Fightful Boxing Newsletter (7/20): Mayweather-Mcgregor Tour Wrap-Up, Paul Ferreri, Robert Guerrero, Major Shifts In Rankings

The Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor world press tour has come to an end. Depending on who you ask, it was either a wild ride that has hit some really high points and secured itself more pay-per-view buys than before the tour started, or an unmitigated disaster with many calling some of the comments made by Mayweather and McGregor misogynistic, homophobic and racist.

I was credentialed for the Brooklyn press conference, where the madness truly began after two mostly positive press conferences in Los Angeles and Toronto. While covering the press conference as a member of the media for Fightful was a fascinating experience for myself, the actual press conference was met an incredible amount of issues, including both fighters being very late and the press conference being a waste for many of the people that attended.

Meanwhile, boxing had numerous world title fights take place this past weekend, including a PBC on Fox card that predictably did awful television numbers, even on a good night where it had no other major sporting events to compete against. As such, the Fightful boxing rankings underwent a few changes.

Fightful Boxing Newsletter (7/20) Table of Contents:

1. Floyd Mayweather/Conor McGregor press tour: (Page 2)
2. Paul Ferreri Death and Biography (Page 3)
3. Weekend Boxing Recap (Page 4)
4. Results from the world of boxing (Page 5)
5. Fightful Boxing Rankings (Page 6-7)
6. Robert Guerrero Retirement (Page 8)
7. Other News In Boxing (Page 9)
8. WBC Clean Boxing Mid-Year Report (Page 10)

Floyd Mayweather/Conor McGregor press tour:

The press conference tour, which saw both fighters and their respective camps travel to Los Angeles, Toronto, New York and London in the span of four days, was both a success and a disaster.

In some ways, the press conferences draw an insane amount of media attention. As expected and the first two days saw the crowds in Los Angeles and Toronto get extremely hyped for McGregor’s promos, essentially turning him the defacto babyface in this fight (to quote wrestling terminology in this sense) and Mayweather the heel. That is, until the Brooklyn press conference, the one I went and covered for Fightful, made the press tour a circus in all the wrong ways. By the end of this tour, each fighter had a stake in being the heel in this rivalry.

The fighters were extremely late, there were angry fans waiting for it to begin and the media almost didn’t get to talk to either fighter. Being media for this event was not exactly a fun endeavor. Here’s a quick recap of my experience in Brooklyn:

After arriving to the Barclays Center around 3:40 p.m. ET, there was an enormous line for media just outside of where we had to pick up credentials at 4 p.m. It wasn’t until 3:55 p.m. that officials said that the lines were being divided into two and were separated by the first letter of their last name (one line for members whose last name started from A-M and the other from N-Z), much to the annoyance of most of the media members who were in front of the line and had to move to the back of the line.

As I was making my way to my line (I got lucky and managed to get into nearly the front of my respective line), I started chatting with a couple of members from Bleacher Report, and were discussing what time this would end. ESPN’s Darren Rovell, who was standing right behind me, said he thinks it will go way longer than planned.

“This will definitely go about an hour or two over,” I recall Rovell mentioning to me.

It wasn’t until nearly 4:20 p.m. that media members finally got access inside the Barclays Center. We were supposed to go to our respective areas to conduct interviews with the fighters and promoters at 5 p.m. (originally there was supposed to be no media-only press conference after the live presser on the main stage). We didn’t begin our first press conference with Showtime Sports Executive VP Stephen Espinoza until it was closer to 5:30 p.m. UFC President Dana White and Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe also had their respective turns at the press conference. By the time that was done, it was about 7:30 p.m., well over the original time for the main presser to begin and the media had yet to talk to Mayweather and McGregor.

I did ask Dana White if he’s worried that McGregor and Mayweather could come to blows. I mentioned Conor McGregor going after Eddie Alvarez with a chair in the UFC 205 press conference.

“When Eddie got up, I guess the chair had fallen over, so Conor thought he threw a chair, then picked up a chair and Monster cans… sometimes he gets a little crazy. I get worried about it. Floyd’s team — those guys are real mellow. Floyd’s not going to hit him. I do worry about (McGregor getting physical),” White told Fightful.

This was a legitimate concern that almost came to reality later that night as each fighter’s entourages almost got into a physical altercation during the presser.

I had also asked Ellerbe about when did Mayweather get the itch to fight and why fight McGregor instead of another big-name boxer? Ellerbe told me McGregor is the only fighter Mayweather would come out of retirement to fight and the fact that the rumors surrounding the fight being a reality started circulating like wildfire helped persuade Mayweather to get back in the ring for this one fight.

“I think Conor McGregor had a lot to do with [Floyd coming back]. The guy has been running his mouth and sometimes, it starts to catch fire and you kinda think, ‘all right, this could turn into a reality.’ But that’s the only reason he came out of retirement. All this talk about fighting this guy or fighting that guy, everybody wants to fight Floyd because it is the biggest payday there is,” Ellerbe said.

In the end, the Brooklyn press conference started almost two hours late and rap icon Doug E. Freeze gave an impromptu concert that the fans in attendance were not enjoying. Most of the crowd was either inattentive or indifferent to the concert or outright booing him. In fact, most of the Barclays Center pretty much booed everyone not named Dana White or Conor McGregor.

The presser itself was terrible. It had some audio issues, at least from inside the arena because it was hard at times to make out what some of the people were saying, and filled with repetitive dialogue and outright insensitive remarks.

I’m not going to go too much into detail over the comments uttered by each fighter that has caused backlash from many people, as it’s already been covered by Fightful. The press conference does bring up questions over how good the boxing press conference format really is. I have been to numerous boxing press conferences all over New York and New Jersey this year and have seen several UFC press conferences and I can definitely say that there are numerous differences between the two formats, but boxing’s format is not the issue here.

The problem with the format of these conferences is that you’re asking Mayweather and McGregor to each cut 20-minute promos on each other for four days straight. After the first two days, they both have pretty much exhausted the tank on material to use in the press conferences. After the first two days, how are Mayweather and McGregor supposed to top what was already said without going too over the top? This is not to excuse or justify some of the things being mentioned. Both fighters made ignorant comments, but it’s not like it is a surprise to hear them say stuff like that. It’s a way to drive up interest and while other athletes in other sports would be admonished heavily for saying some of the things that each fighter said, for some reason Mayweather and McGregor would say these things almost without consequence.

In the end, I think the press tour ultimately did more good than bad and it won’t seriously hurt pay-per-view buys, if at all. I’m still doubtful as to whether the August 26 fight can break the magic number of 4.6 million buys, which is the record Mayweather set vs. Manny Pacquiao in 2015, but those doubts were there even before the press tour began. A safe number to call is between 3.5-4 million buys, which wouldn’t be much of a disappointment, in my opinion.

Paul Ferreri Death and Tribute:

Paul Ferreri, long one of Australia’s best pound-for-pound boxers in the 1970s and 1980s, passed away on July 14 at the age of 69.

