondon (20-8, 13 KOs), of Venezuela, with a paralyzing-like left hook to the body at the 1:01 mark of the opening round at Eclipse Event Center in Denver.

“I am doing the right things by listening to my coaches and my team,” Romero said, “doing what we practice in the ring like that left hook to the body. We have worked so hard, and I’d say we are on track to greatness.

“I’m not disappointed that I haven’t been getting more rounds (12 rounds in 6 pro fights) in my fights. Rounds will come as my opposition becomes better. All I can do is my job and, if that means getting my opponent out of there in the first or last round I’ll do it”

Romero has embarked on an extremely busy 2025 tentative fight schedule for Romero this year continuing May 24 in Topeka (KS), June 14 in Portland (ME), June 27 in Wichita (KS), September 6 in Olathe (KS – Marco’s hometown), and back November 8 to Portland (ME).

“I am very excited about my fight schedule for the rest of 2025,” Romero added, “especially with some being in Kansas. To just be able to stay this active is amazing. We will be doing more six-round fights, but a potential eight-rounder in November is being talked about.”

The architects of Romero’s steady development and accelerated fight schedule are his legendary manager/head trainer John Bown and deeply connected adviser Al Valenti.

“Marco continues to train hard every day and, in fact, as a salute to George Foreman, I got Marco in the woods with a 15-pound axe chopping trees down like Goege’s old school training,” Brown commented. “We have Marco on a very active schedule for one simple reason – THIS KID LOVES TO FIGHT!” 

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Former world champion Oleksandr “Nails” Gvozdyk

Returns this Saturday to the ring

By Salvador Ramirez

LOS ANGELES (April 2025) – Former World Boxing Council (WBC) and Lineal Light Heavyweight World Champion Oleksandr “Nails” Gvozdyk (20-2, 16 KOs) returns to the ring this Saturday for an eight-round bout against Anthony Hollaway (9-7-3, 7 KOs) at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California.

Gvozdyk vs. Hollaway will be streamed as part of the preliminary card on Golden Boy Promotions’ (GBP) YouTube channel.

Gvozdyk hasn’t fought since last June, when he lost a 12-round decision to David Benavidez for the WBA Interim Light Heavyweight World title.

Ukraine-native Gvozdyk, 37, captured a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics. “Nails” is currently world rated at No. 4 by the WBC, as well as No. 7 Ring Magazine, and No. 10 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO).

In 2018, Gvozdyk stopped Adonis Stevenson (29-1-1) in the 11th round of their fight in Montreal to become the new WBC and lineal world champion. Gvozdyk successfully defended his crown once, when he defeated Dgumbu (38-8) in Philadelphia by way of a technical knockout in round five.

Gvozdyk is positioned for one more light heavyweight world title shot in arguably the hottest weight classes in boxing.

The loaded, contemporary light heavyweight division features potential Hall of Fame candidates such as Dmitry Bivol, Artur Beterviev, and Benavidez. Gvozdyk’s only two losses as a professional have been to two of the leading contemporary 175-pounders, Beterbiev and Benavidez. Gvozdyk suffered the only knockout of his pro career against Beterbiev and last June, the Ukrainian fighter lost a 12-round unanimous decision to Benavidez for the WBC Interim Light Heavyweight World title.

“Light heavyweight is one of the most exciting divisions right now in boxing,” Gvozdyk said. “There was a time right after Roy Jones, Jr. when there wasn’t a lot of super interest. But then, during my early time, we had Sergey Kovalev, (Adonis) Stevenson, Jean Pascal and Bernard Hopkins in the light heavyweight division. It was good but now we have an undisputed world light heavyweight champion (Bivol), a former undisputed world champ (Beterbiev), two World Interim Champions (Benavidez and Callum Smith), and one former World Interim Champion (Joshua Buatsi), and three Olympians (Beterbiev, Albert Ramirez and Buatsi).” 

Gyozdyk, a promotional free agent, took time from his training session to break down some of the leading light heavyweights in the world:

Dmitrii Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs), Undisputed, Unified World Light Heavyweight Champion, Kyrgyzstan

“He is so skilled with such a high boxing IQ. I was supposed to fight him (in the amateurs) at the 2013 World University Championships, but was injured and couldn’t fight, and I became champion. He is the best light heavyweight in the world. He is complete; speed, footwork, everything. In his first fight against Beterbiev, Bivol showed a little weakness going the distance. To be the best you have to beat the best and Bivol did in their second fight.”

Artur Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs), former Undisputed, Unified World Light Heavyweight Champion, 2-time Olympian, Russia

“First, it’s his power. He is a naturally strong guy who can hurt opponents, especially when he gets them on the ropes. Some of the faster guys can give him some trouble – he is 40 – bit he neutralizes what his opponents do well.”

David “The Monster” Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs), WBC Interim Light Heavyweight World Champion, Former WBC Super Middleweight World Champion, United States

“He has tremendous hand speed who puts on relentless pressure. I’m not saying he can beat Bivol; he could with his power, but I’d still pick Bivol”

Callum “Mundo” Smith (31-2, 22 KOs), WBO Interim Light Heavyweight World Champion, former WBA Super Middleweight World Champion

“I’d really like to fight Smith for his title. He’s good, experienced and has a good jab. I believe I can beat him to become champion.”

Anthony Yarde (26-3, 24 KOs), 2016 Olympian, United Kingdom

“A good, solid fighter who has experience and a physical game. He’s a competitive fighter and one of those fighters, to be respectful, on my radar. He has a good style.”

Albert “El Vigia” Ramirez (20-0, 17 KOs), 2016 Olympian, Venezuela

“I honestly don’t know very much about him, not enough to break him down. I need to study him.”

Joshua Buatsi (19-1, 13 KOs), former WBO Interim World Cruiserweight Champion,

2016 Olympic bronze medalist, Ghana

“He was the (WBO) Interim Champion until Smith recently beat him in a good fight. He has good hands and was a good amateur, taking gold at the Olympics.”

Gvozdyk is now working with 3 Point Management (3 PM), which has a growing stable of gifted boxers including WBA & WBO Cruiserweight World Champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs), world super flyweight title challenger/WBO #1 & WBA #2 John “Scrappy” Ramirez (14-1, 9 KOs), WBA #4 rated super middleweight Darius “DFG” Fulgham (14-0, 12 KOs),former WBA Inter-Continental Light Heavyweight Champion Kareem “Supreme” Hackett (12-1, 6 KOs) and German junior welterweight Simon “Saucy” Vollmer (6-0, 2 KOs).

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By Bob Trieger

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (April 2025) – Undefeated Canadian super lightweight prospect Eric Basran (8-0, 3 KOs) defeated previously unbeaten Isaiah “Kyree-James” Johnson (11-1, 7 KOs) earlier today by way of  a six-round split decision in arguably the Fight of the Night in the preliminary round (16 bouts) of the inaugural Riyadh Season/World Boxing Council (WBC) Boxing Grand Prix  in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The 26-year-old Johnson is a Philadelphia southpaw fighter from the United States.

“I just want to thank everyone who has supported me throughout my career,” Basran said after his fight. “A special thanks to my coach, Jon Quinit, and my promotional team, Three Lions Promotions. A special thanks to Turki Al-Sheikh, Mauricio Sulaimán, and the entire WBC staff. I’m in it to win it and I can’t wait for the next round.”

All winners of the 16 preliminary round bouts advance to the quarterfinals (16 fighters, 8 bouts) of the Grand Prix tournament in June. Basran will take on Ukrainian southpaw Danylo Lozan (13-0, 8 KOs), who won a six-round unanimous decision over reigning Eurasian Boxing Parlement Champion Kamronbek Eshmatov (10-2, 7 KOs) to advance. Lozan, 22, captured a gold medal at the European U-23 Championships.

Basran, fighting out of Surrey, British Columbia, as an amateur was a four-time Canadian National Champion, who won the 2019 Canadian Olympic Qualifier, in addition to capturing a bronze medal at the 2019 Commonwealth Games.                                                                                    

The single-elimination tournament is being streamed live exclusively on www.dazn.com/wbc. It started with a total of 128 fighters in four weight classes – featherweight, super lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight – and the first preliminary round concludes this Sunday.

“I gave my word before the tournament started that Basran is going to win the tournament.

Round one is done, and he showed his skill set,” Basran’s promoter Dan Otter (Three Lions Promotions) commented. “He was by far the most skilled boxer in his weight class. Thanks to WBC President Mauricio Sulaimán and Turki Al-Sheikh for making this possible.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

All fighters will be subject to random drug testing in compliance with the WBC’s Clean Boxing Program, as well as Riyadh Season’s commitment to VADA testing.

The opening round of 32 matches had scheduled six-round bouts, which will increase to eight for the final rounds in each division, and participating fighters represent more than 40 countries from around the world.                                                                                                                         

In addition to the $200,000 winner’s purse, the four divisional winners will receive the Jose Sulaimán Trophy, named after the late WBC President Jose Sulaimán, who first envisioned a prospect-based Boxing Grand Prix more than a decade ago. 

There is open scoring after the second and fourth rounds, a buzzer sounds 30 seconds prior to the end of each round, instant replay may be implemented, and no draws are guaranteed.

 

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OVERSEAS BOXING MATCHES

By Per-Ake Persson

 

 

Fight Action Around The Globe

For the rest of the world, it was a rather quiet weekend but for fighters from Finland, Denmark and Sweden it was quite busy with fights in the US, Australia, Denmark, Finland and Malta.

Let’s begin in Helsinki, Finland, Friday (April 11) with the professional boxing event staged by Elite Boxing as part of the big GeeBee Olympic Boxing Tournament.

Cruiserweight Samuli Karkkainen (21-3) stopped Czech journeyman Jiri Svacina (his record is around 17-66-2) in five rounds. Svacina fought as if it was another day in the office and was an elusive target for the Finnish southpaw but eventually the Czech was badly cut by the left eye and the fight was stopped.

In Toppenash, Washington, Shady Gamhour (14-29 revived his career and got revenge over Devontae McDonald (8-5) in an eight rounder that topped a show put on by Shady’s mentor, sometimes trainer and here also co-promoter, the legendary Roy Jones, Jr, who also did commentary of the show for Direct TV.

Gamhour won with scores of 77-75 twice and 78-74 and Shady is back on track after back-to-back losses. It must also be said that the now 34-year-old Sweden has been fighting professionally since 2016 without really getting anywhere with long layoffs due to injuries.

In Pembroke in Malta, Swedish super middle champ Niclas Eelfstedt and his opponent had weighed in alright but an hour before the opponent went awol and could not be found.

Clarence “Creole King” Goyeram (6-0) floored his opponent Peter Salami, who made his pro debut in the first but was floored himself in the fifth but got up and won on points after six rounds.

In Pandrup in the North of Denmark, Primetime Promotions staged a show headlined by a fight for the inaugural International Danish Cruiserweight Title between Steffen Rorstrom ( 5-0) and Dutchman Killal Hallie (13-1). Neither man had been past eight rounds, both are southpaws and counter punchers. This made for a close, slow paced tactical fight with many even rounds. The Dane was floored by a body punch late in the fourth and was hurt by a blow to the temple late in the ninth and that seemed to make a difference but the Danish judges had it 95-94 and 96-93 for Rorstrom and 95-94 for Hallie.

On the undercard lightweight Elias Idrissi (9-0) knocked out Hungarian Sandor “don’t let the record fool you” Szabo (11-1) in the second. Szabo was hurt by right hand, and it took a long time for him to recover. He was in way over his head against the Danish prospect, who is ready for bigger things.

Ukrainian, living in Denmark, super welter Denys Presotskyy (3-0) again outscored Swede Mohammed Al Maliki (3-2), this time over six rounds. It was a messy fight and Presotskyy, world class as an amateur, could never find the distance while Al Maliki was unable to mount an offense of his own. It was scored 59-55 and 58-54 twice for Denys, but it looked closer than that.

Finally, in Flemington (outskirts of Melbourne) Swedish-Serbian cruiserweight Goran Babic (9-3-2) was stopped in the first round by hometown hero Karim Maatalla (9-2). Babic complained that his opponent had gotten away with a lot of punches to the back of the head and that the referee did not do anything about it. However, Maatalla got the win and won the vacant WBC Australian title.

Babic has now fought for the Swedish, Serbian, WBC Mediterranean and WBC Australasian titles and his record in title fights (all on the road) is a respectable 1-3-1.

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NOEL MIKAELIAN SET TO FACE BADOU JACK FOR WBC CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP ON MAY ON MAY  3 IN RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

Story by TJ Delefave

MIAMI, FL (April 2025)—Promoter Don King and the Sela Company and his excellency have come to an agreement to have WBC Cruiserweight Champion Badou Jack and Noel Mikaelian fight for the title on May 3 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Mikaelian will attempt to reclaim his championship out of recess after the WBC awarded the title to Jack. Mikaelian will step in for the injured Ryan Rozicki, who won’t be able to compete because of an injury he sustained in training. The fight will be part of the Canelo Alvarez vs. William Scull fight card.

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The Former Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder Is Scheduled To Square Off Against Tyrrell Herndon In June In Wichita, Kansas

Story by Alexander Rinaldi

Thankfully, the great former Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KO’s), who held the WBC title from 2015 to 2020, is getting back into shape for his upcoming fight against Tyrrell Herndon in a 10-round heavyweight bout at Charles Koch Arena Wichita, Kansas.

Although Wilder lost two of his last three fights, prior to that he has a career record of 42-2-1 (41 KO’s), hardly someone who is close to the skids. 

Instead on June 27^th he returns to the ring against Tyrrell Herndon in an effort to rejuvenate his career and get back in the fold. As Wilder recently said, “God will give you the victory if you give Him glory. What has just begun is the war.”

Deontay was a fighting champion during his prime. In 43 fights, prior to losing to Tyson Fury, Wilder went undefeated and scored over 40 KO’s.  The problem was his British counterpart Anthony Joshua stayed away from Wilder as if Deontay’s fists would kill the big Brit like a Medieval plague.

Wilder’s biggest rival was Tyson Fury, whom he drew with in the first fight and lost the second two via knockout. While Wilder may have lost those two fights – they were exciting back and forth fights where both fighters landed on the canvas.

When he faced Joseph Parker in December 2023, Wilder appeared unprepared for the fight and lost by way of decision. 

The next fight saw Wilder stopped against Zhilei Zhang in the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh last June.

Faced with making an important decision on his career after that setback against Zhang, Wilder 39, from Alabama appears decided to move forward with his career. 

Now with Joshua also coming off a devastating defeat to Daniel Dubois, and Fury having retired, Wilder’s name has popped back into the conversation for a potential Joshua fight in 2025. A win over Herndon in June could potentially set up just that for Wilder.

Hopefully Wilder can pull a George Foreman and get back into the thick of things in the heavyweight division. Boxing needs a ring killer like Wilder.

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Remembering George Foreman

Story by Alex and John Rinaldi

From the Skyscrapers of New York to the Mount Fuji Mountains near Tokyo to Stonehenge in Great Britain all the way to the Northern Lights in Alaska, sadness reigned in arenas and boxing rings around the world as the news of the legendary George Foreman’s passing.

Like the family man he was, George foreman died with his expansive family around him in his sprawling $10 million estate in Huffman, Texas.

Foreman was married for more than 40 years to his fifth wife, Mary Joan Martelly Foreman, and he had 12 children, seven girls and five boys. Famously, all of his sons were named George Foreman.

Along with his fellow former Heavyweight rivals, Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali, Foreman was part of the Golden Age of heavyweight boxing in the 1970s. The three great champions thrilled fans across the globe with one classic bout after another. As result, in the 1970’s no sport reached higher heights than boxing.

Foreman was the last living member of the trio – the last of the Magnificent Three.

George Foreman was a true original whose story was a one-of-a kind rags to riches story. While many men from poor or delinquent backgrounds find athletics as a chance of escapism or a safety valve to fame and fortune, Foreman’s rise was vastly distinctive from the rest.

Like most of the others, George experienced a rags to riches narrative leading from a rock bottom beginning to the highest plateau and heights in all of sports. But unlike the others, Foreman suffered a horrible fall, which was accompanied and followed by a revelation from God, then a return to his original sport– boxing- almost ten years to the day he left.

From there he rose to even greater pinnacles than the legendary Phoenix and, in turn, he made himself the most recognizable name and face across the world.

George Foreman, like a gladiator in Roman Times, came, went, and conquered, and in the process became lionized, not only in his chosen profession of boxing, but also to multitudes throughout the globe.

The most remarkable dissimilarity between Foreman and the so-called other great athletes in the vast history of sports, was that George went through an amazing metamorphosis. So much so, that when he emerged literally from obscurity and self-induced hibernation, he had transformed himself to an entirely different person. Big George looked different, sounded different, spoke different, and more importantly his personality was different.

He was no longer the mean snarling George Forman of the 1960’s and 1970’s.

The George that emerged from the hinterlands in the middle of the 1980s was, in fact, a reincarnation of the original George Foreman. In its place now stood a jovial, funny, and captivating George Foreman. The only feature of his past that remained was his unbelievable punching power and brute physical strength.

The combination of his new appearance and old power would eventually catapult George Foreman to summits that would have been deemed both unimaginable and unreachable in the past. In the process he became the most recognizable man in the world, and more importantly he would regain the Heavyweight title he lost to Muhammad Ali in 1974 and become the oldest Heavyweight Champion of the World.

George Edward Foreman was born on Jan. 10, 1949, in Marshall, Texas. It was a tough area especially for African American youths like Foreman, who soon became a bully because of his size and a petty criminal. He even dropped out of school during his teens. As Foreman later claimed, he was on a gravel road to nowhere. Then he heard about President Lyndon Johnson’s Job Corps. He joined at the age of 16 and by 17 he found boxing.

He was a natural fighter. He was mean, big, and had a bigger punch than anyone else. Fistic Lore will later report that George Foreman and Rocky Marciano were the only two fighters who punched holes into heavy bags, thereby requiring special thicker bags to be made for them.

Foreman worked his way quickly up the ranks of amateur boxing and eventually at the age of 19 years old cemented a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico.

Like Muhammad Ali, and Joe Frazier before him (Floyd Patterson also earned a gold medal but in the Middleweight Division), Foreman became the Olympic Heavyweight Champion, defeating Ionas Chepulis of the Soviet Union by a second-round knockout in Mexico City in 1968.

After his great win, Foreman refused to follow the lead of other African Americans like track athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos who raised clenched fists during the national anthem. Instead, George in a true gesture of his love of America waved a small American flag in the ring.

“I was just glad to be an American,” said Foreman afterwards. “Some people have tried to make something of it, calling me an Uncle Tom, but I’m not. I just believe people should live together in peace.”
As many fighters did before him, Foreman turned professional shortly after returning from the Olympic games.

In 1969 at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden then considered the Mecca of Boxing, George Foreman began his storied career by scoring a savage three-round knockout over Donald Walheim. After that he started a heavy schedule of fights, often as much as a dozen per year.

After that fight he defeated such top contenders as Chuck Wepner (TKO 3), Jack O’Halloran (KO 5), and George Chuvalo (TKO 3).

By 1971, Forman was the number one ranked heavyweight contender with an impressive record of 32–0 (29 KO). After winning 5 more fights, Foreman finally got a shot at the legendary undefeated Heavyweight Champion Smokin’ Joe Frazier on January 22, 1973.

Although he entered the ring in Kingston, Jamaica with a record of (37-0, 34 KO’s), George was 3-1 underdog against the great Joe Frazier who had previously defeated Muhammad Ali two years earlier after dropping him with a terrific left hook in round 15.

Once the bell rang to start the fight, Foreman acted nothing like an underdog.

On the contrary he resembled some of the greatest heavyweight ring killers in history such as Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, and Rocky Marciano before him.

Foreman punched as if his fists contained the power of Thor. He hurt Frazier immediately and swiftly dominated the fight, knocking Frazier down six times before the contest was stopped halfway through the second round.

One of those knockdowns led the famed television announcer Howard Cosell to shout one of his most famous calls: “Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!”

George Foreman knocked Joe Frazier down six times within two rounds (the three-knockdown rule was not in effect for this bout). One of the punches even caused Frazier to go briefly in the air. After the second knockdown, Frazier’s balance and mobility were impaired to the extent that he was unable to evade Big George’s explosive-like punches. As a testament to his guts and bravery, after each knockdown, Frazier bravely managed to get to his feet for all six knockdowns. Unfortunately for the heroic Frazier, referee Arthur Mercante had seen enough and stopped the one-sided bout.

Viewing the fight live, the New York Times reporter said, “It was unbelievable. In little more than four and a half minutes, George Foreman destroyed Joe Frazier tonight, and the man who supposedly couldn’t lose never had even one ghost of a chance for victory. So there is a new heavyweight champion of the world, and he won it with skills.”

After winning the title, Foreman defended the title twice scoring two devastating knockouts of Jose Roman (KO 1) and Ken Norton (TKO 2). It was the same Ken Norton who had recently given Muhammad Ali the second loss of his career, and who later became the WBC Heavyweight Champion.

In the meantime, Ali then went on a string of three victories including wins over Ken Norton (rematch) and the second fight with Joe Frazier.

The fight between Foreman and Ali was eventually set to take place in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) in 1974 that would become known as the Rumble in the Jungle.

Unlike in his fight against Frazier, in this fight Foreman was the strong favorite.

Ali won the fight after employed his “rope-a-dope” strategy, whereby he would rest on slackened ropes that caused him to lean back sometimes as far as four feet from Foreman who tried desperately to reach his Muhammad’s outstretched chin.

This caused Foreman to punch himself out, though Foreman later claimed he was poisoned.

Ali finished the fight with a left-right combination that dropped George to the canvas. Once he landed on the ring floor, the referee began one of the fastest counts in boxing history. The referee started counting over Foreman before Ali even made it back to the neutral corner.

Sadly, after Ali won, he deliberately ducked Foreman for years. Apparently, he did not want to deal again with Foreman’s punch or size. Lightning only strikes once, and Ali figured that there was no chance of lightening striking again.

While Foreman quickly became the number one contender by beating five fighters over the course of one year, including an exciting KO win over Ron Lyle (KO 5) and another devastating knockout of Joe Frazier (TKO 5).

Instead of Ali granting Foreman the title shot he chose instead to battle three non-entities in the form of John-Pierre Coopman, known as the Lion of Flanders, who had less courage than the Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz, and Richard Dunn, and Alfredo Evangalista, both of whom had the courage of a sheep herder and the jaw of a poet.

Unfortunately, seeing no real title shot in sight, Foreman lost a decision to Jimmy Young. It was in that fight where George believed he saw God when he collapsed from exhaustion after the fight in his dressing room.

After that loss, he retired at age 28 and disappeared from boxing for nearly ten years having started preaching the bible as a Christian Minister in Houston and starting a Youth Center.

He later said that he died after that fight. “Things changed for me,” he said. “I definitely died. I had an experience while I was dead and alive again.” He said he was given “another chance to live,” and decided to give his life to God.

With his ring money running out he decided to go back to the only profession that had earlier made him millions.

“I want to be champion again,” he said in 1987. “I’ve got a three-year plan. I want to start at the bottom. Train harder than any man in the world. Fight once a month.”

To his credit and character – Foreman did just that.

Although there was a great deal of criticism and skepticism of the new George Foreman, in time George proved all those naysayers wrong.

As a matter of fact, the only sports outlet or publication that supported Foreman from the beginning was THE USA BOXING NEWS – and we turned out to be right.

Foreman began the second leg of his boxing career knocking out Steve Zouski on March 9, 1987, at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California.

After scoring seven straight knockouts, Foreman took on former Light Heavyweight Champion and Cruiserweight Champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi who was on a course to try and recapture his Cruiserweight Championship that he lost to Evander Holyfield then again in their rematch. After a relatively slow start, Foreman stopped Qawi in the seventh round of their scheduled 10 rounder.

After this fight people finally took notice.

After that he rattled six more wins including wins over Bert Cooper (RTD 2), Everett Martin (UD 10), and Gerry Cooney (KO 2).

After scoring a KO win over Terry Anderson on September 25, 1990, in London England, Foreman’s record reached 24 -0 (23 KO’s) since he came back in 1986.

Because of George’s newfound fame for his great sense of humor and various commercials for items from Doritos to Meineke Mufflers, along with his huge wins against quality opponents, George finally earned a shot at Evander Holyfield who was the reigning Undisputed heavyweight Champion of the World.

Before that fight, in 1990 both Foreman and Mike Tyson appeared on a fight card together fighting other fighters. After these fights, promoter Don King wanted to set a fight between the two famous gladiators. Foreman wanted that fight while Tyson refused. When we spoke to Foreman about this he said, “Tyson is scared of me.”  George also said that he would have knocked Tyson out.

Later, and more recently, Tyson apparently admitted this fact.

“I was there when Don was trying to make the fight, said King then matchmaker r Bobby Goodman. “He was telling Tyson that Foreman represented huge money, plus he was old and slow and would be no problem.” Tyson got up and screamed at King saying, ‘I’m not fighting that f***** animal, if you love the m******** so much, you fight him! “

On April 19, 1991, at age 42, Foreman entered the ring against the undefeated Champion Evander Holyfield at a sold-out Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. After some pretty close rounds, Evander Holyfield retained his title by a unanimous decision. Though he lost the fight, George put on a brave and admirable performance.

Still, Foreman was saddened by the loss, and many figured that it seemed to be the end of Foreman’s title dreams.

Of course, THE USA BOXING NEWS again felt otherwise.

Luckily, so did Foreman.

He went on to fight four more fights including wins over top contenders Alex Stewart and Pierre Coetzer.

His only lost was a close decision to then top ranked Tommy Morrison.

After his win over Foreman, Holyfield defended his title four more times until he lost it to Riddick Bowe in 1992. Evander reclaimed it from Bowe in 1993 only to lose it to Michael Moorer in 1994.

Although Foreman was coming off a close loss, fans still clamored to see Big George fight for the title again.

When all things looked bleak and Foreman was now turning 45 years old, he got the chance, probably his one last chance, to reclaim the biggest prize in all of ports – the Heavyweight Championship of the World.

“It’s not about deserving,” Foreman said with a smile, “because I’ve got it.”

The fight took place in November 5, 1994 before a sell-out crowd in Las Vegas at the MGM Arena. Surprisingly, Foreman entered the ring wearing the exact trunks he wore when he lost to Muhammad Ali 20 years before in Zaire.

Foreman fought tough, but the undefeated lefty Michael Moorer was winning every round going into the tenth round. To show his confidence and condition, Foreman had stood rather than sit on a stool between rounds.

Somehow, Moorer decided to go for the knockout and Foreman countered with a thundering right hand that smashed the champion on the sweet part of the jaw as if he was stuck by a blacksmith’s anvil. The great Michael Moorer was unconscious before he landed hard and fast on the canvas. As the crowd stood standing in pure disbelief, the referee counted out the magical ten-count as the place erupted in pure pandemonium. Foreman literally shocked the world with his big win.

As the crowd sheered, Big George kneeled and prayed as he was once again the Heavyweight Champion of the World.

Moorer had thrown 641 punches, to 369 by Foreman. But the last punch was the one that counted.

He became the oldest heavyweight champion in history.

“Anything you desire, you can make happen,” he said after the Moorer fight. “Anything you desire, you can make happen,” he said after the fight. “It’s like the song, ‘When you wish upon a star your dreams come true.’ Well, look at me tonight.”

On account of his big win, in 1994, the Associated Press named George Foreman (boxing) as the Male Athlete of the Year and Bonnie Blair (speed skating) as the Female Athlete of the Year.

Unfortunately, and almost crookedly, ESPN – gave that year’s ESPY Award to alleged baseball cheater Barry Bonds who had only a .312 batting average on a meaningless baseball year.

Considering that 1994 was a strike-shortened season in baseball which both the owners and the payers were co-conspirators in, and that the fans and ticket buyers were totally screwed and treated out of their money that they spent on tickets – NO baseball player, much less the despicable Barry Bonds should have eclipsed the greatest feat of the world captured by Foreman.

We were one of the baseball season ticket holders who were literally robbed and cheated by Major League Baseball who have shown all these years to have the loyalty of rattle snakes. 

Foreman next defended his belt against a German fighter, Axel Schulz. His final fight was a loss, a close decision to Shannon Briggs in 1997. He was 48.

He finished with a professional record of 76-5 (68 KO’s) and is widely regarded as one of the 10 best heavyweight fighters of all time; THE USA BOXING NEWS ranked him fifth. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003.

Starting in 1994, Foreman forged a successful career after life in the ring, with the George Foreman Grill selling in huge numbers worldwide. Foreman began endorsing the George Foreman Grill in 1994, with a big smile and predictable but still charming lines like “It’s a knockout.” The grills were electric and portable and could be used inside as an alternative to outdoor charcoal grilling. Foreman helped make the grills an American kitchen mainstay.

In 1999, Salton Inc. paid George $137.5 million for worldwide rights to use Foreman’s name on grills; Foreman got about 75% of the payout. He also endorsed mufflers, burgers, Doritos, and fried chicken.

Foreman’s affability helped him transcend boxing and cross over into the media world. In 1993-94, in the midst of his comeback, he starred in “George,” a short-lived sitcom on ABC in which he played a retired boxer helping troubled youth, and he made guest appearances on several other shows over the years. He appeared in a Venus-flytrap costume on the reality competition show “The Masked Singer” in 2022.

George Foreman goes down as one of the greatest and most likeable athletes of all time.

We have been present and many events with George Foreman and he has been wonderful with his fans signing autographs for free along with talking and taking pictures with them. Unlike athletes in other sports, such as baseball, golf, basketball, and football, where most of those athletes would rather run over fans before they greet and sign an autograph for them, Foreman, like most fighters, was very accommodating and affable with his fans.

President Donald Trump paid tribute on Truth Social: “George Foreman is dead. What a great fighter!!! He had, without question, the heaviest and biggest punch in the history of boxing. With the exception of Ali, when you got hit, you went down. He was something really special, but above all, he was a great person, with a personality that was bigger than life. I knew him well, and he will be missed. Warmest condolences to his wonderful family!!!”

Turki Alalshikh, a key figure in modern boxing and chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, described Foreman as one of “three pillars” of the sport along with Ali and Frazier.

“The last boxing pillar for an unforgettable era has passed away today,” Alalshikh posted alongside a picture of the trio. “May his soul rest in peace, Big George Foreman!”

Former NBA player Charles Barkley was close to Foreman, having similarly moved into entrepreneurial pursuits after his retirement. “He was obviously one of the greatest boxers ever, but just a gentle man, he was a pastor – and it just hurts man, plain and simple”, Barkley told CBS.
“I’m shook up right now, that caught me so off guard.”

“Condolences to George Foreman’s family,” Mike Tyson said on social media, paying tribute. “His contribution to boxing and beyond will never be forgotten.”

George Foreman along with Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Joe Frazier, and Muhammad Ali deserve to be on the Mount Rushmore of Heavyweight Champions.

He will be greatly missed because he was so greatly loved by all.

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Third time the charm

Top Ranked Contender Ryan “The Bruiser” Rozicki to Challenge WBC Cruiserweight World Champion

Badou Jack on May 3 in Saudi Arabia

Story by Leonard Carmichael

HAMILTON, Ontario, Canada (March  2025) – Canadian cruiserweight challenger Ryan “The Bruiser” Rozicki (20-1-1, 19 KOs) will finally get his World Boxing Council (WBC) Cruiserweight World title shot against defending champion Badou “The Ripper” Jack (20-1-1, 19 KOs) on May 3^rd on the Riyadh Season’s high-profile card headlined by the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) versus William Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) for the Unified Super Middleweight World Championship. 

All the action will be stream live on DAZN PPV.

Proudly channeling his boxing idol, Hall of Famer Jack Dempsey, Rozicki is the WBC No. 1 mandatory challenger for the third time, but he will now get his long awaited shot. His promoter, Three Lions Promotions, won the purse bid and had originally secured a date and venue, April 26 at Centre 200 in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. Negotiations led to Jack vs. Rozicki being added to the May 3^rd show in Riyadh.

“We would like to thank his excellency Turki Al-Sheikh, David Ghansa from 258 Management, and WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman for making this fight possible. Ryan is fighting on the biggest stage possible, and he is more than ready. Come May 3 there will be a new WBC World Cruiserweight Champion,” Rozicki’s promoter Daniel Otter (Three Lions Promotions) proclaimed. “The world is going to witness the hardest puncher in boxing today. Rozicki is going to walk right through Jack and get him out of there early, mark my words!”  

Rozicki, 30, has been the WBC’s mandatory challenger since 2023, first for then-WBC Cruiserweight World Champion Noel Mikaelyan (27-2, 12 KOs), who failed to make his ordered title defense with Rozicki. The WBC named Mikaelyan its “Champion In Recess,” elevating Jack to its World Cruiserweight Champion from his position as the WBC “Champion In Recess.” Three-division world champion Jack, 41, hasn’t fought since he captured the crown on February 26, 2023.

Rozicki’s aggressive, powerful style of fighting (“The Bruiser”) has been modeled after Dempsey and the two, despite Ryan being born nearly 100 years to the day after Dempsey, even look similar. Known as a modern day Jack Dempsey, Rozicki is dedicated to honoring Dempsey’s legacy.

“My style of fighting hasn’t been seen in Saudi Arabia,” Rozicki said. I’m going to knock him (Jack) out and end his boxing career. It’s that simple. These other fighters have been ducking and dodging me for long enough; I’m putting the whole division on blast, after I’m finished with Jack, I want Jai (Opetaia – IBF, Ring Magazine, and lineal champion) and (Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ – WBA and WBO champion) next.” 

The May 3^rd card is absolutely loaded, arguably “The Event of the Year” from top to bottom. In addition to Canelo vs. Scully and Jack vs. Rozicki, other fights include middleweight Jaime Munguia (44-2, 35 KOs) vs. Bruno Surace (26-0-2, 5 KOs) in a rematch of their fight which was won by the latter in a major upset, as well as heavyweight hopeful Martin Bakole (21-2, 16 KOs) vs. Efe Ajagba (20-1, 16 KOs).

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Euri Cedeno Thrills Worldwide Audience With First-Round Stoppage Over Tovar in Bethlehem, PA

Bryce Mills Outlasts Alex Martin in Co-Feature; Stoppage Wins by Adorno, Gonzalez and Sims

Story by Salvador Ramirez

Bethlehem, PA–This past Friday night, middleweight prospect turned contender Euri Cedeno scored an explosive first round stoppage over Ulices Tovar in the main event of an eight-bout card in front of a capacity crowd at the Wind Creek Event Center.

The entertaining night of boxing was promoted by King’s Promotions and was streamed to a worldwide audience Live on DAZN.

Cedeno landed thudding shots from the outset. Towards the end of the opening frame, Cedeno landed a perfect left to the head that put Tovar on the canvas for referee Harvey Dock’s 10-count at 2:44.

Cedeno of La Romana Dominican Republic is promoted by King’s Promotions, Top Rank and Boxlab stays undefeated at 11-0-1 with 10 knockouts. Tovar od Mexico is 11-2.

In the co-feature, Bryce Mills was very workmanlike in pounding out a eight-round unanimous decision over Alex Martin in a junior welterweight bout.

Mills was the busier fighter as he stalked Martin throughout the contest. Martin would occasionally get in a counter from the southpaw stance and made the fight competitive in spots. Mills used his volume punching as he mixed up head and body shots to get the victory by scores of 78-74 twice and 77-75.

Mills of Liverpool, New York is now 18-1. Martin of Chicago is 18-7.

Joseph Adorno needed one punch to turn out the lights of Wesley Rivers in round three of their eight-round junior welterweight bout.

In round three, Adorno landed a big counter right that was followed up by a flurry to the head that put Rivers on the canvas, Rivers was able to continue, but only for a few seconds as another barrage of punches forced Harvey Dock to stop the bout at 2;02.

Adorno of Allentown, PA is now 21-4-2 with 18 knockouts. Rivers of Detroit is 8-6.

Julian Gonzalez stayed undefeated with a first-round stoppage over Armando Frausto in a junior lightweight bout.

In round one, Gonzalez dropped Frausto with a right hand between the gloves. Gonzales dropped Frausto for a second time when he landed a left hook to the head. Frausto got to his feet, but was stumbling which forced referee Eric Dali to stop the bout at 2:42.

Shera Mae Patricio won a six-round unanimous decision over Nancy Franco in a bantamweight bout.

Patricio of Waianae, Hawaii by scores of 60-54 on all cards and is now 5-0. Franco of Guadalajara, Mexico is 19-23-2.

WBA number-two ranked bantamweight Brittany Sims pounded Wendellin Cruz out in 42 seconds of round one of their eight-round bout.

Sims of Salem, Oregon is 8-3 with five knockouts. Cruz of Managua, Nicaragua is 6-17-1.

Ibraheim Robinson won a six-round unanimous decision over Rommell Toran in a welterweight bout.

Robinson of Baltimore won by scores of 60-54 on all cards and is now 8-1-1. Toran of Ohio is 2-5-1.

In a battle of Bethlehem based heavyweights, Mike Liberto stopped Adam Atiyeh in the opening round of their four-round bout.

Liberto dropped Atiyeh three times and the bout was stopped at 1:23.

Liberto is 2-0 with two knockouts. Atiyeh is 2-1.

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Undefeated Super Featherweight Prospect Carlos De Leon Castro Continues His Rise with Statement Victory

Story by Leonard Carmichael

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO (March 2025) – Boxlab Promotions’ undefeated super featherweight prospect, Carlos De Leon Castro (5-0, 3 KOs), is proving to be one of Puerto Rico’s brightest young boxing stars. This past Saturday at the Caribe Royal Resort, De Leon Castro delivered a dominant performance, securing a third-round TKO victory over Carl Rogers (3-2) in his 2025 debut, on a globally televised DAZN event promoted by Matchroom Boxing. The victory solidifies his rapid rise in the super featherweight division, reinforcing expectations that he is destined for greatness.

“I felt strong and focused going into the fight, and everything went according to plan,” said De Leon Castro reflecting on his latest victory. “My team and I prepared for this moment, and I executed perfectly. I knew I had the power and skill to break him down, and that’s exactly what happened. I’m grateful for every opportunity to showcase my talent on a big stage, and this is just the beginning.”

At just 19 years old, De Leon Castro is quickly becoming a household name in Puerto Rico, following in the footsteps of the island’s legendary boxing icons. With his undefeated record and dominant performances, many believe he has what it takes to be the next great Puerto Rican world champion.

“It’s an honor to represent my people every time I step into the ring,” De Leon Castro added. “Puerto Rico has a deep boxing tradition, and I want to make my island proud. I’m not just fighting for myself…I’m fighting for all my fans back home who believe in me. This victory is for them.”

Under the guidance of Boxlab Promotions, De Leon Castro has been placed in the perfect position to develop into an elite-level fighter. The young prospect expressed his appreciation for the team that has helped him achieve success in the early stages of his professional career.

“I couldn’t ask for a better team,” De Leon Castro concluded. “Boxlab Promotions has believed in me from day one, and they continue to put me in the right fights to help me grow. I trust them completely, and together, we are going to reach the top. I also want to thank my core team for all the sacrifices they made to get me here.”

“Everything is going exactly as planned for Carlos,” said Boxlab Promotions President Amaury Piedra. “His development has been exceptional, and he continues to impress every time he steps into the ring. He has the talent, the work ethic, and the mindset to become something special in this sport. We are proud of his progress and excited for what’s ahead.”

With another impressive win under his belt, Carlos De Leon Castro remains one of the most exciting prospects in the sport. As he continues his rise through the ranks, Puerto Rican boxing fans have every reason to believe they are witnessing the emergence of their next great champion.

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FightBook Welcomes Tim VanNewhouse as Business Development Advisor to Drive Growth and Strategic Partnerships

Story by Salvador Ramirez

Los Angeles, CA– FightBook, the premier social network for the fight industry launching soon, is excited to welcome Tim VanNewhouse as a Business Development Advisor. A well-respected figure in boxing, VanNewhouse brings years of experience and deep relationships within the sport, which he will leverage to help expand FightBook’s reach and establish it as the essential platform for fighters, promoters, matchmakers, and industry professionals.

VanNewhouse will play a crucial role in bringing awareness to FightBook, utilizing his extensive network to introduce the platform to key stakeholders across the industry. By engaging with top promoters, managers, sanctioning bodies, and media outlets, he will help communicate FightBook’s mission and showcase how the platform enhances opportunities and connectivity within the fight business.

“FightBook is creating something truly innovative for the fight industry,” said VanNewhouse. “This platform has the potential to connect every key player in the sport, from fighters and coaches to promoters and sponsors, making it easier than ever to do business and grow the sport globally.”

In his role, VanNewhouse will focus on securing strategic partnerships and fostering relationships with industry leaders to support FightBook’s continued expansion. His efforts will help solidify FightBook as the go-to platform for fight professionals worldwide, ensuring that fighters at all levels have access to the resources, opportunities, and connections they need to succeed.

“We are thrilled to have Tim working with FightBook,” said Mark Habibi, Founder & CEO of FightBook. “His influence in the boxing world and his ability to communicate our vision to the industry will be invaluable as we continue to scale. Tim understands the fight business inside and out, and his expertise will help drive FightBook’s global impact.”

With VanNewhouse’s involvement, FightBook is poised to become the leading digital hub for the fight community, offering unparalleled access to networking, career-building opportunities, and industry growth.

For more information and to pre-register, visit Fightbook.com 

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram @fightbook

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Recent Jeter Promotions Signee Tyler Langer Ready To Announce Himself to Boxing Fans

Story by Alexander R. Rinaldi

Baltimore, MD (March 2025) –Undefeated cruiserweight prospect Tyler Langer will be looking to catapult himself into the thick of the cruiserweight division this fall.

The 29 year-old Langer of Baltimore, Maryland. has a record of 4-0 with three knockouts and already has four more prospective dates on the near horizon

Langer, who recently signed with Jeter Promotions, is coming off a fourth round stoppage over Sean Schultz on March 1st at Live! Casino and Hotel Maryland.

“He was tough and bigger. He was coming down in weight. I am a natural cruiserweight. He was one of the strongest guys that I have fought. He took a lot of my big shots. He came to win, but. my experience and skill took over. It was a fight that I needed to see where I am,” said Langer

Langer began boxing just nine years ago after a friend of his mother encouraged him to go to the gym.

Tyler amassed a record of 40-10 in the amateur ranks. “I had a hard life growing up. I joined the gym and had success. I was not able to travel for bigger competitions as we were not able to raise enough money to compete,” said Langer.

Before his last fight, Langer was able to ink a deal with Jeter. Promotions: Jeter who has been promoting sold out events over the last decade feels that he has a hidden gem in Langer.

“Tyler has a lot of ability and he will win championships. I plan to bring him along at the right pace and I can see him being a contender in the cruiserweight division in the future,” said Jeter.

Upon hearing high praise from Jeter, Langer was excited about the future.

“Tony Jeter is a great promoter. He can move me the way I need to be moved. I know he can get me to all of the regional, International and eventually world titles. He will get us to where we need to go. It feels amazing that Tony Jeter believes in me the way he does. I know what I am worth, other promoters never gave that. Tony does that. He knows that I want more rounds and undefeated opponents to lead towards belt fights.”

On keeping a busy schedule for the rest of 2025, Langer feels that it is a great opportunity to get exposure and on the radar of some of the fighters that are currently ranked high at cruiserweight.

“As a team, I love being active. I am always in the gym. It keeps my mind goal oriented and I have something to work for.”  

I know I could have at least four dates, plus a couple other fights could come up, So i would not be surprised if am 8 or 9-0 at the end of the year.

Langer is trained by Warren Boadley.at the Mack Lewis Gym in Baltimore, Maryland.

“I want everyone to believe in me and I will put the Mack Lewis Gym back on the map.”

Jeter Promotions also promotes Immanuwel Aleem, Mykal Fox, Joe Veazey, Ahmad Jones, Ezri Turner, Victor Williams, Brandon Chambers to name a few fighters in their deep roster.

Jeter Promotions has been promoting high quality events for 17 years.

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 Oleksandr Usyk-Daniel Dubois II is getting set for the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship of the World

OVERSEAS BOXING MATCHES

By Per-Ake Persson

 

 

A weekend full of thrilling battles in Denmark boxing rings

Story by Per-Ake Persson

March 8 – Copenhagen, Denmark. Promoter Bettina Palle and Danish Fight Night staged their first event for 2025 at the Scandic Hotel Sluseholmen with cruiserweight Hamza Hussein headlining. With only eight amateur fights behind him and eight pro fights Hussein took a big step up in class against the vastly more experienced 38-year-old Finn Niklas Rasanen (17-3-1). At stake was the vacant WBC International Silver title.

And Hussein did it. While he did tire and his inexperience showed at times, he dominated the fight and won a clear decision after ten rounds in a close, tense, tactical all southpaw affair. The judges had it 98-92, 97-93 and 99-91. After four Hussein led 40-36 on all cards and after eight the score was 79-73 twice and 80-72. Hussein, bigger, younger, stronger, worked behind his jab, and while Rasanan showed a good defense, and some slick moves he never opened up and fell behind on points. Hussein started showing signs of fatigue in the seventh but kept himself together. Rasanen was cut on the forehead after an accidental clash of heads and by the right eye in the final rounds. In the final two the Finn finally tried to go for it, but it was too little, too late. 

For Hussein it’s up and away while Rasanen now heads for retirement. 

Super middleweight Oliver Zaren (16-0) impressed in stopping Frenchman Samuel Cavret (8-4-1) 0:57 in the fourth round of a scheduled eight-rounder. Zaren attacked from the start, but Cavret defended himself well and scored with some good counters. However, in the third the Dane broke through and although he was stunned himself the writing was on the wall.

In the fourth Zaren floored the Frenchman with a straight right, Cavret got up and was allowed to continue but was soon backed into the ropes where the Dane landed with a left hook and Cavret went down a second time and the battle was stopped.

The show, billed as Big Boys Boxing Show, began with three heavyweights fights that all ended with the hometown fighters winning in the first round against overweight and inept opponents.

Danie Mathias Hansen (7-0, 5 KO’s) stopped Bosnian Elvis Smajlovic (17-19-3) at 2:57. Smajlovic did alright as a cruiserweight some 15 years and 50 lbs. ago but that was then. Here he was floored three times before it was over.

Ukrainian Nikolay Piddubbnyy (2-0) knocked out inept Czech Tomas Makula (3-1).

Norwegian Brage Lange (5-0) took out Croatian Marko Vucevic (5-69 at 2:30. Vucecic was floored three times.

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March 7 – Skanderborg, Denmark. Cruiserweight Ditlev Rossing (18-1) headlined this Danish Boxing Promotion event held at a packed (500) Kulturhus in this small town outside of Aarhus. The show was off TV, and everything went smoothly without long breaks for interviews or commercials.

Rossing was a few years back a rising star but fell victim to personal problems and still has a long way to go. He was however too good for Pole Krzystof Stawiarski (3-10) and won clearly after eight rounds. It was scored 80-72 on all cards but whenever Stawiarski, a tough, willing fighter, landed, Rossing looked vulnerable.

Big ticket seller, super lightweight Rasmus Mikkelsen (2-0) was floored in the first round and that silenced his supporters, but he came back and floored Georgian Amiran Abuladze (8-6-1) four times in the third for a stoppage at 2:14.

