Indholdsfortegnelse for 3 April 2025 i Boxing News

“It is hard to believe that so many iconic fights took place during the week. Hearns and Hagler fought on a Monday night” Steve Bunce @BigDaddyBunce Voice of boxing I MAGINE a day where you sit and listen to Manny Steward, Eddie Futch, Don King, Angelo Dundee and Richard Steele all before five in the afternoon. Days like that existed once in the blur of a big Las Vegas fight week, when the sporting giants of our business were delivered at intervals to the old-fashioned media. And yes, they did mention Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson and Joe Louis. A few nights later, Riddick Bowe might knockout Evander Holyfield. Lennox Lewis might mutilate Hasim Rahman. Mike Tyson might try to rip off Frans Botha’s arm. Tupac might get shot. Back…

Previewing the best upcoming fights around the world JOE JOYCE and Filip Hrgovic are standing on the edge of relevance in a heavyweight division that waits for no-one. Queensberry Promotions’ debut on DAZN on April 5 sees the former amateur rivals cross paths once again with their professional careers in need of repairing. It’s a clash that could produce some fireworks and perhaps the end of the road for Joyce, in particular. Both are coming off losses last time out. Joyce to Derek Chisora and Hrgovic to Daniel Dubois. The contrasting fortunes of the four could not be more stark. Dubois is now the IBF heavyweight champion and Chisora is now the mandatory title challenger. Joyce (16-3, 15 KO) is still known as ‘The Juggernaut’ but at one stage he was feared…

WARREN Boxing Management and Trinity Entertainment Boxing put on the biggest professional boxing event in the history of Gibraltar, at the Europa Point Stadium. The first fight of the night was between Iman Zahmatkesh (199lbs) from Chichester, who moved his unbeaten record to 3-0, against Stanislav Eschner (18-23-1, 9 KOs), via second round TKO. Iranian-born Zahmatkesh had Sunny Edwards in his corner. Kerim Agius (117lbs) moved his record to 5-0-2 with a unanimous decision over Jake Pollard (1-87, 118lbs). Lowestoft’s Keano White (143lbs) moved to 4-0, 1 KO, by unanimous decision over Brazilian Jonatas Rodrigo Gomes de Oliveira (6-25, 5 KOs, 141lbs), while Italian-born Oronzo Birardi (9-1, 6KOs, 199lbs) ground out a unanimous decision over Viktar Chvarkou (5-22, 3 KOs, 201lbs). Cornered by Martin Murray, Liverpool’s Jack McGann (167lbs) extended…

ONLY six-round fare on this BCB Promotions bill at Dudley Town Hall saw local lad Ryan Griffiths (7-1-1, 138lbs 14oz) return to winning ways after a January points loss to Umar Khan by eclipsing Newark stalwart Fonz Alexander (9-171-2, 5 KOS=s, 145lbs 10oz). The visitor proved game but was unable to silence the Black Country crowd. Working off the jab, Griffiths [pictured inset] followed in downstairs right from the off and, while Fonz did land a few decent hooks of his own along the way, they were never going to be sufficient to make a difference. Referee Ryan Churchill scored 60-54. A return between Droitwich’s Sian O’Toole (6-0, 135½lbs) and Lithuanian Vaida Masiokaite (10-29-6, 1 KO, 138lbs 10oz) saw the unbeaten Worcestershire lady prove too fast and too fleet of…

DARLINGTON’S newest star, Josh Babb, extended his winning run to four fights after dominating late sub Stephen Jackson in Shamrock’s headline bout at the Rainton Arena. Coach Isaac Ward, the ex-Commonwealth super-bantamweight champion, believes “Josh has everything”, though he did not need his full bag of tricks to outclass his Manchester opponent (1-58-1, 1 KO, 120lbs) who spent the contest in reverse. The jab of Babb (4-0, 124lbs 2oz) controlled matters and it was only in the last when he showed some real venom with rights to the body and a right uppercut ahead of a 60-54 tally from referee Neil Close. Justin Menzie abandoned birthday celebrations to answer an SOS from Mervyn Turner to step in at very late notice with Redcar’s Bobby Dalton – and may have wished…

