BJ Flores v Trevor Bryan elevated to WBA interim title status in alphabet pantomime.

The Vacant WBA interim heavyweight championship will now be on the table for the winner of Saturday nights bout between unbeaten Trevor Bryan (19-0, 13 KOs) and tough veteran B.J. Flores (34-3-1, 21 KOs) at the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, AZ. The interim title status was approved only yesterday with the pending WBA regular championship bout between Manuel Charr and Fres Oquendo is currently in legal limbo according to Bryan’s promoter Don King. The fight is however still scheduled for September 29, with the concerned parties solving their differences, if any to allow the fight to commence as arranged..
“These two warriors are both very hungry and they both dream of becoming a heavyweight champion,” said promoter Don King. “This should be a classic battle on Saturday night with the title on the line. We’ll decide the title in the ring, while the courts decide on what they will do with Charr and Oquendo.”
It all looks very much like typical Don King stunt to create interest in one of his marquee fighters.. In any case, anyone who regards the interim title as a claimant to any manifestation of a WBA championship has no business in the game.. The interim title is a poor mans version of a regular belt.. which itself is a poor mans version to the major title that remains in the hands of Anthony Joshua.. Bryan v Flores is an interesting fight, but deserves placement in a small hall as a mere curiosity..

Doors for tonight’s fight open at 5 p.m. The Celebrity Theater is located at 440 N. 32nd St. in Phoenix.

Second tier heavyweight title bout, still scheduled despite unrest claims by King.

Despite claims by Don King that the bout between between WBA heavyweight champion Manuel Charr and Fres Oquendo is on shaky ground while both parties litigate, it’s been confirmed by Pat English, a representative of Manuel Charr that the bout will still go ahead as scheduled on September 29th and will take place at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany. Charr is the lightest regarded title holder due to the existence of the WBA super title, currently in the hands of Anthony Joshua.. Claimant to the regular title is in all honesty a mere bargaining tool to step into a more meaningful unification bout with the ‘Real’ players.. Oquendo is the recognised challenger in the eyes of the WBA but has not boxed in over 4 years since his previous challenge for the same belt belonging to Ruslan Chagaev in 2014.. It’s a case of a desperate promoter, clutching at straws to scupper a bout between a transient second class champion and an over ranked inactive challenger who has no business as in a number one position.. Regardless, the bout is allegedly still a go, and Charr is still the recognised regular champ.

Whyte outguns Parker in epic eliminator.

WBC Number 1 ranked heavyweight Dillian Whyte (24-1, 17 KOs) took a large step closer to finalising a title fight on Saturday night by scoring an exciting twelve round unanimous points decision over former World Boxing Organization champion Joseph Parker (24-2, 18 KOs) at the O2 Arena in London.
Parker started the bout purposefully outboxing Whyte with an intelligent, patient approach.. Whyte stood his ground however, steadily figuring Parker out whilst beginning to establish his jab.. In round 2 Parker stumbled to the canvas after an obvious head clash, whilst referee Ian Jon Lewis took up a count as a legitimate knockdown. Parkers momentum following the head clash appeared to be disjointed at a critical time where Whyte began to dictate the pace of the action.. Whyte starting to land more frequently whilst dragging the fight into the gutter.. By round 8 Whyte was controlling the action, landing the jab on command and nullifying almost everything the tentative Parker threw in return.. The real telling statement came in the ninth when Whyte dropped Parker legitimately with a big left hook for the first time in his whole career..
The fight looked in the bag for the determined Londoner going into the final stretch, with both men struggling with the elevated pace with the punch output dropping considerably.. The desperate former champion being urged to rally by his animated corner.. The final round brought high drama, whilst leading comfortably, Whyte ran into a huge Parker right hand, visibly distressed and fatigued the Brixton man intelligently took a knee and bought himself precious time.. Whyte arose calmly and managed to stifle and smother the Kiwis final onslaught to the final bell..

Scores were 113-112, 115-110, 114-111.

Parker attempted to dominate Whyte with clean cut boxing ability, whilst the starving hungry Whyte approached the bout with a win at all costs attitude, untidy at times and dirty on occasion, but in a fight of this magnitude and with so much at stake, no one in attendance could blame Dillian for his tactics..

Whyte now stands in the top 3 rankings in every governing body, a huge opportunity has to materialise soon..

Chisora scores 8th round knockout over Takam in sensational fight.

