Boxing News

© Ed Mulholland / Main Events

Former Cruiserweight champion and heavyweight contender Tomasz Adamek, a Polish fighter out of Jersey City, New Jersey, won a unanimous twelve-round decision to retain the IBF International Heavyweight title over challenger Jason Estrada at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Adamek moves into an eliminator bout against Chris Arreola later in 2010 for a shot at the full IBF heavyweight title.

A partisan crowd of over ten-thousand paying Polish patriots wearing red and waving Polish flags influenced the decision, causing Estrada to cry foul at the post-fight press conference. This reporter scored the bout a 115-115 draw, while another reporter scored it 114-114 draw. Neither fighter impressed much.

Estrada clearly won the first, and later the ninth, tenth, and the twelfth. A tiring Adamek, now 40-1 (27), was breathing heavily from the seventh round on. Estrada gave away the eleventh; later claiming it was just “a change in strategy against Adamek” that Estrada still calls “a smart fighter”. More...

**With Slideshow**

© Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing

Friday night, at the Harvey Hadden Leisure Centre in Nottingham, England, Frank Maloney Promotions hosted an action-packed fight-card which headlined two title bouts.

Jason Booth (Nottingham) v Matthew Marsh (West Ham)
12 x 3 British & Commonwealth Super Bantamweight Title

It was a close contest between "2Smooth" Booth and Matt Marsh on Friday night – with Marsh getting off to the better start and Booth sustaining a cut between the eyebrows mid-way through the opening round due to a clash of heads.

In the first minute of round five, Booth falls back to the canvas from a neat left to the upper body. He gestures that it was a slip but must take the count from Referee John Keane. Both men are warned to ‘watch the heads!’ as they work up close but now Marsh has sustained a cut to the right brow. More...

Ovill McKenzie will not be challenging Tony Bellew for the vacant Commonwealth light-heavyweight title next month, despite reports claiming that the fight is on.

Instead, the Derby knockout artist who gets a British passport later this month is targeting winningthe Lonsdale belt later this year.

McKenzie (18-9) proved he is of boxing's most concussive punchers on Friday stopping Billy Boyle in Nottingham inside a round. More...

Veteran heavyweight Maurice “Sugar Moe” Harris, inactive for the previous 26 months, recently returned to the ring (Jan. 29) in Albuquerque, impressively winning a 6-round unanimous decision (60-54, 60-54, 58-56) against battle-tested Billy “The Kid” Zumbrun.

The 33-year-old Harris (21-14-2, 10 KOs), winner of the “2002 Thunderbox Heavyweight Tournament,” had fought only four times in the past seven years due to his promotional/managerial problems. His comeback is under the banner of his new promoter, Boxing 360. More...

World ranked flyweight contender Rayonta Whitfield will battle Sergio Espinoza for the NABO Flyweight Title on Saturday, February 27th at the Bell Auditorium, it was announced today by TKO Boxing Promotions.

A press conference to announce the event was held this past Tuesday at Mayor Deke Copenhaver’s office in Augusta. More...

In what was thought to be a very competitive test for WBC lightweight ruler Edwin Valero, the Venezuelan southpaw handled the challenge of fellow lefty Antonio DeMarco with style last night at The Arena in Monterrey, Mexico.

DeMarco came into the bout having well defeated the trio of Jose Alfaro, Anges Adjaho and Almazbek Raiymkulov in 2009 but found Valero to be on another level entirely.

From the start it was Valero who controlled the pace of the contest, using his fast hands to deliver punishing power shots, particularly the lethal left that had stopped all 23 of his previous opponents.

But DeMarco showed remarkable toughness to keep going, dealing out punishment of his own when the opportunity arose but did lose a point for an inadvertent elbow that opened a massive cut on Valero's forehead. More...

Tomasz Adamek continued to press his case as a heavyweight last night at the Prudential Centre in Newark, NJ with a victory over former amateur star Jason Estrada.

