Tag Archives: wbo

Posted on 09/19/2019

By: Shane Willoughby

As we all know both the IBF and WBO have waiting mandatory challengers for the winner of the Ruiz vs Joshua rematch.

There were fears earlier this year after the first bout, that Andy Ruiz might be stripped of the IBF belt, especially due to their strict standards. But they reassured the public that the WBO mandatory comes first.

Then both Governing bodies decided to sanction the rematch between Ruiz and AJ which meant that both belts will be on the line for the rematch. However, the winner of that fight will have heavy mandatory obligations; obligations that will be nearly impossible to uphold.

Currently, Oleksandr Usyk is mandatory for the WBO and Kubrat Pulev is mandatory for the IBF. Once the rematch takes place both governing bodies will enforce mandatories within a short period of time. Probably within a matter of months.

The reason why is because both the WBO and IBF haven’t had a mandatory defence since 2017, so by the time AJ and Ruiz rematch it will be almost 3 years since a mandatory has been faced for these sanctioning bodies.

By most governing bodies rules a champion should face a mandatory once a year depending on the situation. With it being such a long time since the belts have been defended, it is no surprise that both governing bodies are desperate to enforce mandatory fights.

The chances of the winner of fight between Ruiz and Joshua being stripped or vacating is extremely likely. As they will probably be asked to fight two fights within an unrealistic time period.

A similar scenario to this is when Fury defeated at the time unified champion Vladimir Klitschko. Once Fury collected all the straps, he was instantly stripped from the IBF belt due to him not fulfilling his mandatory obligations.

In this situation it will be the WBO as there mandatory is up next. However, unlike Fury, the most likely scenario is the WBO belt getting vacated. For many reasons.

One reason is because it will be impossible to fight both mandatories in such close proximity, so more than likely the winner will have to choose which between fighting Pulev and fighting Usyk. Many fighters will see Pulev as the easier opponent so they may look for the easier option.

If Ruiz beats Joshua again, with him being with Al Haymon it is likely they vacate the WBO anyway as PBC do not consider the governing bodies as a legitimate belt.

Whereas if AJ wins I’m almost certain he will vacate the WBO. The main reason is, with Usyk being signed to Matchroom, vacating the WBO will mean the belt stays in house, whereas if he was to vacate the IBF belt the chances of regaining the belt from Pulev and Top Rank will be near impossible.

It will be extremely likely that Eddie Hearn will advise him to vacate the WBO. In addition to that AJ has spoken about getting an easy opponent after the Ruiz rematch and as stated earlier Usyk is seen amongst boxing fans as a tricky opponent.

Posted on 06/10/2019

By: Shane Willoughby

The former undisputed Cruiserweight Champion of the world Oleksandr Usyk Has finally relinquished his WBO title as he looks to continue his career at Heavyweight.

The WBO title was actually the first belt the Ukranian won at the division against Krzysztof Glowacki in 2016, before he went on to complete the monopoly.

Oleksandr Usyk was set to make his heavyweight debut on the 25th May against Carlos Takam but injured his bicep in training. With Usyk unable to fight and his move to heavyweight inevitable, his belts had to be freed eventually.

The 2012 gold medallist relinquished his WBA title earlier this year and last week became the WBC emeritus champion, allowing the WBC title to become vacant. So him relinquishing the WBO belt came as no surprise.

Whilst Usyk return to the ring hasn’t yet been announced, it is certainly going to be at heavyweight. Which is interesting as it’s possible he can end up fighting for the same title he relinquished, just at heavyweight.

As a former WBO champion he moves up to heavyweight with the option to become mandatory. It is extremely likely that the WBO mandatory will be called this year.

However, with Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz scheduled for a rematch, the WBO could strip the title from Ruiz, similar to what the IBF did with Tyson Fury. Which means Usyk could fight for a vacant belt this year.

Either way, Oleksandr Usyk has many options moving forward and the winner of the 1st World Boxing Super Series at Cruserweight has expressed his hope for one at heavyweight.

What has already been a successful career, in only 15 fights becoming the first champion to hold all four belts at Cruiserweight. There is not much Usyk needs to do to cement his name in the hall of fame.

Posted on 05/28/2019

By: Shane Willoughby

Luis King Kong Ortiz has lost his place in the WBO Heavyweight rankings. The Cuban has won 3 fights since his defeat to Deontay Wilder for the WBC title.

Since then, the 40 year old has been linked with a potential rematch with Wilder at the end of the year and he was offered a reported $7 million dollars to fight Anthony Joshua on June 1st. However, that big money fight with AJ could be in doubt.

Ortiz isn’t ranked in either the WBA or the WBO rankings which are both titles AJ holds and without a top 15 Ranking a fight with Joshua can’t happen.

With that said, those minor technicalities are easily rectified with these governing bodies. When there is money to be made they can work miracles.

Just look at Tyson Fury, he beat Sefer Seferi and Francesco Pianeta and is ranked number 2 with the WBC. If that isn’t a miracle, then what is?

The question of why the WBO has dropped Ortiz remains a mystery. The former WBC title contender was ranked 8 last month with the WBO. But for no apparent reason he wasn’t placed in this months rankings.

The most plausible explanation is that the WBO doesn’t have an accurate perception of the division. Any rankings system that places Tom Schwarz at number 2 has to be questioned.

Not to mention them having 5 fighters in their top 15 that doesn’t appear in any other governing bodies rankings. In the WBO’s defence Ortiz hasn’t beaten anyone of significance in recent years.

Luis Ortiz most noticeable victory in the last 3 year’s was against Tony Thompson who is older than Ortiz, and that alone should be a good enough reason to drop him from their rankings.

Posted on 11/02/2018

By Jake Donovan

Isaac Dogboe’s upcoming 122-pound title defense versus Emanuel Navarrete was secured and announced long ago, but the pairing has suddenly taking on a new dynamic.

The December 8 clash serves as the chief support to the lightweight title unification bout between Vasyl Lomachenko and Jose Pedraza, with both fights airing live on ESPN from MSG’s Hulu Theatre in New York City.

Photo Credit: Isaac Dogboe Twitter Account

What was believed to be an optional defense for Dogboe, however, has now been classified as a mandatory title fight which—with a win—will open up his 2019 schedule.

The ruling came about during the World Boxing Organization’s (WBO) annual convention this week, recognizing Navarrete (25-1, 22KOs) as the leading available contender for Dogboe’s title. The 23-year old from Mexico City is ranked number two by the organization, right behind countryman and unbeaten contender Diego de la Hoya.