Cruiser Thorbjorn Boudigaard (5-2) stopped veteran Giorgi Tevdorashvili (11-42-4) who was unable to come out for the third of a scheduled four rounder. Tevdorashvili was wild and dangerous with big swings but fell over twice in the first, had a point deducted in the second and then retired tired and worn out.

Welterweight Enock Mblizi (3-0) outboxed an aggressive opponent in Nukru Gamgebeli (15-21) winning on scores of 40-36 on all cards. Mblizi kept his cool and impressed.

Super lightweight Oliver Maximilian (2-0) stopped a green Moldovan named Vladimir Dutov (0-4) 2.56 into the very first round. Dutov was floored once and then almost again before the mismatch was over.

Super middleweight Nikki Moller Nielsen (2-1) opened the event with a wild slugfest against Moldovan Ruslan Sudarev (1-1). Nielsen won with scores of 39-37 on all cards but it could well have been a draw. The Dane was a solid amateur but showed a poor defense and a fragile chin as a pro.

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OVERSEAS BOXING MATCHES

By Per-Ake Persson

 

 

Jacob Bank retains his WBO Global Super Middle Laurels with decision over sturdy Damian Biacho

Story by Per-Ake Persson

March 1 – Vejen, Denmark. Primetime Promotions, formed when TK Promotions and Rng*Sde, joined forces, staged its first show and it was with super middle Jacob Bank (16-0) headlining the event

.

Bank retained the WBO Global title with a wide unanimous decision over Spaniard Damian Biacho (17-1). After ten fast paced rounds Bank won on scores of 100-90 twice and 98-92. So far, so good but while the Dane showed impressive speed and defensive skills, he could never hurt his opponent and resorted to posing and putting on what looked like a modern dance exhibition – with gloves on it must be said.

 

Biacho showed good skills, covered up well and plugged away the best he could and with Bank not punching he won rounds on sheer work rate.

Two weeks before the fight the renowned trainer Joey Gamache arrived in Denmark to train Bank, but Jakob told reporters afterward he had spent one of those weeks with the flu and had been unable to prepare as usual.

Super featherweight Ahmad El Ahmad (8-0) outscored 40-year-old Hector Brea (11-2) in another fast-paced fight, this time over six rounds. El Ahmad won by scores of 60-54 on all cards. Brea was outboxed and seemed content with that. The Dane, however, needs to think about how he performs. He is after all in the entertainment business and not at a private dance event.

Heavyweight Gustav Thorsen (5-0) seemed to struggle against Egyptian Mourad Omar (11-4) but landed a right hand in the second round and that was it- Omar’s legs left him completely and as Thorsen followed up the fight was stopped at 2:31.

Female featherweight Melissa Mortensen (4-0) floored Alba Sanchez (8-3) in the second round but had to settle for a points win after six rounds. It was scored 60-53 on all cards.

Middleweight Viktor Hoveling scored his 8th stoppage win his 8th fight, but it was a little too easy as he stopped German super welter Liridon Alan Ozog (5-2-1) at 2.38 of the second. Ozog was down in the first and twice in the second and put up weak resistance.

Lightweight Elias Idrissi (8-0) outscored Venezuelan Jampier Oses (21-14-1) over six. Idrissi looks promising in every aspect but punching power while Oses put up a rather peaceful performance. It was scored 60-54 twice and 59-55.

Super feather Elias Four (2-0) beat Spaniard Ruben Garcia (6-16-2) in a four rounder. It was scored 40-36 twice and 39-37. Garcia was cut in the second and hurt in the final seconds of the last rounds.

The show opened with Swedish welter Mohammed El Maliki (3-1) beating 41-year-old Venezuelan veteran Rafael Hernandez (37-27-4) in a six-rounder where Hernandez opened well and took his much younger opponent to school. El Maliki, however, was too sharp and took over the fight as Hernandez went into surviving mode. It was scored 60-53 and 60-54 twice.

• __________

Junto Nakatani crushes challenger David Cuellar by KO to retain the WBC Bantamweight Championship

Story by Bentley Loi

Before a packed house at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, reigning undefeated WBC Bantamweight Champ  Junto Nakatani demolished previously unbeaten and top ranked contender David Cuellar, of Mexico, to retain his title with a stunning third-round KO.

Making his fifth defense of his WBC Bantamweight Crown, Nakatani (30-0, 23 KOs), showed once again that he has fists of dynamite. Although Cuellar (28-1, 23 KO’s) had a height and reach advantage – Nakatani certainly had the punch advantage.

After a close first two rounds with both fighters attacking the other with combinations – in Round 3 all things changed.

Cueller came out strong and started battling the champion with shots in the third round.

In the last thirty seconds of the round, the challenger landed a hard straight right to Nakatani ‘s chin and stunned him followed by a left hook to the ribs.

After connecting with those two blows, the Mexican looked to capitalize until Nakatani backed him into the ring corner where he struck him with some body shots then struck gold with two hard rights to the jaw and an explosive left hook to challenger’s midsection.

The challenger immediately dropped to the canvas as if his lungs were torn out his chest.

Up at the count of 8 , with less than 15 seconds remaining in the round, the midsection of the  caught the challenger at the ring corner and smashed him with an explosive left to the body that caused the challenger to land back on the canvas like a sack of rice.

With Cueller bleeding and unable to rise, the referee counted out the fatal 10-count.

“David [Cueller] was the tallest fighter I ever fought,” remarked the Nakatani after the bout. “That was one concern, but I am happy that I got the knockout.”

“He was really good at avoiding my punches. In that respect, I think he is a great fighter,” Nakatani said of his adversary.

After Nakatani scored this great knockout win it now sets up a world title unification fight for later this year against the other world champions at 118 pounds, are of whom are Japanese: Seiya Tsutsumi (WBA), Nishida (IBF) and Yoshiki Takei (WBO).

Nakatani, when asked what is next for him after the victory, said “let’s unify,” a reference to Nishida who currently holds the IBF world bantamweight title.

Nishida expressed a similar keenness, responding with “come on, let’s do it” as the pair stood side by side in the ring.

It could even possibly set up a mega championship bout against the Undisputed Super Bantamweight Champion Naoya Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs).

Nakatani, who trains in Los Angeles with coach Rudy Hernandez, has won all four of his fights at Bantamweight by stoppage and showed why he is one of the most entertaining boxers in the sport today.

Also on the card, Nakatani’s rival world champion Seiya Tsutsumi (12-03, 8 KOs) held on to his WBA bantamweight title in a first defense via a draw in his gripping rematch with Diago Higa (21-3-2, 19 KOs).

Higa dropped Tsutsumi with a counter left hook, but when the hard hitting Higa (21-3-2, 19 KOs) moved in to end the fight, he was smashed to the canvas by a jarring right cross to the jaw.

From that point, the challenger was in survival mode as Tsutsumi put his foot down during the championship rounds. All three judges scored an entertaining fight 114-114, after both Japanese fighters visited the canvas in a thrilling Round 9.

It turned out once again to be a second successive unsuccessful title challenge for Higa, who dropped a competitive unanimous decision to WBO ruler Yoshiki Takei on the Naoyo Inoue vs. TJ Doheny undercard last September.

Also on the bill, was kickboxing star Tenshin Nasukawa (6-0, 2 KOs) who earned a unanimous points decision (97-93, 97-93, 98-92) over former world champion Jason Moloney for the best win of his boxing career.

Moloney (27-4, 19 KOs), 34, from Australia, landed some solid shots in a strong finish but was outworked and outboxed by Nasukawa, 26, from Tokyo, who faced Floyd Mayweather Jr. in an exhibition bout in 2018.

Moloney lost his world title on points to Takei in his last fight in May and this was Nasukawa’s best win so far.

• Junto Nakatani (c) def. David Cuellar to retain the WBC bantamweight title
• Tenshin Nasukawa def. Jason Moloney (UD 10); bantamweights
• Seiya Tsutsumi (c) draw w/. Daigo Higa (UD 12) to retain the WBA bantamweight title
• Ryuya Moriai def. Eigoro Akai (TKO 2/6); super middleweights
• Ryosuke Kiuchi def. Fuentes Kitajima (UD 4); lightweights
• Hayato Aiko def. Yuki Sato (UD 4); featherweights
• __________

• Kansas Boxing Prodigy Marco “El Tiburón” Romero Preparing a takeover and bringing Bigtime Boxing back home

• 

• KANSAS CITY, Kan. (February  2025) – Although Kansas isn’t a hotbed for boxing, blue-chip super middleweight prospect Marco “El Tiburón” Romero (4-0, 3 KOs) is on a mission to personally put his state on the pugilistic map, so to speak, as the potential successor to his favorite boxer, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

  In a state known for its invaluable role in agriculture, often referred to as the “Breadbasket of America,” sports in Kansas City are ruled by the Kansas City Chiefs, the University of Kansas men’s basketball team, and occasionally the Kansas City Royals.

  Kansas has only produced three professional world boxing champions: heavyweight Jess “Pottawatomie Giant” Willard (22-5-1, 21 KOs), a Hall of Famer born in St. Clere who fought out of Pottawatomie; plus, a pair of Garden City-born fighters, welterweight Victor Ortiz (33-7-3, 25 KOs) and lightweight Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios (35-5-1, 26 KOs), who both turned pro in 2004. Willard, of course, is best known for knocking out Jack Johnson in round 26 of their 1915 World Heavyweight Championship match. In addition to “Canelo,” Ortiz and Rios also served as models for a young Romero.

  Two other non-native Kansans who fought out of Kansas and captured world titles are heavyweight Tommy “The Duke” Morrison” (48-3-1, 42 KOs) and welterweight Rube “The Kansas Rube” Ferns (45-18-10, 32 KOs).

  The irony is Romero’s manager/head trainer, living legend John Brown, has turned only two pros from the 18,000-plus  amateurs he has trained, Romero and Morrison. Boxing hasn’t been a big draw in Kansas City – Kansas or Missouri – since Morrison (1988-2008), who fought nine times as a pro in that market, including a world title fight at Kemper Arena (Kansas City, MO).   

  Other Kansas-natives who were outstanding boxers include No. 1 world rated heavyweight Fred “The Rochester Plasterer” Fulton (79-16-2, 71 KOs / 1913-1933), of Rochester; 2016 Olympic Bronze Medalist Nico Hernandez (11-0, 4 KOs / 2017-2023), of Wichita; No. 2 world rated lightweight Tommy “Chocolate Ice Cube” Campbell (45-12-6, 22 KOs / 1946-1951), of Kansas City; and world lightweight title challenger Jesse Flores (65-8-11, 25 KOs / 1945-1954), of Herington.

  Romero’s ultimate dream is to bring World Championship boxing back to Kansas, in order to give back to his community and inspire other young and upcoming boxers from Kansas City, not necessarily just in boxing, but any sport. He wants to fill up Arrowhead Stadium one day, either defending or fighting for a world title.

  Romero’s legendary head trainer/manager John Brown notes that Kansas City may not be known for producing top boxers, however, he attributes that to the lack of regular pro boxing shows there, which, of course, makes it difficult to develop local favorites to local boxing fans to support.

  “I was able to fill arenas in this are with Tommy Morrisson (Brown was Morrison’s head trainer/manager) in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s due to him being a charismatic personality and a heavyweight who knocked out opponents. Prior to Tommy, we had Tony Chiaverini, who packed venues in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, proving KC will support a good fighter and good guy.”

  Proud of his Mexican American heritage, Marco’s boxing idols are “Canelo” Alvarez, Julio Cesar Chavez and, of course, his namesake, Marco Antonio Barrera.

  Romero dominated countless amateur youth tournaments, and he was rewarded in 2020 by being selected as a member of the USA National Boxing Team preparing to travel to Bulgaria to compete in a tournament. Unfortunately, COVID-19 struck and halted boxing worldwide.

  Romero dreamed of representing the United States in the 2024 Olympics, however, he never had an opportunity to make the team heading to Paris for two primary reasons. The minimum age was moved from 18 to 19 (Marco didn’t turn 19 until after the Olympic Games had concluded on Nov. 19); Romero had outgrown his weight class (middleweight), and super middleweight wasn’t one of the weight classes sanctioned for competition in Paris.

  “Marco’s skill, personality and good looks will soon captivate the city, particularly its huge Mexican population,” Brown predicted. “It is no small thing that Marco is bilingual and able to connect with his people. Marco’s growing popularity will open opportunities for other pros and amateurs from this area who dream of turning pro in the near future. If you have a winner, the fans will follow!”

  In four professional bouts, Marco has won all nine rounds on each of the three judges’ scorecards.

  Romero’s next fight is scheduled for March 14 in Denver and tentative plans call for him to fight for the first time as a prize fighter in his native Kansas on May 24^th in Topeka.

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Canelo Alvarez vs Terence Crawford to take place on September 13 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas

Story by Alexander R. Rinaldi

Finally, the highly anticipated Mega fight between boxing superstars – Canelo Alvarez (62-2, 39 KO’s) and Terence Crawford (31-0, 31 KO’s) – has been officially confirmed for September 13, 2025, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. 

The fight will be for Canelo Alvarez’s undisputed Super Middleweight Championship.

Canelo is currently the biggest name in boxing today. Having won five (5) World Titles at the Super Welterweight, Junior Middleweight, Middleweight, Super Middleweight, and the Light Heavyweight divisions, His biggest wins were against such ring greats such as Jermell Charlo, Gennadiy Golovkin, Caleb Plant, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Amir Khan, Miguel Cotto, and Sugar Shane Mosley, 

Crawford, meanwhile, also won a number of championship belts in four (4) weight classes such as Lightweight, Light Welterweight, Welterweight, and Junior Middleweight. At Welterweight he became the Undisputed Welterweight Champion of the World. In a career spanning Fifteen (15) years, Terence has defeated many great fighters, including Ricky Burns, Ray Beltran, John Molina Jr, Jeff Horn, amir Khan, Kell Brook, Jose Benavidez Jr, Shawn Porter, Israil Madrimov, and Errol Spence Jr.

While Canelo will be taking a tune-up prior to the fight with Crawford, it appears that Terence will probably use the time to find a way to beat the near legendary Canelo Alvarez.

Terence Crawford is looking to make history by becoming a five-division world champion. A win over Alvarez will firmly cement him as one of the greatest fighters who ever laced on a pair of boxing gloves. It would also make him a living legend.

For Canelo Alvarez, this fight is an opportunity to solidify his legacy as one of the greatest boxers of his generation. A win over Crawford, who is widely regarded as one of the most skilled fighters in the sport, would further cement his status as the face of boxing.

On the other hand, Terence Crawford is looking to make history by becoming a four-division world champion. A victory over Canelo would not only add another legendary name to his resume but also elevate him to an even higher echelon in the sport.

As the countdown to September 13 begins, it will be soon shaping up as the not-miss fight of the decade.

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Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield invited and appear at star-studded Trump inauguration

Story by John J. Rinaldi

Among the myriad of invited guests at President Trump Inauguration were none other than former Heavyweight Champions Evander Holyfield. They both attended Washington D.C. party that featured an array of A-list celebrities and national power brokers.

Both Tyson and Holyfield have had and shared a longstanding and strong relationship with President Trump over the years. This relationship began when private citizen Trump was involved with many of the biggest fights in the 1980s and 1990s at his hotels in Atlantic City.

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Former Heavyweight Champion Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder is slated to return to the ring in April

Story by Alexander R. Rinaldi

Look out one and all – former Heavyweight Boxing Champion Deontay Wilder will be returning to the squared ring as early as April of this new year.

After being undefeated for his entire career – Wilder’s fortunes changed after his second and third fight with Tyson Fury. Getting knocked out in both their second and third fight, the trilogy ended with One draw and two KO wins by Fury, which cause Wilder’s boxing stock to fall as if thrown off a cliff.

Although Wilder made a nice comeback by scoring an impressive first-round knockout of Robert Helenius, he did not fight again for another year.

Then Wilder eventually returned back to the ring in Saudi Arabia in a co-card with another former champion – Anthony Joshua. While Joshua was teamed up with a stumblebum, Wilder was squared up with the former WBO Heavyweight Champion Joseph Parker. In a tough, highly anticipated bout, Wilder emerged a loser via a unanimous decision.

The problem with the Parker fight was that Wilder never went to demonstrate his KO power. Instead, he was kind of slow-footed and did not land enough sufficient big punches.. His next outing was even worse when he suffered a fifth-round stoppage against the mountain-sized Chinese southpaw, Zhilei Zhang .

With he loss many felt that Wilder’s days were not only behind him, but that he would probably hang up his gloves once and for all.

Despite these setbacks, with the help of legendary manager Shelley Finkel the 39-year-old “The Bronze Bomber” has decided to return and  recapture heavyweight royalty,  saying, “The best is yet to come.”.

We sincerely hope so. Wilder was nothing but a credit to the sport. It was just too bad that the Big Brit Anthony Joshua refused to fight Wilder for way too many years, when Wilder would have certainly kayoed Joshua in two to three rounds.

It has been reported that Wilder’s return fight will take place under the banner of BLK Prime, which has recently staged Terence Crawford’s welterweight title defense against David Avanesyan, BLK Prime is also reportedly involved in Devin Haney’s upcoming match in March.

Names that have been cirulated as his next opponent, have been Jermaine Franklin and Guido Vianello.

A big with for Wilder would surely place him back in the heavyweight mix.

America needs Deontay Wilder back on boxing’s big stage.

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Click Boxing Glove to view Upcoming Fights and Current Boxing Champions Page

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Oleksandr Usyk wins second fight against Tyson Fury – as Judges drop the ball the second time around with their questionable scorecards

Story by Alex and John Rinaldi

Bad enough Tyson Fury got a raw deal the first time around. This time it was even worse.

Besides the fact that the DAZN announcers sounded very much like they were riding the lead horses on a Usyk bandwagon, the judges were even worse, as all three scored the bout 116-112 for Usyk.  The was a clear stick-up.  The USA Boxing News gave the fight to Fury by a score of 115 to 113.

Others agreed with us such as Promoter Frank Warren, who said, “Most people in our row (ringside) did have it for Tyson Fury. One was me, one was Bob Arum, his promoter, and the other was Oscar De La Hoya who also felt the same way. I really struggled to split them. It was more of a chess match tonight.”

It is abundantly clear that the only way for judges to award a deserving round for Fury, is if Vladimir Putin invades Great Britain, since Usyk obviously gets the sympathy vote due to his country’s precarious war situation.

Although it was a pretty close contest, it was Tyson Fury who threw most of the punches in the fight. The problem was that Fury did not cut off the ring enough to land a fusillade of hard shot with Usyk’s back against the ropes. This might have been due to the fact that Fury weighed in at 281 pounds – his heaviest weight ever for a fight and 19 pounds more than he’d weighed for Fury-Usyk I.  Possibly it was due to the Fury wearing a Father Christmas robe and trunks, and he had too much of the Christmas spirit in him. Instead, he should have donned the trunks and robe of a cold-blooded killer like Genghis Khan and did everything in his power to smash Usyk back to his family in the Ukraine.  Remember in the first Roberto Duran vs. Sugar Ray Leonard in fight in 1980 when former heavyweight legend Joe Frazier said that Duran resembled the killer Charles Manson. Fury should have done the same.

Usyk, 226, meanwhile tipped the scales three pounds more than in their first fight.

“I’ll believe until the day I die that I won that fight,” Fury said at the post-fight press conference. “But it is what it is. I’m not gonna cry over spilt milk. It’s happened now. You can’t change decisions. It’s not Oleksandr’s fault. I’m gonna go home now and have a good Christmas.”

When Fury was told that DAZN also used the stupid and ridiculous services of an “AI judge” to score the bout and that the artificial intelligence judge had favored Usyk by a 118-110 margin, Tyson said simply, “Fuck all the computers.” And he was right. One more strike against DAZN.

Next up – Usyk is likely to fight a rematch against Daniel Dubois, though no one really cares about that, or Joseph Parker who is scheduled to square off against Dubois in February.

As for Fury Promoters are trying to stage a mega-fight at Wimbley featuring Fury against Anthony Joshua. Fury and Joshua have both been beaten twice by Usyk. 

The question arose later about whether Fury will retire after receiving a retirement type purse for the fight.

“I’ve tried to walk away many times and been unsuccessful,” Fury has said. “I meant it when I retired after Dillian Whyte back in 2022. I really meant that wholeheartedly. I could have put my hand on the Bible and meant it, but it was difficult to let it go. I’ve been in love with boxing from being a little boy. It’s been a love-hate relationship. When it’s good, it’s very good. And when it’s bad, it’s very toxic. Now I am a fully grown adult with a family of my own. It’s like, ‘Do I abandon it or do I not?’ I wanted to walk away a lot of times, but it always drags me back. Boxing is an addiction. It abuses my body, my mind, my soul. But I feel like it takes me to ecstasy. The rush is unbelievable. It gives me the biggest highs ever, but it also gives me the lowest lows. Boxing is more addictive than any drug ever. Ever. You can’t let it go.”

While promoter Eddie Hearn thought the fight was a draw, he certainly did  not belive the score of 116-112 in favor of Usyk.

Usyk and Fury will likely move on to new opponents following their second encounter. For Usyk, he very well could meet the winner of the IBF heavyweight title fight between champion Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker.

Fury vs. Joshua is a great idea and will certainly be a blockbuster bout, especially in Britain.

Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing has apparently shared his desire to book the long-awaited heavyweight battle. With the Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, Turki Alalshikh, heavily involved in the boxing world, the fight might probably happen.

During the post-fight press conference, Oleksandr Usyk fired back at Frank Warren for thinking that Tyson Fury was robbed by the end of the night.

“Uncle Frank, I think [is] blind,” Usyk told reporters with Ukrainian translation assistance. “If Tyson says it’s a Christmas gift, OK, thank you, God, not Tyson. Thank you, God. Thank you, my coach Yuri, thank you, my coach Kuba, thank you, my team.

“Listen, Frank [is] a crazy man, I think. It’s in my opinion. OK, no problem. I win.”

Usyk went on to say that the score totals don’t concern him, as he was declared the winner when the smoke cleared.

“I do not think about it,” Usyk said. “Listen, I win. It’s enough. How many rounds I win, how many I don’t win, now it doesn’t matter. And still.”

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Superman legend Jim Hambrick dies during Holiday Season

1948-2024

Story by John and Alex Rinaldi

In a sad turn of events during the Christmas and Holiday Season, the world of Superman lost one of its own when Jim Hambrick died at 1:44 AM on December 22 in Metropolis, Illinois.

Jim was a fighter who battled various ailments, including a stroke over the past years.

 

Jim’s claim to fame was having the largest Superman collection on the planet, which he put on display at the wonderful Super Museum that is in Metropolis’ town square.

“I got into Superman when I was 5 years old. My mother bought me a Superman lunch box for my birthday, and that was it. That and watching the old television series with George Reeves (in syndication during the 1960s). The worst part about it was that I had 3 sisters and 2 brothers that I had to share the television set with. It was a real difficult thing because everyone was coming home from school, the television was in the front entrance by the living room, where everybody came in the front door, I would lay there on my stomach watching the show, getting stepped on and everything else… It didn’t take a whole lot of time for them to realize that the only moment I asked for was to watch that series,” said Hambrick when describing the infancy on his world-famous collection.

At a young age, Jim befriended the production people who worked on the classic TV series “The Adventures of Superman” that was on the air from 1952-1958, starring George Reeves in 104 episodes.  He wound up obtaining many costumes, set pieces and furniture from the series.

From then, Jim began collecting Superman toys, advertising materials, screen-used costumes and props, vintage comic books, and any other item that featured “The Man of Steel” in various incarnations.

Besides Superman, Jim collected a plethora of movie memorabilia, including costumes from Planet of the Apes, the robot from the Lost in Space series, John Wayne and Clint Eastwood screen-worn items, and even the shoes that Boris Karloff wore in the 1931 horror classic Frankenstein! Hambrick later incorporated his collection into his Americana Museum in Metroplis.

Jim’s claim to fame was opening the Super Museum. In one of the most popular museums in the country, fans from all over the globe visit to see his Superman collection. With original costumes and props from The Adventures of Superman to the Christopher Reeve Superman films, to Lois & Clark – The New Adventures of Superman, Smallville, and even to The Man of Steel and Batman v Superman movies, and thousands of other Superman-related items, visitors are amazed and entertained with the collection.

Jim even has a few copies of the original Action Comic Books featuring the introduction of Superman!

Thankfully, Jim’s legacy will live on with his daughter Morgan and son-in-law Adam Siebert taking over the reins of the Super Museum.

Morgan relayed the message of Jim’s death with the announcement, “It is with great sadness in my heart I am so sorry to have to announce the passing of my very, very beloved father, Jim Hambrick, MY TRUE SUPERMAN…and my Peter Pan. My dad passed away today, December 22, 2024, at 1:44 a.m., surrounded by our loving family both in person and digitally.  He was known as the “Keeper of Superman” but truly, he was so, so much more. He was full of complexities and wonder and dreams, and creativity. He mentored me, he fathered me, and he was my best friend. He showed me how to dream, how to achieve those dreams, my work ethic, my creativity, my love for my community, and humor are all due to the amazing man that raised me. He was a kindhearted man who embodied the values of hope, generosity, and strength—values he found in the heroes he so admired. He leaves behind a family and friends who loved him dearly and a community forever changed by his vision and passion. His legacy will live on through the Super Museum he so lovingly built and the hearts of everyone he touched. My dad will always be remembered as a real-life Superman, a hero to many, and a cherished father and friend. He will be deeply missed. Please pray for our family at this time. Our lives are forever better because he was in them and forever changed without him.  This Daddy’s girl is really struggling right now to process the impact this loss will have on all of our lives. Fly high in the sky my sweet daddy, we will be together again soaring from earth to Neverland holding hands.”

Jim Hambrick first entered our lives in 1998 when we purchased the original flying cape worn by George Reeves during the first year of production of The Adventures of Superman from 1951 (the series’ first airing was in 1952). Jim was trying to raise funds to purchase the building that housed the Super Museum. The sales he made of some of his collection was successful in his accomplishment of owning the building.

In 2001 we made our first pilgrimage to Metropolis and in 2002 we began the popular Superman Jeopardy game. Jim would pop in on occasion to watch our game.  In 2005 he personally awarded the two of us The Superman of the Year Award, and in 2006 Jim honored us with the George Award for our charity work and dedication to the spirt of Superman.

Besides being a world-famous collector, Jim was a visionary. He moved to Metropolis, IL, opened his Super Museum, and was instrumental in making the southern Illinois hamlet the Home of Superman. For over 40 years, thousands of people from all points on the globe make their pilgrimage each year to the annual Superman Weekend, featuring a 15 ft. Superman statue, the Superman-themed Chamber of Commerce, a Lois Lane statue and various activities, including Superman Jeopardy.

We are heartbroken with death of Hambrick. Our condolences go to his family.

He was not just a giant. Jim Hambrick was a Super Giant in the world of Superman and Pop Culture.

We also considered him our friend.

Jim was a legend that will be sorely missed.  The likes of him rarely come in a lifetime.

Rest in Peace Jim.

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OLEKSANDER USYK vs TYSON FURY

THE REMATCH!

Story by Alex and John Rinaldi

Finally, THE REMATCH that everyone has been waiting for is going to with the win, Usyk became the third fighter in the four-belt era to have been undisputed champion in two weight classes – CRUISERWEIGHT and HEAVYWEIGHT, and he became the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999.

Notwithstanding, the Usyk-Fury bout is certainly the biggest sporting event on the world’s spectrum as well as a perfect way to begin the Holiday Season.

This time around, Tyson Fury is taking a hard line on the fight.

“It is no longer time for joking,” said Fury at the latest press conference.  “I will do some serious damage to him. I’ve got nothing to say, apart from there is going to be a lot of hurt and pain in this fight, you watch. That’s all I got to say. Talking’s been done. The first fight I talked, I joked – all my career – this time I am serious.”

When Usyk was asked if he had a final message for Fury, he said: “Don’t be afraid. I will not leave you alone.”

This Saturday’s fight card will be streamed live on DAZN pay-per-view, with the streaming site offering a free seven-day trial with a pay-per-view purchase.

Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 2 Betting Odds

Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) defends his undisputed heavyweight championship against Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs).

Usyk is a -154 favorite in the rematch.

The USA Boxing News Pick

Oleksandr Usyk, won the last fight by split-decsion toally on account of knocking Fury down in such a stunning fashion in round 9. Up to that point, Fury was winning big. Fury also wasted time showboating and fooling around. One thing about Usyk, he has proved that he is not one to take lightly.

Prediction – Fury by KO.

List of every undisputed heavyweight champion since 1919

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OVERSEAS BOXING MATCHES

By Per-Ake Persson

 

 

WBC title fights are showcased on punch-packed Hamburg, Germany card

December 12, Hamburg, Germany. Universum Box Promotion with Ismail Ozen-Otto at the wheel, Arena Box Promotion with Ahmet Oener as promoter and WBC with Jose Sulaiman’s son Maurcio as chief staged a big show at the plush Grand Elysee Hotel in the center of Hamburg in conjunction with the WBC’s annual convention.

It was quantity rather than quality and it must be said that the stars in the new Universum are nowhere the class the stars of the “Old” Universum had. Then we saw the likes of Gennadyi Golovkin, the Klitschko brothers, and Dariusz Michalczewski, but now have the likes of Jose Larduet, Branimir Malenica and Ermal Hadribeaj and they are just not at the same level. The WBC were happy, though, as there were no less than seven title fights, and the show dragged out from 6 PM until 1 AM and it was a little too much of everything.

One Universum / Arena fighter who can make it is French heavyweight Mourad Aliev, now 13-0, who stopped Italian Davide Brito (6-1) and retained the International Silver title. Aliev, a tall southpaw, jabbed well and followed up with his left hand in a dominating performance but could not hurt his opponent. Brito tried hard but was outgunned.

In the sixth Aliev landed a barrage of punches with Brito against the ropes and a right hook made the Italian go down and he even fell out of the ring, however, he made it back in time only to see the referee wave it off. Brito protested but had lost the five completed rounds and more trouble seemed to be on its way.

The “other” Universum / Arena heavyweight Jose Larduet (13-1) paid the price for years of coming in too heavy and not in top shape and lost an upset decision to Ukrainian, based in Latvia, Bohdan Myronets (10-1). It was scored 97-93 and 96-94 for Myronets and an out of line 97-93 for Larduet. At stake was the mysterious Francophone bauble.

Another Universum / Arena who fell was Croatian light heavyweight Branimir Malenica (10-1) who was outboxed and stopped by Benjamin Gavazi (19-1) in the tenth and final round in another International Silver fight.  Malenica had the power but was too slow and predictable and Gavzai was too fast and slick for him. In the final round Gavazi opened and his tiring opponent was stopped on his feet, worn out and beaten up.

American-Albanian super welter Ermal Hadribeaj (20-0) failed to shine as he retained the WBC International title with a unanimous decision over Venezuelan Eddy Colmenares (9-2-1). It was scored 97-93 twice and 95-95 but Hadribeaj could well have had a point deducted for all his holding. He did score with effective punches working in short bursts, although he held too much.

Turkish-German middleweight Serkay Comert (9-0) won the vacant International Silver title with a clear points win over brave but outgunned Italian Yassin Heermi (15-2-1). Comert showed good hand speed and flashy moves but posed too much. Hermi was floored in the sixth and finished the fight with cuts around both eyes. It was scored 99-90 twice and 100-89.

Australian lightweight Billy Dib (49-6) came back after a winning fight against cancer and outscored German Attila Kabayasi (12-17) in a fast paced eight-rounder. Dib outclassed his opponent at times but could never hurt him. It was scored 78-72 on all cards. This was also Dib’s farewell fight.

Welterweight prospect Henry Grun (7-0) won on TKO in the fourth round when Colombian Jonny Sanchez (20-3) retired with an arm or shoulder injury.

Bulgarian lightweight Radoslav Rosenov turned pro “for real” (he is already an IBA pro) and outscored Colombian Eber Tobar (12-9-3) over four and looked good.

In women’s boxing super flyweight Asley Gonzales (17-2) outscored Spain’s Mary Romero (10-7) in a world title fight and Esneldy Rodriguez Olmos (9-0-1) did the same against Japanese Sana Hazuki (12-10-1) in a Silver title fight at atomweight.

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Underrated heavyweight Kingsley “The Black Lion” Ibeh Headlines January 10^th  

At Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, WA

LOS ANGELES (December  2024) – The new year will lift off January 10^th with another installment of “EQC Fight Night,” presented by Toro Promotions, Inc., and Whitfield Haydon Boxing, featuring an entertaining card with two title fights and the pro debut of a celebrated Tacoma-based amateur boxer, in the EQC Event Center at the famed Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington.

One of the most underrated heavyweights in the world, Kingsley “The Black Lion” Ibeh (14-2-1, 12 KOs), is positioning himself for a possible career-changing 2025, riding an impressive 9-fight win streak into his Jan. 10^th match versus Scott Alexander (17-2, 1, 9 KOs) in the 10-round main event for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) Continental Heavyweight crown.

The 6’ 4”, 290-pound Ibeh returns to Emerald Queen Casino after he knocked out previously undefeated Jack “The Outlaw” May (10-1, 9 KOs) there last October in the opening round for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) Latino Silver Championship.

A native of Nigeria who lives in Phoenix, the 31-year-old Ibeh is a former college and Canadian Football League football player, as well as a cousin of notorious former pro boxer Ike Ibeabuchi (20-0, 15 KOs).

Crowd-pleasing Austin Brooks (12-0-1, 5 KOs), fighting out of San Diego (CA), will defend his World Boxing Association (WBA) Continental Super Featherweight title against challenger Rosalindo Morales (10-1, 2 KOs) in the 10-round co-feature.

Brooks, the WBA’s No. 15-rated super featherweight in the world, is trained by Basheer Abdullah and managed by Sheer Sports. He captured a bronze medal as an amateur at the 2014 USA National Championships.

Hometown hero Dedrick Crocklem, 20, will make his long-awaited pro debut in a four-rounder versus Haitian super lightweight Nesly Trezile (1-1). Fighting out of Tacoma, Crocklem was a decorated amateur boxer who captured gold medals at the 2022 USA National Championships, in addition to back-to-back top honors at the USA Youth Nationals in 2020 and 2021. He recently signed a promotional contract with Top Rank.

Undefeated Federal Way, Washington super featherweight Alexis De La Cerda Landin (4-0, 3 KOs), who was a silver medalist at the 2022 National Golden Gloves Tournament, meets Nicaragua-native Nelson Guerreo (2-0-1 (2 KOs) in a four-round match.

Another local fighter making his pro debut, featherweight Joel Hernandez from Renton, Washington, will square off against a fellow pro debut fighter, Julio Lanzas, Jr., and New Mexico welterweight Rolyn Nez (4-0, 3 KOs) is slated to fight Cruz Becerro Monteon (1-0, 1 KO), in a pair of four-round bouts.   

Super lightweight Quinn McKenna (1-0-1) faces Niguy “Mr. Showtime” Simms (0-1), of Compton (CA), in a four-rounder.

Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased online at https://www.boxofficeticketsales.com/sports/eqc-fight-night-tickets or by calling (253) 594-7777.  Tickets purchased at the Emerald Queen Shop are eligible for up to a 20-discount, plus no taxes or processing fees. Must be 21 years of age or older to attend. 

Doors open at 7 p.m. PT, first bout at 8 p.m. PT.

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Amazing Fight Purses for Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 2 

For anyone out there that believes the UFC is a bigtime sport, just look at what the UFC earns compared to boxing. The highest paid UFC purse was a total of around $6 million, which is very deceiving, considering that most fights average around $200,000 to $500,000. Boxing on the other hand pays millions of dollars for every big fight that gets aired, especially the championship fights.

Case in point is the upcoming huge heavyweight rematch bout between Ukrainian heavyweight champion of the world and former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. it has been reported that Oleksandr Usyk is set to earn a record-breaking purse for his rematch against Tyson Fury. The total purse for the Usyk-Fury rematch is expected to be $190 million, with a 60/40 split in favor of the winner of the first bout.

Oleksandr Usyk (C) vs Tyson Fury 2 (WBC, WBO and WBA heavyweight titles)

Serhii Bohachuk vs Ishmael Davis (super-welterweight)

Moses Itauma vs Demsey McKean (heavyweight)

Johnny Fisher vs Dave Allen (heavyweight)

Dennis McCann (C) vs Peter McGrail (European super-bantamweight title)

Isaac Lowe vs Lee McGregor (featherweight)

 

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The USA Boxing News Book Review

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers

 (www. mcfarlandpub.com) – 203 p

Reviewed by John Rinaldi and Alex Rinaldi

It is the holiday time of the year again. For those looking for that one great book to purchase for the boxing fan in your family for Christmas and Hanukkah, look no further than Boxing Hall of Fame writer Mark Allen Baker’s recent tome, Johnny Kilbane – The BOXING LIFE of a FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPION.  

If one would ask a boxing buff, which fighter held the World’s Featherweight Championship the longest, names like Willie Pep, Sandy Sadler (#4 on list – holding for 6 years, 4 months and 13 days), Salvador Sanchez, Danny Lopez, Alexis Arguello, Kid Chocolate, or Henry Armstrong would pop up, but surprisingly those are all the wrong answers. Instead, clocking in at 11 years, 3 months and 24 days with the World’s Featherweight title belt was Johnny Kilbane. Johnny defeated Abe Attell (#3 on the list with 8 years, 5 months and 19 days) on February 22, 1912, and held on to the crown until being brutally stopped in 6 rounds by Eugene Criqui on June 2, 1923.

In his latest book, Mr. Baker, in his famous explorative narrative, takes the readers from Kilbane’s impoverished background to his rise as one of the highest paid athletes on the planet.

There does not appear to be a sportswriter in the field today who thoroughly researches a subject better than Mark Allen Baker. The author treats his subject as sunken treasure from a long-disappeared pirate ship. Mr. Baker is the diver who repeatedly goes deep into dark waters to excavate whatever nuggets and boxing lore that are available. Once again, with the story of Johnny Kilbane, the readers are presented with a chest full of boxing riches.

Johnny held his title throughout a period where many states had a “No-Decision” law where if the fight did not end in a knockout, the decision would be a no-decision affair, where various newspapers would give their opinion on who was the victor in the fight. What the system did was if a champion defended his title and wound up going the distance, even though he may have clearly lost the fight, he would still retain his laurels on a no-decision.

No-decision bouts were great for fighters like Kilbane, who had a solid jaw and was slick enough to last anywhere from 4 to 10 rounds on his feet to lengthen the time he held his championship. In his career, Kilbane had an incredible number of 78 no-decision verdicts.  As is his consummate, investigative style, Baker goes into details of all of the bouts, stating who the press gave the various “wins” to.

Through all the new changes the sport was going through, Mr. Baker writes in a heartfelt way describing how Kilbane persevered in his career, even after experiencing the early death of a beloved young daughter. Johnny was a family man and thought often of his wife and children and, in turn, made his decisions on how best his family can benefit financially from his title reign.

Fights such as Johnny’s battles with the immortal Abe Attell are vividly described in the thrilling pages of this book. For instance, on October 24, 1910, at the Hippodrome in Kansas City, MO, Kilbane met Attell for the first time and lost a 20-round decision. After that loss, Kilbane went on to engage in 16 more fights, including splitting a pair of grueling bouts against the dangerous Mexican Joe Rivers, before finally getting matched again with Abe Attell at the Arena in Vernon, CA.

 It is that fight particularly where the Author paints the Kilbane-Attell rematch with such colorful strokes that the fight comes to life in a detailed, thrilling fashion.

 Afterwards Mr. Baker gives both fighters’ reactions to the decision. Kilbane remarked, “Attell fought as foul and dirty as a man, well, can and not take an ax! When he saw himself going, he became desperate and fouled me three times – then butted me in the face. His seconds put something on his shoulders and neck, which were intended to make me groggy. I am glad I won the championship, but I am sorry I even entered a fight with a man who would use such tactics.”

 “I led the fight all the way and was the aggressor from bell to bell, said the defeated Attell. “If anything, the advantage was in my favor because when I bored in Kilbane was holding me half the time. I felt sure of the decision in case the fight went the limit because I depended on what Eyton (the referee) said. Will I fight Kilbane again? You bet I will. I’ll lick him too if the fight can be pulled off where I can get an even break.”

Although Kilbane and Attell would sign up to fight on three different occasions in 1913 and 1915, the two would never fight again.

Besides the Attell fights, the Author takes the reader on the course and life of the busy champion Kilbane as he faces the likes of Charley White, Johnny Dundee, Knockout Brown, Eddie O’Keefe, Richie Mitchell, George “KO” Chanee and Rocky Kansas.

Of particular interest are the pair of fights against lightweight legend Benny Leonard, who engaged in a 10-round no-decision bout with Kilbane on April 29, 1915, at the Atlantic Gardens in NYC, and their brutal July 25, 1917, rematch at Philadelphia’s Shibe Park, where Leonard KO’d Kilbane in three rounds.

Those are simply graphic and wonderful stories to read. The book contains one fabulous segment after another throughout Kilbane’s fascinating fistic career.

Following his loss to Criqui in 1923, Kilbane ended his career with a 48-6-7-78 ND (24 KO’s) record.

Unfortunately, for many sports heroes at the time, the 1929 Stock Market Crash and subsequent Depression, evaporated most of Kilbane’s ring earnings.  Through it all, Kilbane kept his house and possessions, and made a later career by refereeing fights, giving exhibitions, making personal appearances, and engaging in politics. He remained a living legend up until his death in 1957 at the age of 68.

Mark Allen Baker writes wonderfully about a man who was a champion in and out of the ring.

The Author also takes the readers through World War I training camps, where Kilbane was an inspired bayonet instructor for the troops.

Just like other books written by Mr. Baker, once again, a reader will come off an expert of a long-since forgotten battler and time as boxing ghosts from yesteryear jump off the pages to resurrect the exploits of one of the greatest and wily featherweights who ever laced on a pair of gloves.

This enjoyable book is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED and will make a great Hanukkah, Birthday, or Christmas present and

Other outstanding books by Mark Allen Baker include TONY CANZONERI – The Boxing Life of a Five-Time World Champion, WILLIE PEP – A Biography of the 20^th Century’s Greatest Featherweight, The Fighting Times of Abe Attell, LOU AMBERS – A Biography of the World Lightweight Champion and Hall of Famer, The World Colored Heavyweight Championship, 1876-1937, CONNECTICUT BOXING – THE FIGHTS, THE FIGHTERS AND THE FIGHT GAME, Between the Ropes at Madison Square Garden, and Battling Nelson – The Durable Dane.

Mr. Baker’s books can be purchased in paperback and Kindle versions on Amazon, in paperback and Nook Book versions at Barnes and Noble bookstores, Barnes and Noble’s website, and at bookstores around the globe.

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Anthony Joshua wants rematch!

After his terrible beating where he was knocked down four times against Daniel Dubois – Anthony Joshua is looking to exercise his contractual option for a rematch 

Story by Alex and John Rinaldi

Wembley Stadium was packed with 96,000 fans, most of whom were hoping to see their hero and former heavyweight king Anthony Joshua demolish Danile Debois and capture his IBF Heavyweight Title, then set up a fight with the ineer of Usyk and Fury.

The problem is everybody knows that hoping and wishing are like double edge swords, they tend to cut on both sides.  In this fight – the sword went right through the heart of Joshua, leaving him helpless and nearly unconscious on the canvas where the final ten-count was tolled on him like the last rites of a priest before the 5th round ended. 

The battle ended up like a pure shellacking and Joshua was never really in the fight and all the credit, along with its inherent spoils, all go to the IBF Heavyweight Champion Daniel Dubois. The IBF champ was never afraid or intimidated by Joshua, but instead Debois stalked him like a modern-day Jack the Ripper.

Unlike a cat who has nine lives, Joshua, unfortunately had only four. And by the fight’s end, Joshua was down four times, once in the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th rounds, as his lives swiftly ran out of the ring.

Regardless of the outcome, neither fighter left the ring a church mouse.

According to Sporty Salaries, Joshua was guaranteed to take home £6million ($8Million US Dollars) from the fight, potentially rising to as much as £25million ($33 Million US Dollars) depending on PPV sales. Despite winning the bout, Dubois is expected to earn at least £3.5million ($4.67 Million US Dollars), potentially rising to up to £10million ($13.36 Million US Dollars) based on sales.

Wearing black trunks, Dubois came out from the opening bell swinging punches at Joshua from every angle in the book. The early onslaught seemingly caught Joshua by surprise and was never able to get his fight game going since he was immediately jolted onto the defensive.  With around ten seconds left in the round, Dubois connected with a jarring right to the left side of Joshua’s jaw that deposited the former champion to the canvas on one knee. Rising at three, the fight resumed with Joshua’s legs as steady as a rocking chair in the wind.

After the knockdown, chaos swept through Wembley as if the crowd was being attacked by the German blitzkrieg.

In round three, Dubois connected with a short-left hook to the jaw that sent Joshua reeling into the ropes as his right leg twisted and oddly turned resembling that of a weird Irish jig, eventually dropping to the floor for the second time in the bout. Luckily for Joshua, the bell sounded to grant him a reprieve.

In round four, Dubois, packing the punch of a blacksmith’s anvil, chased Joshua around the ring and landed another hard left hook that smashed Joshua back to his new home on the canvas, where he rose at the count of four.

Once again, Joshau was granted a third reprieve.

Sadly, for Joshua and his fans – it would end up being his last reprieve as his ring executioner was impatiently getting ready to pull the fatal switch.

Then came round five.

Surprisingly, unlike the previous four frames, when the bell tolled to begin the fifth round Joshua summoned up some courage from his low reserve of guts and went on the offensive landing solid punches to Dubois’ head. When it appeared that the fight was turning into a great slugfest after Joshua scored with two terrific rights to the champion’s head – Dubois countered with a short-direct right to Joshua’s jaw. The punch landed like a grenade, smashing Joshua face-first to the canvas. 

The referee immediately began the count as Joshua lay lifeless and virtually frozen on the ring floor as the referee finally tolled the fateful ten-count.

With the win Dubois upped his record to 22-2 (21 KO’s) as Joshua dropped to 28-4 (25 KO’s).

“I believe I am world class, and it is only a matter of time before I am up there with the big names,” said Dubois. “I am a man on a mission and not going to be stopped. They was all saying I was going to get knocked out and we all saw who got knocked out, and I done the business and I’m glad I proved everyone wrong, but this is the start of my journey.” 

As for Joshua, he made no excuses after his tragic loss, “I’m always saying to myself I’m a fighter for life… We keep rolling the dice, I had a sharp opponent, a fast opponent and a lot of mistakes from my end, but that’s the game.”

Johusa’s promoter Eddie Hearn looks for a rematch.

“Rematch clauses come in many different forms,” Hearn said. “We have a fight with Riyadh Season. One of our options is to fight Daniel Dubois again, and our contract is with them. His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh] will deal with Frank and Daniel and make that fight happen. The terms will have to be agreed with them. We have already agreed our terms, we have the option to rematch with Dubois. Our meetings with His Excellency, he wants the rematch. AJ will always want the rematch. Daniel wants the rematch too, it’s the biggest fight for him and they will fancy it. It is a case of going away and talking about, do we go straight into the rematch? And when will it be?”

While many in the boxing world suggested Joshua should consider retirement, luckily, he has defiantly insisted he still has more to give.

The USA Boxing News agrees. Joshua still has some power plus many big-time fights ahead of him. Preferably a fight with Deontay Wilder can now be considered.

