Carlos Adames dominates Ammo Williams, succesfully defends his WBC middleweight crown in Florida.

Austin Ammo Williams finally got his rescheduled shot at WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames on Saturday night at the lavish Caribe Royale in Orlando Florida after the champion withdrew on the eve of their originally arranged January 31st date due to severe hydration. On this occasion the champion comfortably made the weight and brought his A-game. Adames showed his hand as early as the second by dropping Williams towards the end of the round.  Adames continued to control the bout despite some unnecessary toe to toe exchanges in the late rounds. Visibly hurt on a number of occasions, Williams hung in there and fought gamely, exchanging with Adames despite being outclassed and even coming out blazing in the final session, emptying the tank in a last ditch effort to turn the fight around. Adames was deducted a point for a low blow late in the bout but successfully retained with a convincing unanimous verdict.  Ringside judges scored the fight: 118-108 and 117-109.

The very capable Adames moves to 25-1-1 (18 KOs) whilst the gritty and game Williams moves to 20-2 (13 KOs)

Teremoana stuns Harper in Orlando.

In the chief support to Adames v Williams in Orlando Fl, Australian based heavyweight knockout artist Teremoana Teremoana continued his remarkable knockout run by dispatching of the usually durable Curtis Harper at the conclusion of the opening session. Harper made a vain attempt at starting fast but soon found himself fending off the dominant Teremoana. Just as the commentary suggested that Harper might extend Teremoana into the second stanza, the giant Aussie landed a picture perfect right hand that stretched out Harper for the count. Teremoana moves on with a promising 10-0 (10 Ko’s) record whilst the well travelled Harper drops to 19-13 (13 Ko’s) 

Mirageboxing is listed in top 60 boxing blogs 2026 by Feedspot.com.

This week Anuj Agarwal of Feedspot.com alerted us that we featured in the top 60 of the current boxing blogs in their 2026 list, something which I consider an honour as I have ran Mirageboxing myself since 2009. I’d like to thank everyone who supports us and reads our features and will do my best to keep the blog current and informative. Thankyou to Anuj and his people at Feedspot for offering us something to aspire to.. 

Arnold Barbosa defeats tough Kenneth Sims in Anaheim.

In a crucial fight which had both combatants looking to rebound from a loss, Arnold Barboza Jr. faced Kenneth Sims Jr. for the WBO Global title in the main event of a Golden Boy card at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Sims opened the fight fighting southpaw before switching to an orthodox stance midway through the first round. The bout marked Barboza’s first appearance at welterweight. Though an inch shorter than Sims, Barboza held the reach advantage and made good use of it, landing sharp jabs and hooks.

Stylistically, the two fighters mirrored each other, frequently throwing the same punches at the same time. The key difference was Sims’ reluctance to close the distance, which allowed Barboza to consistently beat him to the punch.

By the second half of the contest, Barboza’s jab had produced visible swelling beneath Sims’ right eye. Sims, meanwhile, struggled to adjust and appeared stuck in neutral, showing little urgency as the rounds slipped away.

In the eleventh round, both fighters leaned in to throw right hands and collided heads, leaving each man cut. Barboza suffered the worse of it, bleeding heavily from a gash along his hairline, while Sims sustained a smaller cut near his right eye.

The cuts had little impact on the twelfth and final round. Barboza fought with growing confidence, even dropping his hands at times. He did walk into a big right hand from Sims but quickly shook it off. Moments later, Barboza began talking to his opponent, telling him, “I told you there were levels to this.”

The judges scored the fight 117–111, 118–110, and 120–108, all in favor of Barboza. The victory improves his record to 33-1 with 11 knockouts, while Sims falls to 22-4-1 with 8 KOs.

Najee Lopez stops Manuel Gallegos to grab WBA Continental Americas light heavyweight title in Florida.