Ferreri was a scrappy fighter who competed in numerous weight classes all over the world, was a mainstay in the Commonwealth and Australian title scene, winning their respective bantamweight titles as well as Australia’s featherweight and super featherweight. Known for his defensive prowess, Ferreri was only ever stopped twice in his career: once against Carlos Zarate after suffering a really bad cut near his eye and once in Ferreri’s last professional fight.

Ferreri was born in Aidoni, Sicily, Italy on January 1, 1948. Ferreri and his family moved to Australia in 1952, settling in North Melbourne. He first began boxing at a gym run by Snowy Sullivan in a loft near where Ferreri lived but after Snowy died, he turned pro under the watchful eye of Ambrose Palmer. Palmer was a celebrated boxer in Australia in the 1930’s who was inducted into the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003. At Palmer’s gym at the bottom of Festival Hall in Melbourne is where Ferreri would hone in on his skills and become the fighter he became known for. He said Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali were his favorite fighters.

Ferreri started his pro career on August 2, 1968, defeating Pietro Granata, also making his pro debut that day, on points. Ferreri would spend the next two-and-a-half years unbeaten, mostly fighting at Festival Hall, one of Melbourne’s largest concert venues as well as a historic sports venue, being one of the host venues for the 1956 Summer Olympics, where it was used for boxing, basketball and gymnasium events.

Ferreri had a 15-round battle on October 17, 1969 against Alan Pressnell for the Australian bantamweight title. Ferreri had already beaten Pressnell twice in August of that year on points, but the third encounter would be the first time in either man’s career had fought a scheduled 15-round bout, so a Ferreri win was not a guarantee at that point. The most rounds Ferreri had fought in his career prior to that fight was eight rounds in his first battle with Pressnel. The Italian-Australian would hold the title for several years and had numerous reigns with the title, never losing a fight with that specific title on the line.

Four years into his professional career, Ferreri would get a chance to fight for the then-vacant Commonwealth (British Empire) bantamweight title. He defeated John Kellie on September 16, 1972 to win his first of several Commonwealth titles.

As Ferreri kept fighting opponents with more experience each time out, Ferreri started to garner the attention of boxing fans all over the world. After spending the first several years of his career fighting in Australia, Ferreri would fight in countries such as Italy, South Africa, Spain and the Philippines.

The highlight of Ferreri’s career came in the late summer of 1976 when Ferreri got his first, and only, world title opportunity. Zarate, considered arguably the greatest bantamweight boxer in history was his opponent. Ferreri had never fought in the United States prior to this point, but he and Zarate headlined a boxing card at the world-renowned Forum in Inglewood, California. The venue, which could seat 13,000 at the time, was filled and the five-fight card was filled with other world champions such as Lionel Rose ad Alberto Davila.

Despite the massive jump in level of competition for the Australian boxer, Ferreri held his own against Zarate. Ferreri suffered a bad cut near his eye in the 12th round and the fight was stopped late in the round.

“I was told to pace myself. I wanted to go at him from the start and make him work hard. I could feel him tiring when it was stopped. Had I got right at him from the first round I would have stopped him. He had trouble hitting me and I was getting to him. He had a lot trouble making weight. The plan was to wait until the later rounds before I picked it up but they stopped it because of the cut” Ferreri said in a 2010 interview. “Jack had a bad leg and after a few rounds couldn’t even get up into the ring and he was just giving me instructions from the floor. But that is how it goes. I had my chance. I can’t worry about it now.”

Ferreri would end up beating former world champions Venice Borkhorsor and Roland Navarette. He has also scored notable wins against the likes of Rocky Gattelari, Stix McCloud and John Feeney.

Fittingly, Ferreri finished his career holding the Australian bantamweight title 17 years after first capturing it.

“I never relinquished it or lost it in the ring,” Ferreri said. “They (powers that be) took it from behind my back when I was overseas in 1975” he protested. He ended up regaining it and retaining Commonwealth laurels by beating Brian Roberts, the new champ in 1976. “I am the longest reigning Australian champion in history. I believe it is a world record also (for national champions).”

Since retiring in 1986, Ferreri spent the remainder of his years running a boxing gym in Avondale Heights, Victoria, Australia, but the gym did not produce a boxer that would garner similar career accomplishments. He retired from work at the age of fifty, being a youth worker with juvenile justice since the later stages of his fighting days.

In 2006, Ferreri was inducted into the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame, joining a class including former Australian heavyweight champion Joe Goddard, former Australian lightweight champion Pat Ford, former Commonwealth light heavyweight champion Bob Dunlop, Johny Lewis, Jackie Green and Bob Fitzsimmons, the sport’s first-ever three-division world champion.

Simon Block, the current Commonwealth secretary, released a statement on Ferreri’s death.

“I am very sorry to learn this morning of the death of our distinguished former double Commonwealth Champion, Paul Ferreri of Australia.

Paul was born in Sicily in 1948 but grew up in Australia. His professional boxing career commenced there in 1968 and he remained undefeated until 1971. He won our Commonwealth Bantamweight Championship first in 1972, holding that Title until 1977. After that loss he then won the Commonwealth Super bantamweight Championship that same year, a Title he never defended, winning the vacant Bantamweight Championship again in Denmark in 1981 against Kenyan Mike Irungu. That Title he held until 1986, losing it in his last ever contest to rising Bahamian star, Ray Minus Jr.

Paul was represented internationally by the late former CBC Director, Dennie Mancini, in whose honour an award is made each year to the Commonwealth Champion or former Champion who the board of the CBC has made a particular outstanding contribution to the sport in that year. He lost his only World Championship challenge in 1978 to the outstanding Mexican, Carlos Zarate, but defeated former and future World Champions, Venice Borkhorsor and Roland Navarette. The majority of his contests took place in Australia but he boxed with varying success all over the World. As well as Los Angeles, he boxed in Wales, Denmark, Oregon, Italy and the Philippines.

Not only was he a double Commonwealth Champion, but he also won the Australian Bantamweight, Featherweight and Super featherweight Champions. His record between 1972 and 1986 was a very creditable 78 wins, 13 losses and 5 draws.

Although Paul never won a World Championship he will be remembered as one of Australia’s finest boxers. I never met him myself but have a particular fondness for him and his career, which was so active when I first took over as the Commonwealth Championship’s Hon Secretary in 1980, and I can recall many conversations with my friend, the late Dennie Mancini, about future Commonwealth Championship opportunities for him.

May this fine Champion rest in peace.”

Weekend Recap:

Boxing had numerous major cards take place this past weekend, with PBC hosting a card from the historic Nassau Coliseum and HBO hosting a major tripleheader card immediately afterwards. Even in London, there were a couple of title matches and the final spot in the World Boxing Super Series was at stake. Below is a quick summary of some of the biggest fights that took place this past weekend.

