Boxing
Matchroom vs. Queensberry 5 out of 5, Bivol-Zinad weigh-in results from Riyadh
Published
7 months agoon
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J. HumzaDeontay Wilder will undoubtedly look to his forceful right hand to offset his 68-pound weight disadvantage.
The stage is set for the Matchroom Boxing vs. Queensberry 5 on 5. The five-fight set will air live on Saturday on DAZN Pay-Per-View from the Kingdom Arena in Riyad, Saudi Arabia.
Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KO) weighed in at 214.6 pounds and was hoping to bounce back after his last outing. The former WBC heavyweight champion weighed in at 213 pounds after an upset loss to Parker on Dec. 23, also at Kingdom Arena.
Zhang weighed 282.7 pounds, almost nine less than his last appearance. The Ring’s No. 5 heavyweight weighed in at a career-heaviest 291.6 pounds following a disappointing loss to Joseph Parker on March 8 at the same venue.
Not only does Wilder represent Matchroom in a fun twist, but he has been named team captain for Saturday’s event. Zhang is fighting for Queensberry for the fourth year in a row.
Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois will fight for the interim IBF heavyweight title.
The status was approved by the sanctioning body on Friday morning as a concession to Hrgovic’s outstanding status as a mandatory challenger.
Croatian Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KO) – representing Matchroom – weighed 247.4 pounds, his heaviest result since September 2020.
London’s Dubois (20-2, 19 KO) was a career-heaviest 245.8 pounds. The former WBA heavyweight champion, signed by Queensberry, weighed 239 pounds at 10vol Jarrell Miller’s knockout round on December 23 here.
Hrgovic has been a mandatory since his victory over Zhang in August 2022 in their IBF qualifying final in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Raymond Ford defends his WBA featherweight title against Englishman Nick Ball.
Ford (15-0-1, 8 KO), No. 7, 126, weighed 125.4 pounds when he attempted his first defense. Ball (19-0-1, 11 KO), No. 4, 126, weighed 125.8 pounds in his second title fight. The Briton, promoted by Queensberry, was considered unlucky to settle for a draw in the fight that took place on March 8 in this very place with the WBC featherweight world champion and ring number 3 Rey Vargas (36-1-1, 22 KO).
Ford won the title in dramatic fashion. The 25-year-old southpaw from Camden, Novel Jersey stopped Otabek in the final seconds of their March 2 instant classic in Verona, Novel York. With the victory, Ford became the first American Matchroom player to win a major title.
Queensberry captain Hamzah Sheeraz and Austin “Ammo” Williams are ready for their scheduled 12-round WBC middleweight title eliminator.
Ilford’s Sheeraz (19-0, 15 KO) effortlessly distributed 159.6 pounds on his 180-inch frame. Houston’s Williams (16-0, 11 KO) weighed in at 159.4 pounds while wearing a Cherokee-style headdress during the weigh-in.
Craig Richards from Matchroom and Willy Hutchinson from Queensberry made it to the lightweight heavyweight limit during the fight scheduled for 12 rounds.
Richards (18-3-1, 11 KO) weighed 174.2 pounds in his first fight outside England. Scotsman Hutchinson 17-1 (13 KO) weighed in at 174 pounds in his second fight outside the UK and first outside Europe.
The two exchanged comments throughout the week and literally went head to head at Friday’s weigh-in.
Outside of the 5v5 tournament, Dmitrii Bivol (22-0, 11 KO) will defend his WBA lightweight heavyweight title against undefeated Malik Zinad.
Bivol – co-promoted by Matchroom – weighed in at exactly 175 pounds. Zinad (22-0, 16 KO) weighed 174.2 pounds.
Bivol was originally scheduled to face Artur Beterbiev for the RING/undisputed lightweight heavyweight title in the evening. Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KO), No. 1, 175, was forced to withdraw due to a torn meniscus.
Zinad answered the call immediately. The 30-year-old Libyan from Malta is starting his first title fight in his career.
Bivol has held the WBA lightweight heavyweight belt since November 2017, and his reign is the second longest among lively male titleholders. He will enter his 12th yearvol fight for the full title in your career.
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Boxing
Brooklyn heavyweight Pryce Taylor is looking forward to 2025
Published
2 days agoon
December 18, 2024Fighting for the first time with the full support of his promoter, Salita Promotions, undefeated Brooklyn heavyweight Pryce Taylor later said he was confident and confident he could do well in boxing.
