In the high point for British boxing thus far in 2013, bantamweight Jamie McDonnell beat the odds and powerful Mexican puncher Julio Ceja tonight at Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, England to capture the IBF title in thrilling fashion.

McDonnell adds world glory to a trophy cabinet that already contains European, British and Commonwealth belts while winning his thirteen consecutive bout.

The lanky Doncaster man towered over his opponent tonight and ultimately it was McDonnell's use of reach advantage, proper distance and constant movement which allowed the 27 year old to best the younger, stronger, harder punching Ceja.

After a quiet first round, Ceja started to go to work in the second, corralling the local man and landing the left hook to the body. McDonnell was shelling up on defense, standing still and allowing Ceja to operate.

This continued through the fourth round with McDonnell landing little of consequence while getting punished with left hooks. More and more it appeared that the former European champ would go the way of countless others on Ceja's resume.

By the fifth there was a change, as McDonnell took heart when he realized he could take Ceja's best shots and began to stick and move, finding a home for a nice jab and lead right hand that was catching Ceja and disrupting the Nacho Beristain coached Mexican. More...

In a stunning turn of events, Ricky Burns kept his WBO lightweight title tonight when challenger Jose Gonzalez quit on his stool before the tenth round, citing a possible broken left wrist in a fight in which he had been winning at Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland.

Aside from the previous two frames, the previously unbeaten Gonzalez had been in control of the contest, absolutely battering Burns on several occasions in the seventh round; it was remarkable that the Scot never went down after getting caught flush by such a powerful puncher.

Burns, 36-2 (10), even managed to hurt Gonzalez, 22-1 (17), a couple of times in the seventh but was lucky to finish the frame on his feet.

Gonzalez was oddly inactive in the eighth and ninth, likely as a result of the injury, skipping away from Burns but taking punishment from the champion whenever they came to grips.

The Puerto Rican KO artist could also have lost confidence as he wasn't used to opponents managing to survive his bombardments and that, coupled with the injury, probably tells the story of his failure to continue.

By the midway point in the fight, Burns was looking like a soon to be ex-champion as Gonzalez was masterfully controlling the pace of the fight and the distance in which it was being waged completely to his advantage. More...

The Doncaster faithful will be out in force tonight at the 7,000 capacity Keepmoat Stadium as local man Jamie McDonnell gets a crack at the vacant IBF bantamweight title against rough and tough slugger Julio Ceja.

It's a massive opportunity for British boxing as a McDonnell victory could shift the spotlight from the North West to South Yorkshire, where the lanky 27 year old McDonnell has been the star since defeating Ian Napa in 2010 for the British and Commonwealth crowns.

European champ from 2010 to 2012, McDonnell, 20-2-1 (9), has defeated the best of Britain and the Continent but now take a step up from that level onto the world stage, where he will meet 20 year old Ceja, 24-0 (22), a native of Atizapan de Zargoza, Mexico.

Heavy-handed Ceja has blasted his way through Central American competition, acquiring a raft of regional belts in the process, but, like McDonnell, has yet to meet a world class opponent.

It's interesting to speculate which fighter here, if either, are top of the line performers or just good prospects that have been effectively steered to this point.

Of the two, McDonnell is the better boxer while Ceja is the genuine slugger. That formula usually produces a boxer who will win if he can keep the slugger on the outside and vice versa. More...

Ricky Burns will look to retain his WBO lightweight crown tomorrow night at Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, meeting the challenge posed by Puerto Rican danger man Jose Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, the number one WBO contender at 135 pounds, has whipsawed his way through 22 opponents since turning pro in 2008, halting 17 inside the distance.

Only one fighter, Fernando Trejo in 2011, has managed to hear the final bell against Gonzalez in the last four years.

The 29 year old from Toa Baja has devastating power in either hand, mixing in crippling body shots with lethal counter-punching to produce a very credible threat to the 14 month title reign of Burns.

Team Burns is counting on the fact that Gonzalez hasn't faced anyone near the world class level of the 30 year old Scotsman from Coatbridge, producing his impressive resume amid the company of record-building competition.

Ricky Burns has also pointed out the fact that he took the best shots of another big-punching Puerto Rican, Roman "Rocky" Martinez, yet climbed off the canvas to win the WBO super feather belt in 2010. More...

Former WBA/IBF light welter king Amir Khan burned a few more of his nine lives last night at Sheffield's Motorpoint Arena, managing to finish the fight on his feet after a knockdown and quite a few shaky moments against opponent Julio Diaz.

