Figueroa stops Estrada in an exciting fight

Another great night of boxing at the StubHub Center in Carson, California! After an entertaining undercard featuring Deontay Wilder, Jorge Linares and other notables, the tripleheader broadcast kicked off with Texas native Omar Figueroa defending his lightweight title against Daniel Estrada of Mexico City. It was an exciting opening to another solid tripleheader from Showtime Boxing, which was criticized for the one-sided Al Haymon showcase in Brooklyn they broadcast last week (topped off with the Garcia-Salka fiasco).

Figueroa started cautiously in the early going, attempting to move his head and responsibly. It didn’t last long. By the end of the first round both men were exchanging blows on the ropes. Figueroa stalked forward and seemed to do the better work, yet Estrada stood his ground and made his presence felt. A low blow in the third round seemed to really bother Omar, as he took a long break at the suggestion of referee Raul Caiz to recover.

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Dirrell wins rematch with Bika, takes home the belt

(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) The first time these two fought in Brooklyn last December, a rough and rugged contest ended in a controversial draw. Bika, of Australia by way of Cameroon, held onto his title but the sanctioning organization mandated a rematch take place. It’s clear to anyone who’s paid attention during the build up to this rematch that Bika and Dirrell don’t like each other, as they jawed back and forth at the presser and weigh-in earlier this week. But how would all that animosity translate into the ring? It didn’t take long to find out.

The first round of this boxing match looked more like a wrestling match, as the fighters took turns slamming each other into canvas. Referee Jack Reiss tried to establish control of the fight early and told the fighters to knock out the rough stuff or he’d take a point. Dirrell, the quicker, slicker boxer, attempted to confuse his opponent by switching between the southpaw and orthodox stance.

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Brook defeats Porter; Dirrell and Bika look poor; Figueroa toughs it out

(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) Shawn “Showtime” Porter 24-0-1 (KO 15) was the favorite, confident he would be able to reach the taller Kell “The Special One” Brook 32-0-0 (KO 22). He was poised to give Kell a good thumping at the Stub Hub Center in Carson, California. After all he took care of the slick, durable Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi in four rounds. Experts were siding with him. They dismissed The Special One’s undefeated record, pointing out only one victory came on USA soil. It was back in 12-17-2011, a 5th rd TKO of Luis Galarza. In their minds he hadn’t really been tested.

Porter planned to quickly and thoroughly check the quality of the challenger. He envisioned himself having the ability to cleverly duck under Kell’s leads and bouncing at least one counter body shot off Kell’s ribs before pivoting off to his right, nullifying Kell’s right, and at the same time inviting the man from Sheffield, Yorkshire, UK to turn to his left, right into more shots before he could reset.

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Porter: I want a rematch with Brook

Shawn Porter (24-1-1, 15 KOs) lost his IBF welterweight title last night in losing by a 12 round majority decision to visiting fighter Kell Brook (33-0, 22 KOs) at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

Porter, 26, says he wants a rematch so that he can avenge his defeat and recapture his title. Porter doesn’t think Brook did enough to take his belt based on his performance last night. Porter thinks Brook did an awful a lot of holding during the fight to prevent him from getting his shots.

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Maidana plans on being very aggressive against Mayweather in rematch

Former WBA 147 pound champion Marcos Maidana (35-4, 32 KOs) said last night that his plan for his September 13th rematch against WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr (46-0, 26 KOs) is to be very aggressive to try and beat him in their headlining fight on the Mayhem fight card at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Maidana says he didn’t have his conditioning right to fight a hard fight for 12 rounds in their previous fight last May, and that’s why he tanked in the last half of the fight after taking an early lead in the first 6 rounds.

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Brook to make first defense of IBF title in November or December, says Hearn

(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) Newly crowned IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter (33-0, 22 KOs) won’t be facing Amir Khan or any of the other big names in the 147 pound division in his first defense in November or December, because his promoter Eddie Hearn from Matchroom Sport wants to save the big fights until 2015 for some reason.

Last Saturday night, Brook defeated IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter (24-1-1, 15 KOs) by a 12 round majority decision to win his IBF title in front of a large crowd at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

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Deontay Wilder stops Gavern, wants Klitschko after Stiverne fight

#1 WBC heavyweight contender Deontay Wilder (32-0, 32 KOs) stopped 37-year-old Jason Gavern (25-17-3, 11 KOs), in the 4th round last Saturday night at the StubHub Center, in Carson, California.

Deontay knocked Gavern down twice in the fight with chopping right hands in dropping him in the 3rd and 4th rounds. Gavern, who reportedly owns his own landscaping business, decided not to come out for the 5th round.

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Brook defeats Porter to capture IBF 147lb title; Dirrell outpoints Bika for WBC 168lb strap

(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) CARSON, Calif. (Aug. 16, 2014) – Turns out, it was Showtime … for “The Special One,” Kell Brook.

In a minor upset, Britain’s Kell Brook (33-0, 22 KOs), of Sheffield, England, won a battle of undefeated welterweights and the IBF world title with a majority 12-round decision over defending champion “Showtime” Shawn Porter (24-1-1, 15 KOs), of Cleveland, Ohio, Saturday on SHOWTIME from StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.

Brook, fighting in his first world championship match and making only his second start in the United States, won by the scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 114-114. There were no knockdowns.

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Brook: Queen Khan is getting it

Kell Brook (33-0, 22 KOs) came across like a fighter with a bit of a chip on his shoulder when talking about Amir Khan following his 12 round majority decision win over IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter (24-1-1, 15 KOs) last night at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

Brook has wanted a shot at fighting Khan for a long time now, but Khan has always declined s fight with him because of the horrible opposition that he’d been matched up against for most of his career. But after winning the title last night, Brook was practically snarling when talking about Khan after the fight.

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Roach: Sergio Martinez was at his best when Cotto beat him

WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto’s trainer Freddie Roach believes that former WBC middleweight champion Sergio Martinez was in his prime when Cotto beat him and stopped him in the 10th round last June.

Roach doesn’t seem willing to admit that Martinez had slipped dramatically from the fighter he was in 2010 and before that by the time that Cotto fought him this year.

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