MVP Signs Top-Ranked Title Contender Tysie Gallagher

Press Release: June 26, 2026 By Most Valuable Promotions - NEW YORK, NY – June 22, 2026

— MVP today announced the signing of 

Tysie "The First Lady" Gallagher

(10-2), the first-ever female British super bantamweight champion, reigning Commonwealth, BBBoC British, and WBO International champion, and #5 IBF contender at 122lbs. Gallagher becomes the latest elite athlete to join MVP following the launch of MVPW, the year-round global home of women's boxing, which continues to assemble the deepest roster of world champions and contenders in the sport. Gallagher joins fellow MVP UK standouts including Ellie Scotney, Caroline Dubois, Chantelle Cameron, Savannah Marshall, Terri Harper, Ramla Ali and Shannon Courtenay, among others.

A native of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, Gallagher has established herself as one of the United Kingdom's most accomplished female fighters. She began boxing at age 10 and enjoyed a decorated amateur career spanning 35 bouts, winning two national titles, twice reaching the ABA Senior Elite Championship finals, and representing England on the international stage. Since turning professional, Gallagher has continued to break barriers, becoming the first-ever female British super bantamweight champion while also capturing the Commonwealth and WBO International titles at 122lbs.

Now ranked the IBF’s #5 contender in the world, Gallagher has emerged as one of the leading contenders in the super bantamweight division. In November 2023, she challenged Segolene Lefebvre for the WBO world title in just her eighth pro fight, further cementing her status among the division's elite. Known for her toughness, relentless work ethic, and willingness to take on the biggest challenges, Gallagher enters the next chapter of her career with her sights firmly set on becoming a world champion. Outside the ring, she is a proud mother to her seven-year-old daughter, balancing elite-level competition with family life while serving as an inspiration to women and young athletes across the UK. Gallagher most recently earned a unanimous decision win over challenger Ellie Hellewell in defense of her Commonwealth, BBBoC British, and WBO International titles in September 2025. She was initially scheduled to compete on MVP’s UK debut event, MVPW-01, in April 2026, but was forced to withdraw due to injury.

“Signing a multi-year deal with Most Valuable Promotions is a huge moment in my career, and I want to thank Nakisa Bidarian, Jake Paul, and Mike Leanardi for this opportunity,”

said Tysie Gallagher.

“I’m excited to represent Britain on the global stage and become world champion!”

"Few fighters have done more to push British women's boxing forward than Tysie Gallagher, a fighter who has consistently proven herself against top competition and built one of the strongest resumes in the country,"

said Nakisa Bidarian and Jake Paul, co-founders of Most Valuable Promotions.

"From becoming the first-ever female British super bantamweight champion to earning top-five world rankings and challenging for a world title, she has demonstrated the skill, toughness, and determination that embody everything MVP looks for in its athletes. As we continue to strengthen MVPW's global roster and deepen our roster within the 122lb division, we're excited to welcome another elite UK fighter and provide the platform for Tysie to pursue her world title ambitions."

For more information, follow on X via @MostVPromotions and @TysieGallagher, or on Instagram via @MostValuablePromotions and @tysiegallagher.

About MVP

Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) was founded in August 2021 by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian with a fighter first ethos. Since inception, MVP has produced 30 live boxing events, currently promotes over 60 fighters, 18 world champions, and 26 top contenders.

MVP has led boxing’s evolution in the streaming era through partnerships with the world’s leading platforms. In November 2024, MVP’s Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson and Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano 2 was the first-ever live professional sports event streamed on Netflix. Paul vs. Tyson shattered records, becoming the most-streamed sporting event of all time with 125 million live viewers worldwide. MVP went on to partner with Netflix twice in 2025 for MVP’s Taylor vs. Serrano 3 and Jake vs. Joshua: Judgment Day.

Today, MVP is the global home of women’s boxing. MVP’s Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano in 2022 was the first female fight to headline Madison Square Garden, while Taylor vs. Serrano 2 in 2024 saw 74 million viewers globally on Netflix and became the most-watched professional women’s sports event in US history with 47 million AMA in the US. Their 2025 trilogy on Netflix topped an all-women’s megacard that set the official GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for the most world championship belts ever contested on a single fight card, male or female, with 17 world titles, earning nearly 6 million viewers globally. 

