IBF cruiserweight belt holder Jai Opetaia wants the winner of Saturday’s WBO cruiserweight title fight between champion Chris Billam-Smith and challenger Richard Riakporhe. On May 18 the unbeaten Opetaia won the IBF belt for a second time by defeating Latvia’s Mairis Briedis in Saudi Arabia, and while the Australian southpaw is keen to eventually move
Month: June 2024
The European Boxing Union (EBU) held its annual General Assembly last weekend in Tbilisi, Georgian Republic. The EBU female title will now be called the Enza Jacoponi title to honor its General Secretary. Jacoponi began in her current position in 1990 and is worthy of representing the championship. The EBU will keep its policy of
The World Boxing Association Thursday ordered undisputed junior-featherweight champion Naoya Inoue to next meet the sanctioning body’s mandatory challenger, former unified champion Murodjon “M.J.” Akhmadaliev. By virtue of his standing as a four-division and two-time undisputed champion, Japan’s Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs) is squarely in the pound-for-pound No. 1 boxer discussion with unbeaten, two-time undisputed
Despite Richard Riakporhe being the betting favorite and having hometown advantage for his fight with WBO cruiserweight titleholder Chris Billam-Smith, his trainer, Angel Fernandez, says that there is no pressure on his fighter’s shoulders ahead of the fight at London’s Selhurst Park this weekend. Mark Tibbs was in Riakporhe’s corner as he battled his way
Richard Riakporhe has “Deontay Wilder kind of power”, according to Dan Azeez. Riakporhe on Saturday challenges WBO cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith at Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park – Azeez fights Croatia’s Hrvoje Sep on the undercard – and does so with a reputation as a fighter whose power will eventually take him to heavyweight. The 34 year
I like Saturday night’s PBC pay-per-view card quite a bit. I like its depth, I like the talent on the bill, I like the superstar potential atop the card, and I think all four fights have action upside. Buuuuuuutttt … if you’re in the market for 50/50 matchmaking, you won’t find any of it here.
Chris Billam-Smith and Richard Riakporhe each weighed in at the cruiserweight limit of 200lbs ahead of their rematch on Saturday at Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park. Billam-Smith, 34 and the WBO champion, seeks to avenge his only career defeat, via split decision in 2019. The rivals – Riakporhe is also 34 – refused to break an
LAS VEGAS – Former welterweight champion Shawn Porter believes Frank Martin could provide Gervonta Davis with an acid test. “The Ghost” is a hefty underdog in Las Vegas, but he is talking a good fight and Porter believes that Martin, 18-0 (12 KOs), could present Davis with some problems in the MGM Grand on Saturday
Chris Billam-Smith is taking the conviction of his victory over Lawrence Okolie into Saturday’s rematch with Richard Riakporhe. The WBO cruiserweight champion makes the second defence of the title he won from Okolie at Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park, aware that when they fought in 2019, Riakporhe outpointed him to inflict his only defeat. When he
LAS VEGAS – Gervonta “Tank” Davis takes center stage on Saturday night in Las Vegas, headlining the 100th show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. In a business destabilized for many by huge investment from the Middle East, there are moving parts aplenty in boxing. Stephen Espinoza has seen plenty during his time in boxing,
By: Sean Crose Ryan Garcia was reportedly arrested by Beverly Hills police for felony vandalism at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Beverly Hills on Saturday. The story was broken by TMZ, which included video of the fighter presumably being led away by police. TMZ quotes Garcia’s lawyer as saying the fighter known as King Ry
By: Sean Crose Rising junior middleweight Xander Zayas ground out a game win over the gutsy Patrick Teixeira in a ten round battle at New York’s Hulu Theater on Saturday. The fight was the main event of a Top Rank/ESPN card. Zayas started fast while Teixeira worked to maintain range and to keep away from
By: Sean Crose Jaron “Boots” Ennis has a new opponent to defend his IBF welterweight title against July 13th in his hometown of Philadelphia. The 31-0 champion was supposed to face the 22-0 Cody Crowley, but an eye issue subsequently forced Cody to step out of the fact. Taking Crowley’s place will be 30-4-1 former
By: Sean Crose Gervonta “Tank” Davis didn’t show up for the Grand Arrival at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas today as scheduled. Davis was supposed to pretty much be the main attraction of Tuesday’s event, which was meant as a high profile affair in the lead up to Saturday’s pay per view bout against
By: Sean Crose Boxing as we used to know it may well return…at least in a very real sense. Indeed, the best may be the facing best on a regular basis once again. When was the last time boxing fans witnessed that sort of thing happening? Back in the 90s? The 80s? Indeed it’s been
By: Sean Crose Everyone has wanted to see David Benavidez fight Canelo Alvarez. Everyone, that is, except for Canelo. At least for the time being. While it’s a tall order to accuse Canelo of ducking an impressive opponent, there’s little doubt that the future hall of famer has proven himself to be less than eager
Following the news of the postponement of Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson due to a medical issue suffered by Tyson, ESPN now reports that the bout has been officially rescheduled for November 15 at AT&T Stadium. “Although we had to postpone the fight, I will resume training shortly. I am thankful to the medical staff
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum spent a couple minutes chatting with Fight Hype about his reaction to Oscar De La Hoya’s interest in a Top Rank vs Golden Boy card and his prediction for Adrien Broner vs Blair Cobbs which is scheduled for tonight on Triller. Check out some of what he had to say