However, de la Hoya (21-0, 10KOs) and his team—which includes his first cousin and promoter, Hall of Fame former six-division titlist Oscar de la Hoya—decided a bit more grooming was required before chasing a title. The 24-year old from Mexicali, Mexico will instead fight in his hometown for the first time in his career—along with his first pro fight in Mexico in general—in a November 17 showcase headliner versus Venezuela’s Edixon Perez.

The decision came with the understanding that the winner of Dogboe-Navarrete will not be obligated to make a mandatory title defense until September 2019, a decision that came with de la Hoya’s blessing.

Should Dogboe prevail on December 8, it gives him plenty of room for an active 2019 campaign that could very well include a homecoming title defense in his native Ghana.

Such plans were part of his agreeing to a long-term co-promotional pact with Top Rank, under whose umbrella the unbeaten 24-year has fought since winning the title over Jessie Magdaleno earlier this year. The upcoming title defense versus Navarrette will already mark his fourth fight of 2018, all carrying title fight implications.

Dogboe (20-0, 14KOs) burst onto the scene in the first significant fight of 2018, stopping Cesar Juarez in the the 5th round of their interim title fight this past January in Accra, Ghana. It marked his 10th appearance in his home country, but also the last for the time being with his upcoming bout with Navarrete marking his third straight in the United States.

The win over Magdaleno—with both boxers hitting the canvas before Dogboe prevailed in the 11th round of their ESPN-televised thriller—marked his arrival as a major player in the 122-pound division, rising from adversity to bump off a previously unbeaten titlist. The feat came with the understanding that he’d inherit a mandatory challenger in Hidenori Otake.

Dogboe gladly obliged, destroying Japan’s Otake inside of one round this past August, also on ESPN where he has become a network favorite.

He’s also quickly become a favorite of Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, who remains eager to expand the boxer’s horizons.

“We are looking forward to exploring the opportunity for Isaac Dogboe to defend his world championship in 2019 in Ghana,” Arum noted upon extending their agreement in October. “Together with (father/trainer) Paul Dogboe and Mike Altamura (Dogboe’s co-manager) we will afford Isaac opportunities to win championships in multiple weight divisions.”

Providing he continues his winning ways in December, the sky’s the limit—at least for the next nine months, thereafter.

Posted on 10/19/2018

By: Sean Crose

Major boxing returns to Boston on Saturday as Demetrius Andrade (25-0) faces Walter Kautondura (17-0) for the vacant WBO middleweight title strap. Andrade was originally supposed to face England’s Billy Joe Saunders, who won the belt after dominating David Lemieux last year. Saunders tested positive for a banned substance, however, and found himself without his title and without the ability to fight in Massachusetts. Therefore, Andrade will be facing a less well known opponent in Kantondura on Saturday, a knockout artist with a perfect record. Should he win, Andrade can expect an interesting future, especially now that middleweight kingpin Canelo Alvarez has signed on with DAZN, which airs Andrade’s fights.

Photo Credit: Demetrius Andrade Twitter Account

Tevin Farmer (26-4-1) will also be on the card. He’ll be defending his IBF Super Featherweight title against James Tennyson (22-2). Farmer, who is happy to now be teamed with DAZN, Eddie Hearn, and Lou DiBella, has his eyes on the future, but remains focused on Tennyson. ““I have a big fight on Saturday,” says Farmer, “and I’m not over-looking James. You don’t get to this level for no reason and I know he’s going to come to fight and try to beat me, but that’s not going to be easy – he needs to make sure he brings his A-game.” Should he emerge victorious on Saturday, Farmer has another known fighter in his sights.

“I want to fight Gervonta Davis,” he says.

Ireland’s Katie Taylor (10-0) will be fighting as well at the Garden this weekend. Making her third appearance in the United States, Taylor will be defending her WBA and IBF lightweight titles against the 27-5-3 Cindy Serrano of Brooklyn. Taylor is particularly pleased with the fight’s location. “The fact it’s in Boston means it’s going to be like a home from home for me in there with all the Irish support,” says Taylor.

England’s Kid Galahad will likewise be fighting on the card. The undefeated 24-0 Englishman will face the 25-1- Toka Kahn Clary. Both men will walk into the scheduled 12 round match with much to prove. An impressive win will help move the victor along in his career. Clary, who fights out of nearby Rhode Island, may have the advantage of having the live crowd before him. Yet Galahad is looking to impress as he makes his American debut.

The fights will air live on the DAZN streaming service beginning at 9 PM eastern standard time on Saturday evening.

Posted on 10/11/2018

By Jake Donovan

Demetrius Andrade and Walter Kautondokwa no longer have to worry about vying for interim title status, as their October 20 clash in Boston will now come with the full World Boxing Organization (WBO) middleweight title at stake.

The development is just the latest plot twist in a main event that continues to change in principals and significance.

“Just confirmed from (Francisco) Paco Valcárcel (WBO President)—Demetrius ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade (versus) WBO #2 (Walter) Kautondokwa will now be for vacant 160 lb. WBO world title,” Eddie Hearn, Andrade’s promoter confirmed Thursday on social media.

The bout—which will air live on streaming service DAZN USA—itself is Plan B to the originally scheduled title fight showdown between unbeaten challenger Andrade and undefeated British middleweight Billy Joe Saunders for the latter’s title. Those plans were scrapped on Tuesday, when Saunders—who tested positive for banned substance Oxilofrine on August 31—was denied a boxing license by the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission.

Saunders and his promoter, Frank Warren threatened to appeal the outcome as well as any negative ruling that would come from WBO who previously stated that the defending titlist would be stripped should be not be able to compete on October 20.

Such actions are well within the bylaws of the WBO, who earlier in the week declared that Andrade and Kautondokwa would compete for the interim title. They were prepared to hear Saunders’ case before making a final decision, but instead had it made for them.

“We did not strip (Saunders) of the title,” Valcárcel clarified to BoxingInsider.com when asked of Saunders’ current status. “He relinquished the belt voluntarily. The (Andrade-Kautondokwa) fight will now be for the vacant title.”

Just like that, Andrade (25-0, 16KOs) is now right back in the mix to compete for a major title in his second weight division. The 30-year old from Providence, Rhode Island has seen an uneven run in the pro ranks following his time as a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic boxing team, but has remained undefeated and managed two title reigns at 154 pounds.

Andrade only managed one defense between the two tours—a 7th round stoppage over mercifully outgunned Brian Rose in June ‘14—before being stripped while his career fell in promotional disarray.

