Boxing News

"Dangerous" Ted Bami turned back Guiseppe "The End" Lauri last night on a Matchroom Promotions card at the K2 Leisure Centre in Crawley, England and retained his European Light Welterweight crown for the first time.

This was the second occasion that Bami has beaten Lauri but the Italian visitor didn't make it easy on the Congo born Brixton resident Bami.

Lauri found out early on that he wasn't able to shift the resolute champion from full focus with punches so the visitor pulled out every trick in the Italian fighter handbook in an attempt to distract Bami and influence referee Manuel Palomo. More...

"I know what I'm dealing with"

Tomasz Bonin, the WBC 11th ranked heavyweight who is on his way to Wembley Arena to take on David Haye, the face of British boxing, on 27 April has released his first comments from his Polish training camp.

Bonin is clearly not making the journey to the UK just to make up the numbers, but to inflict a severe dent into any ambitions Haye may have in the heavyweight division.

“I am very excited abut fighting David Haye! Very excited!” Bonin said from his base in the Polish mountains.

“I am fully aware that he’s marked the favourite by the media and fans when we fight, but they forget he never boxed at full heavyweight before. I am a full heavyweight and I consider myself a grown-up fighter. I'm not a young kid anymore, I'm very experienced and I’ve had more than 200 amateur fights. More...

6'4" super middleweight returns April 18 against former title challenger Robert Allen

His birth name is Jameson Bostic. His friends know him as Jamie Kang. In boxing, he is rapidly becoming known as the sports best kept secret.

Three-time world middleweight title challenger Robert Allen (38-5, 27KO) will find out the hard way on April 18, when he squares off against Bostic in their scheduled super middleweight matchup in Hoffman Estates, IL.

There is no title at stake, not even a guarantee of advancement in the rankings. It's risk now, reap the benefits whenever.

Bostic (10-3, 7KO) is optimistic the benefits will come sooner than later, with a win next month in Illinois. More...

Heavy-hitting heavyweights Walker and Butler co-headline Friday, April 6, 2007, on “ShoBox: The New Generation.” Showtime will air the doubleheader at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).

Travis Walker and Raphael Butler knocked down then WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko during sparring in late 2005, according to trainer Dickie Wood.

Witnesses on those separate November days in 2005 have been reluctant to speak about the incidents at the gym formerly known as the La Brea Boxing Academy. That is not the case with Wood.

“I was there the whole time, and I saw it all,” said Wood, who co-trains Walker and serves as the head trainer for Diego Corrales.

“He (Klitschko) was throwing a jab and he pulled back and was coming forward. Butler hit him with a right hand and Klitschko went down and his knee twisted underneath him. More...

Undefeated heavyweight contender Kevin “Kingpin” Johnson (13-0, 5KO) made his South Carolina debut a memorable one, crushing journeyman Curtis Taylor via 1st round KO, Thursday night at the Plex in North Charleston, SC.

“I hit this dude with my jab and his fighting spirit flew right out of him” said Johnson. “Once I moved my attack to his body it was game over”

Earlier in the month, Johnson offered to step-in for the ill Shannon Briggs and face Sultan Ibragimov at Madison Square Garden. Unfortunately for boxing fans, Johnson’s offer went unanswered. But The Kingpin is still on the move in “07

“Johnson fought six-times in ’06, and he dominated everyone we’ve put in him with,” stated Star Boxing CEO Joe DeGuardia. “Johnson is a versatile fighter who’s on the cusp of becoming a world champion.” More...

The official weigh-in for tonight's hotly anticpated Virgil Hill - Henry Maske rematch at a sold out Olympia Hall in Munich, Germany took place yesterday and both ex-world champions made it under the contracted weight limit of 190 lb.

Virgil Hill, 50-5 (23), weighed in 188.75 lb/85.8 kg

Henry Maske, 30-1 (11), hit the scales at 189.25 lb/86.0 kg More...

Britain’s most avoided fighter John O’Donnell believes that he should be in the shakedown for the British welterweight title this summer.

The standout 21-year-old confirmed his credentials with an impressive win over fellow undefeated puncher Stuart Elwell last Friday to claim the English championship on the Hennessy Sports and GoldenPalace.com “Cobra’s Hood’ event at the Nottingham Arena.

It seems, however, that in order to get a tilt at the British he will have to wait for the Championship to be contested on two more occasions.

Current champion Kevin Anderson meets Belfast veteran Eamonn Magee in Kirkcaldy next month and the next challenger is already being lined up, with Ross Minter meeting Colin McNeil on the 26th May in London in a final eliminator. More...