In a classic light heavyweight war, WBA #7, IBF #13, and WBC #15 contender Najee Lopez stopped the relentless Manuel Gallegos in eight brutal rounds to capture the WBA Continental Americas and WBO Latino Light Heavyweight titles at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida.  Headlining the 10-round main event on ProBoxTV, Lopez (16-0, 13 KOs) of Ellenwood, Georgia, and Gallegos (22-4-1, 19 KOs) of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, engaged in a ferocious back-and-forth battle that delivered nonstop action.  The intensity of the fight was extraordinary, reaching a level rarely seen even in memorable matchups. Despite being knocked down during a wild seventh round, Lopez quickly recovered. Relying on superior conditioning and determination, he mounted a final surge that forced the referee to halt the contest at 2:41 of the eighth round, ending Gallegos’ courageous effort.

“That just shows I’m a true champion and I’m here to stay,” said Lopez afterward. “I’m willing to prove it every time I step in the ring. He was the best version of himself tonight. I fought a true champion. The ring was small and he’s a big guy—I felt his shots and his presence. He came to win, but I showed I was there to win too. It came down to nutrition and willpower. We both had game plans, but I had more will.”

“That’s a tough man right there,” Lopez added. “Once I had him hurt, I wasn’t letting him off the hook. That was a real test, and I feel like I passed it.”

In the co-feature, unbeaten Dominic Valle (13-0, 7 KOs) of Lutz, Florida, earned a controversial unanimous decision over Mexico’s Eduardo “Zurdito” Ramirez (29-6-3, 14 KOs) in a 10-round super featherweight bout.

Ramirez, the more seasoned fighter, controlled the first four rounds by crowding Valle, limiting his space, and landing heavy shots with both hands. In round five, Ramirez staggered Valle with a hook, but the younger fighter responded with his own offense to avoid a stoppage. Later in the round, Valle rocked Ramirez with an uppercut and continued the attack into the sixth.

Valle’s right eye began swelling badly, prompting ringside officials to examine it before round seven, but the fight continued. Valle responded by attacking the body and edging rounds seven and eight. After a close ninth round, Ramirez finished strong in the tenth, unleashing two-handed combinations to the head and body.

Despite the competitive nature of the fight, the judges scored it unanimously for Valle: 96-94 and two wide cards of 98-92.

Earlier in the night, Cleveland’s unbeaten light heavyweight Dante Benjamin (14-0-1, 9 KOs) earned an eight-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Angel Lozano (8-1, 6 KOs) of Pomona, California.

After three competitive rounds, Benjamin took control in the fourth with sharp long-range shots that began to break down Lozano. Benjamin’s jab dominated round five, though Lozano rallied in round six with combinations behind an active jab. Benjamin closed strongly over the final two rounds to secure the decision by scores of 80-72, 77-75, and 78-74.

In an entertaining slugfest between two knockout artists, Delvin McKinley (14-5-1, 13 KOs) of New Orleans scored an upset majority decision over Christian “Il Bambino” Chessa (6-1, 6 KOs) of Lombardia, Italy, over six rounds.

After an even opening round, McKinley hurt Chessa with an uppercut in the second, swelling his left eye and drawing blood from his nose. Chessa boxed well in the third to neutralize McKinley’s power and continued landing sharp counters and body shots in the fourth. However, McKinley surged late, landing eye-catching combinations in rounds five and six as Chessa’s left eye nearly closed.

McKinley ultimately secured the upset with scores of 57-57 and two cards of 58-56.

Opening the broadcast, Lutz, Florida’s Kenyan Valle (3-0, 1 KO) earned a hard-fought six-round unanimous decision over Anel Dudo (4-7-1, 1 KO) of Aurora, Colorado.

Dudo appeared to control the first round with his experience, but Valle found his rhythm in round two, landing combinations upstairs and to the body. Dudo increased the pressure in the third and stunned Valle with an uppercut in a strong fourth round.

Although Dudo remained active in round five, Valle’s accuracy helped neutralize the pressure. Dudo pushed hard in the final round but ran into several clean liver shots from Valle, who finished strong.

The judges scored the bout 59-55, 59-55, and 60-54 for Valle, keeping the young prospect undefeated while giving him valuable ring experience.

Cacace dethrones Dickens, WBA Jr Lightweight Title in Dublin.