Inactivity has plagued his career, but he still managed to position himself for a title fight with Jack Culcay last March. Andrade traveled to Germany and managed a split decision win on the road to win a secondary title, but vacated without a single defense in favor of a middleweight campaign. Just one fight has followed, a 12-round victory over Alantez Fox last October—which will have come exactly 52 weeks ago come fight night.

Meanwhile, Kautondokwa (17-0, 16KOs) takes a major step up in class as he also makes his stateside debut.

The 33-year old from Namibia has not fought since registering a 5th round knockout of Argentina’s Billi Godoy in his hometown of Windhoek, Namibia, where the bulk of his five-year career has taken place. As far back as his knockout win over Obodai Sai last June in Ghana–his one career bout outside of Namibia—he has lobbied for a shot at Saunders.

Now he winds up taking his place.

By relinquishing his title, Saunders officially ends a title reign that dates back to his Dec. ’15 win over Andy Lee but has been marred by injuries, numerous fight cancellations and erratic out-of-the-ring behavior.

In all, just three defenses came of Saunders reign—none since a 12-round whitewash of former titlist David Lemieux last December—while seeing more than a half-dozen fights either canceled outright or falling apart at the negotiating table.

The past several weeks haven’t been too kind, to say the least. Saunders found himself in the midst of a food fight with heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder in August, flinging a chicken dinner at the unbeaten American before fleeing the scene.

The two hugged it out the very next day, but it was the least of Saunders’ troubles. He was issued a hefty £100,000 fine by the British Boxing Board of Control for having offered a local woman (and apparent drug addict) £150 worth of drugs to perform a sex act. The incident was not only captured on video, but posted on social media by Saunders, who later apologized for his actions and accepted the fine.

His troubles further compounded in late September, when it was revealed he’d failed an August 31 test through Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA). Because the substance for which he tested positive came “out-of-competition”, he was cleared by United Kingdom Anti-Doping (UKAD) and the BBBoC.

The Massachusetts commission wasn’t as kind, as stateside commissions tend to take VADDA test results at face value. Simply, a zero tolerance policy is recognized rather than distinguishing between substances being ingested in or out of competition.

No other disciplinary action has come of the session, although Valcárcel announced on Thursday his intentions to suggest to the WBO Executive Committee that Saunders be issued a six-month suspension for his action.

Posted on 01/24/2018

By: Ken Hissner

The WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO have taken 8 divisions to 17 and a top 10 contenders list to 15 but has it been good for boxing? Let’s see and find out what they have done.

The oldest is the World Boxing Association which in 1921 was founded as the National Boxing Association. In 1962 it became the WBA. It has bounced back and forth from 1975 in Panama to Venezuela in the 1990’s and early 2,000’s and back to Panama in 2007.

Gilberto Mendoza of Venezuela was President from 1982 until his death in 2016. His son Gilberto Jr. took over at that time. It’s been said they are the worst for honoring champions.

The World Boxing Council came about in February of 1963 when Mexican President Adolfo Lopez Mateos called a meeting and under 11 countries including the US, PR, ARG, UK, FR, MEX, PH, PAN, Chile, Peru, VZ & BRZ. Presidents included Luis Spota, Ramon G. Velazqez both of Mexico. Then Justinano V. Montano, Jr. of the Philippines with Jose Sulaiman of Mexico becoming President from 1975 until his death in 2014. Then his son Mauricio took over.

The started drug testing first. They have increased the champions from 8 to 43. They have Silver, Green, interim and many off shoot belt holders.

The International Boxing Federation (then USBA) was formed in the US with a strong contingence from South Korea. In December of 1983 Heavyweight champion Larry “The Easton Assassin” was complaining (what’s new with him?) about fighting these “young lions” so Bob Lee who had failed in an attempt to become the WBA President in 1982 formed the IBF. Holmes then could defend against such boxers as Scott Frank and Marvis Frazier whose father “Smokin” Joe Frazier put him in with Holmes though his son only had 10 fights. Holmes was 44-0 at the time with 17 defenses. Needless to say Marvis only lasted 2:57. After the mismatch Holmes declared “that’s for all the whippings your daddy gave me in the gym!” Lee already headed the United States Boxing Association out of New Jersey so making boxers like Holmes champion automatically would bring in financial gains for Lee.

The two paragraphs prior to this were from this writer. The following is right from the IBF in part which I am thankful for their contribution.

The idea to form the United States Boxing Association (USBA) materialized in September of 1976 when the organizers decided it was time to form a new organization based in the US and comprised of legitimate boxing commissioners from the United States and its territories. Twenty-four US Commissions came together in April of 1977 to consider the structure or the organization. The association’s first convention was held in December 1977 at which the constitution and by-laws were adopted and the USBA was well on its way to play a major role in US boxing.

In its early years the USBA served as a springboard for it boxers to the rankings of the World Boxing Association (WBA), one of the two international sanctioning bodies at the time. In April of 1983 the members of the USBA voted to expand the organization and create an international division during the annual convention in Atlantic City, NJ.

The move to branch out was led by Robert W. Lee, Sr., who subsequently was voted the entity’s founding president. He was working as deputy commissioner for the NJ State Athletic Control board. He had reached the position of second vice-president of the WBA and had run for the presidency in 1980 and lost. It was then that he began seeking support to expand the USBA internationally.

In 1984, a vote was passed to change the name of the organization to the name it currently operates under, the International Boxing Federation. The IBF began rating female boxers in June of 2010, and crowned its first female champion Daniella Smith, in November of the same year.

As the organization continued to grow and prosper on a global scale, its leaders convened once again to address the organization’s name. In January 2018, the sanctioning body announced it would conduct business as the IBF. The USBA title would still exist as a regional title under the umbrella of the IBF.

The last to join the organizations and is still sometimes left out is the World Boxing Organization (WBO) founded in 1988 in Puerto Rico as a non-profit after attending the WBA convention. Its first president was Ramon Pina Acevedo of the Dominican Republic. He would be followed by former world champion Jose Torres of PR. In 1996 he retired being replaced by the current President Francisco Varcacel a PR lawyer.

In 2004 the WBC started putting the WBO champions in their ratings while the IBF didn’t until 2007. One of their most recognized champions would be Joe Calzaghe from Wales who made 21 defenses in the Super Middleweight division retiring with a 46-0 record. He didn’t come to the US until his last 2 bouts defeating Bernard “the Executioner” Hopkins and Roy Jones, Jr.

