Boxing News

Last night at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario, Marvin Sonsona and Alejandro Hernandez fought to a draw over the vacant WBO super flyweight title.

Filipino southpaw Sonsona had won the belt from Jose Lopez in September but lost it on the scales Friday when he was 2.5 pounds over the super fly weight limit.

Mexico City based Hernandez came into the clash with the experience of having faced perhaps Argentina's top fighter, undefeated WBO flyweight champion Omar Andres Narvaez, in a big hearted but failed title bid.

The seasoned Hernandez fought Sonsona, just 19 years of age, to a standstill over the course of 12 difficult rounds and forced a 115-113, 113-115 and 114-114 draw. More...

In one of the most shocking upsets of the year thus far, WBA super feather champ Jorge Linares was stopped in the first round by challenger Juan Carlos Salgado today at Yoyogi Gymnasium in Tokyo.

Both men came into the contest undefeated but Tokyo based Venezuelan Linares was a former WBC feather and current WBA super feather kingpin who had stopped his last six adversaries early and was expected to win big.

Mexico City based Salgado had turned away respectable competition such as Ivan Valle and Marcos Licona during his career but had not come close to facing a world class operator before this opportunity.

During the first round, Salgado caught Linares unaware with a full-blooded right hand that decked the champion. Linares was soon on his pants again after the next assault and while he beat the count, the Tokyo resident was declared to be in no shape to continue and the contest stopped at 1:13 of the frame. More...

The Casino in Montreal was the site of a good show on Saturday as welterweight Antonin Decarie came through his latest WBO NABO title challenge and middleweight David Lemieux once again provided fistic fireworks.

Decarie retained his title for the fourth time by dramatically stopping veteran American southpaw Terrance Cauthen with just one second left in the tenth and final round.

Cauthen tried to keep a lid on Decarie with constant clinching during the bout but was canvassed in the eighth before going down for the second time during the closing seconds of the tenth. More...

A battle for the WBA super flyweight belt was waged today at The Prefectural Gymnasium in Osaka, Japan.

Local hero Nobuo Nashiro was making the second title defense of his second WBA reign and faced Mexico's Hugo Fidel Cazares over twelve rounds.

Ex-WBO light flyweight kingpin Cazares was the more experienced man and brought a three bout win streak to Osaka following his hard fought but failed bid to unseat Ivan Calderon for the Los Mochis man's former title.

Once the bell rang, Cazares pressed the champion in an effort to take the result out of the judges' hands but after 12 rounds of give and take action, the fighters were too close to be separated on the cards, resulting in a 116-112, 114-114 and 112-116 draw.

Nashiro keeps his WBA title and goes to 13-1-1 (8), while Cazares returns to Mexico empty handed after a huge effort with his record now standing at 30-6-2 (22).

At the Bell Centre in boxing mad Montreal last night, Jean Pascal put his WBC light heavyweight belt at risk for the first time and came away with victory against seasoned warhorse Silvio Branco.

A pro since 1988, ex-WBA and European champ Branco went after the much younger Pascal early on but had difficulty with the good footwork and swift reflexes of the local Montreal man, who cut the Italian in the third.

The bout was a cautious affair early on but as both began to tire and settle in, the action increased with Pascal beginning to target the body and Branco looking for the jab, right hand combination.

By the seventh, 43 year old Branco had begin to run out of steam and was dropped in what could have been largely a push or even a bid to gain a breather, although it was ruled a knockdown. More...

© Jan Sanders / Goossen Tutor Promotions

As fight night nears for Vitali Klitschko's WBC heavyweight title defense against challenger Chris Arreola this Saturday at Staples Center in Los Angeles, the champion continues to work the pr angle.

But is he preparing as hard in the gym?

Recent press releases have displayed Klitschko rubbing shoulders with such high profile L.A. personalities as film star Denzel Washington, soccer kingpin David Beckham and even Los Angeles Dodgers manager Joe Torre. More...

The hottest ticket in San Juan tonight will be a seat at Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot as WBO light fly ruler Ivan Calderon and WBO super feather supremo Roman Martinez put their crowns at risk.

Calderon, 32-0-1 (6), hasn't had a non-title bout in over five years after defending the WBO minimumweight trophy 11 times and his current WBO light fly belt on four occasions.

The 34 year old southpaw rematches big punching Filipino Rodel Mayo, 25-3-1 (19), a former OPBF minimumweight titlist who engaged in a six round TD with Calderon in Madison Square Garden in June when the Puerto Rican hero was cut too badly to continue. More...

There was a good fight card north of the border last night with a WBO title belt on the line as well as the continuing comeback of Canada's top boxer, Steve Molitor, at his home base of Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario.

