Tag Archives: artur

Posted on 11/07/2019

By: Hans Themistode

With Canelo Alvarez (53-1-2, 26 KOs) making not only a successful debut at Light Heavyweight, but an explosive one in knocking out former WBO titlist Sergey Kovalev. Many, like always, have wondered what could possibly be next for the Mexican superstar.

Canelo surely won’t be short on options.

As it currently stands, Canelo now holds world titles in three different weight divisions. Middleweight, Super Middleweight and now, Light Heavyweight.

Each weight class presents its own set of dangerous opponents. In the Middleweight division fighters such as WBC belt holder Jermall Charlo (29-0, 21 KOs) and WBO champion Demetrius Andrade (28-0, 17 KOs) are both undefeated and could provide Canelo with an arduous test.

Charlo, who has a December 7th contest against Dennis Hogan, is very big for the weight class. His ability to put his opponents out with his vaunted power is unlike any other in the division. Andrade on the other hand presents a different sort of challenge, as it easy to make the argument that no one is a better overall boxer than the current WBO champion.

At the Super Middleweight division, Callum Smith (26-0, 19 KOs) has already proven his worth by winning the WBA title and coming out victorious in the World Boxing Super Series. He is clearly the top name in the division and a contest between the two has been floating around for quite some time now.

Each of these fighters would be a worthy challenger for Canelo, but like always in his already hall of fame level career, Canelo wants to face the most dangerous fighter of them all.

Newly minted unified Light Heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KOs) currently holds the distinction as the best fighter in the weight class. At least according to most. Unlike Kovalev, Beterbiev is in the prime of his career.

Questions surrounding just how good Beterbiev was as a fighter were put to bed once he stopped former WBC title holder Oleksandr Gvozdyk in the tenth round of their contest. Now that Canelo now holds a belt in the same weight class, a contest between the two seems inevitable.

During the lead up of Canelo’s contest against Sergey Kovalev, he was posed with the question of whether or not he would be willing to take him on. In true Canelo fashion, he didn’t mince words or back down from a possible showdown.

“I’m ready. Kovalev is better than Beterbiev and we are fighting Kovalev so why wouldn’t we fight Beterbiev?”

Did you expect anything different from Canelo?

He has shown time and time again that he has no issues taking the sort of fights that many believe he shouldn’t. With Canelo holding world titles in multiple weight divisions however, it could be quite some time before we see these two in the ring together.

With that being said, Canelo has always been very fond of making history over and over again. There is no other fighter in any weight class that will provide Canelo with a tougher challenge nor will anyone else allow him to continue to etch his name in the history books, which makes the possibility of this contest happening sooner rather than later.

Posted on 10/17/2019

By: Robert Aaron Contreras

Recently, Tyson Fury’s out-of-competition shenanigans and in-ring disappointment seem to have ramped up the talk of “lineal championships.” But the only one actually on the line this week is the light heavyweight crown between Oleksandr Gvozdyk (17-0, 14 KO) and Artur Beterbiev (14-0, 14 KO), set for Friday, Oct 18, on ESPN.

Currently it is Gvozdyk with the lineage in tow. He staked his claim over Adonis Stevenson at the end of 2018. The 32-year-old former Olympian not only travelled to Quebec, Canada but ate a bevy of monster shots from Stevenson late in the fight, to overwhelm the longstanding beltholder in the penultimate round.

Photo Credit: Top Rank Boxing Twitter Account

Gvozdyk’s encore in March 2019 was another knockout—technically anyway—coming to fruition over Doudou Ngumbu. Ngumbu, an unorthodox banger, provided the champion no real challenge but indeed an unorthodox finish, injuring his leg in the fifth-round of the title tilt. Alas, the Ukrainian puncher remains undefeated—unmatched, at the top of top-heavy division.

Beterbiev will look to unseat him. Two months following Gvozdyk’s first title defense, Beterbiev matched his counterpart, finishing his own challenger in five rounds, but in more resounding fashion. The Russian bashed Radivoje Kalajdzic, who is no less a dynamite puncher. In close quarters Beterbiev’s crunching blows seem to be unstoppable.

