Boxing

Last Saturday (June 15) was a bustling night for boxing, starting from London and making its way to Las Vegas, with Puerto Rico in the middle. Cruiserweight, light heavyweight, super-lightweight, and lightweight divisions witnessed intense battles where world titles were up for grabs, and the reputations of fighters were on the line. The victorious fighters, …

Read more “Weekend Reaction: What next for Riakporhe, Chamberlain, Gvozdyk, Martin and Matias?”

TWICE now, in the space of 13 months, Chris Billam-Smith has worn the expression of the boy on the playground infuriated with the classmate who, rather than kick the football, appears to get a kick out of picking it up with his hands every time it comes anywhere near him. Reminded often that they are …

Read more “Billam-Smith holds on to his title, while Riakporhe just holds”

WBO super-lightweight king Teofimo Lopez returns to the ring on June 29 when he defends his belt against Canada’s Steve Claggett in Florida’s James L. Knight Center. The Calgary title challenger may be a bit of a mystery to some, but despite the seven losses on his record, Claggett is strong and capable of giving …

Read more “Teofimo continues part two of the takeover”

By Eric Armit HIGHLIGHTS from the past week of action  Oleksandr Usyk floored (round nine) and won a split decision over Tyson Fury to unify the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC and WBO titles to become undisputed heavyweight champion. Australian Jai Opetaia scored a unanimous points victory over Mairis Briedis for the vacant IBF cruiserweight title. …

Read more “Ukraine on top, Kabayel the body snatcher and tornado Torrez”

Joe Joyce vs. Derek Chisora is the epitome of a fight that truly embodies the concept of a “crossroads” moment. The combined age of the two Londoners is 78, and there is a compelling case that Chisora, with a record of 34-13 (23 KOs), should retire from competition. However, these concerns will be set aside …

Read more “Joe Joyce-Derek Chisora headlines Queensberry card on July 27 in London”

WHEN it comes to creating highlight-reel KO moments, Chinese heavyweight Zhilei Zhang is pretty adept at adding his work to the footage file.  Spinning Deontay Wilder around before detonating on his available chin, without remorse, was the final scene of a captivating five-versus-five Saudi stage play.  The question is, where will the 41-year-old finisher end …

Read more “Frank Warren wants to create a ‘Big Bang’ in China”

By Eric Armit OLEKSANDR Usyk became the undisputed heavyweight champion as he floored Tyson Fury and went on to stage a strong finish to overcome Fury’s lead and take home the split decision. Here’s how it went down, session by session. Round 1 Plenty of probing jabs with Fury on the back foot and southpaw …

Read more “Settling the Score: How Usyk beat Fury”