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and it's official -
Devin Haney wins unanimous decision over Vasiliy Lomachenko to retain the undisputed Lightweight championship. some on-line observers thought Loma should have won a close decision, but the judges disagreed. Haney winning 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113.

other bouts:
Oscar Valdez wins unanimous decision over Adam Lopez - Jr lightweight
Raymond Muratalla wins on 2nd round TKO over Jeremia Nakathila - Lightweight
Junto Nakatani wins on 12th round KO over Andrew Maloney for WBO Jr Bantamweight title
(brutal knockout.....)
Nico Ali Walsh and Danny Rosenberger - Split Draw at Middleweight (Walsh outpunched Rosenberger by a wide margin but never hurt him.....)
Emiliano Vargas wins on 2nd round KO over Rafael Jasso - Lightweight
Floyd Dias wins unanimous decision over Luis Saavedra - Jr Featherweight
Abdullah Mason wins on 6th round KO over Desmond Lyons - Lightweight
Amari Jones wins on 6th round TKO over Pachino Hill - Middleweight

Next card to watch for - June 10th in NYC - Josh Taylor vs Teofimo Lopez for WBO Jr Welterweight title.
 

The Takeover with the upset. Teofimo Lopez wins Unanimous decision over Josh Taylor to win the WBO Jr. Welterweight title and become a Champion in two weight classes for his career. Two judges had Lopez winning 7 rounds to 5; one judge had it 9 rounds to 3. I don't know how they gave Taylor 5 rounds - 4 is stretching it. Lopez may be loony, but the dude can fight when his mind is right.

in the undercard:

Xander Zayas def. Ronald Cruz via unanimous decision (Jr Middleweight)
Robson Conceicao vs. Nicolas Polanco ends in No Decision (accidental headbutt) (Lightweight)
Omar Rosario def. Jan Carlos Rivera via unanimous decision (Light Welterweight)
Damian Knyba wins Unanimous Decision over Helamin Olguin (Heavyweight)
Bruce Carrington def. Luis Porozo via 8th round TKO (2:17) (Featherweight)
Henry Lebron wins Unanimous decision over Carlos Ramos (Lightweight)

on the fight calendar:
Showtime has a card from the Minneapolis Armory on June 24th. Local fighter Caleb Truax will make his return to the ring after a two-year layoff. Truax is a U of MN grad who fights as Caleb "Golden" Truax. He often wears Maroon and Gold trunks.

On July 1, Top Rank has a card featuring some of its best young prospects, led by undefeated Heavyweight Jared "The Real Big Baby" Anderson.
 

fight card from Top Rank on ESPN/ESPN+ tonight.

Main event: at heavyweight, rising contender Jared "The real Big Baby" Anderson won a unanimous decision over former Heavyweight Champ Charles Martin. Anderson had the only knockdown. Martin did land a few shots and had Anderson in trouble in one round, but Anderson shook it off and both fighters were on their feet at the finish.

in the undercard:
  • Abdullah Mason wins on TKO 2nd round vs Alex de Oliveira - lightweights,
  • Arslanbek Makhmudov wins on TKO 2nd rnd vs Raphael Akpejiori - heavyweights,
  • Tiger Johnson wins unanimous decision vs Jonathan Montrel - junior welterweights,
  • Dante Benjamin Jr wins on 1st rnd KO vs Mirady Zola - light heavyweights,
  • Tyler McCreary wins unanimous decision vs Deivi Julio, - junior lightweights,
  • Nicklaus Flaz wins majority decision vs Jahi Tucker - junior middleweights,
  • Rance Ward wins majority decision vs Husam Al Mashhadi- junior middleweights,
  • DeAndre Ware wins unanimous decision vs Decarlo Perez - super middleweight
 

Bud Crawford with a beat-down on Errol Spence.

from ESPN:
Terence Crawford dismantled Errol Spence Jr., scoring a ninth-round TKO in the long-awaited superfight to capture the undisputed welterweight championship Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

Crawford floored Spence in Round 2 and twice in Round 7 to capture the IBF, WBA and WBC 147-pound titles to go along with his WBO belt.

