Undefeated Agit Kabayel returns in January.

Undefeated, globally ranked heavyweight Agit Kabayel 22-0 (14 KOs) will return to the ring next month to face once beaten Agron Smakici 19-1 (17 KOs) on January 28 at the RuhrCongress Hall in Bochum, Germany. The European Boxing Union have officially sanctioned the bout for their vacant title, which Kabayel has owned on and off since 2016 when he beat Chris Lewandowski. Victory would be Kabayel’s second official reign as European champion. Kabayel most notable victory was a title defence in 2017 over two time world title challenger  Derek Chisora. Kabayel is a capable yet low key fighter who has only boxed 4 times in nearly 4 years, the appearances however have been in decent company against Kevin Johnson, Pavel Sour, Evgenios Lazaridis and Andriy Rudenko. The victory over Kevin Johnson in 2021 earned Agit the vacant WBA Continental heavyweight title.

Mills Lane passes, aged 85.

Sad news that Hall of Fame referee Mills Lane has passed at the age of 85 in his home City of Reno, Nevada. Lane, the district attorney best known for his no nonsense approach and the catchphrase ‘let’s get it on,’ was the middle man in a number of major boxing matches, spanning 4 decades including the infamous Tyson v Holyfield rematch in 1997 where he was forced to disqualify the former champion for the notorious double bite incident. Mills also officiated Hagler v Antuofermo, Tyson v Berbick, several of Larry Holmes world title defences along with Muhammad Ali’s bout with Bob Foster. The final world title bout that Judge Lane refereed was a 1998 world middle weight title fight between Bernard Hopkins and Robert Allen, ironically the fight was stopped and deemed a no contest when Mills physically broke the fighters from a clinch and accidentally pushed Hopkins out of the ring in round 4. After retiring as a referee and ringside official, Lane starred and hosted a reality TV court show for a number of years. Unfortunately, Lane suffered a debilitating stroke in 2002 that left him partially paralyzed and unable to speak. Lane was respected and loved by all that knew him in court, in the ring and in life, a wonderful man who will be sorely missed. 

Dubois stops game Lerena in 3 after early crisis.

WBA regular heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois 19-1 (18 KOs) overcame a huge crisis on the Fury v Chisora undercard on Saturday when he climbed off the floor three times in the opener against Kevin Lerena 28-2 (14 KOs) before rallying in round three to stop the South African challenger with a devastating volley of punches. The highly unfavored Lerena hurt Dubois half way through round one with a shot to the temple forcing the once beaten title holder to take a count. Moments later Dubois took a second count without a punch being thrown and 15 seconds after this knockdown took a third knee when he appeared unsteady on his feet. Daniel appeared to injure his ankle when he was unbalanced from the initial punch in round one and struggled to maintain his balance for the remainder of the round. Trainer Shane Mcguigan told reporters after the bout, it was sick or swim, crisis can’t be prepared for and Dubois literally had to dig deep and show immense character to halt his unbeaten opponent two sessions later. Referee Howard Foster halted the fight to prevent the challenger from taking unnecessary punishment. Incidentally the bell did ring to end round 3 as Lerena was taking the count from Foster, and wasn’t offered the opportunity to recover between rounds, yet when Dubois was hurt badly in round 1, he walked to his corner with 9 seconds left in the round and was allowed to do so. Despite the finish appearing clinical from Daniel, the performance at large was unimpressive and exposed a lot of flaws to capitalise on. 

Fury dominates a defiant Chisora en route to a 10th round stoppage.

WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury 33-0-1 (24 KOs) entertained and controlled former 2 X foe Derek Chisora 33-13 (23 KOs), before forcing a stoppage in the tenth of an easily forgettable all British heavyweight title. 60,000 on site fans attended the spectacle at The Tottenham Hotspur stadium and celebrated what was a dominant performance by the self proclaimed Gypsy King. The always competitive Derek Chisora came to fight and offered a determined body hustle in the early rounds. Unfortunately Fury established control with the jab and began walking Chisora onto crafty uppercuts and counters. Despite his bravery and courage Chisora appeared to run out of ideas towards the latter rounds and became open house for Fury’s intelligently selected shots. By the 10th referee Victor Loughlin carefully observed Chisora who’s resolve appeared to be hanging by a thread. With 9 seconds lift in the session, Fury landed a crisp cluster coercing Laughlin to call a halt to the action. 

Alternatively unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk along with the undefeated Joe Joyce took in the action from ringside, and approached the Gypsy King on the ring apron in a slapstick exchange to hype potential future challenges. Fury appears to be the man to beat in the division and the options include return matches with Wilder and a superfight with Joshua along with unification with Usyk, however the challenge of the bell schooled and stubborn Joe Joyce was be the most likely fight to happen in 2023. 

Fury did make a comment to suggest that he has injuries to his right hand and right elbow that he will need to attend to prior to his next ring appearance.

Fury v Chisora 3 weigh in results.

WBC World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former world title challenger and twice former foe Derek Chisora weighed in today ahead of tomorrows championship showdown tomorrow night at Tottenham Hotspur’s Stadium in London along with a packed undercard. 

