Shields Shines in Homecoming

The GWOAT did GWOAT things in her return home just 60 or so miles from where she grew up. Claressa Shields put on a show for her adoring hometown fans at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit against challenger Maricela Cornejo. She came out on fire using her jab and movement to set up ferocious fire shots. More aggressive than usual, Shields was loading up power shots and appeared to be gunning for a stoppage. Shields rallied and had her opponent in trouble in the seventh. However, Cornejo survived the storm. Shields seemed to put it in cruise control and dominated the final three rounds with her jab and movement. The decision was as wide as possible, with the GWOAT taking every round, on every card and getting an extra point on one of them. 100-89 and 100-90x2 were the final verdicts. Shields defended all her middleweight belts and moved her record to 14-0 (2).

In the co-main event, Ardreal Holmes jr came out strong and put some early rounds in the bank. However, Long Island, New York native Wendy Toussaint came on strong and became the aggressor. He began landing the harder and cleaner shots and appeared to most to have taken a lead on the cards, when a horrific cut opened up on the forehead of Toussaint, due to a collision of heads. The bout was called off moments later despite the ringside physician giving the referee the green light to continue. The hometown Holmes got a gift-split decision with scores of 77-74 and 76-75 in his favor and 77-74 in Toussaint's favor on the third card.

In the undercard portion of the show, Joseph Hicks Jr of Grand Rapids established himself as a prospect to watch in the middleweight division by absolutely annihilating rugged veteran Antonio Todd over six one-sided rounds. Todd has a win over Hugo Centeno Jr and a very close call with Connor Coyle. A quality opponent, a quality win, and an A+ showing for Hicks Jr in just his seventh pro fight and moved to 7-0 (5).

Steve Claggett Reemerges on Eye Of The Tiger card

In the evening's co-main event, the fight that actually had the best name appeal, legendary Canadian contender Steve Claggett absolutely annihilated former 130-pound world champ Alberto Machado over three incredibly one-sided rounds. The 140-pound Canadian dropped the former world champ from Puerto Rico in the second and twice more in the third. The win puts the now 33-year-old from Calgary, Alberta, somehow back in the world title picture. The bout was for the vacant NABF strap. the NABF is affiliated with the WBC, the WBC 140-pound world strap is currently held by Regis Prograis. This win could put him on a shortlist for Rougarou.

In the evening's main event, undefeated prospect Erik Bazinyan of Laval, Quebec, got a tougher-than-expected challenge from Jose de Jesus Macias of Mexico. He survived a scare in the seventh and picked up the hard-earned UD victory to move to 30-0 (21) by scores of 97-93, 98-92, and 98-92. The scorecards seemed a bit wide, but ultimately the judges got the winner correct. After a quick start to the fight by the Canadian, Macias got cooking in the second half. He rallied in the second half and was gunning for a stoppage in the seventh round as he unleashed on the Canadian. The boxing clinic by the Canadians turned into warfare in the later rounds. The warfare culminated in the final round as Macias and Bazinyan exchanged toe-to-toe. Each fighter landed clean power shots in the final minutes of the scheduled 10-round affair. Bazinyan drilled Macias with a massive right that staggered the Mexicans, and won the round, and sealed the fight for Bazinyan.

On the undercard portion, fan favorite Thomas Chabot of Quebec moved to 9-0 (7) and get a very, very debatable decision over Luis Bolanos Lopez. In a fight, it appeared he clearly lost.

Fight Week Preview

After an absolutely loaded week of prizefighting, we got a little lull in the action this week. Two televised cards, one on Thursday, north of the border, and then the GWOAT returns home!

The action kicks off in one of the world's great fights cities, Montreal, Canada, at the Montreal Casino. We get another look at highly touted Candian prospect Erik Bazinyan. The 29-0 (21), originally of Armenia. Bazinyan is coming off a career-best win in a highly controversial decision over American contender Mykal Fox. In what was a very close fight, that saw two way too wide scorecards of 98-92. Bazinyan takes a small step backward and will square off with Jose de Jesus Macias 28-11-4 (!4) of Jalisco, Mexico.

The card also features legendary Canadian contender Steven Claggert, 34-7-2 (24) from Calgary, Alberta, who takes on former world champ Alberto Machado of Puerto Rico. Machado won the WBA Super Featherweight strap back in 2017 when he shocked the highly favored Jezzrel Corrales.

The action moves to the US, where the GWOAT Claressa Shields returns to her home state of Michigan to take on Maricela Cornejo 16-5 (6). Shields puts her perfect 13-0 (2) record on the line, as well as all of her middleweight belts, plus her status of pound-for-pound best women's fighter in the world against Cornejo. Shields last fought in October and outpointed British nemesis, Savannah Marshall. Cornejo last fought just two months ago and demolished Sheila Cunha in just one round.

The comment will feature a must-watch match-up between hometown prospect Ardreal Holmes Jr, 13-0 (5), and 14-1 (6) Wendy Toussaint in a crossroads 154-pound fight. Toussaint is coming off a nearly one-year layoff. He was last seen in the ring at the Mecca of Boxing Madison Square Garden and outclassed Asinia Byfield over eight one-sided rounds last June.

Memorial Weekend Recap

Alexis Rocha destroyed Anthony Young and maintained his position as the top-ranked welterweight by the WBO. In a completely one-sided beatdown. Rocha committed to the bodywork and broke down a courageous Young. By round four, the writing was on the wall, and Young was showing some wear and tear. Rocha got to it in the fifth and unloaded a barrage of thudding hooks to the head and body that finally put down his game opponent. The overwhelmed opponent was unable to make it to his feet, and the bout was waved off. Giving Rocha the 5th-round TKO, moving his record 23-1 (15) and scoring his seventh consecutive victory.

In another complete mismatch, hard-hitting lightweight Oscar Durate demolished rugged Texas contender D'Angelo Keyes. Keyes was badly cut in the second round and dropped in the third and seventh. After being battered around, Keyes made it to the corner after barely beating the count and had the bout waived off on the advice of the doctor. Giving Durate the stoppage and moving his record to 26-1-1 (21).

