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Raul Lizarraga defeated Ulises Sierra on points for the first time in his career

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by Francisco Salazar |

COMMERCE, Calif. – Raul Lizarraga needed a challenge after winning all of his previous fights by knockout.

He took it over from Ulises Sierra and managed to win convincingly.

Lizarraga overcame a complex start to win a hard-fought unanimous decision behind schedule Saturday night in front of a raucous and biased crowd at the Commerce Casino. The scores were 79-73, 79-73, 78-74 for Lizarraga, who improved to 14-0 with 13 knockouts.

In the first round, Sierra landed a series of combinations that overwhelmed Lizarraga. A left hook to the head sent Lizarraga crashing to the ropes. Lizarraga recovered and landed his own share of combinations to Sierra’s head in the last 20 seconds of the round. Lizarraga suffered a cut above his left eye as the round ended.

“What happened (in that first round) was I messed up my finish,” Lizarraga told The Ring after the fight. “We knew he was going in with his head when he was leaning in. He was throwing good punches, but a lot of them were slipping off me. I got caught in his head (which caused a cut), and when you get hit with a headbutt, it (kicks you off balance). And then he threw (and landed) a hook that hit me.”

From the second round onwards, the left-handed Lizarraga was the aggressor, putting Sierra on the defensive and driving him back to the ropes. Lizarraga was the better of the exchanges between them. During the middle rounds, Lizarraga began to move in and out of Sierra’s range, landing punches and combinations to the head and body. Lizarraga boxed well from range, occasionally receiving a straight right to the head from Sierra.

“I should have done it from the start, but the first two rounds are when you’re nervous,” said Lizarraga, who is trained by Jesse Moreno. “And we waited a little bit today. But there are no excuses. We trained rigid to look good from the start. I got a little excited. He grabbed my ass. That’s when I took two steps back. My defense had to be there. After the first round, my trainers got to my ass. When they raised their voices, I calmed down. That’s when I become perilous. Then I became solid.”

Both were in the pocket from the sixth round onwards. Lizarraga was able to win a few exchanges by throwing and landing more punches and combinations. Sierra landed a few straight rights to the head that looked like they stunned Lizarraga for a moment, but Lizarraga was able to keep fighting.

In the final round, Lizarraga outboxed Sierra in the pocket. Sierra had his moments but was unable to land anything that felt even as Lizarraga continued to dominate the action with his sheer volume of punches.

In his previous fight on May 3, Lizarraga completed his toughest test to date, on paper, Lizarraga scored a fifth-round knockout victory over the once-beaten Marcos Osorio-Betancourt. The victory over Osorio-Betancourt came less than six months after Lizarraga scored a fifth-round knockout victory over Noe Larios Jr.

Lizarraga believes he could have done better and hopes to fight before the end of the year.

“We needed an opponent like that. We needed a fight like that. We know where we are. We can’t get cocky. We can’t get too comfortable. We have to go back to the drawing board. Let’s work on what we have to work on. I thought I worked rigid as is. It’s not good enough. There’s always going to be someone who shows you that you need to work on something. Yeah, I have the W. My people around me expect more from me. I expect more from myself. I know I won, but I felt like I could have done more. I should have beaten him.

“As soon as the (medical) suspension is over, I hope to be able to organize something. Hopefully (in) October. I’ll be 23 in September, so I’d like to fight in October or November. Come back and make a statement. I have to make up for that performance. Even if I won, I could have done better.”

Sierra drops to 17-4-2, 10 KOs. The 35-year-old previously fought super middleweight contender Bektemir Melikuziev on Jan. 27, losing by third-round knockout. The loss snapped Sierra’s two-fight win streak. In January 2020, Sierra faced current super middleweight contender Vladimir Shishkin at ShoBox, losing by unanimous decision. Nearly 11 months later, Sierra lost by first-round knockout to current super middleweight contender Edgar Berlanga.

Both players were born in the San Diego area. Lizarraga lives in nearby Murrieta.

Junior middleweight Terrell Adams defeated Jamarcus Warren (3-7-2, 1 KO) of Tyler, Texas via majority decision. One judge scored the fight 57-57, while the other two judges scored it 60-54 and 59-55 for Adams, who improved to 10-1, 4 KO.

Adams, who lives in nearby Watts, is the younger brother of top junior middleweight contender Brandon Adams.

In a clash of undefeated welterweights, Heartfelt Brooks (5-0, 2 KOs) of nearby Long Beach knocked out Javy Lopez in the first round. A left hook to the top of the head wobbled Lopez. Brooks followed up with another left hook, dropping Lopez to the canvas. Lopez beat the count but was able to continue, prompting referee Kristi Rosario to stop the fight at 2:14.

Lopez, who lives in San Antonio, is losing 2-1, 2 KOs.

In a airy heavyweight bout, Guillermo Alvizures of nearby Downey defeated Zlatko Ledica (2-6-1, 1 KO) of Oxnard via majority decision. One judge scored the fight 38-38, while the other two judges scored it 39-37 and 40-36 for Alvizures, who moves to 5-0, 4 KO.

