Uzbek star Israil ‘The Dream’ Madrimov, (2-0, 2KO), fighting in his second professional bout on Saturday night, March 9, scored a stunning second round knockout of Frank ‘The Rooster’ Rojas, (24-3-0, 23 KOs), in their scheduled ten-round bout at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, NY. The fight was telecast live on DAZN in the US and on Sky Sports in the UK. With the victory, Madrimov made the first defense of his WBA Inter-Continental Super Welterweight Title.
Attacking from the opening bell with a full arsenal of power shots to the head and body, the 24-year-old Madrimov dropped Rojas with a blistering combination in the second stanza as the valiant Venezuelan beat the count of referee Benjy Esteves. Trained by the renowned Joel Diaz in Indio, CA, Madrimov went on the attack and earned the knockout with a vicious combination as the fight was stopped at the time of 1:56 of the round.
Following the fight, Madrimov expressed interest in fighting for a world title in the near future. ‘I’m ready for a world title fight right now, I’d love to face the WBO Champion Jaime Munguia, that would be a great fight for the fans.”
Madrimov is promoted by World of Boxing who last week announced a partnership with Matchroom Boxing for his future fights.
“Israil was outstanding last night, we believe he is ready for a world title fight right now and we look forward to working with Matchroom Boxing to facilitate that, “ said Andrei Ryanbinsky, head of World of Boxing.
Stated manager Vadim Kornilov, “Israil wanted to fight for a world title in his professional debut and his performances continue to validate that he’s ready. We’d love to fight Jaime Munguia this year. Both fight on DAZN so there’s no network or promotional obstacles and this would be a very big fight in Southern California.”
Madrimov made history in his pro debut on November 24, 2018 which was uniquely scheduled for an unprecedented ten-rounds. The 24-year-old Madrimov knocked out Vladimir Hernandez in the sixth round of their battle in Atlantic City, New Jersey earning the WBA Inter-Continental Super Welterweight Title. Hernandez was a very tough test for the pro debut, having previously twice beaten top undefeated prospect Danny Valdivia (14-0), in his direct bouts prior to facing Madrimov.
Prior to turning professional Madrimov was the Gold Medal winner at the 2018 and 2017 Asian Games capping an extraordinary amateur career. Capable of fighting aggressively in the orthodox or southpaw stance, Madrimov thrilled the crowd in Atlantic City with his all-action style and capped his pro debut victory with a spectacular, high-flying backflip.
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Unbeaten welterweight Taras Shelestyuk (17-0, 10 KOs) delivered a dominating performance from start to finish on Saturday night.
The former Olympic bronze medalist from the 2012 London games thoroughly outpointed Martin Angel Martinez (18-17-1, 11 KOs) through eight rounds in Thompson Boxing Promotions’ annual private show, “Night of Champions.”
Shelestyuk, a native of Ukraine who now lives and trains in Los Angeles, came off a roughly year-and-a-half layoff. The 33-year-old didn’t appear to have any ring rust, as he moved effortlessly across the ring and struck pay dirt in the fourth round.
He brushed back Martinez, who had previously logged action against former world title holder Mike Alvarado, with his right jab and followed up with the left hand to deposit the younger Martinez on the floor.
Shelestyuk cruised to the unanimous decision, sweeping the three scorecards (80-71). Shelestyuk is promoted by Thompson Boxing and Banner Promotions.
In an early stoppage, Mexico’s Angel Ruiz (14-0, 10 KOs) eliminated fellow countryman Roberto Almazan (7-10, 2 KOs) in a first round knockout that occurred at the 1:56 mark.
Ruiz, who was fighting for the third time in the U.S., appeared to show promise in the limited minutes that he was afforded. His punching ability, while small in sample size, showed a tight technique.
Ruiz, a welterweight, landed a couple of hard shots across the temple of Alamzan, which was enough for referee Sharon Sands to call the fight for Ruiz.
In the “Night of Champions” show opener, featherweight Arnold Dinong (4-0, 1 KO) spoiled the pro debut of Miguel Angel Moreno (0-1) by earning a resounding unanimous decision, 40-36 all around.
