Deontay Wilder ...... Ko's Liakhovich in 1.

Deontay Wilder stunned Sergei Liakhovich with a solid right hand before closing the show 1 minute 40 of the opener. The knockout was solid and stark in the way Sergei has never been beaten in this manner before. 17 one rounders..  Wilder looks to head the class of American heavyweights at this point. I would love to see the questions that I expected Sergei to have posed answered at some point but proof is in the numbers on the verdict of what kind of class Deontay belongs..  Wilder did show flashes of patience and more relaxation on his approach, but we still need to see a valid test for him in the near future..  Notice...  The closing shots were still very long and raw, a habit Deontay will not have the luxury of against men like Arreola or Stiverne.   The 0 is still intact.     Sergei Liakhovich was taken on a stretcher as a precaution. 

SHObox results.

An ugly cut above the left eye of Francisco Vargas took a decent fight to the street against tough Brandon Bennett 16 / 0  7 kos of Cincinatti Ohio. Unfortunately for Bennett the cut spurred Vargas on in a fight that began to swing in the latter mans favour.  16 / 0  / 1 with 13 ko's .  The torrid fight went the full 10 for the vacant NABF and WBO Intercontinental super featherweight titles with the Tijuana man Vargas taking the victory Unanimous points.   A great action filled bout with a brave Bennett looking sorry for himself as the fight wore on, still able to come again with just this single blemish on an otherwise impressive résumé. 

SHObox ... Charlo extends winning streak.. TKO 2.

Houston light middleweight Jermall Charlo started fast against Antwone Smith on tonight's SHObox card at Fantasy springs Casino but at the beginning of the second round looked like he was settling down to box, until a solid counter right cross followed by a hurtful right, right , left combo put Smith down and unable to continue. Referee Tom Taylor called a halt at 2.23 of the round.  Charlo is one to watch along with his brother Jermell , both undefeated.  Jermall is now 15 / 0. With 11 ko's ...   

Showtime Weigh-in numbers from Indio California.

Deontay Wilder 224 vs Siarhei Liakhovich 232

Francisco Vargas 130 vs Brandon Bennett 129
Jermall Charlo 154 vs Antwone Smith 159.6
Allen Nevarez 127 vs Rigoberto Hermosillo 126.8
Gary Russell Jr 127 vs Juan Ruiz 125.6
Martin Morales 146.6 vs Eridanni Leon 146.2
Gerald Washington 245 vs Jerry Forrest 241
Juan Gonzalez 156.8 vs Leshon Sims 157
Jamie Kavanagh 135.4 vs Antonio Meza 136
Robert Easter 135 vs Lowell Brownfield 135

Liakhovich v Wilder tonight... Test time. !!!

Deontay Wilder , 28 / 0 all knockouts is all set tonight at Fantasy Springs resort in California to take on his toughest challenge to date in former WBO heavyweight champion Sergei Liakhovich 25 / 5  with 16 Knockouts.  Sergei is a few years past his best but is very capable of taking Wilder into unchartered territory if he can weather Deontays early storm. It was only 6 fights ago that Sergei lost his Championship belt to Shannon Briggs in his first defence of a belt he won in a classic brawl with the then Champion, Klitschko slayer Lamon Brewster in a 2006 upset. since then Sergei has been up and down but in all fairness in excellent company. He had beaten both Guinn  and Brewster both solid fighters and in defeat he has faced Valuev and Briggs in the final drastic seconds of a fight he had all but won in the 12th and last stanza. More recently losses have come to young prospects Bryant Jennings and Robert Helenius by no means a disgrace..  Wilder is what he is , a beautifully built puncher who has yet to be tested, in recent outings Deontay has looked over eager to get the opposition out of there in double quick time like a man who doesn't want to enter unchartered territory in fear of finding out potential weaknesses. Against Audley Harrison he didn't even let Harrison work his way into the fight, savagery took over and he chopped the big man down with a windmill of clubbing punches. Wilder is essentially a novice compaired to Liakhovich on paper but its 37 plays 27 in years in what is valued as a young mans sport..  It is a great match in measuring where both men are at in terms of future but as we have seen many times in boxing especially heavyweights...  It only takes one shot to turn the tables..    Testing time has arrived!!

Former fighter Loren Ross shot and Killed in Nashville

Loren Ross was shot and killed outside a Nashville bar early Wednesday morning, and police are investigating whether robbery was the motive. Metro Police said the 48-year-old Former heavyweight and cruiserweight contender left the Last Time Around bar on Brick Church Pike just before 1 a.m. As he was walking to his vehicle across the street, witnesses said they heard arguing followed by gunshots. One witness said it appeared someone was trying to rob Ross, and he fought back. He was shot multiple times, and found deceased near his car.  35-year-old Tyrus Evans, was struck in the wrist by shrapnel as he was assisting someone with car trouble nearby. He drove himself to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he was treated for minor injuries. Police said the gunman was described as a black man, approximately 5'9" tall with a thin build.  He was wearing a tan button up shirt, which was unbuttoned, a white T-shirt underneath, blue or blue jean shorts and a white hat.  Ross had 24 prior arrests in Nashville, including multiple drug offenses and at least one weapons charge. Narcotics were found next to him and inside his vehicle, according to Metro Police Captain Kenneth Walburn. Loren "The Boss" Ross won the 1984, 1985, and 1986 United States Amateur Light Heavyweight Championships. He was hospitalized after a fight in 1991, and had to give up boxing due to a heart condition. As a pro he fought both as a cruiser and heavy and won the WBA North Americas Cruiserweight title by stopping Art Weathers in 1990 and as a 16 / 0 prospect he was stopped by Tony Willis late in a fight he was winning by a mile in Las Vegas. Loren only lost once more in his final pro fight against Bert Cooper when stopped by TKO 8 in 1991. Ross was a quality boxer who retired with 17 wins and just 2 losses with 12 Ko's .  A very well liked and accomplished amateur Loren will be remembered as a friend to many world class fighters in the mid eighties and nineties, it's a very sore loss for boxing...  