The finish was Beterbiev’s second successful defense of his IBF title. He earned the crown over Enrico Koelling, who represented Germany in the 2012 Olympics. In Round 12, it was an overhand, cross-counter that sat Koelling on the seat of his pants where he was counted out for the only KO loss of the German’s 29-fight career.

Of the talented quartet of 175-pound titleholders, Gvozdyk vs. Beterbiev is just the unification to make. If that was not true before last weekend, Dmitry Bivol’s apathetic effort against an unheralded opponent solidified the case. Sergey Kovalev’s tangling with a middleweight does nothing to refute the matter either.

When the two best fighters in the class are pitted against each other, the trinkets and alphabet belts can seem like a moot point. But belts are currency in the fistic world. Stevenson, it should be recalled, would never had come out of hiding to face Gvozdyk if not for the Ukrainian warrior picking up the interim WBC strap.

Gvozdyk did not squander the opportunity. Fully living up to the golden era of Ukrainian boxing at hand, teaming up alongside countryman and Olympic teammates Vasyl Lomachenko and Oleksandr Usyk in their collective siege of the sport. Beterbiev would be the legion’s toughest scalp yet.

Kudratillo Abdukakhorov (16-0, 9 KO) vs. Luis Collazo (39-7, 10 KO)

Abdukakhorov is a boxer-puncher supreme and has in the past faced opponents very dangerous but never has he met a mainstream name like Collazo.

Abdukakhorov, 26, is undefeated in his career after fighting out of the hotbed that is Uzbekistan. He has competed once this year, decisioning the spark plug fighter Keita Obara. The points win was his fourth decision victory in his last five contests—including a dominant performance over touted Russian upstart Dmitry Mikhaylenko. But while he has slowly built a fine ledger, it has not come at the ferocious pace by which he exterminated Charles Manyuchi in the first half of 2017.

The knockout was stunning, quickly taking apart Manyuchi, who is known for making opponents miss, look silly, and unable to mount significant offense. But Abdukakhorov is something special.

As it turned out, it was a one-off, equal parts accurate punching and mental lapses from Manyuchi. It remains only his second TKO since graduating to the 12-round distance and the uptick in competition that comes with that. He is simply more of a tactical fighter. Especially considering his patient attack against Obara.

Collazo prefers the walloping brand of punching, overpowering the recognizable brawler Samuel Vargas earlier this year. The win extended the experienced New York native to three consecutive wins. A middling record made up the majority of his career since losing his world title to Ricky Hatton ages ago. Collazo dropped three more fights, two of which were championship bouts.

And coming off a punishing defeat to Keith Thurman, the stage seemed set for another loss to promotional favorite Sammy Vazquez. But Collazo would have none of it, overcoming two-to-one odds, and kickstarting his current win streak and unbelievably, at 38 years old, forcing his way into the title picture.

Posted on 01/15/2019

By Jake Donovan

A new year, another new platform for Artur Beterbiev.

Just one fight into his recently signed deal with Eddie Hearn and sports streaming service DAZN USA, the unbeaten light heavyweight titlist from Canada has decided to sever all ties and start fresh in 2019. That path will lead to a lucrative pact with Top Rank and ESPN.

Le Journal de Montreal was the first to report this development.

Photo Credit: Artur Beterbiev Twitter Account

Beterbiev (13-0, 13KOs)—who has for years has held a tumultuous relationship with promoter Yvon Michel signed a three-fight co-promotional agreement with Hearn last summer, leading to his appearance on the stateside launch of DAZN USA’s boxing content.

The 33-year old retained his perfect 100% knockout-to-win rate, but had to climb off the canvas before putting away previously unbeaten Callum Johnson in the 4th round of their title fight last October in Chicago, Ill.

His next fight was to come in December at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, where Beterbiev would’ve faced Long Island’s Joe Smith Jr. The light heavyweight title fight would’ve been the perfect complement to the debut of Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez both at MSG and on DAZN, but Beterbiev balked at the fight, instead electing to sit out the rest of 2018.

The new year only produced the same tricks.

