Joshua stops brave Pulev in 9.

In what I would class as a plausible performance last night, Anthony Joshua 24-1 (22 Ko’s) successfully defended his 3 legitimate championship belts by dispatching the rugged Kubrat Pulev 28-1 (14 Ko’s) in 9 rounds at Wembley Arena in front of 1000 social distanced attendees..  Pulev had become very animated in the days leading up to the fight, but failed to knock Joshua out of his groove, Anthony maintained his composure throughout the fight and never once looked troubled by the 39 year old Bulgarian.. Joshua dictated with the jab, setting up short combinations in bursts..  Anthony made the breakthrough in the third, dropping Pulev twice and almost forcing the Bulgarian to turn away from the onslaught..  Kubrat showed impressive mettle to hang in there for a further 6 sessions before Joshua finally moved through the gears, dropped Pulev for a third time before knocking his onto his back for the stoppage..  The time was 2:58 of the 9th.. 

Despite his brave effort, I have to question why a man who has barely beaten a ranked opponent in 5 years gets a shot at the unified championship..  Joshua v Pulev may have been the best passable option under social distancing circumstances before Hearn and Joshua move into more financially beneficial events once the Covid restrictions are lifted..  I expect AJ to face Oleksandr Usyk next, unless Fury and Top Rank make something happen in the meantime.

The undercard saw Martin Bakole and Hughie Fury win points decisions over Sergey Kuzmin and Mariusz Wach respectively..   

Usyk v Chisora, a look ahead.

                                 

The long awaited heavyweight battle between former unified cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk and former British, European champion and world title challenger Derrick Chisora is barely 24 hours away and many well educated onlookers have varied views on the outcome. Chisora came in looking a ready 255 having dug deep into a rigorous 10 week camp under the watchful eye of David Haye, the usually unhinged, unpredictable Version seems a million miles from the Derrick Chisora of today who appears calculated and very well equipped for the job in hand..  Usyk by contrast is everything Chisora is not, he’s an outside the box thinking maverick, who is calculated and often emotionless before fights, his 215 pounds barely stepped into the weight category and he prefers to allow his fists to do the talking as opposed to lip service. Oleksandr’s style at cruiserweight was dominant, he was almost untouchable, his fast feet and exceptional use of range made him almost impossible to overcome, however the move to heavyweight has shifted the playing field, opponents are naturally much bigger and stronger, leaving his options much slimmer when it comes to physical conflict. Usyk laboured when he appeared to struggle to subdue club fighter Chazz Witherspoon in his heavyweight debut, unable to impose his presence on a bigger man..  On this occasion the bigger man is a better man, an experienced and proven world class performer, Derrick has appeared on numerous pay per view shows, and win or lose has never once failed to bring 100% to the table, often driven by emotion it took him to a 2012 shot at then champion Vitali Klitschko, in a gallant showing that brought his name to the world stage.. since then Chisora has boxed 23 times losing only to the more prominent names in the division..  Derrick brings the one thing the Cruiserweight division couldn’t provide, an intensity and relentlessness outside of Usyk’s comfort zone, something that we won’t know the outcome of until it happens..  Oleksandr was a natural heavyweight throughout his amateur days, and understands the perils of mixing it amongst the monsters, but as a professional this may be an undesirable baptism that may either bring out the best in Usyk, or be to his detriment..   Either way, the respective styles make for a terrific show..  Many expect Usyk to dominate over the distance, whilst the more savvy of the oddsmakers can see Chisora pressing the Ukrainian into uncomfortable places he’s never been before, leading to a sizeable upset..  regardless, tomorrow’s show at Wembley should be memorable..   

RIP Angelo Rottoli..

Dreadful news came this week about the passing of former world cruiserweight title challenger Angelo Rottoli along with his parents from Corona virus in Italy... Angelo was a quality fighter who only lost 3 fights in a 34 fight career which included holding the European title and beating names like Guido Trane, Magne Havnaa and Bash Ali.. Pictured here following his only stoppage loss, in his bid to arrest the WBC title from the great Carlos Deleon.. RIP Angelo..

The WBC talk..... Judging..

Friday was the 5th session of the WBC Talks.
The subject of the day was boxing judges and was broken into both English and Spanish speaking sessions..
The English speaking panelist’s included Hubert Minn, the WBC Ring Officials Committee Chairman, Las Vegas Judge Duane Ford (NABF President)
Committee vice chairman Steve Morrow, WBC judge Craig Metcalfe, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman and Victor Silva as moderator..

The panelists, who are some of the best boxing judges in the world, had an enlightening conversation regarding vital judging aspects:

Points in question were, Judging Criteria.. Affective aggression.. scoring a 10-8 round without a knockdown.. Along with memories of each judges first title fight... Scoring controversial rounds... Pressure and neutrality.. Code of Ethics.. Honourability.. and finally, how most judges get their score, along with several other connected aspects..