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Canelo Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga gear up for big fight at the T-Mobile Arena

Story By Alexander Rinaldi

As has been his custom, Canelo Alvarez continues the tradition of fighting on Mexican Independence Day weekend. Since he has been one of the top draws in the boxing gamer, Alvarez has been the big attraction during the holiday.

This time, the reigning undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Avarez – the King of the Ring – is set defend his laurels against top contender Edgar Berlanga in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena. 

Like the terrific rivalries before featuring Mexican vs Puerto Rican fighters – fireworks are expected to blast in the ring.

Canelo (61-2-2) is on a four-fight win streak since 2022, beating Jaime Munguia in May. It took him eleven months to become the undisputed super middleweight champion. Unfortunately, in a true IBF tradition of stripping titles, the future Hall of Famer will not defend the IBF title, as he will get stripped of it by fight night. Regardless, Alvarez is more than ready to compete against a rising star in Berlanga.

“I am very happy for this fight between Mexico and Puerto Rico,” said Canelo. “It’s exciting to be part of another great Mexico vs. Puerto Rico battle inside the ring because historically, we have always offered unforgettable fights full of passion. I am proud to contribute to this legacy and facing an opponent like Edgar Berlanga adds even more excitement and meaning to this event.”

“This is the opportunity of a lifetime. I deserve to be here, and I’m going to shock the world and silence the critics by delivering a masterful performance and knocking out Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 14,” Berlanga said. “I will prove that my Puerto Rican heritage surpasses Mexican boxing, from Gomez to Trinidad to Cotto, and now to Berlanga. I will reclaim what is rightfully ours. I’m ready to make this a historic firefight, continuing the greatest rivalry in boxing: Puerto Rico vs. Mexico.”

Besides the fans in the arena and the millions across the globe, rising boxing star Diego Pacheco will be a keen observer when Canelo Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga collide next month.  

The super-middleweight pair meet on September 14, live on DAZN, and world title glory will be on the line for both men. 

Pacheco, identified as one of the best prospects in world boxing, returns to action this weekend when he faces Maciej Sulecki, once again live on DAZN.  

Victory for Pacheco will move him closer to a big shot and he’s had his say on how next month’s fight will play out. 

“I think Canelo will stop him,” said Pacheco when speaking on Matchroom’s Flash Knockdown podcast. 

“I think Berlanga will maybe do better the first three rounds. I feel like once Canelo has found his rhythm and has found Berlanga’s timing, he’ll get him out of there.” 

As for the purses of the fighters : Per Essentially Sports, Canelo made $12 million against Floyd Mayweather in 2013. Facing Amir Khan in 2016, Canelo made about $25 million, per Sports Zion. Against Caleb Plant, when he became the undisputed super middleweight champion, Canelo collected $40 million. Facing Dmitry Bivol for light heavyweight gold, Canelo had a guaranteed purse of $15 million. 

Canelo earned $40 million in the first fight against Gennadiy Golovkin and $30 million in the rematch, per Celebrity Net Worth. He earned about $45 million in the trilogy fight, reaching $100 million after the PPV upside.

Per Sports Payouts, Canelo earned a guaranteed $15 million for the John Ryder fight. It was rumored that he took a $10 million pay cut for the fight to be contested in Mexico. Canelo initially signed a three-fight deal with Premier Boxing Champions worth $100 million. Facing Jermell Charlo under the first fight of the deal, he made about $25-$30 million.

Against Jason Quigley, Berlanga allegedly made six figures.

Berlanga recently signed a multi-year deal with Matchroom Boxing after years with Top Rank. It is unknown the amount he is being paid.

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Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury: Promoter claims former belt holder could be on Fight Card

Story by Salvador Ramirez

Serhii Bohachuk’s promoter believes that his fighter could now benefit from an impressive performance against Vergil Ortiz Jr.

While Ortiz won the WBC super welterweight interim belt a couple of weeks ago on a decision scorecard, many praised the Ukrainian’s efforts that night.

“Serhii’s star skyrocketed after this fight. I don’t know why no one gave him a chance heading into this fight. He was a five-to-one underdog,” he said. 

“It was great that Alalshikh was there in person to see how great of a performance Serhii put on. He also said that he thought Serhii won that fight, or at worst, it should have been a draw. He really liked Serhii. 

“He came up to us after the fight and said that he wanted Serhii on a future show by the end of this year. It could definitely be on the December 21 show in Saudi Arabia. Serhii is ready to go. It would be great to have Serhii on the show, as his fellow Ukrainian heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk takes on Tyson Fury.”

He continued: “The division is so hot and there are so many great matchups to be made.

“Serhii is in the top three to five in the division. Serhii has earned the right to fight any of the top names. The one thing with Serhii is that you are never going to see a boring fight.”

The next Riyadh Season fight sees Anthony Joshua challenge Daniel Dubois for the IBF heavyweight championship, live on DAZN on September 21.

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Gervonta Davis vs. Shakur Stevenson: Davis trainer makes bold prediction for potential showdown

Story by Joseph Rinaldi

Kenny Ellis, a co-trainer for Gervonta Davis, believes a potential clash with Shakur Stevenson is not a 50-50 fight. 

Following Davis’ win over Frank Martin in June, there have been calls for Davis to face the undefeated WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson next. 

If a fight between the two did get made, it would be a huge event with both men notable stars in American boxing. 

When it comes to picking a winner, many struggle to separate Davis and Stevenson, but Ellis explained why “Tank” is a clear favorite. 

“They can’t be 50-50 if Tank can punch and Shakur can’t punch,” Ellis said in a podcast with Cigar Talk and The Rize.

“They both can box. They both got a great IQ. Let’s say Tank is behind and he got to get himself out of trouble, and that motherf—r’s hammer is going to get him out of trouble.

“Now let’s say Shakur’s behind and he got to get himself out of trouble. How he going to get himself out of trouble? He don’t have no hammer. So they’re not 50-50. They can’t be 50-50.”

This fight may not be a difficult one to make with Stevenson a promotional free agent after his deal with Top Rank came to an end following a successful WBC lightweight title defense against Artem Harutyunyan last month. 

Shakur Stevenson, the talented 27-year-old boxer from Newark has been waiting for quite a few weeks to find an opponent after defeating Artem Harutyunyan on points in July and he has finally closed his next fight.

One of the biggest talents in the sport, Gervonta Davis, was among the favorites to take on Stevenson next, as both men are regarded as two of the best fighters in boxing right now.

Both men expressed their desire to face each other in what would be one of the biggest events in boxing. While Davis was expected to take on Vasiliy Lomachenko at the end of the year, the Ukrainian decided to take some time off, so Tank had no rival, which paved the way for a clash with Stevenson.

However, both men won’t fight, not for now. Gervonta hasn’t yet an opponent, but Stevenson has agreed to take on another fighter, Joe Cordina. They will fight on the Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev undercard on October 12th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The fight was made official after Stevenson signed a one-fight deal with Eddie Hearn. That’s why he will face Matchroom fighter Cordina, who lost his IBF super featherweight title last May to Anthony Cacace via an eighth-round knockout.

Stevenson signed a one-fight deal with Matchroom because he’s planning on fighting Davis in 2025 when he will be a free agent again and be able to negotiate with Tank.

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IBF welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis Set for Karen Chukhadzhian Rematch Under IBF Order

Story by Alexander R. Rinaldi

As the IBF has mandated a rematch between the two boxers, Jaron “Boots” Ennis is preparing for yet another meeting with Karen Chukhadzhian. The undefeated IBF welterweight champion Ennis will once more face the Armenian rival from Ukraine-born background who earlier fell short against him.

The IBF issued the mandate on July 31, which prepares the ground for the probably November showdown. Matchroom Sport chairman Eddie Hearn claims that Ennis, who marks his second consecutive home defense, is scheduled to host the rematch in Philadelphia. Currently ranked as best welterweight, Ennis has a perfect record of 31-0 including 28 knockouts.

Chukhadzhian is his challenger, he ranks as the No. 1 in the IBF. The 28-year-old Kiev native firmly defeated Harry Scarff from England in May 17 IBF IBF title eliminator in Germany. Since his loss to Ennis in January 2023, Chukhadzhian has won three consecutive wins including this last one.

Ennis dominated in their previous bout, scoring all twelve rounds on the judges’ scorecards (120-108). With 19 of his last 20 opponents knocked out, the bout broke a six-year streak of stoppage victories for Ennis. Since then, Ennis has added two more stoppage victories—a ninth-round TKO against Roiman Villa in July, so solidifying his entire IBF welterweight championship.

Initially paired with Terence Crawford, the undisputed welterweight champion, Ennis was lined up for a title unification fight. But Crawford’s rematch agreement with Errol Spence stopped that from happening. Originally dismantling Spence to retain his titles, Crawford has now left his WBC and WBO welterweight belts and is now running at 154 pounds.

Matchroom Boxing has looked at other possible pairings for Ennis, including one with WBC titleholder Mario Barrios and another with Vergil Ortiz. But given the IBF deadline is fastly approaching, Ennis appears to satisfy his mandatory defense against Chukhadzhian.

Ennis’ scheduled July 13 fight against Cody Crowley was canceled when Crowley was medically disqualified for an eye injury. This left Ennis to carry out his required responsibilities, so arranging the forthcoming rematch with Chukhadzhian. All eyes will be on Philadelphia as the bout date draws near to see if Ennis can keep his perfect record and carry on his supremacy in the welterweight class.

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Terrence Crawford Captures the WBA Junior Middleweight Title from Israil Madrimov 

After he beats Madrimov he plans to fight Canelo AlvarezStory By Alex and John  Rinaldi

Just like he has done in all his preceding fights – Terence Craford has once again come out victorious – this time for his 4^th Division World Championship and the WBA World Super Welterweight Championship belt that going into the bout was wrapped firmly around its champion Israil Madrimov.

Before a packed crowd at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, the crowd surprisingly witnessed a pretty close, exciting fight.

Madrimov, 154, entered the ring first wearing white trunks and white gloves, while Crawford entered in the ring wearing blue trunks with gold trim and green gloves with blue and gold trimming.

Like all the fighters who faced Crawford beforehand, they all felt they had that one super ingredient, that magic bullet, that pixie dust, or that yellow brick road to lead them to victory. Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KO’s) was certainly one of them.

“I feel great,” declared Madrimov before the fight. “I’ve waited for this moment for a long time. My dream is coming true. Saturday night I’ll show every boxing fan a great fight. I’m only thinking about the victory, and I will show everything that I have inside the ring.”

Unfortunately, like all the previous 40 dreamers who fought Crawford before him, Madrimov’s dream was quickly shattered and crushed, as he emerged, like his predecessors on the losing side of that fine line.

As Crawford’s punches have shown, thinking about victory against him is like stopping a lion with a fly swatter.

Prior to this bout, Crawford, 36, had won the following championships:

WBO World Lightweight Champion

WBO World Super Lightweight Champion

WBC World Super Lightweight Champion

WBA World Super Lightweight Champion

IBF World Super Lightweight Champion

WBO World Welterweight Champion

WBC World Welterweight Champion

WBA World Welterweight Champion

IBF World Welterweight Champion

Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KO’s) will earn a guaranteed purse of $1.2m for the upcoming fight. The earnings Crawford increased to $3.5m based on pay-per-view sales if the ppv buys figure crossed more than 500k sales on fight.

To his credit, Madrimov was a sturdy foe and put up a pretty fight of it. The problem was that over the course of 12 rounds Crawford threw almost twice as many punches as Madrimov. The other problem was that he seemed to never hurt the great Craford.

While some rounds were pretty close such as the third, fourth, fifth, tenth, and twelfth rounds, Crawford was the one who, by far, landed the harder blows.

In round three, for example, Craford countered a solid right from Madrimov with an explosive left uppercut to the WBA Super Middleweight Champion’s jaw that nearly sent his head flying back to his native Uzbekistan.

The biggest round for Craford was in round 11 when the Nebraska fighter landed another jarring left uppercut that staggered the champion and put him squarely on some sort of battered land in Eastern Europe.

By the fight’s end some thought it was close – such as Madrimov’s corner, countrymen, and family, to the rest of the world and the crowd in attendance Crawford won a unanimous decision on scorecards of 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113, meaning if Crawford hadn’t taken the 12th round, the fight would have ended as a majority draw.

Crawford landed 95 of 433 punches to 84 of 273 for Madrimov, according to CompuBox, showcasing how close the bout was overall. Madrimov was also able to snap an 11-fight knockout streak for Crawford.

“Israil was a tough competitor,” Crawford said after the fight. “I knew he was going to be tough like I said. He’s real strong, he’s durable, he took a lot of good shots. Like everybody knew coming into the fight, he had fast feet and good rhythm upstairs and was strong. He was waiting to counter me just like I was waiting to counter him. He fought a good fight.”

Madrimov said he felt he had done enough to win and asked for a rematch. His promoter, Eddie Hearn, was more upset than Madrimov after the fight, claiming the scoring felt like the scorecards were “filled out in advance.”

Crawford had been angling to continue moving up in weight, hoping to secure a shot plus all the huge monies that go with hit against the Unified Super Middleweight Champion, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

“You know what I say, if the money’s right, we’ve got to fight,” Crawford said. “At the same time, he has a fight he’s focused on. … [Getting the fight is] not so important to me. It’s just another milestone to greatness, I suppose. And financially wise.”

Fight card, results

• Terence Crawford def. Israil Madrimov (c) via unanimous decision (116-112, 115-113, 115-113)
• Jose Valenzuela def. Isaac Cruz (c)via split decision (116-112, 113-115, 116-112)
• Andy Ruiz vs. Jarrell Miller ends in a majority draw (112-116, 114-114, 114-114)

• 

  Ruiz (L) and Miller (R) end their bout in a draw.

• Martin Bakole def. Jared Andersonvia fifth-round TKO
• David Morrell def. Radivoje Kalajdzic via unanimous decision (118-110, 117-111, 117-111)
• Andy Cruz def. Antonio Moran via seventh-round knockout

Pictures By Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing

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Former Heavyweight champion Mike Tyson declares that former President Donald Trump Is Treated The Same Way As Black People ‘In The Press’ And ‘In Court’

Story By Leonard Carmichael

Former Heavyweight Champion and sport’s icon Mike Tyson is a longtime friend of former president Donald Trump and at one point, Tyson and Trump had such a close relationship that the heavyweight world champion was briefly employed him as a ‘business advisor’. 

More importantly, Trump’s Casino Hotel – Trump Plaza in Atlantic City – was one of the best venues ever to hold a boxing match and they put on some of the biggest boxing events in the 1980’s and 1990’s such as Miket Tyson’s legendary fight against Michael Spinks on June 27, 1988, where Tyson KO’d Spinks in the very first round, among many others.

Due to their mutual friendship, Tyson believes that the former president, who once wrote the national best seller Art of the Deal, appears to be getting nothing but a Raw Deal from both the Press and the Justice System in America.

Tyson has also reportedly defended former president Trump by suggesting that the legal system treats him similarly to how the system treats Black people in America.

Because of this, many African Americans and Black sports icons “see strength” in Trump due to the relatable circumstances they share — which Trump himself has also pointed out. 

“No, it won’t be part of my message,” Trump said, who once compared himself to Nelson Mandela, boasted that “the Black population” loved seeing his mugshot in Fulton County, and is regularly accused of reinforcing negative stereotypes by Democrats for personal gain. 

“I think it’s through osmosis. They [Black people] see what’s happening. And a lot of them feel that similar things have happened to them. I mean, they’ve expressed that to me very plainly and very clearly. They see what’s happened to them,” Trump explained. 

One of the reasons Tyson is standing by Trump is that the former president believed Tyson was unfairly prosecuted and convicted in Indiana for the alleged rape in the 1990’s.

Trump was also at his side when he was put behind bars for the “rape” charges, which Tyson has continuously denied, alleging that the sexual relations were consensual.

The 44th president also went on record calling the conviction “a travesty” in a 1992 radio interview.

“If I never saw Donald Trump and didn’t know he was white, I would think that he was black,” Tyson said during a recent interview. “The way they were treating him in the papers and in the press. Think about that, the way they treat him in court? That’s the way they did Black people.”

Note: for the record, the only sports publication and media outlet that stood by Mike Tyson during his legal travesty was The USA Boxing News and its Editors John and Alex Rinaldi who appeared on many sports radio shows during that time such as New York’s famed FAN. While callers and hosts went after “The Boxing Twins” they never relented and stood by Tyson to the very end.

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The Florida Boxing Hall of Fame inducts a new class for 2024

Story by Mark Weisenmiller

Photos courtesy of The Florida Boxing Hall of Fame

St. Petersburg, Florida.  The Class of 2024 for the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame (FLBHOF) included eight fighters; two trainer/managers; one promoter; one for the FLBHOF Media Division; four participants, and four officials/commissioners. Additionally, two Special Achievement Awards were presented (to Ivan Echevarria and Carlos Albuerne); one Long Time Loyalty Award (to Bradley Ware), and the person receiving the Walter A. Flansburg Lifetime Award was Geri Atkinson-Hazelton.

Held at a Hilton Hotel in this city which averages 300 days of sunshine per year (this induction weekend was no exception as daytime temperatures occasionally topped 100 degrees F.), this year’s Induction Ceremony was the first ceremony to be completely sold out since the FLBHOF began in 2009, according to FLBHOF President Steven J. Canton.

The FLBHOF Induction Ceremony Weekend began on Friday evening, June 21^st and lasted until late Sunday afternoon of June 23, 2024. Unlike past years, where the Friday evenings were slated with 12 to 15 amateur bouts, this year was different. Instead of having a night of boxing matches, beginning at five p.m. on Friday was a “meet and greet” cocktail party.

For those people in attendance on Saturday who were not

looking at the fist casting exhibition or listening and watching the live interviews conducted by long-time boxing announcer Bob Alexander (most of the weekend’s activities were streamed online on the FLBHOF website and also YouTube), they could be found at long-time referees Brian Garry and Chris Young’s morning seminar. During the seminar, there was talk about boxing in the soon-to-be Paris, France Summer Olympics and Garry told the audience of 50 people that there are five judges for every Olympic boxing bout.

When Young began, he said, “The first thing that a referee has to do is to be prepared because I literally have a fighter’s life in my hands.” Changing subjects, he told the audience, “The bottom rope (of a boxing ring is always kept looser to avoid a falling boxer from whiplash.” There was discussion of point deduction if a boxer intentionally hits an opponent while he is down. Garry said that, whenever he referees a World Boxing Association (WBA) bout, that, according to that organization’s rules, he meets with the red and blue corner boxers and their accompanying entourage of trainers and cornermen. Both the red and blue “sides” trainers give Garry two sets of boxing gloves – one primary pair and one back-up pair – and Garry takes the four sets of boxing gloves to his hotel room. This is to prevent either side from tampering with said gloves.

The audience was rambunctious but in a good-hearted manner. Fighters’ safety and enforcing the rules are the two most important things that a referee must do during a match. “Another key point is knowing precisely when to stop a fight. That is really something that can not be taught in any class,” confessed Young. He also remarked, “For any would be referee or official out there (in the audience), don’t put anything on social media” and the audience laughed at this simple and truthful fact. The discussion, and the overall tone of the seminar, was so vigorous that it lasted thirty minutes longer than scheduled.

Noon to 2 p.m.:  The documentary film Worth The Fight was held in the same room which held Garry and Young’s seminar. The film is about Canton and eight different boxers who train at his gym in Florida. This had a smaller audience than the referee’s seminar because the film was shown at last year’s Induction Ceremony and, on another scale, innumerable groups of people stood in clusters outside the room and, as the British say, jaw-jawed. Slowly, as the talk subsided, these people came into the room; sat down, and watched the documentary film. Worth The Fight won top honors at the Milano, Italy Film Festival last November and will be shown at the 2024 Nagano, Japan Film Festival.

2:15 to 3.45 pm:  Again, this was held in the same seminar room after the showing of Worth The Fight. The moderators asked a panel of four boxing experts, one of which was Canton, a few questions. Audience members also asked the panel members questions. They talked about weigh-ins (day before the fight vs. morning of the bout); the average number of deaths of active people per year (for many years that figure was eight; now, depending on the source that figure is either 13 or 14) and why that number has increased; too many sparring rounds for boxers who are training for a match; nutrition for boxers (much talk about high-twitch fiber vs. low-twitch fiber in the human being musculature system); who was the fastest boxer that the panel members ever saw (unanimous consent for Sugar Ray Robinson) and beards (they used to be illegal). Today, in some boxing associations, beards are, to a certain length, legal.

The Saturday night Gala Dinner, which was sold out, started at 6 p.m. and, two hours later, there was the annual Ten Count by time-keeper Phyllis Garry (a past FLBHOF inductee and the wife of Brian Garry) for boxers and others in the boxing field who have died in the past year. Master of Ceremonies Alexander welcomed everybody to the dinner and then came the President’s Message from Canton (who is a member of the original FLBHOF Induction Class of 2009). The keynote address was given by boxing author Mark Silver. He talked about the long and rich history of boxing in Florida. Silver also praised Canton and his long life-time devotion to the sport.

The presentation of the Don Hazelton Scholarship Award was next. There were two recipients:  Max Curren and Dominic Vellucci. Each received a check for $1,000. Jose Diego was presented with the Walter A. “Butch” Flansburg Award; he received a $2,500 check. The Lifetime Flansburg Award was, as noted previously, given to Geri Atkinson-Hazelton.

Today:  after a hot buffet breakfast, one hour elapsed before the start of the Induction Ceremony at 11 am; said ceremony was held at the Hilton Lake Carillon Hotel Grand Ballroom. To the left and right of M.C. Alexander, who stood behind a podium to do his job, were two vertical banners with the FLBHOF logo on them. The induction ceremony was well attended – easily more than 700 people were in the room -possibly to escape the nearly 100 degree F. day. After the singing of the National Anthem, the American Legion Post 5 Honor Guard brought in the U.S. flag.

Then the ceremony commenced. Canton and his wife Beth handed to each inductee their respective plaques and rings as the inductees made their way to the stage. Each Inductee then gave his or her speech. Then the Class of 2024 posed for pictures with past inductees. “To the Inductees, remember this day; it should be like a stroll in the clouds,” said Alexander.

The induction ceremony began with the recognition of the two deceased inductees:  fighters Saoul Mamby and Arthur Williams. Mamby (45-34-6, 18 KO’s) held the World Boxing Commission (WBC) Super Lightweight Championship Belt for two- and one-half years. A tough and tenacious man, he fought well into his fifties (he began boxing at age 16) and, when he was 60, Mamby fought in an officially sanctioned match. The Pensacola, Florida-born Williams (47-17-1, 30 KO’s) held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) cruiserwegith title for one year. Phyllis Garry clanged the time-keeper bell a Ten-Count for Mamby and Williams.

Three inductees were unable to attend the ceremony:  fighter Stacy Prestage (7-5-3, 3 KO’s); Dr. Mark Gordon, and John Beninati.

Kathy Gentile was the first inductee to give a speech. Some of it was “My sister and I used to watch boxers train. We were trying to figure out why the boxers were making funny noises through their noses (i.e., heavily inhaling and exhaling).” She then talked about meeting a young Mike Tyson and ended her speech by saying, “Boxing is a challenge. It requires discipline. Always do the right thing, especially when no one is looking. It’s called integrity.”

The second inductee, and thus speaker, was Young. “I would be remiss if I didn’t thank (FLBHOF founders) Butch and Kathy Flansburg. As a young referee, I was very impatient to advance but Frank Gentile (Kathy’s husband) told me ‘Don’t worry. If you’re good, you’ll advance.’ If you want to be the best in your field, be in competition with yourself.”

Next was, from the Officials/Commission Division, Tim Shipman. He began by thanking his wife and children and immediately started to tear up. He also profusely thanked Frank and Kathy Gentile and, especially, Brian Garry. “I have friends. I have enemies. I have frenemies (laughter from the audience). That’s my job. With every job, I wanted to do the best I can without reward. This is a special reward.”

 

Then came the Participants Division; first of these went to Marc Hager. He spoke in a low, gravelly voice. He somewhat meandered when delivering his speech but he had a valid reason:  his boxing career was filled with a remarkable divergence of people. Next inductee Raul Alvarez told the audience “This is one of the most personal honors I have ever received. Thanks to my children for listening to my boxing stories over and over again.”

The ever-energetic Carl King followed Alvarez. King took to the stage waving two tiny U.S. flags just as his famous father, Don King, would often do. “Before I start, I want to say congratulations to all other inductees this year. There are so many people that I would like to thank but I wouldn’t because of time and (now laughing) memory. I got my love of boxing from my father who also got me my first pair of boxing gloves. He encouraged me to stay the course when things got down.” After his speech, he did a funny and very accurate imitation of his father shouting “Only In America!” while waving the two tiny U.S. flags.

 The Media Division inductee was Cuban-born Jorge Ebro. “My first memory of boxing,” he began, “came from Havana in 1964. My next big memory was in 1977 when it appeared that Muhammad Ali would fight (the Cuban multiple Olympics gold medal winner) Teofelio Stevenson (this bout never happened—MW). When I got to America, I was amazed that boxers are paid since, of course, they were not paid in Cuba. I thank the boxers and their trainers who allowed me to tell their stories.”

The FLBHOF Promoter Division inductee was Khalilah Escalera. Her husband, Tito, is a past FLBHOF inductee. She began her speech saying, “When Tito and I started out (as a husband-and-wife team of boxing promoters), we wanted to expand boxing in Florida. We went through the anxiety of wondering, ‘Are people going to show up?’ and then the happiness when people did show up (laughter from the audience). I love the engagement of meeting with the fans because we need the fans. I need to thank my dad because he named me Khalilah after Muhammad Ali’s wife Khalilah. Thank you so much for the boxers as we wouldn’t be here without you.”

The two inductees in the Trainers/Managers Division were next. They were Sherman Hensen and William “Papo” Vargas. Henson: “My sister was the only one who saw me box competitively. So, also, I would like to thank my daughter Kathy.” He pointed to where she was sitting in the audience as he said that sentence. Henson then took a breath and said, “Boxing is a sweet science. You don’t play with it.”

Henson added, “I want to thank all of the kids that I’ve worked with who have come off of the streets. There are times as a trainer when I wanted to give it up, but my wife told me ‘No, never.’ So, she is my Hall of Famer. Being Inducted into the Hall of Fame remains the world to me because it shows that somebody really cares. A trainer means everything to a boxer and a boxer means everything to a trainer. We (trainers) create warriors. Fear is the greatest obstacle in learning how to be a fighter. You work hard to learn to be the best of your game.”

The final division of inductees were Fighters. The first of these were Chicago, Illinois-born David Diaz (36-4-1, 17 KO’s). He was the owner of the WBC Lightweight Title from 2007 to 2008. Diaz was a 4-time Chicago Golden Gloves champion and three times he won the National Golden Gloves. “I was blessed to have a career in boxing,” said Diaz. “And I thank my father. Some people say that to be a boxer you have a few screws loose in your head and I think that’s true, especially when you start to talk to us. To my colleagues, enjoy it. God bless you guys and I’m humbled.”

Born in Georgetown, Guyana, Raul Frank (29-5-3, 14 KO’s) briefly held the United States Boxing Association (USBA) Welterweight Title. Later in his career, Frank would be the IBF Latino Super Welterweight Champion. In 1997, he was USBA Fighter of The Year. “As many of you know,” he told the audience, “The life of a boxer is a hard one. I loved boxing except for getting up at 4 a.m. to do roadwork. I thank my mom, who was the first to congratulate me when I finally learned to put my combinations together.”

Edner “Cherry Bomb” Cherry (37-7-2, 19 KO’s) started to box at 14 and turned professional at the age of 21. As a boxer, he held, at different times in his career, the WBC Caribbean Boxing Federation Lightweight Title and the National Boxing Association (NBA) Intercontinental Lightweight Championship. In the course of training for a bout, Edner suffered a heart attack. His heart stopped for three minutes — the length of a boxing round – and he was revived by a nurse.

Taking the stage to much applause, he began by saying, “I want my wife Elizabeth to come up here and stand by me.” She got up from her seat in the audience and did so. “My boxing career wasn’t an easy one. I fought anyone they put in front of me. I told me trainers and cornermen that I would do anything and everything to work hard and become a world champion.”

Jose “El Cheloman” Alonzo was born in April of 1977 in Newark, New Jersey. He won the Florida State Golden Gloves in 1993. In a fight across the bay in Tampa, Alonzo (13-1, 7 KO’s) won the WBA Fedocentro Championship. In 2011, he became Florida State Super Middleweight Champion.

This was the only inductee who brought the majority of the audience to its feet when he took to the stage. “Madre and padre, I want to thank you for teaching me how to be a man and how to be a good family man. I boxed at the Boys Club (when young) and got beat up a lot. To all of my class-mates, I am honored to be included with you.”

The final inductee was John John Molina (57-7, 33 KO’s). Born in Puerto Rico in 1965, he represented that country as a bantamweight boxer at the 1984 Summer Olympics. In Seoul, South Korea, his numerous boxing abilities won him the Boxing Cup. In late April of 1989, he won the WBO Super Featherweight Title; he also won the same weight division Title of the IBF.

 “I used to fight in the street,” Molina remembered. “And my mother was tougher than some of the boys I fought in the street. I chose boxing. I wanted to hit, not get hit,” he told the audience.

The FLBHOF Class of 2025 will be announced in January of that year.     

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Marvelous Marvin Hagler gets a statue erected in his honor

“If they cut my head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That’s all I am. I live it. When a man goes into the ring, he’s going to war.” – Marvelous Marvin Hagler

Story By Alex and John Rinaldi

One of the greatest accolades that could ever be bestowed upon someone is the erection of a statue bearing their name and likeness.

The City of Brockton and its officials have unveiled a $150,000 statue honoring late boxing champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Brockton’s second son.

Hagler’s statue is the second erected in Brockton to memorialize a World Boxing Champion from the city. The first being former Undefeated Heavyweight Champion Rocky Marciano.

In 2012, the World Boxing Council gifted a $250,000, 22-foot-tall statue of boxing legend Rocky Marciano to the city. The statue honoring Marciano stands like a steeple outside of Brockton High School, off Forest Avenue.

Now it is Hagler’s turn.

Situated at the former location of the Petronelli Brothers’ Gym, where Hagler trained during his entire boxing career finally stands the Marvelous Marvin Hagler statue and memorial.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Hagler moved to Brockton in 1969, where he trained with the Brockton brothers Goody and Pat Petronelli for years during his historic boxing career.

“I will say one thing about Marvelous Marvin, he never forgot where he came from,” Mayor Robert Sullivan told the crowd. “So today he is not here physically, but he is here in spirit.”

Hagler also was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993. He was named one of the greatest Fighter of the Decade of the 1980s by The USA Boxing News.

“He put Brockton back on the map,” said state Sen. Mike Brady, a lifelong Brocktonian.

“We have so many great memories of watching those fights at high school and then the Hearns and Hagler fight was the best,” Brady said.

The Rev. Ortez Vandross said the statue “will be a memorial of his life lessons, hard work and dedication.”

“Many knew him for his dazzling smile, charisma, charming personality, intimidating presence and killer instinct in the ring, yet Marvelous Marvin Hagler was a lover of people,” Vandross said. “He was a philanthropist.”

Hagler and Marciano, known as the “Brockton Blockbuster,” are the reasons why Brockton is known as the “City of Champions.”

Brodin Studios sculpted Hagler’s statue, which was funded through a $150,000 state grant secured by state Rep. Gerry Cassidy, D-Brockton, officials said.

Hagler’s last fight was in 1987 when lost a controversial 12-round to Sugar Ray Leonard and with it his middleweight title.

Hagler retired after Leonard would not give him a rematch.

In a career that spanned 15 years, Hagler ended his days in ring with an impressive record of 62-3-2 (52 KO’s).

During that time, he defeated Alan Minter on September 27, 1980, for the undisputed middleweight championship at London’s Wembley Arena by stopping him in three rounds. So upset was the pro-Minter crowd that bottles were thrown at the ring forcing Hagler and the Petronelli Brothers to barely escape unscathed.

After becoming the Undisputed Middleweight Champion of the World, Hagler defended the title successfully twelve times till his loss to Leonard. During that span, Hagler, along with Tommy Hearns, Roberto Duran, and Sugar Ray Leonard were crowned and recognized as the Four Boxing Legends. A feat which was even remarkable due to the fact all four were still fighting – and fighting each other.

Prior to his loss to Leonard, Hagler fought and won a severely close match against Duran, then knocked out Tommy Hearns in three rounds in one of the most exciting and explosive fights of all time.

Hagler “is a true embodiment of the spirit of Brockton, demonstrating his toughness, perseverance, community and dedication,” Vandross said.

Though sadly both Marciano and Hagler never had a chance to see either statue erected – their memory and likeness will now stand and live forever.

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Gervonta “Tank” Davis demolishes Contender Frank Martin with 8^th Round KO to retain WBA Lightweight Championship 

Vasyl Lomachenko heading the list as his next opponent

Story By Alex and John Rinaldi

When the moon over the desert in Las Vegas rose to its height above Las Vegas Avenue the day after a full strawberry moon peered above the landscape like a bloody eye, one thing was for certain – WBA Lightweight Champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis has proved once again that he is one of the best fighters and biggest punchers on the planet.

 After knocking out Ryan Garcia last April with a body shot, Davis, who has recently spent some time in a detention center has now returned to the boxing ring – which apparently is his happy place. Unfortunately for his opponents, fighting “Tank” is like entering the medieval Tower of London and preparing oneself to either being tortured or beheaded.

 Gervonta Davis entered the ring to defend his WBA lightweight title against previously unbeaten Frank Martin who came in with an impressive record of 18-0 (12 KO’s). More importantly, Martin came to fight – and fight he did.

From the sound of the bell for round one, Martin took the fight to the champion Tank who seemed to start the fight at a slow speed having returned from a 14-month layoff. Although it was Martin’s first world title bout, the challenger landed the majority of the punches, most of which behind the left jab.

This continued over the next few rounds with Martin exhibiting a boxing lesson to Davis, who still seemed somewhat frozen in space and time.

In rounds 3 to 7, Martin won virtually all the rounds with swift combinations and stellar footwork keeping the champion at bay. Every time Tank tried to start and go on the offensive, Martin moved away from harm’s way and continued piling up points.

After beating Davis over the last seven rounds, Martin must have thought he only had five more rounds remaining in the bout with the Lightweight Championship within his reach.

And that is what the great sport boxing is all about – there is something to be said for optimism and there is something to be said about goals and dreams.

Then there is also something to be said about Gervonta “Tank” Davis and the atomic power of his punches.

With all those conflicting thoughts swarming in the air – the bell rang like a deadly harbinger to start round 8.

Little did Martin know; the bell would soon turn out to be a funeral chime for the dead and dying.

The champion soon caught Martin with a big uppercut. After a closely fought first minute of the round, Davis trapped Martin by the corner against the ropes and nailed him with a straight to the chin that straightened up his head and left it open for three straight left hooks, the last of which crashed against his jaw like a sledgehammer , nearly tearing his head from his shoulders, and smashing Martin straight to the ring floor stretched out like a medical school cadaver.

Immediately, the thrilled Davis, who knew all too well that Martin was not going to beat the count, jumped on the ropes of the neutral corner and began swaying and shouting to the crowd.

When the ten-count was finally tolled, Davis leaped off the ring corner in a complete backwards flip as the audience roared on his behalf.

 “I knew he was going to tire down,” Davis (30-0, 28 KO’s) said during an in-ring interview after the fight. “So that’s why I was just standing there, be a target for him just so he could tire himself out. And once he tired himself out, you know me, I started picking him apart.”

It was a knockout finish to an exciting night of fights from Las Vegas.

With a lightweight title belt still wrapped around his waist, Davis has plenty of options open for his next fight. Included in the group of prospective fighters are lightweight champions Shakur Stevenson and Vasiliy Lomachenko. Both will be in consideration for a title unification while a rematch against 140-pound champion Issac Cruz is in the mix as well.

It has been reported by promoter Bob Arum, that talks between Davis and Lomachenko are set to resume this week for a potential unification bout for the WBA and IBF lightweight world titles, potentially taking place in November or December of this year. “I am optimistic about Davis-Lomachenko. The PBC team are professionals, my team are professionals, and they will sort it out,” Arum stated. The Ukrainian, who is the current IBF Lightweight champion, holds a record of 18-3-0.

“Most importantly, I want to just get back to the drawing board,” Davis said after the win. “Get back in the gym and just stay focused. I felt I was a little rusty, but all (those) guys are on my radar.”

While the official purse figures for the Davis vs. Martin fight have not been disclosed, Davis is expected to have earned around $15 million, depending on how the fight performs on PPV, his earnings could exceed $25 million.

The last mega-fight Davis had was against Ryan Garcia last April 22, which generated over $100 million in revenue, according to Garcia. While Garcia’s manager, Oscar De La Hoya, revealed Garcia’s purse was an impressive $30 million, it’s estimated that Davis earned a larger share of the pay-per-view revenue, potentially exceeding $40 million.

In the co-main event, David Benavidez dominated former 175-pound champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk to win the interim WBC title by unanimous decision. Benavidez moved up to the light heavyweight division after repeatedly being passed over for a fight against undisputed 168-pound champion Canelo Alvarez.

Benavidez looked comfortable at the new weight, cruising past Gvozdyk easily on the cards to secure mandatory challenger status for the winner of Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev’s undisputed fight in October.

ach, CA 90810

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Pac-man may be back in the boxing ring and fighting for the WBC Interim Welterweight Title

Just when boxing fans, and especially Filipino boxing fans, figured that Manny Pacquiao would never step in the ring again, news comes out that he may be back – and sooner than they thought.

Like most retired athletes, there are times when they get that urge or itch to return to their former place in their respective sport. Well, now almost three years into his retirement the Pac-Man looks to be returning to the ring and his countrymen could not be more thrilled.

It has been reported that Pacquaio’s team are in negotiations with Mario Barrios’ team for a shot at the WBC world interim welterweight title. Considering that the  iconic Filipino multi- division champion has not fought since a points loss against Yordenis Ugás in August 2021, his name is still big enough to fill up chairs in an arena.

 “Manny is looking at that option to fight Mario Barrios. He loves the idea of finishing his career by winning the WBC title. That was his first belt way back,” said his agent Sean Gibbons confirmed. “So, over the next two weeks, we are going to try to make the fight.”

It is the same WBC title was that was vacated by Terence Crawford due to inactivity and Barrios became the interim champion by taking down the man who ended Pacquiao’s career,namely  Ugás, by knocking him twice to the canvas. After then successfully defending the interim title against Fabian Maidana, Barrios is 29-2 and in the middle of a rebuild following losses to Keith Thurman and Gervonta Davis.

Manny is not only a living legend, he is also the only eight-division world champion in the history of boxing. The first to win lineal championships in four different weight classes, and the only champion to cross four decades (1990s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s).

Apparently, Pacquiao is intending to supplement his championship belt collection by adding the WBC title to his vast collection.

Presenlty, Manny is set to compete against Japanese MMA fighter Chihiro Suzuki on July 28 at the Super Rizin.3 event.

Hopefully if the fight takes place that Pac-Man still has some thread left on his titers and can compete with a mucg younger adversary in Barrios.

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Former heavyweight champion and Icon Mike Tyson is picking Tyson Fury

“I look forward to that fight [Fury Vs. Usyk].” said the former Undisputed Heavyweight Champion, Mike Tyson. “That is going to be an interesting fight. I’m going towards Tyson Fury because I think he’s just going to overpower him. He’s going to catch up with him and overpower him. I got to go with Fury. I think he’s the best fighter in the world, especially in the heavyweight division. Great fighters lose, great fighters look bad, that doesn’t stop them from being great fighters,” 

Concerning Fury’s lackluster bout with Ngannou, Mike Tyson said, “Hey, we should [not focus on what Fury did against Ngannou], but you have to understand that he is still the champion. He made that night a great night. He gave Francis [Ngannou] the opportunity, and that was just a bad night at the office for him. We all have bad nights, and listen, that was his bad night.”

Lennox Lewis: ‘The bigger fighter usually wins’

Lewis also predicted that Fury would win. “I believe the bigger guy, the better guy, wins. They both have good skill and Usyk has good movement, with good balance, and puts his punches together well. But he’s going up against a 6ft 9in guy and, for me, Tyson Fury is very elusive even if he is so big. If he makes you miss, he makes you pay. It’s an interesting match-up but I always say if two guys have the same technical skill, the bigger fighter wins because he can force his size on the other guy.”

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Canelo Alvarez retains his WBC, WBO, IBF and WBA super middleweight titles with unanimous victory over the tough and previously unbeaten Jaime Munguia

Story By Alex and John Rinaldi

May 2024. Before a sellout crowd of 17,492 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Canelo Alvarez impressively defended his undisputed super middleweight titles against previously unbeaten Jaime Munguia.

Surprisingly, in all the years he has been fighting on this date, it was the first time that Canelo fought a fellow Mexican fighter on Cinco de Mayo.

Alvarez, who put his four super-middleweight belts on the line, weighed in at 166.8 pounds (75.6 kg) while fellow Mexican Munguia tipped the scales at 167.4 pounds (75.9 kg).

While both fighters welcomed by the Mexican National Anthem, the Mariachi Band in the ring did an amazing and truly original version of the A

merican National Anthem featuring instruments such as the Mexican vihuela, violin, trumpets, accordion, harp, guitarron, banjo sexto, along with a regular guitar. It was the most unique version of the Star-Spangled Banner since Jimmy Hendrix performed the anthem at the Woodstock festival back in 1969.

Entering the ring, Canelo, 166.8, looking fierce and anxious, wearing black trunks with tiffany blue trim and matching gloves, while his adversary Jaime Munguia wore trunks bearing the colors and features of the Mexican flag along with black and green gloves.

Munguia looked confident, declaring before the fight, “I’m so happy and excited that this fight is almost here. My team has been behind me the whole way and all the fans can expect a full out Mexican war. Make sure to tune in, you will not be disappointed. Canelo has a great deal of experience and has faced great fighters. I may not have the same resume, but I have youth on my side.”

Well, after 12 hard-fought rounds, experience ended up battering youth.

To his credit, the challenger Munguia fought hard and never stopped throwing punches. The problem was that though he struck Canelo with some hard right hands, the blows seemed to barely hurt the legendary Mexican Champion.

On the other hand, Canelo’s blows appeared at times to nearly remove Munguia’s head from his shoulders.

Munguia came out fast in the first round displaying some good boxing skills and the ability to land punches at Canelo’s jaw and body.  

The challenger not only successfully established the jab, but he also used his height advantage to keep a distance from the power punching Canelo. As the round progressed, Canelo quickly began to bore his way inside and started landing some tough body and rib shots, punches that would eventually slow the challenger down in the later rounds.

In rounds two and three, the fighters both exchanged a good deal of leather at the other, as Canelo was able to absorb the constant pressure of Jaime Munguia, and countered efficiently with swift, telling shots.

Undeterred, Munguia continued with his aggressive strategy by consistently throwing blows at the four-inch shorter champion, while attempting to pile up points in the process.

The problem was that Munguia’s shots never stopped Alvarez from moving forward. Nor could the challenger’s punches faze Alvarez at all.

Instead, Canelo looked like a rock mason, repeatedly chipping away at his foe while Munguia continued his aggressive offensive. Overall, it turned out to be an exciting and eventful fight, but eventually Canelo began to take full control of the bout.

“He’s strong but I think he’s a little slow. I could see every punch,” said Canelo after the bout. “That’s why I’m the best. I’m the best fighter right now, for sure.”

Then came round four.

Munguia began the round moving and boxing and giving Canelo angles while spearing him with some blistering jabs and right crosses.  Still unfazed, Canelo waded forward with some body shots and left hooks as both fighters were exchanging punches with the other.

Then with less than in a minute left in the round, Canelo countered with a left to the jaw followed by a short right uppercut that appeared to have arisen from the depths of hell and landed like a grenade on the challenger’s jaw. Munguia instantly crashed to the floor as if thrown off a six-story building as the crowd leaped to their feet excited that Canelo was about to finish off the fight.

As for Munguia, he was probably wondering first, what happened and second, whether he could get back to his feet.  Since it was the first knockdown of Munguia’s career, he bravely managed to beat the count and remain upright, not only for the rest of the round, but also for the remainder of the fight.

When the bell for round five rang chants of “Canelo!” were shouted in the T-Mobile Arena, where support was divided between the Mexican combatants in a fight, though most seemed lodged in the Canelo camp.

In round six, an Alvarez jab snapped Munguia’s head back followed by a left hook that had Munguia’s legs buckling, and his head shaken as if it was about to be spirited over the ropes of the ring.

Still, the knockout never happened.

For the next eight rounds Canelo tried for a knockout, but Munguia stood his ground and made of fight of it.

In round twelve, Canelo almost scored another the second knockdown when he slammed the challenger with a hard right to the jaw in the final minute of the fight. The punch shook and stunned Munguia, and it looked like one more follow-up blow would end the fight there and then. For some reason Canelo, probably in deference to the challenger’s age and grit, stepped away and the bell sounded seconds later with the challenger still on his feet.

When the announcer relayed the tallies, Canelo Alvarez defeated Jaime Munguia by unanimous decision to retain his undisputed super middleweight titles. The scores were 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112.

Though Munguía, 27, lost the fight, it was relatively close, and he still should have a great career in front of him. Also, Munguía is expected to earn in the neighborhood of $10 million dollars for his effort, which should help him come to terms with the loss against arguably one of the greatest fighters of his generation.

“Jaime Munguia is a great fighter. He’s strong, he’s smart. But I took my time. I had 12 rounds to win the fight and I did. I did really good, and I feel proud about it,” Alvarez said after handing Munguia the first defeat of his professional career. Saturday’s fight, which bettered Alvarez’s record to 61-2-2, was the 33-year-old’s first since beating American Jermell Charlo last year. It was also Alvarez’s fourth time defending his WBC, WBO, IBF and WBA super middleweight titles.

As for Canelo, he is expected to earn upwards of $35 million dollars for his great win.

Next up for him could be a bout with former two-time super middleweight champion David Benavidez. As for Canelo,  he was non-committal and left his options open.

“I don’t know right now, I’m going to rest. I’m going to enjoy my family,” Alvarez said. “I can ask for whatever I want and fight whoever I want, but you know if the money is right … I can fight right now.”

Benavidez said he would love a fight with Canelo but can no longer wait around, since he is moving up to 175-pounds for his next fight.

For Canelo Alvarez, the money and fights are far from ending for him. Considering his experience – he is only 33 years old and may very well have many more miles left on his fighting tires. For boxing’s sake, let’s hope he does.

Canelo vs Munguia undercard results

• Mario Barrios defeats Fabian Maidana by unanimous decision
• Brandon Figueroa defeats Jessie Magdaleno by KO in round 9
• Eimantas Stanionis defeats Gabriel Maestre by unanimous decision
• Photos courtesy of Premier Boxing Champions__________

 

Dainier Pero Continues Undefeated Streak with Impressive First Round Knockout on DAZN

LAS VEGAS, NV (April 29, 2024) – Heavyweight rising star Dainier “The Fear” Pero (7-0, 5 KOs) showcased his dominance in the ring once again, securing a spectacular first-round knockout victory over Jose Mario Tamez (4-4, 1 KO) of Monterey, MX. With this win, Pero who is promoted by Amaury Piedra’s BoxLab Promotions, maintains his undefeated record, further solidifying his status as one of the most promising talents in the heavyweight division. The Most Valuable Prospects aired the fight live on DAZN this past Friday from the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando, FL. 

