Laurent Clayton edges Erik Pfeifer in Superheavy upset.

The huge Laurent Clayton jr of the Virgin Islands scored a relative upset in the first round of the Super Heavyweight category today as he took a 2/1 split decision over Germany's two time Olympian Erik Pfeifer in a highly entertaining, action filled bout..  Pfeifer started with authority but found himself on the end of Claytons long jab throughout most of the first session ..  The more experienced Pfeifer looked to load up too often, but was unable to reach the younger Virgin Islander, who was deceptively mobile for his size..  Clayton took the first round quite decisively, with the second slightly more even..  It looked like the German would need a two point round to even the scoring in the last, and as advertised Pfeifer went loading up for a grand finish, outworking Clayton in spells but still walking into counters..   A jubilant Clayton celebrated a momentous victory, a fight Pfeifer could have secured had he not been content to eat too many punches in the early rounds..  Clayton, the stepson of former middleweight legend Julian Jackson looked quite basic, but effective as he stuck to a game plan that payed off..

Brave Okolie bows out to classy Savon.

Team GBs heavyweight hopeful Lawrence Okolie came up short against the classy Erislandy Savon yesterday in their second stage bout in Rio..  Savon and Okolie met only weeks ago in Tashkent in a WSB tournament, where the Cuban stopped the young Londoner inside a round, this meeting however wasn't as cut and dry..  Okolie started fast looking to box long range but was soon on the end of heavy weather as Savon found his measure, Okolie was on the floor after just 50 seconds from an apparent right hand, which looked more like a slip in hindsight.  Okolie maintained his composure despite heavy fire from Savon, who looked to have taken the first decisively..  The second round saw Lawrence attempt to stand his ground, rocking the Cuban momentarily in a vain attempt to rally. Savon stuck to his guns, keeping Okolie constantly on the back foot..  The final round was a mere formality, Savon awarded the decision by 30 points to 20..  Okolie will take a huge amount of encouragement from his Olympic experience, beating 5 world ranked opponents to qualify then hang in there with the number one seed to a points decision..  A dissapointed Lawrence Okolie later explained how tough it was to try figure out such an experienced opponent with so few bouts under his belt, he remembers watching Savon boxing Anthony Joshua in the 2012 Olympics while working in McDonald's, never imagining that he'd be fighting Savon himself 4 years on..  Okolie can definitely come again, a loss at this level can't hurt him.

GB heavyweight Lawrence Okolie faces Erislandy Savon after first Olympic victory over Jakobowski.

Team GB heavyweight hopeful, Lawrence Okolie moved nicely into the next stages at the Rio Olympics with a decisive points victory over Polands Igor Jakubowski on Saturday night..  The 23 year old is now set to rematch the accomplished Cuban Erislandy Savon, two months after he was knocked down three times and stopped by the Cuban inside a round in Uzbekistan..  Okolie has only been boxing since 2012, when he walked into a boxing gym intending to lose weight..  Lawrence chiselled himself a new body and in the process found that he had a flair for the sport, sparring more experienced fighters after only a few months..   Team GB have been extremely impressed with the improvements the 23 year old Okolie has made along with his tireless work ethic..  Savon is favoured by many to grab gold in Rio, moving down a division since 2012 where he campaigned as a Super Heavyweight, losing to eventual gold medalist Anthony Joshua by the slimmest of decisions..   If Okolie could pull off the payback over Savon, he would have to be considered a huge medal possibility, either way, Lawrence Okilie has nothing to lose..

Danny Jacobs v Sergio Mora 2, September 9th in Pa.

