Joshua Brutally Knocks Out Ngannou in 2

Former unified Heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua scored a brutal second round stoppage over former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in a scheduled 10-round bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

In round one, Joshua landed a perfect right to the jaw that put Ngannou on the deck. In round two, Joshua landed a perfect counter right that put Ngannou in the canvas aagain. Ngannou was clearly clearly hurt with a bloody lip and then ate a humongous right hand that bent him over his right leg and out cold at 2:31.

Joshua, 252.4 lbs of London is 28-3 with 25 knockouts. Ngannou, 272.6 lbs of Cameroon is 0-2.

Parker Decisions Zhang; Captures WBO Interim Heavyweight Title

Joseph Parker survived two knockdowns and won the WBO Interim Heavyweight totle with a 12-round majority decision ovr Zhilei Zhang.

In round three, Zhang landed a little left hand that put Parker on the seat of his pants.

In round eight, Zhang landed a little right hook on the inside that put Parker down for a second time.

Zhang did not capitalize on the knockdowns and Parker did a little more to win by scores of 115-111, 114-112 and 113-113.

Parker, 247.6 lbs of South Auckland, NZ is 35-3. Zhang, 291.6 lbs of China is 26-2-1.

Vargas and Ball Battle to Draw in Featherweight Title Bout

Rey Vargas built up a nice lead, and he needed it as Nick Ball scored two knockdowns in the second half of their fight and battle to a split draw. Vargas keeps his WBC Featherweight title.

Vargas dominated the first half of the fight as he landed hard body shots. The fight started turning in the second half of fight.

In round seven, Ball rocked and buckled Vargas on two occasions. In round eight, Ball was able to register a knockdown when he was off balance and Ball landed a left hook. Ball continued to sure forward in the ensuing rounds. In round 11, Vargas was dropped again as Ball landed a hard right on the chin.

Vargas landed 118 of 536 punches. Ball was 111 of 472.

Scores were 114-112 for Vargas, 116-112 for Ball and 113-113.

Vragas, 125 lbs of Mexico is 36-1-1. Ball, 125 lbs of Liverpool is 19-0-1.

Madrimov Stops Kurbanov in 5 to win Super Welterweight Title

Israil Madrimov won the WBA Super Welterweight title with a fifth round stoppage over Magomed Kurbanov.

Madrimov dominated the action by landing some hard right hands over the first four frames. Kurbanov showed some life but that was short lived as in round five, Madrimov landed a hard right that rocked Kurbanov to the ropes. Madrimov followed up and landed two more hard overhand rights that forced a stoppage at 2:20

Madrimov, 153.6 lbs of Uzbekistan is 10-0-1 with seven knockouts. Kurbanov, 153.6 lbs of Ekatinberg, RUS is 25-1.

Mark Chamberlain stops Gavin Gwynne in 4

Mark Chamberlain stopped Gavin Gwynne in round four of their 10-round lightweight bout.

In round one, Gwynne started to swell around his right eye. In round three, Gwynne’s eye was shutting rapidly. Chamberlain continued to pour on the offense and in round four, landed a hard right hook that drove Gwynne to the ropes. Chamberlain followed up with a flurry and the fight was stopped at 2:46.

Chamberlain, 134.6 lbs of Portsmouth, ENG is 15-0 with 11 knockouts. Gwynne, 134 lbs or Treharris, WAL is 17-3-1.

Huni Hangs on and Decisions Lerena

Justis Huni was hurt bad in the 10th and final round but was able to hang on and defeat Kevin Lerena via 10-round unanimous decision in a heavyweight bout.

The bout was close throughout. In round 10, Lerena landed a huge left that rocked Huni across the ring on bad legs. Lerena followed up but was not able to put him down.

Huni, 243.2 lbs of Brisbane, AUS won by scores of 98-92 and 96-94 twice and is now 9-0. Lerena, 232.4 lbs of Johannesburg, SA is 30-3.

Louis Greene scored an emphatic first-round stoppage over Jack McGann in a 10-round super welterweight bout.

Greene landed a booming right hand that put McGann hard on his back. McGann got to his feet, but the fight was waved off at 1:29.

Greene, 153.2 lbs of Kent, ENG is 17-4 with 11 knockouts. McGann, 153.4 lbs of Liverpool, ENG is 9-1-1.

In a battle of undefeated heavyweights, Roman Fury won a four-round decision over Martin Svarc.

Fury, 224 lbs of Manchester, ENG won by a 39-37 score and is 4-0. Svarc, 225 lbs of CZE is 2-1.

Fury is the brother of WBC Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, who was ringside.

Ziyad Almaayouf remained undefeated with a six-round decision over Christian Lopes Flores in a super lightweight contest.

Almaayouf, 144.4 lbs of Riyadh, SA won by a 60-54 score and is now 6-0. Flores, 142 lbs is 14-36-2.

Andrii Novytskiy scored a third-round stoppage over Juan Torres in a eight-round heavyweight bout.

Novytskiy, 239.4 lbs is now 10-0 with nine knockouts. Torres, 255.6 is 11-6-1.



Robert Duran Jr. Forges his own Championship Path

Alcibiade “Robert” Duran Jr. (12-3, 9 KOs) will literally be on the biggest fight bill of his career on Saturday, October 28th, when he faces undefeated prospect Jack “The Pilgrim” McGann (8-0-1, 5 KOs), on the “Battle of the Baddest” undercard at Boulevard Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The fight is the only non-heavyweight bout on the card, with the other 6 fights involving the big men of the sport, capped off by the main event between WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.

