Fight Week Preview (2/5-2/11):

It's a sneaky good week for fight fans There is one mega card in the fight capital of the world and then two prospect-heavy cards in England.

The action kicks off in Las Vegas, Nevada, as two-weight division world champion and current WBO 140-pound world champion Teofimo Lopez, 19-1 (13), looks to take over as he battles Jamine Ortiz 17-1-1 (8) of Worcester, Massachusetts, who lone defeat is a hotly debated points loss to future Hall of Famer Vasyl Lomachenko in October od 2022. The loss came sandwiched in between his two best wins, one over Jamel Herring and another over Antonio Moran in his most recent bout. Lopez moved up to 140 in 2022, picked up wins over Pedro Campa, and then got up off the canvas to beat the pesky Sandor Martin of Spain. He then captured his WBO belt by outpointing long-reigning champion Josh Taylor this past June.

Also on the card is 2023 Prospect of the Year Abdullah Mason, 11-0 (9), who takes the biggest challenge of his career and takes on Benjamin Gurment 8-0-3 (5), of Fort Worth, Texas, in a battle of undefeated prospects. Olympic Silver Medalist Keyshawn Davis, 9-0 (6), battles former world title holder Jose Pedraza, 29-5-1 (14), who is coming off a loss to Arnold Barboza. In a do-or-die type of fight, California native George Acosta, 17-1 (3) battles Rene Tellez Giron, 18-2-3 (12) of Mexico.

The action skips across the pond to the UK for the Weekend action for an intriguing fight between undefeated Super Featherweight Liam Dillion, 13-0-1 (3), who is coming off his big win over Qais Ashfaq in July, will take on Reece Bellotti, 17-5 (14) the formidable opponent from Hertfordshire, UK. The card also features the return of Craig Richards, 17-3-1 (10), who looks to rebound from his points loss to Joshua Buatsi and battles Boris Crighton, 12-4 (7) of Glasgow, Scotland.

In the final card of the weekend, 6 foot 3-inch undefeated Middleweight blue-chip prospect Hamzah Sheeraz 18-0 (13), looks to take a step closer to a world title by taking a step up against Liam Williams 25-4-1 (20). Williams has two straight wins since his 2022 loss to Chris Eubank Jr. Most recently he stopped Florin Cardos in one round, about 10 weeks ago. Sheeraz has won 12 straight inside the distance including his most recent win against Dmytro Mytrofanov, via a second-round TKO. The card also features the 12-0 (12) seek-and-destroy fan favorite KO artist Sam Noakes who battles Lewis Sylvester 13-0 (4), in a must-win battle of unbeaten the 9-0 (6) Masood Abdullah and looks to make in 10 in a row against Qais Ashfaq, 12-2 (5), who looks to stay relevant following his points loss to Liam Dillon. Fan favorite former world title challenger Anthony Yarde also returns on this card and takes on Marko Nikolic Belgrade, Serbia.

Fight Weekend Preview: Conor Benn Takes Vegas and Buatsi vs Azeez

Boxing Fans are treated to another weekend of terrific boxing. Two major cards take place on each side of the Atlantic.

The action kicks-off at the Wembley Arena as Dan Azeez and Joshua Buatsi square off in the main event. 30-year-old Buatsi, 17-0 (13), is nearing a world title and is coming off the two best wins of his career taking a 2022 decision of Craig Richards and then outclassing Pawel Stepien last May. He takes on Dan Azeez, 20-0 (13). Azeez fought twice in 2023scoring a 12th round TKO of Thomas Faure in France and then traveling to Italy last July and taking a decision over Khalid Graidia. The undercard features a highly intriguing fight between a pair of unbeaten prospects as Adam Azim, 10-0 (7) of Berkshire, UK, takes on Enock Poulsen, 14-0 (5), of Demark. Poulsen is coming off a career-best win over Italian welterweight Mirko Marchetti this past October. Azim stopped Franck Petitjean for the EBU 140-pound title in his last outing in November.

The action moves to Las Vegas as Conor Benn makes his much-anticipated return to the ring. Benn has fought with inactivity and has fought once a 10-round UD over Rodolfo Orazco back in September. A dispute with the BBB of C has kept him out of the ring for a prolonged period. However, that is over, and he will headline Las Vegas for the first time, and is putting his 22-0 (14) record on the line against the little-known "Pistol" Pete Dobson of New York City. Dobson sports a 16-0 (9) record against mostly unknown opposition. He did not fight at all in 2023 and is currently on a 20-month layoff. Dobson last fought in June 2022 and took an eight-round UD over Rodrigo Damian Coria in Atlanta. The card also features fan favorite Austin "Ammo" Williams, 15-0 (10) of Houston, Texas, who takes on Armel Mbumba-Yassa, a 10-0 (7) German-based prospect. Ammo last fought in September and dominated Steve Rolls over twn-rounds to capture the IBF North American Middleweight title.

Bazinyan and Claggett Role to Victory in Montreal

Erik Bazinyan of Montreal, Canada, had a stay-busy date with an outmatched Bobbi Godoy of Argentina on Thursday night. The Canadians took care of business with ease. Bazinyan used simple jab-cross combinations to break down and dominate the Argentine. The end came abruptly in the third round. With Godoy heavily on the retreat a chopping right hand came in from the heavy-handed Armenian-born Canadian Godoy and dropped to the canvas with just under a minute remaining in the third. Godoy was unable to beat the count administered by referee Junior Padulo. Their scheduled 10-rounder affair was stopped at 2:23 of round number three. The 28-year-old Bazinyan retains his NABF super middleweight title and improved his record to 32-0 (23) as he awaits bigger and better things.

On the undercard portion of the event, fan favorite Steve Claggett picked up his 9th straight win and moved his record to 38-7-2 (26) by demolishing Marco Gonzalez Barrosso of Mexico. Claggett applied his typical pressure and overwhelmed, who has a history of quitting. Claggett ended the second round with his best punch of the brief fight, a right uppercut connected to the end round. It ended up being the last punch of the fight as his opponent quit on the stool.

Venezuelan light heavyweight prospect Albert Ramirez struggled in the second half of his fight with Artur Ziiatdinov. Dont tell that to the judges however. All three judges decided to hand in ridiculously wide scorecards of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92 to give Ramirez the UD victory and move his record to 18-0 (15).

Fight Weekend Preview

We get our first super busy week of 2024 boxing, with major cards on Tuesday and Thursday. Fight fans get to keep the momentum going on the weekend. Two big cards. One on each side of the pond. 