Tyson Fury came in at 268 pounds whilst his challenger Derek Chisora tipped in at 260 pounds. 

In the chief support, reigning WBA regular heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois weighed 240 pounds whilst his South African challenger Kevin Lerena came in 9 pounds lighter at 231 pounds. 

Yvan Mendy weighed 134 pounds vs. Denys Berinchyk’s 134 pounds for their European Lightweight title fight. 

Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
Promoter: Top Rank, Queensberry
TV: ESPN+ (USA), PPV (UK)

Roy Englebrecht promotions, Fight night results from Costa Mesa.

In a battle of two local Heavyweights Kaleel Carter 4-2, (3 KOs) broke a two fight losing streak to knock out previously unbeaten Ricky Frausto 7-1 (1 KO) in the third round of a scheduled 6 on Thursday night in the Englebrecht promotions Fight Club main event at the Hangar at the OC Fair & Events Center in Costa Mesa, California. Frausto started off fast with good movement and crisp combinations as Carter patiently looked for clever counters. The bout appeared to be an evenly balanced match going into the third and looked as though it may be headed for the full course until Carter stunned Frausto with a clean right hand, Carter capitalised and landed a series of unanswered shots that left Frausto out for the count. 

The undercard at the Hangar saw Super Featherweight Tayden Beltran score a first round Tko over Trenton Gibson whilst Antonio Garcia stopped Josias Gonzalez in the third stanza of  a scheduled 4 at Super Welterweight.

Roy Englebrecht Promotions & Events have sold out every single Fight Club OC show in 2022.

1500 were in attendance. 

Jalolov continues unbeaten streak by stopping Harper in 4.

Uzbekistan’s 2021 Olympic Super heavyweight Champion and world ranked Professional Bakhodir Jalolov 12-0 (12 KO’s) continued to climb steadily towards world title contention by scoring a clinical 4th round stoppage over the stubborn Curtis Harper 14-9 (9 Ko’s) on the Zepeda-Prograis undercard at the Dignity sports park in Carson California on Saturday night. Jalolov started patiently behind the jab keeping Harper at long range for the first couple of sessions, the tempo appeared to change as Harper showed some teeth by attempting to rough Jalolov up by hitting on the break. The Florida man seemed to wake the Usbek up with an attempted rabbit punch for which referee Thomas Taylor issued a stern warning. Jalolov found his range towards the end of the third and dropped Curtis with a well timed left hook concluded with a vicious straight right. Harper survived the round but knew what was in store for the 4th. Jalolov continued to establish the jab with spite in the fourth and soon found his mark with a series of accurate shots that put Harper on the floor for a second time, Harper hailed his huge frame off the canvas but was saved from himself by Thomas Taylor who called a halt to the action. Time was 1:53 of the session. 

After the victory Jalolov made it very clear that he is more than ready for anyone in the top 10 and announced himself as a threat to the major players in the division. Jalolov is indeed a big strong and capable heavyweight but may need an ounce of seasoning if he wants to be successful as an elite player. The Brooklyn based fighter is steadily overwhelming fighters with mixed to winning records but has yet to make his mark against a valued name to catch the publics attention. Harper put up little resistance having previously outpointed the undefeated Chris Thun and several years ago dragged Chris Arreola into a life and death battle that many saw in his favour. Harper is a durable yet unpredictable opponent who really only served as a time filler on this occasion. 

The ABC 35th Annual Convention headed to Las Vegas.

The 2023 Association of Boxing Commissions’ 35th Annual Conference will be held in Las Vegas at the fabulous Mirage hotel resort between July 30th and August 3rd. This is the first time that the Convention event has been changed to a Sunday to Thursday format, put in place to allow attending boxing commissions to continue to work boxing shows on both the front and back weekends of the event. The training workshops for Officials and Inspectors will be held on the 30th and 31st (Sunday and Monday) leaving the General Session to run Tuesday through Thursday (August 1st to the 3rd.) 

There is an early booking discount to attend the event with the link for booking on the ABC website sometime in December. The Convention has proved popular over the last 9 years and is expecting a high demand for registration. 

Olympians Ajagba and Rivas meet Jan 4th in NY.

Top Rank in association with ESPN will enter 2023 with an intriguing heavyweight doubleheader heavyweight doubleheader on Jan 14th at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.

The feature bout is a scheduled 10 rounder between former Olympian punchers Efe Ajagba 16-1 (13 KOs) and the current WBC Bridgerweight world champion Oscar Rivas 28-1 (19 KOs.) To accompany this bout in a quality 10-round co-feature 2016 Italian Olympian Guido Vianello 10-0-1 (9 KOs) tackles a mammoth task when he meets undefeated Stephan Shaw 18-0 (13 Ko’s.) 

The show is due to be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

The associated Undercard fights will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ and includes a 10-round junior lightweight bout between Adam Lopez and Abraham Nova.