Simon Euan-Smith simonoldtimers@googlemail.com EBA correspondent I MUST start with a tribute to my friend and fellow writer Colin Hart, whose death was reported last week. Colin loved the game, and was an outstanding scribe. He was also a keen supporter of the London Ex-Boxers’ Association, regularly attending their Annual Awards Lunch – and he was the inaugural winner of their Reg Gutteridge Award, presented to media professionals for their contribution to the game. I had been reading Colin in The Sun for years, finally meeting him in September 1973 at Wolverhampton Civic Hall, where we were both covering the first-ever British light-middleweight title bout, between Larry Paul (later a keen member of Croydon EBA) and Bobby Arthur, with Paul winning in 10 rounds. Since then, I’d often see Colin at…

THE world of boxing is mourning the passing of two of its most well-known figures, one inside, one outside the ropes. George Foreman, by anyone’s standards, is one of the sport’s ‘greats’. He first came to international prominence for those of us outside the USA when he won the Olympic gold medal in the heavyweight division in Mexico in 1968. We older types may remember that he proudly waved the American flag on the podium, contrary to the actions of some of his USA teammates, who bowed their heads and, with gloved hands, gave the ‘black power’ salute, a sign of the times in that turbulent decade. As a pro, and despite his 100% winning record, he was the underdog against world champion, Joe Frazier in his world title tle…

AT FIRST, hearing that a small hall show will be staged at Stamford Bridge – the home of Chelsea Football Club – sounds totally insane. But this is not just any small hall boxing event. To use the term small hall, even, would almost be an injustice to the fighters and promoters involved. Instead, ‘Battle on the Bridge,’ a Ryder Cup-style card that will see combatants from the UK and USA collide on April 4, is far beyond anything that could be described as small. Adding to the magnitude are team captains Roy Jones Jr and Spencer Oliver, both of whom remaining fiercely confident in the talented fighters who have emerged on either side of the Atlantic. But what separates this event even further from a typical small hall show…

MANCHESTER prospect George Killeen pitched the performance of his fledgling career by comprehensively outboxing Jordan Grannum over six rounds at the Middleton Arena. Straight and accurate punches were the order of the day for the 21-year-old (10-0, 2 KOs, 156lbs) as he backed Grannum up with a solid jab before following through with his back hand. Grannum (12-156-5,158lbs) mounted something of a fight back in the final session, but Killeen was still catching him on the way in. Referee Darren Sarginson saw it 60-54. In the co-main event, Niall Brown (14-0, 5 KOs, 171¼lbs) extinguished the hopes of spirited Czech Patrick Fiala in the dying embers of the fourth round of a scheduled eight. After a scrappy start, Brown began to find his range in the second and by the third…

STOCKPORT’S Rhys Woods (8-4-1, 1 KO, 149lbs) made it back-to-back wins thanks to a convincing points victory over Bolton’s Leon Entwistle (2-1-1, 148lbs 2oz) at the Hideout. Woods was firmly on top for the majority of the six-round contest between two VIP Boxing fighters, producing a performance full of energy and aggression to earn a 59-56 win on referee David Mulholland’s scorecard. Entwistle struggled to stamp his authority amid relentless pressure from his opponent as he suffered a first professional defeat. That main event on the six-fight VIP Boxing Promotions card was preceded by an enthralling contest between Wigan’s Lennox Lythgoe (10-1-1, 3 KOs, 124lbs 1oz) and Mexico’s Erick Omar Lopez (16-24-3, 10 KOs, 126lbs), with referee Jamie Kirkpatrick unable to separate the pair. Both fighters played their part in…

WHAT a terribly sad weekend it was with the passing of two true greats of our sport, George Foreman and Colin Hart. George was one of the greatest heavyweights ever and arguably the hardest puncher ever, while Colin was one of the greats of boxing journalism. I have many great memories of George in his fighting days from when he first won Olympic gold to when he eventually took his second retirement as well as watching some of his witty interviews, so may he rest in peace. Colin’s knowledge was insurmountable and he was a pleasure to read. Rest in peace. I must comment on the great piece in the March 20 issue – Usyk versus the greats by Luke G Williams. I enjoyed the complete article, while not agreeing…