The action kick-off in Belfast, Northern Ireland, at the Ulster Hall. Undefeated Welterweight Lewis Crocker puts his 18-0 (10), record on the line against rugged veteran Jose Felix, 40-6-1 (31). Crocker is coming off of a career-best win over Tyrone McKenna, a dominant 10-round unanimous decision back in December. His opponent shocked an undefeated opponent in his last outing, a third-round knockout of Gary Cully in May. He will look to upset another undefeated prospect. Felix has been a pro since 2009 and fought for an interim world title in 2009, coming up just short against Bryan Vazquez via a split decision in 2014. Losing by a single point on the deciding card.  

Also on that card is undefeated Irish protege and fan favorite Paddy Donovan. Donovan is one of boxing's brightest young stars and sports a 12-0 (9) record and has scored impressive stoppage victories in his last two outings over Danny Ball in November and Sam O'maison in May. The Irishman will battle Williams Andres Herrera 15-2 (6). Also surging Cruiserweight Cheavon Clarke, 7-0 (5), takes a massive step up when he steps in with former world title challenger Tommy McCarthy, 20-5 (10). 

The action hops the pond to the US and invades Arizona at the Footprint Center. The WBC Silver Super Middleweight strap will be on the line as fan-favorite Jaime Munguia puts his undefeated record on the line as the 42-0 (33) Mexican KO artist battles John Ryder, 32-6 (18). Ryder had consecutive wins over Zach Parker and Danny Jacobs before being dominated in a fun 12-round decision loss to Canelo last year. Munguia last fought in June and was pushed to the limit by Sergiy Derevyanchenko before producing a dramatic 12th-round knockdown to eke out a decision victory. 

The card also fears a woman's world title fight between Gabriela Fundora, 12-0 (5), puts the IBF flyweight title that she won by annihilating Arley Mucino back in May up against Christina Cruz of New York, New York. Cruz scored a six-round UD over Josefina Vega in her last outing at the Sony Hall in her home city. Also on the card are highly touted Texas-based prospects "Goyo" Gregory Morales, 15-1 (9), a Featherweight from San Antonio and Killen native who now fights out of Houston, "DFG" Darius Fulghum, 9-0 (9). Fulghum takes a major step up and battles Alantez Fox for the WBA inter-continental Super Middleweight title.

Kenshiro Escapes with His Belt, Dalakian Robbed of His

Upset was already in the air, but it just wasn't meant to be for Carlos Caznizles, who came up just short in his bid to dethrone Kenshiro Teraji. Teraji of Japan narrowly kept his WBA and WBC titles. In a much more competitive fight than was expected, both men hit the floor. Teraji 23-1 (14 ), who won by scores of 114-112 (twice) and 113-113, dropped Canizales with a beautifully placed right square to the head of the challenge in Round 2. In the very next round, Canizales, 26-2-(19), got even by flooring Teraji with a straight right of his own. By the fourth Canizalez, kept up the pressure and gained control of the fight at least temporarily, mixing up the body and headshots. Kept Teraji unable to get his offense cooking. The action kept up throughout the middle rounds. As Taraji would win the majority of the rounds and often allowed the relentless Canizales to rally and perhaps steal the rounds late with efective flurries in the closing seconds. The action remained event after Teraji woke up in the eighth, and going to the cards the issue seemed in doubt. The judges handed in a fair verdict narrowly in favor of the champion.

One of longest title reigns in the sport ended on Tuesday in Japan as Nativeman, 28-year-old Seigo Yuri Akui defeated the WBA flyweight champion Artem Dalakian on Tuesday, a native of Ukraine. Scores came in for the native fighter, but inexplicable scores from a diverse set of judges. Akui scores consistently with his right-handers. However, the Ukrainian landed effectively with the cleaner power shots, having moments throughout the 12-round affair with a thudding and accurate left hook that couldn't miss. In round eight, Aku started to find a rhythm and was scoring with his right hand. Having most of his success in those rounds. Other than that, a lot of the Japanese challengers aggression seemed largely ineffective as Dalakian slowed the pace, locked him up on the inside, and seemed to score with the better shots. Dalakian had Akui in a world of trouble with a left hook in the 10th round that badly wobbled the challenger. Dalakian ran out the 12th stanza, assuming the fight was in the bag on points. However, the judges handed in an egregious decision of 116-112 117-111 119-109 scorecard. The 119-109 card handed in by Judge Jeremy Hayes of Canada is perhaps the worst card ever handed in by a judge in a world title fight.

Dalakian was among the longest reigning world champion in the sport. He captured his title in February 2018 with a win over Brian Viloria. However, as of recently, he was hampered with inactivity caused by war and, before that, the covid pandemic it did look as if the layoff and age caught up to the 36-year-old a bit despite it appearing to most observers he had done more than enough to keep his title.

Jonas edges Mayer! Chelli outpoints Cullen in Rematch

Natasha Jonas of Liverpool, UK, survived the late rally from Mikaela Mayer. Jonas got off to a quick start, putting the early rounds in the bank and building up a lead over Mayer of California, USA. If there were any concerns about Mayer moving up to 147 pounds, they were squashed out quickly as Mayer appeared well-toned and a physically bigger and stronger fighter. She was heavy off the front foot and began landing bigger shots, specifically in the early going of the rounds. The Brit would rally back with precise combination punching late in the rounds, in an attempt to steal the rounds back from Mayer. Mayer seemed to find success with his straight right hand in the middle rounds of the scheduled 10-rounder, and by the end of the seventh, Mayer had begun evening things up a bit, it appeared. Jonas responded well in the eighth and put together what would be her last excellent round. Off the back foot, she countered the American left hook with a left hand of her own, that shook up and rattled the American. Mayer finished strong, mostly with her right hand. Scoring with it at will. A pair of right hands staggered the champion late in the ninth and 10th rounds. The fight appeared too close to call and could go either way. Ultimately, two of the three judges favored the slick boxing Brit by scores of 96-94 and 96-95, with the third judge favoring Mayer 97-93. Jonas retained her IBF title and moved her record to 15-2-1 (9), and Mayer fell to 19-2 (5).

In the co-main event, Jack Cullen just couldn't get it going in his rematch with Zac Chelli and dropped his British Super Middleweight title and fell to 22-5-1 (10), and Chelli picked up the British strap and moved to 15-2-1 (7). The pair fought TO a hotly disputed drawback in 2020. This time around the 6'3 Cullen couldn't decide whether or not he wanted to fight tall and use his reach or trade with the much smaller Chelli on the inside. However, nothing seemed to work for him as Chelli continued to outwork and outland him. Chelli of London was able to outmaul Cullen consistently and got the better of the exchanges. Cullen would try to back out and reset but kept getting caught with clubbing right hands from the Londoner, who would score with an occasional left hook as well. Cullen rallied a bit late, but it was too little too late. Chelli scored the clear-cut decision but scores that appeared to be way too close 116-113 and 115-114, and a slightly more reasonable 116-112.

