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Shakur Stevenson retains lightweight title, defeats Artem Harutyunyan in final Top Rank fight

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NEWARK, N.J. — Heading into the final fight of his Top Rank promotional contract, Shakur Stevenson needed to put on a performance that would erase the bad taste left in boxing fans’ mouths by snoozer Edwin De Los Santos. A thrilling win over the hard-wearing veteran would only support boost his marketability as he approaches free agency.

However, Artem Harutyunyan did not want to play as a point guard.

Stevenson defended his WBC lightweight title by unanimous decision, defeating Harutyunyan by unanimous decision at the Prudential Center in Newark, Recent Jersey, 119-109, 118-110, 116-112. Although the result was never in doubt, the performance was far from what some had hoped for.

Stevenson, 27, walks away with a belt, but not enough to spark rumors of big-money fights with the likes of Gervonta “Tank” Davis.

After a silent start that even drew boos from his hometown fans in the third round, Stevenson (22-0, 10 knockouts) turned on the jets in the fourth, tearing Harutyunyan to the body with left hands that began to leave red marks across his midsection. Stevenson picked up the pace in the sixth and seventh rounds, bringing Harutyunyan (12-2, 7 KOs) to the ground and jolting him with left counters that threatened to crack his face if he didn’t want to.

In the eighth round, the fans were booing again, only this time they were booing at Harutyunyan’s reluctance to fight, as the left hands to the body began to take their toll. By the tenth round, the malice had left Stevenson’s left hand, and his right hook, which he had used sparingly earlier in the fight, became more of a scoring option.

The crowd was booing again in the eleventh round and the crowds of fans were starting to leave before the start of the twelfth round. Stevenson landed one last attack with a minute left in the twelfth round but both sides seemed to accept that this was heading for a card.

Stevenson, who turned professional under Top Rank in 2017 after winning silver at the Rio Olympics the previous year, had been calling for fights with Davis or his No. 1 contender William Zepeda (31-0, 27 KOs), who earlier that night knocked out Giovanni Cabrera in the third round in Ontario, California.

Those fights may be easier to make now that Stevenson can work directly with the boxers’ promoters. Stevenson, who is managed by James Prince, seemed uncertain when asked what he plans to do next, other than remaining firm that he wants the best challenges available.

“I want to fight the best fighters in boxing. That way you’ll see the best version of me when you put me up there with someone else who’s fighting,” Stevenson said.

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Tyson Fury says he needs to stop Oleksandr Usyk to win

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For Tyson Fury, there are parallels between his multi-fight rivalry with Deontay Wilder, which lasted from December 2018 to October 2021, and a potential multi-fight rivalry with Oleksandr Usyk.

He hopes that in the case of Usyk it will end in three fights, which will mean that Fury will win the rematch, which will take place on December 21 in Riyad. He also knows, after his experience with Wilder, that on December 21 he must do more than just box to victory and rely on the three judges in the ring to officially give him the victory.

Of course, in the match against Wilder, Fury drew a controversial draw the first time, which he later corrected with two stoppage victories. However, against Usyk in May, Fury did not resent the judges’ opinion (correct this time), but instead his own inability to dominate Usyk and prevent the fight from lasting so long. He doesn’t want to make the same mistake the second time. The second time around, he will rely on the momentum he experiences in the fight rather than taking it for granted.

“It’s no secret that I’m going there to knock him out because I don’t think that no matter what I do, I won’t get a decision,” said Fury, 34-1-1 (24). interview with Undisputed. “I don’t think I’ll get a boxing decision, so I’ll have to take my hand off the judges like I did back then in America. I have to get him out of there.

Eliminating Oleksandr Usyk is easier said than done. In his professional career spanning 22 fights and 11 years, the brilliant Ukrainian has never been close to defeat, let alone stopped. Moreover, his intelligence and counter-attacking ability are so great that the risk of stopping Usyk forever increases due to his ability to operate his opponent’s aggression and ambition against him. For this reason, and because of his durability, few opponents even considered the prospect of stopping Usyk, 22-0 (14). For this reason, Tyson Fury, despite his size and record in previous rematches, will need to deliver the performance of his life to become the first man to do so.