The Spanish speaking panelist’s consisted of..
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, José Manzur (Judge).. Juan Carlos Pelayo (Judge).. Omar Mintum (Judge) among with Victor Silva acting as Mediator..

The President of the WBC, Mr. Mauricio Sulaimán opened the conversation, thanking all those who have made this possible, those who have followed the broadcasts and of course all the panelists who have gathered throughout the week to share your experiences and knowledge.
He explained that the task of a judge is of vital importance since they are the ones who administer and temper justice inside the ring. They must, therefore, conduct themselves with absolute integrity and honor. A judge must have eyes on the fight during the three minutes of the round, must have no preference for any boxer or country and be absolutely impartial.
Assuring that the World Boxing Council has honorable judges who would never compromise or betray the basic values of the WBC.

Mr. Jose Manzur explained that the greatest quality that a judge must have is impartiality and the ability to focus since sometimes it is difficult to achieve this, since being in the arena many factors can affect concentration. He assured that when he receives an appointment for a fight The first thing he does is watch videos of the fighters to find out their styles to make himself familiar with each participant..

For Omar Mintum, the work of a judge must be very precise, since they must record on the cards what is happening above in the ring and, like our other panelists, it is very important to arrive prepared for the fight that was assigned to them.

He assured that all the judges, like fighters should start their career with four-round fights and from there, according to their results, they climb until they reach the more meaningful fights, slowly progressing..

Juan Carlos Pelayo, was emphatic when saying that the impartiality with which he qualifies has to do with the judge’s experience since one must identify the most effective fighter. it is his responsibility to judge him impartially and fairly. He added that passion for boxing is essential for a judge because that is the origin of the need to become the man who administers justice.

Among many of the topics that were addressed, was the fear that many judges have when giving a score of 10-8, However, the leader of the organization assured that one of the tasks of the WBC is to educate the judges that when a fighter has been visibly punished and has not given adequate resistance, the round should be given on 10-8.
Responding to the doubts of the fans, who should be noted were very active, the invited judges as well as the President of the WBC, assured that the score of 10-10 exists, although it is not seen much, as there is usually always a winner of the round. However, it can happen even though some commissions are prohibited from 10-10.

To conclude, our judges agreed after seeing some examples of how to qualify a fight, that to give a fighter the round, he must show effective aggressiveness and that a fight is not won in a single round (unless there is a knockout) but round after round.

The WBC concluded by taking the time to offer Jose Manzur family their best prayers and wishes as his daughter is fighting against COVID-19. The WBC are sure she will win this fight by KO!

Recent Covid19 boxing news..

Amidst the hysteria surrounding the Corona virus outbreak it was revealed the WBA/IBF/WBO world heavyweight title holder Anthony Joshua is currently under self-quarantine after a recent meeting with Prince Charles.. The prince tested positive for Coronavirus only days later.. Anthony has not show any symptoms as of yet, and remains scheduled to defend his titles against mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev in London on June 20..
It was revealed yesterday that both a boxer and trainer from the Turkish team have been infected by the coronavirus. Both men were present at a recent Olympic qualifier in London. The Olympic committee revealed in a statement that it’s “not possible to know the source of infection.”
Former World Champion Amir Khan has generously offered a new 60,000 square foot four-story event facility building designed as a wedding venue and retail outlet to the British National Health Service to help people affected by the coronavirus, a wonderful gesture by Amir.

Roger Mayweather passes..

Last week we lost one of the iconic 1980s boxing characters, when we heard about the passing of Roger Mayweather.. Roger was thee original World champion Mayweather and paved the way for his talented nephews meteoric rise..

Roger won the WBA super featherweight title and WBC super lightweight world titles during a career where he compiled a record of 59-13 with 35 KOs. After retiring from the ring Roger became an award winning trainer, taking charge of his nephew Floyd jr..

Roger had suffered from health problems stemming from chronic diabetes since the 90’s
and had slowly been declining in private..
He was just 58 years of age.

Rest in Peace, Black Mamba. 

Derrick Jefferson in Detroit hospital with Covid19.

Detroit’s Former WBO heavyweight title challenger Derrick Jefferson is currently fighting for his life in Michigan after testing positive for the Corona Virus.. According to WXYZ in Detroit, Jefferson 53 is in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator after being admitted to Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan last week..
Close family and friends did however confirm that his condition is slowly improving..
Jefferson first caught national exposure when he scored a devastating knockout over Maurice Harris in November of 1999, The fight that was televised live on HBO is still regarded as possibly the most exciting heavyweight bout of the 1990s..
2 years later Jefferson met Wladimir Klitschko for the WBO world heavyweight title, but was unfortunately knocked down 3 times before losing via second round knockout..
Throughout his 10 year career, Derrick faced notable names, Bert Cooper, Wladimir Klitschko, Oleg Maskaev, Phil Jackson, David Izoneratei and Levi Billups..
Jefferson last appeared in 2005 where he was stopped by hard punching Davarryl Williamson, leaving a record of 28-4-1 (21 Ko’s)

We wish DJ a speedy recovery..

