Yoka struggles with Hrgovic, meets Joyce in 91+ final..

Tonights 91+ kilos Olympic semi finals was again shrouded in controversy as Croatian Filip Hrgovic looked to have comfortably bossed the number one seeded Tony Yoka of France..  Hrgovic completely outboxed the tentative Yoka in the first session only to see his efforts thwarted by judges scores of 10/9 across the board in favour of Yoka..  The second round had pretty much the same pattern, Yoka throwing very few punches while the Croat stayed in control behind the jab.. once again two of the judges gave Yoka the round while a solitary judge opted for the busier Hrgovic..  The final round saw Yoka, hands held high, struggling to avoid the Croatians accurate punches, half way through the round Yoka stumbled to the canvas and twisted his ankle, a ringside official inspected the Frenchman and allowed the action to continue, with Yoka completely pedestrian..  At the conclusion of the bout a confident Yoka raised his arms, while Hrgovic appeared less celebratory..  Yoka was awarded his place in the final by a split decision, all three judges awarded Hrgovic the final round but it wasn't enough..    Many officials and commentary at ringside struggled to give Yoka a single round..  

In the other semi final Great Britains Joe Joyce beat world number one Ivan Dychko to secure himself a place and an opportunity to emulate his former teammate Anthony Joshua in Sundays final..  Joyce started slow, stalking the mobile Dychko for the first three minutes of the fight, Joyce struggling to cut the ring off allowed the 6 foot 9 Dychko to slightly sway the judges, all three scoring for the Kazakh fighter.  The second round would see the huge Kazakh slow down considerably, allowing the persistent Joyce to get inside and target the body of Dychko, hurting him repeatedly, the further the round went the slower the Kazakh fighter appeared.. Joyce winning on all three cards after 2 leaving it dead level..  In the final round Joyce was going to leave nothing to chance, upping the tempo against the now pedestrian Dychko, who looked close to exhaustion approaching the final seconds... Joyce dominated the round and now faces France's Tony Yoka on Sunday evening..

Croatia's Filip Hrgovic knocks out Lenier Pero to secure place in super-heavyweight last 4.

In a sensational upset, Croatia's Filip Hrgovic knocked out Cubas Lenier Pero in the second round of their quarter final super-heavyweight bout on Tuesday..  Hrgovic who outpointed Turkey's Ali Demirezen in his previous bout now finds himself in the last 4, against World number one Tony Yoka of France, boxing for his place in the final..   Yoka booked his semi final place with a convincing points victory over Jordanian Hussein Iashaish earlier in the evening..

Tony Yoka v Filip Hrgovic is only half of the semi final segment, with Great Britains Joe Joyce meeting the Kazakh Ivan Dychko in the alternative half..   Semi finals are on Friday afternoon, with the Final event taking place on Sunday evening.

Relentless Joyce outguns Jalolov, for a place in the 91+ semi finals.

Team GB super-heavyweight Joe Joyce snatched himself a place in the semi finals in Rio today and a guaranteed medal with his most impressive performance of the tournament against the tall rangy Uzbek,  Bakhodir Jalolov..   Joyce boxed mostly on the front foot from the start, yet overeagerly walking into some well timed counters by the Uzbek fighter. Joyce did settle into a comfortable rhythm, pressuring Jalolov for the remainder of the round to edge ahead across the board..  Joyce continued to apply pressure, switching attacks between both head and body of the stringy Jalolov, who was visibly feeling the pace by the half way point.. Joyce, who prides himself on his tremendous engine, upped the tempo in the final minute of the second, hurting the Uzbek fighter with a vicious body shot in the final seconds of a decisive round..   With the finishing line in sight, Joyce went for the kill, hurting Jalolov with almost every shot, forcing the stricken fighter to take a standing count mid way through the session, Jalolov looked ready to quit, as the menacing Joyce applied further pressure to again force a second standing count to the now desperate Jalolov, with only seconds remaining in the contest..   With scores of 10/8 on two of the judges cards for the final round and a complete sweep in the previous two, Joyce proved without any doubt that he is a force to be reckoned with in these games, Jalolov a proven competitor was made to look very average by the relentless Brit..  Joyce now faces Ivan Dychko of khazakstan who later defeated the wild Nigerian, Efe Ajagba in the other quarter final.. The very least Joyce can collect now is bronze..