Also on the card was the impressive pro debut of Stephen Clarke of Liverpool, UK. Clarke, 1-0 (1), made his professional debut an impressive one, and a ringing success as he scored a third-round TKO of Vasif Mamedov 3-47-5 (0). Clarke demonstrated masterful skills, snapping beautiful combos that would land clean. Staying tall and using his length and slight head movement, he avoided Mamedov's left hook. The fight came to a bizarre ending. Mamedov spent the third round whining to referee Mark Lyson and turned his back as the pair left a brief clinch. Clarke seized the moment and took advantage, scoring with a few more power shots that caused Lyson to come in and call a halt to the bout. The official time was 1:53 of the third round.

MyKquan Williams Shines, Rojas Survives

MyKquan Williams, of Hartford, Connecticut, was nothing short of "Marvelous" Wednesday night in Plant City, Florida. Dominating and stopping Luis Feliciano in five rounds to pull the upset in the evening's main event. Feliciano was once a highly regarded prospect signed with Golden Boy Promotions, and the skills were still noticeable. However, Williams was simply on another level. After a bit of a feeling-out process in the opening round, the Conneticutter got cooking in the second. He scored with a chopping right hand that floored Feliciano early in the round. He was able to make it to his feet but didn't immediately regain his legs. Williams quickly dropped his foe for a second time. Feliciano made it to his feet once again, but the end looked near as Williams tried to chase his man down. Feliciano was able to survive and make it to the end of the round. In the third and fourth rounds, Feliciano fought valiantly to get back in the fight and had moments of success going to the body and boxing Williams. However, that success came to a screeching halt. Williams, scored with a left hook at the end of the fourth, which for reasons unknown, was ruled a slip. Undeterred by not being credited with the knockdown. Williams kept it going in the fifth as Feliciano tried to turn the tide and press the action. Williams kept picking him off and scoring with his right hand. The end came in the sixth. Feliciano stayed on the front foot and tried slipping the underrated artillery of Williams, but he could not avoid the rights. Two rights sent Feliciano to the canvas for the third and final time. Feliciano beat the count but was very unsteady and had the bout waved off. MyKquan Williams improved his record to 20-0-2 (9).

For the second time in four months, Freudis Rojas got a big fight on a big stage in front of a big audience and, for the second time in four months, probably earned the nod in the decision but got scores waaayyyy too wide in his favor. The Southpaw, who now fights out of Houston, Texas, via Las Vegas, Nevada, moved his record to 13-0 (11) by outpointing Cristian Baez by Scores of 99-91, 98-92, and 98-92, which seemed like a much closer affair to everyone watching the fight. The all-southpaw affair proved to be as awkward as expected. Baez, of Venezuela, made things uncomfortable and was able to slip onto the inside against Rojas, scoring with the short left hands but never really being able to score in combinations. Rojas ultimately was able to control the distance and keep the Venezualn on the outside and that was largely the different in the fight. However, Rojas, a highly touted prospect and amateur standout, showed off his skills and athleticism but never dominated the fight and never had his opponent in serious trouble. However, middling the performance, the judges loved his ring generalship and scored the fight for him in lopsided fashion. Boos rained in from the fans when the way too-wide scorecards were read in Rojas's favor.

Fight Week Preview

It's a very quiet week for sweet science, just one BOXXER card over in the UK but it's a pretty well-matched card. Inthe main event Natasha Jonas, of Liverpool, England, 14-2-1 (9), defends her IBF world title against former Super Featherweight unified champion, American Mikaela Mayer, 19-1 (5). Mayer held 130-pound world titles from 2020 to 2023. She lost her share of the straps to Alycia Baumgardner in a unification bout in late 2022. Mayer bounced back in 2023, picking up wins at 135 and 140 pounds. This will be her first fight at 147. Jonas held world titles at 154 and moved down to 147, which does seem more of a natural weight for the Brit, and outslugged Kandi Wyatt and scored an 8th-round TKO to take the vacant IBF welterweight title.

The card also features a rematch between Jack Cullen, 22-4-1 (10), of Lancashire, United Kingdom, and Zak Chelli of London, UK , 14-2-1 (7). The pair fought to a hotly disputed draw in 2020 at Eddie's Garden. Chelli has bounced back and gone 7-1 (4) since the draw and last fought in September and scored a 4th-round TKO of a fighter with well over 100 losses. Cullen has had mixed results since the draw with the Londoner going just 4-2 (1), but did score a third round TKO of Mark Heffron in his last outing back in September.

Also on the card are undefeated prospects Aaron McKenna, 17-0 (8), of Smithborough, Ireland and Super Middleweight Mark Jeffers, 16-0 (4). Each undefeated prospect takes a major step up. McKenna, a Junior Middleweight, battles Linue Udofia, and Jeffers takes on fringe contender Germaine Brown for the Engish Super Middleweight title.

Fight Week Recap

Artur Beterbiev made his bid for pound-for-pound elite. The 38-year-old, who originally hails from Russia and now fights out of Canada, demolished former 168-pound world champion Callum Smith in seven fairly one-sided rounds. Smith started fading around the third and fourth rounds, and the unified light heavyweight champ began teeing off. The fight reached a climax in the seventh round when Beterbiev dropped the challenger twice. The second knockdown brought in legendary trainer and world champ Buddy McGirt to step in and stop the scheduled 12-rounder. Beterbiev remains the only world champion who has scored a stoppage in every one of his fights, moving to 20-0 (20), and retained his three light heavyweight titles. Smith took the second loss of his career and falls to 29-2 (21). 

In the co-main event, the Canadian fan favorite got a major spotlight to showcase his incredibly fan-friendly style and seized the moment. After dominating the opening four rounds and busting up a rugged and determined  Rohan Murdock, of Queensland Australia. The fifth round was the beginning of the end. Mbilli was softening up his man with vicious body shots and heavy, thudding headshots. Murdock continued to fight hard and was given a strong warning from his corner that they were going to stop the fight if their man did not step up. Murdock did just that and had perhaps his best round through the early part of the sixth round, however, Mbilli got to the Australian, and an explosive right hand sent Murdock reeling into the ropes. Mbilli poured on the heavy artillery towards the end of the round.  Between the sixth and seventh rounds, Murdock’s corner decided to call a halt to the bout, and keep their man on the stool. Mbilli moved his record to 26-2 (22).

