Ring legend Aaron Pryor passes aged 61.

Boxing ring legend Aaron “The Hawk” Pryor has sadly passed away in his home town of Cincinnati, Ohio, at the age of 61 due to heart failure. Pryor reigned in the jr welterweight division from 1980 to 1985 and is fondly remembered for his two breathtaking stoppage wins over Alexis Arguello, widely regarded as his finest victories..  In his 14 year ring career, Pryor compiled a record of 39-1, with 35 KOs, his only loss came in 1987 against Bobby Joe Young in a comeback bout..   no one could touch Pryor in his prime..  He was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996. Aaron Pryor will be sadly missed..

Malcolm Tann upsets Nick Asberry in Indiana.

In an interesting fight at heavyweight in Hammond Indiana on Saturday, unbeaten Nick Asberry (9-1, 4 KOs) put his unblemished record on the line against former fringe contender, 38 year old Malcolm Tann (24-4, 13 KOs) Phoenix, AZ. The outcome of this one had more to do with what Tann brought to the ring having been inactive since two back to back stoppage losses to Alex Dimitrenko and Chris Arreola nearly 9 years ago..  Could the ageing veteran whip himself into the kind of condition to overcome a promising young gun like Asberry?  The answer was a resounding yes..  Tann boxed his way through some tough moments early on weathering an Asberry storm, before turning the tables on the 25 year old in the third. Tann staggered Asberry following a combination of shots to the head, continuing the onslaught before landing a left hook that closed the show, pulling the upset..  A devastated Asberry, looked shell shocked in his corner following the stoppage, coming to terms with his first defeat.  The Illinois prospect acknowledged where he went wrong in overlooking Tann and vowed to train harder to come back stronger next time out. The stoppage was announced as 2:55 of the third.

Matchroom boxing Inks Luis Ortiz.

In a pretty shrewd move, Eddie Hearn has signed the unpredictable yet dangerous heavyweight contender Luis Ortiz to his Matchroom boxing stable, from under the noses of Roc Nation..  Ortiz is currently the WBA interim belt holder and a possible future world title challenger..  Matchrooms heavyweight portfolio is looking pretty sharp at the minute with Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua, the addition of Ortiz allows Matchroom to flex their muscles even further in such a competitive division..   Ortiz is undefeated and is due to fight tough Frenchman Carlos Takam, with a view to a title shot in 2017..  The Cuban who was currently in promotional ties with Golden Boy Promotions and was reluctantly forced to shell out $1 Million to free himself from further contractual obligations to GBP. Hearn has stated that Ortiz next opponent will be revealed on Monday afternoon..

Dillian Whyte stops Ian Lewison, picks up vacant British title.

In a highly anticipated British heavyweight title clash, Brixtons highly charged Dillian Whyte managed to force tough Ian Lewison to retire at the conclusion of the 9th round of a scheduled 12, at the Hydro centre in Glasgow on Friday evening..   Both fighters were familiar to each other, both living and training early in their careers in Brixton, bringing some personal feelings into the mix..  regardless of the pre fight insults, both men gave a highly entertaining display, Lewison 12/2/1 (8 Knockouts) displayed deceptively fast hands in the early rounds, looking to land the bigger shots, while Whyte 18/1 (15 Knockouts) utilised his movement, using angles, backing the heavier Lewison up with a fast jab..  Whyte (253) could have sat behind the jab all night, but often decided to stand and trade with the immovable Lewison (273) allowing him the luxury of a stationary target..  in the middle rounds however Whyte began to up the tempo, forcing the pedestrian Lewison to test his fitness, to his credit, despite the weight, Ian maintained a steady pace and remained competitive throughout..   it was around the 8th round that Whyte jab started to take its toll, damage to Lewisons nose began to interfere with his breathing. Demoralised and taking further shots, Lewison struggled to catch breath and fire back by the end of the ninth..   Don Charles saw no reason for Lewison to continue under such duress, and pulled his brace fighter out before the 10th round.  Dillian picking up the British title at a second attempt,  paying testament to Lewisons toughness..   Ian inconsolable in defeat, took the bout on late notice, I've no doubt he can come again with better conditioning..

Dillian Whyte v Ian Lewison, Friday October 7th, Vacant British heavyweight title.