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How to watch, stream Ball vs. Rios on ESPN+; Alimkhanuly stops Mikhailovich in Australia

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On Saturday in Liverpool, England, Nick Ball defends his WBA featherweight world title against Ronny Rios at Echo Arena (ESPN+, 2 p.m. ET).

Ball (20-0-1, 11 KO) from Liverpool fought for the WBC featherweight title against Ray Vargas in March, but the fight ended in a draw. Three months later, on June 1, Ball defeated Raymond Ford by split decision to win the WBA belt. He will have his first defense against Rios.

Rios (34-4, 17 KO), of Compton, California, has fought for the junior featherweight title twice, losing both to Vargas in 2017 and Murodjon Akhmadaliev in 2022. He defeats Nicolas Polanco by KO in the fifth round. April.


Where can I watch the Ball vs. fight card? Rios?

Ball vs. fight card Rios will air Saturday on ESPN+ at 2 p.m. ET.

Watch: Download the ESPN App | WatchESPN | TV

Don’t have ESPN? Find out how to get instant access today: ESPNInstantAccess.com


How to broadcast fights?

The fights will be broadcast on mobile devices using the ESPN application.

Full Ball vs. Rios fight card:

  • Title fight: Nick Ball vs. Ronny Rios, 12 rounds, for Ball’s WBA featherweight title

  • Jack Rafferty vs. Henry Turner, 12 rounds, for the British junior welterweight title

  • Jack Turner vs. Gonzalo Corinaldesi, 6 rounds, bantamweight

  • Jadier Herrera vs. Oliver Flores, 10 rounds, lightweight

  • Walter Fury vs. Dale Arrowsmith, 4 rounds, junior middleweight

  • Andrew Cain vs. Lazaro Casseres, 12 rounds, bantamweight

  • Joe Cooper vs. Łukasz Barabasz, 4 rounds, middleweight


Alimkhanuly stops Mikhailovich and defends his IBF middleweight title

Janibek Alimkhanuly defended his IBF middleweight title with a ninth-round TKO victory over Andrei Mikhailovich on Friday at The Star Sydney in Pyrmont, Australia.

The fight ended after Alimkhanuly landed two consecutive left uppercuts that caused Mikhailovich to stumble backwards, forcing referee Katsuhiko Nakamura to stop the fight at 2:45 minutes into the round.

Alimkhanuly hurt Mikhailovich with the same punch in round 2 and scored a knockdown at the bell, but Mikhailovich recovered. From there, it was only a matter of time before Alimkhanuly separated himself and struck frequently with his left hand under Mikhailovich’s pressure.

After the fight, Alimkhanuly said he would like to unify the titles with the other two champions.

“I have two titles and [other] two titles are missing,” Alimkhanuly said. “Each of them [Carlos] Adames or [Erislandy] Lara, I’m ready. Anytime and whenever, send me the paper. I will send it anytime.”

The fight was originally scheduled for July 13 in Las Vegas, but two days before that date, Alimkhanuly fainted while trying to gain weight and was taken to the hospital, where he was forced to withdraw due to severe dehydration.

Alimkhanuly (16-0, 11 KO), from Zhilanda, Kazakhstan but currently living and training in Oxnard, California, won the WBO middleweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Denzel Bentley in November 2022. He made one defense in May 2023. , a second-round KO of Steve Butler, before dropping Vincenzo Gualtieri in six rounds last October to add the IBF title. The WBO title was not at risk in the fight against Mikhailovich.

Mikhailovich (21-1, 13 KO) is a weighty puncher with long arms (74½ inches) from Auckland, Recent Zealand. He won seven of his last eight fights by stoppage before losing to Alimkhanuly.

