Tag Archives: Roy

Posted on 10/25/2019

By: Jesse Donathan

It’s going to be a clash of mixed martial arts legends at Bellator 231 on Friday, October 25, 2019 live on DAZN/Paramount starting at 9:00 pm EST at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The evenings main event set to take place in a rematch between former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir (18-13, 5 KOs) and Roy “Big Country” Nelson (23-17, 15 KOs). The two originally met at UFC 130 – Rampage vs. Hamill in 2011, where Nelson dropped a three round unanimous decision to the always dangerous former UFC heavyweight champion.

For those of you who may not be aware of who Frank Mir is, allow me the opportunity to introduce you to one of the most dangerous submission artists in the world. Frank Mir is not someone to be underestimated in any capacity, especially on the ground, but he is also a proven, well-rounded mixed martial artist very capable of stopping fighters on his feet as well.

Despite having his best days behind him, Frank Mir is still quite capable of breaking every bone in your body, a feat former UFC and Pride FC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, himself a Brazilian Jiu-jitsu master, found out first hand in their rematch at UFC 140 in 2011. It was a grappling master showcase, though unfortunately for the Brazilian legend, Nogueira would succumb to Mir via technical submission by kimura, which is another way of saying Mir broke Nogueira’s arm and the referee was forced to intervene and bring a halt to the contest.

And who could forget Mir breaking former UFC champion Tim Sylvia’s arm at UFC 48 – Payback, also via technical submission, where Mir captured the UFC heavyweight crown via bone crunching armbar submission. Later, upon a trip to the emergency room it was revealed that the 6-foot-eight-inch former champions arm was fractured in several places, leaving an endearing reminder of exactly how soft “The Gentle Art” of Jiu-jitsu can truly be.

Following a serious motorcycle accident a few short months later, where he was ultimately stripped of his UFC heavyweight title; Mir would go on to triumphantly recapture UFC gold at UFC 92 some four years later, defeating Nogueira for the UFC interim heavyweight title via second round TKO.

“There’s mathematics to fighting Roy,” Mir told Phone Booth radio in an August 31, 2019 MMAJunkie.com article titled, “Frank Mir on rematch with Roy Nelson: ‘I really don’t want to fight Roy.’” According to Mir, who is currently riding a four-fight losing streak, “If you follow that formula, Roy is beatable. If you detour that, you take risks and open yourself up to make it more exciting, and that’s when Roy catches guys with that thunderous right hand of his,” writes author Nolan King.

“Roy Nelson has been around the block a few times over the course of his 15-year MMA career and, as a result, things just don’t bug him like they used to,” writes authors Simon Head and Matt Erickson in their October 24, 2019 MMAJunkie.com article titled, “Roy Nelson is (not quite) done caring as Bellator 231 approaches: ‘Everyone thinks I suck anyway’.” According to the report, “Nelson has fought each of his past three bouts,” in Uncasville, Connecticut despite having requested fights on the opposite side of the country each and every time. “Hey, it is what it is,” Nelson told MMAJunkie.com. In summarizing his ultimate thoughts on the rather peculiar irregularity and circumstance, “I feel like when I was in the UFC and got the international departures. I feel like it’s the same thing,” said Nelson in describing the perceivable oddity of it all.

Originally from Las Vegas, Nevada, Nelson acquired the nickname “Big Country” due in large part to his to his impressive grappling acumen, which naturally led to his peers presuming he must have come out of one of the more decorated collegiate wrestling programs in the country such as Oklahoma or Iowa for example. Though on a current three fight losing streak of his own, a quick glance at Nelsons record indicates he has fought a who’s who list of mixed martial arts legends throughout his career, meaning the seventeen career losses on Nelsons record are a potentially deceptive indicator of his overall greatness when evaluating the totality of his career due to the strength of schedule he carried alone.

With both mixed martial arts legends riding multiple fight losing streaks, one of the two is about to snap a dry spell Friday night in the evenings main event live at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Considering the previous history these two combatants have with one another, is Nelson going to set the stage and record straight for a third and final showdown with Mir in avenging his 2011 UFC 130 defeat? Or will Mir manage to crunch the numbers once again, utilizing his tried and true mathematical equation to zero Nelson out, moving to 2-0 in their multi-organizational rivalry? Tune into Bellator 231 live on Paramount/DAZN tonight starting at 9:00 PM EST to find out and catch all the evenings results.

Posted on 11/20/2018

By: Henry Deleon

At the NYC premiere for Creed 2, Boxing Insider got the chance to catch up with the legendary Roy Jones Jr.

Boxing Insider: Tell me Roy, what are your expectations for this movie, Creed 2?

Roy Jones Jr.: I expect it to be another great movie. They usually do a good job with these. It’s like they’re bringing “Rocky” onto the next generation, so for me it’s a beautiful thing. I love the concept, and you know the “Rocky” movies have actually brought a lot of fans to the sport of Boxing. It’s almost like the movie version of Boxing make some people pay more attention to real Boxing. When people see fights like the Gatti/Ward fights, it’s almost like they’re watching a real life “Rocky” movie.

Boxing Insider: How much impact did a movie like “Rocky” have on your career?

Roy Jones Jr.: Not really much on my career because I wasn’t much of a movie guy. But just the fact that I knew what it stood for, I knew what the concept was because I was a real boxer made me still respect it. It gave people a clear perspective of what some fighters feel. Everybody is not going to be the Sugar Ray Leonard, the Roy Jones, or the Muhammed Ali’s of their era. But there are guys who can be just as good to watch and who can provide great action-packed fights as the Arturo Gatti’s, the real life “Rocky’s”. It’s not always about the skill of Boxing, sometimes it’s about the heart and soul of Boxing and for that very reason the Rocky movies, the Creed movies do a great job in portraying that.

Boxing Insider: Being a pro fighter, do you feel that the way Hollywood portrays Boxing does the sport justice?

Roy Jones Jr.: It all depends on what movies you’re watching. Does it do some aspects of the sport justice? Yeah, but it doesn’t do the whole Boxing game justice because Hollywood would have to get deeper into the sport to do that. But it does do Boxing good because it shows people that every fighter has a story. So, what they’re doing I’d say is helping the sport of Boxing.

Roy Jones Jr. won several world titles in four different divisions. In 1988, he represented the United States in the summer Olympics where he went on to won a silver medal in the light middleweight division. He is considered by many to be one of Boxing’s all-time best.

“One thing you gotta know about Roy. The way I always saw myself is, I’m just like you. In the ring, I have a gift, that gift ain’t on the basketball court, that gift ain’t at home, you understand me? That gift is in the ring.” – Roy Jones Jr.

On November 21st, 2018 Catch Roy Jones Jr. and many more in the upcoming film “Creed 2”. This is going to be a fight you won’t want to miss!

Posted on 09/11/2018

Compiled By: William Holmes

The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of September 4th to September 11th; covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.

Top Rank Announced Media Partnership with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions

Top Rank and Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions are proud to announce an exclusive, landmark multi-year licensing agreement that will bring the best events from the United Kingdom and Europe to boxing fans in the United States and Canada on ESPN platforms.

“We are committed to securing the biggest and best events from around the world,” said Top Rank President Todd duBoef. “Our long-term objective is to showcase global talent and to expose the next generation of boxing stars. Frank Warren is a legend with a keen eye for building talent, and his elite stable has proven to resonate with North American fans.”

“I am absolutely delighted and honored to announce this landmark multi-year deal with Top Rank that will see my promotions going forward featured regularly on the ESPN platforms in the U.S. and Canada,” Warren said. “This was a very attractive opportunity to us due to the level of exposure our stable of fighters will benefit from by being showcased by one of, if not, the biggest broadcaster in sport. Boxers like Terence Crawford and Vasiliy Lomachenko appear on ESPN, and our boxers will be sharing a broadcast home with them going forward. The agreement will open doors for them to get their name known coast to coast in North America and eventually become stars there.”

The first show under the agreement will be Warren’s stacked card on Saturday, Oct. 6 at Morningside Arena Leicester in Leicester, England. That main event will feature WBO No. 2 super lightweight contender Jack “El Gato” Catterall (22-0, 12 KOs) against fellow top contender Ohara Davies (18-1, 14 KOs). Two-time Olympic gold medalist Nicola Adams (4-0, 3 KOs) and young heavyweight knockout artist Daniel Dubois (8-0, 8 KOs) will also see action on the bill. Dubois will face his toughest test to date against former world title challenger Kevin Johnson.

