Jaime Munguia

Jaime Munguia (29-0, 25 KOs), the newly-crowned WBO Junior Middleweight World Champion of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, will make the first defense of his title against former world champion Liam “Beefy” Smith (26-1-1, 14 KOs) in a 12-round main event Saturday, July 21 at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas. The fight will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Munguia is a dangerous 21-year-old puncher who has ended 25 of his fights by stunning knockout. Munguia has only fought twice in the United States, the second of which was for a last-minute title opportunity against Sadam “World Kid” Ali in May. Munguia used his enormous height and reach advantages to drop Ali several times before a thunderous left hook ended matters in the fourth round. The newly-crowned champion is excited to defend his new belt.

“I’m very excited and thankful with everyone that made this possible,” said Jaime Munguia.”I invite the fans to go and see me live or to tune in on HBO. I will defend my WBO title with pride and honor. See you in Vegas!”

Smith, the first of an impressive stable of brothers to win a world title, is a 29-year-old native of Liverpool, England. After scoring 20 impressive victories as a professional, Smith defeated John “Apollo Kidd” Thompson via seventh-round technical knockout to capture the WBO 154-pound title. Smith then lost the title against Canelo Alvarez in front of over 50,000 fans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas in an impressive show of heart. Smith has had three victories since, and after pulling out of his May 12 fight against Sadam Ali due to an illness, he is more than ready to regain the title that was once his.

“To go to Vegas and fight for a world title is every fighter’s dream,” said Liam Smith.”But it’s only an extra incentive to my main motivation – getting that WBO world junior middleweight title back around my waist.Munguia is obviously a dangerous puncher and I’ll have to be wary of him early on, but he’s never fought someone as good as me and a fully-fledged 154lb fighter. I can’t afford to look an inch past Munguia though. He’s world champion for a reason and with such a high knockout percentage, I’m going to have to be my best ever. Unfortunately for Munguia, that’s what I’ll be.”

“I’m proud and excited that this Mexican Kid from Tijuana [Munguia], who’s the hottest fighter in boxing today, will once again fight on July 21 against the tough Liam Smith,” said Fernando Beltran, CEO of Zanfer Promotions. “I know he will prevail again in spectacular fashion like he always does.”

“Liam Smith was very confident of beating Sadam Ali, but unfortunately the allergic reaction he suffered temporarily sidelined his plans,” said Frank Warren.”Munguia looked impressive beating the former champion, but Liam actually feels he is a better stylistic match up for him than Ali would have been.I’m very confident Liam will be recapturing the WBO Junior Middleweight Title and bringing it back to the UK.”

“When Jaime Munguia made his HBO debut this past May, he put the division on notice with a spectacular knockout and captured a 154-pound title”, said Peter Nelson, Executive Vice President, HBO Sports. “He looks to keep the momentum going on July 21 as he takes on his mandatory challenger Liam Smith, who hopes to take the title back to his native UK.”

https://www.boxingscene.com/munguia-smith-machado-mensah-finalized-july-21-hbo–129349

SHOWTIME Sports has secured the U.S. rights to stream the long-awaited return of former heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury, who will face Sefer Seferi in a 10-round heavyweight bout Saturday, June 9 from Manchester Arena.

SHOWTIME BOXING INTERNATIONAL® will stream live exclusively to U.S. audiences on the SHOWTIME Boxing Facebook page and SHOWTIME Sports YouTube Channel beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT.

In the opening bout, local hero Terry Flanagan (33-0, 13 KO’s) will look to become a two-division world champion when he clashes with unbeaten American Maurice Hooker (23-0-3, 16 KO’s) for the vacant WBO Junior Welterweight crown. This will be the fourth live streaming boxing event this year on SHOWTIME Sports social media platforms.