In a rematch of their colourful 2015 bout, WBA middleweight champion Danny Jacobs will make his 4th defence of the title he won in 2014 against Sergio Mora on 9th September in Pennsylvania.. Mora a former WBC super middleweight champion back in 2008 thinks he was getting the better of Jacobs back in August of 2015, dropping him early before sustaining an injury to his ankle following a second round knockdown that forced Mora's premature retirement..  Sergio, a former contender series champion back in 2005 thinks he's faced the better pedigree of fighter than Jacobs, going back more than twelve years, beating future IBF champion Ishe Smith, followed by victories over Vernon Forrest and a faded Shane Mosley, unfortunately along the way Mora was derailed by the up and down Brian Vera twice in 2011 and 2012, performances that exposed certain limitations in Sergio's game..  Jacobs isn't as experienced as Mora in years, he has only been a pro for 9 years, but he's made up for it in quality..  Danny beat their common opponent, Ishe Smith in 2009 for the NABO title, then in 2010 suffered his only defeat to date in his first world title shot, stopped in 5 by the unbeaten Dmitry Pirog for the WBO championship..  Eight fights later he would own a championship of his own beating Jarrod Fletcher for the WBA that he still owns, 11 fights later he is still unbeaten, including the sensational one round knockout of unbeaten Peter Quillin, last year in Brooklyn..  The 29 year old Jacobs is (31/1, 28Ko's) while the 36 year old Mora is (28/4/2, 9Ko's) and despite being a pro 7 years longer, Mora has only two fights more than the champion..  It's an interesting rematch in such a high profile division, with the winner looking down the barrel at future fights with the likes of Saul Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin or Billy Joe Saunders..  Mora knows this is probably his last Chance, while Jacobs appears to be just getting started..

Andre Ward v Alexander Brand, tomorrow in Oakland.

Tomorrow night at the Oracle arena in Oakland California, former WBA 168lb Super champion Andre Ward takes on Colombian import Alexander Brand (25/1, 19 Ko's) in his final bout as a prelude to his November 19th superfight with Russian three belt light heavyweight champion Sergei Kovalev, in Las Vegas. Ward (29/0, 15 Ko's) has done everything asked of him at supermiddleweight, winning the super 6 series in 2011, beating almost every notable fighter in the division along the way. Unfortunately injuries have hampered Andre's progression, with only four appearances in the five years since the Froch fight, one wonders if the Andre Ward feeding on a diet of Paul Smiths and Sullivan Barreras can elevate himself for such a heavy task in a relatively short period of time..   Enter Alexander Brand...  a man with a respectable record on paper, Brand is unbeaten in his last 8, since his sole career loss to the now WBC champion Badau Jack by split decision in 2012, a loss that looks more respectable four years on..   Brand appears an appropriate test for this version of Ward, but don't let the inactivity fool you, Ward has practiced his trade diligently for most of his life, regardless of current ring form, Ward isn't the kind of guy to take anything lightly or leave anything to chance..  With the enormity of the Kovalev fight in their sights, I doubt Ward or Roc Nation (his promoters) would have selected Brand if there was even a slim chance of an upset on the cards..  Ward is the consummate pro, Saturday is a calculated event, with the sole intention of reintroducing Ward at his very best, with November in mind..  I expect the capable Colombian to hang in and give a decent account of himself, but a vintage Andre Ward has too much to lose..

Olandier Solis returns with a win and big ideas.

2004 Olympic Gold medalist Olandier Solis (21-3, 14 KOs) returned to the ring for the first time in 18 months with a second round KO of journeyman Milos Dovedan (2-26, 2 KOs) on Thursday night at the ECB Boxgym in Hamburg, Germany. Former world title challenger Solis is coming off two consecutive defeats at the hands of the dangerous Tony Thompson, and although fleshy, was a trimmer 240lbs almost 20 pounds less than his more recent outings..  Solis hurt Dovedan with almost every solid shot he landed,  the class void was obvious as Solis dropped the German with the first solid body shot he landed, Dovedan bravely faced the music once more but was by now looking for a spot to land, a second body attack finished the job. Dovedan was in truth a baby step back, but Solis looked sharp and focused in his approach.  Olandier who was formerly with Ahmet Oner's Arena Boxing organisation, is currently fighting under the banner of Erol Ceylan's EC Boxing..   Although he has only boxed six times in five years since the loss to Vitali Klitschko, Solis and Ceylan have a busy schedule planned. Solis is scheduled to appear on September 17th on the undercard of Firat Arslan v Nuri Seferi in Goppingen, the plan is to land Solis a meaningful fight by the end of 2016..

Andy Ruiz and Ray Beltran return, September 10th, Lemoore Ca.