James “Jazza” Dickens entered the bout aiming to defend his WBA junior lightweight title against former IBF champion Anthony Cacace of Belfast, while also looking to spoil the St. Patrick’s weekend festivities in Dublin, where the fight took place.

The opening four rounds were closely contested, with momentum shifting back and forth as each man appeared to edge alternate frames. Cacace looked somewhat hesitant early on, often pulling his punches and failing to fully commit. In the fifth round, however, he began to find his rhythm, landing a sharp left hand that knocked Dickens off balance. A follow-up flurry helped Cacace secure the round convincingly.

Cacace experimented with switching stances against the southpaw Dickens, producing mixed results. Still, over the following rounds he seemed to take control, with his height and reach starting to make a noticeable difference. Dickens appeared to take the ninth round after an accidental clash of heads left Cacace visibly frustrated while energizing Dickens, who capitalized by landing several clean shots. Cacace’s usual accuracy and output dipped in the tenth as Dickens pushed for a late surge.

Cacace seemed to edge the eleventh, and Dickens came out with urgency in the final round, pressing forward in desperation. But Cacace managed to neutralize each attack and hold his ground. When the scorecards were read, the judges awarded the hard-fought, technically sharp contest to the new champion, Anthony Cacace, by scores of 115–113, 116–112, and 116–113. Cacace improved to 25–1 with 9 KOs, while Dickens dropped to 36–6 with 15 knockouts.

Top Rank join broadcasting alliance with DAZN.

Following most of the last 8 months in the wilderness without a prominent broadcast partner, Top Rank Boxing—led by promoter Bob Arum—is reportedly close to securing a new platform. Multiple reports say the promotion has finalized a multi-year broadcasting deal with DAZN, ending its brief period without a rights partner following the split with ESPN.

Published details indicate the agreement will include eight to ten live fight cards each year. Top Rank is expected to receive license fees of roughly $1 million to $1.25 million per event, placing the overall value of the deal at around $10 million annually. DAZN will serve as the exclusive global streaming home for the fights included in the package.

While outlets such as The Ring have already reported the basic terms, an official announcement from both sides is anticipated later this week.

The agreement concludes a transitional period that began when Top Rank’s eight-year partnership with ESPN expired in July 2025. In the meantime, the promotion kept its fighters active by staging select events on a free ad-supported streaming (FAST) channel, but the absence of a major broadcast partner left the company searching for a long-term distribution home.

The new arrangement with DAZN represents a smaller package than Top Rank’s previous deal with ESPN, which reportedly paid between $80 million and $90 million per year while featuring more than 30 events annually.

For DAZN, the addition further bolsters its position in the boxing market. The streaming service already partners with several major promotional companies, including Matchroom Boxing, Golden Boy Promotions, and Queensberry Promotions.

Fury v Joshua.. a done deal?

Rumours are circulating that Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua have agreed certain terms in steps to make the all British superfight happen in the very near future. Fury is scheduled to return on April 11th against huge Russian Arslan Makhmudov, a fight due to be broadcast exclusively on Netflix, whilst Joshua, coming off a loss to Dubois in 2025 and a token victory over media star Jake Paul in December is muted to be returning within the next 8 weeks and is likely to face former amateur and pro rival Dillian Whyte, before cementing the deal to bring the Fury fight to fruition. Joshua has been sidelined since the tragic car accident in Nigeria where two of his closest team mates lost their lives. 

Sportswriter Gareth A Davies claims that Fury and Joshua have agreed to fight each other in what would be a huge event for British boxing.  Davies told Adam Catterall and Spencer Oliver that the fight is a ‘done deal’ claiming the bout was already signed, stating that he has the background information on good authority. 

Unfortunately, the fight, despite its public popularity is several years behind its sell by date, with both fighters being considered damaged goods since height profile losses to Dubois and Usyk. If Joshua beats Whyte or whoever materialises and Fury moves past Makhmudov it seems that it could be a profitable exercise for all concerned. With the Uk sporting a number of relevant heavyweights, including current WBO champion Fabio Wardley along with former champions Daniel Dubois and Lawrence  it seems that Joshua v Fury may be reduced to a highly publicised Circus act. Wardley meets Dubois in several weeks whilst the current undefeated heir apparent Moses Itauma meets American Jermaine Franklin in 2 weeks. 