The 35-year-old Crawford buckled a bloodied and swollen Spence in Round 9 and was unloading unanswered shots when referee Harvey Dock ended the punishment at 2 minutes, 32 seconds. Crawford outlanded Spence 185-96 in total punches, including an 87-33 edge in jabs and 98-63 in power punches.

undercard results:
--Isaac Cruz def. Giovanni Cabrera via split decision (114-113, 113-114, 115-112) - lightweight
--Alexandro Santiago def. Nonito Donaire via unanimous decision (115-113, 116-112, 116-112) -bantamweight
--Yoenis Tellez def. Sergio Garcia via third-round TKO - super welterweight
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Bud Crawford with a beat-down on Errol Spence.

from ESPN:
Terence Crawford dismantled Errol Spence Jr., scoring a ninth-round TKO in the long-awaited superfight to capture the undisputed welterweight championship Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena.

Crawford floored Spence in Round 2 and twice in Round 7 to capture the IBF, WBA and WBC 147-pound titles to go along with his WBO belt.

The 35-year-old Crawford buckled a bloodied and swollen Spence in Round 9 and was unloading unanswered shots when referee Harvey Dock ended the punishment at 2 minutes, 32 seconds. Crawford outlanded Spence 185-96 in total punches, including an 87-33 edge in jabs and 98-63 in power punches.

undercard results:
--Isaac Cruz def. Giovanni Cabrera via split decision (114-113, 113-114, 115-112) - lightweight
--Alexandro Santiago def. Nonito Donaire via unanimous decision (115-113, 116-112, 116-112) -bantamweight
--Yoenis Tellez def. Sergio Garcia via third-round TKO - super welterweight
Click to expand...
A few years ago, I thought this was going to be a great fight but it became clear we were seeing the difference between really good and great.

I would love to see Spence fight Ennis now - winner gets Crawford.
 


Heck of a fight Saturday night - Navarrete vs Valdez.

In the main event, Emanuel Navarrete with a unanimous decision over Oscar Valdez for the WBO Super Featherweight title. Navarrete seemed to injure his right hand, while Valdez' right eye was closed by the end of the bout. CompuBox had Navarrete throwing over 1,000 punches in the 12-round contest.

on the undercard:
Richard Torrez Jr. def. Willie Jake Jr. via 1st round TKO -heavyweight
Lindolfo Delgado def. Jair Valtierra via unanimous decision - Junior welterweight
Emiliano Fernando Vargas def. Jorge Luis Marquez Alvarado via 2nd round TKO- lightweight
Sergio Rodriguez def. Eduardo Ayala via 2nd round TKO - super middleweight
Ricardo Ruvalcaba def. Adam Kipenga via 2nd round TKO - junior welterweight
Antonio Mireles def. Dajuan Calloway via 6th round TKO - heavyweight

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also - in London -
Anthony Joshua wins heavyweight bout over Robert Helenius with a 7th round KO. Helenius took the fight on 7 days notice after Dillian Whyte failed a voluntary drug test. Joshua hopes to face Deontay Wilder early next year.

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on deck - Sat, Aug 26 - in Wroclaw, Poland -- Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois for the WBO, IBF and WBA Heavyweight titles.

also on the 26th, in Tulsa, a card featuring Jared Anderson vs Andriy Rudenko at Heavyweight. on the undercard, young talent including Bruce "Shoo-Shoo" Carrington, Abdullah Mason, and Nico Ali Walsh (grandson of Muhammad Ali). (speaking of Nico Ali Walsh, he turned up the other day on an episode of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" with Guy Fieri.)
 

An "interesting" day of boxing - with low blows figuring prominently.

in Wroclaw, Poland - Oleksandr Usyk won by KO in the 9th round over Daniel Dubois to defend his WBA, IBF and WBO Heavyweight titles. the controversy came in the 5th round - Dubois hit Usyk with a body shot that was ruled a low blow by the referee. the ref gave Usyk almost 5 minutes to recover. replay showed the punch was below the top of the trunks, but did not appear to hit the groin area. Dubois and his manager said he should have won the fight and called for a rematch.

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In Tulsa, Oklahoma -
in the main event, Jared Anderson won a heavyweight bout over Andriy Rudenko with a 5th round TKO. Anderson dominated with a punishing body attack.
other results-
--Efe Ajagba won by disqualification over Zhan Kossobutskiy (Heavyweight). Kossobutskiy was DQ'ed in the 4th round for repeated low blows.
--Bruce "Shu Shu" Carrington won by unanimous decision over Angel Contreras (featherweight)
--Sona Akale (from St. Paul) won by majority decision over Nico Ali Walsh (middleweight) (Ali Walsh's career heading in the wrong direction)
--Jeremiah Milton won unanimous decision over Craig Lewis (heavyweight)
--Abdullah Mason won unanimous decision over Cesar Villarraga (lightweight)
--Ablaikhan Zhussupov won by TKO in the 5th round over Weston Campos (welterweight)
--Charly Suarez won unanimous decision over Yohan Vasquez (junior welterweight)
--Bakhodir Jalolov won 1st round KO over Onoriode Ehwarieme (heavyweight)

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upcoming bouts -
Sept 15 - Luis Alberto Lopez vs Joet Gonzales for IBF Featherweight Title
Sept 30 - Canelo Alvarez vs Jermell Charlo for undisputed Super Middleweight championship
 

well, apparently it wasn't much of a fight.

