World Boxing News 2010-2013

Thursday 31st May Denis Shafikov  bt Brunet Zamora ( UD ) ( 117-111, 117-112, 117-113 ) (EBU light-welterweight title) Saturday 26th May Carl Froch  bt  Lucian Bute (TKO) ( 5th round ) ( IBF super-middleweight title ) Carl Frampton  bt Raul Hirales ( UD ) ( 120-108, 119-109[2] ) (super-bantamweight) Pier Cote  bt Mark Lloyd ( TKO ) ( 5th round ) (light-welterweight) Erick Ochieng  bt A.A Lowe ( UD ) ( 100-90, 99-91, 98-92 ) (English light-middleweight title) John Ryder  bt Luke Robinson ( PTS ) ( 79-74 ) (middleweight) Scott Cardle  bt Ideh Ockuko ( PTS ) ( 60-53 ) (lightweight) Sergio Thompson  bt Juan Ramon Solis ( TKO ) ( 5th round ) (super-featherweight) Pablo Cesar Cano  bt Fidel Munoz ( KO ) ( 9th round ) (lightweight) Deontay Wilder  bt Jesse Oltmanns ( TKO ) ( 1st round ) (heavyweight) Rafal Jackiewicz  bt  Luciano Abis ( TKO ) ( 7th round ) (European we...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Former IBF champion in no rush for rematch with Carl Froch Canadian-Romanian super-middleweight Lucian Bute has admitted that he failed to perform in Nottingham on Saturday night, when he surrendered his IBF title to Carl Froch in five bruising and one-sided rounds. The 32 year-old saw his unblemished record drop to 30-1 at the Capital FM Arena and wants to contemplate his next move before rushing into a contracted second fight with the ‘Cobra’ on his home soil. "Every athlete has to admit defeat. Great champions need to know to lose. I have to learn from this defeat. This is not the end of the world. I don't think that it’s the end of my career,"  Bute stated in a Romanian interview this week. “I need to relax. It was a great mental load. I need time for my return. On Saturday night, Carl Froch was better. "Any great athlete must have dignity, to be able to congratulate your opponent. I was the favourite and everyone ...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Californian ready for biggest test 140lb contender Mauricio Herrera is gearing up to attempt to end Brandon Rios’ unbeaten record on July 7th and told WBN that the former lightweight champion should already have a loss on his record to Richard Abril. The 32 year-old fought a mammoth battle in one of the fights of the year so far against Mike Alvarado last month and his reward is to be Rios’ first opponent at the light-welterweight limit. Herrera believes that he is catching his fellow-Californian at the right time on the back of his worst performance and is confident of moving on to a world title fight in the near future. “I think Rios will be just as tough as Alvarado, but I will be sharper, faster and will hold the better foot work. I feel I will out-work Rios and take the victory,” Herrera told World Boxing News. “I do think Rios lost the Abril fight and I believe that Richard exposed him, something I will match and the hopefully ...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor ‘The Real McCoy’ faces Brahim Bariz Former WBO featherweight champion Scott Harrison is keeping his mind focused on his return to the ring despite rumours that another case could be brought against him by the Spanish authorities. According to reports in Scotland, Harrison, 34, may face more prison time if found guilty of a separate offence in the Costa del Sol after previously serving a long stretch until his release late last year. Harrison is pencilled in to make his return to the boxing ring on June 29 th at the Kelvin Hall under Alex Morrison’s promotional banner and is scheduled to fight 17-loss Frenchman Brahim Bariz on the bill. 31 year-old Bariz has failed in three attempts to claim national title in his native France at the lightweight limit and is seen as a decent warm-up for the Scot, who harbours hopes of claiming another world title.