Appalling judging awards Tishchenko heavyweight gold.

In a baffling turn of events, Russia's Evgeny Tishchenko took a unanimous decision over Kazakhstan's Vassiliy Levit in the heavyweight final tonight.  The aggressive Levit took the fight to the taller Tishchenko pushing the Russian onto the back foot throughout..  In a first round that looked Levit's round across the board a single judge gave Tishchenko the round..  Levit piled on more pressure in the second, hardly allowing Tishchenko space to breath, the Russian now bleeding from a cut around the hairline, neglecting his usually effective southpaw jab, going into survival mode..  Astonishingly every judge was this a Tishchenko round, a round that was so obviously dominated by the Kazakh..  The final round saw Tishchenko running on empty, midway through the round the Russian collapsing to the floor from the constant pressure being applied by the busier Levit, moments later the Russian escaped the onslaught as his corner was allowed to tend a cut around Tishchenkos eye..   As the action resumed, Levit once again forced the helpless Russian back into the ropes, flailing shots until the final bell..  It did seem that Vassiliy Levit had grabbed the gold, however several minutes later it became apparent how inept the judges had gauged such an important fight..    Tishchenko awarded the heavyweight gold medal by unanimous decision amidst a hail of disapproving boos...   Most everyone in commentary along with impartial bystanders saw Levit a comfortable victor..  

The gold medal is anyone's at Superheavy.. It's open house.

This years Olympic super-heavyweight boxing tournament is by no means cut and dried, with four of the final 8 fighters capable on any given day of beating the rest..  Top of the standings is the tournaments favourite, Frenchman Tony Yoka, who has proven over the last 4 years, exactly why he is so highly seeded... Yoka has faced most of the guys in his bracket in previous tournaments, most notably GBs Joe Joyce, with both fighters sharing victories in their two meetings..  Yoka looked the most complete of this years competitors in his only bout so far, outboxing the huge Virgin Islander Laurent Clayton Jr..   High on anyone's list of possible gold medalists has to be the world number 1 ranked Ivan Dychko..  The 6 foot 9 Kazakh, overcame the rugged Magomed Medzhidov in his first bout, a fight unfortunately cut short on the advice of the ringside physicist following a thumb in the Azerbaijan fighters eye, Dychko had previously been knocked out by Medzhidov and was looking for revenge..  A highly touted medalist, Dychko will have to fight out of his skin to make the finals..  Dychko faces huge punching wildcard Efe Ajagba of Nigeria in tomorrow's quarters, a fight of huge importance..  Third on my list of possibles is the tough, hard punching Joe Joyce of Great Britain..  This is Joyce's first Olympics, but having faced most all of his fellow competitors, the huge Brit won't be phased by the occasion. In his only bout of the games Joyce showed immense power in stopping Cape Verdes Davilson Morais inside a round..  Joyce has beaten both Yoka and the Pero in WSB bouts, outpointing the Cuban in his own back yard in Havana..  Joe is the most proficient of the list, he lacks finesse, but makes up for it with determination, Joe has sparred consistently with IBF world heavyweight Champion going back as far as AJs 2012 success, the kind of valuable experience that could carry Joyce as an outsider, towards gold..  Joe faces the Uzbekistan representative in the quarters, Jalolov, a tall rangy boxer with little power, a foe that shouldn't pose too much of a threat to the Londoner..  
The wildcard goes to Nigerias Efe Ajagba, who's single appearance so far has produced the knockout of tournament, wiping out Trinidad and Tobagos Nigel Paul inside a round on Saturday..  Ajagba is tall, powerful, mobile and possesses the tools to trouble anyone in his Olympic path, Ajagba faces world number 1 Ivan Dychko in the quarters, but in all honestly has nothing to lose..  
Cuban Lenier Pero is still in contention, beating the Italian Vianello in his second round bout, to secure his quarter final spot against the Croatian Filip Hrgovic..  Pero is useful, but not the invincible force you'd usually expect of the Cuban squad..  Olympic Superheavyweight champions usually go on to professional success, a springboard to limitless financial gains, there is a lot more than medals at stake and success could be anyone's..

Vassiliy Levit upsets Erislandy Savon, books his place in the heavyweight final.