Longtime flyweight contender Jose Lopez of Puerto Rico finally hit the jackpot in March of this year, outpointing Thailand's Pramuansak Posuwan to capture the vacant WBO super fly crown.

But making his first defense last night, the 37 year old from Trujilo Alto ran into trouble against WBO Oriental beltholder Marvin Sonsona.

The Filipino southpaw proved just too quick for the Puerto Rican vet and walked off with the WBO super fly trophy via a 114-111, 115-110 and 116-109 unanimous decision victory. More...

The WBA light heavyweight strap is at stake tonight at Daulet Sports Complex in Astana, Kazakhstan as heavily-hyped local prospect Beibut Shumenov attempts to unseat newly minted champion Gabriel Campillo.

Spanish southpaw Campillo, 18-2 (6), came into prominence in June by moving up from super middle and toppling WBA titlist Hugo Hernan Garay in his native Argentina.

Campillo had previously held the European Union 168 pound crown after losing a majority decision to Karo Murat for the full European crown a year ago.

Shumenov, 8-0 (6), couldn't ask for a better shot at winning a world title but still, the Las Vegas resident will be taking a step up in competition from what he has faced so far during his less than two year old professional career.

The 25 year old former Kazakh amateur star has seen off name opponents during his last three bouts but former light heavy champ Montell Griffin and ex-super middle champ Byron Mitchell were far and away past their best.

Campillo probably doesn't have enough of a punch to bother his aggressive rival so he will have to outbox the local hero, drawing on his greater experience and southpaw stance to take away the confidence of Shumenov.

Last night at the Desert Diamond Casino in Tuscon, AZ, the clash between former WBA light welter champ Vivian Harris, 29-3-1 (19), and Noe Bolanos, 20-4-1 (12), was short circuited when Harris collapsed in the second round following an accidental headclash.

The New York native could not continue and the bout was declared a no contest.

On the undercard, former Olympic bronze medallist Deontay Wilder, 7-0 (7), kept a perfect record by stopping Travis Allen, 3-5 (3), in the first round at heavyweight.

The Miccosukee Casino in Miami, FL saw big punching ex-world lightweight title challenger Antonio Pitalua, 47-4 (41), return from a loss to Edwin Valero in April by knocking out Jose Reyes, 23-7 (8), in the sixth frame.

At the Myth in Maplewood, MN, super middle veteran Matt Vanda, 41-9 (22), outpointed light heavy Ted Mueller, 19-16-2 (9), over eight frames.

Amir Khan moved up a weight class, challenged a far more experienced reigning champion and even defied his legion of critics to win the WBA light welterweight title last night at the MEN Arena in Manchester, England.

Khan got off to a fast start once the bell rang and the lanky Bolton youth used his height advantage to keep Kotelnik at bay.

It was clear from the start that Kotelnik had issues with the handspeed and fast footwork of Khan but the WBA titlist's biggest problem was that he wasn't near busy enough.

Largely walking slowly forward or remaining stationary with hands held high, Kotelnik picked off most of Khan's shots and combinations with his gloves but his own punch output was nowhere near what Khan was putting up. More...

In a year wracked by countless deaths of public figures, boxing has tragically lost one of it's all-time warriors as former two-weight world champion Arturo Gatti has died in Brazil.

Authorities found the body of 37 year old New Jersey resident Gatti in a vacation apartment he shared with his 23 year old wife, Amanda Rodrigues, and the couple's one year old son.

Gatti and Rodrigues had reportedly gone to the northeastern Brazilian resort of Porto de Galinhas to enjoy a second honeymoon.

Brazilian authorities have announced that Gatti may have been strangled with the strap of a handbag and are questioning Rodrigues, who has denied any involvement in harming Gatti, on the matter.

SaddoBoxing joins the boxing world in mourning the passing of Arturo Gatti and wishes to extend their deepest sympathies to his family.

A tribute article is forthcoming.

Former WBA super bantam champ Mahyar Monshipour dropped down to bantamweight to challenge reigning 118 pound WBA kingpin Anselmo Moreno at Parc des Expositions in Pointiers, France.

Local hero Monshipour took the fight to the champion in the early rounds but felt the sting of hard southpaw counters for his trouble as he couldn't corner the fleet-footed Panamanian.

Moreno began to hold his ground in the middle rounds and beat the challenger to the punch on many exchanges but Monshipour began to turn the tide as distance closed.

The stronger challenger took control by the eighth and forced Moreno onto the backfoot behind a two handed assault, fighting his best rounds of the bout.

