WBO Welterweight Champion Paul Williams stepped up to light middle and caged the vacant WBO belt by stopping former three time 154 pound world titlist Verno Phillips in the eighth round at Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario, CA in the highest profile bout in America this weekend.

Williams overcame a bad cut from a headclash early on and used his massive height and reach advantage to good effect, keeping the much older Phillips at bay with hard shots to the body and head.

It was the constant body shots which seemed to take their toll on the former champion as he began to slow down later in the bout but Phillips also didn't have the power to trouble his far taller opponent despite not having much difficulty in hitting Williams when he did throw punches.

By the eighth round, Phillips was getting hurt and the bout was called to a halt before the ninth frame could begin to keep the 39 year old from further damage.

Williams wins the WBO Light Middle title, improving to 36-1 (27), while Phillips drops to 42-11-1 (21) after a brave performance in what could be the last big fight of his long career. More...

Yusaf Mack, 26-2-2 (16), continued his comeback as a light heavyweight last night as the NABA Champ retained his title for the first time with a six round TKO of crosstown rival Omar Pittman, 15-5-1 (8), at the National Guard Armory in Philadelphia, PA.

Also on the bill, light middle Derek Ennis, 16-2-1 (12) , won his fourth in a row by posting a wide points decision after ten rounds against 40 year old southpaw Troy Browning, 20-3-1 (8).

At the Morongo Casino in Cabazon, CA, lightweight prospect Vincente Escobedo, 19-1 (12), sparked out previously unbeaten Dominic Salcido, 16-1 (8), at 0:42 of the sixth in a scheduled ten rounder.

Another California prospect was in the victory column at the Morongo as super bantam Nestor Rocha, 20-1 (7), won his third bout on the bounce by stopping 37 year old Puerto Rican veteran Javier Cintron, 14-11-2 (10), in the second frame. More...

In preparation to their clash tonight at Morongo Casino in Cabazon, CA the principal fighters weighed in yesterday.

Lightweights
Vincente Escobedo: 134 lb
Domenic Salcido: 134.5 lb More...

In recent years, when talk turned to boxing's most promising prospects, the name Vicente Escobedo has usually been part of the conversation. On Friday, September 26, Escobedo will return to the Morongo Casino Resort and Spa in Cabazon, California, to face local fan favorite Dominic Salcido on TeleFutura's 'Solo Boxeo'. More...

Aside from the big Pacquiao vs. Diaz card in Las Vegas, there was some good action in America this weekend starting off with the latest bout of Irish sensation John Duddy, who outpointed Charlie Howe at The Castle in Boston, MA.

Duddy, 25-0 (17), was coming off a horrific performance against Montreal based Tunisian fighter Walid Smichet in February and needed an impressive win. At 33 years of age with losses to the only name fighters that he had faced, Joey Gilbert and Cornelius Brundage, Howe, 17-5-2 (9), was handpicked for the purpose.

Not surprisingly, Duddy had little trouble practicing his arsenal against the Midwesterner, finding range to both the head and body with equal success with very little coming back in return.

Howe was hurt at times but the big hearted fighter never stopped trying against his more skilled foe, landing a few good shots here and there to keep Duddy from running roughshod over him.

After the bout ran it's ten round course, Duddy was awarded the victory on marks of 100-90 on all three scorecards. More...