Queensbury Boxing postpone upcoming events.

Following the cautionary guidelines advised by the British Government and The Boxing Board of Control, Queensberry Promotions have called an immediate halt to any of its scheduled live Boxing promotions throughout April and May. The Coronavirus situation is evolving at a rapid pace and we will continue to closely follow the Government’s guidelines to ensure the Health and Safety of all concerned.. Regarding the two high profile events we currently have on sale; The ‘Seek and Destroy’ Card at the O2 featuring Daniel Dubois v Joe Joyce on April 11 has now been rescheduled to Saturday July 11th, Tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled date, however people who cannot attend the new date can obtain a refund from their original point of purchase.

The May2nd return of Josh Taylor at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow will no longer take place on this date. Refunds are available from the point of purchase. We are currently working with the Arena, Top Rank and MTK Global to arrange a suitable alternative date to reschedule in Scotland..

Queensberry Promotions and Top Rank have agreed terms for Carl Frampton to challenge Jamel Herring for the WBO World Super-Featherweight Championship in Belfast possibly in June. This event was due to be announced in the coming days. At this particular time we are hopeful of being able to stage this event in, however, we will observe the ever-changing landscape surrounding the dreadful Pandemic. Changes to any dates,venues and location will be announced in good time..

Charles Martin heads decent undercard in Las Vegas on Saturday.

The majority of the Fury v Wilder rematch card has been put in place this coming Saturday, With 33 year old California based Former IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin 27-2-1 faces a decent challenge in former WBC title Challenger Gerald Washington 20-3-1 in a crossroads match that acts as chief support to the huge Las Vegas show.. Martin is coming off a couple of decent showings in 2019 with inside the distance victories over Daniel Martz and the undefeated Greg Corbin.. The physically imposing Washington is coming off a decent win on paper, stopping the once promising Robert Helenius in July.. Both fighters have come up short against New York based Pole, Adam Kownacki, Charles losing a close decision in 2018, whilst Washington suffered a 2nd round knockout 13 months ago..

WBO super bantamweight Champion Emanuel Navarrete 30-1 will make the 5th defence of the title that he won back in 2018, against Jeo Santisima 19-2 in an intriguing bout with neither fighter having tasted defeat for the last 6 years..

Coachella’s 22 year old 6 foot 5 inch Super welterweight Sebastian Fundora 13-0-1 will take on undefeated Australian Daniel Lewis 6-0 in a special attraction whilst Longtime team Fury member, unbeaten featherweight Isaac Lowe 19-0-3 takes on Alberto Guevara 27-5..

The Event is Promoted by Leon Margules’ Warriors Boxing, Tom Browns TGB Promotions along with Bob Arums Top Rank Inc.

Ryan Garcia gets rid of Francisco Fonseca in 1..

High rising Victorville Lightweight Ryan Garcia 20-0 (17 KOs) returned to action on Friday night and made short work of Nicaragua’s Francisco Fonseca 25-3-2 (19 KOs) scoring a first round, double-quick knockout at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, headlining in the feature bout on DAZN’s Valentine’s Day card..

Garcia had barely got his measure before unleashing a short left hook that put Fonseca away, referee Raul Caíz immediately waved off the action at 1:20 of the first.

Garcia later revealed that he would have preferred more live action, but saw the opening early and took it..

Following the victory Garcia went head to head with possible future opponent, WBC champion, Devin Haney..

Caleb Plant retains his IBF crown with 10th round stoppage.

Undefeated Las Vegas based IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant 20-0 (12 KOs) scored a dominant tenth round stoppage over German challenger Vincent Feigenbutz 31-3 (28 KOs) on Saturday night at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Plant, highly favoured by the bookmakers at 38:1, controlled the action from the start, and methodical dismantled Feigenbutz until the bout was halted at 2:23 of the 10th by referee Malik Waleed..

Plant, originally a Nashville native revealed that he’d dedicated the victory to his daughter, mother, grandfather and to his birth city..
The champion also made it very clear that his he definitely aims to unify and meet fellow undefeated WBC counterpart, David Benavidez.

Jimmy Thunder passes.