Warren, who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2008, has been promoting cards for nearly 40 years and has one of the sport’s deepest rosters. He has helped turn many of the United Kingdom’s biggest stars into fan favorites across the pond. Ricky Hatton, Nigel Benn, Joe Calzaghe, Prince Naseem Hamed, and Amir Khan all fought under the Warren banner.

Gilbert Venegas Remains Undefeated with Dominating Performance in San Antonio

TMB & PRB Entertainment presented “Fight Night at the Scottish Rite 2” a ten-bout card that took place at the Scottish Rite Theatre in downtown San Antonio. In the six-round main event, local fighters, Gilbert Venegas and Armando Cardenas gave the fans a crowd-pleasing showdown.

Cardenas, who had the height and reach advantage, was doing his best to box from the outside, but was getting caught with overhand rights by Venegas. At the end of round two, Venegas dropped Cardenas with a looping right hand. Cardenas wasn’t hurt to bad and came back strong in round three. Venegas then started landing pounding body shots, slowing down Cardenas’ comeback. Another overhand right by Venegas dropped Cardenas for the second time in round four. Venegas followed with a vicious left hook to the body that put Cardenas down once again in round three. Cardenas was badly hurt but made it to the final round. Both fighters went out with a blaze of glory as they went toe to toe in the last seconds of round six. Venegas remains undefeated winning by unanimous decision, improving his record to (10-0, 6 KOs), while Armando Cardenas’ record stands at (9-2, 5 KOs). Scorecards unavailable.

DAZN Adds World Boxing Super Series Ali Trophy Final George Groves vs. Callum Smith
DAZN, the live and on-demand sports streaming platform, announced it will carry the Ali Trophy Final between George Groves and Callum Smith in the Super Middleweight edition of the World Boxing Super Series. The card will stream live in the U.S. on Friday, Sept. 28 at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT from Indoor Sports Hall at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

WBA Super Middleweight tilist Groves (28-3, 20 KOs), back in action after an unanimous decision win against Chris Eubank Jr., will take on the undefeated Callum Smith (24-0, 17 KOs) in the third defense of his belt.

“The World Boxing Super Series has produced some of the best fights over the last year and we’re excited to bring the Groves-Smith final to the U.S.,” said Joe Markowski, DAZN SVP, North America. “When you consider the fact that we offer a one-month free trial to each subscriber, this will be a tremendous fall for combat sports fans.”

Groves vs. Smith is the latest addition to DAZN’s stacked fall lineup of exclusive fights featuring Anthony Joshua vs. Alexander Povetkin on Sept. 22, Bellator 206 on Sept. 29, Jessie Vargas vs. Thomas Dulorme on Oct. 6, Billy Joe Saunders vs. Demetrius Andrade on Oct. 20, among many others. Fans can sign up for DAZN for only $9.99 per month by registering at DAZN.com or by downloading the DAZN app on a wide range of connected devices, including smart TVs, PCs, smartphones, tablets and game consoles, when the service goes live on Sept. 10.

Earlier this summer, DAZN announced it will bring all 15 fight nights of the World Boxing Super Series’ second season to boxing fans in the U.S. and Canada, featuring the following weight classes:

CRUISERWEIGHT:
Mairis Briedis (Latvia) vs. Noel Mikaelian (Germany)
Yunier Dorticos (Cuba) vs. Mateusz Masternak (Poland)
Krzysztof Glowacki (Poland) vs. Maksim Vlasov (Russia)
Andrew Tabiti (United States) vs. Ruslan Fayfer (Russia)

SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT:
Regis Prograis (United States) vs. Terry Flanagan (England)
Josh Taylor (Scotland) vs. Ryan Martin (United States)
WBA titlist Kiryl Relikh (Belarus) vs. Eduard Troyanovsky (Russia)
Vacant IBF title matchup: Ivan Baranchyk (Belarus) vs. Anthony Yigit (Sweden)

BANTAMWEIGHT:
WBA titlist Ryan Burnett (Northern Ireland) vs. Nonito Donaire (Philippines)
WBO titlist Zolani Tete (South Africa) vs. Mikhail Aloyan (Russia)
Naoya Inoue (Japan) vs. Juan Carlos Payano (Dominican Republic)

Roy Jones Jr. Leads Class of 2018 Inductees into the USA Boxing Alumni Association Hall of Fame

Living legend Roy Jones, Jr., universally recognized as one of the greatest pound-for-pound boxers of all-time, leads a celebrated quintet of Class of 2018 inductees into the USA Boxing Alumni Association Hall of Fame.

The second annual USA Boxing Alumni Association Hall of Fame reception, held in conjunction with the 2018 USA Boxing Elite and Youth National Championships and Junior and Prep Open, December 2-8, will be held Dec. 7, at the Radisson Hotel (215 S. Temple St.) in Salk Lake City, Utah.

In addition to Jones, the Class of 2018 also includes two U.S. Olympic gold medalists and world (professional) champions, Andre Ward and Claressa Shields, as well as former USA Boxing National Director of Coaching Emanuel Steward and veteran USA Boxing official Tom Cleary. The latter two will be posthumously inducted.

The charter class inducted last year included Muhammad Ali and Evander Holyfield, as well as veteran coaches Roosevelt Sanders and Tom Coulter.

“I am honored to be selected for induction into the USA Boxing Alumni Association Hall of Fame,” Jones commented, “especially as a member of this great class with my fellow inductees.

“Amateur boxing gave me the chance to learn life skills as well as face every other possible scenario inside of the ring.”

Jones, ironically, got into boxing at the age of 11 because of Ali. “I saw Ali vs. (Joe) Frazier and just felt as though Ali and I had the same mental concept on life,” Jones explained.

Jones went on to become one of the best amateur boxers in the world, compiling a reported 121-13 record, including gold medal performances at the 1984 National Junior Olympics and 1986 & 1987 National Golden Gloves Tournaments.

At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, Jones reached the championship final of the light middleweight division against Park Si-Hun, of South Korea. Jones suffered arguably the worst decision in boxing history, losing 3-2, despite outpunching his opponent, 86 to 32 landed punches, and he was forced to settle for a silver medal. Even his opponent admitted that Jones won their fight, leading the AIBA to later suspend the three judges who selected the hometown fighter as the winner.

How disgraceful was this decision? Jones was selected as the Val Barker Trophy winner as the best boxer of the 1988 Olympics and, due to controversy, the scoring system for Olympic boxing was changed, replacing the 20-point must system with electronic scoring.

“I was angered,” Jones admitted, “yet promoted to prove that I was the best fighter there, and in the world, at that time.”

Jones made his professional debut May 6, 1989, at home in Pensacola, Florida, in a scheduled eight-round bout, in which RJJ stopped Ricky Randall in the second round. His long, glorious journey has produced a remarkable 66-9 (47 KOs) pro record, highlighted by nine major world titles in four different weight classes.

In 2003, Jones defeated John Ruiz by way of a 12-round unanimous decision to become the first former world middleweight champion to become world heavyweight title holder in more than a century.

The possessor of exceptional hand and foot speed, athleticism, movement and reflexes, Jones went undefeated through his first 34 pro fights, 22-3 (14) in world title fights. Against former, present or future world champions, Jones was 19-9 (8 KOs) and included among his victims were greats such as Bernard Hopkins, James Toney, Mike McCallum, Vinnie Pazienza, Virgil Hill, Antonio Tarver and Felix Trinidad.

Today, the 49-year-old Jones, technically speaking, is still an active fighter. He also has two promotional companies and gyms, located in Pensacola and Las Vegas, trains several pro boxers and serves as a color commentator for HBO Boxing. He recently opened gyms in South Africa.

For the past two years, Jones has hosted the “Future Stars of Boxing Tournament” in Las Vegas, showcasing some of the best amateur boxers in the world.

“Hosting the tournament in Las Vegas gives me the opportunity to give back to amateur boxing,” Jones explained. “It’s a great experience for the boxers and it reminds them that who they may have or still look up to, are watching them as well.”

Posted on 02/10/2018

By: Ken Hissner

Back to where he started in his hometown of Pensacola, FL, at the Bay Center Roy Jones, Jr. ended his career in the one division he didn’t win a title which was cruiserweight.

Jones defeated a game Scott “Cujo” Sigmon easily winning 8 out of the 10 rounds Thursday night before his home crowd. The hand speed was still there as the 49 year-old Jones gave his fans something to cheer about.

