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The Boxing Insider’s Club boxing series returns to the Tropicana on Saturday, March 7

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The Boxing Insider’s Club Boxing Series returns to the Tropicana Showroom in Atlantic City on Saturday, March 7, with a six-fight card featuring a mix of undefeated prospects and proven regional talent from Modern Jersey, Modern York and beyond. The entire card will be uploaded free of charge on the platform BoxingInsider YouTube Channel.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the first bell rings at 7:30 p.m. The card is approved by the Modern Jersey State Athletics Control Board. Tickets are available on sale now via Ticketmaster.

Figueroa headlines against Venegas Jr.

Junior NABF super welterweight champion Justin “Just in Time” Figueroa (14-0, 11 KO) will face Gilbert Venegas Jr. (11-2, 6 KO) from East Moline, Illinois. The Atlantic City native and Holy Spirit High School graduate has fought 10 of his 14 professional fights at home and won the title by unanimous decision over Jarrod Tennant in San Antonio last August. In a recent interview with 97.3 ESPN The Sports Bash, Figueroa called this training camp his most demanding yet, during which he worked with a up-to-date world-class coach in Cherry Hill and sparred with former world champions and top amateurs.

Popper brings heavyweight power

Heavyweight Josh “The Hammer” Popper (5-0, 3 KO) returns to Atlantic City to face Dillon Pumphrey. The 6-foot-10 player from Somers Point is another Holy Spirit High School product who has taken the long way to the ring. Popper played college football at Rowan University, earned Modern Jersey Athletic Conference All-Conference first team honors and received invitations to rookie minicamp from the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals and Indianapolis Colts. When football wasn’t going well, he took up boxing full time.

Popper won the 2023 Modern York Ring Masters Championship and the Modern York Heavyweight Boxing Tournament before turning professional in October 2024. Since then, he has compiled a 5-0 record with three stoppages while also founding the Bredwinners Boxing gym in Manhattan, where he trains clients alongside his own fighting career. His combination of athleticism, size and all-around charm – Popper has attracted media attention far beyond the boxing pages – makes him one of the most watched heavyweights on the East Coast club scene.

Leonardo introduces body work

John “Body Shot” Leonardo (12-1-1, 6 KOs) of Manalapan, Modern Jersey will face Edgar Joe Cortes of Millville in a 122-pound tee bout. Trained by his father Donald — a retired professional boxer and 1987 Daily News Golden Gloves champion — Leonardo built his reputation on relentless bodywork passed down through the family. In his last appearance in Atlantic City, Leonardo delivered a sixth-round TKO to Frank Gonzalez, constantly breaking down his opponent before the referee waved him off. At 24 years ancient, with a style that rewards the crowd’s patience, Leonardo is becoming one of the most reliable draws on the card.

Lewandowski is making a splash in the competition

South Jersey’s Lia “Rogue” Lewandowski (3-0, 1 KO) faced veteran Indeya “Azucar” Rodriguez (6-8-3, 1 KO) in a six-round lightweight fight that marked a clear step forward. Lewandowski, a Drexel University graduate with a double major in global studies and political science, only began training in combat sports in 2020, but quickly rose through the amateur ranks, reaching the top five in the country at 114 pounds at USA Boxing. The 27-year-old from Berlin, Modern Jersey turned professional and has since won all three appearances.

Rodriguez, who has 17 professional fights under her belt, is the most experienced opponent Lewandowski has faced. How BoxingScene was recently profiledLewandowska expects to move on to eight-round fights after this fight, and her goal is to win the world title. A mighty performance against a seasoned opponent would go a long way to confirming this schedule.

Sanchez, Solis complete the card

Pleasantville’s Julio “Julez” Sanchez III faces Christopher Williams, adding another South Jersey name to a card packed with local talent. Undefeated super welterweight Jacob Riley Solis (7-0-1, 6 KO) from Modern York will face Jeremy Ramos. Solis, who began boxing at the age of nine in Los Angeles County, has stopped six of his eight opponents since turning professional and regularly competes in Boxing Insider Promotions competitions at both the Tropicana and Sony Hall.

Full card

  • Justin Figueroa (14-0, 11 KO) vs. Gilbert Venegas Jr. (11-2, 6 KOs) – super welterweight
  • John Leonardo (12-1-1, 6 KO) vs. Edgar Joe Cortes — super bantamweight
  • Lia Lewandowski (3-0, 1 KO) vs. Indeya Rodriguez (6-8-3, 1 KO) – lightweight flyweight
  • Jacob Riley Solis (7-0-1, 6 KO) vs. Jeremy Ramos – super welterweight
  • Josh Popper (5-0, 3 KO) vs. Dillon Pumphrey — heavyweight
  • Julio Sanchez III vs. Christopher Williams

Tickets are available on sale now via Ticketmaster. Full card coverage live and free from the Tropicana lounge on the site BoxingInsider YouTube Channel — no paywall, no subscription, just boxing as it should be.

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Peter Fury claims Tyson used the wrong tactics against Usyk

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Image: Tyson Fury's Social Media Post Keeps the Joshua Fight Fantasy Alive in the UK

“Well, he has his team there and I’m not criticizing anyone, but in both fights his tactics weren’t good,” Peter said in an interview with Sport Boxing.