BEFORE the first world war there were four distinct reasons why an American boxer would want to fight in Britain. Firstly, they may have been invited over to take part in a specific contest. In this case, the bout would normally be one of great importance, and the boxer of world class. Such was the case in 1911 when Billy Papke came over to fight Jim Sullivan at the National Sporting Club for a version of the world middleweight title. They may, on the other hand, be of such outstanding quality that they came here to undertake a tour of the music halls to give exhibition matches in front of large crowds for a period of days, or even weeks. Jack Johnson, Jim Jeffries and James J Corbett, all world…

MIKAELA MAYER produced a polished performance to retain her WBO world welterweight title and, in turn, potentially set up a fascinating undisputed showdown with unified champion Lauren Price. The American looked far more assertive in her rematch with Sandy Ryan at the BleauLive Theater, maintaining her high workrate down the stretch to claim a comprehensive unanimous decision victory. Judges Benoit Roussel and Steve Weisfeld scored their one-sided fight 97-93, while Max DeLuca had it by an even wider margin of 98-92. Much like she did in their first encounter, Mayer (21-2, 5 KOs) introduced her rival to a barrage of blistering flurries from the opening round. The major difference, though, was that, this time around, an extra layer of variety to the 34-year-old’s work made it increasingly difficult for Ryan…

HULL’S Logan Richardson (6-0, 2 KOs, 117lbs) ripped the English bantamweight strap away from Swindon’s Lewis Roberts (11-1, 117lbs) in headlining a Neilson Boxing event at the GL1 centre. Third man Reece Carter rescued Roberts at 2-15 of the seventh of a wildly exciting and controversial tear-up. Both men landed and took so many clean shots in a classic. Roberts had the better of the exchanges over the early going, but Logan’s strength came to the fore when Lewis was hurt in the second. In the follow-up, a low blow sent Roberts through the ropes and he was given time to recover. Logan opened a slash underneath Roberts’ right eye and had his man going again in the third. Despite switching stances, the brave Roberts ate countless left hooks and…

THE small hall scene often faces challenges but following a nightmare fight week, promoter Iain Wilson should be commended for managing to salvage this St Andrew’s Sporting Club show and deliver a decent night of boxing and entertainment. Before boxing commenced, Scottish boxing legend Gary Jacobs took to the top table to discuss his autobiography, the aptly named Fightback. He shared some stories on the incredible nights from his career and the lows that followed in life after boxing. The evening then opened with an exhibition bout. Having not fought in the Radisson Blu ring before, Stuart Richardson shared the ring with Ryan Clark, giving him a taste for the dinner hall setting before he challenges for the Scottish welterweight title here in April. Craig Morgan (12-1, 136½lbs) returned to headline.…

Apr 04 DANIEL BLENDA DOS SANTOS vs SHAKAN PITTERS York Hall, Bethnal Green DAZN (European light-heavyweight title) Emma Dolan vs Lauren Parker (British and Commonwealth super-flyweight titles) Apr 05 JOE JOYCE vs FILIP HRGOVIC Co-op Live, Manchester DAZN David Adeleye vs Jeamie TKV (British heavyweight title) RICHARD TORREZ JR vs GUIDO VIANELLO Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas SKY SPORTS/ESPN Abdullah Mason vs Carlos Ornelas Lindolfo Rodriguez vs Elvis Rodriguez ZHANIBEK ALIMKHANULY vs ANAUEL NGAMISSENGUE Barys Arena, Astana (WBO and IBF middleweight titles) Apr 06 TIM TSZYU vs JOEY SPENCER Newcastle Entertainment Centre, Australia Apr 12 JARON ENNIS vs EIMANTAS STANIONIS Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City DAZN (IBF and WBA welterweight titles) Raymond Ford vs Thomas Mattice Apr 19 DALTON SMITH vs MATHIEU GERMAIN Canon Medical Arena, Sheffield DAZN Josh Warrington vs Asad Asif Khan Apr 20 LIAM…