Indholdsfortegnelse for 10 July 2025 i Boxing News

ALL GOOD things must come to an end, as the saying goes, and so it was with the storied career of Jean Pascal, who announced his retirement after losing to Michal Cieslak on June 28. Pascal was born in Haiti, where French is the official language, but moved with his mother to Quebec, the only province in Canada where French is spoken, at the age of four. He made his exit from the ring in his hometown of Laval. The spectators’ sympathies were clearly with the local legend. But sentiment doesn’t win fights. At the age of 42, Pascal just didn’t have it any more and it was a relief when trainer Hector Bermudez threw in the towel in the fourth round. The signs of decline were all too obvious…

“No matter the situation I find myself in, I’ll always put my balls on the line” IT WAS not long ago that Hamzah Sheeraz found himself cruising through a deeply immersive flow state, so confident in his ability that nothing seemed to faze him. It was more a question of when, not if, he would dispatch his next opponent, keeping an almost palpable shield of invincibility stretched tightly around his slender frame. But then, all it took was one tepid performance, made worse by a hellacious battle with the scales, for that layer of protection to come crashing down. From there, a fighter is left – brutally, at times – to collect their thoughts. It is only then that they begin to identify the words that carry true meaning, inspiring…

GEORGE TOWN, CAYMAN ISLANDS JULY 5 MAIN EVENT SWANSEA heavyweight Moses Jolly will be looking for bigger tests after racing to a facile win in the Cayman Islands. He took around 30 seconds to thrash John Cortez at The Margaritaville Hotel in George Town and improves to 11-0 (8). The result came as no surprise given that 33-year-old Cortez had been stopped 11 times previously in his 16-14-1, 12 KOs, career. Jolly had been more ambitiously matched, and the chance to box in the Caribbean was organised by Mike Lawrenson, who co-promoted the show. He sponsors Franklin Ignatius and planned to match the Londoner with Jolly over 10 rounds. That fell through and Jolly ended up as the A-side. He enjoyed the experience in the Britrish Overseas Territory, with manager Mickey…

WOLVERHAMPTON JUNE XX WHOLE SHOW THERE was a first successful defence of her Midlands Area featherweight title for Droitwich’s Sian O’Toole (7-0, 125¾lbs) at the Hangar when, at the conclusion of 10 bloody rounds, it was confirmed she had proved too much for two-fight Northampton novice Doina Costin (125¼lbs). Cut above the left eye as early as the fourth and with her nose bloodied, Doina never stopped trying, but with Sian landing regular combinations and rights downstairs there was only ever going to be one winner for referee Chris Dean, who scored it 97-93. Bloxwich southpaw Ryan Woolridge (13-0, 1 KO, 167¾lbs) got the nod 58-55 at the conclusion of a six against game Newcastle novice James Candlish (0-2, 161lbs) who threatened an upset by sending the home man to…

MY RECENT plea for news of EBAs that no longer produce letters elicited a very welcome response from Bournemouth’s Richard Vaughan. “It’s a fact that, like a number of EBAs, we are struggling,” Richard says. “But we soldier on.” The current committee is made up of President Bob Rees (“who at 92 years young must be one of the oldest living ex-professionals”), Honorary President Sparrow Harrison, Chairman and Treasurer Dave Fry and Secretary Michael Hinton. The Association continues to meet at the Cricketers Arms, 41 Windham Road, Bournemouth BH1 4RN on the second Sunday of the month – and, says Richard, “any members of other Associations who wish to pay us a visit will receive a very warm welcome”. “In September, our Hall of Famer Dave Fry, along with member…

The star ratings indicate how well the writer believes the fighters match up, the fight(s)’ contextual significance, and how good the fight(s) will be MAIN EVENT UNDERCARD IT IS DIFFICULT to look at Katie Taylor’s illustrious career, defined by a symphony of frenetic battles, without arriving at a somewhat bleak conclusion. Too many times, it seems, the 39-year-old has been forced to revisit the well, each trip made only more torrid by the aches and pains she encounters along the way. Yet, somehow, the Irish phenom has developed a superpower of sorts where, almost like a reliable boomerang, she is always able to spring back around. Just as it may appear that she could, in fact, be over the hill, Taylor (24-1, 6 KOs) will not only prove that assumption to…

Reporters’ star ratings for main events and undercards are based on in-ring entertainment, competitiveness and whether overall expectation was met MANCHESTER JULY 5 MAIN EVENT UNDERCARD ATMOSPHERE A CLASH of heads just shy of the halfway mark at the AO Arena bought a premature end to the 12-round welterweight clash between Chorley’s popular Jack Catterall (31-2, 13 KOs, 146lbs 5oz) and Brighton’s Harlem Eubank (21-1, 9 KOs, 146lbs 5oz). The halt was called following a time-out for doctors’ inspections at the top of the seventh. With both men cut – Catterall by far the worst, on the right eyebrow and Eubank on the left – the bout duly went to the cards, whereupon Jack was the deserved recipient of a unanimous technical decision victory. Debuting at welter, Catterall, holding centre ring,…