In the Olympic heavyweight semi finals tonight, number 7 ranked Vassiliy Levit pulled the upset by beating the betting gold medal favourite, Cuban Erislandy Savon, to secure his place in the final...  The rangy Savon started the bout boxing at long range, keeping the Kazakh fighter on the end of the jab, Levit did close the gap towards the end of the first round but it seemed as though Savon had bossed the opener.  Round two however was a different story, Levit drawing Savon into a brawl, closing the gap and scoring frequently at close range..  The scoring after 2 rounds slightly favoured Levit by scores of 20 20 19, the single point deficit from some curious judging of round 1..   Going into the final 3 minutes, the place in the final was anyone's, but it seemed that Savons unwillingness to let his hands go on the inside, paired with his lack of urgency when it mattered lost him the bout..  Vassiliy Levit winning a majority decision..     Levit now meets the Russian Evgeny Tishchenko in the battle for gold..

Joe Joyce scores first round stoppage in Olympic debut.

Great Britains superheavyweigt representative Joe Joyce made a sensational debut appearance at his first Olympics with a one round stoppage of Cape Verde's Davilson Morais, tonight..   Joyce came out wild from the start, trying too hard to stamp his authority on his first appearance of the tournament..   Midway into the round however Joyce landed the cleaner shots in a close exchange causing the referee to allow Morais' corner take a look at a possible eye injury, with a minute left in the round Joyce caught Morais once again with a hurtful right hand that forced a standing count, the game African walked straight back into a Joyce onslaught, Joe over eagerly smothering his own shots but finally finding an overhand right to drop Morais, closing the show with seconds left in the round..
Joyce will now face Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan in the final 8..

Nigerian nightmare Efe Ajagba scores one punch knockout to land himself a place in the 91+ quarters.

Nigerians sole boxing representative Efe Ajagba stormed through to the Superheavyweight quarter finals tonight with a first round one punch knockout of Trinidad and Tobago's Nigel Paul..  The 22 year old Ajagba is ranked number 9 in the world and showed the kind of power that has put him there. Boxing at long range behind the jab for most of the round until the opening presented itself. Paul who is ranked at 22 looked to be holding his own until the tall Nigerian, very reminiscent of their 1996 Olympian Duncan Dokiwari, dropped a lethal right hand with just 18 seconds left in the first round..  Ajagba now faces world number 1 Ivan Dychko in the last 8..  Dychko scoring a revenge victory over Magomed Medzhidov of Azerbaijan, who had twice previously beaten the kazakh fighter.

French Superheavy Tony Yoka moves into last 8 with victory over Laurent Clayton jr.

French Superheavyweight favourite Tony Yoka scored a decisive points victory over US Virgin Islander Laurent Clayton Jr. Clayton who is the stepson of former world middleweight champion Julian Jackson had previously scored an upset over experienced German Erik Pfeifer and looked competent in doing so.. Yoka however was a different challenge, a mobile boxer puncher who barely allowed Clayton to land cleanly..   Yoka has solid company in his weight category and won't find everyone as agreeable as Clayton jr, with Joe Joyce making his first appearance tonight against Cape Verde's Davilson Morais and Cuba's Lenier Pero already through to the quarters..  Yoka will now face Hussein Iashaish of Jordan to earn his place in on the podium..

Cuba's Lenier Pero beats Italy's Guido Vianello for a place in the 91+ quarters.

Cuban Superheavyweight Lenier Pero advances into the quarter finals tonight after a fairly one sided victory over the tall awkward Guido Vianello of Italy. Vianello looked impressive in his pre Olympic qualifying bouts in Baku, but couldn't find the remedy for the shorter southpaw on this occasion..  Pero is efficient in his work rate and kept the taller man off balance for most of the first round..   Both men's styles clashed during most of the bout, Pero throwing calculated counters as Vianello launched the wilder shots from range, the Cuban catching Vianello half way through the round with a single clean shot that forced a standing count, a chance for the exhausted Italian to catch his breath..  Pero did allow the desperate Vianello some success in the third, the trailing Italian looking to set up some heavy artillery on the illusive Cuban, but as time ticked by, Pero took further advantage of the tiring Vianello, winning all three rounds clearly..   Pero isn't the most dominant of the Cuban fighters, losing to both Fraser Clarke and Joe Joyce of team GB in recent tournaments..  But he showed intelligent skills tonight to beat the game Italian..

