Boxing News

In a superb battle for the British Lightweight title, Jon Thaxton outlasted and eventually overwhelmed Dave Stewart in the twelvfth and final round to keep a dream fight with Amir Khan alive.

It was a gallant effort from Stewart, who more than proved he belonged at this level. He gave the champion all the trouble he could handle with his zipping straight rights that at times had Thaxton falling around the ring.

But in the end it was the strength, power and stamina of the champion that proved decisive as he battered a tired Stewart to the canvas twice in the final round, which was enough for referee Dave Parris to wave it off.

Up until the stoppage the fight seemed to be in the balance.

The first round was close, Thaxton was launching in like superman trying to finish Stewart with his trademark left hook but the challenger kept his cool and managed to block the haymakers and reply with some sharp shots of his own.

Looking for the quick knockout was certainly Thaxton’s downfall early on as in rounds two and three he was peppered with fast jabs and straight right hands which put him constantly off balance. The champion's right eye was also beginning to swell up. More...

This past Friday, Tshifhiwa Munyai confirmed his status as world class prospect, successfully defending his Commonwealth Bantamweight crown with a vicious four
round pounding of former victim Martin Power on a Frank Maloney Promotion at Goresbrook LC in Dagenham, England.

Power lost his undefeated record to Munyai last year in a back and forth thriller, but was way out of his depth this time.

Round one: Power, from Camden Town, entered the ring smiling confidently and made a decent start, nipping in and out with some decent right hands to head and body. Halfway through the first round, the champion hailing from South Africa began to find his timing and when he did, he looked blistering, throwing every punch in the book at Power. A sickening right hand to the body caused the challenger to grimace at the end of the first. More...

Click for larger image © Mike Cleary/ Boxingphotographs.com

After years of frustration, Junior "The Hitter" Witter captured the WBC Light Welterweight crown in front of a star studded crowd at the Alexandra Palace in North London with a scrappy 12 round points win over Washington DC’s DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley on a Hennessy Sports promotion.

For the first time in his career Witter, from Bradford, England, enjoyed large support from the 2,000 strong crowd but he failed to dazzle against a tricky opponent who didn't seem to have much ambition. But Witter was a clear winner and this was reflected in verdicts of 118-112, 117-117 and 116-113; all for the new champion. More...

WBA Welterweight Champion Ricky "The Hitman" Hatton looks certain to make his second consecutive appearance in the US on HBO on 9 December. But its still a guessing game as to whom will be in the opposite corner and whether it will be at welterweight or Hatton’s natural light welterweight division.

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Sadly for fans worldwide, its not going to be the underrated WBC Welterweight Champion Carlos Baldomir or pound for pound number one Floyd Mayweather as those two to will collide on 4 November in arguably the biggest fight of the year.

It also seems that Puerto Rican star Miguel Cotto, the WBO Light Welterweight king is out of the running as he looks set to make his overdue welterweight debut on 2 December in Atlantic City.

So while a lot of the big names are unavailable, there are still some interesting alternatives for Hatton out there. More...

Giant Heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev stopped unworthy challenger Owen Back in the third round last night in Hannover, Germany, to retain his WBA Heavyweight crown. Beck gave it a real try but the sheer size difference was too much as he was floored twice before the referee saved him from further punishment. Valuev did what was expected of him but despite his huge physical advantages, couldn’t stop Beck landing on the inside as the American tried to take the fight to the champion.

The challenger was swinging wildly as if his only chance of winning was by landing a sledgehammer punch and he got through early with a left hook. Valuev started slow but towards the end of the first, he connected with two right hands, one of which seemed to wobble Beck momentarily. More...

Martin "Too Much" Power made a very impressive second defence of his British Bantamweight crown as he dominated tough challenger Issac Ward before finishing him off with a booming right hand in the eighth round at the York Hall in Bethnal Green during a Maloney Promotion on Tuesday night. Ward, from Darlington, had big support and gave it everything he had but Power had just too much in every department and the finishing right hand from the champion landed so flush it’s a wonder Ward remained conscious let alone upright.

Power instantly took control of the fight, flooring the challenger with a short right hook with barely a minute gone. Ward however was not discouraged and tried to come forward but was shaken twice more by right hands before the round ended. More...

In a superb clash of domestic super middleweights at York Hall on Friday, Carl "The Cobra" Froch sent Brian Magee crashing to the canvas in the 11th round with a chilling right uppercut to retain his British and Commonwealth crowns and keep his dream of winning a world title alive.

The buzz around the York Hall was electric in the build up to this fight and Carl Froch and Brian Magee didn't disappoint the big crowd. Magee, despite a brave effort to dethrone the trash talking "Cobra" from Nottingham, just didn't have the extra class or punch power that Froch possessed. More...

