Analysis, features, news plus more – on European football and sports galore!
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA — It was an unforgettable week for manager Vadim Kornilov, overseeing redemption as Dmitry Bivol avenged his first career defeat by Artur Beterbiev to become the undisputed light-heavyweight king. Later this year, a super-bantamweight stablemate could join him in rarefied air if recent positive discussions are to be believed. Continue reading “Kornilov: Inoue-Akhmadaliev being discussed for September 14 in Japan”
In a duel between two unbeaten British super-bantamweights, Shabaz Masoud’s discipline saw him silence critics with a skilful 12-round split decision win over the much-fancied Liam Davies during their Birmingham headliner – history repeating itself between local foes dating back to their amateur days. Continue reading “Masoud tames Davies in Birmingham during repeat of their amateur rivalry”
WBA world featherweight champion Nick Ball scored knockdowns in round three and seven en route to a destructive tenth-round stoppage victory against savvy veteran challenger Ronny Rios on his Liverpool homecoming during the first of what he’ll hope proves to be multiple title defences at 126lbs, as the 27-year-old called for a rematch with WBC titleholder Rey Vargas afterwards. Continue reading “Ball batters Rios, defends WBA world featherweight title with R10 TKO win”
Ahead of a proposed matchup against undisputed champion Naoya Inoue, IBF and WBO mandatory challenger Sam Goodman believes he’s seen enough from the Japanese star’s stoppage win over Luis Nery on Monday to provide him with the tools for an unlikely upset victory later this year. Wishful thinking? Continue reading “Anyone can be beat, insists mandatory challenger Goodman as Inoue bout next”
Things got off to a disastrous start. Yet they ended with a familiar finish as undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya Inoue responded well to early adversity – being caught clean and dropped for the first time in his career – to outsmart, bait and overwhelm two-division titlist Luis Nery through excellent punch placement on a memorable evening in Japan’s Tokyo Dome.
Continue reading “Undisputed 122lb king Inoue rallies after career-first knockdown, stops Nery in six”
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I spoke to world champion boxing coach Manny Robles last week after he was announced as the new coach of LA Elite in the Team Combat League about a variety of topics: ranging from why he decided to explore a new venture in an ever-changing sport, his corner work for Rafael Espinoza’s stunning world title win over Robeisy Ramirez to an overview of 2024 and much more besides. Continue reading “Exclusive: Manny Robles interview – 2024 plans, predictions after coaching Rafael Espinoza’s world featherweight title win”
Continue reading “A week on: Inevitable Inoue breaks down Tapales, becomes undisputed champ again”
Errol Spence Jr had never been dropped in his 11-year professional career, but within five minutes of this heavily-anticipated undisputed matchup, he was floored by a laser-focused Terence Crawford. Bud later declared it a flash knockdown, a sign of things to come during a vicious one-sided beating en route to making more history for the Omaha native on another legacy-building night. Continue reading “Crawford crushes Spence with R9 TKO win, is now undisputed welterweight champion”
In a battle of two unbeaten world champions, you could see a shift from round one and the outcome wasn’t close. Naoya Inoue was dominant en route to a vicious eighth-round stoppage against now-former unified super-bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton, before shaking hands for a November undisputed matchup with newly-crowned WBA, IBF champion Marlon Tapales.
Continue reading “Naoya Inoue outboxes and stops Stephen Fulton, now a four-weight world champion”
Ahead of his fifth WBO welterweight title defence on November 20 against Shawn Porter, Terence Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) believes a dominant victory over the two-time divisional titlist will reinforce his claim for world #1 in the pound-for-pound stakes as far as boxing is concerned. Continue reading “Crawford feels a dominant win vs. Porter will justify his pound-for-pound status”
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