The left-handed Ledic, who has not fought in almost five years, will turn 41 in two weeks.

Featherweight Bryan Albarran of nearby Inglewood knocked out Ricardo Luna in the second round. A wide right cross caught Luna, knocking him down near the ropes. Luna struggled to his feet, prompting referee Rudy Barragan to stop the fight at 2:08. Luna is from Tijuana, Mexico, and currently lives in Glendale, California. Both fighters were making their pro debuts.

In the flyweight division, Enkhmandakh Kharkuu improved to 3-0 by defeating Armando Castillo (1-2, 1 KO) of Palm Springs, California, via unanimous decision. The scores were 40-36, 40-36, and 39-37 for Kharkuu, who is originally from Mongolia and currently resides in Los Angeles.

In the welterweight bout, Osmel Avila of Fresno, California, made his professional debut by knocking down Joseph Hernandez four times en route to a knockout victory. After the fourth knockdown, referee Kristi Rosario stopped the fight at 2:19. Hernandez, who lives in Vista, California, lost 1-1.

In the first fight of the “Battle of the Rising Stars” card, junior middleweight Henry Mendez of Wilmington, California, won the first fight of his professional career, stopping Nicholas Noriz in the third round to win by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 39-36 in favor of Mendez, who improved to 1-11-3. Noriz, who lives in nearby Whitter, was making his pro debut.

The card was promoted by longtime Southern California boxing promoter Ed Holmes.

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Boxing

Tyson’s conqueror, Danny Williams, was “never considered” for Morrison

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Kenzie Morrison Danny Williams

World Boxing News has learned that Danny Williams was never considered for a fight against Tommy Morrison’s son Kenzie on November 9.

WBN has learned from a source that Williams was scheduled to face Morrison next month when he returns to action at Firelake Arena in Shawnee. However, promoter Tony Holden confirmed what WBN initially reported, namely that Williams had been offered for the fight.

BoxRec also briefly placed Williams within Morrison’s record on November 9, before removing the former British champion. Williams famously knocked out Mike Tyson in 2004, but has since lived off his victory despite losing his British license more than a decade ago.

Holden, who represents Morrison and is looking for an opponent for the competition in three weeks, explained the situation exclusively to WBN.

“I never confirmed William’s story and I never considered him,” Holden said. “I said no when a local promoter suggested it.”

Williams, 51, last fought in August 202, losing for the 33rd time in his career. With 88 professional fights under his belt, Williams seems unable to turn down a payday despite his advanced age.

Morrison, a power puncher who has stopped 19 of his 21 wins, will look for his next conquest elsewhere. The fight with Mike Balogun remains on the table for 2025 after it was postponed from its original October date.

Balogun, who knocked out Kenzi’s brother Trey in the first round, claimed Morrison was pulled from the fight to spare him the loss.

Holden denies this view.

“Even though this post isn’t up to my standards, I’m going to write it anyway. Mike Balogun falsely claimed that I pulled Kenzie Morrison out of the fight because I was afraid he would lose. Please allow me to correct you, Mr. Balogun,” he stated.

“The decision was not made by Kenzie. Let’s raise the stakes and make it fascinating. If you emerge victorious this month, Kenzie will fight in November.

“We may decide this early next year. If your confidence remains unshaken, we can place a significant bet. Watch Kenzie take revenge on her brother and end your career.

Balogun, a former San Francisco 49ers linebacker, responded to Holden by increasing his salary for a potential collision next year.

“No matter how fair and honorable your decision was, just remember that ‘yesterday’s price is not today’s price,’” said the 2010 undrafted pick.

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Andrew Moloney is confident that if given the chance, he would have beaten Phumelele Cafu and Kosei Tanaka

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Andrew Moloney (left) attacks Pedro Guevara – photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Few people were more disappointed than Andrew Moloney when Kosei Tanaka lost his WBO super flyweight belt to Phumelele Cafu at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Monday night.

The 33-year-old Australian veteran was hoping to get a shot at beating Tanaka in the lucrative Japanese market.

Those dreams were dashed when South Africa’s Cafu delivered the performance of his life, knocking out Tanaka in the fifth round and finishing the fight strongly, beating the four-weight world champion by split decision.

“The plan was to target the WBO and really chase the Tanaka fight, but it all fell apart on Monday night,” Moloney (26-4-1NC, 16 KO) told The Ring. “I think the WBO is probably still the direction we go, but I’m not sure if they have a rematch clause or if Tanaka will take it. But after watching the fight yesterday, I would be really confident that I could fight one of these guys and win. We would like to follow this path.

“I would love to fight Tanaka in Japan as a four-division world champion. He’s definitely someone I’ve looked up to and wanted to fight for a long time.

“Last night was a little hard to watch. The way he performed, I’m more confident than ever that I have what it takes to beat Tanaka.