47 year old Roy Jones Jr, returns tonight in Pensacola.

Former world champion Roy Jones Jr. (63-9, 46 KOs) returns to the ring tonight at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Florida. The 47-year-old Jones will take on 40-year-old Rodney Moore (17-11-2, 7 KOs) in what will be his 73rd professional fight..  Jones said that as long as he keeps winning, he will continue to keep fighting..  Moore has had a mixed career, his last meaningful win was back in 2002 when he stopped Donnell Wiggins for the NABA light heavyweight title..  Since then Rodney has had only 9 fights in 13 years, all losses, at the hands of previous foe Wiggins, Andrey Fedesov, Danny Batchelder, George Khalid Jones and Quantis Graves, all by decision, he was knocked out last year by Murat Gassiev in California, and beaten on points more recently by Mike Bissett in February..   Roy acknowledges that Moore has decent power and kept respectful company at one point in his career, but really doesn't see Moore as any kind of threat to his travelling circus..

Juanma Lopez v Wilfredo Vasquez jr... October 8th..

In a clash of former world champions, Juan Manuel Lopez (34-5, 31 KOs) faces Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr (24-6-1, 19 KOs) in what is escalating into a grudge match on October 8 at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Lopez's 30 fight Unbeaten run was halted in 2011 by Orlando Salido via tko, a year later Salido handed the southpaw his second career defeat, again by stoppage..  Since then Lopez has lost a further 3 of his last 6 bouts, all stoppages at the hands of the respectable Mikey Garcia, Francisco Vargas and more recently to Jesus Cuellar in his last appearance back in 2014. The 33 year old acknowledges the fact that he has suffered some bad knockout of late, but feels that the two years out of the ring have allowed him to focus on getting back to where he once was..
Wilfredo Vasquez jr also had his unbeaten run broken in 2011, a stoppage loss at the hands of Jorge Arce, and like Lopez, he'd go on to suffer further setbacks, alternate defeats at the hands of Nonito Donaire, Yasutaka Ishimoto, Marvin Sonsona and Fernando Vargas, all by the slimmest of decisions..   Vasquez's recent outing against Rafael Rivera in December was again a heartbreaking split decision loss in a challenge for the WBC Fecarbox title in Florida..  Both guys have points to prove in this match with Puerto Rican machismo on the line as well as a step back onto the world stage for the victor..  Both guys have faced opponents with the highest pedigree as champions and both know exactly what it took to get there..

GB light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi moves into the quarter finals with second stoppage victory..

Great Britains Olympic light heavyweight hopeful Joshua Buatsi secures himself a place in the Rio quarter finals after his second knockout win in a row..  Buatsi got off to a flying start with his third round stoppage of Sweden's Kennedy Katende in his opener, tonight Joshua faced a sterner opponent on the form of 30 year old world ranked Elshod Rasulov of Uzbekistan. Buatsi boxed impressively, dominating the first two rounds before dropping the demoralised Rasulov with a right hand in the third, the Uzbek fighter climbed gamely off the floor but fell again whilst attempting to hold Buatsi, moments later a left, right, left combination knocked Rashulov down again, this time for good..  
Buatsi will box Algeria's Abdelhafid Benchabla in the 81kgs quarter-final on Sunday

Erislandy Savon and Vassiliy Levit move on to the 91kilo semis.

In the heavyweight quarter finals, World Number 6 seed Vassiliy Levit of Kazakstan boxed carefully in the early goings, intelligently fencing the aggressive number 7 ranked Kennedy St Pierre of Mauritius to take a decisive first session..  The usually animated St Pierre began to look pedestrian in the second, an easy target for the more polished Levit..  Both guys having success, but the kazakh fighter landing more frequently..   St Pierre notably behind on points began the final round aggressively, winging shots at the tiring Levit, in desperation..  Both fighters finished strongly to close out a relatively one sided bout..   Levit moving on to the semis.

The other quarter final saw the Cuban favourite Erislandy Savon wasting no time, letting the bombs go against two time Argentinian Olympian Yamil Peralta Jara..  Weathering the storm Jara found sporadic success with right hand counters, but the constant pressure from the crafty Cuban earned him the first two rounds decisively..  The final stanza saw Jara hurt frequently by huge right hands from Savon, attempting to trade, the Argentinian found himself out of his depth..   Savon breezing through to the medal stages, unanimously..

