Boxing
Isaac Cruz defended his title after a majority draw against Lamont Roach
Published
5 months agoon
Lamont Roach Jr. Saturday night at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. and Isaac Cruz fought to a majority tie.
Cruz defended his interim WBC junior welterweight title, while Roach exited this year with a second straight majority draw.
One judge scored the fight 115-111 in Cruz’s favor, while two judges scored it 113-113.
It was still early in the fight, and Cruz scored a third-round knockout to come within an inch of the fight. However, Roach made a strategic change to seemingly take control of the second half of the fight. But it wasn’t enough to prevent him from winning his final two fights.
Later, Roach vented his frustration.
“I just want a good shake, man. That’s all,” Roach said. “I think I’ve pulled this fight. … I don’t know what to do. But it’s back to the drawing board. I don’t accept it at all. I clearly thought I won a close fight and I’m tired of this s—, man.”
Fighting in Washington, Roach (25-1-3, 10 KO) scored a controversial majority draw with Gervonta “Tank” Davis in March. Unable to secure a rematch, Roach had to look elsewhere and opted to move up to 140 pounds to face Cruz (28-3-2, 18 KO). He entered the fight as the WBA super featherweight titleholder, but was stripped of the title when the bell sounded for his fight with Cruz.
Cruz, who went the distance against Davis in 2021 after a thrilling decision loss, has won six of his previous seven fights, winning the vacant interim WBC junior welterweight title in his last fight, beating Omar Salcido.
Cruz attacked Roach from the opening bell, throwing looping punches. The constant aggression was effective from the beginning, although Roach found places to counterattack with his left hand. Roach picked his seats while Cruz moved forward with reckless abandon. During the exchange in Round 3, Cruz’s left hand knocked Roach off balance, knocking him down for the first time in his career when his glove touched the canvas. Roach was uninjured, but the damage was done and forced him to change his approach.
“I knew he wouldn’t give up and would fight toe-to-toe,” Cruz said. “But guess what? I boxed too, and people didn’t realize I could do it. I boxed.”
The knockdown caused Roach to struggle in the pocket from then on, leading to furious exchanges inside. Cruz worked well to the body while Roach slipped in counters that caught “Pitbull” in the chin. Roach landed a left hook to Cruz’s face in round 6, which was his best punch of the fight up to that point. However, he chose to fight on Cruz’s terms rather than trying to play to his strengths by boxing to the outside and interrupting his opponent’s attacks.
Roach made minor changes in the middle rounds, using a catch-and-shoot strategy to lure Cruz. The changeup was effective because he caught Cruz both coming in and going out. Cruz was also deducted a point for excessive clinching in round 7, which brought the fight to neutral ground and offset the earlier knockdown. Roach upset Cruz with a change of strategy and began to take control of the fight, nullifying Cruz’s offense and completely taking the crowd out of the fight. However, Cruz came alive in the championship rounds, taking the fight to Roach.
It was a close fight that ended in an unsatisfactory draw, although Roach defeated Cruz 191-159. Both fighters seemed interested in a rematch, but Cruz would only agree to it if there was a different referee.
“Yes, absolutely [I want the rematch]”, Cruz said. “But with a different referee and without the referee standing on his side. I won that fight and the referee took that fight away from me.
In the co-main event, O’Shaquie Foster dominated Stephen Fulton and made a unanimous decision to become the interim WBC lightweight champion.
The fight was originally scheduled for Foster’s WBC junior world title, but Fulton was 2 pounds overweight. The WBC inexplicably changed the stakes of the fight to an interim 135-pound title fight, with the winner being the mandatory challenger to Shakur Stevenson.
Foster (24-3, 12 KO) brilliantly outclassed the former two-division champion throughout the entire 12 rounds. He subdued Fulton (23-2, 8 KO) with a edged jab and kept him on the outside for a long time. The champion expertly held the court in the middle of the ring while Fulton struggled to get inside or land anything of value.
As the rounds wore on, Fulton’s frustration showed in his approach as Foster began using combination after jab as his opponent tried to get inside.
The judges scored the fight 117-111, 118-110 and 119-109, but it could have easily been a win due to Foster’s dominance.
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Boxing
Kelvin Davis escapes by split decision over Peter Dobson
Published
47 minutes agoon
May 17, 2026
Welterweight Kelvin Davis (16-1, 8 KO) escaped with a split decision victory over Peter Dobson (17-4, 10 KO) after a hard-fought 10-round fight that drew noisy boos from the crowd after the result was announced. The judges scored it 99-91 and 97-93 for Davis, while the third judge scored it 98-92 for Dobson.
Davis boxed effectively early on, using his jab, foot movement and reach to keep Dobson out and gain the advantage in the early rounds. Dobson had difficulty getting close enough to land consistently in the first half of the fight as Davis remained disciplined and chose areas with cleaner strikes.
Dobson had more success in the second half of the fight, getting inside and landing to the body. As the action became increasingly brutal and physical, Davis spent more time on the ropes and in clinches.