September 10th sees the return of unbeaten NABF heavyweight champion Andy Ponce Ruiz and veteran lightweight Raymundo Beltran at the Tachi palace casino in Lemoore California..  Ruiz is coming off two decent stoppage wins this year, beating former world title challenger Ray Austin in 4, then disposing of inept Josh Gormley in 3.. Ruiz (26/0, 17Ko's) will face Franklin Lawrence (21/2/2, 16 Ko's) of Indianapolis over ten rounds.. While Beltran (29/7/1, 17Ko's) faces the Dominican Republic's Tomas Mendez (22/7, 14 Ko's)
Beltran has been unlucky in his three world title attempts, thrice trying for the WBO title, first in 2013 where he was unfortunate to get a draw with Ricky Burns in a close affair then having the misfortune to be matched with probably the best lightweight on earth, Terrence Crawford where he was outclassed over 12, then last year when he stopped Takahiro Ao in Las Vegas for the same vacant title, failing the weight prevented him from being rewarded for his victory, the tko however was later turned to a ND after Raymundo failed a drug test. Beltran is coming off a victory over Ivan Najira in May..

Prince Charles Martin lucky to be alive following random shooting in LA.

Former heavyweight champion Charles Martin was shot in the arm earlier this week in Los Angeles in a random shooting by two unknown men who appeared to pick an argument with the fighter.
A passenger in Martin's car told LAPD officers they were in downtown L.A. around 5 AM Tuesday when two men approached the vehicle and got into an argument with the fighter..  According to the police report ... the men began to open fire, missing the fighter..  Martin is supposed to have got into his car and chased the alleged shooters, crashing into a utility pole.
Moments later the suspects returned and opened fire again. This time, Martin took a bullet in his forearm, the suspects fleeing once again, this time in a car.
Officers responded rapidly moving Martin to the hospital.
Martin says the officers saved his life, he was losing an awful lot of blood when they arrived at the scene. Martin says he doesn't know the suspects, and has no idea why they had beef with him.
One major difference in Martin's version of the story is he says he was trying to get away from the gunmen, not chasing them when he crashed.
The former IBF heavyweight who lost the belt earlier this year adds, he was worried the shooters were coming back to finish the job. He says he jumped in the bed of a parked pickup truck when he "looked down, and saw a pool of blood. I said to myself, 'I gotta get outta here. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna bleed to death.'"
"I have to pay respect to the cops. They saved my life."
Police haven't found the suspects.

Erroll Spence jr meets Leonard Bundu in IBF final eliminator.

On August 21st in Coney Island, New York, undefeated Prospect Erroll Spence jr faces tough Italian based African Leonard Bundu in an IBF final Eliminator. The original scenario was to see the winner meet the victor of the Jessie Vargas v Kell Brook matchup, but since the revelation of Brook v Golovkin, the winner may ultimately be given the right to box for the vacant title, considering Brook is now campaigning at 160..   Bundu 33/1/2 (12 Ko's) is a deceptive fighter, who's age (41) doesn't reflect his energy in the ring.  A 2014 victory over future IBF title challenger Frankie Gavin thrust Bundu into a fight with Keith Thurman for the WBAs interim title, despite losing by a wide points margin, Leonard didn't disgrace himself, and has since remained unbeaten, beating both Pablo Munguia and Jussi Koivula convincingly, picking up the vacant EBU title against the latter..   Spence however is a tall order, the rising star seems to impress us more each time out, his last 5 opponents have only tallied 7 losses between them and Spence disposed of each one inside of 8 rounds..  Last time out Erroll knocked out Chris Algeri in 5 rounds, something that Ruslan Provodnikov, Manny Pacquiao and Amir Khan failed to achieve, placing the 26 year old southpaw ahead of schedule..   The likelihood is that Spence will get past Bundu and probably fight for the championship before 2017, but It's a test that has to be passed, it's more a matter of how Spence executes the task than just the mere victory itself, 20/0 (17 Ko's) tells us he's capable, a convincing display against Bundu may indicate if he's championship material.

Luis Ortiz pulls out of Ustinov fight.. Looks to terminate GBP contract.