The undercard featured another seventh-round stoppage on the stool. However, this one was much more competitive and minted a new champion. In just his seventh pro fight, Oscar Collazo, the Puerto Rican sensation, rallied to overwhelm Melvin Jerusalem and make him quit on the stool to capture the WBO Strawweight title. Collazo began to step on the gas in the fifth round after falling behind on the cards. A straight left from the southpaw stunned Jerusalem. Collazo continued to back Jerusalem up during the sixth round as he was showing signs of being worn down. Collazo saw his man breaking down and landed a series of hooks that overwhelmed Jerusalem. As the bell rang, the champ appeared as a broken fighter, and his corner agreed. The bout was waived off. Giving Collazo the 7th-round KO in just his seventh pro bout and moving his record to a perfect 7-0 (5).

A series of hooks and crosses stunned Jerusalem again, this time late in the round as Collazo had Jerusalem up against the ropes. A sweeping left cross momentarily staggered Jerusalem early in the seventh round. Jerusalem fought back in spurts to his credit but boxed cautiously from a distance. Collazo continued letting his hands go with more aggression, putting Jerusalem on the defensive.

The incredible story of Luis Alberto Lopez, the unconventional, underrated featherweight from Mexicali, Mexico, keeps his incredible run going. Back in early 2019, Lopez emerged on the scene when he upset highly touted Dallas-based prospect, Ray Ximenez. A few months later. Lopez dropped a very competitive decision to Reuben Villa. It appeared at that time Lopez was destined for being a stepping stone or fringe contender for the remainder of his career. Over the next four years, he stopped undefeated prospect Cristian Baez, and next up was decisioning Andy Vences. He then stepped up and destroyed the undefeated 130-pound Gabe Flores, blowing out Isaac Lowe. Then did the unthinkable and went over to Leeds and spoiled Josh Warringotn's homecoming. Now he absolutely demolished Michael Conlan. The 5th-round stoppage of Conlan moved Lopez's record to 28-2 (16) and marked the first successful defense of his IBF strap.

In the co-main, non-stop pressure from hard-hitting little man Nick Ball proved to be worthy of the hype. The non-stop relentlessness was far too much for an extremely tough Ludumo Lamati. Lamati was competitive in the early going, using his jab and reach to disrupt the pressure and timing of his 5'2 opponent. However, Ball's relentlessness would eventually break Lamati down. By the final round of the scheduled 12-rounder, Ball was fresh and Lamati was in survival mode. A stiff left hand stunned Lamati, and the pint-sized Brit poured in the power shots as the towel was thrown in. Lamati appeared to be a beaten man but didn't seem to be in terrible shape, with just under a minute to go in the fight when the towel was thrown. However, Lamati collapsed in the corner and needed Oxygen. He was taken to the hospital after the fight.

Two other Brits were in world title fights and had mixed results. In a fight that featured three knockdowns and was still a snooze fest, Lawrence Okolie was not able to overcome the knockdowns as well as two points deducted for holding in a contest he likely should have been disqualified for. Okolie seemed to be winning a fair amount of rounds with his jab in a fight that was incredibly difficult to score. However, it was Chris Billiam-Smith, who was scoring with the cleaner harder shots, even if they were few and far between. What appeared to be close in terms of rounds was wide on the cards due to the knockdowns and took the decision unanimously by scores of 112-112, 115-108, and 116-107.

Mauricio Lara did the best he could and succeeded in giving his world title away to Leigh Wood at the Manchester Arena in Manchester. Lara never stepped on the gas and never put the combinations together that we have grown accustomed to. Wood put on a master class performance and outboxed Lara. He used his jab and mixed in some right hands. He actually, and inexplicably had Lara going backward at times, specifically in the early going. Wood rolled to a wide decision by scores of 118-109x2, 116-111. Lara never really got going and never posed a threat to Wood, who recaptured his WBA featherweight that he lost to Lara back in February and improved his record to 27-3 (16).

On Friday, Jake Paul's Most Valuable Promotions aired its first-ever show on DAZN dubbed Most Valuable Prospects and two prospects shined brightly. Kevin Hayler Brown, the Cuban standout who defeated Andy Cruz in the amateurs. In just his third professional bout Brown took on a massive and very dangerous challenge in Julian Smith. Brown put on a boxing demo, but never picked up the pace and never had Smith in any serious danger. He rolled to a points victory in a fight that was probably closer than it should have been. He took the decision unanimously 96-94x2 and 98-92 and went the 10-round distance for the first time and moved his record to 3-0 (2).

In the main event, undefeated 19-year-old lightweight/junior welterweight blue chip prospect Ashton Sylve from Long Beach, California, ended his knockout streak and went the distance for the first time in his career. However, he impressed in this fight perhaps more than any other in going to the 8-round distance for the first time and taking apart Adam Kipenga. Sylve and sweeping every round on every scorecard, winning 80-72 x3.

Haney and Cameron Retain Titles on Busy Saturday

It was an interesting day for the judges. Dave Moretti, perhaps the worse judge in the sport, handed in another atrocious scorecard. An epically bad job in round number 10 stands out. Haney was able to retain the belts at 135. Undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney retained his titles by winning a controversial unanimous decision over former three-division world champ and two-time gold medalist Vasiliy Lomachenko on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden. After a very competitive and even opening six rounds, Haney seemed to seize control of the fight in rounds 7 and 8. Lomachenko bounced back and was able to get on the inside and dominated rounds 9-11. At points in the 11th, it looked like Haney was in trouble, and Lomachenko was on the verge of gunning for a stoppage. The undefeated, unified champ picked himself up and had a tremendous 12th and final round that it seemed he desperately needed. The judges favored Haney by scores of 115-113 x2, and Moretti handed in an atrocious 116-112. The scores themselves were very interesting. Loma clearly won rounds 1 & 9, and Haney Clearly took round two. None of the three judges scored any of those rounds correctly. Haney Improved to 30-0 (15), while Lomachenko dropped to 17-3 (11).

Earlier in the day in Ireland,

Chantelle Cameron gave a performance of a lifetime, spoiling Katie Taylor's Irish homecoming at the 3Arena in Dublin, and took a much too close Majority decision by scores of 96-94x2 and the third score of 95-95. Cameron started quickly and bullied the smaller Taylor around the ring building up a lead on the cards. Outworking and outlanding Taylor who was predominately off the back foot. The hometown hero fought back valiantly in the final two rounds to make it close scoring with solid 1-2's that slowed Cameron down. Taylor seemed to ahve things going her way late but it was too little too late and Cameron survived off of the early lead she build up and kept all the belts. Promoter Eddie Hearn said they will exercise the rematch clause and we will get Taylor-Cameron II later this Fall again in Dublin. Taylor fell to 22-1 (6) and Cameron improved her perfect record to 18-0 (8).