But Monshipour's rally came to late and Moreno was declared the winner after 12 rounds, keeping his WBA bantam title by split decision, winning two of the cards, 116-112 and116-113 while Monshipour won the third 115-113.

The action in France last night was at Palais des Sport Marcel Cerdan in Levallois-Perrett in Hauts-de-Seine with two European title bouts and a French title clash on tap.

Former WBA light welter champ Souleymane M'baye, 38-3-1 (28), pulled out a narrow split decision victory against ex-European, IBO and British titlist Colin Lynes, 31-6 (12), to capture the vacant European light welter crown.

European lightweight ruler Anthony Mezaache, 16-5-3 (3), retained his belt for the first time by posting a unanimous decision over Andrei Kudriavtsev, 31-7 (13), of Ukraine. More...

The heir apparent to the Puerto Rican boxing throne was in top form last night, headlining a big show at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City as Juan Manuel Lopez kept his WBO super bantam title against opponent Olivier Lontchi.

Lopez was the definite favorite to retain going into the clash as Montreal based Cameroon native Lontchi had yet to rise above his regional status as NABA titlist and was in over his head.

A champion who can punch like Lopez, particularly a southpaw, presents a very difficult entry test onto the world stage and Lontchi wisely chose to stick and move in the early rounds, catching the oncoming champion with jabs before escaping.

But Lopez began to close distance and force the bout to the inside and along the ropes, where his strength advantage was evident. More...

Ex-IBF super bantam titlist Steve Molitor took one step closer to contending for his former belt by posting a split decision over seasoned Mexican campaigner Heriberto Ruiz last night at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario.

Slick southpaw counter-puncher Molitor was spurred on by the 5,000 strong highly partisan audience but the experienced Los Mochis based visitor nearly pulled off the upset.

The early rounds were marked by a cautious approach by both fighters as each seemed to wait for the other man to take the lead. More...

14,000 boxing fans packed the Bell Centre in Montreal last night to witness what had been called the biggest fight in Canadian history as WBC light heavyweight champ Adrian Diaconu put his belt at risk against local crosstown rival Jean Pascal.

Challenger Pascal was coming up from super middle and it was unknown whether or not he'd be able to mix with a full fledged light heavy.

With a round it became clear that Pascal's fight plan was to avoid just such close quarters combat as he employed his height, reach and quickness advantages to keep Diaconu at the end of the jab.

Unable to cut off the ring and corner the fleet-footed challenger, Diaconu ate a lot of leather from the quick shots of Pascal. More...

On Sunday at Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, flyweight Nonito Donaire won his 20th straight bout by defending the IBF and IBO title belts with a fourth round stoppage of previously unbeaten Raul Martinez of America.

Despite having previously won regional titles at as high as bantamweight, Martinez, 24-1 (14), was no match for Donaire, who retained his belts for the third time since shocking Vic Darchinyan almost two years ago.

Speaking of upsets, American Brian Viloria overcame the odds to knock out reigning IBF Light Fly Champion Ulises Solis, who had placed his world title at risk for the ninth time.

Solis, 28-2-2 (20), hadn't lost in nearly five years but had problems with the sheer strength and body attack of Viloria, 25-2 (15), who had previously held the WBC Light Flyweight crown.

In another bout on the bill, minimumweight Denver Cuello, 16-2 (5), captured the vacant WBC International strap with a fourth round stoppage of Hiroshi Matsumoto, 18-10-4 (8).

Local hero Nobuo Nashiro cemented his status as Osaka's top boxer as the super flyweight retained his WBA crown for the first time with a victory last night at Prefectural Gymnasium in his hometown.

Nashiro, 13-1 (8), had won the WBA belt initially in 2006 but was dethroned a year later by Venezuelan slugger Alexander Munoz in Tokyo. The 27 year old regained his old world title last summer but only by razor thin split decision against OPBF and Japanese titlist Kohei Kono.

Last night against towering Tokyo man Konosuke Tomiyama, 18-2 (6), Nashiro faced down the challenge of another OPBF titlist, overwhelming the 25 year old at 1:21 of the eighth round. More...

It was a good weekend at the fights north of the border and we start with the undercard of the Timothy Bradley vs. Kendall Holt bill last night at Montreal's Bell Centre.

Iron-chinned former Canadian light heavy and super middle title challenger David Whittom, 10-8-1 (6), gave Interim WBC Light Heavyweight titlist Adrian Diaconu, 26-0 (15), a good eight rounds, losing on points 80-72 twice and 79-73.

30 year old Quebec City man Whittom will challenge Canadian light heavy champ Jason Naugler in May in Halifax in a rematch to their clash for the vacant belt which Naugler won by a close majority decision two years ago. More...