RIP.. Scott Westgarth.. 1986-2018.

It’s with deep regret that we have to report the sad passing of 31 year old light heavyweight prospect Scott Westgarth, following a 10 round points victory over Dec Spelman in Doncaster on Saturday evening.. Scott 7-2-1 (2 Ko’s) had just conducted a post fight interview, following a hard fought ten rounder where both fighters suffered knockdowns, it appeared that Westgarth was in pain at the conclusion of the interview, where the fighter holds his head in his hands.. Several moments later in the dressing room, Scott fell ill, collapsing en route to hospital where he lapsed into a coma.. Scott was the son of the 1980s and 90s Heavyweight, John Westgarth who faced Herbie Hide and Donovan Ruddock in a lengthy career and was trained up in Sheffield by Glyn Rhodes who described Scott as one of the nicest men you will ever meet.. Only days ago the fighters Facebook page showed him smiling and jogging with devoted girlfriend Natalie near their home of Penistone south York’s, Scott supplemented his boxing career with part time work as both a chef and a personal trainer.. Scott’s passing was broken on Sunday morning by promoter Stefy Bull.. Every loss in our sport is devastating, the fact that the young fighter had been victorious and appeared fine following the bout alarms us to how the signs are never imminently obvious. Boxing is as safe as it’s ever been in the Uk and the medics that acted on Saturday night did everything asked of them in accordance with the BBB of C, Scotts death is just the most tragic of outcomes, in the sport that he loved.

Upcoming weekend...Wilder, McCarter, Brook, Allen all feature.

This coming weekend see’s a vast schedule of notable fights on both sides of the pond.. In Brooklyn at the Barclays Center, WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder 39-0 (38 Ko’s) faces his toughest test on paper as he meets the bogeyman of the division, the equally unbeaten Cuban Luis Ortiz 28-0 (24 Ko’s). Ortiz was scheduled to face Deontay last year until an irregular drug test result forced the champion to box a rematch with former champion Bermaine Stiverne.. Wilder knew how impressive a name Ortiz would appear on his resume and has remained true to his word in offering the self named King Kong another bite at the cherry.. Ortiz hasn’t put a foot wrong in a sporadic career, although the more impressive performances all appear to have been several years ago.. regardless this has to makings of a classic and an opportunity for the champion to make a career defining victory in what will be a seventh defence of his title.

Back across this side of the pond in Sheffield Uk, former IBF Welterweight Champion Kell Brook 36-2 (25 Ko’s) makes a long awaited return, following two of the gutsiest back to back efforts ever seen by a British fighter. Brook took on both Gennady Golovkin and Errol Spence both in the space of 8 months, losing gallantly to the most avoided and highly regarded pair of fighters on the planet.. Brook will be boxing this time out at super-Welterweight against the very capable Siarhei Rabchanka 29-2 (22 Ko’s) of Belarus.. Brook will this time have the luxury of not being forced to box outside of his optimum division and should have no problem re-establishing himself in his own right.. With lucrative bouts with names like Amir Khan and Jarrett Hurd in the crosshairs it’s unlikely we’ll see the Sheffield man slip up against Rabchanka, regardless of the visitors caliber.

The undercard in Sheffield features an interesting rematch with our own David Allen 12-3 (9 Ko’s) attempting to overturn his commonwealth title challenge loss to American / Jamaican Lenroy Thomas 22-4 (10 Ko’s) last May.. Dave allowed Thomas to fight his own kind of fight last time out and lacked the urgency to take the fight by the horns.. Thomas isn’t a bad heavyweight, Its just that Dave is a far better fighter than that nights efforts.. Allen has had far fewer fights, but has mixed in far superior company than Lenroy and I expect it to show this time around.. Dave is aware that it’s last chance saloon with Matchroom boxing if he can’t provide this time around and with pressure like that lying heavy on him, he will deliver and arrest the commonwealth title that he should have claimed last year..