Jones won world titles in the middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and even the heavyweight division. He was a modern day throw back to the 50’s when boxers like “Sugar” Ray Robinson dominated his fights.

Jones ended up with a career record of 66-9 (47), for a total of some 75 fights from 1989 to 2018. That’s 29 years of boxing after he was robbed of a Gold Olympic Medal in South Korea in the 1988 Olympics. He came home with a Silver Medal.

Jones defeated such boxers as James “Lights Out” Toney, split with Bernard “The Executioner Hopkins”, won 2 of 3 from Antonio Tarver, Jorge Vaca, Jorge Castro, John “the Quiet Man” Ruiz, Thomas Tate, Vinnie Pazienza, Mike “The Body Snatcher” McCallum, split with Montell Griffin, Reggie Johnson, Otis Grant, Eric Harding, Julio Cesar Gonzalez, Glen Kelly, Clint Woods, Prince Badi Ajamu, Anthony Hanshaw, Felix “Tito” Trinidad, Jeff Lacy, and Bobby Gunn.

Sigmon, 30-11-1 (16), was a good opponent for Jones to show the skills he still has. He once held the WBC USNBC title. He is from Lynchburg, VA.

Jones talked about fighting MMA suspended fighter Anderson Silva. Jones who in the past had played in a semi-pro basketball league prior to games worked the corner prior to his fight Thursday of Ikram Kerwat who outpointed Angel Gladney on the undercard.

Jones has a promotional group called Square One Promotions having put on some 63 events since 2015.

Jones gave a lot to boxing and was appreciated by his many boxing fans all over the world including Russia where he got dual citizenship winning 2 of 4 fights there.

Posted on 02/06/2018

Compiled By: William Holmes

The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of January 30th to February 6th; covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.

Roy Jones Junior Quotes for his Last Fight

One of the greatest careers in ring history will come to close this Thursday night, when the legendary Roy Jones Junior competes in his final bout as a professional boxer bout as a professional boxer.

Widely considered one of the very best pound-for-pound fighters of all time Jones, 65-9 (47KOs), competes in cruiserweight (200lbs) bout vs Scott Sigmon, 30-11-1 (16KOs). The 10-rounder serves as the main event to a five fight Island Fights main card which features both boxing and mixed martial arts bouts.

The event will be live-streamed and available on video-on-demand basis exclusively on UFCFIGHTPASS, the UFC’s digital streaming service.

Joining combat sport play-by-play veteran TJ De Santis in the commentator booth will be Jeff Lacy. Known as “Left Hook” during his boxing career, Lacy represented the United States at the 2000 Olympics and went on to win the same IBF super-middleweight title Jones had annexed a decade earlier. Lacy also fought Jones in 2009 (the entire fight is available on UFC FIGHT PASS) and will bring a wealth of knowledge to the event.

ROY JONES JUNIOR FLASH QUOTES:

ON FIGHTING ON UFC FIGHT PASS

“This is the first live boxing on UFC FIGHT PASS. I love being the first to do something, so to be the first boxing event on UFC FIGHT PASS is cool. When I turned pro back in 1989, I said I wanted to bring new audiences boxing and that’s what I tried to do. By having my last night as a fighter on the
UFC’s (streaming service) I’m bringing new eyeballs to boxing and I’m throwing a spotlight on the boxing and MMA fighters who are on the event.

“I’m been a fan of the UFC for years. Me and (UFC President) Dana White have been friends for a long time, since before he even got started with the UFC. We’ve talked about FIGHT PASS showing a fight (of mine) and it has come about perfectly.”

ON HIS FINAL FIGHT

“It feels different. I’m emotional even thinking about how I’m going to feel on the day. I’m almost tearing up talking. I’m worried about how I am going to feel all day of the fight. I may be crying all day – but once I am in the ring I’ll have to put those tears away because there’s gonna be a guy in the other corner looking to beat me. Scott Sigmon won’t care about those tears. He cares about getting the win, that’s the reality.

“I turned professional in May 1989 in this same arena, but I’ve been doing this since 1979. In 39 years there’s not been a single day where I didn’t put on glove, skip, watch tape or spend time thinking about boxing.

“Boxing has been my life and it is my life. I’ve enjoyed every moment of it. So much of it is still fresh (in my mind), not one thing but so much jumps out when I look back… representing my country at the Olympics in 1988, becoming a world champion for the first time, becoming the No.1 pound-for-pound vs James Toney, winning the world heavyweight title… like it was all yesterday.”

ON GETTING OLDER

“I’m not sad to get older, we all get old. I had a great prime. I was good in my prime, y’know? I wasn’t surprised that I was getting old, and that my abilities were getting more limited. Everybody knows everybody gets old, but I think some guys really don’t think their body will get old.

“I accepted it. People told me to retire but I knew what I could do and I’ve never let anyone tell me what to do.

“There are things I wanted to accomplish that I knew were no longer within my reach. I love boxing, even out of my prime I love boxing like I did when I was champ. But you can’t go on forever no matter how much you love it. It’s time, I’m ready to say goodbye.”

After MTV Super Fight League Ropes in Fox Networks Group for an Asian Broadcasting Deal

FOX Sports Asia has entered into a brand new one-year exclusive multimedia and broadcastrights agreement for the second season of Super Fight League, the world’s first mixed martial arts tournament, promoted by British businessman and sports enthusiast Bill Dosanjh and British professional boxer Amir Khan on their television and digital platforms in Asia.

Promising reach in more than 500 million homes by broadcasting action pack content, the licensed territories include Brunei, Cambodia, China, East Timor, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam . Earlier this year, SFL came to one-year agreement on a broadcasting deal with MTV, Viacom 18 in India to broadcast all matches for season 2 (till 2019)

Having garnered over a whopping 100 million views in 5 years for 67 live televised events, Super Fight League is ranked as the third biggest Mixed Martial Arts brand in the world and second most watched sport in India after cricket apart from being the fastest growing combat sport.The franchise-based league that is being organized in association with the All-India Martial Arts Association (AIMMAA) will entail prize money of INR 4 crores as well as 96 players and 8 teams as listed below –

Bill Dosanjh, CEO & Founder of Super Fight League stated, “We are excited to be partnering with FOX Networks Group, the leading multi-platform entertainment group across the world. This association will further capitalize on our long term vision of taking SFL to different markets. In the next 3 years we would like to take SFL to the Asian markets where MMA is more popular than a sport like cricket and comes second after soccer. The opportunity to have our premier content available in over 500 million homes will immediately accelerate the growth of the SFL brand and the sport of MMA across the region. The emergence of young Indian mixed martial artists coupled with FOX’s marketing muscle and distribution, will allow us to expand our event output beyond India and into the rest of the world in the coming years.”

Brian Sullivan, President of FOX Networks Groupadded, “This new agreement allows us to continue adding value to our uniquely holistic entertainment experience, aiming to suit all our fans’ preferences. We are quite delighted to deliver first class MMA content through our channels and digital platforms. The passion of Asian fans for mixed martial arts makes this category key to our content offering, and we will contribute with our know-how to make the experience of living it in our portfolio unbeatable.”

Elaborating Asian athlete and two-time world champion Amir Khan states, “I think we’ll be considered mainstream just like the NFL and NBA now. To be on the Fox platform, we’re not second class anymore. This new agreement represents a great opportunity and will allow us to attract a new fanbase for the sport where MMA has a strongly established tradition as well as huge potential to gather and galvanize new fans.”

Formed in 2012 by British-Indian entrepreneur and philanthropist, Bill Dosanjh with an intent to give Indian mixed martial artists a platform to compete and hone their talent in their country of origin whilst bringing in talented fighters from different parts of the world, SFL is a revolutionary approach to combat and is the first MMA organization to feature female fighters. MTV SFL 2018 will promote gender equality through a fair and unique platform with women having the same influence on the team as men. The league entails a group ‘A’ and ‘B’, consisting of four teams each. Every team has six players—five male fighters and one female—and six back-ups, belonging to six different weight categories. The teams within the group compete with each other in 12 league-level matches.

The second season of the leading MMA league will be conducted at MTV SFL Arena, Famous Studios, Mahalaxmi, Mumbai from February 9, 2018 to March 17, 2018.

Riddick Bowe to be Special Guest for February 22nd Golden Boy Boxing Card

Former Undisputed Heavyweight World Champion Riddick “Big Daddy” Bowe will be the special VIP guest for the Feb. 22 edition of Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif. The highly anticipated headlining matchup will feature 126-pound contender Joseph “JoJo” Diaz, Jr. (25-0, 13 KOs) defending his NABF and NABO Featherweight Titles against former world champion Victor “Vikingo” Terrazas (38-4-2, 21 KOs) in a 10-round fight.