PROBOX Returns: Otar Eranosyan Shines in Main-event

If you're a fan of quick KO's, the undercard portion of the PROBOX TV card was for you. The evening's three undercard bouts totaled less than 8 minutes. De Von Williams took less than a minute to dispose of an outmatched William Davis. Darrelle Valsaint got rid of last-minute replacement  Marcelo Bzowski in a round and a half.  In the shocker of the night, the evening co-main, upset-minded Demarcus Layton could not survive the first round with Marques Valle, who moved to 9-0 (7). 

The evening's main event was a highly entertaining and somewhat competitive scrap as Otar Eranosyan 13-0 (6) put on a show outboxing, out moving and celebrating, and taunting his way to a lopsided unanimous points decision victory by scores of 98-92 and 97-93x2. Eranosyan, a native of Akhalkalaki, Georgia, who now fights out of Miami Beach, Florida, passed the biggest challenge of his young and developing career in Edy Valencia. Valencia, a native of Culiacan, Mexico, came out strong ripping his undefeated opponent to the body and trying to slow him down. However, the quicker and slicker Georgian would not back down and worked behind a stiff jab and slick movement. He started putting rounds in the bank and seemed to take control of the fight. Taunting and showboating, he tried getting under the skin of his rugged opponent. Valencia, however, was unphased and had his best round in the sixth as Valencia, a southpaw, rocked his opponent with a right hook to the body and head that staggered his opponent. Eranosyan appeared to wake up after that shot and slowed down the pace of the fight. He began making Valencia fight on his terms and controlled the bout with his jab. The undefeated prospect controlled the majority of the final four rounds. Despite Valencia putting together some solid moments and landing some clean shots, Eranosyan dominated the final few stanzas and rolled to the hard-earned but clear-cut decision victory.

Fight Week Preview: 5/15-21

The week's boxing action kicks off on the upstart and exciting PROBOX series in Plant City Florida and three undefeated Florida residents will be on display. In the evening's main event  29-year-old  Georgian native who now fights out of Miami "Pitbull" Otar Eranosyan will put his 12-0 (6) record on the line against rugged veteran  Edy Valencia Mercado 20-10-6 (7). Also on ther card is undefeated super middleweight, southpaw, Darrelle Valsaint. The 20-year-old  from Orlando sports a perfect 7-0 (5) and takes on rugged veteran Eric Moon who has been in the ring with the likes of Mike Guy and Edgar Berlanga. The card also features 8-0 (6) Marques Valle and 1-0 (1) lightweight De Von Williams.

That will serve as an appetizer to Saturday's huge day of action as 22-0 (6) Katir Tayloe of Bray, Ireland, returns to her native country to take on  Chantelle Cameron at the 3Arena in Dublin for all the belts at 140. The undercard features an interesting showdown for the IBO 154-pound title as Dennis Hogan tajes on James Metcalf and Teri Harper battles the legendary Cecilia Braekhus for the WBA 154-pound title.

Then the action moves over to the MGM Grand in Las Vegas as Devin Haney 29-0 (15) defends all the lightweight belts against former unified lightweight champ Vasyl Lomachenko. The undercard featrues an intriguing bout between former 112-pound world champ Junto Nakatani and former 115-pound world champ Andrew Moloney. Moloney will look to capture a vacant belt just like his brother Jason, did last week. The card also features the rematch of the 2019 scrap between Oscar Valdez and Adam Lopez the pair fought in 2019 and Lopez a large betting underdog and last minute repleacement was battling well and dropped Valdez early  until a very controversial stoppage in the seventh round gave Valdez a hotly disputed TKO victory. The card also features a plethora of Top Ranks top prospects, Floyd Diaz, Nico Ali Walsh and Abdullah Mason will all get in the ring.

Weekend Preview

Two major cards this week, and they both take place on Saturday in the US. Two WBO world titles will be on the line in Stockton, California. In the evening's main event, undefeated champ Zhanibek Alimkhanuly 13-0 (8), will defend his middleweight title against battle-tested Canadian contender Steven Butler 32-3-2 (26). Butler picked up a highly-impressive win in December when he dominated Joshua Conley. The Canadian has now recorded four straight wins since his back to back 5th round stoppage losses in 2019 and 2021 to Ryota Murata and Jose de Jesus Macias. Alimkhanuly, last fought in November and outpointed Denzel Bentley. In the evenings co-main Jason Maloney looks to capture the Bantamweight world title as he puts his 25-2 (19) record on the line against upset-minded contender Vincent Astrolabio of the Philippines, 18-3-1 (13) for the vacant belt. Astrolabio has wins over Guillermo Rigondeaux and Nikolai Potapov.

In the other action in Las Vegas, Nevada, fan-favorite knockout artist Rolly Romer, 14-1 (12), looks to bounce back from his first career defeat, a knockout loss to Tank Davis, as he battles Ismael Barroso. Barroso, 24-3-2 (22), has won four consecutive fights, including his most recent win, a fourth-round KO of veteran Fernando David Saucedo this past August. This bout is somehow for the WBA lightweight title. In the evening's co-main is a crossroads fight as two fighters look to get into the world title picture. "El Relámpago" Omar Juarez, of Brownsville, Texas, 14-1 (5), looks to continue his three-fight winning streak and score the biggest win of his young and promising career against Rances Barthelemy of Havana, Cuba, 29-2-1 (15), Barthelemy has held world titles at both 130 and 135. He nearly captured a world title at 140 but had to settle for a draw with Robert Easter in a lackluster affair in 2019. The Cuban last fought in July and was stopped by Gary Antuanne Russell in six rounds. Juarez last fought in December and scored a highly impressive unanimous decision over long-time contender Austin Dulay.