Former light heavy and cruiserweight world champ Adamek took awhile to get accustomed to the good jab and fast hands of the shorter Estrada but by the second half of the bout the always patient Pole found his rhythm.

Adamek shook off Estrada's shots to deliver crisp combinations that worked in rights to the head and left to the body but Estrada's sturdy chin allowed him to finish the fight competitively.

After 12 frames, Adamek, 40-1 (27), held onto his WBA International heavyweight title by scores of 115-113, 116-112 and 118-110. Estrada drops to 16-3 (4) after a good performance. More...

It was war last night at Unidad Deportiva Inalambrica in Merida, Mexico as Jorge Solis and Likar Ramos went at it for the Interim WBA super feather title.

Colombia's Ramos came into the ring as reigning Interim champ, having outpointed Angel Granados in Medellin for the title last November and the 24 year old was riding an 11 bout win streak.

Mexico's Solis had only previously lost to Manny Pacquiao and most recently to Cristobal Cruz in an IBF featherweight title clash but at age 30, was giving away the youth advantage to his adversary. More...

Undefeated Petey "Kid Chocolate" Quillin, 20-0 (15), is finally stepping into the ring tonight at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ as the co-main event to the headliner of Tomasz Adamek vs. Jason Estrada, going against Fernando Zuniga 28-9 (20).

Quillin last fought in September, 2008 against Sam Hill. It's been over a year since the 26 year old Brooklyn resident has been in the ring because he has encountered some unexpected setbacks beyond his control.

Tonight Quillin, who usually walks around during his grace periods at his fight weight, is more than prepared for a ten round bout, which takes place at a catchweight of 164 lbs.

"Kid Chocolate" will be throwing chocolate kisses to the crowd after his fight. Let's see if he can make the sweet science even sweeter.

SaddoBoxing: You sound in good spirits! You are back from training camp in Ohio, how was the sparring?

Peter Quillin: I sparred here in New York before I left so it really prepared me. Its always good! More...

A real matchup at lightweight takes place tonight at The Arena in Monterrey, Mexico as WBC titlist Edwin Valero meets the Interim WBC beltholder, Antonio DeMarco.

Valero, 26-0 (26), needs no introduction as the reigning KO king of the sport. The 28 year old southpaw from Venezuela has finished off every single opponent who has stepped into a ring with him and previously held the WBA super feather belt.

24 year old DeMarco, 23-1-1 (17), from Tijuana, Mexico, also a southpaw, has won 12 in a row including a tenth round stoppage of former WBA lightweight titlist Jose Alfaro in October to capture the Interim WBC crown.

Valero is in a league of his own in the power department and DeMarco can certainly punch but this contest will likely come down to who can take the shots better.

Neither fighter is defensively oriented, gaining victories behind overwhelming offensive skills and the man that can back the other up in the second half of the fight, if it goes that long, will likely emerge the winner. More...

The resurgence of Jason Booth continued last night as the British super bantam champion stopped former titleholder Matthew Marsh last night at Harvey Hadden Leisure Centre in Nottingham, England, adding the vacant Commonwealth crown to an already impressive trophy cabinet.

It was Marsh leading the way in the early rounds as the Londoner expertly kept Booth at a distance and countered well, surprisingly outboxing the champion.

Things came to a head in the fifth when Booth was canvased but easily beat the count and continued on. Booth began to get his bearings by the sixth as he got closer to Marsh and began to boss the younger man.

Booth targeted the challenger's midsection and was controlling the action in the later rounds, beating Marsh to the punch, when the bout was stopped in the 11th frame when a cut above the eye was deemed to severe for Marsh to continue.

Booth improves to 35-5 (15) while Marsh drops to 13-2 (1). More...

With one sudden, dramatic right hand, once-beaten Freddy “El Riel’’ Hernandez (28-1, 19 KOs) of Lynwood, Calif. broke open an entertaining, dead-even fight to brutally knock out former world champion DeMarcus “Chop Chop’’ Corley (36-13-1, 21 KOs) of Washington, D.C., at 1:48 of the fifth round Friday in the main event on ShoBox: The New Generation on Showtime. More...

