Did Yuriorkis Gamboa fail his audition for a Vasyl Lomachenko fight?

Cuban talent and one-time pound-for-pound star Yuriorkis Gamboa returned to the ring on last night’s David Lemieux-Curtis Stevens card in New York, but unlike the main event, Gamboa’s decision win over Rene Alvarado failed to electrify the crowd. Boxing for the first time since December of 2015, former featherweight king Gamboa had to make do with a reasonably wide ten round UD.

Now aged 35 and a Golden Boy fighter, Gamboa improved to 26-1(17) but he failed to impress; even suffering a flash knockdown late on in last night’s bout. Gamboa had been hoping for a big fight with reigning WBO super-featherweight champ Vasyl Lomachenko (and probably still is) but it’s unlikely the Cuban defector did much to increase his chances.

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David Lemieux unloads vicious KO of The Year contender with crushing of Curtis Stevens

It might only be March, but we surely saw The KO of The Year last night in New York. Fans were braced for something special as soon as the middleweight collision between David Lemieux and Curtis Stevens was signed – and did the fight deliver!

The two heavy-handed bangers, who had exchanged plenty of trash-talk in the run-up to the battle, went at it right from the opening bell; the faster, sharper Lemieux getting much the better of it. Stevens was content – or maybe he simply had no other choice – to cover up and attempt to weather the storm, coming to life more in the second round when he got home with some decent shots of his own.

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Horvath, Zahradnik, Bytyqi and Sedlackova all shine in Prague

PRAGUE – A fully packed Kralovka Arena in Prague proved to be a venue for some stellar boxing spectacle this past Saturday. All in all, ten fights were scheduled – and each had its own, unique script. Among those who impressed the most were Stepan Horvath (18-5-0, 8 KOs), Josef Zahradnik (8-0-0, 4 KOs), Lucie Sedlackova (9-0-1, 4 KOs) and Fabiana Bytyqi (10-0-0, 3 KOs), but unfortunately, their stellar fights had no such support from the crowd as the planned visit of American boxing legend Floyd Mayweather eventually failed to materialize.

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David Lemieux smashes Curtis Stevens

In a match up that was guaranteed to end in a knock out, David Lemieux (37-3, 33 KOs) lived up to his promise of taking out Curtis “The Cerebral Assassin” Stevens (29-6, 21 KOs) in a jaw-dropping third round stoppage to claim the WBO Intercontinental and WBC Continental Americas Middleweight belts live from Turning Stone Resort Casino and televised on HBO Boxing After Dark.

“I told you what I was going to do tonight,” said David Lemieux. “What I saw was a ‘check mate’,” said Lemieux. “The punch was made with perfect landing. I am in great shape, and I prepared myself for him. He is physically strong but nothing special. Stevens is a solid fighter, and we were successful. I wish him the best, and I hope he is OK.”

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Results: Andrade defeats Culcay, wins WBA title

Demetrius Andrade (24-0, 16 KOs) had a better engine in powering past WBA World junior middleweight champion Jack Culcay (22-2, 11 KOs) in defeating him by a 12 round split decision on Saturday night in front of a large pro-Culcay crowd at the Friedrich-Ebert Halle in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The taller 6’1” Andrade threw more punches, and did a good job of using his height to his benefit in defeating Culcay.

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Results: Lemieux KOs Stevens

David Lemieux (37-3, 33 KOs) registered a highlight reel knockout on Saturday night in halting former world title challenger Curtis Stevens (29-6, 21 KOs) in round 3 of a scheduled 12 round fight on HBO Boxing After Dark (BAD) at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, NY.

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Has Gennady Golovkin even seen the contract De La Hoya has sent him for Canelo super-fight?

While boxing fans, often the most loyal and patient fans in all of sports, remain hopeful the Gennady Golovkin-Saul Canelo Alvarez mega-fight will indeed go ahead this coming September as planned, there is much cause for concern. Most troubling are the recent comments unbeaten middleweight king Golovkin made regarding the contract for the fight, the one Canelo’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya sent to him.

In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, GGG said he has yet to lay eyes on said contract!

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Floyd Mayweather: “I’m officially coming out of retirement” – again calls out Conor McGregor

Floyd Mayweather, who is currently in the UK on a tour to meet the fans, has officially ended the retirement he had been in since his September 2015 win over Andre Berto – so that’s 18 months if you’re keeping count.

Talking to the fans and media in attendance at Liverpool’s Auditorium last night, the 40 year-old star said he is “tired” of the excuses MMA star Conor McGregor is making with regards to making a fight with him, and Floyd said he has “officially” ended his retirement as he aims for McGregor.

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“Irish Mexican” Jamie Conlan thrills again with points win over dangerous Yader Cardoza

Irish warrior Jamie Conlan did it again last night: he overcame adversity in a thrilling action fight and somehow managed to pull out a win. In edging tough, dangerous and experienced Yader Cardoza of Nicaragua via 12 round split decision – Conlan prevailing by scores of 115-113, 114-113, the third judge having it 115-112 for the visiting fighter – “The Irish Mexican” improved to 19-0(11).

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Results: Claressa Shields Knocks Out Szilvia Szabados

Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Claressa Shields shined in her television debut, knocking out the durable Szilvia Szabados in the fourth round (1:30) to advance to 2-0 as a professional in the main event on ShoBox: The New Generation Friday on SHOWTIME at MGM Grand Detroit.

Shields (2-0, 1 KOs) put on a show less than an hour from her hometown of Flint, Mich., landing nearly 50 percent of her power shots in the first women’s boxing main event in premium television history.

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