Tag Archives: dib

Posted on 07/13/2019

By: Mick Kane

Amir Khan defeated Australian Billy Dib by fourth round stoppage to win the WBC International welterweight title in Saudi Arabia.

Dib took the fight on a few weeks notice after Khan’s original opponent Neeraj Goyat was injured in a car crash meaning the WBC Pearl title was no longer up for grabs.

Saudi Arabia are looking to become more involved in boxing, after holding the final of the World Boxing Super Series super lightweight tournament last year in Jeddah. Boxing returned to Jeddah, the King Abdullah Sports City, as Khan demolished the blown up featherweight, Dib.

Khan had Dib down as early as the second when he landed a good left hook. Khan landed the same shot in the third which rocked Dib but this time he stayed on his feet.

The stoppage was not long in coming as Khan landed a couple of left hooks again and followed up with a quick fire combination forcing Dib to the canvas once more. Dib’s corner had seen enough and the towel was thrown in.

It was an easy win in the end for Khan, in a return to action after some people criticised him for appearing to quit against Terence Crawford in April, Khan was adamant he never quit after receiving a low blow against Crawford.

The chief support act on the night would see Hughie Fury face Samuel Peter in the heavyweight division.

Fury recorded a seventh round win after Peter had to withdraw after what seemed like an injury to his shoulder when the referee was breaking up the fighters.

Fury was in control of the fight at this point while Peter was using rough house tactics, he had a point dedicated in the fourth when he landed a shot after the referee had told the fighters to break. Peter then landed low blows in several rounds before he had to retire.

Posted on 08/03/2018

By: Ste Rowen

Tevin ‘American Idol’ Farmer is the new IBF super-featherweight champion of the world after a completely victory over, Australian, Billy Dib.

Dib walked to the ring accompanied by two motorbikes, but it was Farmer that accelerated into the lead as the early rounds played out much as expected, with Tevin taking the initiative behind a well finished and accurate jab. Billy attempted to be more than just a passenger, but Farmer’s footwork and agility left the Australian struggling to land.

The bout threatened to turn awkward when the boxers grappled and held their way through the 2nd round. There was no inside-fighting finesse from either. Dib, a former IBF featherweight world champion, seemed to realise early on that he couldn’t outbox his southpaw opponent.

Farmer’s hands were too quick and constant, his footwork elusive and seemingly beyond what ‘The Kid’ could deal with.

Towards the end of the 4th, the American had his opponent trapped in the corner, and although Dib made it through the round, Farmer was upping the pace of his attacks. At the beginning of the 6th, Billy hit the canvas, ruled as a slip, but it summed up the home fighter’s whole fight so far.

The obvious criticism to lay at Farmer’s door is his lack of power. 5KOs in 30 bouts show that, and it felt, heading into the 7th, that considering the quality and frequency of Tevin’s punching, that with a little more power, this fight would be over.

Rounds 7 and 8 gave us more of the same, Dib’s only occasional success was coming on the inside but even then, the ‘American Idol’s’ strength kept him from being bullied or bruised up by the 47-fight veteran.

Then with 30 seconds left of the 9th, Farmer landed a beautiful left hook, which sent Dib falling backwards and down for the 10-8. The Australian survived the round, but Farmer was pumped and up on his feet for the 10th before the minute break had ended. Tevin was ready to end the bout there and then, but maybe a little too excited as he began to get sloppy and throw wide, wayward shots.

Despite the knockdown Dib survived through to see the final bell, but that’s all he did. Tevin was just far too good on the night for the brave Australian. This time there was no controversy for the American to deal with as the scorecards were read out. 118-109, 119-108, 120-107 all for new IBF 130lb world champion, Tevin Farmer.

A tearful Billy Dib announced his retirement in the ring, as he promised he would do if he was defeated tonight. The Australian ends his career as a former featherweight world champion with a record of 43-5 (24KOs).

‘‘Billy Dib is a hell of a fighter, he’s had a hell of a career. A great fighter to win the belt against’’ Said Farmer now, 26-4-1 (5KOs), post-fight. ‘‘If I was from somewhere else, not Philly, I might have been bullied…In Philly we come ready and we’re born out of the womb to be ready for war.’’

There are fascinating match-ups to be made at super-featherweight, but Farmer was keen to send a message to Gervonta Davis,

‘‘Everyone was ducking me and not wanting to give me an opportunity…Now I’ve got the belt, and everybody wants to scream my name. No more talking, send the fucking contract and the money on the table and we can make it happen.’’

Posted on 08/01/2018

By: Ste Rowen

Tevin Farmer vs. Billy Dib

Philadelphian southpaw, Tevin Farmer will be hoping it’s second time lucky this Friday when he takes on Australian, Billy Dib in a fight for the vacant IBF super-featherweight world championship, at Redfern’s, Technology Park in Australia.