PBC on Fox:

The July 15 PBC on Fox card, the first boxing card at Nassau Coliseum in a few decades, had an abysmal night in terms of viewership. It’s hard for me to be really surprised since nothing about this card inspired casual fans to tune in. After all, the main event was Omar Figueroa (who is unknown to the mass public) vs. Robert Guerrero (an old fighter who was coming into this fight was zero momentum whatsoever) in a fight where no titles or future title opportunities are on the line.

The PBC card averaged 886,000 viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. This is the first time a PBC on Fox card failed to average more than a million viewers and it drew the fewest viewers of any program on network TV in prime time that night. The broadcast averaged 267,000 viewers in the 18-49 demographic and had a 0.61 rating.

The Nassau Coliseum card had Omar Figueroa vs. Robert Guerrero as the main event of the card, of which the last 30 minutes of the broadcast peaked at just more than a million viewers. I knew this was going to happen because the card was not a good one and there was a far better card taking place on HBO right after. The PBC on Fox card back in February doubled the viewership with a Deontay Wilder vs. Gerald Washington main event, averaging 1.76 million viewers. Even that number back then was a mildly disappointing one, so it’s hard to imagine this latest card being nothing but a complete disaster in the ratings.

Omar Figueroa Jr. defeats Robert Guerrero: TKO, Round 3: Although there was action in the ring, this fight was kind of sad to watch. Guerrero was dropped five times in the fight as Figueroa was in control of the bout. It was obvious at that point that Guerrero’s time in the ring is over. Figueroa got himself a nice win on national television, but the momentum gained from this win will quickly dissipate if he doesn’t get a big fight soon. Figueroa said he would like to move down to junior welterweight so he needs to pray he gets first dibs on the winner of the Terence Crawford vs. Julius Indongo unification fight. Otherwise, beating a retiring Guerrero who is 2-3 in his last five fights would almost be meaningless.

HBO Card:

Miguel Berchelt defeats Takashi Miura to retain WBC super featherweight title: UD (119-108, 120-109, 116-111): Many had expected this fight to be a fight of the year candidate, but the quality of the fight certainly did not live up to its lofty expectations. Miura, one of the hardest hitters in the super featherweight division, was not able to get into a rhythm as Berchelt outboxed the Japanese superstar pretty much the entire fight. The fight started off nicely when Berchelt dropped Miura in the closing seconds of the first round. Berchelt pretty much avoided Miura’s hard left hand. Miura is 2-2 in his last four fights and at 33 years old, has been in many a war throughout his 14-year career. I think it’s a bit too soon for him to retire, but his time as a top 3 super featherweight is pretty much done.

Jezreel Corrales defeats Robinson Castellanos to retain WBA “Super” super featherweight title: TD (94-93, 96-92, 94-94): Corrales made his American debut in his first fight since signing with Golden Boy Promotions earlier this year. Robinson Castellanos brought the fight to him and the fight was reaching a great point. Castellanos dropped Corrales twice in the fourth round and Corrales returned the favor by knocking down Corrales in the seventh round. An accidental headbutt caused a nasty cut below Castellanos’ right eye in the 10th round and the fight was called at that point. The fight went to a technical decision where Corrales had a slim lead in the cards and therefore, retained his title. This was, in my opinion, the best fight of the weekend and it was the most competitive title fight all weekend long. There should be a rematch because Castellanos had a legitimate claim to winning the fight had it gone the distance.

Sullivan Barrera defeats Joe Smith Jr. to win the WBC International light heavyweight title: UD (97-92, 96-93, 97-92): After knocking out Bernard Hopkins into retirement, Smith wanted to cash in on the momentum and challenge Adonis Stevenson for the WBC world title. That fight never materialized and so Smith had to defend his International title against Barrera. Smith started the fight well, dropping Barrera in the first round, but did not do much afterwards. Barrera bounced back from the knockdown and was a far more aggressive fighter. There was some controversy at the end when the referee said the 10th round would be the final one, even though the fight was originally supposed to be a 12-round fight. Overall, Barrera landed 126 more punches (187-61) than Smith, according to CompuBox. Barrera won his third fight in a row since a lopsided decision loss to Andre Ward 16 months ago.

London Card:

Chris Eubank Jr. defeats Arthur Abraham to retain International Boxing Organization World super middleweight title: UD (118-110, 118-110, 120-108): This fight could have been a lot more competitive, at least on paper, but Eubank dominated a flat-footed Abraham. Abraham did not throw many punches in the fight and it was such a blowout that Eubank kind of took it easy in the final round. Even then, Abraham didn’t do enough to win the final round. The win has Eubank take the final spot in the World Boxing Super Series’ super middleweight tournament and the tournament’s No. 3 seed. Eubank will face Avni Yildirim in the quarterfinals.

Lee Selby defeats Jonathan Victor Barros to retain the IBF World featherweight title: UD (117-110, 117-110, 119-108): Fight week was an extremely hard one for Selby. His mother died and Selby was worried as to whether or not Barros would even show up to the fight this time around. The two of them were supposed to fight back in January, but it was called off at the weigh-in because Barros could not be licensed because of a positive hepatitis test, postponing the fight and Selby was visibly distraught and sad when the fight was first called off. Selby stayed focused and put on an excellent display and outclassed Barros to retain his belt for the third time. Selby suffered a bloody gash over his right eye from an accidental head-butt in the fifth round, but dropped Barros with a left hook in the final round to put a nice cherry on top of a dominant victory that ended Barros’ seven-fight winning streak end.

The rest of the results on those three cards are in the “results from the world of boxing” section in the next page.

Results from the world of boxing:

July 16: Haji Park, Rembang, Indonesia

• Sulis Barrera defeats Mochamad Sholimin via PTS
• Ray Rahardjo defeats Hendy Luis via PTS
• Frengky Rohi defeats Silem Serang via PTS

July 16: Stadium of Light (Sunderland FC), Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom

• Akeem Ennis Brown defeats Glenn Foot to win the BBBofC English super lightweight title: MD (96-94, 95-95, 98-92)
• Peter Cope defeats Lee Connelly via PTS
• Tommy Walsh defeats Fonz Alexander via PTS
• Troy Williamson defeats Alistair Warren: TKO, Round 3

July 15: Escuela de Boxeo Santos Zacarías, Rafael Calzada, Buenos Aires, Argentina

• Luciano Francisco Baldor defeats Joaquin Andres Torrez: UD (60-54, 60-54, 60-53)

July 15: Club General Lamadrid, Buenos Aires, Distrito Federal, Argentina

• Alberto Leonel Rios defeats Ricardo German Soria via UD
• Demian Daniel Fernandez defeats Diego Octavio Rivas via UD
• Abel Leandro Silva defeats Nicolas Jarazo: TKO, Round 3

July 15: Complejo Deportivo El Predio, Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Argentina

• Tamara Fabiana Garcia defeats Alejandra Zulema Juarez: MD (38-38, 40-36, 39-38)