Doors to the Special Events Center open and first fight begins at 5:00 p.m. PT. ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes will transmit the fights beginning at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT, and streaming on ESPN3 starting at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.

A certified Hall of Famer, “Big Daddy” Bowe is known as the only Undisputed Heavyweight World Champion to have earned belts from all four main sanctioning bodies – WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO. The controversial heavyweight faced some of the best fighters of his era, including Andrzej Golota, Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield, Jorge Luis Gonzalez, Herbie “Dancing Destroyer” Hide, and Michael “Dynamite” Dokes. Bowe is also one of five former heavyweight champions to have never suffered a stoppage defeat in the span of more than 40 fights in his career. Bowe will be in attendance for this event to meet fans, sign autographs and take pictures inside the Fantasy Springs Special Events Center before the ESPN transmission begins. The meet-and-greet is open to the public with the purchase of a ticket to the event.

Tickets for the event start at $25 and are available at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino box office, by calling 1-800-827-2946, or by purchasing online at www.fantasyspringsresort.com.

Chief support to the main event battle will be knockout artist Vergil Ortiz, Jr. (8-0, 8 KOs), who will participate in the eight-round co-main event for the vacant Junior NABF Super Lightweight Title against the dangerous Jesus “Carambolas” Alvarez (15-3,11 KOs) of Sinaloa, Mexico. Ortiz, Jr. has never heard the final bell of a bout and will be putting his spotless record on the line as he takes a step up in competition and fights for his first regional title.

Lightweight knockout artist Christian “Chimpa” Gonzalez (18-1, 15 KOs) will make his highly anticipated ring return over a scheduled eight rounds of action and will kick off the ESPN3 coverage.Gonzalez will face Rey “Flash” Perez (21-9, 6 KOs), a Filipino fighter who now calls Los Angeles home and who was last seen giving Lamont Roach, Jr. trouble in the main event of the Nov. 30 edition of Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN.

Manny “Chato” Robles III (14-0, 6 KOs), who is trained by his world-renowned father, Manny Robles, Jr., will participate in an eight-round featherweight affair. Power punching prospect Edgar “Kid Neza” Valerio (10-0, 7 KOs) of Ciudad Nezahualcoyotl by way of South Central, Los Angeles, Calif. will participate in an eight-round battle in the 126-pound division.

San Diego’s Genaro “El Conde” Gamez (6-0, 4 KOs) will participate in an eight-round lightweight fight, and Hector “El Finito” Tanajara, Jr. (11-0, 4 KOs) of San Antonio, Texas will open up the stacked card at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in a scheduled eight-round super featherweight fight.

Opponents for all these exciting prospects will be announced shortly.

AIBA Releases Progress Report on Governance

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board decided to maintain the financial suspension of AIBA and demanded a new report on AIBA governance by April 30th . This decision was made despite AIBA’s fulfilment of the IOC’s request to submit a Progress Report outlining all steps AIBA was asked to take and continues to take to improve its governance. To access the full AIBA Progress Report, please see the AIBA website.

This decision is extremely disappointing for AIBA as it hoped the IOC Executive Board would have understood that the processes necessary to implement even more measures require more time and that the positive steps already taken in recent times are evidence of AIBA’s strong efforts and willingness to reform.

Over the next six months AIBA will be in the process of a complete organisational review, which will lead to the ‘New Foundation Plan’ for AIBA. This plan and the recommendations produced will be discussed during the AIBA Executive Committee meeting in July and an update will be provided to the IOC in the requested April 30th report.

In the meantime, AIBA will continue its efforts to convince the IOC of its determination to not repeat any of the past mistakes and its commitment to a fresh, positive future centered on good governance and sound management.

Tickets on Sale for Kovalev vs. Mikhalkin
Tickets are on sale for the upcoming showdown between two-time Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (31-2-1, 27 KOs) versus Igor Mikhalkin (21-1, 9 KOs) and WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion Dmitry Bivol (12-0, 10 KOs) versus Sullivan Barrera (21-1, 14 KOs), which takes place on Saturday, March 3 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Tickets for this exciting event are priced from $50 to $300 and are available through ticketmaster.com and the Madison Square Garden box office.

Promoted by Main Events, Krusher Promotions and World of Boxing in association with EC Box Promotions, the event will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:05 p.m. ET/PT.

About March 3: The Saturday, March 3 main event between Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev and Igor Mikhalkin is a 12-round match-up for the WBO Light Heavyweight World Title at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The co-main event features WBA Light Heavyweight World Champion Dmitry Bivol versus Sullivan Barrera in a 12-round title fight. The event is promoted by Main Events, Krusher Promotions and World of Boxing in association with EC Box Promotions and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing®. Tickets range from $50 to $300 and will be available through TicketMaster.com, the Madison Square Garden Box office and the Main Events office by calling 973-200-7050 or emailing [email protected].

Posted on 02/06/2018

By: Ken Hissner
How many boxers have “retired” only to unretired again? Will Roy Jones, Jr. be one of them? He boxes Thursday in his hometown of Pensacola, FL, against Scott Sigmon, 30-11-1 (16), from Lynchburg, VA.

Jones has been middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight champion. This fight he will fight at cruiserweight. He is also a promoter of fights with Square One Promotions.

Jones won his first 34 fights before knocking down Montell Griffin and hitting him while down losing on DQ. In his next fight he knocked out Griffin on the first round.

Like too many boxers he gave Bernard Hopkins a rematch and got beat. Hopkins gave him a good fight in their first match. Hopkins is also older than Roy by about a year.

Jones started boxing after a controversial loss in the 2008 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. He won his first 4 fights, 1 by KO and 3 by 5-0 decisions. He lost in the final to a South Korean 3-2. The decision was so bad he still won the Val Barker Award for the most outstanding boxer at the Olympics.

He turned professional the following year in his hometown of Pensacola where he plans to box and retire Thursday. Let’s hope he is a man of his word. His overall record until this match is 65-9 (47) and stopped 5 times. This will be his 75th fight and let’s hope his last. As a ringside commentator he is fine. Stay there Roy!

Jones has given many a good fighter their first loss such as James Toney 44-0-2, Glenn Thomas 24-0, Bryant Brannon 16-0, Montell Griffin 27-0, Eric Harding 19-0-1, Julio Cesar Gonzalez, 27-0, Glen Kelly 28-0-1, Anthony Hanshaw, 21-0-1, Pawel Glazewski 17-0 and Vyron Phillips 6-0 as an amateur making his debut.

Jones first title win was for the WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight title in 1992 stopping Percy Harris, 15-3, at the Taj Mahal, in Atlantic City, NJ. In 1993 he won the vacant IBF Middleweight title defeating Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins, 22-1, at RFK Stadium, in Washington, DC. He defended it 7 times. In 1996 he won the interim light heavyweight title defeating Mike “The Body Snatcher” McCallum, 49-3-1, at the Ice Palace, in Tampa, FL. After losing to Griffin he came back in his next fight winning the WBC World Light Heavyweight title from Griffin, then 27-0, at the Foxwoods Resorts, in Mashantucket, CT.

In the next fight Jones knocked out former IBF & WBA Light Heavyweight champion Virgil Hill, 43-2, at the Coast Coliseum, in Biloxi, MS, in 1998. He defended it at that weight 11 times. Prior to the 11th time he won the WBA Heavyweight title defeating John Ruiz, 38-4-1, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas, NV, in 2003.

After Jones 12th defense over Antonio Tarver, 21-2, the roof fell in for him in back to back fights being knocked out by Glen Johnson, 40-9-2 and in a rematch with Tarver along with a decision to Tarver.

Jones would go onto win 3 fights in a row before Joe Calzaghe, 45-0, made his second straight US fight defeating Jones. It would be Calzaghe’s final fight of his career due to bad hands.

Two wins later would become 3 straight defeats starting with Danny Green in 1 round. Then losing a rematch with Hopkins and making a trip to Russia being knocked out by Denis Lebedev.

Jones would return to the US and in 2011win the UBO Inter Continental Cruiserweight title defeating Max Alexander, 14-5-2, at the Civic Center in Atlanta, GA.

In 2013 Jones would win the vacant World Boxing Union Cruiserweight title (German Version) in Russia, which is the same title he is fighting Sigmon for Thursday. He defended it 3 times after defeating Zine Eddine Benmakhlouf, 17-3-1. Jones would fight 4 times in Russia going 2-2 and becoming a dual citizen there.