Colombian amateur Samuel Vargas will make his pro debut against Todd Furler tonight at the Montreal Casino in Quebec, Canada in a scheduled four round welterweight bout.

Born in Bogota, Colombia, Vargas immigrated to Canada at age 16 in search of a better life. Arriving in Toronto, Vargas started boxing under the guidance of famed Canadian trainer Chris Johnson. More...

WBC lightweight champ Edwin Valero and WBC 135-pound interim titleholder Antonio DeMarco both weighed in at 135 pounds during Friday’s weigh in the Arena Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico.

The hard-hitting Valero will face the once-beaten DeMarco in the main event tonight on Showtime Championship Boxing on Showtime at 9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast, from the Arena Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico. More...

In light of the major snow storm expected to hit the Atlantic City area, Tropicana Casino and Resort and Star Boxing have decided to postpone Saturday night's boxing show until Saturday March 6th, noting major concern for the safety of traveling fans, fight participants and the general public welfare. More...

Unbeaten Wilfredo “WV2” Vasquez, Jr., the proud son of two-time world champion Wilfredo Vasquez, plans to make Puerto Rican history Feb. 27 when he fights the 19-year-old being billed in the Philippines as the next Manny Pacquaio, “Marvelous” Marvin Sonsona, for the vacant WBO junior featherweight title, headlining one of two sensational shows airing on pay-per-view in North America. More...

Steven Seagal, one of Hollywood’s most popular box office action heroes and the star of A&E’s wildly-popular reality series Steven Seagal Lawman, was a dinner guest of seven-division world champion and three-time Fighter of the Year Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao earlier this week.

A 7th degree black belt and Aikido master, as well as an accomplished blues musician with two albums under his belt, Seagal and Pacquiao had plenty of common interests to discuss. More...

Frank Maloney again puts on another good line up of fights after last week's corker between Ian Napa and Jamie McDonnell and Ashley Sexton against Usman Ahmed.

Tonight at Harvey Hadden Leisure Centre in Nottingham, England, Jason ‘2 Smooth’ Booth, 34-5 (14), takes on Matthew Marsh, 13-1 (1), for Booth's British super bantamweight title, the same belt that Marsh had held but was forced to vacate almost a year ago, due to not being able to make the weight limit.

This raises a few eyebrows, especially after a few months away from the sport, Marsh came back to fight Josh Wale for the vacant English super bantamweight title, wins over ten rounds but cannot claim the title as he weighed in six ounces over! It looks like he really struggles to get down to 122 lb.

Either wa,y the first time Marsh failed to get down to the weight, he had been scheduled to defend his belt against Mark Moran. The experienced and talented Jason Booth was there to pick up the pieces, adding the British belt to his own Commonwealth crown by defeating Moran.

Marsh is a good boxer, a former two-time ABA champion at flyweight and bantamweight, and thus well schooled. But has only fought 14 times as a professional and only been the distance twice. More...

Tributes have been flooding in this week over the sad loss of boxer Ernie Smith. Smith aka 'Gypsy Boy' was a likeable and well-known boxer from Stourport, Worcestershire, England, who accumulated a staggering 161 fight record.

Well respected and always keen to fight - Smith took many bouts with little notice.

He was tragically found dead at a South Wales beauty-spot last week.

SaddoBoxing sends out its deepest sympathies to family and friends of Ernie Smith.

© M.L. Preissel / Showtime Boxing

Promising Freddy “El Riel’’ Hernandez (27-1, 18 KOs), of Lynwood, Calif., will take on former world champion, southpaw DeMarcus “Chop Chop’’ Corley (36-12-1, 21 KOs), of Washington, D.C., in the 10-round welterweight main event on ShoBox: The New Generation tonight, Friday, Feb. 5, on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast. More...