Meanwhile back in Ignacio Colorado at the Sky Ute Casino, 6 time multi weight champion Layla McCarter 40-13-5 (10 Ko’s) takes on tough New Mexican Victoria Cisneros 13-19-2 (6 Ko’s) for the vacant IBF and GBU Female world Welterweight titles, in a rematch of 12 years ago.. McCarter decisioned Cisneros in her 35th outing back in 2006 over 6 rounds in the very same Ignacio arena in what was only Victoria’s 8th fight.. Both fighters are vastly more seasoned now and meet in a legitimate championship battle.. Cisneros has a chequered record of late, winning only 3 of her last 8, whilst Layla has not tasted defeat in 11 years.. Every credit to Cisneros for stepping to the plate, McCarter is possibly the most avoided female fighter ever and spent the best part of the last few months playing the waiting game as #1 mandatory for Norway’s Cecilia Braekhus’s IBF belt without an incling of progress. Unwavered she moves on, with Cisneros her imminent focus. Layla has boxed for a won titles from featherweight up to light middleweight and really shouldn’t falter on this occasion, with so much at stake.. Victory for McCarter should open doors towards a career defining fight with any of the (Favoured) names that appear to be capturing the female boxing imagination that she actually paved the way for.. Regardless Layla is current and refuses to go quietly.

Yarde and Dubois move on.. Zelfa Barrett upset.. York Hall tonight.

A quite entertaining Card at the York Hall tonight, promoted by Frank Warren sprung to life with an upset, as unbeaten Manchester super featherweight Zelfa Barrett 19-0 (12 Ko’s) dropped a hard fought majority decision to rugged Ronnie Clarke 20-4 (10 Ko’s) of Dundee.. The bout didn’t catch fire until round 4 with both fighters enjoying bursts of success, but it was the 6th round that saw Clarke put Barrett on the floor with a tremendous uppercut.. Barrett survived but opted too often to stand and trade, the exact fight that suited the Scotsman.. Clarke won on two cards at 116-111 with the third card scoring a 114-114 draw.. Ronnie captured the IBF European title with the upset..

Cheshire heavyweight prospect Nathan Gorman 11-0 (10 Ko’s) scored a predictable 2nd round time filling stoppage over French Cruiserweight Morgan Dessaux 4-2 (4 Ko’s) in what proved to be a disappointing mismatch.. Gorman, trained by Ricky Hatton has a lot of ability, yet needs more quality work.. Nathan had very limited amateur experience but has since compensated for it with valuable sparring amongst the likes of Anthony Joshua, joe Joyce and Daniel Dubois.. Gorman has been scheduled to meet Brighton’s Nick Webb on several occasions although terms were never agreed. The Webb fight is exactly what Gorman needs, tonight’s opponent being a third replacement and with a weight disparity of nearly 4 stone, it’s hardly ideal.. Regardless Nathan is one to watch..

Next up was Daniel Dubois 6-0 (6 Ko’s) the undefeated London Heavyweight who is grabbing huge attention with comparisons to Anthony Joshua.. Daniel was up against 6 foot 5 former soldier Dave Jones 8-0-1 (0 Ko’s) Unfortunately Jones barely came to survive and after 2 knockdowns, the bout was stopped at the 2.23 mark of the third round by Bob Williams.. Dubois is extremely strong and versatile, but like Gorman needs a step up in class.. Frank Warren is playing his cards very close to his chest with the hard hitting Dubois, with no immediate intentions of risking his hot property anytime soon.. Dubois has been linked to both Gorman and Chisora, but don’t expect to see these matches in the immediate future. Dubois remains the Southern area champion.

In the main event, unbeaten light heavyweight Anthony Yarde 14-0 (13 Ko’s) took 7 rounds to dismantle the crafty Tony Averlant 26-10-2 (5 Ko’s). Averlant didn’t appear to have the physical strength to outgun Yarde, but in spells did pose a few questions with clusters of well placed counters.. Yarde did show maturity, he didn’t rush, showing great patience before leaving the despondent Frenchman’s corner no option but to stop the fight.. Yarde is very self critical, and knows himself that he needs a step up in class if he is to make steps towards a championship fight on the world scene. I’ve yet to see Anthony look remotely uncomfortable during any of his bouts, something that a fighter on the fringe of world class needs prior to taking that step.. Yarde retains his WBO Inter-Continental and European belts with the victory..

Yarde looks every inch the part, with a possible future domestic showdown against Joshua Buatsi looking a natural..

Usyk unifies cruiser crown and earns place in WBSS final with points win over Briedis.