July 15: Wests City Club, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia

• Jai Opetaia defeats Daniel Ammann to become the unified Australian and OPBF cruiserweight title: TKO, Round 9
• Blake Minto defeats Mark Sales to win the vacant World Boxing Foundation International super lightweight title: UD (99-90, 99-90, 100-90)
• Eddie Dos Santos defeats Michael Upton: UD (58-56, 59-56, 59-57)
• Liam Paro defeats Simon Rendina: KO, Round 1
• Dillon Bargero defeats Corey Hardy: TKO, Round 3
• Saeid Fatahifay defeats Warren Tresidder: TKO, Round 3

July 15: Community Youth Centre, Lilydale, Victoria, Australia

• Jake Gathercole defeats Komgrit Nanakorn via UD

July 15: Cavanbah Centre, Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia

• Josh Frederiksen defeats Sivan Hermez: TKO, Round 4
• Dan White defeats Isaak Schiller via PTS
• Luke Toope defeats Chaiyan Sakkoed via PTS
• Faiga Opelu defeats Robert Ferguson: KO, Round 1
• Isaac Tisdell defeats Trevor Loomes via PTS

July 15: Recreational Arena, Taber, Alberta, Canada

• Joel Mills defeats Alejandro Herrera: TKO, Round 4
• Lee Mein defeats Ken Frank: TKO, Round 2
• Stuart McLellan and Isidro Toala fight to a no contest

July 15: EWS Arena, Goeppingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

• Firat Arslan defeats Goran Delic to win the vacant WBO European cruiserweight title: TKO, Round 6
• Fatih Keles defeats Renald Garrido fight to a majority draw (95-95, 95-95, 96-94). Keles retains the WBO European super lightweight title
• Huseyin Cinkara defeats Petar Mrvalj: UD (80-72, 78-74, 79-73)
• Anatoli Muratov defeats Shavlego Tsamalaidze: TKO, Round 3
• Ali Eren Demirezen defeats Jasmin Hasic: TKO, Round 2
• Ibrahim Guemues defeats Badri Kereselidze: KO, Round 4
• Agron Smakici defeats Abdulnaser Delalic: TKO, Round 1
• Denis Kabasic defeats Mazen Girke: MD (38-38, 39-37, 39-37)
• Ibrahim Ayada defeats Giorgi Gogebashvili: TKO, Round 3

July 15: Alex Sportcentrum, Nuremberg (Nürnberg), Bayern, Germany

• Wanik Awdijan defeats Nkululeko Mhlongo via PTS
• Marten Arsumanjan defeats Balazs Horvath: KO, Round 2
• Dario Socci and Giorgi Ungiadze fight to a draw on PTS
• Sascha Arsumanjan defeats Andras Toth: TKO, Round 2
• Florian Wildenhof and Nodar Robakidze fight to a draw on PTS
• Edonis Beqiri defeats Giga Nadiradze: TKO, Round 4

July 15: Sporthalle West, Kuehlungsborn, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany

• Jens Tietze defeats Laszlo Czene: KO, Round 3
• Ilja Mezencev defeats Paata Aduashvili: UD (59-54, 59-54, 60-53)
• Nils Schmidt defeats Janos Lakatos: UD (59-55, 59-55, 59-55)
• David Wilken defeats Haris Radmilovic: TKO, Round 3
• Dmitrij Weimer defeats Aleksandar Kuvac: UD (40-32, 40-31, 40-32)
• Darian Yasar defeats Ahmet Huric: KO, Round 2
• Nico Venetis defeats Anel Islamovic: KO, Round 2

July 15: PalaGems, Roma, Lazio, Italy

• Mario Alfano defeats Dato Nanava on PTS
• Carlo De Novellis defeats Riccardo Lecca on PTS
• Luca D’Ortenzi defeats Yassine Habachi: TKO, Round 3
• Pasquale Di Silvio and Eder Barreto fight to a draw on PTS
• Luca Papola and Roberto Ruffini fight to a technical draw

July 15: Piazza Municipale, Sequals, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy

• Fabio Turchi defeats Cesar David Crenz to win the vacant WBC International Silver cruiserweight title: KO, Round 4
• Luca Capuano defeats Stefano Failla via PTS
• Luca Maccaroni defeats Lesther Cantillano via PTS
• Francesco Alberti defeats Luca Esposito: TKO, Round 3

July 15: Stadio Comunale , Cecchina, Albano Laziale, Lazio, Italy

• Giulia Grenci defeats Katarina Vistica via PTS
• Valerio Nocera defeats Osvaldo Gagliardi via PTS

July 15: Auditorio Municipal, Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico

• Israel Gonzalez defeats Yonathan Padilla via Ud
• Gerardo Castillo defeats Jonathan Perez: TKO, Round 5
• Luis Hernandez defeats Jesus Agundez: KO, Round 7
• Isaias Hernandez defeats Gonzalo Torres: TKO, Round 4
• Rene Casimiro defeats Jose Camacho: TKO, Round 3
• Jesus Angulo defeats Victor Narvaez via UD

July 15: Gimnasio German Evers, Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico

• Miguel Angel Parra defeats Jorge Luis Melendez: RTD, Round 3
• Alberto Sandoval defeats Alfredo Ramirez: RTD, Round 2
• Adrian Haro Campos defeats Skender Halili via SD
• Cesar Salcedo defeats Andy Cuellar via PTS
• Ruben Vega defeats Javier Cruz: KO, Round 1
• Jesus Arechiga defeats Edson Vargas: TKO, Round 2
• Jose Carlos Lopez defeats Ramon Aguilar: RTD, Round 2

July 15: Salon Social Col V Guerrero, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

• Jaime Solorio defeats Ricardo Arce: TKO, Round 5
• Julio Cesar Espinoza defeats Jose Rubio: TKO, Round 3
• Gilberto Rubio defeats Fernando Ramirez: TKO, Round 1
• Benjamin Anderson Gutierrez defeats Jovani Madrigal: TKO, Round 1
• Bryan Zamarripa defeats Dario Medina: UD (40-36, 40-36, 40-36)

July 15: ABA Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand

• Ruben Webster defeats Kerry Davies via SD
• James Wilson defeats Tussi Asafo: RTD, Round 2

July 15: Nuevo Gimnasio Nicarao, Managua, Nicaragua

• Aron Juarez and Alexander Espinoza fight to a draw on PTS
• Levis Morales defeats Julio Bendana: TKO, Round 5
• Julio Mendoza defeats Marlon Chavarria via SD
• Robin Zamora defeats Reno Reyes via TD
• Manuel Gonzalez defeats Manuel Guzman via UD
• Jean Gonzalez defeats Alberto Rivero via UD
• Walter Matamoros defeats Dodany Mejia: KO, Round 1
• Royder Camacho defeats Ariel Ramirez via UD

July 15: Faqeer Colony, Karachi, Pakistan

• Muhammad Bilal defeats Muhammed Aslam via UD
• Bashir Ahmed defeats Haneef Ullah via UD
• Nadir Baloch defeats Irfan Ullah: TKO, Round 7