Savon will meet Levit in the first guaranteed medal round on Saturday..

Laurent Clayton edges Erik Pfeifer in Superheavy upset.

The huge Laurent Clayton jr of the Virgin Islands scored a relative upset in the first round of the Super Heavyweight category today as he took a 2/1 split decision over Germany's two time Olympian Erik Pfeifer in a highly entertaining, action filled bout..  Pfeifer started with authority but found himself on the end of Claytons long jab throughout most of the first session ..  The more experienced Pfeifer looked to load up too often, but was unable to reach the younger Virgin Islander, who was deceptively mobile for his size..  Clayton took the first round quite decisively, with the second slightly more even..  It looked like the German would need a two point round to even the scoring in the last, and as advertised Pfeifer went loading up for a grand finish, outworking Clayton in spells but still walking into counters..   A jubilant Clayton celebrated a momentous victory, a fight Pfeifer could have secured had he not been content to eat too many punches in the early rounds..  Clayton, the stepson of former middleweight legend Julian Jackson looked quite basic, but effective as he stuck to a game plan that payed off..

Brave Okolie bows out to classy Savon.

Team GBs heavyweight hopeful Lawrence Okolie came up short against the classy Erislandy Savon yesterday in their second stage bout in Rio..  Savon and Okolie met only weeks ago in Tashkent in a WSB tournament, where the Cuban stopped the young Londoner inside a round, this meeting however wasn't as cut and dry..  Okolie started fast looking to box long range but was soon on the end of heavy weather as Savon found his measure, Okolie was on the floor after just 50 seconds from an apparent right hand, which looked more like a slip in hindsight.  Okolie maintained his composure despite heavy fire from Savon, who looked to have taken the first decisively..  The second round saw Lawrence attempt to stand his ground, rocking the Cuban momentarily in a vain attempt to rally. Savon stuck to his guns, keeping Okolie constantly on the back foot..  The final round was a mere formality, Savon awarded the decision by 30 points to 20..  Okolie will take a huge amount of encouragement from his Olympic experience, beating 5 world ranked opponents to qualify then hang in there with the number one seed to a points decision..  A dissapointed Lawrence Okolie later explained how tough it was to try figure out such an experienced opponent with so few bouts under his belt, he remembers watching Savon boxing Anthony Joshua in the 2012 Olympics while working in McDonald's, never imagining that he'd be fighting Savon himself 4 years on..  Okolie can definitely come again, a loss at this level can't hurt him.

GB heavyweight Lawrence Okolie faces Erislandy Savon after first Olympic victory over Jakobowski.

Team GB heavyweight hopeful, Lawrence Okolie moved nicely into the next stages at the Rio Olympics with a decisive points victory over Polands Igor Jakubowski on Saturday night..  The 23 year old is now set to rematch the accomplished Cuban Erislandy Savon, two months after he was knocked down three times and stopped by the Cuban inside a round in Uzbekistan..  Okolie has only been boxing since 2012, when he walked into a boxing gym intending to lose weight..  Lawrence chiselled himself a new body and in the process found that he had a flair for the sport, sparring more experienced fighters after only a few months..   Team GB have been extremely impressed with the improvements the 23 year old Okolie has made along with his tireless work ethic..  Savon is favoured by many to grab gold in Rio, moving down a division since 2012 where he campaigned as a Super Heavyweight, losing to eventual gold medalist Anthony Joshua by the slimmest of decisions..   If Okolie could pull off the payback over Savon, he would have to be considered a huge medal possibility, either way, Lawrence Okilie has nothing to lose..

Danny Jacobs v Sergio Mora 2, September 9th in Pa.