In a display of precision and ferocity, Pero unleashed his trademark straight left to the head followed by a devastating right hook to the body, inflicting punishing blows on Tamez from the opening bell. Tamez showed a lot of heart but struggled to withstand the onslaught and the referee intervened, stopping the fight in round one to prevent further damage. Pero threw some really hard accurate punches, but it was a straight left to the mid-section that ended the fight.

Reflecting on his victory, Pero expressed his eagerness to face the top contenders in the heavyweight division, stating, “I had a great training camp and I’m ready to take on all the top prospects in the heavyweight division. Each fight is an opportunity for me to prove myself and continue my journey towards the top.”

“Dainier Pero is undoubtedly the best young heavyweight in boxing today,” said Bob Santos, who trains Pero in Las Vegas. “For a big man, his footwork is incredible. Not only does he have great feet, this skillset and power is off the charts. With each fight, he continues to prove why he’s considered one of the top prospects in boxing.”

“I’m incredibly grateful for the support of my team and the guidance from my promoter Amaury Piedra and Coach Santos, as well as Most Valuable Prospects,” concluded Pero, who was a standout amateur from Camaguey, Cuba. “Together, we’re shaping my career in the right direction, and I couldn’t be happier with the progress we’re making.” 

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Anthony Joshua brutally knocks out and beats the hell out of former UFC champion Francis Ngannou

Story by Alex and John Rinaldi

Saudi Arabia, March 8. Finally. Before a packed house at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena, Anthony Joshua decided to unleash his big right hand and the results were rack and ruin.

For a fighter who lost two straight fights to Oleksandr Usyk by trying to emulate a boxer instead of a slugger, Joshua went back to his slugging roots in a devastating fashion. After three years, Joshua finally got the memo – boxers box and punchers punch.

Joshua appeared to have crawled out of the shell of a boring stand-up boxer to do what he does best – which is to land his hammer-like right to the jaw of an opponent, something that his fans have been waiting for.

Of course, Francis Ngannou, the UFC champion was certainly no Smokin’ Joe Frazier, but he did last the distance against Tyson Fury, though most pundits believed that Fury trained for that fight as if he was going to take a spot of tea and some crumpets at a London Grand Hotel.  

The difference was that Joshua, 252.4, unlike Fury before him, came to fight – and fight he did.

Ngannou, meanwhile looked to have some confidence in himself and appeared to love the fanfare as he came into the ring like a dandy clad in white and pink trunks with gold frills along with matching white and pink gloves.

Once the bell sounded for the start of round one, Joshua, wearing white trunks and brown Everlast gloves, went after Ngannou, 272.4, as if the Cameroonian fighter had stolen his last loaf of bread.

After a feeling-out session in the first two minutes of round one, Joshua loaded up and struck Ngannou with an explosive right to the jaw. The punch landed square on the chin like a grenade and immediately dropped Ngannou to the seat of his trunks, as his gold frills waved like a kite caught in a hurricane on his way down to the canvas.

Ngannou looked both hurt and confused and barely got up at the count of eight. To his credit, he did try to fight back and amazingly managed to make it to the sound of the bell.

In round two, Ngannou appeared to have blown off the cobwebs in his head, and valiantly tried to get back into the fight with some jabs and right hands of his own.

Little did he know he was headed for an ambush.

With less than a minute remaining in the round,  Ngannou dropped his left after a weak jab, and Joshua fired another missile-like right that smashed Ngannou down for the second time in the bout.

Seeing this, the mostly pro-Joshua crowd flew up onto their feet as Ngannou was sent sailing to his now familiar place on the ring floor. This time he was visibly shaken and barely made the count of ten when he rose weakly at the referee’s count of nine.

Again, for the second time in the bout, he bravely rose, but this time his eyes were filled with fear as he looked across the ring at Joshua as if he was climbing into the cage with a lion.

Before he could get his senses back, Joshua, with the skill of a trained assassin, drilled Ngannou with a vicious right to the sweet spot of the jaw. Ngannou was unconscious upon impact as his legs oddly bent and collapsed beneath him like a folding chair being put away after a wedding.

In a split second, Ngannou crashed hard to his back and lay motionless on the ring floor as if he was blown away by a howitzer during the Battle of the Somme.

The referee swiftly and immediately waved the fight over, knowing full well that Ngannou was never going to rise even if he counted to a thousand.

When asked after the fight about his knockout punch, Joshua responded, “It is what it is.”

With the impressive win, Joshua, the number 3 heavyweight in boxing, increased his record to 28-3 with 25 knockouts in dropping Ngannou to 0-2 as a boxer.

Ngannou, who pocketed about $20 million for the fight, far more than his highest UFC purse of $600,000, exclaimed, “I didn’t feel the punch,” referring to the last blow of the fight, is scheduled to return to MMA later this year with PFL.

Joshua, who earned around $60 million for the fight, said he wanted to fight the winner of the Usyk-Fury fight and said, “I just want to fight.”

Fury, who is scheduled to meet Oleksandr Usyk this upcoming May for all of boxing’s heavyweight laurels, was ringside for the fight, and had some kind words to say about Ngannou.

“There’s a lot of people who have not got the guts to go and chase their own dreams,” said Fury. “And it’s usually people who are not successful who hate on very successful people. So, for people who want to criticize Francis Ngannou for getting knocked out try boxing yourself. It’s a tough game. I would just say to Francis that he believed in his dream and followed it. He made a sh-t ton of money, which is fantastic to support his family. And he had a great journey. Keep going if he wants to box. He’s still undefeated as a champion in MMA. He can go back into MMA and destroy that world again.”

Fury also caught up with reporters after the event concluded and decided to throw a little bit of shade at Ngannou after all.

“It was a rude awakening for Ngannou,” said Fury. “You get a bit cocky like he did, and it was what it was. He got knocked out, and that’s what a boxer should do to an MMA fighter.”

After the fight, Anthony Joshua led the A-listers turning up at the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix on Saturday as he enjoyed a day at the races just a day after his amazing KO win over Francis Ngannou. 

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Teofino Lopez outduels Jamaine Ortiz in decision win in successful defense of WBO junior welterweight championship

“The Takeover” retains jr. welter title over slick challenger

Story by Joseph Catena

 

Las Vegas, Nevada. Teofino “The Takeover” Lopez wants to bring entertainment back to boxing. A master showman, the WBO jr. welterweight champion entered the ring at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas against challenger Jamaine “The Technician” Ortiz with a circuslike atmosphere.

Literally.

The 26-yeard-old from Brooklyn, NY, was accompanied by clowns on stilts, a juggler, and a sword swallower, among others. His gaudy top hat and red blazer trimmed in black and gold, along with his aforementioned entourage, made for quite a sizzling sideshow. It was, however, far more grandiose than his narrow 12-round unanimous decision over Ortiz, who frustrated the champion from the opening bell.

Ortiz (17-2-1, 8 KO’s), used a southpaw style and constant movement to foil the hard-hitting Lopez, and never allowed him to establish any serious momentum. The challenger, 139, set the tone in the first round as he repeatedly circled his foe and danced, while flicking out stiff right jabs at the aggressive champion. Lopez assumed the role of stalker but could not cut the ring off to negate Ortiz’s activity and ring science.

During the third round, the champion landed a blow to the midriff in the early going. Ortiz remained technical and boxed. Any time Lopez landed a clean shot – which was rare – the impact was nullified as “The Technician” backed away. Ortiz landed an inside uppercut later in the round, which drew a laugh from the champion, and maybe from some of the clowns on hand.

Lopez (20-1, 13 KO’s) found some brief success in round four with a left hook to the face. Much to his dismay, he was unable to follow up with any further damage, “The Takeover” decided to back up in lieu of pursuing his floating foe, and he subsequently waved Lopez to draw him into a brawl. The challenger refused the bait and landed a quick combination of his own as well as a right hook. Neither man landed any severe blows, and neither could assume total control over the other. Ortiz, of Worcester, MA, stuck with his game plan of moving and boxing, while the New Yorker doggedly followed him, hoping to nail him.

An early exchange in round six quickly devolved into more of the same: Lopez chasing and Ortiz escaping. In the final 10 seconds of the round, Lopez missed his target with a pair of right hands and gave a verbal lashing to the challenger for not engaging in a brawl. In the seventh round, the fight took a brief dramatic turn. The champ landed a right to the abdomen, and shortly afterward, he leaned in while throwing another punch. While doing so, he inadvertently butted Ortiz, who immediately began to bleed from a slice on his left eyelid. Though accidental, it was Lopez’s most effective moment up to that juncture of the match and caused referee Harvey Dock to pause the action. This was Lopez’s best round, and he even landed a pair of rights to the chin after the action resumed, and he ended the round with a glancing right uppercut that made Ortiz bleed from the mouth.

It appeared as though Lopez had finally narrowed the distance on his foe in round eight, and Ortiz, 27, moved less. By round nine, the cut on the eyelid was no longer a factor, and “The Technician” was back to dancing. During the final three rounds, each junior welterweight had an occasional moment of success, but neither could land a game changing punch. Judges Tim Cheatham and David Sutherland, both scored it 115 to 113 and Steve Weisfeld tallied 117 to 111. The USA Boxing News scored it a draw at 114 to 114.

It was Lopez’s first successful title defense, albeit a frustrating one, against a crafty foe, who refused to be taken over by any means.

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DeCubas Sr. The Mastermind Behind Resurrecting Roberto Duran’s Legendary Career

Story by Jacob Sites

Miami, Florida (December 3, 2023) – In the world of boxing, where legends are born and legacies are carved in history, there are few promoters whose names resonate through the ages. Among them stands Luis DeCubas Sr., a veteran boxing promoter whose career spans over four decades, marked by the iconic journey alongside one of boxing’s most icon fighters, Roberto “Manos de Piedra” Duran.

Duran, hailing from Panama City, Panama, emerged as one of the most revered boxers in the sport’s history, with an impressive record of 103 wins, 16 losses, and 70 knockouts. However, it was DeCubas Sr. who orchestrated the revival and elevation of Duran’s career, promoting some of the most historic fights that defined the boxer’s legacy.

One of the pivotal moments came when Duran faced Iran Barkley, a bout that saw Duran clinch the WBC middleweight title by a split decision. DeCubas’s strategic promotions and management played a crucial role in resurrecting Duran’s career during this fight, marking a triumphant return to the top tier of boxing.

“It was incredible to see Duran win the middleweight title against Iran Barkley, wow that was a monumental moment in my career,” stated DeCubas who was just nominated for induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. “We took that momentum and parlayed his remaining fights into a very lucrative journey to end his career.”

DeCubas’s partnership with Duran extended to some of the most electrifying fights in boxing history. He promoted Duran’s historic third match against the legendary “Sugar” Ray Leonard, a showdown that captivated the world. Their collaboration also witnessed two intense encounters with Vinny “Pazmanian Devil” Pazienza, showcasing Duran’s resilience and skill inside the ring. The alliance between DeCubas and Duran was further solidified through two remarkable fights against Hector “Macho” Camacho.

“Working with Roberto Duran was an honor and a privilege,” said DeCubas Sr. as he reflected on the incredible journey he encountered alongside Roberto Duran, as he shares his sentiments about the experience. “It wasn’t easy guiding Duran’s career, there was a lot going on behind the scenes that no one can imagine. When you’re dealing with an iconic fighter like Roberto Duran, you must have a strong will to keep everything intact. Promoting his final days as a boxer was truly remarkable.”

DeCubas’s expertise in navigating the complex world of boxing promotion, coupled with Duran’s raw talent and determination, resulted in millions of dollars earned for both parties. Their collaboration stands as a testament to the power of a promoter-athlete partnership and its ability to carve out moments that transcend sport.

Till this day, the friendship of Luis DeCubas Sr. and Roberto Duran, who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2007, remains strong. Their partnership stands as a testament to the heights that can be reached when talent, loyalty, and astute promotion converge is executed in the squared circle.

 

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Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion Canelo Alvarez wins unanimous decision win over Undisputed Junior Middleweight Champion Jermell Charlo

By Alex and John Rinaldi

Before a sell-out crowd at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas fan favorite and undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Álvarez once again poured some sweat, punching, and ring generalship together to further cement himself as the one of the best fighters in the world by outpointing and outboxing the very talented Jermell Charlo over twelve rounds to retain his super middleweight titles.

Although Charlo was the undisputed junior middleweight champion and a great fighter in his own right, the moving up of two weight classes clearly showed in his performance. Instead of putting on a successful offensive boxing exhibition, Jermell, wearing black trunks with silver sparkles and silver gloves, appeared outgunned and outmanned by the talented multi-champion Canelo and was never really in the fight.

While Canelo, wearing purple trunks with gold trim and purple and gold gloves, managed to hurt Charlo throughout the bout, the challenger’ s punches barely dented the Mexican superstar’s defense or hurt him in any way at all.  Though he bravely fought back and exhibited some clever and talented footwork, Charlo simply did not land enough blows to even come close to winning the bout.

Canelo also realized early on that Jermell (35-2-1, 19 KO’s) could not hurt him and, as a result, barely ever relented from his offensive game plan or backed away from cutting off the ring on his fleet-footed opponent.

“I’m a strong fighter all the time, against all the fighters,” said Canelo. “I’m a strong man. Nobody can beat this Canelo.”

Luckily for Charlo, he had nothing to lose fighting Canelo, 167 ½, since his junior middleweight belts still remained intact with the loss. Better yet, he also earned somewhere in the neighborhood of $6 million for his effort, which might have been the highest purse in his career.

Though Jermell, 167 ½, connected at times with some quick jabs and right hands, Canelo never gave Charlo a chance to breathe or ever take control of the bout. This burned true especially when Alvarez, a 5-1 favorite, connected with nearly every single body shot he threw. The effect of which was apparent as Charlo was reduced to the most part to becoming a defensive fighter with literally no chance of winning the fight,

Though Las Vegas is a city where longshots can become rich winners, and where bettors sometimes overcome the odds, while miracles abound like gold from a wishing well, luck was no lady for Charlo this rough Vegas night.

On the contrary, Jermell’s chances ran out quicker than a bullet through a sandwich, as his dreams of Lady Luck turned out to be nothing more than a date with a cruel spinster.

“I just felt like I wasn’t me in there,” said Charlo. “I don’t make excuses for myself, so it is what it is. I take my punches and roll with it. It’s boxing.

After Canelo took the first four rounds of the fight, Jermell came back to win the fifth round and it began to seem that Charlo was about to make a fight of it and possibly find that elusive pot of gold.

Then came round seven.

In the first minute of the round, Canelo attacked Charlo against the ropes with both fist flailing and landed a jarring overhand right that staggered Jermell and forced him to take a knee. 

To his credit, the brave Charlo quickly rose from the canvas and with true grit retaliated for the remainder of the seventh round as he valiantly tried to stage a comeback. Jamell even landed some of his best shots of the fight up to the bell, while Canelo, by failing to go all out for a KO, saw his big KO win disappear into the ether of the Vegas night.

Sadly, it turned out to be Charlo’s last stand and a crossroad in the fight. For Charlo never truly turned the tide of the bout and Canelo never again came close to scoring a knockout.

“Truthfully, I could feel the difference in the weight,” said Charlo. “I picked up 14 pounds. I am undisputed in my weight division. You fall short sometimes, but you just have to keep on pushing. My roll don’t stop right here. I’m proud of myself. He hit me with some hard shots. I thought I got mine off. I’m the little Charlo and I represent that.”

By the fight’s end Canelo captured the scorecards by tallies of 119 -109 and 118-109 (twice). Canelo also dominated the CompuBox stats with a 134 to 71 advantage in total punches landed, including over 42 body shots.  

“We worked on attacking the body,” said Canelo. “We know he’s a great fighter. He knows how to move in the ring. We worked on attacking the body for three months. For three months in the mountains without my family, without everything.” 

Unfortunately for the fans, instead of trying for an impressive KO win, the championship rounds saw Canelo cruise to the final bell as his loyal following cheered him on with chants of “Canelo, Canelo.”

“I still love boxing,” said Canelo . “I love boxing so much. Boxing is my life. Boxing made me the person I am today. That’s why I love boxing so much. And I love boxing so much because of my fans, too…Cinco de Mayo I’ll face whoever. I don’t care.”

In the co-main event, top super welterweight contender Erickson “Hammer” Lubin (26-2, 18 KOs) won a unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Jesus “Mono” Ramos Jr. (20-1, 16 KOs), winning on all three cards by scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113. 

“We went in there to feel him out and box him and beat him to the punch with counters because of his strength,” said Lubin. “It was working all night. I was sticking and moving. It was ‘Boxing 101’.”

“I felt like I did a little more than him, but that’s alright,” said Ramos. “Congratulations to Erickson Lubin. He was sharp. He had a good game plan. Congratulations to him, it’s back to the drawing board. We’ll come back.”

With the big win, Lubin restored himself once again into contention for another world title fight.

“My jab was landing all night,” said Lubin. “He had all his success when I was on the ropes. My coach was telling me to stay off the ropes, so I was trying my best to do that. He didn’t show it too much, but I buzzed him a few times.”

Although many on hand felt that Ramos did enough to win, he simply did not capitalize when he had a chance to do so and allowed Lubin to gain the nod of the judges.

“I felt like I was just trying to show different dimensions to my game and not just come forward,” said Ramos. “It is what it is. I’ll take this loss, come back and learn from it. I learned not to let it go to the judges. Maybe I don’t put it on cruise control next time. A little more pressure. I’ll learn from this. It was a good experience.”

With the victory, Lubin believes he could find his place once more in the talent-ridden 154-pound division. 

“This shows that I’m no gatekeeper,” said Lubin. “I’m one of the top dogs in the division. I need a title shot. If those belts present themselves at 154 pounds, I’d like to fight for those belts.”

Notwithstanding, when the dust settled, the night still belonged to Canelo Alvarez.

With the victory he advanced to 59-2-2 (39 KO’s) and pocketed upwards to $18 million for his efforts. He remains the cash cow in boxing and at age 33 and still appears to be on top of his game.

Photos courtesy of Premier Boxing Champions.

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The USA Boxing News Book Review

TONY CANZONERI

The Boxing Life of a Five-Time World Champion

By Mark Allen Baker

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers

 (www. mcfarlandpub.com) – 224 pp

Reviewed by John Rinaldi and Alex Rinaldi

Sadly, every day the pages of history of championship pugilists from yesteryear do not just fade away, they disintegrate into a pile of forgotten ashes. The exploits of heavyweight rulers from over 60 years in the past may still be remembered, such as Rocky Marciano, John L. Sullivan, Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, Max Schmeling, James J. Corbett, Max Baer, James J. Braddock, and some others, but epic stories of the title holders of the lighter weights have been relatively obliterated.

Luckily for boxing purists and sports lovers, Mark Allen Baker has a knack and innate talent to somehow resurrect them and pump life into their legends.

One such ring immortal whose story has been reanimated by Mr. Baker for boxing fans of today is Tony Canzoneri. Every time we think we know about a fighter; Mr. Baker gives us hundreds more details that capture the imagination of the reader. In his newest tome, TONY CANZONERI – The Boxing Life of a Five-Time World Champion, the author takes the reader on a fistic journey through the Roaring Twenties and throughout the Great Depression. It is unbelievable that Canzoneri (1908-1959) was not only engaging in professional prizefighting while underage, but he was also fighting for a world title when he was only a mere 18 years old!

Canzoneri’s first shot at world title honors was when he faced the veteran NBA Bantamweight Champion Bud Taylor on March 26, 1927. Although he lost by a 10-round draw, it was a tremendous fight, and one of many that Mr. Baker has creatively brought to life in the pages of his newest book.

Mr. Baker’s style is that of a literary archeologist as he tirelessly unearths thrilling details that few authors do. Tony Canzoneri has become the latest boxing archeology discovery, like the findings of King Tutankhamun!

Even before we came out with the award-winning publication, The USA Boxing News, we were avid readers of books about the wonderful sport of boxing. Unfortunately, many times we would read a book and learn very little about the older fighters and their ring battles since a lot of writings were either simply rehashed versions of the same old lifeless stories or literally glossed over entirely. Even when they did talk about the fights the exciting details were either left unmentioned or often just skimmed over.

Not so with Mr. Baker.  When one peruses his works, vast knowledge of the subject is learned. The boundless information is not just focused on the book, in this case the immortal triple champion Tony Canzoneri, but of all the men he encountered in the roped square. Canzoneri faced 18 world champions and nearly every contender from the bantamweights all the way to the welterweights. Names of Billy Petrolle, Kid Chocolate, Barney Ross, Jimmy McLarnin, Lou Ambers, Johnny Jadick, Battling Shaw, Jackie “Kid” Berg, Johnny Dundee, Al Singer, Philly Griffin, Sammy Mandell, Benny Bass, Andre Routis and the aforementioned Bud Taylor are revivified back to life by lightning through the pages of Mr. Baker’s book.

Canzoneri was a masterful boxer who compiled a remarkable 137-24-10 (44 KO’s) record. Unbelievably, Tony was only stopped once in his career, and that was on a third-round TKO by the fists of welterweight KO artist Al “Bummy” Davis in his last fight on November 1, 1939, at Madison Square Garden.

In a book full of highlights, we enjoyed reading Tony’s battles with Jimmy McLarnin, Barney Ross, Bud Taylor and Andre Routis. You can feel the punches landing and hear the crowd screaming with excitement.

Who would have thought that following his esteem boxing career, Canzoneri would become a popular vaudeville and nightclub comic as part of a comedy team with Joey Adams and Mark Plant?

This is the type of book that once you read through it, you will go back and pore over various chapters again and enjoy the prizefighting adventures of Canzoneri.

If you are a boxing fan who yearns to learn something new and enjoy stories of fistic history, this is the book to read. It will also make a great Birthday, Hanukkah, or Christmas present.

This book is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

On a personal note, our grandfather Alex Giglia and his brothers Nick Giglia and Charlie Giglia use to frequent Tony Canzoneri’s Bar and Grill and eventually became great friends with him. For years they use to talk about him as one of the greatest fighters they ever saw. One aspect of his bar that they recalled was the huge photo of Canzoneri in his fighting prime that hung in his establishment with the words “This is Me” below it.

Thankfully, Mr. Baker has brought one more great fighter such as Tony Canzoneri back to life.

Other wonderful books by Mark Allen Baker include WILLIE PEP – A Biography of the 20^th Century’s Greatest Featherweight, The Fighting Times of Abe Attell, LOU AMBERS – A Biography of the World Lightweight Champion and Hall of Famer, The World Colored Heavyweight Championship, 1876-1937, CONNECTICUT BOXING – THE FIGHTS, THE FIGHTERS AND THE FIGHT GAME, Between the Ropes at Madison Square Garden, and Battling Nelson – The Durable Dane.

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A Roughrider in and out of the Ring

Former Light Heavyweight and Cruiser King

Virgil “Quicksilver” Hill

Story by Joseph Rinaldi

Virgil Hill fought his way to the championship stage more than once, becoming both light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion multiple times. His determination, passion, and inspiration for the sport of boxing landed him the coveted North Dakota Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, the state’s highest commendation for its citizens. Virgil Hill is the 48^th recipient of the award.

According to the state of North Dakota, the award was established during the 1961 Dakota Territory Centennial. The award recognizes North Dakotans who have been influenced by the state in achieving national recognition in their fields of endeavor, thereby reflecting credit and honor upon North Dakota and its citizens. And this distinction can be seen in Virgil Hill.

 “Quicksilver” was born in Missouri in 1964, but raised in Grand Forks and Williston, North Dakota. It was in the Peace Garden State where he fell in love with the sport and dreamed of fighting his way to the top. Virgil started by winning a silver medal in the middleweight division during the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. And that was just the beginning.

Virgil earned his way to the rings in Madison Square Garden, Atlantic City and Las Vegas. He became a five-time world champion, setting the record for the number of light heavyweight title defenses and was a first-round inductee into both the National Boxing Hall of Fame and International Boxing Hall of Fame. He holds a remarkable career professional record of 51 wins, 7 losses, and 23 wins by knockout.

Hill never ducked anyone in his era and fought the likes of Roy Jones Jr., Bobby Czyz, Donny Lalonde, Fabrice Tiozzo, Lou Del Valle, Frank Tate, Dariusz Michalczewski, Adolpho Washington, Leslie Stewart, Thomas Hearns, Jean-Marc Mormeck, and Henry Maske, and those battles are arguably some of the most memorable in the light heavy and cruiser divisions. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum chose Virgil for many reasons, but Hill’s constant honor to his past and history set him apart.

 “His journey from a talented amateur boxer to renowned professional champion and role model for youth exemplifies the power of dedication, determination and a strong connection to one’s roots,” said Burgum. “His impact extends far beyond the boxing ring, making him a champion not only in the sport but also in his commitment to his community and the causes he holds dear.”

According to the state, Hill proudly represented his home state and Native American heritage in all walks of life. The former champion enjoys a close relationship with and the support of MHA Nation in North Dakota. In fights in North Dakota, across the United States and around the world, Hill carried the North Dakota state flag into the ring while wearing a tribal headdress. Thousands of North Dakotans packed venues in Bismarck, Minot, Grand Forks, and Fargo for his home state fights to witness Hill’s impressive feats in the ring. Crowds turned out in North Dakota arenas to witness Hill’s 13 successful defenses of his WBA light heavyweight title. Virgil ended his career with “One Last Stand” in Bismarck at the Civic Center on February 28, 2015, where he won by a 2^nd Round TKO against Jimmy Campbell.

“My whole life has revolved around everything I learned as a kid in North Dakota and trying to pass it on to the next generation,” said Hill, “It’s a huge honor, and I appreciate everyone in North Dakota so much. This award is bigger than any title, any belt, or any medal. To be acknowledged by my home state is amazing. My heart will always be in North Dakota.”

Governor Burgum says the award will be presented later this year with Hill in person at a date and location to be announced soon.

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Road Trip to Manassa, Colorado – The Birthplace of Jack Dempsey

Story by Joseph Rinaldi

Photos by Jackie Rinaldi and Joseph Rinaldi

To really experience what the United States has to offer, I suggest you simply get into your car and drive. Whether you go by yourself, with your family or a friend, it is a life-changing experience. My family members are typically my road trip pals. We pick a destination, pack some of our favorite snacks, and hit the road.

Thanks to my dad and road trip pal, John Rinaldi, and constantly moving for my job as a TV news director, I just needed to cross one more state off my list to visit all 50 states: New Mexico. This summer, I did just that. My mom and I flew to Denver and drove south to New Mexico. The adobe buildings, southwestern food and stunning views were amazing, but one stop is a must, especially for boxing fans: Jack Dempsey’s Birthplace Museum.

You are probably thinking, Jack Dempsey is the Manassa Mauler from Manassa, Colorado. That is not New Mexico; however, it lies on the border between the two states. So, my mom and I took the 2-hour drive from Santa Fe, NM to Manassa, CO.

The drive itself is breathtaking. We saw wildlife, like wolves and pronghorns, and we saw just how beautiful the desert can be. Once you crossed into Colorado, the mountains came up on both sides of our car and we found ourselves in the small town of Manassa.

In Manassa, we found our way to the museum and met the curator, Michelle Richardson. She has been managing the museum for years and has a deep family history to Manassa. Michelle, along with her mother and grandmother even met the boxing giant in their small town. One parade memory also ended with a sweet kiss from the champ himself to her grandmother! He was the champion of the world, but to everyone in Manassa and the valley region of Colorado, he was their hometown hero.

The museum dedicated in 1966 is actually the cabin where the legendary former heavyweight king was born and raised. The house was moved only a few blocks to the location it stands today. Within the four walls of this cabin, there are artifacts from his early days in Colorado to his championship battles in the ring.

 

Dempsey was heavyweight champion from 1919 after knocking out Jesse Willard until 1926, when he lost to Gene Tunney. He reigned king of the ring at the height of boxing during the Roaring Twenties, when the glitz and the glamour of Hollywood and athletes ruled the American popular culture. Jack Dempsey was the best and most popular.

In this museum and around it, you can take a step back in history. Follow his humble roots and heritage and behold how he became the man and the pugilistic immortal he is today. From his Cherokee background to his immediate family, he lived and fought with his heart on his sleeve in Manassa and beyond.

There are heroes and then there are Jack Dempseys. The sport of boxing really catapulted into a world-wide phenomenon thanks to Dempsey.

From the boxing gloves to the shoes he wore, you can see how tough some of those fights were. The gloves and scuffmarks from those famous and historical fights are enough to really comprehend just how tough he was, as well as his iconic competitors.

Remember, heroes do not just pop up in our big cities. Sometimes, they are made in the Heartland by people like you and me. It is important to remember where we come from and just how vital it is to honor and visit the many communities in this country. The hardworking men and women from East to West and in the Heartland work every single day inspiring others. Jack Dempsey once said, “A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t.” He learned that from his childhood in Manassa.

So, if you need a place to explore in our country, look to Colorado and the New Mexico border. There is a ton to see already, but really explore these towns, like Manassa, because these are the places where champions are made every single day.

The Jack Dempsey Birthplace Museum is located at 412 Main Street in Manassa, Colorado. The visiting hours are 10-5 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. It is closed during lunch from 1:00 to 1:30. Admission is free. The contact number is (719)-843-5207.

Tell them you heard about the museum on The USA Boxing News Website.

 

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Rising Star Promotions provides fans with another punch-packed event at their Boardwalk Boxing Show on the historic Atlantic City Boardwalk

Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna, Kristian Prenga and Justin “Time” Figueroa headline night of fisticuffs

Story by Janine Rinaldi

Photographs by John Rinaldi

Atlantic City, NJ. In this day and age when it is near impossible to get a bang for your buck, Rising Star Promotions promoted another exciting Boardwalk Boxing Show at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall.

What was a guy to do on Saturday night? See the opening of Barbie in the theaters? We don’t think so. While that film spent 1 hour and 54 minutes putting down men, the smart ones journeyed to the vibrant Atlantic City Boardwalk to watch hard-punching contenders and up-and-coming boxers provide thrills.

There is something magical that greets fight fans walking down the famed Boardwalk in Atlantic City on their way to a fight. 

Unlike going to Madison Square or some other urban venue, the incoming crowd making their way to Boardwalk Hall passes past the Atlantic Ocean as the waves crash against the shore and the aroma of salt water permeates through the night’s air, beckoning the crowd like a talisman of the wonderful and exciting things to come.

And come they did.

By the time they entered the historic Boardwalk Hall, the enthusiasm and eagerness of the fans got one’s blood pumping and this feeling was surely not lost on the fighters they come to see.

What is great about Rising Star Promotions, is that they are expert matchmakers. No one wants to view a boring chess match, but instead they want to see prizefighters fighting their hearts out and giving their all. That is what happened on a hot, muggy night in Atlantic City this past Saturday on July 22. All six bouts on the card were rip-roaring fun.

The first bout of the evening featured former Female Amateur Champion Sharahya “Pueblo Rican” Taina-Moreu (1-0) making her pro debut against Janaisa Morandin (0-2), of Florianopolis, Brazil.

Right from the start, Taina-Moreu, of Albuquerque, NM, came out stabbing Morandin, 139, with jabs to the face, while Sharahya moved gracefully around the ring as her opponent tried in vain to counter with right hands.

Round Two saw Taina-Moreu, 137, directing her gaze to Morandin’s body with hammering left hooks. Near the end of the session, Sharahya attacked with both fists and stunned Morandin with an overhand right.

Continuing with her assault, Sharahya suddenly dropped Morandin with a right the head. Luckily for the Brazilian the round ended just as she got to her feet.

The fourth and final frame saw Taina-Moreu try her best for a knockout, but the gutsy Morandin would not have any of that and began to trade leather with her rival. Sharahya welcomed the exchanges and the two battled until the bell signaling the conclusion of the bout.

The score was unanimous at 40-35 for Taina-Moreu.

“I am so happy to get this first bout out of the way. It was really cool fighting here in Atlantic City,” said Taina-Moreu.

The second bout of the evening featured another fighter making his pro debut when “Dangerous” Daniel Gonzalez KO’d Michael “The Ninja” Ruiz in the second round.

Gonzalez, of Iselin, NJ, and Ruiz, of Lacey, NJ, came out swinging at the bell. Both were looking for their first pro victory and they slugged away going punch for punch. Midway through the opening frame, Gonzalez, 134, was finding his range with right uppercuts that began to score with some efficiency.  Ruiz, 134 ½, took the shots well and battled back with rights and left hooks.

The action continued in the second round as the two stayed in close and punched away. Gonzalez then fired a terrific right hand that sent Ruiz down to the canvas. Michael bravely was able to get up, but the moment the referee let the fight continue Gonzalez gave his rugged opponent little room to breathe as Ruuiz was soon covered in a blanket of leather.

Within moments, Gonzalez unleashed a vicious left hook that smashed into Ruiz’s jaw that sent him down for the count. The end came at 3:00 of Round Two.

“I tried too hard in the first round and my corner told me to settle down and pick my shots. That is where I started running those big shots,” said Gonzalez (1-0, 1 KO). “It was great getting this win out of the way, especially at such a famous arena like Boardwalk Hall. I had a lot of supporters on hand to watch me.”

Ruiz fell to 0-2 with the loss.

The knockouts continued in the third bout of the card when Nadim Salloum (11-1, 5 KO’s) finished off Antonio Ocles (12-13, 3 KO’s) in the second round of a scheduled six-rounder.

Salloum, of Lebanon, but now residing in Brooklyn, NY, is a good boxer with some pop in his punch. Against Ocles, of Quito, Ecuador, Nadim was able to stab his crouching opponent with jabs and stood him up with jolting uppercuts. Ocles, 171, also remained aggressive and heartily swapped blows with Salloum, 168. It was a spirited session that the fans enjoyed.

Nadim upped the ante in Round Two and overwhelmed Ocles with jolting left hooks and overhand rights. Antonio was too busy trying to block and avoid shots, neither which he was successful at, to launch an assault on his own. When the frame was drawing its conclusion, Salloum nailed his adversary with a spearing left and a crackling right to the jaw.

Although the bell sounded to give Ocles a respite, his corner had seen enough and would not allow him to come out for the third round.

With the win, Salloum improved to 11-1 (5 KO’s), while Ocles tumbled to 12-13 (3 KO’s).

The Main Event of the night featured Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna continued his quest for another shot at the middleweight championship. On May 1, 2021, LaManna was TKO’d by Erislandy Lara for the vacant WBA title, and since then he has won six fights in a row.

In his third-round demolition of the gutsy Juan Manuel “El Principito” Witt, the Millville, NJ native may have given his best career performance to date.

Going into the bout, Witt at 33-1-2 (25 KO’s) looked to be a formidable opponent for LaManna, who was obviously the crowd favorite. At the bell, “Cornflake” confidently came out and repeatedly speared his rival with jabs to the face. Witt, of Campana, Argentina, kept trying to move out of way, but LaManna, 160, never gave him a chance to get set as he whacked the Argentine fighter with overhand rights and jarring left hooks.

The battering continued into Round Two as Witt, 36, was quickly becoming a South American punching bag. Seeing this, LaManna unloaded every weapon of his arsenal as he blasted away with both fists on his foe.

At the bell for the third session, LaManna, 31, stormed out and pummeled away at the brave Witt. Seeing that he was hurting his adversary, LaManna threw an overhand right that exploded on the head of Witt, 158 ½, and sent him crashing to the canvas. As referee Ricardo Vera counted, Witt managed to get to his feet. As he dizzily looked forward, another overhand right soon found its mark and exploded on his head, sending him down for the second time. Once again Juan Manuel showed true grit as he heroically rose off the floor. Although he was outmanned and outgunned, the Argentinian had packed a suitcase full of guts and bravely waded forward to confront his baby-faced executioner.

LaManna wasted little time and fired buck shots of leather until his overhand right soared forward and bashed into Witt’s skull, dropping him for the third time!

As Witt was trying to see through an ocean fog in his head, referee Vera had seen enough and ended the beating at 2:47 of the third round.

“It feels great to put on such a performance,” said LaManna (36-5-1, 15 KO’s). “I’m ready for anybody. I don’t think there’s anybody better than me. There’s nothing that can stop me. Witt was very durable and awkward, and I expected him to come forward like a tough Argentinian, but I think my size overpowered him and I took control from the gate.”

With the win, LaManna captured the WBA Fedelatin Middleweight Championship.

LaManna is a colorful fighter with a lot of charisma.  Ranked at #4 by the WBA, he may not have to look too long to get another shot at Lara’s crown. It would sure be a big fight for Atlantic City. Lara has not fought since May of 2022, so he just may be up for a rematch.

The fifth fight of the evening was a “Special Attraction” 6-round bout featuring hometown fighter Justin “Time” Figueroa taking on Jeff “Relentless” Lentz, of the neighboring town of Egg Harbor Township. Figueroa is a lifeguard on Atlantic City Beach, and goes into every contest gunning for a knockout, which makes him a crowd-pleaser.  Wearing playing card-designed trunks, Justin came out attacking with his usual intent to draw down the curtain early with his big right hands, although Lentz scored well with counter shots.

In the second and third rounds, Figueroa, 153, was effective with his popping jab and right-hand smashes. He also appeared to have embraced his opponent’s “Relentless” nickname for he never stopped punching away.

After taking three rounds of a leather pounding, Lentz, 155, began to get more aggressive and engaged Figueroa in spirited exchanges as the audience cheered on the action in Round 4.

By the fifth round, the chants of “Justin-Time!”  floated in the arena compelling Figueroa to shift into fifth gear. Though he saved people in real life as a lifeguard, he was far from saving Lentz as he began punishing him with both fists flailing. To his credit, the gallant Lentz just kept coming forward and soon turned the bout into an action-packed fight, which Figueroa was more than happy to engage in as he continued to bounce his fists off the noggin of his Egg Harbor foe.

In the sixth and final frame, the two boxers made a tremendous effort as they both exchanged punches in a thrilling slugfest. Nevertheless, Figueroa never stopped trying for a knockout with his constant right-hand bombs. At the end, the crowd gave them a tremendous ovation.

The judges scored the fight for Figueroa by tallies of 59-55 (twice) and 58-56. The USA Boxing News had Figueroa winning at 59-57.

Although he lost, Lentz (5-2, 1 KO) gave a good account of himself and should be a welcome guest back at the Boardwalk Hall.

 “Going six rounds with a worthy opponent was phenomenal,” said Figueroa (6-0, 5 KO’s). “The crowd was awesome, and it was good to get the six rounds. I knew Lentz was a worthy opponent. I am happy I got the win. Every fight is like a show, a holiday, and I feel like I’m a pay-per-view fighter. It is great fighting in front of all my people.”

The final bout on the card was another “Special Attraction” that featured Albanian heavyweight KO artist Kristian Prenga, who now resides in Edgewater, NJ. His victim tonight was Santander Sligado, of Arboletes, Colombia.

Prenga is a thrilling fighter that just goes for the KO right at the start. Against Sligado, 236 ½, Prenga went after him swinging for the fences as the bell rang for the opening session. As the Albainian flags waved in the crowd, Prenga, 261, was waving his fists with deadly intentions at his opponent. Then seemingly out of nowhere, Prenga exploded with a right-hand that landed square on Sligado’s chin and dropped him to the canvas on the seat of his trunks like a sack of rice. Barely stirring, the Colombian fighter was counted out at 1:22 of Round 1.

Sligado fell to 32-16 (26 KO’s).

It was another devastating performance by Prenga, who improved to 14-1 (14 KO’s) and looks to be a rising star in the heavyweight division.

“I wanted to do more tonight,” remarked Prenga afterwards. “I wanted to put on a better show for everybody. But sorry, I can’t control my right hand, it’s really strong.”

There was no one complaining on wanting to see “a better show” with such a terrific conclusion.  The heavyweights can never go wrong with knockout performers like Prenga.

All in all, it was another fun night of boxing at the Atlantic City Boardwalk.

_________

SUPERMAN BOXING CONNECTION

“The Man of Steel” swoops into Metropolis for the 45^th Annual Superman Celebration

“Superman & Lois” star Tyler Hoechlin leads the group of visiting celebrity visitors

The USA Boxing News’ Superman Jeopardy proves to be a fan-favorite event at the Celebration

Story by John and Alex Rinaldi

Photographs by Janine Rinaldi

“The spirit of Superman is great to have around.” – Brandon Routh (who played Superman in 2006’s Superman Returns film)

METROPOLIS, IL. Since Ray Middleton adorned the costume on July 3, 1939, on “Superman Day” at the New York’s World’s Fair, there have been only a handful of men portraying “The Last Son of Krypton” on Earth.  Luckily, the latest cape-holder, Tyler Hoechlin, star of the huge hit on CW’s Superman & Lois television show arrived at the recent Superman Celebration in Metropolis, Illinois to the delight of “The Man of Tomorrow” fans who ventured around the globe to attend.

Hoechlin displayed a humble Clark Kent-type personality during the various Meet and Greets with the fans, and in his Question-and-Answer session on Saturday. Tyler also revealed what an honor it was to portray the legendary superhero during his Q&A session hosted by John Gleckler

Beforehand, Tyler posed in the town square in front of the imposing and colorful 15 ft. Superman. It was surely a great catch for the Metropolis Chamber of Commerce to obtain an actor who is currently portraying Superman.  There were actors who played the character in the past, but this was the first time that an active Superman was on hand for the festivities. In fact, a few days later, Superman & Lois was renewed for a fourth season on the CW.

2023 was a special year for Superman. It marked the 85^th anniversary of his first appearance in comic books, it was the 45^th anniversary of the classic film, Superman – The Movie, along with Metropolis’ Annual Superman Celebration. It was also the 30^th anniversary of the construction of the Superman statue. Those are wonderful Super milestones to achieve.

Besides Tyler Hoechlin, other celebrities on hand featured Jesse Rath and Nicole Maines, who portrayed Brainiac-5 and Dreamer, respectively, on the Supergirl TV show, that premiered on CBS in 2015 and ended its run in 2021 on the CW for a total of 126 episodes. The final guest on hand was Sam T. Jones who performed the title role in the hit 1980 film Flash Gordon.

On Friday, Jones had a Question-and-Answer session hosted by Chris Brockow.

A great story happened involving two of the celebrities at the Celebration. One of the Superman Jeopardy helpers Kristen has a sister who is disabled. After Jesse Rath and Nicole Maines finished with their Meet and Greets, Kristin approached the two for a big favor – if they could give her sister a quick call. In most cases you can predict what the answer would be, namely a “no”, but then you would not be at the Superman Celebration. Well, Kristin made the call to her sister and Jesse got on the phone first and had a nice conversation in his funny Brainiac-5 persona. Then the phone was handed to Nicole who spoke in the voice of her familiar Dreamer character. It sure was a wonderful gesture by the two Supergirl celebrities, and a phone call that Kristin’s sister would never forget.  That is the kind of goodwill that is constantly taking place during the Superman Celebration. It is a place where pockets of this kind of magic often happens.

Nicole and Jessie held a lively Q&A session hosted by Ray Martinez and Sondra Ruth before a packed tent.

One can never do enough to beautify a town and make it better. Two such individuals are Morgan and Adam Siebert, who own the fabulous Super Museum that is right across the street from the imposing Superman statue. The museum is the must-see destination spot.

Inside the museum are near priceless items of artifacts from the Superman serials of the 1940s, TV shows such as The Adventures of Superman, Lois & Clark, Superboy and Smallville, along with Superman films from the Christopher Reeve era up until the present day.  One can spend hours perusing in the edifice. There are also memorabilia dating from the 1930s onwards. From toys, cereal premiums, original costumes, lunchboxes, records, action figures, movie posters, and nearly everything else one can imagine are on display. It is worth the trip to Metropolis just to see the museum (https://supermuseum.com). Founded by Morgan’s father Jim Hambrick, the museum is beyond super!

Morgan Seibert is not only the person owning and running the Super Museum with her husband Adam but is also a very talented artist. On a wall in the town, she painted a Greeting from Metropolis mural highlighting the town and Superman. On Friday of the Celebration, there was a ribbon-cutting ceremony hosted by Morgan, Adam, and Jim. It is just another stop to make along the way in Metropolis for a great photo op. 

Other photo ops are the large Superman sign that greets fans when they enter Metropolis and the Lois Lane statue, in honor of the legendary Adventures of Superman star Noel Neill, who portrayed Lois Lane in the classic series from 1953-1958, along with playing Lois in the 1948 Superman serial and the 1950 Atom Man vs. Superman serial. The statue is another spot to catch in Metropolis.

On Friday and Saturday night, fans were treated to an amazing live wrestling by the Tennessee Championship Wrestling group, which is promoted by K.C. Gold. The matches featured “Mr. Marvelous” Mike Mayo, Isiah Cone, Candi Jewel, and Jennifer Justice. The highlight were the two matches with long-time Superman Celebration performers Justin “The Broken Arrow Bad Boy” Lee and Ray “Triple X” Martinez. There was a lot of fun and laughs watching these two characters tangle in the ring. More importantly, it was a free event and the fans on hand were provided with a great time. It is another yearly event that makes the Superman Celebration so special to attend.

The Superman Celebration is a result of a lot of hard work of many volunteers, along with the Metropolis Chamber of Commerce. Two special people who have worked on the Celebration for over a quarter of a century include the dynamic duo sisters Karla Ogle and Lisa Gower. The tireless work of all the volunteers is what makes the Celebration so unique. A super “Thank You” is given to all those dedicated volunteers.

Another popular event was the 13^th Annual Superman Supersite Meet & Greet at Fat Edd’s Roadhouse. Hosted by the site’s owner Neil Cole, it is an event that gives a boatload of Superman-related prizes by raffle tickets and is well worth attending. You can have a nice lunch while waiting for your ticket number to be called for prizes.

Chris and Helen Brockow were on hand again hosting their Stump the Superman Expert game. Chris became a “Superman Expert” from winning the Superman Jeopardy Game a few straight years in the past. This year, Chris made a comeback in winning Saturday’s Superman Jeopardy Game. In their game, Helen and Chris had the audience members trying to stump each other to win prizes. The winner of this year’s game was Jack Canterbury.

Karla Ogle and Lisa Gower hosted The Superman Eating Contest, which featured participants trying to eat a chocolate cheesecake smothered by a heaping pile of whipped cream and M&M candy. It is always quite hilarious watching people stuffing their faces without using their hands as their faces are buried in their plates like rabid bears to honey! After a messy couple of minutes, Ray Martinez took 1^st Place, and John Rinaldi grabbed the 2^nd Place honors. There always historically seems to be a member of the Rinaldi Family in the game, and it usually ends up being John!

Another presentation was Celebration 30 Years – The Super Museum, hosted by Zach Curtis, with Morgan Siebert, Adam Siebert and Jim Hambrick. It was a very fascinating show that gave the audience the inside information of how Jim Hambrick became the biggest Superman collector of all-time and how he took his items and established the remarkable Super Museum. Recently renovated, the museum is not only great, but its gift shop is simply a site to behold.  It is almost a museum in and of itself!

There were so many numerous other events worth attending and plenty of shows for the kids and adults, including, an Artist Alley & Writers Way featuring current comic book artists selling their artwork and doing personal artwork for the fans, and comic book writers, a Super Dog Contest, a Heroes & Villains Costume Contest, a Kids Superhero Contest, a Super Car Show, a Supergirl & Superboy Pageant, a Superhero Training Academy,  Wonder Woman & Green Arrow Archery Shoot, Teen Titan’s Bingo, a Fireworks Spectacular, Cheralyn & Julia Electric Violin Powerhouse Duo, Authors Bonnie Siegler and Helene Stapinski discussing their book THE AMERICAN WAY, Super Space Engineering with NASA engineer Nick Mastramico, and Author Edward Gross promoting his book VOICES FROM KRYPTON.

