Britain's golden boy, Commonwealth Lightweight Champ Amir Khan, was back in the ring last night, facing Denmark's Martin Kristjansen for the WBO Intercontinental crown in a bout that also served as an official WBO Title Eliminator at Bolton Arena in Bolton, England.
Fresh off a solid points victory over former IBF/IBO Super Feather titlist Gary St. Clair in February, the 21 year old starlet had a perfect opportunity in the form of Kristjansen as the light punching 30 year old Dane didn't have the artillery to trouble Khan.
Khan's handspeed and sharp skills were in evidence, proving too much for his brave but outgunned rival, who was canvassed repeatedly in the seventh before the bout was stopped as a result.
The "Bolton Wonder" improves to 17-0 (13) while Kristjansen suffers his first stoppage loss and stands at 19-2-3 (5). More...
Light welter prospect Paul McCloskey took and important step last night by claiming victory over former WBC Lightweight Champion Cesar Bazan at the Leisure Complex in Letterkenny.
Despite his great experience, Bazan is no longer the fighter he once was in the late 1990's and was made to order for the Ulster prospect, who rattled off many southpaw combinations on the way to sweeping the card of the referee Emile Tiedt 100-91 after ten rounds. More...
There were two good cards last night in Scotland with several of the top men in the country in action. At the Scottish Exhibition Centre in Glasgow, ex-Commonwealth Lightweight king and European Union Super Feather titlist Willie Limond returned to the ring for the first time since losing to Amir Khan last July.
Local hero Limond, 29-2 (8), took on the always tough Martin Watson, 14-5-1 (6), of Coatbridge and outfoxed the former Celtic Champ to win a wide points verdict 119-109, 119-111 and 118-110 and capture the vacant IBO Intercontinental Lightweight belt.
At the Beach Ballroom in Aberdeen, Lee McAllister, 26-1 (5), won his 19th straight and retained the WBU Lightweight strap with a decision victory over steel chinned Romanian Mihaita Mutu, 22-12-2 (9), after twelve rounds. More...
The Zenith Kulturhalle in Munich was the site of a good German card last night as Sinan Samil Sam, 30-4 (16), defended his WBC Mediterranean Heavyweight title with a second round stoppage of Yugoslav veteran Ratko Draskovic, 28-7-2 (16).
Sam won his third in a row following a WBC heavyweight title eliminator loss to Oliver McCall last year and the busy Hamburg man is looking to regain the European title he held from 2002-3.
Ex-WBC Super Middle titlist Markus Beyer, 35-3-1 (13), made his much anticipated ring return with a good eight round points win over Russian middleweight Murat Mahmudov, 16-4 (8). More...
The Idraetshal in Odense saw a big Danish show last night with veteran Lolenga Mock, 28-11-1 (12), annexing the vacant European Union Super Middleweight title by posting a close split decision over Italy's Mouhamed Ali Nidaye, 13-1 (8).
Mock, born in Zaire but now residing in Aarhus, had held the title previously and is famous in Europe for having canvassed current world cruiserweight champion David Haye with a single shot during a loss in 2003.
Local cruiser prospect Ander Hugger, 10-0 (5), got the biggest win of his career with a hard fought 12 round verdict against ex-world title challenger Louis Azille, 19-5-2 (15) to cage the vacant IBA International crown.
The was some women's action on the show as well with light welter Vinni Skovgaard, 6-0 (3), dramatically stopping Belgium's Zelda Tekin, 4-2 (3), in the tenth and final frame to capture the WBC International Female belt.
Buckle up 'cos we're off on a massive two day trip around the world in this special weekend round-up! We'll start on Saturday in and kick things off at the Diamond Jubilee Hall in Dar-Es-Salam, Tanzania where it was a battle royale to see just who would walk away with middleweight bragging rights of this beautiful East African country.
The bout was scheduled for 12 full rounds but Hassan "Red Bull" Matmula, 14-7 (9), never saw his way to the finish as local hero Francis Cheka, 14-5-1 (9), dropped Matmula in the ninth before knocking out his foe in the tenth session.
Matmula came into the contest as the reigning Pugilistic Syndicate of Tanzania (PST) Middleweight Champion after also having secured that organization's light middleweight crown in his previous outing.
He brought bags of experience to the table, having won or contended competitively for a dizzying array of regional belts at welter, light middle and middle.
Since turning pro in 2000, Matmula had shared the ring with quality opponents as Bradley Pryce, Kuvanych Toygonbayev and Fatai Onikeke.
