Boxing News

Junior Witter is looking forward to impressing a big TV audience in the next defence of his WBC light welterweight title at the Trent FM Arena Nottingham on Saturday, May 10.

Witter, of Bradford, England, is aiming to end the undefeated record of mandatory challenger Timothy Bradley, of Palm Springs, California, in the third defence of his prestigious world title on a Hennessy Sports in association with GoldenPalace.com show that also features WBC Super Middleweight mandatory challenger Carl Froch. More...

Philadelphia's newest boxing sensation, Danny Garcia, 5-0 (5), is ready for the big stage as he's scheduled to fight Manuel Bocanegra, 7-8-1 (5), Saturday May 3, 2008 on the Oscar De La Hoya vs Steve Forbes card. More...

Following a twelve month absence from the ring, Stokeʼs Danny Johnston will fight twice within three weeks. He will contest the International Masters Title at light middleweight against Birminghamʼs Terry Adams at Trentham Gardens on June 6 but will prepare with a four round warm-up contest against veteran Peter Dunn at the Kings Hall, Stoke on May 17. More...

English lightweight champion John Murray hopes that beating fellow unbeaten lightweight prospect John Fewkes next week will lead to a British title shot.

Murray, of Manchester, 23-0, is expecting a tough first defence of his English title against Fewkes of Sheffield, 17-0, when they meet at the Nottingham Arena on a Hennessy Sports in association with GoldenPalace.com show on Saturday, May 10. More...

No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger Gary "The Rocket" Lockett, 30-1 (21), from Cwmbran, Wales, has vowed to follow in the footsteps of two-division world champion and fellow stablemate Joe Calzaghe by winning his debut fight in America.

The Rocket Man challenges middleweight kingpin Kelly Pavlik, 33-0 (29), from Youngstown, OH, in Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall on Saturday, June 7, for Pavlik's WBO and WBC world titles. More...

Risum Boxing’s Kenyan super featherweight David “Silent Danger” Kiilu, 27-8-2 (14), will return to action after a nine-month involuntary break from the ring, when he takes on an opponent yet to be confirmed over six rounds at the Club Afrique in hometown Nairobi on May 3. More...

**With Slideshow**

© Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing

Last night at the Robin Park Arena in Wigan, England, Steve Woods of VIP Boxing staged an action-packed night of boxing billed as ʽLights Going Outʼ. The main event featured popular Mark Thompson of Heywood, Lancashire, as he faced Polish Boxer Maurycy Gojko, for the Masters International Welterweight title.

But it was a quick nightʼs work for Thompson as he polished-off Gojko in round one of the contest! The Polish man was on the canvas in the first minute of the round but jumped up quickly to take the count from Referee Steve Gray.

A hard left-hook from Thompson, 15-1 (9), sent Gojko,13-9-1 (5), crashing to the canvas in the second half of the round and the impact of his head on the canvas could be heard clearly around ringside! Gojko got to his feet, but Grey stopped the fight just seconds later - seeing that the Pole had not fully recovered from the blow. An impressive victory for Thompson - who afterward proudly ʽdonnedʼ the ʽMasters International Welterweightʼ belt. More...

© Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

The ninth installment of Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing series “Punchin’ at the Paradise” could have been renamed “Knockouts at the Paradise” as Andrey Tsurkan stopped Jesse Feliciano inside the distance, a trend all the fighters on the ESPN Friday Night Fights telecast followed in the Bronx , NY on Friday night.

Tsurkan, 26-3 (17), put on a strong performance against Feliciano, 15-7-3 (9), dropping him in the first round and landing heavy blows through the rest of the fight. Tsurkan dominated every round utilizing his jab and landing accurate power punches at will.

The tough Feliciano absorbed the blows in stride but was never able to get the better of the exchanges. He seemed unable to get out the way of the crisp head shots being delivered at will by Tsurkan.

Although the fight was one-sided in the favor of Tsurkan, Feliciano was also able to land some good shots through the fight. More...

© Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

What better stage to highlight a New York rivalry than a live HBO telecast from Madison Square Garden? Dmitriy Salita, 28-0-1 (16), hopes to take his first step towards the boxing elite by facing cross town rival Edgar Santana, 24-5 (15), on the undercard of DiBella Entertainment’s Boxing After Dark on June 21.

“I received a call a few days ago about fighting Santana,” Salita told SaddoBoxing. “The offer was good and I accepted the fight; I really hope this fight happens for New York City and for the fans.”

According to Salita, his fight is being considered as part of a potential triple-header telecast headlined by Andre Berto, who will face Miguel Angel Rodriguez, and a heavyweight co-feature of Chazz Witherspoon against Chris Arreola. More...

Last night at the Freiberger Arena in Dresden, Germany, WBO Light Heavyweight Champion Zsolt Erdei put on a boxing clinic against challenger DeAndrey Abron, posting a wide points decision over the ambitious American and WBO Light Middle boss Sergiy Dzinziruk managed a hard fought majority decision over Lukas Konecny after twelve rounds.

Erdei, 29-0 (17), needed a rebuilding fight after almost losing his belt to Tito Mendoza last November and got exactly as he patiently dodged the big punching efforts of Abron and picked off his fellow competitor with stinging counters all night long.

It wasn't until the twelfth and final frame that Erdei finally went after Abron, who showed a great deal of heart and toughness in weathering the heaviest shots that the champion could throw to finish the bout on his feet.

"The Firebird" of Budapest won all three scorecards by margins of 119-109, retaining his WBO belt for the tenth time and is looking for a unification bout with IBF/IBO titlist Antonio Tarver. More...

All in all, it was a pretty good Saturday night and we start off south of the border with a big card in Queretaro, Mexico where at the Plaza de Toros Juriquilla, light middleweight contender Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr., 36-0-1 (29), continued his meteoric rise with a ninth round KO of Italy's 154 lb titlist Tobia Guiseppe Loriga, 24-1-1 (6).

The Italian started aggressively but a patient Chavez scored with effective counters and floored the visitor in the second frame. The European fought his way out of trouble and resumed the pressure but didn't have enough power to interrupt the flow of Chavez, who continued to reduce Loriga's energy with carefully selected hurtful counters.

Once he had worn his rival down, Chavez began to go on the offensive and was extracting a heavy toll on Loriga before straining an ankle in the seventh. Despite the injury, Chavez nailed Loriga with a full-blooded right hand that had the Italian Champion taking a much needed knee as he was counted out at 1:47 of the ninth frame. More...

© Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing

With just four weeks until Ricky Hatton's 'Homecoming' in Manchester, 'The Hitman' is already looking in great shape at 10 stone and 12lbs [152 lb] and is looking forward to the fight against California based Mexican-American Juan Lazcano.

Talking to Sky Sports, Hatton said that Lazcano is a 'come forward' boxer - who fights toe-to-toe...that's something I like!,' he smiled. More...

It wasn't the busiest of Friday nights across the globe but there were a few good fights on tap and we begin in America where former IBF Lightweight Champion Paul Spadafora, 41-0-1 (16), started another comeback by winning every frame of an eight rounder against Shad Howard, 13-11-3 (6), at the Avalon Hotel in Erie, PA.

32 year old Spadafora was appearing in just his fifth contest since WBA titlist Leonard Dorin held him to a draw in their unification bout of 2003, which was coincidentally the last world title bout that "The Pittsburgh Kid" has taken part in.

At the Utopia Theatre in The Bronx, NY, light middle Andrey Tsurkan, 26-3 (17), bounced back from losing his NABF title via split decision to Yuri Foreman in December to stop ex-IBF welterweight title challenger Jessie Feliciano, 15-7-3 (9), in the eighth of a scheduled ten rounder.