MANCHESTER JULY 5 WHOLE SHOW MANCHESTER’S Ryszard Lewicki (10-1-3, 4 KOs, 167lbs 2oz) claimed the vacant Central Area super-middleweight title after registering a quickfire TKO win over the previously undefeated Dexter Makaza (5-1, 2 KOs, 168lbs) at Bowlers Exhibition Centre. Lewicki made extremely light work of what was expected to be a closely fought 10-round contest, knocking down his opponent in the very early stages and continuing firmly on the front foot to clinch victory at 1-27 of the opener. Liverpool’s Makaza was visibly distraught by referee Darren Sarginson’s decision to step in, but it looked like there was only ever going to be one winner from the moment the first bell rang, with Lewicki deservedly taking home the belt. The fight was one of 11 on the Black Flash…

SMETHWICK JUNE 21-22 THERE was a feverish atmosphere throughout the final day of the Midlands Box Cup at a packed Hadley Stadium. Mohammad Abdullah of organising club Team Windmill ABC admitted his event has outgrown the venue after 360 juniors headed to the two-day event. They competed in Classes A (0-5 bouts), B (6-10) and C (11-20), with three rings staging 100finalsontheSunday. In Class B, Kevin Kandrac (Firth Park) was named Best Male Boxer following his unanimous points win over Victor Jaismon (Northampton) at 57kgs. Kandrac was a deserved winner of the trophy. Jaismon played his part in one of the best bouts of the day as he came forward throughout looking to engage, but Kandrac showed good movement, put his punches together neatly and stayed cool when forced to…

Jul 11 KATIE TAYLOR vs AMANDA SERRANO III Madison Square Garden, New York Netflix (WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF super-lightweight titles) Alycia Baumgardner vs Jennifer Miranda (WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF super-featherweight titles) Savannah Marshall vs Shadasia Green (IBF and WBO super-middleweight titles) Ellie Scotney vs Yamileth Mercado (WBA, WBC and IBF super-bantamweight titles) Cherneka Johnson vs Shurretta Metcalf (WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF bantamweight titles) Chantelle Cameron vs Jessica Camara Ramla Ali vs Lila Furtado Thamara Thibeault vs Mary Casamassa Jul 12 SHAKUR STEVENSON vs WILLIAM ZEPEDA Louis Armstrong Stadium, New York DAZN PPV Hamzah Sheeraz vs Edgar Berlanga Alberto Puello vs Subriel Matias (WBC super-lightweight title) David Morrell vs Imam Khataev NIEKY HOLZKEN vs EDISON DEMAJ Veka Sportcentrum, Helmond, Netherlands Jul 16 SONNY BILL WILLIAMS vs PAUL GALLEN Qudos Bank Arena,…

THE FIRST woman to win a fight in the boxing ring at Madison Square Garden was known as the Female Ali. It was 1975 when she knocked out Larry Rodania with a phantom left hook. The business has improved since then. Poor Larry was topless, a man and a big lump, but he had no chance; the Female Ali, also known as Jackie Tonawanda, was on a run – she had been to Muhammad Ali’s camp, and she would be one of the original three women to get a licence to box in New York in 1978. She was not afraid to scream her name. She met Larry during something called the All-Martial Arts Tournament. Sure, it was a circus and a celebration of the kung fu craze then sweeping…

ISTANBUL JULY 2 MAIN EVENT JAMES ‘JAZZA’ DICKENS produced one of the most memorable away wins of recent years as he trounced Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medallist Albert Batyrgaziev inside four rounds at the IBA Pro 7 event in the Rixos Tersane. Dickens, 34, entering the bout as a 6/1 underdog, made a mockery of the oddsmakers’ pre-fight prices, dropping his man heavily on two occasions in the fourth to secure the stunning upset victory and claim the WBA ‘interim’ and IBA Pro super-featherweight titles. The opening round of the bout saw both men box cagily at range, with the gangly Batyrgaziev (12-1, 8 KOs, 129¾lbs) looking to establish his jab and dominate the action from the middle of the ring. Nevertheless, a sharp left hand over the top from…

AS OF THE outbreak of World War II in 1939, it was estimated that there were only around 20,000 television sets in the whole of the UK. They were expensive and appealed most of all to the middle classes; people who generally did not take much interest in boxing. Boxing promoters, therefore, did not have to worry about the effect that TV may have on the numbers of people turning up to watch the sport live. The first televised contest was an exhibition between Londoners Archie Sexton and Lauri Raiteri in a TV studio. The first legitimate contest to be televised in this country was that between Len Harvey and Jock McAvoy, at Harringay Arena in February 1938. In 1939, two more big contests followed – the tremendous bout between…