Phil D. Jay WBN Editor Gym-mate's could fight in future Former light-welterweight king Amir Khan has openly admitted that a fight with gym-mate and sparring partner Manny Pacquiao is a possibility once he moves up to the welterweight limit. The 25 year-old, who fights WBC champion Danny Garcia in his final fight at 140lbs this summer, has mentioned Pacquiao as a potential future opponent for the first time in a recent interview with Sky Sports News HD. "There's a lot of talk about a fight with Floyd Mayweather, but I'm taking each fight at a time," said Khan. "Garcia's a great champion and I want to take care of him. He's another unbeaten fighter who I'm fighting, now hopefully I'm going to take care of him and then move up to 147. "Then maybe I'll have one more fight at 147 before I go on to the big, big names like Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, but like I said it's a step at a time, I'm not loo...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Boxer unable to manoeuvre corner in tragic crash Former world champion boxer Paul ‘The Punisher’ Williams was driving too fast on his motorcycle in the moments before the American lost control and crashed, ending up paralyzed from the waist down. Police in Marietta, Georgia made a statement about the accident yesterday in which they revealed that Williams’ bike had ‘slammed into an embankment’ as a result of access speed and an inability to negotiate the corner successfully as a result. The 30 year-old, who held the WBO welterweight title in a glittering ring career, severed his spinal cord in the accident on Sunday and now faces living the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Williams had been due to fight for another world title on September 15 th against WBC light-middleweight champion Saul Alvarez, but compatriot James Kirkland has now been approached to take his place in Las Vegas.

After reading reports that came out this weekend that Paul Williams was in a horrible motorcycle accident, which has left the former welterweight and junior middleweight world champion paralyzed from the waist down, a shocked and saddened middleweight champion, Sergio "Maravilla" Martinez commented on the tragic event. "Upon learning of Paul's injuries, I was deeply saddened," said Martinez, who twice shared the ring with Williams, with their first epic battle being named the Boxing Writers Association of America's "Fight of the Year" for 2010.  "When you are in the ring with a real champion, you know it, and Paul Williams was a very great champion, in every sense of the word.  Paul and his family are in my thoughts and prayers through this very difficult time."

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor “USS” eyeing move up in weight Former two-time world cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham has told WBN that he will be heading to heavyweight in the near future after struggling to secure a big fight at the 200lb limit. The 35 year-old American, who was linked to a fight with Antonio Tarver before he signed on to fight Lateef Kayode next month, has contemplated a move to the top division for some time and now seems ready to make the jump up in weight. “I'm always ready to fight, I live in the gym,” Cunningham told World Boxing News. “It would have been great to fight that winner of Tarver v Kayode, but Tarver has more reasons why he shouldn't fight me than anything, so if he beats Kayode, I don't think that will happen. “If Kayode won and would like to fight, then I would have no problems with that. "I also wanted a fight with (WBC champion) Wlodarczyk, but that fight won’t happen either. We tried and nothing came...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Wallasey fighter ready for Lonsdale belt British light-welterweight title mandatory challenger Steve Williams believes that he will be next in line to fight new Londsdale belt holder Darren Hamilton following the Bristol fighter’s surprise victory over Ashley Theophane. The 28 year-old, who has one defeat in thirteen contests, pulled out of a fight with Theophane due to a chest infection and watched on at Aintree Equestrian Centre as Hamilton dethroned the US-based Brit in a twelve round battle. “I was sat ringside for the fight and it was hard for me to watch. I had trained so hard and everything was going great up until the illness,” Williams told World Boxing News. “Even though Theophane is no longer the champion I am sure it’s still a fight that can be made for the future. He is a good fighter no doubt, but all this talk of being world class seems a bit silly now as he looked very average that night. “We all can have off days so ma...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Ex-champ coherent says manager Prizefighter Paul ‘The Punisher’ Williams still believes he will have the chance to fight again following a serious motorcycle accident on Sunday that severed his spinal cord. The 30 year-old was thrown from his bike after swerving to avoid a car and have been unable to gain feeling in his legs since the crash. Williams’s manager said the boxer hasn’t given up hope of getting in the ring again and will make a statement himself later this week. "From the waist down, he has absolutely no movement," stated George Peterson. "He's in very good spirits, though. He still believes he's going to fight again." "I know he's going to make a statement after surgery on Wednesday, because he's that kind of person. "He's 100 per cent coherent and still has the will to want to get back on the motorcycle. "I want to think along with him, because I've seen him d...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor ‘The Punisher’ to undergo surgery Former WBO welterweight champion Paul Williams was involved in a motorcycle crash on Sunday and currently has no feeling from the waist down - according to details released today. The 30 year-old is set for a surgical procedure this Wednesday to stabilize the top half of his body that still has feeling, although initial reports do not indicate whether the skillful fighter will ever regain the use of his legs. Williams was pencilled in to face WBC light-middleweight champion Saul Alvarez on September 15 th after recently agreeing to the bout, but that obviously will not happen now as concern for the fighter’s long-term welfare grows. ‘The Punisher’ has held versions of the world title at two-different weight-classes and lost just twice in a 43-fight career, whilst scoring victories over Sergio Martinez, Winky Wright and Antonio Margarito.