Material Courtesy of: Most Valuable Promotions Used with permission.

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

BKB Launches Live Fight Night TikTok Takeover

 

Credit: BKB Bareknuckle Boxing 

Press Release: June 23, 2026 By BKB - BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing brings the BKB 55 "Carnage in Cardiff" preliminary card directly to its fastest-growing fan base through an exclusive, interactive live stream on TikTok, with real-time commentary and reactions from combat sports star Ellie Dempster and co-host Taylor Feingold.

 

MIAMI, FLORIDA

 – Bare Knuckle Boxing (BKB) today announced a first-of-its-kind broadcast partnership that brings the BKB 55 "Carnage in Cardiff" preliminary card directly to fans through an exclusive live stream on TikTok, where the sport reaches a global audience of more than one billion users. The prelims will stream on BKB's owned-and-operated TikTok channel with interactive, real-time commentary and reactions from 

Ellie Dempster

 (Dana White’s Power Slap Super Star) and digital creator 

Taylor Feingold

.

 

The takeover marks a deliberate step in BKB's distribution strategy: meeting fans where they already are and building a direct relationship with the young, highly engaged audience that has made bare knuckle boxing the fastest-growing property in combat sports. By going direct to fans on TikTok, BKB owns the relationship with its audience, and the engagement behind it, creating a premium, brand-safe environment for partners seeking authentic access to the highly coveted Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha audience.

 

The brand-new show runs alongside the main broadcast and delivers a live, interactive watch-along built for the TikTok generation. The fan-centric chat takes center stage as the driving force of the show, turning passive viewers into active participants and giving sponsors a native, real-time integration point inside the conversation. Fans can join at 11 AM ET, 4 PM BST on fight night, Saturday, June 27, at  

TikTok.com/@bkbbareknuckle

.

 

Said 

BKB CEO David Tetreault

: "This is a transformative partnership with one of the largest platforms in the world, and it lets us take our product directly to the fans who are driving the growth of this sport. We have created a high-energy, fan-first experience built around reactions and personality rather than stat sheets. Once again, BKB is on the forefront of revolutionizing how combat sport is consumed, humanizing our fighters, integrating our fans, and mainstreaming the sport of bare knuckle boxing. BKB was tailor-made for the modern generation, and there is no better way to reach them than with fun, knowledgeable, and genuinely relatable personalities like Ellie and Taylor."

 

The BKB 55 preliminary card features five hard-hitting matchups leading into a main card headlined by the bare knuckle debut of former IBF featherweight world champion 

Lee Selby 

at the Vindico Arena in Cardiff.

 

A number of top up-and-coming BKB fighters highlight the undercard, including undefeated Welshmen 

Ethan George 

and

 Geraint Goodridge

, alongside bare knuckle mainstays

 Tom Pratt, Dan Matthews, 

and

 Corey Healey.

 

On the main card, Selby faces undefeated Italian and kickboxing star 

Antonio Rizzo

. In the co-main event, Welsh knockout artist 

Dan Lerwell

 meets undefeated UFC veteran 

Danny Mitchell

 in the cruiserweight division. And former world champions go head-to-head when 

Dan Podmore 

and

 Jarome Hatch 

square off for the number one contender slot in the bridgerweight division.

 

Visit 

bkbbareknuckle.com

 and follow @bkbbareknuckle for tickets, information, and all the ways to watch.  Watch prelims live at 

tiktok.com/@bkbbareknuckle

 at 4 PM BST / 11 AM ET.  The main card will air live at 7 PM BST / 2 PM ET on talkSPORT in the UK and Ireland, and elsewhere on VICE TV’s YouTube Channel.  It will re-air on cable in prime time in the US and Canada on VICE TV.  Visit 

bkbbareknuckle.com/watch

 for all viewing links. 

 

Material and Photo Courtesy of: BKB Bareknuckle Boxing Used with permission. For more information about BKB Bareknuckle Boxing please visit: www.bkbbareknuckle.com. 