The WBO’s first heavyweight champion to oppose the other organizations Mike Tyson was Italy’s Olympian Francisco Damiani. “Merciless” Ray Mercer took care of Damiani with one uppercut to the nose in 1991. In Mercer’s next fight after blasting out Tommy “The Duke” Morrison he vacated the title. Then got out boxed by a much older Holmes. In 1992 he tried to re-gain the title which was held by Wladimir Klitschko of the UKR getting stopped in 6 rounds.

The WBO was mainly recognizing European and Asian with the UK boxers to follow in the beginning before coming to the US with success. The WBO has now some 16 world champions.

Posted on 12/12/2017

By: Ken Hissner

The new WBO Welterweight champion Jeff “The Hornet” Horn, 17-0-1 (11), makes his first title defense Wednesday at the Convention & Exhibition Centre, in Brisbane, Australia. He will feel at home living in Brisbane as he defends his title against his No. 10 contender the British and WBO Inter-Continental champion Gary “Hellraiser” Corcoran, 17-1 (7), of London, UK.

Horn won the title in his last fight in July over former WBC World Flyweight, IBF Super bantamweight, IBF World Featherweight, WBC Super Featherweight, WBC World Lightweight and WBO World Welterweight Champion Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao, 59-6-2, by scores of 117-111, 115-113 twice, at the Suncorp Stadium, in Bribane in July of 2017. The fight was close enough that Pacquiao has demanded a rematch in April in the Philippines when as a Senator of that country he is on break. I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one!
The 29 year-old Horn has a win over former IBF World Welterweight Champion Randall “Knock Out-King” Bailey, 46-9 and the WBO African Champion Ali Funeka, 39-6-3. Corcoran’s trainer Frank Greaves has complained that Horn has a reputation for coming forward and using a head butt. The allegation is strongly refuted by the Horn camp.

The 27 year-old Corcoran has defeated other unbeaten boxers such as Rick Skelton, 13-0, Rick Goddine, 21-0-1, Liam Williams, 14-0-1, and in July in his last fight over Larry Ekundayo, 12-0.

The Horn camp may be looking past Corcoran having their eyes on Terence Crawford who holds all the four super lightweight title and recently announced he is moving up to welterweight. He is also targeting IBF Champion Errol Spence and WBA & WBC Champion Keith Thurman according to trainer Glenn Rushton. “Jeff has trained for a 12 round bout but I want him to score the knockout. I want this to be a big statement to the rest of the welterweight division,” said Rushton. Horn’s only non-win was against Rivan Cesaire in 2013 but stopped Cesaire in 2014. Horn has never fought out of Australia.

It’s already been announced that American Benjy Esteves, Jr., will be the referee. This writer considers him one of the world’s best having seen him on numerous occasions.

The championship fight will be broadcasted over ESPN 6:30AM EST.

Posted on 09/23/2017

By: William Holmes

Tucson Arena in Tucson, Arizona was the host site for tonight’s broadcast of Top Rank Boxing on ESPN and featured two world title fights which featured two popular Mexican boxing stars.

The co-main event of the night was between Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and Jessie Hart for Ramirez’s WBO Super Middleweight Title and the main event was between Oscar Valdez and Genesis Servania for Valdez’s WBO Featherweight Title.

Photo Credit: Top Rank Boxing

The undercard featured several up and coming prospects, including Irish Olympian Michael Conlan. Tonight’s card was supposed to start on ESPN, but the baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers ended later than expected and the fight card started on ESPN News.

Michael Conlan (3-0) opened up the telecast against Kenny Guzman (3-0) in the featherweight division in a six round bout.

Conlan has 340 fights as an amateur compared to 47 amateur fights for Kenny Guzman, who also works a full-time carpenter.

The first round was more of a feeling out round as Guzman was able to land some decent shots but Conlan was clearly the better technical boxer. Conlan switched to a southpaw stance midway through the first round with some moderate success.

Conlan switched back into an orthodox stance and was sitting on his punches more in the second round. Guzman’s left eye was showing signs of swelling and blood was coming from his nose as he was taking some heavy shots from Conlan. Conlan landed a heavy right hand in the final ten seconds of the second round that sent Guzman falling backwards to the mat. He was able to get back up before the count of ten but was still wobbly and the referee waived off the fight.

Michael Conlan wins by TKO at 2:59 of the second round.

The next fight of the night was for the WBO Super Middleweight Title between Jesse Hart (22-0) and Gilberto Ramirez (35-0).

Ramirez was slightly taller than Hart, who was active with his jab early on. Hart was very active while circling and was able to stay on the outside in the opening round.

Hart continued to stay active with his jab into the second round and appeared to be a little hesitant of Ramirez’s power. Hart had a habit of ducking his head low when he gets in tight and Ramirez was able to take advantage of that with a short right uppercut that sent Hart crashing to the mat. Hart was able to get back to his feet and survive the round, but he was badly hurt.

Hart had a decent third round and was given time to recover from a low blow by Ramirez, but Ramirez had an excellent fourth round and appeared close to stopping Jesse Hart several times during that round.

Ramirez kept up the pressure in the fourth and fifth rounds and was landing a high number of power shots. Hart was able to slip in a few shots of his own, but he also lost his balance several times in the corner of the ring.

Hart may have stolen some of the middle rounds from the sixth round to the ninth as he was able to land some decent counter shots and avoid getting hurt again. Hart had a very strong ninth round with good straight right hands, but Ramirez showed a strong chin and was able to continue to walk forward.

Both boxers left everything in the ring in the championship rounds with both boxers landing heavy blows and absorbing heavy punishment. But Ramirez ended the final round as the aggressor.

It was an entertaining and competitive bout. The judges scored it 115-112, 115-112, and 114-113 for Gilberto Ramirez.

The main event of the night was between Oscar Valdez (22-0) and Genesis Servania (29-0) for the WBO Featherweight Title.

Servania is a Filipino boxer who trains in Japan. This was his first professional fight outside of Asia.

Servania showed a lot of head movement early on and had some success with his left hook, but Valdez was far more active and was landing good shots to the body.

Valdez was in control in the second and third rounds and simply out landed the constantly coming forward Servania.

Servania was able to score a flash knockdown in the fourth round on Valdez as he was backing away with his hands down. Valdez was in some trouble at the end of the round when Servania was able to catch him off guard with a good combination.

Valdez turned the tide of the fight back in his favor in the fifth round when a clean left hook sent Servania crashing to the mat. Servania was able to get back to his feet and slug it out with Valdez as the round came to an end, but he was badly hurt.

