Boxing Scene

Joe Smith Jr. expects to be much more impressive during his first title defense Saturday night than he was when he won the then-vacant WBO light heavyweight title nine months ago. Smith overcame Maxim Vlasov by majority decision to become one of boxing’s 175-pound champions, yet Smith admits it was far from his best performance.

Joe Smith Jr. obviously would welcome a high-profile fight against Artur Beterbiev or Canelo Alvarez later this year. A long-discussed showdown with Beterbiev seems like the more realistic option, as both boxers are co-promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. A fight versus Alvarez would be tougher to put together because Alvarez’s purse demands are

Francisco Rodriguez is far from done in his quest to become a two-division champion. The former unified WBO/IBF strawweight titlist—now a top junior bantamweight contender—returned to the win column with a seventh-round stoppage of Arnulfo ‘Pacman’ Salvador. Rodriguez dropped Salvador in round three and had his countryman wobbly in the seventh round, forcing an immediate—though

MTK Global will head back to the University of Bolton Stadium with a night of boxing next month – with some of the best British talent on display. The event takes place on Friday 18 February and is brought together by Johnney Roye for MTK Global, and tickets for the show are priced at £40

Roy Jones Jr. has a few words of advice for Canelo Alvarez as it pertains to the latter’s multi-weight class ambitions. The 31-year-old Alvarez has been a middleweight and junior middleweight for most of his career, but he caught the weight-jumping bug after he moved up to the 168-pound division in 2020 and subsequently unified

IBF featherweight world champion Kiko Martinez is still riding high after last year’s stunning knockout win over Kid Galahad. He will face Britain’s Josh Warrington, a former world champion, in a rematch on March 26 at the First Direct Arena in Leeds (England). Four years ago, Warrington won a twelve round decision over Warrington. Against

Steve Geffrard wasn’t supposed to be here. Last Friday, he was preparing to weigh in for a fight in Delray Beach, Florida, when he received a call. WBO light heavyweight champion Joe Smith Jr. needed an opponent after British puncher Callum Johnson contracted COVID-19. (photos by Mikey Williams) Geffrard answered the call and will fight

You don’t need a belt evidently to be tops in the lightweight division, according to Ryan Garcia’s personal hierarchy. The lightweight contender still believes former unified lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko is the top threat in the division, putting him over the likes of WBC titleholder Devin Haney, Gervonta Davis, Teofimo Lopez, and the recently crowned

Yet another deadline has passed without a deal in place for an ordered title consolidation clash between Hiroto Kyoguchi and Esteban Bermudez. The World Boxing Association (WBA) has taken matters into its own hands, calling for a January 28 purse bid hearing to bring resolution to the junior flyweight fight that has been more than

What was once a crowded fight day is now down to just one major boxing event in the United States. A junior middleweight clash between Liam Smith and Jessie Vargas is once again placed on hold. The bout was due to headline a February 5 DAZN show from Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona, only

Find out why professionals are using BoxBandz It will be an all British battle between past-their-prime 35-year-old former world champions, with the victor, loser — or both — potentially retiring after the bout when Amir Khan and Kell Brook finally meet on Feb. 19 at the Manchester Arena in England. There is much fanfare in the

Japhethlee Llamido (5-0, 2 KOs) looks to continue his undefeated run through the featherweight division. Llamido started his combat sports career at five years old competing in martial arts competitions–everything from karate, jiu jitsu, taekwondo, and more. He then started boxing at eleven years old and hasn’t looked back. Llamido is fighting Jesus Arturo Guzman

Lightweight prospect Charlie Sheehy (1-0, 1 KO), a 23-year-old former Team USA amateur standout from the Bay Area town of Brisbane, California, has signed a multi-year professional contract with Top Rank. Sheehy, who is managed by Peter Kahn, won 17 national amateur titles. He will make his Top Rank debut in a four-round bout Friday,

Andrew Moloney was among the more interested observers for the final major title fight of last year. Japan’s Kazuto Ioka (28-2, 16KOs) made the fifth defense of his WBO junior bantamweight title, with a victory against countryman late replacement Ryoji Fukunaga (15-5, 14KOs). The bout took place on New Year’s Eve at Ota-City Gymnasium in

After his last knockout victory in November and the New Year’s Eve parties, Yuniel Doritos has returned to the gym to start a new camp. ‘The KO Doctor’ begins this new stage in his career with a clear goal: to become world champion for the third time at cruiserweight. Dorticos, who has just defeated Jesse

Dmitriy Salita, promoter for heavyweight contender Otto Wallin, says an 80-20 monetary split is more than fair for Dillian Whyte to receive for a mandatory fight with Tyson Fury. The World Boxing Council recently ordered an 80-20 split in Fury’s favor, with a purse bid initially scheduled for January 11. Whyte is attempting to secure

Amir Khan was never totally pleased with the idea of facing Kell Brook at their contracted weight agreement of 149 pounds, but the former junior welterweight titleholder was not going to let that be the reason one of the biggest British fights in recent memory did not happen. After years of going back and forth

Miguel Cotto Promotions has high expectations for several of their fighters for 2022 – including Oscar Collazo and Danielito Zorrilla, who understand that they could be close to fighting for world titles. Héctor Soto, vice president of the promoting company, and executive director Bryan Pérez, stipulated that both Collazo and Zorrilla look like strong contenders