Both Ajagba and Rivas have boxed at the highest level and have lost to rising contenders, Ajagba dropping a decision to Frank Sanchez last year and Rivas losing in similar fashion to Dillian Whyte in 2019 having dropped the former world title challenger in her process. Rivas has faced a lengthy spell of inactivity since picking up the WBC Bridgerweight title and has opted to move up in the meantime, despite having every intention of defending his title down the line.  Stephan Shaw is a big man with a big reputation, the St. Louis native has sharpened up for the Vianello bout with shutout over tough Rydell Booker just last week. The 235 pounder has knocked out 3 of his last 4 opponents and intends on continuing the trend by dispatching Vianello. Vianello a native of Rome, turned pro with great promise in December 2018 and won his first seven bouts by stoppage. Vianello’s strong run came to a halt with a 2020 draw with Kingsley Ibeh and a scarce 2021 where injury’s saw him fight only once. Vianello did return in July, stopping Rafael Rios in four rounds and more recently appeared on home soil in Rome where he dominated the colourful Jay McFarlane over 8. 

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Groupe Yvon Michel GYM Promotions, tickets are priced from $49 to $89 and are due to go on sale Friday Dec 2nd at 10 a.m. ET, with pre-sale for TS Rewards Members on Thursday Dec 1st. Pre sale tickets can be purchased at the Turning Stone Resort Casino Box Office, charge by phone by calling 800.771.7711 or online at Ticketmaster.com.

Calendar of Boxing Events through December.

December 10th 

A PPV event featuring Terence Crawford vs David Avanesyan (WBO welterweight title) along with the boxing debut of Cris Cyborg from Omaha Nebraska. Broadcast by BLK Prime and Integrated Sports.

December 10th

Teofimo Lopez meets Sandor Martin at junior welterweight along with a co-feature heavyweight bout between undefeated Jared Anderson and durable Jerry Forrest broadcast by USA ESPN in association with Top Rank from Madison Square Garden. 

December 10th

Manny Pacquiao will box DK Yoo in an exhibition to be staged in Seoul, South Korea that will be broadcast in PPV via Triller. 

December 10th 

Michael Conlan takes on Karim Guerfi at featherweight on an ESPN+ card at the Oddessey arena (SSE Belfast) Northern Ireland which also features a WBO European title fight between Tyrone McKenna and Liam Taylor.

December 10th 

Josh Warrington meets Luis Alberto Lopez for the IBF featherweight title from the First Direct Arena in Leeds Uk, the show also features an IBF Woman’s World Bantamweight title fight between Ebanie Bridges and Shannon O’Connell, broadcast by DAZN.

December 11th

CBS Sports Network will broadcast a show from The Caribe Royale in Orlando Florida featuring Yamaguchi Falcao vs Ernest Amuzu at super middleweight, the card is due to host 11 undercard fights. 

December 13th

ESPN+ feature a show headlined by a unified bantamweight title fight between Naoya Inoue and Paul Butler from the Ariake Arena, Koto-Ku in Tokyo Japan. The card also features undefeated prospects Yoshiki Takei and Andy Hiraoka.

December 16th 

PPV show featuring undefeated heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov vs Michael Wallisch with the NABA and NABF titles on the line, on the same show once beaten heavyweight contender Simon Kean takes on former world title challenger Eric Molina. 

From The Centre Gervais Auto, Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada promoted by Eye of the tiger. 

December 17th 

In a battle of undefeated lightweights, Michel Rivera 20-0 meets Frank Martin 16-0 on Showtime from The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

BLK Prime and Integrated Sports unite to deliver Crawford v Avanesyan PPV Championship event Dec 10th.

The entertainment broadcast group ‘BLK Prime’ has linked up with the broadcasting company ‘Integrated Sports’ to host the December 10th World Welterweight Championship showdown between champion Terence Crawford 38-0 (29 KOs) and David Avanesyan 29-3-1 (17 KOs), held at the CHI Center in Omaha, Nebraska along with a healthy undercard. 

The events Pay per view will stream on BLK Prime and PPV.com priced in the US at $39.99 in addition to this the event will also be distributed across the United States lon cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, DIRECTV and DISH.

In a press release the BLK Prime representative Sam Katkovski made it clear that they wanted to make Crawford v Avanesyan PPV available for the masses, so made the decision to go the traditional route with cable and satellite, in addition to just the BLK Prime App. Integrated Sports has been in the business for many years and has the experience to hit all corners of the United States. BLK Prime are happy to be partnering with them and look forward to a great night of boxing on December 10.”

Integrated Sports president Doug Jacobs said. “Crawford is arguably the No. 1 pound-for-pound champion in the world and Cris Cyborg (who is due to make a boxing debut on the broadcast) may be the greatest female MMA fighter of all-time. It’ll be interesting for MMA fans to watch her box and we are excited to be part of the BLK Prime movement to make all the big fights happen.”

The co-promoters of the event worldwide are NextGen Boxing, Bash Boxing, and BLK Prime.

Historic information regarding Integrated Sports:

IS are North America’s leading distributor of International Pay-Per-View and Closed-Circuit sports events and has presented World Championship boxing matches featuring Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones, Ivan Calderon, Rocky Martinez, Nicolai Valuev, Amir Kahn, Marco Antonio Barrera, Arthur Abraham, David Haye, John Ruiz, and Juan Manuel Lopez. In addition, Integrated Sports Media has distributed numerous international soccer matches showcasing the National Teams of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and the USA, as well as World Championship and world-class mixed martial arts events featuring Fedor Emelianenko, Tim Sylvia, Bobby Lashley, Bob Sapp, Jeff Monson, and Roy Nelson.

