IBF lightweight champion Robert Easter Jr (19-0, 14 KOs) easily outpointed challenger Luis Cruz (22-5-1, 16 KOs) on Friday night at the Huntington Center, Toledo, Ohio.
The American retained his title by a unanimous decision with scores of 119-106, 118-107 and 117-108.
Easter was always in control and scored three late knockdowns, dropping Puerto Rico’s Cruz in the 10th, 11th and 12th rounds, en route to a one-sided victory.
Also on the card, Kazakhstan’s Zhanat Zhakiyanov (27-1, 18 KOs)…
Vasyl Lomachenko to face Jason Sosa on April 8
WBO super featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko (7-1, 5 KOs) will face WBA champion Jason Sosa (20-1-4, 15 KOs) in a unification fight on April 8 at the MGM National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum initially tried to make a unification clash for Lomachenko against WBA ‘super’ champion Jezreel Corrales, but the Panamanian turned down the fight, according to Arum.
Lomachenko, who previously held the WBO featherweight title, moved up in weight to super featherweight…
Eubank Jr beats Quinlan by 10th round TKO to win IBO title
Chris Eubank Jr (24-1, 19 KOs) defeated Australian Renold Quinlan (11-2, 7 KOs) by a 10th round TKO on Saturday night at the Olympia, in London.
Eubank captured the IBO super middleweight title from Quinlan, and scored his sixth straight stoppage win since his sole defeat, a points loss to Billy Joe Saunders in November 2014.
Quinlan was competitive in the early rounds, exchanging punches with the challenger but as the fight progressed, Eubank’s superior skills took over as he started to…
Joseph Parker vs Hughie Fury set for April 1 in New Zealand
WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker (22-0, 18 KOs) will fight mandatory challenger Hughie Fury (20-0, 10 KOs) on April 1 in Auckland, New Zealand.
WBO president Francisco Valcarcel announced on Friday that Parker’s promoters Duco Events have won the purse bids to gain promotional rights to his title defence against Fury with an offer of $3,000,011.
The location has not yet been determined, but it looks likely to be at the Vector Arena, the same venue that the New Zealander claimed a points…
Cotto vs Kirkland called off
Miguel Cotto’s light middleweight bout with American James Kirkland on February 25 has been called off.
Kirkland, who hasn’t fought since he was knocked out in the third round by Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in May 2015, has pulled out of the fight after suffering a fractured nose in training.
It is unknown whether the bout will be rescheduled.
Cotto was last in action in November 2015 when he lost the WBC middleweight title by a points decision to Canelo.
The Puerto Rican may now look for a new…
Deontay Wilder to fight replacement opponent Gerald Washington on February 25
WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (37-0, 36 KOs) will fight replacement opponent Gerald Washington (18-0-1, 12 KOs) on February 25 at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.
Washington, a U.S Navy veteran and former college American football player for the University of Southern California, gets the chance to challenge his fellow American after Wilder’s original opponent Andrzej Wawrzyk tested positive for a banned substance.
Wilder returns from injury after he suffered a torn right…
Santa Cruz defeats Frampton in rematch to regain world title
Leo Santa Cruz (33-1-1, 18 KOs) won his rematch with previously undefeated Carl Frampton (23-1, 14 KOs) by a 12-round majority decision to regain the WBA featherweight title on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
In the first fight, Frampton, who held the IBF and WBA super bantamweight belts before moving up in weight, claimed a majority decision and the 126-pound world title from Santa Cruz in a action-packed bout in July 2016.
This time, Santa Cruz, a three-weight world champion,…
Berchelt batters Vargas to win WBC 130lb title
Miguel Berchelt (31-1, 28 KOs) stopped previously undefeated Francisco Vargas (23-1-2, 17 KOs) by a 11th round TKO to win the WBC super featherweight title on Saturday night at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California.
Berchelt battered fellow Mexican Vargas throughout the fight and the referee had seen enough in the 11th.
The challenger was always the busier and although Vargas gamely fired back, Berchelt landed the heavier blows round after round and by the sixth, the defending…
Lee Selby vs Jonathan Victor Barros called off
Lee Selby’s IBF featherweight title defence against Jonathan Victor Barros has been called off.
The Welshman’s third title defence was due to take place on the undercard of Northern Irishman Carl Frampton’s WBA featherweight title bout with Mexico’s Leo Santa Cruz this Saturday at the MGM Grand. But the bout was canceled before Friday’s weigh-in because the Nevada State Athletic Commission declined to license Argentine challenger Barros.
It has been reported that Barros’ blood test came back…
Oscar De La Hoya arrested on suspicion of drink driving
Hall of Famer and Golden Boy Promotions chairman Oscar De La Hoya was arrested on Wednesday morning on suspicion of driving under the influence in Pasadena, California.
After De La Hoya was stopped by an officer for speeding in his Land Rover and told to exit the vehicle, the former six-division world champion failed several field sobriety tests and was arrested at 1:57 a.m.
The 43-year-old De La Hoya has a history of substance abuse and has spent time in rehab in recent years.
De La Hoya won…