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

Zayas-Ennis Preview

 The month of June 2026 in the sport of Boxing will conclude with arguably one of the best fights that could be made in the sport in present day. This observer is referring to an encounter between two unbeaten world champions in Boxing’s 154lb. Jr. Middleweight division.undefeated unified WBO/WBA World Jr. Middleweight champion Xander Zayas will meet undefeated former IBF World Welterweight champion Jaron Ennis at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. A marquee bout that can be seen worldwide on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN as part of a DAZN Ultimate subscription or as a standalone pay-per-view offering for non-Ultimate subscribers. 

A coincidence that is present for this fight is it will take place on a historical day in Boxing history. Those of us who are old enough to remember likely recall June 27. 1988 where at the legendary Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ, the then undefeated Undisputed World Heavyweight champion Mike Tyson destroyed unbeaten two-division world champion Michael Spinks in ninety-one seconds in defense of his crown and solidifying his claim as at that point in time the one and only World Heavyweight champion as Spinks also had a claim on the title and was recognized by Ring Magazine as World Heavyweight Champion. While that fight was significantly promoted to degrees that we do not see in the sport of Boxing anymore, the actual fight ended up being a disappointment, but was an example of how devastating Mike Tyson was in his prime years. From a business perspective, the event of Tyson-Spinks between live gate attendance, closed circuit locations, and pay-per-view, which was still largely in its infancy at that time here in the United States generated over $70 million in revenue and drew a sell out crowd of 21,785 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

Although no fight in present day should be compared to that event, particularly one that will be taking place at a lower weight than the Heavyweight division, the one similarity between the two is like Tyson and Spinks thirty-eight years ago, both Zayas and Ennis are undefeated world champions and much like back then, there is a reasonable amount of suspense as to what might happen when the two champions step into the ring to do battle. In this case, both champions are not only unbeaten, but have both scored knockouts of over half of their opponents. In that aspect, the challenger Ennis, who is the current WBA number one Jr. Middleweight contender/mandatory challenger has the advantage having scored knockouts of 88% of his opponents, scoring thirty-one knockouts in his thirty-five career wins compared to Zayas’ thirteen knockouts in twenty-three career wins.

If one were to view this strictly from those statistics, they would get the impression that this is an encounter between a champion in Zayas, who would be labeled as more of a boxer going against a former world champion in Ennis, who would be labeled as more of a “Knockout Artist.” While this would be accurate to a degree, much like Ennis, Zayas has shown an ability to be explosive and can end a fight suddenly if the opportunity presents itself. The question here is what are we likely to see as each fighter faces arguably the toughest opponent in their respective careers.

Both fighters are well aware of what the other can do and as such there might be a healthy respect for each other’s credentials in the early rounds. At some point, however, it will be interesting to see who will take the initiative to force the action and take the risk of opening up with their offense and thus risk getting caught by their opponent.  While most fans would relish the idea of two fighters simply choosing to stand and trade punches, shot for shot, it is logical to think that this will be approached tactically by both fighters rather than throwing caution to the wind. It should also be pointed out, despite his reputation as a “Knockout Artist,” Jaron Ennis has also shown that when he has to, he can box as well, so it will be interesting to see what each fighter’s approach will be. 

Although this fight should be viewed as a chapter in the careers of two potentially great fighters, often fights like this are thought of as landmarks in a fighters career. Whether that label is justified or not, it puts the fighter who does not get their hand raised in a position where pundits will put their career under a microscope and there will be a rebuilding process that said fighter will have to undertake in attempting to bounce back from such a setback. This observer will not partake in such “What If” scenarios because after all, no one knows what will happen when Zayas and Ennis face off in the ring and there is obviously more to take into the equation post-fight than the matter of a win or a loss. What Boxing fans can hope for, however, is that both fighters come with their best and that the intriguing Fight of the Year candidate this appears to be on paper, manifests itself inside the ring.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

Zayas vs. Ennis takes place on Saturday, June 27th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. the fight as well as its full undercard can be seen on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN as a standalone pay-per-view offering for $74.99 or included with a DAZN Ultimate subscription for $44.99 per month. The broadcast will begin at 4PM ET/1PM PT with free preliminary bouts with the subscription/standalone pay-per-view portion beginning at 8PM ET/ 5PM PT. 

