One time heavyweight champion John Ruiz (42-7-1, 29 KOs) won an impressive two round knockout over Otis Tisdale on Saturday night at the Sears Centre, in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Ruiz, ranked #3 in the WBA, showing a new offensive-minded fighting style - minus his usual clinching - knocked Tisdale down twice in the first round and once in the 2nd, before the referee Pete Podgorsk moved in and stopped the bout at 0:45 of the 2nd round. Ruiz, 35, was all action in the bout, using massive uppercuts, hooks, movement and a powerful right hand to control virtually every second of the bout with the out-gunned Tisdale.

Orginally scheduled to fight Sergei Liakhovich, but when he backed out of the fight a week before the bout, Ruiz was forced to take on the Journeyman Tisdale as a last minute replacement. As it turns out, this perhaps was even better for Ruiz, mainly because it allowed him to work out the kinks in his new offensive attack. As it was, Ruiz looked nothing short of sensational against the limited Tisdale, possibly good enough to beat Liakhovich handily had he opted to fight Ruiz. Read more

Former International Boxing Federation lightweight champion Julio Diaz’s (34-4, 25 KOs) busy fighting style was no match for the hard-punching World Boxing Organization and World Boxing Association lightweight champion Juan Diaz (33-0, 17 KOs) who blasted him round after round with multiple combinations until Julio ultimately quit at the beginning of the 9th round on Saturday night at the Sears Centre, in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. With the win, the 24-year old Juan Diaz adds the IBF lightweight title to his collection of belts, clearly showing that he’s the dominant fighter in the lightweight division.

Before the bout, there was speculation that Julio’s high punch volume would cause problems for Juan, enough possibly for Julio to create an upset. However, after the first couple of rounds, Juan put that thought completely out of mind as he pummeled Julio with blistering three and four punch combinations to the head and body. Read more

Super flyweight Dimitri Kirilov (29-3, 9 KOs) defeated Jose Navarro (26-3, 12 KOs) on Satrurday night at the Khodynka Ice Palace, in Moscow, Russia, to win the vacant International Boxing Federation super flyweight title. Kirilov, 28, eeked out a close unanimous decision by the scores of 116-112, 114-113 and 114-113. In the early going, Kirilov had trouble trying to solve Navarro’s southpaw style, which included a lot of lead lefts and a high volume workrate. Aside from a flash knockdown of Navarro in the 3rd round when Kirilov caught him with a right hand as he was attempting a punch, Navarro won rounds 1-2, 4-5. The bout changed directions starting in the fifth round after a hard headbutt by Kirilov opened up a cut under Navarro’s right eye.

The cut had an effect on Navarro, making him a little less active and allowing Kirilov to get into the fight. From that point on, both fighters traded rounds with excellent toe to toe action until the 11th round. With the fight on the line, Kirilov rallied to win the last two rounds of the fight behind his powerful right hand. Navarro, though, made it very close and landed the more numerous shots, but none of them were thrown with the power of Kirilov’s right hand. Read more

The outcome was never in doubt on Saturday night, as the 32-year old World Boxing Organization heavyweight champion literally boxed circles around the 44-year old challenger Evander Holyfield in the process of winning by an easy 12-round unanimous decision at the Khodynka Ice Palace, in Moscow, Russia. The final judges’ scores - 118-110, 117-111 and 117-111 - gave no indication about how truly one-sided the bout was for Ibragimov, as Holyfield did virtually nothing all bout long except for follow him around and take shots to the head and midsection. In truth, Holyfield looked basically the same fighter he was in losing efforts to Chris Byrd, James Toney and Larry Donald in 2003 and 2004, only then Holyfield blamed the losses because of a shoulder a problem.