In 2015 on his final bout in Russia he was knocked out by former WBO Cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinelli, 40-7, whose traine was Calzaghe’s father. He would go onto win his next 3 fights and that brings us to Sigmon. This writer attended his last fight in Wilmington, DE, defeating the King of Bare Knuckle Boxing Bobby Gunn before a packed Chase Center for the vacant World Boxing Foundation World Cruiserweight title in 2017.

But like too many boxers “never say never” if this will be the last farewell fight for Roy Jones, Jr.

Posted on 07/11/2017

Boxing Insider Notebook: Mayweather, McGregor, Abraham, Eubank, Roy Jones Jr., and more…
Compiled By: William Holmes

The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of July 4th to July 11th covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.

Showtime Sports Presents Live Coverage of Mayweather vs. McGregor International Press Tour

SHOWTIME Sports will present the official live stream of the Mayweather vs. McGregor international press tour across digital platforms as boxing legend Floyd Mayweather and UFC superstar Conor McGregor embark on a four-city, three country press tour to announce their Aug. 26 blockbuster event.

The live fully produced HD programs will be available via Facebook @ShowtimeBoxing, theYouTube @ShoSports channel, UFC.com and UFC FIGHT PASS. CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports app for mobile and connected TV devices will simulcast all four events live with CBS Sports Network providing live coverage of Tuesday’s event from Los Angeles. The @CBSSports Facebook page will also simulcast coverage.

Mayweather and McGregor face off in Los Angeles, Toronto, New York and London to officially announce their one-of-a-kind matchup taking place on Saturday, Aug. 26 live on SHOWTIME PPV® from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

SHOWTIME Sports announcer Mauro Ranallo will host coverage from Los Angeles with analysis from two-division world champion and SHOWTIME Boxing analyst Paulie Malignaggi, former UFC fighter and current MMA analyst Brendan Schaub and MMA industry veteran Ariel Helwani. Helwani will take over hosting duties in live coverage from Toronto and New York alongside Malignaggi and Schaub. Details on coverage from the London event will be announced shortly.

TUESDAY, JULY 11 – Los Angeles Event
4 p.m. ET/ 1 p.m. PT from Staples Center
YouTube Link: http://s.sho.com/2t3bg0Y

WEDNESDAY, JULY 12 – Toronto Event
5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT from Budweiser Stage
YouTube Link: http://s.sho.com/2uGxDLN

THURSDAY, JULY 13 – New York Event
5:30 p.m. ET/ 2:30 p.m. PT from Barclays Center In Brooklyn
YouTube Link: http://s.sho.com/2sFldT2

FRIDAY, JULY 14 – London Event
7 p.m. BST / 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT from The SEE Arena, Wembley
YouTube Link: http://s.sho.com/2t3AcFF

MAYWEATHER vs. MCGREGOR

Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor is a 12-round super welterweight matchup that pits the legendary boxer Mayweather against the all-time MMA great McGregor in an unprecedented event that takes place Saturday, August 26 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The event telecast is produced and distributed by SHOWTIME PPV.

Jeff Horn Tells TMZ Sports: Pacquiao Knows I Beat Him, Should Be No Argument

Jeff Horn recently told TMZ Sports that there’s no doubt in his mind he beat Manny Pacquiao. He told TMZ that the WBO’s rescoring of his July 2nd fight proves he’s the real-deal champ.

He said that the new information should silence his critics once and for all.

“There should be no argument,” Horn said…”It’s exactly what I felt on the day and Pacquiao said the same thing after the fight that he thought he’d lost. So the decision stands.”

Read more at http://www.tmz.com/2017/07/11/jeff-horn-pacquiao-wbo-rescore-no-argument/

Eubank vs. Abraham Airing on Canada and United Kingdom on Super Channel

In a continuing campaign to make it a network destination for Canadian boxing fans, Super Channel has announced its subscribers across Canada will be able to watch this Saturday’s action from London, headlined by International Boxing Organization (IBO) Super Middleweight World Champion Chris Eubank Jr. against 3-time, 2-division world titlist “King” Arthur Abraham, starting at 2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT, live from The SES Arena, Wembley, in London.

Four championship fights on the exciting “Eubank Jr. vs. Abraham” card, promoted by Poxon Sports in association with Team Sauerland, will air live on Super Channel.

Super Channel has recently aired Brook vs. Spence Jr. and Pacquiao-Horn, live from the UK and Australia, respectively.

“We are delighted to have yet another world-class bout to bring to Canadian fight fans,” said Troy Wassill. Dorector of Programming, Domestic Distributors & Sports for Super Channel. “The phenomenal response on social media we had to the Pacquiao vs Horn bout we recently aired, goes to show that Canadian viewers are hungry for more great boxing action and we intend to deliver.”

The 27-year-old, British-born Eubank Jr. (24-1, 19 KOs) is the son of Chris Eubank Sr., (45-5-2, 23 KOs), the former World Boxing Organization (WBO) super middleweight and middleweight world champion, who co-trains and manages his son.

Eubank Jr. is a former Interim World Boxing Association (WBA) Middleweight World Champion. The rising British star captured the IBO title this past February, stopping Renold Quinlan (11-1, 7 KOs) in the 10th round. His July 15th fight versus Abraham will be his first IBO title defense.

Eubank is also world rated No. 5 by the World Boxing Council (WBC), No. 8 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF).

The far more experienced Abraham (46-5, 30 KOs), fighting out of Berlin, Germany, Is the IBO No. 1 ranked contender. The tough Armenia-native is a two-time WBO super middleweight world champion, in addition to being a former IBF Middleweight World Champion. Remarkably, he is 18-4 (9 KOs) in world championships, 7-4 (4 KOs) against former or current world champions.

Past world champions Abraham has defeated during his 17-year professional career includes Raul Marquez, Hector Javier Velazco, Jermain Taylor, Robert Stieglitz three times, and Giovanni De Carolis. “King” Arthur also holds victories over world-class opponents such as Martin Murray, Paul Smith twice, Lajuan Simon, Edison Miranda twice, Khoren Gevor, Sebastian Demers, Kofi Jantuah, Kingsley Ikeke, Robin Krasniqi and Howard Eastman.

Four of Abraham’s five career losses have been to world champions Carl Froch, Andre Ward, Gilberto Ramirez and Stieglitz, who is the only opponent to stop Abraham, winner of 10 of his last 11 fights, the most recent a 12-round unanimous decision win over Krasniqi (46-4, 17 KOs) this past April in Germany.

Abraham is the No. 1 ranked WBO super middleweight, WBA No. 4, and No. 7 by the IBF and The Ring magazine.

Welshman “Lightning” Lee Selby (24-1, 9 KOs) makes his third defense of his IBF Featherweight World title, which he originally captured May 30, 2015, taking an eighth-round technical decision over previously unbeaten Evgeny Gradovich (19-0-1, 9 KOs).

In the 12-round co-feature, the popular Selby will face his stiffest challenge in former WBA Featherweight World Champion Jonathan Victor “Yoni” Barros (41-4-1, 22 KOs), of Argentina, the IBF No. 1 contender.

Also scheduled to air live on Super Channel on July 15th are a pair of interesting 12-round match-ups as highly-touted Kid Galahad (22-0, 13 KOs) defends his IBF Inter-Continental featherweight title against the stiffest test of his young career, Mexican challenger Jose “El Tigre” Cayetano (21-5, 10 KOs), as well as undefeated WBA Continental super lightweight champion Robbie Davis Jr. (15-0, 11 KOs), ranked No. 4 by the IBF, puts his belt on the line versus Michal Syrowatka (18-1, 6 KOs), of Poland.

To see the “Eubank Jr. vs. Abraham” live, as well as more exciting boxing to come, fight fans in Canada can contact their local cable provider to subscribe to Super Channel and all that it has to offer, including premium series, movies and much more, for as low as $9.95 per month.

July 15 Roy Jones Facebook Fight Night Live

Bringing fight fans even closer to the action, Roy Jones Jr. Boxing, Linacre Media and ULTRACAST will partner to stream the Saturday, July 15FIGHTNIGHT LIVE Phoenix showdown not only live in H.D. on Facebook, but in ULTRACAST 360˚ and in ULTRACAST Virtual Reality as well.

