Analysis, features, news plus more – on European football and sports galore!
The sight of Arnold Barboza Jr and Teofimo Lopez verbally jawing at one another through a video call during last month’s Last Crescendo bill certainly filtered through to Jack Catterall. Seeing them confirmed for a championship clash in Times Square on May 2 days later would’ve felt even worse. Continue reading “Hearn maintains Catterall’s team want him to jump straight back in big fight”
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”
CO-OP LIVE ARENA, MANCHESTER — Arnold Barboza relished the pre-fight boos and made sure to thank the crowd afterwards, having produced a career-best display in beating Jack Catterall via split decision, claiming the WBO interim junior-welterweight world title after an exhausting 12-round chess match.
Continue reading “Barboza savvy in draining chess match, stuns Catterall for WBO interim title”
CO-OP LIVE ARENA, MANCHESTER — Four months removed from the contentious last-minute cancellation, Reece Bellotti wasted no punches and produced a bruising beatdown of Michael Gomez Jr to defend his British and Commonwealth super-featherweight titles with a tenth-round stoppage. Continue reading “Catterall-Barboza results: Bellotti bullies Gomez Jr, Dickens stuns Barrett and more”
In town for the Ring Magazine awards, WBC light-welterweight world champion Devin Haney made an appearance at the famed Peacock Gym where he met old friends, including Anthony Yarde’s trainer Tunde Ajayi, as news over the 26-year-old’s return continues to rumble on after a mentally draining 2024 campaign. Continue reading “Yarde’s trainer Tunde Ajayi on Haney’s comeback: “Great things are coming!””
Unbeaten light-welterweight contender Richardson Hitchins (19-0, #1 IBF) finally gets his chance centre-stage against Liam Paro on Saturday night in Puerto Rico and while the machismo has seemingly diluted any goodwill between the pair, the Brooklyn-born challenger respects a world champion he believes just isn’t good enough to match him down the stretch. Time will tell. Continue reading “Hitchins does rate IBF champion Paro; insists he’s a better boxer and will show it”
He closed the Josh Taylor chapter and has now headlined in three UK cities within a year, as Chorley’s Jack Catterall looks set for a long-awaited second chance at light-welterweight world honours after recovering from a fifth-round scare to score two knockdowns and outbox two-time world champion Regis Prograis in the first boxing event at Manchester’s new Co-op Live Arena. Continue reading “World champions only for Catterall next after gutsy UD12 win in Prograis headliner”
Rotherham’s light-middleweight prospect Junaid Bostan ended a six-month layoff with a third-round stoppage on short-notice to improve to 10-0 as a pro, while there were contrasting decision wins for James Flint and Pat McCormack on the Catterall-Prograis card, which finished earlier than expected after the evening’s co-main event was cancelled two hours before ringwalks. Continue reading “Catterall-Prograis: Bellotti-Gomez shelved as Bostan, Flint and McCormack all prevail”
Two-time world light-welterweight champion Regis Prograis has looked poor in his last two bouts and knows, aged 35, he might not get another opportunity as good as this on enemy soil to upset the favourite and thrust his name back into world title contention. Jack Catterall avenged his Josh Taylor defeat and doesn’t need any additional motivation for their Co-Op Live main event. Continue reading “Catterall wary of Prograis after under-par displays before they headline Manchester”
Nathan Heaney is still British middleweight champion, but only just after a hard-fought split draw over twelve rounds against English titlist Brad Pauls in their Birmingham headliner overnight. Elsewhere, Liam Davies wasted no time seizing IBO world gold at 122lbs with another fast finish after big wins for Pierce O’Leary and Dennis McCann among others on a busy undercard. Continue reading “Pauls holds Heaney to split draw after Davies wins IBO world title in Birmingham”
Former undisputed light-welterweight world champion Josh Taylor believes he simply had a bad night when losing via decision against WBO champion Teofimo Lopez in June, and has expressed his desire to move towards big money fights as the Scotsman reaches the back nine of an illustrious pro career. Continue reading “Taylor insists he has plenty of options, simply had a bad night in Lopez defeat”
WBO president Paco Válcarcel confirmed last week that Teofimo Lopez is relinquishing the lineal light-welterweight world titles he won over Josh Taylor the previous Saturday, as the 25-year-old is following through with his retirement claim – at least in the interim – as issues outside the ring require his undivided attention.
Continue reading “What Lopez’s retirement means for 140lb division, as Prograis squeezes past Zorrilla”
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