Weigh-In: Maurice Hooker 139.25 vs. Terry Flanagan 139.3

Live coverage for the Frank Warren promoted event will be provided by BT Sport and BoxNation with U.K. sportscasters John Rawling providing the blow-by-blow and Richie Woodhall the analysis. Boxing broadcaster Ray Flores and analyst Chris Mannix will deliver pre-fight and post-fight analysis from Staples Center in Los Angeles for the SHOWTIME Sports audience.

Flanagan, the first Englishman to earn a lightweight world title, will seek to capture a title in a second weight class just days away from his 29th birthday. Hooker, a southpaw from Dallas, Texas and ShoBox alum, has been training with Terence Crawford. Hooker will look to follow in the footsteps of fellow Dallas resident Errol Spence Jr., who went to Kell Brook’s hometown of Sheffield, England to capture his first world title.

https://www.boxingscene.com/photos-terry-flanagan-maurice-hooker-ready-title-clash–128897

Photo by Stacey Verbeek

The World Boxing Organization (WBO) will oversee seven headline bouts around the world this weekend, two of which are for world titles.

Starting Friday, June 8, in Verona, New York, WBO number one ranked Junior Featherweight Diego De La Hoya (20-0, 9 KOs) will defend his NABO 122 lbs title against José “Sugar” Salgado (35-4-2, 28 KOs) in a 10-round duel. The bout is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and will go on stage at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in the aforementioned city.

The fight will be televised live on ESPN3, starting at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern Time). ESPN2 will air the fights at 12:30 a.m. ET/9:30 p.m. PT. and ESPN Deportes will air the fights the following day at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

De La Hoya-Salgado will take place during the International Boxing Hall of Fame induction weekend, where “Dr. Ironfist” Vitali Klitschko, Erik “El Terrible” Moráles, and Ronald “Winky” Wright will be exalted, along with other important boxing figures such as Peter Kohl, Steve Albert, Jim Gray and Lorraine Chargin.

On Saturday, June 9 in Argentina, Facundo Galovar (10-2-1, 7 KOs), of Tucumán, and Rolando Mansilla (13-5-1, 5 KOs), of Entre Ríos, will face off for the vacant WBO Latino Super Middleweight belt in a scheduled 10 round bout. The card will take place at the Club Atlético Central Córdoba in San Miguel, as part of an event promoted by Argentina Boxing Promotions.

Also on Saturday, but in the Philippines, two WBO Jr. Featherweight title bouts will take place, when local pugilist Jeo “Santino” Santisima (15-2, 13 KOs) faces Likit Chane (16-6, 10 KOs), from Thailand, for the vacant WBO Oriental 122 lbs belt, and local Albert Pagara (29-1, 20 KOs), who is ranked No. 9 by the WBO, battles Laryea Gabriel Odoi (20-3-2, 14 KOs), of Ghana, for the vacant Inter-Continental Junior Featherweight title. Both fights are scheduled for 12 rounds in an event promoted by ALA Promotions at the Maasin City Complex.

In England, the former WBO Lightweight Champion Terry Flanagan (33-0, 13 KOs), from Manchester, will seek to reign in a second division, when he clashes with Texan Maurice Hooker (23-0-3, 16KOs) for the vacant WBO Junior Welterweight crown. The duel will be the main event of a card presented by Queensberry Promotions. The fight will be held at Manchester Arena. Flanagan and Hooker are ranked in the first and second positions, respectively, at the Junior Welterweight division.

During his reign in the Lightweight division, Flanagan successfully defended the title five times.

The fight will be televised by BT Sports, on Showtime Boxing’s Facebook page, as well as in Showtime Sports’ YouTube Channel and Panama Cable Onda Sports beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT.

Another WBO world title fight will be staged this Saturday in Las Vegas, Nevada. Here, welterweight campion Jeff Horn, of Australia, will face WBO Super Champion and former Lighweight and Junior Welterweight champion Terence Crawford, of Omaha, Nebraska.

For Horn (18-0-1, 12 KOs), it will be the second defense of the title he won by beating legendary WBO Super Champion, Manny Pacquiao.