In a wonderful heavyweight scrap for the vacant World Boxing Association International heavyweight title, former world title challengers Dereck Chisora (29-8, 21 KOs) and Carlos Takam (35-5-1, 27 KOs) dug in and provided a sold out O2 arena in London with a sensational, unforgettable battle, which ended spectacularly when Chisora scored a surprise eighth round KO. The fight was boxed at close quarters for the most part with Takam pressing the majority of the action.. Chisora took the initiative to bring the fight into the centre of the ring in round 8, where he rolled the dice, dropping Takam twice with huge right hands.. Time was 1:01.

It has to be noted that Dereck hasn’t beaten a world ranked fighter in almost 10 years and very few fighters have been able to put the very capable Takam away in this manner.. This has to rank as one of Chisora’s career highlights and could very easily propel him back into a huge significant fight..

David Allen scores dramatic knockout over unbeaten Nick Webb.

In a fight which literally materialised on a few days notice, Undefeated Nick Webb took on the experienced David Allen at the O2 tonight in a bout which had huge significance on both men’s careers.. Webb had previously been linked to names like Gorman and Joyce, but was testing his level for the first time against a man who’d mixed in a much higher pedigree. Both fighters started cautiously, looking for openings, with Webb being the much more adventurous, letting his hands go more frequently.. The pattern stayed constant through the second round with Webb letting clean power shots go, and Allen showing his trade mark durability.. The third session saw Webb slow a little and absorb a few sneaky right hands from the Doncaster fighter but still stealing the round with steady workrate.. Round four unfolded sensationally, when a reluctant Webb backed into the ropes to avoid a thumping left hook to the body and was knocked onto his back by a savage looping right hand from out of nowhere.. Webb tried valiantly to get to his feet but stumbled onto the matt for a second time, before staggering once more and falling backwards to be counted out in a fight that he was comfortably winning.. It was a redemption victory for David who had hinted at retirement prior to the fight.. An emotional Allen received one of his highest paydays to date and appeared overwhelmed by his victory, only weeks ago suffering a knockout loss to Olympic champion Tony Yoka in France.. The win over Webb must thrust him into a possible bout with Nathan Gorman or Daniel Dubois.. Webb must return to the drawing board..

Oleksandr Usyk stands alone as undisputed world Cruiserweight champion.

In the spectacular conclusion to the WBSS Cruiserweight tournament, number one seeded Oleksandr Usyk (15-0, 11 Ko’s) dominated in a flawless 12 round display to earn a unanimous decision over Previously unbeaten Murat Gassiev (26-0, 19 Ko’s) to be crowned the first undisputed Cruiserweight king since Evander Holyfield back in 1987.. A packed to the rafters Olimpiysky Sports plaza in Moscow, Russia saw Usyk claim the coveted Muhammad Ali trophy with a masterclass of rapid jabbing, turning, counterpunching and illusiveness, that proved too much for the accomplished Gassiev.. Usyk’s ridiculous work rate appeared to overwhelm Murat, winning with scores of 120-108 and 119-109 twice.. After the lengthy awards ceremony following the bout, Usyk showed an interest in possibly meeting Tony Bellew in the near future, opening the door for what appears an interesting little matchup.. “If he wants it here (at Cruiserweight) fine, if he wants it at heavyweight, I’m prepared to move up..” before making the passing quip, “I’ll take extra spaghetti at dinner to move up for him.”

Jonathan Palata, heavyweight newcomer on a fast track.

A new face on the healthy uk professional heavyweight scene is Jonathan Palata, an explosive counter puncher who boxed out of the Balham amateur boxing club in London before turning pro last May.. Jon won the Haringey box cup tournament, along with both the novice and London ABA titles before reaching the senior quarter finals in his first year.. Palata looked destined to move along the international scene towards an Olympic spot in 2020, but decided to take his aggressive yet illusive style to the paid ranks under the guidance of Steve Goodwin Promotions.. valuable sparring with David Haye along with a great relationship with new trainer Don Charles prepared him perfectly for his first dip into the pro game last May, where he scored a second round knockout of Aleksey Spazov ..  Jonathan already has a second outing scheduled for September 22nd on the huge Goodwin promotions card at the York Hall, along with preliminary dates for several other future options.. Palata who started out as a 201 pounder in what would be considered a Cruiserweight class in the pros, but soon grew and adapted into a comfortable super heavyweight, now boxing as a full blooded professional heavyweight.. Palata is well conditioned and well grounded with obvious faith in his own ability.. The plan looks to be keeping Jon busy and rack up as many fights as is possible within the next 12 months before making a move towards the current rising crew of Dubois, Joyce, Gorman etc.. Palata makes all the right noises and insiders value his chances of becoming a dominant future force highly..