Top 50 Current Fighters P4P

1. Oleksandr Usyk

2. Naoya Inoue 

3. Errol Spence

4. Jermell Charlo

5. Dmitry Bivol

6. Terence Crawford

7. Artur Beterbiev

8. Canelo

9. Devin Haney

10. Shakur Stevenson

11. Juan Francisco Estrada

12. Stephen Fulton

13. David Benavidez

14. Tank Davis

15. Tyson Fury

16. Regis Progrias

17. Josh Taylor

18. Vasyl Lomachenko

19. Bam Rodriguez

20. Kenshiro

21. Chocolatito

22. Vergil Ortiz

23. Jermall Charlo

24. Gary Russell JR 

25 . Emanuel Navarette 

26 . Boots Ennis

27 . David Morrell

28 . Brandon Figueroa

29 . Jose Carlos Ramirez

30  . Jesus Ramos

31. Knockout CP Freshmart

32  O'shaquie Foster 

33 . Luis Alberto Lopez

34 .Subriel Matias

35 . Jack Catterall

36 . Josh Franco

37 .Brian Castano

38.Deontay Wilder

39 . Mauricio Lara 

40 . Kaz Ioka 

41. Jonathan Gonzaez

42. Joe Cordina

43 . Tim Tszyu

44 . Caleb Plant

45 . Robisey Ramirez

46 . Jai Opetaia

47. GGG

48. Wiliam Zepeda 

49 . Carlos Adames

50. Janibek Alimkhanuly 

Top 50 Fighters of the Last 50 Years

1. Roy Jones Jr

2. Floyd Mayweather

3. Roberto Duran

4. Pernell Whitaker

5. Ray Leonard

6. Larry Holmes

7. Marvin Hagler

8 Manny Pacquiao

9. Muhammad Ali

10. Salvador Sanchez

11. Julio cesar Chavez.

12. Michael Spinks

13.  Aaron Proyor

14. Lennox Lewis

15. Chocolatito 

16. Oscar De La Hoya 

17. Ricardo Lopez 

18.  Carlos Monzon

19. Marco Antonio Barrera

20. Tommy Hearns

21. Oleksandr Usyk 

22. Canelo

23. Alexis Arguello

24. Azumah Nelson

25. Bernard Hopkins

26. KHAOSAI GALAXY

27.  Evander Holyfield

28. Andre Ward

29. Juan Manuel Marquez

30.  Erik Morales

31. Orlando Canizales 

32. Terence Crawford

33. Wilfred Benitez 

34. James Toney

35. Naoya Inoue 

36. Kaz Ioka

37. George Foreman

38. Joe Calzaghe

39. Shane Mosley

40. Felix Trinidad

41. Wilfredo Gomez

42. Carlos Zarate

43. Juan Francisco Estrada

44. Miguel Cotto

45. Vasyl Lomacheko

46. Terry Norris

47. Errol Spence

48. Mike Tyson

49. Mike McCallum

50. Virgil Hill

This is a list of fighters from the last 50 years (1973-present)  only what fighters did in that span is considered. If a fighter won fights/titles prior to 1973 none of that was considered. The criteria are in order:  era of dominance (how well did you dominate your era) resume (how good are your wins and how bad are your losses) dominance in weight class (did you clean out your weight class) ability to move up in weight (where you able to dominate in more than one weight class) and then longevity (how long were you dominant) 

Tank Seals Incredible Saturday of Fights

Saturday, April 23rd, marked one of the best days of boxing, likely the best day of boxing this calendar year. It concluded with a vicious one-punch knockout to the liver of Ryan Garcia. 28-year-old Tank Davis moved his record to 29-0 (27) and picked up the most prolific win of his career. Davis scored his third straight stoppage since Isaac Cruz was able to go the distance in late 2021. Davis scored with a lightning-quick counter left hand that dropped Garcia. King Ry, got to his feet and seemed unphased physically but mentally was a different fighter. He became less aggressive and took fewer risks after tasting the power of Davis. The Baltimore native was able to score with counter shots and was firing a few more shots than is typical for him in the early rounds. Garcia worked off a jab and had occasional success with a left hook and right hand, but Davis was in control of the fight. Davis finally got to his man and scored with the thudding left hook that sealed the deal.

On the evening's co-main, David Morrell of Santa Clara, Cuba, moved his record to 9-0 (8) in devastating fashion. Morrell's right hand was far too much for an outmatched Yamaguchi Falcao. The Cuban rocked Falcao with a right hand that sent him stumbling across the ring. Moments later a second right hand put down a dazed Falcao for the first time. Falcao got to his feet, but Morrell jumped on his hurt opponent like a dog on fear and spectacularly sealed the deal. A right hand sent Falcao face-first into the canvas for a second and final time. The bout was waived off immediately at 2:21 of the opening stanza.

On the other major card and the only card with a world title fight on it, Joe Cordina of Cardiff, Wales, became a two-time super featherweight world champion. Winning back the IBF belt that was rightfully his and should have never been stripped from him. Cordina won his world title in June and was stripped of it in October for breaking his hand. Cordina got off to a great start and dropped Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov in round two with a right hand. Rakhimov is known for his frantic work rate and lived up to the reputation. However, the Welshman was able to match his opponent. Cordina boxed beautifully from all three ranges. He moved off the back foot well and held his own on the inside. Landing beautiful straight right hands that would stop his opponent in his tracks. Rakhimov stayed aggressive and didn't allow Cordina to get comfortable. His work rate began to wear his opponent down. However, Cordina kept answering with counter right hand. Rakhimov, battled till the end and rallied with a barrage late in the final round. However, it proved to be too little too late. As the judges got it right and scored narrowly for the Welshman by scores of 114-113 and 115-112 in his favor and an egregious 116-111 in favor of Rakhimov.

On the undercard, Gavin Gwynne put on a spectacular performance and set the record straight with Craig Woodruff. Gwynne had to settle for a draw with Woodruff back in September. If Gwynne was guilty of fighting down to the level of competition in the first fight, he was not about to repeat that mistake in the second go around. After a competitive first few rounds Gwynne of Treharris, Wales put the pedal to the metal and blew woodruff away. In a fight where Gwynne seemed to be taking competitive rounds quickly became uncompetitive. Cordina drilled Woodruff into the ropes and had his man badly hurt. Woodruff dropped his hands, and the Welshman unloaded a barrage of power shots to end the fourth. The fifth picked up where the previous round left off. Gwynne continued to apply pressure as Woodruff was again backed into the ropes. The Welshman again unleashed on him and rendered Woodruff helpless, and unable to answer. Prompting the referee to step in and save Woodruff from any additional punishment.