Working for the second time with Super Middle World Champ Andre Ward's trainer Virgil Hunter, Khan showed discipline and composure in the early rounds, working behind the jab while focusing also on preventing the defensive lapses that have dogged him in the past.

Displaying and edge in quickness, Khan was the busier, more accurate fighter in the first two rounds, managing distance well but by the third, California's Diaz had managed to get closer to Khan and began to find a home for his left hook.

The fourth frame was disastrous for Khan as ex-two time IBF lightweight champion Diaz rammed home a three shot combination bookended by two good left hooks that put the Englishman on the floor.

Khan beat the count and held on for dear life as Diaz tried to finish the job but could not do so amid Khan's constant grabbing for the rest of the round.

The local hero got on his toes for the next two frames, basically running and jabbing his way through and avoiding any confrontation with his aggressive rival. More...

Last night at London's Wembley Arena, WBO light heavyweight king Nathan Cleverly retained his belt with a 12 round unanimous points verdict over challenger Robin Krasniqi.

Krasniqi came into the contest as the WBO's European titlist but had never faced an opponent at world level, and the gulf in class between the Germany based Albanian was apparent from the first bell.

Cleverly exploited his size and reach advantage throughout the fight, using his stiff jab to both keep the challenger on the defensive and set up further offensive forays.

Krasniqi was overwhelmed in the first half of the contest, on the receiving end of shots upstairs and down along with the ever present jab of Cleverly. There simply weren't many opportunities for Krasniqi to go on the offensive.

Beginning in the sixth, Cleverly took his foot off the gas and that allowed Krasniqi to step up his efforts and get into the bout. The challenger proved adept at landing some leather but couldn't string anything together as Cleverly wouldn't allow him to engage.

By the eight, Cleverly was back to using the jab and controlling the action. Krasniqi tried to shake off the yoke in the ninth, giving a spirited effort but by the tenth, Cleverly's dominance was clearly evidenced as the Welshman battered the challenger. More...

Draws were the order of the day last evening at Liverpool's Echo Arena as favorite sons Tony Bellew and Derry Mathews had their homecomings spoiled by performances from Isaac Chilemba and Anthony Crolla.

Bellew and Chilemba were tangling for a very high profile prize, with a mandatory title challenge going to the winner of a WBC light heavyweight final eliminator.

The early rounds featured an intent Bellew stalking a very defensive and hard to hit Chilemba. "The Bomber" swept most of the early rounds on sheer activity alone as he didn't land often but Chilemba threw very little in return, mostly jabs and the odd right hand counter.

The sixth round saw Chilemba finally listen to his trainer Buddy McGirt, backing up Bellew and completely taking control of the bout. The local man looked lost in that frame, getting punched by the suddenly aggressive visitor while missing, often wildly, with his own efforts.

But this approach was opposite Chilemba's counter-puncher nature and while the South African resident did enough to win most of the rounds in the second half of the fight, his sporadic approach to what was working gave Bellew the opportunity to remain in the fight.

It was a very close bout, many rounds could have gone either way but Chilemba's inactivity in the early rounds seemed to tilt a result in Bellew's favor. More...

Saturday night at Sandton Convention Center in Johannesburg, South Africa, Britain's Matthew Hatton will contend for the IBO welterweight crown against reigning champion and local man Chris van Heerden.

This should be a good clash between two fighters with contrasting styles, van Heerden the southpaw boxer and Hatton the brawler.

Van Heerden, 18-1-1 (10), at 25 year of age is taller, younger and quicker but also less experienced than the 31 year old Hatton, 43-6-2 (17), who's resume carries the more recognizable names.

Hatton took his game to another level in 2008, defeating Ben Tackie before drawing with Lovemore N'dou in a 2009 IBO welterweight title bout. In 2010, the Englishman outpointed Gianluca Branco to win the vacant European strap, retaining the title on two occasions.

While these were significant wins for Hatton, the opponents in question were definitely well past their heydays but the same cannot be said of "Magic" Matthew's sole world title opportunity to date.

Hatton stepped up weight in 2011 to contend for the vacant WBC light middle trinket against the picture of youth, the then 20 year old Mexican starlet Saul Alvarez.

Despite losing a wide points decision, Hatton was competitive throughout the contest and the bout stands as the high point of his career, especially considering Alvarez's subsequent ascension. More...