A major highlight of the Superman Celebration Weekend features those that visit dressed up like their favorite superhero or super villain.  The costumed characters seen at Six Flags, Disney or Universal Parks must take a backseat to those on hand at the Celebration, where they populate the main street posing for photos with anyone who asks. It is a very remarkable experience. This year even saw a someone dressed as The Green Hornet and one costumed as the Planet of the Apes gorilla!

While in most places people get ripped off and taken advantage of – but not in Metropolis. Here there were street vendors selling some fascinating items and food trucks with their flavorful delicacies – all at reasonable prices.

Unlike in Disney World and at other well-known amusement parks where people literally park their wallets at the door, Metropolis is actually very fan and family friendly.

Other Superman and superhero items can be purchased in the various shops in town, including the Chamber of Commerce and the Hidden Gems Novelty and Collectibles store. Hidden Gems (owned by Morgan and Adam Siebert), and the Chamber of Commerce are also like mini museums.

The character of Superman and the Superman Celebration have had a major boxing connection since George Reeves, who portrayed “The Man of Steel” in 104 episodes that aired from September 19, 1952, to April 28, 1958, and whose costumes and film-used items are on display in the Super Museum, was an amateur boxing champion and one of boxing’s rising stars in the 1930s. He gave up his boxing career to enter acting, which later worked in his favor since he turned into not only a legendary Superman on the small screen on a ground-breaking show that is still in reruns today around the planet, but also into a timeless cultural icon.

At the time of his tragic murder in 1959, Reeves was preparing to participate in an exhibition tour with the then reigning light heavyweight boxing king Archie Moore across the country. George was also ready to begin a new season of The Adventures of Superman in the fall of 1959, where he would be filming an additional 26 episodes, along with directing a good share of the new shows.

Another Superman-Boxing connection is Jack O’Halloran who portrayed the famed and unforgettable Kryptonian villain Non, in Superman – The Movie, Superman II, and Superman II – The Richard Donner Cut. O’Halloran was a leading heavyweight contender in the 1970s when the heavyweights were experiencing a classic era of super talent.

Superman also “fought” Muhammad Ali in the popular 1978 comic, Superman vs. Muhammad Ali that featured “The Man of Steel” joining forces with “The Greatest” to save Earth from invading aliens.

In the Super Museum there is also an edition of The USA Boxing News newspaper in The Adventures of Superman Daily Planet prop room.

So next year, if you want a wonderful adventure to go on, just take flight to Metropolis, IL. On June 7-9, 2024. Up, Up and Away for an amazing weekend!

  SUPERMAN JEOPARDY

The Super Game for fans of the world’s greatest superhero!

2023 is a BIG year for The Man of Steel.  It marks Superman’s 85^th Birthday along with the 45th Anniversary of the Superman Celebration’s in Metropolis, Illinois.

It was indeed 85 years after the birth of Action Comics #1 (cover dated June 1938) featuring the first appearance of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s famed creation of Superman. The comic book sold for 10 cents and had a print run of 200,000 copies, all of which immediately sold out on the newsstands.

Not surprisingly, all these years later Superman is still very much alive and kicking and continues to remain a cultural icon and huge part in the entertainment and visual psyche both in America as well as in all the other countries overseas.

Besides these anniversaries, this year also ushered in the 22nd straight year of The USA Boxing News’ Superman Jeopardy Game. As in the previous 21 years, The Superman Jeopardy Game has once again been honored to be a part of the festivities during the Superman Celebration. 

Thanks to the assistance and promotion of the Metropolis Chamber of Commerce along with the help and faith of Jim Hambrick and the Super Museum, for the last nearly quarter of a century The USA Boxing News Superman Jeopardy Game has become the top go-to game to test one’s knowledge of “The Last Son of Krypton” with other fans of the legendary superhero.

The huge fan-favorite event during the Celebration, The Superman Jeopardy Game was sponsored by The USA Boxing News and hosted by Boxing Hall of Famers John and Alex Rinaldi (Editors of The USA Boxing News), along with former Superman Jeopardy Champion Eric Dietrick and Award-Winning Boxing Writer Janine Rinaldi. Three shows were presented on each day of the Celebration, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday before packed houses. It was the go-to game to test your knowledge of “The Last Son of Krypton” with other fans of the legendary superhero.

Fans and game contestant hopefuls annually flock to The USA Boxing News Superman Jeopardy Game from countries as far off as Australia and England to nearly of all of America’s states bordering from sea to shining sea ranging from California to New York, to all the states in between such as Oklahoma, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Oregon, Montana, Texas, Michigan, New Mexico, Tennessee, Maine, and Boston, to name just a small few.

Besides the game itself, Superman Jeopardy is also known for the wonderful, galactically astonishing prizes that are given out at each and every game both to the contestants as well as to the audience!

In its third decade, the Editors of the world renown publication The USA Boxing News (John and Alex Rinaldi), along with their children Janine, Alexander, Ron John, Juliann, and Joseph Rinaldi, have entertained the visitors at The Annual Superman Celebration with the amazing Superman Jeopardy Game that is a fun-filled event for fans of ALL ages.

Each game had different categories and questions.

Based on the long-running TV game, Superman Jeopardy has a Kryptonian twist where ALL categories are Superman related. SUPERMAN & LOIS, SMALLVILLE, SUPERMAN ON TELEVISION, SUPERMAN I, II, III, AND IV, 21ST CENTURY SUPERMAN MOVIES, SUPERGIRL, SUPERMAN AND BEYOND, MAN OF STEEL, BATMAN v SUPERMAN, AND SUPERMAN POTPOURRI round out the various categories.

As a result, the contestants and fans on hand do not have to necessarily be a Rhodes Scholar to answer the questions. Instead, they have to be something greater, something even more academically versatile, which is nothing less than a true and knowledgeable expert in all things Superman!

To make things even more interesting, each of the three games have different game boards, categories and questions.

Eight contestants were chosen from the audience by answering Superman questions from the hosts. From there, after each question is asked of the contestants, a question is then sent to the audience. 

 “Prize-holder Janine” then gave the audience member a Superman Jeopardy prize if they answer a question correctly. From there, “Smallville Eric” or “Smallville Joe” and other assistants threw out a question regarding the TV series SMALLVILLE to the audience. The audience member who answered the question was then rewarded with a mighty prize.

Asking the kids in the audience questions were “Kids Quizzler Alexander” and “Kids Questionnaire Juliann” both of whom awarded children Super prizes for their correct answers regarding the world’s favorite Superhero!

So, whether you make the stage, or are part of the audience, EVERYONE got a chance to win a Superman Jeopardy prize.

After the last game of the Celebration was completed, those in the audience who did not win a prize were awarded a stupendous Superman Jeopardy prize.

All in all, it was a Super Time to celebrate “The Metropolis Marvel” and win amazing prizes in the process!

Returning to the game were 2022 Superman Jeopardy champions Matthew Vincenty and Daniel Layne.

The competition throughout the 3-day event was fierce and the winners were Scott Duran, of Georgia (on Friday), Chris Brockow, of New Jersey (on Saturday) and Daniel Layne, of Arkansas (on Sunday).  Some of the other participants included Matthew Morelli, Adam Thurmond, Brad Bruhn, Jordan Roy, Morgana Breidt, Ray Martinez and Justin Olininghouse. Ray and Justin were also the star wrestlers and always provided additional entertainment to Superman Jeopardy with their humorous antics.

Next year (2024) will be another big year for Superman Jeopardy and if you tell the hosts that you read this story on The USA Boxing News website (theusaboxingnews.com), they will hand you another prize before the games begin. Every person who attended a game this past year wound up leaving with an incredible Superman Jeopardy prize, whether it was a cooler bag, t-shirt, backpack, color-changing cup, baseball hat, fanny pack, sunglasses and so much more!

The Superman Jeopardy Game is honored with a display in the Super Museum.

During the 2023 Superman Celebration, hundreds of spectators checked out the thrilling Superman Jeopardy Game hosted by the Rinaldi Family and sponsored by The USA Boxing News, and all left the game mighty winners!

As Janine Rinaldi wrote,

In Metropolis, Illinois, the Superman Celebration was near,

And John and Alex, twin brothers, had a great idea, oh dear!

They thought, “Why not host a game, a game of wits and fun, A game of Superman Jeopardy, with prizes for everyone!”

So, they prepared the questions, with categories galore, From “Kryptonian History” to “Villains and More.”

So, if you’re ever in Metropolis, with trivia in your brain,

Make sure you check out the Superman Jeopardy Game.

 

2023 GREETINGS FROM MET ROPOLIS AND THE SUPER MUSEUM

Places of Wonder at the Superman Celebration in Metropolis, Illinois

__________

Champions Sports and Entertainment provide Boardwalk fans with a fun-filled fight card at Bally’s Atlantic City

Dimash “Lightning” Niyazov loses Super Lightweight Title to Larry “Lethal” Fryers in Main Event

Story by John Rinaldi and Jacob Sites

Photographs by Alex Rinaldi

June 17 – Atlantic City, NJ. On the eve of the summer season on Father’s Day Weekend, Champion Sports and Entertainment along with Fling Boxing gave fans a night of fist-swinging enjoyment at the historic Atlantic City Boardwalk, the same Boardwalk that has been greeting visitors since 1890.

With patrons sunning on the beautiful Jersey Shore at Atlantic City below the Boardwalk, it seemed that one was lost in some sort of time passage intensified by the people swimming, the far-off boats, the planes with their banners tailing behind them, and, of course, the crashing and the rumbling of the ocean waves upon the shore.

It brought one back to the era when fighters such as Jack Dempsey trained there for his July 2, 1921, bout with the Frenchman Georges Carpentier.  

Dempsey arrived in Atlantic City on May 6, 1921, and was housed at the Hotel Alamac. Besides frequent sparring, Dempsey often strolled along the Boardwalk to the delight of the patrons.

One-Hundred and two years later, the sport of boxing still maintains its historic and colorful connection with Atlantic City.

At Bally’s Hotel and Casino, while the patrons were looking for a pot of gold on the New Jersey Shore on the busy casino floor, others ventured into the sixth-floor ballroom to an excursion into the world of prizefighting.

Just like the waves crashing against the shore, fists would soon be crashing against the skulls and bodies of the night’s participants.

In a fight-bout card with prices ranging at $65, $95 and $175, it appeared to be a better substitute than losing at the roulette table or emptying your pockets at unforgiving slot machines.

The first bout of the evening featured Edward “World Dominator” Donovan venturing all the way from Limerick, Ireland to face Nelson Morales, of Scranton, PA. Morales, 146, was tough, but was outgunned by the scrappy Irishman.

Right from the opening bell, Donovan, 146.5, was quite effective with his jab and he repeatedly poked the left into his opponent’s face and torso with ease. After being hit with a left-right combination, Morales quipped at Donovan, “Go Bitch!” Upon hearing the remark, Donovan chuckled and then jolted his adversary with a crackling right uppercut.

By the second and third rounds, Donovan added double left hooks and right hands to his repertoire. When Morales scored with his own left hooks, he was greeted with three right hands to the jaw in return.

As the ring girl came out between the third and fourth frames, with the song, “Evacuate the Dance Floor” blazing through the ballroom’s speakers, Donovan looked up and smiled. He then came out at the bell and battered Morales with blistering right fists to his head and jaw, apparently looking to evacuate his foe from the ring floor.

Though Donovan continued his domination over the final two frames, he is sort of a spray puncher that scores with solid combinations but lacks any weight behind them. Morales (3-7) was sturdy and bravely attempted to trade on various spots, however, he was simply outgunned time and time again.

At the end of six rounds, Donovan won by identical scores of 60-54 from all three judges.

 “The whole experience was great. I look forward to bigger things and in the future and I hope the fans enjoyed the fight,” said Donovan 7-0-1 (1 KO) afterwards.

The second fight featured a pair of cruiserweight Floridians plying their trade through a six-rounder. Victor Darocha, 179.3, and Leandro DaSilva, 180.5, fought to a bruising 6-round majority draw by scores of 59-55 (Darocha) and 57-57 (twice).

Darocha started the contest off aggressively by jabbing and throwing overhand right hands. He scored well with two rights to DaSilva’s belly and ended the first round battering his man with both fists against the ropes.

The southpaw DaSilva came alive in the second round and briefly dropped Darocha with a crisp right to the head. Victor rose without a count but was soon holding off DeSilva’s barrage of head and body blows. Before the bell, Darocha stunned his rival with a right uppercut to the chin.

Over the next two sessions, Darocha (11-6-2, 7 KO’s) loaded up on his overhand right swings that occasionally found their mark on the head of DaSilva (3-7-1). Leandro even managed to counter a few times with his own left-rights, but it did not appear enough to win those frames.

Along with the steady blows he was throwing, Darocha opened a cut along the mouth of DaSilva in the fifth round. Darocha landed most of the punches during the session as DaSilva looked quite winded.

Although both were huffing and puffing in the sixth and final round, they swung away with all they had.  The crowd enjoyed the contest, although they felt that Darocha had deserved the nod.

The third fight on the bill proved to be the most exciting and shortest contest of the night as Joey “The Tank” Dawejko, of Philadelphia, PA, pummeled Dennis Vance in one round.

The two heavyweights came out swinging bombs. Suddenly, a left hook to the ribs sent Vance, of South Bend, MI, crumbling to the canvas. Wincing in pain, Vance, 277, began to rise. Just as Dennis regained his footing, Dawejko, 266.6, moved in and drilled another left hook to his foe’s soft midsection and floored Vance for the second time.

Again, as he grimaced in pain, Vance rose as his adversary adorned in camouflage trunks advanced forward. Vance bravely opened with both fists, but Dawejko’s gloves may have been as camouflaged as his trunks for Vance failed to see the third left hook missile firing towards his right side. Before he knew it, the left hook slammed so hard into his ribs that his legs gave out under him like a collapsible table.

Shaking his head in anguish, the gutsy Vance struggled to his feet to meet his executioner. “The Tank” did not waste any time in steamrolling his opponent as he exploded a left hook to the jaw that dropped Vance down for the fourth time! That was it for the referee as he halted the blitzkrieg at 2:01 of the opening frame.

 “I targeted the body in the fight,” said Dawejko (25-10-4, 14 KO’s). It was the first time I ever knocked someone down with a body shot. It was just what I threw. Vance was a tough guy who came to fight.”

Next up for Dawejko is a fight on September 15 at the LIVE Casino in Philly. His opponent is currently unknown.

The gutsy Vance dropped to 4-10 (2 KO’s) with the loss.

The fourth battle saw middleweight action as Pierre Hubert Dibombe, of France, stopped Derrick Findley, of Gary, Indiana, in four rounds.  Both men came out in fine shape with Dibombe wearing gold trunks with red stripes, while Findley was adorned in black trunks with gold glitter trim. Dibombe opened the contest jabbing away with sharp jabs and left hooks. When Findley slipped briefly to the canvas, the Frenchman clipped him with a right to the head that surprisingly drew no warning from the referee.

In the second round Dibombe drove his rival into the ropes and battered him with both fists. As Findley tried to slip and move away from the onslaught, someone in the audience yelled, “He’s an Andre Ward from Walmart!” Findley, 169, was hurt with a left hook to the body and attacked with a fusillade of blows that shook him near the end of the session.

Dibombe is the type of fighter that adds sound effects with every punch he fires.  The sounds of “Ish, Ish” can be heard as blows whistled their way to their intended target. Findley must have cringed every time he heard those “Ish, Ish” sounds in his ear as pain would soon follow in the form of rollicking shots.

At the start of the fourth round, the ring doctor paused the proceedings as he checked Findley’s swollen right eye. The audience then implored the physician, “Let him fight Doc!”

Once the bout was continued, Dibombe, 167.1, opened up with a blazing barrage that had Findley wobbling along the ropes. The referee then halted the bout to the displeasure of the crowd. Findley was very upset and gave the referee a hard time for acting so quickly to end matters. In this case, the fight may have been stopped a little prematurely.  The end came at 0:31 of Round 4, though the writing was on the wall.

“I feel good with the win,” said Dibombe with the victory as he remained unbeaten at 22-0-1 (11 KO’s). “I am happy to make my American debut.”

Findley tumbled to 35-30-1 (25 KO’s).

The main event of the festivities was for the WBB World Super Lightweight Title as champion Dimash “Lightning” Niyazov, of Shymkent, Kazakhstan, but now residing in Brooklyn, NY, defended his laurels against transplanted Irishman Larry “Lethal” Fryers, who now lives in Yonkers, NY.

Niyazov, 139.8, who has a reputation as a slick boxer, was overwhelmed from the start by the brawling tactics of Fryers, 139.9.  At the onset, the Irishman went at the champion and unloaded punches in bunches that sent Niyazov into the ropes. Maneuvering his way out, the champ moved away firing his jab into the face of Fryers.  The challenger stormed back and battered Dimash into the corner.

At the bell beginning Round 2, Niyazov came out landing two solid left hooks. Fryers then unleashed a right to the head and scored with a crackling right uppercut to the chin. Larry proceeded to back the champion into the ropes when he seemed to intentionally push Niyazov forward, which immediately sent him flying out of the ring!

Luckily, Niyazov’s body landed on top of the broadcast table right in front of TV commentator Gerry Cooney. As the former heavyweight challenger looked surprised, Dimash was even more amazed as he struggled to his feet to get back into the ring. The referee appeared to give him a long time to re-enter. Once the action resumed, Fryers, 32, rushed in with the fury of a jealous husband and blasted away with a fusillade of punches.

Coming into the bout, Fryers at 12-6-1 was considered just another easy foe to pad Niyazov’s record.  Apparently, Fryers did not receive the memo that he had little chance to win. Dimash apparently found this out the hard way as the scrappy Irishman was in there for a victory- and a belt.

The next two rounds featured Fryers staying inside and firing shots that bounced off the head of Niyazov. There was a lot of clinching and holding coming from both participants, although it was clear that Dimash was being sucked into his rival’s trap and instead of moving, he remained on the ropes and took a pummeling. The champion had his moments, but most of the time he was held and clinched. Out from the distance, because of the Irishman’s intense holding and grappling, someone shrieked, “He [Fryers] wants to love you – not fight you!”

Although the challenger was holding, he was also the one throwing most of the blows. Niyazov also did clamp down on the arms of the challenger to hold off the assault, so it was a 2-way street of brawling and holding tactics.

In Round 5, Dimash lost his cool from the crowding and clinching style of Fryers and threw the Irishman to the floor, whereby he was deducted a point by the referee. Fryers attacked again and hurt Nuyazov, 34, along the ropes. The champion then stunned Fryers with another hard right hand, which the Irishman retaliated with a savage, two-fisted attack.

Then it happened.

As Nuyazov was being hammered, he somehow fell out of the ring again! Instead of landing on a table, he bounced onto the ballroom floor. It was not clear what exactly happened. The champion looked to be backing his way out of the barrage he was taking. While many, especially Nuyazov’s fans thought that the challenger may have pushed him, it was simply too close to call.

It felt like an eternity as Nuyazov slowly got to his feet, but still did not yet enter the ring.

Finally with all the confusion, the bout was halted, with only Fryers in the ring. After the conclusion, Nuyazov climbed back into the roped square, rubbing his left shoulder. He apparently was unable to continue. Whether it was an injury, or an inclination to avoid further punishment, one never knows. Since the bout had already completed four rounds, due to the nature of the ending, it went to the judges’ scorecards.

All three officials had Fryers winning at 49-44.

Afterwards promoter Sal Musumeci announced that he plans to rematch the two fighters.

It was a great win for Fryers, who raised his record to 13-6-1 (5 KO’s) and left with the WBB belt.

As for Niyazov, it was a disappointing night as he fell to 14-2-3 (6 KO’s) and looks for another chance at Fryers to seek his revenge in the near future.  

All things considered; it was a great night of boxing as Atlantic City is moving straight ahead to a summer of simmering pugilism.

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ROCKY  MARCIANO

The Bockton Blockbuster

THE UNDEFEATED TERROR OF THE HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION 

HIS LIFE AND TIMES IN PHOTOS AND VIDEOS

CLICK PHOTO TO VIEW PAGE

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SCOTTISH BOXING LEGEND AND BOXING HALL OF FAMER KEN BUCHANAN DIES AT 72By Alexander R. Rinaldi and Joseph Rinaldi

The bag pipes sounded in Glasgow the night the great Ken Buchannan passed away.

The The Ken Buchanan Foundation confirmed the Edinburgh native’s death on Saturday

“It is with great sadness that we inform you Ken passed away peacefully in his sleep,” read a statement. “RIP Ken, always a gentleman and one of the best champions we will ever see.”

Having turned professional in 1965, Buchanan captured the WBA lightweight world title by dethroning Panama’s Ismael Laguna in the scorching heat of Puerto Rico in 1970.

That same year, the Scot was the American Boxing Writers’ Association’s Fighter of the Year, ahead of Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali.

The next year, Buchanan defeated Ruben Navarro in Los Angeles in 1971 to take the WBC crown and become Scotland’s first undisputed world champion, a feat only matched 50 years later by Josh Taylor.

Paying tribute to his hero, Taylor wrote on Twitter: “I’m saddened to hear the news of the passing of my hero & Scotland’s greatest ever champ, whom I take such inspiration from.

“RIP Ken Buchanan.”

Buchanan, who topped the bill six times at New York’s famous Madison Square Garden arena, won his first 33 professional fights and retired in 1982 with a 61-8 record, including 27 wins by knockout.

We had the honor of interviewing him when Buchanan was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2000, and a statue of the great former lightweight king was unveiled in Leith in his home city of Edinburgh last year to honor Ken’s storied boxing career.

He had been living in an Edinburgh care home prior to his death, with his son.

Luckily for him, Buchanan was alive to see a statue constructed and unveiled in his honor.

One of the greatest ways and gestures to maintain and gain a grip on immortality is to have a statue dedicated in one’s honor. In the case of the legendary Scottish fighter Ken Buchanan, who was already considered the greatest Scottish boxer of all-time, and also had the distinction of being one of the best lightweight champions ever to lace on a pair of gloves, the erecting of a statute totally cements his place in Scottish lore and legend.

It has been written and said that as a poor lad from Northfield, Edinburgh, Buchanan was surprisingly introduced to boxing from his auntie Agnes from Musselburgh, who bought him a pair of boxing gloves when he was only 8 years old. Even his dearest aunt would never have or dreamed that her dearest Ken would later go on to become an Undisputed World Lightweight Champion and a Boxing Legend.

Though Scotland is known famously for being the birthplace of golf, as evidenced by the fame of the St. Andrews Golf Course, when Buchanan was fighting he became the biggest athlete in the country, rivalled only later by fellow lightweight fellow lightweight champion Jim Watt (WBC titleholder) and Race Car Legend Jackie Stewart.

With his world-wide recognition, Ken joined the ranks as such historical Scots as William Wallace, who was famously known for garnering a major victory against the English at Stirling Bridge in 1297, Mary Queen of Scots, and the iconic actor and original James Bond – Sean Connery.

In a boxing career that spanned three decades from 1965 to 1982, Buchanan captured the British Lightweight Title, the European Union title, and the WBC and WBA Lightweight Titles, thereby making him the undisputed Lightweight Champion of the World. As result, it was no surprise that he was eventually inducted into The International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Before he even earned a title shot, Buchanan had fought in four continents, eventually fighting in five continents before his pugilistic life came to a close in 1982. He retired with a ring record of 61-8 (27 KO’s), with four of those losses coming in the last four fights of his career.

His crowning moment came on September 26, 1970, when he travelled 4075 miles to San Juan Puerto Rico to win the World Lightweight Title from Ismael Laguna. Ken won the title via spilt decision.

As Buchanan would explain, “I didn’t know what to expect, it was 125 degrees when we got off the plane, I always remember my dad saying, ‘How are you going to fight in this heat son?' I trained really hard, pressured Laguna, stayed on top, and at the times when he wanted a breather, that’s when I went for him. A rematch was never written into the contract because he thought he was going to beat me so he would never have to fight me again.” 

After Buchanan lost his title to the legendary Roberto Duran in 1972 he continued fighting for another decade beating such great fighters and champions as Carlos Ortiz and Jim Watt.

The fight between Edinburgh’s Ken Buchanan and Glasgow’s Gentleman Jim Watt on January 29, 1973, at the Albany Hotel in Glasgow, is still regarded by many as the best Scottish fight on home soil.  Buchanan captured a 15-round points decision and was awarded the Londsdale Belt as the British lightweight champion. 

When asked who best boxer of all time was, Buchanan replied, “I don’t single one out, but I’d have to say Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Marciano, Roberto Duran, Ismael Laguna, Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard and off course Muhammad Ali, they were all great fighters." 

Interestingly enough, Buchanan and his past rival Roberto Duran would later become great friends and later the two would often appear at autograph shows together.

Duran, from Panama, later said beating Buchanan was the greatest night of his career, which included a magical win over Sugar Ray Leonard. But Buchanan was left urinating blood, hospitalized, and never held a world title again.

Although he may never have regained his championship laurels, he still remained remembered and loved in the hearts and souls of his countrymen.

Philosopher Mehmet Murat ildan once wrote, “Sometimes we all want to be like a statue: Always calm; always observer; always listening; always fearless and always inspiring!”

By the erection and unveiling of the statue that bears his likeness, the great and legendary Ken Buchanan shall be forever remembered as one of the greatest boxers of all time, as well as one of the sport’s fistic legends. And just like ildan said, “always fearless and inspiring.”

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Rising Heavyweight Sensation Kristian Prenga KO’s Sam “The Vanilla Gorilla” Crossed in 3 rounds in Atlantic City to capture vacant NBA/NABA/WBA Cont. heavyweight titles in main event in exciting Rising Star Promotions Boardwalk Boxing card 

Story by John Rinaldi and Alex Rinaldi

Photographs by Alex Rinaldi

Atlantic City, NJ. There is no better setting for a fight promotion than one located on the historic Boardwalk in Atlantic City on a Saturday night.

On March 25, instead of jostling through filthy streets inhabited with vermin, homelessness, criminals and human debris, boxing fans were able to casually stroll safely upon the most famous Boardwalk in the world. The same Boardwalk that greeted the Miss America Pageants for over 90 years, that witnessed horses diving into water, that saw Marilyn Monroe declared Grand Marshall of the Atlantic City parade waving to fans from an open 1952 Chevrolet convertible, that birthed the careers of arguably one of the greatest comedy teams in entertainment history – Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, and who hosted some of the greatest prize fights of all time.

On this night with the ocean air bristling in the breeze and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore, the lights of the casinos sparkled on the horizon illuminating the Boardwalk like a thousand stars as the fans made their way to the legendary Boardwalk Hall.  In the hearts and minds of the assemblage, it was just a great locale to participate in an exciting night of fisticuffs, and like most fights in Atlantic City – it delivered.

Rising Star Promotions put together a 9-fight card that featured a heavyweight moving up in the ranks, along with willing boxers just starting out in their careers in the thumping leather trade.

The ingredient for a good card is to feature boxers who are from the vicinity fighting their hearts out to please their fans and to make new ones.  The Boardwalk Boxing promotion presented plenty enough to delight the audience that packed the arena in the Boardwalk Hall.

The main event featured the exciting KO artist Kristian Prenga, of Orosh, Albania, but now residing in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, winning the vacant NBA/NABA/WBA Continental heavyweight championships by finishing off Sam Crossed known as “The Vanilla Gorilla” hailing from Greenblt, MD, in three rounds.

As soon as Kristan Prenga entered the arena, Albania flags cropped up over all the place blanketing the arena in a waving sea of red, along with men wearing brimless felt skull caps called geleshes (traditionally worn by Albanians), all of which giving the appearance of crowd full of Coneheads!

At the bell, Prenga, 255, came out after Crossed, 208, throwing a heavy left jab that rocked the Maryland boxer’s head back. As Crossed, 36, attempted to move forward, the Albanian hammered him with jabs and right crosses that kept him at bay throughout the opening session.

Round two saw Prenga, 32, adding a savage body attack to his repertoire. Crossed (11-4-1, 7 KO’s) attempted to land some shots of his own but was severely outpunched. Towards the end of the right, two right hands thrown by the 6’ 5” behemoth Prenga smashed into Crossed’s head as his legs shook and his body rocked.

At the bell for the third round, Prenga went Gorilla hunting and quickly unleashed a crackling right that sent Crossed reeling into the ropes. Instantly the Albanian fired away with a left hook followed by a terrific right hand that had Crossed’s eyes whirling back in their sockets. As the Maryland boxer bravely raised his gloves to offset any further blows, Prenga buried a crushing right fist into Crossed’s ribs that sent him down for the count at 0:31 of Round 3.

He lay on the canvas as if struck by a thunderbolt.

It was an impressive triumph, and one that earned Prenga the NBA/NABA/WBA Continental Championship belts. With the victory, Prenga raised his record to 13-1 (13 KO’s). The Albanian has now won nine straight bouts since losing a disputed decision to Giovanni Auriemma in 2017.

 “I promised that I would do my best tonight, and I did,” said Prenga. “I would like to thank the fans for coming out to see me. God Bless Albania and God Bless America.”

Afterwards, the concession stand that hawked various souvenirs of Prenga had a lengthy line of fans wanting to buy the wares of the up-and-coming heavyweight slugger.

The co-main event of the evening featured “Big Black” Anthony Jones, of Newark, NJ, facing Ramon Velasquez, of Quellon, Chile. Set for six rounds in the flyweight division.

With a big fan base on hand, Jones, 112, came out aggressive after Velasquez, 116 ½, from the start. Velasquez was busy with his two-fisted attack, however, Jones was clearly the harder puncher of the two and his shots exploded like grenades, while the Chilean was unloading with peashooters.

The Newark native’s fans were soon calling for a knockout by yelling, “If you don’t knock him [Velasquez] out, it will be a long ride back to Newark!”

Near the end of Round 1, Jones (6-0, 5 KO’s) pushed Velasquez into the corner and quickly opened with a fusillade of blows that drove the Chilean to the canvas. At the count of “four” Ramon got to his feet and as the action resumed, he turned his back on Jones and appeared to be looking for his mouthpiece. After some confusion, the bout continued where the bell then rang.

In the second round, Jones battered Velasquez (7-7) from pilar to post, punishing him with a severe body and head attack. More yells from the Newark fans began with the chants, “Knock his head off!” That was a tough thing to do since Valasquez had a such a short neck!

After the second round pummeling, the Chilean’s corner decided that he had received enough of a beating and did not allow their charge to come out for Round 3.

As Velasquez was on the early flight out back to Chile, Jones had a short ride back to Newark.

The opening bout of the night saw a battle of heavyweights as Derek “The Mighty” Starling, of Philadelphia, PA, took on Dennis Vance Jr., of South Branch, MI. It was a bruising affair as the southpaws fired away with both hands. Starling, 276, was the sharper and more conditioned boxer, but it was not enough to deter the gutsy Vance, 213.

In the third session, Starling, 33, sent the wide swinging Vance toppling to the canvas with a crisp left hook to the jaw. Vance, 31, got up at “3” and waded back into the storm and engaged his rival in a savage, give-and-take brawl.

Starling (6-1, 4 KO’s) tried his best to finish his man off, but Vance was sturdy and lasted out the bout.

After four rounds, all three judges awarded the fight to Starling by identical scores of 39-36.

With the loss, Vance fell to 4-9 (2 KO’s).

The second clash of the evening was a six-rounder that went the distance as Isaah Flaherty, of Elmont, NY, remained undefeated at 6-0 (3 KO’s) by outpointing Dewayne “The Beast” Williams, of Philadelphia, PA. Both middleweights fought chest to chest the entire affair with Flaherty, 157 ½, the aggressor throughout. Williams, 161 ½, never quit slugging away, but was outgunned from the start.

At the end of six rounds, the unanimous decision went to Flaherty by scores of 58-56 (twice) and 59-55.

Williams fell to 3-7-1 (3 KO’s) with the defeat.

Bout 3 of the promotion saw undefeated welterweight slugger Avious “Underdog” Griffin, of Chattanooga, TN, KO’ing former WBA lightweight king Jose Alberto Gazo, of Nagorte, Nicaragua, in two rounds.

Gazo, 39, is clearly on the downside of his career, losing ten fights since he lost his crown on a third-round TKO to Yuseke Kobori in 2008, and against Griffin, he was only a mere notch on the belt of the young Tennessee gunslinger.

The bout was scheduled for eight, however, Griffin, 146 ½,  had no intention of lasting anywhere near that long. Avious forced the action from the opening bell and battered the former champ repeatedly into the ropes, unleashing a barrage of leather to the head and ribs of Gazo, 149.

In the second, Griffin, 29, jumped off his tool and maneuvered Gazo in the ropes and drove a right hand deep into his ribs that sent him down for the count. The end came at 0:39 of Round 2.

With the KO win, Griffin improved to 11-0 (10 KO’s), while Gazo tumbled to 31-14-1 (25 KO’s). Gazo, who has been stopped in four of his last seven bouts, should seriously be planning to go out to pasture, because he is now nothing but a battered punching bag of an opponent.

The evening’s fourth bout saw Gabriel Gerena, of Piscataway, NJ, stopping Joshua Maldonado Garcia, of Vega Alta, PR, in two rounds. Gerena, 131, ripped into Garcia, 132, at the onset and never stopped battering the Puerto Rican with an array of left hooks and right crosses.

In round two, Gerena, relentlessly punished Garcia and near the end of the stanza wobbled him with a right uppercut.

Garcia’s corner had seen enough and refused to send him out for Round 3.

Gerena rose to 2-0 (2 KO’s), while Garcia dropped to 1-4.

The fifth bout of the promotion was between two men making their pro debut as Franciso Rodriguez, of Atlantic City, NJ, faced Marco Dorame, of Agua Prieta, PR, in a 4-round lightweight bout. One rarely likes to see two fighters embarking their career together, because that means one may begin their profession on a losing note.

The losing note of the contest went to Dorame as he was stopped in the opening frame.

Rodriguez, 134, was on the hunt since the bell sounded and soon floored Dorame with a vicious right fist to the ribs. Upon rising, Dorame, 134 ½, was met with a hurricane of blows. With his home fans cheering him on, Rodriguez ripped into Dorame with the intent of closing down the curtain early. After sending Dorame reeling with two drilling rights to the body, referee Ricky Gonzalez had seen enough and stopped the bout at 1:43 of the first round.

Rodriguez (1-0, 1 KO) was very impressive in his first professional outing. His punches were crisp and powerful.  Francisco fought in an efficient manner and barely missed a blow. He is certainly one to watch out for in the future.

Dorame fell to 0-1.

In the sixth outing of the evening, Malik “The Natural” Nelson, of Perth Amboy, NJ, outpointed Joseph Adorno Del Valle, of Vega Alta, PR, over four rounds.

Nelson, 125 ½, pressed the action behind his accurate right jabs and hammering hooks. Del Valle, 127 ½, was no pushover and kept trying, but he was severely outgunned.

All three judges had Nelson (4-0, 3 KO’s) winning by scores of 40-36. Dell Valle still has come up empty with a pro win as his record tumbles to 0-1-1.

The seventh fight of the night featured another local combatant, when Justin “Time” Figueroa, of Atlantic City, NJ, finished off Manuel Moreira, of Sheridan, WY, in two rounds.

Figueroa, 154, hurt Moreira, 154, with explosive combinations of lefts and rights that appeared to ache with every landing. The opening frame was one-sided as Moreira was jolted down to his socks!

The beating continued into Round 2 as Figueroa (4-0, 4 KO’s) attacked with screeching shots. The local favorite then fired a whipping right hand to the jaw that sent Moreira falling to the ring floor.

Although Moreira (0-4) made it to his feet at referee David Field’s count of “7” his reprieve did not last long as another right hand bomb sent him crashing down again. The referee had seen enough and halted the bout at 2:56 of the second round.

It was a fun night of boxing with tickets priced reasonably from $65 to $200.  The arena had the type of layout that there was no bad seat in the house.

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The iconic Roy Jones Jr.

Chat with a Champion

Former middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight king

By Staff Writer Kirk Lang

-CLICK PHOTO TO READ INTERVIEW-

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Champions, Challengers and Contenders in Training and Fights page

 

CLICK THE PHOTOS TO SEE FIGHTERS IN TRAINING AND IN SOME OF THE GREATEST FIGHTS OF ALL TIME

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CHAMPIONS, CHALLENGERS, AND CONTENDERS IN TRAINING AND FIGHTS PAGE

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The USA Boxing News Book Review

McFarland& Company, Inc., Publishers – 250 pp

Reviewed by John Rinaldi and Alex Rinaldi

Now that the holiday season has approached us, it is time to search out to find a perfect gift for friends or loved ones.  If the intended beneficiary of such a gift is a fan of “The Sweet Science” then look no further than the new book: WILLIE PEP – A Biography of the 20^th Century’s Greatest Featherweight by the famed boxing author Mark Allen Baker.

Looking over past book reviews and Mr. Allen’s numerous published works, the author has penned many wonderful texts including, The World Colored Heavyweight Championship, 1876-1937, Battling Nelson – The Durable Dane, CONNECTICUT BOXING – THE FIGHTS, THE FIGHTERS AND THE FIGHT GAME, Between the Ropes at Madison Square Garden, Lou Ambers, and The Fighting Times of Abe Attell. 

 

Besides the current book, the others mentioned would also make wonderful holiday presents.

Before even flipping a page, a book on Willie Pep already piqued our interest since we are big fans of the immortal 2-time featherweight king.  Through our past positions as Board Members of The International Boxing Hall of Fame and roles as Vice President and Secretary for a few terms, we had the wonderful opportunity to meet Pep numerous times between 1990 and 2000. Not only was the featherweight legend friendly with the press, but he was amazing in dealing with the boxing fans who would make the yearly pilgrimage to Canastota, New York to attend the annual Boxing Hall of Fame Induction ceremony.

 

All through these years, Willie never tired of greeting the fans, posing for photographs, and signing thousands of autographs. He seemed to enjoy the admiration and always treated the fans with a smile and a funny comment. He was simply a great guy.

In addition to being fans of the Will o’ the Wisp, the founder of our publication, The USA Boxing News, Joseph Rinaldi, was a huge admirer of Pep and his ring exploits. In fact, Joseph Rinaldi was one of the 19,097 fans who packed Madison Square Garden on February 11, 1949, to witness Willie Pep regaining his featherweight title over the legendary Sandy Saddler by a unanimous 15-round decision. That battle was arguably one of the greatest fights of all time, and probably Pep’s finest performance.

 

In glorious detail, Mr. Baker takes the readers back to Yesteryear at a ringside seat to that fight, along with numerous other bouts. The author gives such vivid accounts of Pep’s battles, so much so, that the reader can literally hear the thump of the punches landed in those contests.

 

While many consider us to be top-level boxing historians, Mr. Baker still repeatedly educates us with information that we never knew before.

 

We cannot think of one author out there who researches a subject as diligently as the author does. Not only is his narrative absorbing, but his footnotes alone make for additional compelling reading.

 

Willie Pep has been the subject of many books over the past 70-plus years, but never has his ring accomplishments been burned into the pages better than Mr. Baker’s work. If one had not been impressed with Pep’s amazing career before reading this text, then after reading, there will be further acclaim of Willie “Will o’ the Wisp” Pep.

Over a professional career that began on July 25, 1940, and ended with his final bout on March 16, 1966, Pep amassed an incredible record of 229-11-1 (65 KO’s), and Mr. Baker brings his readers to every ring contest. Not only does the author give a vivid account of Pep’s bouts, but also informs the readers of each of Willie’s opponents. So instead of just giving the outcomes of each ring meeting, there is a plethora of information regarding Willie’s foes.

Mr. Baker is always one to bring up details that are unexpected. One such account occurred on October 1, 1965, on a fight card promoted by Hall of Famer Don Elbaum at the War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The card featured not only Pep winning a third-round TKO over Willie Little, but also was topped by the immortal Sugar Ray Robinson beating Canadian Welterweight Champion Peter Schmidt on a 10-round decision. Although both legends were in the twilight of their respective career, it was still a promotion featuring both Willie Pep and Sugar Ray Robinson, arguably two of the greatest fistic immortals of all time! Surprisingly, only a small crowd of 1,600 fans turned out. What a shocker! You can fill a stadium today to watch those two pugilistic greats perform in the ring, no matter what stage of their careers.

There are even more nuggets, such as Pep’s survival from an airplane crash on a late Sunday night on January 5, 1947, in a wooded area near Vineland, New Jersey. The crash killed 3 people and wounded 20 others. Miraculously, Pep only suffered a broken leg and two chipped and split vertebrae. Even more of a wonderwork was that Pep returned to the ring six months later on June 17 and defeated Victor Flores at the Hartford Auditorium’s outdoor arena on a 10-round decision – winning all ten rounds!  Pep then goes on to his regular fight every ten days schedule. What a remarkable fighter!

The author takes the readers through Pep’s childhood, his sensational amateur career, and his march to the World’s Featherweight Championship. From his victory over Featherweight title holder Chalky Wright on November 20, 1942, until his dethronement at the mighty fists of the immortal Sandy Saddler on October 29, 1948, and onwards through three more battles against the dangerous Saddler and so forth, Willie Pep’s gutsy fortitude and immense talent shines brightly through the pages.

We did not think it could be possible, but Mr. Baker outshines himself with this marvelous book on the incomparable Willie Pep.

 

This book is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for SUPER READING!!

The book can be purchased in paperback and Kindle versions on Amazon, in paperback and Nook Book versions at Barnes and Noble bookstores, Barnes and Noble’s website, and at bookstores around the globe.

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Tyson Fury demolishes game Derek Chisora in 10 rounds

Champ calls out other heavyweight title holder Oleksander Usyk as an “ugly chavvy” and a “rabbit”

Story by Alexander R. Rinaldi and Joseph Rinaldi

LONDON — At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, World Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) delivered once again on his promise to obliterate every man left in the heavyweight division.

This time on December 3, before 60,000 fans of his faithful, “The Gypsy King” who is not only the WBC champion, but also the Lineal heavyweight champion, TKO’d the sturdy, but hopelessly overmatched challenger Derek Chisora (33-13, 23 KOs) via a 10th-round stoppage in the third fight of their trilogy.

Though Chisora started off fairly well attacking the behemoth Tyson Fury with a volley of punches from both hands, once Fury got going Chisora’s plan of winning on aggression soon shifted gears to become simply a plan of survival. So much so that it appeared that Chisora suddenly discarded his weapons and thereafter became a human punching bag for the huge Fury for most of the fight.

Fury, meanwhile, punched from all angles delivering blows to both the head, ribs, and midsection of Chisora. Fury also employed in deadly, devasting fashion, right uppercuts that seemed to nearly sever the Zimbabwe-born challenger’s head from his shoulders.  The drubbing was so fierce and brutal that it harkened one back to medieval England – watching a condemned prisoner from the Tower of London meet his maker at the end of an executioner’s blade.

The trouble for Chisora really began in round three when Fury began smashing and rocking Chisora around the ring with swift, windmill-like punches. 

The pummeling was so intense that at one point the challenger instinctively grabbed hold of the top ring rope to save himself from crashing to the canvas after being severely wobbled by a left hook and right uppercut to the jaw.

In hindsight, what Chisora should have done was pull that top rope around himself, back up, and use it as a catapult to exit both the ring and the stadium!

To his credit, Chisora bravely hung in there, and with his hard granite-like jaw even managed to keep on his feet for not only the round, but also for the remainder of the bout. As a matter of fact, the challenger’s head was so thick that Fury actually hurt his hands from punching Chisora’s skull so often in the fight.

In addition to the champion’s frequent and constant lathering of punches to Chisora’s face, according to CompuBox, Fury also managed to land a total of 70 body shots throughout the fight. This figure was more than Fury ever landed in any of his prior fights.

For a fighter who is now 38 years old, Fury, like wisdom itself, is actually getting better with age.

By round ten, Chisora was reduced to the beaten form of a crippled and demolished bull after the matador had inserted a dozen swords in its carcass and then threw him on a barbecue.

The challenger’s lips were so swollen that they were nearly touching his nose and his right eye seemed be looking through a tiny crack in the wall while his left eye seemed to be peering through a keyhole on an old doorknob.

Finally, after Fury landed one more stinging combination to Chisora’s head, referee Victor Loughlin wisely put a stop to the bout at 2:51 of the tenth round.

After the fight, Fury said, “Firstly, I want to say thank you to my lord and savior Jesus Christ for giving me another victory tonight. Secondly, I just want to say what a fuc*ing crowd! Come on! 60,000 people here today. I love every single one of you people. You’re amazing. I’m flabbergasted for words to say how much it means to me.”

“I felt good. I needed some rounds,” Fury revealed. “I haven’t boxed since April. It’s been 8 or 9 months since then. I’ve been out of retirement. I’ve had a lot go on. I felt like I was landing my jab, landing some good punches. I take nothing away from Chisora. He’s an absolute warrior. It’s been a privilege to fight him three times. He’s an absolute British folk hero. What a warrior. What an African British warrior. We’ve done three epic fights, and what a tough man. I was hitting him with shots that would’ve knocked anybody else out, and he stood up to every one of them.”

Chisora, who pocketed a career high of close to $8 million said thankfully, “You know what, thanks to the ref. As a fighter, you don’t want to stop. You want to go out in your shield. Thank you, Tyson, I really appreciate this. There is a big fight coming up. Everyone wants to see one champion in the heavyweight division. The last one we had was Lennox Lewis. I would like to see him and Usyk in Saudi [Arabia]. That’s what we want to see now. That’s the fight we should make happen now.”

Fury agreed and shouted to the crowd, “Where’s Usyk! Where’s Oleksander Usyk!” Upon hearing that Usyk joined Fury in the ring. ‘I’m going to splatter you,” Tyson then said to Usyk. “You little rabbit, you little sausage, you ugly little chavvy. I will be the farmer who skins him, puts him in a pie and eats him for breakfast.’” Fury then shouted, “You’re next, little bitch.” He also called the Ukraine champion, “a 15-stone (210 pounds) bodybuilder” as well as, “You ugly little man” and declaring “End you! End you!” to Usyk’s who seemed to remain impassive to the insults.  Fury ended the tirade with, “What you gonna do? what you’re gonna do fuckall!”

Notwithstanding, Tyson Fury did applaud Usyk’s guts for even entering the ring. ‘He [Usyk] is ugly, like me, but it’s not good looks which wins fights. It’s the man inside the man and unlike Anthony Joshua who’s never confronted me, he’s turned up to declare his challenge.”

On a funny note, in their dressing rooms afterwards, instead of calling for an ambulance to handle his injuries, Chisora was able to bring two huge Five Guys burgers to Fury’s dressing room for their supper.

“All of this is boxing, it’s what brings me alive,” exclaimed Fury who does not need a Gypsy crystal ball to know that he will devastate Usyk when they finally square off.

For his efforts Fury should receive, once the final pay-per-view numbers come in, around $5o million.

As for the future, after “The Gypsy King” beats Usyk, Fury, who has referred to himself as “the greatest fighter of my era” plans to come back to Las Vegas for a Fury-Wilder IV bout. With the exciting and charismatic Fury at the heavyweight helm – boxing is once more a must-see sport.