1990s heavyweight fringe contender Jimmy Thunder 35-14 (28 Ko’s) sadly passed away this week due to complications following surgery to remove a small brain tumour in his native Auckland, New Zealand.. Jimmy was only 54 but like a colourful and eventful life.
The huge punching Thunder faced 8 legitimate world champions throughout his 49 fight career, including Tim Witherspoon, Chris Byrd, JB Williamson, Tony Tubbs and Trevor Berbick..
Thunder Picked up the vacant WBF heavyweight championship by stopping Jamaican Melton Bowen in 1993, before losing it the same year to future cruiserweight world champion Johnny Nelson..
A year later he won the IBO title beating tough Richard Mason, making two defences over the next twelve months beating both Tony Tubbs and Ray Anis..
Jimmy twice attempted to win the commonwealth title against Henry Akinwande and Derrick Williams before making a vain attempt to lift the NABF title in 1997 losing a marginal split decision to future WBA champion John Ruiz...

Despite falling upon hard times in the mid 2000s, Thunder appeared to find his feet when he married a Native American lady by the name of Iris Whitemagpie in 2008, although a year later the New Zealander was rumoured to have been living rough on the streets of Las Vegas.. in 2011 Thunder ran into immigration issues when his US visa was revoked following several run ins with the law... Jimmy was deported back to his country of birth in 2012 where he remained until his passing.. Jimmy held the honour of scoring the fastest knockout in history in 1997 when he poleaxed Crawford Grimsley after just 1.5 seconds of the opening session..

Thunder really was a huge star in his native country and could have been a legitimate champion has the stars fallen into place.. A man that I only met on occasion, but found to be warm hearted and good natured..

RIP James Thunder.

Guillermo Rigondeaux outclasses Liborio Solis to earn ‘Split’ verdict.. ??

In the Chief Support bout for Showtimes PBC promoted card, two time Olympic champion Guillermo Rigondeaux 20-1 (13 KOs) out-hustled former super flyweight champion Liborio Solis 30-6-1 (14 KOs) to snare the vacant WBA bantamweight title, surprisingly by a split decision.
Rigondeaux dominated Solis throughout the early rounds with superior movement and sharp punching, dropping the former champion in the seventh before closing the show strongly displaying classy counterpunching in complete control..

The shocking part of the scoring was the one individual who had Solis ahead by 115-112.. The competent judges had Rigo leading wide by 115-112, 116-111.. Resulting in the ridiculous Split announcement..

Gary Russell jr outclasses tough Tugstsogt Nyambayar.

Gary Russell Jr. 31-1 (18 KOs) retained his WBC World Featherweight belt with a gritty twelve round unanimous points verdict over Tugstsogt Nyambayar 11-1 (9 KOs) last night at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Russell used superior skills to negate Nyambayar’s heavy hands, dominating throughout the second half of the fight, finessing the Mongolian fighter with quick combinations down the stretch..

All three judges unanimously saw Gary Russell victorious by scores of 116-112, 117-111 and 118-110.

Undercard results from Sheffield.

In an IBF Elimination bout for the world featherweight Championship, the colourful Kid Galahad 27-1 (16 KOs) proficiently dissected Claudio Marrero 24-4 (17 KOs) through eight rounds before Marrero’s corner rescued the Dominican visitor to halt the beating..

Popular Doncaster heavyweight David Allen 18-5-2 (15 KOs) rebounded from last Julys devastating loss to David Price, by demolishing the durable Dorian Darch 12-12-1 (1 Ko’s) in 3, dropping the Welshman twice with a volley of shots to the head and body forcing the well travelled Darch to quit on his back..

Undefeated Female super featherweight Terri Harper 10-0 (5 KOs), arrested the WBC title from Eva Wahlstrom 22-2 (3 KOs) by a unanimous decision over 10.. Harper a 9-1 favourite (as Challenger) had the champion on the floor in round seven.
Scores at ringside were 98-91, 99-90, 99-90.

World ranked super featherweight Martin J Ward 24-1-2 (11 KOs) scored a 10 round whitewash decision over Jesus Amparan 16-2 (14 KOs). Ward Amparo twice on his way to an impressive 100-88 shutout..

Artem Dalakian outpoints Josber Perez in Kiev.

Undefeated World Boxing Association flyweight champion Artem Dalakian 20-0 (14 KOs) put in a proficient performance to earn a twelve round unanimous points verdict over tough Venezuelan challenger Josber Perez 17-3 (15 KOs) tonight at the Parkovy Convention Centre in Kiev, Ukraine. Dalakian didn’t set the world alight on this night, but bossed the action throughout..

Scores at ringside we’re.. 118-110, 117-111, 117-111.
The 7 fight card was promoted by Yuriy Rubans’ Union Boxing Promotions

Joe Joyce v Daniel Dubois, signed and sealed..

