After winning titles at featherweight and junior lightweight, Shakur Stevenson moved up once again, this time to face Shuichiro Yoshino in a 12-round WBC lightweight title eliminator in Newark, New Jersey on Saturday. Stevenson finished Yoshino in the sixth round of a one-sided bout to become the mandatory challenger to the WBC lightweight title. [SOURCE: ESPN]
At 5-0, Muhammad Ali’s grandson, Nico Ali Walsh is starting to turn some heads in the boxing world. On Saturday night in Las Vegas Ali Walsh delivered a highlight-reel knockout that surely would’ve impressed his grandfather.
"This is a testament to all the work that I've put in and stuff like this happens when you put the work in," said Ali Walsh after his finish was officially announced.
"I'm bringing my grandpa back to life, and that's why mom gets so emotional because she's seeing her dad again and hearing her dad's name to me."
Watch Nico Ali's knockout below.
NICO ALI WALSH WITH AN ABSOLUTE STUNNER 😳@NicoAliX74 x #ValdezStevenson pic.twitter.com/UXct3phVmd
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 1, 2022
Newark New Jersey native, Shakur Stevenson dominated Oscar Valdez on the way to a unanimous decision victory Saturday to add the World Boxing Council super featherweight title to his own World Boxing Organization belt.
Stevenson improved to 18-0 as he handed Mexico's Valdez his first defeat in 31 professional fights.
Stevenson sent Valdez to the canvas with a left to the head in the sixth round on the way to his first defense of the WBO title he won with a 10th-round technical knockout of Jamel Herring in October.
On the scorecards Stevenson earned one score of 117-110 and two of 118-109 to unify Valdez's WBC world championship with his own WBO world title.
"I'm a superstar in this sport," said Stevenson, 24. "I want to collect all the belts at 130 and become undisputed. I deserve to be a superstar, so that's what I gotta do."
Valdez acknowledged that Stevenson was the better fighter on the night.>
"He was just the better fighter this night," said Valdez, 31. "He did what he had to do to win the fight. He's a great fighter. His speed is there, power is there."
Coronation complete🌹@BoostMobile x #ValdezStevenson pic.twitter.com/rUxzgwAzRj
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 1, 2022
In just his 17th professional fight, 24-year-old Newark NJ native, Shakur Stevenson stopped veteran Jamel Herring in 10 rounds to take Herring’s WBO 130-pound title.
Stevenson has now won major belts in two divisions.“I feel like Jamel Herring is a great fighter. He’s tough. He’s real tough, he’s got great boxing skills, he’s got great power. I was just the better man tonight,” Stevenson told ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna. “Now that we’re not fighting, I love Jamel Herring, he’s definitely my friend. I don’t got no problem with Jamel. Tell his wife I’m sorry, I don’t want no trouble with you! She’s tough.”
Newark New Jersey's Shakur Stevenson (16-0, 8 KOs) dominated every round of his fight with Jeremiah Nakathila , cruising to a shutout unanimous decision victory to claim the WBO interim junior lightweight title.
All three judges scored the bout 120-107 in favor of Stevenson, who registered a knockdown of Nakathila (21-2, 17 KOs) in the fourth round from a short right hook.
Stevenson outlanded Nakathila 114 to 28 in total punches. Stevenson also landed 46% of punches, as compared to Nakathila's 12%. Stevenson appeared to hurt Nakathila several times in the early rounds but failed to finish him.
Stevenson is already looking ahead to his title opportunity, which should come in his next fight. He's the No.1 contender for both the WBO and WBC junior lightweight belts, and he has been the mandatory challenger for the WBO title for several months now.
Stevenson's promoter, Top Rank has paperwork already drawn up for Stevenson to return to the ring in late fall or early winter 2021 against a fellow southpaw in WBO junior lightweight champion Jamel Herring for his title.
World champion boxer, Marvin Hagler has died at the age of 66.
Marvelous Marvin Hagler died unexpectedly at his New Hampshire home on Saturday, according to a statement from his wife, Kay, in a post made to Hagler's official Facebook fan club page.
Hagler reigned as the undisputed middleweight champion of the world from 1980 to 1987.
He successfully defended the championship belt twelve times, including a superfight against Thomas Hearns that is considered one of the greatest boxing matches in history.
He finished his professional career with 62 wins, with 52 by knockout. He lost three fights, all by decision, and had two draws.
Hagler is an inductee of the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame.
World champion Claressa Sheilds has made boxing history.