On the undercard portion, Australian world champion Jason Moloney, 27-2 (19), survived a scare and retained his WBO bantamweight World Championship title. In a back-and-forth affair with  Saul Sanchez 20-3 (12). Sanchez was aggressive from the start and established himself. Moloney knew instantly he was in a fight and by round three, the Aussie got cooking and seemed to take control of the fight using his jab and throwing in combinations he appeared to be the superior fighter. However, Sanchez came roaring back, began to stand his ground, and landed on the inside. Sanchez landed flush one-twos and mixed in uppercuts, but not without sharp responses from Moloney. The two slugged it out over the final six minutes, and the judges leaned towards Moloney, which was ultimately different as Moloney took the majority decision by scores of 116-112x2, with the third judge scoring 114-114, a draw. 

Fight Week Preivew

Another relatively quiet week of professional prizefighting, just one major card this week! It takes place in Canada and is headlined by an absolute barn burner as unified 175-pound world champion Artur Beterbiev puts his three light heavyweight titles (WBC, IBF, WBO) and his perfect 19-0 (19), record on the line against former 168-pound world champion from England Callum Smith, 29-1 (21). Beterbiev has suffered with a bit of inactivity, having fought just once in 2021 and 2022. He was able to stop Joe Smith and Artur Beterbiev in those two outings. Smith suffered his one career loss three years ago in a one-sided beatdown by Canelo Alvarez. Since then he has won two consecutive fights by stoppage. Smith, however hasn't fought since August of 2022, when he stopped Mathieu Bauderlique in Saudi Arabia.

The undercard features a world title fight between WBO champ Jason Moloney, 26-2 (19,) and rugged contender Saul Sanchez, 20-2 (12). Sanchez last fought in Japan three months ago and outclassed RV Deniega over eight rounds. Moloney of Australia, won his strap by outpointing Vincent Astrolabio back in May. The card also features an intriguing scrap with all-action fan favorite Christian Mbilli, 25-0 (21) battles Australian veteran Rohan Murdock, 27-2 (19). Mbilli is coming off a career-best win a fourth-round KO of Demond Nicholson back in September.

Fight Week Recap

2024, got off to a quick start as Vergil Ortiz of Grand Prairie, Texas, resumed his career after multiple medical scares. Ortiz continued his KO streak and made quick work of Frederick Lawson. Ortiz scored a first-round TKO on his out matched opponent. The stoppage came quickly, as Ortiz seemed to stun Lawson with a jab to the neck. Ortiz, a great closer. jumped on his man and landed a few more shots on Lawson, who was covering up. Referee Tony Weeks came in and waved it off. The drama came after the fight. Weeks, who has been under scrutiny for another quick stoppage, claimed he waved the bout off because Lawson had a brain brain aneurysm. Golden Boy Promotions, the promoter of the fight, and the Nevada State Athletic Commission deny the allegations made by Weeks and reported that Lawson past two scans that tested negative for an aneurysm."I think that he got saved," said Ortiz, who was making his junior middleweight debut. "I was hurting him with all the jabs. I wasn't putting anything behind it. love to fight. I wish I could have kept going. I need the rounds."

In the co-main event, good things happened for a new fan favorite. Perhaps there is justice in the boxing world. Ismael Barroso was having the night of his life on May 13th, 2023, when referee Tony Weeks, who would become the subject of controversy again later that night, stole the fight from him and possibly a world title when he was in no danger at all. TBarroso, 40, a native of El Tigre, Venezuela, was awarded another big fight on another big card, and he IMMEDIATELY cashed in on it and scored the KO of a lifetime that again puts him back in the world title picture. Barroso finished off British world title contender and massive betting favorite Ohara Davies in just 113 seconds to put himself back into the world title picture, get a high from Rolly Romero, move his record to 25-4-2 (23), pick up the biggest win of his career and captures our Fighter of the Week award.

Fight Week Preview

The new year rings in with just one big-time card, but it's a massive one that takes place in the fight Capital City of the world, Las Vegas, Nevada. In the main event, Vergil Ortiz. 19-0 (19) returns to the ring for just the second time in 28 months and for the first time in 16 months when he stopped Michael Mckinosn in Fort Worth, Texas, over nine one-sided rounds. Now, the undefeated Texan battles long-time African fringe contender Fredrick Lawson 30-3 (22) of Accra, Ghana. Lawson is coming off a career-best victory over Estevan Villalobos in Arlington, Texas, just seven miles or so, from where Ortiz grew up. It will be the 154-pound debut for Ortiz.

The card also features a loaded including a 12-round WBA eliminator between O'hara Davies of Hackney, UK is coming off a very impressive 9th-round TKO of Lewis Ritson, a career-best win that moved his record to 25-2 (18). Davies will be a large betting favorite against 40-year-old Venezuelan veteran Ismael Barroso 24-4-2 (22), the aging southpaw is coming off the "Robbery of the year" a ridiculous stoppage loss to Rolly Romero, a fight the Venezuelan was up on the cards in and in no noticeable trouble had the fight stopped on him because of his age according to referee Tony Weeks. Also on the card is two undefeated contenders closing in on title fights 140-pounder Arnold Barboza, 28-0 (10), makes his golden boy debut against Xolisani Ndongeni, 31-3 (18), and Raul Curiel, 13-0 (11), takes a solid challenge against Elias Diaz 12-1 (7) who stopped David Thomas in one round on a Thompson Promotions card back in February 2023.

2023 Boxing Awards

Fighter of the year Naoya Inoue Super Bantamweight went 2-0 (2) and jumped up to his fourth weight, not including the one he skipped (112) and beat two unified champions Stephen Fulton (KO8), Marlon Tapales (KO10) on his way to becoming undisputed in his second weight class joining only Terence Crawford to be the only undisputed champion in two weight classes in the four belt era.

Fight of the Year - O'shaquie Foster TKO 12 Eduardo Hernandez with six minutes away from being robbed blind. Foster put together an incredible 5:38-second rally that ended with him stopping Hernandez in front of his hometown fans to retain his WBC Super Featherweight title.

Prospect of the Year Abdullah Mason, 11-0 (9), had a remarkable 2023, going 5-0 (5) and ending the year with a sensational second-round KO of Jose Cardenas, who was coming off of a win against Hugo Castaneda. Still a teenager, Mason Hails from Cleveland, Ohio, and also had summer wins over Cesar Villarraga and Alex de Oliveira.

Round of the year Round 11 O'Shaquie Foster vs Eduardo Hernandez. In desperation mode, Foster came out to start the round in the southpaw stance. Given clear instructions from his trainer that he needed a stoppage. "Ice Water" went for it, and a short right hand 43 seconds in rocked the challenger. Hernandez, up on the cards, was not content on holding on as he continued to eat a barrage of power shots. Completely out on his feet and eating major shots, Hernedez scored one of his own with 1:17 left in the round that staggered the champion. For the next 20 seconds, the Mexican rallied while he had the Texan against the rope and in a defensive shell, eating shots. Foster stopped the rally with a massive right uppercut with 42 seconds left. The pair shot and traded massive power shots over the last 30 seconds and that would set up the dramatic 12th round.

