WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (44-4, 29 KOs) defeated British challenger Martin Murray (32-3-1, 15 KOs) by a split decision on Saturday night at the TUI Arena in Hannover, Germany.
Abraham landed the harder shots throughout and two of the judges scores were 115-112 and 116-111 for the defending champion, while the third had it 115-112 for Murray.
The St Helens fighter outworked Abraham in the early rounds, throwing a lot of punches but the German veteran did a good job of…
Randy Caballero fails to make weight and loses IBF bantamweight title
Randy Caballero (22-0, 13 KOs) failed to make the weight for his IBF bantamweight title defence against Britain’s Lee Haskins (32-3, 14 KOs) and lost his belt.
The American came in 5.5 pounds over the 118-pound limit, and the bout, which was set to take place on the Miguel Cotto-Canelo Alvarez card in Las Vegas, was canceled.
Haskins, who weighed 117.5, was offered a catch-weight contest against Caballero but due to the weight disadvantage, opted not to fight.
Caballero has not fought since…
Miguel Cotto stripped of WBC middleweight title
Four-division world champion Miguel Cotto (40-4, 33 KOs) has been stripped of his WBC middleweight title.
The WBC has elected to strip Miguel Cotto of the belt, only four days before his mega-fight against Canelo Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs), claiming the Puerto Rican did not abide by its rules and regulations.
So Cotto will no longer defend it against the Mexican on Saturday night in Las Vegas, although if Canelo wins, he will be the new champion.
The WBC demanded a $300,000 sanctioning fee from…
Guillermo Rigondeaux added to Cotto-Canelo undercard
Guillermo Rigondeaux (15-0, 10 KOs) has been added to the undercard of the Miguel Cotto-Canelo Alvarez fight on Saturday night at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Rigondeaux will face Drian Francisco (28-3-1, 22 KOs) in a scheduled 10-round super bantamweight bout. The two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist is replacing Andre Ward, who was scheduled to fight Alexander Brand but withdrew last week because of inflammation in his right knee.
The 35-year-old Rigondeaux has not fought since last…
Andre Ward vacates WBA super middleweight title
Unbeaten American Andre Ward (28-0, 15 KOs) has vacated his WBA super middleweight title.
Ward’s decision to vacate the WBA title has been expected, as he will now move up in weight to the light heavyweight division and pursue a showdown with WBO, IBF and WBA champion Sergey Kovalev in 2016.
Ward had not defended the title since a dominant decision win against Edwin Rodriguez in November 2013.
He won the belt in November 2009, when he defeated Mikkel Kessler by a one-sided 11th round technical…
Liam Smith to defend WBO belt against Jimmy Kelly
WBO light middleweight champion Liam Smith (21-0-1, 11 KOs) will defend his title against unbeaten British rival Jimmy Kelly (16-0, 7 KOs) on December 19 at the Manchester Arena.
The undefeated Smith, 27, will be making the first defence of the vacant belt he won when knocking out American John Thompson in the seventh round, at the same venue in October.
“I can’t wait to make the opening defence of my world title,” said Smith.
“Kelly is a tough and unbeaten young challenger which is fantastic…
Bradley dominates and downs Rios
WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs) scored a 9th round stoppage over challenger Brandon Rios (33-3-1, 24 KOs) on Saturday night at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Bradley dominated fellow American Rios for the entire fight, using his speed and superior boxing skills, before he finished him with two knockdowns in the 9th.
Bradley fought very well under new guidance from trainer Teddy Atlas and set the pace for the fight from the start, landing a series of head…
Rigondeaux returns to the ring against Mario Briones on December 4
Guillermo Rigondeaux (15-0, 10 KOs) will return to the ring against Mexican fighter Mario Briones (26-4-2, 19 KOs) on December 4 at EY Centre, Ottawa, Ontario in Canada.
The two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist was stripped of his WBO title and the WBA have downgraded him to “Champion in recess” for inactivity. He has not fought since last December, where he was knocked down twice in the 7th round by Japan’s Hisashi Amagasa before claiming a 11th-round stoppage victory.
Rigondeaux returns…
Andre Ward pulls out of November 21 fight due to injury
Andre Ward (28-0, 15 KOs) will no longer be fighting on the undercard of the WBC middleweight title bout between Miguel Cotto and Canelo Alvarez on November 21 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, because of injury.
The American was set to make his debut at light heavyweight against Colombian Alexander Brand (24-1, 19 KOs), but has been ruled out because of inflammation and pain in his right knee.
“I’m extremely disappointed that I’m missing this opportunity on November 21, but at the same time, I’m…
Carl Frampton vs Scott Quigg set for February 27
Carl Frampton (21-0, 14 KOs) and Scott Quigg (31-0-2, 23 KOs) will meet in a world title unification fight on February 27 at the Manchester Arena.
Frampton, 28, puts his IBF super bantamweight title on the line while Quigg, 27, will defend his WBA belt.
Northern Ireland’s Frampton has agreed to come to Bury-based Quigg’s home town for the eagerly anticipated showdown, and he said: “I’m delighted that we have finally got this fight signed – the fight everyone has wanted for years, none more so…