The Bronx based 30 year old Russian fighter has now gone 7-1 over his last eight bouts and is steadily climbing the ladder towards a world title opportunity.

Also on the bill, well-traveled Polish heavyweight Albert Sosnowski, 43-1 (26), continued to build his resume with a fifth round finishing of Terrell Nelson, 8-5 (5). More...

There is a big show at Freiberger Arena in Dresden, Germany tonight as WBO Light Heavyweight ruler Zsolt Erdei and WBO Light Middle kingpin Sergiy Dzinziruk put their title belts at risk on a Universum promotions bill.

Hungarian Erdei, 28-0 (17), will look to make his tenth title defense after a close call against Panama's Tito Mendoza last November. "The Firebird" will be facing 35 year old American prospect DeAndrey Abron, 15-1 (10), from Youngstown, Ohio who won the WBO NABO title last September by turning back the previously undefeated Shane Benfield.

This will be Abron's first bout outside the US and he'll be taking a big step up in facing Erdei, who has yet to suffer defeat over the course of a seven year pro career. More...

There’s nothing more devastating in boxing that than a hot prospect’s first pro loss, especially for someone such as James McGirt, Jr., 18-1 (9), whose last name alone makes opponents perform better. McGirt suffered his first set-back April 11 when another son of a former world champion, Carlos “Baby Sugar” DeLeon, Jr, 20-2-2 (12), stopped James in the seventh round of their ShoBox co-feature. More...

WBO Junior Lightweight Champion Joan Guzman, 28-0 (17), has obtained a visa that will allow him to travel to Scotland to defend his title against interim champion and Scotland-native Alex Arthur.

“This was the last hurdle that we needed to clear before we could make our title defense,” Guzman said. “Now we’re just waiting on the new date.” More...

The World Boxing Council and the NABF announced today that they are making voluntary, affordable health benefits available to the boxing community and their families. For the first time in history of the sport, everyone who applies will be covered.

Neither the council nor any of their representatives are receiving any financial benefit from this endorsement. More...

In a match-up of top super middleweight prospects, undefeated 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Andre Dirrell, 14-0 (9), will take on once-beaten Anthony Hanshaw, 21-1-1 (14), in a 10-round showdown Next Friday! May 2, live on Showtime's ShoBox: The New Generation, 11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast.

In the co-feature, the promising and once-beaten Antonio DeMarco, 18-1-1 (13), will take on undefeated Juan Castaneda, 12-0 (9), in an eight-round lightweight bout. More...

© Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing

Tomorrow night, Saturday, April, 26, Steve Woods of VIP Boxing is staging what's sure to be another action-packed night of boxing at the Robin Park, Wigan, England.

The main event sees Lancashire boxer, Mark Thompson, face Polish man Maurycy Gojko in a ten round welterweight contest. But also on the bill, popular Blackpool light middleweight Brian Rose is looking for a good win this time, having earned a draw in his most recent outing against Manocha Salari.

Trainer Bobby Rimmer spoke to SaddoBoxing this morning and confirmed that after a last minute substitute, Rose is now fighting 'Gypsy Boy' - Ernie Smith of the Midlands, who was originally scheduled to fight Alex Matvienko on the same bill.

'Brian is absolutely fantastic!' Rimmer enthused, 'he's feeling very confident and, as usual, training has gone absolutely great!'

Interbox stages a show tonight at the Repentigny Arena in Repentigny, Quebec which sees middleweight Renan St. Juste, 16-1-1 (11), square off with Elkeana Ali Saunders, 8-1-1 (4), of The Bahamas over ten rounds.

Also on the bill are Quebecois prospects Benoit Gaudet, and Sebastien Gauthier.

Renan St. Juste: 160 lb
Elkeana Ali Saunders: 158.6 lb

Benoit Gaudet: 135.9 lb
Pedro Javier Torres: 135.9 lb

Sebastien Gauthier: 121.6 lb
Alvaro Muro: 121.5 lb