KO of the Year- Ja'Rico O'Quinn seemed completely outclassed and out of his fight with undefeated prospect Peter McGrail. After losing every moment of every run through 4 and a half rounds, Ja'Rico O'Quinn landed the perfect shot. A terrorizing right hand while against the ropes, putting the undefeated McGrill down and out for several minutes.

Best Fighter you never heard of the Year- Armando Casamonica 12-0 (3),

the Italian 140-pounder went 3-0 (2) and finished off his year in October with a win over Patrizio Santini to capture the IBF-Youth world title.

Trainer of the Year- Shingo Inoue, the father of Takuma Inoue, and 2024 Fighter of the Year Naoya Inoue, compiled a record of 3-0 (2) and picked up five title belts. The father who often goes under the radar, has gotten the lesser Inoue to the mountain top and the more talented Inoue brother to GOAT level amongst little men.

Upset of the Year - This may be the second time that Cuban Gold Medalist Robeisy Ramirez is on the wrong side of this list. Rafael Espinoza was supposed to be light work and Ramirez was supposed to go on to bigger things. However, after a very quick start from Espinoza, Ramirez, behind on the cards, seemed to end the fight with one explosive knockdown. However, Espinoza beat the count and survived, fought back, and sealed the upset with a knockdown of his own in the 12th to secure the majority decision victory by scores of 115-111, 114-112, and 113-113.

Robbery of the Year- We usually look at this award and assume it comes from a horrible decision. This year that is not the case. Ismael Barroso was dominating and dropped Rolly Romero. Barroso looked to be on his way to possibly winning "Upset of the Year" when he ran into a bit of trouble and was dropped in the ninth but got to his feet and was fully recovered, and unphased and even landing some shots of his own when referee Tony Weeks inexplicably called a halt to the bout and waved it if for no reason in particular. Later Weeks said he stopped the fight because Barrosos, who is 40, is old.

Performance of the Year O'shanique Foster vs Rey Vargas. Foster's story read like a Hollywood movie before the Vargas fight. He got the chance to return home to Texas as a prohibitive underdog and against multi-divisional champ Rey Vargas at the Alamodome. Foster, who had gone through hell and back to get to this moment, was not about to let it slip as he dominated all 36 minutes, never looked back, and boxed perfectly in upsetting the hard-hitting Mexican by lopsided scores of 116-112, 117-111 and 119-109.

Fight Week Preview

2023 will close out with a decent week of boxing. Fight fans will actually get two cards to close out the historic year for boxing. One PPV card in the US and the famous New Year's Eve card in Japan that will be headlined by WBA Super Flyweight champion Kaz Ioka.

The action kicks off on Friday in Brick City USA, Newark, New Jersey, as hometown favorite Vito Mielnicki Jr, 16-1 (11), looks to extend his win streak to nine as he battles Frenchman Salim Larbi, 22-12-3 (8) in a 10 round junior middleweight affair. Mielnicki has won eight consecutive since his 2021 loss to James Martin and has looked vastly improved in his recent outings, including his most recent fight, a first-round stoppage of Alexis Salazar Flores on the undercard of Benavidez-Andrade. Larbi last fought against Cornflake LaManna, who will be featured on the undercard, back in March and lost a competitive 10-round UD. He has also shared the ring with Fort Worthian John Vera, as well as Jeison Rosario and Esquiva Falcao. The PPV card also features "Blessed Hands" Joseph Adorno and undefeated 154-pounder Paul Kroll, who looks to bounce back from his deal with Guido Schramm this summer.

The action moves to Japan as Kaz Ioka, 30-2-1 (15), returns to the ring for the first time since taking Josh Franco's WBA Super Flyweight title this summer. He will put that belt on the line against Venezuelan Josber Perez 20-3 (18). Perez had one previous title fight and dropped a decision to Artem Dalakian in 2020 and dropped a wide decision. The card also features Bantamweight KO artist Daigo Higa, 20-2-1 (18), who battles Thai veteran Navapon Khaikanha, 58-3-1 (48).

Updated Pound for Pound Rankings

1 Naoya Inoue

2 Terence Crawford

3 Oleksandr Usyk

4 Dimitri Bivol

5 Devin Haney 

6 Canelo

7 Artur Beterbiev

8 Bam Rodriguez

9 Jermell Charlo

10 Shakur Stevenson

Fight Weekend Recap

Jai Opetaia, the former IBF cruiserweight belt holder, was forced to vacate his belt before the 12/23 fight against Ellis Zorro. After a bit of a feeling-out process over the opening few moments of the fight. Opetaia started to press more and throw in combination. The pressure began backing Zorro up. However, there wasn't a ton of action, and the round seemed more like a getting-to-know-you round until the Australian scored a mammoth left hand to the side of Zorro's jaw with a few seconds left in the opening stanza. There was no chance Zorro was going to beat the count and continue, and the official stoppage came at 2:56 of round one of a scheduled 12-round non-title fight.

The 333 lb Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller just did not have the gas tank to keep seriously competing, and Dubois was simply the better fighter, period. Dubois (20-2, 19 KO) hammered away on Miller (26-1-1, 22 KO) in the 10th round, leading to the referee stopping the fight. Dubois bounced back nicely from his loss to Usyk, which he by inches lost his chance to become a unified heavyweight champion when a borderline punch was ruled low.

Pound for Pound Elite and WBA Light Heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol through an impressive shoutout of rugged contender Lyndon Arthur. The issue was never in doubt as Bivol controlled the fight with combination punching and a stiff jab that he used to dictate the range, and the would unload in flurries and took a 120-107 X3 unanimous decision.

A split PPV card that was supposed to highlight Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder and bring them together for a mega fight in 2024 hit another speed bump, Deontay Wilder didn't just lose to Joseph Parker, he got utterly dominated and nearly stopped in the eighth round. Parker started to pour the shots on a hurt and beaten Bronze Bomber. Parker worked behind a steady jab, mixing it up to head and body and stood up to Wilder's typically vicious right hand in the third round and ate it well. He was able to tie up Wilder and moved on nicely. There Was never another threat. The former WBC heavyweight title holder never again landed super clean a big right hand in the sixth grazed Parker and was still able to drive him backward and cause him to shell up. In the 12th, Wilder threw caution to the wind and swung for the fences but mostly ate counter right hands from Parker for his troubles. Going to the cards the judges handed in honest scorecards of 118-110 X2 and 120-108.