Saturday in Vegas - Canelo Alvarez faced Jermell Charlo for the undisputed Super Middleweight championship.

Canelo won by unanimous decision. the scorecards had it 119-108, 118-109 & 118-109. Canelo had the only knockdown of the fight in the 7th round.

Charlo is the current undisputed Champ at 154 lbs, but moved up two weight classes to face Canelo. Charlo's twin brother Jermall was originally supposed to fight Canelo, but dropped out of the bout due to "personal issues."

next up on the boxing calendar - Oct. 14 in Texas - a Middleweight title fight between (spell check) Janibek Alimkhanuly and Vincenzo Gualtieri. the undercard features up-and-comers Keyshawn Davis (lightweight), Richard Torrez (heavyweight) and Duke Ragan (featheweight)

also on the 14th, Tim Tszyu defends his Junior Middleweight title in Australia. on Oct 28, Tyson Fury faces Francis Ngannou in a heavyweight bout (we think...with Fury, who knows?)
 

Big boxing TV news - Showtime will no longer show PBC events after this year.

from ESPN:

For 37 years, "Showtime Championship Boxing" has televised some of the biggest fights in the sport, but Showtime will exit boxing programming at the end of 2023, the network's parent company Paramount Global announced in a statement Tuesday.

"As we evolve our strategy to more efficiently allocate resources and align our content offering across the business, we've made the difficult decision not to move forward with boxing and other content produced by the SHOWTIME sports team," the company said. "SHOWTIME will continue to air and support the remaining 2023 boxing slate and honor obligations through the end of the year.

Al Haymon's PBC has an exclusive deal with Showtime and has been the main provider of fights on the network since 2013. That included the sport's top star at the time, Floyd Mayweather.

PBC did not comment on the matter.

The face of boxing is now Canelo Alvarez, who signed a three-fight deal with PBC this summer. He retained his undisputed super middleweight championship last month with a victory over Jermell Charlo on Showtime pay-per-view. The only event on the Showtime Boxing calendar right now is a Nov. 25 fight in Las Vegas between David Benavidez and Demetrius Andrade.

PBC is exploring broadcast deals with Amazon Prime Video and DAZN, which has a partnership with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing and Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, sources told ESPN.
 



Tyson Fury almost loses to MMA fighter.

From ESPN:

In a shocking turn of events, Tyson Fury was forced to survive a third-round knockdown to eke past Francis Ngannou via split decision Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

One judge scored it 95-94 for Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion, but was overruled by tallies of 96-93 and 95-94 for Fury. Fury's WBC heavyweight title wasn't on the line in the 10-round boxing match. Ngannou was making his pro boxing debut in his first fight since January 2022.

England's Fury was installed as a -1400 favorite to win the match. He moves on to an undisputed heavyweight championship fight against Oleksandr Usyk despite arguably his worst performance against Ngannou.

The Fury-Usyk fight, perhaps the biggest in boxing, is already signed and planned for Dec. 23 in Riyadh, but it's unclear if the fight will happen on that date. Fury was cut over his left eye and forehead and suffered damage against Ngannou. He would have to turn around and fight Usyk in less than two months.
 

well, an odd night of Boxing in Vegas.

main event - Shakur Stevenson wins the WBC Lightweight title with a unanimous decision over Edwin De Los Santos. Crowd was booing throughout most of the fight due to lack of action. Stevenson basically just jabbed and moved out of range. for the 12-round fight, Stevenson landed 65 total punches and De Los Santos landed 40. that's an average per round of 5.4 to 3.3 punches landed. might be the most boring title fight I've ever seen.

co-main: Emanuel Navarrete vs Robson Conceicao ends in a majority draw. 1 judge had Navarrete winning by 2 pts but the other 2 judges had it as a draw. Navarrete retains the WBO Jr Lightweight Title. Conceicao won more rounds but was knocked down twice.

undercard:
--Brian Norman Jr. def. Quinton Randall via unanimous decision; welterweight
--Floyd Diaz def. Max Ornelas via split decision; junior featherweight
--Troy Isley def. Vladimir Hernandez via unanimous decision; middleweight
--Jackson Murray def. Steven Torres via unanimous decision; heavyweight
--Emiliano Fernando Vargas def. Brandon Mendoza via 2nd round KO; lightweight
--Abdullah Mason def. Jose Cardenas via 2nd round KO; lightweight
--Hugo Micallef def. Sergio Odabai via 4th round TKO; super lightweight

next big fight on the calendar - Dec 9: Devin Haney vs Regis Prograis for WBC Jr Welterweight Title. On Dec 23 there is a card in Saudi Arabia with 4 Heavyweight bouts, including Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder in action.
 