Supporters of the Sweet Science can take advantage of the multi-camera FIGHTNIGHT LIVE broadcast on Facebook – completely free wherever Facebook is available – and also check out all of the action in ULTRACAST 360˚ or ULTRACAST VR by downloading the ULTRACAST app and subscribing to the PPV feed for only $.99. Available for IOS and Android, fans simply need to download the ULTRACAST app in the App store or by visiting www.ultracast.com/app.

“We are thrilled about partnering with Linacre Media and FIGHTNIGHT LIVE to provide fans the 360˚ Virtual Reality experience of Roy Jones Jr. Boxing,” said CEO of Ultracast,
Dmitry Kozko.

“Roy and I have always felt that live streaming would take the place of the old platforms of delivering fights,” stated Keith Veltre, CEO & Co-Founder of Roy Jones Jr. Boxing Promotions. “To partner up with Linacre Media and showcase our talent live with Facebook is years ahead of anyone else in the industry.

This will give us the ability to reach millions of boxing fans around the world and enable us to deliver our sponsors triple the exposure we would normally get from traditional TV. Mark Fratto, the brains behind this envisioning series, is giving fighters the opportunity to showcase their talent to the world and gain a fan base. We are thrilled that his vision lines exactly where Roy Jones Jr. Boxing Promotions wants to be.”

“We’re excited to be able to capitalize on cutting-edge technology to give the Roy Jones Jr. Boxing audience a ringside seat, live from the greater Phoenix area,” said Mark Fratto, Principal of Linacre Media. “Our Facebook Live series continues to keep fight fans at the forefront, now with not just one – but three – high-quality viewing experiences available.”

ULTRACAST is the premier app for live 360˚ and VR content, broadcasting – or better yet, ultracasting – unique, exclusive perspectives of events to millions of mobile phones, worldwide. ULTRACAST takes viewers ringside at fights, allows them to be part of the back-stage drama, celebrate the win on the podium or feel the front-row excitement of a concert; getting up-close and personal, and going “beyond live”. Get the latest updates with ULTRACAST by following ULTRACASTLIVE on Facebook and @Ultracastlive on Twitter and Instagram.

Promoted by Roy Jones Jr. and Keith Veltre of Roy Jones Jr. Boxing Promotions, the July 15 card will bring fans back-to-back championship action. The event will showcase a main attraction featuring NABA Super Welterweight Champion John “The Phenom” Vera Jr. (16-0, 10 KOs) as he takes on the former WBO Latino Champion Daniel Rosario (11-2, 10 KOs) in a 10-round contest live from in Chandler, Ariz. Super bantamweight standout Rico Ramos (25-5, 13 KOs) will go toe-to-toe with Tony Lopez (12-2, 4 KOs) for the vacant NABA Super Bantamweight title as part of a stacked fight card filled with Arizona-area heroes. Additional fights and fighters are subject to change; limited tickets are still available at www.WinGilaRiver.com. A tape-delayed version of the live show will air on BeIN Sports one week after the live show on Facebook.

The numbers on the FIGHTNIGHT LIVE series have showed promise and potential for the new platform. The May “Slugfest at the Sun” from Mohegan Sun and the June “Rosemont Rumble” from Chicago drew audiences of 44,000 and 31,000, respectively, with more than 3,000 of hours of LIVE video consumed by Facebook users. In addition to the raw viewership numbers, the fully-interactive, fan-friendly productions have seen more than 15,000 collective live post engagements, including more than 9,000 “likes” or “loves,” more than 5,000 comments and 800-plus shares.

On Saturday night, July 15, live from Wild Horse Pass Casino in Chandler, Ariz., fans can expect a high-impact, multi-camera streaming experience – now also available in ULTRACAST 360˚ and ULTRACAST VR – complete with graphics, animations, replays, interviews and an announce team anchored by blow-by-blow announcer Miguel Flores of Premier Boxing Champions and analyst Michael Woods of the TalkBox Podcast, NYFights.com and The Ring. Joining the broadcast team once again will be world-ranked light heavyweight Mike Lee. University of Notre Dame alum Lee (19-0, 10 KOs) is ranked No. 12 by the WBO, No. 12 by the IBF, No. 13 by the WBA and No. 14 by the WBC, and will be ringside with Flores and Woods to provide expert analysis. To provide spectators with a fully-interactive ringside experience, commentators will ask and respond to questions from the Facebook audience throughout the broadcast.

Created and produced by Linacre Media out of New York City, the FIGHTNIGHT LIVE series features multiple camera angles, graphics, replays and behind-the-scenes access and interviews. The streamed shows are available globally wherever Facebook is available. The initiative not only enables fans from around the world to tune in, but also gives up-and-coming fighters a global platform to showcase their abilities, gives promoters an accessible “broadcast” solution and gives sponsors the ability to reach a mass audience via branded content.

FIGHTNIGHT LIVE strap season continues on Saturday, July 29, in Raleigh, N.C., as Tar Heel State undefeated super flyweight Dewayne Beamon competes for the IBO Inter-Continental and UBF World Junior Bantamweight titles. More FIGHTNIGHT LIVE dates will be officially announced in the coming weeks.

FIGHTNIGHT LIVE is available online at: https://www.facebook.com/FaceFIGHTNIGHTLIVE/

Aloe Blacc to Perform New Single “King Is Born” Live at Mayweather v. McGregor International Press Tour Event in Los Angeles

In anticipation of the unprecedented showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor, the global stars are embarking on a four-city international press tour that spans three countries in four days, and brings all the spectacle of this massive event directly to the fans who demanded it.

As a special presentation at the tour’s first event on Tuesday in Los Angeles, GRAMMY-nominated, multi-platinum XIX / Interscope recording artist Aloe Blacc will perform his new single “King Is Born” live at STAPLES Center. Blacc is known for his hit singles “I Need a Dollar,” “Wake Me Up,” “The Man” and “Love Is The Answer,” all of which reflect his quest for social justice. Blacc is currently working on the follow up to his GRAMMY-nominated album “Lift Your Spirit.”

Tuesday’s live performance by Aloe Blacc will be part of SHOWTIME Sports live coverage of the Mayweather vs. McGregor press tour event. Fans can watch live online via Facebook @ShowtimeBoxing, theYouTube @ShoSports channel, UFC.com and UFC FIGHT PASS. CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports app for mobile and connected TV devices will simulcast Tuesday’s event with CBS Sports Network providing live coverage from Los Angeles. The @CBSSports Facebook page will also simulcast coverage.

Mayweather and McGregor face off in Los Angeles, Toronto, New York and London on the four-city press tour before returning to training camp to continue preparations for their one-of-a-kind main event matchup taking place Saturday, Aug. 26 live on SHOWTIME PPV® from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Sampson Boxing Signs Undefeated Featherweight Eduardo Ramirez to Promotional Contract

Sampson boxing proudly announces the signing of undefeated featherweight Eduardo “Zurdito” Ramirez of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, to an exclusive long-term promotional contract.

Ramirez (20-0-2, 7 KOs) is a 24-year-old, highly skilled southpaw with fast hands and super defense. He is managed and trained by Manuel Montiel Jr., brother of the five-time world champion Fernando Montiel.

“I am shocked and honored to be chosen to join the stable of Sampson Lewkowicz,” said Ramirez. “My dream of a world title shot will come true now that he is helping me and that was my goal all along. All I have to do is keep wining and my team will do the rest.”

Montiel, who also manages and trains Sampson Boxing super welterweight contender Jorge Cota, was also happy with the deal.

“I am grateful to Sampson for giving us this opportunity with another of my fighters. We have made him a commitment to work hard to always bring Eduardo into the ring in the best shape possible to go all the way to the world championship.”

For Lewkowicz, the addition of Ramirez and partnership with Montiel are another avenue to bring Mexican boxing talent to the forefront. The well-known promoter already works with such names as Jorge “Pilon” Lara and Hugo “Cuatito” Ruiz to name a few.

“I am working hard to bring more Mexican champions to the world,” he explained. “I’m very proud to sign Eduardo and bring him and his team the opportunities they have worked so hard to reach.”

Kenneth Sims Jr. Ready to Complete Performance this Friday Night as Part of ShoBox: The New Generation Triple Header

Undefeated super lightweight Kenneth Sims, Jr. (12-0, 4 KO’s) is looking for a complete performance when he takes on Rolando Chinea (14-1-1, 6 KO’s) of Lancaster, Pa., as the two prepare to meet in an eight-round bout on ShoBox: The New Generation on Friday, July 14 live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from Buffalo Run Casino in Miami, Okla.