Next Friday at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, an intriguing matchup plays out for the vacant British heavyweight crown, between two men who are no strangers to each other..  Dillian Whyte and Ian Lewison are both products of the mean streets of Brixton and even sparred when Whyte was a novice and Lewison was already establishing himself as a pro..  Ian 12/2/1 (8 Kos) had a glittering amateur career and even managed to stop the dangerous Cuban Olandier Solis, shortly before turning pro, Lewison has never really put his foot on the gas in the paid ranks, literally boxing a steady twice a year since his debut year of 2009..  in his 8th pro outing, Lewison stopped the rugged once promising Dorian Darch, thrusting his profile onto the scene and into the sights of the popular prizefighter tournament in 2013, where as a heavy underdog he upset the huge German Timo Hoffman before losing a highly controversial semi final against Derrick Rossy, despite leaving the New Yorker visibly marked up prior to his final bout..   Unfazed,  Lewison jumped straight back into action, knocking out the capable Tom Dallas in 2, before putting a 5 fight winning streak together, more recently knocking out the undefeated Zhi Yu Wu, in his own backyard in China, picking up the WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight crown..  Ian, trained by Don Charles understand that the Whyte fight is a little soon, but it's an opportunity they really couldn't refuse..
Dillian is a live one, 18/1 (14 Kos) and improving at an alarming rate, after a series of quick knockouts early in his career, Whyte started to look more closely at his future, travelling half way across the world to Austria and Detroit to broaden his ring knowledge, sparring some of the most accomplished heavyweights around.  Dillian however regarded himself behind schedule, due to a 2 year ring ban back in 2012 for failing a drug test, for the naive use of an undisclosed energy drink, this pushed Whytes return onto a fast track, he'd already boxed 6 times in 2012 and upon his return, 4 appearances in 2014 and 5 starts in 2015, culminating in the biggest fight of his career, against amateur arch rival Anthony Joshua for the British and Commonwealth titles..   Whyte boxed out of his skin on this night, extending Joshua further than any other opponent, bravely falling short a via tko in the 7th of a highly entertaining battle..   Whyte had actually boxed most of the fight with a badly torn shoulder which is testament to the Brixton mans toughness..  Dillian more recently looked a more patient fighter in his precise victory over the previously unbeaten Dave Allen in July, showing that he has more than just firepower in his armoury...  
Whyte knows that Lewison could be a handful if overlooked, and regardless of the tasteless insults understands how important the opportunity is..    Lewison has admitted that he has been flagrantly guilty of taking his career for granted, approaching fights with a less than diligent attitude, but although disclosing his current weight in the 280 pound range, Don Charles assures us that Ian has adopted an inspired attitude to his training, acknowledging the enormity of the challenge ahead of him..   Whyte and Lewison don't like each other, Whyte remembering a time when Ian was the big noise in Brixton, with an arrogant air..  "I knew there'd be a day I'd fight this guy, I just looked forward to the day I could smash his fat face in." Lewison not sharing the sentiment, "I never really looked at Whyte as a future opponent, I never saw him like that, but I know he won't be able to beat me, he's already chosen his method of public execution, and he knows it's coming."

This fight could be a classic..

Theophane returns October 8th at Sams Town, Las Vegas.

October 8th, Former world title challenger Ashley Theophane (39-7-1, 11 KO’s) looks to redeem himself after a tough loss back in April as he headlines the main event of Mayweather Promotions, Sin City Showdown, at Sam’s Town in Las Vegas.

“I have been in the gym training harder than ever and mentally preparing after coming up short against Adrien Broner earlier this year,” said Theophane. “I’m excited to get back in the ring on October 8 and be the first to headline the monthly fight series at Sam’s Town that Mayweather Promotions has put together. I will not disappoint. This is for my fans right here in Las Vegas to witness live, and my supporters worldwide. You can expect a great performance come fight night!”

 The co-main will feature a battle for the NABF Super Middleweight Title featuring Mayweather Promotions’ own Ronald “The Thrill” Gavril (16-1, 12 KO’s).
Also featured on October 8 are Mayweather Promotions’ rising stars including undefeated super lightweight Sanjarbek “War” Rakhmanov (5-0-1, 3 KO’s), Ladarius “Memphis” Miller (11-1, 2 KO’s), who comes off of a win on Sept. 16th, and new members to the stable, Josue Vargas (6-0, 4 KO’s), Xavier Martinez (6-0, 4 KO’s), and Daniel Gonzalez (12-0, 5 KO’s) all in separate bouts!

Tickets start at $15 and are available online at: www.samstownlv.com/entertain and on www.mayweatherpromotions.com.

Chazz Witherspoon returns in Trenton Nj.