On the undercard

Dubois Overcomes Adversity to Retain Belt

London native Daniel Dubois (19-1, 18 KOs) overcame three knockdowns in the first round before stopping South African Kevin Lerena (28-2, 14 KOs) at the end of the third round to retain his WBA ‘Regular’ heavyweight title.
 
Dubois had a difficult start as a counter left hook wobbled him and sent him to the canvas. The hard-hitting heavyweight then took a knee due to a right ankle injury and visited the canvas once more before the round ended.

In the second round, Dubois began to find his rhythm and even managed to hurt Lerena with a counter right uppercut followed by a left hook. In the following round, Dubois dropped Lerena with a straight right hand before ending matters with a fight-finishing flurry.

Lightweights: Ukrainian Olympic silver medalist Denys Berinchyk (17-0, 9 KOs) maintained his undefeated status and won the European title with a 12-round unanimous decision victory against Yvan Mendy (47-6-1, 22 KOs). Scores: 117-112 and 116-112 2x.
 
Light Heavyweights: Karol Itauma (9-0, 7 KOs) scored a technical knockout win over Vladimir Belujsky (12-6-1, 8 KOs) at 1:18 of the eighth round.
 
Lightweights: 18-year-old rising prospect Royston Barney Smith (4-0, 2 KOs) defeated Cruz Perez (3-4, 1 KO) via knockout in the first round. Time of stoppage: 1:02.

(Photo Courtesy: Mikey Williams/Top Rank via Getty Images)

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After some indication of the Argentina team disrespecting his Country of Mexico, Canelo Alvarez sends out severe warning to Argentina soccer star Lionel Messi – “He better pray to God that I don’t find him!”

Story by Alexander R. Rinaldi and Joseph Rinaldi

With the FIFA World Cup going on in Qatar, the emotions of fans regarding their countries and their football (soccer) teams are reaching a global fever pitch to the point that there appears to be various mini sports World Wars going on throughout the world.

If the World Cup in of itself is not enough to get countries and their countrymen riled and hot under the collar, when a player on an opposing team, especially one who is part of the winning team, disrespects another country – then fireworks and explosions go off – and not in a good way.

Case in point – last Saturday November 26 after Argentina defeated Mexico by a score of 2-0, apparently and reportedly, the captain of the Argentina team, one Lionel Messi allegedly kicked and/or was stepping on a shirt of the Mexican team on the floor of the team’s locker room.

Though it was not entirely clear whether the act was accidental, incidental, or intentional – the sight alone of seeing one’s country’s shirt somewhat disrespected like that clearly sent off sirens in the skulls of the Mexican people. One of whom was none other than Canelo Alvarez, probably the best pound for pound fighter in the world today who also happens to be a native citizen of Mexico.

As a result of what he observed on a video, Canelo’ Álvarez took it on his part to send a clear warning to the purported Argentina offender, namely Argentina Soccer captain Lionel Messi, whom he accused of disrespecting Mexico.

“Did you see Messi cleaning the floor with our shirt and flag????” Álvarez tweeted, apparently referencing a video in which Messi appears to kick a Mexico shirt that is on the floor during Argentina’s celebrations in the changing room.

“He better pray to God that I don’t find him!!” Álvarez added in another tweet, with a series of angry emojis. “Just like I respect Argentina, he has to respect Mexico! I’m not talking about the country as a whole, just about the bulls**t that Messi pulled.”

To make matters worse for the Mexicans, it was Messi who scored the first goal, to keep Argentina’s World Cup dream alive and to set back México’s chances.

 “It’s one thing them being better than us (in football), it’s another thing to have respect,” added Alvarez.

This week, Argentina takes on Poland in its final group match on Wednesday, with Mexico facing Saudi Arabia. All four teams in Group C remain in with a chance of qualifying for the round of 16.

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Dmitry Bivol outpoints and outpunches the tough Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez to retain WBA Light Heavyweight title in Abu Dhabi

STORY BY ALEX AND JOHN RINALDI

VETIHAD ARENA, ABU DHABI — WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol has made the year 2022 his very simply by his awesome title defenses and his apparent ease in winning on holding on to his ring laurels.

The same occurred again in the Middle East as Bovil scored a near shutout over the previously unbeaten and tough challenger Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez.

Although prior to the fight, Ramirez could not exclaim enough how bad he was going to beat Bovil, once the bell rang Zurdo seemed more like a slow, tired bull against a dominant primed matador. 

In this bout, Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) was back in the ring for the first time since outpunching and outpointing the reigning pound-for-pound king Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. In this bout Bovil seemed to have no problem clobbering the Mexican southpaw Ramirez, who carried a 44-0 record into the ring.

Bovil began and ended the bout with his clever boxing and underestimated ability to avoid punches and stay out of harm’s way. In round one the fighters teased the crowd by going head-to-head with the other at the end of round one.

This action unfortunately was limited, and for the most part Bovil picked apart his adversary like a daisy in the hands of lovelorn maiden girl.

All too many jabs, crosses, and left hooks found Zurdo’s chin and head to the point that it appeared that they were magnetically drawn his head.

To his credit, Zurdo Ramirez (44-1, 30 KOs) refused to go down and in fact managed to display a rather granite chin throughout the bout. He also did make an attempt to up his aggression in final three rounds, but it was all to no avail. Bovil was just that much better and quicker than the two.

Surprising, in the final round when Ramirez clearly needed either a knockout or a meteor to strike the champion, it was Bivol who uploaded his cartridge and began blasting away in the final minutes of the fight

“You know, the lion is not the biggest animal in the jungle,” Bivol said after the fight of his ability to force Ramirez to go backward. “But he’s king. Yeah, Zurdo is bigger than me, but it doesn’t matter.”

By the fight’s end and the tallies were counted, Bovil easily retained his title by a unanimous decision by margins of 118-110 and 117-111 (twice).

With the big win, Bovil may be looking ahead to a big money Canelo rematch or a unification bout with Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed light-heavyweight championship..

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Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder makes his impressive ring return with vicious first-round KO of Robert “The Nordic Nightmare” Helenius before a sold-out crowd at Brooklyn’s Barclay CenterStory by Alex and John Rinaldi

The last time the world saw Deontay Wilder was last October 9^th when he was lying on the canvas after being knocked out by Tyson Fury for the second time in his career.

Since then, Wilder has debated retirement, actually considered retirement, then eventually decided to leave retirement and return back to the prize ring – his virtual home away from home.

In the meantime, a life-like statue was dedicated to Wilder in his hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a gesture that both honored and touched the former heavyweight champion. So much so that he felt that he owed it to his fans, as well as to himself, to recapture his past glory and to reclaim his rightful heavyweight championship laurels.

Considering the fact that Wilder almost had Tyson Fury knocked out in their last outing, plus witnessed the emergence of a mechanical bore like Olexsander Usyk take his spot upon a paper throne, combined with the recent pathetic performances of Anthony Joshua, “The Bronze Bomber” must clearly feel like he has a very good shot of becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

More importantly, Wilder probably wants to set the record straight that, unlike the feather-duster puncher Usyk and the reluctant, lily-livered Joshua, Deontay is still biggest puncher in heavyweight history.

For his return on Saturday night, Wilder wisely refused NOT to take it easy and, instead, opted to take on the big and tough Robert “The Nordic Nightmare” Helenius, who entered the ring with an impressive ledger of 31-3 (20 KO’s). Hailing from Stockholm, Sweden and presently residing in Mariehamn, Finland, Helenius is fiercely prided by his Viking heritage, which is in effect, a history of killing, massacring, arson, looting, and destroying towns and villages throughout Europe and the neighboring continents.

So feared people were of the Vikings that townspeople would immediately flee from their villages just on the mere word or rumor that the Vikings were coming. Somehow, they would rather leave their homes, their treasures, and their livestock than to face the sword, the spear, the battle axe, the bow and arrow or the seax of the Vikings. Understandably, these villagers preferred to have their heads remain on their shoulders than to have them seared off and mounted on top of the town’s gate posts.

Though Helenius was not massacring farmers and townspeople – he was beating up and knocking out top ranked heavyweights over the course of his impressive career.

Although it was an intriguing matchup, little did anyone realize was that Helenius had about the same chance as a mountain goat battling an eagle at the edge of a cliff. 

Still, he never fought a force of nature like Deontay Wilder.

Entering the ring a relatively light 214 pounds for his first bout in just over a year — Wilder appeared carved out of stone with a shield of pure muscle forged on his body. He looked mean and lean and ready to do some damage, even though he was 23 ½ pounds lighter than when he faced Fury. Helenius, who was about the same height as the 6-foot 6-inch Wilder, entered the fight at a solid 249 pounds.

Before a sold-out crowd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, a venue which he has headlined four times in the past and a place Wilder has credited for providing him with inspiration to triumph in, Deontay looked and fought menacing the instant the opening bell clanged to begin their WBC heavyweight title eliminator.

Right from the start, Wilder was the aggressor throwing punches to both the body and head of the huge Helenius. To his credit, the Nordic Nightmare showed no fear of the Bronze Bomber and was actively throwing jabs and some combinations as well as using his weight and strength to move Wilder back at times.

Then with a little less than 15 seconds remaining, Wilder trapped Helenius in a corner and blasted off two hard double left hooks – the first to the ribs and the second to the right jaw of Helenius. They both landed with a loud thud upon the body and head of the Swede.  As Helenius was about to counter with a right – Wilder beat him to the punch unleashing a ferocious right cross that landed with the speed of a bullet and power of a hydrogen bomb.

Helenius was immediately unconscious upon impact as his body crashed to the canvas as if he was downed by a torpedo or a meteor.

Referee Michael Griffin began the count over the fallen corpse-like Helenius until he realized that he was completely unresponsive and wisely stopped the fight right then and there. So demolished was Helenius that the referee could have counted to a million in a dozen languages and still Helenius would not have risen in time.

Since Helenius was not moving or budging at all many in the arena feared he was on his way to visiting his Viking ancestors in Valhalla.

Thankfully, Helenius was eventually able to stand and make his way out of the ring – the same ring where he just saw his dreams of fighting for a heavyweight title go up in smoke.

“I set him up,” Wilder said after the fight. “I allowed him to reach and when he reached, I attacked. It was a great fight.”  

It was the third time Helenius has been KO’d in his career, sinking the 38-year-old to career ledger of 31-4 (20 KOs).

With the win, Wilder remains the WBC’s No. 1 contender, with Fury holding the WBC title and the listless Olexsander Usyk in possession of the other three belts.

Prior to the bout, Wilder talked of a potential matchup with Anthony Joshua, who is coming off two straight losses to Usyk. He’s also mentioned a possible showdown with former unified champion Andy Ruiz.

At this point of his career, Wilder is also looking for either a rematch with Fury or a chance to fight for any of the heavyweight belts.

Unfortunately, Usyk is currently rehabbing from injuries while Fury is considering a big matchup with Anthony Joshua or a smaller fight with Derek Chisora.

“I’ve been hearing rumors about Usyk, but he’s not here is he? When guys see these knockouts they turn the corner away from me,” Wilder explained. “I’m ready for whatever. Whether it’s Andy Ruiz Jr. or Usyk, I’m ready. Deontay is back and the excitement in the heavyweight division is back!”

Truer words could not be told.

As for his brave opponent, Wilder remarked, “Robert has the heart of a champion, and I knew what he was capable of. I didn’t take him lightly at all. I know that he really wanted this. When you fight Deontay Wilder, you have to have your A-plus game.”

Concerning his training leading up to the fight, Wilder revealed, “It’s been a good camp for me. We worked to make this fun for me,” Wilder said. “We work at this so much that it can just become a job. We made it fun again. We put in over 700 rounds, and it paid off tonight big time.”

It also paid off in each of the fighters’ wallets as Wilder pocketed a cool $20 million, while Helenius earned $1 million.

Thankfully, Wilder is back and looks to be better than ever. Boxing and the heavyweight division needs Deontay Wilder. Ring killers like him are hard to find and do not come around this way too often.

When the heavyweight dust eventually settles it is very likely that Wilder will be the new Sheriff in town. With his talent and charisma there is nothing that he cannot accomplish.

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Check out vintage USA Boxing News editorials over the last four decades

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Boxers Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua along with other British Boxers lead the boxing world’s tributes after Queen Elizabeth’s death

The USA Boxing News also mourns the Queen – for the Royals are known for their love of boxing

Story by Alexander R. Rinaldi and Joseph Rinaldi

Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury paid homage to Queen Elizabeth II and have led the boxing world’s tributes to her Majesty after her passing last week. Elizabeth served as the Queen of England from June 2, 1953, to September 8, 2022 – the longest reign as monarch in the country’s history.

Her reign as Queen stretched from the beginning of the heavyweight reign of Rocky Marciano all the way up to the present-day heavyweight king – Tyson Fury. 

She died a true boxing fan at her official Scottish residence of Balmoral Castle as confirmed by Buckingham Palace. It was further reported that, “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.”

She was buried today after a long, ceremonial State funeral. 

The coffin was followed in procession on the carriage by King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort, along with other members of the family. The entire procession began from the Palace of Westminster then to Wellington Arch, at Hyde Park Corner, to eventually the Royal crypt at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Since the Queen and the Royals were huge boxing fans and admired many prizefighters, especially those from the United Kingdom, an amazing outpouring of emotion turned out in the boxing world as many former champions reacted to the tragic news of the loss of their beloved Queen.

Tyson Fury wrote: “Thoughts & prayers with my Queen tonight, may God be with you.”

Fury and his wife Paris also left flowers and a card at the gates of Buckingham Palace following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

Fury’s card read: ‘To Our Queen, great may your bed be in Heaven. Love from Tyson and Paris xx Gypsy King x.’

Meanwhile, Anthony Joshua tweeted: “Rest in Peace,” with a white heart emoji. Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn also tweeted: “Rest in peace Your Majesty. thank you for everything.”

The British Nigerian-born World Heavyweight Boxer, Anthony Joshua had been previously awarded the Officer of the Most Excellent Order (OBE) of the British Empire award by the Monarch of England, Queen Elizabeth.

After the responses from Joshua and Fury, the rest of the boxing world likewise reacted. 

Former Champion Chris Eubank Sr. said: “My deepest condolences to our Nation of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries and the entire world.”

Eubank added,” Queen Elizabeth II was our dream ideal for Afro Caribbeans who came to the UK in the 1950s (WINDRUSH) to rebuild this Great Nation from the decimation of the Nazi invasion on our Great London and other parts of Great Britain. Her Majesty’s Grace, elegance and flawless lifelong service to her people is a story of the Ultimate Warrior Queen. I never stopped trying to be worthy of My Queen’s approval. This was indeed the greatest day of my life, for I feel I may have won her confidence. Queen Elizabeth II has been my perfect role model, and I will continue to Love her even after death.”

The throne now goes to her oldest son and heir, Prince Charles, with Prince William the next in line after that – all of them impassioned boxing fans. As a result, in an outpouring of emotion, the boxing world reacted to the tragic news.

Frank Bruno also sent a heartfelt condolence. “We all knew the end was near but to me, our Queen was like a member of our family. I was lucky and blessed to meet her a few times. She was the Matriarch, mother of our nation. My thoughts are with the Royal Family – sad, sad day.”

Most weekend sporting events in the United Kingdom have been cancelled out of respect to the Queen. In the boxing world, however, it is less clear if bouts will be held or not. The British Boxing Board of Control recently announced that all fights sanctioned under their auspices on Friday night will be postponed to another date, with an additional statement expected imminently on Saturday and Sunday’s fights.

England has always held their fistic heroes in high regard. For instance, heavyweight boxer Henry Cooper was initially appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1969, then later was awarded a Papal Knighthood in 1978. To the delight of boxing fans across the English Isle, Cooper was eventually fully knighted in 2000.

Approximately one million people are expected to travel to London ahead of the Queen’s state funeral on Monday.

Tyson Fury was apparently eager to pay his respects in person before the funeral, as he personally posted a tribute to Her Majesty on social media.

“Queen’s funeral today,” exclaimed Fury. “I’ve been off social media for the past 10 days, mourning in respect for our Queen who’s died. Not posted nothing, not being interested in anything else, to be fair. I hope all the funeral goes well. Condolences to the full family. And may she rest in Heaven for eternity in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.”

The 34-year-old was in the headlines once again this week after agreeing terms to face Anthony Joshua in a ‘Battle of Britain’ fight on December 3.

Although contracts are yet to be signed, promoter Eddie Hearn recently revealed that Joshua wanted to fight his heavyweight rival as soon as possible, even if it meant a 60-40 purse split in favor of the Gypsy King.

Condolences also from The USA Boxing News. We have always appreciated Queen Elizabeth’s love of boxing, and we know with the entire Royals’ love of the sport, boxing will continue to be the huge attraction it is in Great Britain and the entire United Kingdom.

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Olekandr Usyk outhustles a listless Anthony Joshua to retain WBO/IBF/WBA/IBO heavyweight titles

Story by John and Alex Rinaldi

Laziness is a secret ingredient that goes into failure. But it’s only kept a secret from the person who fails. – Robert Half

August 20 – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.  In another entirely forgettable heavyweight championship bout, and for the second time in a year, Oleksandr Usyk once again defeated a plodding Anthony Joshua to retain his Heavyweight laurels.

Mind you, neither “combatant” had fought since their first unremembered bout 11 months ago on September 25, 2021.  While Usyk was milking his laurels by apparently taking part in the Ukraine War, though there appears to be no snapshots available of him actually in the trenches, Joshua just sat things out while waiting for the automatic rematch to take place.

Sadly, after another twelve, dreary rounds of boxing, the bout was certainly not worth the wait.

Most of the blame must go to the former heavyweight king Joshua, who fought a smaller, blown-up cruiserweight in Usyk who has no solid heavyweight punch, only to display the courage of a fainting goat and the aggressiveness of a Pygmy three-toed sloth.

To make matters worse, Joshua assumed a crouching, bending style trying to make himself smaller. The strange strategy beckons one to ask, “why would a big guy ever want to be smaller?” Isn’t it the benefit of a big guy to actually be the bigger of the two?

Well apparently, not in Joshua’s world.

By implementing that style, he actually made it easier for a smaller opponent like Usyk to find and land dozens of straight right jabs to his jaw consistently throughout the bout. Did he somehow believe that Usyk would simply get tired of hitting him?

George Foreman was certainly not crouching when he faced Joe Frazier for Smokin’ Joe’s heavyweight title in 1973, so that Frazier could land his shots better.

Joshua had every advantage in the book against Usyk, 35, except guts. As for the champion Usyk, he fared just slightly better, spending the night in his dull southpaw stance firing away half the time at Joshua’s gloves, which may have taken the worst beating of the night, compared to the ex-champ’s head and body.

It was puzzling to those in attendance at the Jeddah Superdome why Joshua was content to throw so few punches against a foe who had the courage of a knight, but the punch of a nerf ball. To even infer that Usyk’s blows on Joshua were comparable to those of attacking mosquitos is actually an insult to mosquitos. The champion’s wallops were more like annoying gnats or rice being thrown on a newlywed couple after their nuptials.

After losing his title to another fighter he should have beaten, most thought Joshua would be more aggressive and walk through his adversary’s feather pillow shots and attack with his blistering blows.  Sadly, except for Round 9, when Joshua finally decided the throw two punches at a time and actually had Usyk hurt for those brief three minutes, Joshua showed the world that he is still in reality a puncher. His performance in round 9 even harkened back to his slugging style, the same style that originally perched high above the heavyweight heap. Unfortunately, AJ lazily let Usyk off the hook.

Like a smart fish, Usyk never put himself in a position to get on the hook again.

After that round, the former champ barely showed any life in the ring. You almost wanted someone to take his pulse between rounds to see if he was still alive.

To his credit, Usyk, of Shypntsi, Ukraine, but now residing in Oxnard, CA, landed his Sunday punch plenty of times on the mummy-like Joshua, but the shots had the effect of a cap gun on a runaway freight train. After the first five rounds, the ex-champ who barely did enough to win a few of the early going, decided to stop punching and just shuffle forward as if his feet were encased in cement.

Seeing that Joshua was not going to put up a gallant battle to win back his laurels, Usyk got braver and fired more punches to the head and body.  Although they did score, Joshua took them for the puff balls they were and just kept moving forward as if he was somnambulistic.

What was Joshua thinking of as the rounds were piling up with none being banked by him in middle sessions?  All he did was hand the overrated, boring southpaw Usyk an easy victory.  Considering that Joshua lately possesses the chin as strong as a cord of balsa wood, the Ukrainian never ever came close to hurting the giant Brit.

Just when Joshua finally had a good round in the ninth, he allowed Usyk to win the last three frames to secure the win.

Surprisingly, there was one judge who saw Joshua winning the fight by scores of 115-113, but the other two officials had Usyk the victor by tallies of 115-113 and 116-112.

“If you knew my story, you would understand the passion,” Joshua said cryptically after his embarrassing loss. “I’m telling you this guy [Usyk] to beat me tonight, maybe I could have done better, but it shows the level of hard work he must have put in so please give him a round of applause as our heavyweight champion of the world.”

Joshua (24-3, 22 KO’s) added afterwards, “I am mad at myself. Not at anyone, just myself. I was like I got to get out here, because I’m mad. When you’re angry you might do stupid things, so I was mad. But then I realized this is sport, let me do the right thing. I had to mentally take myself into a dark place to compete for the championship belts. I had two fights, one with Usyk and one with my emotions, and both got the better of me.”

Joshua then appeared to be losing his mind when he took two of Usyk’s title belts and threw them to the canvas and said to the audience, “I’m not a 12-round fighter? Look at me, I’m a new breed of heavyweight,” said Joshua. “All of them heavyweights, Mike Tyson, Sonny Liston, Jack Dempsey, they say ‘he doesn’t throw combinations like Rocky Marciano,’ because I’m not f**king 14 stone (200 pounds). That’s why. I’m 18 stone (250 pounds). I’m heavy.” Really? Has he forgotten that both Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder were his size or bigger and they fought three amazing, courageous bouts throwing caution to the wind and fighting their proverbial hearts out.

He also failed to state that those great champions like Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano fought hard for fifteen rounds, not twelve rounds like they fight today.

If his nutty words were not enough, Joshua then for some unknown crazy reason wrapped himself again with the Ukrainian flag and pranced around the ring uttering strange unintelligible pronouncements about Ukrainian history and their inherent courage. What he should have done was use that flag like a cape and fly back the Britain to re-assess his boxing career and dig up his long-lost courage like a pirate’s treasure hidden off the coast Jamaica.

Even Joshua’s fan club members would not be so delusional to put him in the class of those great fistic champions. No one will be thinking of Joshua once his days are finished, which they appear to be now. Hasn’t he noticed the DEAD-END sign in front of him?

The ex-champion who appears to have lost his heart in the sport, plans to return to the ring before Christmas. “I’m a fighter for life,” remarked Anthony. “The hunger never dies.”

While that hunger appeared to have died this night, hopefully for Joshua and the sport of boxing, he can re-emerge as the ring killer that he once was, instead of the confederate fighter masquerading as a textbook boxer he tried to emulate in his two recent embarrassing loses against the overblown cruiserweight Usyk.

As for Usyk (20-0, 13 KO’s), there are talks of him fighting Tyson Fury, which one should not hold their breath for since the contest is a mismatch of epic proportions. Usyk has nothing to beat Fury, nor Deontay Wilder for that matter. Usyk stated, “I’m sure that Tyson Fury is not retired yet. I’m sure, I’m convinced he wants to fight me. I want to fight him. If I’m not fighting Tyson Fury, I’m not fighting at all. I devote this victory to my country, my family, to my team, to all the people, militaries who are defending the country. This is already history. Many generations are going to watch this fight, especially when someone tried to beat me hard, but I withstood it and turned it a different way.”

After the fight the legendary Roberto Duran who was seated at ringside was not impressed by Joshua’s performance.  “Joshua did not apply enough pressure,” remarked Duran.  “He was too slow at throwing his punches. When a boxer moves around very fast in front of you like Usyk did, Joshua should have concentrated on the jab more. He was more tired in the fight than Usyk.” When asked if Usyk was more inspired by the events in Ukraine, Duran responded, “I don’t think so at all.” Duran also thought it is very possible that Usyk will fight Tyson Fury next.

With any luck, the Fury-Usyk match can take place, so the heavyweight division will have only one true champion – namely Tyson Fury.

For the forgettable rematch, both fighters earned a 50/50 split of the purse bid, which should net each of them £50 million ($58,775,250.00 in U.S. Dollars). Joshua will also take home substantial additional millions from various sponsorships and endorsements relating to the fight.

How long that gravy train will continue to exist for Joshua based upon his last two lacklustre performances is anyone’s guess.  

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Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua 2

Will Joshua enter the ring with his guts and punch or will Usyk win in another bore-fest?

By Alex and John Rinaldi

For fight fans around the globe there is nothing bigger and better than a great Heavyweight Championship bout. This was actually last seen when Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder squared off in their classic third fight to end their fistic trilogy to become one of the greatest fights of the ages.

Possibly, the same can be said for the second chapter of the Anthony Joshua – Oleksandr Usyk matchup. With that said though, preferably history does not repeat itself and the fans again get mistreated to another bore-fest of heavyweight proportions.

With three of the four recognized heavyweight world titles on the line this weekend at the King Abdullah Sports City Arena in Saudi Arabia, hopefully Joshua will enter the ring re-electrified and reinvigorated to take back what was originally his. Not that Usyk is a bad champion. His unbeaten record, which includes him capturing both the undisputed Cruiserweight Championship and three out of four Heavyweight titles clearly speak for itself. The problem is that his fights are about as exciting as a shuffleboard tournament played at a South Florida senior center, and he also sadly possesses the typical Eastern European charisma, which is essentially no charisma at all.

Against nearly everyone’s expectations, this past September saw the heavyweight landscape obliterated when Oleksandr Usyk scored a decision victory over the popular and powerful Anthony Joshua to win the WBA, IBF and WBO championships. Now the two men will battle one more time as Joshua tries to kickstart his third reign as world champion, while Usyk tries to secure and retain the laurels, he rightly won last year.

Prior to his bout with Joshua, Usyk had previously unified all four world championships at cruiserweight in 2018 when he won the Cruiserweight World Boxing Super Series by defeating Murat Gassiev in the tournament finals. He later made his heavyweight debut in 2019, scoring two sleep worthy wins over Chazz Witherspoon and Derek Chisora before beating a somewhat confused and unmotivated Joshua over 12 rounds.

To Joshua’s credit, after his first loss to Andy Ruiz, which ended with him being KO’d in a stunning fashion in June of 2019, Joshua did manage to come back six months later in December 2019 to reclaim his three world titles with a unanimous points decision.

This time around, Joshua has to rely upon his punching power – the same punching power that once stopped Wladimir Klitschko and 21 others in his 26-fight career. He also has to bring into the ring a big basket of guts along with the same courage that was once granted to the Cowardly Lion by the Wizard of Oz to re-fortify his stature in the sport in general, and the heavyweight division in particular, that has been essentially eclipsed by both Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder.

“He has to fight like a big guy. He can’t sit there and tag with this guy, he’s got to hit him with big shots,” said former heavyweight king and Hall of Famer Holyfield. “If you got a little brother. If you try to keep up, he moves too much, you’ve got to grab him and put all that weight on him and let him feel that you’re the stronger one and this is a big guy fight and there isn’t no way he can beat you in a big guy fight….I know both of the guys are capable of winning, it’s just who does it that night when the pressure happens. The fact of the matter is how a person thinks. I knew what my thinking was going to be in there. I always said that every guy that got the best of me was a guy lighter than me with fast hands, I sat there watching. But that’s what big guys used to do when they were in front of me, I was so good they sat there watching and then the fight is over.”

Perhaps Joshua should heed the advice of Holyfield a fighter who certainly rose to the occasion many times in his long, brilliant career.

As a better enticement for the fighters, especially to Joshua, is that the winner of the rematch will without question have their eye on a potential, highly lucrative bout with WBC champion Tyson Fury, with the victor to be crowned the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World. Though the wildcard Fury has claimed to be retired — after seemingly unretiring for a handful of days — the possibility of winning all four Heavyweight titles, along with a purse of over $100 million, could easily, as proclaimed in the iconic movie The Godfather, be an offer he can’t  refuse.

Usyk vs. Joshua 2 fight card, odds

• Oleksandr Usyk (c) -200 vs. Anthony Joshua +170, WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles
• Filip Hrgovic -1000 vs. Zhilei Zhang +250, heavyweights
• Callum Smith -1100 vs. Mathieu Bauderlique +700, light heavyweights
• Badou Jack vs. Richard Rivera, cruiserweights
• Ziyad Almaayouf vs. Jose Alatorre, super lightweights
• Ramla Ali vs. Crystal Garcia Nova, women’s super-bantamweights
• Andrew Tabiti vs. James Wilson, heavyweights
• Ben Whittaker vs. Petar Nosic, light heavyweights
• Daniel Lapin vs. Jozef Jurko, light heavyweights
• Bader Al Samreen vs. Faud Taverdi, super lightweights

Viewing information

• Date: 20 | Location: Jeddah Superdome — Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
• Start time:12 p.m. ET (Main event expected around 5:15 p.m. ET)
• How to watch/stream: DAZ

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 Artur Beterbiev Destroys Joe Smith Jr. in 2 Rounds to become WBC/WBO/IBF Light Heavyweight Champion at the Hula Theater in Madison Square Garden

Robeisy Ramirez KOs Abraham Nova in featherweight co-feature

STORY BY ALEX RINALDI AND JOHN RINALDI

UNDERCARD STORIES BY TOP RANK

NEW YORK (June 18, 2022) — In the year 1979, the southern rock band from Florida known as Molly Hatchet  released their epic and most popular song – Flirtin’ with Disaster.  The song began as follows:

I’m travelin’ down the road
I’m flirtin’ with disaster
I’ve got the pedal to the floor,
My life is running faster…

Interestingly enough, people tend to flirt with disaster in many different ways. Sometimes it is doing daredevil acts or engaging in bad relationships. Sometimes it is risking money on long shots or setting up a pup tent in the middle of a hurricane. In the world of boxing flirting with disaster is now declared as entering the ring against Artur Beterbiev.

As his record indicates, Beterbiev, who bears a striking resemblance to the Kryptonian villain Non played by Jack O’Halloran in the Christpher Reeve Superman and Superman II films,  has a 100% knockout record on his ledger of professional fights. That record is so established that it should be added and carved onto Moses’ tablet of the Ten Commandments.

Frankly, a person has a better chance of surviving a firing squad of machine gun bullets while tied to fence door then going the distance against the now three belt Light Heavyweight Champion Beterbiev.

Unfortunately for the sturdy and rugged WBO Light Heavyweight Champ Joe Smith Jr., he found this out the hard and painful way.

To his credit, Smith is a tough fighter and was a good champion. He is also fearless and packs a big punch of his own as his 22 KO’s indicated. Against Beterbiev, however, he was like the early American revolutionaries against the vast British army – he was outgunned and outmanned. Unlike General George Washington who accepted this fact and fought a war of attrition and eventually bested the formidable British through successful battles of hit and run and retreating when necessary to drain them of their ability to wage war, Smith went straight at Beterbiev.

Sadly for the New York union laborer Smith, little did he know he needed a whip, a chair, and a pistol along with his fists to find success with that game plan.

As result, with less than 44 seconds remaining in round two after suffering two previous knockdowns, he was stopped after receiving one more sledgehammer right hand blow to his left ear. That punch sent him staggering and stumbling to the ropes three sheets to the wind and firmly on the dark side of Queer Street, prompting Harvey Dock to stop the fight there and then.

When the dust settled, WBC/IBF ruler Artur Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs) had defeated Joe Smith Jr. (28-4, 22 KOs) Saturday evening at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden and captured Smith’s title along with the recognition of possibly being one of the premier hitters in boxing today and one step closer to fully unifying the light heavyweight division.

Although Smith started off well in the opening round fighting behind the left jab, with less then five seconds left in the stanza Beterbiev nailed Smith with a clubbing overhand right hand that sent Smith sailing to the canvas. While it was a flash knockdown, it also proved to be a harbinger and a gypsy curse of bad things to come.

With his solid fan base of New York fans and fellow union workers on hand trying to root him on, things only got worse for the Long Island native in the second, as a left hook that landed with the power of an anvil thrown off of the top floor of the Empire State Building, crashed Smith back to the canvas and nearly through the ropes. Like the courageous warrior he is, Smith bravely rose to his feet, but the end was near, actually very near. Like a storm of pure violence, Beterbiev landed another rain of thudding uppercuts, followed by another overhand right hand that left the referee with no other choice but to stop the fight and save the game Smith from further punishment.

“My coach told me it’s not too far until I become a good boxer,” Beterbiev said. “Joe’s a little bit open, and it was more easy for me to get him. Both of us have a good punch, and both tried to connect first. I’m lucky that I was first.”

Sitting at ringside was British contender Anthony Yarde, who may be in line for a shot at Beterbiev this fall, though Beterbiev’s real preference is a unification fight with WBA champion Dmitry Bivol, the same fighter who recently defeated Canelo Alvarez in a torrid points win.

“Unification fights are more interesting, more motivating,” Beterbiev said. “I prefer unification fight. I want to be undisputed.”

Ramirez Topples Nova in Featherweight Co-Feature

Cuban southpaw star Robeisy Ramirez (10-1, 6 KOs) announced his presence as a featherweight contender in a big way with an even bigger left hand. Ramirez knocked out the previously unbeaten Abraham Nova (21-1, 15 KOs) in the fifth round to pick up the USBA and WBO Global belts. Ramirez, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, feinted with a right hand to the body and then came over the top with left that separated Nova from his senses.

Ramirez said, “It was all about the strategy. I’m blessed to work with Ismael Salas, who is a genius in my corner. It really was about setting up that shot. If you watch the fight, it was about working, tapping the body until that opening was created. I knew he was dangerous, so I had to be careful, but when I saw my opening, I took it and I finished the fight.”

In other results:

Featherweight: Bruce Carrington (4-0, 3 KOs) RTD 5 Adrian Leyva (3-3-1, 1 KO). Carrington, the latest fistic prodigy from Brownsville, Brooklyn, authored a power punching clinic that forced Leyva to remain on his stool following the fifth round. He landed 69 of 121 power shots, including 11 of 17 in the fifth round. Leyva entered the fight riding a four-bout unbeaten streak.

Welterweight: Jahi Tucker (8-0, 5 KOs) TKO 4 D’Andre Smith (11-2, 5 KOs), 2:27. Tucker, from Deer Park, New York, thrilled the home region fans with a relentless offensive display that prompted the commission to advise referee Shawn Clark to stop the fight. Tucker buzzed Smith in the second round, but Smith somehow weathered the storm to survive two more rounds.

Junior Featherweight: Floyd Diaz (5-0, 1 KO) UD 6 Daniil Platonovschi (4-1, 2 KOs). Scores: 60-54 2x and 59-55. Diaz cruised to a clear points win in a battle of unbeaten prospects, and he did so with a heavy heart. Earlier Saturday, Diaz’s grandfather, Juan Demetrio Diaz, passed away at the age of 68. Diaz honored his memory with a boxing tour de force.

Middleweight: Troy Isley (6-0, 4 KOs) TKO 6 Donte Stubbs (6-6, 2 KOs), :38. Isley, a U.S. Olympian, became the first man to stop Stubbs in a one-sided power punching display. Isley knocked down Stubbs at the end of the fourth, then ended the fight with a straight right hand early in the sixth. Stubbs rose to his feet on wobbly legs, and referee Charlie Fitch waved it off.

Junior Middleweight: Wendy Toussaint (14-1, 6 KOs) UD 8 Asinia Byfield (15-5-1, 7 KOs). Scores: 79-73 3x.

Junior Middleweight: Jahyae Brown (11-0, 8 KOs) UD 6 Keane McMahon (7-3, 4 KOs). Scores: 60-54 and 58-56 2x.

Photos from Mikey Williams / Top Rank via Getty Images

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Roberto Duran’s take on Canelo Alvarez’s recent points loss to Light Heavyweight Champion Dmitry Bivol

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Former heavyweight king Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder is honored with a bronze statue

Story by John and Alex Rinaldi

May 2022 – Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Years ago shortly before his death, actor Ray Bolger, who portrayed the Scarecrow in the classic 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, was asked whether he received residuals from the endless telecasts of the endearing film, he remarked, “No, just immortality. I’ll settle for that.”

The same goes when individual has a statue erected in one’s honor – they experience a similar sense of immortality.  Former WBC heavyweight king Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder must feel the same way now after a bronze statue of him was unveiled at the Tuscaloosa Riverwalk in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The ceremony was presented by the Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports.

Statues have been erected of Gods, War Heroes, Presidents, and other famous icons, including the Statue of Liberty, for over 45,000 years. In the last century Prize Fighters and famous ring Champions such as Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis, Primo Carnera, Joe Frazier, Randolph Turpin, Larry Holmes, Ingemar Johansson, Roberto Duran, Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield, Jack Johnson, Julio Cesar Chavez, John L. Sullivan, Tony Demarco, Stanley Ketchel, Carmen Basilio, Mike Tyson, Joey Giardello, among others, have been added to those immortalized by the erection of statues in their honor. Now Deontay Wilder can be added to that exclusive list.

The hometown hero Wilder, 36, was on hand with his family and hundreds of fans who showed up to honor the fistic great.

The live-sized 6’ 7” bronze statue of the ex-champion is located outside of the Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports (TTS) building on Jack Warner Parkway. It was sculpted by local artist Caleb O’Connor. Unlike the 220 to 250 pounds that Wilder weighed during his boxing career, the statue’s weight is 830 pounds!

A visibly shaken Wilder said before the crowd in attendance, “For the first time in my life, I’m at a loss for words. This is generational wealth. This is black excellence. This is greatness. This is a monumental moment for me.”

“We are excited to unveil this highly anticipated piece of public art featuring the Bronze Bomber – Tuscaloosa’s world-champion boxer – and created by Caleb O’Connor, who has adopted Tuscaloosa as his home and has created many other beautiful pieces in our city,” said Mayor Walt Maddox.

“Our organization has long supported Deontay Wilder and his journey to becoming a heavyweight champion. We’re proud of his accomplishments and are thrilled the visitor center will be home to this incredible statue,” said Don Staley, president and CEO of TTS. “His championship title has put our community, Deontay’s hometown, on the map and his statue will pay tribute to that.”

Deontay Wilder began his boxing career in Tuscaloosa when he turned 20. In 2007 he won the Golden Gloves competition and took Gold in the U.S. National Championships. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Wilder captured the Bronze medal, which he embraced in his nickname of “The Bronze Bomber” that he used from his first professional fight onward.

On January 17, 2015, Wilder outpointed Bermaine Stiverne over 12 rounds to capture the WBC heavyweight championship.  During his reign of terror, he defended his title ten times, including a 12-round draw over Tyson Fury.

Fury would dethrone Wilder on February 22, 2020, with a 7^th round TKO and in their third battle, Fury KO’d Deontay in the 11^th round on October 9, 2021.  The third fight between Wilder and Fury would go down as one of the greatest heavyweight battles of all time, where both men were brutally battered to the canvas.

Because the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight title holder Anthony Joshua at the time was afraid to face Wilder in a unification fight, most historians regard Wilder as the true heavyweight champion.

Wilder (42-2-1, 41 KO’s) still is not finished with the sport.

“I’ve been highly requested to come back,” Wilder said, “So many people have told me, ‘Come back, come back.’ I’d say I’m back by popular demand. And the business of boxing needs me. When there’s a thriving American champion, there’s nothing like it. When there’s not, you see it’s dead. There’s a drought. People know the difference now. I can’t stop right here. I must continue my journey. I have to, I have to.”

The estimated cost of the statue was over $30,000. The sculptor Caleb O’Connor figured that he worked 12-15-hour days, six days a week, for two-and-a-half months – amounting to nearly 800 hours! The life-size likeness (Wilder is 6-foot-7) required O’Connor to build scaffolding in his Tuscaloosa art studio, from which he fell twice near the end of one particular sculpting marathon.

“Definitely some bruises, and I think I might’ve fractured a rib,” O’Connor said last week. “For a month after that, whenever I coughed or laughed it would hurt. It was almost unbearable. I just sculpted too long into the night.”

All in all, it was a great honor for a proud champion, who may still have some more exciting ring exploits to come.

It appears that Deontay Wilder, like Ray Bolger the Scarecrow before him, has also settled for immortality.

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Jermell Charlo clobbers Brian Castano to become boxing’s first super welterweight champion

 

 

Story by John and Alex Rinaldi

The battle of life is, in most cases, fought uphill; and to win it without a struggle were perhaps to win it without honor. If there were no difficulties there would be no success; if there were nothing to struggle for, there would be nothing to be achieved. –Samuel Smiles

 At the AT&T Center last July 17, Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano engaged in an unmerciful battle where both combatants fought their hearts out. There were numerous occasions where each champion was wobbled and near the precipice of defeat. After twelve grueling rounds, with all the super welterweight titles at stake, the bout was declared a draw.

It was one of the best fights of the year and certainly one that was hard to top – that is until their rematch!

At the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, CA, Jermell “Iron Man” Charlo, of Richmond, TX, entered the rematch wearing the WBA, IBF and WBC super welterweight championship belts, while the previously unbeaten Brian “El Boxi” Castano, of Isidro Casanova, Buenos Aires, Argentina, climbed through the ropes with his WBO super welterweight belt. Both men at 32 are in the peak of their fistic abilities and they gave the fans on hand a clash they would soon not forget.

At the bell, Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KO’s) came out fast and unloaded a plethora of jabs, rights and uppercuts that repeatedly nailed the advancing Castano to his head and midsection. The WBO king Castano, 153 ¾, was moving forward, but by leading with his right crosses, instead of working behind his jab, he left himself an easy mark for the jolting combinations of the WBA/WBC/IBF king Charlo, 152 ¾.

The first three rounds were all Charlo as he battered his opponent with stabbing right hands and hooks to the ribs. While Castano managed to knock his adversary back with crackling right hands to the jaw, he was still woefully getting outpunched. What was surprising was that it was Charlo who wound up being the superior body puncher as he constantly used Castano’s midsection as an archery target.

Castano finally came alive in the fourth round as he began to throw double jabs, which made it easier for him to score with his hard right hands. Though Charlo was stunned by a few of the rights that graced his skull, he never allowed his man to take any bows and he immediately whipped off a fusillade of lefts and rights that had Castano backing away.

The non-stop action continued into Round Five as Charlo had Castano hurt with jarring hooks and rights. Just when it appeared as if the Argentine was in trouble, he stormed back and hammered Charlo with a left hook that sent him into the ropes. Before he could counter back, Charlo was stunned with a smashing right and left hook. Showing his herculean conditioning, Charlo dug in and answered back with a left hook of his own as he punched himself off the ropes and walloped his foe with a right and another left hook. The two then slugged it out with savage fists flying until the bell!

Castano had his best round in the sixth as his jab was sharper. Charlo continued to bang away with his fast left hooks, however, Castano made him pay by countering with blistering right hands that rocked Jermell. Although Castano was scoring well, Charlo never gave him a chance to admire his handiwork as he always fired back with his own weapons of destruction.

Charlo came back in the seventh as he viciously attacked Castano’s body, which was beginning to slow him down. Although uppercuts, jabs and hooks painfully bounced off Castano, he never gave up and attacked at the end of the session and even stunned Charlo once again with right hands.

The next two frames were give-and-take with both men’s legs holding up quite well under the constant assault of leather. The two fought like the proud champions they were as they never gave the other a chance for a brief respite.  

One thing was certain, it was that the concession stands would see little action as very few fans were willing to leave their seats to miss a second of the constant torrid action.

Going into the fateful tenth, Charlo had a commanding lead on two scorecards at 89-82 and 88-83, while one tally had it a little closer at 87-84. Either way it appeared that all Charlo had to do was remain on his feet for the remainder of the contest.  He surely planned to do that, and at the same time was mentally formulating a plan whereby his opponent would not be so lucky. Charlo had no desire to have the fight go to the scorecards. His fists would wind up being the judge, jury and the executioner.

At the sound of the bell for Round 10, Charlo stormed out and blasted away at Castano. A scorching right hand to the body, quickly followed by a left hook to the jaw sent Castano crumbling to the canvas like a bale of hay thrown off the top of a barn.

Referee Jerry Cantu moved in and began counting. Castano bravely rose at “six” and was quickly looked over by Cantu who  permitted the fight to continue.

Immediately, Charlo raced at his wounded prey and unleashed a volley of lefts and rights, that culminated with a smashing left hook to the head and another hook to the ribs. Castano hit the canvas again.

Like the Phoenix, Castano miraculously rose once more, but he was clearly two blocks down the alley from Queer Street as the referee stopped counting at “one” and ended the bout at 2:33 of the tenth round.

“I could see that I was wearing him [Castano] out and was breaking him down,” said Charlo. “I feel like I really accomplished something very, very important, very, very major. Something that’s gonna stand for a long time.”

Castano said afterwards, “He [Charlo] was smarter this time. I felt that I won the first fight, but tonight he caught me and that was it. I feel like I still have a lot to give in boxing. I’m happy with my performance despite the loss. I feel like there’s a big room for corrections and improvements with my boxing.”

The difference between the two battles was that Charlo was just in such incredible condition. He never took a round off and kept on unloading bombs all night.  To his credit, Castano took some mighty shots, but eventually his body collapsed under the weight of the relentless exploding leather fists of Charlo.

Going into the fight, Charlo was the -210 favorite and guaranteed $1 million and will probably wind up with nearly $3 million after the PPV and live gate revenue are added.  As for Castano, he was guaranteed $350,000 and will earn nearly $650,000 once the dust settles.

“I’m durable,” remarked Charlo. I was going all 12, and unfortunately for Castano, my power got stronger by the rounds. This is legacy. This is something that is legendary. I’m a legend. I knew Castano was going to give it his all. I knew I had trained very, very hard, but you all can see that I came in at 152 pounds because I was really in shape, and I wanted to make sure that this was my fight. I listened to my corner this time. I got in my bag around the seventh round. I started sitting down a little bit more instead of boxing so much and moving around. I saw that he was wearing down a little bit and I was breaking him down. I just saw my punches being more effective. I get stronger in the later rounds if they didn’t know.”

That is the type of fighter that is hard to beat today. Charlo is a throwback to the great 154-pounders of the past.

Next up for Charlo may be the WBO’s top rated contender Tim Tszyu.

The Charlo-Castano rematch was a ratings bonanza for the Showtime Network, which had its highest ratings in three years with an audience of 886,000 from its channel and streaming service.

The great sport of boxing is on a major upswing as fighters are going after unification bouts with all four titles at stake.  If Charlo stays in the weight class and defends his laurels on a regular basis, he will soon punch himself into the superstar status.

Photos courtesy of Showtime

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PHOTO FLASHBACK

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FIGHTERS TRAINING AND FIGHT GALLERY PAGE

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Jack Johnson and Joe Choynski in jail after their historic fight

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CLICK PHOTO TO GO TO USA BOXING NEWS FAMOUS BOXING QUOTES PAGE

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Alexis Arguello

Former Featherweight, Super-Featherweight and Lightweight Champion

By John and Alex Rinaldi

 

CLICK THE PHOTO TO READ THE EXPLOSIVE INTERVIEW OF THE LATE GREAT ALEXIS ARGUELLO

 

CLICK PHOTO TO READ STORY

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ROBERTO DURAN

Manos de Piedra

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Boxing News Stories and Press Releases from

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The Evander Holyfield statue is a monumental statue of legendary former undisputed Heavyweight Champion and Undisputed Cruiserweight Champion  Evander Holyfield, located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.