Her unanimous points victory over Marie-Eve Dicaire meant that she became the first fighter - male or female - to be undisputed champion in two divisions in the four-belt era.The fight was held in Shield's hometown of Flint, Michigan. The fight was also the headline act of the first ever all-women pay-per-view boxing card.
All three judges scored the fight 100-90 for Shields, who landed 116 punches to Dicaire's 31.
The victory meant the 25-year-old retained her WBC and WBO light-middleweight titles, took Canadian Dicaire's IBF crown and won the vacant WBA belt.
She had already won all four belts at middleweight.
After the fight Shields called out Britain's Savannah Marshall, the WBO middleweight champion and the only women to beat her as an amateur.
Leon Spinks, who won Olympic gold and then shocked the boxing world by beating Muhammad Ali to win the heavyweight title in only his eighth pro fight, has died. He was 67.
Spinks won the light heavyweight division at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, beating Sixto Soria of Cuba in an upset to become one of five U.S. fighters to win gold. His brother, Michael, who would later become heavyweight champion himself, won the middleweight gold, and Sugar Ray Leonard took the welterweight title.
On Feb. 15, 1978, in Las Vegas Spinks won a 15 round split decision to become the heavyweight champion, becoming the only fighter to take a title from Ali in the ring.
Spinks, who lived his later years in Las Vegas, died Friday night, according to a release from a public relations firm. He had been battling prostate and other cancers.
His wife, Brenda Glur Spinks, and a few close friends and other family members were by his side when he passed away.
Shakur Stevenson is vacating the WBO featherweight world title to move up to the junior lightweight division.
"We're moving on up ... We're getting all the belts, and everyone at 130 [pounds] can get it," Antonio Leonard, who co-promotes Stevenson, told ESPN on Thursday.
Stevenson, 23, won the vacant featherweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Joet Gonzalez in October. On June 9, Stevenson stopped Felix Caraballo in a non-title junior lightweight fight.
"I just didn't want to keep making that weight," Stevenson told ESPN. "I think I should be in the rankings to fight for a title [at junior lightweight] ASAP. I think I deserve it."
At the junior lightweight division, the belts are held by Miguel Berchelt (WBC), Jamel Herring (WBO), Joseph Diaz Jr. (IBF) and Rene Alvarado (WBA).
"We're putting all those guys on notice at 130," said Leonard, adding that Stevenson could be ready to fight again in August. "They can bring the belt, vacate them, because Shakur's going to whup everybody -- it don't matter who it is. We're taking on all comers."
Claressa Shields, who has already unified two women's world titles at super middleweight and then collected all four major belts to become the undisputed middleweight champion, made history in a boxing match at the Ocean Casino Resort.
Shields, moving down in weight yet again, thoroughly dominated Ivana Habazin en route to a near-shutout decision to win a pair of vacant junior middleweight world title belts in the main event of a Showtime tripleheader.
Shields, who scored a knockdown in the sixth round, won 100-89, 100-90 and 99-89 and then placed a purple crown on her head. ESPN also scored it 100-89 for Shields.
Shields, who still holds the undisputed middleweight title, won a world title in a third weight class in just her 10th bout, setting the record for fewest number of fights needed to win belts in three divisions for a female or male boxer.
"This feels great -- I did it in 10 fights," Shields said. "Now I'm No. 1, the fastest boxer in history to become a three-division world champion. I was [trying to punish her]. I wanted victory."
Two time boxing champion Gervonta Davis is preparing for a chance to win another world title this Saturday, but on Thursday he took a moment to make a huge gesture by offering to cover the funeral costs for a 21-year-old Baltimore woman, Destiny Harrison, who was fatally shot inside her own hair salon over the weekend.
“I’m just hearing about this sadness,” Davis, also a Baltimore native, tweeted on Thursday. “Prayers and love to her family. If I can do anything like pay for the funeral or anything like that..Reach out!”
Davis later posted an Instagram story later that night appeared to confirm that the funeral payment had been made. Davis’ coach later confirmed the news with WJZ-CBS Baltimore, noting that the story had really touched the boxer.
The International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum has announced the members of the Class of 2020. Inductees include boxing greats Bernard Hopkins and “Sugar” Shane Mosley.
Upon hearing of his induction Hopkins said, "I'm glad I'm entering the house of greatness past and present. Thanks to boxing, I became a greater inspiration to the world."
