WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (34-0, 33 KOs) knocked out Eric Molina (23-3, 17 KOs) in the ninth round on Saturday night in his hometown at Bartow Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.
The 6’7” champion knocked down the American challenger down four times on the way to the KO victory.
However, underdog Molina did better than expected and had his moments, hurting Wilder with a left hook in the third round. But Wilder’s punches sent him down in the fourth and twice in the fifth.
Molina…
Walters wins one-sided points victory over Marriaga, WBA title remains vacant
Former WBA featherweight champion Nicholas Walters (26-0, 21 KOs) defeated Miguel Marriaga (20-1, 18 KOs) of Columbia, by a lopsided unanimous decision on Saturday night at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Walters scored a knockdown in the ninth round and dominated Marriaga with ease to win by scores of 119-108, 118-109 and 117-110.
Walters remained unbeaten and avenged an amateur loss to Marriaga, however, he had already lost his title on the scale after failing to make the 126-pound…
Haskins halts Iwasa to claim interim IBF bantamweight title
Britain’s Lee Haskins (31-4, 14 KOs) stopped Ryosuke Iwasa (19-2, 12 KOs) of Japan in the 6th round on Saturday night at the Whitchurch Sports Centre in Bristol.
In the all-southpaw clash, Haskins dominated from the start before flooring Iwasa and got the stoppage with his follow-up barrage.
Haskins claimed the interim IBF bantamweight title.
The interim title match was called after reigning IBF champion Randy Caballero suffered an ankle injury that put him out of action for four to six…
Ryu Brings Street Fighter IV’s Focus Attacks to Super Smash Bros. 4
Early, early, early this morning (seriously, it was like 2 AM where I live), dataminers were able to pull a variety of surprises from the latest Super Smash Bros. 4 patch due to its early arrival on servers in Japan, the most notable being playable versions of Street Fighter mainstay Ryu and Fire Emblem’s Roy. Over the past several hours, folks have continued to dig into the update, feverishly uncovering a number of new items that give us a closer look at what these two characters bring to the table.
While Roy appears rather similar to his Super Smash Bros. Melee incarnation (apart from some aesthetic improvements to set him apart from Marth), Ryu is an entirely different story. As depicted in the gallery below, the world warrior comes equipped with a number of obvious attacks, including his Hadoken, Shoryuken, and Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, as well as a flinch-resistant Focus Attack straight out of Street Fighter IV.
And, while it won’t ever be seen during competitive play, Ryu’s Final Smashes allow him to pull out the devastating Metsu Hadoken and Metsu Shoryuken on his opponents, demonstrated below.
A streamer by the name of crediar was recently able to implement data for Ryu, Roy, and Lucas into their game, so be sure to check out their ongoing broadcast and archived footage for a more detailed look at their respective movesets. And, if you’re still thirsty after all that, r/SmashBros has put together a fantastic thread compiling all of their findings thus far.
Sources: RandomTBush, crediar via r/SmashBros, special thanks to Pssych for their contributions to this article.
Street Fighter’s Ryu and Fire Emblem’s Roy Confirmed for Super Smash Bros. 4
Well, it seems like the cat is out of the bag. The strange themes discovered in Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, which hinted at appearances by Street Fighter protagonist Ryu and Fire Emblem’s Roy, can now be confirmed as legitimate playable character leaks thanks to two videos that recently appeared online.
Apparently, the next Super Smash Bros. patch rolled out to players in Japan earlier than intended, giving dataminers access to a bunch of surprise content. In addition to the aforementioned characters, a brand new Splatoon trophy, stages for the newcomers, and music from Rhythm Heaven are also included in the update.
At this point in time, it’s difficult to pin down when Ryu and Roy will officially launch, but their inclusion in the Lucas patch makes it seem as if they will be available when he’s released on June 14, or at least around the same time. Nintendo plans to hold a special Direct broadcast this weekend dedicated entirely to Smash, so it’s likely we’ll learn more details in just a couple of days.
For now, feel free to check out their victory videos below and let us know what you think.
