Boxing News

Philadelphia has historically been the breeding ground of some of the toughest boxers to ever lace up the gloves and last night at Bally's Casino in Atlantic City, NJ, one of the City of Brotherly Love's hottest prospects was in action.

Welterweight Mike Jones put his NABA belt on the line for the second time, squaring off with late replacement Lenin Arroyo, a seasoned Miami based Costa Rican light welter.

Jones put on a sizzling display of boxing skills and power punching but couldn't stop steel-jawed veteran Arroyo, who once went eight rounds with bomb throwing future WBO champ Randall Bailey.

He didn't win all the rounds but Jones took almost all of them, sweeping the cards on scores of 99-91 twice and 98-92 to move to 18-0 (15) while Arroyo loses his third on the bounce to drop to 20-10-1 (4).

Also on the bill, super middle Jerson Ravelo, 20-4 (12), came back from a loss in February to outpoint Willis Lockett, 12-9-5 (5), over eight by scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 77-75.

Light middleweight contender Alfredo Angulo got back in the saddle last night with a second round TKO against outgunned opponent Gabriel Rosado last night at Buffalo Bill's Star Arena in Primm, Nevada.

The meteoric rise of Angulo, 16-1 (13), had been blunted in May by two-time former welterweight world champion Kermit Cintron during a WBC light middle eliminator but the 26 year old Mexican banger was in fine form against Rosado.

Hailing from Philadelphia, Rosado, 12-4 (7), came into the bout on the strength of a shock split decision verdict over former IBF light middle beltholder Kassim Ouma in April but the 23 year old was no match for Angulo, hitting the deck three times before the bout was waved off in the second.

Undefeated super middle Anthony Dirrell, 18-0 (15), stopped Alfredo Contreras, 10-6-1 (4), in the seventh while heavyweight prospect Travis Kauffman, 18-0 (15), belted out overmatched William Shanahan, 7-2 (6), in the first round.

Timothy Bradley kept his WBO light welter title last night at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT after challenger Nate Campbell claimed he couldn't see after suffering a serious laceration above his left eye at the end of the third round.

The bout was entertaining during its short duration with Campbell looking to press the action and wear down the champion through a strategy of energy-sapping clinches, wrestling and short shots on the inside.

The much quicker Bradley wasn't playing along however, and threw punches in bunches, forcing Campbell to cover up and go defensive for much of the time. Seasoned vet Campbell made Bradley miss or largely nullified the effects of what did land by riding the shots but as each moment passed, the champion looked to be gaining more control of the bout.

The 25 year old champion was far more fluid in his movements than his 37 year old rival and the strength advantage enjoyed by the naturally larger Bradley also looked to be causing Campbell problems.

By the third, Bradley had Campbell on the ropes and was throwing all he had into the assaults. Near the end of the frame, an accidental clash of heads occurred shortly before Campbell backed away and motioned to the referee that he was cut just as the third round ended. More...

Things looked bleak for Isaac Hlatshwayo early on in his rematch with Delvin Rodriguez last night at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT but the South African buckled down and managed to pull off a split decision victory to capture the vacant IBF Welterweight title.

At just 5'7, former lightweight Hlatshwayo had to get inside if he was to overcome the six foot tall Rodriguez and the local man punished the African, making "The Angel" pay the price for each step forward with big right hands.

After their 12 round draw in South Africa in November, Rodriguez had the timing of Hlatshwayo down cold and picked off the shorter man on the way inside but the visitor just never stopped coming even when he was hurt in the third.

Rodriguez simply couldn't stop Hlatshwayo's forward progression and the action moved to the inside as Rodriguez tired and could no longer keep the Johannesburg native at bay. More...

© Tom Casino / Showtime Boxing

The big fight this weekend sees Nate Campbell stepping up to light welter tonight for a crack at Timothy Bradley's WBO belt at Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, CA.

At 37 years of age, Campbell, 33-5-1 (25), has had a long and winding career with many ups and many downs. He comes into this bout after having won the two biggest fights of his career, a thrilling split decision over Juan Diaz for the IBF, WBO and WBA lightweight belts in March, 2008 and a hard fought majority decision against big punching Ali Funeka in February for what was to have been a lightweight title fight except Campbell couldn't make weight.

Having outgrown the 135 pound division, Campbell will try his hand at light welter and challenge Bradley, 24-0 (11), who won the WBC title in May, 2008, defended it against Edner Cherry before taking Kendall Holt's WBO strap by decision in April. More...

The boxing community is in mourning yet again today as reports surface that former two-weight world champion Vernon Forrest was gunned down last night in Atlanta, GA.

Forrest reportedly was involved in a firefight with two men who had attempted to carjack his Jaguar while he was filling up the car's tires at a gas station in the southwestern section of Atlanta.

The former amateur and professional star was defending more than his vehicle as the 11 year old son of Forrest's girlfriend was with him at the time.

The 38 year old achieved a 41-3 (29) record over the course of a career that began in 1992 and held the IBF, WBC and NABF titles at welterweight as well as the WBC light middleweight title.

Forrest was also actively involved in charitable causes.