With a victory over Horn, Crawford (32-0-0, 23 KOs) would join Oscar De La Hoya (130 lbs, 135 lbs, 160 lbs), Miguel Cotto (140 lbs, 147 lbs, 154 lbs), Jorge Arce (108 lbs, 115 lbs, 122 lbs) and Fernando Montiel (112 lbs, 115 lbs, 118 lbs) as the only three divisions champions of the entity. Boxing is a great and energy-intensive sport that is enjoyed the world over. As we always do we try to find you the best sporting equipment there is available in the marketplace. We took a look at many different pairs of boxing gloves in order to see which ones we liked the best. ow to be a great boxer, you cannot just buy your way into the sport, but it is very important to have the right gear for boxing before you even go ahead. Top list of Boxing, MMA, Sparring and Training gloves. We revised our list to ensure that we are providing the Best Professional Collection.

Also on the card, WBO Latino Lightweight Champion and ranked No. 5 by this sanctioning body, Antonio Moran (23-2, 16KOs), from Mexico, is heading for his second title defense, when he faces former Jr. Lightweight Champion, and WBO 14th ranked Jose “Sniper” Pedraza (23-1, 12KOs), from Puerto Rico, in scheduled 10 round match.

Horn-Crawford and Pedraza-Moran will be broadcast live via ‘ESPN+’ App, starting at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT. The event is promoted by Top Rank.

 Former WBO lightweight holder Terry Flanagan (33-0, 13 KOs) and promoter Frank Warren believe that the Manchester-based southpaw can emulate his idol Ricky Hatton by becoming a two-weight world titlist.

The 28-year-old meets Taxas’s Maurice Hooker (23-0-3, 16 early) for the vacant WBO light-welterweight title at the Manchester Arena on Saturday night in a fight that “Turbo” believes can get him on the right track after deciding to vacate his 135lbs belt in order to seek fresh challenges.

“That would mean everything to me,” said Flanagan when speaking to David Anderson of the Daily Mirror about what victory would mean to him.  “Ricky is someone I looked up to as a kid so to emulate what he did would be a dream come true.”

Warren handled Hatton’s early career and laid the groundwork for his June 2005 win over the legendary Kostya Tszyu at the same venue.

With all the fight week talk focused on the comeback of Tyson Fury, who meets Sefer Seferi over 10, Warren feels that Flanagan can quietly slip in and possibly steal the show by netting another WBO belt.

“They both have a great desire to win,” he said when comparing Flanagan to “The Hitman”.  “They don’t know what defeat means.”

The show will be shown live on BT Sports here in the UK as well as being streamed live in the US via Showtime’s Facebook page.

By Terence Dooley —  Photo by Lee Smith / Action Images

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WBO junior middleweight champion Jaime Munguia (29-0, 25 KOs) is looking forward to a mandatory showdown with former champion Liam Smith (26-1-1, 14 KOs) of the UK.

Munguia captured the title earlier this month, with a four round thrashing of Sadam Ali in Verona, New York. The young Mexican puncher sent Ali down four times before the contest was waved off.

Smith previously held the WBO title – until he lost the belt to Canelo Alvarez in September 2016. Since then, he’s won three fights including a final eliminator against Liam Williams.

According to Munguia, the fight is being targeted for two dates in the month of July.

“We are going to fight on July 21 or 28. I already started running this week, I have a good rhythm to fight and I do not want to waste it. I think that next week we will return to the gym in a stronger way, this week has been crazy,” Munguia told ESPN Deportes.

“Regarding Liam Smith, I feel he is a fighter who does not have a big name, but he is a very experienced fighter who fought with the best of the division, including Canelo Alvarez. But I think I have what it takes to beat him. I always put in a good preparation physical and mentally. I’m sure that it will be a great fight.”

Munguia is hoping to emulate the success of his two Mexican idols, Julio Cesar Chavez and Juan Manuel Marquez.