Mikhailovich was born in Russia, but after being adopted, he and his brother moved to Recent Zealand.

Where can I watch a replay of the Alimkhanuly vs. fight? Mikhailovich?

Alimkhanuly vs. fight card replay Mikhailovich can be streamed on ESPN+.

Watch: Download the ESPN App | WatchESPN | TV

Don’t have ESPN? Find out how to get instant access today: ESPNInstantAccess.com


Alimkhanuly vs. fight card results Mikhailovich:

  • Title fight: Janibek Alimkhanuly defeated Andrei Mikhailovich by KO in the ninth round to defend his IBF middleweight title

  • Mea Motu defeated Shannon O’Connell via TKO4 in a women’s featherweight bout

  • Charlie Kazzi defeated Lui Magaiva via TKO7 in a lightweight fight

  • Ahmed Reda defeated Joe Kara by TKO 2 in a lightweight fight

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Ennis Boots explains why he couldn’t knock out Karen Chukhadzhian

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Image: Boots' Ennis Explains Why He Couldn't KO Karen Chukhadzhian

Jaron “Boots” Ennis says his inability to knock out Karen Chukhadzhian last year has nothing to do with what he did during their fight in Washington

Boots (32-0, 29 KO) blames it on himself because he entered the fight trying to score a knockout instead of having fun as usual. Chukhadzhian (24-2, 13 KO) took advantage of Ennis’ crazy swings that caused him to miss and took annoying shots that made him look bad.

IBF welterweight champion Ennis, 27, will have the opportunity to show fans he can knock out No. 1 Chukhadzhian in their rematch next month on November 9 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Chukhadzhian is on a three-fight winning streak to put himself in a must-see position to face Ennis again and will be keen to take advantage of that opportunity. Ennis believes that Chukhadzhian will try to play more aggressively this time as he didn’t win a single round last time, losing by scores of 120-108, 120-108 and 120-108.

This will be Ennis’ second fight at Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom and it must look good as the British promoter has had fans buzzing with him. Unfortunately, Ennis did not perform impressively in his first fight under Hearn’s wing, as he was hit strenuous by David Avanesyan on July 13. He won by knockout in the fifth round, but it was not a spectacular effort.

“It wasn’t him. It was me. My attitude was, “I’m going to knock him out.” You can’t go into a fight like that thinking you’re going to knock someone out,” said Jaron Ennis. Brian Mazique about what happened in his previous fight against Karen Chukhadzhian last year.

“I went from not having fun, and when I get back to having fun, it’s going to be another knockout. In the next fight I’m going to put on a show, not look for it. Just let me be myself. Don’t look for a knockout. “As you saw, when I got back to having fun in my last fight, there was a knockout,” Ennis said of his fight with David Avanesyan last July.

It would have worked better if Ennis had just admitted to Chukhadzhian that he made him look indigent instead of putting it on himself for fighting a bad fight. The way Ennis talks, it sounds like he’s just making excuses and doesn’t know how to admit that he lacks the talent to do the job.

“He won’t change his style. Could be a little more. In his last fight, he tried boxing, but he didn’t win the round. I feel like he’ll be more involved this time, but I feel like once he gets touched, he’ll be back on the bike,” Ennis said.

Chukhajian always fights on the defensive in every fight. Therefore, it is a stupid idea for Ennis to assume that he will fight aggressively against him in the rematch. What Chukhadzhian will probably do is steal some bullets and make Ennis look bad again. This would hurt his chances of fighting Terence Crawford.

“In the last fight, everything depended on me. It was me who did wrong, not him. He has been winning since we fought and has become a must-see fighter. So that’s what happened,” Ennis said.

He looked like the same Jaron Ennis as usual, but he was dealing with a player with impressive defensive skills on par with Shakur Stevenson. Against a defensive artist like Chukhadzihian, Ennis has to fight very differently because he won’t knock him out with a swing for the fence.

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