Boxing News

The WBC Cruiserweight title remained with Giacobbe Fragomeni tonight after 12 rounds of combat at the Gran Teatro in Rome, Italy with ex-IBF champ Krzysztof Wlodarczyk.

The champion started out strong, going after the taller Polish challenger and picking up rounds behind a good two-handed assault as Wlodarczyk gave ground and made Fragomeni expend a lot of energy.

The tactic paid off as the 39 year old Italian was spent after the midway point and Wlodarczyk turned the tide, punishing the weary champion. More...

WBC Cruiserweight Champion Giacobbe Fragomeni puts his world title belt on the line for the first time when he meets ex-IBF Champ Krzysztof Wlodarczyk at the Gran Teatro tonight in Rome.

Coming off an eighth round technical decision win over previously undefeated Rudolf Kraj for the vacant WBC title last October, former amateur standout Fragomeni, 26-1 (10), is ready for his night in the spotlight.

And at age 39, Fragomeni doesn't have any time to waste.

The Milan based hard man gave European champion David Haye all he could handle in 2006 before a ninth round cuts stoppage and Fragomeni is the favorite to turn back the ambitions of his Polish opponent tonight in Italy's largest city. More...

European cruiserweight champion Marco Huck retained his belt last night with a fifth round finishing of Ukrainian challenger Vitaliy Russell at Jako Arena in Bamberg.

Huck, 25-1 (20), proved too strong for the less experienced Rusal, 23-1 (16), who had come into the bout as the undefeated IBO Intercontinental titlist but the jump up to European level was too great.

Rusal had no answers for Huck's hard combinations and was down in the fifth before the bout was stopped at 2:58 of the round.

Huck has now won six straight following his failed bid to unseat IBF champion Steve Cunningham in December, 2007.

On the undercard, light middleweight Alexander Abraham, 25-0-1 (17), stopped Magomed Abdurakhmanov, 14-3 (7), with a body shot in the fourth in defense of the EBU-EE crown.

Cruiserweight Yoan Pablo Hernandez, 19-1 (11), outpointed Aaron Williams, 19-2-1 (13), after eight rounds.

Wladimir Sidorenko waited a year to make his ring return following the loss of his WBA Bantamweight title and last night at Hall 7 in Bremen, Germany, the Ukrainian rematched the man who took his belt, Anselmo Moreno of Panama.

All went to plan in the first half of the bout for Sidorenko, who outworked Moreno and looked to have never taken a year off in this battle of light hitting southpaws.

But once the challenger began to slow down, Moreno took control, catching the aggressive Sidorenko on the way in and erasing the Ukrainian's early lead. More...

A year after losing his WBA belt and undefeated record to Panama's Anselmo Moreno, featherweight Wladimir Sidorenko gets an opportunity to win back his title tonight at Halle 7 in Bremen, Germany.

32 year old Hamburg based Ukrainian southpaw Sidorenko, 21-1-2 (7), won the WBA crown in early 2005 and kept it over six defenses but was hard pressed during two of those by Moreno's big-punching countryman Ricardo Cordoba during two controversially draws.

The light hitting Sidorenko's run ended on May 31 of last year when he was outpointed in Dusseldorf by fellow southpaw Moreno and hasn't had a fight since, a decision that could come back to haunt him. More...

Last night on a fight card at Konig Palast in Krefeld, Germany, Felix Sturm and Karoly Balzsay retained their world title belts by stoppage.

As expected, WBA Middleweight Champ Sturm, 32-2-1 (14), wasn't pushed hard by his inexperienced challenger, Japan's Koji Sato, 14-1 (13), and was able to control the bout with his superb jab.

By the seventh round, Sato, the reigning OPBF titlist, was cut over both eyes and the clash was stopped by his corner at 2:46 of the frame.

WBO Super Middle Champ Balzsay, 21-0 (15), faced a far more seasoned foe, ex-WBA Middle beltholder Maselino Masoe, 29-6 (27). More...

Tonight, the big action in Germany takes place at Konig Palast in Krefeld as WBA Middleweight Champion Felix Sturm and WBO Super Middle Champion Karoly Balzsay return to the ring.

Sturm, 31-2-1 (13), is looking to make the sixth successful defense of his belt when he meets Japan's Koji Sato, 14-0 (13).

28 year old Tokyo man Sato has KO'd all but one of his opponents to date but the reigning OPBF king has yet to face anyone near Sturm's ability.

Sturm should win this one but will have to be at his jab and move best to keep big punching Sato from connecting with anything significant over the course of all 12 rounds. More...

On Sunday at Bussum, Netherlands, Nigerian born Amsterdam lightweight Innocent Anyanwu, 18-0-2 (11), saw the victory parade continue as the 26 year old BeNeLux Lightweight and Super Feather Champion dropped Belgium's Herve De Luca, 14-4-1 (7), twice before finishing him off in the third.

This isn't the first time the pair have clashed as Anyanwu KO'd De Luca in the seventh two years ago in Belgiu for the BeNeLux super feather crown.