Upcoming Fight Schedule.

Big fights on the horizon...
August 3rd ...         Eddie Chambers     v        Thabiso Mchunu           200lb

August 24th..         Kubrat Pulev           v        Tony Thompson.           200+lb

September 7th.     Ricky Burns.            v        Raymundo Beltran        135lb
September 14th.   Floyd Mayweather   v        Saul Alvarez.                 154lb

September 14th.   Danny Garcia.          v        Lucas Matthysse          140lb

September 14th.   Ishe Smith.               v        Carlos Molina.              154lb

September 28th.   David Haye               v        Tyson Fury.                  200+lb

October 5th...       Wladimir Klitschko  v        Alexander Povetkin      200+lb

October 12th.       Timothy Bradley.     v        Juan M Marquez.          147lb

A selection of the best global upcoming boxing action ..

Andre Berto stopped in San Antonio Main event.

Welterweight veteran Jesus Soto Karass (28-8-3, 18 KOs) scored a dramatic twelfth round KO over former welterweight champion Andre Berto (28-3, 22 KOs) to claim the vacant NABF welterweight title tonight in San Antonio, Texas. Karass rocked Berto in round one. Berto came back in rounds two and three, but Soto Karass hurt Berto again in round four. Berto was having problems with his right shoulder, which he previously injured, and took more heavy shots in round five. The handicapped and sorry looking Berto persevered and dropped Soto Karass in round eleven, but Soto Karass finally broke through Berto in the twelfth with a left hook and the bout was stopped! Time was 0.48 seconds of the round..  In truth Andre was looking jaded for most of the second half of the fight and looked like he had his quit face on towards the final moments.  This is the first and only stoppage loss of Bertos career.  It's going to be tough to get back into the title frame for Andre Berto immediately especially after the loss to Guerrero.   

Undercard results from San Antonio Texas .

AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas, USA

Omar Figueroa UD 12 Nihito Arakawa

Keith Thurman TKO 10 Diego Chaves

Anthony Dirrell TKO 3 Anthony Hanshaw

Andrew Cancio UD 10 Jerry Belmontes

Joseph Rodriguez UD 4 Kesse Anguiano.   

Main Event pending..    NB:  A great card...  Class action.

Andy Ruiz wins battle of the unbeaten heavyweights in China.

In a battle of unbeaten heavyweight prospects, the deceptively talented Andy Ruiz took on New Jersey's Joe the future Hanks Friday night in the unlikely setting of the luxurious Cotai Arena in the Venetian resort, Macao China.   Both Hanks and Ruiz on paper have impressive credentials , Joe coming in with 21 straight wins with 14 knockouts against Ruiz's similar 19 straight with 14 early.  The old adage of dont judge a book by its cover sprung to mind as body beautiful Hanks started confidently looking to continue his run of luck against the fleshy Californian based Mexican, but Ruiz stood fast and showed impressive patience by flashing the quicker hands over Hanks. Around the third it was evident that Ruiz had all of the natural advantages over Joe, who looked half paced in comparison. The breakthrough came in the fourth when Andy shocked Joe with a cluster of well placed heavy handed punches dropping him briefly before knocking his opponent down again causing referee Rafael Ramos to call a halt at 1.41 of the round. Both men are actually decent fighters with Ruiz being the natural puncher of the two and a slightly better quality of opposition between the pair. Surprisingly it looked like the less sculpted Ruiz was the better conditioned of the two with the muscular Hanks appearing gassed at the conclusion showing evidence that looks can be quite deceiving in heavyweights especially in the building stages of a fighters career. This match was for the vacant WBO intercontinental heavyweight title and it was quite a rare treat to watch. Plenty of options for Ruiz in the coming months with perhaps a meeting with the winner of the Wilder v Liakhovich fight a possibility. Andy Ruiz had been preparing for this at Bones Adams gym in Las Vegas and continues a threat to all who look past his physical appearance...  He is to be respected.

2012 Olympic Superheavy Champion Joshua turns Pro.

October 5th at the O2 in London , Matchroom Boxing will unveil their latest high profile signing. 2012 Olympic super heavyweight Gold medalist Anthony Joshua MBE will follow his dreams in the pro ranks under the Matchroom banner after months of offers and rumours, Anthony has decided that Eddie Hearn is the best route all around and the Matchroom family has what it takes to springboard him towards where he needs to be as regards his future. Joshua will be trained by the very highly regarded Tony Sims in Romford and all concerned are in agreement that after only 43 amateur fights the astonishing 23 year old is a stellar investment. Hearn and Matchroom now have two Olympic champions in their ever growing stable of home grown champions with this months pro debut of the multi talented Luke Campbell. The only advice i would have for Joshua and those steering his pro career is to learn from mistakes made in 2000 in the pioneering of Audley Harrison's path to stardom. High profile Main event status debuts are pretensive and can be more hurtful in the building of a freshman pros public image.  I would prefer to see Anthony do a low key introduction and hone his skills on the undercard of a high profile main event. This approach prevents boxing fans from becoming disillusioned in watching the six foot six fledgling pro on a diet of possible early stoppages while earning his stripes until he finds his level as a championship caliber athlete.  No opponent has yet been suggested but don't expect the earth from day one. Patience is the best policy in building the career of such a promising young man, remember he has only been boxing for 4 years...  I wish him well..