SAN DIEGO, Calif., August 29, 2020 – Jose Ramirez had to warm up the engine after a long layoff due to the coronavirus pandemic. When he finally did, he did just enough to survive a battle with veteran Viktor Postol of Ukraine to win a majority decision win. Scorecards were 116-112 and 115-113 for Ramirez, ...
SAN DIEGO, Calif., August 27, 2020 – Who could have imagined back in late January when the title defense by WBC/WBO junior welterweight Jose Ramirez of Fresno, California (25-0, 17 KOs) and former WBC world champion Viktor Postol of Ukraine (31-2, 12 KOs) schedule February 2 in Haikou, Hainan, China would be canceled? And we ...
SAN DIEGO, Calif., August 22, 2020 – Joe Smith Jr. put all the tools together to take Eleider “Storm” Alvarez apart, putting on a power punching clinic to end their light heavyweight fight in nine rounds. Alvarez, a Colombia native living in Montreal (25-2, 13 KOs) couldn’t get his counter-punching game going against the heavy-handed ...
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – August 22, 2020 – Matchroom Boxing’s “Fight Camp” wound up its four week run with a bang, courtesy of Alexander Povetkin. The reinvigorated veteran Povetkin of Russia (36-2-1, 25 KOs) looked to be headed for defeat after Dillian Whyte of Brixton (27-2, 18 KOs) scored two flash knockdowns in the fourth ...
SAN DIEGO, Calif., August 21, 2020 – Eleider “Storm” Alvarez never used to be known as a knockout artist, but after two Knockout of the Year performances against Michael Seals and his first fight against Sergey Kovalev, Alvarez changed the script. For Joe Smith Jr. knockout artist is the role he’s always played. Now the ...
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – August 20, 2019 – Matchroom Boxing’s “Fight Camp” experiment ends before its luck with the English weather crumbles with the fourth and final card outdoors in Essex outside London. Fans should get to see the best pandemic lineup to date from any promoter. “This week is really the first major card, ...
SAN DIEGO, Calif., August 15, 2020 – American Jessica McCaskill of Chicago (9-2, 3 KOs) became the brand new unified and undisputed champion in boxing in one fell swoop Saturday night. McCaskill delivered a rugged performance to defeat the longtime champion Cecilia Braekhus of Norway (35-1, 9 KOs). McCaskill won by majority decision by scores ...
SAN DIEGO, Calif., August 15, 2020 – Carl “The Jackal” Frampton took a few rounds to get in gear, but when he did, he had little trouble with Darren Traynor. Belfast’s first world champion scored a seventh-round TKO win over replacement opponent Traynor from Aberdeen, Scotland. Frampton (28-2, 16 KOs) didn’t expect Traynor (16-4, 7 ...
SAN DIEGO, Calif., August 14, 2020 – From famine to feast, professional boxing returns with three cards Saturday with a little something for every fan. Two popular Belfast born and bred fighters kick off the day from York Hall in London on ESPN and ESPN Deportes. Carl Frampton of Belfast (27-2, 15 KOs) faces Darren ...
SAN DIEGO, Calif., August 13, 2020 – Name the boxer who has held the unified, undisputed division champion titles longest. If you named a man, you got it wrong. Cecelia Braekhus is the most decorated women’s professional boxer currently active. She puts her five titles on the line Saturday. Unified and undisputed welterweight champion Cecilia ...
SAN DIEGO, Calif., August 1, 2020 – Matchroom Boxing UK provided matinee boxing Friday for American fans from its idyllic outdoor Fight Camp compound on the grounds of the Matchroom Boxing main office in Brentwood, Essex. The action in the ring contrasted with the pastoral setting as Terri Harder of Denaby, England (10-0-1, 5 KOs) ...
SAN DIEGO, Calif., August 2, 2020 – Boxing fans wandering through the sports desert to find their fight oasis saw the return of boxing on two major platforms in the U.S. on Saturday. Showtime Boxing was the last to close down after its March 13 card from Hinckley, Minnesota when Brandun Lee stopped Camilo Prieto. ...
SAN DIEGO, Calif., July 24, 2020 – Vergil Ortiz Jr. of Grand Prairie, Texas (16-0, 16 KOs) delivered something more impressive than a one-punch knockout over Samuel Vargas of Toronto via Colombia (31-6-2, 14 KOs). He took the durable, courageous Vargas into the seventh round with a diverse attack, working on different skills until finally ...
SAN DIEGO, Calif., July 21, 2020 – After 42 days and 2,300 COVID-19 tests, Top Rank Boxing saved its best boxing card from The Bubble in Las Vegas for the final bout in its post-pandemic experiment. In the main event ambitious Oscar Valdez of Nogales, Mexico (28-0, 22 KOs) set up his expected showdown with ...
SAN DIEGO, Calif., July 17, 2020 – Thursday’s fight card broadcast from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas started with color commentator and former world champion Timothy Bradley Jr. taunting the disgraced Mark Yap for missing weight by eight pounds with a Frankenweenie burrito (hot dogs wrapped in a tortilla) and ended with a sensational ...
SAN DIEGO, Calif., July 14, 2020 – Top Rank Boxing and Mikaela Mayer wrote another chapter in its half-century of boxing history on Tuesday, with its first-ever women’s main event. The opportunity for Mikaela Mayer of Los Angeles (13-0, 5 KOs) and Helen Joseph of Lagos, Nigeria (17-5-2, 10 KOs) came at the expense of ...
SAN DIEGO, Calif., July 9, 2020 – Heavyweights got the Thursday night spotlight as boxing in The Bubble enters its second month. Veteran Carlos Takam of Cameroon, now living in Las Vegas (39-4-1, 28 KOs) made his experience and his fitness work for him in a victory by decision over Jerry Forrest of Newport News, ...
SAN DIEGO, Calif., July 7, 2020 – Headliner Jose Zepeda came off his narrow decision loss to Jose Ramirez with a skilled victory over Kendo Castaneda, making his case for another bid at a title in the super lightweight division. Scores were 98-92 X 2 and 97-93. Zepeda of La Puente (31-2, 25 KOs) commanded ...
SAN DIEGO, Calif., July 2, 2020 – Former two-division champion Jose “Sniper” Pedraza of Puerto Rico enjoyed his delayed gratification Thursday night with a dominant win over with Mikkel LesPierre of Brooklyn. Jose Pedraza and Mikkel LesPierre were originally scheduled to be the first main event for Top Rank Boxing and ESPN in the pandemic ...
SAN DIEGO, Calif., June 30, 2020 – Alex Saucedo of Oklahoma City (29-1, 19 KOs) needed all ten rounds for the first time in his career, dealing a defeat to Sonny Fredrickson of Toledo (21-3, 14 KOs) by unanimous decision. Scores were 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92. Saucedo hopes to work his way back from a ...