Rocky Fielding scores huge upset in Germany to arrest WBA 168lb title from Tyron Zeuge.

In quite a significant upset, Liverpool’s Rocky Fielding (27-1, 15 KOs) scored a fifth round stoppage victory over WBA super middleweight champion Tyron Zeuge (22-1-1, 12 KOs) to grasp the championship tonight at the Baden-Arena in Offenburg, Germany. Fielding looked too respectful of the German title holder in the early rounds, but soon found his size and strength were causing Zeuge to slow down dramatically.. From round 3 onwards Fielding meticulously outgunned Zeuge, hurting him in round four and finally finishing him off with a devastating body shot in the fifth score the upset.. Zeuge was possibly the weakest and most inexperienced of the current champions, but the victory places Fielding in prime position to compete with the huge names once the WBSS has expired..

Tyson Fury promises serious approach to Belfast return against Pianeta.

Tyson Fury has promised to keep the approach strictly professional for the second phase of his return to action, when he meets the experienced Francesco Pianeta in Belfast on August 18. Fury took his clowning a little too far throughout both the buildup and fight against overmatched Sefer Seferi at the Manchester Arena in June, kissing the visitor before the action began and lifting his Albanian opponent at the scales.. Tyson knows that for his date with former world title challenger Pianeta, his trainer Ben Davison expects him to have his game face on and not to court the expected sell-out crowd at Windsor Park, which will simultaneously play host to Carl Frampton defending his WBO world interim featherweight title against Luke Jackson on the same evening.
Tyson explained that he’s not exactly the serious type of guy, he’s spontaneous and impulsive, but knows he has to curb his mischievous side come fight night on this occasion..
Frank Warren shares the thoughts of trainer Davison and believes Tyson is more likely to stick to the script because of the more serious nature of the selected opponent for this event..
The 33 year old Pianeta has twice challenged for the championship and was 29-0 before meeting Wladimir Klitschko in 2013..
Other losses have come at the hands of solid operators Kevin Johnson and Ruslan Chagaev, along with a recent defeat at the hands of Petar Milas only a few weeks ago..
Pianeta is tall and rangy southpaw with decent power, and in the middle of his peak years had to take a hiatus from the sport to defeat his toughest foe, testicular cancer.. Its the best opponent we could ask for at this particular time for Fury, and every credit to Francesco for taking the fight..

Green light for George Groves to appear in delayed Super series final.

The ongoing saga regarding the Muhammad Ali Trophy Super-Middleweight Final between George Groves and Callum Smith has finally been put to bed, and will go ahead later this summer with the currently injured Groves being granted his well earned place.
Contrary to some very premature hearsay on social media about the Hammersmith fighter being replaced by Chris Eubank Jr, Comosa AG and Kallie Sauerland officially announced that the World Boxing Super Series will be delaying until late August or early September thus allowing Groves adequate time to recover and rightfully take part in the grand conclusion of the groundbreaking  tourney.
The WBA Super Champion (28-3, 20KOs) suffered a dislocation of his shoulder in the final round of his victory over Chris Eubank Jr in February. There had been an original deadline imposed by  Comosa AG to complete the competition by late July, but after many inside discussions and reception to public demand it has been decided that a postponement was the popular  arrangement..
On the opposite side of the table to Groves, the final now signals WBC Diamond Champion, Callum Smith's (24-0 17 Ko’s) first shot at a world championship, having Patiently sat in mandatory positions numerous times over the last couple of years.. it’s a fabulous night for both men and for British boxing with two of its own fighters in different career positions battling for such a prestigious award..

Carmona misses weight, Yafai’s title not on the line in Fresno.

On the scales tonight ahead of his WBA Super-flyweight championship challenge for Kal Yafai’s title at the Save Mart Center in Fresno California, David Carmona missed weight by a substantial 3.6 pounds, exceeding the 115lb division limit.. Yafai tipped in at 114, to Carmona’s 118.6.. The bout will go ahead as scheduled, with Yafai’s title not on the table..

The combatants for tomorrow evenings IBF junior Bantamweight co-feature weighed in on point.

Jerwin Ancajas 114.8 vs. Jonas Sultan 114.4

Promoter of the event, Top Rank.