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.