Hopkins is one of the most successful boxers of the past three decades, having held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the undisputed middleweight title from 2004 to 2005, and the lineal light heavyweight title from 2011 to 2012.
Hopkins defeated Jean Pascal for the WBC and lineal light heavyweight titles. This victory made Hopkins the oldest boxer in history to win a world championship at the age of 46, breaking George Foreman's record set in 1994. Hopkins later broke his own record by winning the IBF light heavyweight title from Tavoris Cloud in 2013, and again in 2014 when he won the WBA (Super) title from Beibut Shumenov, at ages 48 and 49, respectively.
Hopkins retired in 2016 after losing a fight to Joe Snityh Jr.
"I just wanted to be a fighter and fit into the world of boxing, and this is a dream come true. I'm always excited to come back to Canastota but to come back this year will be very special." said Mosley after hearing about his induction into the Hall of fame.
Mosley fought professionally from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the IBF lightweight title; the WBA (Super) and WBC welterweight titles; and the WBA (Super), WBC, and Ring magazine light middleweight titles. He is also a former lineal champion at welterweight (twice) and light middleweight.
On August 16, 2017 Mosley announced his retirement after being a professional for 24 years. Speaking to ESPN, he said his body was no longer in a state where he could get through training.
In a statement, he said, What happened was my arm is breaking down, my knees, shoulders. My back is starting to break down. My body is telling me I’m older and I can’t do it at 100 percent. I can’t see myself fighting again. I’d have to say I’m retired.
He retired with 61 fights in the paid ranks. He won 49, with 41 coming inside the distance, 10 losses, having only been stopped once, 1 draw and a no contest.
The 2020 Hall of Fame Induction Weekend will be held June 11-14th in Canastota, NY. Many events in “Boxing’s Hometown” of Canastota throughout the four-day celebration, including a 5K Race / Fun Run, golf tournament, boxing autograph card show, VIP Cocktail Reception, Parade of Champions and the Official Induction Ceremony on the Hall of Fame Museum Grounds, are scheduled. The Hall of Fame Weekend evening events include Friday night’s Fight Night at Turning Stone and Saturday’s Banquet of Champions. Both events will take place at Turning Stone Resort Casino in nearby Verona, NY.
Bernard Hopkins
Juan Manuel Marquez
“Sugar” Shane Mosley
Barbara Buttrick
Christy Martin
Lucia Rijker
Lou DiBella
Kathy Duva
Dan Goossen
Bernard Fernandez
Thomas Hauser
Former Olympic silver medalist Shakur Stevenson did what he needed to do to get past his latest test in Joet Gonzalez to claim the WBO featherweight title on Saturday night in Reno, Nevada. Stevenson (13-0) used his speed and quickness to outbox Gonzalez (23-1) with craft over the 12-round contest. Stevenson becomes the second youngest active champion in boxing at just 22 years old, only two years older than __ champion Devon Haney.
Gonzalez never truly got his opportunity to take out his frustrations on the Olympian, though, as Stevenson outlanded him 121-53 according to CompuBox. Stevenson was also the more active fighter, throwing 510 punches to Gonzalez's 494.
"It's an amazing feeling," Stevenson said. "I came here to Reno close to his hometown and I wiped him out.
"It's an amazing feeling being that I grinded for this my whole life."
For the second time in four years, Claressa Shields of Flint has been named the Sportswoman of the Year by the Woman’s Sports Foundation.
Shields won the award Wednesday night in New York City, topping a field of 10 finalists that included American gymnast Simone Biles. She won the award for individual sports.
"I’m honored to be the winner of the @womenssportsfoundation individual Sports woman of the year for the 2nd time!," Shields said in an Instagram post. "I love coming to the gala and seeing all of the other strong women! Shout to all the finalists! And congrats to all the award winners -yours truly GWOAT."
Shields (9-0-0, 2 KOs) also won the individual sports award in 2016.
Shields, 24, only fought once in 2019 but she recorded a unanimous decision over Germany’s Christina Hammer in April to become the undisputed middleweight champion of the world.
The Woman’s Sports Foundation was founded by tennis great Billie Jean King. This was the 40th year the Sportswoman of the Year awards were handed out.
Previous winners of the Sportswoman of the Year Award for individual sports include Biles, tennis player Serena Williams, gymnast Gabby Douglas, golfers Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam, skaters Michelle Kwan and Bonnie Blair, and jockey Julie Krone.
Pernell Whitaker known BKA as "Sweet Pea," to boxing fans, a longtime pound for pound king, and one of the greatest boxers in history, was killed Sunday night when he was hit by a car in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He was 55.