Boxing News --

Devin Haney wins unanimous decision over Regis Prograis to win the WBC Jr. Welterweight Title. Haney had been the undisputed Lightweight Champ, but vacated all four belts to move up to 140 pounds.

and --
Rafael Espinoza upset Robeisy Ramirez to win the WBO Featherweight Title. One judge scored it a draw, while the other two judges had Espinoza winning by 2 pts and 4 pts.

on the undercard, Xander Zayas won by TKO in 5 rounds over Jorge Fortea at Jr. Middleweight.

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in Boxing TV news - PBC (Premier Boxing Champions) has signed a deal to have its fights shown on Amazon Prime Video, with a combination of Pay-Per-View cards and regular fights that will be available to all Prime Video subscribers.
 

a night of mostly heavyweight action as the "Day of Reckoning" is held in Saudi Arabia.

in the Heavyweight fights --
Anthony Joshua def. Otto Wallin - TKO 6th round
Joseph Parker def. Deontay Wilder - Unanimous decision
Daniel Dubois def. Jarrell Miller - TKO 10th round
Agit Kabayel def. Arslanbek Makhmudov -TKO 4th round
Filip Hrgovic def. Mark De Mori - TKO 1st round
Frank Sanchez def. Junior Fa - TKO 7th round

In the Non-heavyweight fights
Dmitry Bivol def. Lyndon Arthur - unanimous decision- to retain the WBA light heavyweight title

Jai Opetaia def. Ellis Zorro - 1st round KO - to retain The Ring cruiserweight title (Opetaia was stripped of his IBF title for not facing the IBF mandatory challenger)
 



some boxing action Friday night in Saudi Arabia.

Headliners:
Heavyweight Anthony Joshua with a big 2nd-round KO of MMA star Francis Ngannou. Joshua had knocked down Ngannou twice before finishing the bout with a huge right hand.

Heavyweight Joseph Parker won a majority decision over Zhilei Zhang. Judges had it 113-113, 114-112 & 115-111. Zhang had knocked Parker down twice, but Parker landed more punches including a 79-40 advantage in power punches. there is a rematch clause so they could fight again.

also -
Rey Vargas retains the WBC Featherweight title after a split draw with Nick Ball. Vargas landed more punches but Ball Knocked down Vargas twice.

Israil Madrimov won the WBA Junior Middleweight title with a 5th-round TKO over Magomed Kurbanov.

Mark Chamberlain wins 4th round TKO over Gavin Gwynne. (lightweight)

Justis Huni wins unanimous decision over Kevin Lerena (Heavyweight)

Louis Greene wins 1st round TKO over Jack McGann (Super-Welterweight)

Ziyad Almaayouf wins unanimous decision over Christian Lopez Flores (Super-Lightweight)

Roman Fury wins unanimous decision over Martin Svarc (Cruiserweight)

Andrii Novytskyi wins 3rd round TKO over Juan Torres (Heavyweight)

--looking ahead -- (Tyson Fury fights Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed Heavyweight title on May 18th)
 

I never was a big boxing fan, but had a friend take me to "fight night in NY". I don't remember who all was on the cards, but definitely remember that seeing a boxing match live is WAY more impressive than seeing one on TV. A totally different experience. You just don't see the power, quickness and speed on TV. Lesson learned => if you've never been to a high-level boxing match in person, put it on your bucket list and do it.
 

Boxing Update - card Sat night on ESPN+, headlined by two heavyweight fights. one good, one not so good.