“Night of Champions” originated from the Doubletree Hotel in Orange, Calif.
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In his first fight at super-middleweight, former British and Commonwealth middleweight champion Tommy Langford (21-3) was made to work hard for his points win against Frenchman Baptiste Castegnaro (8-16) on March 9 at the Walsall Town Hall on a BCB Promotions event.
Langford didn’t have it all his own way against the tough 28-year-old from southwest France with the six-round super-middleweight contest scored at 58-56 to the 29-year-old from Birmingham.
Langford started off on the front foot and took the fight to the Frenchman, who has previously shared the ring with Olympic bronze medalist Joshua Buatsi.
The West Brom FC fan, born and raised in North Devon, was dominant behind his double jab and landed a neat left to the body midway through the first round. Castegnaro did manage to have some success in the opener and when he landed cleanly, it visibly incentivised him to follow up, forcing the home fighter backwards. The French fighter did manage to ruffle Langford’s feathers a little bit, who took a tiny tumble at the end of the opener, but was ruled as a slip.
Langford started the second stanza behind a stiff jab, backing Castegnaro up. They were soon tangled up in the centre of the ring until Castegnaro forced Tommy back to the ropes without managing to land anything at all as Langford ducked and weaved and soon answered with a one-two to the head. It was a clean, controlled round for Langford on the scorecards, as he began to lose his nerves and find his rhythm.
Langford landed a peach of a left hook as the pair traded in the centre of the ring in the third, but Castegnaro managed to score back with one of his own seconds later. This round was contested in close quarters for the first time in the fight as Castegnaro held his feet a bit longer and there was success for both parties during the three minutes of action.
Despite Langford producing the more dominant and aggressive display, Castegnaro enjoyed spells of success and produced a late flurry seconds before the end of the fourth segment.
The fifth round was far more controlled, as Tommy stalked his opponent, who occupied all four corners of the ring for the duration of the round as he attempted to move away from danger. Langford unloaded when he trapped Castegnaro in his home corner and a left hook to the body followed by another to the head sent the Frenchman backpedaling across the ring.
Castegnaro came out swinging in the final round and the pair finished with a firefight in the middle of the ring.
The official scored it four rounds for Langford and two for the visitor.
Langford commented post-fight, “Back to winning ways! I was a little jittery to begin with, I have to admit, but I soon warmed up. To be completely honest, I was actually very nervous and a bit tentative early on, which resulted in a hesitant first few rounds.
“It was to be expected after the lay off and moving up a weight division, but I warmed into it and started to box well and by the end I was really dominating and hurting my opponent, especially with the left hook.
“It was good to get the experience at 168lbs against a fully-fledged super-middleweight who has fought two of the best light-heavyweights in the country in Olympian Joshua Buatsi and English champion Liam Conroy.
“He was a strong, durable opponent, so the experience will be invaluable as I push on to bigger fights. Many others would have had a more conventional or less dangerous opponent for their first step up to a new weight, and, if I’m going to be completely honest, I probably would have liked to have had an easier opponent, but now the job’s done and I’ve come through well, I’m very happy.
“It means the questions that I’ve had have been answered and I’m happy to push on now and look for bigger opportunities at 168lbs.”
The ‘Baggies Bomber’, named so by his huge following of West Bromwich Albion FC fans, has already declared his intentions to become a two-weight British or Commonwealth champion. Zach Parker from nearby Swadlincote is the current British super-middleweight titlist and world title challenger Rocky Fielding last held the Commonwealth strap.
“I’m fully aware that most domestic champions won’t want to give me a shot at their titles, so I’m prepared to work my way into the mandatory position.”
He concluded, “Big thank you to all the fantastic support, it always means a lot. Thanks to BCB Promotions for giving me the platform to fight. We move on to the next one!”
The BCB Promotions ‘Pride of the Midlands’ event also featured Midlands Area middleweight champion Tyler Denny (10-1-2) who earned a shutout points win over six-rounds and has plans to fight for bigger titles in 2019.
Ricky Hatton-trained welterweight Conah Walker (4-0) remained unbeaten as he scored his second KO and unbeaten lightweight Connor Lee Jones moved up to 3-0 with a points win.
