Month: January 2021

Undefeated Jamaine Ortiz Made his bones in the amateur ranks vs. Edgar Berlanga, Teofimo Lopez and Jaron Ennis

WORCESTER, Mass. (January 25, 2021) - Success in amateur boxing doesn't necessarily insure a great professional career. Some fighters are much more suited to be better pros than amateurs, most often power punchers, but it's usually clear early on if a fighter is especially skilled or not. Undefeated lightweight prospect Jamaine "The Technician" Ortiz (14-0, 8 KOs), fighting out of Worcester, MA, displayed his tremendous gifts in the amateurs against some of today's most talented, young boxers. Back in 2012, for example, 14-year-old, 106-pound Ortiz defeated the hottest pro prospect in the world today, 16-0(16 KOs) Edgar Berlanga, of Brooklyn, at the Junior Olympics National Championships held in Lake Placid, New York. Ortiz went on to win 100 of 114 Read more [...]

SFT Middleweight Champion Irwing “King Kong” Machado, Joshua DaSilveira & Reginaldo Junior other award winners

  2020 SFT MMA Fighter of the Year Manoel "Manumito" Sousa   SAO PAULO, Brazil (February 1, 2021)- SFT MMA (Standout Fighting Tournament) middleweight champion Irwing "King Kong" Machado won the most 2020 SFT awards, however, undefeated lightweight Manoel "Manumito" Sousa was named its Fighter of the Year.  SFT Tournament) is the only Brazil-based MMA promotional company to have a panel of mixed-martial-arts experts, as opposed to a popularity vote, select its annual winners. "Under challenging conditions due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and protocols," SFT president David Hudson said, "many of our male fighters excelled and boosted SFT's stock in mixed martial arts. Manoel Sousa is a rising star, and Irwing 'King Kong' Machado shocked the MMA world, Read more [...]

Q & A with Middleweight Isiah Seldon

Atlantic City, NJ- January 29, 2021 - Middleweight contender Isiah Seldon took the time to answer a few questions before his big fight on Saturday night against undefeated Joey Spencer.  The eight-round bout will be part of a broadcast on FOX (8 PM ET) Q-- How has your preparation been for this Saturday's fight? IS--  It's been great. The best camp I have ever had. Q--  How long have you been in training?  A lot of fighters have had trouble finding places to train with Covid and the protocols that are in place. IS-- I've been in the gym for quite a while now.  Covid has definitely changed the way the fight game is at the moment.  I knew that the best thing I could do was stay in shape. I knew I Read more [...]

Hamadi Jongo and Class Mgender WBF Champions

Two new World Boxing Federation (WBF) Champions were belted in Tanzania on Friday, January 29, as Jackson Group Sports promoted at the Next Door Arena in Dar Es Salaam.  At Cruiserweight, Shaban Hamadi Jongo took the vacant WBF International title when American opponent Shawn Miller suffered a torn bicep, prompting the technical knockout at 2:38 of the very first round.  vWhat was shaping up to be a huge brawl came to an abrupt end, as Jongo improved his record to 8-1-2 (7). Miller falls to 18-6-1 (7). The co-featured bout more than made up for the disappointment of Jongo vs. Miller, with Ibrahim Class Mgender and undefeated Malawian Denis Mwale slugging it out for the vacant WBF Intercontinental Lightweight title. After twelve rounds of non-stop action, where both men had their Read more [...]

Rafael “Dengue” Silva and Bianca Sattelmayer Dominate SFT Xtreme 2020 Awards

SAO PAULO, Brazil (January 27, 2021)- Brazilian fighters Rafael "Dengue" Silva and Bianca Sattelmayer completely dominated the SFT Xtreme 2020 Awards. SFT (Standout Fighting Tournament) is the only Brazil-based promotional company to have a panel of mixed-martial-arts experts, as opposed to a popularity vote, select its annual winners. The popular, uniquely entertaining SFT Xtreme competition allows striking, kicking and knees, fighters wear 4-ounce gloves, and clinching and fighting on the mat is prohibited. "Fans love Xtreme fighting," SFT president David Hudson said. "I believe it is going to really take off in 2021. Xtreme fighting is the best of MMA, standing, and kick boxing. 'Dengue' and Bianca were clearly the best male and female Xtreme Read more [...]