Saturday night in Trenton, New Jersey, one time promising heavyweight Chazz Witherspoon (36-3, 28 KOs) continued on his quest back into the title picture with a one-sided fourth round stoppage of Carlos Sandoval (9-11-1, 6 KOs).
Witherspoon looked sharp right from the start, using his trade mark jab to back Sandoval up early.. The second round saw the former WBO NABO title challenger patiently pick his shots, landing combinations at will. Sandovol who was riding a six-fight winning streak hung in there despite being marked up by the heavier shots of the Philadelphian..  Carlos made one final stanza in the fourth in an attempt to pull the upset, but it was too little too late, Witherspoon covered up and rode the shots before attacking the body of the exhausted Sandoval with series of left hooks that backed Carlos into the ropes, there Witherspoon began to unload with heavy head shots, the demoralised Sandoval began to turn away and gesture to Referee David Fields, who stopped the contest at 1:25 of the fourth round.

Cleverly dethrones Braehmer to become WBA champion.

Former WBO light heavyweight world champion Nathan Cleverly (30-3, 16 KOs) dethroned WBA light heavyweight champion Juergen Braehmer (48-3, 35 KOs) with a seventh round TKO tonight at the Jahnsportforum in Neubrandenburg, Germany. The fight was extremely competitive with both men having moments of success..  Cleverly appeared to have the higher work rate, although most of the eye catching shots were arm punches, designed to preoccupy the older champion, Braehmer stole some of the early rounds with well placed more meaningful shots..   Cleverly looked the fresher approaching the end of the sixth, although Braehmer still looked dangerous..  At the beginning of round seven, Braehmer suddenly strolled out of his corner shaking his head, making no intent on continuing to fight..   it soon unfolded that the champion had dislocated his elbow and saw an early retirement the more responsible thing to do in such a tough fight..   Braehmer was attempting to make a 7th defence of the championship he won in 2013, having previously held the WBO title..   Nathan Cleverly was attempting to regain a world championship, having previously held the WBO version, beating Aleksi Kuziemski in 2011, making 4 successful defences before meeting Sergei Kovalev in 2013..
Braehmer and Cleverly were originally slated to fight in 2011, but Braehmer withdrew.  (the third straight fight Braehmer pulled out of on late notice) and was stripped of his WBO title, the vacant belt than Nathan Cleverly picked up.

Parker remains on course with knockout of Dimitrenko.

New Zealand's Number 1 world ranked heavyweight Joseph Parker (21-0, 18 KOs) scored a routine third round KO over 6’7 Alexander Dimitrenko (38-3, 24 KOs) tonight at the Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau, New Zealand. Parker was all business, hurting Dimitrenko with practically every shot he threw, dropping the Ukranian giant in round one with a left/right combination. Parker sent the ponderous Dimitrenko to the canvas twice more in the second, followed by a fourth knockdown from a body shot in round three, the final shot seeming to land as the desperate Dimitrenko was on the canvas.. Dimitrenko rolled around on the canvas in agony as he was counted out by referee Marlon Wright, who didn’t acknowledge any foul. Time was 1:38.
The win still sets Parker for either a November championship shot at IBF champion Anthony Joshua or a possible WBO shot at Andy Ruiz jr depending on the WBOs stance regarding the Fury episode. The Dimitrenko result is relatively meaningless, the Ukrainian looking a mere shadow of the 2006 version of himself, Parker realistically requires better preparation for such huge upcoming opportunities.

Earlier in the evening, unbeaten WBO #12 heavyweight Izuagbe Ugonoh (17-0, 14 KOs) remained undefeated with a second round TKO over journeyman Gregory Tony (21-7, 16 KOs).

Price returns with a knockout win in Germany.

In an early result from Neubrandenburg, Germany tonight, hard punching Liverpool heavyweight David Price returned with a 2nd round knockout of Ivica Perkovic (22/30) on the undercard of the Cleverly v Braemer light heavy championship card..  Former British and commonwealth champion Price 21/3 18 knockouts was having only his second start since his disastrous European title fight loss to disgraced Turk Erkan Teper in his last appearance in Germany a year ago..  David has had the rare misfortune to lose on only three occasions, each time to a proven drug cheat, American Tony Thompson testing positive for the masking agent hydrochlorothiazide following the fighters 2013 rematch with Price..   Price looks more comfortable now, coming in as a more sturdy 19 stones for his last two outings, claiming that he was too fragile and overtrained for many of his previous bouts, at 6 ft 5, his huge wide frame carries the poundage comfortably..  David is a threat to anybody who is foolish enough to stand in front of him and if he continues to gather momentum, a lucrative bout with the October 8th winner of the Whyte v Lewison British title fight could be down the road..