In a similar fashion BLK Prime is a growing subscription video-on-demand company that offers multicultural content to a diverse audience worldwide. To learn more about BLK Prime, visit: https://watchnow.blkprime.com/ 

To order the pay-per-view visit https://ppv.blkprime.com/pay-per-view. 

On social media follow #CrawfordAvanesyan, on Instagram @BLKPRIMEBOXNG @BLKPRIME, on Twitter @BLKPRIMEBOXING, on Facebook @BLKPRIMEBOXING

Regis Prograis stops defiant Jose Zepeda to pick up the vacant WBC Super Lightweight title.

In an intriguing bout for the vacant WBC super lightweight belt, Regis Prograis 28-1 (24 KOs) scored an impressive KO over tough Jose Zepeda 35-3 (27 KOs) in the penultimate round on Saturday night in Carson, California. Both fighters mixed it up from the opener with Prograis dictating with the jab and Zepeda playing counter puncher. The bout began to unfold as a tactical battle with Prograis appearing to control the majority of the exchanges. Zepeda suffered a cut over his right eye following a heated exchange in round 4 but managed to maintain his composure and even cause Prograis some problems in the fifth. Prograis picked up some nose damage from Zepeda’s accurate jabs in the 6th but stuck to his strict game plan and boxed intelligently to orders through round 8. Down the final stretch both fighters boxed behind the jab, patiently poaching for openings with some impressive back and forth action. By the tenth it was apparent that Zepeda was fading and Prograis was closing the distance, Zepeda fought back defiantly but midway into the 11th found himself being backed up. With a minute left in the round Prograis unleashed a vicious two handed attack to drop Zapeda forcing referee Ray Corona to stop the fight at 0:59 of the session. Both men had their moments in a very competitive fight but it was Regis’ more accurate efficient work that pulled him through against a very determined Zepeda.  Ringside judges had it 98-92, 98-92 and 97-93 all in favour of Prograis at the time of the stoppage.

Wardley outguns Gorman to secure vacant British Heavyweight title.

Unbeaten Ipswich heavyweight Fabio Wardley 15-0 (14 KOs) started off slowly on Saturday night against tough Nathan Gorman 19-1 (13 Ko’s) before digging deep to drop the Manchester man three times and securing the vacant British title. Gorman was dropped twice in the second and once again the the third before his corner had seen enough and pulled him out at 2:33 of the session. Gorman’s vast amateur pedigree showed in the early showing as he appeared to dictate with a well timed jab and good movement. Crisp accurate punches seemed to be problematic for the Wardley who was bleeding from the nose as early as the opening round. Round 2 saw Gorman attempt to pressure Fabio and capitalise on the nose injury, until a defiant Wardley sprung to life to hurt Gorman with a flurry of wild punches, dropping him momentarily. Gorman survived the knockdown but was stunned again moments later and knocked down for a second time. Gorman survived the round and maintained his composure but was hurt badly following a third knockdown in round 3, forcing his corner to pull him out at 2:33 of the session.  Wardley being crowned the British champion after just 15 professional fights and only a handful of white collar appearances behind him. 

Whyte outpoints Franklin in disputed majority decision.

Dillian Whyte returned to the ring tonight with a highly disputed majority points victory over tough unheralded and unbeaten Jermaine Franklin at Wembley Arena. Franklin got off to a spirited start with well selected sharp combinations, stamping his authority on the fight. Whyte found his range in the middle rounds but appeared to try too hard to land single shots. As Whyte raised his tempo, Franklin matched him for spirit and guts. The bout appeared in the balance as Franklin appeared to slow, offering Whyte opportunities to break through. At the end of the ninth Whyte walked onto a short hook which seemed to stun him, as he reeled towards the corner the Michigan fighter moved in with a series of shots only to be cut short by the bell that possibly saved Whyte from a compromising spot. Whyte himself seemed to fade towards the closing rounds as Franklin seemed to spring to life with explosive bursts of intermittent punches. Whyte was told to forget about knockouts by James McGirt in the corner between rounds and to stay in his shell. The final round again was a close affair with Franklin acting defiantly, Whyte did rally towards the end of the session and managed to stun Franklin with a highly entertaining bout coming to its conclusion. Many at ringside felt the fight could have gone either way but all appeared to agree that it was extremely close. Unfortunately despite one judge scoring accurately with a 115-115 draw, both of the other officials at ringside saw it necessary to score the bout a one sided 116-112. I scored the bout with one round in favour of the American but it remains that Whyte moves on to a potential meeting with Anthony Joshua in the summer. Jermaine Franklin a gracious loser voiced his opinions on the scores but made it very clear that very few people have the heart to get into the ring with him, his stock does rise significantly.

Whyte and Franklin weigh in, drama ensues during glove selection.