July 15: Pabellón Municipal, Castro Urdiales, Cantabria, Spain

• Kerman Lejarraga defeats Azael Cosio: TKO, Round 3
• Haritz Lopez de Lacalle defeats Marko Dmitrovic: TKO, Round 2
• Jon Miguez defeats Javier Gilabert: TKO, Round 3
• Jorge Vallejo defeats Davor Matic: KO, Round 2

July 15: National Indoor Stadium, Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania

• Abdallah Paziwapazi defeats Jacob Maganga: TKO, Round 6
• Selemani Bangaiza defeats Karim Ramadhan: UD (97-93, 96-94, 99-91)
• Loren Japhet defeats Shadrack Juma: UD (79-73, 80-72, 80-72)
• Tampela Maharusi defeats Rashid Bora: TKO, Round 1
• Haidari Mchanjo defeats Haruna Ndalo: UD (59-55, 59-55, 59-55)
• Adam Kipenga defeats Emmanuel Amos: UD (59-55, 58-56, 58-56)
• Jackson Malinyingi defeats Frank Zagarino via PTS
• Kasim Hamad defeats Said Jelani: KO, Round 2
• Aziz Uliza defeats Mbaraka Shabani via PTS
• Salum Omari defeats Hassan Mnairobi via PTS
• Muksini Swalehe defeats Innocent Kanuti via PTS
• Oscar Richard defeats Luckman Ramadhani via PTS

July 15: City Hall Ground, Chonburi, Thailand

• Thammanoon Niyomtrong (a.k.a. Knockout CP Freshmart) defeats Rey Loreto to retain WBA World minimumweight title: UD (117-110, 115-113, 117-110)
• Rangsan Chayanram defeats Samuel Tehuayo via UD
• Les Sherrington defeats Yuttana Wongda: KO, Round 2

July 15: Wembley Arena, Wembley, London, United Kingdom

• Chris Eubank Jr. defeats Arthur Abraham to retain International Boxing Organization World super middleweight title: UD (118-110, 118-110, 120-108)
• Lee Selby defeats Jonathan Victor Barros to retain the IBF World featherweight title: UD (117-110, 117-110, 119-108)
• Michal Syrowatka defeats Robbie Davies Jr. to win the WBA Continental super lightweight title: TKO, Round 12
• Kid Galahad defeats Jose Cayetano to win the vacant IBF Intercontinental featherweight title: TKO, Round 10
• Martin Joseph Ward defeats Anthony Cacace to become unified BBBofC British and Commonwealth (British Empire) super featherweight title: UD (115-114, 116-113, 116-114)
• Patrick Wojcicki defeats Darryl Sharp via PTS
• Chris Kongo defeats William Warburton via PTS
• Joel McIntyre defeats Remigijus Ziausys via PTS
• Joe Jackson Brown defeats Elvis Dube via PTS
• Nathanael Wilson defeats Yaddollah Ghasemi: TKO, Round 2

July 15: Winter Gardens, Blackpool, Lancashire, United Kingdom

• Ryan Mulcahy defeats Ben Wager to win the vacant BBBofC Central Area super lightweight title via PTS
• Nathan Gorman defeats Antonio Sousa: TKO, Round 5
• Jack Cullen defeats Jason Ball via PTS
• Alex McCloy defeats Chris Jenkinson via PTS
• Tom Farrell defeats Chris Adaway via PTS
• James Metcalf defeats Konstantin Alexandrov: TKO, Round 1
• Scott Fitzgerald defeats Raimonds Sniedze: TKO, Round 2
• James Moorcroft defeats Kevin McCauley via PTS
• Ross Cooksey defeats Luke Fash via PTS
• Mickey Ellison defeats urtis Gargano via PTS

July 15: Forum, Inglewood, California, USA

• Miguel Berchelt defeats Takashi Miura to retain WBC super featherweight title: UD (119-108, 120-109, 116-111)
• Jezreel Corrales defeats Robinson Castellanos to retain WBA “Super” super featherweight title: TD (94-93, 96-92, 94-94)
• Sullivan Barrera defeats Joe Smith Jr. to win the WBC International light heavyweight title: UD (97-92, 96-93, 97-92)
• Mercito Gesta defeats Martin Honorio: KO, Round 8
• Recky Dulay defeats Jaime Arboleda: KO, Round 3
• Manny Robles Jr. defeats Christian Esquivel: TKO, Round 5
• Diuhl Olguin defeats Horacio Garcia: UD (76-74, 77-73, 77-73)
• Ryan Garcia defeats Mario Antonio Macias: KO, Round 1

July 15: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York, USA

• Omar Figueroa Jr. defeats Robert Guerrero: TKO, Round 3
• Marcus Browne defeats Sean Monaghan in a WBC light heavyweight title eliminator: TKO, Round 2
• Adam Kownacki defeats Artur Szpilka: TKO, Round 4
• Patrick Day defeats Eric Walker to win the WBC Continental Americas super welterweight title: UD (96-93, 96-93, 95-94)
• Jamal James defeats Ionut Dan Ion: UD (98-92, 97-93, 99-91)
• Brandon Figueroa defeats Fatiou Fassinou: UD (78-74, 79-73, 78-74)
• Fidel Monterrosa Munoz defeats Tommy Rainone: UD (57-55, 58-54, 58-54)
• Vincenzo D’Angelo and Dequan Burgos fight to a split draw (38-38, 37-39, 39-37)

July 15: Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino, Chandler, Arizona, USA

• John Vera defeats Daniel Rosario Cruz to retain the WBA-NABA USA super welterweight title: MD (95-95, 96-94, 96-94)
• Rico Ramos defeats Juan Antonio Lopez to win the vacant WBA-NABA super bantamweight title: UD (98-91, 98-91, 99-90)
• Abel Ramos defeats Emmanuel Robles: TKO, Round 8

July 15: Sphinx Club, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

• Gerome Quigley Jr. defeats Luis Hernandez to win the vacant United States Boxing Organisation welterweight title: UD (100-90, 99-91, 98-92)
• Sam Crossed defeats James Jones: KO, Round 4
• Luther Smith defeats Martez Williamson: KO, Round 1
• Leo Alcanera defeats George Sheppard: UD (40-36, 39-37, 38-37)
• Justin Bell defeats Erik Plumer: TKO, Round 1
• Jahmal Dyer defeats Dwayne Martin: KO, Round 1
• Francisco Bustos defeats Latrail Purdue: TKO, Round 1
• Dante Cox defeats Archie Weah: MD (38-38, 39-37, 39-37)
• Rashad Kilpatrick defeats Martegus Martin: TKO, Round 2

July 15: Georgia Sports Performance, Lawrenceville, Georgia, USA

• Rashad Shahid defeats Dakwon Blackston: TKO, Round 1
• Mike Ford defeats Nick Davis: UD (40-35, 40-35, 39-36)
• Keasen Freeman defeats Monye Tucker: UD (40-36, 40-36, 40-36)
• Aaron Casper defeats Deangelo Owens: KO, Round 1

