Boxing News

IBF Super Bantamweight Champion Steve Molitor puts his belt at risk for second time when he meets experienced Thai fighter Fashan 3K Battery at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario, Canada on an Allan Tremblay/Orion Sports promotion.

Southpaw Molitor, 24-0 (10), burst onto the world scene with a big win over previously unbeaten European Champion Michael Hunter, knocking out the pressure fighter in the fifth in Hunter's hometown of Hartlepool, England to annex the vacant IBF title in November of last year.

"The Canadian Kid" further cemented his standing as an elite level fighter by stopping South Africa's tough IBO Champion, Takalani Ndlov this past July in an impressive performance.

Now Molitor must once again display his skills against an experienced opponent in the form of Thailand's Narongrit Pirang, better know as Fashan 3K Battery, 58-8-1 (35), who comes to Canada with every intention of taking Molitor's IBF crown. More...

After a long and highly decorated amateur career, former Captain of the England team Steven Bell turned pro as a super featherweight in May of 2003, but ran headlong into a roadblock on his maiden voyage by drawing with rough and tumble journeyman Jus Wallie at the Kingsway Lesiure Centre in Widnes, England.

Undaunted, the lanky Manchester area lad got back in the saddle a few months later and within a year had racked up four consecutive victories, with the jewel in the crown being Bell's magnificent performance to hand the much celebrated Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist Haider Ali his first loss.

Bell then went on to win seven more bouts against experience building competition but raised eyebrows during that run by also drawing with iron chinned spoiler Buster Dennis, leading many to question if "Belly" had what it took to succeed at a higher level.

But all doubts were erased with the seventh round stoppage of former British Super Featherweight titlist Jamie McKeever in March of this year and now Steven Bell, 12-0-2 (5), will get the chance to prove his meddle when he competes for the vacant English 130 lb title against smooth boxing Femi Fehintola, 17-1 (1), of Bradford this Saturday on a Sports Network card at the Nottingham Arena. More...

There was a great deal of action this past Friday, with a few former world champions back in the ring as well as many domestic and regional title fights taking place.

We start off at the Isleta Casino Resort in Albuquerque, New Mexico where ex-WBA Super Flyweight Champion Martin Castillo ran his record to 37-2 (17) with a dominating 12 round unanimous decision win over durable former WBO Latino Bantamweight titlist Oscar Andrade, 36-28 (18). A rematch with former victim and current WBA titleholder Alexander Munoz could be in the works for Castillo should Munoz retain his crown against Kuniyuki Aizawa in Tokyo this September.

At City Center in Saratoga Springs, NY, hot welter prospect Andre Berto, 19-0 (16), was given a tough exam by rangy Mexican veteran Cosme Rivera, 30-11-2 (21). Rivera floored Berto in the sixth with a perfect uppercut but couldn't finish the former Olympian off and had to then fight through a bad cut enroute to losing a unanimous decision to the high quality up and comer from Florida. Heavyweight hopeful Chazz Witherspoon, 19-0 (13), was also on the bill, impressively stopping journeyman Talmadge Griffis, 24-7 (16), in the ninth. More...

There's a lot of action to go over for tonight's line up of fights across the world and there's no better place to start than at the Knox Netball Centre in the Melbourne suburb of Ferntree Gully in Victoria, Australia where local based Nigerian slugger Fatai Onikeke defends his IBA Pan Pacific and WBF Intercontinental Light Welter belts against Thailand's Jakkirt Sunwunnalirt.

Heading north to the TVRI Studios in Jakarta, Indonesia, local man Roy Mukhlis puts his PABA Super Feather crown up for grabs against highly seasoned Filipino Jaime Barcelona.

Crossing the Indian Ocean, the Indoor Centre in Mdantsane, South Africa sees Ludumo Galada risks his domestic featherweight belt against Thando Vukuza. Also on the bill, former South African Super Fly titlist Simon Ramoni faces Lubabalo Msuthu at bantamweight.

Jumping to yet another continent, we next visit The Casino in Vilamoura, Portugal where Jesus Garcia Escalona of Madrid meets local man Antonio Joao Bento for the vacant European Union Super Feather trophy.