In a rematch of their colourful 2015 bout, WBA middleweight champion Danny Jacobs will make his 4th defence of the title he won in 2014 against Sergio Mora on 9th September in Pennsylvania.. Mora a former WBC super middleweight champion back in 2008 thinks he was getting the better of Jacobs back in August of 2015, dropping him early before sustaining an injury to his ankle following a second round knockdown that forced Mora's premature retirement..  Sergio, a former contender series champion back in 2005 thinks he's faced the better pedigree of fighter than Jacobs, going back more than twelve years, beating future IBF champion Ishe Smith, followed by victories over Vernon Forrest and a faded Shane Mosley, unfortunately along the way Mora was derailed by the up and down Brian Vera twice in 2011 and 2012, performances that exposed certain limitations in Sergio's game..  Jacobs isn't as experienced as Mora in years, he has only been a pro for 9 years, but he's made up for it in quality..  Danny beat their common opponent, Ishe Smith in 2009 for the NABO title, then in 2010 suffered his only defeat to date in his first world title shot, stopped in 5 by the unbeaten Dmitry Pirog for the WBO championship..  Eight fights later he would own a championship of his own beating Jarrod Fletcher for the WBA that he still owns, 11 fights later he is still unbeaten, including the sensational one round knockout of unbeaten Peter Quillin, last year in Brooklyn..  The 29 year old Jacobs is (31/1, 28Ko's) while the 36 year old Mora is (28/4/2, 9Ko's) and despite being a pro 7 years longer, Mora has only two fights more than the champion..  It's an interesting rematch in such a high profile division, with the winner looking down the barrel at future fights with the likes of Saul Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin or Billy Joe Saunders..  Mora knows this is probably his last Chance, while Jacobs appears to be just getting started..

Andre Ward v Alexander Brand, tomorrow in Oakland.

Tomorrow night at the Oracle arena in Oakland California, former WBA 168lb Super champion Andre Ward takes on Colombian import Alexander Brand (25/1, 19 Ko's) in his final bout as a prelude to his November 19th superfight with Russian three belt light heavyweight champion Sergei Kovalev, in Las Vegas. Ward (29/0, 15 Ko's) has done everything asked of him at supermiddleweight, winning the super 6 series in 2011, beating almost every notable fighter in the division along the way. Unfortunately injuries have hampered Andre's progression, with only four appearances in the five years since the Froch fight, one wonders if the Andre Ward feeding on a diet of Paul Smiths and Sullivan Barreras can elevate himself for such a heavy task in a relatively short period of time..   Enter Alexander Brand...  a man with a respectable record on paper, Brand is unbeaten in his last 8, since his sole career loss to the now WBC champion Badau Jack by split decision in 2012, a loss that looks more respectable four years on..   Brand appears an appropriate test for this version of Ward, but don't let the inactivity fool you, Ward has practiced his trade diligently for most of his life, regardless of current ring form, Ward isn't the kind of guy to take anything lightly or leave anything to chance..  With the enormity of the Kovalev fight in their sights, I doubt Ward or Roc Nation (his promoters) would have selected Brand if there was even a slim chance of an upset on the cards..  Ward is the consummate pro, Saturday is a calculated event, with the sole intention of reintroducing Ward at his very best, with November in mind..  I expect the capable Colombian to hang in and give a decent account of himself, but a vintage Andre Ward has too much to lose..

Olandier Solis returns with a win and big ideas.

2004 Olympic Gold medalist Olandier Solis (21-3, 14 KOs) returned to the ring for the first time in 18 months with a second round KO of journeyman Milos Dovedan (2-26, 2 KOs) on Thursday night at the ECB Boxgym in Hamburg, Germany. Former world title challenger Solis is coming off two consecutive defeats at the hands of the dangerous Tony Thompson, and although fleshy, was a trimmer 240lbs almost 20 pounds less than his more recent outings..  Solis hurt Dovedan with almost every solid shot he landed,  the class void was obvious as Solis dropped the German with the first solid body shot he landed, Dovedan bravely faced the music once more but was by now looking for a spot to land, a second body attack finished the job. Dovedan was in truth a baby step back, but Solis looked sharp and focused in his approach.  Olandier who was formerly with Ahmet Oner's Arena Boxing organisation, is currently fighting under the banner of Erol Ceylan's EC Boxing..   Although he has only boxed six times in five years since the loss to Vitali Klitschko, Solis and Ceylan have a busy schedule planned. Solis is scheduled to appear on September 17th on the undercard of Firat Arslan v Nuri Seferi in Goppingen, the plan is to land Solis a meaningful fight by the end of 2016..

Andy Ruiz and Ray Beltran return, September 10th, Lemoore Ca.