The British heavyweight championship has a rich history of carefully nurtured grudge matches that go back to the turn of the century.. When the domestic heavyweight scene is at its healthiest, it’s inevitable at one time or another two emerging prospects lock horns in an attempt to step onto that next level.. In 1971 Joe Bugner received a fortunate decision over an ageing Henry Cooper, twenty years later Lennox Lewis put a halt to the rise of fellow undefeated Gary Mason before assaulting the world scene, and two years later in what remains possibly the grandest meeting of domestic heavyweights, the then WBC champion Lennox Lewis overcame early problems to knock out Frank Bruno in defence of his championship.. On April 11th at the O2 in London, the latest in a long lineage of domestic duels will take place when unbeaten heavyweights, Joe Joyce 10-0 (9 Ko’s) meets British champion Daniel Dubois 14-0 (13 Ko’s) in a mouthwatering fight of epic proportions.. Former Olympic silver medalist Joyce appears the more experienced individual, having experienced a wider range of amateur bouts including WSOB outings, and in the 3 years as a paid fighter, has impressively been fast-tracked.. Joyce beat recently deposed British title challenger Ian Lewison on his debut, picked up the commonwealth in his 4th outing and stopped a former world champion in his 8th bout.. Daniel turned pro in relative obscurity, picking up area titles at the time Joyce was grabbing Commonwealth honours, and racking up W’s over less threatening opposition on a more regular basis.. in October 2018 Daniel however took his first step into the map, taking on former world title challenger Kevin Johnson, being extended to points for the first time.. Dubois returned with another win over a world title challenger in Razvan Cojanu 5 months later.. The finest performance to date for the 22 year old was his 2019 stoppage of the undefeated Nathan Gorman to pick up the coveted British title.. This Victory apart, Daniel has more recently barely broke sweat in overwhelming foreign imports with inflated records, hardly the recipe to prepare him for a task of this enormity.. The 34 year old Joyce is coming off his single points victory, when he outworked yet struggled to contain the lively Bryant Jennings last July.. The fight is at a perfect time with both men putting a whole lot on the line.. A loss for Joyce would seriously set him back if you consider his age, where as a loss to Dubois could be the making of him at such a young age.. An interesting battle with a whole lot at stake.. Frank Warren’s Queensbury Promotions in association with Sam Jones and S-Jam Boxing have scored a home run in securing this match..

Fury v Wilder 2 undercard revealed..

Top Rank Boxing in association with Tom Browns TGB Boxing and Leon Margules’ Warriors boxing have revealed a stacked support card for the upcoming February 23nd Wilder v Fury 2 event at the MGM grand in Las Vegas..

The preliminary bouts will feature Subriel Matias 15-0 (15 KOs) against Petros Ananyan 14-2-2 (7 KOs) at Super lightweight, followed by the very popular Amir Imam 22-2 (19 KOs) who meets Javier Molina 21-2 (9 KOs) also at super lightweight.. undefeated lightweights Rolando Romero 10-0 (9 KOs) and Arturs Ahmetovs 5-0 (2 KOs) meet over 8, while Gabriel Flores Jr 16-0 (6 KOs) meets Matt Conway 17-1 (7 KOs) again at lightweight.. Vito Mielnicki Jr 4-0 (3 KOs) takes on Corey Champion 1-2 (1 KO) in a four-round welterweight attraction whilst unbeaten UK featherweight Isaac Lowe 19-0-3 (6 KOs) takes on Alberto Guevara 27-5 (12 KOs).

The Wilder-Fury PPV televised portion of the card will feature former IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin up against former challenger Gerald Washington in an elimination bout between two friends.. WBO junior featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete against Jeo Santisima, and junior middleweight Sebastian Fundora against 2016 Olympian Daniel Lewis.

Joseph Parker has Daniel Dubois in his sights.

Former WBO champion and world ranked heavyweight contender Joseph Parker 26-2 (20 Ko’s) has options on his immediate future, but the one fight that has really caught his interest is the challenge of undefeated British champion Daniel Dubois 14-0 (13 Ko’s) a fight that could possibly be ordered as an eliminator by the WBO in the near future..
Jo is no stranger to the United Kingdom, having defended his championship on this side of the pond back in 2017 and 2018 against Hughie Fury and Anthony Joshua before returning again 18 months ago to face Dillian Whyte..

“I personally think Joseph Parker has too much pedigree and too good a head on his shoulders for Dubois” said Manager David Higgins... “Daniel clearly has great power, but there is a lot of unknown there, i think Parker has got too much class... If we were ordered to fight or were put in that position, it’s something that is open for discussion down the track.”

Joseph Parker last boxed in June where he stopped former world title challenger Alex Leapai in Providence Rhode Island..

Jarrell Miller signs Promotional deal with Top Rank Boxing.