A second attempt to reschedule Beterbiev-Smith led event handlers to tentatively set aside a late February date at Nassau Coliseum, less than an hour from Smith’s eastern Long Island hometown of Mastic, New York. Beterbiev once again reversed course, this time with the real reasons revealed—his intentions to fight elsewhere.

Despite a three-fight deal in place, the light heavyweight titlist found a loophole that could potentially end the deal. According to a report from The Ring senior writer Mike Coppinger, Beterbiev’s promotional pact with Michel only remained in place through his alignment with adviser Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) platform.

Haymon agreed to release Beterbiev in lieu of going to court over failure to meet his mandatory minimum of contractually guaranteed fights, which in turn nullified the boxer’s existing agreement with Michel. In turn, it would also effectively terminate any such arrangement with Hearn and DAZN, although that side is still being sorted out.

While there remains a chance that Beterbiev and Michel—who has a strong relationship with Top Rank founder Bob Arum—will remain in business together, his next move in the ring won’t take place until past business is cleared up.

What’s abundantly clear is that his next fight won’t come against Smith Jr., who is now being steered towards a March 9 title challenge of unbeaten Dmitry Bivol.

Posted on 11/19/2018

By: Oliver McManus

“Somebody’s 0 has got to go”, it’s possibly the most used phrase in modern boxing. Mind you, if David Diamante has his way it will soon become “let’s nix a nil” but the premise remains the same, two unbeaten fighters putting their records on the line in, hopefully, guts-and-glory encounters.

Don’t get me wrong, a loss doesn’t make you a bad fighter and beating an unbeaten man doesn’t, equally, make you a star player in the sport. As we’ve seen recently there have been a fair few damp squibs when it comes to unbeaten vs unbeaten – Andrade vs Kautondokwa, anyone?

Nonetheless there are plenty of mouth-watering fights in prospect and these are three fights I want to see, at world level, where someone’s 0 has got to go…

Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk – Heavyweight

Where better place to kick off than in the heavyweight division? Anthony Joshua has had things pretty much his own way at the top of the game since winning his first world title – sanctioned by the IBF- in 2016. Since that capitulation of Charles Martin, Joshua has fought in six world title bouts and added the WBA, WBO and IBO straps to his collection.

With a touted fight against Deontay Wilder falling by the wayside – take whoever’s side you want on that thorny issue – Joshua is next out on April 13th, at Wembley, with an opponent yet to be scheduled in.

But I’ll be honest, the tag of undisputed aside, I’d much rather see AJ in with the man who holds all of the cruiserweight belts and, arguably, one of the best in the world pound for pound. Usyk seems to me, and many others, the toughest challenge that Joshua can face.

Technically he is sublime and he possesses the heavyweight power required to take Joshua into deep water but, let’s not forget, Usyk has amateur pedigree in the heavier division so it’s not like he’s inexperienced at the weight. Even having said that experience wouldn’t be an issue for someone of such natural quality as Usyk for his fight IQ and ring-ability transcends weight classes.

Coming off the back of a breezy fight against Tony Bellew in which, if we’re honest, he never looked out of control the natural step is for Usyk to go up to heavyweight. Joshua, we know, is searching for “legacy defining” fights and a bout against Oleksandr Usyk is about as big as they come.

The fight seems the most realistic, out of all the big heavyweight contests, with Eddie Hearn taking an active involvement in the promotion of the Ukrainian powerhouse so, fingers crossed, we could see a blockbuster event next year.

Winner of Errol Spence Jnr and Mikey Garcia vs Terence Crawford – Welterweight

Announced last week is the fight that, if we’re honest, made no real sense. Mikey Garcia was the man we all wanted to see fight Vasyl Lomachenko and Errol Spence was the champion looking to unify with Terrence Crawford.

The IBF Welterweight title will be on line come March 16th with Garcia looking to become a five weight champion in his 40th fight. A frighteningly skilled boxer, the California native has continually proved his credentials with a frightening knockout power.

In his last three fights Garcia has been extended the distance but has boxed with class throughout the 36 rounds, controlling the pace of the fight and manouvering his way out of danger with a comprehensive ease.