(*North American Pricing and  Start Times Only.* (Card and Start Times Subject to Change.”

For more information about DAZN including schedules, list of compatible streaming devices, platforms, Smart TVs, availability around the world, local start times in your area, region specific pricing for your area, to subscribe to DAZN Ultimate or to order this pay-per-view event separately please visit: www.DAZN.com. 

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Andrew Moloney Talks Overcoming Adversity To Claim IBF World Title

 

Credit: 3150 Boxing 

Press Release: June 17, 2026 By Team Moloney Story by Lewis Moss- On June 6th Andrew Moloney defeated Willibaldo Garcia to win the IBF Super Flyweight Championship by majority decision.

The title for Moloney marks the second in his boxing career, while also serving as a fitting reward for the resilience he has shown throughout his long journey in the sport.

Back in May 2024, Moloney was defeated by Pedro Guevara by a split decision for the WBC interim Super Flyweight Title.

Furious with the result, Moloney announced his retirement during an in-ring interview stating that he was “done with the sport.”

The decision was not the first time Moloney had received the short end of the stick, as a highly controversial no contest prevented him from reclaiming his WBA title against Joshua Franco in 2020.

Despite these decisions, the Aussie decided to come back to boxing due to not having fulfilled a lifelong goal.

“It took a while [to get over the loss to Guevara] and I knew that I still had so much left.” Moloney said.

 

“Even though at that point I had won the WBA Regular World Title, there's some people who don't count that as a world championship.

 

“My whole life's mission has been to become world champion. I've had so many people help me over the years, but I felt like I hadn't achieved the goal that I'd set out to accomplish.

 

“By winning this world title on the weekend, no one can say I wasn't a world champion. No one can take this away from me, it is mission accomplished.”

 

Moloney kickstarted his return with two stoppage victories against Jakrawut Majungoen and Pawan Kumar Arya. These wins placed Moloney back into the title picture and secured his position as a mandatory challenger for IBF Super Flyweight Champion Willibaldo Garcia.

Garcia’s team along with Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing attempted to lure the Aussie into temporarily relinquishing his mandatory status by offering a substantial financial payout, so an undisputed unification fight could be made between Jesse Rodriguez and the IBF title holder.

However, Moloney realised that it was now or never, and the proposal was ultimately rejected as his world title dream was “not for sale.”

“[The IBF] gave us 30 days to negotiate the [Garcia] fight, but there was basically no talk at all about the fight being made,” Moloney revealed.

 

“All the talk that was coming from Garcia's team and Eddie Hearn, they tried their best to persuade me to not fight and let Garcia, fight [Jesse] Rodriguez.

 

“They threw a lot of money at me to try and get me to step aside, but I'd been waiting over a year for this fight and I was quite inactive at the time.

 

“I'm 35 years old, it felt like I was selling my dream, so I told Tony [Tolj] that I didn't even want to know the numbers and to tell them my dream was not for sale.

 

“We're going to beat this guy, become world champion and then we're going to worry about the money later.”

 

The fight itself was a very competitive encounter, Moloney built up a strong early lead, but Garcia rallied back to win most of the latter rounds.

 

Before the final round, all three of the judges’ scorecards had the two men separated by one point with the fight on the line. Moloney needed to dig deep if he wanted to finally realise his dream.

 

Through being the more accurate puncher of the two, the Aussie won the twelfth round on all three judges’ scorecards as he edged a razor close majority decision win (115-113 x2, 114-114).

 

“I've got a great team with me in the corner and they read the fight perfectly,” Moloney said. “Obviously they didn't know the scorecards, but were able to read how the fight was going.

 

“Before the last round they said ‘we think you're winning, but it might be down to this last round. You need to win this round to make sure that you win the fight.’

 

“Things were getting pretty tough in there and I had to really dig deep, it's crazy to think that decades of hard work and sacrifices came down to that last three minutes.”

 

When Moloney was announced as the new champion, he dropped to his knees in tears as his corner crowded him.

 

The IBF championship belt was wrapped around his left shoulder, signifying that the lifelong dream had finally come true.