Undefeated larger than life New York heavyweight Jarrell Miller has signed a multi-fight promotional contract with Top Rank Boxing.. Miller, who is currently attached to Greg Cohen Promotions and Salita Promotions, will make debut on ESPN sometime in the next few months..

Miller 23-0-1 (20 KOs) last boxed in November of 2018, stopping the overmatched Bogdan Dinu in four.. Jarrell was scheduled to get his shot at Anthony Joshua on his own doorstep of Madison Square Garden for all of the marbles last June, but failed a number of mandatory VADA tests and was suspended by the New York State Athletic control board and denied his title shot..

“Jarrell Miller is serious about his return, he’s doing things the right way this time and in focussed on becoming heavyweight champion of the world,” said Bob Arum.

“He is one of boxing’s most unique and exciting characters, but most importantly, he can fight.”

Miller who has always cast himself as the bad guy commented,

“Minor setbacks are for major comebacks. I’m coming for everything and everyone, no-one is safe, say hello to the bad guy.... Everyone wants to portray the superhero, we don’t live in a sunshine world, I’ll never be the superhero... in my world, the majority of the time, the villain wins.”

Danny Garcia outclasses Ivan Redkach in Brooklyn.

Former two weight champion Danny García 36-2 (21 KOs) scored a dull yet dominant twelve round unanimous points win over Ivan Redkach 23-5-1 (18 KOs) in a WBC title eliminator on Saturday nights Barclays Centre card..
Danny systematically dissected Redkach throughout the entirety of the fight, but was unable to put the rugged Los Angeles based Ukrainian away..
The eighth round saw the desperate Redkach escape lightly after apparently biting García..

Scores were 118-110, 117-111, 117-111.

García later expressed his shock that the referee didn’t actually stop the bout due to the accumulated punishment Ivan was taking, but gave high praise to his opponents heart and toughness.. García admitted trying too hard for the stoppage and not actually feeling at his best.. Regarding the bite, Danny recalled the incident and how shocked he was, saying that Redkach actually said the words “Mike Tyson” to his just prior to the foul.. It’s a fight, things happen, I’ve never actually been bitten before in the ring but it’s another box ticked..
“I’m content with the victory in the circumstances, but I lost close to 25 pounds in 8 weeks to fulfil this obligation, it definitely played a factor and I did my best..‘

Jarrett Hurd outpoints Francisco Santana in Brooklyn.

Former WBA and IBF super welter champion Jarrett Hurd 25-1 (16 KOs) earned a ten round unanimous points verdict over Francisco Santana 25-9-1 (12 KOs) last night at Brooklyns Barclays Center in his return to the ring following a 9 month absence..
Hurd made it very obvious throughout his performance that he aimed at boxing a sensible fight and not lowering himself into drawn out brawls.. Jarrett dominated the smaller Santana in a fight that was far from viewer friendly, drawing negative reactions from those in attendance.. Regardless Hurd stuck to task, dropping Santana late in the tenth to seal a solid return, exorcising the demons from last years loss to Williams..
scores were 97-92.. 99-90.. 99-90..

Hurd seemed content with the win, stating that a solid win over an awkward opponent in front of a large audience was exactly the remedy to heal the wounds of last May..

Jarrett Hurd aims to make flawless return against Franco Santana, Saturday.

Former WBA and IBF junior middleweight champion Jarrett Hurd 23-1 (16 Ko’s) knows the pit falls of facing an underdog opponent this coming Saturday, returning from last Mays disastrous defeat at the hands of Julian Williams, whom himself fell foul of the same scenario last weekend..
Hurd faces Francisco Santana 25-7-1 (12 Ko’s) at The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, in a fight that will be televised live on Showtime..
“I’m so focused on Francisco Santana at the moment, I refuse to look past any opponent.. This is a fight where I get the chance to look at the progress I can make working with my new trainer Kay Koroma.. Santana comes to fight just like Jeison Rosario did for Julian.. I have to be on my toes and switched on.. “
Jarrett was on the cusp of unifying the 154 pound division last year, a feat that remains a part of Hurds future goals.. The Williams defeat appeared as if Jarrett simply took his eye off the ball, it’s purely down to the Marylander to make sure that lightning doesn’t strike twice..

Saturday’s card at the Barclays is promoted by TGB and Tom Brown Promotions and features Philadelphias very popular Danny Garcia as he takes on Ivan Redkach at welterweight.. Whilst a battle of undefeated Super Bantamweights sees Stephen Fulton of Philly take on Arnold Khegai, a Ukrainian import that has made Philadelphia his home..

Usyk unlikely to meet Parker for WBO.. Kevin Barry.