But Cheka also brought a varied and eventful resume to the contest, having scrapped three times with Tanzanian legend Rashid "Snakeboy" Matmula and emerging victorious on two occasions. Cheka's biggest fight was a fifth round stoppage loss to future IBF Super Middle title challenger Robert Stieglitz, who was 25-0 at the time, in 2005 but the 25 year old has also competitively faced two of England's brightest stars at 168 lb, Paul Smith and Geard Ajetovic. More...
In a battle of ex-heavyweight champions looking for another crack at world honors, former WBA titlist Nikolay Valuev won that organization's official eliminator by outfighting past WBO beltholder Serguei Lyakhovich over twelve rounds at Neurmberg Arena in Nuremberg, Germany.
At 7 feet tall and weighing 321 pounds, Valuev proved simply too big for Lyakhovich to get a grip on and the big Russian pumped out a pole-like jab to keep the 6 foot 4 Belarus man right where he wanted him.
Lyakhovich showed a sturdy chin to take many flush Valuev right hands but was never a danger to the former WBA ruler and it was no surprise when Valuev was awarded the 120-107, 120-108 (twice) decision.
Valuev moves to 48-1 (34) and into the mandatory challenger position of the man who took his WBA title, Ruslan Chagaev. Lyakhovich, 23-3 (14), loses his second bout in a row but will likely move into another title fight in the near future after a few stay busy bouts. More...
On Saturday, March 22, WBA Light Welter Champion Gavin Rees is set to make the first defense of his crown when he faces German based Ukrainian Andreas Kotelnik at the International Arena in Cardiff, Wales.
While this bout isn't quite up to the anticipation level of the Haye vs. Maccarinelli contest that we profiled in part one of this series, it is a legitimate world title clash and the winner will likely face Ricky Hatton in the fall of this year.
In his most recent appearance, Welshman Rees, 27-0 (13), jumped out of nowhere to win the WBA belt with a sound thrashing of Souleymane M'baye in July of last year at the International Arena.
The decided underdog in that matchup, Rees overcame the much more experienced M'baye with a high volume attack that never really let the Frenchman into the scrap.
While Rees has been making waves in calling out Hatton in the press, the 27 year old is defending his belt against a far more appropriate opponent for this point in his career.
30 year old Kotelnik, 28-2-1 (12), has held a variety of regional titles at 140 lb but has always been beaten back when the stakes have risen to world class level. More...
By all accounts, 2007 was a pretty good year for British boxing but it all fell apart at the end when Ricky Hatton was KO'd by Floyd Mayweather and a ring post in early December.
Amazingly enough, the first half of 2008 is shaping up to be an even bigger year and in this review we take a look at world title bouts involving British fighters during that time period.
We kick things off with a big, hammer-fisted bang as two of the world's top pound for pound punchers tangle on March 8 at the 02 Arena in London; David Haye vs. Enzo Maccarinelli for the WBA, WBC and WBO Cruiserweight titles.
Will this fight go the distance? How can it? The Hayemaker and Big Mac have been taking shots at each other through the press for what seems like years now and with three world title on the line, the stakes couldn't be higher.
But the real motivator here is bragging rights to the title of Best Cruiserweight in Britain as Haye and Maccarinelli are the last men standing in what used to be a five man race for that mythical belt before Johnny Nelson and Carl Thompson retired and Mark Hobson was belted out by Maccarinelli.
Once the bell rings on March 8, Haye will likely dictate the pace behind his cannon-like jab but things probably won't come to a boil until the WBA/WBC Champ begins to tire after four or five frames and is forced to stand and trade with the Welsh WBO Champ. More...
Tony Oakey finally got his chance to even the score against nemesis Peter Haymer last night at London's historic York Hall and the British Light Heavyweight Champion grabbed the opportunity with both hands, knocking out the English titlist with a riveting left hook in the ninth round on a Frank Maloney promotion.
Much shorter than the six foot one inch Haymer, Oakey worked all night to get on the inside of the local man and displayed an impressive activity rate for a stocky 32 year old into his tenth year as a professional.
Haymer tried to keep Oakey on the outside with a long jab and pick off the relocated Londoner on the way in when Oakey got past it but "The Daddy" wasn't able to maintain a favorable distance.
Oakey's graft began to pay off in spades in the middle rounds as Haymer's resolve started to crack under a storm of looping right hands and the champion's two handed assault of short punches at close range. More...