“The opportunity knocked on my door,” said an ecstatic Duran Jr. to The Final Bell podcast two weeks before the fight.  “It was God’s gift to me.  I’m very excited for this fight. It’s huge.”

Indeed, 2023 has been a massive year for Duran Jr., in large part because of key steps he took to get his career on track.  In March, the son of the legendary “Hands of Stone” joined Pedro Diaz’s Mundo Boxing Gym in Florida, where he trains under the tutelage of Diaz and David Peña.

“Ever since my transition to those guys, it’s been a complete 100% turn around,” explains Duran Jr. of his improvement under the new training team. “The training regimen is completely different.  It’s how you’re supposed to train a fighter, so ever since then, I’ve been in the zone.  We go through hell in the gym so that when we get in the ring, we can execute on all possibilities.  It’s how you build world champions. I love every minute of it.”

A month later, the Miami native signed a promotional pact with Jimmy Burchfield’s CES Boxing. The pair were initially introduced by Vinny Paz, a mentor to Robert who is also his father’s former opponent, but a deal didn’t materialize until a while later.

“The agreement with Jimmy came about after my wife and I sat down and contacted different promotional companies to try to stay busy,” says Duran Jr.  “We spoke with Jimmy and established a game plan and here we are now.”

That game plan includes lots of activity on the road to a title shot.  The result has been a year in which Duran has had 3 bouts, with 3 wins and a fight on one of the most high-profile cards of the year.  Given the activity and new training regime, it’s an opportunity that Duran feels more than ready for.

“I’ve been preparing since May 20th,” says Duran, referencing his last fight, a 6-round unanimous decision win over veteran Luis Florez at The Park Theater in Cranston, Rhode Island. “I’ve been in training camp ever since, so when I got the news for this fight, I just turned it up a few notches.  I’m focused and ready to go.”

In his way stands Jack McGann, a 30-year-old Brit who is undefeated in 8 professional bouts. 

“He’s an ex-MMA fighter turned boxer,” says Duran of ‘The Pilgrim,’ who is 11-5 in mixed martial arts. “He’s a good fighter, but at the end of the day, I’m a good fighter too and I have a vision and goals that I need to accomplish. I’m gonna set the tone, take my time, and look for opportunities.”

Regardless of how McGann elects to fight him, Duran Jr. believes that he will be able to adapt.

“I’m just gonna go in there and box, but I can switch styles,” elaborates Duran.  “I can brawl, I can box, I can switch to southpaw. It really depends on my opponent and what I’m seeing in the ring.  I’m going to look for weaknesses and patterns and take it from there.  Every fight is different.”

Asked whether his famous father will be present at the biggest fight of his career, Duran feels indifferent.   

“I heard he was gonna be at my fight, but that doesn’t change anything,” admits Duran Jr., who grew up in Miami and upstate New York with his grandparents, seldomly seeing his father. “I’m there for one reason only.  I’m there to win and that’s it.”

Growing up apart from his legendary father meant that while Robert Jr. studied Roberto’s fights from afar, he didn’t feel an obligation to be like his father.

“There are a few of his fights that I’ve watched and learned from,” says Duran Jr., citing his father’s first fight with ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard and his bouts against Esteban de Jesus, Pepino Cuevas, and Iran Barkley. “Those are great performances. His comeback fight against Davie Moore was incredible. I respect my father in and out of the ring.  As a fighter, he was second to none.”

While Robert is unsure of whether his father keeps tabs on his career, the younger Duran is not counting on him being by his side on October 28th.

“I don’t expect my Dad to be in my corner if he wasn’t in my corner before, and I actually prefer it this way,” explains Duran Jr.  “My Dad already established his career and his legacy.  At the end of the day, I’m not following in his footsteps. I’m keeping the name alive, but I’m doing my own thing. All the pressure really came off my shoulders a long time ago once I realized that I didn’t have to prove anything to my father.  Everything I gotta prove is to myself, nobody else.”

Given the amount of undue pressure that children of famous boxers often feel, this is a wise way in which to deal with the lofty expectations put on them by critics who expect the sons to achieve the same level of success as their fathers.

“Even if your father’s a legend in the sport, you’re doing it alone,” agrees Duran Jr. “It’s your career.  It’s your path – you’re walking it alone. You’re doing everything with your team, your family, whoever is behind you. They have to respect that whether they like it or not, because that’s how it is.”

That’s not to say that Robert Duran Jr. doesn’t have ambitious goals of his own. 

“My goal is to stay active and get a title shot down the line,” says the 34-year-old, who got a late start in boxing at the age of 25.  “My vision is to win at least one world title.  Two would be great, but I’m aiming for one.  Right now, I’m just focused on building my career up to that level so that when I get there, I’m ready for whoever is the champion at that time.”

An impressive win on the biggest of stages on October 28th would go a long way into making that vision a reality.   

For more information, follow CES Boxing on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @CESBOXING.INFORMATIONCES Boxing is one of the top promotions on the East Coast.  Founded in 1992 by Jimmy Burchfield Sr., CES Boxing has promoted many world class fighters, including Jamaine Ortiz, Juiseppe Cusumano, Hank Lundy, Vinny Paz, Peter Manfredo, Mariusz Wach, Jason Estrada, Matt Godfrey, Chad Dawson and Ray Oliveira. CES Boxing has promoted such super fights as “The Thriller on Triller: Tyson v Jones Jr.”, “Mayweather vs. Gotti III” and “The Contender: Manfredo v Pemberton”.