BOXING BOXING ARTICLES

Rob Brant will be making the first defense of his World Boxing Association world middleweight title when he faces challenger Khasan Baysangurov on February 15 in Hinckley, Minnesota, which is the native state for Brant. In fact, Brant as fought in the state of Minnesota a total of 11 previous times. The Brant vs. Baysangurov bout will headline a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN tripleheader. The newly crowned Brant will be facing a relative unknown in Baysangurov, who is just starting out in his professi... 

Jose Carlos Ramirez is one of the most respected champions in boxing both with fans and gamblers alike. The defending World Boxing Council world super lightweight champion will be defending his belt on February 10 when he faces Jose Zepeda, an up and coming prospect with plenty of potential upside. Ramirez will offer Zepeda a tall task as the defending champ has never lost a fight. And the only previous loss for Zepeda in his career was the last time he fought for a championship back in 2015 whe... 

Gervonta Davis was labeled by the great Floyd Mayweather Jr. as the “future of boxing” and that moniker is getting easier to understand. Mayweather saw in Davis the ability to dominate like few other boxers in recent memory. Davis has never lost a fight in his career and at the age of 24 he is still just getting started with what looks to be a considerable amount of upside. On February 9 “Tank” will be facing battle tested veteran Abner Mares in defense of Davis’ World Boxing Association super w... 

With HBO now out of the boxing business so too is its relationship with Sergey Kovalev. But it did not take long for Kovalev to find a new partner as ESPN quickly filled the void and with that comes a rematch with Eleider Alvarez for the World Boxing Organization world light heavyweight title. Alvarez scored a knockout win in the first match that many consider to be the ultimate “puncher’s chance” fluke. Kovalev was clearly winning the fight on points in dominant fashion before he was ambushed i... 

Keith Thurman is widely regarded as one of the most dominant and devastating boxers in the game. Thurman is known as “One Time” for the very legitimate reason of having one of the most devastating knockout punches in the sport. Thurman has been out of the ring for nearly two years, taking time to heal from a number of injuries. Thurman will defend his World Boxing Association Super World Welterweight title belt against Josesito Lopez on January 26. The bout is set for the Barclays Center in Broo... 

Badou Jack is well respected as a champion of two different weight classes and will have the opportunity to pick up the vacant World Boxing Association interim light heavyweight title when he meets aspiring contender Marcus Browne on January 19 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. This will be something of a backyard brawl for Jack as he resides in Sin City and is no stranger to fighting there. Jack held title belts in the World Boxing Council for the super middleweight division from 2015 through 2017... 

To some American boxing fans and gamblers Manny Pacquiao has been out of site and out of mind. But Pac Man wants to show the world that he is far from done. Meanwhile Adrien Broner is wanting to jumpstart his career against one of the biggest legends in the history of boxing. Pacquiao will be returning to the United States for the first time in two years to face Broner for the World Boxing Association world welterweight championship. Pacquiao is the current champion. Pacquiao was a long-time mar... 

Jermall Charlo has never lost a fight and will be a prohibitive favorite in his upcoming matchup against Willie Monroe, Jr. for the World Boxing Council interim middleweight title. Charlo has a strong body of work and proven record as a champion while Monroe Jr. failed in his last attempt for a championship belt. Charlo’s resume is impressive with a strong list of opponents and championship fights. The big question for this matchup is whether or not Monroe Jr. can make for a competitive bout. Th... 

Josh Warrington may be the defending International Boxing Federation World featherweight champion but you’d hardly know it if listening to challenger Carl Frampton. Frampton has hardly been shy about his criticism of Warrington and gamblers seem to agree with him as the champion is an underdog to retain his title belt. Frampton has an impressive body of work in which he is the only Irishman to ever win two world championships in two different weight classes. But in Warrington he will be facing a... 

Perhaps no boxer on Earth gets as much love, attention, and betting action than Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and with plenty of good reason. As Canelo is hitting the prime of his career, he is one of the top draws and personalities in the sport. Beyond that he is also among the most capable fighters in the fight game. With just one loss in his entire career, five years ago against the famed and undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr, Alvarez has continued to gain notoriety and fame for his championship record ... 

HBO will certainly be getting out of the boxing coverage business in style on December 8 when they televise the world unification bout that will feature one of the most recognizable fighters in the sport. Cecilia Braekhus, AKA “The First Lady” has been world unification champion since 2014 and has an impeccable record of dominance that makes her one of the most popular boxes of all with the gambling public. She will defend her five title belts against Aleksandra Magdziak Lopes, an aspiring conte... 

There is plenty of good reason that Vasiliy Lomachenko is celebrated as the pound for pound king as his pro boxing career, while brief, has been a study in utter brilliance. Indeed, Lomachenko has tied the record for the fewest fights needed to win the world title at three, and has set the record of the fewest fights needed to win titles in two different divisions at seven. He also has the record for the fewest fights needed to win three division with 12. All in all, it is a stunning record of s... 

It is fitting that the World Boxing Council World Heavyweight championship bout between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury is at the end of the year. That is because this is the most highly anticipated and hyped fight for the entire year of 2018. Fury will be in just his third fight that followed an 18-month layoff which followed his winning the unification heavyweight title. But Fury is stepping way up in class against Wilder, who has a 98 percent knockout rate and is at a level of absolute dominanc... 

