Boxing News

IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute produced the performance of his career at the exact right time last night at Pepsi Colisee in Quebec City, Canada, knocking out his most difficult opponent to date, Librado Andrade, in the fourth during a rematch.

The pair originally met 13 months ago with Bute lucky to emerge with his title intact following a controversial end to the bout but this time, there was no question of the outcome.

Perhaps better understanding the challenge posed by the durable Andrade, Bute fought last night from the first round like a man at the absolute zenith of his abilities, accurately controlling the distance with a southpaw jab and denying his American adversary opportunities.

Bute controlled the pace of the bout with his stellar footwork, never quite being there for Andrade to get a bead on and punishing the willful challenger with both hands for each step forward.

The champion seemed to be much more settled in this rematch and sat down on his punches better than in the original bout, jarring Andrade. More...

© Tom Casino / Showtime Boxing

In the exact type of fight card that typifies what ShoBox: The New Generation has been about since its inception in July 2001, one highly regarded prospect was upset and another was unveiled Saturday in a pair of exciting slugfests on a special edition of ShoBox on Showtime. More...

Last night at Hala Mosir in Elk, Poland, former European welter champion Rafal Jackiewicz posted a unanimous decision over visiting American Delvin Rodriguez to win an IBF title eliminator.

Local hero Jackiewicz had not lost since 2005 and had defeated the trio of Jackson Osei Bonsu, Jan Zavek and Luciano Abis in European title bouts over the past year.

Rodriguez brought the experience of having two very close bouts with Isaac Hlatshwayo over the same time period, which resulted in a draw during an IBF eliminator and then a narrow split decision loss for the IBF crown.

The American's frustration would continue in Poland as well as Jackiewicz was hard to hit early on, outboxing the visitor until Rodriguez struck paydirt and canvassed the Pole in the sixth. More...

Supported by a large crowd at Fitzgeralds Casino in Tunica, MS, junior middleweight sensation Shawn “Showtime” Porter kept his perfect intact after scoring a fourth round TKO over upset specialist Jerome Ellis.

Headlining “Boxing’s Future Champions III”, Porter badly rocked Ellis with a solid left hook in the second, forcing the rugged Floridian to hold on. The 2008 US Olympic Alternate continued to have success in the third, attacking Ellis with quick, crisp combinations while using outstanding defensive movement to avoid return shots. More...

© Tom Casino / Showtime Boxing

American contender Andre Ward outboxed reigning WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler last night at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA, winning the Showtime's Super Six tournament bout.

Kessler came forward early but couldn't find the target as Ward used excellent footwork to stay out of range while punishing the Dane with lightning quick left hooks and right hands.

Ward started to mix in the jab as Kessler got closer in the third but the fourth and fifth frames saw both men forced to shake off hard punches from the opponent. More...

Edgar Sosa's 25 bout win streak was snapped last night by Filipino Rodel Mayol, who stopped the Mexico City man in two to annex the WBC light flyweight title at Palenque de la Feria in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico.

Sosa won the WBC strap in April, 2007 against Brian Viloria and had successfully retained the title 10 times. By contrast, Mayol had been unable to win a world title in four previous attempts including two against WBO light flyweight kingpin Ivan Calderon earlier this year when Calderon was cut and could not continue.

Once the bell rang, Sosa and Mayol went at it but things went ary in the second when the champion was forced to take a knee after a clash of heads. More...

There was a massive show at Sparkassen Arena in Kiel last night with three world title belts at risk.

The big winner was Zsolt Erdei who moved up a weight class to unseat reigning WBC cruiser champion Giacobbe Fragomeni by majority decision.

Hungarian Erdei had held the WBO light heavy belt for 11 successful defenses over five years but saw 40 year old Fragomeni as vulnerable despite the 25 pound weight differential.

Italy's Fragomeni won the WBO crown during a technical decision over Rudolf Kraj last year but was held to a draw by ex-IBF titlist Krzysztof Wlodarczyk in May in which iron-chinned Fragomeni was floored, a rare occurrence. More...

Last night at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario, Marvin Sonsona and Alejandro Hernandez fought to a draw over the vacant WBO super flyweight title.

Filipino southpaw Sonsona had won the belt from Jose Lopez in September but lost it on the scales Friday when he was 2.5 pounds over the super fly weight limit.

Mexico City based Hernandez came into the clash with the experience of having faced perhaps Argentina's top fighter, undefeated WBO flyweight champion Omar Andres Narvaez, in a big hearted but failed title bid.

The seasoned Hernandez fought Sonsona, just 19 years of age, to a standstill over the course of 12 difficult rounds and forced a 115-113, 113-115 and 114-114 draw. More...

It was a big Saturday night in The Land of Silver with two good fight cards, one of which featured a world title bout.

That took place at Club Deportivo Libertad in Sunchales as one of the top light welters on the planet, Marcos Rene Maidana, was on his trademark brutal form.

The 26 year old retained his Interim WBA crown with a crushing rub-out of experienced Panamanian William Gonzalez, 22-6-1 (7), at 2:20 of the third round.