This time, there were no such excuses to fall back on because he was badly outclassed every minute of the fight. After a cautious first two round, I assumed that Holyfield would come out blazing in the third like he had against the four mediocre opponents he’d beaten during his boxing comeback. However, when Holyfield continued to throw next to nothing in the 3rd and fourth rounds, I began to understand that he just couldn’t, that he was simply too old to pull the trigger. By the 8th round, it had become embarrassing, as Ibragimov was hitting Holyfield at will and making him look like an old man, despite his still relatively youthful appearance. Read more

Cruiserweight challenger Vadim Tokarev (24-1-1, 17 KOs) stopped former middleweight Marlon Hayes (23-10, 11 KOs) in the 3rd round tonight at the Khodynka Ice Palace, in Moscow, Russia. Tokarev, 35, hurt Hayes with a right hand in the third round, staggering him and then landed a series of crushing blows that prompted the referee to move in and put a stop to the bout. This was the first bout for Tokarev since losing a controversial majority decision to German-based Marco Huck in May 2007. Tokarev was in fine form tonight, showing no ill effects of the bad decision that went against him in his last fight, as he punished Hayes badly in rounds two and three.

In the first round, Hayes, 36, showed an effective jab and good movement that kept Tokarev on the outside, unable to draw a bead on the elusive Hayes. Mixing in powerful body shots, Hayes was able to easily win the round over the slower Tokarev, who seemed somewhat confused. Read more

Heavyweight Joe Mesi (36-0, 29 KOs) make short work of another C-level opponent tonight, stopping Shannon Miller (15-4, 9 KOs) in the 1st round at the Twin River Event Center, in Lincoln, Rhode Island. As often the case, Mesi, 33, looked superb offensively, opening up with huge salvos in the opening seconds of the bout, hurting Miller almost immediately. With little being thrown back at him, Mesi quickly dropped Miller with a scorching right hand that had him badly hurt as he slid to the canvas. The referee Joey Lopino moved in and called a stop to the bout at 2:51 of the round. For Mesi, it was his seventh consecutive win since making his return to boxing in 2006 following a two-year suspension by the Nevada boxing officials after he was diagnosed with a brain bleed.

To his credit, Mesi has shown great improvement since his first two bouts after his suspension, in which he looked pudgy, slow and poor defensively. However, Mesi has looked sharp in his last three bouts, and would seem to be ready for a better class of opposition than the likes of Miller. Read more

According to the latest boxing news, World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Samuel Peter (29-1, 22 KOs) has stated in an interview that he’s interested in fighting either Oleg Maskaev or Wladimir Klitschko (49-3, 44 KOs), and is hoping that he can get back in the ring within two months. From the looks of it, I’d say offhand that Peter is probably angry at himself for getting knocked down three times by the relative light-hitting Jameel McCline in their bout last weekend, a fight that Peter was on the verge of losing in the 3rd round.

Peter looked nothing short of horrible, like an unschooled amateur fighter going up against a seasoned professional. It doesn’t help his case any the fact that he threw a large number of fouls in the bout, enough for him to be disqualified if the referee had been interested in conducting his job in a proper manner. If it hadn’t been for the case of McCline tiring out - as usual - after the first three rounds, Peter would have likely been stopped early on. While Peter eventually was able to eek out the decision with a late surge, the damage to his reputation has been done already. Hence, Peter’s desire to take on Wladimir Klitschko, a fighter who already defeated Peter two years ago by a 12-round decision. Read more

HBO’s late-night boxing series heats up with a spectacular matchup of two lightweight titleholders when HBO BOXING AFTER DARK: JUAN DIAZ VS. JULIO DIAZ is presented SATURDAY, OCT. 13 at 11:00 p.m. (ET/PT), from the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill., just outside Chicago, exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team of Bob Papa, Larry Merchant and Lennox Lewis will be ringside for the event, which will be available in HDTV, as well as closed-captioned for the hearing impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.. Read more

A few days ago Sultan visited Red Square wearing a USA track suit. Moments after entering he was confronted by Kremlin workers lugging bags of Russian clothing gear who insisted that he change into their nation’s colors . . . I guess none of them noticed the ticket checker at the Kremlin entrance who was wearing a New England Patriots baseball cap . . ..

Moscow traffic makes the LA Freeway at rush hour look like the Indy 500. There are between 10-12 million Muscovites-and 4 million cars. Drivers park everywhere and anywhere, including on the sidewalk. One individual parked in the right lane of a three-lane highway. . . . Amazingly enough horn blowing is rarely heard . . . Read more

While boxing’s current longest-reigning world champion JOE CALZAGHE was feted today marking 10 years of superstardom and 20 consecutive successful title defenses, his opponent MIKKEL KESSLER tried to rain on Joe’s parade and issued a few choice word to The Sun’s Gavin Glicksman.