There was a good bill on Saturday at Kisahalli in Helsinki, Finland as ex-European Middleweight Champion Amin Asikainen, 26-2 (17), bounced back from a failed bid to recapture his old title in November by winning an eight rounder on points against Argentine import Valentin Antonio Ochoa, 20-13-1 (8). More...

Heavyweight hopeful Alexander Povetkin continued down the path toward a world title shot last night by handling the challenge posed by American visitor Jason Estrada at Burg-Waechter Castello in Dusseldorf.

The early rounds were fairly even as the pair mostly jabbed and studied but each enjoyed sporadic success with hard single shots on occasion.

The middle rounds got rougher as Povetkin and Estrada hammered away at each other during the constant clinching. As Povetkin began to get more aggressive, he succeeded in breaking through Estrada's defense but was also getting picked off cleanly by the American on many occasions. More...

There are a few good shows on the continent tonight, with the bill at Burg-Waechter Castello in Dusseldorf, Germany taking centre stage.

The card is headlined by a European Union Heavyweight title battle between Germany based Italian southpaw Francesco Pianeta, 18-0 (11), and England based Pole, Albert Sosnowski, 44-2 (27).

Pianeta has been on a good winning streak over the last year, putting the first loss on American prospect Mike Marrone's record for the WBC Youth title before winning the EU crown when Welshman Scott Gammer injured a hand in the eighth frame.

The 24 year old Gelsenkirschen resident spoiled another perfect record while retaining his belt by decisioning Johann Duhaupas in December. More...

Last night there were three good cards in Europe and we kick off this report at Mehrzweckhalle Grossziethen in Shoenefeld, Germany.

European Union Light Middleweight Champion Jimmy Colas, 26-5 (11), was dethroned in his first title defense by Lukas Konecny, 39-3 (19), via majority decision.

Haitian born Frenchman Colas saw a seven bout win streak evaporate as ex-WBO title challenger Konecny of the Czech Republic was the busier and more effective man over the 12 hard fought rounds.

One of the most decorated of all women's boxing champions, Natascha Ragosina, 20-0 (12), kept her WBC Female, WIBF and GBU Super Middleweight titles with a stoppage of Trinidadian southpaw Iva Weston, 12-5 (1), at 1:19 of the sixth round, bringing the one-sided affair to a close.

At the Leisure Centre in Altrincham, England, Matthew Hatton, 36-4-1 (14), won a IBO Welterweight title eliminator by stopping former European Light Welter titlist Ted Bami, 26-5 (13), in the sixth round. More...

Last night at Hans Martin Schleyer Halle in Stuttgart, WBC Heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko retained his crown with a win over former WBC Cruiserweight titlist.

This was a messy bout, from start to finish, marred by many clinches, collisions, missed punches, and plain old awkwardness on the part of both fighters that just multiplied as they tried to put on a fight.

Gomez tried to back Klitschko up in the first and got in a shot or two but the big Ukrainian was the one doing the advancing by round's end. Gomez switched tactics in the second and became a bit more selective with his offense but still had trouble getting in more than a few punches.

Klitschko began to figure out Gomez and started hitting the target with long right hands and the lead left hook. Gomez became more aggressive at the start of the third until Klitschko put the Cuban on the defensive by coming forward. When Klitschko backed off, Gomez tried to push the pace again but the challenger was having trouble with the size and strength of Klitschko. More...

Last night at the Ostseehalle in Keil, Germany, IBF Middleweight Champion Arthur Abraham, 29-0 (23), retained his title for the ninth consecutive time, outpointing previously undefeated American challenger Lajuan Simon, 21-1-2 (12), over twelve rounds.

Welterweight Cecilia Braekhus, 11-0 (2), won the vacant WBA and WBC Female titles with a ten round points verdict over Vinni Skovgaard, 7-1 (3), while middleweight Dominik Britsch, 13-0 (5), annexed the vacant IBF Youth title with a ten round UD over Daniel Urbanski, 10-5-2 (3).

Former WBO Heavyweight Champion Lamon Brewster, 35-4 (30), won an eight rounder against former European Union, British and Commonwealth titlist Michael Sprott, 31-13 (16), while super middleweight prospect Thomas Troelenberg, 18-0 (10), knocked out Virgilius Stapulionis, 15-1 (9), in the third.

At The Ice Palace in Saransk, Russia, ex-WBC Heavyweight Champion Oleg Maskaev, 36-6 (27), KO'd American import Rich Boruff, 17-3-1 (10), in the first round.

The Casino Barriere in Montreux, Switzerland played host to undefeated middleweight Yves Studer, 21-0 (5), stopping Gabriel Lecrosnier, 9-16-2 (1), in the fifth round. More...

Tonight at Osteehalle in Keil, Germany, IBF Middleweight Champion Arthur Abraham puts his belt at risk against undefeated American Lajuan Simon.

Abraham, 28-0 (23), won the belt in December, 2005 and has staved off eight challengers during that time, stopping all but three of them and also knocking out nemesis Edison Miranda in a non-title rematch in June of last year.