The ShoBox telecast features eight returning fighters with a combined record of 94 wins against just four losses.

Dangerous southpaw Keenan “Killa” Smith, (11-0, 5 KOs), of Philadelphia will make his second appearance on the series as he takes on Ivan Baranchyk, (14-0, 10 KOs), a native of Minsk, Byelorussia fighting out of Miami, Okla., who is making his fifth appearance on the ShoBox series.

Plus, undefeated Glenn Dezurn (9-0, 6 KOs) will take on Adam Lopez (16-1-1, KOs) in an eight-round bantamweight clash. In the telecast opener, Joshua Greer (13-1-1, 5 KOs) will battle Leroy Davila (5-1, 3 KOs) in an eight-round super bantamweight bout.

Tickets for the event promoted by GH3 Promotions and Tony Holden Productions are priced at $35, $55, $65 and $75 and are available for purchase now at buffalorun.com.

Sims, a 2013 U.S. National Amateur Champion and a 2012 Olympic Trials semifinalist, continues to step up in level of opposition as he meets one of the most dangerous opponents of his career in his second ShoBox appearance.

The Chicago native has stayed active as a pro; he fought four times in 2016 and this will be his third start of 2017. In his last outing, he stopped Israel Villela with a third-round TKO.

The 23-year-old Sims was a sparring partner for Floyd Mayweather (when he was getting prepared for Andre Berto) and Manny Pacquiao (as he was getting ready for Mayweather). He is known for his boxing skills and ability to work the body.

“My camp has been great,” Sims said. “I feel like I am a lot mentally stronger going into this bout then I was for my last ShoBox fight. I was going through a lot and that was documented. ”

Sims was mourning the loss of close friend and undefeated welterweight, Ed Brown.

“This fight on Friday will be a case of me just going out there and doing what I need to do. I am just going to go out there to box and use my physical attributes, and make this fight easy.”

Sims will be looking to improve on his ShoBox performance when he took a unanimous decision from Emmanuel Robles on Jan 20.

“I think that fight helped me a lot going into this fight. It taught me that I can go eight hard rounds. I want to stay ready, and I plan on getting started earlier in the fight. I am going out there to have fun. That is when I am at my best.

“I will show everyone a big difference on Friday night. I have been working very hard, and I will be in better shape, and overall the fans will see a better Kenneth Sims.”

Said Sims promoter, Vito Mielnicki of GH3 Promotions, “Kenneth has all of the talent in the world, and on Friday I feel he will show it. He has a clear head going into this fight and is extremely focused. Chinea is a very solid opponent, and I feel that will bring the best out of Kenneth on Friday night.”

Posted on 02/18/2017

Roy Jones, Jr. Stops Bobby “Celtic Warrior” Gunn in Wilmington Friday!
By: Ken Hissner

David Feldman Promotions, King Promotions and Nelsonspromotion returned boxing to the Chase Center, in Wilmington, DE, for the first show in DE in over two years before a packed house.

In the Main event former six time three division world champion Roy Jones, Jr., 65-9 (47), of Pensacola, FL, stopped game Bobby “Celtic Warrior” Gunn, 21-7-1 (18), of Niagara Falls, CAN, at the end of the seventh round for the vacant World Boxing Foundation title fight.

In the opening round Jones showed a good jab as Gunn stalked him. It was a feeling out round. In the second round Jones started showing flashes of that once greatness. While Gunn kept coming forward he got Jones in the corner landing several punches to the body. In the third round Jones landed several lead right hands to the head of Gunn. In the second half of the fight Gunn got in several good body shots. Jones ended the round with a good left hook to the head while Gunn never stopped moving forward. In the fourth round Jones landed a good right hand to the chin of Gunn making the crowd shout out. Gunn would come back landing his best punch so far landing a hard left hook knocking the head of Jones back.

In the fifth round a Jones left hook found its mark on the nose of Gunn. Jones with his hands to his side again showed flashes of old. In the sixth midway through the round Jones landed a solid left uppercut to the head of Gunn. In the seventh round a lead right by Jones rocked Gunn making his legs wobble but Jones backed off. Gunn went back to his corner with a bloody nose that had blood covering his face. Just prior to the eighth round starting the ring physician put a stop to the fight. The referee was Bill Clancy.

“I want to give God all the glory. Bobby Gunn is one tough competitor,” said Jones. “I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Tonight was the highlight of my career being in the ring with Roy Jones, Jr. one of the all-time great boxers. This will be my last bout”, said Gunn.

Super featherweight southpaw Frank Santos, DeAlba, 21-2-2 (9), of Allentown, PA, defeated German Meraz, 55-42-1 (32), Sonora, MEX, over 6 rounds.

In the first round DeAlba landed more punches chasing Meraz for the first two rounds. In the third round it was more of the same with DeAlba chasing Meraz who got a couple punches in while in a clinch on the side of DeAlbas jaw. In the fourth and fifth rounds both boxers mixed it up more with Meraz clowning a bit. In the sixth and last round it was the best round of the fight as Meraz seemed to pull it out.

All 3 judges had it 60-54 while BI had it 59-55. Bill Clancy was the ref.

In the co-feature super welterweight contender born in China Kanat “The Kazak” Islam, 23-0 (19), of KAZ and residing in Pahokee, FL, impressively knocked out Robson “Robgal” Assis, 16-4 (9), of Sao Paulo, BRZ, at 2:12 of the first round.

In the first round Islam suffered a bad cut over his right eye due to a clash of heads. With blood streaming down the side of his face he went on the attack knocking out Assis with a right to the chin avoiding a technical decision. Referee Vic deWysocki counted him out.

“I want Canelo and anyone at super welterweight,” said Islam.

Returning after 27 months Lightweight “Joltin” Joey Tiberi, 14-2 (7), Newark, DE, stopped Bryan Timmons, 5-9 (5), of St. Joe, MO, at 2:04 of the fourth and final round.

In the opening round both boxers felt each other out with Timmons jab and one right hand to the chin of Tiberi got the best of Tiberi. In the second round Tiberi got in a good left hook to the chin of Timmons. Just before the bell Timmons got in a good right to the head of Tiberi. In the third round Tiberi seemed to have a slight edge landing several left hooks to the chin of Timmons. In the fourth and final round Tiberi had Timmons in trouble several times before a final flurry causing referee de Wysocki to halt the bout preventing Timmons from anymore punishment. The fans went nuts for Joey.

Cruiserweight Henry Stewart, 3-0 (1), of Ontario, CAN, won a majority decision over Martinez Williamson, 2-16 (0), of Akron, OH, over 4 rounds.

The first three rounds were close and dull. In the fourth and final round it was a close round as substitute Williamson barely had enough left to get through the round. deWysocki was the referee. Stewart is the cousin of Bobby Gunn.

Judges had it 38-38 and 39-37 twice.

Returning after 27 months heavyweight Lamont “the Problem Solver” Singletary, 8-1 (5), of Dover, DE, knocked out Dan “Bada Bing” Biddle, 9-6 (5), of Hockessin, DE, at 1:49 of the first round.

In the opening round Biddle came forward but ran into several punches to the head from Singletary. A right hand to the side of the head by Singletary knocked Biddle down and out as referee de Wysocki started the count then waved the fight over.

In the opening bout Dominican bantamweight Dagoberto Aguero, 11-0 (8), won a majority decisión over Olimjon Nazarov, 14-5- (8), of UZB, over 6 rounds.

In the first round Agüero danced around the ring using his jab as Nazarov on ocasión landed a good left hook. Agüero would stop and mix it up with Nazarov. More of the same in the second round with Agüero mixing it up a little more with Nazarov. In the third round they mixed it up more than in the first two rounds with Agüero getting the best of it.

In the fourth and fifth rounds each fighter got hard punches in as Agüero decided to mix it up more with Nazarov. In the sixth round more of the same except Nazarov landed a double left hook to the head of Agüero which was his best punches of the fight.

Judges scores were 58-56, 59-55 and 57-57. BI had it 60-54. deWysocki was the referee.

Female lightweight Ikram Kerwat, 7-1 (5), of Frankfurt, GER, decisioned Britain Hart, 2-1 (2), of Bedford, VA, over 4 rounds.

Kerwat took all 4 rounds by 40-36 defeating a game Hart. Clancy was the referee.