Taylor (5-0, 3 KO), 28, defeated KeShawn Jackson last Thursday night in Flint, Michigan, fighting in an exhibition put on by his promoter in which he recorded an impressive third-round stoppage to finish his 2024 campaign on a high. year note.
“It was good to fight on a bigger stage, in a compact arena, in a nice atmosphere,” Taylor said about his first fight with a promotional contract. “My manager, Keith Sullivan, supported me by agreeing to sign with Salita Promotions. He talked to several promoters, but we felt that Dimitri Salita would be the right candidate for me.
“I felt like I had succeeded; I felt essential, but that was just the beginning. It was the same on fight night, I felt respect and appreciation from the entire Salita promotional company. My goal is to be a more recognizable player and be recognized by the fans. I’m hungry to perform in the coming year.”
“Four knockdowns were counted. I really hurt him with a body shot and when he felt my power he was done. I threw a barrage of punches into the corner (ss photo below) and he tried to hit me with a windmill punch. Then I hit him with a check hook, which ended the fight. He (Jackson) didn’t want to get knocked out, so he tried to show he was still fighting.”
“Of course,” Sullivan commented, “I’m joyful with the victory. This was another developmental fight and Pryce is learning and developing as a fighter. We had a busy year with 8 fights scheduled and 5 that actually crossed the line, so it was a very good first year for him as a pro. Right after that, I talked to Dimitri to arrange the next fight. We hope to have it scheduled in the coming weeks.”
Looking ahead to 2025, Taylor wants his next fight to be a six-rounder scheduled for his next outing, then move up to eight to fight for the junior title.
“I will now train to play 10 rounds,” Taylor concluded, “so that I will be ready when it comes time to play 12 rounds.”
Boxing
AI referee ‘free from bias and human error’ during audit of Usyk vs. Fury 2 match
Published
3 days agoon
December 17, 2024Oleksandr Usyk’s rematch with Tyson Fury on Saturday night will go down in history for several reasons, but now there are more of them than any other.
Turki Alalshikh has confirmed that the Usyk vs. Fury 2 fight will be supervised by an AI referee in a first-of-its-kind boxing event. Artificial intelligence statistics are nothing recent in sports and have been developed for years by companies such as JABBR, which claim that “technological progress eliminates elements of human error from sports.”
AI referee overseeing the Usyk vs Fury 2 fight
Riyad’s season leader, Alalshikh, has taken the first step to ensure the future of the sport where all boxers who deserve to win receive their reward. The fourth scorer will only be present this time to check the score, but if he proves successful, he may become a indefinite player in the sport.
Explaining his intentions, Alalshikh said: “For the first time in history, the fight will be monitored by an artificial intelligence referee. [The judge will be] Free from bias and human error, which The Ring offers you [his recently purchased magazine].
“This groundbreaking experiment, which will have no impact on official results, will debut during the biggest fight of the century, Usyk vs. Fury 2, on December 21. Don’t miss the history in the making,” he added.
The news came during the Grand Arrivals event, which featured a monumental clash that will see Usyk and Fury fight for a unified heavyweight crown at the Kingdom Arena. Usyk [20-0, 13 KOs] puts his WBC, WBA and WBO belts on the line against former two-time heavyweight champion Fury [33-1-1, 24 KOs]. The highly anticipated rematch will take place on Saturday, December 21, worldwide on DAZN PPV at 11:00 a.m. ET.
Usyk vs Fury card information updated
Former interim WBC 154-pound titleholder Serhii Bohachuk [24-2, 23 KOs] Now he will face British boxer Ishmael Davis [13-1, 6 KOs] in a 12-round super welterweight fight after Israil Madrimov was forced to withdraw due to illness.
Rising heavyweight star Moses Itauma [22-0, 10 KOs] and his opponent, Australian Demsey McKean (22-1, 14 KO), are ready to fight. Undefeated Johnny Fisher [12-0, 11 KOs[ squares off against former Commonwealth title challenger Dave Allen [23-6, 18 KOs].
Meanwhile, former Commonwealth Games gold medalist Peter McGrail [10-1, 6 KOs] takes over from Rhys Edwards at the last minute [16-0, 4 KOs] in a super featherweight fight. Isaac Lowe is also on the bill [25-2-3, 8 KOs[ will face Lee McGregor [14-1-1, 11 KOs] in a featherweight fight.