Main event (Heavyweight) Jared Anderson wins unanimous decision over Ryad Merhy. Merhy, a former Cruiserweight champ, was just there for the paycheck. he only landed 34 punches to 128 for Anderson. crowd was booing most of the fight.

undercard:
Efe Ajagba def. Guido Vianello via SD 10 (96-94, 96-94, 94-96); Heavyweights (good fight - lot of action)
Robson Conceicao def. Jose Guardado TKO 7; Super Featherweights
Julian Delgado def. Juan Tamez via UD 4; Middleweights
Charly Suarez def. Luis Coria via UD 8; Super featherweights
John Rincon def. Yainiel Alvarez Telemaco via SD 6; Welterweights
Abdullah Mason def. Ronal Ron via TKO 4; Lightweights
Ali Felix def. Anthony Woodson Jr via TKO 2; Heavyweights
Alejandro Guerrero def. Jalen Walker via TKO 7; Super featherweights
Ruben Villa def. Cruz Chacon via UD 10 (98-92, 98-92, 97-93); Featherweights

coming up:
April 20 - Devin Haney vs Ryan Garcia for WBC Jr Welterweight title

May 4 - Canelo Alvarez vs Jaime Munguia for undisputed Super Middleweight championship

May 6 - Naoya Inoue vs Luis Nery for Undisputed Jr Featherweight championship. Three other title fights on card: Takuma Inoue vs Sho Ishida for WBA Bantamweight title; Jason Maloney vs Yoshiki Takei for WBO Bantamweight title; Seigo Yuri Akui vs Taku Kuwahara for WBA Flyweight title.

May 11 - Vasiliy Lomachenko vs George Kambosos for vacant IBF Lightweight Title.

May 18 (we think) - Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury for Undisputed heavyweight championship.
(this fight has been postponed more times than a Soap Opera wedding....)
 

Upset in the boxing world -
Ryan Garcia wins majority decision over Devin Haney Saturday. 1 judge scored the fight a draw, but the other two judges had Garcia winning. Garcia knocked Haney down three times. But - Haney retains his WBC Jr Welterweight title because Garcia missed weight - came in 3 pounds over the 140-pound limit. Garcia had to forfeit part of his payment for the bout.

Garcia is controversial for his sometimes erratic behavior, including social media posts that endorse various conspiracy theories. the NY State Athletic commission reportedly ordered Garcia to undergo a mental-health evaluation before sanctioning the Haney fight.

in the undercard:
Arnold Barboza Jr. def. Sean McComb via split decision (Jr Welterweight)
Bektemir Melikuziev def. Pierre Dibombe via technical decision (Super Middleweight)
David Jimenez def. John Ramirez via unanimous decision (Super Flyweight)
Charles Conwell def. Nathaniel Gallimore via sixth-round TKO
(Jr Middleweight)
 

breaking news - local fighter Caleb "Golden" Truax has announced his retirement from professional boxing.

Truax is from Osseo MN. was an all-conference FB and baseball player in HS. Played one year of college FB at Virginia State before a knee injury ended his football career. moved home and attended the U of MN, graduating with a degree in Sociology.

started in Toughman contests at age of 19. got into amateur boxing and won the Upper Midwest Golden Gloves championship.

as a pro, compiled a record of 31-6-2 with 1 non-contest. 19 wins by KO.

won the IBF Super Middleweight Title belt in 2017 with an upset majority decision over James DeGale. Truax would lose the rematch to DeGale in 2018.

had one more shot at a title, losing a unanimous decision to Caleb Plant in 2021 for the IBF Super Middleweight title.

Billed himself as Caleb "Golden" Truax - a reference to the Golden Gophers. typically wore maroon and gold trunks and gloves.

in a post on Twitter (X), Truax announced he will be joining the Kris Lindahl real estate agency as a salesperson.

always a solid fighter who gave a great effort. will miss watching him in the ring.
 

Boxing news - in and out of the ring.

last night -
Canelo Alvarez wins unanimous decision over Jamie Munguia to defend his undisputed Super Middleweight title. Judges had it 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112.

other results from the card:
--Mario Barrios def. Fabian Maidana via unanimous decision to defend his WBC Interim Welterweight title.
--Brandon Figueroa def. Jessie Magdaleno via 9th-round TKO to defend his WBC Interim Featherweight title
--Eimantas Stanionis def. Gabriel Maestre unanimous decision (welterweight)

In other news - Ryan Garcia reportedly tested positive for a PED before his upset win over Devin Haney. Garcia has until next week to request a re-test. If the second sample also tests positive, the results of the fight will be overturned.

and - Artur Beterbiev sustained a knee injury while in training and will have to have surgery. his light heavyweight title fight with Dmitry Bivol - scheduled for June 1st - will be postponed. Bivol will now put his WBA light heavyweight title on the line on June 1st vs Malik Zinad of Libya. Beterbiev holds the other three belts at light heavyweight.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Boxing news - in and out of the ring.