Source: r/SmashBros via NeoGAF, videos courtesy of arions, tips via BM_Eco and Izzy
Lara dominates Rodriguez in points win
WBA light middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (21-2-2, 12 KOs) defeated Delvin Rodriguez (28-8-4, 16 KOs) of the Dominican Republic, by a one-sided unanimous decision on Friday night at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago.
Lara dominated the entire fight and all three judges scored it 120-107.
The Cuban southpaw nailed Rodriguez with jabs and hard lefts throughout and knocked him down hard late in the 6th round.
After Rodriguez got back up, Lara never really went for the finish and the crowd booed…
Nicholas Walters is stripped of WBA title after failing to make weight
Nicholas Walters (25-0, 21 KOs) has failed to make weight for his fight against Miguel Marriaga (20-0, 18 KOs) on Saturday night at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, and was stripped of the WBA featherweight title.
Walters, 29, initially weighed in at 127.4 pounds, 1.4 over the 126-pound division limit. The Jamaican puncher nicknamed “The Axe Man”, returned to the scale 90 minutes later, but was only able to get down to 127 pounds, so although the fight will still go ahead, if…
Dead or Alive 5 Last Round Joins Steam’s Summer Sale
It’s that time of year again when the the temperatures are hot and the video game sales are even hotter thanks to Steam’s annual summer sale. We’ve already reported on the big discounts that are available for the King of Fighters series on the platform, and now those who prefer their fighting games in 3D have something to take advantage of as well.
Dead or Alive 5 Last Round is currently on sale at a 40% discount, which means that the game is now available for only $23.99 instead of $39.99. Additionally, both the Fun Theme and Halloween Debut costume sets are subject to a 50% discount..
For anyone interested in picking the game up, this sale ends on June 22. Keep in mind that Steam titles typically go through several phases of sales, meaning Dead or Alive may become even cheaper as the promotion continues. We’ll be sure to keep you informed if that happens.
Source: Steam via Free Step Dodge
Ready for DreamHack and East Coast Throwdown This Weekend? Here’s What You Need to Know
This weekend, two very different events will be taking place in two very different parts of the world. DreamHack is set to once again bring high-profile competitive gaming to Sweden with DreamHack Summer 2015, and the East Coast Throwdown team will be returning to New Jersey with a brand new game as their headliner.
With such drastic time zones in play, we figured it would be helpful to gather all the information we could find and compile it for our readers, so keep reading for all the details you’ll need to know if you plan on spectating these events.
DreamHack Summer 2015
Though mostly looked up on as a major “eSports” event rather than a fighting game tournament, DreamHack has regularly drawn some of the greatest competitors in our community, and they’re looking to repeat past successes by expanding their reach at this year’s summer event.
In addition to Ultra Street Fighter IV, the organizers will also be providing a bracket for newcomer Mortal Kombat X, complete with its very own 50,000 SEK (~$6100 USD) prize pool.
Expect a large majority of European Street Fighter talent to descend upon Jönköping, Sweden, both because of their proximity to the event and the added benefit of being on the Capcom Pro Tour. Be sure to keep an eye out for their Mortal Kombat players too as they close out the Mortal Kombat Cup, as it’s sure to be a fierce battle for the cash between players who may not get as much spotlight as their North American counterparts.
Streams will be provided by Capcom Fighters and DreamHack Fighters, rough schedules have been included below.
Saturday, June 13
| Event | CEST (Local) | PDT | EDT | GMT |
| USFIV Group Stage | 12:00 PM | 3:00 AM | 6:00 AM | 10:00 AM |
| USFIV Top 32 | 6:00 PM | 9:00 AM | 12:00 PM | 4:00 PM |
| USFIV Top 4 |
11:30 PM | 2:30 PM | 5:30 AM | 9:30 PM |
Sunday, June 14
| Event | CEST (Local) | PDT | EDT | GMT |
| MKX Swiss Rounds | 11:00 AM | 2:00 AM | 5:00 AM | 9:00 AM |
| MKX Top 16 | 6:00 PM | 9:00 AM | 12:00 PM | 4:00 PM |
| MKX Grand Finals |
10:00 PM | 1:00 PM | 4:00 AM | 8:00 PM |
East Coast Throwdown
While fighting game action is going down across the Atlantic, the folks behind East Coast Throwdown will be hosting yet another event in New Jersey. This time around, however, they will be giving respect to tournament mainstay Mortal Kombat by making Mortal Kombat X the closer instead of Ultra Street Fighter IV.