Posted on 02/14/2017

Roy Jones, Jr. and Bobby Gunn in a “Showdown” Friday in Delaware!
By: Ken Hissner

It was three years ago when Roy Jones, Jr., 64-9 (46) and Bobby Gunn, 21-6-1 (18) were to have met in the Sand’s Casino in Bethlehem, PA. Gunn instead met former champion Glen Johnson and lost all eight rounds. Jones at age 48 keeps fighting though losing three fights in a row in 2009, 2010 and 2011. He should have hung it up then but went on a club fighter barnstorm of winning eight in a row before getting knocked out by former cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarenelli in 2015.

“I’m very excited to be fighting Roy Jones, Jr. It is actually the highest most Prestige moment of my life in boxing. It is a legacy for me more than a title and I’m coming to win. Roy Jones, Jr., has been a great champion and an all-time great fighter. I am trying very hard and may the best man win,” said Gunn.

Jones disgraced the boxing world when in 2016 he had a contest for someone to meet him and faced the winner Vyron Phillips who had six amateur fights and no professional fights. Why the AZ commission ever sanctioned this match is beyond me. Jones stopped the amateur in the second round of a six round bout. Then Jones beats Rodney Moore who had lost nine bouts in a row. Is it a need for money or his ego that keeps Jones fighting?

Gunn is 71-0 with all knockouts as a bare knuckle fighter and one of the nicest people you want to meet. He too is in his 40’s at 43 and hasn’t fought since December of 2013 against Johnson. DE hasn’t had a show in over two years.

After Amir Mansour stopped fighting there DE was never the same. A young Omar “Super O” Douglas could have been developed into a main eventer but even his opposition was weak due to the matchmaking. He had to leave DE to become a contender.

David Feldman is the promoter and years ago he said he would bring boxing to DE and it looks like he has. There are six bouts listed on box rec with three more without opponents at the Chase Center in Wilmington. Let’s hope the main event doesn’t turn into a sparring session bringing another unneeded black eye to boxing. Feldman seems to have a decent undercard with Frank “Santos” De Alba, 20-2-2 fighting Ivan “Bam Bam” Najera, 16-3, in the co-feature. At stake in the main event and co-feature is for the vacant World Boxing Foundation World titles. Their representative is James Gibbs.

Posted on 08/10/2016

2016 Olympics Underway As Americans Look to Seek Gold!
By: Ken Hissner

The Olympic Games are in Rio, Brazil, with boxing opening up on Saturday but no Americans have fought yet through first 3 rounds.

There are 3 CA boxers and 2 from KS on the 10 man team of the USA. At Super heavyweight is Marlo Moore, of Hayward, CA, light heavyweight is Jonathan Esquivel, of Anaheim, CA, and at lightweight is Carlos Balderas, of Santa Maria, CA. At heavyweight is Cam Awesome, of Lenexa, KS, and at light flyweight Nico Hernandez, of Wichita, KS. At middleweight is Charles Conwell, of Cleveland Heights, OH. At welterweight is Philadelphia’s Paul Kroll. He is the lone Philadelphia boxer.

There were 3 others Philadelphia boxers who have turned professional after not winning a spot. The most talented is now welterweight Jaron “Boots” Ennis who has won by knockout in all 5 of his fights in 5 months. Moving up a weight class is Christian Carto who has won both of his bouts by stoppage. He will be making his Philadelphia debut August 26th at the Sugar House Casino. At super heavyweight Darmani Rock has won all of his 4 bouts, 3 by knockout in 4 months. 11-0 for the Philadelphia threesome who were Olympic Alternates in 2016.

At light welterweight is Gary Antuanne Russell, of Capitol Heights, MD. One of the boxers favored to get the Gold is Bantamweight Shakur Stevenson, of Newark, NJ. Rounding out the 10 team member is Antonio Vargas of Kissimmee, FL.
In some of the past history of the Olympics there have been 3 boxers who have won 3 Gold Medals. First was Hungary’s Laszlo Papp winning in 1948 in London, 1952 in Helsinki and 1956 in Melbourne. Promoter Lou Lucchese once told me he tried contacting Papp’s people hoping he would come to the US to fight then middleweight champion Joey Giardello out of Philadelphia. Next thing he knew the FBI was at his door. Seems Papp was not allowed to leave Europe per the Communist country of Hungary. After a bout in October of 1964 he was told he wasn’t allowed to fight again by the government and that he could not fight for a world title in 1965. He was 27-0-2 and European champion.

Then came the well-known Cuban heavyweight Teofilo Stevenson winning Gold in 1972 in Munich, 1976 in Montreal and 1980 in Moscow. Most recently Cuba’s heavyweight Felix Savon won Gold in 1992 in Barcelona, 1996 in Atlanta and 2000 in Sydney. Many rumors had Stevenson coming to the US to fight World Champion Muhammad Ali but they were only rumors. There was no way the Castro brothers were allowing Stevenson to come to the US and be exploited by Ali.

In 1904 in St. Louis American Oliver Kirk won Gold medals at 125 and dropped 10 pounds in a week to win at 115. Eddie Eagan (1920) won a pair of Gold Medals in boxing and part of the 4-man Bobsleigh. Cincinnati’s Rau’shee Warren competed in 3 Olympics in 2004, 2008 and 2012 without medaling. The USA team hasn’t won a Gold Medal since 2004 when Andre Ward took Gold at 178. 2000 was Gold empty. 1992 and 1996 brought in a Gold Medal apiece. The 1996 Gold medal went to Philadelphia’s David Reid. Oscar “Golden Boy” De la Hoya of East L.A. won Gold in 1992.

In 1988 there were 3 Gold medal winners. At Heavyweight Ray “Mercilless” Mercer. Kennedy McKinney took the Bantamweight Gold medal. Andrew Maynard won the Gold medal in the Light Heavyweight Division.
In 1984 without Russian, East Germany and Cuba competing the USA team took 9 Gold Medals. They were won by Paul Gonzales, Steve McCrory, Meldrick Taylor, Pernell Whitaker, Jerry Page, Mark Breland, Frank Tate, Henry Tillman and Tyrell Biggs.
The USA 1976 team in this writer’s opinion was the greatest Olympic team ever. They won 4 Gold Medals and all winners went onto win world titles in the professional ranks. They were John Tate, Michael and Leon Spinks along with “Sugar” Ray Leonard. This writer did a story about 1976 vs 1984 with Manny Steward of the Kronk Gym and Joe Clough of the Tacoma Boy’s Club who trained 5 Gold medalists along with this writer as judges. The 1976 team won 8-3.
1956 Heavyweight Gold Medalist Pete Rademacher made his professional debut losing to 1952 Gold Medal Olympian and then World Heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson. Current WBO Super featherweight champion Ukraine’s Vasyl Lomachenko was a two-time Gold Medalist in 2008 and in 2012. He challenged for a world title in his second pro fight losing. Then winning the WBO featherweight title in his third fight. He took his current title in his seventh fight.

There have been numerous Gold Medal winners who would go onto becoming world champions in the professional ranks. Starting with Ray Leonard (1976), and his teammates were Michael Spinks, Leon Spinks and Leo Randolph. Leon would win the world heavyweight title in his 8th fight defeating Muhammad Ali. From the 1984 team were Mark Breland, Meldrick Taylor, Pernell Whitaker, Evander Holyfield, Virgil Hill and Frank Tate.
Others were Italy’s Maurizio Stecca (1984), Cuba’s Joel Casamayor (1992), Ray Mercer (1988), Jackie Fields (1924), David Reid (1996), Hungary’s Istvan Kovacs (1996), Andre Ward (2004), Cuba’s Guillermo Rigondeaux (2000 and 2004) won the interim WBA World Super Bantamweight title in his 7th fight and in his 9th fight the WBA World Super Bantamweight tite, George Foreman (1968), Oscar De la Hoya (1992), Fidel La Barba (1924) UK’s Anthony Joshua (2012), Cuba’s Yuriorkis Gamboa (2004), Canada’s Lennox Lewis (1992), KAZ Vassiliy Jirov (1996), Italy’s Nino Benvenuti (1960), Muhammad Ali then Cassius Clay (1960), Argentina’s Pascual Perez (1948) and Joe Frazier (1964) to name a few.

There have been anywhere from 47 to 49 Gold Medals won by USA boxers since 1904. This writer counted 47 in 22 Olympics over a 112 year period. On the women’s team there is Claressa Shields who won a Gold medal in the 2012 Olympics. The other woman is Mikaela Mayer. The 3 men are Gary Antuanne Russell, Shakur Stevenson and Antonio Vargas. All 5 may be long shots but you never know in boxing especially this Olympics there will be no headgear. Let’s root them on!