Wolves welterweight Kirstie Bavington (2-0-1) scored her first stoppage win in a very one-sided fight.
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In front of a packed crowd last night at the Comercio Club in Villa Dolores, Argentina, super bantamweight veteran Javier “Chispita” Chacon scored a mild upset by defeating fellow Argentinean Luis Emanuel Cusolito via 10-round unanimous decision.
Fighting in the main event of an event presented by Sampson Boxing and Tello Box (and in the finals of tournament to determine a world-ranking for the winner), Chacon (28-4-1, 9 KOs) turned up the heat on Cusolito (now 27-3-0-1 NC, 21 KOs) to win by scores of 96-93, 97-93 and 98-92. The close and entertaining fight saw Cusolito deducted two points by referee Gerardo Poggi, one in the seventh round for holding and again in the eighth for low blows.
By winning, Chacon, a former two-time world-title challenger, also picked up the Argentina (FAB) and South American Super Bantamweight Championships. After the fight, 37-year-old Chacon dedicated the victory to his wife and children, his brother and coach: former featherweight world champion Pablo Chacon, and to the boys who also train at the Las Heras gym.
“I want to be a world champion before my retirement, so I ask my promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, to get me another chance,” said a jubilant Chacon.
To win the tournament, in addition to Cusolito, Chacon had to knock out respected veterans Claudio Echegaray and Roman Reinoso. In March 2014, Chacon lost a unanimous decision to then WBA Champion Anselmo Moreno. And then in November of the same year, he was in a close fight with new champion Jamie McDonnell when he tragically dislocated his shoulder in round nine and was forced to stop.
“I am very proud of Javier Chacon for this upset victory,” said promoter Sampson Lewkowicz. “He has shown he is still a world contender in the bantamweight or super bantamweight divisions, worthy to be rated by any organization. I will give everything I have to secure one last title shot for this proud warrior and may he finally wear the world championship belt when I do.”
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Ronson Frank’s Uprising Promotions returned to Club Amazura on Friday night for its first show of 2019, bringing seven bouts to the stage in a co-promotion with The New Mexican Promotion and Fists of Legends. In addition to the fans who witnessed the action live at Club Amazura, a worldwide audience also had the opportunity to watch in real time via Fight Night Live on Facebook.
“It was great to host another event at Club Amazura,” said Ronson Frank, President of Uprising Promotions. “We want to thank The New Mexican Promotion and Fists of Legends for working this show with us, and we definitely want to thank all of the fighters, sponsors and fans who came out tonight. I also want to express my gratitude to Mark Fratto and his team at Fight Night Live for giving us the ability to broadcast this card to an international audience.”
In the showcase bout of the evening, featherweight Titus Williams (8-2, 3 KOs) scored an emphatic knockout of Cristian Renteria (7-8, 6 KOs). While displaying good movement and quick footwork over the course of the first three rounds, Williams was also being sound defensively and not allowing Renteria to land any clean shots. At the same time, Williams was finding counter punch opportunities when his opposition came forward, and he used that to his advantage at the start of the fourth frame.
Just 22 seconds into that round, Renteria stepped into a perfectly timed counter right uppercut from Williams that immediately sent him crumbling to the canvas. Referee Sparkle Lee did not even see a need for starting her count, and she waved off the bout instantly to give Williams the knockout victory.
In the night’s co-feature, bantamweight Ariel Lopez (12-0, 7 KOs) overcame a durable opponent in Jose Chanez (6-8, 3 KOs), with the duo competing in a non-stop action fight. The contest was held almost entirely on the inside, where Lopez was able to get the better of the exchanges. Chanez proved that he was very much game for the encounter, but Lopez was the man who landed the cleaner punches and threw heavier volume. After the six frames concluded, Lopez emerged victorious with a unanimous decision win via counts of 60-54 (twice) and 59-55.