Luis Collazo Stopped in Six, Announces Retirement

PROBOX TV returned with a former world champion headlining their bi-weekly program. Luis Collazo returned to the ring after announcing his retirement before a no-contest with Eimantas Stanionis. The now 41-year-old former world champion from Brooklyn, New York, did not have his best night. He scored in sports and outhustled the 26-year-old Angel Ruiz but could never avoid the return fire and was eating big straight left hands from the southpaw Ruiz. Ruiz had his opponent in big trouble in the opening minute a big left hand put Collazo into the ropes. However, the native New Yorker began to settle in and got things going in the second and third rounds. Collazo scored with clean combinations and hurt Ruiz several times. However, once Ruiz got Collazo's timing down, his left hand became automatic. Ruiz settled in and put together clean combinations. He dropped Collazo in the third round twice and then had him hurt again in the fifth with a straight left. Ruiz sealed the deal in the sixth round with a clean, crisp, thudding right hand to the body that landed right in the solar plexus of Collzao, which put him down on all fours and unable to beat the count. The official time was :32 of round number six. Collazo finishes with a 39-9 (20) record. Ruiz improves to 18-2-1 (13). Following the stoppage loss Collazo said “He caught me with a great body shot. I was getting ready to throw, and he threw and beat me to it. For boxing, I’m done. This is the end for me now. Ruiz did what he had to do and came out with the victory. I give them credit and wish him nothing but the best. Now I will get to spend more time with my family and with the grandchildren.”

On the undercard was a good-looking, upstart, southpaw welterweight, Vladim Musaev. Musaev ran his record to 6-0 (4). The 30-year-old knockout artist from Krasnodar Krai, Russia, scored an impressive first-round stoppage of unbeaten Martin Alvarez. Musaev started like he was shot out of a cannon, scoring with his left hand to the head and body. The ending came quicker than a hiccup. Alvarez walked face-first into a short straight left hand and was dropped immediately. He made it to his feet, but referee Emil Lombardi had decided Amvarez was in no condition to continue and waved the bout off at 2:03 of the opening round.

Fight Week Recap: Joshua Wins, Ramirez Captures Featherweight Gold

Boxing's busy weekend kicked off in York Hall in London, England. Harlem Eubank, bruised, battered, and dropped a game but outmatched Miguel “El Gato” Antin over ten lop-sided rounds. Eubank put on a display of skill, athleticism, and footwork. He mixed in some sharp power punching from the outside. Moving his record to 17-0 (6). Eubank displayed excellent bodywork, dropping Antin with body shots in the sixth and seventh rounds. It momentarily looked as if Eubank could end the bout. However, he never went full throttle, and Antin survived the round. In the last three stanzas, Eubank flexed his speed and athleticism using the ring and his reflexes to score and keep away. The Brit ran out the clock on his way to a lopsided unanimous decision victory by scores of 99-89, 98-90, and 97-91.

The bigger cards took place on Saturday and in the main event of the weekend's "big one" former two-time heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua made his debut with trainer Derrick James a successful one. Perhaps in unspectacular fashion, AJ defeated a quality fighter by wide margins using his jab early on to build up a lead. A shotgun jab from AJ that was landing with the impact of power shots. AJ built up a lead as the fight progressed into the middle rounds as both fighters began to fatigue, and the fight moved more into the inside. As the fight changed the dynamic of the fight, changed very little. AJ continued to win competitive but clear rounds as he rolled to the unanimous decision victory by scores of 118-111 and 117-111 X2. AJ improved his record to 25-3 (22) and picked up his first win since 2020.

Also on the card was a litany of impressive undefeated prospects and contenders. Austin "Ammo" Williams moved to 14-0 (10) with an eighth-round stoppage of River Wilson Bent, whose corner was forced to throw in the towel in the eighth. Willaims dropped his man in the seventh with a left hand to the body early in the stanza. Ammo, a southpaw, stayed on the attack and continued to pour in left hands who were opening up and gunning for the stoppage. That stoppage finally came a round later in the eight as Ammo unloaded a right hand to the body that buckled Wilson-Bent and then poured in a barrage of left hands that forced Wilson-sBent corner to throw in the towel. Additionally, Galal Yafai and Fabio Wardley each scored fourth-round TKOs in step-up fights. Yafai stopped rugged veteran Moises Calleros to move to 4-0 (3), and Fabio Wardley moved to 16-0 (15) by stopping Michael Polite Coffie.

On the last Major card of the Weekend, Robeisy Ramirez got to the top of the mountain and captured the WBO featherweight title with an impressive and hard-earned win over former super bantamweight champ Isaac Dogboe. Ramirez made his highly anticipated pro debut in 2019 and lost to unknown opponent Adan Gonzalez. Ramirez was dropped in the opening round and was pretty much dominated over the four-round affair. One fight into his career the Cuban Gold Medalist was already considered a bust. Ramirez came back to dominate Gonzalez and win 12 fights in a row on his way to capturing the featherweight strap! There were difficult moments with Rafael Morales and Brandon Valdez, but ultimately the Cuban Gold medalist captured featherweight gold. Ramirez is now looked at as perhaps the 126-pounder in the world.

The card also featured an all-out brawl that was won by Joet Gonzalez via a unanimous decision over Enrique Vivas. Additionally, 20-year-old phenom Jahi Tucker took and passed the biggest challenge of his career. Tucker of Deer Park, New York, survived being rocked with a double left hook in the opening round by Nikoloz Sekhniashvili. Tucker rebounded and went on to control the fight with his speed and jab and rolled to a unanimous decision victory by scores of 77-74x3. The card also featured a KO of the year candidate from Abdullah Mason, the 18-year-old from Cleveland, Ohio moved to 7-0 (6).

Pound 4 Pound (3/31/23)

1 Oleksandr Usyk

2 Naoya Inoue

3 Jermell Charlo

4 Dmitry Bivol

5 Terence Crawford

6 Canelo

7 Errol Spence

8 Artur Beterbiev

9 Devin Haney

10 Shakur Stevenson

Fight Week 3/27-4/1

It's hard to follow last week's loaded week, but this week will give it a run for its money. The action kicks off once again in Italy, as Michael Magnesi, 21-1 (0) of Lazio, Italy, looks to bounce from his first career loss to Anthony Cacace in September. It was a very close and controversial decision loss, which came on the undercard of Joyce-Parker in Manchester. Magnesi will battle unbeaten Argentinian prospect Ayrton Osmar Gimenez 17-0 (3) in the evening's main event. The card is being held in Valmontone, Lazio, Magnesi's home city. It's co-promoted by Alessandra Branco of A&B Events with Star Boxing's Joe Deguardia and Lou DiBella.