 

“That 30 seconds waiting for the announcement. I've never been so nervous in my life,” Moloney laughed. “I’ve been on the end of some bad decisions over the years, I didn't want to be known as ‘the unlucky bloke.’

 

“When they raised my arm, so much emotion came out. I've seen that video of me getting my arm raised about 200 times now, I can still hardly watch it without getting tears in my eyes.

 

“Everything I've had to go through over this journey, I think most people would have thrown in the towel and given up.

 

“I've had to really push on, there's no doubt that those tough moments have made this victory so much sweeter.”

 

Now owning one of the four titles in the Super Flyweight division, the win would have perfectly set Moloney up to fight Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez for a chance to become the first Australian born Undisputed Champion in the four-belt era.

 

However, it was announced earlier this week that Rodriguez was confirmed to have vacated his WBO and WBC titles so he could permanently move up to the Bantamweight division.

 

Although he thought Rodriguez vacating was “a shame,” the Aussie expressed a massive interest in re-unifying the 115lbs division.

 

“I would have loved to have gone onto fight Bam Rodriguez for the undisputed title, but he's obviously chasing that [Naoya] Inoue fight.

 

“The mission now is to collect those belts one by one, being a unified champion is the next goal on the list.

 

“My team has already started conversations about what's next, I'm sure there's going to be plenty of options now that I'm world champion, it’s extremely exciting.”

 

Although the state of the 115lbs division looks uncertain, Andrew Moloney has once again established himself as a force at the world level and looks determined to make the most of his second reign as champion.

 

Material Courtesy of: Lewis Moss/Team Moloney/Photo Courtesy of: 3150 Boxing Used with permission.

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

The Return of Hasim Rahman?

Comebacks in the sport of Boxing is something that is as old as the sport itself. In the 1980s, however, two legends of the ring, Sugar Ray Leonard and the late great George Foreman made the concept of a fighter coming out of retirement for a would be “Comeback" popular.

While the idea of a fighter coming out of retirement after a lengthy absence to attempt a comeback either in search of recapturing past glory and/or for financial reasons will always get people's attention, most would be accurate to state that the most successful of all the comebacks ever attempted throughout the whole history of the sport would be that of Foreman's, who famously returned to Boxing as a means of funding the George Foreman Youth and Community Center in his native Houston, TX in an effort to further his outreach as a practicing pastor, in his 40s and regained the World Heavyweight championship at age 45 in 1994 and in the process, became the oldest fighter to ever become World Heavyweight champion, a record he still holds to this day.

Although this observer can spend countless hours talking about the achievements of both Foreman and Leonard as two of my influences who I watched as a kid and were fortunate to cover in my early days as a writer covering combat sports, with Boxing as my primary, in more recent years, thanks to the influx of exhibitions becoming a defacto circuit of the sport, it has in some ways, unfortunately become common to see ex fighters mix it up with either fellow ex boxers, social media influencers, or stars from another sport, we have seen these fighters step back in at far more advanced ages than Foreman or Leonard ever did, which puts the hysteria and concerns for their safety that both legends faced prior to their famed comebacks in perspective.

Most are familiar with the exploits of two other Hall of Famers Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, who each got back in the ring at ages closer to sixty than forty to participate in exhibitions and in Tyson's case, one official fight, two instances that had controversy attached to both fighters, no fighters has made an attempt to surpass Foreman's record since he set it thirty-two years ago. In good conscience, yours truly feels that is more of a good thing than it should be viewed as a negative. Both from a standpoint of the significance of Foreman's achievement, as well as the inherent risks that become an increased probability as fighters age.

Some may recall the comeback attempt of former longtime Heavyweight contender Donovan “Razor" Ruddock, who at age fifty-one in 2015,  climbed back in the ring. The former top contender, who shared the ring with many of the top Heavyweights of the 1980s and 1990s including six former world champions got himself in what can only be described as immaculate shape and to his credit, won two fights against fighters named Raymond Olubowale and Eric Barrak, before all hopes for a comeback approaching contender status were halted by Dillon Carman in a failed bid by the Canadian-based Rudduck to regain the Canadian Heavyweight championship he won in 1988, in what was described as a brutal third round knockout.