Servania may have stolen the sixth round with a round ending combination, but Valdez outworked Servania for most of the round. Valdez appeared settled in the seventh round and was the more aggressive fighter.

Valdez’s body work won him the eighth round and he was cruising by the ninth. Sevania, to his credit, never stopped coming forward despite the constant barrage of punches.

Servania was reaching for his punches in the tenth and eleventh round and never had Valdez in trouble. Vadez just continued to pile up the points by throwing at Servania whenever he got in range.

The final round was exciting as Servania came right at Valdez to exchange to start the final round and took several risks throughout, but his punches just weren’t powerful enough to hurt Valdez or put him down again.

Oscar Valdez defends his title with scores of 116-110, 119-111, 117-109.

Posted on 08/06/2017

By: William Holmes

Top Rank Promotions continued their relationship with ESPN tonight by placing one of boxing’s pound for pound superstars, Vasyl Lomachenko, on the main event in a WBO Junior Lightweight Title Bout.

The Microsoft theater in Los Angeles, California was the host site for tonight’s card with an announced attendance of 4,102. The NFL Pro Football Hall of Fame ended late and the first undercard fight was shown on ESPN2.

Photo Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Arnold Barboza Jr. (16-0) and Jonathan Chicas (15-2) started off the telecast halfway through the bout and both boxers scored a knockdown by the sixth round.

The crowd responded well to this bout as Chicas was going for an upset and had Barboza hurt several times throughout the bout.

The final scores were 76-74, 77-73, and 78-72 for Arnold Barboza Jr,

The next bout of the night was between Raymundo Beltran (33-7-1) and Bryan Vasquez (36-2) in the lightweight division.

Vasquez came in overweight and was unable to fight for Beltran’s titles. However, Beltran looked significantly bigger than Vasquez inside the ring.

Both boxers started off in the orthodox stance in the first round and Beltran was showing good head movement while landing his straight right hands and counter lefts. Vasquez switched stances during the first round, but was not effective with it.

Beltran went to the body more I the second round and landed several hard shots in the last thirty seconds. Vasquez tripped Beltran at the end of the round.

Vasquez started off the third round strong but Beltran took over in the second half of the round. Beltran’s best combination of this round started off with two hooks to the body followed by a left hook to the head.

Vasquez was able to land an impressive wind up right uppercut on Beltran in the fourth round, but Beltran walked right through it and seemed unaffected. Beltran had Vasquez backing up with jabs to the body and head in the fifth round but may have been out landed by Vasquez during their exchanges.

Vasquez appeared to be more willing to exchange in the sixth round, but Beltran’s punches were noticeably more effective and had more pop behind them. Beltran landed an impressive right hook around the high guard of Vasquez in the seventh and looked to be establishing firm control of the fight.

Vasquez had a decent eighth round and proved to be elusive for Beltran and at the start of the ninth round Beltran had a cut by his right eye.

Vasquez and Beltran clashed heads in the tenth and Vasquez probably needed a knockout to win. The blood was obscuring the vision of Beltran but he was able to avoid succumbing to a last round knockdown.

Beltran was bloodied but walked away with a close win. The final scores were 95-95, 96-94, and 96-94.

The main event of the evening was between WBO Junior Lightweight Champion Vasyl Lomachenko (8-1) and Miguel Marriaga (25-2).

Both boxers showed a lot of upper body movement in the opening round but Lomachenko was the boxer that was applying the pressure. Marriaga was able to land the early punches but Lomachenko began to land some good combinations as the round came to an end.

The pressure by Lomachenko continued in the second round and he was able to land hard left uppercuts and punches from all angles.

Marriaga was tagged with hard lefts to the head and body in the third round as Lomachenko was starting to settle into his grove. Lomachenko landed two consecutive straight left hands on Marriaga that sent him to the mat. Marriaga was able to get back to his feet and Lomachenko willingly backed into a corner and waived Marriaga forward. Marriaga came forward and threw several punches at Lomachenko, but was not able to land anything of significance.

Lomachenko’s pressure continued into the fifth round but he suffered a cut near his left eye due to a clash of heads.

Lomachenko’s pressure and hand speed had Marriaga back pedaling while getting peppered from all angles in the sixth and seventh rounds. Marriaga looked like he was hurt in the sixth round from a consistent body attack by Lomachenko.

Lomachenko looked like he was going for the stoppage in the seventh round as he was landing heavy shots and taking a lot of risks. Lomachenko was able to score a late round knockdown and Marriaga looked mentally defeated as he went back to his corner.

Marriaga’s corner told the referee their fighter was unable to continue before the start of the eighth round.

Vasyl Lomachenko dazzles once again with a 7th round TKO.

Posted on 08/01/2017

By: Eric Lunger

WBO Heavyweight Champion Joseph Parker (23-0, 18 KOs) of New Zealand will fight for the first time in England on September 23, making his second title defense against the talented challenger Hughie Fury, cousin to lineal champion Tyson Fury. I had a chance last Thursday to speak with Joseph from his training camp in Las Vegas.

Photo credit: http://photosport.co.nz/

We began with a brief look back at Parker’s successful defense of his WBO title against Razvan Cojanu (16-3, 9 KOs) on May 6. A sparring partner in Parker’s camp, the towering Romanian stepped in as a late minute replacement for Hughie Fury, who had been sidelined by a back injury. The event narrowly avoided being cancelled entirely.

Boxinginsider.com: First of all, congrats on a successful defense. Razvan Cojanu was so familiar with your style and your offense — how did you stay disciplined with his constant retreating and avoiding your offense?

Joseph Parker: Yes, it was a little difficult fighting someone you have been in camp with. But first, it was a great result for us and it was great to get a fight after a long camp. I’d like to thank my team for doing that. There were a lot of things in the background, so it was great to get the fight.

​In terms of the fight, I think sparring gave him a lot of awareness of what my style is, and how I fight. He was a lot more prepared for what I was going to bring. How I stayed focused was to listen to Kevin, listen to instructions, and to follow the game plan he had given me that week.

BI: In a fight like that, do you guys change your tactics round-to-round? Are you waiting for Kevin to direct you between rounds? How does that dynamic work between you guys?

JP: We go into every fight with a game plan that we discuss before hand, so we have a clear vision of what we are going to do in the ring, though sometimes we may have to change it up if its not working – we may have to go from Plan A to Plan B. But in that particular fight, the goal for us was just to box smart, you know, we went from training for Fury to Cojanu, who has a lot more size. So we had to change things up very quickly. I think we did a great job, and the positive thing was to get a fight in.
​I know that my performance wasn’t the best; I was in great shape but it wasn’t a great performance. We had a long camp and I would rate my performance at about 65%. I have a lot more to offer and I am really excited to be able to show people the real me without all the changes and distractions.