The action then moves to the UK as the undefeated Harlem Eubank puts his perfect 16-0 (6) record on the line against rugged Mexican journeyman Christian Uruzquieta at the York Hall in York Hall in Bethnal Green. Uruzquieta, 21-5-2 (8), previously fought in the UK against Lewis Ritson and was stopped in nine rounds back in 2021. In two other noteworthy bouts, Harry Scharf will look to extend his win streak to four and capture the vacant WBO 154 European title as he battles Jordan Dujon, 8-1 (0). Dujon has won four straight since his lone career defeat, a close points loss to Chris Fail in Fail's pro debut in March of 2021. Also on the card is Nick Parpa, 10-1 (6), who battles undefeated Michael Webster, 7-0 (5), for the BBB of C English Cruiserweight title.

On Saturday, two big cards take place in the UK and the other in the US. Anthony Joshua looks to end his two-fight skid against Jermaine Franklin of Saginaw, Michigan, who lost a very close and competitive fight will Dilian Whyte in November 2022. Franklin sports a 21-1 (14) record. It will be the first fight for Joshua under the tutelage of Dallas, Texas, based trainer Derrick James. Joshua has lost three of his last five fights and is now 33 years old. A setback against a fringe challenger like Franklin could mark the end of AJ at the world championship level. The undercard features three highly regarded undefeated prospects. Austin "Ammo" Williams, a Houston, Texas native, returns to the ring and puts his 13-0 record on the line against River Wilson-Bent, 14-2-1 (6), in a 10-round middleweight contest. Undefeated heavyweight Fabio Wardley 15-0 (14), battles Michael Polite Coffee for the vacant WBA continental strap. Also on the card is the legendary Ricky Hatton's son Campbell Hatton, 10-0 (3) battles Louis Fielding 10-7 (1) in an eight-round lightweight bout.

In the lone major US card, Cuban Gold Medalist Robeisy Ramirez, 11-1 (7), takes a major challenge against Ghanaian former world champion Isaac Dogboe 24-2 (15), for the vacant WBO featherweight title. Dogboe held the WBO 122-pound world title in 2018 and defended it successfully once before losing it to Emanuel Navarrete in December 2018. The card also features a plethora of highly touted prospects. Jahi Tucker, Tiger Johnson, and Abdullah Mason.

Fighter of the Week (3/20-3/26): Jesus Ramos

On the most loaded week of boxing of 2023, picking the week's Fighter of the Week was no easy task. However, as president Reagan once said, there aren't always easy choices, but there are obvious ones. With that in mind, since we gave all credit to both the the22-year-old "El Mono" Jesus Ramos of Casa Grande, and Arizona, 23-year-old Joey Spencer for taking such a high-risk fight and putting their "0" on the line. As much credit as each fighter gets, Ramos gets twice the credit for the absolutely one-sided drubbing. He dropped, beat up, and beat down Spencer, forcing his dad to step in and throw the towel to save his son. Ramos picked up the biggest win of his career, moved his record to 20-0 (16), established himself as the future of the 154-pound division there's no longer a debate on that, and took home our Fighter of the Week Award.

In what was the most intriguing matchup of unbeaten. blue-chip prospects that we've seen in years. Ramos was in control from the very start, and the question was never in doubt. In a fast-paced start to the bout, A left hand from the southpaw Ramos put Spencer on the seat of his pants at the end of the opening stanza. Spencer got up and met Ramos in the phone booth as Ramos went for the kill, and they two slugged it out in the closing seconds of the first. The writing was on the wall. Ramos was too powerful, too strong, and too skilled for the two-time Prospect of the Year. He continued to bang away at the body, chopping Spencer down, keeping him against the ropes, and beating him down. The Arizona native was rocked in the fourth round, which momentarily paused his momentum, in what was the only competitive round of the fight. By the fifth, the Arizonian was back in complete control and again backed Spencer into the ropes and unleashed a whirlwind of hard thudding shots on the overmatched Spencer, who was just looking to survive. Spencer gave it one last shot to try and change the momentum and walk Ramos down. However, that it effort failed as well. A Ramos left hand buckled his opponent, and Ramos hopped on his badly wounded fighter and caused Spencer's father to step in and wave the towel.

If there were any questions about whether or not "El Mono" belonged, he answered that with a resounding yes!!! The one-sided beatdown of the two-time PBC Prospect of the year should propel Ramos to the top of the rankings in both the sanctioning bodies and in media rankings. That performance is the leader in the clubhouse for our "Performance of the Year" award; it was an A+, nearly flawless performance. It sets up Ramos for much bigger things in the second half of 2023. Fights with Brian Castano or Sebastian Fundora could very well come next. A win over that opponent, and there's only one more step to take. That's undisputed 154-pound champion Jermell Charlo. At 22 years old, Ramos may have already made himself the boogeyman of the division.

Weekly Recap 3/20-3/26: Benavidez and Ramos Sine in 2023's Busiest Weekend

The busiest boxing weekend of the year, by far, kicked off in Milan, Italy on Friday evening. 27-year-old Italian prospect Ivan Zucco returned after a nearly year layoff and scored a dominant one-sided victory against Germain Brown. Zucco, a southpaw, moved his record to 17-0 (14) and successfully defended his WBC international super middleweight title. Zucco took care of business as expected. However, it was the undercard that captured attention as hyped-up junior middleweight prospect Francesco Russo was beaten down and stopped in the fourth round by journeyman Christian Mazzon of Lombardia, Italy. Mazzon improved his record to a less-than-sparking 10-4 (4) but showed plenty of pop despite his less-than-spectacular KO ratio. He was able to expose the touted prospect and back him up with hard, precise, power punches. Three and four-punch combinations had Russo on the back foot and uncomfortable. The end came in the fourth. Amid a violent slugfest, Mazzon scored with a double hook that put Russo down in spectacular fashion. The bout was immediately waived off.

