The Boxing Truth®

Saturday, December 7th saw two interesting bouts take place that shined the spotlight on Boxing’s European scene. In the long term, each outcome could also lead to something significant for the winners in terms of the world rankings in 2025. The first of these two bouts took place in Sofia, Bulgaria where top Heavyweight contenders Manuel Charr and former two-time world title challenger and hometown favorite Kubrat Pulev met in a scheduled twelve round bout where an Interim/Regular championship designation in the WBA Heavyweight ratings was at stake. Outside of the designation, what looked over this fight in reality was an opportunity to become a mandatory challenger in the WBA ratings, which could lead to an opportunity to face the winner of the upcoming rematch between Unified World Heavyweight championship Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury, which will take place in Saudi Arabia on December 21st.  While this fight was fought in relatively close quarters as both fighters were content...

The month of December has been looked forward to by Boxing fans due in large part to the much anticipated rematch between undefeated unified WBO/IBO/WBA/WBC Heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk and former two-time World Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. A rematch that could in some ways signal the end of an era, or perhaps potentially lead to a third chapter between the two future Hall of Famers. While there is still much to be resolved between Usyk and Fury as well as unanswered questions as to what may follow after that fight, it is worth remembering that the politics that be in the sport is one reason why that second bout between Usyk and Fury is for a unified portion of the World Heavyweight championship and not the Undisputed championship, which was determined in their first fight earlier this year. Such political aspects also inevitably also create scenarios where others in a division are looking to maneuver themselves into position to potentially face the winner of a rematch...

Saturday, March 11, 2023 in the sport of Boxing was largely highlighted by two main events that took place across Europe. The first of these main events would occur at the Liverpool Arena in Liverpool, England where undefeated Super-Middleweight prospect Diego Pacheco met veteran Jack Cullen in a scheduled ten round bout. Although this represented the first time the American Pacheco was in the position of headlining an international card, and that came about due to an injury to former Super-Middleweight world champion Callum Smith, which moved Pacheco's bout with Cullen to the main event of a card promoted by promoter Eddie Hearn, the move to the headline position did not have a negative effect on Pacheco. From the opening bell, Pacheco's approach was one of almost surgical precision as he plotted a strategy with an emphasis on landing his right hand and immediately put Cullen under pressure. What stood out to this observer was the poise in which Pacheco displayed seemingly fro...

The day of March 11, 2023 in the world of Boxing will feature two main events that will feature some interesting storylines. First , an encounter in the Heavyweight division that could best be described as a "Crossroads Fight" will take place at the Zenith De Paris in Paris, France. Longtime Heavyweight contender and former world title challenger Carlos Takam will face contender Tony Yoka in a bout scheduled for ten rounds that can be seen here in the United States on digital subscription sports streaming network ESPN+. Both Takam and Yoka will enter this fight coming off of losses and in Takam 's case, will be looking to get back in the win column after dropping his previous two fights. Yoka meanwhile will be looking to rebound from his first career loss. While there is that similarity between the two fighters, this is largely a youth versus experience scenario in that the forty-two year old Takam will have twelve years in age over the thirty year old Yoka, but will also...

European Welterweight champion David Avanesyan successfully made the fourth defense of his crown by scoring an impressive second round stoppage of Liam Taylor on Saturday night at the Wembley Arena in London, England. Taylor had some success in the opening round by landing some body shots on the champion, but Avanesyan as is his custom, applied steady pressure on his challenger and dropped Taylor late in the first round with a short right hand to the head. At this point in the fight, Taylor made a decision that seemingly said that if he could not box against a steady pressure fighter like Avanesyan, his strategy would be to go toe to toe. This proved to be very costly for the challenger as trading punches with the champion played right into Avanesyan’s hands and following a right hand, left hook combination that appeared to momentarily make Taylor go limb, Referee Mark Lyson stepped in and stopped the fight before any further damage could be done. Official time of the stoppage was 2:...

  European Jr. Welterweight champion Sandor Martin scored a workmanlike twelve round unanimous decision Kay Prosper to retain his European championship on Friday night at the Vall d'Hebron Olympic Palace in Barcelona, Spain. In a largely uneventful bout, Martin used his elusive southpaw stance and lateral movement to dictate the tempo of the combat from the opening bell. Prospere, who was very “Game” throughout the entire fight just could not find a way to land any consistent offense on the champion. Only adding to the frustration, Prosper was penalized a point in round eight for an unknown reason as it did not appear he had committed a foul. While not an entertaining or memorable bout to watch, Martin simply did what he needed to do to retain his title. Official scores were: 119-107, 117-110, and 117-109 in favor of Martin. Sandor Martin advances to 38-2, with 17 Knockouts. Kay Prosper falls to 14-2-1, with 7 Knockouts.   Also on this card:   Jr. Middleweight  Kerma...

  Fabio Turchi scored a hard fought twelve round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Dylan Bregeon to win the vacant European Cruiserweight championship on Friday night at the Allianz Cloud in Milan Italy. Bregeon, who entered the bout as the French Cruiserweight champion, did a masterful job through the first five rounds of the fight by using his height and reach to control the distance between himself and Turchi by landing straight left hands and right jabs from the southpaw stance as Turchi came forward and moving to maintain distance where he had the advantage. The ebb and flow began to change in round six when Turchi was able to close the gap between himself and Bregeon.     It was during these sequences that Turchi appeared to get the better of the combat when he was able to get on the inside and land more than occasionally. Although the tide had clearly turned in Turchi’s favor in the middle rounds, Bregeon remained very competitive and was able to counter ...