Boxing Scene

(Picture: Ezra Taylor could be in line to fight Carlos Lamela) Cruiserweights Samo Jangirov (8-5-3) and Marko Mononen (8-6) meet in a fight for the vacant BBU title September 7 in Katrineholm (Sweden). The contest is scheduled for eight rounds and as such need special permission from the Martial Arts Delegation. In the chief support,

In part III, the always topical subject of controversial scorecards is addressed as we attempt to plot our way to a boxing utopia. “Apparently the writer believes in pie in the sky,” was one of the comments on Part II of this series. Not quite, because while utopia – an imagined place or state in

Steven Navarro, the junior-bantamweight prospect from Los Angeles, returns in a six-round fight against Oscar Arroyo on August 10 at Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Navarro, nicknamed “Kid Dynamite,” supports a main event between IBF featherweight champion Luis Venado Lopez and hometown hero Angelo Leo. “I had a lot of fun in my Top

Devin Haney has expressed frustration over the recent purse bid to stage his junior welterweight defense against mandatory challenger Sandor Martin, which drew only one bidder – Top Rank, Martin’s promoter – for a figure well under Haney’s current earning power.  Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) regained his undefeated status last week after an April 20

Adam Booth is targeting a return to the ring as early as September for Felix Cash. The middleweight on Saturday lost for the first time as a professional, when a cut on his right eyelid inflicted by an accidental clash of heads meant Tyler Denny was awarded a technical decision in the fifth round. Cash,

Hamzah Sheeraz has had September 21 circled on his calendar for months. The unbeaten middleweight was being pushed for a major slot on Riyadh Season’s Wembley Stadium showpiece event even before he impressively dealt with Austin “Ammo” Williams in May but, until this week, securing a quality opponent was proving to be difficult. The WBC

The World Boxing Organization on Thursday denied former flyweight champion Marlen Esparza’s request for a third fight with Gabriela Alaniz following Alaniz’s split decision title victory April 27 in Fresno, California. Esparza (14-2, 1 KO), after defeating Alaniz (15-1, 6 KOs) by majority decision in July 2023, missed weight for the rematch and was edged

Tyson Fury is unconcerned about his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk losing its status of being an undisputed heavyweight title fight, according to his manager Spencer Brown. Fury in May lost to Usyk in the first undisputed heavyweight title fight for 25 years when, as a fighter who makes little secret of his admiration for his

PHOENIX – It’s a battle for turf, both on the pound-for-pound scale and on a map that defines home and heart. Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez has already staked his claim. For the second straight time, he’s back in a city known for its unique appreciation of the smallest weight classes, perhaps because it’s also home to

Teofimo Lopez is one of boxing’s brightest stars. As a character, he divides opinion. As a fighter, he can blow hot and cold. But when he blows hot, he can be sensational. Lopez will box Canada’s Steve Claggett on Saturday in Miami, and while Lopez has pressure on his shoulders, he welcomes it. When he

You wouldn’t know it by looking at him (or hearing the familiar ring of his name), but Shane Mosley Jr. – very nearly the spitting image of his Hall of Fame father – came up the hard way in boxing. At Wednesday’s virtual press conference for Mosley’s fight July 6 showdown against former middleweight titleholder

The Salita Promotions show on July 27 headlined by Claressa Shields’ heavyweight debut against Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse is beginning to take shape.  The co-featured fight at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit and on DAZN is set to feature Michel Rivera taking on Hugo Alberto Roldan in a 10-round junior welterweight bout. Also set to be

PHOENIX – Don’t try to lump an entire generation into the same personality type. Yes, some are obsessed with self-promotion, trash talk and outlandish statements. Others – particularly the unbeaten two-division champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez – are content to keep to themselves, to labor in near anonymity before the bright lights of the stage find

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

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