In featherweight action, Jude Franklin (9-0-1, 8 KOs) found himself opposite a very game Aleem Jumakhonov (7-2-2, 4 KOs), who was able to lure Franklin into making this fight a brawl. The two combatants exchanged heavily throughout the six rounds of action, with both men giving and taking. The back-and-forth scrap was highly contested and made it a tough job for the ringside judges, who eventually ruled the bout a majority draw when a Franklin card of 58-56 was overruled by a pair of 57-57 tallies.
Welterweight Mathew Gonzalez (8-0, 5 KOs) increased his perfect record on Friday, needing less than three frames to dispose of Gabor Kovacs (7-7, 6 KOs). After putting Kovacs down in the second round, Gonzalez continued to overwhelm his opposition until the bout was halted with 34 seconds remaining in the third frame.
Putting forth a dynamic performance at Club Amazura was featherweight Jose Gonzalez (12-0-2, 4 KOs), who needed less than one round to drop David Berna (17-7, 16 KOs) three times and finish his night early. Gonzalez put him down the first time with a two-piece about a minute into the frame before sending him back to the canvas within 30 seconds with a hard left hand to the body. The New York native stayed on his man when the action continued, and he eventually ended the fight at the 2:13 mark when he blasted Berna with a looping left hook to the body.
Super lightweight Wesley Ferrer (13-1-1, 7 KOs) picked up another win on Friday night when he hosted Andrew Rodgers (4-6-1, 2 KOs) of Indiana, controlling the fight by working behind the jab and landing hard shots when his opportunities arose. Rodgers proved that he was a game opponent, but the bigger Ferrer was just a bit too much for him. When the ringside judges were called upon for their insight, Ferrer emerged victorious when they revealed flush 60-54 counts in his favor.
In the opening bout of the evening, 50-year-old Hawaiian native Eileen Olszewski (11-7-3, 1 KO) controlled the action against Judit Hackbold (5-7, 1 KO) over six rounds, putting a stamp on the bout in the fourth frame when she sat Hackbold down with a looping left hook. While her Hungarian counterpart was a willing participant, Olszewski boxed an intelligent fight, and she was rewarded for her efforts by receiving straight 60-53 cards from the judges to earn a unanimous decision.
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In a sold out crowd at Maryland Live Casino promoted by former boxer Tony Jeter (Jeter Promotions), the main event featured Super Middleweight Demond Nicholson of Laurel, MD taking on Jessie Nicklow (27-9) of Baltimore, MD for the Maryland State Super Middleweight title scheduled for 10 rounds. The DiBella promoted Super Middleweight and current WBC USNBC Champion Demond Nicholson wasted no time in disposing of his opponent Nicklow who was undefeated in the state of Maryland. Nicholson hit Nicklow with a left hook directly on the temple that dropped him. Nicklow beat the count, but was clearly dazed and didn’t have his equilibrium when standing back up. Nicholson stops Nicklow at in the first round at 1:16 becoming the new Maryland State Super Welterweight Champion.
Nicholson improves to (21-3) while Nicklow falls to (27-10). After the bout, Nicholson who is managed by former light heavyweight contender, Thomas “Top Dog” Williams, Jr. was pleased with his performance and stated, “We will probably take one more bout. If were are successful, we will be going the WBC route. Dirrell is somebody we want.
The co-main event featured Dante Cox (3-0) of Elkridge, MD facing Dravontay Speed Rawls (10-1) Glenarden, MD Lightweight bout scheduled for 6 rounds. Cox, a Maryland Live Casino Hotel bartender employee showed heart, but Speed-Rawls lived up to part of his last name in displaying some hand speed that bothered Cox. In the 3rd round, Speed Rawls dropped Cox with a head-to-body combo that dropped Cox. Cox beat the count, but the fight was waived off officially at 1:28 in the 3rd round. Speed Rawls goes to (11-1) while Cox drops to (3-1).
Next, the recently signed Kings Promotions Super Lightweight Greg Outlaw of (7-0) Bowie, MD went to war against Tyrone Crawley (7-1) of Philadelphia, PA scheduled for 6 rounds. In less than 2 minutes of the 1st round, both boxers intertwined with Outlaw accidently falling on top of Crawley. Crawley eventually had his leg examined by the ringside doctor in which they ruled that he was no longer able to continue declaring the bout a No Contest. No word on the exact damage done to his leg. Outlaw remains at (7-0) and Crawley stays at (7-1).
