NEWS AND UPDATES
Oleksandr Usyk defeats Tyson Fury for the second time.
Oleksandr Usyk decisioned Tyson Fury unanimously to put their rivalry to bed.
Oleksandr Usyk (23-0, 14KO) triumphed over Tyson Fury (34-2-1, 24KO) with all three judges scoring the fight 116-112.
The heavyweights clashed in Saudi Arabia on December 21, 31 weeks after their first fight in May, where Usyk was crowned undisputed heavyweight champion with a narrow split decision result. This time, the fight was just as close, but all three judges agreed on the outcome.
Fury was not in agreement and strongly believed he won the fight. Many fight fans felt that the scoring was too wide for such a closely fought contest. However, the judges didn’t score any of the second half of the fight to Fury, only Ignacio Robles gave round nine to Fury and Gerardo Martinez gave the dramatic last round to the Brit.
The victor gave praise to his worthy opponent, “This is my best friend. Tyson Fury make me strong – motivated for me, but Tyson is a great opponent. Very respect Tyson Fury. 24 rounds! Listen, now is already history.”
Fury landed a strong straight right in round two to capture the unified champion’s attention. In round four, he landed another clean one-two, and in round five caught the Ukrainian with a big left uppercut as well as two big hooks to the body.
In the sixth stanza, Usyk cleverly jabbed to the body to distract from a big backhand left up top, rocking Fury’s head back. Then the Ukrainian managed to get another big left in through the guard in the final seconds of the round.
Fury came back from losing rounds six to eight with a big performance in the ninth. Usyk stunned Fury momentarily in the 11th with a big left hand that caught him completely cold. The pair ended the fight swinging in a dramatic final round.
The punch stats affirmed the result with Usyk landing 179 punches to Tyson’s 144. However, Fury’s disappointment at the result saw ‘The Gypsy King’ storm out of the ring early and did not give a customary post-fight interview.
The 6ft 9 star was fuming, “[I was] robbed there. I swear to God I thought I won by at least three rounds.” He added, “What’s next for me? I’m going home and having some time off.”
He also left a cryptic message hinting at retirement, “You might see me fight again, you might not.”
The Compubox stats verified Usyk as the rightful winner.
Galal Yafai stops Sunny Edwards!
Galal Yafai stops Sunny Edwards!
Sunny Edwards confirms retirement after second knockout loss to Galal Yafai.
Galal Yafai (9-0, 7KO) pummelled Sunny Edwards (21-2, 4KO) into submission in six rounds at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham on November 30th to win the WBC Interim flyweight title.
Referee Lee Every stepped in at 1:10 in the sixth stanza to save Sunny, who was trapped in the corner and taking punch after punch, only able throw back intermittingly.
Yafai threw around 40 punches with Sunny only able to answer back a couple of times, sporadically, and was rightfully stopped from further punishment.
Earlier, in the corner, Edwards told his trainer, “Can I be real with you? I don’t even want to be here”. Post-fight, 28-year-old Edwards confirmed his retirement from the sport he no longer feels enough love for.
Derry Mathews paid tribute, “In boxing you go old overnight – and once the fire has gone there is no getting it back. Sunny Edwards has been brilliant for the sport and is a top lad, he will make a great commentator. Enjoy this side of the ropes, you will always be a champ.”
Co-Founder of Fight Disciples, Adam Catterall, tweeted: “Sunny Edwards was one of the very best pure boxers this country has produced in recent times. Sad to see him call it at 28 but if the fire has gone out, get out.”
Ring Magazine journalist, Ryan Songolia, said: “When the fight is beaten out of you, it doesn’t come back. Sunny Edwards is saying out loud what virtually all boxers say inside when they’re done living this crazy life.”
Amir Khan confirms ‘talks’ with Manny Pacquiao
Amir Khan confirms Manny Pacquiao fight is closer than ever and will take place in “a powerful Muslim country”
Turki Alalshikh turned down Khan v Pacquiao but a new nation is ‘coming in hard’ to make the fight. Despite retiring in 2022, Amir Khan is still itching to get back in the ring, but only if the price is right.
He told Prime Casino all about a recent, mega-money offer made from a secret location that he is unable to reveal at this time.
“Turki would never take that fight. It’s a shame,” the 37-year-old begun. “I don’t think Turki wants to do exhibitions or fights with guys who are retired because he has such a good roster.
“But another nation is coming in hard and wants to throw money at entertainment now. I can’t say their name but if they come in now they’re going to follow the same footprint as Saudi Arabia. “This one kind of surprised me as well when they said it, and they were ready to throw funds and deposits down, and they’re non-refundable deposits, so you know their team is on it.”