Frank Maloney Promotions stages a sure-fire barn burner tonight at York Hall as British Light Heavyweight Champion Tony Oakey and nemesis Peter Haymer come to grips in a bad blood grudge match two years in the making.
Oakey, 24-2-1 (6), came out on the losing end at the same venue, falling short by one point to lift the English title from the taller Haymer, 17-4-1 (5), on an unusual sweltering night in the Capital in June, 2005, and the Portsmouth battler hasn't forgotten the perceived injustice since.
Fuelled by the setback, Oakey went on a tear by reeling off five straight wins including a masterful twelfth and final round dismantling of Steve Spartacus in May of last year to capture the vacant British title. More...
Last night at the Burg-Waechter Castello in Dusseldorf, Germany, Ruslan Chagaev made the first defense of his WBA Heavyweight title by outpointing Commonwealth champion Matt Skelton over twelve rounds.
But Chagaev, 24-0-1 (17), certainly didn't have it easy as the bull-like Skelton first used his underrated boxing skills before beginning to exert his more familiar high pressure style upon the Hamburg based champion.
While Skelton's roughhouse style was effective at times, he was never able to surmount the younger man's faster-handed southpaw stance and also earned a point deduction in the eighth round for holding and hitting.
The burly British heavyweight continued to back the champion up but by the final round, Skelton's 40 years wore heavily upon him and he was thoroughly outboxed in the 12th by the champion, who took home a 117-111 and 117-110 (twice) decision. More...
The sport of kings is slowly waking up from it's post-holiday slumber and while things get back to normal this evening, there were a few important bouts that took place across the globe last night.
We get the ball rolling at the Meadowside Leisure Centre in Burton-On-Trent, England where British Super Bantam ruler Esham Pickering, 33-6 (13), regained form at the expense of big-hearted aspirant Sean Hughes, 14-7-1 (1).
Hughes had defied all odds two months ago when he fought the contest of his life to defeat Pickering over eight rounds in a non-title affair but this time "Brown Sugar" was better prepared and stopped the lanky southpaw in nine.
On the undercard, welter Adan Amar, 20-1 (5), won his eighth in a row by stopping Canadian import Ian MacKillop, 25-10-3 (14), in the third frame. Also on the bill, light middle Muhsen Adaney Nasser, 15-0-1 (2), outpointed Tye Williams, 15-13-2 (4). More...
Boxing is still in a post-holiday slump this weekend but there were a few good matchups last night in America with a lot of ladies lacing 'em up along with an important show in Florida.
At the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in the sunshine state, ex-IBF Middleweight title challenger Edison Miranda, 30-2 (26), continued his comeback as a super middle with an impressive third round KO of game but ultimately outgunned David Banks, 15-4-1 (2), who has now dropped three of his last four bouts.
On the undercard, Jean Pascal, 21-0 (14), survived a seventh round scare at the hands of opponent Omar Pittman, 15-4-1 (8), but the Montreal based super middle rallied to take a ten round unanimous decision. More...
It wasn't the busiest weekend of the new year in The Sport of Kings but there was a bit of action across the globe aside from the big fights that we've already covered on the site and this week, we'll tackle the task alphabetically!
In Argentina on Saturday, the top super middle in the country was in action as Hector Javier Velazco, 36-7-1 (16), stayed busy with a ten round unanimous decision over Martin David Islas, 8-12 (2), in a rematch at the Polideportivo Municipal in both men's hometown of Buenos Aires.
Velazco was coming off competitive losses in Germany to Mads Larsen and Juergen Braehmer last year and held the Interim WBO Middleweight crown in 2003 before dropping a split decision to Felix Sturm for the full title later that year.
Also on the bill, South American Featherweight titlist Fernando David Saucedo, 31-4-3 (1), decisioned Sergio Daniel Ledesma, 22-13-1 (9), over six rounds in the second bout between the two fighters.
At the Gymnase Frenois in Sedan, France on Saturday, ex-European Union and French Lightweight beltholder Abdel Jebahi, 22-3-1 (13), won his second bout in a row by outpointing winless Hungarian journeyman Sandor Fekete, 0-17-1 (0), over eight rounds. More...
America's IBF Cruiserweight Champion Steve Cunningham has fought most of his career on the road away from his hometown of Philadelphia and will have to do it one more time when he faces challenger Marco Huck tonight at the Seidensticker Halle in Bielefeld, Germany.
Cunningham, 20-1 (10), tipped the scales at just 192 lb yesterday, in keeping with the reedy champion's thinner build while Huck weighed in much closer to the 200 lb cruiser limit at 198.