Some of the notable players scheduled to attend include YOMI|ForeverKing Jr., CTRL|Flux, cR|Sonic Fox, YOMI|Michaelangelo, YOMI|MIT, BIFU|Spab Rog, YOMI|REO, Danke, YOMI|DJT, YOMI|ForeverKing, RPD.MCZ|Alex Smith, TA|Moons, BIFU.EIF|Coach Steve, GG|Sherryjenix, BE|Kane Blueriver, CTRL|RayRay, EG|K-Brad, PIE|Smug, TA|Marvisto, Zidane, Eshi, TS|Lord Knight, Lich, TSB|Mynus, and more.
Live broadcasts will be provided by Team Spooky’s Arturo Sanchez and Deadly Bison Entertainment. Tentative schedules follow below.
Saturday, June 13
| Event | EDT (Local) | PDT | GMT |
| UMvC3 Pools | 12:00 PM | 9:00 AM | 4:00 PM |
| MKX Pools | 12:00 PM | 9:00 AM | 4:00 PM |
| GGXrd Pools |
12:00 PM | 9:00 AM | 4:00 PM |
| SSBM Pools |
12:00 PM | 9:00 AM | 4:00 PM |
| Soulcalibur V |
12:00 PM | 9:00 AM | 4:00 PM |
| Killer Instinct |
12:00 PM | 9:00 AM | 4:00 PM |
| DOA5LR |
2:00 PM | 11:00 AM | 6:00 PM |
| UMvC3 Quarterfinals and Semifinals | 4:00 PM | 1:00 PM | 8:00 PM |
| SSB4 Pools |
4:00 PM | 1:00 PM | 8:00 PM |
| P4U2 |
4:00 PM | 1:00 PM | 8:00 PM |
| TTT2 |
4:00 PM | 1:00 PM | 8:00 PM |
| USFIV Pools |
6:00 PM | 3:00 PM | 10:00 PM |
| KOFXIII |
6:00 PM | 3:00 PM | 10:00 PM |
| BBCPEX |
6:00 PM | 3:00 PM | 10:00 PM |
| UNIEL |
8:00 PM | 5:00 PM | 12:00 AM |
| Injustice |
8:00 PM | 5:00 PM | 12:00 AM |
Sunday, June 14
| Event | EDT (Local) | PDT | GMT |
| P4U2 | 10:00 AM | 7:00 AM | 2:00 PM |
| SSB4 | 12:00 PM | 9:00 AM | 4:00 PM |
| DOA5LR | 2:00 PM | 11:00 AM | 6:00 PM |
| GGXrd | 4:00 PM | 1:00 PM | 8:00 PM |
| UMvC3 | 6:00 PM | 3:00 PM | 10:00 PM |
| USFIV |
8:00 PM | 5:00 PM | 12:00 AM |
| MKX |
10:00 PM | 7:00 PM | 2:00 AM |
So there you have it! Feel free to let us know which tournaments you’ll be tuning into and what most excites you about this upcoming weekend of competition.
Sources: DreamHack, East Coast Throwdown
XSEED Bringing Nitroplus Blasterz to North America This Winter
After a small tease on social media last night, XSEED has announced today they will be bringing the console version of EXAMU’s Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel to North America this year. The game was announced to have a Japanese release a short time ago that was also slated for winter, so XSEED picking this up for such a close North American release comes as a pretty pleasant surprise.
The console version is said to have new and exciting guest characters; we assume this is in reference to Senran Kagura’s Homura, who was just recently announced, and popular Nitroplus mascot Super Sonico in her debut as a playable character, though there may be more unannounced.
Nitroplus Blasterz has been out in Japanese arcades for a brief amount of time, which means the better players have gotten a grip on the game and footage of higher-level play is floating around online. It features a good amount of call backs and fanservice for players that are familiar with the branded characters, then attempts to layer on a multitude of popular mechanics from the current generation of fighting games.
The spectacle aspect is certainly on full display in this one, so anybody interested by that should check out Nitroplus Blasterz as we near its winter release.
Source: Gematsu