“Julio Cesar Chavez, I love his way of fighting, his aggressiveness, he did not stop throwing punches for the entire three minutes of each round, and for the entire twelve rounds of the fight. Marquez is also a good counter-puncher, and there are many more. But I want to continue my journey in my own way, so that someday the children are saying that they want to be like me,” Munguia said.

By Miguel Rivera / BoxingScene — Quotes by ESPNDeportes — Photo by Matt Heasley / Hogan Photos

Terry Flanagan and Maurice Hooker will clash for the vacant WBO Super-Lightweight World Championship at the Manchester Arena on Saturday 9th June. The exciting match-up lands on the same card that features the return of former Heavyweight World Champion Tyson Fury.

Flanagan is stepping up to 140 pounds after vacating his WBO Lightweight World Title, and is confident of becoming a two-weight World Champion.

He currently holds the longest undefeated record in British boxing (33-0, 13KO’s) and will be aiming to unify the Super-Lightweight division once he triumphs at his ‘home’ Arena on June 9th.

“Winning this fight will prove that I’m a legitimate 140 pound fighter,” said Flanagan. “I’ll be looking to unify all of the belts later in the year. I’m looking for the likes of Mikey Garcia after I win the WBO belt on June 9th. It’s a massive unification fight and I hope those are the fights Frank can make.

“He is a very good unbeaten fighter, he fights on the back foot and looks to catch you from distance. I’m not looking past Hooker but I’m very confident I’ll be able to deal with anything he throws at me to become a two-weight World Champion.”

American challenger Hooker has been training with pound-for-pound star Terrance Crawford in preparation for his showdown with Flangan and has had plenty to say about the Ancoats star since their match-up was first announced earlier this year.

“I’m gonna wake him up,” said Hooker. “He’s weak and he’s soft. He hasn’t fought anybody. He fights little guys. I hit hard with both hands. He’s never fought anyone with skills like me. He runs a lot. He does that real good. Power? He hasn’t got any power. He pitty-pats!”

Hooker, whose record reads 23-0-3 (16 KOs) has claimed that ‘Turbo’ is a dirty fighter and has torn into the Mancunians tactics.

“I’ve been watching his fights. He holds a lot, he uses his forearm to the head. He does a lot of stuff dirty. I’m going to stop him and I’m going to show him who’s the best at 140! It could be the first round, second round or third round… but he’s going down!”

Tickets for Flanagan v Hooker are available purchase NOW via the Manchester Arena on www.manchester-arena.com and tel: 0844 847 8000.

Tickets for this unmissable event start from just £40.

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JAMES DeGALE’S challenger Jose Maria Guerrero has told him he’d better finish him off early – or taste defeat.

Spanish hitman Guerrero challenges the Londoner for his WBO Intercontinental super-middleweight title on Friday night at the ECHO Arena.

“I will give him some advice: destroy me quickly, if not, you will have a big problem,” Guerrero told DeGale. “If he believes that he will knock out me quickly, he shows that he’s an ignoramus and if he thinks that this is the easiest fight of his career then he will have a big surprise.”

The ECHO has teamed up with promoter Frank Warren to offer readers the chance to win a pair of tickets for Friday evening’s boxing.

Merseyside boxers Stephen Smith, Joe Selkirk, Liam Smith and Paul Butler all feature on the undercard and to be in with a shot of winning one of the 10 pairs, just answer the following question.

James DeGale won the European super-middleweight title in his last fight – who did he beat?

Send your answers to either sport@liverpool.com or Boxing Competition, Sportsdesk, Level Three, Liverpool Echo, Old Hall Street, PO Box 48, Liverpool L69 3EB.

One entry per person and all usual Echo competition rules apply; for more details see our website.

Closing date for entries is 4pm on Wednesday, December 7.

LONG LANE ABC are celebrating their 40th birthday tonight.

To mark the amateur club’s milestone, an event is being held at the Valley Inn on Alt Road. The night kicks off at 7.30pm.

James DeGale will continue playing the pantomime villain if it sells tickets, but insists the act fails to reflect his true personality.