Errol Spence Jnr goes into the bout with an obvious weight advantage – fighting 12lbs heavier than the division in which Garcia actively holds a world title. 2 years the younger man, Spence burst onto the scene in 2016 with knockout victories over Chris Algieri and Leonard Bundu.

Having captured the IBF crown with a ferocious victory against Kell Brook, in Sheffield, the Texas-man has defended the belt twice in equally terrifying fashion. A non-stop work rate with continual punch output, if you let the champion unfurl his hands then you’re going to be in trouble.

And whilst the question of weight will loom over the bout until fight night, Garcia is a consummate professional and an outstanding athlete. For a man trying to prove his ability in the welterweight division, there could be no better way to silence the critics than claiming a world title in your first fight so that’s where Terence Crawford comes into play.

Errol Spence is the man that people wanted to see in a unification class with Bud, they would produce a scintillating fight. If Mikey Garcia is able to overcome such a challenge then he will have instantaneously justified getting a fight with the WBO champion.

All roads lead to unification, or so they… bring it on!

Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol – Light Heavyweight

We’ll deal with the younger boxer first in Dmitry Bivol who ticked over towards the back of 2014 with a Bronze Medal at the 2008 Youth World Championships and a Gold Medal at the 2013 World Combat Games. A two time Russian national champion with a record of 268-15, his amateur pedigree was impressive but paled in comparison to his counterpart.

As a professional, though, the 27 year old really turned up the heat by claiming the first, major, belt of his career in just his fifth fight. The knockout power we all enjoy was evident from the first second of his debut but, with that, he’d find opponents looking to hold and just survive through the early phases. Not that that mattered, Bivol has always found ways of punishing his opponent.

Even when he has been stretched the distance – three times in 14 fights – the Kyrgyzstan-born man has always looked in complete control with an array of power punches as well as technical skill. Of course we’ll all remember his fierce one-punch knockout over, admittedly over-matched, Trent Broadhurst that saw Bivol claimed champion.

Successful defences against Sullivan Barrera and Isaac Chilemba have followed – he next fights Jean Pascal on the 24th – but surely the Russian will be eying up the options for unification come the turn of the year.

Beterbiev, on the other hand, turned pro in the middle of 2013 and initially built up a strong following in Canada – the elite amateur (World Champion & runner up, two-time European champion) had moved to Montreal in order to purse his professional ambitions.

At 5 and 0 he stepped up to face Tavoris Cloud – a former IBF champion – and dealt with the threat of the American, coming off a world title loss, in convincing fashion. The momentum from this bout seemed to follow as Beterbiev looked to fight better opponents at every opportunity possible.

A refreshing attitude of “fight who’s in front of me and knock them out” has ensured success with all thirteen of his wins coming via an early stoppage. A grizzly fighter, that’s the best way to describe it, Beterbiev never looks the fastest of opponents but, boy, does he have vicious punch power.

Typically standing with his hands at shoulder level, the 33 year old stands ready to pounce and is mature enough not to go out all-guns-blazing. The IBF champion won his title against Enrico Koelling last November and, in a fight that ended in the 12th, boxed patiently and calmly to do so.

Two unbeaten Russian powerhouses, slugging it out to unify light heavyweight world titles… what more could you ask for?

Posted on 10/15/2018

By Jake Donovan

The biggest knock on Artur Beterbiev in recent years has been his criminally infrequent fight schedule. His team has taken note and is now making up for lost time.

The unbeaten light heavyweight titlist from Canada by way of Russia will make the second defense of his title in late December, in a development first reported by RDS Canada. Beterbiev’s promoter, Yvon Michel has revealed the defense will come versus New York’s Joe Smith, landing on either December 15 in New York City or December 22 in Atlantic City.

Several moving parts will dictate when exactly the 33-year old knockout will next fight. The good news is that either date puts Beterbiev (13-0, 13KOs) back in the ring less than three months after his most recent start, a 4th round knockout of Callum Johnson on October 6 in Chicago, Ill.

Photo Credit: Artur Beterbiev Twitter Account

“It is almost certain that Artur will fight against Joe Smith,” Michel told RDS CA on Monday. “What is less certain is (the exact date). One thing is for sure; (Beterbiev’s) next fight will take place in 2018.”