July 15: Hotel Portofino, Isla Margarita, Venezuela

• Josber Perez defeats Jose Luis Varela: KO, Round 1
• Hegly Mosqueda defeats Ernesto Martinez (58-56, 58-56, 58-56)
• Mariam Moreno and Keren Batiz fight to a majority draw (57-57, 57-57, 55-59)
• Pedro Perales and Carlos Rodriguez fight to a majority draw (38-38, 38-38, 39-37)
• Jesus Correa defeats Helber Rojas: KO, Round 1
• Yeison Gonzalez and Rancel Lopez to a no decision
• Jimson Garcia defeats Andres Rubio: UD (39-37, 39-37, 39-37)
• Leonardo Sanchez defeats Luis Millan: UD (40-34, 40-33, 40-34)
• Edgar Gonzalez defeats Esneiker Correa: SD (37-38, 40-35, 38-37)

July 14: Club Centro Gallego, Santa Fe, Santa Fe, Argentina

• Jose Luis Castillo and Ruben Rafael Rojas fight to a split draw (57-58, 59-58, 58-58)

July 14: Club Social y Deportivo El Fortín, Olavarria, Buenos Aires, Argentina

• Luis Roberto Mato defeats Esteban Miguel Stodulski: UD (60-58, 59-55, 59-57)

July 14: Club Comunicaciones, Pergamino, Buenos Aires, Argentina

• Anahi Esther Sanchez defeats Maria Carina Brito: KO, Round 1

July 14: Club de Pelota Tres Arroyos, Tres Arroyos, Buenos Aires, Argentina

• Gustavo Daniel Lemos defeats Fernando Daniel Cancino: UD (60-53, 60-53, 60-53)
• Gloria Elena Yancaqueo defeats Makarena Gallastegui: SD (39-38, 40-39, 38-39)
• Jeremias Javier Ulibarre defeats Ernesto Franzolini: UD (39-38, 40-37, 40-38)

July 14: Centro Tradicionalista El Volcador, San Vicente, Buenos Aires, Argentina

• Federico Jesus Benjamin Malespina defeats Jonathan Ariel Leyes: UD (57-56, 58-56, 59-56)
• Jeremias Nicolas Ponce defeats Esteban David Rocabado: TKO, Round 3

July 14: Club Sociedad de Tiro y Gimnasia, San Pedro de Jujuy, Jujuy, Argentina

• Silvana Gomez Juarez defeats Paola Farfan via UD

July 14: Polideportivo Municipal, Tunuyan, Mendoza, Argentina

• Nerina Ortubia defeats Gisela Tamara Ledesma: UD (40-36, 40-36, 40-36)

July 14: Club Sacachispas, Venado Tuerto, Santa Fe, Argentina

• Miguel Angel Peralta defeats Alexis Hermosi: TKO, Round 2

July 14: The Melbourne Pavilion, Flemington, Victoria, Australia

• Blake Caparello defeats Jordan Tai to win vacant WBA Oceania light heavyweight title: TKO, Round 6
• Czar Amonsot and Martin Enrique Escobar to a no contest after an accidental head cut in the second round
• Jake Carr defeats Paitoon Jaikom: UD (50-44, 50-43, 50-43)
• Joel Camilleri defeats Chatri Charoensin: TKO, Round 2
• Issac Hardman defeats Lucas Miller: TKO, Round 1
• Casey Caswell defeats Steve Roberts: TKO, Round 1
• Jackson King defeats Junior Pio Moe: TKO, Round 1
• Matthew Lytwynenko defeats Aphichat Koedchatturat: UD (39-37, 40-36, 40-36)

July 14: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

• Patrice Sou Toke defeats Ayoub Nefzi to retain the WBC Francophone middleweight title: SD (114-112 114-112, 109-117)

July 14: Gimnasio Club Mexico, Santiago de Chile, Chile

• Julio Alamos defeats Arnoldo Poblete to retain the Chilean super middleweight title: KO, Round 3

July 14: Barrio Las Flores, Barranquilla, Colombia

• Brayam Rico defeats Jorge Ladeo: KO, Round 2
• Likar Ramos defeats John Merino: KO, Round 3

July 14: Auditorio Blackberry, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

• Josue Veraza defeats Romulo Koasicha to win the vacant WBO Latino featherweight title via UD

July 14: Salón “Alameda” Hotel El Paseo, Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico

• Santiago Dominguez defeats Christian Gilberto Pacheco: TKO, Round 2
• Esteban Villalba defeats Josue Garcia: TKO, Round 1
• Juan Carlos Chavira defeats Misael Saucedo: UD (59-55, 59-55, 59-55)
• Miguel G Longoria defeats Erasmo Martinez Ortiz: KO, Round 2
• Jarvis Shepard defeats Juan Gerardo Sanchez: TKO, Round 2
• Kenneth Taylor defeats Cesar Rodriguez: TKO, Round 1
• Shamarian Snider defeats Gerardo Daniel Rodarte Lozano: TKO, Round 3

July 14: Centro Recreativo Edgardo Corea, Nagarote, Nicaragua

• Jordan Escobar defeats Nelson Luna: SD (74-77, 77-74, 77-74)
• Jose Alfaro defeats Jesus Vidal: KO, Round 2
• Moises Olivas defeats Oscar Amador: SD (58-56, 58-56, 56-58)
• Julio Laguna defeats Rudy Cordero: UD (60-54, 60-54, 59-55)
• Alexander Taylor defeats Julio Borda: MD (38-38, 39-37, 39-37)
• Roger Scott defeats Imer Hernandez: UD (40-36, 40-36, 40-36)

July 14: Palacio de los Deportes, Benidorm, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain

• Yoann Kongolo defeats Julio Acosta: TKO, Round 2
• Kiko Martinez defeats Franklin Varela: TKO, Round 4
• Eva Naranjo defeats Jasmina Nad via UD
• Katharina Thanderz defeats Karina Kopinska via UD
• Ismael Garcia defeats Dani Gomez: TKO, Round 1
• Aritz Pardal defeats Ignac Kassai: KO, Round 6

July 14: Pabellon Municipal, Ogijares, Andalucía, Spain

• John Carter defeats Artem Ayvazidi via PTS
• Luis Felipe Castro defeats Nikola Ivkovic via PTS

July 14: Bangkok, Thailand

• Tewa Kiram defeats Ramadhani Shauri: UD (118-109, 118-109, 118-109)

July 14: Buffalo Run Casino, Miami, Oklahoma, USA

• Antoine Douglas defeats Juan De Angel to become the unified WBC FECARBOX and WBA-NABA middleweight champion: KO, Round 4
• Rolando Chinea defeats Kenneth Sims Jr.: MD (77-75, 77-75, 76-76)
• Ivan Baranchyk defeats Keenan Smith: UD (80-71, 78-73, 79-72)
• Glenn Dezurn and Adam Lopez fight to a split draw (77-75, 75-77, 76-76)
• Joshua Greer Jr. defeats Leroy Davila: RTD, Round 5
• Charles Conwell defeats Rick Graham: TKO, Round 2
• Isaiah Steen defeats Travis Nero: KO, Round 1