BI: It seemed in the early rounds that you really focused on changing the level of your jab, going upstairs and then down to the body. Is that something you had prepped for Hughie or is that just the way you are going to deal with a taller fighter?

JP: Yeah, I think this is an approach we’ve taken in both camps; you have to attack the head and the body. Sometimes the body shots hurt more, so I think going into fights with taller opponents it is very important to mix it up – I feel like its just a natural thing to go up and down.

BI: Joseph, how do you guys prepare mentally to go into Manchester, the Furys’ backyard? It’s going to be a pro-Fury crowd, and is that something you are concerned about, or can you just tune that stuff out?

JP: Well, for us, it’s going to be exciting. The reason I say this is because we are used to fighting at home. We are used to the crowd, we appreciate our home crowd. We have a great set up and structure we follow when we fight in New Zealand.

But this is way more exciting, fighting somewhere else, fighting in front of his crowd, and I think being a world champion, you have to fight around the world, and not just one destination. I think it is important to go around the world and display what you have.

BI: Hughie Fury, from what I have seen, is a counter puncher. He has that awkward head movement, and he tries to lure opponents in. How much do you game plan for that, or how much do you say: I am Joseph Parker, you have to beat me? Where is that balance?

JP: I have watched some of Hughie’s fights on YouTube. He is quite good at using the ring, I’ll say that. I think going into each fight, we focus on a game plan, focusing on what you have to do. It’s more that if you can perfect what you are going to do, everything falls into place. We don’t fall into the trap of worrying what he will do, rather focus on what we will do.

BI: I don’t mean this in the wrong way, but you have kind of an old time double jab. Is that something that you guys work on, or is that something that is natural in your style?

JP: It’s something that I really love, it is something we worked on. I used the double jab a lot in my early fights and it’s something that has fallen off a bit, but I feel now it is very important to bring it back. But we are working all the time on things we can improve on. We want to improve every fight, you know.

BI: The more weapons in your arsenal, the better?

JP: Of course, you have got to have different weapons. And with different weapons you can show things and confuse fighters. So it is always a work in progress.

BI: You’re in your second week, what is camp like at this point?

JP: Getting our fitness back up again, getting our strength, working on the game plan. Trying to explore with my mind’s eye what I am trying to accomplish in each session. Also, the first few weeks are preparing for when we do start sparring.

BI: Do you have specific fitness metrics that you use or do you rely on how your body is feeling?

JP: We have a good structure – we train three times a day. But the training does take a toll on the body. One thing that Kevin has mentioned to me is that it is very important to listen to your body, sometimes it is not really up to the hard repetition. You don’t want to overwork yourself. I have been doing this for a while, and it is all about finding a balance.

BI: What’s it like that last couple of hours before a bout? What are you guys doing back in the changing room? Are you staying loose? Are you talking? What is that final preparation like?

JP: For myself, and my team, when we are back there, most of the time the music is playing, everyone is dancing, we’re telling jokes. I feel like I have done this from the beginning [of my career], I feel like it’s a good way of keeping ourselves relaxed. When you are in the ring, then you hit the switch and enter fight mode. But before that, you stay relaxed, save your energy. You know you have a big task ahead of you.

BI: That’s really interesting. To switch gears a bit, I watched the press conference on July 11 [from London, England] where Tyson Fury, a guy I think the US media doesn’t really know how to deal with, who has been kind of vilified — he was so respectful towards you in the press conference. That moment when you guys shook hands was such a classy and genuine thing. Can you comment on that?

JP: Yes. Leading up to our time in London, I have always had a lot of respect for Tyson, and I reached out to him on social media. We have been exchanging messages for a while. He has always been respectful of me and the team. It was great to finally meet him. He has done a lot for boxing. Of course, he beat Wladimir [Klitschko]. He’s the guy who beat the champ. He has been through some things, but he also is the reason we got the chance to fight for a belt.

​But it was a nice moment to show heavyweight to heavyweight respect. I think respect is an important thing in boxing. There are a lot of humble fighters, but there are some who are disrespectful, and don’t watch what they say. I think boxing is a gentleman’s sport.

BI: Thanks for that. Last question: England has become in some ways the center of gravity for the Heavyweight division, but here in the US we have [WBC Champion] Deontay Wilder. Have you ever seen him fight in person? What is your take on him?

JP: I saw him fight in his last bout, against Washington. I think he was out of the ring for a while [with a broken hand], but my take on him was that he is very powerful, very powerful right hand. That particular fight wasn’t his best performance, but he got the job done. I think he steps up to the occasion. He is a champion for a reason: he trains hard, and is motivated and determined. I would like the opportunity one day to fight the other champions. I feel like the world should see champions fighting champions.

Posted on 07/10/2017

The World Boxing Super Series Begins
By: Matthew N. Becher

Over the past weekend, the newly created World Boxing Super Series held its very first draft, for its very first tournament. The premise of the new tournament is an open competition for any professional boxer that is ranked in the top 15 of the major sanctioning bodies systems.

In theory the best fighters would face off against one another, until the last man was standing, thus making him the #1 boxer in that weight class. Simple. That is the easy part, the hard part is getting the best fighters to all participate in such a tournament, with everyone having different promoters and so forth. Fortunately, it seems to have worked out for the initial Cruiserweight Tournament.

The seeding of the tournament went as follows. The top 4 fighters were ranked 1-4 by the WBSS, with the four belt holders getting the top rankings.

1: Oleksander Usyk (WBO)
2: Murat Gassiev (IBF)
3: Mairis Briedis (WBC)
4: Yunier Dorticos (WBA)

Then from 1-4, the fighter was allowed to pick or draft his opponent from a group of 4 boxers, for their first round fight. (An exception was made for Gassiev, who had a mandatory against Krzysztof Wlodarczyk. That fight was picked for him)

The first round of the tournament looks like this.

Oleksander Usyk (12-0 10KO) v. Marco Huck (40-4-1 27KO)
Murat Gassiev (24-0 17KO) v. Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (53-3-1 37KO)
Mairis Briedis (22-0 18KO) v. Mike Perez (22-2-1 14KO)
Yunier Dorticos (21-0 20KO) v. Dmitry Kudryashov (21-1 21KO)

Literally the best of the best in the Cruiserweight division will be competing against each other, until one is standing with all the belts, the inaugural Muhammad Ali Trophy and possibly a $1 million dollar bonus for advancing though semifinals and the championship round.