Time capsule comparisons.. Proper Heavyweight development..

Every several years a heavyweight comes along that captures the imagination, and it’s interesting to compare the learning curves, timescales of progression and ultimately that moment of truth where they were asked to meet a crisis head on. 

Going back 25 plus years we had the 6 ft 5 adonis, Michael Grant.  Grant turned pro at 22 in 1994 after a very brief run in the amateurs. By 1999 Michael looked like the next big thing, trained by Don Turner, Michael had bagged a deal with HBO network and was 31-0 with 22 knockouts. 

The First time Michael was taken the distance was by 55 fight veteran Danny Wofford in fight  number 9 over 8 rounds, Grant would be forced over the line several times more in the second half of his career so far, more justifiably by capable guys, Jeff Wooden, Ray Anis, Ross Purity and Lou Savarese.  The first prominent name that Grant faced was Mike Dixon in his 14th outing. Mike began to prove himself as a noted puncher, and got rid of some top drawer heavyweights of the period including Corey Sanders, Alfred Cole, Jorge Gonzalez, David Izon, Obed Sullivan and Ahmad Abdin..  in 1994 Michael made 10 ring appearances and in 1996 made 8, quite impressive activity. The first sign of cracks in Michael’s game came in his 31st fight, headlining against the very dangerous Andrew Golota who had twice quit in fights that he appeared to be winning against Riddick Bowe 3 years prior..

Entering the fight Michael was 27 and had never been under any significant pressure..  in round 1 Grant was dropped and forced to climb off the floor twice to avert an imminent crisis. After maintaining some composure Michael steadily pressured Golota and stood his ground in a competitive contest. In round 10 Grant dropped Golota heavily, as the Polish heavyweight climbed to his feet, he turned away from the referee displaying his nature and a frontrunner, handing victory to the surprised Grant. 

What the Golota fight showed us was that Michael had minerals..  but it also exposed some evident flaws especially early in the fight..  

5 months later Michael would challenge for Lennox Lewis's unified titles (2 relevant belts) a fight where he would once again run into hot water early, displaying his lack of fundamentals at the highest level. Michael was dropped 3 times by Lewis in the opener then knocked unconscious in round 2, in an event that appeared far too big for him considering his limited time in the sport. 

Toledo Ohio’s Jared Anderson appeared the 2024 heavyweight in waiting, he turned pro in 2019, aged 19 and by 2024 marked up an impressive run of 17-0 with 14 knockouts. Jared was pushed over the distance on 2 occasions against former IBF champion Charles Martin in his 15th fight and by durable Ryad Merhy in fight 17, the Martin fight being the first real fighter of note that Anderson had faced. In fight number 18 Jared would run into his first crisis, where he was dropped 3 times by the heavy handed Martin Bakole and stopped in round 5. Anderson has since only returned to the ring once to face token opposition. Anderson was averaging between 3 to 4 fights per year until 2024.

The UK’s Moses Itauma appears the current heavyweight of the hour, he turned pro at 18 and at the present time has an impressive record of 13-0 with 11 kos. Despite earning a reputation as a noted world class puncher, Moses was twice forced the 6 round distance as early as his third and fourth fights. Since bout 4, Itauma has got rid of every man he’s faced in double quick fashion, the first notable name being former world title challenger Mariusz Wach who he stopped in 2 rounds in his 10th outing. Since then he dispatched 2 durable once beaten opponents in Dempsey Mckean in 1 and Mike Balogun in 2, before his most significant step up last year when he knocked out the world ranked Dillian Whyte in a single round. As far as activity goes, in his brief 3 and a half years as a pro he boxed 7 times in 2023, 4 times in 2024 and twice last year. Moses is due to take on the durable and tested Jermaine Franklin in a few weeks, in a bout designed to gauge where he is on the large scale. So far Itauma hasn’t encountered anything even close to a crisis situation. 

