Omar Figueroa Retains WBC Lightweight Title With Split Decision Over Jerry Belmontes

04/27/201404/27/2014 Showtime Boxing

After losing all five of his amateur fights against Belmontes, Figueroa (23-0-1, 17 KOs), of Weslaco, Texas, got his revenge in his first world title defense, outpointing Belmontes (19-4, 5 KOs), of Corpus Christi, Texas, by the scores of 118-110, 116-112 and 113-115.

“He gave me more than trouble,’’ Figueroa said. “He wouldn’t make a fight out of it. I’m sorry to the fans. It was more of a sparring match than a fight. I prepared so much and this was the outcome.

“He almost made me cry again but of laughter saying he was going to beat me. I prepared well. I came 100 percent. I knew he was going to run. My hands are a little sore but nothing bad, nothing crazy. Now take my time off. I have been training since January. But it is up to Al Haymon.”

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Lucas Browne beats Eric Martel Bahoeli

04/27/201404/27/2014 Hatton Promotions

LUCAS “BIG DADDY” BROWNE became the first Australian to win the Commonwealth heavyweight title in 122 years when he scored a fifth round knockout of Canada’s Eric Martel Bahoeli at the Ponds Forge Arena in Sheffield, England on Saturday night.

After flooring Bahoeli heavily with solid right in the second, Browne sustained a severe cut above this left eye from a head clash in the third, but still battled on to record his 20th pro victory and 18th stoppage.

If anything the laceration seemed to bring out the best in the 35-year-old from Sydney.

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Thurman beats Diaz; Matthysse stops Molina; Figueroa defeats Belmontes

04/27/201404/26/2014 Jeff Sorby

Julio Diaz (40-10-1, 29 KO’s) suffered a rib injury in the 3rd round tonight against interim WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman (23-0, 21 KO’s) that caused the fight to be stopped at the end of the 3rd round a the StubHub Center in Carson, California. We didn’t learn anything from the fight other than the fact Thurman fights a lot better when he’s coming forward than he does when he’s being backed up and pressured.

It was clearly a huge mistake to make Thurman-Diaz the main event, because the fight was one-sided and not nearly as interesting to watch as the Lucas Matthysse vs. John Molina bout.

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Before You Complain About Klitschko-Leapai…

04/27/201404/26/2014 Jason Peck

Wladimir Klitschko has triumphed again in commanding fashion, an action which typically raises complaints that the long-time champ fights “bums” rather than “real” challenges.

Of course, this raises an interesting question. Who are the bums and who are the real challenges? If Klitschko avoids a challenge, then name the challenge. And be careful with your answer.

I remember little more than a two years ago when Klitcshko easily KO’d Tony Thompson in six. Critics immediately excoriated him for fighting a geriatric, rather than an unstoppable machine like David Price. Yet Thompson’s name is now mysteriously removed from the retrospective list of “bums” that Klitschko fought and – just as mysteriously – David Price is no longer a “real” challenge.

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Wladimir Klitschko destroys Leapai

09/15/201604/26/2014 James Slater

Heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko did as was widely expected and stopped overmatched title challenger Alex Leapai tonight in Germany. Dominating the action throughout, Wladimir scored two knockdowns in the 5th-round, the final one ending the fight. The time was 2-minutes and 5-seconds and Klitschko, unbeaten in ten years, is now 62-3(52). Leapai, who gave it his best, falls to 30-5-3(24).

Klitschko boxed his usual fight, dominating behind his punishing left jab with his even more punishing right hand behind it. Credited with a knockdown in the 1st-round – when Leapai appeared to have slipped and was unhurt – Wladimir never lost a single minute of a single round. Showing a stubborn chin that might have surprised some, Leapai ate a ton of left jabs and telephone pole right hands, for which he deserves credit, yet the Samoan was not throwing anywhere near enough leather himself.

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Lucas Browne overcomes horrific cut eye to stop game Eric Martel Bahoeli in 5th-round

04/27/201404/26/2014 James Slater

Tonight in Sheffield, Australian heavyweight giant Lucas Browne won the vacant Commonwealth title with an exciting 5th-round KO over Canada’s Eric Martel Bahoeli. Browne’s Sunday punch, his big right hand, got the job done, as Bahoeli was clubbed to the floor whilst stuck in a corner. The time was one-minute and 26-seconds. Browne is now 20-0(17). Bahoeli, the younger man by three year at age 32, is now 10-4(7).

There was plenty of drama to keep the fans on the edge of their seat before the ending. Browne, stalking a moving target, looked to unload his power punches, with Bahoeli boxing well, landing some shots with his fast hands. The difference in power and strength was obvious however, and sure enough Browne, known as “Big Daddy” broke though in the 2nd. A looping right hand decked Bahoeli and it looked as though the fight was over with.

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Josesito Lopez Puts on Vintage Performance; Defeats Aron Martinez via 5th round TKO

04/26/201404/25/2014 Thompson Boxing Promotions

Game. Set. Match. Josesito “The Riverside Rocky” Lopez (32-6, 19 KOs) overwhelmed Southern California rival Aron “El Asesino” Martinez (19-3-1, 4 KOs) with relentless pressure and timely power punching to score a fifth round TKO victory that stirred the pro-Lopez crowd into a hot frenzy. It is Lopez’ first knockout win since 2011.

“I came to put on a great fight and show everyone that I’m ready to make some noise in the welterweight division,” said Lopez, who is co-promoted by Thompson Boxing Promotions and Goossen Tutor Promotions. “I had a nice bounce to my step since the opening round and I just never took my foot off the gas.”

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Bernard Hopkins Historic Return to DC

04/23/201404/22/2014 William T. Shorter

Almost 21 years ago in historic RFK stadium a boxing card was being promoted that would forever change my perspective and love for the sweet science. The main event for the card was the undisputed heavyweight champ of the world Riddick Bowe v. Jesse Ferguson.

Although the main event was noncompetitive (If my memory serves me correct Bowe knocked out Ferguson with a vicious right upper cut and a short left hook to the temple), there was another fight on the under card that unbeknownst to any one at the time would have major boxing historical ramifications in the future. The fight was Roy Jones v. Bernard Hopkins I, no need to go into the details of that fight but we all know the end result Roy Jones Jr. my unanimous decision for the IBF Middleweight title.

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Adams and Monroe Jr. win and earn spots in Boxcino Middleweight final

04/22/201404/21/2014 Marc Abrams

Brandon Adams and Willie Monroe Jr. each took home decision victories and punched their tickets to the finals of Boxcino 2014.

The finals will take place at the same venue as the semifinals, that being the Turning Stone Resort and Casino and is promoted by Banner Promotions and the semifinals were broadcast on ESPN 2.

The finals will take place on May 23 as will the lightweight finals that will feature Fernando Carcamo and Petr Petrov. Both bouts are scheduled for 10 rounds.

Adams scored an exciting 8-round split decision over Raymond Gatica while Monroe boxed his way to an 8-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Vitalii Kopylenko.

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Shawn “Showtime” Porter steals the show in DC!

04/20/201404/20/2014 Brandi Miller

The DC Armory hosted the Bernard Hopkins vs. Beibut Shumenov card where Bernard “The alien” Hopkins made history once again by unifying titles at the the age of 49 years old. He won a split decision over Beibut Shumenov unifying the WBA and IBF titles. Hopkins was the main event but it was Shawn “Showtime” Porter 24-0-1 (14KOs) who won over the crowd.

Porter made his first title defense against the king of Brooklyn Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi 33-6 (7KOs). This fight woke the crowd from the previous fight where middleweight champion Peter Quillin defeated Lukas Konecny, which failed to please fans at the armory.

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