Other results:
Super Middleweight, A.J. Williams (0-1) of Cockeysville, MD goes to (1-1) after getting a 3rd round TKO over Dameron Kirby (0-3) Washington, DC.
Featherweight, Malik Loften (2-1) of Suitland, MD earns a 4 round split decision win over Ebrima Jawara (0-1) Germantown, MD.
Baltimore police officer, Brendan Chambers, gets a 4 round draw in his Pro Debut at lightweight vs. Christopher Haney (0-3) Glendale Heights, IL.
Heavyweights Jerry Forrest (24-2) Newport News VA and Grover Young (13-26-3) engaged in battle for the 3rd time. The first match resulted in an UD win for Forrest and the 2nd match being declared a draw. In this 3rd bout, Forrest won by UD.
Super Welterweights Radzhad Butae of Brooklyn NY and Lanardo Tyner of Detroit, Mich. faced each other in the first fight of the night. Butaev, trained by Joel Diaz broke Tyner down from the start. By the 3rd round, the veteran Tyner found himself in trouble with Butaev applying pressure to unanswered blows. Butaev stops Tyner in the 3rd round at 1:48 seconds improving to 11-0 while Tyner falls to 35-15.
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Boy oh boy what a sensational night of boxing at the Charter Hall in Colchester on Saturday night. It may have been a small hall show without any Championship fights on the card but you would never have guessed that by the World class presentation and electric atmosphere.
World Boxing Foundation (WBF) International and European Super Welterweight Champion Tommy ‘Sweet T’ Jacobs had two hats on that night, Promoter and Fighter, both of which he accomplished in stunning style.
The lighting rig, with big screens above showing all the action close up, along with the pyrotechnics and ring walk light show rivalled any of the major Championship events at the O2 or Maddison Square Gardens or similar and the way the show was run was so slick you’d have thought this was being beamed live around the world adhering to strict TV schedule times.
OK, the scene is set, so let’s get to the fights themselves, starting with the aforementioned Tommy Jacobs versus unbeaten Super Middleweight Scott ‘Mad Dog’ McIntyre from Liverpool, which was sponsored by Roman Cars, The Grapes Pub, BOR Scaffolding and RDX Sports
Yep that is not a mistake Jacobs had gone up two weight divisions for the fight, as he is hoping to challenge Bardney, Lincolnshire’s Nathan ‘The Nightmare’ Decastro later in the year should Decastro beat Daniel Adjei Sowah and secure the World Boxing Union (WBU) World title on April 27th.
Now I’ve seen all of McIntyre’s fights and seven of Jacobs’ ten fights to date, so was intrigued that Jacobs chose such a tough unbeaten opponent, but also in a way understood, as McIntyre’s fight style is not that dissimilar to Decastro’s.
When the opening bell rang, Jacobs strode forward and began letting rip with massive shots to body and head, McIntyre sensibly covered up initially as the blows rained down on him but soon responded with some shots of his own, only to be caught by a peach of a shot that clearly rocked him to the core.
Seeing that he had rocked McIntyre, Jacobs jumped in and began raining down further big shots to finish off his opponent, however McIntyre is granite like and absorbed the punishment before once again letting his hands go.
Jacobs walked straight threw them and continued his massive attack and backed McIntyre on to the ropes.
McIntyre switched from his normal fight style, which is full on attack, attack and more attack, to tying up his opponent and boxing on the inside.
Whilst this, Jacobs on the attack throwing big shots followed by a lot of close up battling, became more or less the format for the contest, there were some sensational open action to thrill the fans, such as in round five, following some close on the inside action McIntyre sustained a cut above his right eye. Jacobs took a step back and and started targeting with stiff jabs, before firing off big lefts and rights to the head.
Coming out for the sixth and final round Jacobs switched from full on attack to getting behind his jab, which provided McIntyre the opportunity to be on the front foot and push Jacobs back on to the ropes.