The Virginia Beach Police Department said the incident remains an active investigation but that Whitaker was apparently hit by a vehicle at around 10 p.m. Sunday when he was walking at an intersection.
Whitaker, who was elected into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2006, won world titles in four weight classes. He was the undisputed lightweight world champion and also won titles at junior welterweight, welterweight and junior middleweight as one of the dominant forces in boxing for much of the 1980s and 1990s. He won a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics.
Whitaker is survived by his wife Rovanda, and three of the four children they had together -- Pernell Jr. died a few years ago -- and a daughter from a previous relationship.
Athlete. Activist. Champion. Ambassador. Icon. Father. The greatest, Muhammad Ali, is all of these things. In this candid family memoir, Hana Ali illuminates this momentous figure as only a daughter can. As Ali approached the end of his astonishing boxing career, he embraced a new purpose and role, turning his focus to his family and friends. In that role, he took center stage as an ambassador for peace and friendship.
Dedicated to preserving his family’s unique history, Ali began recording a series of audio diaries in the 1970s, which his daughter later inherited. Through these private tapes, as well as personal journals, love letters, cherished memories, and many never-before-seen photographs, she reveals a complex man devoted to keeping all nine of his children united, and to helping others. Hana gives us a privileged glimpse inside the Ali home, sharing the everyday adventures her family experienced—all so “normal,” with visitors such as Clint Eastwood and John Travolta dropping by. She shares the joy and laughter, the hardship and pain, and, most importantly, the dedication and love that has bonded them.
“It’s been said that my father is one of the most written-about people in the world,” Hana writes. “As the chronicles continue to grow, the deepest and most essential essence of his spirit is still largely unknown.” A moving and poignant love letter from a daughter to a father, At Home with Muhammad Ali is the untold story of Ali’s family legacy—a gift both eternal and priceless.
24 year-old Flint Michigan native, Claressa Shields made women's boxing history at the Adrian Phillips Theater at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Shields dominated Christina Hammer en-route to a unanimous decision to claim the undisputed women's middleweight world championship.
Two judges scored the bout 98-91, both giving Shields a 10-8 score in the eighth round, even without a knockdown, because she was dominant. One judge had it 98-92 for Shields.
Shields, making her third defense, dominated on the scorecards and in the CompuBox statistics, as she landed 112 of 387 shots (29 percent). Hammer landed just 49 of 366 (13 percent). Shields outlanded Hammer 31-3 to the body.
"I am the greatest woman of all time," Shields said. "I did it. She didn't win a round. I almost knocked her ass out. I swear, I feel like I'm dreaming right now. Thanks to Christina Hammer and her team. They said she had a hard jab, and they weren't lying. Her jab is off the chain."
Louisville city officials announced Wednesday that Louisville International Airport will be renamed after the boxer and humanitarian often called "the Greatest."
The new name: Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport.
"Muhammad Ali belonged to the world, but he only had one hometown, and fortunately, that is our great city of Louisville," Mayor Greg Fischer said. "Muhammad became one of the most well-known people to ever walk the Earth and has left a legacy of humanitarianism and athleticism that has inspired billions of people.
"It is important that we, as a city, further champion The Champ's legacy," Fischer continued. "And the airport renaming is a wonderful next step."
The Louisville Regional Airport Authority board approved Fischer's motion that the airport be renamed. But the SDF code will not change, officials said.
Read more: Louisville is renaming its airport after Muhammad Ali
Blue-chip featherweight prospect Shakur Stevenson, a 2016 U.S. Olympic silver medalist, scored three knockdowns in a spectacular first-round knockout performance against battle-tested veteran Viorel Simion in the co-feature of the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card headlined by the Terence Crawford-Jose Benavidez Jr. welterweight title fight.
Watch the highlights below:
Shakur Stevenson, (8-0, 4 KOs), of Newark NJ, a 2016 Olympic silver medalist, won a unanimous eight-round decision over Carlos Ruiz (16-4-2, 6 KOs), of Mexico City, in a featherweight bout.
Stevenson had won his two fights prior to Ruiz by knockout, but spent most of the bout moving laterally along the ropes, throwing just enough punches to win every round.
Ruiz followed Stevenson around but never launched an attack. Every round was the same, totally void of highlights.
After the fight, members of Stevenson's camp claimed he broke his right hand in the second round.
All three judges scored the fight for Stevenson, 80-72.
