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25th of May

Clarke won the vacant British title after KOing Ellis Zorro. In the early action, Zorro was smartly striking on the back leg, using his jab and great footwork to avoid attacks from the slower Clarke. Zorro continued to hold Clarke back, and when Clarke got inside, he kept Zorro hooks and uppercuts.

Zorro received a warning for holding on at the start of the eighth, after which Clarke was able to force him into the ropes and landed a powerful right that sent Zorro delicate in the knees and retreating. Clarke went close and three strikes from the right club felled Zorro and he was counted out. Clarke, 33, earned his seventh KO/TKO win.

Jamaican-born Clarke, who defeated current WBO cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith in the amateur category, represented Jamaica at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Clarke then went on to represent England and Great Britain, winning a silver medal at the European Championships, a bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and competed at the Tokyo Olympics. Zorro, 31, lost his undefeated streak when he was knocked out in one round by Jai Opetaia in December.

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Paddy Donovan crushed Lewis Ritson after a ninth-round stoppage. In the early rounds, the southpaw Donovan boxed in a chilly and controlled manner, mostly on the retreat, with Ritson closing in behind the high guard, using his jab to set Donovan up to the right side.

Donovan changed tactics in the seventh set, coming to the front and taking on Ritson. He continued this tactic successfully in the eighth set, stopping Ritson in a corner kick and then on the ropes for the second half of the round, firing off hooks and several neck-breaking uppercuts. Ritson fired counter-punches from time to time to convince the referee that he was still in a fight, but only a minor one.

Donovan whipped Ritson into a frenzy again in the ninth and bombarded him with punches when the referee stopped the fight. Donovan defended the WBA continental belt for the second time, winning his fifth consecutive victory at the distance.

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Gary Cully defeated Francesco Patera by unanimous decision. Patera knew he would have to take the fight to the inside against the 6-foot-2-inch Cully, and he did so first, concentrating on body shots with Cully, using right jabs and straight left jabs to score.

Tired at the end, Patera made a storming finish to take tenth place and get closer to the finish line. The score was 96-94 (twice) and the score too wide was 98-92 for Cully.

The winner had already suffered a crushing defeat when Mexican Jose Felix knocked him down twice and stopped him in three rounds last May, but his victory over Reece Mold in November went some way to restoring his reputation.

Two-time European champion Patera once again showed his excellent skills and tactical knowledge, but here he lacked effectiveness. He had a 10-1 record in his last eleven fights, and in July 2023 he lost on points to the extremely talented Keyshawn Davis.

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May 24

Lucas Ballingall survived a last-round knockout to overtake Kaisee Benjamin. These two were well matched. Ballingall was more mobile and quicker but put on a bit too much showmanship, while Benjamin was solid throughout.

Neither of them is a massive hitter, so Ballingall focused on quantity, attacking in quick bursts of punches, while Benjamin threw fewer but more true punches. Ballingall’s clever boxing and faster movements gave him the advantage, and with swelling affecting Benjamin’s vision in his right eye, Ballingall had a good advantage in the tenth.

He was tired and Benjamin landed a series of hooks to the body. An exhausted Ballingall desperately clung on as he lost his mouthguard, gaining a few seconds of respite. The right shook Ballingall and then three punches knocked him down with just 16 seconds left in the fight.

He stood up and grabbed Benjamin to survive the few remaining seconds. Ballingall won twice, 96-93 and 95-94. He also won the vacant IBF European title. Benjamin suffered back-to-back losses to Dalton Smith and Sean McComb, but won his last two fights.

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In the second minute, Papin dismissed the faded Chilemba. Chilemba showed all his experience, boxing smartly in the first round, frustrating the risky Papin.

Papin launched a ferocious attack in the second quarter, pushing Chilemba into the ropes and then tried to take Chilemba to the floor, but the Malawian blocked multiple shots and wriggled out of the ropes.

A left hook sent Chilemba to the ropes again, and this time there was no escape. Papin bombarded Chilemba with punches until Chilemba was on his back on the canvas, and the referee immediately stopped the fight.

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May 23

Franklin practiced shooting against the limp but resilient Vargas. A right uppercut knocked down Vargas in the fourth quarter, and although Vargas was badly injured and bleeding badly from the nose, Vargas managed to beat the count and fought valiantly in the fifth quarter.

Tardy in the sixth turn, with Vargas against the ropes, Franklin connected with left and right hooks and Vargas fell to the canvas. He quickly got to his feet when the bell rang before the referee could start the count, but Vargas wisely didn’t go out for the seventh goal.

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May 22

Batyrzhan Jukembayev stopped a tired Ivan Redkach in five rounds on Pro Box TV. Jukembayev, faster and more true with his southpaw jabs, led throughout the match.

It was Yukembayev’s fifth straight victory as he tries to earn a title shot. He was knocked down and lost after retiring in a match against Subriel Matias in May 2021, so he will be hoping to get a chance for revenge now that Matias is the IBF champion. However, his only current ranking is No. 12 in the WBA.

At the age of 38, Redkach looked like a candidate for retirement. After going 19-1-1, he dropped to 5-6 in his last activity, and this was only his second fight in three years.

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