DeGale’s feud with super-middleweight rival and former amateur stablemate George Groves rages on with the fighters both renewing hostilities on Thursday.

They met at a press conference called to announce that they will both appear on Frank Warren’s bill at ExCeL London on December 9, facing as-yet unnamed opponents.

Eventually they are expected to meet for a second time in a professional ring – Warren wants to make the fight as soon as possible – when DeGale will seek to avenge the points defeat he suffered in May.

Groves won the popularity contest as well as prevailing in the ring and has seen his profile grow since that night at the O2 Arena.

Aware that he will always be cast as the bad guy, DeGale insists Groves brings out the worst in him.

“Anyone who’s not a boxing fan thinks I’m arrogant and too big for my boots,” said the European champion, who will be challenging for the WBO intercontinental title on December 9.

“It hurts me a little bit because everyone who meets and knows me sees that I’m a genuine and humble boy.

“But boxing needs this. It needs the rivalry and the personalities. People see me on TV and say ‘look at him, he’s arrogant’.

“But as long as people keep buying the tickets it doesn’t matter.

“It’s the role I’ll have to continue playing, especially with Groves, because I’ve been made out to be the villain.

“I read a letter in a magazine saying that I’m a control freak, and I couldn’t believe what I was reading. It was crazy.

“Sometimes part of me wants to go on a bit of a charm offensive. In my last fight I was humble and respectful.

“But with George…..I can’t do it.. He’s so smug and horrible. He winds me up.

“There’s real history there and it’s good for boxing. I feel confident around him, he doesn’t feel the same.

“You can feel the tension and it’s not coming from me, I’m cool with it.”

The enmity is based on personality as much as their rivalry in the ring.

The two are vastly different characters, DeGale noisy and self-assured yet affable in a way that is at odds with his public image, while the equally likeable Groves is more thoughtful and grounded, with a quick wit.

Groves believes their contrasting outlooks ensure friendship will always be impossible.

“I’m trying not to be the good guy. I reckon that if I went down the street kicking children I’d still be seen as the good guy!” he said.

“James is himself. You have to let him off the leash and be himself. Let people decide what sort of person he is.

“I just try to be myself, not a goody-two-shoes or a saint.

“I’m sarcastic and like to make fun of people and it’s easy to make fun of James DeGale.

“I don’t think we’ll ever be friends. He’s not my cup of tea. I don’t like who he is, the things he says, the way he acts.”

DeGale craves a rematch as early as possible, but Groves would rather wait to maximise the financial rewards.

“I want that cash cow (DeGale) to keep winning. He’ll be my pension fund one day,” said Groves.

“I got paid a reasonable amount for the first fight and I could get paid a life-changing amount for the second fight.”