With the exception of Tyson, who’s exhibition against Roy Jones in 2020 and his official bout against Jake Paul in 2024, would not be considered legitimate comeback attempts, and the fairly recent return of former WBC World Heavyweight champion Oliver McCall, both fighters closer to age sixty than they were when either were considered contenders, I personally have not given much thought to the idea of not just a Heavyweight, but of any fighter attempting what would be considered a serious comeback post the age of fifty. Not because it would not peak my interest, but because frankly, there are not many fighters around that are making such attempts.

It did, however, come as a bit of a surprise to yours truly when I recently learned that former World Heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman would be making such an attempt at age fifty-three. Rahman, as some may recall, is a former two-time World Heavyweight champion, who like Rudduck and McCall, shared the ring with many of the top Heavyweights of his era. Unlike Rudduck and more similar to McCall, however, he does not always get the respect afforded to many who have been a World Heavyweight champion, despite winning a world title twice during his career.

The similarity is that like Oliver McCall, Rahman’s reigns as champion were relatively short between when the titles were won and lost in terms of time. Nevertheless, through the ups and downs that typically comes with a long career inside the Boxing ring, Rahman was still one of the best fighters of his era in the Heavyweight division.

One does have to wonder, however, what the motivation might be for Rahman at fifty-three years old to get back into active competition. For his part, Rahman has stated that his bout on July 14th at the ESL Ballpark in Rochester, NY against an unnamed opponent as of this writing will be an attempt to get himself into position to challenge for another world title with the ultimate goal of breaking George Foreman’s record. While that may indeed be part of the motivation here, some may also speculate that an underlying motivation could be financial. After all, many professional athletes for one reason or another experience financial difficulties after their active careers end and it would not be unheard of to think of a former world champion boxer being enticed to return to the ring to solve whatever difficulties they might be going through financially. For better or worse Boxing does offer a quicker than normal path for those blessed with the ability, to make money in an expedited form as compared to other occupations and/or for those who were not fortunate to be blessed with the gift to be a world-class boxer.  

Although Rahman has not indicated that he is motivated by finances, the idea of being in a position to secure a lucrative payday, especially given his name recognition, has to have been at least thought of. Regardless of what his motivation truly is, what should be of concern to anyone who truly cares for him is when he retired in 2014, he ended his career off two consecutive losses with his last fight coming in a Super 8 Heavyweight tournament where he lost a three round decision to a fighter named Anthony Nansen, a fighter who at the time of that fight held in Auckland, New Zealand, had a record of 3-3, with 1 Knockout going into that bout.

While the perception for the last several years prior to that outing and his knockout loss to longtime Heavyweight contender Alexander Povetkin prior to that was that Rahman was competitively past his peak, often a layoff of a decade or more may rest and recoup the body, that length of inactivity does not reverse the gradual eroding of skills and slowed reflexes that often are the telltale signs of an aging fighter. As heralded and historic as George Foreman's comeback proved to be, it is important to remember that he spent the first couple of years of that comeback fighting against fighters who were deliberately overmatched and it allowed him to adequately get himself back in fighting shape by fighting often where when he gradually did step up his level of competition, he was ready and proved he could hold his own against the top Heavyweights of the late 1980s and 1990s. 

At fifty-three years old, one has to wonder what type of commitment Rahman will have if he is able to string together a couple of wins. What is a concern to this observer beyond the obvious eroding skills that were present when he retired and have likely become more visible with age is because he is considerably older than Foreman was when he began his comeback, the plan will likely be to get a few wins under his belt in an expedited manner and attempt to move him into position to challenge for a world title sooner than later because obviously time is not on his side and the idea of him getting an opportunity based on name recognition value more so than whether he's ready to compete against a contender or world champion, unfortunately seems more likely than not.

Hasim Rahman is a smart man, it is my hope regardless of who may be his opponent in July that he, knowing the history of successful and failed comebacks, will evaluate his performance on a fight by fight basis and will make a decision on whether it is wise to continue before the risk of injury becomes more of an increasing issue.

“And That's The Boxing Truth." 