Fightful Boxing rankings:

Pound-for-pound

1. Andre Ward
2. Gennady Golovkin
3. Canelo Alvarez
4. Vasyl Lomachenko
5. Terence Crawford
6. Keith Thurman
7. Roman Gonzalez
8. Guillermo Rigondeaux
9. Mikey Garcia
10. Leo Santa Cruz

Heavyweight

1. Anthony Joshua
2. Deontay Wilder
3. Wladimir Klitschko
4. Joseph Parker
5. Luis Ortiz
6. Kubrat Pulev
7. Dillian White
8. Andy Ruiz Jr.
9. Dominic Breazeale
10. Charles Martin

Cruiserweight

1. Oleksandr Usyk
2. Denis Lebediev
3. Murat Gassiev
4. Krzysztof Glowacki
5. Mairis Briedis
6. Krzysztof Wlodarczyk
7. Marco Huck
8. Firat Arslan
9. Tony Bellew
10. Yunier Dorticos

Light heavyweight

1. Andre Ward
2. Sergey Kovalev
3. Adonis Stevenson
4. Nathan Cleverly
5. Oleksandr Gvozdyk
6. Sulliva Barrera
7. Artur Beterbiev
8. Eleider Alvarez
9. Joe Smith Jr.

Super middleweight

1. James DeGale
2. Gilberto Ramirez
3. George Groves
4. Anthony Dirrell
5. Andre Dirrell
6. Jose Uzcategui
7. Chris Eubank Jr.
8. Tyron Zeuge
9. Callum Smith
10. Juergen Braehmer

Middleweight

1. Gennady Golovkin
2. Canelo Alvarez
3. Daniel Jacobs
4. David Lemieux
5. Billy Joe Saunders
6. Andy Lee
7. Hassan N’Dam
8. Ryota Murata
9. Sergiy Derevyanchenko
10. Tureano Johnson

Light middleweight

1. Erislandy Lara
2. Jermell Charlo
3. Demetrius Andrade
4. Jarrett Hurd
5. Julian Williams
6. Austin Trout
7. Erickson Lubin
8. Liam Smith
9. Jack Culcay
10. David Benavidez

Welterweight

1. Keith Thurman
2. Errol Spence Jr.
3. Danny Garcia
4. Shawn Porter
5. Manny Pacquiao
6. Jeff Horn
7. Adrien Broner
8. Kell Brook
9. Jessie Vargas
10. Omar Figueroa

The rest of the rankings are in the next page.

Light welterweight

1. Terence Crawford
2. Julius Indongo
3. Viktor Postol
4. Antonio Orozco
5. Eduard Troyanovski
6. Rances Barthelemy
7. Adrian Granados
8. Ricky Burns
9. Sergey Lipinets
10. Felix Diaz

Lightweight

1. Jorge Linares
2. Mikey Garcia
3. Terry Flanagan
4. Robert Easter Jr.
5. Anthony Crolla
6. Luke Campbell
7. Dejan Zlaticanin
8. Raymundo Beltran
9. Denis Shafikov
10. Felix Verdejo

Junior lightweight

1. Vasyl Lomachenko
2. Miguel Berchelt
3. Gervonta Davis
4. Jezreel Corrales
5. Takashi Uchiyama
6. Francisco Vargas
7. Takashi Miura
8. Orlando Salido
9. Robinson Castellanos
10. Jason Sosa

Featherweight

1. Leo Santa Cruz
2. Carl Frampton
3. Gary Russell Jr.
4. Ee Selby
5. Abner Mares
6. Oscar Valdez
7. Scott Quigg
8. Jesus Cuellar
9. Joseph Diaz
10. Claudio Marrero

Light featherweight

1. Guillermo Rigondeaux
2. Jessie Magdaleno
3. Nonito Donaire
4. Moises Flores
5. Hugo Ruiz
6. Rey Vargas
7. Marlon Tapales
8. Julio Ceja
9. Yukinori Oguni
10. Ronny Rios

Bantamweight

1. Shinsuke Yamanaka
2. Jamie McDonnell
3. Zhanat Zhakiyanov
4. Ryan Burnett
5. Rau’shee Warren
6. Juan Carlos Payano
7. Zolani Tete
8. Lee Haskins
9. Luis Nery
10. Takoma Inoue

Light bantamweight

1. Naoya Inoue
2. Roman Gonzalez
3. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
4. Jerwin Ancajas
5. Khalid Yafai
6. Carlos Cuadras
7. Juan Francisco Estrada
8. John Riel Casimero
9. Luis Concepcion
10. Kohei Kono

Flyweight

1. Kazuto Ioka
2. Donnie Nietes
3. Daigo Higa
4. Zou Shiming
5. Juan Carlos Reveco
6. Moruti Mthalane
7. McWilliams Arroyo
8. Francisco Rodriguez Jr.
9. Komgrich Nantapech
10. Andrew Selby

Light flyweight/Strawweight

1. Milan Melindo
2. Kosei Tanaka
3. Knockout CP Freshmart
4. Jose Argumedo
5. Ken Shiro
6. Ryoichi Taguchi
7. Tatsuya Fukuhara
8. Hekkie Budler
9. Pedro Guevara
10. Wanheng Menayothin

Robert Guerrero Retirement:

Robert Guerrero has announced his retirement after a lengthy and entertaining career just days after his latest loss on national television.

The former world champion took to social media to make the announcement after a professional career that has spanned 16 years and countless world championship reigns.

“First, I want to thank God for allowing me to have a wonderful career. I’m a kid from a small town in Gilroy, California, who made it to the mountain top of boxing. When I was a young kid growing up, I always believed in myself, but never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined a small-town kid like myself would be fighting in front of millions of fans.

I was blessed to win multiple world titles. A boxer’s career is a long and tough road. Many tears were shed, lots of blood and tons of sweat. Many miles were traveled, thousands of rounds sparred, and none were easy and nothing was ever given to me. I earned everything I got the old-fashioned way. I never ducked anyone and fought the best fighters in the world. I fought my way through every obstacle to make sure my fans enjoyed every second of every round of my fights.”

Guerrero started his career unbeaten in his first 17 fights, winning his first title, the NABF featherweight title, in 2004 in just his 15th fight. Guerrero lost the title a year later but bounced back nine months later, winning the IBF featherweight from Eric Aiken after Aiken’s corner retired after the eighth round.

After his first pro loss, Guerrero went undefeated for nearly eight years, defeating the likes of Andre Berto, Joel Casamayor and Selçuk Aydın. This set up the biggest fight of Guerrero’s career: Floyd Mayweather Jr. Guerrero, the WBC interim welterweight champion, challenged Mayweather, the WBC and lineal welterweight champion on Cinco De Mayo 2013 weekend.