At just 23 years of age, Huck, 19-0 (14), will have the youth advantage over 31 year old Cunningham, but the champion will look to bring his greater ring experience into play, applying the wisdom learned during victories over Guillermo Jones, Kelvin Davis, Sebastiaan Rothmann and Krzysztof Wlodarczyk.
But will that experience be enough to keep Huck off? The oddsmakers don't think so as Cunningham is a big underdog with the bookies going into tonight's clash. More...
While the pairing has just been announced for early March with no venue yet determined, the mere mention of a showdown between David Haye and Enzo Maccarinelli is enough to get serious fans of the sport all wound up.
London based Haye and Welshman Maccarinelli went from British champion hopefuls to genuine world titlists in 2007 on the strength of fine performances that saw the pair sweep aside the old guard of the cruiserweight divisions.
Maccarinelli, 28-1 (21), was the first to rack up world class victory by retaining his WBO belt via an outstanding boxing performance over former WBC Champ Wayne Braithwaite in July at the International Arena in Cardiff.
The star turn of Haye, 20-1 (19), was perhaps a higher quality win as the Bermondsey slugger traveled to the Paris backyard of reigning WBC/WBA Champion Jean Marc Mormeck and belted out the Frenchman in seven brutal rounds.
But none of that will matter when the bell rings on March 8 in what is sure to be a massive and packed venue.
Both cruisers have pure dynamite in each glove with Haye having the edge in handspeed and Maccarinelli the advantage in stamina, combining for what is sure to be a torrid slugfest for as long as it lasts. More...
Not a whole lot went on last night but there were a few notable bouts to cover and we start at the Salle du Bouvy in La Louviere, Belgium where hometown hero Carmelo Ballone, 20-2-1 (9), stopped Romania's Eugen Sorin Tanasie, 14-1-1 (6), in the eighth to annex the vacant European Bantamweight title.
The belt became vacant when reigning champion Simone Maludrottu of Italy signed on to challenge WBC kingpin Hozumi Hasegawa in Japan next month. Tanasie came into the bout as the European Union titlist but could not overcome the more experienced Ballone, who came close to knocking off Maludrottu during a split decision loss two years ago.
Speaking of Italy and European titles, former heavyweight champion Paolo Vidoz, 24-4 (13), went back into action for the first time since failing to regain his former crown in a rematch against Vladimir Virchis back in May. Vidoz made short work of Hungarian novice Zoltan Peto, 6-4 (1), stopping the Budapest native in the first round at the Palabam in Mantova, Italy.
At the Arena El Jefe in Monterrey, Mexico, light middle Michael Medina, 18-0-2 (45), stayed perfect with a seventh round KO of Christian Solano, 20-14-4 (15), who's only win over his last seven bouts was a shocking second round stoppage against highly touted and previously undefeated Brit welter John O'Donnell in May. More...
On the strength of his superb victory over Denmark's Mikkel Kessler last month, undisputed super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe won his second straight BBC Wales Sports Personality of The Year award.
The "Italian Dragon" collected 77% of the vote, beating out an army of Welsh sports figures, including stablemate and WBO Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Mccarinelli.
The 35 year old from Newbridge, Wales must line up at least one big name opponent in 2008 if he is to have a chance of winning the award for a record third consecutive time but has won the BBC trophy for a total of three times, joining 1960's WBC, British and European Featherweight Champion Howard Winstone in that honor.
One of the UK's top prospects, Akaash "Kash" Bhatia, 8-0 (2), fights on tonight's Frank Maloney promoted Ian Napa vs. Martin Power 2 card at the Newham Leisure Centre in London but was able to take some time out from his busy schedule to speak exclusively with SaddoBoxing.
SaddoBoxing: How do you see this fight?
Akaash Bhatia: "At the end of the day, it's another stepping stone but very important that I win this fight. It's another step in the right direction. Thankfully, this fight is made more towards my weight, where as if you look at my record previously, I'm fighting at higher weights. I'm looking forward to getting in there and doing my thing.
"I'm very excited about this fight and I've been training very hard as usual. I feel that when it comes to the actual fight, I'm going to shine. At the end of the day, that's the most important thing for me. I have to put on a good performance."
SB: What is your preferred weight?
AB: "To be honest, I'm a natural featherweight. I train hard and it's easy for me to make featherweight, however, in order to get fights, they've been made at higher weights.I've been asked to come up in weight, which is sometimes a bit difficult to do but at the same time, the most important thing for me is to get a good result. More...