On an extremely busy Saturday, the action was kicked off in Manchester, at the Manchester Arena as WBO cruiserweight champ Lawrence Okolie had his way and defended his strap in dominant but not entertaining fashion over David Light by scores of, 119-108, 117-110 and a much, much too close 116-112 by judge Micahel Alexander. Who in all fairness may have fallen asleep during this snoozefest. Okolie dominated the early rounds with his jab and was able to hurt Light several times late in the fight but was never able to drop him or get him in any serious trouble as he never slammed on the gas and pressed for a KO. The much longer and taller Okolie wisely used his length to his advantage in the dominant performance. Light tried valiantly to get on the inside but was unable to work his way onto the inside as Okolie was able to mix in the occasional right hand and cause Light to back up. A unification bout with IBF champ Jai Opetaia seems to have the interest of each fighter and could be next.

Saturday evening in US and Mexico was loaded beyond belief. Three cards, including the bout in Guadalajara, Mexico, that was headlined by a subpar lethargic performance, from one of the premier 140-pounders in the world. Jose Zepeda, the 33-year-old contender who just fought valiantly in a war with Regis Prograis, looked unmotivated and uninterested in a tougher-than-expected battle with the largely unknown Neeraj Goyat, who fell to 17-4-2. Goytat landed several power shots throughout the fight that caught the attention of his superior opponent. Despite the brief moments of success, Zepeda largely remained in control using his range and skills and rolled to a 100-90 decision on all cards. However, the fight seemed much closer than that.

On the evenings two major cards, Jose Carlos Ramirez, who opted to fight Richard Commey, instead of fighting Regis Prograis for the WBC strap, fought behind his hometown fans at the Save Mart Arena in Fresno, California. Ramirez scored a brutal 11th-round TKO of their WBC Title Eliminator. Ramirez was largely in control, backing Commey up and unloading on him while he had Commey against the ropes. However, the always entertaining and game Ghanian fired back and landed big right hands while he fought himself back into the fight. In round six, we had a round-of-the-year contender as Commey buckled the Californian with a right hand that scored perfectly on the chin, and by the end of the round behind chants of, "Jose, Jose, Jose..." Ramirez battled back and had Commey in a world of trouble. In the 11th, Ramirez dropped Commey with a left hook referee Jak Reiss administered an eight count as Commey got to his feet and fought back hard until a short body shot dropped the Ghanian warrior to one knee, and was unable to make it to his feet.

In the co-main, Seniesa "Super Bad" Estrada, made a good sales pitch for the number one pound-for-pound women's fighter in the world, given her dominant performance over Tina Rupprecht. Estrada was much more methodical and reserved in her approach, curbing her typical all-out assault and doing a bit more boxing from long range and landing with pinpoint accuracy while in the pocket. She won every round on every card 100-90x3 on her while unifying the WBA and WBC 105-pound titles.

On the big card, David Benavides executed his game plan to perfection. After losing rounds early, was able to break down his elusive opponent, the former champ, Caleb Plant. Plant built up an early lead and boxed well off the back foot. However, as easily predicted, he fatigued by the middle rounds, and by round six, Benavidez had worn his opponent down, and Plant did not win a single round on any card in the second half of the fight. By round eight it was a beat down! The only question left was could Plant could make it to the end. Plant, as tough as humanly possible, stood up and fought hard till the end. However, the poor game plan of fighting only off the back foot, lead to a unanimous decision loss by scores of 115-113. 116-112, and 117-111. The scores seemed to be on point.

In the co-main in an exciting bout between two undefeated blue chip prospects not yet in their physical prime, exactly what boxing needs, delivered as Jesus Ramos dominated the former two-time PBC prospect of the year, Joey Spencer. Ramos dropped spencer late in the first, and the writing was on the wall. Ramos handed a master-class performance in beating down Spencer, and it came to a brutal end in the sixth! Spencer's father and trainer, Jason Spencer, asked referee Tony Weeks to stop their 10-rounder in the sixth round after Ramos connected with a thudding three-piece that again rocked his son. Weeks obliged and gave Ramos the biggest win of his career and our front-runner for "Performance of the Year."

In what was a highly controversial decision on the undercard portion of the Plant-Benavidez card. "Prime Time " Chris Colbert eeked out a unanimous decision victory over Jose Valenzuela by scores of 95-94x3. In an incredibly close fight that was difficult to score. Colbert survived a first-round knockdown. He got up, and in what looked like it was going to be a replay of his loss to Hector Garcia last February, Colbert turned the tides sat down, and used lateral movement to box himself back in the fight. There was a constant theme that was persistent throughout the 10-round affair. Colbert would dominate the majority of the round with his movement and jab, and Valenzuela would land a thudding power shot and have short bursts and rallies. In what appeared to be an incredibly difficult and subjective fight to score ultimately all three judges agreed.

Soumaoro, Melendez Shine on PROBOX TV CARD

The PROBOX TV Wednesday night series, delivered again!!! The Wednesday night series has been an absolute blessing for boxing fans. On this card, a welterweight star emerged. Mohamed "Black Buffalo" Soumaoro, who you may know from his PROBOX TV win a few months ago when he upset undefeated prospect, Jusiyah Shirley. He was at it again and better than ever. Soumaro handed in an even more impressive feat in stopping Angel Vazquez and taking the zero in his L column. Soumaro picked up an eighth-round stoppage, and it should have come much sooner, as the ref and the corner of Vazques allowed this to go on far too long. A massive uppercut in round seven scores right on the chin of Vazquez rocked him badly and finally brought in the corner to waive off the bout. Vazquez fought hard, but it just wasn't enough. Soumaro now fights out of Montreal, Canada, but was born in Guinea and raised in Cuba till he was 14, improved his record to 13-1 (6) and staggered Vazquez in the opening round with a left hook and right uppercut that badly wobbled his man and robbed Vazquez of his legs which he never really seemed to get back. The "Black Buffalo" was pinpoint accurate with his hooks and right uppercuts. He would catch and shoot and land with accuracy. He also sported a shotgun jab that he would use to get on the inside and punish Vazquez with power shots. Once he got to the inside he would unleash on his outmatched opponent. By the sixth round, it looked like cruel and unusual punishment. However, it was allowed to go on two more rounds, until the corner finally came in and saved their man with 13 seconds left in the eighth.

