The Boxing Truth®

The fight between thred-division world champion Teri Harper and undefeated former Women's IBF Jr. Welterweight world champion Natalie Zimmermann on May 23rd in Doncaster,England at Keepmoat Stadium, it signaled what could be a beginning. Not only was Harper having a homecoming in front of an enthusiastic hometown crowd, but she was also making the first defense of the WBO Lightweight crown she had won in September of last year.  What would follow would arguably be one of the champion’s best performances in her career thus far. For ten rounds, Harper used her Boxing prowess, timing, hand speed, and ability to approach Zimmermann at varying angles as well as mixing levels of her attack to the head and body to put on a Boxing lesson for a very “Game," but on this occasion overmatched opponent in Zimmermann. Despite it becoming evident from early in the bout that Zimmermann was a few steps behind Harper, and did not have an answer to combat the hand speed or timing of the champion...

On Friday, May 23rd, a world championship bout will occur in the Women's Lightweight division featuring three-division world champion and current holder of the WBO crown against unbeaten former IBF Women's World Jr. Welterweight champion Natalie Zimmermann at Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, England. A world title bout that can be seen globally on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN . This will be the first defense of the WBO World Lightweight championship for Harper that she won in September of last year with a ten round unanimous decision over Rhiannon Dixon in Sheffield, England. Harper, who has won world titles from the 130lb. Jr. Lightweight division to the 154lb. Jr. Middleweight division has rightfully earned her place as one of the biggest stars in Women's Boxing. Like many female fighters in the sport, Harper has moved up and down the weight scale depending on the fight and opportunity. While that is an indication of a sport that is still very much i...

The March 1st  Premier Boxing Champions pay-per-view card headlined by undefeated WBA World Lightweight champion Gervonta Davis defending his title against current WBA Jr. Lightweight world champion Lamont Roach is now available for preorder on Prime Video for $79.95. The fight, which will headline a night of Boxing from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY can be purchased by visiting the Prime Video app on your streaming device of choice or by the following link Davis vs. Roach . The Boxing Truth®️ is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved. Follow Beau Denison on the following Social Media Platforms: X: (Formerly Twitter) www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison      Facebook: www.facebook.com/BeauDenison1       Threads: www.threads.net/@BeauDenison1      Instagram: www.Instagram.com/BeauDenison1      BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/beaudenison1.bsky.social  

The story leading up to undefeated three-division world champion Shakur Stevenson's bout against Artem Harutyunyan on July 6th was his first title defense as the WBC World Lightweight champion.  Before a hometown crowd, Stevenson put forth a dominant performance, skillfully out Boxing Harutyunyan over twelve rounds to retain his world title.  While this observer summed up what occurred at the Prudential Center in Stevenson's hometown of Newark, NJ,  there is more to the story, which was omitted from the preview penned by yours truly last week, but was not done so as a means of ignoring on my part. It was simply something that I chose to hold off discussing until after the fight. Just what am I referring to? The fact that this fight and what turned out to be the latest successful, lopsided outing for Stevenson, was the final bout under his current promotional agreement with Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum's Top Rank Inc. Normally, I do my best to try and avoid discussing th...

  With the departure of former Undisputed Lightweight world champion Devin Haney, the period of transition in the 135lb. Lightweight division continues with several world champions in the division looking to make their claim as being the best Lightweight in the world. In recent times both Vasyl Lomachenko and Gervonta Davis have made their respective arguments. Lomachenko emerged as a unified world champion in the division on May 12th with an eleventh round stoppage of IBO world champion George Kambosos in Kambosos’ home country of Australia. Along with the IBO world championship, Lomachenko also gained the vacant IBF crown, emerging as a unified world champion, and in many ways, by default, because he became a unified world champion, became the fighter that all top contenders, other world champions, and would be prospects look to target for a potential fight. The vacant WBO world championship would be decided on May 18th when undefeated top contender Denys Berinchyk scored what ma...

Three-division world champion Vasyl Lomachenko has had a career most fighters can only dream of. A two-time Olympic Gold medalist representing Ukraine, who had nearly four hundred wins as an amateur with only one defeat, Lomachenko arguably achieved Hall of Famer status long before he turned professional. Since turning pro in October 2013, Lomachenko quickly ascended to become a world champion taking only three professional fights to accomplish a goal that for some fighters, takes an entire career, if at all. Despite three setbacks as a pro, two of which are the subject of much debate, Lomachenko has remained one of the best fighters in the entire sport. It was the most recent setback, a controversial twelve round unanimous decision to then undefeated Undisputed Lightweight world champion Devin Haney in May of last year, a fight that many, including this observer felt he won, put his career in doubt. In doubt not because of eroding skills and/or the impacts/effects of injuries, which a...

The fight between undefeated former two-division world champion Shakur Stevenson and WBC number six rated Lightweight contender Edwin De Los Santos was not only for the vacant WBC Lightweight championship of the world, but some felt it could signal the beginning of what might be a new era in the 135lb. Lightweight division. A new era that seemingly has started with the former Undisputed Lightweight world champion Devin Haney choosing to roll the dice and move up in weight to challenge WBC Jr. Welterweight world champion Regis Prograis in a fight that will take place on December 9th in San Francisco, CA.  While Haney still holds three portions of the World Lightweight championship as of this writing, it is expected by many whether or not he wins that fight against Prograis that he will remain as a 140lb. Jr. Welterweight going forward, due largely to struggles he has had in making the 135lb. Lightweight limit in recent fights. Although there was little to say prior to Stevenson’s bo...