Anthony Joshua looks to be back in reviving his career following the two one-sided losses to Usyk. AJ dominated Otto Wallin over six one-sided rounds that caused the corner to throw in the towel. Joshua started quickly this time out and busted up his opponets nice mouth, having his man gushing blood nearly from the get-go. In Round 5, Joshua landed a heavy right hand followed by a left hook that sent Wallin stumbling. Joshua tried to pile on the big shots to get the stoppage, but Wallin was able to survive to the bell. However, the corner had decided their man had seen enough and waved the bout off, giving AJ the 5th-round TKO victory and moving his record to 27-3 (24).

Fight Week Recap

In a loaded Saturday of prizefighting, All-world undefeated Cuban Super middleweight David Morrell Jr. demolished Sena Agbeko in just two rounds at The Armory in Morrell’s adopted hometown of Minneapolis. The Cuban staggered his opponent with a left that connected halfway through the second stanza rendering Agbeko completely defenseless. The Cuban unleashed several more before Referee Mark Nelson stepped in and waved off the bout. Giving Morrell his 9th ko and moving his record to 10-0.

On the undercard in Minnesota, we got a rematch between Jose Valenzuela and Chris Colbert. Just like in their first showdown, Valenzuela dropped Colbert early in the opening round. This time, it was with a barrage of shots that staggered Colbert up and drove him into the ropes before he was eventually forced to take a knee. A total of 33 punches poured in. Colbert was able to battle back and use his ring IQ to survive the round, and fight several more. However "Prime Time" never really got cooking. Valenzuela put together a big fifth round that had Colbert hanging on and came out strong in the sixth. He stayed on top of Colbert around the ring, looking for another spot to hurt his opponent. At the halfway point of the round, Valenzuela scored with a right hook from the bleachers that put Colbert in a world of pain and forced referee Joel Scobie to stop the bout at 1:46 into the round.

Two Former welterweight champions squared off on the card as well as Robert Guerrero outlasted Andre Berto in their 10-round rematch by scores of 99-91 98-92 x2. They originally fought in 2012, and Guerrero who moved his record to 38-6-1 (20), took the first fight as well by UD, and that set up the Floyd Mayweather fight. 

In the preliminary portion of the Matchroom card that aired live on DAZN and YouTube. It was an early evening of body shots. Both of the opening two bouts on the undercard portion ended with body shot stoppages. Joe Mcgrail ended Edgar Ortiz at 2:40 of round number two after being dropped twice in the first round. A single left hook to the body brought the one-sided affair to a halt to improve McGrail's record to 8-0 (4). Next up was Alberto Gonzalez, who moved to 7-0 (3) by stopping Alexis Molina of Mexico with a left hook to the body at 2:34 of the second round. In the final bout of the preliminary portion, Mexican pressure fighter Arturo Popoca, simply overwhelmed Carlos Mujica causing his corner to toss in the towel 1:24 into round 4. 

In what was perhaps the fight of the night, Junaid Bostan of Yorkshire, England, passed a giant test outlasting and outboxing a Detroit, Michigan, native. The Brit used the ring well circling and frustrating the American. A seemingly unnecessary shove at the end of the third seemed to wake the American up, and set a fire underneath him. Russ came scoring with a solid left hook that backed the Brit up. The left hook landed cleanly over and over again for Russ. The Michigander scored with a big right hand with about 40 seconds left in the stanza that rattled Bostan, he followed up with a uppercut through seconds later that again shook Bostan up. Bostan rallied back in an exciting fourth round and landed a right hand that caught the attention of Russ just before the mid-way mark. Russ continued to chase around the Brit with varying degrees of success. The American was effective in keeping Bostan to a low punch output in spots. Causing him to shell up for prolonged periods. However, Bostan was consistently able to score with counter shots. The pair traded heavy artillery throughout the sixth. Gordie was able to bring the fight to the center of the ring, where he was more comfortable. Bostan perhaps began to suffer fatigue and was more stationary. Perhaps up on the cards, Bostan looked the worse for wear as Russ rallied late in the very thrilling 6th. The pace slowed in the seventh as the two combatants traded jabs and both landed nice right angles in a competitive round. Bostan started the final round big with a big right hand, that snapped Russ's head back. Both men fought with urgency as Boastn was able to backhis man up but Russ scored well on the inside. Bostan carried the round with his jab and scored with clean right hands as he stayed predominantly in the conventional stance, he drove Russ back just as the 10-second clapper sounded, and the two fittingly exchanged power shots as the final bell sounded. The scores were 79-73x3 seemed too wide.

Peter McGrail vs Ja'Rico O'quinn

In the second round, Peter McGrail of Liverpool, England, scored a questionable knockdown that appeared live speed to be the result of a short hook but may have been more of a slip. Either way, the Brit was awarded the knockdown and carried an otherwise uneventful second round. From long range. A straight left dropped O'quinn a second time just moments into the fourth. McGrail rallied again with three straight left hands with about 30 ticks left in that round. Clearly in control of the fight as we entered the fifth. The straight left was target practice for the Brit who landed it at will; it knocked the American's mouthpiece out early in the fifth. The left had O'Quinn in trouble and backed against the ropes in the fifth as the issue was no longer in doubt. The only question remaining was could the Americans survive the 10 rounds? Until lightning struck, a straight right about took McGrail's head off and put him down and out in an extremely scary scene. The official stoppage came at 2:19 into round number five . O'quinn moved to 17-1-1 (8), and McGrail fell to 8-1 (5).

Gal Yafai vs Rocco Santomauro 

Santamauro was competitive through the opening two rounds, but Yafai was pepping him with clean shots. The difference in hand speed was noticeable immediately. Yafai demonstrated the dazzling footwork and skills that got him to the gold Medal in Tokyo, but Santomauro fought valiantly. He was just unable to catch his man with anything clean or meaningful. The outclassing continued throughout the middle rounds. With the Olmpian putting round after round in the bank with his jab and movement. Santomauro was bleeding badly above the right eye and was being broken down. His aggression was gone, and he was target practice for Yafai, who scored at will. Yafai simply worked his angels and outworked and outlanded an overwhelmed American. Santomauro had no answers but kept on pushing on and kept walking into right hooks. The fans booed the action or lack thereof every round from the fifth on but erupted in applause for the infamous Brunette Matchroom Brunette Ring card girl. A rally started by a left hook from Yafai at the end of the ninth got the attention of the crowd. 99-91 98-93 97-93 for Yafai, who moved to 6-0 (4) as Santomauro fell to 22-3 (6). 