In the co-main event, we got an absolute barn burner as Axl Melendez, boxing out of San Antonio, Texas, by way of Puerto Rico, shocked Demontaze Duncan of Louisville, Kentucky, in a battle of unbeaten. 154-pounders. Melendez moved to 6-0 (4), and Duncan fell to 8-1 (8). Duncan was rocked early in the fight and had Duncan in a world of trouble just 30 seconds into the fight and holding on for life. A left hook and right uppercut combo had Duncan holding on for life. As Melendez poured it on until the bell rang to end the opening round and save Duncan. After a dominant second round, Duncan began battling back and scored with his left hook and found several openings, as he got himself back into the fight. Duncan was landing beautiful power shots in the mid-range, but Melendez pressed forward, in a fight that was getting close on the cards. Melendez rallied in the last round and swarmed Duncan again in the final stanza, as Duncan was unable to keep the storming Melendez off of him and was too willing to trade with the hard-hitting Puerto Rican, who secured the last round and the decision by scores of 58-56 x2 and a ridiculous even scorecard of 57-57.

Fight Week: 3-20/3-26

It's another loaded week for fight fans with a midweek card and two superb Saturday night cards. Plus, a Saturday Matinee (If you're in the US).

The Fight Week kicks off with another episode of Hardcore's favorite new gift! The PROBOX series as six touted up-and-comers are matched tough. In hopes of elevating their career and status to the next level! In the evening main event, Mohamed Soumaoro, 12-1 (5), fighting out of Quebec, Canada, by way of Conakry, Guinea, takes a massive risk against undefeated Mexican boxer-puncher Angel Vazquez, 12-0 (6) in a 10-round affair. Vazquez is coming off a career-changing win over Nick Sullivan on a Golden Boy card back in December. Also on the card is a battle between unbeaten welterweights, Louisville, Kentucky native Demontaze Duncan puts his perfect 8-0 (8) record on the line against undefeated Puerto Rican masterclass boxer Axl Melendez in a six-round affair. The winner will shoot up the charts in the 147-pound division. Also on the card are the highly regarded undefeated prospects Omar Rosario, Dominck Valle, and Andrey Mangushev.

The action moves to Saturday afternoon in the UK with a world title fight at the Manchester Arena as WBO cruiserweight champ Lawrence Okolie returns to the ring after a nearly 13 month lay off to battle with the surging David Light, 20-0 (12) of New Zealand. Light scored a career-best victory over Brandon Glanton on a PROBOX card, back in December to earn this title shot. The card will also feature a shootout between two highly touted super featherweights. Michael Gomez jr, 18-1 (5), stands in against Levi Giles, 13-0 (3), a scrap between two extremely high-level, highly skilled boxers. The card also features heavyweight Frazer Clarke, who steps up against Rydell Booker 27-7-1 (14). Undefeated Callum Simpson and Aaron McKenna will both also be in action.

Moving back to the US, the Saturday evening cards kick off with the Top Rank card as former unified 140-pound world champ Jose Carlos Ramirez returns to the ring for the first time since last year's unforgettable scrap with Jose Pedraza. He will battle Richard Commey, who is coming off a competitive loss to Vasyl Lomachenko, and draw with Jose Pedraza. The winner will put himself in a great position for a world title fight, and the loser will sort of fall off and out of the landscape at 140 pounds. In the co-main pound-for-pound women's champ, Sinesa Estrada, 23-0, puts her WBA and WBC minimum weight titles on the line against the undefeated Tina Rupprecht.

In the biggest card of the week, two premier 168-pounders square off in one of the most anticipated fights of the year. As Caleb Plant, 22-1 (13, steps into the ring with David Benavidez, 26-0 (23), in a long-awaited showdown. The winner may be in line for a Canelo mega fight! An absolutely loaded undercard, including an intriguing make-or-break welterweight showdown between 21-0 (9), Cody Crowley against rugged contender Abel Ramos 27-5-2 (21). Jesus Ramos, 19-0 (15), is also on the card and steps in with fellow undefeated 154-pounder Joey Spence 16-0 (10), in a shocking battle of two unbeaten blue chip prospects both expected to win multiple world titles. In another must-win fight, two one-loss 130-pounders look to get right as Chris Colbert Squares off with Jose Valenzuela.

Mercito Gesta & an Array of Matchroom Prospects Shine!

Mercito Gesta Rejuvenated his career Saturday night in Long Beach, California, with a 10-round Unanimous decision victory. Gesta entered as an 8-1 underdog and used the ring, boxed beautifully, and out-hustled the heavily favored JoJo Diaz over ten exciting rounds. He landed with crisp clean combinations and stayed off the ropes. As the larger, and slower Diaz tried valiantly to hunt his man down. At the end of 10 rounds, the issue was in doubt, the fight appeared close, but Diaz seemed to edge it out. Two of the judges agreed by wide scores of 99-91 and 98-92, and the third judge favored Diaz by a wide margin of 97-93. The vastly different scorecards reflect how close many of the rounds were.

In another fight that was incredibly difficult to score, Oscar Duarte stopped Alex Martin in a thrilling scrap. In a fight that was an intriguing contrast in styles, Martin worked well off the back foot and was landing in decent volume, especially early on. However, Duarte marched forward and landed better and harder shots, that broke Martin down and softened him up for a spectacular knockout in the 8th round. Durate scored with a pair of right hands that dropped Martin, who was barely able to make it to his feet. Duarte jumped on his wounded opponent and quickly finished the job to move his record to 25-1-1 (20).

On DAZN's earlier card in England, Eddie Hearn put on a card filled with prospects. The future looks bright for Hearn and Matchroom. In the main event, Cyrus Pattinson chopped away at the tree in a very tough and entertaining scrap with Chris Jenkins. In a very even fight, Jenkins began to fade while Pattinson remained strong, and seized control of the fight, and forced Jenkins's corner to throw in the towel in the ninth round.

Also on the card was 27-year-old silver medalist Pat McCormack who absolutely put on a boxing clinic. In what was supposed to be a real test with Italian fringe contender Dario Socci. It turned out to be a one-sided beatdown with a mercy stoppage by the referee, who called a halt to the bout with about a minute left. There was nothing not to like about McCrmack's performance. Scoring with right hands and making his opponent miss over and over again. He started walking the Italian down in the second half of the fight and scored with pinpoint counter hooks and rallied with crisp combinations till the ref was forced to waive the bout off!

Hopey Price did everything well as well. He controlled the range over a one-sided 10-round affair! Price did everything you would want in a long and rangy fighter. He controlled distance, kept his opponent at range, and snapped a quick jab. He mixed up head and body shots. He did everything in rolling to a wide points decision. Everything, except step on the gas and look to get an outmatched opponent out. Price looked sharp in improving his record to 10-0 (3).