Heading east we arrive at the Stadio Comunale in San Paolo Civitate, Italy where Dejan Ribac of Belgrade takes on local hero Antonio Di Feto for the vacant WBC Mediterranean belt. Also scheduled for action, former two time European title challenger Lorenzo Di Giacomo faces Zoran Plavsic over six rounds at middleweight. More...

Hailing from Perth, Australia, Justin Manolikos manages world rated light heavyweight contender Danny Green and is also a partner with the fighter in Green Machine Promotions. The pair are putting on a show this Wednesday night at Challenge Stadium in Perth that sees Danny, 23-3 (21), defend his IBF Pan Pacific and PABA Light Heavyweight titles, as well as engage in an IBO Eliminator, against American Otis Griffin, 18-1-2 (7).

As a super middleweight, Green stopped former world champion Eric Lucas in 2003 and lost two highly controversial WBC title fights to Markus Beyer in Germany during 2003 and 2005. A little over a year ago, Green and current WBA titlist Anthony Mundine engaged in a non title bout in Sydney that was billed as the biggest fight in Australian history, with Green losing a 12 round points decision in front of over 30,000 people.

Jumping up to light heavy after the Mundine bout, the 34 year old Green has stopped two hardened domestic opponents and acquired regional championship belts as he nears ever closer to securing a world title fight at 175 lb.

SaddoBoxing was fortunate enough to speak with Manolikos and you won't want to miss what Justin has to say about the past, present and future of Danny Green's career. More...

Felled during the prime of life at just 29 years of age, the passing of former two weight world champion Diego Corrales has unified the normally fracticious boxing fraternity in a shared state of mourning.

Just after 7pm on Monday night, Corrales was driving a motorcycle on Ft. Apache Rd in Las Vegas, NV and allegedly failed to slow down to avoid colliding into the back of a Honda Accord and was then thrown into the path of another vehicle.

Corrales, who was wearing a full face helmet, was tragically pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

The tall, soft spoken warrior, originally from Sacramento, CA but last residing in Las Vegas, was coming off a hard fought loss to opponent Joshua Clottey at welterweight just one month ago. More...

Last night in front of 20,000 people at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark, WBC/WBA Super Middleweight Champion Mikkel Kessler won every round enroute to posting a wide points decision victory over hard nosed Librado Andrade.

From the start it was clear that Andrade didn't come to Copenhagen to deliver anything less than full effort but sheer will and toughness couldn't overcome the sizable edge in skill enjoyed by Kessler.

Despite only being an inch taller than the champion at 6 foot 2, the California based Mexican was substantially bigger than the Dane and Andrade's size and reach advantage gave Kessler some difficulty throughout the night but it was the challenger's chin that kept him in the fight.

Kessler relied on quick footwork and superb balance to prevent Andrade from mounting any sustained or coordinated offensive effort while patiently picking moments to rip the visitor with well placed combinations that lashed Andrade's head at times as if it was on a swivel. More...

It was a good weekend of boxing in República Argentina with the biggest fightcard taking place on Friday night in the northwestern city of Salta, where Javier Alberto Mamani KO'd Marcus Hector Vergara in the tenth and final round to claim the vacant WBA Fedebol Light Middleweight title at Estadio Delmi in front of 9,000 fans.

Local hero Mamani looked to dissuade his Cordovan opponent from the start but Vergara was riding a ten fight win streak and knew he'd have to step it up to win on his rival's home ground.

While Vergara had his moments, lack of previous high level experience and never having gone past the sixth round doomed his bid to unseat Mamani, who worked behind the jab all night before knocking out Vergara via a searing combination with just 4 seconds to go in the contest. More...

One of the most anticipated contests to take place so far this year in England is scheduled for Leeds Town Hall tonight as reigning British Super Featherweight Champion Carl Johanneson puts his belt at risk against a man who should provide "Ingemar" with his stiffest test to date, Ricky Burns, on a Frank Maloney Promotion.

Johanneson, 25-2 (18), matriculated in the tough East Coast gyms of America and fought in the US for the first four years of his professional career. A high pressure style took Johanneson to a spotless record for his first twelve bouts until the Leeds native ran into tough Philadelphia based southpaw Koba Gogoladze in 2003. The towering Georgian floored Johanneson spectacularly early on in the eight round bout but the Englishman clawed his way back to lose a close split decision.