Murodjon Akhmadaliev VS Kevin Gonzalez (Co-Main)

A measured round to start things off in the chief support a body shot with 15 seconds left was the first punch of note scoring for the Uzbek. Gonzalez was backing Akhmadaliev up at times, but it never seemed to make him uncomfortable as he continued to circle, and a massive hook came in just a minute into the second that caught Gonzalez's attention. The jab that MJ left at home against Taples was found and used well to disrupt the momentum of Gonzalez. Two chopping left hands stopped Gonzalez in his tracks midway through the fifth. Gonzalez had a great moment with a left hook as the bell rang to end the round. A right hook early in the sixth put Gonzalez down to one knee. He easily beat the count, but MJ was on the attack scored with another hook and slammed on the gas. Gonzalez was in a world of trouble with half a round to go in the sixth and was dropped again with a delayed reaction to a left straight. The Mexican again beat the count but was in serious trouble a barrage of power shots had Gonzalez on his last legs but he was hanging tough. Akhmadaliev stayed patient worked behind a jab, and set up powerful land hands one landed a minute into the eigth, which caught the attention of Gonzalez. A third knockdown came via a vicious short left uppercut that faceplanted Gonzalez. Who somehow beat the count again and for no good reason at all was allowed to continue. A massive tight hook about took his head off and sent Gonzalez reeling into the ropes, where a straight left came flying in, and so did referee Mark Col-oy to stop the bout, at 2:49 into round 8.

Over in Italy In the main event - showcasing Francesco Grandelli of - Piemonte, Italy upset Stefan Voda to capture the vacant EBU silver featherweight title in the second round. Grandelli had a career-best night, bouncing back from his devasting loss to Mauro Forte. The Italian blasted out Voda with ease in the second round. Grandelli scored with a series of check left hooks on the chin of Voda, a final one sent Voda flailing into the ropes and brought the referee in to call a halt to the bout. The packed arena went into a major celebration for the hometown hero's knockout win that moved Grandelli's record to 18-2-2 (4). 

Fight Week Preview

2023 closes out with a bang as the December action heats up this week with five big cards! Four in the States and one in Italy.

The action kicks off in Plant City, Florida, on the PROBOX TV card with a familiar name Batyrzhan Jukembayev, 21-1 (16), of Kazakhstan takes on Mohamed Mimoune of France. Jukembayev last fought in an absolute war on the PROBOX series and narrowly escaped with a split decision victory over Hugo Roldan, back in September. Mimoune ended a two-fight slide by stopping unbeaten prospect Steven Galeano to move his record to 23-5 (4). The card also features several high-level undefeated prospects such as Kelvin Davis, and Najee Lopez, who has become a staple and fan favorite of the PROBOX series, and Dominic Valle.

On Thursday, the action moves from Florida to California with the return of former heavyweight challenger Kubrat Pulevm 29-3 (14) returns from a 15-month layoff and looks to bounce back from his close and controversial points loss to Derek Chisora as he takes on fringe contender Andrzej Wawrzyk, 34-2 (20) of Poland. He last knocked out Kamil Bodzioch, also of Poland, in July. The card also features former welterweight world title challenger Egidijus Kavaliauskas, 23-2-1 (18), battles journeyman Jose Marruffo. The card also features Luke Santamaria, plus two undefeated upstarts in Rene Moreno and Samuel Arnold.

We jump to the mother Motherland on Saturday in Italy at the Palasport Le Cupole in Torino as Sandor Martin of Spain, who has made a second home in the peninsula nation, battles Mohamed El Marcouchi 29-3 (12). Martin sports a record of 41-3 (14) and followed up his robbery of a loss to Teofimo Lopez by stopping Arblin Kaba in July. El Marcouchi of Belgium last fought in May and stopped Giorgi Gviniashvil, in two brutal rounds. Also on the card is an intriguing match-up between Francesco Grandelli, 17-2-2 (3) of Piemonte, Italy, and Stefan Voda, 14-0 (5), of Belgium. Voda last fought in April and scored an eight-round UD Maicol Velazco. The Italian last fought in July and outboxed Emiliano Salvini on his way to a six-round decision victory. Also on that card is Italian welterweight prospect "The Good Boy" Nicholas Esposito puts his 17-0 (10) record on the line.

The action moves to the US on Saturday on the final Showtime Championship Boxing card and it's a good one as sensational Cuban Super Middleweight David Morrell puts his perfect 9-0 (8), record on the line as well as his WBA "Regular" title against rugged Ghanaian Sena Agebeko 28-2 (22), who fought two months ago in Iowa and stopped Bruno Leonardo in two rounds. Morrell last fought in April and destroyed Yamaguchi Falcao in one round. The card also features the rematch between Chris Colbert 17-1 (6), and Jose Valenzuela 12-2 (8). Colbert narrowly outpointed Valenzuela in a hotly debated decision in May on the undercard of Benavidez-Plant. Also on the card is a grudge match between two former world champions and senior citizens Andre Berto and Robert Guerrero. Former world champion and fan favorite Julio Cesar Martinez.

The final card of the weekend is the biggest one and takes place in Glendale, Arizona as San Antonio native and WBO Flyweight champion Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez. 18-0 (11) and IBF champ Sunny Edwards 20-0 (4), unify half the gold at the 112-pound division. Rodriguez last fought in April and overcame a broken jaw to take a unanimous decision against Cristian Gonzalez. Edwards last fought in June and narrowly outpointed Andres Campos of Chile. The co-main event is a thrilling fight between former unified 122-pound world champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev 11-1 (8), who looks to bounce back from his first career loss, a hotly disputed decision loss to Marlon Taples in San Antonio back in April. He takes on undefeated Mexican brawler Kevin Gonzalez, 26-0-1(13), who is coming off a March UD victory over Jose Sanmartin. The card also features surgingFlyweight prospect Gal Yafai, 5-0 (4).

Fight Week Preview

We get another bust week of boxing three cards featuring world title fights in its main event to keep fight fans busy this weekend. Two in the US and then a Sunday card in England

The action kicks off in San Francisco, California, as Devin Haney, 30-0 (15), the former undisputed lightweight champion who is fresh off a career-best win by narrowly outpointing Vasyl Lomachenko back in May tries to become a two-division world champion as he steps in with WBC 140-pound world champion Regis Progrias of New Orleans, Louisiana. Prograis sports a 29-1 (24), record and last foul in his home city in a highly criticized performance against Danielito Zorilla. Prograis scored a lackluster split decision victory in a fight that Zorilla would not engage in at all. Prograis has twice held 140-pound world titles, and his lone loss was a 2019 fight of the year candidate as he lost narrowly and controversially to Josh Taylor. He won his world title back in 2022 by stopping Jose Zepeda in the 11th round.