September 10th sees the return of unbeaten NABF heavyweight champion Andy Ponce Ruiz and veteran lightweight Raymundo Beltran at the Tachi palace casino in Lemoore California..  Ruiz is coming off two decent stoppage wins this year, beating former world title challenger Ray Austin in 4, then disposing of inept Josh Gormley in 3.. Ruiz (26/0, 17Ko's) will face Franklin Lawrence (21/2/2, 16 Ko's) of Indianapolis over ten rounds.. While Beltran (29/7/1, 17Ko's) faces the Dominican Republic's Tomas Mendez (22/7, 14 Ko's)
Beltran has been unlucky in his three world title attempts, thrice trying for the WBO title, first in 2013 where he was unfortunate to get a draw with Ricky Burns in a close affair then having the misfortune to be matched with probably the best lightweight on earth, Terrence Crawford where he was outclassed over 12, then last year when he stopped Takahiro Ao in Las Vegas for the same vacant title, failing the weight prevented him from being rewarded for his victory, the tko however was later turned to a ND after Raymundo failed a drug test. Beltran is coming off a victory over Ivan Najira in May..

Prince Charles Martin lucky to be alive following random shooting in LA.

Former heavyweight champion Charles Martin was shot in the arm earlier this week in Los Angeles in a random shooting by two unknown men who appeared to pick an argument with the fighter.
A passenger in Martin's car told LAPD officers they were in downtown L.A. around 5 AM Tuesday when two men approached the vehicle and got into an argument with the fighter..  According to the police report ... the men began to open fire, missing the fighter..  Martin is supposed to have got into his car and chased the alleged shooters, crashing into a utility pole.
Moments later the suspects returned and opened fire again. This time, Martin took a bullet in his forearm, the suspects fleeing once again, this time in a car.
Officers responded rapidly moving Martin to the hospital.
Martin says the officers saved his life, he was losing an awful lot of blood when they arrived at the scene. Martin says he doesn't know the suspects, and has no idea why they had beef with him.
One major difference in Martin's version of the story is he says he was trying to get away from the gunmen, not chasing them when he crashed.
The former IBF heavyweight who lost the belt earlier this year adds, he was worried the shooters were coming back to finish the job. He says he jumped in the bed of a parked pickup truck when he "looked down, and saw a pool of blood. I said to myself, 'I gotta get outta here. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna bleed to death.'"
"I have to pay respect to the cops. They saved my life."
Police haven't found the suspects.

Erroll Spence jr meets Leonard Bundu in IBF final eliminator.

On August 21st in Coney Island, New York, undefeated Prospect Erroll Spence jr faces tough Italian based African Leonard Bundu in an IBF final Eliminator. The original scenario was to see the winner meet the victor of the Jessie Vargas v Kell Brook matchup, but since the revelation of Brook v Golovkin, the winner may ultimately be given the right to box for the vacant title, considering Brook is now campaigning at 160..   Bundu 33/1/2 (12 Ko's) is a deceptive fighter, who's age (41) doesn't reflect his energy in the ring.  A 2014 victory over future IBF title challenger Frankie Gavin thrust Bundu into a fight with Keith Thurman for the WBAs interim title, despite losing by a wide points margin, Leonard didn't disgrace himself, and has since remained unbeaten, beating both Pablo Munguia and Jussi Koivula convincingly, picking up the vacant EBU title against the latter..   Spence however is a tall order, the rising star seems to impress us more each time out, his last 5 opponents have only tallied 7 losses between them and Spence disposed of each one inside of 8 rounds..  Last time out Erroll knocked out Chris Algeri in 5 rounds, something that Ruslan Provodnikov, Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan failed to achieve, placing the 26 year old southpaw ahead of schedule..   The likelihood is that Spence will get past Bundu and probably fight for the championship before 2017, but It's a test that has to be passed, it's more a matter of how Spence executes the task than just the mere victory itself, 20/0 (17 Ko's) tells us he's capable, a convincing display against Bundu may indicate if he's championship material.

Luis Ortiz pulls out of Ustinov fight.. Looks to terminate GBP contract.