How Joe Smith Jr. is Sharpening his skills a head of upcoming fight

  JOE "THE BEAST" SMITH JR. had a spectacular 2020, consecutively dominating two #1 world rated light heavyweight challengers on ESPN in Jesse Hart and Eleider Alvarez, and was nominated as the BWAA 2020 Fighter of the Year. Now the #1 world rated light heavyweight, Smith Jr. (Long Island, NY 26-3 21KO's) is working hard again in his native Long Island hometown preparing for his WBO World Championship title bout against Russian veteran MAXIM VLASOV (Samara, Russia 45-3 26KO's). Incredibly, since Smith Jr.'s two impressive victories in 2020, not much has changed in terms of the current COVID world we are all faced with. Social distancing, masks and testing still reign supreme, especially in the worldwide attempts in Read more [...]

Kendrick Ball, Jr. vs. Bryan Vera highlight Granite Chin Promotions doubleheader

QUINCY, Mass. (January 26, 2021) - Granite Chin Promotions will kick-off 2021 with a day-night doubleheader April 17, highlighted by a vacant World Boxing Council USNBC (U.S.) Silver super middleweight title fight between former New England middleweight champion Kendrick "Peppa" Ball, Jr. and veteran Texas fighter Bryan Vera, at New England Sports Center in Derry, New Hampshire. "Undoubtedly, over the last two years, Granite Chin has been rapidly outgrowing its 'local club promoter' shell," Granite Chin Promotions president Chris Traietti said. "The key to that has been the willingness to work with other promoters openly and in good faith. This bout (Ball vs. Vera) is a testament to that. We are putting a young CES prospect in with one of our veterans in a dangerous Read more [...]

Ortiz Made his bones in the amateur ranks vs. Edgar Berlanga, Teofimo Lopez and Jaron Ennis

  WORCESTER, Mass. (January 25, 2021) - Success in amateur boxing doesn't necessarily insure a great professional career. Some fighters are much more suited to be better pros than amateurs, most often power punchers, but it's usually clear early on if a fighter is especially skilled or not. Undefeated lightweight prospect Jamaine "The Technician" Ortiz (14-0, 8 KOs), fighting out of Worcester, MA, displayed his tremendous gifts in the amateurs against some of today's most talented, young boxers. Back in 2012, for example, 14-year-old, 106-pound Ortiz defeated the hottest pro prospect in the world today, 16-0(16 KOs) Edgar Berlanga, of Brooklyn, at the Junior Olympics National Championships held in Lake Placid, New York. Ortiz went on to win 100 of 114 amateur Read more [...]

Rances Barthelemy Battles All Rivera in FS1 PBC Fight Night Main Event & FOX Deportes

LOS ANGELES (January 25, 2021) – Former two-division world champion Rances Barthelemy takes on All Rivera in a 10-round welterweight match headlining FS1 PBC Fight Night and on FOX Deportes this Saturday, January 30 from Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles. The telecast begins at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT and features exciting light heavyweight prospect Atif Oberlton making his pro debut against Nathan Sharp in a four-round special feature and Brandyn Lynch taking on Mark Hernandez in an eight-round middleweight duel to open the telecast. FS1 PBC Fight Night precedes the FOX PBC Fight Night broadcast that begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and is headlined by IBF Super Middleweight Champion Caleb Plant defending his title against former champion Caleb Truax. The Read more [...]

GCP Signs Undefeated Lightweight Wilfredo Flores to a Promotional Contract

Greg Cohen of Greg Cohen Promotions proudly announces the signing of undefeated lightweight Wilfredo “El Bravo” Flores (8-0, 4 KOs) to a promotional contract. “I feel confident,” said Flores of the signing. “I’m hoping to get things moving and make a huge impact this year. I always knew I had the talent and dedication, but I haven’t been happy with my career progress. I’ve been a professional for over five years and I’m only 8-0. I just needed the right push to make a mark in the lightweight division and now that I’m with GCP, I’m ready to take over.” Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico and raised in Dunkirk, New York, Flores is the son of the late professional fighter Abimelic “El Bravo” Vega, who faced a long list of prospects and contenders before his untimely Read more [...]