In an exceptional bout with a place in the Cruiserweight super series final up for grabs, WBO Champion Oleksandr Usyk 13-0 (11 Ko’s) scored a razor thin majority decision over Mairis Briedis 23-0 (18 Ko’s) to unify two titles and secure his place in the Muhammad Ali trophy final, tonight in Riga, Latvia..
Briedis started fast and drew the taller Usyk into a close quarters affair, enjoying an early advantage.. Usyk found his range in the fifth and began to force the home fighter onto the back foot, bloodying the Latvian fighters nose.. By round 7 it appeared all square with neither man giving an inch, only Briedis’s bravery was matched by Usyks relentless pressure.. many of the later rounds were extremely close, with both fighters digging deep in what was one of the most important Cruiserweight title fights in recent memory.. At the conclusion Usyk looked to have just done that little bit more to earn the win, with most onlookers in agreement that a rematch must be inevitable outside of the tournament.. Usyk will now meet the winner of the other semi final between Yunier Dorticos and Murat Gassiev which takes place next week in Sochi..

Judge Craig Metcalf couldn’t split the two with a 114-114 card..
Although judges Robert Tapper and Robin Taylor seeing it 115-113 to Usyk..

Weights from DiBellas Showtime card.. Brooklyn Ny.

Errol Spence Jr 147 v Lamont Peterson 146.75
(IBF welterweight championship)

Robert Easter Jr. 134.5 v Javier Fortuna 136.8
(IBF lightweight championship)

Fortuna offered two hours to drop 1.8 pounds to make the weight limit.

Marcus Browne 175.75 v Francy Ntetu 174.5
Adam Kownacki 260 v Iago Kiladze 220.5

Promoted by Lou DiBella’s, DiBella Entertainment.

Televised by Showtime.

NB.. Former super featherweight world champion Javier Fortuna returned to the scales, but was only able to drop half a pound, failing to make the 135lb lightweight limit. Fortuna’s Championship fight against IBF title holder Robert Easter will go ahead as planned, only Fortuna will be unable to claim the IBF title even in victory.

David Price agrees to meet Alexander Povetkin on Cardiff show.

In a huge roll of the dice on the March 31st Cardiff show, it looks highly likely that David Price 22-4 (18 Ko’s) will take on former WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin 33-1 (23 Ko’s) with the incentive being a shot at the winner of the unification main event between Anthony Joshua and Jo Parker.. Former British and commonwealth champion Price, will enter the fight as a huge underdog, but is a renowned puncher with everything to shoot for and very little to lose, having lost 2 out of his last 5 ring appearances.. The huge Liverpool fighter looked destined for the championship back in 2013, with an unblemished 14 straight victories until he met ungainly Washington southpaw Tony Thompson, who twice handed David devastating defeats.. In 2015 following 4 straight comeback wins, he suffered another stoppage loss at the hands of Erkan Teper in a challenge for the European title, followed by a devastating upset stoppage at the hands of Christian Hammer last year.. Granted that 3 of the losses were later revealed to be under a shroud of drugs controversy, with both Thompson and Teper failing substance tests, Price will consistently be tagged with a question mark regarding his punch resistance at the highest level.. A questionable chin however isn’t something Povetkin could be labelled with.. In 2013, about the time Price was losing his undefeated record, Sasha was enjoying a 27 fight winning streak and looking at a shot at reigning champion Wladimir Klitschko.. In what would be the unified champions 16th title defence, Wladimir completely outclassed Povetkin in Moscow, which remains the sole blemish on the Russians record.. Since the loss Povetkin has ran up a 7 fight winning streak, with impressive knockouts of world title challengers, Carlos Takam, Mike Perez, Mariusz Wach and Johan Duhaupas, and most recently a points win over David Price conqueror Christian Hammer only weeks ago.. Amidst the reputation and solid record, there is a more sinister facet to Povetkins career, two failed drug tests in 2015 and 16 preceding his muted fights with Deontay Wilder and Bermaine Stiverne, for use of the banned substance Meldonium.. With drug cheats plaguing his opponent, David Prices career, it’s surprise that David has actually entertained this opportunity, but with a chance to exorcise some demons, the bout makes great personal sense.. Having failed more than one drug test, there remains a faction of people of the opinion that Povetkin should not be allowed to box competitively at the highest level, that being said, he is one of the most avoided and potentially dangerous fighter outside of the champions.. Price has the size and length to trouble any heavyweight on his best day, but of late has carried the crumbling baggage of his 4 knockout defeats and appears gunshy and tentative.. Povetkin is a patient and meticulous performer, facts that spell trouble for the likeable scouser.. I expect a comfortable nights work for the Russian but it would be a pleasant surprise to see Price go out in an argumentative blaze..

