Indholdsfortegnelse for 31 July 2025 i Boxing News

MOSH TAYLOR, who announced his retirement last week, ranks with the all-time greats of Scottish boxing. There is no argument. Taylor bows out at the age of 34 on the advice of eye specialists. He revealed in a statement that he has had a recurring issue with one of his eyes. Now he has been told he could risk his eyesight if he boxes on. Retirement was thus the only option. As he put it, he had to listen to the medical professionals to save him from himself. Taylor, from Prestonpans, eight miles east of Edinburgh, achieved a lot in a 22-bout pro career (19-3, 13 KOs). He was Commonwealth champion after just seven bouts, undisputed world 140lbs champion after 18 fights. It was as if Taylor’s career was on…

OLDHAM JULY 26 WHOLE SHOW BURY’S Marcus Tomlinson (159lbs 1oz) claimed the vacant Central Area middleweight title with a knockout win over York’s Nathan Shepherd (158lbs 10oz) at Oldham Leisure Centre. The two fighters came in with identical records of 8-1, 2 KOs, but southpaw Tomlinson was a cut above and clinched victory at 1-02 of the third round of a scheduled 10. Shepherd was knocked down midway through the first round amid intense pressure from Tomlinson, but despite regaining his composure and looking more assured in the second, he was sent crashing to the canvas again early in the third by a big right hand. Tomlinson continued the onslaught, with referee Jamie Kirkpatrick stepping in while Shepherd was backed up against the ropes. In the co-main event of the…

DETROIT JULY 26 MAIN EVENT WOMEN’S boxing continues to surge. Claressa Shields, the self-proclaimed GWOAT (“Greatest Woman Of All Time”) pulled in a crowd of 15,369 at Little Caesars to watch the home favourite (from nearby Flint) perform against Lani Daniels, a game but predictably outclassed fighter from New Zealand. The huge gathering in the Motor City follows Katie Taylor defeating Amanda Serrano in their trilogy fight at Madison Square Garden in front of a sellout crowd of almost 20,000. There are still holdouts who simply don’t like the idea of women boxing, but the attendances speak for themselves. Compelling personalities backed by talent are attractions regardless of gender. Shields successfully defended her undisputed heavyweight titles in the unanimous decision win over Daniels, but really it was a light-heavyweight matchup,…

IT CAN be argued that J Russell Peltz is the greatest club show promoter in boxing history. Has there even been any other promoter who ran with such consistency in their territory as Peltz once did in his? These days, Peltz, 78, is semi-retired from boxing. He no longer promotes, but he does acts as a manager and advisor for a number of fighters, the most prominent of them being Bryce Mills, a super-lightweight who sports an 19-1, 7 KOs, record. “My other fighters are just so-so,” Peltz admits. “I enjoy helping them and at the same time it allows me to continue to keep my hand in boxing.” Occasionally, this writer and Peltz meet up for lunch at a Duffys in Boca Raton, Florida, where we both have winter homes. Obviously,…

PAUL BURKE lost his Commonwealth title one night in Lusaka in the most disgraceful and savage way. Burke had easily beaten Felix Bwalya over 12 rounds, dropping him three times before the 12th round finished nearly two minutes early. Bwalya was out on his feet and out of his head when then the early bell sounded. There was confusion in the ring, Burke demanding justice and getting none. His belt was gone, but that was not the real story. It was chaotic and tragic at the same time; it was also clear that Bwalya was badly damaged. The early bell saved him from officially being knocked out or stopped, but it could not save him from death. Bwalya never recovered and died in hospital 10 days later, just two days…

WHATEVER Oleksandr Usyk does next, he has undeniably entered the final chapter of his already great career. He could easily walk away now, in the wake of his complete performance against Daniel Dubois on July 19, safe in the knowledge that he has nothing more to prove. But he has said he might fight twice more. If so, against whom could he make the most meaningful fights in the short time he has left? JOSEPH PARKER Parker is by far the most deserving challenger right now, as well as the most accomplished contender not already beaten by Usyk. The New Zealander is a former WBO champion with a 36-3, 24 KOs, record, and probably in his athletic prime at 33. He brings both pedigree and excellent current form to the…

OUTSTANDING GOOD FAIR DISAPPOINTING RUBBISH Reporters’ star ratings for main events and undercards are based on in-ring entertainment, competitiveness and whether overall expectation was met BOURNEMOUTH JULY 26 MAIN EVENT UNDERCARD ATMOSPHERE RYAN GARNER produced a clinical performance, his razor-sharp feet doing most of the work, before halting Reece Bellotti in the final round of their domestic dustup. All of a sudden, the Bournemouth International Centre erupted into a cauldron of chants. The Southampton man, wearing a pair of red and white shorts to signify allegiance to his town’s football club, then introduced his opponent to a sneaky left uppercut early Bellotti even began to look sorry for himself in the following visit, not fighting doors, often disguising the shot behind a throwaway overhand right. While keeping his attacks long,…