Shortly afterward Johanneson returned to his native Britain and immediately caged the vacant WBF title with a third round stoppage over the far more experienced Carl Greaves. Johanneson defended that belt two times before suffering a disastrous first round stoppage loss at the hands of Russian spoiler Leva Kirakosyan in 2004. More...

Ricky Hatton grew up in a large, grim council estate on the edge of Manchester known as Hattersley. The development was built in the 1960's, intended as a large overspill estate by the Manchester City council.

As a small boy, he trained in the basement of the pub he and his family lived in and to this day, returns there on a regular basis to spend time with the people who reside on the estate. Despite the sometimes threadbare conditions they find themselves in, the people of Hattersley are warm, generous, funny, straight forwardly honest and most of all, hardworking.

Even after years of success, Ricky Hatton is still a Hattersley kid, carrying around all the attributes. It's this attitude that has shocked the American press as they are coming to know "The Hitman" this weekend in Las Vegas as Hatton prepares to challenge Juan Urango for his old IBF 140 lb title.

SaddoBoxing caught up with Ricky in this exclusive interview that shows just how much his roots mean to him and why he will always mention his gratitude to his fan base and the responsibility he feels towards any fans that take the time and effort to watch him fight. More...

Ray Hatton has been busy managing the careers of his sons Ricky and Matthew Hatton as they prepare for their Las Vegas debuts on January 20. Ricky will challenge IBF Light Welter Champion Juan Urango while Matthew contends for the vacant IBF International Welterweight crown against tough spoiler Frank Houghtaling. In part one of this interview SaddoBoxing spoke to Ray about what's going on with Ricky.

"Ricky officially weighed in at ten stone eight and a half pounds (148.5 lb) last week," said father/manager Ray Hatton. "He's well in front of schedule from what he normally is a month away from a fight. Ricky is out to prove a point as a lot of people said that they didn't think he'd make the ten stone (140 lb) limit. He's actually busted his weight schedule wide open."

Another point the Hattons will have to prove is whether or not Ricky can compete in America, in light of a victorious but decidedly rocky showing against Luis Collazo in Boston last May. "We're not ashamed to admit that we cut a few corners during the Collazo fight," remarked Ray. "Ricky wasn't doing the little things that we feel make him a bit special, in terms of footwork and movement. More...

Click for larger image © Ed Mulholland / Showtime Boxing

In an upset last night at Bally's Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, light welter Kendall Holt took Isaac Hlatshwayo to school, pulling away from the talented South African in the later rounds and dropping the visitor three times enroute to a wide points decision win.

Holt, 21-1 (12), remained patient despite early pressure from Hlatshwayo, 25-1 (9), and used an unerring sense of timing to prevent his opponent from gaining any meaningful momentum.
Hlatshwayo's fate was sealed when he suffered a bad laceration above the eye during the sixth round and after that was rarely in the bout. More...

Matthew Hatton Controversially Disqualified In Last Round Of Winning Performance!

Last night Fight Academy put on a cracking non-televised card at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield, England with cruiserweight veterans Buster Keaton and Lee Swaby vying for the British title that longtime beltholder Mark Hobson voluntarily gave up recently. The main support bout featured the very promising ex-two weight Central Area titlist Matthew Hatton going up against former English Light Welter Champ Alan Bosworth in an eliminator for the British Welterweight title.

The contest between Keaton and Swaby got off to a fine start with the southpaw Swaby using his height and reach advantage over his stocky opponent. The Brendan Ingle trained Keaton was coming off three straight loses but controlled the bout anytime that Swaby let him get in close. More...

Tonight at York Hall in London, England light welterweight Ted Bami made an unexpected opportunity pay off handsomely as the Brixton based man from Congo convincingly won the vacant European title on a Matchroom Sport promotion.

Guiseppe Lauri, 41-5 (24), of Italy was initially to have faced ex-European Lightweight titlist Jason Cook but the Welshman chose to retire from the sport due to a chronic shoulder injury and in stepped Bami, 21-2 (11), to take Cook's place.