Ricky Burns’ decision to abandon his super featherweight belt – and with that, a date on HBO – proved to be a wise gamble.
The Scot immediately made his presence felt in the lightweight division on the strength of his upset win over Michael Katsidis in their 12-round main event at Wembley Arena on Saturday night in London, England.
Both fighters weighed in at the lightweight limit of 135 lb. for their highly anticipated showdown, which aired live on UK’s Boxnation.
Burns wisely came out boxing, shooting his jab and using his height and reach advantages to his benefit. Katsidis found a way inside early on and was able score with right hands upstairs, but was less effective once Burns was able to reestablish distance between the two.
Katsidis closed the gap considerably in the second round, scoring on the inside with left hooks and uppercuts. Burns absorbed well, and by the third round was once again able to stick and move. Katsidis ate a few right hands that had his head snapping back before firing back in return, but Burns was able to counter with left hooks to the body.
More of the same threatened to transpire in the fourth, until Katsidis was able to pin down Burns and wail away at his rail thin frame. Burns took it well and returned fire, but was outgunned for the first time in the fight.
Burns’ corner was displeased with the threat of momentum shifting, demanding their fighter shoot his jab over Katsidis’ guard to prevent the Aussie from getting off his punches. The strategy worked to a degree, but the disparity in power was telling as Katsidis continued to charge forward.
The middle rounds saw both fighters trade away, with Burns surprisingly holding his own every step of the way. Katsidis was the busier of the two, and also managed to constantly corner Burns, who would instinctively cover up and stop punching whenever under fire.
Catching an earful in between rounds, Burns came out in the ninth returning to what worked best. Katsidis was unable to adjust for the first time in several rounds, but fixed that problem in the 10th as Burns spent most of the frame in retreat and on the defensive.
As was the case throughout the fight, Burns managed to recover every time the fight threatened to get away from him. The lanky Scot bounced back well to box his way to a clear cut 11th round, which ultimately proved to be the difference on the cards.
Katsidis came out for the 12th and final round fighting like a man who knew he needed a knockout to win. The two-time lineal title challenger unloaded with non-stop punching, but was a bit overzealous in his attack as referee Phil Edwards twice warned him for rabbit punching.
Another flurry had Burns in trouble, but he punched his way out just enough to cause a break in the action, prompting a time out to have a large strand of loose tape clipped from his glove. Katsidis never fully regained momentum after that, still doing more than enough to win the round, but was far too behind at that point.
All that was left was for the scorecards to be read. The final tallies were way too wide, but had the right guy winning as far as the UK crowd was concerned.  Scores of 117-111 (2x) and 117-112 sent the live patrons into a frenzy, as Burns picks up a belt in a second weight class.
It’s not (yet) a full-fledged title, as Burns now awaits the outcome of lineal lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez’ third fight with Manny Pacquiao next weekend, as well as what Marquez decides to do afterward. In the meantime, he gets to spend the rest of the year reflecting in perhaps the biggest win of his career as he improves to 33-2 (9KO).
The bout extends his winning streak to 18 straight, dating back to 2007. Despite his lack of true knockout power, the supremely conditioned Burns continues to find ways to win, as evidenced in his off-the-canvas upset win over previously unbeaten Rocky Martinez.
Katsidis’ career heads in the exact opposite direction as his status as a top contender is now officially in trouble.
The all-action lightweight has proven himself at the best-of-the-rest level, but his struggles continue at the championship level. He loses for the third time in his last four bouts as he falls to 28-4 (23KO). The loss is also his first on UK soil, having previously knocked out Kevin Mitchell and Graham Earl.

By Jake Donovan, photos by Alan ‘Big Al’ Stevenson

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=45762

 

 

Wembley Arena, London – Former super featherweight champion Ricky Burns (33-2, 9KOs) won a twelve round unanimous decision over Michael Katsidis (28-5, 23KOs) to capture the vacant WBO interim-lightweight title. The scores were 117-112, 117-111 and 117-111.

Burns came out with a very fast jab and followed those punches up with hard right hands. Katsidis charged forward on the inside and threw several combinations, with most of the punches being blocked by Burns’ tight defense. In the second, Burns started landing more of his right hand and gave Katsidis some issues with the jab. They went to war in the third round, with an inside war as both boxers fought tooth and nail. Burns blocking most of Katsidis’ punches and firing hard counters.

Katsidis started coming on strong in the middle rounds, throwing a lot of punches and staying very busy to keep Burns pinned against the ropes. Burns started his own rally, as Katsidis tired, in the ninth round. In the tenth, Katsidis started landing a few big punches that were catching Burns flush. Burns sucked it up in the eleventh to win a close boxing struggle. In the twelfth, Katsidis came out winging bombs and letting everything go with both hands, with Burns mostly holding on and trying to block the big shots. They started trading punches in the final minute, but Katsidis bulled forward and started pushing Burns back. The back and forth trading continued until the final bell.

Billy Joe Saunders (11-0) sealed his first professional title with a comfortable points victory to secure the Southern Area championship with a victory against Gary Boulden. The Hertford boxer controlled the fight from the first round and despite not finding a knockout punch in the ten-round contest, he looked in impressive form. Saunders put Boulden through the wars but to his credit the former-champion held on to the end in a battling display.