Daniel Lapin completes the card [10-0, 4 KOs]in which he will face another undefeated lightweight champion prospect, Dylan Colin [14-0, 4 KOs]and heavyweight knockout artist Andrii Novytskyi [14-0, 10 KOs] will face Edgar Ramirez [10-1-1, 4 KOs].
As is the tradition of the season, Riyad will feature local talent as Mohammed Alakel looks for a 2-0 win over Joshua Ocampo [8-33-5, 6 KOs].
Boxing
Billy Dib wins the final battle after a successful battle with cancer
Published
4 days agoon
December 16, 2024Former two-time world champion and cancer survivor Billy Dib won an eight-round super lightweight farewell bout against Game, the brave but outclassed Atilla Kayabasi.
The Z’s, aka all-time greats Carlos Zarate and Alfonso Zamora, brought “Billy The Kid” to the ring accompanied by the sweet tones of Frank Sinatra singing My…what else? Adolescent Bridger Walker performed Round Card duties between rounds.
Billy gave us a virtuoso performance, making Atilla’s face turn red with every strike on the book. The gulf of experience and a cascade of blows would have defeated a weaker man, Atilla survived it. Billy raised his hand moments before the bell rang to end the eighth and final round.
By winning his last fight, the WBC Champion of Hope achieved the impossible. He and Atilla embraced, and WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman entered the ring to say: “This is an extraordinary dream come true. Now we welcome Billy outside the ring.”
Dib said, “Alhamdulillah, I won and left on my own terms. There’s no better way to close this chapter. Thank you to Mauricio Sulaiman, my wife, my son Laith, my family and my amazing fans for all the love. I dedicate this victory to Israel Vázquez, every cancer warrior, and to my brother Vames.”
Billy brave. Billy the fearless one who fought against the darkest and most pressing adversities. Our tears of joy and admiration for the Hero who always smiles, even in the darkest hour, before the dawn.
The results of the glorious fight night organized at the 62nd World Boxing Council Convention at the Grand Elysee Hotel saw several hard-fought fights for the WBC championship from nuclear to heavyweight.
In the main fight of the evening, WBC super flyweight champion Asley González successfully defended her title against Mary Romero.
The more compact and harder-hitting Asley pursued a longer-armed, short-haired opponent who was constantly spinning in retreat.
There was some heated exchanges when they came together, but the lasting combinations came from Asley, who actually got caught with some tough, but single, solitary rights. Her level of work, more precise, concise beam punches and high-pressure fighting forcing Mary to constantly retreat won UD over.
Tough-hitting southpaw striker Mourad Aliev defended his WBC International Silver heavyweight title with a sixth-round KO victory over Davide Brito. Physically more imposing, Mourad made contact and often.
In the third round, David suffered a nosebleed and his mouthguard was broken, causing him to fall from one side of the ring to the other. He tried to fight back sporadically, but in round six he was trapped on the ropes and dropped by a massive right hand. Everything is over.
Serkay Comert won the WBC International silver title by defeating Yassin Hermi via UD. In the third round, it turned into an all-out war, which continued into the next round.
Serkay often struggled against the ropes and landed frequently. Yassin’s face swelled and in the sixth round a series of punches landed on him, and before the eighth round the ring doctor looked at him for a long time. He fought tough but got hit, especially down the stretch.
Ermal Hadribeaj won the MD title by defeating Eddy Colnenares to win the WBC International super welterweight belt. The lanky, much taller Eddy, who has the reach of an albatross, was shaky for the first three rounds. He then came to life and there was a lively exchange of words.
Southpaw Ermal was constantly jumping and weaving to avoid those long ramrod arms. He was more concerned with getting the win.
Benjamin Gavazi defeated Branimir Malencia in the tenth and final round to win the WBC international silver featherlight heavyweight title. Ben was catching Bran with right hands and various uppercuts. While Bran tried to crowd him and deal damage from head to toe. Two left-right headshot combinations in round ten convinced Bran to throw in the red towel at 1.41. So… TKO.
Esneidy Rodriguez defeated Sana Hazuki via UD for the WBC Silver Atomweight belt. The taller Suri tried to keep him at bay, but was relentlessly pursued by the more compact and powerful and grimly determined Esneidy, who landed several piercing combos and uppercuts. Suri had some success with long straight rights, but paid the price when Esneidy negated the range.
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