Analysis, features, news plus more – on European football and sports galore!
CO-OP LIVE ARENA, MANCHESTER — Arnold Barboza maintained discipline and composure, even when things threatened to go against him, edging a split decision win over Jack Catterall to claim the vacant WBO interim world junior-welterweight title on Saturday night. His father, Barboza Sr, told me how. Continue reading “Barboza hails flawless display, Sr. lifts lid on ‘crazy’ gameplan in Manchester upset”
Continue reading “CBS-Zurdo unification set for Nov. 16 in Riyadh as cruiserweight moving again”
On what was supposed to be a showcase night for Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions kicking off 2024, we saw one new signee flattened inside a round in the co-main event before veteran referee Tony Weeks produced another controversial early main event stoppage – this time souring Vergil Ortiz Jr’s long-awaited return against overmatched opponent Frederick Lawson.
Continue reading “Ortiz calls out WBO light-middleweight champion Tszyu after anticlimactic R1 KO”
Primed for a welterweight world title shot, Vergil Ortiz Jr was searching for answers after a prolonged health scare saw him withdraw on multiple occasions from career-altering bouts. A rhabdomyolysis diagnosis wasn’t heeded but eventually, he came to the conclusion 147lbs wasn’t a sustainable weight cut any longer – so now it’s onwards to the light-middleweight division. Continue reading “After 17-month layoff, serious health concerns and more – Vergil Ortiz Jr is back”
There was less fanfare this time around, in a different continent against another fearsome Mexican champion. WBA light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol got the job done all the same in his 10th world title defence and ultimately eased to a wide UD victory (118-110, 117-111, 117-111) over Gilberto Ramirez, inflicting the 31-year-old’s first professional defeat before calling for the much-anticipated unification bout against compatriot Artur Beterbiev in 2023.
Continue reading “Unification next? Bivol dismantles Zurdo to defend WBA LHW strap, then calls for Beterbiev clash”
The dust has settled and with a rare weekend lacking big boxing or UFC fights, I reflect in detail on Vergil Ortiz Jr’s R9 TKO win over crafty British southpaw Michael McKinson three weeks ago. Ortiz Jr ended his long-awaited return while maintaining his stoppage streak (19-0, 19 KOs), but what’s next for him and McKinson – who feels this display shows he belongs at world level? Continue reading “Rewind: Vergil Ortiz Jr’s R9 TKO win vs. Michael McKinson, a look at what’s perhaps next for both”
Vergil Ortiz Jr ends a 53-week layoff later tonight (Sunday, 4am BST) as he faces fellow unbeaten boxer Michael McKinson in their WBA welterweight world title eliminator. Will the 24-year-old rising star have it all his own way, against a hard-working Brit, or is a surprise in store? Continue reading “Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Michael McKinson tonight: Time to shine bright, or a step too far?”
An untimely diagnosis, mid-fight week, means the highly-ranked welterweight prospect will have to wait indefinitely before rebooking what was to be his first in-ring appearance of 2022 against a bullish Brit making his US debut as two of the WBO’s top-5 at 147lbs were set to duel. Continue reading “Scary rhabdomylosis diagnosis forces Ortiz Jr out of weekend McKinson fight”
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