Split-T Management Hits Grand Slam With Four BWAA Awards

NEW YORK (January 22, 2021) - Split-T Management was awarded the highest honors in the sport, solidifying itself as the premiere management organization by sweeping all of the major awards in an announcement by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) today. Undisputed Lightweight World Champion Teofimo Lopez took home the coveted Fighter of the Year; Split-T Management CEO David McWater was named Manager of the Year; Ivan Baranchyk took part in the Fight of the Year, and Teofimo Lopez Sr. was named Trainer of the Year. Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) took his honors on the strength of his sensational performance on October 17th when he added the WBC Franchise, WBA and WBO Lightweight titles to his IBF Championship. The win by Lopez further exemplified that Split-T Management is Read more [...]

USA Boxing Converts Abandoned Department Store Into National Training Gym for Preparations for Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

Check out the Photo Gallery at the end of the article COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.(January 21, 2021 - When the boxers of the USA Boxing Olympic Qualification Team arrived in Colorado Springs, Colorado. this week they walked into a new training facility with just over six months left until the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, and even less time to their qualification tournaments. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, USA Boxing athletes have not been allowed to train in the national boxing gym at the United States Olympic and Paralympic Training Center (USOPTC) since March 2020 and have had to continue to make adjustments to their training plans, which included training at the French National Training Center in Paris in late 2020. After being told they would not be allowed to Read more [...]

Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez targets Saul “Canelo” Alvarez for future mega-showdown

LAS VEGAS (January 21, 2021) - If 29-year-old Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez (41-0, 27 KOs), arguably already one of the top 25 Mexican fighters of all-time, has his way as he enters his prime years, he will eventually have a mega-showdown with fellow countryman Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (54-2-32, 36 KOs) before making their way to the Hall of Fame. "Anything is possible, and it'll be great for fans if a fight for me against 'Canelo' happens," Ramirez said. "With two Mexicans in the ring, you know it'll be a war from round one. We'll see what happens in the future." First, though, Ramirez has some business to take care of starting with a potential Interim World Boxing Council (WBC) light heavyweight World title fight against 2012 U.S. Olympian "Sir" Marcus Browne (23-1, 16 KOs).   The Read more [...]

Two in-house Battles Head to Fantasy Springs Resort Casino February 13, 2021

Photo credits:  Hogan/Golden Boy Promotions/Main Events INDIO, CALIF. (Jan. 21, 2021): Two exciting in-house battles between some of Golden Boy’s best talent will head to Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif. on the undercard of Diaz vs. Rakhimov as Ronny Rios (32-3, 16 KOs) and Oscar “El Jaguar” Negrete (19-2-2, 7 KOs) face off in a super bantamweight battle and Jason Quigley (18-1, 14 KOs) and Shane Mosley Jr. (16-3, 9 KOs) fight for the NABO Middleweight Title. Video credits:  Golden Boy Promotions/Main Events The stacked event will take place Saturday, Feb. 13 and will be streamed live exclusively on DAZN in more than 200 countries and territories, including the U.S., Mexico, Russia, Tajikistan, Brazil and Argentina. “Golden Boy’s Read more [...]

iKON Fight Federation launched in 2020 & ready to explode in 2021

      Bella Mir and her father, MMA living legend Frank Mir LAS VEGAS (January 19, 2021) - Back in August, veteran combat sports promoter Keith Veltre announced the formation of new mixed-martial-arts promotion, iKON Fighting Federation (iKON), in association of Roy Jones Jr. Boxing Promotions (RJJ Boxing). Launching a new business during a pandemic may not have been under ideal conditions, but four successful events were promoted, establishing iKON as a potential force within the MMA industry in 2021. One show was held in Biloxi, Mississippi, the other three in San Carlos, Mexico. Each was streamed live and exclusively on UFC FIGHT PASS®, the world's leading digital subscription service for combat sports. To sign up for UFC FIGHT PASS, please visit www.ufcfightpass.com. Veltre Read more [...]