last night -
Canelo Alvarez wins unanimous decision over Jamie Munguia to defend his undisputed Super Middleweight title. Judges had it 117-110, 116-111 and 115-112.

other results from the card:
--Mario Barrios def. Fabian Maidana via unanimous decision to defend his WBC Interim Welterweight title.
--Brandon Figueroa def. Jessie Magdaleno via 9th-round TKO to defend his WBC Interim Featherweight title
--Eimantas Stanionis def. Gabriel Maestre unanimous decision (welterweight)

In other news - Ryan Garcia reportedly tested positive for a PED before his upset win over Devin Haney. Garcia has until next week to request a re-test. If the second sample also tests positive, the results of the fight will be overturned.

and - Artur Beterbiev sustained a knee injury while in training and will have to have surgery. his light heavyweight title fight with Dmitry Bivol - scheduled for June 1st - will be postponed. Bivol will now put his WBA light heavyweight title on the line on June 1st vs Malik Zinad of Libya. Beterbiev holds the other three belts at light heavyweight.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately for Devin Haney, it's impossible to un-do the cheating in boxing. So much of it is based on selling the hype and timing that losing, even if losing to a cheater, crushes your momentum. We saw this with Cotto who clearly as beaten by a guy who had plaster wraps - it derailed him.
 

Belated fight report - card held in Japan - was shown live at 3:00AM Monday morning on ESPN+. I finally got around to watching a replay tonight.

main event - Naoya Inoue "the Monster" wins by KO in the 6th round over Luis Nery to defend his Undisputed Jr Featherweight championship. Nery actually knocked Inoue down in the 1st round, but Inoue dominated rest of fight, knocking Nery down twice before ending the fight with a crushing right hand in the 6th.

Three other title fights on card:

Takuma Inoue wins unanimous decision over Sho Ishida to retain his WBA Bantamweight title. Inoue (brother of Naoya) was knocked down in 1st round but outpunched Ishida the rest of the way.

Yoshiki Takei wins unanimous decision over Jason Maloney to win the WBO Bantamweight title. Takei, a former kick-boxer, wins title in 9th pro boxing match. Maloney got out-worked and out-punched.

Seigo Yuri Akui wins unanimous decision over Taku Kuwahara to retain his WBA Flyweight title.

coming up:
Sat, May 11 - Vasiliy Lomachenko vs George Kambosos for vacant IBF Lightweight title. (fight takes place May 12 in Australia which is May 11th in US....I don't understand time zones....)

May 18 - Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk for undisputed Heavyweight Championship in Saudi Arabia. Also on the 18th, Emanuel Navarrete vs Denys Berinchyk for vacant WBO Lightweight title in San Diego.
 

another belated report -- Saturday night (actually Noon Sunday in Australia)

Vasiliy Lomachenko beat George Kambosos by TKO in 11th round to win the IBF Lightweight title. Loma really looked sharp - controlled the fight throughout.

they only showed 3 bouts on the ESPN+ feed. the other two were.....interesting.

Chernneka Johnson beat Nina Hughes by majority decision to become the new WBA Women's Bantamweight champ. The Ring announcer read the results backwards - he originally announced Hughes as the winner. then a pause, and the ref brought both fighters back to the center of the ring, and the announcer re-read the results and naming Johnson as the winner. the ESPN crew went nuts - calling the ring announcer a clown.

Pedro Guevara beat Andrew Moloney by split decision to win the Interim WBC Super Flyweight title. close fight - 1 judge had Moloney by 3 points; the other two judges gave it to Guevara by 2 points. after the fight, they interviewed Moloney in the ring and he said he got hosed by the decision and announced he was retiring - while throwing in a few F-bombs. Later, an ESPN announcer interviewed Moloney, and he went on a rant about how boxing judges are all corrupt. It was.....something.

on Saturday, May 18
--Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usky for Undisputed Heavyweight title
-- Emanuel Navarrete vs Denis Berinchyk for vacant WBO Lightweight title
 

A big boxing day and night for Ukraine, as two Ukrainian boxers win Title fights.

in Saudi Arabia:
Oleksandr Usyk wins split decision over Tyson Fury to become the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. (1st undisputed Heavyweight champ since Lennox Lewis in 1999 and 1st in the 4-belt era.)
one judge had Fury winning 114-113. the other two judges went for Usyk 114-113 & 115-112. Fury from all accounts controlled the middle rounds and was leading, but Usyk caught Fury with a big left hand in the 8th round and may have broken Fury's nose. Usyk then pummeled Fury with left hands in the 9th and got a knockdown. a rematch has already been scheduled for October 12th.

two other title fights on the undercard:
Jai Opetaia won a unanimous decision over Mairis Briedis for the IBF Cruiserweight title.
Anthony Cacace won by KO over Joe Cordina to capture the IBF Super Featherweight title.