The statue was designed by sculptor Brian Hanlon and unveiled in front of State Farm Arena on June 25, 2021. The $90,000 cost of the statue was part of a $4.4 million investment in public art in Downtown, Midtown, and Southwest Atlanta.

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RECENT FLASHBACK

TYSON FURY THE BEST HEAVYWEIGHT ON THE PLANET

Tyson Fury KO’s Deontay Wilder in Terrific Trilogy Triumph

In one of the greatest and most exciting ring battles in the colorful history of the heavyweights, Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury retained his heavyweight championship in a devastating fashion after stopping the gallant Deontay Wilder in eleven rounds, before a packed crowd in the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas

In doing so he has cemented himself firmly as the lone sentinel atop the Mt. Everest of the heavyweight division.

Prior to the bout, former WBC Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder declared, “I want payback back in blood.  I will get my revenge. It’s an eye for an eye.”

Remarkably, after nearly eleven slam-down rounds, Wilder almost got that “eye for an eye” especially in the fourth round when he crashed Tyson Fury twice to the canvas, only to have him survive and KO the brave challenger six rounds later.

Wilder entered the ring wearing a mask, a strange headpiece, and a tooth-like and claw necklace, looking very much like a sinister witch doctor hell bent on delivering his foe an evil brew of rights and lefts.

Fury, meanwhile waited in his dressing room listening to the band Lynyrd Skynyrd’ss rendition of their classic rock song Sweet Home Alabama. Considering that it is Wilder who hails from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, not Fury, who happens to hail from Manchester, England, the song might have been a poke to Deontay that he would soon be resting in a grave under the ground there.

Like all things in life, the end justifies the means, and in this case Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs) scored three knockdowns in all, the final two in the eleventh frame which closed the curtain on Wilder’s gutsy challenge, in front of a loud and frenzy crowd of 15,820.

 
“Like the great John Wayne said, iron and steel, baby,” Fury said. “I give God the glory for the victory. [Wilder] is a tough man. He took some big shots tonight. And I want to say that if it wasn’t for Sugar Hill, America and Detroit’s own, I wouldn’t have gotten through that fight tonight.  He said, ‘get your jab working, big guy, and throw that right hand down the middle.  That’s how the big dogs do it,’ so that’s what I did.”
 
As for Wilder, his effort should also be cheered.

“I did my best, but it wasn’t good enough,” said Wilder afterwards. “I’m not sure what happened. I know that in training he did certain things, and I also knew that he didn’t come in at 277 to be a ballet dancer. He came to lean on me, try to rough me up and he succeeded.”

Wilder began the fight well throwing jabs and rights to the target-like body of Fury and combinations to the head. Fury responded with hard right crosses along with short lefts and uppercuts to the challenger’s skull.

Then came round three.

In third round, the action came to a boiling point when Fury unleashed a powerful right that sent Wilder sailing to the canvas, like a kite unleashed in a violent storm.

Courageously, the game puncher from the American South rose to his feet, and managed to survive the follow-up blows until the bell rang seconds later.
 
Sensing that Wilder (42-2-1, 41 KOs) was on unsteady legs, in the fourth round Fury went after the former champ like a predator to end matters there and then.

Punch after Fury punch landed on the former champion as the crowd was gearing up for a funeral parade in the aisles when all of a sudden, like the legendary fighters of the past, the “Bronze Bomber” exploded with a terrific short right followed by another sledge hammer overhand right, that sent Fury smashing to the canvas like a sunken British warship .

Bravely, like Wilder the round before, Fury made it to his feet only to be knocked down again after another Wilder fusillade floored the Brit for the second time in the round. Down for the count of “nine” the bell rang seconds after he got up to spare the champion from Wilder’s hangman’s noose of punches.
 
Wilder started strong in the fifth, blasting Fury with more crippling rights. The “Gypsy King” maintained his composure, digging to the body in close quarters.
 
Unfortunately for Wilder, Fury appeared to wither the storm, while the challenger started to appear hurt and tired.

Possibly due to Fury’s body shots as well as his constant pressure and leaning on Wilder, the challenger began to quickly slow down.

While Wilder continued to land hard rights, Fury dropped him for the send time in the tenth the – courtesy of another wrecking ball right hand.

To his credit, and as a testament to his supreme courage, Wilder, like the great fighter he is, rose and survived the brutal stanza.

Sadly for him, the survival would be short-lived since Fury was hell bent on finishing off Wilder before the former champ could land one of his thunderous right hands of destruction of his own.

In the first and eventually last minute of the eleventh round, Fury clocked Wilder with another nuclear right to the temple that looked to knock Wilder somewhere between the clouds and the wild blue yonder.

Referee Russell Mora mercifully rescued the brave warrior, ending the fight at 1:10 of the round.

“It was a great fight tonight, as good as any trilogy in history,” said Fury. “October 9, 2021, will go down in history, I hope. I always said I was the best in the world and he was the second-best. Don’t ever doubt me.  When the chips are down, I will always deliver.”

After the fight, Fury went over to Wilder and attempted to shake his hand. Wilder rebuffed the attempt and refused to acknowledge him. In his post-fight interview, Fury stated “I’m a sportsman. I went over to him to show some love and respect and he didn’t show it back. I will pray for him so that God will soften his heart.” Fury then added that it “was a great fight tonight, worthy of the best of trilogies.”

Praise for the fight was immediate and profuse, with many describing it as one of the best heavyweight bouts in history. Promoter Bob Arum stated he had “never seen a heavyweight fight as magnificent as this” during his 57-year career in boxing.

For his work, Fury received a $10 million guaranteed plus share of PPV revenue depending on PPV buys numbers. Set to clear between $12 to 15 million; while  Wilder pocketed a $8 million guarantee plus share of PPV revenue, which might clear him between $10 to $12 million.

With a fourth Fury-Wilder fight off the table, Fury can target the winner of the rematch between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk, the surprise winner of their bout late last month. In theory, within 12 months, the heavyweight division could have a single champion.

Wilder, for his part, could regroup and take some tuneup fights, or he could make big-money matches in the aftermath of the Joshua-Usyk-Fury round-robin. The main point, for Fury, Wilder and fans, is that options abound for entertaining, high-stakes fights.

“Boxing is big, and boxing is back,” Javan Hill, Fury’s trainer, said at the news conference. “The heavyweight division is flourishing.”

The Undercard

Sanchez KO’s Ajagba

In the co-main event battle between two unbeaten heavyweights, Frank Sanchez (19-0, 13 KOs) scored one knockdown on his way to a comfortable, 10-round unanimous decision win over Efe Ajagba.
 
Sanchez used his superior boxing skills to keep the hard-hitting Ajagba (15-1, 12 KOs) off-balance for the entire fight. The “Cuban Flash” displayed his power as well, flooring Ajagba with a hard right in the seventh. A follow-up left hook which landed a tick after Ajagba’s knee hit the canvas.

Ajagba made it to his feet and survived the round but never seriously threatened on his way to the first defeat of his career.

Sanchez said, “I knew I was going to win all the rounds because I’m much better than him technically. I knew that if I connected, he would fall and he did fall. My game plan was always to frustrate him and go in for the attack.”

Helenius Stops Kownacki

Robert Helenius was even better against Adam Kownacki this time. In a rematch of their March 2020 slugfest which Helenius won via fourth-round TKO, Helenius battered Kownacki throughout to induce a stoppage at 2:38 of the sixth round. 
 
“I expected [this win] because, what does he have?” Helenius said. “Don’t get me wrong. He’s a good brawler, but I’ve been fighting brawlers for 20 years. I know how to deal with them, even if they are hitting me low or behind the head. That doesn’t bother me.”

Helenius used his height and length to box in the first, working the jab up and downstairs and briefly buckling Kownacki with a right toward the end of the stanza. 
 
Kownacki came alive in the second and third, throwing punches in bunches but earned a warning for two low blows that sank Helenius to his knees. The “Nordic Nightmare” took over from that point on, bloodying Kownacki’s nose and closing his left eye with thudding power shots. 
 
The steady hammering continued until the sixth, when Kownacki landing another low blow. Referee Celestino Ruiz examined Kownacki as he warned him and decide to halt the action. 
 
“Right now, I want to go home to my family,” Helenius said. “I’ve been away from them for four weeks. Then we can worry about what’s next.”

Anderson KOs Tereshkin

Jared “Big Baby” Anderson 10-0 (10 KOs) continued his rapid rise up the heavyweight ranks, stopping veteran Vladimir Tereshkin (22-1-1, 12 KOs) at 2:51 of the second round.
 
“I was a little anxious in the opening round,” Anderson said. “My first pay-per-view card and all that. But I settled in and gave a great performance. I practiced what my coaches preached. On to the next one.”
 
Anderson dominated from the opening bell, landing at will. In the second, a series of well-placed power shots drove Tereshkin toward the ropes where Anderson unloaded on his defenseless opponent until referee Kenny Bayless mercifully stopped the fight.
 
“I got great work in the gym with Tyson Fury,” Anderson said. “Iron sharpens iron. Shout out to Toledo, my home. I hope I made the fans back home proud.”

In other action:

Rising super middleweight Edgar Berlanga (18-0, 16 KOs) survived the first knockdown of his career to remain unbeaten, winning a 10-round unanimous decision over Marcelo Esteban Coceres (30-3-1, 16 KOs).
 
Berlanga controlled the first half of the bout, flashing his prodigious power which ultimately closed Coceres’ right eye shut. Coceres began opening up in the sixth, catching Berlanga with a stiff left hook. He continued to enjoy pockets of success despite being outgunned.
 
Coceres’ best moment came in the ninth, when he countered a Berlanga left with a beautiful overhand right. Berlanga crashed to the canvas but the Brooklyn, New York gamely rose to his feet, pressing the action until bout’s end.
 
Rugged southpaw Vladimir Hernández (13-4, 6 KOs) registered the finest victory of his career, outworking former unified super welterweight world champion Julian “J-Rock” Williams (27-3-1, 16 KOs) to win a 10-round split decision. 
 
Hernández won on two cards by scores of 97-93 and 96-94 respectively while a third card read 96-94 for Williams.
 
Williams got off to a strong start, countering the aggressive Hernández with well-timed counters and opening a cut over his right eye. Hernández never stopped coming forward, utilizing a dedicated body attack to gradually wear down. The non-stop assault culminated in a big 10^th round for Hernández, who rocked Williams with a straight left that frame. The round was the margin of victory for Hernández. 

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Robeisy “El Tren” Ramirez (8-1, 4 KOs) picked up the most significant win of his young career, using his southpaw stance to befuddle the previously undefeated Orlando “Capu” Gonzalez (17-1, 10 KOs) over 10 rounds in a featherweight contest. Scores were 99-91 2x and 97-93.  

Featherweight prospect Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington had a spotless professional debut, shutting out Texas native Cesar Cantu (3-2, 1 KO) by identical scores of 40-36.

Heavyweight upstart Viktor Faust (8-0, 6 KOs) knocked down Mike Marshall (6-2-1, 4 KOs) twice  and finished off the Connecticut native in the third round.

(Photos by Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing )

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Boxing News Interviews with Legendary Fighters

Marvelous Marvin Hagler

Former World Middleweight Champion

By John and Alex Rinaldi

CLICK PHOTO TO READ MARVELOUS MARVIN HAGLER’S ACCOUNTS OF THE GREATEST FIGHTS OF HIS CAREER, INCLUDING HIS HISTORIC BOUTS WITH HIS FELLOW LEGENDS ROBERTO DURAN, THOMAS “HITMAN” HEARNS AND SUGAR RAY LEONARD

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Former Undisputed Middleweight Champion, Icon, and Ring Legend Marvelous Marvin Hagler passes away at age 66

By Alex and John Rinaldi

It is a sad day in the world of sports – the great Marvelous Marvin Hagler passed away. He was 66 years old.

Hagler’s wife, Kay, confirmed the news saying, “I am sorry to make a very sad announcement. Today unfortunately my beloved husband Marvelous Marvin passed away unexpectedly at his home here in New Hampshire.”

In a life that saw him rise from the depths of despair, poverty, and violence, Hagler emerged as one of the most iconic and feared middleweight champions of all time, and eventually became a living legend and one of The Four Kings alongside Roberto Duran, Thomas “Hitman” Hearns, and Sugar Ray Leonard.

Of the Legends, Hagler would later say, “The likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, and Tommy Hearns were true champions. There were some incredible fights between us, and I was happy to give them all an opportunity to fight me.”

The four of them, also collectively known as the Four Legends, were astonishingly coined that moniker while they were all still active fighters and dangerous adversaries of each other.

As with the Mercury Seven Astronauts who started America’s Space Program, the Four Legends also carried in their soul and being the same “right stuff” that would transcend them to greatness; and within time, the Legends, like the Astronauts,  would all eventually stake their own claim to the stars.

Unlike many charmed athletes in less dangerous sports, Hagler and his fellow Legends earned their bones the hard way – they all came, they all went, and they all conquered. They also captured the hearts and minds of a generation of sports enthusiasts who reveled in their sheer strength, tenacity, conditioning, punching power, boxing acumen, and, most of all,  the ability to violently knock out anyone who stood in their way.

They also brought the big purse money down to the lower weights in a manner that was never seen before. It was as if four supermen of Krypton landed on Earth and became boxers.

While the fictional Cark Kent found Metropolis, a young Marvin Hagler, after the violent and deadly Newark, New Jersey riots of 1967, made his way to Brockton, Massachusetts.

After acclimating to New England, in 1969 Hagler took up boxing after walking into a gym owned by brothers Pat and Goody Petronelli, who soon became his lifelong trainers and managers.

So great was his natural talent that in 1973, only four years since putting on a pair of boxing gloves, Hagler would win the National AAU 165-pound title.

It would be the beginning of a ride that would take him to heights where few men had gone before or after; and by the end of his career, he would engage in some of the most memorable fights ever seen in the colorful history of boxing. 

But before all that happened, he first had to get noticed by the boxing powers that be.

For a long while, Hagler had difficulty finding high-profile opponents willing to face him. He even had a chance meeting with former Heavyweight Champion and ring great Smokin’ Joe Frazier who told Hagler frankly, ‘You have three strikes against you, you’re black, you’re a southpaw, and you’re good.”

Fortunately, besides his advice,  Frazier also offered Hagler on two weeks’ notice, an opportunity to fight Willie “The Worm” Monroe, who was being trained by Frazier. Though Hagler lost the decision, the fight was very close and Monroe agreed to give Marvin a second match. In the rematch, Hagler knocked out Monroe in 12 rounds. He then later TKO’d The Worm in two rounds in their third and final bout.

Hagler’s fortunes picked up even more when the famed promoter Bob Arum signed him up after Marvin’s ten round decision win over top contender ‘Bad’ Bennie Briscoe in 1978.

This would turn out to be the major break in his career.

One year and six fights later, Hagler was finally offered a shot at the Middleweight Champion Vito Antuofermo on November 30, 1979. After fifteen grueling rounds, the fight was ultimately declared a draw and Vito retained his title.

Hagler, disappointed, but nonplussed, won his next three fights –  two by knockout. This securely placed him once again as the number one ranked middleweight contender.

Since he was the top contender, he automatically earned a crack at then current Middleweight Champion Alan Minter who recently defeated Antuofermo for the title.

In front of a sold-out crowd of Minter fans at the Wembley Arena in London, Marvin decimated Minter in three rounds to become the undisputed Middleweight Champion of the World. So upset was the crowd that they pelted Hagler with bottles and debris forcing him and his handlers out of the ring in fear of their lives. Though he was not awarded his title belt on the spot in the ring, with the win and the new title, Hagler would immediately change the entire landscape of the Middleweight division. Under his tenure, the middleweights would go from a relatively unpopular division to a huge marquee name division.

Hagler, like many great fighters before him, trained very hard for his fights. He also  had a an usual training regimen.  He would set up his training on Cape Cod and stay in motels that had closed for the winter. For his “road work” he would often wear actual army boots, calling running shoes “sissy shoes.” As Hagler said, “You’re supposed to seclude yourself. All the great champions did the same. Rocky Marciano, Muhammad Ali up on his mountain at Deer Lake. They put themselves in jail. I put myself in jail….Every fighter has got be dedicated, learn how to sacrifice, know what the devotion is all about, make sure you’re paying attention and studying your art.”

With the undisputed Middleweight title in hand, Hagler defended his crown successfully seven times, all wins coming by way of stoppage. Suffice to say, at that juncture of his career, Marvelous Marvin appeared totally invincible.

Then he made a decision that would eventually place him at the table to the join the Gods of the sport – he decided to defend his title against the iconic three-division World Champion Roberto “Manos de Piedra” Duran, who was the then reigning WBA Junior Middleweight Champion on November 10, 1983 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

In a bout that turned out to be an exciting, close,  back and forth fight, Roberto Durán was not only the first challenger to last the distance with Hagler in a world-championship bout, but against all odds, he was also winning the fight going into the 14^th round.  Duran was ahead by one point on two scorecards and even on the third. Fortunately for Hagler, with his left eye swollen and cut, and with Duran sporting a broken right hand, Marvelous Marvin was able to come on strong in the last two rounds to win the fight on a razor close fifteen round decision.

Because of the closeness of the outcome, the Duran fight like a Genie wish, opened the door for the other two Legends, Thomas Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard to walk through. As fate would have it, the three fights with these three legends would ultimately change the course of Hagler’s championship reign, as well as his place in boxing history.

After winning two more title defenses by KO, Hagler took on the dangerous Thomas “Hitman” Hearns on April 15, 1985 in Las Vegas, in a bout  billed simply as “The Fight” (then later “The War”) and it lived up to both of its titles.

As if a fuse was ignited, at the sound of the bell for one, fireworks flew as Thomas Hearns went after Hagler throwing a volley of hard and dangerous punches in an all-out offensive to knock Marvin out. Though Hagler fired back punch for punch, within minutes into the bout, Hearns stunned the champion and opened a cut on Hagler’s head that soon drenched his face in a bloody crimson mask. This give and take, furious fast-paced punching continued in round two as blood began to flow like a river down Hagler’s face. Fearing the referee might stop the fight, in round three Hagler tagged Hearns with a terrific four punch combination culminating with a left to the jaw that dropped Hearns to the canvas, causing the referee to stop the fight when Hearns rose and appeared unable to continue.

“Tommy’s a good fighter,” Hagler said afterward, “but he’s cocky. I had something for him.”

Though the fight lasted only lasted eight minutes, it is widely  regarded as a boxing classic and one of the greatest fight of all-time. It would also turn out to be Hagler’s crowning achievement in the ring.

As fight commentator Al Michaels said, “It didn’t go very far, but it was a beauty!”

And a beauty it was.

Hagler agreed. “A champion shows who he is by what he does when he’s tested,” remarked Marvelous Marvin. “ When a person gets up and says ‘I can still do it’, he’s a champion. If they cut my bald head open, they will find one big boxing glove. That’s all I am. I live it.”

Two fights later, Hagler took on the third Legend –  Sugar Ray Leonard on April 6, 1987 in Las Vegas.

Billed as the Super Fight, Hagler battled Leonard in an exciting head to head contest for twelve punch-laden rounds with Leonard winning slightly by way of a split decision – a ruling that Hagler would forever disagree with.

Leonard won much of the early going, especially the first four rounds when Hagler fought righty instead of his natural southpaw stance. After he switched back to southpaw, Hagler then came on in the later rounds. The problem for Hagler was that he agreed to a large ring and only twelve rounds, when fifteen rounds were still being fought. Both pre-fight decisions would subsequently cost him greatly.

Two official ringside judges scored it for Leonard –  JoJo Guerra  scored 118-110 and Judge Dave Moretti scored it 115-113: Meanwhile, the third judge Lou Filippo, scored it 115-113 for Hagler.

“I feel in my heart I’m still the champ,” Hagler had said after losing his title to Leonard. “I really hate the fact that they took it from me, and gave it to, of all people, Sugar Ray Leonard. He is a phony. He’s been protected all his life. Besides, if he hadn’t become a boxer, he could have done other things. Me? I had nowhere else to go.”

Although the decision was disputed, Leonard refused to grant Hagler an immediate rematch, and Hagler retired a year later. He never fought again.Overall, Hagler made twelve undefeated title defenses and holds the highest KO% of all undisputed middleweight champions at 78%. Additionally, his reign of six years and seven months as undisputed middleweight champion is the second longest of the last century, behind only Tony Zale, who reigned during WWII.

Hearing of the news of Hagler’s passing, promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank said, “Marvelous Marvin Hagler was among the greatest athletes that Top Rank ever promoted. He was a man of honor and a man of his word, and he performed in the ring with unparalleled determination. He was a true athlete and a true man. I will miss him greatly.”

After the loss to Leonard, Hagler eventually moved to Italy, where he became a well-known action star in films. His roles include a US Marine in the films Indio and Indio 2. In 1996, he also starred alongside Giselle Blondet in Virtual Weapon.

Among his accolades, Hagler was a first rung Boxing Hall of Famer as well as was voted the Fighter of the Decade of the 1980’s.

As for his fights, Marvelous Marvin Hagler later declared to The USA Boxing News that Roberto Duran was his toughest opponent. He also revealed that his battle with Thomas Hearns was the match that he was able to finally prove his greatness in.

(On a PERSONAL NOTE, Hagler was always friendly with us and was also a big fan of The USA Boxing News. He even granted us one of the few detailed interviews of his career.)

Hagler died leaving behind his second wife Kaye and five children and an estate reportedly valued in the millions.

Marvelous Marvin Hagler was one of those fighters that everyone took notice of. He never ventured a step backward and trained like a machine gearing up for battle. He was relentless, punishing, exciting, and sought to destroy his opponent in every single fight.

He was one of the greatest fighters who ever laced on a pair of gloves and he will live forever in boxing lore, as well as in the thoughts of his millions of fans.

He will be missed greatly. He was an honor to his sport, his family, and to his country.

He was also true to his code, he was a battler who never gave up, and in the end he and his career lived up to the name he will forever be known for – MARVELOUS.

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Canelo Alvarez stops unheralded and unworthy challenger Avni Yildirim in 3

-An Editorial-

Story by Ron John Rinaldi

February 27 – Miami Gardens, Florida. Canelo Alvarez has proved once again that he is a steamroller in the sport of boxing as he successfully defended his super middleweight titles before 15,000 fight fans in attendance at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. In an all-out offensive display of power punches and overall ring generalship, Canelo landed virtually every punch in his arsenal at the body and head of the listless and hapless challenger Avni Yildirim, from Istanbul, Turkey, who offered virtually no offense at all.

Yildirim fought with the ferocity of a nervous bride and the courage of a lamb, which would have served him well had he been a majorette or a baton twirler. Unfortunately for all, since he happened to be a reported top contender, who earned around $2.5 million for his challenge, there was simply no excuse for his performance or lack thereof.

Inactive since Feb. 2019, Yildirim (21-3, 12 KO’s) landed the title shot against Alvarez after the WBC designated him mandatory challenger, after losing a disputed split-decision loss against Anthony Dirrell on a technicality regarding an early stoppage due to cuts. Considering that in that last match Yildirim put up a pretty good showing of himself, one wonders whether he also used up all his guts in that bout; and a year later his basket of courage seemed to be totally empty.

Alvarez and Yildirim both weighed 167 pounds, a pound under the super-middleweight limit. But it did not matter, for the weight was the only thing the boxers actually shared in common.

Alvarez, who earned approximately $20 million for the bout, entered the fight as a -6000 favorite, according to Caesars Sportsbook. Though after seeing the fight, even those odds seemed to have been quite over generous to the challenger.

In the first two rounds, Canelo landed with thudding left hooks and right hands to the jaw and body of the timid Turkish contender. For some reason, nearly ever punch landed as if Yildirim was holding up a green traffic light.

In the third round things got even worse for the challenger. With a little over two minutes left in the round, Canelo connected with a left jab-straight right combination that landed on the bulls eye of Yildirim’s chin and knocked him immediately and suddenly to the canvas. Although he did rise, somewhere deep in his psyche he must have saw a glimpse of his future, which would have been him eventually re-establishing his friendship with the canvas wrapped in a blanket of blood and pain.

Between rounds, trainer Joel Diaz pleaded with Yildirim to show more after the lackluster three rounds.

“I’m going to give you one more f—ing round,” Diaz told Yildirim in the corner.

Why he ever said that to a fighter who earned such a large purse and was fighting for a world title, seemed to be not only odd and disingenuous, but also successfully gave his charge a easy way out through the exit door, while disregarding the feelings and the expectations of the live crowd both in attendance as well as those who paid for it on PPV, all of whom expected to see a real fight – not a coward’s carnival.

Besides the trainer, right before round four was to begin, another member of Yildirim’s corner went up to the apron and asked for the fight to be stopped, though there were nine rounds left to go in the fight.

Although the challenger did not look a bit hurt, Yildirim’s corner surprisingly, like a Women’s Temperance Society during Prohibition, threw in the towel at the end of the third round, for no real reason besides their apparent desire to embrace the secret cult of the Chicken Hearted.

With the win, Alvarez (55-1-2, 37 Kos) picked up a TKO victory to retain his WBC and WBA super middleweight belts.

“I wanted to have a great fight here,” Alvarez, speaking through an interpreter, told the crowd, which was capped at 15,000 because of COVID-19 restrictions. “I needed to knock him out, and that’s what I did. That’s what I had to do.”

According to CompuBox stats, the fight was as lopsided as it looked. Alvarez out landed Yildirim 67-11, including a 58-4 edge in power punches. In the third round, Alvarez threw 53 power punches as if he was fighting a gym heavy bag with a pulse.

Alvarez picked up his second victory in three months and retained two of the four belts in the 168-pound division.

The fight was the first of what Alvarez hopes will be a productive year seeking unification fights. Alvarez will next fight Billy Joe Saunders, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) titleholder on May 8 for Cinco de Mayo. Caleb Plant holds the IBF title – the fourth sanctioning body belt.

Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs) has held the WBO super middleweight belt since he beat Shefat Isufi in May 2019.

“I want to make history,” Alvarez said in the post-fight interview. “I want to be one of the best in the world.”

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Unbeaten Caleb Plant overwhelms challenger Caleb Truax to retain IBF Super Middleweight Title

By Alex and John Rinaldi

January 30 – Los Angeles, CA. In a great shutout performance, world champion Caleb Plant retained his IBF super middleweight title with a unanimous one-sided decision win over challenger and former champion Caleb Truax.

The fact they were fighting at the Shrine Auditorium in the Expo Hall could not be more fitting, since without having any fans on hand it was as silent as a morgue on a Saturday night.

That is the problem when there are no fans on hand – the fighters cannot get juiced up by the crowd.

Imagine Muhammad Ali fighting George Foreman in Zaire in 1974 and there was no one chanting “ALI, ALI, ALI” non-stop for the entire fight.

To his credit, the tough Caleb Plant, 167 ½, went after the challenger Caleb Truax, 167 ¾, right from the opening bell. In an impressive display of fast hands and combinations to the head and body, Plant, of Nashville, Tennessee, pasted Truax who was intent to plod forward throwing less punches than the corner florist.

When the hard rock group Metallica sang the following words from their song Enter Sandman:

Exit light
Enter night
Take my hand
We’re off to Never Neverland

They must have been referring to Truax who, with his trance-like performance, seemed to whisper himself off to a sleepy place in Neverland.

Plant, meanwhile did what he could, which was quite a lot. He constantly speared Truax’s face with the jab, so much so that it appeared that there was a strange magnetic pull that constantly slammed Plant’s gloved fist consistently into Truax’s chin.

The problem was, that for some uncanny reason, especially since he was a former champion with a pretty big punch as proven by his 19 KO’s coming into the fight, Truax, of Osseo, Minnesota,  never upped the aggression past that of a one-legged goat. Maybe it was due to Plant’s spectacular swiftness, both with his hands and feet, particularly when he employed frequent side to side movement that tended to baffle the challenger.

With big fights looming on the horizon against the likes of fellow title holders Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders, Plant dryly remarked before the fight that he had “everything to lose,” probably referring to losing those huge paydays if he actually lost the fight.

Well, lose he did not. Instead he did the boxer’s version of throwing a no-hitter by shutting out Truax for twelve rounds as all three judges scored it for the Tennessean Plant by score of 120-108.

But three cheers for Plant. He came, he went, and he conquered.

Although he entered into the bout a betting favorite of -2500 to Truax at +1000, Plant fought very much like the gifted champion he is. People in Nashville probably scored big on the bets, every single one of them probably going for their hometown star.

After a quick first round, Plant began to unleash some real power in round two doubling up with the left hook to the head and body; and occasionally landing a left hook-uppercut that knocked Truax’s head back so far it appeared as if the challengers head was connected to his neck by a hinge.

By round four,  the damage was starting to show on Truax’s face as blood began to paint his face in a dark shade of crimson as if Plant dipped his gloves into a red inkwell.

While Truax did pick up the pace a little in round eight, merely going from first gear to a still slow second gear, it simply was not enough to turn the tide in the fight, and it never did.

By the fight’s end even the church mice in attendance all thought that Plant won big as he increased his record to a still undefeated 21-0 (12 KO’s).

With the loss Truax dropped to (31-5-2, 19 KO).

Plant said afterward that he hurt his hand early in the fight, causing him to be “a little hesitant at times,” but overall he was pleased with his performance.

“I want to become the first undisputed super middleweight champion of all time,” said Plant, who has his eyes on a potential May bout between titleholders Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders. “Whoever is in the way of that doesn’t matter…I feel that I’m the best super middleweight in the world,” boasted Plant.

The question is “who is next”.

The winner of an Alvarez-Saunders fight would make the grand slam opponent, since big dollars will shower both Plant and Alvarez.  It would also become a complete unification title fight, since Alvarez owns both the WBA and WBC belts, while Saunders is the WBO titleholder

Of course Alvarez still needs to first defeat Avni Yildirim on Feb. 27.

With these tough fighters on the perch of the division, the super middleweight matchups just got a lot more exciting.

In a co-main event featuring heavyweights, Michael Coffie (12-0, 9 KO) landed a jarring left uppercut to knock Darmani Rock (17-1, 12 KO) down for the first time in the third round. Rock got up after a 9-count, and then seconds later Coffie landed a left hook to Rock’s head, knocking him down for a second time and ending the fight.

On the undercard, undefeated 20-year-old Joey Spencer (12-0, 9 KO) knocked out Isiah Seldon (14-4-1) in the first round of a middleweight fight, sending him twice to canvas.

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Terence Crawford demolishes former Champ Kell Brook to retain WBO Welterweight Title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas

By Alex and John Rinaldi

LAS VEGAS —  It is common knowledge that the state of Nebraska’s most widely known and grown crop is corn, which is used to feed livestock and poultry, as well as make the industrial chemical known as ethanol.

After the corn is grown and harvested – the next most important part of the process is the husking of corn, which is the removal of its outer leafy-like layers leaving remaining only the cob or seed rack of the corn. This husking is not only part of the process, it also becomes a communal ritual in some parts of the state.

That is why the University of Nebraska football team is famously known as the Cornhuskers.

It is equally well known that the WBO Welterweight Champion Terence Crawford also happens to hail from Nebraska.

But make no mistake about it, the closest Crawford  will ever come to being a Cornhusker is when his fists crash through his opponents’ layers of defense with the goal of turning their battered, smashed faces into cornbread.

And like the Grim Reaper the only thing Crawford is reaping lately is pain and destruction.

Defending his WBO welterweight title for the fourth time, on November 14, Crawford knew that his opponent was not some undeserving or unqualified challenger. Instead staring at him from the other side of the ring stood Kell Brook, from Sheffield England, who had previously won the IBF welterweight title from Shawn Porter in 2014, then defended it successfully three times until losing it to Errol Spence three years later in 2017.

Brook, 147,  also had three things going for him: One, lack of fear of any man; Two,  the skills and desire to win back the welterweight title, and, Three,  knockout powered fists that caused 27 men in his 39 wins to never hear the sound of the final bell.

Besides that, the Brit looked be chiseled out of the same Brimham Rocks found near his hometown of Sheffield. In short, he looked to be in wonderful condition and ready to take on his American adversary.

Though the odds makers had him a +1100 chance to win, by fight time, when the English money finally made its way to the Las Vegas Strip, the odds in Brook’s favor increased to +700.

As for Crawford, 146.4, who entered the ring at odds of -225 to retain his title by knockout, and wearing black trunks with gold trim, he had one thing on his mind – a mission as old as the wars of men and might, to seek and annihilate his challenger before the bell tolled 12.

A few minutes later, when the bell rang loud in the near COVID deserted MGM Bubble, Brook started the fight confident behind left jabs and rights to the head and body.  When Crawford, a natural southpaw, came out initially as a righty, Brook took advantage of this to score often with the left jab.

In round two, Terence switched back to lefty and began landing some hard right jabs and combinations. Brook, meanwhile, connected well with straight rights to attack Crawford’s southpaw stance and even managed to pull out of his arsenal an uppercut or two.

The give and take continued in round three, when Brook, wearing white trunks with blue and red trim, continued throwing punches to Crawford’s head and midsection. This time the champion began to pick up the pace, and even stunned Brook with a hard right to the chin near the round’s end.

That right hand punch would prove to be a harbinger of things to come, and like a firestorm tearing up a prairie, it would soon spell doom to anyone in its path.

For the challenger Brook, that doom came for him in round four.

After a fairly close beginning of the round, at around the 2:17 mark, Brook went to throw a left jab…then it happened.

Like meteor on target to strike planet Earth, Crawford countered over the left with a right cross that collided with Brook’s jaw and crushed it as if struck by a cinder block thrown off the top of a farm silo.

Immediately Brook, who never actually saw the punch coming or landing, flew across the ring and into the ropes. Though the ropes at first appeared to be protecting him from falling to the canvas, at the same time it also trapped him like a spider’s web.  

Seeing Brook helpless and hurt, Crawford pounced on him with a hard flurry of punches until the referee Tony Weeks interceded to give the British challenger a merciful eight count.

With his eyes still rolling in his head like gumballs, and his face taking on the gray mask of a man about to take the long walk down the hall to the electric chair, Brook bravely continued the fight.

Unfortunately for Brook, Crawford not only wanted to continue the fight – he also wanted to end it.

And end it he did.

His punches shot out like bullets from a Tommy Gun, consisting of a right to the head, followed by three jarring left hooks, culminating with one final right hand that put Brook somewhere between an ether forced sleep and the curved resting bench of a guillotine.

Thankfully Weeks saw enough and jumped in to save both Brook and his career in the fight game.

The time of the stoppage was 1:14 of round four.

Although Brook (39-3, 27 KOs) was leading on two of three judges’ cards entering the fourth round, it was Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs)  who ended Brook’s challenge forever.

Crawford, who pocketed a cool $4 million for his night’s work,  has now won eight straight fights by knockout dating back to July 2016.

As for  Brook, the first thing he said to his corner after the fight was, “What happened?”

Well, Terence Crawford happened…and he keeps on happening fight after fight.

“I already said who I want {next}. I want Pacquiao. I want to revisit that fight,” Crawford said. “That was a fight that should’ve happened right now. But being that the pandemic happened, and they weren’t going to allow fans in the Middle East, they had to put a hold to that. Everything was 95 percent done. We had the venue. The money was almost there. It wasn’t quite there. That was the only thing we were waiting on.

“Kell is a tremendous talent. He came and he tried to take my title. He was in shape. He made the weight. There were no excuses to be put on the table. He came off of three wins.”

Added Brook, “Never in my career, nobody has ever done that to me in sparring or anything.
 
“It was one of them… I got caught with a shot I didn’t see. I’m gutted because nobody could’ve gotten me in better condition. I was bang on the limit. Maybe I could’ve been a bit more relaxed and loose and let the shots go.”

The only saving grace for the game and talented brooks was that he went home $2 million richer.

Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said, “Terence Crawford showed, once again, why he is the best welterweight in the world. It was a dominating performance over a very good fighter in Kell Brook. Terence ranks up there with all the great welterweights I’ve promoted.”

Franco-Moloney 2 Ends in Controversy

In one of the strangest events in recent boxing history, Joshua Franco, of San Antonio, Texas,  and Andrew Moloney, of Melbourne, Australia,  fought to a no-decision thereby permitting Franco to retain his WBA jr. bantamweight title.

In a fight that saw Moloney, 114.7,  stabbing his jab at the Champion Franco, and throwing punches in bunches to his head and midsection, the Australian appeared dominant and on the top of his game. 

Then trouble emerged after Moloney connected with some hard blows to the right eye of Franco, 114.5, The champion’s eyed swelled almost immediately prompting referee to  Russell Mora to seemingly incorrectly rule that there was an accidental headbutt. 

In round two, Moloney, (21-1, 14 KO’s) who was trying to avenge the loss of his title to Franco last June, continued his two-fisted assault as Franco battled heroically through his quickly closing eye. At the end of the round, the ring doctor stopped the fight.

After a 26-minute replay review, controversy reigned supreme. WBA super flyweight world champion Joshua Franco, (17-1-2, 1ND, 8 KO’s) retained title via no decision over Andrew Moloney. Franco dethroned Moloney back in June via unanimous decision, and in the rematch, Moloney controlled the first two rounds before the bout was stopped. The injury sustained by Franco in the first round caused the fight to be halted following the conclusion of the second.

Moloney said, “They took this away from me. The injury was caused by a punch. I can’t believe this.
 
“I was in control of the fight and on my way to a clear victory. I deserved this win. I landed 50 punches on that eye. It was not even close.”
 
Added Arum, “This is an absolute disgrace. There was no head butt.  Andrew Moloney should be the new champion.”

In undercard bouts:

Bantamweight: Joshua Greer Jr. (22-2-2, 12 KOs) Majority Draw 8 Rounds Edwin Rodriguez (11-5-2, 5 KOs). Scores: 77-75 Rodriguez and 76-76 2x. Noted spoiler Rodriguez nearly pulled another upset, but Greer closed the bout strong to salvage the draw. Rodriguez is 2-0-2 in his last four fights, all of which came against undefeated fighters.Middleweight: Tyler Howard (19-0, 11 KOs) UD 8 KeAndrae Leatherwood (22-8-1, 13 KOs). Scores: 77-73, 77-74 and 76-74. “Hercules” Howard returned from a nearly 18-month layoff to pick up the most significant victory of his career. In a closely contested bout, Howard dropped Leatherwood in the closing stages of the eighth round to clinch the decision.

Featherweight: Duke Ragan (3-0, 1 KO) UD 4 Sebastian Gutierrez (2-1-1). Scores: 40-35 2x. Ragan, a top prospect from Cincinnati, Ohio, cruised to the win after knocking down Gutierrez in the second round.

Bantamweight: Vegas Larfield (2-0, 2 KOs) TKO 3 Juan Alberto Flores (2-1-1), 1:07. Larfield, who trained with Andrew Moloney to prepare for this bout, made a memorable American debut, scoring two knockdowns in the third round. Entering the third round, two judges had the fight even, while the third had Flores ahead 20-18.

Lightweight: Raymond Muratalla (11-0, 9 KOs) TKO 3 Luis Porozo (15-5, 8 KOs), 2:40. Muratalla upped his KO streak to six with a statement-making performance over the former Ecuadorian Olympian. Muratalla, who is trained by Robert Garcia, notched a pair of knockdowns in the third round.

Photos courtesy of  Top Rank

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There is a New Lightweight Sheriff in Town

Teofimo Lopez Topples Vasiliy Lomachenko to become the undisputed Lightweight Champion of the world
Barboza Decisions Saucedo in the Co-Feature

By Alexander R. Rinaldi

LAS VEGAS (October 17, 2020) — There is a new undisputed lightweight king in this crazy year of 2020 – and it is 23 year old Teofimo Lopez, of Brooklyn, New York.

Against virtually all odds (Lomachenko was a solid 4-1 betting favorite going into the bout), the young Lopez rather easily wrested away all the lightweight belts by defeating the highly heralded Vasiliy Lomachenko, of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Ukraine, by unanimous decision in a superstar-making performance Saturday evening from the MGM Grand Conference Center.

With the glorious win, Lopez (16-0, 12 KO’s) became the youngest undisputed champion (23) in the four-belt (WBA, WBO, IBF, and WBC) era.

Not only did he defeat the once formidable Lomachenko, Lopez actually won by wide margins (119-109, 118-110 and 116-112), fulfilling the rather strange prophecy of his father/trainer, Teofimo Lopez Sr., who predicted, like a gypsy fortune teller, quite some time ago, that his son would become the undisputed champion by his 16th professional fight. With the apparent success of his fortune telling,  his father may soon have his face plastered on crystal balls and gypsy tents throughout the globe.

After the surprising loss, Lomachenko (14-2, 10 KOs – 20-2, 10 KO including World Series of Boxing Contests), a three-weight world champion, saw his 13-bout winning streak come to an end.

The reasons for the outcome are still being weighed, but as for the Russian Lomachenko, the problem was that he came into the bout sluggish and without any real fire in either his belly or his fists.

It was probably due to the fact that he had not entered the prize ring in fighting trunks in over 14 months. In his last bout, Lomachenko faced fellow 2012 Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell on August 31, 2019, at the O2 Arena in London, England. There, in front of a sold-out crowd of over 18,000, Lomachenko not only retained the WBA and WBO titles, he also captured the vacant WBC lightweight title by defeating Campbell by unanimous decision.

Well, fast forward those nearly 14 months and entering the ring against the reigning IBF lightweight champion Lopez, Lomachenko appeared as if he had either awakened from being in suspended animation or from a deep hibernation. Either way he threw less punches than  a man tied to a wagon.

While Lopez came out brave, quick, and confident, stabbing the elusive Lomachenko with swift  jabs and combinations to the head and body, Lomachenko started out with the fury of a pastor at a prayer meeting.

To make matters worse, his PunchStat numbers were similar to those of a sheep herder as he landed only 25 punches of a mere 58 thrown in rounds one to six. Though he did pick up the pace significantly in rounds seven through twelve, still by the fight’s end he only landed a total of 141 punches out of 321 thrown, compared to Lopez who landed 183 punches out of 659 thrown.

To his credit, Lopez maintained his pressure and was the aggressor throughout the bout. Even when Lomachenko eventually came back to life in the second half of the bout, Lopez met him nearly punch for punch and never ever backed down. Nor was he ever intimidated by Lomachenko, especially  when the the older fighter bounced combinations off Lopez’s jaw out of his southpaw stance, particularly in rounds six and eleven, and started giving him various angles and bouncy footwork.

“I had to dig deep, man,” said a jubilant Lopez after the bout. “I’m thankful. I’m grateful. And each and every day, I take that in. I thank God first because I couldn’t do it without him.”

As for sticking to his game plan in the second half of the bout, Lopez remarked, “I’m a fighter. I gotta dig in deep. I knew he was coming. I didn’t know if they had him up on the scorecards or not, and I love to fight. I can bang, too. I don’t care, man. I’ll take one to give one. That’s what a true champion does. I find a way to win…You just gotta keep pressuring him, press the gas, stick the jab and don’t really give him that opportunity to set up. Every time he did want to throw, I had something ready for him.”

All cheers for the young Lopez. Unlike many others who have faced Lomachenko in the past and came up empty handed, Lopez grabbed the brass ring after throwing down the gauntlet in round one and never looked back. His perseverance, skill, and guts should be applauded throughout the ages.

As for Lomachenko, he will have to go back to the drawing board, something that he has not had to do in many years. “I think in the first half of the fight, he got more rounds than I did,” Lomachenko said. “But then in the second half of the fight, I took it over and I was much better. I want to go home and to review the fight to see. I can’t comment right now much about it. But I definitely am not agreeing with the scorecards. At the moment I think (I won the fight). But the result is the result. I’m not going to argue right now.”

Lomanchenko will most likely return. The great ones always do.

The USA Boxing News scored the bout 115-113 for Lopez.

Barboza Decisions Saucedo

In a battle of junior welterweight contenders, the unbeaten Arnold Barboza Jr. (25-0, 10 KOs) notched the most significant win of his career, surviving a knockdown to defeat former world title challenger Alex “El Cholo” Saucedo (30-2, 19 KOs) via 10-round unanimous decision. Barboza, ranked in the top 10 by two of the major sanctioning bodies, now has his sights on a world title shot.

Barboza said, “This was like a championship fight to me. It’s all because of my father {head trainer Arnold Barboza Sr.}, not me. I did this for kids and my father. My dream is to get a house for my kids. I came that much closer today.
 
“I want a championship fight. No more messing around. No more tune-up fights.”

KO King Berlanga Does it Again

He did it again. Super middleweight destroyer Edgar “The Chosen One” Berlanga knocked out Lanell Bellows in 79  seconds, the 15th first-round knockout to begin his career. Bellows (20-6-3, 13 KOs) had never been knocked out in an eight-year pro career. After the knockout, Berlanga climbed to a neutral corner and proclaimed to the Bubble audience, “I’m a fuc*ing monster!”

Berlanga said, “I saw with the first shot that I cut him open and the look in his eyes, he didn’t want to be in there. From the beginning, once I got in the ring, I looked in his eyes… he didn’t want to be in there. So I had to get him out.”

This Berlanga is certainly a fighter to keep an eye on. He has tools of a ring assassin and a punch like a mule. All he needs is more time in the ring to sharpen his skills so he can hang in there with the top contenders that he will inevitably be meeting in the next year or so.

In the undercard bouts:

Jr. Welterweight: Josue Vargas (18-1, 9 KOs) UD 10 Kendo Castaneda (17-3, 8 KOs). Scores: 100-89, 99-91, 98-90. Vargas graduated to contender status with a one-sided domination over Castaneda, who was coming off a competitive decision loss to Jose “Chon” Zepeda. He has won 12 straight fights since a disqualification defeat.

Vargas said, “He was a tough customer, tougher than I thought he was going to be, but my father told me to stay composed, stay calm. I dropped him, but that doesn’t mean nothing, just stay relaxed because that’s how I got disqualified when I was 18 years old.
 
“I’m very close to fighting these guys, like Zepeda, Pedraza, any of these guys. You name it, I’ll get in there with them.”

Featherweight: Jose Enrique Vivas (20-1, 11 KOs) TKO 1 John Vincent Moralde (23-4, 13 KOs), 1:16. Vivas blitzed Moralde, knocking down the Filipino contender twice en route to the early stoppage. The second knockdown was a body blow that prompted referee Celestino Ruiz to halt the fight without a count.

Welterweight: Quinton Randall (7-0, 2 KOs) UD 6 Jan Carlos Rivera (4-1, 4 KOs). Scores: 58-56 2X and 59-55. In a battle of unbeatens, Randall swept the last four rounds on two of the judges’ scorecards to prevail.

Welterweight: Jahi Tucker (2-0, 1 KO) UD 4 Charles Garner (1-1). Scores: 40-36, 3X. The 17-year-old Tucker, who scored a first-round knockout in his professional debut last month, went the distance and cruised to a decision win against Garner, a native of Buffalo, N.Y.

(Photo Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)

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Roberto Duran vs. Sugar Ray Leonard I

The Brawl in Montreal

June 20, 1980

• -Thoughts 40 Years Later-

By John Rinaldi, Salvatore Alaimo, and Alex Rinaldi

On June 20, 1980, three cousins, future USA Boxing News Editors and Publishers John and Alex Rinaldi and their cousin Salvatore Alaimo, who became Head Writer for The USA Boxing News, were on hand for the Immortal Roberto Duran vs. Sugar Ray Leonard Brawl in Montreal, along with Joseph Rinaldi, the founder of The USA Boxing News.