Dobson’s aggression and work in the middle helped put an end to the fight, and a few delayed rounds proved challenging to score. Davis continued to land enough pointed counters and straight shots to convince the two judges that he had done enough to secure the victory.
Many fans online and in the arena reacted negatively to the decision, especially due to the wide score of 99-91 in favor of Davis. Several unofficial scorecards indicated that the fight was much closer together, and some viewers felt that Dobson did enough to force a draw or provide an advantage in the decision.
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Last update: 2026/05/16 at 22:46
Boxing
Canelo officially announces return to world title fight, dubbed ‘fight of the decade’
Published
3 hours agoon
May 16, 2026
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez confirmed the reports about his fight with WBC champion Christian Mbilli in an official statement.
Canelo, who has a professional record of 63-3-2 and 39 KOs, last fought in September 2025 when defeated by pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford.
The Mexican icon lost his undisputed super middleweight title that night, his first defeat in the division, but now he hopes to win one of the belts outright when he challenges fresh champion Mbilli on September 12 in Riyad, Saudi Arabia.
Confirming the news, Alvarez said:
“After so many years in this sport, my motivation is still the same: to challenge myself, represent Mexico and continue to build my legacy.
“Mbilli is undefeated and he’s a great fighter and I respect that. But my focus is always on my preparation, performance and giving the fans another great night of boxing.
“On September 12 in Riyad, we start a fresh chapter with the same discipline, ambition and vision that have accompanied me throughout my career.”
Mbilli secured the WBC interim belt by defeating Maciej Sulecki in June 2025 and regained it after an engaging draw with Lester Martinez on the Canelo vs Crawford card. When Crawford retired, the 29-0-1 Mbilli was elevated to full champion.
The fresh champion announced the “fight of the decade” in his own statement.
“My last fight was the fight of the year. In September against Canelo Alvarez, it will be the fight of the decade. And when the fight is over, the world will witness my historic victory.”
The fight will be the culmination of the gala titled “Mexico vs. the World”, and details of the card will be revealed at the press conference opening the gala, which will be held next week in Egypt.
BBBofC British lightweight champion Louie O’Doherty improved to 12-0 (3 KO) with a unanimous decision victory over Ahmed “No Mercy” Hatim, retaining his British title and adding the vacant Commonwealth lightweight title.
Hatim had it moments earlier, rocking O’Doherty with a right hand in the second round, but O’Doherty gradually took control with sharper combinations and a faster work rate. As the rounds progressed, the fight became increasingly physical, with O’Doherty landing consistently and Hatim struggling to keep up. O’Doherty closed the final rounds strongly, including a dominant tenth and a busy twelfth round in which Hatim was forced to hold out multiple times. The scores were 119-109 and 118-110 twice.
In a joint film, Michael Gomez Jr. improved his record to 23-2 (8 KO) after a sixth-round victory over Lee McGregor in a hard-fought lightweight fight.
The fight was action-packed from the first round, with both fighters trading aggressively. Gomez hurt McGregor several times during the fight and dropped him with a right hand slow in the third round. McGregor continued to fight despite swelling around his eye and blood from his nose, but Gomez’s pressure eventually became too much. In the sixth round, McGregor’s corner threw in the towel after another sustained attack.
Welterweight Joe Hayden improved to 23-0 (3 KO) after a fifth-round victory over Ryan Frost in a six-round fight. Hayden was in control throughout and fired shots to the body in the third and fifth rounds before referee Michael Alexander stopped the fight.
2024 Olympic gold medalist Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev improved to 2-0 (1 KO) with a six-round victory over replacement Alexis Torres. Muydinkhujaev controlled the fight with his jab and left hand, hurting Torres several times while winning on the scorecards.
Ted Jackson stopped Mike Byles in the first round after he scored a knockdown early in the fight and forced referee Michael Alexander to intervene. Jackson improved to 7-0 (2 KO).
Brad Casey also remained undefeated, improving to 5-0 (2 KO) after stopping Renars Rusin in the second round. Casey hurt Rusin with a right hand before referee Howard Foster stepped in to stop the fight.
Leighton Birchall remained undefeated after four rounds in a featherweight fight with Leonardo Baez.
Kian Hamilton improved to 2-0 with a four-round victory over Les Urry. Hamilton landed several sturdy body shots during the fight and closed the fight well as Urry spent most of the final round in survival mode.
John Tom Varey improved to 2-0 with a four-round decision over veteran journeyman Stephen Jackson. Varey controlled the action throughout, changing positions and repeatedly forcing Jackson into the ropes, looking for a late-fight stoppage.
Carl Fail improved his record to 12-0 (4 KO) after an eight-round victory over Luis Montelongo. Fail controlled the fight with his jabs and bodywork, hurting Montelongo several times during the fight, making the score 80-72.
Ken Hissner is a senior boxing journalist at Boxing News 24 with over 20 years of experience in the industry. Known for his in-ring reporting, detailed results and historical perspective, he provides authoritative coverage of boxing through the eras.
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