Sports streaming app DAZN USA will carry the event, regardless. Whether it’s on December 15 or December 22 depends almost entirely on the streaming service securing the rights to the December 15 showdown between secondary super middleweight titlist Rocky Fielding and reigning World middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.

A press conference to formally announce the event—which will take place at Madison Square Garden in NYC—will be held on Wednesday in NYC. It has been widely speculated that DAZN will win the sweepstakes, although HBO—with whom Alvarez enjoyed an exclusive contact since 2014, but is now exiting the boxing business—very much remains a contender, in what could be (through its Pay-Per-View arm) its final boxing broadcast of a storied 45-year run as the industry leader.

Should DAZN win the sweepstakes, Beterbiev’s title defense will land as the chief support. Otherwise, he will headline a separate card in Atlantic City. Either scenario will mark the East Coast debut for the hard-hitting light heavyweight, who earlier this month traded knockdowns with Johnson before putting away the previously unbeaten Brit in a bout that served on the stateside debut of DAZN USA’s boxing series.

The win was Beterbiev’s first piece of ring action since a 12th round stoppage of Enrico Koelling last November in Fresno, California. He hadn’t fought in 11 months prior to that bout, having boxed just twice in each of the prior two years (2015 and 2016).

It’s been a frustrating past few years for the former amateur standout and two-time Russian Olympian, but an alignment with promoter Eddie Hearn—DAZN’s primary content provider—is already promising better days ahead.

“Artur Beterbiev (versus) Joe Smith Jnr for the IBF World title done for DAZN USA in December,” Hearn announced via his verified social media account on Monday. “(It’s) going to be a WAR! Date and venue announced very soon!”

Meanwhile, news of the title shot is still resonating with Smith since he was already training for another heavily rumored opportunity.

The full-time union worker and top-rated light heavyweight contender from Eastern Long Island was previously linked to a November 24 title challenge versus unbeaten Dmitry Bivol. That bout was due to headline on HBO, but is now just left as Bivol headlining the show although former champ Jean Pascal has since been suggested as the new opponent.

Regardless, it remains the first career title fight for Smith Jr. (24-2, 20KOs), who is best known in boxing circles for his knockout win over future Hall of Famer and retiring former two-division champ Bernard Hopkins in Dec. ’16. The feat came six months after he scored a shocking 1st round knockout of then top-rated contender Andrzej Fonfara, in a bout which aired live on free-to-air NBC in primetime.

The win over Hopkins was the first of two HBO appearances for Smith Jr., who seven months later returned to the network in a 10-round loss to perennial top contender Sullivan Barrera. The setback was not without its moral victory, as the now 29-year old New Yorker was celebrated for having fought through a broken Jaw for most of the fight.

Just one fight has since come from the healing process, a rust-shaking 1st round knockout of Melvin Russell this past June in Uncasville, Conn. It was enough to put him back in the title mix, not having to wait very long – or wasting any time in preparing for the life-changing opportunity.

“All I can tell you is that Joe Smith is training very hard,” Phil Capobianco, Smith’s manager told BoxingInsider.com on Monday. “He will definitely fight (for the title) before the end of the year.”

Posted on 10/05/2018

By: Sean Crose

Artur Beterbiev will defend his IBF light heavyweight title on Saturday night when he faces Callum Johnson in a twelve round bout. The match will be aired live on the DAZN streaming network from the Wintrust Arena in Chicago. Johnson, an undefeated Englishman with an impressive 17-0 record, is the underdog walking into the bout, though he has expressed confidence that he will pull off the upset against the 12-0 Beterbiev. Johnson will have quite the challenge in front of him, as Beterbiev has knocked out every opponent he has faced. Johnson himself has some power, as all but five of his own bouts have ended by knockout.

LA’s Daniel Roman will also appear on Saturday’s card, putting his WBA super bantamweight strap on the line when he faces Gavin McDonnell in a twelve rounder. Roman, 25-2-1, will be making his first defense of his title when he steps into the ring to fight his 20-1-2 opponent. This will be Roman’s third title defense since besting Shun Kubo in 2017. It will be McDonnell’s second attempt at a title belt. He lost to Ray Vargas by decision last year in a contest where the WBC super bantamweight title was at stake.

