Innholdsfortegnelse for 15 May 2025 i Boxing News

Previewing the best upcoming fights around the world AFTER 10 tough rounds between heavyweights Johnny Fisher and David Allen last December, no one could say with certainty who deserved the decision. Two of the three judges decided in favour of Fisher, but the ‘Romford Bull’ had to pick himself off the canvas to eke out a narrow victory. It was the sort of fight that demanded an immediate rematch, and it takes place at the Copper Box Arena in London on Saturday. I don’t think either will be fully satisfied with the way they fought last time, and yet both can take away more positives than negatives. Fisher might feel he could have been better defensively. But he showed that he can battle through adversity and has the stamina to endure…

THIS wasn’t the only show to be plagued by late withdrawals, but come fight time this VIP-promoted event at The Hideout was down to just four bouts. Portuguese-born but Manchester-based Mauro Silva (8-0, 3 KOs, 166lbs 15oz) sent his noisy pack of fans home happy by getting the better of experienced Belarusian puncher Dzmitry Atrokhau (16-28, 7 KOs, 166½lbs) in a bout ultimately scored 40-37 by David Mulholland. Southpaw Atrokhau, up against it from the outset, did have the odd success, but he was for the most part bested by the taller Silva and his ever-present jab. An all-Irish encounter that pitched Cork’s Aaron O’Donoghue (3-0, 1 KO, 152½lbs) against southpaw Dubliner Jacob Marrer (0-10, 153lbs 13oz) saw the former extend his unbeaten record, with referee Mr Lyson turning in a…

LIGHTWEIGHT Kristian Touze (12-0-2, 140 1/4lbs) headlined in his hometown and was chased all the way by Chatham’s unconventional Tatenda Mangombe (3-14-1, 138lbs), claiming a 58-56 decision from referee Reece Carter. The ex-Welsh champion was spooked by Mangombe’s erratic blitz attacks, but amid avalanches of the wildest hooks, Touze kept enough composure to secure the win and signalled a sigh of relief at the final bell. The most entertaining bout saw Colombian-born Juan David Cuervo (4-0, 150lbs) pip a storming sprint against Carmarthen’s Angelo Dragone (9-5, 1 KO, 150lbs). The difference in the welterweight firefight was Cuervo’s extra quality as his stinging uppercuts found gaps in Dragone’s defence to earn Chris Jones’ 39-37 decision. The evening’s sole early finish came from Cardiff’s super-feather Kane Shepherd (7-0, 3 KOs, 137lbs). Despite blatant wrestling,…

GLENROTHES welcomed home Scottish Alliance champions Aaron Weir and Ewan Campbell on their show at Styx. Weir won the Best Home Boxer trophy on the Rumble In Styx show after surviving a standing count in the last to edge George Hamilton (Blantyre) on a razor-thin 2-1 split in Fife. Hamilton went home with the Best Away Boxer of the Night trophy and might have won the decision after a quality 3x2 against the Scottish Alliance Junior champion at 57kgs. Hamilton, a stocky and strong left-hander, finished strongly against Weir, also previously a Scottish Novice Schoolboy Champion. The referee gave Weir a count after he fell on to a southpaw right hook in the last that steadied him, and Weir ended the bout under fire on the ropes as Hamilton waded…

May 17 JOHNNY FISHER vs DAVE ALLEN II Copper Box Arena, Hackney DAZN Kieron Conway vs Gerome Warburton (British and Commonwealth middleweight titles) George Liddard vs Aaron Sutton Jimmy Sains vs Gideon Onyenani John Hedges vs Nathan Quarless Shannon Ryan vs Fara El-Bousairi MIZUKI HIRUTA vs CARLA AYELEN MERINO Commerce Casino, Commerce, California UFC Fight Pass (WBA super-flyweight title) Serhii Bohachuk vs Mykal Fox FERNANDO VARGAS JR vs GONZALO GASTON CORIA Thunder Studios, Long Beach, Los Angeles DAZN CRIS CYBORG vs PRECIOUS HARRIS-MCCRAY Tech CU Arena, San Jose May 23 MAXI HUGHES vs ARCHIE SHARP Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster DAZN (WBC Silver lightweight title) Terri Harper vs Natalie Zimmerman (WBO lightweight title) Tysie Gallagher vs Ebonie Jones (British and Commonwealth super-bantamweight titles) Reece Mould vs Lewis Sylvester James Flint vs Haithem Laamouz…

SSERHII BOHACHUK’S boxing career, and indeed his life, could have quite easily spun in a different direction the day that Russia invaded his homeland. The super-welter-weight contender returned to Ukraine just over three years ago, expecting nothing more than to renew his visa and reconnect with family and friends before returning to the US to resume his promising career. Having trained in Los Angeles since his professional debut in 2017, he was at first enveloped by comforting nostalgia in Vinnytsia, a city that saw him evolve from a troubled youngster into a talented boxer. But then, ahead of his scheduled visa appointment at the US Embassy in Ukraine, ‘El Flaco’ was confronted by a stark reality that nothing could have prepared him for. “One morning, I woke up and my…

ODAY, servicemen are allowed to box professionally, but not many do so. Between 1950 and 2000, there were hardly any at all, as for most of this period they were simply not allowed to. When I first started researching old-time boxers back in the 1970s, I used to wonder why so many of them were referred to as Bombardier, or Seaman, or Corporal, but it soon became clear that high-quality service boxers were an integral part of the professional game back in Edwardian Britain. Indeed, it could be argued that they formed the backbone of the game. Whereas today, the budding young professional might have to square up against journeymen like Fonz Alexander or Jordan Grannum on his way up, back then they would have to face any number of…