The strongest division in boxing is loaded with talent and big names as well as future and potential future Hall of Famers. Perhaps even more intriguing is the fact that boxing's next great star could emerge from the welterweight division.

Floyd Mayweather Jr's departure has opened the door for someone to stake claim to the throne. Unification seems unlikely, at least in the near future, as four different fighters hold titles, five if you consider the fact that Mayweather technically still holds the WBC and The Ring championship belts.

WBC: Shane Mosley, 44-4 (37), recently made his return to the welterweight division and immediately made an impact. Fresh off his thrilling battles with Winky Wright and Fernando Vargas, Mosley hoped a return to a division that he once dominated would lead to another championship. More...

A week after they surfaced, James Toney is denying reports of potential fight being made against old cruiserweight foe Vasilly Jirov.

Toney, speaking Wednesday from San Jose, CA, says that neither he nor his publicist have heard anything concrete concerning the "Russian Tiger".

"I'm fighting in July or maybe August against someone right now, I don't know, but it's not Jirov" said a cheerful Toney speaking to fans and reporters alike. "I don't know where Jirov's name came from, but I already beat him" remarked Toney in regards to a potential rematch of the 2003 Ring Magazine Fight of the Year. "I beat him, why do I want to fight him again?" More...

Tonight sees a bevy of boxing in the UK on two cards on opposite ends of England. At the K2 Leisure Centre in Crawley, Matchroom Promotions stages the initial title defense of hard punching European Light Welterweight Champion Ted Bami, who meets the man he beat for the belt, Italy's seasoned Giuseppe Lauri.

The first fight between these two in September of last year was a certified brawl and there's no reason to expect anything less this time out.

Bami, 21-2 (11), is riding a streak of eight consecutive victories but will once again have to master Lauri, 42-5 (24), who has shared the ring with such accomplished foes as Ricky Hatton, Junior Witter, Leva Kirkosyan and Allan Vester.

Matchroom packs the undercard with some of the best of their stellar stable including WBF Cruiserweight Champ Gyorgy Hidvegi, former European, Commonwealth and British Champion Michael Hunter as well as ex- IBO Light Welter kingpin Colin Lynes. More...

Undefeated lightweight prospect Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios returns to Chicago for his second straight Solo Boxeo televised co-main event on Friday, April 13 as part of "Resurrection", another evening of world class professional boxing promoted by Dominic Pesoli’s 8 Count Productions.

The 20 year old Rios, 14-0 (10KO’s), fighting out of La Colonial Gym in Oxnard, California, home base for two time junior middleweight champion Fernando Vargas, will battle El Paso’s Carlos Madrid, 8-2-1 (2KO’s) in the eight round co-main event.

Rios’s last bout was a unanimous decision over Humberto Tapia on December 22, 2006 at Cicero Stadium, an outstanding eight round war also broadcast internationally on Solo Boxeo. More...

Undefeated World Middleweight Champion Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor will put his titles on the line for the fourth time when 154-lb world champion Cory “The Next Generation” Spinks moves up to middleweight to challenge him on Saturday night, May 19th, at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee.

DiBella Entertainment and Don King Productions will present the boxing extravaganza, which will be Taylor’s second championship defense in Memphis.

The victor in this compelling title encounter pitting Taylor (26-0-1, 17 KO’s), the youthful megastar and favorite son of Arkansas against Spinks (36-3,11 KO’s), fighting out of St. Louis, Missouri, will emerge as a leader in boxing’s best pound for pound rankings. HBO Sports World Championship Boxing will televise. More...

By Per Ake Persson

Universum´s big show in Oberhausen will all in all feature six titlefights. On top, reinstalled WBA middle champ Javier Castillejo defends against Felix Sturm, at light heavy WBA ruler Silvio Branco faces Stipe Drews and WIBF feather queen Ina Menzer fights Maria Andrea Miranda.

Outside of that, WBC International cruiser titlist Rudolf Kraj, WBO Intercontinental jr welter king Willy Blain, super middles Lukas Wilaschek and Mario Veit are also on the bill.

Union Box Team in Donetsk, Ukraine, promotes at a big show April 17. Super middle Stas Kashtanov face unknown Lithuanian Mantas Tarvyadas in a defence of the WBC Youth title. WBO Intercontinental feather champ Stas Merdov fights Daniel Kodjo Sassou, from Togo but fighting out of France, and lightweight Andrei Kudriavtsev take on Andrey Devyataykin in a EE-EU titlefight. Unbeaten welter Vyacheslav Senchenko squares off against Vladimir Khodokovsky, also in a EE-EU bout. More...