SaddoBoxing expresses its deepest sympathies to the family of Vernon Forrest.

Last night at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, NV lightweight contender Breidis Prescott picked up his first pro loss at the hands of Mexican veteran Miguel Vazquez, who pounded out a split decision victory.

Colombian bomb thrower Prescott, 21-1 (18), came into the bout best known for crushing Britain's heavily hyped Amir Khan last year and was favored to defeat Vazquez, 25-3 (12).

Prescott nearly pulled off another early stoppage when he decked his rival in the first but Vazquez, a career light welter/welter who's only losses had come at the hands of former IBF 140 pound champ Timothy Bradley and welterweight contender Saul Alvarez, got back up and went to work.

After ten rounds, Vazquez had outboxed Prescott, taking two of the cards by scores of 96-93 and 95-94 while the Colombian won the third 97-92. More...

© Tom Casino / Showtime Boxing

Gone last night at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, FL were former fly and super flyweight world champion Vic Darchinyan's usual advantages of height, strength and power as the Aussie hard man moved up to bantam to challenge IBF titlist Joseph Agbeko.

Filling the void was the taller, stronger and bigger punching Agbeko, who had refused to be intimidated by Darchinyan's trash talk during the long media campaign leading up to last night's clash.

Agbeko also refused to be moved a single inch by the force of Darchinyan in the ring, handling the southpaw challenger's bull rushes with good footwork and counters, with a solid chin that held firm whenever the overhand lefts and right hooks of Darchinyan connected. More...

IBF cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek handled the challenge of opponent Bobby Gunn with little difficulty last night at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, as expected.

35 year old former light middleweight Gunn had no shortage of heart going into the bout but had only ever competed against lower level competition aside from a first round stoppage at the hands of WBO champ Enzo Maccarinelli in 2007.

In sharp contrast, 32 year old Adamek had previously held the WBC light heavyweight crown, losing only to current world champion Chad Dawson two years ago before heading to cruiserweight where he captured the IBF belt with a thrilling victory over Steve Cunningham last December. More...

In a hotly anticipated battle of light welterweights, Argentina's Marcos Rene Maidana upset top American prospect Victor Ortiz in a fiery explosion of power punches that exceeded expectations at Staples Center in Los Angeles for the Interim WBA title.

Both boxers were coming off high profile bouts with Ortiz seeming to have the momentum following his second round stoppage of highly touted Mike Arnaoutis for the NABO and USBA crowns while Maidana had narrowly missed knocking off WBA titlist Andriy Kotelnik.

The initial round was torrid as the big punchers left caution to the wind and let go with all they had. Southpaw Ortiz struck paydirt first, hammering his Argentine opponent to the floor with a perfect right hook, but Maidana beat the count and returned the favor, dropping Ortiz with a full blooded right hand.

Both men survived the first frame to go back to the tooth and nail exchanges in an equally furious second round. More...

The Interim WBA light welter strap is up for grabs tonight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles as native son Victor Ortiz is in the spotlight against Marcos Renee Maidana.

Both guys can bang and aren't used to losing so the contest should be a superb fight for as long as it lasts.

Southpaw Ortiz, 24-1-1 (19), has rubbed out eight opponents in a row including former world champ Carlos Maussa and highly regarded contender Mike Arnaoutis, proving his power and abilities at a very high level.

Committed body puncher Maidana, 25-1 (24), pounded his way out of Argentina to land in Germany where he has been based for the last two years.

Maidana took a big leap in competition to contend for the WBA title in February but Ukrainian stylist Andriy Kotelnik turned him back. The 25 year old from Santa Fe now gets to once again go for the WBA bauble tonight. More...

Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City sees a WBO super bantam title contest between reigning champ Juan Manuel Lopez and challenger Olivier Lontchi.

Over the last three years, no one has lasted the distance against hammer-fisted Puerto Rican southpaw Lopez, 25-0 (23), who has stopped his last 13 opponents during that time.

And Lopez's resume boasts some pretty respectable names such as Gerry Penalosa, Daniel Ponce de Leon and Hugo Dianzo.

Lontchi, on the other hand, has climbed the rankings behind some good boxing skills and gotten past the likes of Cecilio Santos and Cruz Carbajal but will be at a definite experience disadvantage against Lopez. More...

A hotly anticipated local clash takes place tonight at the Bell Centre in Montreal and the stakes couldn't be higher as Adrian Diaconu faces Jean Pascal for the WBC light heavyweight title.

The fight has garnered massive attention in Quebec and is the biggest fight of the year so far in the province's largest city.

Diaconu, 26-0 (15), won the interim WBC crown with a hard fought unanimous decision in his native Romania a year ago against Chris Henry and supporters of "The Shark" are confident that the stocky 31 year old will come through this first defense with flying colors. More...

Aside from Miguel Cotto's WBA title defense against Joshua Clottey on Saturday, there were a few good shows in America on Friday night.