Plus The Rest Of The Froch - Magee Undercard

On the undercard of Maloney Promotion's Carl Froch - Brian Magee bill from York Hall this past Friday, undefeated prospect Gary "Hot Stuff" Woolcombe claimed the British Southern Area Light Middleweight title with a controversial seventh round stoppage of Gilbert Eastman. Woolcombe caught Eastman with a hard left hook which snapped the champion's head back and quickly backed him up to the ropes where Woolcombe unleashed some hard punches but nowhere enough to warrant a stoppage from referee Ian John Lewis. More...

Tonight Carl "The Cobra" Froch faces his toughest test as a pro when he steps into the ring at the legendary York Hall in Bethnal Green to defend his British and Commonwealth Super Middleweight titles against rival Irish southpaw Brian Magee on a Maloney Promotion. The York Hall has hosted some cracking domestic battles recently with Lenny Daws defeating Nigel Wright on points and Lee Meager ruthlessly stopping Dave Stewart in 6 rounds, but Froch vs. Magee has the potential to top the lot. More...

Despite no opponent being confirmed for Ricky Hatton's American invasion, part of the plan was revealed at a packed press conference on Thursday aboard the WW2 era warship HMS Belfast. The thrust of the event was that Ricky Hatton had signed a three fight deal with Philadelphia based Banner Promotions and British outfit Fight Academy, confirming rumours that had been sweeping the UK press for the last week. More...

When I arranged an interview with Commonwealth Heavyweight champion Danny Williams, many people told me what a down to earth guy he is. That turned out to be more than true when on a cold winter's morning, not only did Danny offer to do the interview on his day off from training, he even picked me up from the tube station and drove me to his former amateur gym to take some exclusive pictures. During the ten minute drive to his old amateur

Click for larger image © Robin York Saddo Boxing

club, Lynne A/C in Camberwell, we touched on various subjects. The "Brixton Bomber" agreed that Owen Beck has done nothing to deserve a shot at Nicolay Valuev’s WBA crown and how good Many Pacquiao looked when destroying Erik Morales last weekend. Danny said that after watching Graham Earl's superb victory over Yuri Romanov last night that he felt the Luton man was one of the most improved fighters and praised his heart and determination. On entering the gym, which was empty except for he two of us, it made me think of how lonely training for the Harrison fight must have been and that maybe it had improved his mental strength, being alone for a long time. After a workout on the heavy bag and some shadow boxing, Williams was ready to answer my list of questions, many of which SaddoBoxing readers wanted answers to. More...

British Light Middleweight Champion Jamie Moore makes his debut for Maloney Promotions tonight on the undercard of Graham Earl's dangerous encounter with Yuri Romanov at the Goresbrook Leisure Centre in Dagenham. Moore, from Manchester, will be hoping to breakthrough into world class in 2006 after seeing off domestic rivals David Walker and Michael Jones inside the distance last year. Trained by the excellent Oliver Harrison, the southpaw Mancunian is one of the most exciting fighters in British boxing with his come forward, attacking style.

Despite running out of steam during an early career defeat to Scott Dixon and an injury related knockout loss to dangerous Ossie Duran, Moore has looked devastating when blasting out Gary Logan and Andrew Facey in 2003 plus those two thrilling aforementioned wins over Michael Jones and David Walker last year. More...

Unbeaten featherweight Derry Matthews goes for his first title Saturday night on the big Sports Network show in Nottingham when he meets former English Super Featherweight challenger Steve Chinnock over ten rounds. Matthews, from Liverpool, is unbeaten in all fourteen of his professional fights and will be looking to make it fifteen against Chinnock, who despite having one less fight and three defeats has the edge in the experience as has shared a ring with Mickey Bowden, Andrew Ferrans and former British Champions Roy Rutherford and Dazzo Williams. More...

Click for larger image © Simon Shaw Saddo Boxing

Unbeaten light welterweight Lenny Daws from Morden earned the right to fight for the British title when former IBO Champion Colin Lynes retired on his stool after the ninth round of an exciting tussle on the excellent Hennessy Sports promoted show at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, London. It was the win of his career for Daws, who took a gamble on paper against the much more experienced Lynes, of Hornchurch, and remained undefeated in his thirteenth

contest. The atmosphere, as always at the York Hall, was fantastic, with the majority of the support being for Daws, who made the better start. Both came out looking to get as many shots of as possible but Daws was more effective with his punches and Lynes a bit scrappier.

Rounds two and three were very hard to score as both fighters matched each other on the inside. Daws seemed to be landing the greater volume of punches but Lynes looked more composed and looked to pick the classier shots with his better accuracy. Lynes had his best round of the fight in the fourth when he backed Daws to the ropes and unload with four hard body shots. Daws, whose face was beginning to mark up, looked worried as Lynes bustled his way forward. Lynes had gained control in the round but it wasn't to last long as Daws responded well in the fifth with his busy inside attacks. More...