“You look at the countries and how much wealth they have, it’s a powerful one. I’m not allowed [to say] but it is another Muslim country. The country that’s backing it is very, very powerful.
“The ball is in Manny’s court if he wants to do it, and I know there’s a lot going on in his life as he’s in politics. It’s just a waiting game. This happens a lot in boxing and then you both end up getting bored of it. When you’ve seen the proof of funds from the country itself, you know that it is real. They’re not messing about.
“The motivation is always going to be there. We’re friends. We’ve fought each other. We’ve trained with each other. At the end of the day we are prize fighters. A prize fighter, with a fight like that on the table, you’re never going to say no because it is a massive, massive fight.
“Maybe it’s a little bit too late but there’s still going to be fireworks because we’ll both have our hearts on our sleeves, and we’ll fight, we’ll fight very hard. It’d be good to do that fight but it just depends.
“Obviously, me and Manny are well-paid fighters and we get paid enough for our previous fights, so we won’t be taking anything less or short-changing ourselves for anyone.”
“The money on table would be my third biggest payday ever.”
“But when you’re retired and you’re getting a paycheck like that, it’s a lot of money. We’ve made $12-13 million through fighting so we’ve done well in the sport so to have another paycheck thrown at you again, who would say no to it? Especially when you’re retired. That’s a massive motivation to get back in the ring. And another big motivation is to fight against such a great fighter as Manny Pacquiao, which never happened in the boxing ring when we were both active fighters but it can happen now so why not, yeah?”
Chris Eubank Jr to face Conor Benn in 2025?
Ben Shalom reveals he is making an offer to Conor Benn to fight Chris Eubank Jr. in February or March. BOXXER promoter, Ben Shalom, revealed to IFL TV that he plans on putting an offer forward to Conor Benn (23-0, 14KO) this week to make the fight with Chris Eubank Jr. (34-3, 25KO) in early 2025.
The ‘born rivals’ were meant to fight in 2022, but Benn failed multiple drug tests causing the grudge match to be cancelled just days before fight night. Ever since, unbeaten Benn has been forced to protest and prove his innocence, having his BBBofC licence suspended in the process.
Earlier this month, the National Anti-Doping Panel officially cleared Benn of any wrongdoing, meaning he is free to fight in the UK once more and therefore reigniting talks of a domestic showdown with Eubank.
Ben Shalom told Kugan Cassius, “I think I’ve said before that’s the fight Chris wants next, and that’s the fight I believe Conor wants.” “I think Chris feels very differently about that fight than how he used to feel, and we’re going to be putting an offer in this week.”
“I think we want to make that fight for February or March [2025]. I’d like to see it in the UK, of course, maybe it’ll be at Riyadh Season.
“But when I think about the biggest nights I’ve been involved in… Khan-Brook was big, but this just feels different. The history of the two guys, what’s happened, the history of their rivalry as well has made it into something very big, and we’ll definitely put in an offer in this week.
“Look, I think that fight is there to be made now. It’s massive and now is the right time.”
28-year-old welterweight, Benn, has only fought three times in three years, his last two bouts taking place in the States, while his British licence was revoked.
Brighton boxer, Eubank Jr., now 35, has had back-to-back bouts with Liam Smith, scored one apiece, and recently fought in Riyadh when he stopped Kamil Szeremeta in seven rounds to win the IBO World middleweight title, becoming a three-time IBO champion, having held the super-middleweight version twice before
Katie Taylor defeats Amanda Serrano in another thriller
Written by Tim Rickson on 16th November 2024.
Katie Taylor trumps Amanda Serrano for a second time in yet another close contest
Katie Taylor defeated Amanda Serrano by the slimmest of margins in yet another thrilling contest to retain her super-lightweight undisputed titles on Friday, November 15, in Texas, on the Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson undercard.
The rematch went the whole 10 rounds, as widely expected, as both women delivered another all-time classic to somehow outshine their original Madison Square Garden match-up in 2022.
Irish superstar Taylor got the nod from all three judges, who each scored it unanimously at 95-94.
Seven-weight world champion Serrano and her team were unhappy with the result, as a point deduction for Taylor in the eighth round did not swing the contest for the Puerto Rican, who landed 324 punches to Taylor’s 217.
The three judges at ringside were Canadian Jeremy Hayes and Americans Nathan Palmer and Jesse Reyes.
On social media, world champions Claressa Shields, Caroline Dubois, Terence Crawford and Shakur Stevenson all agreed that Taylor was the narrow winner, but at ringside the crowd audibly booed the decision.
Serrano described the scorecards as “shady” while Taylor brushed off the boos that rung out the arena filled with 70,000 fans as she made her post-fight speech.