At todays weigh in for the heavyweight double header scheduled for Wembley arena tomorrow night, former WBC world heavyweight title challenger Dillian Whyte, a distinct 10-1 favourite scaled 251 pounds whilst imported yet undefeated underdog Jermaine Franklin scaled a soft 257. Both men conducted themselves well at the weigh in and it looks like an intriguing battle of styles for the feature event.  The chief support features undefeated Fabio Wardley of Ipswich who scaled a solid 240 pounds for his British title challenge against the once beaten Nathan Gorman of Nantwich who tipped in at a whopping 271 pounds. Gorman appeared to struggle the sole time that he stepped up in class and is facing a man who seems to be moving on a fast-track making some bold statements along the way. Wardley is extremely confident and well conditioned whilst a lot could be said for the Manchester mans appearance.  Following a rather cordial weigh in both camps of the main event bout headed to the conference centre for the glove selection ceremony where high drama unfolded. Dillian Whyte’s representative chose two sealed packets of white, prepared gloves by the manufacturer Fly. Joshua the man selecting gloves for Dillian appeared happy with the gloves from the second packet and alerted the BBBC official to mark the, as selected for Whyte to use tomorrow night. The Franklin team didn’t appear to have any issues with this and were handed a selection of packages containing the gloves that they had requested. Jermaine and his team opened a pack of Black coloured gloves by the manufacturer ‘Loaded’ and agreed to use that pair after trying on the gloves. As this was taking place, the representative from team Whyte ‘Joshua’ checked the gloves which Franklin had chosen and alerted a BBBC official to the fact that the gloves appeared as though they were broken in or had been worn previously, something that is against the rules of the commission. Whyte then got himself involved and himself noticed that it appeared as if tape had been removed from the knuckle area and had left residue. Team Whyte made it very clear that they were opposed to Franklin wearing these particular gloves. A BBBC official made some enquiries as to where the gloves had been stored and whether or not they were in fact sealed from the manufacturers factory. Some verbal exchanges took place between the camps and Dmitri Salita the promoter for Franklin challenged team Whyte accusing them of trying to get under the underdogs skin and bad gamesmanship. In the midst of this Whyte made a comment directed at Jermaine’s trainer Jesse Addison stating “If he keeps talking he will get checked” Addison appeared infuriated at this comment and an exchange of words took place. Once this was diffused Whyte made an offer the resolve the situation saying that he’d have two identical pairs of Fly gloves sent from the factory that both parties could agree on. A BBBC official handed Franklin a pair of white and purple Fly gloves which Jermaine tried on, even though he had no solid opposition to the gloves he and his immediate team were now dead set of sticking to their guns in being allowed to use the gloves that they had requested as neither the promoter or the officials were in favour of backing team Whyte’s claims up regarding the gloves being tampered. Franklin and his team were eventually granted the opportunity to wear Black Loaded gloves whilst Whyte had stuck with the White pair by the Fly brand. It appears as though a touch of last minute mind games had been employed by team Whyte, which didn’t actually seem to phase the away fighter who continued to maintain his composure regardless. 

Former jr Middleweight Champion Buster Drayton passes aged 70.

Philadelphias Former world light middleweight champion Buster Drayton, sadly passed away this week at the age of 70. The news was announced by the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame last Sunday, and was later confirmed by his daughter, Melanie. 

Moses Drayton was born on March 2, 1952, and at the age of 19 was enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, Drayton would rise quickly through the ranks to the level of Sergeant. Buster found boxing whilst in the marines and would embark on a pro career 6 years later. 

Drayton soon built his reputation as a durable rugged fighter by traveling the world to take on all comers usually heavily favored opposition like Sumbu Kalambay in Italy, tough contenders Jimmy Cable and Mark Kaylor in successive fights in the Uk. Drayton earned his stripes and gained huge experience at home in the local Philadelphia gyms, where he would become a regular and reliable main sparring partner to then-middleweight champion Marvin Hagler.

Drayton broke out of the stereotypical journeyman mould in 1986 when he grabbed the opportunity with both hands and defeated Carlos Santos to win the vacant IBF junior middleweight title by majority decision.

Drayton would make two successful defenses overseas, defeating Davey Moore and Said Skouma in France, both by tenth round stoppage, before losing a unanimous decision to Matthew Hilton in Canada, losing the belt a year after winning it. 

Drayton continued to fight on until 1995, but never regained his championship status, losing to Julian Jackson by third round stoppage in a 1988 challenge for the WBA junior middleweight title and again by decision to rising contender Terry Norris in back to back outings. 

Drayton finished his career with a record of 40-15-1 (28 knockouts), and later worked as a police officer in Philadelphia and later at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Philadelphia. Buster’s passing has prompted a huge amount of tribute to those who knew or fought him, John Scully, Charles Brewer and Al Bernstein all testified that he was one of the finest individuals in the game with a wealth of knowledge that he was always willing to pass on. Buster was a no nonsense fighter with explosive power in both hands, but as a man was one of the most gentle and caring people one could ever wish to meet, he will be sadly missed. 

Bentley offers brave challenge for Alimkhanuly’s 160 pound WBO title.