“When Fury beat Wladimir Klitschko, that was a shock, remember. It was also the start of something truly extraordinary” Steve Bunce @BigDaddyBunce Voice of boxing LEO ATANG was just a kid of eight in his Fireman Sam pyjamas when Tyson Fury won his first world heavyweight title, in 2015. They could share a bill in Riyadh later this year. The British heavyweight revolution during the past decade is not even close to finishing, not even close to running out of fighters. There was a 50-year period when British heavyweights competed on the world stage; some won world titles, but there was very little depth. Henry Cooper from the middle of the ’50s, then Joe Bugner, then Frank Bruno and then Lennox Lewis. Sure, there was Herbie Hide and Gary Mason,…

JAMES ‘BUDDY’ MCGIRT has a theory about what happened at the end of one of the greatest rounds in boxing history. McGirt was in Arturo Gatti’s corner for his unforgettable trilogy with Micky Ward - and was unsure if their first fight, on May 18, 2002, should go past the ninth. Ward even raised his arms in celebration, thinking Gatti couldn’t go on – and then had to fight for another three minutes. “The referee [Frank Capuccino] and doctor were in the corner talking in Italian after the ninth round,” says McGirt, a former world champion at 140lbs and 147lbs. “I thought: ‘What the f*** is going on?’ I didn’t speak Italian. “I think the referee and doctor did it to buy some time. It was such a good fight they…

AT 36 AND after more than 13 years as a pro, Anthony Cacace produced some of his career-best form when dismantling Leigh Wood in nine rounds at a hostile Motorpoint Arena. Promoter Frank Warren afterwards promised Cacace a Belfast homecoming – and he has earned it after wins in the past 12 months over Joe Cordina, Josh Warrington and Wood, all holders or former holders of major world championships. Warren paid him career-best money to relinquish the IBF title won against Cordina and kept against Warrington. This meant he could instead go to Nottingham to defend the IBO belt rather than face IBF mandatory Eduardo ‘Sugar’ Nunez, the Mexican knockout specialist, and Cacace delivered for him in style. Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs, 129½lbs) was decent enough to afterwards make reference…

LOCAL girl and former Commonwealth title challenger Tori-Ellis Willetts (7-1, 1 KO, 119lbs), having returned to winning ways with a shutout six-round victory over Stoke’s Beccy Ferguson here last time out, and with an eye on further title shots in the not-too-distant future, topped the bill in what was the first of a number of back-to-back promotions at the Holiday Inn, Birmingham Airport, and duly saw off gritty, and far more experienced, Bournemouth operator Gemma Ruegg (8-14-1, 1 KO, 118¾lbs) 78-74 in an eight-round tussle overseen by Bridgnorth referee Ryan Churchill. Tattooed Gemma, who’s been in with several top-flight operators without ever being halted, has a bout in France against unbeaten opposition pencilled in for later this month, so will be happy to have come through unscathed and, while bested,…

WITH a ladies’ Area title clash and several other bouts having bitten the dust in the days leading up to this show at the Leisure Centre, co-promoter Kevin Maree opined that had one more gone, that would probably have been it. Shaw’s unbeaten Tom Rafferty (15-0, 5 KOs, 180¼lbs) went in against Argentinean Marcos Karalitzky (8-11-2, 2 KOs, 193lbs), and while he emerged victorious to the tune of 59-55 on the card of Preston referee Jamie Kirkpatrick, he found the visitor a tough nut to crack. Nicked by the right eye in the closer early stages, Tom pressed forward, but the majority of what he landed was met by a grin and, on plenty of occasions, with a big looping hook by way of reply. It was quite a crowd-pleaser. Karalitzky…

FAR Cotton teenager Artjoms Sergejevs was named Best Youth Boxer at the Viking Boxing Cup in Germany. Sergejevs had three unanimous points wins in consecutive days over German opposition. A Viking Boxing Cup spokesman said: “The judges were highly impressed by Artjoms’ clean technique, control of the pace and the way he showcased the Soviet style – calculated, sharp and hard to beat. “He boxed beautifully, with confidence and purpose.” Sergejevs represented Latvia at last year’s European Junior Championships. He was picked after winning the Latvian Championship. Sergejevs was born in Latvia before moving to Northampton, where he is coached by John Daly and his father, Andrejs. Andrejs had 90 amateur bouts in Latvia.…

Miles Templeton Boxing historian THERE was a TV documentary made in the mid-1960s that explored the careers of some of the flyweights and bantamweights of the 1930s and it looked, in particular, at the extent of the damage that many of them suffered in the ring. As these little men had very long careers, with most of their contests tending to go the distance, the programme argued that many of them suffered from what was then known as ‘punch-drunkenness’. A contributor to the programme was Jackie Brown, a great little fighter from Manchester who held the world flyweight title between 1932 and 1935, when he was wiped out by Benny Lynch in two rounds to lose his title. Brown came across as a very bitter man, stating that if he…

Simon Euan-Smith simonoldtimers@googlemail.com EBA correspondent THIS month London EBA celebrated one year at Penderel’s Oak, High Holborn – and the May meeting was well-attended as usual. Member Trevor Cattouse was presented with his Certificate for Boxing at Wolverhampton Civic Hall. Trevor fought there once, on December 12, 1979, losing on points over eight to Roy Skeldon (he got revenge the following month, outpointing Skeldon over the same distance at the North Staffordshire Sporting Club, Stoke-on-Trent). Both Trevor and Roy would go on to box for the British light-heavyweight title – Trevor lost in four rounds to defending champion Tom Collins at Leeds in May 1982; Roy lost to Crawford Ashley in seven (cut eye) in a bid for the vacant title at Dudley in July 1991. In a nice gesture,…