WBA lightweight champion Richar Abril (19-3-1, 8 KOs) has pulled out of a defence against British challenger Derry Mathews (36-9-2, 7 KOs) for a second time, reportedly due to illness.
Abril was initially scheduled to defend the 135-pound belt against Mathews on March 6 at the Echo Arena in Liverpool but the Cuban withdrew with suspected dengue fever. The fight was rescheduled for April 18, at the same venue, but on Thursday Abril withdrew again.
According to promoter Frank Warren, the…
Joshua scores another KO
Olympic gold medalist Anthony Joshua (11-0, 11 KOs) scored a third round KO over American journeyman Jason Gavern (26-20-4, 11 KOs) on Saturday night at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle.
As expected, the unbeaten British heavyweight completely dominated Gavern, knocking him down four times before the referee stopped the bout.
Joshua, 25, who was returning from a five-month lay-off after suffering a stress fracture in his back, took his time in the opening round as his opponent showed little…
Dominant Stevenson beats Bika
WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson (26-1, 21 KOs) defeated Sakio Bika (32-7-3, 21 KOs) by a 12 round unanimous decision on Saturday night at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
Stevenson overpowered Bika throughout the bout, knocking the challenger down twice en route to winning by scores of 116-110, 115-111 and 115-110.
Although the Haiti-born Stevenson, who is now based in Montreal, was not able to gain a trademark knockout, his power was evident early when he…
Billy Joe Saunders and Chris Eubank Jr to fight on same card in May
British middleweight rivals Billy Joe Saunders (21-0, 11 KOs) and Chris Eubank Jr (19-1, 14 KOs) will fight on the same card on May 9 at Wembley Arena, as a lucrative rematch between the pair builds up.
While Eubank takes on Australian Les Sherrington (35-7, 19 KOs), Saunders will also appear against an opponent to be announced.
Saunders defeated Eubank by a split decision in November to retain his British, Commonwealth and European titles, and in addition put himself in a mandatory position…
Ricky Burns to battle Omar Figueroa on May 9
Ricky Burns (37-4-1, 11 KOs) will fight former WBC lightweight champion Omar Figueroa (24-0-1, 18 KOs) on May 9 at the State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas.
Former two-division world champion Burns will be fighting at 140 pounds for the second time in a row after an eight-round points win over Alexandre Lepelley in October in his last outing.
Burns said: “I can’t wait for this fight. Ever since it was confirmed, I’ve been absolutely buzzing in the gym.
“I’ve had some great nights in…
Brook destroys Dan to retain IBF title
IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (34-0, 23 KOs) easily defeated Jo Jo Dan (34-3, 18 KOs) on Saturday night at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield.
In his first world title defence, the 28-year-old Brook dropped Romania-born, Canada-based Dan four times before the challenger’s corner recused him from more punishment at the end of the fourth round.
Brook looked fully recovered from the leg injury he suffered when stabbed during a machete attack in Tenerife last September, during a…
Russell crushes Gonzalez to claim WBC title
Gary Russell Jr. (26-1, 15 KOs) dethroned WBC featherweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez (57-9, 48 KOs) by scoring a 4th round stoppage on Saturday night at the Palms Casino Resort, in Las Vegas.
Southpaw Russell completely dominated the fight, flooring the Mexican three times en route to claiming the 126 pound title.
The American challenger landed mostly jabs in the first round, but he was doing a great job of getting in and out to avoid getting hit by Gonzalez’s much slower shots. By the third,…
Audley Harrison announces retirement
Former Olympic champion Audley Harrison has retired from boxing for a second time due to suffering the effects of head injuries.
Harrison, 43, who won the super-heavyweight gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, says medical tests showed he was suffering the effects of traumatic brain injuries.
“After years of denial and sticking to my guns, I’m finally getting out of my own way,” said Harrison. “As tough as it is to say this…it’s time to stop.”
The British heavyweight announced his…
James DeGale-Andre Dirrell world title fight set for May 23 in Boston
James DeGale (20-1, 14 KOs) will fight Andre Dirrell (24-1, 16 KOs) for the vacant IBF super middleweight title on May 23 in Boston.
Carl Froch vacated the IBF title rather than face mandatory challenger DeGale, but the possibility of a huge all-British showdown will remain if he beats American Dirrell, whose only loss was a split decision defeat to Froch in 2009.
“Dirrell’s a very, very good opponent,” said DeGale. “He’s only lost the one fight to Froch where a lot of people thought he’d…
Braehmer overpowers Krasniqi to retain WBA title
Juergen Braehmer (46-2, 34 KOs) stopped fellow German Robin Krasniqi (43-4, 16 KOs) after the 9th round to retain his WBA “regular” light heavyweight title on Saturday night at the StadtHalle in Rostock, Germany.
Souhpaw Braehmer, who was making the fourth defence of his title, landed a barrage of hard blows in the 9th and the fight was waved off at the start of the 10th.
After a cagey opening round, Krasniqi managed to catch Braehmer with a crisp left hook in the second but the harder shots…