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In San Diego:
Denys Berinchyk won a split decision over Emanuel Navarrete to win the WBO Lightweight Title. Navarrete was trying to become a 4-division world champ. two judges favored Berinchyk 116-112 & 115-113. the other judge went for Navarrete 115-113.

in the co-main event, Brian Norman won the Interim WBO Welterweight Title with a 10th round KO over Giovani Santillan.

on the undercard:
Richard Torrez Jr. def. Brandon Moore via TKO5; heavyweight
Jonny Mansour def. Anel Dudo via UD4; lightweight
Emiliano Vargas def. Angel Varela Urena via TKO6; lightweight
Alan Garcia def. Wilfredo Flores via UD8; lightweight
Jonathan Lopez def. Edgar Ortega via TKO8; super featherweight
Art Barrera Jr. def. Levy Josue Garcia via UD4; super lightweight
 

Heavyweights led the card in Saudi Arabia Saturday night.

Zhilei Zhang knocked out Deontay Wilder in the 5th round. Zhang weighed in at almost 283 lbs compared to Wilder at 215 lbs. (Wilder looks cooked. time to retire)

in another heavyweight bout, Daniel Dubois defeated Filip Hrgovic after the fight was stopped in the 8th round due to cuts over both of Hrgovic's eyes.

also on the card:
Hamzah Sheeraz wins by KO over Austin Williams (middleweight)

Dmitry Bivol wins by 6th round TKO over Malik Zinad to retain the WBA Light Heavyweight title.

Nick Ball wins WBA Featherweight title on a split decision over Raymond Ford

Willy Hutchinson wins unanimous decision over Craig Richards (light heavyweight)
 

Couple of boxing notes from Saturday:

Tank Davis knocked out Frank Martin to defend his WBA Lightweight title belt. Martin won several of the early rounds, but Davis came on as the fight continued and floored Martin with a left hook in the 8th round. It was the first fight for Davis since April of 2023. during that period, he spent some time in jail after a hit-and-run traffic accident.

in the co-main event, David Benavidez won a unanimous decision over Oleksandr Gvozdyk at Light Heavyweight, winning the Interim WBC title belt. Benavidez is now set up to possibly challenge the winner of the upcoming Beterviev - Bivol fight for the Light Heavyweight title, or Benavidez could move back down to 168 if he can get a fight with Canelo Alvarez.

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in London, Chris Billam-Smith won a unanimous decision over Richard Riakporhe for the WBO Cruiserweight title Belt. apparently this fight was available on Peacock and I didn't know it, or I could have watched.

coming up --
Saturday, June 29 - Teofimo Lopez back in action facing Steve Claggett for the WBO Jr Welterweight title. on the undercard, Nico Ali Walsh tries to get his boxing career back on track with an 8-round middleweight bout vs Sona Akale. Walsh- the grandson of Muhammad Ali, has a 9-1-1 pro record. his only loss was to Akale on a major decision.
 

the Ryan Garcia soap opera continues.

Garcia went on Twitter (X if you prefer) to announce that he is "officially retired."

this post followed:
Yall may catch me out and about but as far as boxing I don’t know. There is so much corruption I’m over it. I may do acting or singing. I’ll still be training but I’m hurt and done with it and everyone. The sad part is I’m a great boxer. And I entertain and knock people out. I’m sad bc I love boxing. Praying for everyone and I hope everyone has a great life.

recapping:
in April Garcia beat Devin Haney, but he was not eligible to win the WBC Jr Welterweight title because Garcia came in over the weight limit. Garcia then failed a drug test, but blamed it on bad supplements.

the New York State Athletic Commission is scheduled to make a ruling that could include a fine, suspension or over-turning the victory.

lost in all the turmoil - Garcia is 25-1 with 20 knockouts. a great fighter with a lot of issues.

*****update - NY State Athletic Commission has suspended Garcia for 1 year. the Devin Haney fight has officially been overturned and goes into the books as a no-contest. Garcia forfeits the purse for the Haney fight - $1.2-million.
 