                               

Undefeated Janibek Alimkhanuly 13-0 (8 KOs) was forced to dig deeper than expected to earn a unanimous decision victory over British Middleweight Champion Denzel Bentley 17-1-1 (14 KOs) on Saturday night at the Pearl Theater at The Palms Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. Bentley came into the bout as a 20:1 underdog to challenge Alimkhanuly for his WBO 160lb title but offered a gallant performance giving the champion all he could handle throughout the fight. Alimkhanuly managed to break through and visible shake Bentley in the final round but was unable to register a stoppage. Scores were 116-112, 116-112, 118-110.

Alimkhanuly gave Bentley huge praise afterwards, stating that ‘Anything can happen in the ring, he came well prepared, I respect my opponent because he was completely prepared, he was 100 percent, but I am a champion and I fought all 12 rounds as a champion…I am ready for any champion, for unifications. I am ready. Let’s fight.’ 

A subdued Bentley stated, ‘thought I was in the fight, in the fifth round, my coach told me we weren’t in front and to pick up the pace, so I picked up the pace.” Bentley must go away from this experience with so much confidence, very little was actually expected of him and he gave an excellent account of himself. 

This was the first title defense for Alimkhanuly, who picked up the WBO strap when he was elevated from interim champion when Demetrius Andrade opted to move up in weight rather than defend against him.

Expect a routine night for Dillian on the 26th against untested Franklin.

                              
On November 26th at Wembley Arena, Dillian Whyte makes his first appearance since his disappointing defeat at the hands of Tyson fury back in April in his sole attempt at a world title to date, the man employed on this night to offer some stubborn resistance is the undefeated American Jermaine Franklin, a 29 year old native of Saginaw Michigan who has an impressive record of 21-0 (14 Ko’s) and has served as a sparring partner for Whyte’s more recent Victor, Tyson Fury. Unfortunately, despite some impressive statistics and some good spiel, Franklin has only boxed once in 38 months and on that night only beat a 20-21 Rodney Moore who has previously boxed as light as super middleweight. Jermaine has looked impressive in victories over the notable Rydell Booker and Pavel Sour, where a tenacious work-rate and respectable power won the day. The unfortunate yet notable statistic regarding Franklin’s record is a 2019 bout with the durable yet average Jerry Forrest where most ringside onlookers had Forrest a clear winner despite a shady decision in Jermaine’s favour. Whyte himself 29-3 (19 Ko’s) is coming off 2 knockout losses in his last 4 outings and needs an impressive showing to ensure that the top tier fights remain on table. Victory here and an impressive one at that could potentially secure an AJ rematch and at 35 the Brixton puncher knows that slip ups aren't an option.  Franklin has to understand that he is stepping several echelons above the level of anyone that he has ever stepped foot in the ring with and in my opinion one appearance in 3 years against inept opposition and a move around with Fury wearing headgear and 18 ounce gloves aren’t enough to sharpen your tools for a live version of Whyte. Franklin may be busy enough and brave enough to offer Dillian a nice workout but let’s make it clear, this should be routine work for Whyte and a stark education for Franklin about how there are levels to this sport. 

Trevor Bryan meets Daniel Dubois Saturday in Florida for WBA regular strap.

                            

WBA regular champion Trevor Bryan was much more lively than his usual self at the weigh in for his highly anticipated defence against Britains Daniel Dubois where he weighed in 18 pounds heavier than the challenger at 259lbs. Don King promoted Bryan insists that he has been overlooked and is largely unknown by the public but promises to deliver tomorrow evening at what he considers his coming out party against a legitimate threat. Dubois 17-1 (16 Ko’s) appeared much the calmer at the weigh in and played down the brash intimidation tactics from the belt holder understanding that his fists will do the talking on fight night. Bryan referred to Dubois as a glorified amateur and emphasised that his submission against Joyce is an indication of what will happen on Saturday. Dubois and Francis Warren maintained their composure throughout the final presser and weigh in and allowed the American contingent to carry the show with outlandish predictions and highlight grabbing antics (Offering Dubois sanitary towels) whilst conducting a face off. The truth is that it’s balls to the wall for Bryan as his claim to a championship may be nearing its end as Dubois edges the odds as a substantial favourite, Bryan 22-0 (15 Ko’s) made a feeble defence in January over an inept Jonathan Guidry, where he appeared lucky to hold on to his unbeaten run. Bryan has evaded many of the bigger names in the division, often accusing them of turning down lucrative offers to meet him, and has never seemed to bring a fully conditioned polished version of himself to the public eye, even in his biggest win, a 2021 stoppage of a shopworn Bermaine Stiverne he appeared lacklustre and grossly out of shape. Don King and Stacy McKinley moved Trevor away from the distractions of Florida and chose to base training camp in Las Vegas at Clarence Adams gym, bringing former champion Larry Holmes into camp for a morale boost. McKinley, no stranger to quality heavyweights says that they have left no stones unturned and Dubois is in for a big surprise. Dubois, trained by Shane Mcguigan arrived in Florida 14 days ago and seem more than ready to take the opportunity by the horns and thrust onto the colourful title picture ahead of his conqueror Joyce. Bryan v Dubois heads a stacked card promoted by Don King Productions at the Jai Alai events centre in Miami Florida, televised on PPV in the US and BT sports in the Uk. It’s an intriguing matchup with both guys largely untested at world level despite the regular world championships being on the line. 