“It worked out badly because look, if we have a little guy here who can throw, let’s say, a welterweight who can throw a thousand punches, and we have a heavyweight, will a heavyweight fighter throw a thousand punches with him? No.”

“Or maybe he’ll step in and take one good shot? Absolutely.”

“So basically yes, the strategy was just wrong. It doesn’t mean Usyk was better than him. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t say anything. You misunderstand the tactics and they are wrong.

“And you know, when you look at Usyk’s structure and what he does, when he distances himself and tries to box an elite boxer who is lighter than you and who is giving away pounds, he will ping you all over the shop. That should be noticed,” Peter Fury said.

Tyson Fury announced his return earlier this year and is expected to have a preparatory fight before the start of his scheduled series with Anthony Joshua. Queensbury promoter Frank Warren recently confirmed that Fury’s next opponent could be announced in the coming days, with the long-awaited fight against Joshua expected to take place later this year.

Usyk remains at the top of the heavyweight division and has been ordered to fight WBC interim champion Agit Kabayel. Warren also confirmed that negotiations for the fight are ongoing.

Fury’s third meeting with Usyk has not been announced. Peter Fury, however, remains convinced that the strategy used in the first two fights determined the result.

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The politician’s perfect 12-0 KO record remains the strangest in boxing

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Jorge Kahwagi poses at a WBC weigh-in during his controversial 12-0 professional boxing career

Jorge Kahwagi achieved something almost impossible in professional boxing. The Mexican politician retired with a perfect record of 12-0, knocked out every opponent he faced, and finished his entire career in just 15 rounds.

On paper, this looks like one of the most devastating runs the sport has ever seen. In fact, many boxing fans wondered if they even believed it.

Perfect record

Kahwagi turned professional in 2001, despite having no boxing experience. Over the next fourteen years, he set an undefeated record, won regional titles, and never once heard the final bell.

Twelve fights brought twelve victories. All twelve victories were by knockout in just fifteen rounds.

The numbers are tough to understand even now.

Several of Kahwagi’s opponents entered the ring in defeat. Others seemed hopelessly outmatched.

But the record continued to grow as the politician and businessman rose through the cruiserweight ranks without ever being seriously tested.

By the time he retired in 2015 after returning from a ten-year hiatus for one final fight, Kahwagi owned one of boxing’s most remarkable undefeated records.

Why fans never bought it

The controversy surrounding Kahwaga was not in itself. This is how some of these victories turned out.

His last fight against Ramon Olivas remains the fight most frequently mentioned in discussions about Kahwagi’s career. The break came after seemingly minimal contact, prompting criticism from fans and observers.

Doubts have already surrounded previous victories, including the victory over veteran Roberto Coelho.

Whether these doubts were justified or not, the damage was done and many fans never accepted Kahwagi’s record at face value.

WBC

Boxing has seen this before

Kahwagi’s record may be extraordinary, but in boxing there is always controversy when it comes to results.

As WBN reports, while John Riel Casimero faces a fight-fixing investigation in 2025, debates continue to arise in the contemporary era about what happens inside the ropes.

Long before that, Roy Jones Jr. denied winning Olympic gold in Seoul despite dominating Park Si-hun in what many still consider the greatest heist in boxing history.

More than thirty years later, Park returned the medal to Jones.

The Kahwagi case falls into a different category, but the result is often the same. Once fans stop believing what they’re watching, the debate never really stops.

Still one of the strangest

Few fighters retire with a perfect record, and even fewer retire after every knockout victory.

Kahwagi handled both, finishing his entire professional career in just 15 innings, and those numbers remain remarkable.

More than a decade after his retirement, the debate surrounding his record has never really died down.

That’s why Jorge Kahwagi’s perfect 12-0 record remains one of the strangest in boxing history.


About the author

Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.

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Teofimo Lopez sees only one winner of David Benavidez vs. Dmitry Bivol title fight

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Teofimo Lopez can only see one winner in David Benavidez vs Dmitry Bivol title fight

One of the most coveted fights in boxing right now is the lithe heavyweight clash between unified champion Dmitry Bivol and WBC ruler David Benavidez for the undisputed 175-pound crown.

However, two-division world champion Teofimo Lopez believes that the fight could end in a “massacre”.

Bivol won the undisputed lithe heavyweight title of the world took revenge for his defeat against Artur Beterbiev in February last yearbut soon afterwards the Russian was stripped of the WBC marble and Benavidez became world champion.

“The Mexican Monster” has since won the unified cruiserweight crown, but maintains he would be willing to cut weight to face Bivol and claim the undisputed honors.

Speaking on Inside The Ring programLopez renamed Benavidez the “Massacre Monster” when discussing the potential fight, believing the age difference between the two lithe heavyweight champions could be crucial to the outcome of the fight.

“I’m going to call Benavidez a ‘massacre monster’ because, man, [that performance against Ramirez] it was nasty. It’s really nasty, really.

“He [Benavidez] enters its flowering period, while the other [Bivol] is on the way out. You have to think about these things too.”

Bivol fulfilled his IBF obligation by defending his belts against Michael Eifert last weekend, but the WBO ordered him to face mandatory challenger Callum Smith in order to retain the WBO belt.

As a result, it appears that a potential Bivol-Benavidez clash will have to wait until 2027, with Beterbiev also being considered for the trilogy.

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