Guerrero lost that fight via unanimous decision and his career never recovered. He lost three of his next five fights, losing to Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia for the WBA and WBC welterweight titles, respectively, in that span.

His last fight was just this weekend when he got stopped in the third round against Omar Figueroa in a PBC on Fox card from Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, New York. Guerrero was knocked down five times in that fight. Despite the last couple of years not being the best for Guerrero, the former world champion has had a long reputation of accepting any and all challenges and providing fans with a lot of big fights. In his last 10 fights, he faced opponents with a combined record of 270-10-4 going into their respective bouts.

The 34-year-old, nicknamed “The Ghost,” retires with a 33-6-1 (2 NC) record and having held the IBF featherweight, IBF junior lightweight, WBA and WBO interim lightweight and WBC interim welterweight titles. Guerrero is also very much involved in cancer research after his wife Casey had a bout with cancer, a battle that Casey was fortunate to have won and is cancer-free to this day.

Other News in Boxing:

1. The World Boxing Council and the Chinese Boxing Federations have ceased relations. The WBC recently confirmed that the two governing bodies ended relations back on April 5. The WBC was the first major global governing body to help professional boxing grow in China, beginning their partnership in 2002. The WBC would have the country’s first world champion in Xiong Chao Zhong, who won the WBC minimumweight championship in 2012. Zou Shiming is the latest world champion from China, winning the WBO flyweight title late last year.

2. Now that the 16-man field for the World Boxing Super Series has been set, early betting odds have been released. Oleksandr Usyk and George Groves, the top seeds for the cruiserweight and super middleweight tournaments, respectively, are also the early favorites heading into their respective tournaments. Neither man has a date or venue set for their first round matches.

Below are the early betting odds for each boxer in the World Boxing Super Series. Bets are provided by PaddyPower.com.

Cruiserweight odds:

• Oleksandr Usyk: 8/11
• Murat Gassiev: 7/2
• Mairis Briedis: 5/1
• Yunier Dorticos: 10/1
• Dmitry Kudryashov: 16/1
• Mike Perez: 20/1
• Krzysztof Wlodarczyk: 50/1
• Marco Huck: 66/1

Super Middleweight odds:

• Callum Smith: 13/8
• George Groves: 9/4
• Chris Eubank Jr.: 3/1
• Avni Yildirim: 16/1
• Jamie Cox: 16/1
• Juergen Braehmer: 20/1
• Rob Brant: 25/1
• Erik Skoglund: 33/1

3. Top Rank announced that it signed 2016 US Olympian Mikaela Mayer to an exclusive promotional agreement. The Los Angeles native’s professional debut will double as her homecoming inasmuch as it will take place at Microsoft Theater at LA Live under the Vasyl Lomachenko-Miguel Marriaga WBO junior-lightweight world championship fight, Saturday, August 5. Mayer’s pro debut will be a four-round 132lbs bout.

4. Two-time Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields was announced as the 2017 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Sports Award for “Biggest Powerhouse.” Shields joins other sports superstars Demarcus Cousins (basketball players for the New Orleans Pelicans), Von Miller (football player for the Denver Broncos), David Ortiz (former baseball player for the Boston Red Sox) and Mike Trout (baseball player for the Los Angeles Angels). The 22-year-old female boxing star, who has won all three fights, will challenge for the WBC and vacant IBF female super middleweight titles when she faces Nikki Adler on August 4. That fight will be broadcasted on Showtime’s ShoBox: The Next Generation series.

5. Al Bernstein and Crystina Poncher will be co-Masters of Ceremonies for the fifth annual Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame induction. The induction will be held on August 12 at Caesars Palace. The 2017 class is a who’s who of boxing legends. Below is the incoming Hall of fame class.

• Thomas Hearns
• Michael Spinks
• Erik Morales
• Michael Carbajal
• Lucia Rijker
• Salvador Sanchez
• Ken Norton
• Leon Spinks
• Richie Sandoval
• Davey Pearl
• Debbie Munch
• Mel Greb
• Rafael Garcia
• Dr. Elias Ghanem

6. The middleweight world title elimination fight between Sergiy Derevyanchenko and Tureano Johnson is scheduled to take place on August 25 and will headline a Premier Boxing Champions card on Fox Sports 1 at a site to be determined. In early June, promoter Lou DiBella, who represents Derevyanchenko, won the purse bid for the bout for $121,100.02 beating the bid of $62,000 offered by Johnson promoter Golden Boy. Contracts have been signed for the fight and it was scheduled for August 25 with DiBella securing a PBC card from Al Haymon, Derevyanchenko’s adviser and the PBC founder. The winner of the fight becomes a mandatory challenger for one of the belts held by Gennady Golovkin.

WBC Clean Boxing Report:

The WBC, through the Clean Boxing Program administered by VADA, has tested a total of 72 fighters in the first semester of 2017. Many of these fighters were tested multiple times during the process and a lot of the familiar names passed those tests. Below are the boxers who have yielded negative test results.

Also on that list are boxers who have either missed testing or failed their respective tests. Among the list of names in the report that missed testing is WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker. According to a Duco Boxing spokesperson, Parker is not guilty of doping, but was very careless and did not notify VADA that he would be out of town for an extended period of time.

“Joseph extended his holiday following the Cojanu bout on May 6 and didn’t update the VADA system of his change of plans. A couple of weeks ago, drug testers went to his residence in Las Vegas (Parker’s training base) and he had said he was going to be in camp there but he had changed his plans and was in Samoa at the time. There is no hiding it’s an oversight. A missed test doesn’t mean you’ve been doping, it just means you’ve been careless. In this case it’s just that Joseph didn’t update the VADA system and he was on holiday at the time. There is no hiding the fact he missed a drug test and he has to take it on the chin. Joseph is back in camp in Vegas for the next eight weeks and VADA can stop by at any time of the day or night if they want to see him.”

Deontay Wilder, the current WBC heavyweight champion has publicly stated that he would like to have a unification bout against Parker, and getting in trouble with VADA and WBC does not bode well for Parker. No formal announcement regarding any disciplinary actions against Parker will be announced, if there are any.

Even if the WBC hits Parker with a suspension, it will likely be a suspension up to six months, the smallest punishment that the WBC Protocol could give out for a Clean Boxing Program violation. This would likely be almost a non-issue for any talks of a unification bout. Parker does have an upcoming title defense against Hughie Fury on September 23 and a WBC suspension does not prevent Parker from fighting Fury for the WBO belt.

Should a six-month suspension occur, this would likely not impact any Wilder vs. Parker potential matchups as Wilder is rumored to be possibly fighting Luis Ortiz later in November.

The other boxers to have missed tests according to the report are J’Leon Love, Kyotara Fujimoto, Tevi Farmer and Bermane Stiverne. The four boxers to have failed drug tests are Andrej Wawrzyk (stanozolol), Cletus Seldin (stanozolol), Dennys Ceylan (cocaine/metabol) and Suriyan Khaikanha (methamphetamines/amphetamines).