Without a doubt, the Sunday morning headlines heralding Saturday night's fight results in England contained rather unexpected phrases as Audley Harrison once again managed to pull a Lazarus while David Price proved to be the mountain that couldn't.

Harrison had been selected to participate in the latest Prizefighter heavyweight competition, which was a surprising move from the event's promoters, as the now 41 year old southpaw was coming off remarkably bad showings in two recent high profile bouts, KO losses against David Haye and David Price.

Audley had seemingly froze in a 2010 WBA title challenge against Haye, most likely wary of the champion's stunning power, which ended Harrison's lone world title shot at just 1:53 of the first round.

Which could explain why Harrison went directly at Price in 2012, charging the British champion with uncharacteristic aggression but the result was the same as the Haye fight, with the former Olympic hero getting gunned down midway through the first frame.

But given what happened to Price last night in Liverpool, maybe Harrison was on the right track after all.

Back to Audley. It really isn't surprising that he'd been previously successful in the Prizefighter format, winning a 2009 tournament, as the three round setting obviously served him well in the amateur ranks and it obviously doesn't make the same demands on a 41 year old fighter as a 12 rounder.

The fighters lining up in London against "A-Force" last night weren't in the same league as Haye, or Price for that matter, but when Harrison showed up at the weigh-in 20 pounds lighter than his heyday as WBF titlist, it was definitely an indicator that the career underachiever was motivated this time around. More...

Irish super bantam phenom Carl Frampton continued his climb to the world stage with a shattering ninth round stoppage of Spain's Kiko Martinez to annex the European title last night at Odyssey Arena in Belfast.

Despite the end result, the bout was difficult, as expected, for the rising Belfast native as the hard-punching Martinez sought to break Frampton's resolve under the force of constant pressure.

The approach of Martinez, already famous on the emerald isle for having annihilating Dublin's Bernard Dunne six years ago, paid dividends in the early rounds as the experienced Alicante man showed why he was a two-time Continental champion.

Frampton was outfought has he initially tried to stem the Spaniard's tide but that changed in the third as the local man switched tactics and began to use skill rather than strength to blunt the aims of his antagonist.

By the fourth Martinez was no longer in control and Frampton was able to time his counters to good effect, making Martinez pay for missed opportunities.

The champion refused to acknowledge this shift in the balance of power and continued his forward progression, catching Frampton with heavy shots at times but steadily losing rounds to his more active foe. More...

One brother is 41 and has a thriving second career in Politics while the other is 36 and has recently lost his long-time trainer; will there ever be a better time for Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko to walk away from it all?

There has been much talk of a post-Klitschko heavyweight division lately and for good reason.

Vitali already has his own political party in Ukraine and since December 15, is a member of Parliament there. Wladimir has literally run out of credible opponents to fight and the loss of trainer and close friend Emanuel Steward, who had completely rebuilt Klitschko's career since 2004, was a major blow.

It would make sense for the brothers to retire together, as their stated shared career goals were to hold all the heavyweight titles simultaneously, which was achieved in 2011.

So, what would the heavyweight scene look like if the Klitschkos announced their retirement tomorrow?

The division is mostly littered with former Klitschko title challengers of various abilities and also features a raft of promising young guns who have the advantage of never having taken a beating at the hands of Vitali or Wladimir.

Additionally, there is another heavyweight titlist out there not named Klitschko, WBA "regular" belt holder Alexander Povetkin, 25-0 (17), of Russia, who won the vacant crown in 2011 with a points verdict against ex-WBO boss Ruslan Chagaev, 30-2-1 (19), who himself has three straight wins over journeymen and will likely get another title shot within a year.

Povetkin's promise was greatly damaged a year ago when he was lucky to fend off a ferocious title challenge from WBO Cruiserweight king Marco Huck and a second round KO of greatly faded former world champ Hasim Rahman in September did nothing to change that. More...

Let's welcome in 2013 with a look at what is coming down the pike during this month of January.

This Friday, January 4 sees a pair of unbeaten super featherweights who clash for the #2 spot in the IBF rankings at Magic City Casino in Miami, FL. Towering Cuban Rances Barthelemy, 17-0 (11), meets Montreal based Afghani Arash Usmanee, 20-0 (10).

This will be Usmanee's first US appearance in over two years and at 5'8, the Canadian transplant will be in the unusual position of facing a taller fighter than himself in the form of 5'11 Barthelemy.