Farmer, 25-4-1 (4KOs) was last seen in the ring in December when he challenged for the IBF strap vs. Kenichi Ogawa. It was a bout that was controversial on multiple levels. Firstly, the belt was only vacant because Gervonta Davis missed weight before his fight with Francisco Fonseca last August. The matchup between Farmer and Ogawa was then made and though it went the distance, it seemed the Philadelphian had clearly won the bout. Two of the judges begged to differ, returning scorecards of, 115-113, 116-112 and 112-116, handing the Japanese a split decision victory and the IBF belt.

Photo Credit: Top Rank Boxing Twitter Account

But the controversy wasn’t over just yet as, in April of this year, it was reported that Kenichi tested positive for two forms of synthetic testosterone and was subsequently banned and stripped of his title, leaving it vacant once again and opening the door for Tevin, #4 in the IBF rankings, to take his second chance at world honours.

‘‘When you go on the road and get it, I think people respect you more.’’ Farmer told ‘FightHype’. ‘‘I had a lot of setbacks in 2017…He’s gonna catch everything I’ve been feeling these past two years.’’

‘‘It goes like this. Beat Billy Dib for the IBF. Next fight Davis for the WBA, then fight Miguel Berchelt for the WBC. I want these fights back to back.’’

Dib, 43-4 (24KOs), a former IBF featherweight champion, was last involved in a world title fight over three years ago when he was knocked out by, then WBC 130lb titlist, Takashi Miura in Tokyo. And the ‘The Kid’ hasn’t fought in a scheduled 10-rounder since July 2016 when he went the distance with Thai, Amphol Suriyo. Since then Billy has fought three times, 11 rounds, including a ‘no-contest’ result where he clashed heads with Yardley Armenta Cruz on the Mikey Garcia vs. Adrien Broner undercard.

Speaking to ‘Fox Sports’ in Australia, the IBF’s ranked #3 said,

‘‘Ever since Jeff Fenech and I teamed up, back in early October, we’ve sort of had our eyes on either Gervonta Davis or Tevin Farmer…Both guys are southpaws, so we’ve been preparing mentally for southpaws and I think it’s gone really well.’’

‘‘With a loss, I’d definitely give my goodbyes to the sport of boxing.’’

The winner will join 130lb belt holders Berchelt (WBC), the recently crowned Masayuki Ito (WBO) and both – yes both – WBA champions, Alberto Machado & Davis; which should make for some interesting unifications, if all parties are willing, and ready to fight.

Tim Tszyu vs. Stevie Ongen Ferdinandus

Also fighting on Friday’s Technology Park card is, Tim Tszyu, son of former super-lightweight unified world champion, Kostya Tszyu. Tim, 9-0 (7KOs) will be up against Indonesian road warrior, Stevie Ongen Ferdinandus, 27-15-1 (14KOs) in Tszyu’s 2nd defence of the WBC ‘Asian Council Continental’ junior-middleweight strap.

Speaking to ‘Fox Sports’, Tszyu was keen to outline his own path, separate from his father’s success.

‘‘Through my ability and my training, I’m showing that I’m taking the right steps forward for my own career, not as the son of Kostya Tszyu…Everyone was born for a certain reason, and I was born for this.’’
‘‘This is the first time I’ve had 8-10 weeks (training) so we’ve had a strength time, a sparring time and now it’s just the finishing touches…I’ve only had 9 fights, so this is only the start.’’

Posted on 05/12/2017

DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK: BOXING INSIDER INTERVIEW WITH YUANDALE ‘MONEY SHOT’ EVANS
By: John Freund

Yuandale Evans has fought 20 pro fights and maintains an impressive 19-1 record, but his toughest fight came outside of the ring as he battled his own promoters for years in what has sadly become an all-too-common storyline in professional boxing: The never-ending contractual dispute. Evans fought only twice in 5 years during the prime of his career, yet somehow maintained the mental and emotional fortitude necessary to remain in peak fighting condition. And just when he was about to call it quits, the Boxing Gods came calling in the form of a short-notice fight against former World Champion, Billel Dib… on a Lou DiBella card, no less! Evans made the most of his opportunity, scoring a hard-fought unanimous decision upset. We talked with Evans about his trials and tribulations, the long hard road to success, and what lies ahead for the man they call ‘Money Shot.’

Tell me about your background. Why did you get into boxing?

When I got into boxing, I was only 10. I have a younger brother who started boxing a year before the age amateur boxers are supposed to start fighting. So I was supporting him and traveling with him a lot, and I took a liking to it. Before that I was a straight-A student. I was into arts, drawing, coloring, computers – definitely computers – that’s one of the things I went to college for, computer engineering. I was always a laid-back, people-person. I didn’t know I could fight, because I never got into fights.

So what was that 1st fight like? A lot of butterflies?

Without the head gear and with the smaller gloves, I felt like a bird let out of a cage – like I could do anything I wanted – that I could hit, that I couldn’t be touched. And it was a lot easier for me, being that I have a pro-style, I’m a big puncher. I definitely was nervous – my debut was on HBO in Biloxi, Mississippi, on a Roy Jones Jr. undercard. So I was definitely nervous being that it was going to be televised.