The judges did not see the fight entirely the same way, with only four of the 10 rounds scored unanimously.
Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis targets Undisputed in 2025
Written on the 8th November 2024
IBF Welterweight king says his rematch with Chukhadzhian will look very different as Ennis targets undisputed in 2025
Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis has sent a warning to his fellow World champions by saying believes he’s not even shown half of what he is capable of in the ring as he prepares to defend his IBF World Welterweight title against Karen Chukhadzhian on Saturday night (November 9) at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, live worldwide on DAZN – on a stacked card where Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez defends his WBC World and Ring Magazine Flyweight titles against Pedro Guevara.
The action starts on Before the Bell at 10:15pm in the UK
Ennis (32-0 29 KOs) steps back through the ropes in his hometown arena for the second time following a spectacular homecoming night in July, where he forced David Avanesyan to retire after five rounds in the first defense of his title.
The 27 year old’s clash with mandatory challenger Chukhadzhian (24-2 13 KOs) will be a rematch of their fight in January 2023, where Boots pitched a shut-out in Washington DC. Chukhadzhian has notched three wins since then to move into the mandatory position for Ennis’ belt, but in the build-up to tomorrow’s return, the Philly star promises that the fight will look very different to the first bout now that he’s back having fun again – which is bad news for his fellow title holders in 2025 if he sees the Ukrainian off.
“In the first fight with Chukhadzhian,” said Ennis. “It was just me getting away from having fun. My mindset was just knockout, knockout, knockout. You can’t go into a fight like that, and I never usually do, I just go in, have my fun and put on a show. But that whole training camp, I wasn’t enjoying it, I was just thinking ‘I’m here to hurt everybody’ and that’s how I was in the gym, and it wasn’t good.
“Once I got back to having fun, you could see afterwards I was having my fun and when I do that, the stoppages come, don’t look for it. So, it was nothing about him, he’s got nothing I’ve not seen before, it’s all about me. I just thought ‘I’m going to knock this guy out’, you can’t go in there like that, you have to listen to the game plan, but I didn’t do that. So that performance is all on me, nothing to do with him. What I did from the seventh to the 12th rounds is what I should have done from the start, jabbing to the body, and every time I did cut him off, I was rushing my work. There’s a lot of things from that fight – but I’ve learned, and that’s what matters.
“The key to success is just having fun, that’s it. You have to listen, stay behind the jab and things like that, but the main key is having fun – if you do that, it makes camp better, the fights better, everything, it just flows.
“I think you’ve only seen 35-40 per cent of me so far for real, for real, I haven’t had to go into my bag to do anything yet. When the opposition gets better, I think it brings more out of you, but who knows, just because a guy is good, it doesn’t mean he’s going to do anything towards me, I might beat him easy.
Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez wants to make a statement and stop “dangerous” Pedro Guevara
“I want to be an all-time legend, one of the best ever to do it. I don’t feel that I really have to prove anything, I’m just doing what I need to do for myself, my family and my legacy. I don’t have to prove anything to anyone.
“I want to unify and collect the belts, but it’s OK, we’re staying busy and we’re dealing with the mandatory, and that’s going to keep me rolling, keep my name out there, keep my skills and talent going up, so everything is OK.
“It’s out of my hands, I did the best that I could behind the scenes to make the fights happen, but it’s OK, we’re going to meet these guys. I think they are lacking confidence, they don’t believe in themselves, because they know what’s in front of them, that Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis is in front of them, a different type of monster, a different type of beast, the king of the 147lbs division. They know what comes with that.
“I’m tired of talking about Crawford. I’ve been trying to get that fight but I don’t worry about that now, we’re tried multiple times. They don’t want the fight, so people need to go and ask them. I’ve tried, but I don’t care anymore, he’s chasing who he’s chasing, I’m focusing on what I’ve got going on right now – but it’s always going to be ‘yes’ on my side.
“Everyone wants to see it, but I get tired of talking about it because right now it doesn’t look realistic as he’s calling out Canelo and stuff like that, so it is what it is. I’ll fight anyone, anywhere, it doesn’t matter to me,” Ennis ended.
Ennis and Rodriguez headline a stacked night of action in Philadelphia, with former World champion Raymond ‘Savage’ Ford will return to action up at Super-Featherweight when he takes on Orlando Gonzalez, Light-Heavyweight talent Khalil ‘Big Steppa’ Coe takes on Manuel Gallegos, Ernesto ‘Tito’ Mercado makes his Matchroom debut against Jesus Saracho over ten rounds at Super-Lightweight and Austin Williams returns to the ring over eight rounds at 160lbs against Gian Garrido.