Former WBA light welter Diosbelys Hurtado, 42-3-1 (25), won a 12 round unanimous decision over Manuel Garnica, 25-11 (13), in defense of the WBO Latino strap and Cuban heavyweight prospect Odlanier Solis, 14-0 (10), rubbed out Dominique Alexander, 18-7-1 (9), in the first round.

At The Palms in Las Vegas, NV, ex-WBA super bantam boss Bones Adams, 44-6-4 (20), returned to the ring after a year on the sidelines to stop Alex "Ali" Baba, 26-16-1 (19), in the eighth stanza.

At the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA, ex-featherweight world champion Robert Guerrero, 24-1-1 (17), made his lightweight debut by stopping former USBA titlist Efren Hinojosa, 30-6-1 (17), in the eighth frame of a ten rounder. More...

MIguel Cotto and Joshua Clottey went to war last night over 12 hard rounds at New York's fabled Madison Square Garden with Cotto emerging still in possession of his WBO Welterweight title by a narrow split decision.

Clottey showed a massive heart by taking everything the Puerto Rican star could dish out while coming back time and time again with rattling combinations of his own.

The bout proved difficult to score as the pair went at it in close quarters and a Cotto knockdown of Clottey in the very first frame proved to be the deciding factor in the clash.

Cotto, who was cut in the third from a clash of heads, had much of his successes early and enjoyed a good round in the sixth when he went all out to stop Clottey but the challenger survived the shelling. More...

There were two good shows north of the border last night and we'll start off in boxing mad Montreal at The Casino.

Undefeated welterweight Antonin Decarie, 22-0 (6), kept on track for a world title challenge as the 26 year old pulled off a letter perfect performance against opponent Victor Hugo Castro, 29-6 (12).

After 12 rounds, Decarie won all three cards by a score of 120-108 and retained his WBO NABO title for the third time.

On the undercard, former middleweight world title challenger Sebastien Demers, 28-2 (10), won his third bout in a row by outpointing Alfredo Contreras, 10-5-1 (4), over eight rounds at super middle. More...

Top women's welterweight Holly Holm, 24-1-3 (7), retained her WIBA belt by stopping Duda Yankovich, 11-1 (5), in the fourth round at Isleta Casino in Albuquerque, NM. Holm has now gone 18 bouts without a loss.

At the Mahi Shrine Temple in Miami, FL, light middle Carlos Molina, 17-4-1 (5), outpointed veteran Danny Perez, 34-6 (17), over 12 for the WBO NABO crown while lightweight Ira Terry, 22-2 (12), won a majority decision after eight rounds against Leon Bobo, 18-3-1 (2).

Grand Casino in Hinckley, MN was the site of a big win by light heavy prospect Marcus Oliveria, 19-0-1 (15), who KO'd Otis Griffin, 19-6-2 (7), with a full blooded uppercut in the second round.

Also on the bill, 37 year old ex-middleweight world title challenger Antwun Echols, 31-11-4 (27), was stopped in the seventh by Phil Williams, 11-1 (10), at light heavyweight.

At the Westbury Music Fair in Westbury, NY, light middle Pawel Wolak, 24-1 (16), outpointed cagey veteran Vinroy Barrett, 22-8 (11), over ten frames.

© Tom Casino / Showtime Boxing

In the biggest bout of his career to date, former 2004 Olympic Gold Medal winner Andre Ward pulled off a superb performance to control the action against dangerous opponent Edison Miranda over twelve rounds at super middle for a points verdict at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA.

Fighting in front of a motivated home-crowd, Ward asserted his authority from the first bell and immediately staked his claim to being the bigger, faster, stronger fighter against Miranda.

Ward was constantly moving and never really let Miranda get set, peppering the former middleweight world title challenger with jabs and powershots to the head and body. More...

Tonight, super middle prospect Andre Ward steps up to meet former middleweight world title challenger Edison Miranda at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA in a 12 round match up.

Ward, who boasts a perfect 18-0 record to go along with his regional NABF and NABO titles, has proven adept at defeating respectable opponents as Henry Buchanan, Esteban Camou, Jerson Ravelo and Rubin Williams over the last two years but must now take a litmus test.

The credentials of Miranda, 32-3 (28), are impeccable, having faced top middleweights Arthur Abraham and Kelly Pavlik during his only career losses but also holds wins over Howard Eastman, Allan Green, Henry Porras, Willie Gibbs and David Banks. More...

Chad Dawson won his rematch last night with Antonio Tarver at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, defending his IBF and IBO light heavyweight belts in the process.

Dawson won nearly ever round against Tarver during their initial clash this past October and while he was never in any trouble last night, the rematch victory wasn't as dominant.

Tarver was more aggressive and threw more punches this time out but once again, Dawson at 26 was just two fast for his 40 year old rival and while he wasn't as busy as Tarver, was far more accurate.

At the end of 12 frames, Dawson swept the cards 117-111 twice and 116-112, improving to 28-0 (17). Tarver drops to 27-6 (19).

Heavyweight prospect Bowie Tupou, 18-0 (14), stopped Chris Koval, 24-6 (18), and featherweight Melissa Hernandez, 10-1-2 (3), posted a six round decision over Jeri Sitzes, 14-9-1 (6).