The tournament is slated to begin in early September and rap up by Mary of next year. The location of the fights have yet to be determined and will be placed in locations that match up well for each fight.

“To unify a division and spotlight a division that has clearly been underappreciated, even though the fights in the ring are always among the most exciting in the sport, irrespective of the division, that those four champions, if you look at the record – they are all undefeated. Most of their wins, the vast majority have come by knockout. So these are all big punchers, undefeated. I’m really excited,” said Richard Schaefer, the Chairman of the Americas for Comosa, who helped put this field together alongside fellow promoter Kalle Sauerland (the Chief Boxing Officer for Comosa).

This is a very exciting tournament for boxing and especially for the roll out of the new World Boxing Super Series. With formats like this, expect many division to start falling in line and possibly getting to see the best match up against the best in the near future.

Posted on 07/06/2017

Valentin and Santillan Put Undefeated Records on the Line
By: James Cullinane

Welterweights Clash July 7 in Tampa for WBO NABO Championship

Undefeated Sammy ‘Hurricane’ Valentin (12- 0; 9 KO) puts his WBO North American Boxing Organization (NABO) Welterweight title on the line when he faces undefeated Giovanni “Gallo de Oro” Santillan (21-0; 11 KO) in the main event of All-Star Boxing’s ‘Red, White and Boom’ boxing card July 7 in Tampa, Florida.

In the final presser before the fight, both fighters appeared relaxed ahead of their contest this Friday. “Each fight has its own challenges and Giovanni is a good fighter,” Valentin replied when asked about facing another undefeated boxer in Santillan. “But we had a good camp and I’m ready.”

“We’ve been training hard for this fight,” Santillan added when asked his thoughts on the matchup. “It’s going to be a great fight.” Santillan, who traveled to Tampa from San Diego, was later asked about fighting away from home and, in light of the Pacquiao/Horn decision less than a week ago that some saw as swayed by the hometown crowd, the possibility of losing a close fight if it goes to the scorecards. “It has to be a convincing win, or a KO,” he matter-of-factly acknowledged.

On paper, this looks like it could be a very good fight. Valentin, from Tampa and rep’d by All-Star Boxing, is coming off an impressive first-round knockout in his last fight in April. He is currently ranked #9 in the WBO’s Top Ten Welterweights. A victory over Santillan would solidify his position as a legitimate contender in, arguably, the most stacked, most exciting division in boxing.

Santillan, rep’d by Thompson Boxing Promotions, won a unanimous decision his last outing in February to keep his ‘goose egg’ and remain undefeated as a professional. With nearly double the fights under his belt, Santillan has the ring experience to present Valentin with his biggest challenge to date. In fact, Box Rec has Santillan positioned higher than Valentin in its ranking system, setting the table for what should be an explosive, post-fourth of July showdown.

In attendance with the fighters at the press conference was WBO President Francisco Valcarcel who also referenced the Pacquiao/Horn fight by pointing out the winner of Friday’s contest stands a good chance of being considered for a fight with new WBO Welterweight Champion Jeff Horn.

“That should be good motivation for both fighters,” he quipped, seated between the two boxers, grasping each by their wrist and eliciting a smile from both.

WBO’s Valcarcel, along with Felix “Tuto” Zabala, Jr. and Ruben DeJesus from All-Star Boxing, Inc., were on hand not only to introduce the fighters to the press, but to make a financial donation to the Children’s Cancer Center located in Tampa and where the press conference was held.

Patty O’Leary, Executive Director of the Children’s Cancer Center, graciously accepted the donation, presented to her by Santillan and Valentin on behalf of
Valcarcel and the WBO family.

“Cancer and boxing have a lot in common,” DeJesus from All-Star Boxing commented. “These fighters give it their all in the ring and that’s what these children are doing everyday in their fight against cancer.”

The WBO also made a donation at the Children’s Cancer Center last August. “They have the will to win,” WBO’s Valcarcel added, stating that the WBO is helping children in over 30 countries around the world with contributions in excess of
$250,000.

Today’s donation was also dedicated to the memory of Luis Perez, the former WBO Ratings Chairman, who lost his own fight against cancer in December, 2016.

On the undercard Friday night, Top Rank prospects and former Olympians, Teofimo Lopez and Antonio Vargas, will both be in action.

Lopez (5 – 0; 5 KO), an aggressive, young lightweight, is gaining a reputation as a knockout artist, winning all five of his professional fights by stoppage. He will face Christian Santibanez (5 – 6; 3 KO) from San Antonio, Texas.

Vargas (4 – 0; 2 KO), a member of the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team, will face his most experienced, professional opponent to date when he takes on ring veteran Leonardo Reyes (6 – 13; 2 KO) in a bantamweight matchup.

Filling out the card will be undefeated, Puerto Rican super-bantamweight, Starling Cordero (9 – 0; 4 KO) against Kiun Evans (13 – 3; 7 KO) from Little Rock Arkansas, welterweight Ramon De La Paz (making his professional debut) against McKinley Smith (0 -1) and a cruiserweight bout between Richard Brown (5 – 0; 2 KO) and Jimmy Owensby (4 – 7) of Cut Off, Louisiana.

Female boxer and St. Petersburg native, Noemi ‘La Rebelde’ Bosques (11 – 9 – 3; 2 KO) will also appear in a special attraction bout vs Sonia Osorio (8 – 5 – 1; 1 KO) of Mexico.

In association with Thompson Boxing, the All-Star Boxing, Inc. promoted event will be held at A La Carte Pavilion located at 4050 Dana Shores Dr. Tampa, FL, 33634 (near Tampa International Airport). Doors open at 7:00 p.m. and ticket information is available by calling 813-454-7800.

The main event will also help kick off Telemundo’s “Boxeo” Summer Series, the popular, boxing program on Telemundo Network. For those who cannot attend the fight in person, the Valentin/Santillan fight will be aired live on Telemundo beginning at 11:35pm.

Posted on 05/25/2017

Tag Team: Cotto To Face Both Kamegai And Father Time On August 26th
By: Sean Crose

It’s been a while, but Miguel Cotto will finally be returning to the ring on August 26th. His opponent will be the exciting Yoshihiro Kamegai in a battle for the WBO world super welterweight title, which Cotto’s last opponent, Canelo Alvarez, vacated in order to easily defeat Julio Caesar Chavez Jr a few weeks back. The bout, which will be held at California’s StubHub Center, will be featured on regular HBO. The fact that the fight won’t be a pay per view event is a refreshing change for fans, since bouts which used to appear regularly on outlets like HBO now seem to cost those fans extra money.