Maidana improves to 27-1 (26) and could meet the winner of the upcoming Amir Khan vs. Dmitriy Salita WBA title clash next month.

There was another devastating KO on the undercard as big punching lightweight Daniel Alberto Dorrego, 28-2 (20), gunned down previously undefeated Daniel Eduardo Brizuela, 17-1-1 (6), in the very first round. More...

Otis “Triple OG” Griffin outlasted Joey McCreedy to win a unanimous 8-round decision tonight in the main event on the “Autumn Classic” pro boxing card, presented by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc., at Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, Rhode Island.

Griffin (21-6-2), best known for winning the “Next Great Champ, displayed his ring savvy and experience, successfully counter-punching McCreedy (11-4-1). “I’ve won in other fighter’s backyards, but I was concerned about the decision because I got robbed against Jeff Lacy. McCreedy fought his best. I thought I clearly won. More...

Former two-time WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev felt compelled today to post comments on his company’s website regarding his decision to agree to make an optional defense of his crown against David Haye in Nuremberg, Germany, which Haye won by majority decision. More...

Manny Pacquiao solidified his status as a modern day great this evening at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV by unseating reigning WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto via a 12th round stoppage.

The combatants both came out strong in the opening moments, trading leather with great gusto until Pacquiao broke things open with a full-blooded right hook that had Cotto on the floor in the third.

But the champion got up and went back to matching the challenger punch for punch. Pacquiao proved he could take the punishment handed out by a strong welterweight and fire back in return, canvassing Cotto again in the fourth.

The champion was shaken up this time but rejoined the fray, slugging it out with the quicker southpaw in the fifth and sixth frames.

Pacquiao began to pull clear in the seventh as Cotto could no longer hold the center of the ring and was getting beaten to the punch repeatedly. More...

Last night at Fenton Manor Sports Complex in Stoke, England, IBO welterweight champion Lovemore N'dou and challenger Matthew Hatton fought to a draw.

38 year old N'dou hadn't been able to spar during training camp due to a cut suffered earlier and inactivity since his title winning effort in July against Phillip N'dou showed up as a lack of offense the early rounds.

Hatton went on the attack in response to N'dou's reticence but the 28 year old Manchester man wasn't able to land anything of significance. More...

© Chris Royle - Hoganphotos / Golden Boy Promotions

England's David Haye pulled off a major upset last night at Arena Verischerung in Nuremberg, Germany, taking the WBA heavyweight title from Nicolai Valuev via majority decision.

It wasn't pretty or particularly entertaining but Haye delivered the kind of mature performance many thought him incapable of beforehand, simply outboxing the massive Russian in every round.

Much smaller and lighter than the 7'0, 316 pound champion, Haye proved to be nearly impossible for Valuev to hit and the former cruiserweight titlist used his quicker hands to counter well. More...

Last night at the XL Centre in Hartford, CT, Interim WBC and IBO light heavyweight champ Chad Dawson outpointed challenger Glen Johnson in a rematch fought over the full 12 round distance.

The pair first clashed in April, 2008 when Johnson forced an all-action thriller upon his younger, taller adversary but this time southpaw Dawson wisely kept his 40 year old rival largely on the outside, much to Johnson's disadvantage.

Dawson, 27, used excellent footwork to stay away from exchanges, picking off the challenger during the odd moments that Johnson managed to close distance. More...

Two-time WBA heavyweight champion John “The Quietman” Ruiz did exactly what he was supposed to do tonight in Germany, stopping former IBU title-holder Adnan “Aachen Assassin” Serin, to set the stage for a 2010 world title fight against new WBA champion David “Hayemaker” Haye. More...

Cestus Management's super middleweight destroyer Don "Da'Bomb" George made the leap from boxing prospect to being on the verge of becoming a world-class contender with a four round savage annihilation of Canadian Jason Naugler; handing this tough and very experienced fighter his first loss byway of stoppage. More...

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Yonnhy Perez made the most of his first world title fight by knocking off reigning IBF bantam titlist tonight at Treasure Island Casino in Las Vegas, NV.

The underdog coming into the challenge, Perez had previously pulled off an upset over Silence Mabuzza in South Africa earlier this year while Agbeko was coming off a stunning victory over heavily favored Vic Darchinyan.

The clash between Agbeko and Perez was expected to produce fireworks and the pair didn't disappoint as the artillery began to fly from the opening bell. More...

World rated light heavyweight Joey “KO Kid” Spina (25-1-2, 17 KOs) and former world champion Lou “Honey Boy” Del Valle (36-6-2 (22 KOs) fourth to a 10 round majority draw tonight in the main event on the “Fright Night At The Sun” card, presented by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment and Sports, Inc., at Mohegan Sun Arena. More...

Last night in a massive clash between the top Polish fighters of the last ten years, Tomasz Adamek stopped Andrew Golota in five rounds at the Atlas Arena in Lodz, Poland.

Adamek, the former WBC light heavy and IBF cruiserweight champ, came into the bout on the strength of seven straight victories but was making his debut at heavyweight against 41 year old Golota, a four time title challenger at the weight, who was coming off a loss to Ray Austin a year ago. More...