March is a heavyweight month.. All of the marbles up for grabs.

All of the heavyweight marbles appear to be on the line in March of this year, Matchroom Boxing has alerted media to a press conference on Tuesday to announce a world heavyweight title unification clash between WBA / IBF world champion Anthony Joshua and WBO world champion Joseph Parker. The bout is likely to take place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, on March 31. Joshua made an announcement on Twitter at the weekend. Financial stumbling blocks were ironed out between David Higgins and Eddie Hearn with a likely split of 35/65.. Whilst Stateside Alabama’s WBC Champion Deontay Wilder looks set to defend against unbeaten Cuban, Luis Ortiz at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn on March 3rd. The event will potentially be the most dangerous of Wilders defences to date, although the Cuban hasn’t been as proactive as he could have been over the last 18 months, he is a relatively unknown quantity who has shown cameos of his capabilities with solid knockouts over quality opposition.. Ortiz was scheduled to face Wilder last year until a discrepancy was revealed in a mandatory drug testing.. PBC and Dibella Entertainment will promote the show which has all of the makings of a showstopper.. It’s an awesome step forward with every recognised heavyweight belt being up for grabs in the space of a month.. The ideal circumstance would see the winners begin talks with a view to a complete unification..

Added interest on a similar note sees once beaten WBC silver champion Dillian Whyte take on unbeaten Lucas Browne on the 24th of the month with a WBC number one ranking up for grabs and a potential bout with the Wilder v Ortiz winner.. Whyte v Browne will be held at the O2 in London and will be televised live on Sky Sports..

Amir Khan signs with Matchroom, returns in Liverpool on April 21st.

Former unified junior welterweight champion and Olympic silver medalist Amir Khan has signed a three-fight promotional deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing stable and looks likely to return to the ring on April 21 at the Echo Arena in Liverpool.. Khan recently made a popular appearance on reality show ‘I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here’ and appears to be refreshed and focused on returning to big time boxing once again, the first step being April 21st.
Khan’s last ring appearance was back in May 2016 when he unsuccessfully moved up to Middleweight to face Saul Alvarez and will be making his first appearance on Sky since his impressive 2014 victory over Devon Alexander.. Amir last boxed on these shores back in 2013, with a decision over Julio Diaz in Sheffield.. No opponent has yet been scheduled for the Liverpool show but it’s likely that a name will be released within the coming weeks..
Khan himself is thrilled with the unlikely move to work with Hearn, who hasn’t always seen eye to eye with the Bolton fighter.. The move makes great business sense to all concerned and all past bad feeling has been pushed aside.. Khan actually commented that He and Eddie get along fine, it was mainly outside influences that coerced any rift..
The Matchroom stable looks to be the leading light on the Uk scene and Khans addition is an intelligent one, with such lucrative potential matchups on the horizon with names like Brook, Thurman and Spence a future possibility..
The initial plan is to box in April and then again in August or September in preparation for a super fight at the end of the year.. The target is to provide Amir with the biggest fights possible utilising his marquee credibility.
Khan has never boxed in Liverpool and is super excited for his home return..

McCarter scores unanimous win over Hernandez in Mexico City, keeps Braekhus fight on course.