After a promising start to your career, you suffered a 1st round KO in your only loss to a very tough opponent, Javier Fortuna. What happened in that fight?

Both of us being southpaws, I went up and he went over. He landed with a lot of power, and my gloves touched the mat, but the ref didn’t say anything! He didn’t call it a knockdown. I was a little confused by that, and I was hurt too. I had never been hurt before in my entire life! But oh man, I was hurt… and he rushed me with a bunch of punches and he pinned me on the ropes. My corner didn’t tell me to hold, and I had never had that experience before, so instead of grabbing and holding, or moving out of there, I continued to fight. It was just a case of me never being in that type of situation before, and not really knowing what to do.

After that fight, you had a 39-month layoff between 2012 and 2015 due to contractual issues with various promoters. What was that time like for you?

It was one of the worst times of my life. I had started going back to college, so I started getting in debt with student loans. And my team stopped believe in me. I actually left my trainer that I had been with since I was 10. I was really upset because I felt like I couldn’t get to where I should go or where I should be, but at the same time, I feel like I had to go through all that to become the man I am today.

How do you stay mentally motivated during those lean years?

I’ve always been mentally motivated. I’ve never had male role models, so I’ve always motivated myself to do better. I just decided to put in the work. I started getting back in the gym, getting in tip-top shape. I was at training camps, I was sparring everybody who was winning and fighting – every top guy. And everyone was promising me things, saying, “hey, we didn’t know you were still in the game, we’re going to get you signed.” It was basically all just to keep me in training camp, to get their guys more work.

Did you ever think of quitting?

Oh definitely (laughs). Right before DiBella called me, I was telling my fiancé, “I’m done with this.” I was at a point where I’m either going to work a job and go back to school, or I’m going to box. And being a boxer wasn’t paying the bills. I kept leaving jobs to go to training camp and to go to the gym and train for fights that I was getting called for.

Were you still getting a lot of calls?

Oh yeah, we were getting calls. It could be a guy that’s 100-0, and we’d say, “yeah, we’ll fight him.” They’d say ‘okay,’ and they’d give us a BS purse. We’d say, “yeah, we’ll take it anyway, we just want to get on TV.” And then a week or two down the line, they’d call and say, ‘Ohhh, Evans is too tough. We don’t want that type of fighter, we’re looking for a lower caliber fighter.’

Your last fight was your first in 1.5 years, and you took it on short notice – 1 month after you proposed to your fiancé – to face an extremely tough Billel Dib. Going into that fight, Dib was ranked #6 by the WBO. Not to mention he is the bigger guy, and you were jumping up in weight. How did you prepare for all of that?

I had 5 sparring partners. I sparred 2 junior welterweights, and 1 middleweight. I was doing resistance sparring with those guys – what that is, is no break/no bell, 4/4/4. I started swimming. I was dieting. I started running like 7 miles every other day. And I was doing the sprint-and-run workout that Adrian Broner taught me when I was in training camp with him. This was also the first time I actually watched one of my opponent’s fight videos. He fights tall, so I actually thought he was a lot taller (laughs)… I had a 6-foot sparring partner!

You scored a tough UD win, which has given you a lot of attention. What are your hopes for the future now that you have a spotlight on you?

I’m looking for titles, man. I’m back down at 126, and I’m looking for title fights at 126 – I’m looking to take that division over. I want to at least fight 2 more times this year, before the year is out. I’m looking for those big names.

What advice do you have for young fighters looking to sign with promoters? What should they look out for and be aware of?

My advice, for one: never give up. Even when it gets bad, even when it gets rough, even when you lose your first fight – never give up. Adversity should fuel your fire, it should make you want to go harder. Keep your focus, be level-headed, and just keep going and keep driving. As far as with the promoters and managers, it’s political. If you’re a money-maker, they’re gonna deal with you. If you’re not a money-maker, you have to become one… you have to become TV material. My approach is: be polite, be a gentleman, and be somebody that can kick ass too.

You were successful after two very long layoffs in your career. What advice do you have to any fighter looking to make a comeback after a long layoff?

My advice would be to stay in the gym. Stay mentally and physically in shape. Make sure your body can go those rounds. Dieting – I’m a small guy, I’m not a big eater anyway, so I can’t really give a dieting suggestion. I just stayed ready and I did a lot of sparring. I did 12 or 15 rounds just to be prepared. I sparred with junior welterweights and a middleweight to make sure I could take their punches. Just keep going hard and keep in shape and keep training.

Besides Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson, who’s the greatest boxer of all time?

Roberto Duran. I met him when I fought out in Vegas on B-hop and Roy Jones’ card. I got a pic too. He’s a great guy. He looks like a giant Super Mario brother (laughs).

Thanks for taking the time to speak to us, and congrats on getting engaged – when’s the big day?

We’ve got the month – not the official date. September of next year, Cancun.

Great. Hopefully you’ll be a champion by then…

Hopefully I’ll be more than 1 by then!