The last time Cotto was in the ring was way back in November of 2015, when he faced Canelo in a major fight that proved to be a rare pay per view success during the time following the Mayweather-Pacquiao bomb earlier that same year. It was a close bout, but Canelo walked away with a decision win. Since that night, names like Tim Bradley, James Kirkland and Juan Manuel Marquez have been attached, in varying degrees, to Cotto’s. The only major event in Cotto’s stalled career, however, has been his break with promotional entity Roc Nation Sports, which had been representing the Puerto Rican star.

Now, though, the man is set to face Kamegai in a bout that some may be calling a dud, but that, in reality, could prove interesting. For, at thirty six years of age, Cotto will not only be coming off a long layoff, but will be running from Father Time, as well. His 40-5 record is impressive, but it’s hard to imagine the man’s best days being ahead of him. His last victory will have been over two years earlier, after all, and that will have been against Daniel Geale, a quality, but certainly not great, opponent.

Still, there are those who see the 27-3-2 Kamegai as something of a tuneup for Cotto before he moves on to bigger and better things, possibly in the fall. The 34 year old Tokyo resident, however, has a shot at glory here. He also has some impressive wins on his resume that are worth considering. Although he may not be the favorite, there may be too many questions in play at the moment to just write the veteran warrior off as a glorified sparring partner for Cotto.

Posted on 05/20/2017

HBO World Championship Boxing Results: Beltran Flattens Maicelo,
By: William Holmes

The ultra-talented and underappreciated Terence Crawford headlined tonight’s HBO World Championship Boxing Card live from Madison Square Garden in New York City as he took on former Olympic Gold Medalist Felix Diaz.

The untelevised undercard featured some of Top Rank’s best prospects, including gold medalist Fazliddin Gaibnazarov and the man many consider to be the best prospect from the US Olympic Boxing team of 2016, Shakur Stevenson.

There were no notable upsets on the undercard.

Unfortunately for Top Rank, Terence Crawford’s ability to draw in New York City appears to be questionable, as the top section of Madison Square Garden was empty and there were numerous empty seats in the lower section of the arena.

The first bout on the televised card was between Jonathan Maicelo (25-2) and Ray Beltran (32-7-1) for the NABF, NABO, WBA International, and in an IBF World Title Elimination Bout in the lightweight division.

Maicelo, surprisingly, had a large number of fans in attendance and they were very vocal during the ring entrance and announcements.

Both boxers fought out of an orthodox stance and Beltran was clearly the bigger fighter. Beltran pressed forward in the opening round while the crowd loudly chanted “Peru, Peru!” for their boxer Jonathan Maicelo. Maicelo was able to score a surprise knockdown on Beltran from a combination to the body and an accidental head-butt in the first. The clash of heads opened up a cut over the left eye of Maicelo and the left eye of Beltran. Beltran was able to hurt Maicelo with a left hook at the end of the round.

Beltran pressed forward to start the second round and opened up with an early left hook. Maicelo was able to respond with a solid four punch combination followed by a hard shot to the body. Maicelo looked energized and landed another combination on Beltran by the ropes. However, beltran later responded with a vicious left hook that sent the back of Maicelo’s head crashing hard on the mat.

Maicelo was out cold and the referee immediately stopped the bout. Ray Beltran wins by a vicious knockout at 1:25 of the second round.

The main event of the night was between Olympic Gold Medalist Felix Diaz (19-1) and Terence Crawford (30-0) for the WBO and WBC Super Lightweight World Titles.

Crawford, who had a noticeable height advantage, was active with his jab early on and chose to come out in a southpaw stance against the Diaz, who is a natural southpaw. Diaz was short with most of his punches and reached for his left hook while Crawford was active with his jab.

Diaz was able to land a good left hook early in the second round and later fell to the mat with a pushdown afterwards. Crawford was sharp with his jab for most of the second round and landed a sharp double uppercut combination in the middle of the round. Diaz was able to land a hard right hook near the end of the second that caught Crawford off guard.

Crawford hard a commanding third round and opened it up with a crisp counter left uppercut on a charging Diaz. Crawford’s accuracy with his jab continued in the third round and he was able to land several hard two punch combinations on Diaz.

Diaz was warned for a low blow in the fourth round, but more concerning for him was that Crawford’s accuracy showed no signs of letting up while Diaz’s face was beginning to show signs of swelling from Crawfrod’s accurate assaults.

Crawford dominated the fifth round which was punctuated by a left cross right jab combination and a hard left uppercut.

Crawford toyed with Diaz in the sixth round and seemingly touched Diaz with his gloves whenever he wanted to. Diaz was able to land some good punches in the seventh round and they had several good exchanges, but Crawford appeared to get the better of Diaz.

There was some trash talk between both boxers in the eighth and ninth rounds, but Crawford was landing combinations at will and the intensity of his punches showed no signs of slowing down. He had Diaz momentarily stunned in the ninth round with a hard left cross to the temple of Diaz.

Ringside doctors took a hard look at the eyes of Diaz before the start of the tenth round but decided to let him continue. Crawford took no pity on the plight of Diaz and battered him from ring post to ring post in the tenth round and toyed with him, again.

Diaz walked back to his corner at the end of the tenth round looking like a defeated man and his corner wisely decided to call of the fight.
Terence Crawford wins by TKO at the end of the tenth round in an impressive and dominant performance.

Undercard Quick Results:

Steve Nelson (7-0) defeated Gilberto Rubio (7-5) by TKO at 0:36 of the second round in the light heavyweight division.

Henry Lebron (2-0) defeated Johnny Estrada (0-2) by TKO at 0:52 of the second round in the super featherweight division.

Fazliddin Gaibnazarov (2-0) defeated Agustine Mauras (6-3-3) by decision with scores of 80-72 on all three scorecards in the super lightweight division.

Konstantin Ponomarev (32-0) defeated Edward Paredes (37-7-1) by decision with scores of 78-74 on all three scorecards in the super welterweight division.

Teofimo Lopez III (5-0) defeated Ronald Rivas (5-6-2) by knockout at 2:21 of the second round in the lightweight division.

Tong Hui Li (9-1) defeated Daniel Calzada (14-17-3) by decision in the super welterweight division with scores of 60-54 on all three scorecards.

Shakur Stevenson (2-0) defeated Carlos Suarez (6-4-2) in the featherweight division wins by TKO at 2:35 of the first round.