The fight between WBA interim heavyweight champion Luis Ortiz (25-0, 22 KOs) and mandatory challenger Alexander Ustinov (33-1, 24 KOs) originally scheduled for the Alvarez v Smith undercard in Dallas has apparently been scrapped..   It seems that Luis Ortiz agreed terms, signed a contract and looked good to go, but has retracted on his obligation..   Ustinov and his manager are extremely disappointed, it's the second time Ustinov has missed the boat on an important bout, Tyson Fury pulling out on a days notice back in 2013 following his uncle Hughie's untimely death..  "We are extremely disappointed to hear that despite agreeing terms, signing a contract and announcing a date for the WBA Interim Heavyweight Championship that Luis Ortiz is refusing to honor the agreement to fight on the 17th September and has withdrawn,” said Hrunov.   Golden Boy promotions were apologetic towards Ustinov and Hrunov, rumour has it that Ortiz is in the process of terminating his contract with GBP..   Considering the recent WBA stripping of Chagaev, the Fury v Klitschko rescheduling and the originally planned Challenge of Fres Oquendo put on ice, this is just another step backwards for the WBAs ambitions of a unification tournament..  Ironically Oquendo was muted as a replacement to fight Ortiz if Ustinov pulled out of contract..  Nobody expected Ortiz to renege..

Harrison, Garcia and Malignaggi all score victories on Barclays undercard.

Returning from a two-and-a-half year hiatus, former two-division champion Mikey Garcia (35-0, 27 KOs) scored an impressive fifth round TKO over former world champion Elio Rojas (24-3, 14 KOs). Garcia dropped Rojas twice in the third and twice more in the fifth, ending the proceedings at 2:02. Garcia looks to be back where he left off..

In an IBF junior middleweight eliminator, the last remaining student of Emmanuel Stewards Kronk factory, Tony Harrison (24-1, 20 KOs) scored an eye-catching ninth round KO over the very capable Sergey Rabchenko (27-2, 20 KOs). Harrison showed flashes of class throughout, eventually dropping Rabchenko with a right hand in the ninth, before referee Arthur Mercante Jr. decided that Rabchenko was unfit to continue. Time was 1:18.

Former world champion Paulie Malignaggi (35-7, 7 KOs) outscores Gabriel Bracero (24-2, 5 KOs) in an all-Brooklyn welterweight clash.  Malignaggi maintained the upper hand throughout, outboxing Bracero in a ten round chess match...  Scores were 96-94, 98-92, 98-92.

Philadelphia lightweight Tevin Farmer (21-4-1, 5 KOs) pulled the upset over Ukrainian prospect Ivan Redkach (19-1-1, 15 KOs), scoring a one-sided unanimous decision over ten..  Farmer was punch perfect throughout winning by scores of..  99-89, 98-90, 98-90.  During the bout both fighters were deducted points, Farmer was deducted a point for a low blow in the eighth while Redkach was penalised in round nine for a headbutt.

Female WBO featherweight champion Amanda Serrano (29-1-1, 22 KOs) scored a first round knockout of Calixta Silgado (14-7-3, 9 KO’s) in what was a scheduled ten rounder..  The bout was the first female title fight ever held at the Barclays Center, and lasted just over 100 seconds. Serrano, dropped her Colombian opponent twice in the first minute, the second time with a body shot. Referee Benji Esteves soon called a halt with Silgado unable to continue.. The official was 1:41. Amanda is sister to Cindy Serrano, the 24-5-3 super featherweight also from Brooklyn.

Unbeaten Irish middleweight Conrad Cummings (10-0-1, 4 KOs) won a unanimous decision over Dante Moore (9-2-2, 4 KOs) of Cleveland, Ohio in a six round middleweight fight. The referee was forced to take a point from Moore in round five as his mouthpiece had to be replaced for the sixth time. Moore was down in the final round from a low shot, in what would be the most eventful session, Moore’s mouthpiece was replaced for the eight time and in an odd circumstance Cummings was caught by a wild shot from Moore as he turned away, more out of frustration. The final exchange did see Cummings score a knockdown, sealing a convincing victory. Scores were 59-53, 58-54 and 58-54.

Unbeaten Scottish jr welterweight Josh Taylor (6-0, 6 KOs) stopped Lancaster, PA’s Evincii Dixon (7-15-1, 2 KOs) in two rounds.

California’s Jose Gomez (8-0, 3 KOs) scored a first round TKO over Josh Crespo of New Haven, Connecticut, in the opening bout at Barclays Center. The stoppage coming at 2:31.

Los Angeles-based South Korean Min Wook Kim (16-1, 12 KOs) made a fast nights work of Louis Cruz (5-4-3, 2 KOs) of the Bronx in a scheduled 8 round bout.  Three knockdowns finally saw Cruz stopped at 2:33.