From the start, Bami was the more powerful man in the ring and Lauri could barely cope with the clearly motivated African fighter for the first four rounds. More...

Ex-WBC Interim Super Middleweight Champion Danny Green is in action tonight in his hometown at Challenge Stadium in Perth, Australia where he'll face domestic rival and former world title challenger Jason DeLisle for the IBF Pan Pacific Light Heavyweight title belt. Coming off a high profile loss to

Anthony Mundine this past May and stepping up a weight class to rematch DeLisle, this is clearly the most dangerous moment in the professional career of Danny Green.

SaddoBoxing: How has training gone for this fight against Jason DeLisle?

Danny Green: "We're just getting back to basics and I've realized that my strength in this sport is my strength. We've changed a few things around; we're not preparing as long and as hard, the preparation hasn't been as arduous as some others have been in the past, i.e. for the Mundine fight, which was a very long preparation because the fight got postponed. More...

Click for larger image © Mike Cleary / BoxingPhotographs.com

Tonight in Bolton, England IBF Light Heavyweight Champion Clinton Woods kept his belt in a stirring slugfest with former titlist Glen Johnson via a split decision victory. It was the pair's third contest against each other and the Fight Academy promoted Woods, 40-3-1 (24), ceded the first round to Johnson, 44-11-2 (29), but the Sheffield battler refused to fold and turned the tide after weathering the initial onslaught.

With the shorter Johnson plowing straight in behind overhand shots, Woods found a home for his arsenal of shorter punches, repeatedly rocking the visiting American fighter with a shrewd uppercut as he began to pick up a noticeable lead in the second and third frames. More...

Click for larger image © Tom Casino / Showtime Boxing

Guerrero Takes IBF Feather Belt From Aiken On Undercard

James Toney's improbable run at heavyweight finally ran out of steam tonight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA as Samuel Peter successfully leveraged his strength and youth advantages to win a WBC Title Eliminator on scores of 116-111, 115-112 for Peter and 116-111 for Toney. It was a close contest all the way as the 38 year old ex-middleweight stung the much larger Peter with crisp combinations as expected but the vaunted defensive shield of Toney was breached more than a few times by the massive power punches of the native Nigerian. More...

Emanuel Augustus Gets Even Against Courtney Burton On Undercard

Super middle hotshot Allan Green got a good test tonight in the form of veteran southpaw Emmett Linton, who pushed the hometown hero hard over the course of their ten round bout
at the Osage Million Dollar Elm Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma on a Garrett Promotion. Green, 22-0 (15), capped off the ESPN2 Friday Night Fights broadcast by canvassing the 35 year old Linton, 33-5-2 (15), in the seventh round enroute to winning a unanimous decision by scores of 98-91 (twice) and 97-92.

Also on the bill, it took two years but super journeyman Emanuel Augustus, 33-27 (18), finally got a return bout against Courtney Burton, 21-6 (11), and made the best of it. The Chicago based light welter speared his nemesis with a crippling body shot in the eighth frame and finished the proceedings with a hailstorm of leather that Burton simply couldn't weather, resulting in a knockout at 2:04 of the round.

In the sunny climes of Pompano Beach, Silverhawk Boxing put on a show featuring the middleweight Mitchell brothers of Philadelphia at Club Cinema. Aaron Mitchell, 25-1-1 (2), won the IBO Intercontinental belt with a sixth round stoppage over Christopher Holt, 12-7 (8). Holt, of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, went to war with the big puncher but in the end didn't have the chin to go the distance. More...

The massive left hook that Ricky Hatton gunned down Carlos Maussa with last November in Sheffield seems to have taken any world class skills that the rangy, wild swinging Colombian
may have had as the ex-WBA Light Welter Champ lost to unheralded Mexican Manuel Garnica at the Miccosukee Resort in Miami, FL. The hard punching Maussa, 20-4 (18), proved unable to find his rhythm as Garnica, 20-5 (11), simply wouldn't let his opponent into the fight at any point. With the unanimous decision win Manuel Garnica annexes the WBC Latino/WBA Fedcarib belts.