“Joe is a great champion but I’m going to beat him,” said Kessler. “I’m going to be 200 per cent better than my last fight and he’s going to get a big surprise. I’ve seen some of his fights and he’s never fought a guy like me before, that’s why he’s going to be in trouble. I hit straight, I hit hard, I hit directly. I’m going to show everyone I’m a bigger champion than he is.” Read more

World welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, looking fit and trim, came in at 157 pounds today in San Juan for his 30-day pre-fight weigh-in. Cotto was far under the limit for this date and said he is anxious to take on Sugar Shane Mosley at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Nov. 10. “I am very satisfied with all of my training and work we have done so far,” Cotto said. “There is no doubt I will be in my best-ever condition on November 10..” Read more

As four-time heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield (42-8-2, 27 KOs) approaches this Saturday’s heavyweight championship bout with WBO heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov 21-0, 17 KOs) at the Khodynka Ice Palace, in Moscow, Russia, a big questions looms about how much Holyfield has left in the tank after twenty three years as a professional boxer. Holyfield, 44, though he’s not fought as many bouts as many younger fighters, such as Wladimir Klitschko, his bouts have been much tougher, the type in which he’s stood in front of his opponents and traded shots for round after round. Along with his many wars, you have to factor in his advanced age which makes him one of the oldest heavyweights to challenge for a title since George Foreman accomplished the feat in the 90s.

While much has been made about Holyfield’s recent success over journeyman fighters Jeremy Bates, Fres Oquendo, Vinny Maddalone, and Lou Savarese, the fact remains that these fighters are hardly world class, and certainly not the type of competition to get a good gauge about how much Holyfield has left in the tank. Read more

In his toughest bout to date, unbeaten Ukranian heavyweight contender Alexander Dimitreneko (26-0, 16 KOs) will be defending his WBO-inter continental title against German Timo Hoffmann (36-5-1, 20 Kos) on November 17 in Bordelandhalle, Magdeburg, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. Both Dimitrenko and Hoffmann stand at 6’7” 250+ pounds, making this fight a bout in between two gargantuan. Beyond that, the skill level between the two of them are drastically different. The undefeated Dimitrenko, ranked #2 in the World Boxing Organization, is perhaps the best heavyweight prospect in the division, though he’s still largely unknown by many fans due to most of his fights taking place in Germany. His skills are second to none, resembling a younger Wladimir Klitschko at the start of his career. With impressive wins over journeyman fighters Ross Purity, Chris Koval, Vaughn Bean and Malcom Tann, Dimitrenko has proved to be a force in the heavyweight division.

However, his German management has been slow to bring him along, a common characteristic in the German boxing community. Hopefully, after this bout with Hoffmann, his management will start moving him forward against tougher opposition. If not, Dimitrenko needs to consider getting away from Germany, perhaps moving to America or England, where they don’t shelter their fighters nearly as much. Read more

Fred Sternburg: We’ve got a bi-coastal conference call today. In Hollywood, California, I’m here with superstar Manny Pacquiao, boxing’s most exciting fighter, and trainer world-famous Freddie Roach.

And from Atlantic City, we have promoter Bob Arum who is there with Kelly Pavlik as he attempts to dethrone Jermain Taylor this weekend in their middleweight world championship. Read more

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Many thought that all Kelly Pavlik (32-0, 29 KOs), had was a ghost of a chance when he entered the ring at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, packed with over 10,000 fans, last night to challenge defending middleweight champion Jermain Taylor (27-1-1, 17 KOs), in a fight that was broadcast live on HBO. Apparently that’s all Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik needed as he came back from the brink of defeat after suffering a second-round knockdown to knockout Taylor in the seventh round of their battle of undefeated gladiators..

ZOWIE! DOUBLE ZOWIE!!