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Chris Billam-Smith Stops Rozicki In Cruiserweight Brawl

The latest installment of the Zuffa Boxing series saw the new promotion leave the confines of the Meta Apex, a venue that the promotion under the TKO Group banner has established as its home base, and staged its first international event at the Bournemouth International Centre in Bournemouth, England where former WBO World Cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith squared off against top Cruiserweight contender Ryan Rozicki in an encounter that was highly anticipated due to both fighters having fan-friendly styles. Although there are times where for whatever reason, what appears to be an intriguing battle on paper does not materialize once two fighters enter the ring to do battle, this was not one of them. 

In this case, you had two fighters who not only had demonstrated a willingness to get in and mix it up with their previous opposition, but they showed no reluctance to engage with each other, despite being well aware of the other's reputation as having punching power and being more than willing to trade punch for punch. Often, regardless of where a fight occurs in terms of division, those are the best types of fights one can observe. This was one that would not disappoint.

There was no feeling out process here in this fight as both Billam-Smith and Rozicki established what can only be described as a high or suffocating pace where neither fighter had much room to breathe as the action was fought in close seemingly from the opening seconds of the bout. It was a pace that seemed largely initiated by Rozicki, but it was one where he appeared overly aggressive as he was warned for headbutting Billam-Smith in the opening round, something that would lead to a point deduction in round two when Rozicki was admonished for headbutting for a second time, and was cut over the left eye from punches thrown by Billam-Smith in response to such aggression in the first round. 

Whether the instances of Rozicki headbutting were a case of intentional illegal tactics or merely a fighter in the midst of his aggression, allowing that aggression to take over where he has a mental lapse, is a subject to debate at a later time, but the pace he largely initiated made it clear early that this was a fight that was not likely to go the distance. To borrow a quote from the legendary Sugar Ray Leonard who uttered “There's Been No Boxing At All, Just Fighting Here,” as he served in the capacity of an expert commentator for the now defunct HBO Sports during a delayed broadcast of the legendary World Middleweight championship fight between the late great champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns in April 1985, such a quote could easily be used to describe this battle though obviously not as a direct comparison.

Just as the pace began to slow ever slightly in round three, as Rozicki continued to plot forward, Billam-Smith landed a perfectly timed straight right hand that frankly, would have ended the night for most fighters, that landed flush on the jaw of Rozicki. Somehow, miraculously, Rozicki was able to stay on his feet, albeit legitimately staggered, and kept coming forward. 

As fatigue naturally began to show itself and the pace even by the slightest of margins slowed, the fight continued to be fought largely on the inside, and the two fighters continued to exchange heavy shots in close range. Rozicki’s granite chin would once again be on display in round six as Billam-Smith unleashed a brutal barrage of hooks to the head with both hands that landed flush, yet somehow to the astonishment of this observer, Rozicki managed to stay on his feet. The grueling battle between two warriors continued into the seventh round and Billam-Smith capped off what proved to be the climatic final blows, a combination of hooks to the head in the final seconds of the round. It was at the conclusion of round seven that Rozicki’s corner made the decision to stop the fight bringing an end to what will likely be a Fight of the Year candidate when 2026 has concluded.

In terms of what comes next, we are in an interesting time in the sport where Zuffa as a promotion appears intent on naming their own world  championships under a proposed Unified Boxing Organization format, which would in theory bring the model of the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) to the sport of Boxing. It remains unclear as to whether the promotion will also do business under Boxing’s existing structure, meaning with independent sanctioning organizations. With regard to the Cruiserweight division, the recent bout between Jai Opetaia, the IBF World Cruiserweight champion and top contender Brandon Glanton, originally thought to be for the IBF world championship, was changed in the prelude to that fight as the IBF stripped Opetaia, who also holds recognition as World Cruiserweight champion recognized by Ring Magazine due to their claim that they were not contacted by Zuffa and thus refused to sanction the fight for its version of the World Cruiserweight championship. As most know, Opetaia defeated Glanton via twelve round unanimous decision for the newly created Zuffa Boxing World Cruiserweight championship.

What makes this noteworthy is both Billam-Smith and Opetaia are now competing under the Zuffa Boxing banner and it would appear that the plan from a Zuffa perspective would be to match Opetaia and Billam-Smith against each other in a theoretically more streamlined way as compared to the conventional structure of professional Boxing in what would obviously be used to point out the benefit of the proposed Unified Boxing Organization format.