The fight between WBA interim heavyweight champion Luis Ortiz (25-0, 22 KOs) and mandatory challenger Alexander Ustinov (33-1, 24 KOs) originally scheduled for the Alvarez v Smith undercard in Dallas has apparently been scrapped..   It seems that Luis Ortiz agreed terms, signed a contract and looked good to go, but has retracted on his obligation..   Ustinov and his manager are extremely disappointed, it's the second time Ustinov has missed the boat on an important bout, Tyson Fury pulling out on a days notice back in 2013 following his uncle Hughie's untimely death..  "We are extremely disappointed to hear that despite agreeing terms, signing a contract and announcing a date for the WBA Interim Heavyweight Championship that Luis Ortiz is refusing to honor the agreement to fight on the 17th September and has withdrawn,” said Hrunov.   Golden Boy promotions were apologetic towards Ustinov and Hrunov, rumour has it that Ortiz is in the process of terminating his contract with GBP..   Considering the recent WBA stripping of Chagaev, the Fury v Klitschko rescheduling and the originally planned Challenge of Fres Oquendo put on ice, this is just another step backwards for the WBAs ambitions of a unification tournament..  Ironically Oquendo was muted as a replacement to fight Ortiz if Ustinov pulled out of contract..  Nobody expected Ortiz to renege..

Harrison, Garcia and Malignaggi all score victories on Barclays undercard.

Returning from a two-and-a-half year hiatus, former two-division champion Mikey Garcia (35-0, 27 KOs) scored an impressive fifth round TKO over former world champion Elio Rojas (24-3, 14 KOs). Garcia dropped Rojas twice in the third and twice more in the fifth, ending the proceedings at 2:02. Garcia looks to be back where he left off..

In an IBF junior middleweight eliminator, the last remaining student of Emmanuel Stewards Kronk factory, Tony Harrison (24-1, 20 KOs) scored an eye-catching ninth round KO over the very capable Sergey Rabchenko (27-2, 20 KOs). Harrison showed flashes of class throughout, eventually dropping Rabchenko with a right hand in the ninth, before referee Arthur Mercante Jr. decided that Rabchenko was unfit to continue. Time was 1:18.

Former world champion Paulie Malignaggi (35-7, 7 KOs) outscores Gabriel Bracero (24-2, 5 KOs) in an all-Brooklyn welterweight clash.  Malignaggi maintained the upper hand throughout, outboxing Bracero in a ten round chess match...  Scores were 96-94, 98-92, 98-92.

Philadelphia lightweight Tevin Farmer (21-4-1, 5 KOs) pulled the upset over Ukrainian prospect Ivan Redkach (19-1-1, 15 KOs), scoring a one-sided unanimous decision over ten..  Farmer was punch perfect throughout winning by scores of..  99-89, 98-90, 98-90.  During the bout both fighters were deducted points, Farmer was deducted a point for a low blow in the eighth while Redkach was penalised in round nine for a headbutt.

Female WBO featherweight champion Amanda Serrano (29-1-1, 22 KOs) scored a first round knockout of Calixta Silgado (14-7-3, 9 KO’s) in what was a scheduled ten rounder..  The bout was the first female title fight ever held at the Barclays Center, and lasted just over 100 seconds. Serrano, dropped her Colombian opponent twice in the first minute, the second time with a body shot. Referee Benji Esteves soon called a halt with Silgado unable to continue.. The official was 1:41. Amanda is sister to Cindy Serrano, the 24-5-3 super featherweight also from Brooklyn.

Unbeaten Irish middleweight Conrad Cummings (10-0-1, 4 KOs) won a unanimous decision over Dante Moore (9-2-2, 4 KOs) of Cleveland, Ohio in a six round middleweight fight. The referee was forced to take a point from Moore in round five as his mouthpiece had to be replaced for the sixth time. Moore was down in the final round from a low shot, in what would be the most eventful session, Moore’s mouthpiece was replaced for the eight time and in an odd circumstance Cummings was caught by a wild shot from Moore as he turned away, more out of frustration. The final exchange did see Cummings score a knockdown, sealing a convincing victory. Scores were 59-53, 58-54 and 58-54.

Unbeaten Scottish jr welterweight Josh Taylor (6-0, 6 KOs) stopped Lancaster, PA’s Evincii Dixon (7-15-1, 2 KOs) in two rounds.

California’s Jose Gomez (8-0, 3 KOs) scored a first round TKO over Josh Crespo of New Haven, Connecticut, in the opening bout at Barclays Center. The stoppage coming at 2:31.

Los Angeles-based South Korean Min Wook Kim (16-1, 12 KOs) made a fast nights work of Louis Cruz (5-4-3, 2 KOs) of the Bronx in a scheduled 8 round bout.  Three knockdowns finally saw Cruz stopped at 2:33.