Haney shuts out Kambosos in Melbourne to become Undisputed.

                                                  

Devin Haney 28-0 (15 KOs) travelled half way across the world to score a lop sided twelve round unanimous points decision over George Kambosos Jr 20-1 (10 KOs) on Sunday morning at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne Australia in front of 40.000 partisan spectators. Haney conducted a boxing clinic throughout the whole fight, measuring Kambosos with a laser precise jab and perfect timing. Haney left no room for dispute and never allowed Kambosos any room to gain any momentum with a busy high work rate. The fight wasn’t easy on the casual viewers eye but served a purpose in crowning a new unified champion. Scoring was 116-112, 116-112, 118-110. 

The official attendance number was revealed at 41,129. This makes this bout second biggest attendance in Australian boxing history. And stands as the largest attended fight ever in the state of Victoria ahead of the Azumah Nelson v Jeff Fenech bout from 1992. 

A gracious Kambosos gave huge praise to Haney after the bout stating that he was the best man on the night but emphasized that this defeat had lit a fire of determination under him and he was looking forward to executing the rematch clause that had been put in place. Haney gave all praises to God and stated that he will fight anyone in the division if it makes good sense.  

Buatsi looks towards a World title shot as he out-hustles game Richards.

On Saturday night at the O2 in Greenwich London, Joshua Buatsi remained on course for a shot at the WBA light heavyweight title by securing a hard earned unanimous points victory over the tough former world title challenger Craig Spider Richards 17-3 (10 Ko’s.) Buatsi, 174lbs got off to the busier start, out working the more conservative Richards with fast flurries behind the jab, Richards managed to land eye catching counters throughout the early rounds but boxed too economically to pinch the rounds. Buatsi and Richards engaged more through the middle rounds as the bout turned far more fan friendly. Buatsi appeared in control by the 7th but was allowing Richards opportunities to slide back in by easing off the gas. Richards capitalised on this in the 8th when he shook Buatsi up with a short uppercut, Joshua weathered the storm and survived the session by closing the distance and smothering Craigs work. Joshua turned the tables in the 10th a hurt Richards on a couple of occasions forcing the underdog to create distance and survive, Buatsi remained reluctant to rush in and opted to land selective shots from range. Buatsi was warned on a couple of occasions for low punching but managed to hurt Richards with legitimate body shots. Both fighters decided to stand and trade in the closing session in what was a last ditch attempt to catch the eyes of the ringside judges after such a lively fight. Buatsi was given the nod by scores of 116-112 (Jan Christiansen) 115-113 (Gustavo Padilla) and 115-113 (Bob Williams) Richards gracious in defeat praised Buatsi for the crafty way he survived when hurt in the 8th and coming back strong towards the closer. Buatsi had equal praise for Richards who still remains an active player after such a game and lively showing. Buatsi made it clear that he is absolutely ready for a world title shot now against whoever it may be. Joshua showed a lot of maturity in this fight and showed how versatile he can be at the highest level. 

Wood overcomes shaky start to stop Conlan at the final hour.

                                 

Nottingham’s WBA featherweight champion Leigh Wood 26-2 (16 KOs) came from behind in an extraordinary fight to score a spectacular twelfth round KO over former Irish Olympian Michael Conlan 16-1 (8 KOs) last night on home soil at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England.

Conlan established himself early in the bout scoring a heavy knockdown at the end of the opener, with the title holder being saved by the bell to end the session. Conlan continued to dominate Wood, landing frequently with clever counters and finding his mark with the lead left hook that dropped the champion early. The gritty Wood closed the distance in the middle rounds and found done success at close range, forcing Conlan to fight his fight. Conlan hurt Wood to the body in the late rounds but the champion responded equally to force the challenger onto the back foot. In round 10 Wood appeared to break through with a barrage of hurtful shots, leaving Conlan looking despondent for the first time in the bout, referee Steve Grey unfortunately interfered in the action and allowed Conlan off the hook. The 11th saw Wood score a knockdown which the visiting corner contested was a slip, regardless Conlan appeared to be comfortably leading and just needed to coast the final session. In a remarkable final round Leigh Wood took the initiative to force Conlan back to the ropes and apply constant pressure, as the challenger appeared to slip shots against the ropes Wood clipped him with a cluster of punches, forcing an exhausted Conlan to fall unconscious out of the ring. The time was 1:25.

Wood appeared to be a long way behind throughout the bout, but was surprisingly only a handful of points trailing at the time of stoppage. 104-103, 105-102, 104-103 on the official scoresheets. 

The conclusion of the bout saw Conlan attended to by medics as a precaution and later rushed by ambulance to the hospital.

BBB of C downgrade Ian John Lewis’ officiating status following review.

                              
The British Boxing Board of control have reviewed the recent controversial scoring of the Josh Taylor v Jack Catterall world title bout and called ringside official Ian John Lewis to explain his erratic 114-111 scorecard. Following the review the BBB of C have decided to downgrade John Lewis’s officiating status from A Star Class to A Class official. The board did have issue with the margin of Ian’s scorecard but didn’t think that the scorecard affected the overall result of the contest. The board of control have decided to evaluate the performance of each A star official after every bout in addition to each officials annual review in an attempt to maintain a high standard of consistency amongst British officiated bouts. The board have recommended to each of the governing bodies that Jack Catterall be instated as mandatory challenger for each of their respective titles. 