The undercard features Cuban Olympic Gold Medalist Andy Cruz, 1-0 (0), who takes on late substitution Jovanni Straffon, a rugged Mexican veteran who sports a 26-5-1 (19) record and is coming off a July sixth-round TKO of Jesus Bravo. Also on the cars is an intriguing Jr welterweight fight between undefeated Australian southpaw Liam Paro, 23-0 (14), who is coming off his first-round destruction of Brock Jarvis, and Montana Love, 18-1-1 (9), who is coming off a disastrous DQ loss to Steve Spark 13-months ago.

The action stays in the US but moves to Florida as Cuban Gold Medalist and WBO Featherweight champion Robeisy Ramirez, 13-1 (8), battles little-known contender Rafael Espinoza, 21-0 (18) of Mexico. Espinoza has no wins of note and last fought in July and scored a second-round KO of Ally Mwerangi. Ramirez won his world title in April by outpointing Isaac Dogboe. He made his first title defense this summer and destroyed Satoshi Shimizu in five rounds via fifth TKO. The undercard features Top Rank's top prospects, including Xander Zayas, who will battle Jorge Fortea. Bruce Carrington will take on Jason Sanchez. In a very interesting 154-pound fight, 20-year-old Jahi Tucker of Deer Park, New York, looks to bounce back from his first career loss, a majority decision loss to Nicklaus Flaz. He will put his 10-1 (5) takes on undefeated Argentine KO artist Francisco Daniel Veron. Veron last fought in June and took a split decision over Timur Kerefov.

The final card of the weekend takes place in the UK as WBO Cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith, 18-1 (12), takes on Polish veteran Mateusz Masternak 47-5 (31). Masternak outpointed undefeated prospect Jason Whateley to earn a chance at the WBO belt. He has previously shared the ring with former world champions like Tony Bellew and Yuniel Dorticos and came up short. Billiam-Smith won his belt in his last fight by dropping Lawrence Okolie three times on his way to taking a Majority decision victory back in May.

Fight Week Review 11/27-12/3

Saturday was an absolutely loaded day again for boxing on "Championship Saturday" in college football, we got loads of star-making performances in the world of sweet science. Starting with Sean McComb of Belfast, Northern Ireland, who dropped Sam Maxwell a total of three times officially and battered the Brit over 12 rounds to take an extremely lopsided UD by scores of 100-88xs and 99-89 to move his record to 18-1 (5). Also, on that card, two undefeated prospects stayed undefeated. Caoimhin Agyarko, also of Belfast, scored a career-best win and outboxed and out-landed Troy Williamson to move his record to 14-0 (7) and establish himself as a legit 154-pound contender. Also on the card, Lewis Crocker gave a career-best performance and dominated the world-class Tyrone McKenna, dominating the classy veteran over ten rounds to take a unanimous decision by scores of 100-90x2 and 98-92 on the third to move his record to 18-0 (10). The evening's main event didn't go as well for the Belfast faithful, who packed out the SSE Arena. The scrap began typically enough, with Conlan moving around and sticking out his jab. He was firing off his typical quick but less-than-lethal countershots. His lack of power again played its role, and Gill shook Conlan with a hard right hand. Picking up on that success, Gill dropped Conlan hard with a left hand. Conlan dropped hard but got up on unsteady legs. Conlan got back on the back foot and jabbed in the third and had some success after the knockdown, trying to battle his way back into the fight and on the cards. However, the cards were not going to be a factor as Gill rocked Conlan with a combination of hard punches in the seventh. The Brit was pummeling the Irishmen against the ropes as the referee jumped in to wave off the fight, perhaps a bit prematurely, but the writing was on the wall, and Conlan was not in good shape at the time of the stoppage.

The action moved to the Lone Star Star as Ryan Garcia got mixed reviews. His first fight with Derrick James ended well for Garcia, of Victorville, California, who scored an 8th-round TKO of a tough, determined but very limited Oscar Durate. After a quick start, they demonstrated a massive speed difference. Garcia dominated the early going with his left hook and counter shots that caught the attention of an iron-jawed Durate, who hails from Jalisco, Mexico. Durate began pressing the action and scoring power shots on Garcia on the inside and may have stolen a few of the middle rounds. King Ry, didn't like the pop of the swarming Durate and went into a modified shoulder roll that seemed not to be working until it did. Garcia looked uncomfortable and in survival mode, the commentator compared his performance to De LA Hoya against Trinidad back in 1999, as Garcia was running quite a bit while handling an outmatched dangerous opponent. Just when Garcia was getting booed and being criticized for being in survival mode he struck with a left hook that stammered the Mexican. The California native unleashed a few more power shots that eventually put Durate down, he stayed there till about 9.5 counts and then popped up as the referee waved off the bout and gave Golden Boy's Golden Boy his 20th career KO in 24 career wins against just the one stoppage loss to Tank Davis earlier in the year.

On the undercard portion of the Golden Boy card, Two of the Lone Star State's brightest prospects showed out last night in Houston. "Kid Austin'' Floyd Schofield of Austin, and Kileen Native, "DFG'' Darius Fulghum both came up clutch in H-Town on the Ryan Garcia vs Oscar Durate undercard. The main card was kicked off by 27-year-old Fulghum, who blasted out Pachino Hill in just two rounds. Fulghum improved his record to 9-0 (9). DFG, a super middleweight, does not describe himself as a puncher but has been able to stop all his opponents inside the distance. The Killeen native had a brilliant amateur career and is ready for a massive step up in 2024. He recently signed with Golden Boy and could be prepared for a fight with Munguia, who has sold well in Texas multiple times. With another win or two against increasingly difficult opposition, Fulghum could be ready for Munguia, and it would be a massive draw anywhere in the Lone Star State.

In the evening's co-main event, Schofield continued to show why he was our 2022 Prospect of the Year and why he could be closing in on something massive in 2024. Kid Austin moved to 16-0 (12). The 21-year-old from the republic's Capital City scored four knockdowns in the opening round to stop Tijuana’s Ricardo Lopez 1:51 into the opening round. Lopez opted to stand in front of the blue-chip prospect, who connected with a left hook that dropped the Mexican less than a minute into the bout. Schofield dropped Lopez again with the left hook 20 seconds later and the fight should have been stopped there. However, Lopez was allowed to continue, and the Texan unleashed a barrage of pin-point power shots that dropped Lope two more times until referee Joe Rodriguez finally waved off the massacre and gave Schofield his 12th knockout. Golden Boy promotes both Schofield and former world champ Jo Jo Diaz and may look to put each other in the ring together early in 2024.