Yesterday, reigning WBA World Super Bantamweight Champion Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KOs) and USBA Middleweight Champion Luis “Cuba” Arias (17-0, 8 KOs) participated in a media workout at the historic Tropical Park boxing gym in Miami. Both fighters are preparing for championship defenses on the HBO Pay-Per-View telecast of Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev 2: “The Rematch” on Saturday, June 17 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Rigondeaux will face interim WBA title holder Moises “Chucky” Flores (25-0, 17 KOs), while Arias takes on rising prospect Arif “The Predator” Magomedov (18-1, 11 KOs). The championship event, presented by Corona Extra, will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
Terence Crawford vs. Felix Diaz: Is Bud In For A Test?
New York City’s Madison Square Garden will host a Top Rank Inc. event featuring pound for pound ranked Terrence Crawford and contender Felix Diaz in the main event. The matchup itself is flying under the radar as is Crawford’s opponent who sits around a +900 underdog on the betting books. Terence Crawford, a two-weight champion and Omaha, Nebraska native, is primed to carry the torch for the next generation. The problem is his resume lacks real depth and name recognition to spark a light to that heavy torch. Although Felix Diaz is not a name to heighten Terrence’s stature he may present problems to the 140-unified king as Yuriorkis Gamboa did almost three years ago.
24/7 Ward/Kovalev 2 premieres Friday, June 2 on HBO
In advance of the highly anticipated light heavyweight championship rematch between world-class prizefighters Andre Ward and Sergey … continue
Results: Diego De La Hoya defeats Erik Ruiz
The Sonoran desert sizzled tonight following a stellar showcase of talent and skill by WBC Youth World Super Bantamweight Champion Diego De La Hoya (18-0, 9 KOs) who battled Erik Ruiz (16-7-1, 6 KOs) of Oxnard, Calif. in a competitive 10 round featherweight main event on Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN.
Golden Boy Promotions Chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya was in attendance along with Los Angeles Lakers NBA star Metta World Peace for the sold-out event at Casino Del Sol that was televised nationally on ESPN with commentary by future Hall of Famer and legendary fighter Bernard Hopkins and Bernardo Osuna.
Photo Gallery: Official Weigh-In Results for Gary Russell Jr. (125.5) vs. Óscar Escandón (125.75)
By Paul “Paparazzi” Jones | Photo © Paul “Paparazzi” Jones
OXON HILL, MARYLAND–After two false starts, reigning WBC Featherweight Champion Gary Russell Jr. (27-1, 16 KOs) and Interim WBC titlist Óscar Escandón (25-2, 17 KO) are set to reboot their match-up for a third time on Saturday.
Russell and Escandón’s first scheduled fight (November 14, 2015) was scrapped due to a cut Russell suffered during training; Escandón pulled out of their second scheduled fight (March 11, 2017) due to a back injury. However, both fighters were on target at Friday’s weigh-ins at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
Golovkin favored to beat Canelo
It appears that the oddsmakers weren’t impressed enough with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s recent win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to pick him to beat IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs) in their fight on September 16. Golovkin is the betting favorite going into the fight by the lines -175 to Canelo’s +145.
Crawford-Diaz, Stevenson & Beltran quotes for Sat.
Undefeated World Junior Welterweight Champion and top pound for pound fighter TERENCE “Bud” CRAWFORD (30-0, 21 KOs), of Omaha, Neb., will make his 2017 debut, This Saturday! May 20, at the Mecca of Boxing, Madison Square Garden. This will also be his debut headlining in the big room — a testament both to his talent and his growing popularity. Crawford will be defending his unified World Boxing Organization (WBO) / World Boxing Council (WBC) / Ring magazine titles against former Olympic gold medalist and top-rated contender FÉLIX DÍAZ (19-1, 9 KOs), of Brooklyn by way of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in a marquee all-action fight. It will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing®, beginning at 10:15 p.m. ET/PT.
Mayweather-McGregor: Will this be a Black-eye for boxing?
By Juan Palumbo: UFC star Conor McGregor says he’s signed an agreement to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. for a fight under boxing rules. He’s now waiting for Mayweather to sign for the fight. Mayweather isn’t giving any indication when he’ll be getting around to signing for the fight.
Gervonta Davis vs Liam Walsh Live On BoxNation & Showtime
IBF Junior Lightweight World Champion Gervonta Davis, undefeated No. 1 contender Liam Walsh and promoter Floyd Mayweather got into a jarring session during Thursday’s final press conference at Landmark Hotel in London just two days before Saturday’s world title clash on SHOWTIME from Copper Box Arena.
Baltimore’s “Tank” Davis, America’s youngest world champion, will attempt to become the first American to successfully defend his title on British soil in nearly a decade*, while Walsh (21-0, 14 KOs) aims to dethrone the man that Mayweather has christened the “future of boxing.” (*Note: Paulie Malignaggi vs. Lovemore Ndou in 2008)
Yuriorkis Gamboa, Juan Manuel Lopez: Coulda woulda shoulda
Both electrifying fighters in their prime, Cuba’s Yuriorkis Gamboa and Puerto Rico’s Juan Manuel Lopez seemed to have superstar status ahead of them. Both men managed to win a world championship – in fact both fighters won a couple of belts each – but overall the lofty heights that were expected were never reached.
Today, with both fighters trying to fight on whilst being way past their best (Gamboa recently suffering a shock stoppage defeat at the hands of Robinson Castellanos, “Juanma” having suffered a number of especially gruesome KO defeats) there is a big sense of ‘what if?’