 

It’s tough between the three comparisons, Jared and Moses moved towards the top of the division in different ways, with Grant boxing far more frequently in comparison to today and against more varied and proven guys. Itauma may prove to be the real thing as his career progresses but it shows that there is indeed a fine line when it comes to the progression and correct development of a young heavyweight prospect, it’s almost a work or art and as we’ve seen in two of these instances, poor timing and bad matchmaking can signal curtains for costly and time consuming exercise. Boxing is a game where the snakes are long and the ladders are extremely short. 

Chief Support and Undercard action from Saturdays Zuffa event in Las Vegas.

In a scheduled 10 round Welterweight chief support, Vlad Panin boxed competently against  Shinard Bunch, steadily building up rounds before forcing referee Allen Huggins to call a halt at 2:30 of the penultimate round to prevent the pointless exercise from reaching the scorecards. Vlad landed an unanswered cluster of shots and was headed to a wide points win. Vlad Panin goes forward to 24-2 (15 KOs) Bunch drops to 22-4-1 (18 KOs).

In a heavyweight 8 rounder, Undefeated Joshua Juarez outscored the equally tough Jardae Anderson in a relatively pedestrian affair. Both fighters routinely letting their hands go for the final 15 seconds of each session. Ringside judges scored the bout 79-73.. 78-74.. 77-75 unanimously for Juarez who continues on his unbeaten run at 15-0 (9 KOs) Anderson drops to his second defeat at 11-2 (9 KOs).

At Featherweight Ethan Ramos and Jaycob Perez engaged in a 6 round bar-burner which saw both men visiting the canvas, Ramos dropped in round 2, then Perez finding himself on the floor a round later.  The closely matched bout was scored at ringside as 57-55 Ramos and 56-56 twice, ruling a majority draw. Perez moves on at 8-0-1 (3 KOs) while Ramos mives to 4-1-1 (1 KO).

At featherweight Emiliano Alvarado dictated Erick Rosado comfortably over 6. Alvarado dropped Rosado in round 2, before controlling the majority of the bout.. Ringside judges scored it unanimously at 59-55. Alvarado moves to 11-0 (6 KOs) whilst Rosado declines to 16-5 (11 KOs).

At Lightweight. Brady Ochoa fought an entertaining and closely matched 6 rounder..   The ringside judges scored the bout 58-56 in favour of Ochoa…. 57-57 twice, ruling a popular majority draw. Serrano remains at 6-0-2 (3 KOs) Ochoa moves to 9-0-1 (2KOs.)

Undefeated heavyweight Teremoana Teremoana takes on Curt Harper on March 21st in Florida.

On 21st March. Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom in association with Boxlab Promotions sees undefeated Australian based knockout artist Teremoana Teremoana 9-0 (9 Ko’s) take on his first notable opponent at the Caribe Royale in Orlando Florida when he takes on the colourful Curtis Harper 19-11 (13 Ko’s) of Jacksonville Florida. Last time out the huge Samoan stopped German Montes in a round last December. Teremoana 28 has boxed 9 times in 5 years as a pro and is looking to develop towards a significant step up fight in the coming months. Harper most known for his viral 2018 financially fuelled walkout prior to his bout with Efe Ajagba has mixed in class, facing names like Cris Arreola, Richard Torrez, Guido Vianello, Bakhodir Jalolov, Zhilei Zhang and Gerald Washington (losing on each occasion) with his last significant victory being a unanimous decision over the previously undefeated Christian Thun in 2022. Harper’s visible condition sometimes belies his ability as his 2015 losing effort to three time world title challenger Cris Arreola proved highly competitive. 

The Chief support bout sees WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adams 24-1-1 (18 Ko’s) take on the challenge of Austin Ammo Williams 20-1 (13 Ko’s) 

Both fighters have faced a common opponent in undefeated Briton Hamza Sheeraz, with Adames being unfortunate to come away with a split draw in 2025, whilst Williams suffered a 11th round Tko in 2024 in what remains his sole loss. 

The show will be broadcast exclusively on DAZN.