Jeff Horn is a former World Boxing Organization welterweight champion that is just now coming off the only loss of his career. Terence Crawford took away Horn’s title belt in what had to be an incredibly painful moment for the Aussie. But instead of laying around and moping about spilt milk Horn has dedicated himself to stepping up in class. As a matter of fact, Horn is moving up two weight classes in preparation for his upcoming bout against Anthony Mundine. Mundine is a long-time veteran of th... 

Jean Pascal has had a championship fight opportunity drop into his lap and he is eager to take it. Pascal will take on defending World Boxing Association World Light Heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol after Joe Smith Jr, who was originally supposed to take on Bivol, backed out to accept a better deal for a fight against Artur Beterbiev next month. Bivol will be making his fourth title defense in this matchup with Pascal. This HBO bout will be part of a “World Championship Boxing” doubleheader as ... 

Maurice Hooker is coming off the biggest and most important fight of his career in which he won the World Boxing Organization World Super Lightweight title and will now put that championship on the line against mandatory challenger Alex Saucedo. It is interesting that this title bout will take place in the challenger’s home of Oklahoma City at the Chesapeake Energy Center, home of the National Basketball Association’s Oklahoma City Thunder. Top Rank Boxing worked in conjunction with ESPN to get ... 

“Be careful for what you wish for.” So goes one of the oldest adages in all of life and one that certainly pertains to the upcoming unification cruiserweight bout between defending champion Oleksandr Usyk and challenger Anthony Joshua, who is a former cruiserweight champion in his own right. Usyk has been quite open about his vision of taking on Bellew. In fact, he said that his last fight, a unanimous decision win over Murat Gassiev, was all about getting to the next step of fighting Bellew. “It’s exactly part of the strategy,” admitted Usyk. Bellew was so eager to challenge Usyk for the unification championship that he dropped down from heavyweight to cruiserweight. ... 

Under normal circumstances Ryan Burnett would be receiving the bulk of attention for any fight that he would take part in. That is because Burnett is the defending World Boxing Association Super World Bantamweight champion. But on November 3 Burnett will be going up against one of the biggest names in boxing history. Nonito Donaire has won world championships in four different weight classes and is a name and personality that is larger than life. Donaire has made the effort to drop two weight cl... 

Daniel Jacobs has one of the most powerful punches in the fight game and was a middleweight world champion from 2014-17 that is again on a quest to reclaim the title. With a devastating knockout percentage and the ranking of third in the world the “Miracle Man” stands in excellent reputation with the betting public that trusts his ability. Sergiy Derevyanchenko is not nearly as well-known but is touted as a top contender by all promoters. Derevyanchenko also has the reputation for knockout power. Jacobs vs. Derevyanchenko will meet for the International Boxing Federation Middleweight title. ... 

There was great anticipation for the scheduled World Boxing Organization World Middleweight championship bout between Demetrius Andrade and Billy Joe Saunders. However, in late September the boxing world was stunned to discover that Saunders was disqualified for testing positive for oxilofrine, which is considered a stimulant. Saunders protested that he tested positive for this substance because he used a nasal spray that was actually permitted by the UKAD. Furthermore, the BBB of C stated Saunders did not break regulations. Yet it was determined by the MSAC that Saunders would be disqualified, which among other things cost him a purse valued at $2.3 million. In his place will stand little known Namibian boxer Walter Kautondokwa. ... 

The level of dominance by World Boxing Organization World Welterweight champion Terence Crawford is of profound proportions. In fact, few entities in any sport have shown the supreme excellence of Crawford. The current WBO World Welterweight champion will be fighting in his own back yard of Omaha, Nebraska on October 13 when he defends his title belt against lightly regarded challenger Jose Benavidez Jr. Crawford is a prohibitive favorite and with plenty of good reason. Benavidez Jr may be undef... 

George Groves is the top ranked middleweight with plenty of good reason as he holds the World Boxing Association World Super Middleweight title and is the top ranked middleweight by nearly all major publications. But his upcoming WBA Super Middleweight title defense bout against Callum Smith may be one of the toughest of his career. Smith is undefeated and ranked fourth in the world. Both of these Englishmen will be fighting in Saudi Arabia instead of their homeland due to this being a World Box... 

A pair of former gold medal winning Olympians will square off at England’s biggest and most famous stadium. Wembley Stadium in London will hold the world unification heavyweight championship fight between undefeated defending champion Anthony Joshua and veteran challenger Alexander Povetkin. In Joshua fight fans and gamblers will see the current heavyweight champ that is quickly emerging and maki... 

It’s finally here. The one-year wait is concluding and on September 15 the sporting world will be treated to the rematch of Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez for the world unification middleweight title. Also well-known and touted as Golovkin vs. Alvarez II this fight is a championship repeat showdown of last year when the two fought to a highly controversial draw. Golovkin may be the favorite and defending unified champion but Canelo is actually ranked first in the world. Not that Golovkin is slacking with a number two in the world ranking. This HBO fight is the most highly anticipated of the year so far. ... 

Jose Ramirez will be making his first title defense for the World Boxing Council World Super Lightweight belt when he faces top contender Antonio Orozco. In his last fight Ramirez scored a decision win over Amir Imam on March 17 to secure that vacant WBC World Super Lightweight championship. Ramirez was since supposed to meet Danny O’Connor for the belt but O’Connor had to pull out due to suffering from severe dehydration from trying to make weight. As a result, Antonio Orozco will get his chance. What’s more is that Orozco is considered a far superior challenger than O’Connor would have been. ...