While it remains to be seen if such a format as well as proposed changes to existing legislation under the Muhammad Ali Act ultimately proves to be beneficial for the sport long-term. If fights like this, however, are put together more quickly while public interest is high, regardless of the broader implications for the sport long-term, it should be viewed as a positive. 

“And That's The Boxing Truth." 

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Ramirez-Richards Thoughts

In the aftermath of the return of unified World Light-Heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, two of the top contenders in the division, Albert Ramirez and Lerrone Richards met on June 4th at Casino Montreal in Montreal, Canada in a fight that would determine Interim/Regular champion status in the WBA’s Light-Heavyweight ratings, a designation held by the unbeaten Ramirez. More importantly, however, was the opportunity to attempt to move into the short list of potential opponents for Bivol in the not too distant future. Even as the champion for all intents and purposes seems to be heading towards a third bout with former Undisputed World Light-Heavyweight champion Artur Betwebiev, an impressive performance by either Ramirez or Richards would obviously create buzz for the victor as a potential future opponent either for Bivol or Beterbiev, assuming that anticipated third encounter is indeed in the immediate plans.

While the latter potential third chapter in the rivalry between Bivol and Beterbiev will obviously continue to dominate the focus of the division until it either takes place or one or both fighters choose to move in different directions, this fight was nevertheless an interesting clash of styles between a fighter known for his punching power in Ramirez going against a pure boxer in Richards. A contrast that seemed to play itself out immediately as Richards established distance between himself and Ramirez. Boxing behind a consistent jab and approaching his opponent at angles, Richards set the tempo of combat. Ramirez would have success periodically landing lunging blows, he found a difficult puzzle to solve as Richards seemed to outwork him throughout most of the fight. 

Although this encounter did not have much in the way of highlights, the consistent, workmanlike approach of Richards along with his ability to avoid having the ring cut off from him and his consistently being first with his offense, this observer felt was the story of the fight. By all impressions both with what was occurring in the ring with each passing round, as well as the body language of the two fighters, I felt that I had viewed a contest that would be scored lopsidedly in favor of Richards at the conclusion of the scheduled twelve round bout. It really did seem to be formulaic and a disciplined performance by Richards, even if it may not have been the most entertaining fight to watch for some. 

As sometimes occurs in the sport of Boxing, however, visual impressions in regard to what one sees with their eyes as well as consensus opinion as to who won a fight can differ significantly from those who have the responsibility of scoring it, the three official judges. Despite the view of this observer of a fairly wide victory in favor of Richards, the outcome would prove to be controversial as it would be Albert Ramirez, who would emerge victorious via twelve round majority decision. This certainly will not rank in the history of Boxing as an all-time classic, nor will it likely go down as the most controversial of controversial decisions ever recorded.

It could, however, possibly be used as a case study in how even though a fighter known as a pure boxer can at times find themselves on the losing end of a decision that by all accounts they seemed to have dominated. Perhaps in this case, the judges scored in favor of Ramirez based on his coming forward consistently and thus leaving an impression of his being the aggressor. It can be difficult sometimes to distinguish between mere aggression and what is often referred to as “Effective Aggression” where the aggressor is the one dictating the fight. This can also create a scenario where a fighter who puts more emphasis on the elements of technique and accuracy, does not always get the nod of the judges who might prefer aggression in their criteria of scoring based on clean punching, effective aggression, ring generalship, and defense.

Unfortunately for Lerrone Richards, this decision went against him and though in the era we all live in where it often is too easy for one to call a decision corrupt, whether there is legitimate evidence to support such claims or not, the silver lining here for Richards is he will come out of this fight looking better in defeat than Ramirez will as the winner. Whether or not that will move Richards closer to an opportunity to fight for a world title on the perception of an impressive performance that he simply did not get credit for is something that obviously cannot be said at the present moment, but this observer has been around long enough and has covered the sport long enough over three decades to be in a position to say that I have seen stranger things happen and though the obvious approach for Richards will be to try and get a rematch with Ramirez, which he deserves, it would not surprise me if Richards finds himself catapulted into a potential shot at a world title down the line.

“And That's The Boxing Truth.”

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