The likelihood of WBO number one challenger Oleksandr Usyk and former champion, WBO #2 Jo Parker meeting for the vacant title anytime soon is very slim according to the New Zealander’s trainer Kevin Barry.. The realistic scenario according to Barry is that Usyk will play the waiting game on the hopes that Anthony Joshua takes care of Kubrat Pulev in the summer, setting up a lucrative fight for the remainder of the marbles.. Usyk dipped his toe into the heavyweight division in October, stopping token sacrifice Chazz Witherspoon in Chicago.. Parker himself hasn’t boxed in 7 months since boxing a similar offering in Alex Leapei in June.. Joseph has an appearance scheduled for February 29th at The Ford centre at the Star in Frisco.

Eleider Alvarez stops brave Michael Seals in Verona.

Former WBO world light heavyweight champion Eleider Alvarez 25-1 (13 KOs) scored an impressive seventh round knockout over Michael Seals 24-3 (18 KOs) this past weekend at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, New York.. Alvarez ended proceedings with a huge right hand which put the game southerner away for the count. Time was 3:00.
Alvarez later commented “During camp, we concentrated on the right hand over and over. My coach was angry with me because I wasn’t doing what he was originally asking. Finally, the knockout came…. I was inactive for 11 months. I wanted to return as the fighter that beat Kovalev, and this is the kind of victory that we prepared for.”

Lightweight Felix Verdejo 26-1 (16 KOs) scored a ten round unanimous decision victory over Manuel Rey Rojas 18-4 (5 KOs), in his first fight since connecting with trainer Ismael Salas. Verdejo produced a professional showing, outclassing Rojas for the majority of the fight. Scores were 99-91, 97-93, 98-92.

In a battle of 2004 Olympic heavyweights, former USA team captain Devin Vargas took on Puerto Rican representative Victor Bisbal in a scheduled 8 rounder. Both fighters are very obviously in the veteran category of their careers, at 16 years deep as pros. Both fighters failed to set the world alight, with Bispal having his biggest fight, keeping his drawers up.. The Puerto Rican did manage to score a scrappy knockdown in the second but failed to capitalise on the breakthrough.. Both men resorted to slugging in the 4th, with referee Michael Ortega halting the action only to dock 2 points from Bispal for low blows and pushing Vargas down.. Surprisingly the 7th and 8th saw both men trade at close range in entertaining exchanges, until a desperately tired Victor Bispal hit Vargas low once too often, forcing Ortega to award the Victory to the American via disqualification.. The time was 1:02 and the unimpressive Vargas now goes to 22-6 (9 KOs) while Bisbal falls to 24-5 (17 KOs)
At the time of the DQ, Vargas was up 67-63 twice and 66-64.
Had those two points not been deducted earlier in the bout, Bisbal would’ve had a chance to grab majority draw had he not infringed the rules in the final session...

Jeison Rosario upsets 30/1 favourite J-Rock Williams to become unified champion..

In the Feature attraction at the Liacouras Center at Temple University in North Philadelphia, Santo Domingos 30-1 underdog Jeison Rosario 20-1-1 (14 KOs) sprung the upset by dethroning Julian Williams, 27-2-1 (16 KOs) of his three junior middleweight titles with a fifth round stoppage of the hometown fighter..
Williams got off to a decent start before suffering a cut in the second. Rosario appeared to draw confidence from the injury and pressed the action making the action uncomfortable for the bleeding champion.. Williams attempted to regain composure in the fourth but was met with equally effective pressure.. The fifth was the ice breaker, Rosario appeared to hurt Williams with a spiteful combination, visibly shaking the champion, who slipped to the canvas, upon regaining his footing it was obvious that Julian was in trouble... Rosario calculatedly moved in, landing a solid right uppercut before landing a token follow up shot as Williams dropped heavily..
Benjy Esteves called the stoppage at 1:37 as Williams was attempted to rise. 

This was to have been Williams first world championship defence whilst Rosario’s was attempting to challenge for a title for the first time..

At time of stoppage, Rosario was leading 39-37 on two cards, with the third card scored even at 38-38.

Ilunga Makabu v Michal Cieslak to be for WBC World Cruiserweight title.

The WBC has finally confirmed that the muted fight between number 1 and 2 ranked cruiserweights, Ilunga Makabu and Michal Cieslak on January 31st will be for their World Cruiserweight Championship.. Originally the promoter of former title challenger Ilunga Makabu, Don King made steps to block the fight on grounds of Contractual differences, discrepancies that have now been settled by local promotional partners Tarik Saadi and General Luyoyo and Mr King himself.. Both parties agreed that the dispute was down to an unfortunate misunderstanding.. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman announced that the World Championship event will take place in the unlikely setting of Kinshasa Zaire, DRC 45 years after the they last hosted such an event..

Kownacki, Ajagba and Sanchez feature in Brooklyn on March 7th.