Former multi weight female world champion Layla McCarter 40-13-5 (10) travelled the 2000 Miles to Mexico City for the second time in 2 years to score her 40th Profesional victory on Friday night, earning a well deserved unanimous decision over tough 21 year old Erika Hernandez 6-2-1 in her opponents back yard at the Deportivo lazaro Cardenas sports centre ballroom..
The 38 year old who has held versions of world championships in the featherweight, super featherweight, lightweight, super lightweight and super welterweight divisions was having her 4th outing in 2 years, having remained unbeaten for the last 10 years with 17 straight victories. Her opponent, a relative novice, was coming off her only loss to Jessica Camara last October in what was her first trip outside of Mexico in only a 2 year career. For McCarter slip-ups were out of the question , regardless of the opponents resume, with a huge 2018 dust up with unified Welterweight Champion Cecilia Brækhus ordered by the IBF on the immediate horizon.
Following a short glove brand delay issue in the ring the bout got under way with McCarter quickly showing her authority, forcing Hernandez onto the back foot, visibly shaking the local girl frequently, highlighting the gulf in experience.. To her credit Hernandez showed her grit in the second in an attempt to gain the visitors respect, landing with single shots, yet finding herself on the end of accurate counters towards the end of the round.. The action followed a similar pattern into the third, but with McCarter setting traps for the deliberate youngster, who predictably walked onto shots in an attempt to land anything significant.. The fourth proved to be an untidy round, with Hernandez unkempt tendency to repeatedly dip low cause several messy head clashes, McCarter enjoyed the cleaner success with the Mexican looking increasingly frustrated.. Hernandez opened round five behind the jab, but soon found herself reverting back to her rugged swinging, too often standing straight in front of McCarter, and being punished for doing so.. Hernandez failed to adapt into the sixth and continued to walk onto obvious counters, Layla occasionally lowering herself into a brawl, more suited to the Mexican, although coming out with the upper hand.. Layla boxed to orders at the start of the seventh, exposing the immaturity of Hernandez, dominating the action in every department, even standing and out-slugging the 21 year old towards the end of the round.. The American kept the majority of the action at distance throughout the final round, fencing at the desperate youngster, scoring with authority and far more frequency to earn what appeared a quite decisive unanimous win, keeping the Braekhus fight on course for the new year..

Povetkin books date with Joshua with ugly win over Hammer.

Former WBA heavyweight champion, currently ranked #2 by the WBA, Alexander Povetkin 33-1 (23 Ko’s) scored a drawn out unanimous 12 round points victory over WBA #3 Christian Hammer 22-5 (12 Ko’s) tonight at the DIVS in Ekaterinburg, Russia. Povetkin was forced to create action in a bout where Hammers main objective was to survive at all costs.. The Romanian was penalised a point in the 7th for excessive holding and did little more than nullify Povetkins best work.. The fight was untidy, and the result predictable.. Povetkin winning all but a single round by scores of 120-107, 120-108, 118-108.
The victory earned Alexander the WBO International and WBA Intercontinental titles and according to promoter Andrey Ryabinskiy, has almost certainly secured a shot at Anthony Joshua for the former Olympic champion..

Povetkin twice failed drug tests prior to important bouts with American imports Deontay Wilder and Bermaine Stiverne in 2015 and 2016 but appears to have been miraculously exonerated of his misdemeanours..  On this showing the Russian appeared sluggish and flat, mostly due to Hammer’s unwillingness to engage..   Povetkin is possibly the smallest of the current heavyweight landscape but has proven in the past that he has the tools to compete with the bigger guys..   Joshua would be a huge ask following this showing.

Rigondeaux quits in 6.. Lomachenko dominates Cuban.

In a much anticipated battle of Olympic champions, WBO junior lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko 10-1 (8 Ko’s) completely outgunned Guillermo Rigondeaux 17-1 (11 Ko’s) over the first half of a surprisingly one sided affair before the Cuban retired in his corner prior to the start of the seventh, with what later emerged as an injured left hand, last night at The Theater in Madison Square Garden, New York.
Lomachenko gained control of the fight after a slow start, going on to craftily dominating almost every round, in a performance that should essentially slide him into the running to be considered the current pound for pound number 1.
Rigondeaux found the task increasingly daunting as the rounds went on, steadily landing far fewer shots and struggling with Lomachenko’s movement.. Round 3 saw the Cuban’s workrate drop even further, the round he would later reveal as the session where the injury occurred..
A frustrated Rigondeaux had a point deducted in the sixth for holding, as well as finding himself on the end of some scathing hooks, visibly shaking the now demoralised fighter.. The round ended without and real indication of Guillermo’s distress.. Rigondeaux failing to answer the bell for the preceding round..

Lomachenko was ahead on all three judges scorecards at the time of the stoppage: 

59-54, 59-54 and 60-53.

It was startling to see such a complete fighter in his own right, quit in such menial circumstances during the most momentous fight of his career.. I expected more fortitude from a fighter of Rigondeaux’s caliber regardless of the enormity of the task..

Lomachenko wittily commented later that he’s considering altering his name to No-Mas-Chenko.. revealing that Rigondeaux never once posed him an ounce of trouble..