Already the early favorite for “Fight of the Year,” Pavlik staked his claim as “Fighter of the Year” as the boxing spotlight shone bright on his hometown of Youngstown, OH for the first time since Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini’s heyday as WBA lightweight champion during the early ’80s. Mancini was at ringside rooting on his heir apparent. Read more

Previously unbeaten Canadian heavyweight Jean-Francois Bergeron (27-1, 19 KOs) is crowing for a rematch with former WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev (47-1, 34 KOs) after losing a 12-round unanimous decision to him on Saturday night at the EWE-Arena, Oldenburg, in Niedersachsen, Germany. The scores, however, were lopsided with Valuev winning by 118-111, 118-111, 117-111. Despite this, Bergeron feels wronged, suggesting that he was given a bad decision by the judges. What encourages him even more, though, is the polite applause he received from the German crowd, who appeared to be clapping mostly because they thought he had performed well against Valuev. However, Bergeron didn’t actually look that good in the bout, certainly not good enough to win by the bout by any stretch of the imagination. Read more

Former World Boxing Association champion Nikolay Valuev (47-1, 34 KOs) won a much harder than expected uanimous decision over previously undefeated Canadian Jean-Francois Bergeron (27-1, 19 KOs) tonight at the EWE-Arena, Oldenburg, in Niedersachsen, Germany. Valuev, 34, struggled often in the early rounds, as the 6″5′ southpaw Bergeron landed powerful left hands that rocked Valuev on a couple of occasions.

However, Bergeron appeared to fade badly in the latter part of the fight, in which Valuev took charge and was able to land his big right hand repeatedly to win the championship rounds. The final judges’ scores were 118-111, 117-111, 118-111, awarding the decision to Valuev. The win enable Valuev to keep moving forward towards another possible title shot in the future against Ruslan Chagaev, who Valuev lost a controversial split decision to in April 2007.

In the first half of the fight, Bergeron did well to keep the fight in the middle of the ring, keeping the bigger Valuev from forcing him to the ropes where he often mauls his smaller opponents. Bergeron used his faster hands to land excellent combinations to the head of Valuev as he came forward on the attack. Read more

WBO super bantamweight Daniel Ponce De Leon (33-1, 30 KOs) destroyed a weaker Reynaldo Lopez (28-5-2, 19 KOs), stopping him in the 5th round on Friday night, at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, in Cabazon, California. De Leon pounded away at the thirty-three year old Lopez for five rounds until knocking him out with two consecutive left hands in the fifth, which sent Lopez to the canvas. He gamely attempted to rise but was only able to lift his head up off the canvas, because his body wouldn’t respond. Up until then, Lopez was seldom able to mount much of an offense of his own, mostly because he was so preoccupied with dealing with the incoming fire from the hard-punching De Leon, who rarely left off the gas pedal for more than a few moments of each round.

In rounds one though three, De Leon landed well with his hooks and straight left hand, which he threw constantly at the wilting Lopez. Even when he wasn’t landing cleanly, the punches had the effect of knocking Lopez backwards and keeping him from setting up his own attacks. Lopez was able to land an occasional hard shot of his own, however, due to De Leon being more focused on his own attack, forgetting all about worrying about any semblance of defense. Read more

Welterweight prospect Andre Berto (19-0, 16 KOs) will meet up with experienced fighter David Estrada (21-3, 12 KOs) for the NABF welterweight title on Saturday night at the Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Considered one of the top prospects in the welterweight division, Berto has breezed through his first 19 fights in an effortless fashion. showing brilliant handspeed and extraordinary power as he’s knocked out sixteen of his foes during that time.

Still only 24, and ranked # 5 in the WBC welterweight listings, Berto is coming off a 10-round unanimous decision effort against Cosme Rivera in July 2007, a bout in which Berto was knocked down in the 6th round of the fight. It appeared, however, that Berto had been off balance when hit by Rivera, but it was enough to cause doubt in Berto’s abilities by many in the boxing community, who feel that his chin and defense may have potential problems. Read more

IBF light heavyweight champion Clinton Woods (40-3-1, 24 KOs) makes his ring return tomorrow night against Julio Gonzalez at the Hallam FM Arena, in Sheffield, Yorkshire. Woods, 35, hasn’t see action in a year since winning a split decision over challenger Glen Johnson in September 2006. The England born Woods has had an operation to repair an injury to his left arm, which he now claims is as good as new, enabling him to punch without pain and allowing him to punch with authority like in his early years. Read more