When unbeaten middleweight contender Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin (26-0, 20 KOs) steps into the ring on June 2 to fight four-time World Light Middleweight Champion Ronald "Winky" Wright (51-5-1, 25 KOs), America's top middleweight will have the added motivation of winning for his father, Pedro. Quillin-Wright is the 10-round Showtime co-feature at Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Thirty-two years to the day (June 2), Pedro left his native Cuba en route to Miami on boats with his fellow countrymen in search of freedom.  "It was like a scene from 'Scarface' and my father was on the last boat," Peter explained.  "He ran off the boat so fast he left his shirt and shoes on the boat.  They gave him flip-flops and he thought that they were high-end sandals because he was America." Quillin explained that his father had served 13 years in prison for illegally selling beef. Pedro was a butcher and there was a strict...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Ex-champ found by family member Three-weight world champion Johnny Tapia (59-5-2) was pronounced dead yesterday after being found in his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico by a member of his family at around 7:45pm. The 45 year-old, who won a version of the world title five times in a 66-fight career, had a history or drug and alcohol abuse and police at this time are not treating the death as suspicious. Tapia won his first world title in 1995 as a super-flyweight, defending it numerous times before unifying the division in 1997 and eventually moving up to claim belts at bantamweight and featherweight. The fighter, whose nickname was ‘Mi Vida Loca’ (My crazy life) last fought in June, scoring an eight-round decision victory over Mauricio Pastrana and will be fondly remembered a one of boxing’s colourful characters of recent years.

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor ‘The Bronze Bomber’ annihilates Jesse Oltmanns Highly-rated American heavyweight Deontay Wilder made it 22 knockouts from 22 wins without with the thirteenth first round triumph of his career when he blew out Jesse Oltmanns in just 26 seconds last night in Cancun. The Alabama fighter, who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics, is making waves in the top division with hid outstanding record and seems ready to step up a level after punishing yet another fringe contender. Still only 26, Wilder has plenty of time to gain the experience to eventually challenge for a world title, but constantly blowing out his opponents early will do him no good in the long term. ‘The Bronze Bomber’ overwhelmed Oltmanns from the first bell and as soon as the 36 year-old felt the younger fighter’s power, the bout was over and Wilder now moves on to face Owen Beck on June 23 in his hometown.

Lucian Bute v Carl Froch ( IBF super-middleweight title ) Capital FM Arena, Nottingham, UK 12x3                                                      Bute                           Froch              -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------                  Round 1                          9                                 10              -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------               ...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Thangthong Kiattaweesuk one of four killed Promising super-bantamweight contender Thangthong Kiattaweesuk has tragically died today following a car accident in Bangkok in which wife and two children were also killed. Kiattaweesuk's car hit a tree after he lost control in a torrential downpour and he, his wife and two six year-old twins were pronounced dead at the scene. The boxer's two nieces were also injured, although it is not yet known how badly. The 33 year-old was undefeated in 24 bouts with 17 knockout and stood on the verge of his first world title fight after scoring a TKO win over Macbute Sinyabi just last Friday night in his home country of Thailand. Kiattaweesuk was in contention to meet the winner of the upcoming WBO and IBF unification clash between Nonito Donarie and Jeffrey Mathebula on July 7th in California when the tragedy struck.