Michael Marley passes.

                                  

Sad news for the boxing world as former established writer, boxing manager and highly regarded fight sage Michael Marley passed away Wednesday at his Cape Cod home. Marley was an all rounder who before embarking on boxing management made a name for himself, writing first for the Las Vegas Sun, then earning a spot as a columnist for the New York post. Michael boxed briefly as an amateur whilst studying at UNR and loved the sport ever since starting the Cassius clay fan club as a 12 year old boy. Michael moved into boxing management in the early 1990s when he turned a charismatic yet raw young heavyweight called Shannon Briggs into a household name with his own unique style of public relations. Mike would manage several other successful fighters over the next 20 years including Orlin and Terry Norris, Robert Garcia and Nigerian heavyweight King Ipitan before turning his attention to a career as a practicing attorney alongside working as head of public relations for Don King Productions. Michael was a likeable and personable man who adored boxing and boxing personalities of all types. Marley had been privately battling Parkinson’s syndrome and was 72 years of age, his passing is a real loss to our sport.

Shocking scorecards from SSE Hydro in Scotland.

                           
Following a dominant, career best performance Jack Catterall appeared to dominate and drop Unified lightweight champion Josh Taylor in a fight which saw the home fighter also lose a point for unsportsmanlike conduct. Controversial former fighter, referee and judge Ian John Lewis submitted a baffling scorecard which had Taylor ahead by 114 points to 111. To accompany this incompetence, referee and judge Victor Loughlin offered a card which had fellow Scotsman 113-112 ahead. With English Judge Howard Foster having Catterall ahead by a point by 113-112. 

Catterall dominates undisputed champion Taylor but gets robbed by scorecards.

                              

Unified world lightweight champion Josh Taylor 19-0 (13 KOs) escaped with his WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO belts via a scandalous twelve round split decision against mandatory challenger Jack Catterall 26-1 (13 KOs) tonight after being dropped, deducted a point abd outclassed for the majority of the bout. Catterall took the initiative and appeared the find his measure with crafty counters behind an accurate jab. Jack nullified a less than impressive Taylor and never allowed the champion to get a foothold in the action for the first 6 rounds. Catterall lead the fight by a streak on the punch stats throughout the bout and dropped your desperate Taylor in the 8th. Catterall was himself deducted a point in the 10th for holding. Taylor was instructed to be more urgent going into the 11th but again found himself outgunned and outmanoeuvred by the clever challenger. Josh was deducted a point for his conduct at the end of the eleventh but managed to hustle through the 12th in desperation to save his titles. At the conclusion Catterall had a big edge in the punch stats landing 120 punches to 73 throughout the fight, with an 81-57 differential in power shots and a 39 to 16 difference in jabs.  Experienced ex fighters and knowledgable ringsides appeared outraged when 2 of the 3 scorecards were announced with Taylor leading. A star referee and former fighter Ian John Lewis scored the bout as a shocking 114-111 in favour of the home fighter, alongside referee and judge Victor Laughlin who scored the bout 113-112 for fellow Scotsman Taylor, with only English judge Howard Foster cutting closer to the mark with a 113-112 in favour of the challenger. 

A visibly outraged Catterall left the ring immediately whilst numerous ringside critics voiced their shock anger at what many described as the worse decision they have ever witnessed in boxing, former world Cruiserweight champion Johnny Nelson described it as embarrassing and disastrous for the sport. 

Khan v Brook undercard summary from Manchester.

                              
A capacity crown packed into the AO arena in Manchester to enjoy the prelude to the long awaited meeting between Kell Brook and Amir Khan which featured the professional debut of highly decorated Olympic medalist Frazer Clarke and a third world title attempt by Liverpools Natasha Jonas along with winning appearances by star amateurs Hassan and Adam Azim. Clarke disposed of late replacement Jake Darnell of Blackpool in a round to enter the paid ranks at the elevated age of 30. Clarke looked patient and briefly impressive but understands that he needs to be moved fast. Natasha Jonas realised a lifelong dream at the third time of asking by stopping tough Chris Namus in 2 rounds to pick up the vacant WBO super welterweight title. Jonas, stepping up 2 weight divisions displayed impressive power by dropping the durable Namus at the end of the opener with a 2 punch combination, Namus fell heavily and struggled to recover during the minute long interval. Jonas identified this and knocked the import down again early into the session to force the referee to stop the bout on the orders of the Namus corner. English super middleweight champion Charlie Schofield lost a unanimous 10 rounds points decision at the hands of the undefeated Germaine Brown. Brown dominated the action throughout and prevented the rangy champion from gaining a foothold in the bout. Social media renowned Viddal Riley made his Uk debut with a 4 round points win over the colourful Willbeforce Shihepo at Cruiserweight. Riley dropped the African import early but was unable to force the stoppage. In a battle of unbeaten middleweights, Bradley Rea knocked out Craig McCarthy in the opener of a scheduled 8.