Both fighters had highly decorated amateur careers but look for Barthelemy's higher degree of experience and local fan following to carry him through this one.

Friday, January 11 sees a crossroads featherweight fight at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, CA as unbeaten prospect Ronny Rios, 19-0 (9), steps up in class to face former WBA Super Bantam champ Rico Ramos, 21-1 (11), for the vacant NABF strap.

As an ex-world titlist, Ramos obviously has the better resume but this is his first bout at feather and will be facing a larger, younger foe. Ramos is, however, coming off a Majority Decision verdict against another previously undefeated prospect, Efrain Esquivias, and will be looking to duplicate that performance.

Rios will have to realize his full potential if he is to overcome his higher seasoned opponent and this one is a true toss up. More...

Super middleweight Brian Magee's big moment in the sun came up last night at Boxen Arena in Herning, Denmark but the Belfast veteran soon encountered stormy seas in the form of local icon Mikkel Kessler.

After a three year reign as IBO champ was ended by Robin Reid, and enduring subsequent losses to Vitaliy Tsypko and Carl Froch along with a draw against Tony Oakey, by 2007 Magee was widely considered washed up.

But the Ulster man refused to give up and went onto capture the British and European titles by 2010, culminating in a failed bid to knock off Lucian Bute for the IBF crown in 2011.

Amazingly, Magee somehow found yet another lifeline later that year to capture the Interim WBA strap against Jaime Barboza before defending the belt with a fifth round KO of Rudy Markussen in Denmark in February.

The WBA upgraded Magee to champion status for last night's clash with Kessler but the 37 year old was a definite underdog, going up against the former WBC/WBA kingpin, especially on Kessler's home turf.

Once the bell rang, southpaw Magee looked to be in fine form, wisely keeping distance from the powerful Dane but nipping in with crisp jabs, right hooks and the occasional straight left.

Kessler was content to study the visitor, using his own jab to set up a few right hands and appeared in no great hurry to impose his will. More...

American Yusaf Mack didn't pose much of a threat to IBF super middle champ Carl Froch on Saturday night as "The Cobra" retained his belt at home in front of a packed Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England.

Mack tried to keep the champion at range with the jab but was in trouble as early as the first frame as local hero Froch belted the challenger to the floor with a left-right combination.

The visitor saw out the first stanza by using survival tactics and appeared to regain his composure in the second but by round's end was getting punished by the Englishman.

Froch bettered his work in the third by landing a crippling head-body-head sequence that shattered Mack's resistance, sending the Philadelphian down hard, where he was counted out at 2:30 of the round.

Froch retains the IBF belt for the first time, improving to 30-2 (22), while Mack loses his second world title shot, falling to 31-5-2 (17).

The chief support bout featured light heavyweight action as Liverpool's Tony Bellew, 19-1 (12), drubbed Argentina's Roberto Feliciano Bolonti, 30-2 (19), over 12 rounds to capture the vacant WBC Silver title. More...

Carl Froch is back in action tonight, fighting in front of a hometown audience for the second consecutive time as the IBF super middleweight champion meets the challenge of America's Yusaf Mack at the Capital FM Arena in Nottingham, England.

Froch, 29-2 (21), is coming off a career best victory in May, belting out longtime IBF king Lucian Bute in just five rounds in a bout many expected him to lose.

However impressive Froch's destruction of the Romanian southpaw was, Mack, 31-4-2 (17), is a very different kettle of fish than Bute and could give "The Cobra" a much more difficult night than is generally expected.

As a USBA super middle titlist, Mack was 22-0 before getting gunned down by KO artist Alejandro Berrio in a IBF #2 eliminator in 2006, after which Berrio won the vacant IBF belt by stopping Robert Stieglitz.

Two bouts later, Mack was attempting to win back his old USBA strap and got into a barnburner with future two-time world title challenger Librado Andrade, dropping Andrade in the first before getting decked himself three times and halted in the seventh.

In 2008, Mack moved up to light heavyweight and won the NABF and NABA titles with victories over Chris Henry and Daniel Judah before former IBF champ Glen Johnson finished him off in six during an IBF eliminator in 2010.

Mack got right back on the horse and won the USBA light heavy belt with a split decision against Otis Griffin before getting stopped by IBF champion Tarvoris Cloud after eight competitive rounds in 2011.

Mack won both his fights in 2012, a USBA title bout against Omar Sheika and a six rounder over Sabou Ballogou. More...