Photo Credit: Artur Beterbiev Twitter Account

Well known former welterweight titlist Jessie Vargas will be on Saturday’s card, as well. He’ll be fighting for the first time since battling Adrien Broner to a draw last spring. Vargas, who has faced such big name competition as Sadam Ali, Tim Bradley and the iconic Manny Pacquiao, will be fighting veteran Thomas Dulorme for the WBC silver welterweight title. It will be the 24-3 Dulorme’s first fight since dropping a decision to Yordenis Ugas in 2017. It will be the 28-2-1 Vargas’ first title bout since losing his WBO belt to Pacquiao in November of 2016.

Aside from the numerous title bouts that will go down in Chicago this weekend, colorful heavyweight Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller will throw down against the popular Tomasz Adamek. Although the charismatic Miller is widely expected to win, there’s a lot at stake for the 21-0-1 Brooklyn native. For, perhaps by virtue of being connected to British promoter Eddie Hearn, Miller has hoped to find himself in line to face Hearn fighter Anthony Joshua, widely regarded as the king of the heavyweight division, sometime in the near future. The 53-5 Adamek, however, surely has plans of his own.

Saturday’s Beterbiev-Johnson card will begin at 9:00 PM Eastern Time through the DAZN streaming service.

Official Weights:

12-round Welterweight Bout @ 147 lbs.
Jessie Vargas vs. Thomas Dulorme
(Las Vegas) (Puerto Rico)
147 lbs. 146.4 lbs.

12-round IBF Light Heavyweight World Title Bout @ 175 lbs.
Artur Beterbiev vs. Callum Johnson
(Montreal) (United Kingdom)
174.8 lbs. 174.8 lbs.

12-round Heavyweight Bout
Jarrell Miller vs. Tomasz Adamek
(Brooklyn) (Poland)
317 lbs. 227 lbs.

12-round WBA Super Bantamweight World Title Bout @ 122 lbs.
Daniel Roman vs. Gavin McDonnell
(Los Angeles) (United Kingdom)
121.6 lbs. 121.8 lbs.

10-round WBC Female Super Lightweight Title Bout @ 140 lbs.
Erica Farias vs. Jessica McCaskill
(Buenos Aires) (Chicago)
139 lbs. 138.4 lbs.

Posted on 11/09/2017

​By: Eric Lunger

Mike “Yes Indeed” Reed (23-0, 12 KOs) looks to make a statement in the super lightweight division this Saturday night as he takes on Jose Carlos Ramírez (20-0, 15 KOs), an undefeated number 3 world ranked contender and former 2012 US Olympian. Reed, a five-foot six southpaw from Waldorf, MD, had a stellar amateur career. He has been brought along carefully as a professional. Now, with Terence Crawford moving up to welterweight, the 140-pound division is open for a number of fighters to make an impact, and 24-year-old Reed hopes to be one of them.

Photo Credit: Top Rank Boxing

Ramírez, 25, hails from Avenal, CA, and is riding a three fight KO streak. With significant amateur background as well, and with trainer Freddie Roach in his corner, Ramírez made the transition to the professional ranks with ease. At five-foot ten, Ramírez is tall and rangy, and he will look to maximize his height and six-inch reach advantage. With a classic Mexican style, expect the California native to stand in the middle of the ring and throw. In his last outing, Ramírez stopped Jake Giuriceo (20-5-1, 5 KOs) with an onslaught of left hooks to the body and punishing overhand rights.

Mike Reed, on the other hand, is a calm and deliberate fighter. He likes to figure out his opponent in the ring, and then go to work on perceived weaknesses. The matchup is an intriguing one: aggressive puncher in Ramírez versus deliberate southpaw tactician in Reed. Conditioning and experience in the late rounds could be issues for both fighters. Reed has had only two ten-round bouts (both went the distance and both were unanimous decisions), whereas Ramírez has gone the distance only once in his professional career. Headlining an ESPN card will also add pressure and nerves for both guys. There is a lot at stake: both fighters undefeated, both looking for a title shot in the wide open super lightweight division.

