Boxing News

At the Phones 4U Arena, Manchester, last night, ‘Fight of the Year’ contender – Anthony Crolla v John Murray saw the tenth round stoppage of the ‘Murray Machine’.

The much anticipated local derby between the two Manchester men proved to be a cracker of a fight over the ten rounds. There was more pressure from Murray in the opening rounds – with him going hell for leather and sustaining a busy work-rate.

Crolla – forced back by Murray's advances – looked less bothered by the shots but frustrated by the smothering effect of Murray's relentless punches. At the end of the fourth, both men stopped – thinking that the bell had sounded (probably due to the rowdy atmosphere inside the venue) but they were seconds too early.

It was a more even round six and by the end of the eighth, Murray's nose was bloodied and there was a nick below his right eye. The big work-rate was starting to take its toll and he was looking tired.

Round nine was a draining one for both men. Inside the last minute of the tenth frame – a glancing shot across the back of Murray's neck sees him drop to the canvas. He continues but – under pressure from Crolla – is stopped in 2 minutes 20 seconds of the tenth round.

Anthony Crolla retains the WBO Inter-Continental Lightweight Title.

Also on the Matchroom Boxing – Eddie Hearn promoted show, Scott Quigg of Bury made short work of South African - Tshifhiwa Munyai to retain his WBA World Super-Bantamweight Title. More...

IBF light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins produced an masterpiece last night at Washington DC's Armory, painting IBF titlist Beibut Shumenov with an array of right hand brushstrokes that made an impression on two of the three judges.

Shumenov's lack of experience against top level opponents mixed with the Hopkins' surplus of the same produced some stunning effects as lethal right hand counters and leads from Hopkins rocketed back the head of Shumenov on many occasions, as the 49 year old former middleweight champion made a mockery of the age advantage held by his 30 year old rival.

The approach of Shumenov made his downfall all but certain; standing directly in front of the quicker Hopkins, left hand hanging down just above his knee, not moving his head and not punching.

When Shumenov did punch, he loaded up, telegraphing his intentions as Hopkins used angles and his still quick reflexes to make most of his rival's efforts hit nothing, proof the old master had once again gotten inside the head of an opponent, eliminating the threat of having to deal with a workable offensive plan.

Hopkins also kept the pace of the fight slow, taking Shumenov's confidence away with withering counters and superbly managing distance.

By the time the WBA titlist tried to ramp up the pace in the eighth round, it was too late as Hopkins thoroughly had the timing of the by now battered and weakened Shumenov's efforts down, hammering the Kazakh native to the canvas with a short overhand right in the eleventh. More...

In what is a fantastic move for Australian fight fans, next weekend's blockbuster Commonwealth title fight between Lucas Browne and Eric Bahoeli will be televised live on Eurosport.

The Foxtel based company will be showcasing the bout live from Sheffield at no additional charge to subscribers.

Lucas "Big Daddy" Browne 19-0 (17 KO) will look to make Bahoeli 10-3 (7 KO) his 20th victim and become the first Australian in 122 years to win one of the oldest titles in boxing. More...

Gary Shaw Productions is happy to announce the ranking updates of six GSP fighters, who have worked their way up the WBC ratings.

Fighting in a heavyweight elimination bout, is # 4 ranked contender Bryant Jennings (18-0, 11 KOs). Former two-time Australian Middleweight world champion, Daniel Geale (30-2, 16 KOs), is ranked # 2. At Lightweight (135 lbs), Rustam Nugaev (27-6-1, 17 KOs) is rated # 4, while the undefeated Alejandro Luna (17-0, 13 KOs) is # 10. More...

Nicaraguan Alexis Arguello was not only an outstanding athlete, but also managed a successful political career in his native Nicaragua.

Today we commemorate what would have been Arguello's 62nd birthday in Managua.

Of humble origin, Arguello entered into the sport to become three-time world champion. He debuted in 1971, and in 1974 he won his first WBA featherweight belt by defeating Ruben “Puas” Olivares, and kept it until 1977. More...

Rod Salka put on a boxing clinic for Alexei Collado in Friday’s ShoBox: The New Generation main event and then he stated his case for a world title shot.

Salka was the more intelligent and effective fighter from the opening bell, pounding the body and utilizing his superior movement in an impressive 10-round unanimous decision victory (96-94, 96-93, 96-93) over the previously undefeated Collado at the Monroeville Convention Center in Monroeville, Pa., just down the road from Salka's hometown of Bunola, Pa. More...

Jamie McDonnell will face Tabtimdaeng Na Rachawat for the vacant WBA Bantamweight title at Wembley Stadium on May 31, live on Sky Sports Box Office.

McDonnell faces the Thai star on the undercard of Carl Froch’s blockbuster rematch for the WBA and IBF Super Middleweight titles against George Groves.

The former IBF champion from Doncaster won his first World title on May 11 on home turf at the Keepmoat Stadium against Julio Ceja and will bid to regain World champion status against the 30 year old former PABA champion, who has racked up 52 wins with 34 inside the distance. More...

It's not hard to believe that Bernard Hopkins will turn 50 years of age this coming January, but it almost requires a suspension of belief to realize that he is still winning and defending world title belts.

The question of how much longer can "The Alien" continue his otherworldly accomplishments is really what makes his light heavyweight unification fight this evening with Beibut Shumenov interesting as they face off at the Armory in Washington DC.