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor 30-0 champion eyes recognition Romanian-Canadian Lucian Bute expects to get the credit he believes he deserves by defeating world-ranked Carl Froch on the two-time WBC champion’s home soil in Nottingham tonight. The 32 year-old IBF champion has a perfect 30-0 record with 24 stoppages, but now seeks out an enhanced reputation and would certainly gain it if he can become the fight man to stop ‘The Cobra’ at the Capital FM Arena. Bute has fringe world-class fighters like Glen Johnson and Brian Magee in his W column, but lacks any top names to brag about, with Froch by far the weightiest scalp if ‘Le Tombeur’ can pull it off in front of thousands of fans baying for his blood. Froch, 34, is obviously looking to put himself back in with the elite names at 168lbs after losing badly against Super-Six champion and two-belt world title holder Andre Ward in his previous outing. The Briton is still highly-regarded despite his loss to the America...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Former champion reveals suspicions Victor Ortiz is gearing up to face a new foe on June 23rd after the collapse of his rematch with Andre Berto following a failed drugs test and told LA Times re p orte r Lance Pugmire recently that he had his suspicions about his opponent in the run-up. Ortiz, 25, was filming a commercial shoot for Showtime with the former WBC and IBF champion to promote the fight and told a member of his team of his apprehension as both fighters went head to head in the promo. "I said, 'He's on something,' " Ortiz told Pugm ire .”Steroids are a bad thing, but you know, I didn't care. I was still willing to fight him. I'm not mad at him. He didn't deserve the fight, and now he's not getting it." The two fighters shared a pulsating six rounds of twelve in their first fight in April 2011 as the fight peated-out due to the ferocious pace that both fighters set and Ortiz’s grew suspici...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor Former champ couldn’t face retirement Two–weight world title holder Ricky ‘Hitman’ Hatton has spoken candidly in an interview with The Sun today about thoughts of ending his life as his glittering boxing career came to an end three years ago. Hatton, 33, was beaten in the second round of his IBO light-welterweight title bout against Manny Paquiao in May 2009 and told the tabloid that he knew his career was over but found it hard to admit that the time had come to hang up the gloves. Retiring was a killer for me — almost literally,” said Hatton. “I had achieved all my dreams, got world titles, an MBE, been told I was the best fighter and earned more money than I ever dreamed of. “Then suddenly I got knocked on my ar*e and had to retire. “I just thought, ‘What have I got to look forward to in life now? Everything else is going to be s**t’. Now a trainer and promoter, Hatton is back loving life after finding his calling in the s...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor ‘Galaxxy Warrior’ talks June 9th title bout One-time undisputed world lightweight champion Nate Campbell has commented on former opponent Timothy Bradley’s upcoming WBO welterweight title challenge against Manny Pacquaio and is predicting a clean fight on June 9th. The 40 year-old veteran shared the ring with Bradley almost three years ago, with a cut forcing Campbell to retire in the third round and knows first-hand how headbutts by the WBO light-welterweight champion can affect a fight. “Every fighter has a chance against any fighter on their day, but this time, Bradley won’t be allowed to headbutt as he is fighting Manny Pacquaio,” Campbell told World Boxing News. “He also won’t be able to take the middle rounds off as he tends to do, which will make for a better fight on June 9th.” Campbell is on the comeback trail after announcing his retirement to WBN in late 2010 and pulled off a victory over former interim world title challen...

Phil D. Jay  WBN Editor ‘The Platinum Kid’ in line for Hamilton chance Mandatory British light-welterweight title challenger Adil Anwar is ready for his shot at the Lonsdale belt after a comprehensive ten-round win over Dave Ryan on Saturday night in Aintree, Liverpool. The 24 year-old, who scored his 17 th professional win at the famous racecourse, revealed to WBN that he broke his hand early on in the fight and had to adjust his tactics to make sure he continued on the path to victory. “In all honesty it wasn’t my best performance. Without taking any credit away from Ryan, I know I could have performed better and probably ended the fight by way of knock out much earlier on,” Anwar told World Boxing News. “I must admit Ryan was a good challenger. He is clearly a technician and I’m sure he has a successful future ahead of him. “It was clear from the start he came into the ring focused to win and I could tell throughout the rounds that he was giving it his ...