The champion's challenger this evening in Keil will be Philadelphia based Lajuan Simon, 21-0-2 (12), who brings a nice record on paper but in reality is a 30 year old fighter who has never faced anyone remotely near Abraham's standing or ability.

Simon could turn out to be a cut far above the level of competition he's faced so far but if he isn't, the bout will only last as long as Abraham wants it to.

On the undercard, the vacant WBA and WBC Female Welterweight titles are up for grabs when Ceceilia Braekhus, 10-0 (2), squares off with Vinni Skovgaard, 7-0 (3), over ten scheduled rounds.

On a big show last night at Freiberger Arena in Dresden, light heavyweight Juergen Braehmer won the biggest fight of his career with a fifth round TKO of Rachid Kanfouah to capture the vacant European title.

Stocky southpaw Braehmer, 32-2 (26), was coming off a failed bid to lift the WBO belt from Hugo Hernan Garay last November but was able to overcome 35 year old French Champion Kanfouah, 29-7 (23), who found himself outgunned in the contest.

Womens super flyweight superstar Alesia Graf, 23-1 (9), retained her WIBF and GBU belts by outpointing Magdalena "The Beast" Dahlen, 9-2 (3), in a rematch to their initial contest in November. More...

There were two domestic title fights at Hall Omnisport in Herstal, Belgium on Saturday, with a pair of prospects rolling on to Belgian title victories.

Jean Pierre "Junior" Bauwens, 11-0 (7), of Ghent faced his first opponent with a winning record, Brussels based Tunisian Saber Gasmi, 8-6 (3), and made the best of it, forcing Gasmi to quit in the seventh to win the Belgian Lightweight title.

Liege bantamweight Stephane Jamoye, 11-0 (4), had a tougher assignment in the form of Israeli Elion Kedem, 9-2-3 (7), but pulled out a ten round unanimous decision to capture the vacant Belgian belt.

Jamoye will step up in competition again in May when he faces undefeated Thai WBC World Youth titlist Pungluang Sor Singyu. More...

Hometown hero Cyril Thomas took a big risk challenging for the IBF Featherweight title but the odds proved too great for the Frenchman to overcome as Thomas was turned back by reigning world titlist Cristobal Cruz after 12 competitive rounds at Palais des Sportes in Saint-Quentin, France.

The former European titlist proved good on his intention of staying out of the trenches but was still outworked by the champion, who managed to rock Thomas on several occasions in the later rounds.

Thomas stepped it up over the last two stanzas but it was not enough to overturn the commanding lead taken by Mexico's Cruz, who swept the scorecards by marks of 116-112 and 115-113 twice.

Cruz, 38-11-1 (23), retains the IBF belt for the first time since winning it by split decision last October against Omar Salido. More...

Former two-time European Featherweight Champion Cyril Thomas gets a long awaited world title bid tonight at the Palais Des Sport in Saint-Quentin, France when he challenges Mexico's IBF titlist Cristobal Cruz.

31 year old Cruz, 37-11-1 (23), of Tijuana, has faced tough competition over his 17 year career but bounced back from two losses in 2007 to win the IBO and IBF crowns in a lively 2008 for the big-hearted veteran.

Local man Thomas, 33-2-4 (10), hasn't lost a contest in nearly three years and the 32 year old stylist comes into the clash as the reigning IBF International beltholder.

Cruz is known for throwing a tremendous number of punches and simply outworked Thomas Mashaba and Orlando Salido in big fights last year but the results were very close. More...

Last night at Stadhalle in Rostock, Germany, WBA Champions Ruslan Chagaev and Andriy Kotelnik retained their title belts at heavyweight and light welter, respectively.

Chagaev, 25-0-1 (17), technically a "champion in recess", handled the challenge of previously undefeated Costa Rican Carl Davis Drumond, 26-1 (20), well, outboxing his rival until suffering a bad cut above the left eye in the third from an accidental headbutt, which forced the bout to go to the cards after the end of round six.

While Drumond had a few good moments in the third and sixth rounds, it was another good display from Chagaev as the 30 year old Uzbek southpaw was awarded a 60-54 and 58-56 twice unanimous technical decision victory and will likely face the "other" WBA champion, Nicolai Valuev, in a rematch this summer.

33 year old Drumond suffers his first defeat after four years as a professional. More...

Universum Box Promotion puts on a bill tonight headlined by the WBA Heavyweight title fight between champion Ruslan Chagaev, 26-0-1 (20), and challenger Carl Davis Drumond, 26-0 (20), of Costa Rica, at Stadhalle in Rostock, Germany.

Chief support sees WBA Light Welter Champ Andreas Kotelnik, 30-3-1 (13), defending against undefeated Argentine body punching terror Marcos Rene Maidana, 25-0 (24).

On the undercard, unbeaten WBA Intercontinental Heavyweight kingpin Denis Boystov, 23-0 (18), puts his title at risk against New York's Israel Garcia, 19-2 (11). More...