The career of undefeated former two-division world champion Shakur Stevenson thus far has been one of dominance. After winning world championships in both the 126lb. Featherweight and 130lb. Jr. Lightweight divisions, Stevenson in part because of difficulty making the 130lb. Jr. Lightweight limit prior to his last scheduled title defense of the unified WBO/WBC world championship against Robson Conceicao In September of last year, losing the championship on the scale prior to scoring a twelve round unanimous decision, Stevenson set his sights on the 135lb. Lightweight division where in his debut as a Lightweight, he scored a knockout of a “Game,” but overmatched previously undefeated Shuichiro Yoshino in an elimination bout to determine the number one contender for the World Boxing Council ( WBC ) Lightweight championship of the world. As most Boxing fans know, the WBC world championship had been fully unified as part of the Undisputed Lightweight championship of the world held by Devin...

The storyline going into the IBO Lightweight world championship bout between defending champion Maxi Hughes and former Undisputed Lightweight champion George Kambosos was whether Kambosos could find a way to bounce back after losing his crown to Devin Haney and suffering a second loss to Haney in an immediate rematch. Two fights where Kambosos was out boxed by the superiorly skilled Haney. While at the moment that Kambosos' challenge of Hughes on July 22nd in Shawnee, OK, the four world championship that comprise the undisputed championship in the 135lb. Lightweight division remain unified and in Haney's procession, there was also the wrinkle of Hughes, who was making the third defense of the one world championship not in the undisputed Lightweight crown, being treated as an opponent rather than a world champion from the broadcasters broadcasting the bout for sports cable network ESPN and it's streaming network ESPN+ to him being announced first during ring introductions pr...

The recent history of Boxing's 135lb. Lightweight division has been dominated by current undisputed world champion Devin Haney. Haney as most know emerged as the Undisputed Lightweight champion of the world by scoring a lopsided twelve round unanimous decision over previously undefeated undisputed champion George Kambosos in June 2022 and then repeated the victory in his first title defense against Kambosos in a rematch in October of last year. While Haney has remained undisputed champion, most recently scoring a decision win over Vasyl Lomachenko in May, Haney's future appears to be heading above and beyond the Lightweight division.  Although as of this writing Haney remains regarded as the undisputed champion of the division, if he should choose to move up in weight to possibly challenge WBC Jr. Welterweight world champion Regis Prograis, it will open up an opportunity for contenders and former world champions in the Lightweight division to maneuver towards fighting for a wor...

Boxing is truly a sport that seems to breed stars almost as quickly as fighters tend to be positioned in the sport's mythical "Pound For Pound" debates. While often there is not much criteria for the latter as the entire concept is based almost exclusively on opinion and by its very nature is very subjective, the emergence of a star in the sport is often easier to see because it is something that one can see develop from the very early stages of a fighter's career. One such star that has emerged is undefeated former two-division world champion Shakur Stevenson. Stevenson, unbeaten in nineteen professional fights after winning a Silver medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics, was able to win world titles in both the 126lb. Featherweight and 130lb. Jr. Featherweight divisions, despite not having twenty pro bouts as of yet and in the process, has been a star on the rise for the past several years. Although Stevenson is at a point in his career where many fighters at similar st...

Originally, this column was to be the follow-up/post-fight feature to the much anticipated Light-Heavyweight clash between former WBC Super-Middleweight world champion Gilberto Ramirez and longtime veteran contender and former world title challenger Gabriel Rosado in what was to be Rosado's debut in the 175lb. Light-Heavyweight division. As most now know however, the fight was cancelled on the day before the scheduled March 18th bout at the official weigh-in when Ramirez arrived in being what was described as significantly overweight and in no condition to attempt to get down in weight to a point where the bout was salvageable, resulting in the fight being cancelled. While this is certainly nothing new in the sport of Boxing as it is unfortunately all too common for there to be complications regarding the weight of a fighter in at least one bout on a full card, the cancellation, though disappointing did not result in the entire card being cancelled along with it as unfortunately al...

While not completely unheard of, it is rare when discussing an undefeated fighter to say that they are “Back In The Mix,” simply due to that term is normally reserved for fighters that are looking to bounce back from defeat. There are times however, where a fighter no matter their record or standing in the sport of Boxing can find his or herself in a position of having to re-enter the discussion/mix in their given division due to outside of the ring circumstances pulling them away from their careers. In the case of undefeated Lightweight contender Ryan Garcia, this was essentially the position he found himself in as he prepared to face top contender and former IBO Lightweight world champion Emmanuel Tagoe on April 9 th in San Antonio, TX.     Garcia was coming off a lengthy stretch of inactivity due largely to struggles with his mental health as well as an injury that sidelined him for most of 2021. This stretch of inactivity, commonly referred to as a “Layoff” throughou...