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Interesting boxing card last night in Miami.

main event: Teofimo Lopez won unanimous decision over Steve Claggett to retain his WBO Jr. Welterweight title. Lopez controlled the fight over volume-puncher Claggett

in the co-main event: Robeisy Ramirez won by 7th-rnd KO over Brandon Benitez at Featherweight. Ramirez now hoping for rematch against WBO Champ Rafael Espinoza.

in the undercard:
Nico Ali Walsh (grandson of Muhammad Ali) won a unanimous decision over Sona Akale in a middleweight bout. this got wacky - Ali Walsh somehow sustained a dislocated shoulder early in the 6th round and finished the round fighting one-handed. Akale - who beat Ali Walsh last year- is from St. Paul.

Jr Welterweight prospect Emiliano Vargas won by KO in the 1st round over Jose Zargoza.

Jr Welterweight Elvis Rodriquez won unanimous decision over Jino Rodrigo. the two traded knockdowns in the 1st round.

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coming up - Sat, July 6 - Shakur Stevenson defends his WBC Lightweight title against Artem Harutyunyan. Also on the card, O'Shaquie Forster defends his WBC Jr Lightweight title against Robson Conceicao. the undercard includes prospects Keyshawn Davis and Abdullah Mason.
 

Boxing action Saturday on ESPN+ with two title fights.

main event - Shakur Stevenson retains his WBC Lightweight Title belt with a unanimous decision over Artem Harutyunyan. Stevenson controlled the fight but once again only showed enough offense to win - never had Harutyunyan in trouble. TV showed people walking out of the arena before the fight was over and some members of the audience were booing. This was Stevenson's last fight under his deal with Top Rank. not sure what's next.

co-main: Boxing Judges strike again. Robson Conceicao wins the WBC Junior Lightweight title upsetting O'Shaquie Foster on a split decision. One judge had Foster winning 8 rounds out of 12. the other judges had Conceicao winning 7 rounds and 8 rounds. Most observers and the TV crew thought Foster had won the fight easily - but the judges saw a different fight.

also on the card:
Keyshawn Davis wins a unanimous decision over Miguel Madueno at Lightweight. Davis remains undefeated and should be in line for a title shot soon.

Abdullah Mason beats Luis Lebron on a 2nd-round TKO at Lightweight. Mason needs to start facing better competition.

the rest of the card was a snoozer.

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up next - on Sat, July 13, Janibek Alimkhanuly defends his WBO and IBF Middleweight Titles vs Andrei Mikhailovich. Best fight on the undercard features Lightweight Raymond Muratalla.
 

big boxing card in Los Angeles on Saturday.

Title fight: Terence Crawford defeated Israil Madrimov by unanimous decision and wins the WBA junior middleweight title. 1 judge had Crawford up by 4 points, the other two judges had it by 2 points. Crawford wins a title at his 4th weight class. a close fight - Crawford's first bout at 154 lbs.

in the undercard:
Title fight: Jose Valenzuela defeated Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz by split decision to win the WBA junior welterweight title

Andy Ruiz Jr. and Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller fight to a majority draw at Heavyweight. one card had Miller winning by 2 points; the other two judges had it a draw.

Martin Bakole defeated Jared Anderson by fifth-round KO in a heavyweight bout. 1st career loss for Anderson.

Title fight: David Morrell defeated Radivoje Kalajdzic by unanimous decision to win the WBA vacant "regular" light heavyweight title. 1st fight at 175 lbs for Morrell.

Andy Cruz defeated Antonio Moran by seventh-round KO in a lightweight bout

Steve Nelson defeated Marcos Ramon Vazquez by fifth-round KO in a super middleweight bout

Ziyad Almaayouf and Michal Bulik fought to a majority draw in a six-round welterweight bout
 

some boxing news of note - from Saturday, Sept 14

Canelo Alvarez retains his unified Super Middleweight titles with a unanimous decision over Edgar Berlanga. Alvarez dominated the fight including a knockdown in the 3rd round.
1st career loss for Berlanga. Alvarez now 62-2-2 in his career.

in other bouts:
Erislandy Lara beat Danny Garcia by TKO in the 9th round to retain his WBA middleweight title.

Caleb Plant beat Trevor McCumby by KO in the 9th round for the WBA Interim Super middleweight title.

Rolando Romero beat Manuel Jaimes by unanimous decision at Junior Welterweight.

Stephen Fulton beat Carlos Castro by split decision at Featherweight.

Jonathan Lopez beat Richard Medina by unanimous decision at Junior Lightweight.

next big fight on the calendar - Sat, Oct 12 - Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol for the unified Light Heavyweight titles.
 

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