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After dismantling Stefani Koykov with body shots and vicious hooks en route to a R3 TKO win in Telford overnight, #1 WBO light-heavyweight contender Anthony Yarde has emerged unscathed from his stay-busy fight and will take on unified world champion Artur Beterbiev in late January – three-and-a-half years after coming close against Beterbiev’s compatriot Sergey Kovalev.
Continue reading “Beterbiev-Yarde confirmed for January 28 at Wembley Arena after latter’s KO win over Koykov”
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”
After all that talking, bold predictions and a five-fight stoppage streak, WBA mandatory challenger Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez finally has his chance tomorrow night to inflict Dmitry Bivol’s first career defeat and seize the WBA light-heavyweight strap in Abu Dhabi. Before then though, here’s a look back at two of the 31-year-old’s recent victories – against Sullivan Barrera last summer and Dominic Boesel in May – as he gears up for the biggest fight of his career. Continue reading “Rewind: Before LHW title shot vs. Bivol Saturday, a look back at two of Zurdo Ramirez’s recent TKO wins”
Denzel Bentley retained his British middleweight title with a fourth-round TKO win over Marcus Morrison to cap Frank Warren’s latest Queensberry card, one featuring multiple finishes. Super-featherweight prospect Royston Barney Smith was among them, after Brayan Mairena inflicted Frank Arnold’s first career defeat. Dec Spelman put unbeaten cruiserweight Ellis Zorro through a firefight, while there was an aftershow update on the state of play atop light-heavyweight.
Continue reading “Friday Fight Night: Bentley batters Morrison in title defence, Zorro passes Spelman gutcheck and more”
Assuming he gets past former title challenger Marvin Vettori this weekend, you can’t help but think former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker wants an upset at UFC 281 on Nov. 12 when former foe Israel Adesanya defends his strap against kickboxing adversary Alex Pereira next. Judging by his recent comments, that could determine his immediate future…
Continue reading “UFC FN Paris: Whittaker ponders move up to 205lbs, ahead of co-main event matchup with Vettori”
Light-heavyweight contender Jamahal Hill relished the challenge in his first UFC main event and quickly made it a memorable one against Thiago Santos, earning a fourth-round TKO finish against a former title challenger who thoroughly tested him. Elsewhere, there were impressive wins for Geoff Neal and Terrance McKinney among others on the main card. Continue reading “UFC Vegas 59: Jamahal Hill overwhelms Thiago Santos in back-and-forth LHW duel”
Unbeaten mandatory challenger Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez will face WBA champion Dmitry Bivol next, so it seems. Joshua Buatsi, whose world title ambitions were solidified after beating Craig Richards, agreed to enter talks for a sanctioned IBF final eliminator against Jean Pascal for one of the three light-heavyweight titles currently owned by Bivol’s compatriot Artur Beterbiev.
Continue reading “Buatsi, Pascal agree IBF invitation to enter talks for final LHW title eliminator bout”
Although he’s set to make a mandatory defence of his newly-won WBO light-heavyweight title before this year is up against Anthony Yarde, Artur Beterbiev hasn’t been shy about the fact he has bigger fish to fry at 175lbs: a undisputed fight with fellow unbeaten champion Dmitry Bivol.
Continue reading “Beterbiev questions Bivol’s eagerness to fight for undisputed, hopes deal can get done”
This was billed as a clash of two heavy-handed champions, yet it was the boogeyman at 175lbs who raced to score four knockdowns en route to maintaining his unblemished record (18-0, 18 KOs). For all the talk surrounding Anthony Yarde’s WBO mandatory status for another world title shot, it’s increasingly difficult to see the powerful Brit overcome this test later this year.
Continue reading “Beterbiev blasts past Smith Jr inside two rounds – sorry Yarde, there’s bigger fish to fry”
Down on the scorecards, Jiri Prochazka recovered from sustained periods of danger to reign supreme as the new light-heavyweight titlist in his third UFC appearance – submitting Glover Teixeira with 28 seconds left in R5. Valentina Shevchenko looked human against a determined Taila Santos display after former foe Joanna Jedrzejczyk announced her retirement following a thunderous R2 KO loss during a highly-anticipated rematch with former champ Zhang Weili.
Continue reading “UFC 275: Prochazka pips Teixeira to LHW title with R5 sub after Shevchenko’s razor-thin defence”
It wasn’t perfect, but domestic duels rarely are. Joshua Buatsi’s world title ambitions got another boost as he started well and led throughout en route to a unanimous decision victory over Craig Richards, in a battle of south London which didn’t disappoint from the O2 Arena. Continue reading “Buatsi stays unbeaten at 16-0 with impressive UD win over domestic rival Richards”
Former light-heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz ultimately prevailed against Aleksandar Rakic (#3), though the #1 contender would’ve much preferred a blistering KO than to witness the gruesome injury his Austrian adversary sustained. Elsewhere, there were big wins for fellow 205er Ryan Spann (#13) and women’s flyweight Katlyn Chookagian (#1), among others. Continue reading “UFC Vegas 54: Blachowicz back to winning ways, calls for Teixeira-Prochazka winner”
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