Frank Buglioni (1-0) marked his professional debut with a stunning first round knockout to defeat Sabie Montieth. Buglioni, who signed for Frank Warren in the summer, stopped Montieth who had never been stopped before 20 second before the end of the first round. Montieth went with the attitude to shake up Buglioni on his first outing but that didn’t deter Buglioni who caught the Woodford fighter late in the round, his opponent raised to his feet but the referee waved the fight off to give the debutant a first-round knockout victory.

Luke Robinson (3-0) won his third professional fight when he defeated Sid Razak comfortably on points in the four-round lightweight contest. Robinson, making his third pro outing, had dominated the first three rounds before surviving a late rally from Razak in the fourth to claim the win. 

Bradley ‘Super’ Skeete (5-0) continued his bright start on the professional scene as the referee stopped the fight against Jay Morris early in the fifth round on his fifth pro outing. Skeete had controlled the fight from the opening bell and the pressure paid off early in the fifth as the referee stopped the contest to hand the Penge fighter a fifth successive victory since turning pro last October. The official believed Morris could no longer continue in the fifth. An unhappy Morris did not agree with the decision and immediately left the ring after throwing his gloves down.

Darren Cordona overcame Aaron Fox to record his first professional win on his debut in front of the north London crowd in a middleweight four-round contest. The Guilford-born fighter cleverly out-boxed Fox to score his first professional victory 39-38.

Gary Corcoran (1-0) picked up his first professional victory with a comfortable points win against Billy Smith on his debut as he kicked off the ‘Gladiator’ bill at Wembley Arena. The light welterweight comprehensively defeated his experienced opponent as he dominated throughout to take the fight on the referee’s card 40-36. Corcoran went in search for a debut knockout victory in the fourth round but couldn’t manager it as Smith held on. Corcoran stepped up the pressure and dished out the punishment in the last round to secure a comfortable debut win.

 

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=45716

 

By Ruslan Chikov

The WBO has approved Dmitry Suhotsky (18-1, 13KOs) for a mandatory shot at the full light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly (23-0, 11KOs). No orders were given regarding a negotiations period or a purse bid date, but the fight is being pushed by Suhotsky’s side for the first quarter of 2012. Suhotsky captured the vacant WBO Intercontinental light heavyweight title in October 2010 and made two defenses of the title.

 

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Undefeated Frankie Gavin has pulled of Friday’s WBO Intercontinental welterweight title clash with Frank Haroche Horta.

England’s first ever world amateur champion was scheduled to face the French champion at Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester.

However, Gavin, who left trainer Anthony Farnell to join father and son duo Jimmy and Mark Tibbs in July, has walked out of the BoxNation show without any explanation.

“He’s just gone,” promoter Frank Warren told boxingnewsonline.net. “I heard he went to Anthony Farnell’s house. I’m sick and tired of it.

“I wouldn’t even talk him into fighting because if I did and something happened it would be my fault.

“We’ve done all the publicity, he was on Bunce’s show on Monday night, Ron Lewis did the bit on him in The Times today.

“It’s total madness. Between him and Kevin Mitchell… I said to Jimmy Tibbs, what do you put in the water down there. It’s things like this where boxing really doesn’t help itself.”

Unbeaten Irishman Dean Byrne will now step in to face Horta, and is excited with his unexpected opportunity to top the card and show his potential.

“This is a fantastic opportunity that has been put my way to top the show and I’m looking forward to putting on a good performance for the fans,” he said.

“I’m based in the UK now and I want to build my fan base here as I progress towards the world title.

“Horta looks tough, he’s got a good record and he’s never been stopped in 39 fights so I’m looking to do a good job on him.

“He’s fit and ready to fight as he had Gavin lined up and I’m in top shape as I only boxed last week so it will be a good tough fight while it lasts.”

 

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