STOKE ON TRENT JULY 26 MAIN EVENT UNDERCARD ATMOSPHERE THERE was a return to the ornate flag-bedecked and tremendously noisy Kings Hall, for hugely popular Nathan Heaney (19-2-1, 6 KOs, 161lbs 10oz), who, boxing in his hometown for the first time since early 2020, got the better of Chatham’s Grant Dennis (19-14, 3 KOs, 162lbs 14oz). Referee Chris Dean scored 79-73 for Nathan at the finish, but while the margin of victory was wide, former Southern Area champ Grant, who’d certainly come for a fight, ensured many of the rounds were close and, on a few occasions – most notably in the second when he bloodied Nathan’s nose – his replies were of sufficient ferocity to momentarily quieten the locals to only a dull roar. I must admit to thinking…

NEW YORK JULY 26 MAIN EVENT UNDERCARD ATMOSPHERE FROM TOP RANK’S perspective, the night probably had mixed emotions. On one hand, this was their last show with ESPN after an eight-year run. Then, on the other, the company left the ESPN airwaves on a high note as their most carefully groomed boxer on the network, Xander Zayas, fulfilled his destiny by becoming a WBO champion, winning that sanctioning body’s vacant superwelter-weight title by outscoring tough Mexican Jorge Garcia Perez over 12 rounds at Madison Square Garden’s smaller arena, The Theater. With the victory, Zayas became his sport’s youngest current world champion, at 22. He had also been the youngest boxer ever signed to a promotional contract by Top Rank; only 16 when he joined them six years ago. And it…

Aug 01 PANYA PRADABSRI vs CARLOS CANIZALEZ II El Poliedro de Caracas (WBC light-flyweight title) Aug 02 REGIS PROGRAIS vs JOSEPH DIAZ Credit Union 1 Arena, Chicago DAZN Kenneth Sims Jr vs Oscar Duarte GABRIEL ROSADO vs CRISPULO JAVIER ANDINO Thunder Studios, Long Beach, California Jerwin Ancajas vs Ruben Dario Casero SAMUEL MOLINA VS ANAS MESSAOUDI Plaza de Toros de la Malagueta, Malaga (European welterweight title) Aug 13 WBC GRAND PRIX QUARTER-FINALS Aug 15 OMAR TRINIDAD vs LORENZO PARRA Chumash Casino, Santa Ynez, California UFC Fight Pass Mizuki Hiruta vs Naomy Cardenas Gomez (WBO super-flyweight title) CAN XU vs JAOUAD BELMEHDI Beijing Aug 16 MOSES ITAUMA vs DILLIAN WHYTE Riyadh DAZN PPV Nick Ball vs Sam Goodman (WBA featherweight title) Filip Hrgovic vs David Adeleye Ray Ford vs Abraham Nova Hayato Tsutsumi vs Qais Ashfaq Aug 23 JACK…

ON TWITTER/X @BoxingNewsED ON FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/boxingnewsonline ON INSTAGRAM boxingnewsonline EMAIL submissions@boxingnewsonline.net POST Boxing News Letters, Unit 204, 203-213 Mare Street, London, E8 3JS I REALLY enjoyed your recent article on the history of heavyweight rematches – great to see this aspect of the sport getting some proper attention. That said, I couldn’t help but notice a few omissions that surprised me. Surely the Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier trilogy warranted a mention? It’s arguably the most iconic set of rematches in boxing history. Likewise, Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz had huge contemporary significance and public interest, especially given the upset of their first encounter and subsequent reversal. There are also a couple of borderline cases that might be worth noting, such as Ali vs Ken Norton and Frazier vs George…

NORTHAMPTON JULY 25 WHOLE SHOW IT HAS taken local switch-hitter Eithan James until his 16th bout to fight in his home town as a pro, and he did not let his fans down, taking a deserved 60-55 points win. Atop this BCB promotion, James showed his experience over one-fight novice Khya Preston (1-1, 152lbs 2oz). However, kudos to the Much Wenlock battler who displayed a fighting spirit against his more skilful opponent. He ended with bruising around his left eye from a nagging jab as switch-hitter ‘Jammy’ (14-4, 156lbs 2oz) gets back in the win column after his unsuccessful Commonwealth title challenge. Decorated amateur – and the evening’s top ticket-seller – Charlie Hamilton (Wellingborough, 152lbs 6oz) showed his class in debuting and controlling every session with his clever footwork and…

TOLWORTH JULY 26 MAIN EVENT UNDERCARD ATMOSPHERE JOHANNA WONYOU and Mary Romero staged a tremendous top-liner at Tolworth Recreation Centre, with Wonyou taking a 77-75 verdict after eight-twos. Romero (116¼lbs) shook her head when referee Sean McAvoy’s verdict was announced, and her manager said they’d like a return. So would the fans. Wonyou (120¾lbs), the reigning Commonwealth (and former undefeated European) bantamweight champion, improves to 12-0, 2 KOs, while Romero drops to 11-9 (2 KOs). But the figures are misleading – Romero has always been happy to box outside her native Spain and is a former European super-bantamweight champion. Her only inside-schedule defeat came when she challenged Dina Thorslund for the WBC and WBO bantamweight belts in Copenhagen in February last year – Thorslund won in eight rounds, and is still…