Jacobs, even though now on the defensive, displayed some sensational ring craft, dipping and slipping to avoid most of the shots coming his way, before countering in style.
After six exhilarating rounds its was to Referee Lee Murtagh’s scorecards which read a 60-54 in favour of Colchester’s Tommy Jacobs, whilst definitely the right result it just doesn’t convey how close many of the rounds were.
Preceding Jacobs-McIntyre was a four round Featherweight contest between Clacton on Sea’s Ben ‘The Claxican’ Cook and Ghanaian Michael Barnor, sponsored by Roman Cars.
Cook shot out of his corner as soon as the opening bell rang and went straight on the attack, immediately negating his much taller opponents reach advantage, targeting the body with big left and right hands.
Have to say that Cook’s tactics more or less mirrored Jacobs’ in his fight with McIntyre, about the only difference being that Barnor was not as comfortable as McIntyre boxing on the inside.
Cook was relentless and by about three quarters point his constant pressure paid off, as Barnor was forced to take to one knee following a pin-point accurate shot to the lower rib.
For the next three rounds, Cook just kept the pressure on the Ghanaian, allowing Barnor no room to operate and showcase his well honed skills when boxing long, which those ringside only got glimpses of on the night, due to Cook’s constant pressure.
After four excellent rounds Referee Lee Murtagh scored the contest 40-35 in favour of Ben ‘The Claxican’ Cook.
The third fight of the night pitted Hove’s Navid Iran against Liverpool’s Kyle McNicholas in a four round Light Heavyweight contest, sponsored by Roman Cars.
Iran is very much an all action, attack minded character and tonight he stuck to his game plan and went full-on right from the opening bell, peppering McNicolas with huge shots to body and head.
McNicholas, despite having to cover up initially, managed to create a little space and let his hands go, which just seemed to encourage Iran to close McNicholas down before letting rip with a barrage of shots culminating with a massive bodyshop, that sent the Liverpudlian down to the canvas and clearly in distress, leaving Referee Lee Murtagh no option but to wave the fight off on the 56 second mark of the first round.
Preceding Iran-McNicholas see local lad Dean Porter against Dundalk, Ireland’s Michael Kelly in a four round Super Lightweight Contest, sponsored by RDX Sports.
What a sensationally close fought contest, both Porter and Kelly entertaining the assembled crowd with some fantastic boxing.
With Porter, coming off a close debut loss to Steve Sunners back in November, and Kelly coming in off the back of a classy victory over Dougie Vincent back in February, it was clear from the opening bell that both fighters were intent on having a perfect unbeaten start to the year, as they battled it out at centre ring.
Each second of each round was fought with such passion and skill it was a joy to be ringside observing. It was like a mix of a chess match and a choreographed routine, as both combatants showcased their finely honed skills to a highly appreciative crowd.
After four scintillating rounds of boxing Referee Lee Murtagh’s scorecard read a very close 39-38 points victory in favour of Dean Porter.
The opening fight of the night see Ipswich’s Rob Elden against late replacement Liverpool’s David Taylor, sponsored by RDX Sports. Taylor literally was a very late replacement as original opponent David Calveley had to pull out on the Friday.
Elden shot out of the corner as the opening bell chimed, taking the fight to his opponent, Taylor immediately got behind his jab after the initial assault, in an effort to stall Elden’s forceful march forward.
Elden just kept coming forward forcing Taylor into a short toe-to-toe slugging match before conceding control and being forced back on to the ropes.
As the round was entering it’s final minutes Taylor was forced back into defending with his back towards his own corner, Elden lands a heavy shot to Taylor’s ribs, Taylor initially covers up and then goes to throw a big right but as he does let’s out a loud gasp and drops to his knees clearly in distress.
Referee Lee Murtagh immediately began the count, but it was clear to all in attendance Taylor was in a lot of pain so halted the contest so the medical team could attend to the wounded combatant. Official time of stoppage two minutes and thirty six seconds of the first round.
Roll on the next Tommy Jacobs’ promoted event, which takes place at the Prince’s Theatre in Clacton-on-Sea on the 22nd June 2019, if it’s just half as good as this one then it’s going to be a must see show.