Tonight Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero makes his way back to the ring, this time it will be as an honored guest at the "Fight Night The Tank" series held at HP Pavilion in San Jose. Headlining the card will be Guerrero's occasional sparring partner, Jesus "Chuy" Rodriguez.

Robert's longtime friend and Goossen Tutor stalemate, Olympic Gold mentalist Andre Ward, will fight in the Co-Main event.

James "Lights Out" Toney will be in attendance at HP Pavilion. James who is a future Hall of Famer, will meet and greet fans during the show

Tickets are available and can be purchased at he HP Pavilion box office or online at ticketmaster.com. Doors open up at 6pm bouts start at 7:30.

The Last Starfighter

This Friday, Ring Magazine's 2005 female fighter of the year, Mary Jo Sanders, will make her second appearance at Cobo Hall in downtown Detroit when she meets Valerie “The Wolfe” Mahfood.

The 33 year old Sanders, 23-0 (7), is the current IBA Middleweight Champion and has previously held world titles at light middle, welter and light welter. Mahfood, 19-12-3 (9), has held world titles at light heavyweight and super middle.

Regarded by many as the best pound-for-pound fighter in women’s boxing, the daughter of former Lions tight end Charlie Sanders is poised to take on the biggest names in the sport.

But in her interview with SaddoBoxing, she’s careful not to overlook a very dangerous opponent in Mahfood, who has stepped in the ring against Laila Ali and holds a knockout win over Ann Wolfe. More...

Tony Oakey is using the same training camp in Tenerife as David Haye in preparation for his clash with Peter Oboh for the British Light Heavyweight title.

This much awaited bout, which takes place on the undercard of the David Haye vs Tomasz Bonin fight at Wembley Arena on 27 April, has been to the forefront of Oakey’s mind for some time.

Immediately after his 9 March defeat of Josip Jalusic, Oakey 23-2 (5 KOs) was clear on his future plans and Peter Oboh 14-5 (12 KOs) in particular.

“I have always been ready for the Oboh fight,” said Oakey. “I am more mature now and I am so much better since I have been with [my new trainer] Johnny Eames. More...

Team McGirt has announced that unbeaten prospect James McGirt, Jr. (14-0, 8 KOs) from now on will campaign exclusively as a super middleweight.

In his last two fights, both contracted at 160-pounds, the 6-1 McGirt struggled to make weight and, despite registering a fourth-round TKO in his last bout against Anthony Little, wasn't at his physical and mental best. McGirt, in fact, came in 1-1/2 pounds over weight against Little, which cost James a few dollars out of his pocket.

McGirt simply is too big to fight anymore as a middleweight. "It's gone beyond him struggling to lose weight," McGirt's manager Dennis Witherow explained. "It's become an impossibility when there's nothing to lose. His next fight (last eight round fight, May 2 in New York City) will be at 164 plus 1. More...

San Diego-based Sycuan Ringside Promotions brought three of its boxers, IBF lightweight champion Julio Diaz, undefeated heavyweight Shawn Hawk and teenage lightweight sensation Jorge Paez Jr., to the National Indian Gaming Association’s annual convention at the Phoenix Civic Plaza Convention Center in Phoenix Tuesday and Wednesday.

“It’s great to have three of our boxers here, including a world champion in Diaz, showing their support for Native American Tribes and Sycuan Ringside Promotions,” said Glenn Quiroga, President of Sycuan Ringside Promotions.”

“The convention is pleased to have them here interacting with all the delegates. They proved to be a very popular attraction; our booth was jammed.” More...

Cruiserweights Virgil "Quicksilver" Hill and Henry "The Gentleman" Maske square-off Saturday, 10-plus years since they originally fought in the same venue, in the 12-round special attraction headlining "The Rematch" pay-per-view card, live from Olympia Hall in Munich.

"The Rematch," promoted by WHS International, will be broadcast live in the United States on cable and satellite pay-per-view starting at 4 PM/ET, 1 PM/PT. The event is being distributed for pay-per-view by Integrated Sports and will be available via iN Demand, DirecTV and TVN for a suggested retail price of only $24.95.

Versatile announcer Benny Ricardo, former NFL place kicker, will handle the blow-by-blow call, while award-winning Al Bernstein serves as color commentator. More...

Iconic New York boxing landmark Gleason's Gym is selling tickets to the finals of the 80th Anniversary of the Daily News Golden Gloves which takes place on Thursday April 19th and Friday April 20th.

Prices are $25 & $35 and you can buy the tickets in person at Gleason's Gym or over the phone (718) 797-2872. Pick up at Gleason's Gym or at the will call window at Madison Square Garden. Mastercard, Visa or cash.