Shumenov, 14-1 (9), won a light heavyweight world title in less pro bouts than anyone before him in 2010 when he defeated WBA beltholder Gabriel Campillo by controversial split decision, following a loss to Campillo in Shumenov's first attempt in 2009.

Since then the Kazakhstan native defended his WBA crown against Vyacheslav Uzelkov, William Joppy, Danny Santiago, Enrique Ornelas and Tamas Kovacs.

Compare the resume of Hopkins over the same 2010-2013 time frame: wins over Roy Jones Jr, Jean Pascal, Tavoris Cloud and Karo Murat, a loss to Chad Dawson, a draw against Pascal and a no-contest against Dawson.

Neither CV is bulletproof but ex-unified middleweight world champion Hopkins has clearly faced the tougher lineup.

Will that mean anything once Hopkins and Shumenov start throwing punches at each other or will the fact that Shumenov is 30 years old and a career light heavyweight become a far more important consideration? More...

Super bantam Scott Quigg could be in for a genuine test tonight as the Bury man headlines the massive Phones 4u Arena in Manchester in defense of his WBA crown against South Africa's Tshifhiwa Munyai.

Quigg, 27-0 (20), was scheduled to defend against mandatory challenger Nehomar Cermeno until immigration issues knocked the Panamanian out of the equation.

That led to a surprise title shot for Munyai, 24-2-1 (12), the 28 year old "Atomic Spider" from Makwarela, in the far north of South Africa.

This is a return to the UK for Munyai, who fought on English soil on six occasions from 2006-2008, defeating Martin Power twice and Lee Haskins once for the Commonwealth bantam crown but losing to Osumanu Akaba at super bantam.

That defeat ended Munyai's British invasion, and the lanky African went back home to go 8-1 since that time, picking up the IBO and WBA Pan-African belts at super bantam following his 2010 Mexico City excursion that resulted in a very thin unanimous decision loss to Christian Esquivel for the vacant WBC Silver bantamweight strap.

At 5'9, Munyai will have the height and reach advantage over the 25 year old 5'8 Quigg once the bell rings tonight but the visitor had difficulty making weight yesterday, taking two hours to make the super bantam limit after failing on his first try. More...

Nearly 1 million uniformed military personnel serving abroad will be able to watch and support U.S. Armed Forces veteran Sammy Vasquez, Jr., as part of a special agreement between Showtime and the American Forces Network.

Vasquez, who served two tours of duty in Iraq, is featured in the opening bout of Friday’s ShoBox: The New Generation telecast, which airs live at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime from Monroeville Convention Center in Monroeville, Pa.

“I’m excited to bring the military along for the ride with me,” Vasquez said. “I’m coming to the ring in a Humvee with the guys that I deployed with, as well as my wife and daughter and my three sisters. It’s great to have the rest of the military in my corner.” More...

Hard-hitting Canadian Eric Martel Bahoeli believes his Commonwealth title fight with Lucas Browne will open the door to the big time.

The heavyweights clash at the Ponds Forge Arena in Sheffield next Saturday, with the winner likely to surge up the world rankings. Bahoeli, 32, accepts he will be a huge underdog come fight night, but says he needs to cause an upset in order to progress his career.

"For me, it is a great opportunity because I don't have a promoter and I have worked very hard for this title," he said. "I have trained harder than ever for this fight, it has been in mind every day and it can change my career. More...

Boxing’s oldest ever world champion - Bernard Hopkins, believes he will once again make history as he looks to unify the light-heavyweight division this weekend.

Hopkins has already made a profound statement in the world of boxing, reigning as one of the world’s top middleweights for over a decade, before moving up the weight classes to finally become the fight game's oldest champion.

Having initially dethroned George Foreman of that title back in 2011, when he captured the WBC and IBO Light-Heavyweight belts at 46 against Jean Pascal, the Philadelphian recently broke his own record when he beat Tavoris Cloud at 48 to win the IBF crown last year. More...

Scott Quigg defends his WBA Super Bantamweight title against Tshifhiwa Munyai on Saturday at the Phones 4u Arena in Manchester, live on Sky Sports – and has promised fans they will see him at his very best.

Quigg makes the second defence of his title against the South African and is looking to extend his unbeaten record to 30 fights, in style.

Last time out the Bury talent saw off Diego Silva in two rounds in the same Arena as the chief-support to Carl Froch’s Brit blockbuster with George Groves in November, and Quigg is excited to be back as the main attraction and ready to show his true class. More...

Undefeated and top rated heavyweights Bryant "By By" Jennings of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Mike "The Rebel" Perez, fighting out of Cork, Ireland will clash in a WBC Heavyweight Title Eliminator on Saturday, May 24 at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas

The show will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, it was announced today jointly by K2 Promotions and Gary Shaw Productions.

The winner of the 12-round bout will become the mandatory challenger for the WBC Heavyweight Title, which was vacated by longtime champion Vitali Klitschko earlier this year. Jennings and Perez are currently ranked #4 and #5, respectively, by the sanctioning body. More...

After enjoying a highly successful year for Coldwell Boxing thus far, largely thanks to the superb response to February’s epic “Pride of Yorkshire” event and Curtis Woodhouse’s heroic British title victory, Dave Coldwell refuses to rest on his high standards as he delivers a sequel to the aforementioned show on May 9 at the fantastic Ice Sheffield.

With British boxing set to sizzle this Summer with a number of high profile events, Coldwell is staying busy as he looks to get the hot season off to a flying start with a number of intriguing bouts. More...