Boots Promotions duo Dennis Thompson and Ismail Muhammad return to the ring, and there’s a debut on the card for the hotly-touted Zaquin Moses, the cousin of pound-for-pound superstar Shakur Stevenson, stepping through the ropes for the first time over four rounds at Super-Featherweight.
Shabaz Masoud outclasses Liam Davies to become IBO super-bantamweight Champion.
Shabaz Masoud says “there’s more to come” after winning IBO super-bantamweight title from Liam Davies
Written by Tim Rickson on 3rd November 2024.
Shabaz, originally from Stoke-on-Trent, won a national title as an amateur but his pro career has been stop-start, blighted by injury and inactivity.
Having now signed for Eddie Hearn's Matchroom team, he has been trained in Essex by Davison, who has previously been a cornerman for Anthony Joshua and coached Tyson Fury, another ex-world heavyweight champion.
But Shabaz remains close to his Telford roots at the Wellington Boxing Academy, where he was raised, near to their Donnington Boxing Club rivals, where Davies learned his craft. “I said to Liam, we’ll meet up, we’ll go for some food and get the two gyms together,
One of the judges scored the fight 115-113 in favour of champion Davies, but the other two had it 115-113 and 116-112 for Shabaz.
While Davies, 28, was made to suffer his first defeat from 17 fights, fellow 28-year-old Shabaz repeated his two previous wins over Davies in their amateur days to remain unbeaten after 14 professional fights.
“I’m the underdog that made it and there’s more to come,” Shabaz told BBC Radio Shropshire. “In one of the pre-fight press conferences Liam said, ‘I hope you’ve got the dog in you.’ I certainly proved just that. And I want to get better. “I want to get in the ring and not even get touched. I already said to my coach Ben Davison that I can’t wait to get back in the gym and work on that.”
“I said to Liam, we’ll meet up, we’ll go for some food and get the two gyms together,” added Shabaz.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about community. The amateur gyms, the grass roots. It’s about getting everyone together. That’s what we need to do.”
Adam Azim v Ohara Davis Live updates
Adam Azim vs Ohara Davies live results. Written by Aqib Tahlat on 19th October 2024.
Adam Azim vs Ohara Davies weights, running order and ringwalk times
Adam Azim vs Ohara Davies round by round reports
Adam Azim steps up against world title contender Ohara Davies tonight in the capital, live on Sky Sports.
Aqib Tahlat, is ringside with all the latest updates.
Anthony Yarde vs Ralfs Vilcans
1: Yarde knocks down Vilcans with his first punch. A right hand lands on the chin.
Yarde jabbing well and looking dangerous on the counter. Yarde 10-8 round.
2: Vilcans on the front foot regardless of being knockdown first round. Yarde landing a few strong jabs that snapped Vilcans head back. A tougher round to score as Vilcans landed a few before the round ended.
3: Another close round with Vilcans having success with a few combinations. Yarde landing some big shots however Vilcans took it and landed shots from his side. Very close round.
4: Vilcans again having a really good round with combinations and frustrating Yarde but Yarde landing a massive right hand at the end of the round which shook Vilcans.
5: Yarde landing huge shots. Definitely a convincing round for Yarde. Vilcans has been good in spots however doesn’t have the power to disturb Yarde. Round 6 Yarde will look to take him out.
6: Yarde landing huge shots again but Vilans is very tough not only surviving but throwing some of his right hands and combinations. A Yarde round however Vilcans isn’t just standing there he’s making this a frustrating night for Yarde.
7: Another good round but Yarde taking control and definitely wants a stoppage.
8: Vilcans isn’t giving up. This has been a very good fight from Vilcans. Even though Yarde should win from here he has shown so much heart and potential.
9 & 10: A very good fight that Yarde landed huge shots and felt like he would be able to end the fight however Vilcans was very solid and showed great heart.
Sam Gilley retains Commonwealth super-welterweight title via fourth-round knockout
Yarde has done enough to get a decision however he will probably be slightly frustrated he wasn’t able to stop him.
The scorecards: 98-92 to Anthony Yarde.
Azim v Ohara Davis
1: Adam Azim starting on the front with a great jab and really looking sharp. Landed a big right hand, Ohara not throwing as he is worried about the counter and Azim’s speed.
Adam Azim round 10-9.
2: A tough round to call both fighters throwing some big shots however not landing with significance.
Ohara looked more confident in the 2nd round. Some really good jabs thrown by Davis.
3: Ohara Davis landing a few big hands and having more success with the jab as he’s getting closer to Adam which helped him land the right hand. OD round 10-9.