Fox will feature a three fight heavyweight feature on March 7th from the Barclays centre in Brooklyn featuring undefeated New York based pole Adam Kownacki 20-0 (15 Ko’s) when he takes on former European Champion Robert Helenius 29-3 (18 Ko’s) in a 12 round official WBA heavyweight championship Eliminator..
The Chief support will feature undefeated Nigerian Olympic powerhouse Efe Ajagba 12-0 (10 Ko’s) who returns to the ring after suffering his first knockdown against Lago Kiladze 3 weeks ago.. Ajagba will appear in a 10 rounder against opponent to be announced at a nearer date..
The show opener for the evening will be undefeated Las Vegas based Cuban Frank Sanchez 14-0 (11 Ko’s) who meets the hard punching Philadelphian Joey Dawejko 29-7-4 (11 Ko’s) over 10..

Joe Smith outclasses Jesse Hart amidst despicable scoring.

New York Light heavyweight Joe Smith 25-3 (20 KOs) completely outclassed Philadelphia’s Jesse Hart 26-3 (21 KOs) over ten decisive rounds on Saturday night at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, yet was only awarded Victory by the skin of his teeth thanks to some outrageous judging by James Kinney.. Smith did get the W, but by split verdict, with the judges Cards coming under close scrutiny..
Smith forced the action throughout the fight whilst Jesse spent most of the fight looking uncomfortable and out of sorts, primarily from the outside..
Smith hurt Hart in the fourth and had the philly fighter on the floor in round seven..
Shockingly the scores were 97-92 and 98-91 for Smith, with a bizarre third card offering 95-94 for Hart.
Hart had previously make it known that Victory would have earned revenge for his mentor Bernard Hopkins’ loss to Smith three years ago.. Unfortunately the determined Smith failed to read the script..

Hart meets Smith this weekend in personal battle.

Philadelphias two time world title challenger Jesse Hart, 26-2 (21 KOs) aims to rejuvenate his career up at light heavyweight on Saturday night whilst looking for some Philly get back when he takes on Long Islands Joe Smith 24-3 (20 Ko’s) at the Mark G Etess Arena in Atlantic City, a bout televised live on ESPN..
Hart twice challenged Gilberto Ramirez for the WBO crown at 168 unsuccessfully and despite being comfortable at the lower division, saw a more lucrative future up at 175..
Hart made his light heavyweight debut last June, competently beating the battle tested Sullivan Barrera unanimously, gaining valuable confidence from victory over such a durable proven campaigner at the weight.. Smith appears on paper a less strenuous task, yet the personal reasons for victory make the match more poignant.. In 2016 Smith stopped and retired Philadelphia legend Bernard Hopkins who was 51 years old at the time, and whilst the victory was over a shell of the great champion, it signalled the end of the man who influenced and inspired Jesse Hart to where he is today.. Hart v Smith is indeed a revenge match and an entertaining battle to boot, both guys can crack and both are on the fringes of contention..
Smith is a great way for Hart to start the New Year, and for one of these fighters, it could be the perfect springboard to a championship.
The preliminary bouts will be live-streamed on ESPN+ (6:30 PM) with the main portion of the card televised live on ESPN, beginning at 10:00 PM.

Joseph Parker May get shot at Vacant WBO title and Oleksandr Usyk..

New Zealands Former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker could get a surprise opportunity to return to the heavyweight championship picture and challenge for his old title against the governing bodies mandatory, Oleksandr Usyk..
The opportunity however depends on WBA, IBF and WBO champion, Anthony Joshuas next move in executing one of his titles mandatory defences.. Word has it that if he chooses to box Kubrat Pulev next in defence of his IBF, the WBO is likely to strip the champion and offer the Vacant spoils to Usyk and second ranked Parker.. ironically Joseph first won the title in a similar set of circumstances when he faced future champion Andy Ruiz for a Vacant belt.. Usyk is no pushover and regardless of the opportunity, Joseph with have to take his challenge extremely seriously..

Don King Productions calls for Makabu v Cieslak cancellation.

In an aggressive show of power, Don King Productions have taken steps to prevent the WBC cruiserweight title bout between Ilunga Makabu and Michal Cieslak from taking place on January 25 in The Democratic Republic of The Congo.
According to what is known as a “cease and desist” letter sent from Mr Kings attorney Cornelius Lewis to the WBC, Don King Productions is Ilunga Makabu’s exclusive promoter for any of Makabu’s professional boxing matches globally.. Don made it clear that he and his company are the only promotional set up authorized to engage Makabu’s services.
Further more, DKP demand that the WBC make the cancellation public throughout their media outlets and notify the organizers of the event that the governing body refuses to sanction the bout..
Don King makes it very clear through his legal counsel that the matter is very serious in the course of protecting the Promoters reputation.