Of course, the four of them all picked to Duran to win.

In turned out to be a watershed moment for the four of them as they would afterwards take the excitement of that fight and start the publishing of The USA Boxing News two years later in 1982.

Below are some thoughts of the surviving three – John Rinaldi, Salvatore Alaimo, and Alex Rinaldi, forty years after that landmark fight, from e-mail correspondences.

It is a great indication and collection of what fight fans do throughout the world discussing fights of the past.

John Rinaldi

Well, tonight represents the 40th Anniversary of the Best Night Ever of my lifetime, with Roberto Duran’s win over Sugar Ray Leonard. In all my years of watching fights, no bout I have ever seen beats it. The only one that would have come close was if Joe Frazier came out for the 15th round against Muhammad Ali in the “Thriller in Manila” to KO Ali. Since that did not happen, then Duran’s win is the highlight of my life.

People can say all they want about hypes for boxing events and anticipation. All I can remember in my life are three bouts that had the world’s interest, and actually exceeded everyone’s expectations – and those were Frazier-Ali I, Ali-Frazier III and Duran-Leonard I.

On that night on June 20, 2020, all I remember is my beloved father, you two guys and Sal’s friends going crazy as Duran showed up in the best condition of his life to face off with Sugar Ray Leonard. Later the way Leonard took apart Hearns and Hagler, it makes Duran’s great win even more impressive. NO ONE in the history of the welterweight division (also go from lightweight to middleweight) would have beaten Duran that night.

Credit must be given to Leonard for lasting out the full 15 rounds, when I believe if it were Tommy Hearns that night, Hearns would have been KO’d.

Of course another thing that made that night special was the presence of my beloved Dad right there with us cheering at every punch Duran smashed into Leonard. Afterwards, when we were all hugging each other, I have never been so happy. I think you guys and my father felt the same way.

It is sad that our parents are gone and Duran has grown old and no longer fights. I believe that no fighter has ever taken his place with the mixture of charisma, ferocity and punching power that he had.

So as this day goes on, I think of you guys, Duran and my father. For one brief evening, everything in the world stopped and we were mesmerized for 60 minutes. It is rare when after all the planning and anticipation, that an outcome could turn out so perfect. Life is not like that, but that night certainly was.

It took only one fearsome boxer and all of us together to make the ultimate lifetime memory.

 Salvatore Alaimo

Reading the boxing magazines and seeing the interviews leading up to the fight built up so my anticipation and excitement in me about that fight, at age 15. It was definitely one of the greatest nights of my life, too. Yes, he was in awesome shape and was relentless. I don’t think anyone would have beaten him that night either. The judges’ scorecards did not come close to reflecting the fight.

Yes, we felt the same way as your Dad. It was great to have him with us and I enjoyed seeing how elated he was.  I was on a high for several days afterwards. The Garden was sold out, and I remember the railing next to me shaking when the crowd cheered. Epic, titanic and thrilling.

There hasn’t been anyone like Duran since and there will never be. His accomplishments were remarkable. My Dad used to have a saying about people he admired very much, like your Dad that he shared with me. “Son, they don’t make them like that anymore.” They don’t. 

We have heard many times that Sugar Ray’s ego got in the way and he decided to brawl with Duran instead of boxing, as if the assumption was if be boxed he would have won. Rarely, if ever is it mentioned that Leonard had no choice that night in Montreal. He wasn’t dictating the fight, Duran was by relentlessly stalking him and cutting off the ring. That’s the more accurate narrative, so I think the American sportswriters got it wrong. Think about Ali, the all-time master at being a boxer. Certain fighters, like Frazier and a few others pressured him enough that Ali’s ability to dictate the fight, especially pacing, was taken away.

I want to express again my appreciation for you pushing us to go to that fight. To see our hero and idol perform at the height of his powers was awesome. 

Thanks for reminding us of how great that June night at the Garden for what was then the most anticipated sporting event of that time. It broke the all-time closed circuit record for any fight.

We will reflect again on June 16, 2023 for the 40th anniversary of another special evening.

 Alex Rinaldi

The fight was certainly the greatest night of my life too.

It was one of those nights where all the stars align to form something wonderful.

It also involved arguably two of the greatest boxers who ever laced on a pair of gloves. To make a great fight it takes two special fighters to engage in an all-out combat war.

That’s what made this one monumental. They both gave and both took powerful punches for 15 thrilling rounds.

Duran was at best of bests, virtually unbeatable that night. No one in any era would have been able to beat him. He had the speed, punching power, and great defense to demolish all comers, which he did to Leonard.

What made it mostly memorable was that our father was there. Before the fight some big guys behind us were touting how Sugar Ray was going to kill Duran.

Then when Duran staggered Leonard in round 2 my dad turned to them and shouted, “There’s your Sugar Ray!!”

It is the comment that has become folklore in our family, and has forever immortalized my father in the hearts and minds of our family and to the readers of The USA Boxing News.

Life is filled with so many ups and downs and many losses, but on one night 40 years ago Roberto Duran carried the torch to victory in the greatest fight and night of his legendary career. With that notable and astonishing victory, he took all of us with him to bask and share in the glory, a glory so brilliant and everlasting that had it never happened our lives would have never been the same.

How could we not be grateful forever to Roberto Duran when he gave us so much joy that his wins have become benchmark events of our lives.

Salvatore Alaimo

I remember those guys sitting behind us.

On the significance of Duran’s place in our life and of that fight and that night, Amen Cousin John.

John Rinaldi

Thanks for your great stories. Of Course, I put on YouTube and watched the full Wide World of Sports replay of it with Howard Cosell with the pre- and post-fight interviews. Duran is funny in them.  Cosell did the best commentary of that fight. Besides that great left hook in Round Two, Duran staggered Leonard a few times with right hands in subsequent rounds.

Later when he fought Moore and Barkley, the three of us where there in person at ringside to make up the #2 and #3 greatest nights of our lives.

Epilogue

Joseph Rinaldi passed away in September 1983.

Roberto Duran would supply us with the next two great events of our lives – Roberto Duran vs. Davey Moore in 1983 and Roberto Duran vs. Iran “The Blade” Barkley in 1989.

Prior to the fight beginning the legendary broadcaster Howard Cosell, after mentioning Sugar Ray Leonard’s great achievements coming into the fight,  wryly remarked, “… Duran, Leonard hasn’t faced the likes of him.”  

Well, it is fair to say that no one who ever graced the pized the ring at any time in the history of the sport, ever faced the likes of a fighter like that June 20, 1980 Roberto Duran.

ESPN airs BE WATER  a 30 For 30 documentary on  Bruce Lee 

By Alexander Rinaldi and Joseph Rinaldi

With sports disappearing from the airways quicker than tourists from a leper colony, the sports network giant ESPN has been scrambling trying to fill its entertainment time slots with anything even remotely resembling sports.

Thankfully for them, the network’s June’s schedule heads into kind of martial arts territory with the documentary Be Water, which has been described as “an intimate look at the life and motivations of martial arts legend Bruce Lee.”

According to reports, “Be Water is a gripping, fascinating, intimate look at not just the final, defining years of Lee’s life, but the complex, often difficult, and seismic journey that led to Lee’s ultimate emergence as a singular icon in the histories of film, martial arts, and even the connection between the eastern and western worlds.”

The movie was initially intended to be screened at the South by Southwest film festival back in March after a premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, but the entire event was canceled due to this horrible COVID virus. Because of this, instead of the limited handful that would have been viewing the documentary at these limited viewed film festivals,  now everyone will enjoy the television premiere of the film directed by Bao Nguyen on June 7.

The film chronicles Lee’s earliest days, as the son of a Chinese opera star born while his father was on tour in San Francisco, and then raised in Hong Kong over what became at times a troubled childhood.

Bruce Lee then was sent to live in America at the age of 18, and he began teaching Kung Fu in Seattle, and soon established a following that included his future wife, Linda. His ambition ever rising, Lee eventually made his way to Los Angeles, where he took a crack at breaking into American film and television.

Although Lee found some success as an actor in such iconic shows as The Green Hornet, where his super hero character of Kato became a relative household name to children and adults in America, and especially in Asian countries such as Hong Kong, somehow stupid Hollywood was not yet ready for an Asian leading man.  When he was eventually offered a lucrative movie deal in Hong Kong, Lee returned to his former homeland to make the films that would in fact go on to make him a legend. His success in Hong Kong soon swept across the ocean to America where his success became a supernova, especially after the posthumous release of the movie Enter The Dragon in 1973 that catapulted him to realms of an eternal iconic flame . 

Be Water is told entirely by the family, friends, and collaborators who knew Bruce Lee best, with an extraordinary trove of archive film providing an evocative, immersive visual tapestry that captures Lee’s charisma, his passion, his philosophy, and the eternal beauty and wonder of his art.

So enduring has his fame remained that two statues, one in Hong Kong, and the other in Los Angeles’ Chinatown section, have been erected to honor in perpetuity the truly original and one and only Bruce Lee.

The legendary Bruce Lee and his boxing background and legacy

From the squared ring – to Kato in The Green Hornet – and finally Enter the Dragon

Story by Alex and John Rinaldi

Without question, the greatest and most famous Kung Fu fighter and Martial Arts artist of all-time was Bruce Lee (1940-1973). So much so, that even 47 years after his untimely death, his name, likeness, and legend still remain in the psyche and minds of the public. He was and still remains the eternal tough guy, with hands and feet that were faster than light, athleticism beyond that of most gifted athletes and an attitude that knows only how to win and win big.

He is not only considered one of the most influential pop icons of the 20th century, but fellow martial arts artist and action film star Jackie Chan, who also had a small part in the film Enter the Dragon, compared Bruce Lee to a “super hero.”

That is why it is not unusual to see his poster, usually the one from his legendary film Enter the Dragon, adorn the walls of college dormitories, frat houses, and martial arts centers across the world.

Bruce Lee’s nickname from childhood to all through adulthood was the “Little Dragon,” and he studied Wing Chun Kung Fu with Yip Man and later revolutionized martial arts with jeet kune do. His version of martial arts was exciting and it thrilled audiences from his days as Kato in the famous 1960’s television series The Green Hornet to his final film The Game of Death. Of course, it was not the martial arts he utilized that made him famous – it was he who made martial arts famous.

More importantly, it was also his lifelong love of and respect of the sport of boxing that helped him to establish his singular and unique form of fighting.

Dan lnosanto and Richard Bustillo, two of Bruce Lee’s most famous students, described the connection between boxing and Bruce Lee’s jeet kune do. “That’s how Bruce Lee developed jeet kune do. He put all the arts together,” said Bustillo. “Kicking distance, he taught, comes first. You have the longest reach with your feet. Close the kicking range and you’re in hand distance. Bruce Lee was first a martial artist, and he went out of his way to prove that he really had a method of fighting, that it was as disciplined and more scientific than the older, classical arts.”

Dan Inosanto agreed, “Most people aren’t aware of it, but Bruce Lee was very into boxing. Scientific boxing,” said Inosanto.

The “Little Dragon” competed in boxing matches throughout high school and compiled a record of 8-0 (8 KOs).  In 1958, while a high school student at St. Francis Xavier in Hong Kong, Bruce Lee had a reputation of getting into fights in and out of school. He also had a reputation of never losing a single one of them. Because of this Brother Edward, who was one of Lee’s teachers, suggested that Bruce join the school’s boxing team so that the youngster could better channel his fighting spirit in a more productive and positive way.

Loving the sport of boxing as he did, Lee joined the team. Before Bruce became a member of the team, his high school’s arch rival was another private school named King George V School made up entirely of British boys who had embraced boxing since they were toddlers. They also were famous for taunting and making fun of the Chinese youths who were enrolled at St. Francis Xavier.

Because of this, the King George V School’s boxing team continually reigned as the boxing champions of the province.

The most gifted boxer of them all was Gary Elms, a British tough, who was not only undefeated, but also considered the best high school boxer in the entire country. He also happened to be at the weight of St. Francis Xavier’s newest boxing recruit Bruce Lee.

Although Bruce Lee was a member of the boxing team, he still continued his martial arts training with Wong Shun Leung and Wing Chun. By the time the Boxing Tournament began on March 29, 1958, Lee was in superb condition. The preliminary matches were first and continued until only two boys were left in each weight class. Then, the two remaining boys would fight for the championship.

Bruce Lee fought three preliminary bouts and won them Dan Inosanto agreed, “Most people aren’t aware of it, but Bruce Lee was very into boxing. Scientific boxing,” said Inosanto.

The “Little Dragon” competed in boxing matches throughout high school and compiled a record of 8-0 (8 KO’s).  In 1958, while a high school student at St. Francis Xavier in Hong Kong, Bruce Lee had a reputation of getting into fights in and out of school. He also had a distinction of never losing a single one of them. Because of this, Brother Edward, who was one of Lee’s teachers, suggested that Bruce join the school’s boxing team so that the youngster could better channel his natural fighting spirit in a more productive and positive way.

Loving the sport of boxing as he did, Lee joined the team.  Before Bruce was a member of the squad, his high school’s arch rival was another private school named King George V School, made up primarily of cocky British boys, who had embraced boxing since they were toddlers. They also were famous for taunting and making fun of the Chinese youths who were enrolled at St. Francis Xavier. Because of this, the King George V School’s boxing team continually reigned as the pugilistic champions of the province.

The most gifted boxer of them all was Gary Elms, a British tough, who was not only undefeated, but also considered the best high school boxer in the entire country. He also happened to be at the same weight of St. Francis Xavier’s newest boxing recruit – Bruce Lee.

Although Bruce was a member of the boxing team, he still continued his martial arts training with Wong Shun Leung and Wing Chun. As a result, by the time the Boxing Tournament began on March 29, 1958, Lee was in superb condition. The preliminary matches were first and continued until only two boys were left in each weight class. Then, the two remaining boxers would fight for the championship.

Lee fought three preliminary bouts and won them all by first-round knockouts! This brought him to the final bout against none other than the dreaded Gary Elms, who was feared by everyone, everyone that is, except for Bruce Lee.Knowing that Bruce was new to boxing, never having seen him before at a tournament, or in a match prior to the 1958 Championships, Elms felt confident that his superior experience and boxing skills would help to win the title for the fourth straight year, and once again he believed that he would vanquish his foe by a devastating knockout.

Elms went after Lee in the first round crowding him to the ropes and trying to land the big knockout punch. Bruce was initially surprised by the excessive aggression and tried to back up out of harm’s way.

In round two, Lee figured out his rival’s strategy and used Wing Chun learned blocks to make Elms miss, or hit only his gloves. He also began to counter punch the Brit, who was beginning to become frustrated at failing to hit his target.

In round three, Bruce, using his superior hand speed, went for the knockout. Before a  crowd of students and adults on hand, Lee, showing blazing hand quickness and with no mercy, went after Elms and blasted him with punches that Gary later said were “so fast they seemed like blurs.” To the shock of those on hand, especially the British contingent who was there to watch Elms win for the fourth straight time, Lee brutally knocked the Brit down and out to the canvas for the count of ‘ten.”

On account of Bruce’s win, his school went on to win the Boxing Title for the very first time and made the Chinese boys proud that one of their own had been so victorious, especially over a British lad.

When Bruce Lee eventually left Hong Kong to go to America in 1959, he left as both the 1958 School Boxing Champion and the 1958 Crown Colony Cha Cha Champion of Hong Kong

As an adult, Bruce Lee further studied boxing techniques, which he claimed later influenced his Jeet Kune Do punches. In his book The Tao of Jeet Kune Do, which is a compilation of his personal notes, Lee wrote that he relied heavily on boxing principles in his martial arts. Lee referenced Jack Dempsey and Edwin L. Haislet’s book titled Boxing (1940) at least twenty times, and Lee also reportedly owned more than a hundred boxing books in his own private library.

Besides a vast boxing book collection, Bruce Lee owned one of the largest collections of fight films in the country and would often invite friends over to view them with him. It was said that Lee knew punches and styles of all the great and legendary champions from Kid Gavilan’s “bolo punch” to the six-inch punches of Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano, to the dazzling footwork of Willie Pep and Muhammad Ali.

According former heavyweight contender and Superman Villain Jack O’Halloran, who was also a very close friend of Bruce Lee, whenever a boxing move caught his interest, Lee, who was a southpaw, would rewind the film, then stand and turn his back to watch it in a mirror, and practice it till he got it right. Besides that, O’Halloran remarked that, “Bruce Lee would venture into the toughest areas of various cities and start a fight with gang members in order to enhance his fighting skills. Sometimes he would beat up more than ten guys at a time.”

On account of his boxing background, Bruce Lee radically changed martial arts forever. He was the first martial arts artist to disregard the traditional stance and, instead, engage and use a boxer’s stance. Lee, in effect, soon developed a new and dynamic style that would literally transcend martial arts fighting forever and also be and remain forever his trademark stance and fighting style. The very same one that would make Bruce Lee an icon for the ages.

As Bruce said about both life and his fighting style, “Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.”

The Sweet Science of boxing, as it has done throughout history, caused the emergence of a Chinese Superstar. Never before in the history of Motion Pictures or sports, had an Asian athlete and film actor ever ascend into the stratosphere of commercial and cultural success. In turn, he changed Western culture and the landscape therein forever.

Lee learned from Western culture, especially from boxing, and then confronted it. “In the United States,” he said, “Something about the Oriental, the true Oriental, should be shown.” And because of Bruce Lee, it was.

When children of the 1960’s watched television’s The Green Hornet, they were amazed by the fighting style of Kato played by Bruce Lee. He did things no one had ever seen before and everyone soon wanted to be just like him. He was the main focus of The Green Hornet and why most tuned into the show. Later on, when it was re-broadcast in Hong Kong as The Kato Show, Lee’s popularity exploded and he went there to begin what would soon become the emergence and birth of Kung Fu movies.

When American film companies saw the success of his Hong King films that were being shown in America, they decided to have Lee star in the American produced Enter the Dragon. With his fighting exploits, rock hard body, and nunchucks expertise, Bruce Lee became a legend, then eventually an icon, where he remains to this day.

Lee once said, “The key to immortality is first living a life worth remembering.” Because of his fame and his exploits, his life became a life worth remembering, and with it he achieved the key to immortality.

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‘… I think I’ve put up a good fight’: Dallas boxing icon and former World Welterweight champion and Boxing Hall of Famer Curtis Cokes dies at 82

By Henry Hascup

Courtesy of The Dallas Morning News

Curtis Cokes, Dallas’ first world champion and the undisputed soul of the city’s boxing scene for more than a half-century, died Friday of heart failure at 82.

Cokes had been in hospice for a week, said Erwin “Sparky” Sparks, his partner at the Home of Champions gym.

Back in the day before titles were divided and sub-divided, Cokes held the world welterweight title from 1966-69. Quincy Taylor, who trained under Cokes, and DeSoto’s Errol Spence are the only Dallas-area boxers to win world titles since.

Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003, Cokes, a classic counterpuncher at 5-8, 147 pounds, wasn’t wildly popular among fight fans because he wasn’t a brawler. That was by design.

“The name of the sport is boxing, not fighting,” Cokes told The Dallas Morning News in 2013. “You can play football, you can play basketball, but you can’t play boxing. It’s serious business where you can get hurt every time you step into the ring.

“It’s an art to hit and not be hit.”

Artist or not, Cokes could hit.

 “He wanted the other guy to make a mistake,” said Steve Crosson, a longtime ring official. “And when he unloaded that right hand, he was devastating.”

Cokes came of age in an era when black fighters weren’t allowed to compete in Golden Gloves. His progress also was likely hindered by the fact that he didn’t work under a world-class trainer or promoter.

Cokes got by on his natural athleticism — he was all-state in basketball as well as baseball at Booker T. Washington, played shortstop on a traveling semipro baseball team and once got a tryout with the Dodgers — and his intuitive ring smarts.

Fighting primarily at the old Sportatorium or Memorial Auditorium, Cokes worked his way up the ladder slowly. He had 27 bouts in Texas, including one in Mexico, before earning a spot on a big-time card. He lost to Luis Rodriguez but gained a fan in Rodriguez’s trainer, Angelo Dundee, who also worked with a young heavyweight named Cassius Clay. Dundee told Cokes he’d like to train him, too, but he’d have to move to Miami. Cokes would also receive invitations to train in St. Louis, Houston and Los Angeles. He remained in his hometown instead.

On Aug. 24, 1966, he finally got his big chance: a unanimous 15-round decision over Manny Gonzalez for the vacant World Boxing Association welterweight title. He added the World Boxing Council title three months later when he won a 15-round unanimous decision over France’s Jean Josselin at Memorial Auditorium.

Cokes got by on his natural athleticism — he was all-state in basketball as well as baseball at Booker T. Washington, played shortstop on a traveling semipro baseball team and once got a tryout with the Dodgers — and his intuitive ring smarts.

Fighting primarily at the old Sportatorium or Memorial Auditorium, Cokes worked his way up the ladder slowly. He had 27 bouts in Texas, including one in Mexico, before earning a spot on a big-time card. He lost to Luis Rodriguez but gained a fan in Rodriguez’s trainer, Angelo Dundee, who also worked with a young heavyweight named Cassius Clay. Dundee told Cokes he’d like to train him, too, but he’d have to move to Miami. Cokes would also receive invitations to train in St. Louis, Houston and Los Angeles. He remained in his hometown instead.

On Aug. 24, 1966, he finally got his big chance: a unanimous 15-round decision over Manny Gonzalez for the vacant World Boxing Association welterweight title. He added the World Boxing Council title three months later when he won a 15-round unanimous decision over France’s Jean Josselin at Memorial Auditorium.

Nearly 50 years after the fact, Dickie Cole, who refereed Cokes’ win, called the night of Nov. 28, 1966, “maybe the most memorable in Dallas’ boxing history.”

“Curtis wasn’t a punk kid who won the title,” Cole told The News in 2013. “He was almost 30 years old and had paid his dues. He struggled to get there. Dallas never did him any favors. And there he was with that hammer he had for a right hand, winning as our champion.”

Only 6,000 showed up at Memorial Auditorium to see the hometown champ add another belt. The city’s ruling class was slow to embrace its first world champ. Only after the intervention of the Dallas Cowboys and the team’s black players in particular did the city fete Cokes with a parade.

“If he had been white,” former Cowboy Willie Townes told The News in 1987, “I’m sure he would have been the toast of the town.”

Cokes fought 13 times while he held the title before losing to Jose Napoles at the Forum in Los Angeles on April 18, 1969. His right eye closed, Cokes was unable to get up for the bell for the 14th round. He lost the rematch, too.

“He didn’t whip me so good the first time,” Cokes joked to Laurence Cole, “so I went back for seconds.”

Laurence Cole, Dickie’s son, trained under Cokes before embarking on a career as a world-class referee.

“He was a classy man,” Laurence Cole said. “Look at the times he grew through, what he struggled through, yet he was never bitter.”

Said Crosson: “He was always a consummate gentleman, without ego. Just a very fine person.”

Cokes went 62-14-4, according to boxrec.com. Once his career was over, Cokes trained many young fighters at his gym, including Kirk Johnson, a Canadian heavyweight who challenged for the WBA title in 2002. Cokes even owned a Dallas nightclub. But financial problems plagued him. The Internal Revenue Service once confiscated his entire purse, $11,000, to pay back taxes. Near the end of a career that covered 80 fights, he filed for bankruptcy.

He took it all in stride, including the slights, and said he had no regrets.

“I have done things my way my whole life because that’s the way it had to be,” he said in 2013. “On the other hand, I never had to take orders from anyone.

“And I think I’ve put up a good fight.”

Cokes is survived by two brothers, Joe and Robert, a sister, Mary Helen Cokes, and five children. Funeral services are pending.

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A Holiday Memory

Roberto Duran and our Father

By John and Alex Rinaldi

Going into Christmas, we cannot thank our readers enough for their continued support of our website and our boxing publication for over 37 years.

Robert Duran (R) vs. Davey Moore (L) (Photo by Alex Rinaldi)

In an almost magical and mythical way, the sport of boxing and its fans have, since the days of the bare knucklers, established a special, lasting bond that somehow connects the viewer to the participants in the ring. It is also the type of sport that can lift one’s spirits, especially when life’s misfortunes and personal tragedies can tend to swirl around like a deadly tempest raining down on everything and everyone until all that’s left is despair and sadness.

No one is ever spared from this, and even the warmest of holidays often play a part in the the overall melancholy of the time.  We  are  certainly  not  immune  to  this  feeling  and  loss. Roberto Duran (L) slugging Pipino Cuevas (R) in 1983

Christmas was such a time 37 years ago, and it remains to this day a bittersweet holiday for us.

Growing up we had wonderful Christmas days and we still do to this day. There was, however, a Christmas where our world simply fell apart.  Robert Duran (L) looking for an opening against Davey Moore (R) (Photo by Alex Rinaldi)

On Christmas Eve in 1982, in our house in Stuart, Florida, our Father, and the founder of this publication, Joseph Rinaldi, was diagnosed with terminal liver and colon cancer and was given only three months to live. For a few months before the diagnosis, he was suffering from intestinal pains and was losing weight. He actually thought at the worse that he had an ulcer. Sadly, he found out that at the age of 46, his days, like a prisoner on death row, were mortally numbered.

For a man who had achieved such phenomenal success in his life, it was hard to fathom that this great man’s final days were to be spent battling for his life.

There is a famous quote by the legendary Confederate General Robert E. Lee where he says, “I would rather die a thousand deaths than surrender.” Our Father had what can only be termed as “true grit” as he fought bravely on, challenging the cancer along with the naysayers and charlatans so prevalent in the medical community. Though death greeted him at his doorstop every day for nine long months, he still kept punching back until he eventually succumbed to the deadly cancer on September 23, 1983.

John and Alex Rinaldi with Roberto Duran in 1982

When you watch a person that you admire suffer so badly, who is not just a father, but a mentor and a hero, it is hard to bear and for those like us going through it, the world tends to lose all its color and replaces it with the funereal pallor of black.

But sometimes were there is nothing but black and bleakness, miracles and heroes seem to emerge through the darkness, and for a brief time a short reprieve is granted to the forlorn.

Robert Duran (L) pounding Davey Moore (R) (Photo by Alex Rinaldi)

This is what happened to us. A savior arrived in the form of Roberto Duran and boxing gave us the only streaks of light, as the sun slowly shone through the cracks caused by the mighty fists of the man with the Hands of Stone.

Roberto Duran (r) attacking Davey Moore (L) in June of 1983

Roberto Duran was always our family’s favorite fighter. From the time he became a world champion, we marveled at his skill, charisma and punching power. Because of this, he was, and remained our true boyhood hero.

Though he reached the highest heights and peaks of boxing, by 1983, the once great pugilist was considered washed up. In 1982, he went 1-2 when he lost  a title bid against WBC super welterweight king Wilfred Benitez on a close decision on January 20, 1982, and then was robbed in a split-decision loss to Kirland Laing on September 4, 1982. After two decision losses, Top Rank picked up Duran and set him back on his winning ways. It began on the Aaron Pryor-Alexis Arguello undercard on November 12, 1982. Duran was the after-fight walk-out bout where he earned $25,000 in beating Jimmy Batten on a ten-round decision.

It was during his training for Laing at Larry Holmes’ training quarters in Easton, Pennsylvania, where the Rinaldi Brothers and our dad would go to visit. Before long we became very friendly with the fistic legend, and he never failed us nor ever disappointed us. 

After the Laing fight, and nearing the end of 1982, it appeared that there was little hope in the future of the career of Roberto Duran. Nevertheless, while others urged Duran to retire, we and The USA Boxing News felt that he was far from washed up. As luck would have it, so did promoter Bob Arum.

Arum’s Top Rank, Inc. smartly took on Duran and matched him against the power punching former WBA welterweight king Pipino Cuevas on January 29, 1983 at the Sports Arena in Los Angeles, CA. While the Super Bowl was playing nearby the same week, the hottest ticket in town was for the Duran-Cuevas fight. So much so that a capacity crowd of 16,824 turned out for the fight and produced a live gate of $408,000. Both fighters were each guaranteed $50,000, plus a share of the closed circuit revenue.

In one of the most thrilling slugfests in boxing history, Duran, 152, brutally stopped Cuevas, 149, at 2:26 of fourth round of the scheduled 12-rounder. Duran was back and his heroics were just about to begin.

With the illness of our Father, we were unable to go to the fight live, but instead viewed the fight on closed-circuit at the Felt Forum in New York’s Madison Square Garden. Duran’s performance was so exhilarating that on this night our Father was able to forget about his pain and his dreaded outlook and immersed himself in the exciting ring action.

While our Father courageously battled on, Duran was set to give our Dad one more respite from his impending doom.

With the win over Cuevas, Arum decided that Duran would make a good opponent for the undefeated WBA junior middleweight king Davey Moore. The match was then set for June 16, 1983 at Madison Square Garden.

Going into the battle, this publication was the only one who gave Duran a chance to win. With a sell-out crowd of 20,191 on hand, producing an incredible live gate of $964,305 (this was at a time when the ringside seats were only $100) Duran entered the ring a 5-2 underdog.

On this night, our Father was too ill to attend and was slipping away at a rapid pace. We went in his place and were at ringside to see Duran, 152 ½, give the performance of a lifetime as he tore into Moore, 154, and ferociously pummeled him from pillar to post.

As the crowd cheered, Duran scored an incredible knockdown in the seventh round and in the next round, finished off Moore at 2:02 of Round 8.

The fight was rebroadcast on CBS on June 19, 1983 and although he was racked with pain that no medicine could subside, our Father was laying down on our living room couch and once again, his thoughts were detoured from death to watching Roberto Duran pull off the upset win. That was the last time that the pain would ever temporarily leave our Father again.

Things would go downhill from there. Our Father was such gallant battler, that we never thought he would die. It was as if Rocky Marciano could ever lose a fight. We thought our Dad would make a comeback. He did outlast all of his physicians’ predictions and held out for nine months, while the prognostications said he would be dead in 90 days.

He did it all virtually by himself. The fraudulent medical community, more interested in taking patients’ monies  for treatments just a step above the potions of snake Oil Salesmen, were both useless and greedy.  They showed the care of a rattlesnake and offered the hope of a hangman. My father had a better chance of climbing Mount Everest, than receiving any curing treatment from American physicians.

Roberto Duran training for his fight with Davey Moore in 1983 (Photo by Alex Rinaldi)

The comeback never came and three months after Duran defeated Moore, the ten-count was tolled for our father. Thankfully, because of the many who read this worldwide publication and website, his memory still lives on.

Because this publication soldiers on and thrives to this day, our Father and Roberto Duran are both almost like the Jimmy Stewart character in It’s a Wonderful Life, where Stewart realizes what an impact he had on so many people just by living his life and doing good deeds to others.

Joseph Rinaldi in December 1982

This may be an odd Christmas story because it ends in the death of an extraordinary man. But it shows that boxing and a great fighter like Roberto Duran can take away the pain of a dying man and give him a few happy moments in such bleak times, as well as offer a brief intermission from despair to his loved ones and, provide in its place, thrills and happiness during a family’s darkest hours. 

Gerard and Joseph Rinaldi in 1982

“When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things – not the great occasions – give off the greatest glow of happiness.” ― Bob Hope.

We think of our father every Christmas Eve. Although he is gone, he is never forgotten by us and is always in our thoughts, and it is every time we think of Roberto Duran, we think about the smiles he gave to a man whose life, like a broken clock,  was running out of time.

That is what makes boxing the special sport it is.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the both of us to all of our readers.

Keep Punching!

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Great Past Fights

Manny Pacquiao Wins a split decision over Keith Thurman for WBA Welterweight title

By Ron John Rinaldi

July 21 – Las Vegas, Nevada. Boxing has a strange and twisted history when an old legendary fighter comes up against some young gunslinger. First, the younger fighter wants to knock the older fighter’s block off so he can carry the torch and force the older fighter into the bastions of yesterday and retirement. Second, the younger one feels that “today” is his time and that the older champion is a mere member of the old guard soon to be replaced by the new guard, namely himself.

Great fighters like Davey Moore, and later Iran Barkley, once shared the identical thought about Roberto Duran in the 1980’s, and Duran proved them both sadly wrong.

In this fight, the undefeated 30 year old champion Keith Thurman had the same thought in mind. This was made apparent in the pre-fight press conferences leading up to the fight where Thurman kept declaring that he, and not Pacquiao, was the best welterweight out there, and that the 40 year old ring great no longer deserved to be at the top of the welterweights. “I want to show the world that I deserve to be at the top,” exclaimed Thurman. So much so that Thurman made three bets to not only win, but to knock out Pacquiao in rounds 1, 2, or 7.

The famed gunfighter Wyatt Earp once famously said, “When you have to choose between fact and legend print the legend.”  But that underlies the fact that their legend actually derives from iconic morsels of pure and real fact. The same goes for the legendary fighter and modern day gunslinger Manny Pacquiao. 

Like Davey Moore and Iran Barkley before him, Thurman painfully learned that sometimes it is easier to can a live alligator, than it is to beat a legend. This is especially true for that young great fighter when he squares off against a legend who happens to strike lightning one more time again, and returns to his once lethal greatness.

Well, that happened here before a sellout crowd of over 14,000 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao, 146 1/2,  beat previously  undefeated WBA Welterweight Champion Keith “One-Time” Thurman via split decision to capture his title.

Going into the bout, Manny was the favorite at -150, while Thurman was the underdog at +125. Meanwhile unlike Thurman, Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach wisely bet $5,000 on his man.

In an exciting give and take affair, that saw action throughout its twelve full rounds, both fighters firmly acquitted themselves well and gave the fans their money’s worth.

At the start of the fight Thurman, 146 1/2,  came out fast in round one scoring with straight rights to Pacquiao’s head and lefts to the body. Then with a 28 seconds remaining in the round, Manny raced after a retreating Thurman and landed a quick three punch combinations of right-left-right to the jaw that dropped Keith swiftly to the ring floor. Though it was a flash knockdown, it soon set the tone off the fight, which was that the 8 division world champion Pacquiao at age 40, was still a dreaded adversary to face within the ring ropes. It also gave the Filipino a 10-8 round, which would be a telling factor later when the time came for the tallying up of the scores.

Pacquiao still had the speed, both hand and foot, that he had since his younger days and even carried the punch with him as well.  Like the song he came into the ring with, Survivor’s  Eye of The Tiger, Manny never stopped punching during the bout, eventually bloodying Thurman’s nose and causing a swelling under his eyes.

To his credit, Thurman fought like the champion he is and scored well and often with straight rights, right uppercuts and lefts hooks that landed with power on his aggressive foe. For instance he stunned Manny several times in round 7, catching the Filipino legend with jarring blows to the chin and ribs, a couple of which actually stunned him.

It was just that Pacquiao threw the greater number of blows 696 to Thurman’s 571, though Thurman landed 210 to Manny’s 195. Regardless, Thurman could never catch up, though he gave it his all throughout. But his “all” on this night did not add up to be enough.

The judges scored it a close split decision with Manny winning by two judges’ scores of 115-112, while one judge gave it to Thurman by a score of 114-113. The USA Boxing News also scored it for Pacquiao by a score of 115-112.

Manny whose record upped to 62-7-2 (39 KO’s) pocketed a guaranteed $10 million plus a percentage of sales, which should bring his take up to around $20 million, said after the bout, “He [Keith Thurman] did his best, and I did my best, and i think the two of us gave the fans their money’s worth.”

Meanwhile Thurman whose record fell to a still impressive 29-1 (23 KO’s) also brought home a large guaranteed purse of $2.5 million plus a percentage of receipts, which should bring his final tally to about $8 million, was gratuitous in defeat, and said, “This was a beautiful night of boxing. Manny got the victory over me. I wish I had more output. I would love a rematch.”

 

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THE AFTERMATH

Andy Ruiz changes heavyweight history after his stunning knockout of Anthony Joshua to win the heavyweight championship

By Alex and John Rinaldi

With British flags flying throughout Madison Square Garden draping the Mecca of Boxing in the symbols and colors of the Union Jack, it appeared as if the British monarchy was staging a Royal reception on American soil.

Considering that fifty-five years ago the Beatles were barnstorming America in the second British invasion since the Revolutionary War, it now seemed again that the English were staging another form of a British Boxing invasion. This time, its king Anthony Joshua was charging into battle against the colonists, being led on this particular Saturday by a relatively unknown Andy Ruiz.

If the British thought they could have easily outgunned the Americans in 1775 to defeat; with Joshua as the helm, the thousands of  his countryman who trekked in from the United Kingdom, now ashore in New York City,  thought that their man’s win was a foregone conclusion and his success as secured as a Royal seal.

Well, the night’s fight did actually come to resemble a royal event. In fact,  it turned out to be a coronation of a new King when Andy Ruiz shockingly knocked out Joshua in seven rounds to capture three of the top four heavyweight championship belts and with it the specter as the King of the Heavyweights.

More interestingly, for the first time in years all heavyweight title belts now rest around the waists of two Americans.

Before a sellout crowd of 20,201, Anthony Joshua (22-1, 22 KO’s) and Andy Ruiz (22-0, 21 KOs) stunned the crowd and certainly gave them their money’s worth for the course of seven near electrifying rounds.

Announcer Michael Buffer who, in his trademark bellow declaration, always beckons the audience and the fighters to “Let’s get ready to rumble,” could not have been any closer to the truth, as he came off like a gypsy oracle when his hope for a big, mean, street fight came off as a reality.

Unfortunately for the three belt unified heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua, Buffer’s comments may have affected him more like a gypsy curse, for he ended up touching the canvas more times than Michelangelo, the last one, actually the fourth one, eventually prompting  the referee to stop the fight and end the reign of the British heavyweight sensation.

Though Andy Ruiz, with his underdog win, has become the 21^st century’s version of Rocky Balboa, albeit a Mexican one, he is far from a fluke fighter. While he may be built like someone who just rolled out from under a food truck, he has had over 100 amateur wins and his only professional loss was to the eventual WBO heavyweight title holder Joseph Parker on December 10, 2016, in the Parker’s home country of New Zealand. That fight came about by Ruiz being one of the two top ranked contenders willing to fight for the vacant WBO title. After twelve close rounds, Ruiz lost on a majority decision by scores of 114-114 and 115-113 (twice). Many thought that Ruiz won the fight or at least should have been awarded a draw.  “I think I got the win or at least a draw,” said Ruiz. “I think I set the pace with my jab.” Ruiz also stated he wanted to have a rematch with Parker in the future.

Two and half years later, Joshua was standing across the ring from him, holding what was once Parker’s belt, and Ruiz was there again hoping to capture a world heavyweight title. This time the venue was not in some god forsaken part of New Zealand. This time the fight was taking place in the most famous boxing arena of them all – New York’s Madison Square Garden – the Pinnacle Palace of boxing.

Going into the bout, Sportsbooks listed Joshua as a -2500 favorite (risk $2,500 to win $100), with Ruiz getting +1100 (risk $100 to win $1100) as the underdog.

Regardless of the odds, Ruiz undeniably battered and beat Joshua and deserved the biggest win of his career along with a solid place on the Mount Rushmore of underdogs. By shockingly defeating British boxing sensation Anthony Joshua via a seventh-round TKO to become the IBF, WBA, and WBO heavyweight champion of the world, his countenance should now stand right alongside the likes of Buster Douglas, Hasim Rahman, and James J. Braddock.

After two slow opening rounds that saw Joshua smartly jab his way around the ring moving to his left, while Ruiz countered with right-left combinations, few, if any would have contemplated that in the very next round – round three – all hell would break loose and the dominance of the heavyweight division would dangle on the balance.

Early in the third round, Joshua landed a hard right to Ruiz’s jaw that jarred him for a moment. Still confident, the challenger tried to mix things up with a couple of quick flurries. Then, with only 40 seconds ticked off in the round, Joshua exploded with a right cross followed by a left hook to the jaw that dropped Ruiz swiftly to the canvas. Up at “five” with the New York crowd on their feet, Ruiz absorbed a few more thudding shots from the champion. Those who came to see Joshua, which was about 20,000 out of the 20,201 in attendance, were already moving ahead to Joshua’s next bout for the undisputed heavyweight championship against Deontay Wilder.

Unfortunately, by looking ahead they forgot to look to what was left in the round, which was over two minutes. As Joshua appeared to be going in for the kill with harsh combinations, Ruiz bravely fought back. First it appeared to be strictly to defend himself, and then it switched to him getting on the offensive. Within seconds, swinging madly, but quickly with punches, Ruiz caught Joshua with a short left hook to the chin and a right hand chop to the top of the champion’s head that dropped the Brit like a bale of English tea.

The crowd was mortified and hoped it was nothing more than a flash knockdown. When Joshua rose at “seven” on unsteady legs, their cheers turned to fear and they hoped that the seconds would sprint through the time dial like a tornado through the heartland. To his credit, Joshua tried valiantly to hang in there and it almost worked until a few seconds left in the round, when Ruiz cornered the champ against the ropes and hammered away at him with a barrel full of leather that dropped Joshua again for the second time in the round. Luckily for him he rose at the count of  “seven” and the round mercifully ended.

The fight now took on the bright light of excitement, though the Joshua contingency prayed that their man would come back as he did against Wladimir Klitschko, and score another big knockout after reaching the lower depths of adversity.

It looked to be that way at first as Joshua fought back in rounds four, five, and six, to almost change the momentum of the fight in his favor.

Then came round seven.

The round started off well for Joshua, whose jab became more spear-like and his head seemed as clear as a crystal decanter. Within seconds into the round Joshua stunned Ruiz with a powerful right to the head that stunned him and stopped him in his tracks. Somehow, instead of covering up or retreating to safety, Ruiz stormed into Joshua like a madman intent on destruction. Throwing punches in bunches, Ruiz, in apparent desperation, and with the intent of a human buzz saw, threw all he had at Joshua who was not expecting this type of aggression. Eleven unanswered punches later,  that culminated with another clubbing right to the top of the head, Joshua landed on the canvas for the third time in the bout. Up at “four” and bleeding from the nose, Joshua tried valiantly to defend himself and save his laurels. Seeing blood, actually real blood, Ruiz, like a man on a mission, was not about to let Joshua off the hook and slammed him with a short left hook to the jaw that dropped the champion down for the second time in the round. Once again Joshua rose, but this time he appeared dazed and confused prompting the referee to call a halt to the fight.

The crowd murmured in shock as if they witnessed the death of a loved one.

The loss damaged the immediate future of the heavyweight division, which expected the popular Joshua to leap his way to a big money match with either Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder.

Because of this upset, boxing fans will now have to wait before seeing the long-awaited heavyweight bouts with Joshua against Wilder or Fury because of a rematch clause which will usher in a Joshua-Ruiz II bout in the fall in England.

For now all the praise goes to Ruiz. Unlike so many men who fought for the heavyweight tile and never make a challenge of it, Ruiz went for the gold ring and let it all hang out. He cared little for his safety and showed virtually no fear at all for Joshua. Instead, he came forward like a fearless warrior and deservedly scored the biggest knockout win of his life. A life that would never be the same again.

If Joshua made $25 million of this bout, Ruiz is sure to make eight figures for himself in the rematch.

“Mom, I love you,” the new champ Ruiz said at his news conference. “Our lives are going to change; we don’t have to struggle no more.”

On the win, Ruiz remarked, “We’ve been working really hard, man, really hard. I wanted to prove everybody wrong, all the doubters thinking I was going to lose in the third round, first round. I was looking at comments, as well. But what do you know, man? I’m the first Mexican heavyweight champion of the world. It’s a blessing. … I’m still pinching myself to see if this is real, man! Wow. It’s amazing.”

On being knocked down in the third round, the new champ admitted, “That was crazy that that happened, right? That was my first time on the canvas. When I was on the canvas I was, like, ‘Whoa, what the hell just happened?’ But I had to get him back. I had to get him back. I think that’s when the Mexican blood in me, the Mexican warrior that I have, I had to return the favor…When I was on the canvas I was, like, ‘Whoa, what the hell just happened?’ But I had to get him back. I think that’s the Mexican blood in me, the Mexican warrior that I have, I had to return the favor.”

Ruiz also agreed with the stoppage, “That’s the referee’s job. The referee knows what he’s doing. If he would’ve just let it go, I think I would’ve stopped the fight in more dramatic fashion, but he did what he had to do. The job was for him…I was waiting for him [Joshua] to open up. I wanted to break him down a little bit more, work the body. He hits really hard, man. He hits pretty hard. I just needed to be smart in there. I thought he opened up too much to where I could counter him. The speed, I think, got to him, and we got this victory.”

As for Joshua, he said truthfully, “I took my first (professional) loss. How to explain that feeling? It has happened to me before but I feel like those times I lost years back have made me a stronger person, It hasn’t really changed me, my work ethic, my mindset, what I stand for, the people I’m still loyal to – my trainer Rob McCracken, my amateur coach at Finchley ABC. I’m still going to work with these guys; they’ll teach me everything I need to know. They’ve done a great job for me not only inside the boxing ring but mainly as a human. They’ve really developed me as a person which is really important. These guys have been with me for years.”

Joshua also refused to make any excuses for his defeat and has vowed to win back the IBO, IBF, WBO and WBA (super) heavyweight titles he lost to the American in New York. “There was no contaminated food. I know there are a lot of accusations or worries about what was wrong with me,” Joshua added. “But I want to tell you this – I’m a soldier and I have to take my ups and my downs. And on Saturday I took a loss and I have to take it like a man. I have to take my loss like a man, no blaming anyone or anything.  I’m the one who went in there to perform and my performance didn’t go to plan. I’m the one who has to adjust, analyze and do my best to correct it and get the job done in the rematch.”

As for his future, Joshua advised, “Boxing is a part of my life and I’m a champion at heart. Congratulations to Andy Ruiz, he has six months or so to be champion because the belts go in the air and he has to defend them against myself.”

In its opening line for the potential rematch, BetOnline made Joshua a -350 favorite, meaning you’d have to bet $350 to win $100. Ruiz, meanwhile, is a +275 underdog. That means you’d win $275 for a $100 wager. It’s not nearly as wide as Ruiz being a +1400 underdog, but it’s an interesting look at how the sports book thinks the public will bet on the rematch.

“Considering Ruiz was a 14/1 underdog this past weekend, it would be hard to justify him being another huge underdog,” Dave Mason, the sports book brand manager for BetOnline, told Forbes. “However, we expect the smart money to come in on Joshua closer to the fight while the public will probably back Ruiz again.”

As for the British, they have always showed guts and tenacity, Dunkirk and the famous brave air fight in the Battle of Britain, proved that; and it cemented their do or die attitude.  Joshua can certainly come back. He has showed that type of mettle. The only thing left is whether he has that true grit to make the comeback and restore his place on the cliff of the heavyweight hierarchy.

As for Ruiz, he has the skills to remain the champion. Still whatever lies in his future, for one monumental, historic evening in the ring of rings in Madison Square Garden, Ruiz fought like a warrior and emerged the victor in one of boxing’s greatest ring battles. He came, he fought hard, and he conquered. It is the story line of myths and one of the backdrops of glory. Ruiz succeeded in both. For now there is a new King, for whatever will be his reign, he has achieved immortality and riches well beyond his wildest dreams. Cheers go out to him.

Heavyweight boxing is back big. Long live the heavyweight division.

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