4: Adam Azim round. Very good technique from Azim. Looked very compact and landed some great left hooks and a few right hands. 10-9 Adam.
5: Adam scored a knockdown with a great shot and hurt Davis and could have stopped him in that round. OD survives 10-8 Azim.
6: A quieter round compared to round 5 but Ohara Davis landing a left hook. Adam Azim looking very strong and controlling the fight however Davis still looking dangerous.
7: Azim still looking strong and dangerous on the counter.
8: Azim lands with a huge right hand and ends the fight. Davis couldn’t carry on and Adam Azim wins a TKO victory. That is a statement victory for Adam Azim as he eyes Dalton Smith.
Artur Beterbiev becomes Undisputed Light heavyweight Champion
By Tim Rickson
Beterbiev beats Bivol to claim light-heavyweight supremacy
Montreal-based wrecking ball Artur Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) became the undisputed light heavyweight world champion with a majority decision over Dmitry Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) on Saturday evening at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
This clash of unbeaten champions—with Beterbiev risking his WBC/IBF/WBO titles and Bivol defending his WBA strap—crowned the division’s first undisputed ruler since Roy Jones Jr. vanquished Reggie Johnson in 1999.
One judge had it 114-114, while two others scored it 115-113 and 116-112 for Beterbiev.
In the opening rounds, Bivol controlled the fight from the perimeter, while Beterbiev found himself on the receiving end of jabs and counter right hands. Beterbiev’s sporadic flurries kept Bivol honest as the action progressed, including a stiff jab that stunned him in the fifth.
A confident Bivol stood his ground in the seventh, unleashing a fusillade of punches. This stirred Beterbiev, who responded with a furious barrage that sent Bivol reeling for the rest of the round and set the tone for the eighth.
Bivol regained his form in the ninth, sticking and moving into the tenth. Beterbiev again cranked up the pace in the championship rounds and landed thudding blows around the guard. He won the last three rounds on all three judges’ cards to prevail by the slimmest of margins.
Beterbiev said, “I feel not bad. I did not good today. I wanted to box today with more quality. I don’t know why, but I didn’t like this fight. But I’ll be better one day.
“Of course, it’s a tough fight because Dmitry is a world champion, too. He has good skills, maybe better than me. But today, Allah chose me.
“You know, during the fight, we always try to change something. But, you know, maybe I just wanted to punch him. Maybe that’s why I’m not delivering more punches. I don’t know.
“If His Excellency wants it [a rematch], then we can do it.”
Bivol said, “I am a warrior. I have to do everything perfect. And I don’t have any explanation because it could look like excuses. I just congratulate Artur and his team. He deserves it. No problem. I just have time to make another decision for my future. That’s it.
“I don’t know. I just did my job. I felt that I could have done better. I always could be better. It’s just the opinion of the judges. Congratulations, Artur. I didn’t see the fight. He won. What can I say?”
Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn raged at the result, stating that Pawel Kardyni should never work in boxing again.
Punch Stats
Beterbiev: 137 total punches landed
Bivol: 142 total punches landed
Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol punch stats
Nick Ball took the centre of the ring from the first round, reeling off six-punch combinations in the first minute. He landed a strong right-left hook combo just 40 seconds in.
Rios tried to box at range using his rangy jab and straight shots, but Ball trapped him on the ropes constantly.
Ball was teeing off on the target and his big head shots, especially the uppercuts, were wearing the Californian down, who tucked up tight and could offer very little back.
In round three, the Liverpudlian landed four left uppercuts to drop the American, who still had over two minutes left to survive the round. Rios threw a three-punch combination, left and right hooks to the body and left hook up top, but Ball responded by pushing him back onto the ropes and scoring a big left hook to the head.
Referee Bob Williams was having a really close look and appeared to be poised to jump in at any moment, but it’s a world title fight, so he gave Rios plenty of chance to fight back, which he did.
Rios telegraphed a right hook to the body, so Ball countered with a short left hook to the head.
In round four, a five-punch combo culminating in a left hook to the head, staggered Rios backwards, who was still trying to land his body shots, particularly targeting the left hook to right side of Ball’s body, a shot he used effectively to knock out Nicolas Polanco in the fifth round of his last fight.
Ball’s nose was bloodied by this point.
By round seven, there was even more blood on the face and left shoulder of Ball. Rios landed a stiff jab that snapped the champion’s head back, but Ball responded with a big left hook upstairs which he leaped into. Rios was upset that it was ruled a knockdown, believing it was more of a push down.
In round 10, Ball relentlessly battered Rios until he was knocked out of the ring and, even though he got back to his feet, the towel was sensibly thrown in.
By Tim Rickson
Oct 2024