In the co-main event, Artur Beterbiev (11-0, 11 KOs), a Russian-born fighter who resides in Montréal, Canada, takes on Enrico Kölling (23-1, 6 KOs) of Berlin, Germany, for the vacant IBF light heavyweight world title. Beterbiev, as his record indicates, is a fearsome knockout puncher, and he has claimed that former champion Andre Ward vacated the title rather than face his mandatory title challenge. Be that as it may, Kölling has fought only in Germany, and once in South Africa. He will have his hands full Saturday night, as Beterbiev packs dangerous power in both hands. What Kölling does have in his favor is experience, which he will need, having gone the full twelve-round distance three times in his career. The German is also well versed in the European amateur ranks, which may prepare him for a fighter of Beterbiev’s caliber. Whether he is prepared for Beterbiev’s pressure and power is another question.

The venue is the Save Mart Center in Fresno, CA, making this a home fight for Ramírez, who sold out the building last December. Tickets may be purchased at select Save Mart Supermarkets, online at Ticketmaster.com, charge by phone at 800-745-3000 800 or at the Save Mart Center Box Office.

Both fights will be televised live and exclusively at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN Deportes and stream live on the ESPN App.

Posted on 06/05/2016

PBC on ESPN Results: Beterbiev Wins by TKO, Perrella Stop Grayton
By: William Holmes

Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) was broadcast tonight from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.

Artur Beterbiev has defeated every single opponent by stoppage thus far in his professional career but is coming back from a year away from the ring.

The opening bout of the night was between Bryant Perrella (13-0) and David Grayton (14-0) in the welterweight division.

Grayton came out aggressively in the opening round but was wild and sloppy in doing so. Perrella was able to land a hard left counter, but Grayton kept up the pressure and was outworking Perrella.

Perella was able to quickly turn the tide in the second round with a quick left hand and countering the aggression of Grayton. Perella was able to land a glancing blow on Grayton that sent him to the mat, but he followed it up with several hard combinations when he got back to his feet, including a lead right hook that wobbled his legs and several hard left crosses and right hooks.

Grayton was badly hurt by the combinations of Perrella and the referee jumped in to stop the bout. Perrella wins by TKO at 2:19 of the second round.

The next bout of the night was a six round bout in the super welterweight division between Edgar Ortega (16-5) and Jamontay Clark (9-0).

Ortega was an underdog coming into the bout, but started off strong by landing a quick straight right to the body. Clark showed some good quick hands and hard a large height advantage over his opponent, but Ortega was able to catch Clark by surprised with a looping right hand that sent Clark to the mat.

Clark was able to survive the round and re-establish control in the second round. He picked up his aggression in the second round and had Ortega in trouble by the ropes. He was able to land several hard body shots in the third round and Ortega looked like he was tiring by the fourth.

Clark buckled the legs of Ortega in the fifth round and Ortega was never able to capitalize on his opening round knockdown.

The judges scored it 58-55, 58-54, and 58-54 for Clark.

The main event of the night was between Artur Beterbiev (9-0) and Ezequiel Maderna (23-2) in the light heavyweight division.

Beterbiev was a heavy favorite going into this fight and his power advantage showed early on by stumbling Maderna with a left hand in the first round and several hard straight rights to the body.

Beterbiev lands a rabbit punch in the second round that sent Maderna to the mat but it doesn’t count as a knockdown. Beterbiev controlled the remainder of the second round with his jab and hard combinations.

Beterbiev blew open the doors in the third round with two hard right hands that sends Maderna to the mat. Maderna was wobbly when he gets back to his feet and is sent to the mat for a second time from a combination by Beterbiev. Maderna does all he can do to survive the round, including spitting out his mouthpiece and getting deducted a point, but he is able to last the round.

Beterbiev ended Maderna’s misery in the fourth round by dropping him two times before Maderna convinced his corner to stop the fight.

Artur Beterbiev wins by TKO at 0:56 of the fourth round.