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Entertainment machine Floyd Masson wants to make his fights easier as he returns to the ring on August 17

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Once-defeated cruiserweight contender Floyd Masson has a problem.

His fights are too fun.

The soft-spoken left-hander from Recent Zealand, who boxes out of Brisbane, Australia, learned that the tough way in his match against left-handed Belgian Yves Ngabu last September.

Masson (13-1, 7 knockouts) The fight started off pretty well, but as the fight turned into a bloody exchange of punches, it was the sturdy Ngabu (23-2, 17 KOs) who repeatedly got the upper hand in the exchanges.

In the fourth round, Masson was hurt by a punch, but the ring doctor allowed the fight to continue. Masson, who is known for his gigantic tank, tried to dig deep, but the massive hands of Ngabu, 35, eventually wore him down. He was knocked down in the sixth round, and although he beat the count, referee Will Soulos decided he had seen enough.

For Mason, who prides himself on his energetic style, it was a bitter pill to swallow.

That style has served him well in the past. In December 2021, in a fight with former world title challenger Mark Flanagan (26-9, 19 KOs), he went toe-to-toe with a notoriously tough fighter and won a 10-round majority decision. Masson was down in the first round, while Flanagan was on the floor in the fourth.

Two fights later, in April of last year, he put on an equally thrilling performance against Italian left-hander Fabio Turchi (23-3, 16 KOs). In that fight, both boxers bounced around the ring for the full 12 rounds. Blood was shed. Black eyes were earned. The teak-hard Turchi quickly found a home for his left hook, but Masson fought through the pain to alternate between boxing and brawling, finishing the fight with the stronger of the two, winning by unanimous decision 117-110 and 115-112 twice.

The bloody fight ended with both boxers hospitalized. It was the fight of the year on Australian shores.

These performances leave fans with fond memories, but usually do not translate into a long in-ring career.

That’s why Masson’s next fight is so vital. The boxer-puncher will face Joshua “Chucky” Francis (15-2-1, 11 KOs), an aggressive orthodox fighter from Auckland, Recent Zealand, who has proven to be particularly threatening in the early rounds of his fights. The pair will meet at Brisbane’s Mansfield Tavern on August 17 in the main event of the next Premier Boxing Series card, which will be broadcast live and free on streaming service 7plus.

The question is whether Masson will be able to resist the urge to fight when the first massive punch lands on his chin.

“Our styles fit together,” said Masson, who considers Arturo Gatti his all-time favorite fighter. “Of course he wants to come and fight, and I like to do that, too. I wanted him to have a good fight when he came back.

“In my last fight I didn’t live up to expectations, I made some mistakes, I could have improved on some things, but unfortunately I had to take some time off because I got injured, so I had to shake it off.

“But I started training actually two days after I lost the fight, so I was in the gym from then on until I got over the injury.

“I’m looking forward to getting back into the game, I want to test myself and have a proper fight, not put in so much time training to fight someone I know I can beat.”

Masson says the elbow injuries that plagued his career are now a thing of the past since he underwent successful surgery to remove several of the affected bones.

“I broke a few bones in my elbow again during the Turchi fight,” said Masson, who hails from the regional town of Te Awamutu in the Waikato region on Recent Zealand’s north island

“Going into camp before my last fight, I couldn’t even brush my teeth. I was in pain. I went in and had surgery – the third one I’ve had on my elbow – and now I should be fine.

“I came back to camp and it was amazing to be able to throw with both hands 100 percent and block throws with my hand. It was really cold.”

So can we expect a calmer and more focused Masson in the ring against Francis?

“I say that in every damn fight, so I almost don’t want to say it,” he said. “Because in camp I’m going to box really well and I’m not going to get hit, I’m going to do my thing and I’m going to box really nicely. And as soon as the fight happens, I’m going to do the opposite of what I’m saying. So I probably should say, ‘I’m going to fight this fight,’ and that probably means I’m going to box really nicely.”

“But it’s about discipline and supporting your skills. Then, instead of immediately getting hit and trying to make a fight out of it, I can make it a lot easier on myself if I stick to my game plan and box and not make it a ‘my turn, his turn’ fight.”

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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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