I assume there will be a rematch and I hope that Tanaka will regain the belt and I will be able to return to the ring and climb the rankings, and maybe this fight will still happen.

Tanaka entered Moloney’s orbit four years ago when he debuted at 115 pounds. Earlier this year, it looked like they were also on a collision course, with Moloney being number one in the WBO rankings. However, when an offer was made for the vacant IBF lightweight title fight between Vasily Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr. in May in Perth, Western Australia, Moloney felt he couldn’t turn her down.

This decision ended in disaster. Moloney faced Carlos Cuadras, who withdrew from the fight with a ruptured Achilles tendon and was replaced by Pedro Guevara. Moloney entered the fight with a torn bicep and was largely reduced to boxing with one hand, which circumscribed his punching power.

Still, Moloney felt he did more than enough to win, and was shocked when Guevara was declared the winner by split decision. He was so disappointed that he announced immediately after the fight that he was leaving the ring, but a few days later he withdrew these comments.

It was a breakthrough moment in his career.

“Looking back, it’s a wonderful thing, but watching the Tanaka-Cafu fight made me think that maybe I would do a lot of things if I could turn back time a little bit,” Moloney explained.

“Before my last fight, I was number one in the WBO rankings and I rejected the option of waiting to fight Tanaka. But the opportunity arose to fight Guevara in Australia for the interim WBC title on a major card, and to be candid, I kind of regretted that the Tanaka fight was hanging in the balance, but ultimately we decided to stay busy and take the opportunity to fight in Australia.

“Also, the injury before the fight was another thing I thought about: will I undergo surgery, keep the top spot and wait for Tanaka, but I made the decision to go ahead with the fight with Guevara. Looking back now, maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing to do. And looking at the way Tanaka fought last night, I thought maybe I should have waited. I’m sure I could beat Tanaka and take the belt away from him.

“So I take some consolation, but unfortunately you can’t turn back time.”

It’s been a frustrating year for Moloney, but he’s still hitting the gym and his team is working to get him another fight. The window of opportunity to box again this year is closing quickly, but he still hopes to return to the ring in December, most likely in his native Australia.

“I really hope so,” he said. “That’s what I’ve been working on. I have been training strenuous at the gym for some time, quite a few months. I hope to return before the end of the year.

“At this stage it will probably be December. I’m trying to block something, but so far no luck. I’m still training away as if the fight was to take place in December, the team is currently working on it and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll be able to finish it.

“I just hope we can get out before the end of the year, get back into the winner’s circle and start climbing the rankings again.”

Moloney, who fought at bantamweight for the first three years of his professional career before dropping down to super flyweight, surprisingly, said he would even consider moving up to another weight class given the right opportunity.

“It’s a tough time in the super flyweight division,” said Moloney, the eighth challenger to The Ring’s 115-pound title. “There’s a lot going on and it’s always strenuous to plan which route to take because everything changes so quickly. I’d pick Bam Rodriguez to beat Guevara, then there’s talk of a rematch between Kazuto Ioka and Fernando Martinez on Up-to-date Year’s Eve. And then there’s talk of Bama, if they win, fighting the winner of that game in unification. The WBO seems to me the fastest way to win the title, so that’s the path we will follow.

“We have also rejected for some time the idea of ​​moving up to flyweight and getting crack there. There’s also some engaging scene going on there right now, but it’s still uncertain. I’d probably feel a little better at super flyweight, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens with Cafu and Tanaka, but like I said, I’d feel comfortable and confident against either of them, so hopefully he can make it it will happen sooner rather than later.”

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Doubts that fuel 19-year-old Benjamin Johnson

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Despite an impressive amateur resume, welterweight Benjamin Johnson of Springdale, Maryland, enters the professional ring with a shoulder injury.

Johnson will face Kevin Pantoja in a four-round fight at Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, Maryland, promoted by his trainer Lamont Roach Snr’s NoXcuses Promotions. The fight will be broadcast on Saturday on ProBox TV.

Johnson, 1-0 (1 KO), spent just 2:23 in the ring in his professional debut, displaying the quick, aggressive hands that won him multiple national titles. However, 19-year-old Johnson feels an advantage, believing he is being overlooked by his NoXcuses Boxing Gym teammates.

Pantoja, 1-1, 27, has never stopped being a professional – Johnson aims to change that.

“People underestimate me,” Johnson said. “It’s been like that since I was an amateur.”

He added that this underestimation increases his motivation in the gym. Johnson is determined to prove his worth not only to himself, but also to those who doubt him or, worse, don’t recognize him. “I never felt like I was recognized as that guy, so I feel like I’m underappreciated,” Johnson said of his amateur and now professional career.

Johnson sees the fight as a key step in his career, compared to feared forward David Benavidez by some teammates and touted by others as one of the most ready-to-fight prospects in the country.

“I train as much as I can,” Johnson said. “It’s about making a statement. The way you win shows people what you’re capable of, and I’m ready to show my best.

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