Gennadiy Golovkin unified his IBF and won the WBA Middleweight titles with a ninth round stoppage over Ryota Murata in Tokyo, Japan.

Murata started fast and was able to Golovkin over the first four-rounds. Golovkin started it on in round six, as he started his patterned pressure with hard power shots. Golovkin, who celebrated his 40th birthday yesterday looked spry and young as the fight progressed. In that round six, Golovkin landed a hard right that knocked the mouthpiece of Murata out. That seemed to let the air out of Murata as Golovkin began to dominate the fight. Golovkin was all over Murata and hurt him several times in in the pivotal ninth round and landed a hard right that put Murata on the canvas just as the towel was thrown in.

Golovkin now is set up to face Canelo Alvarez in a trilogy fight in September.

Golovkin of Kazakhstan is 42-1-1 with 37 knockouts. Murata of Japan is 16-3.

Nakatani Defends Flyweight Title with stoppage over Yamauchi

Junto Nakatani defended his WBO Flyweight title with an eighth-round stoppage over Ryoya Yamauchi.

Nakatani dominated the action, and in round eight, landed a big barrage of punches that led to a battering on the ropes, and the fight was stopped.

Nakatani is now 23-0 with 18 knockouts. Yamauchi is 8-2.

Yoshino Defeats Ito by Technical Decision

Shuichiro Yoshino won a technical decision over former world champion Masayuki Ito in a lightweight bout.

In round two, Ito began to bleed from his nose.

In round eight, Ito was cut underneath his left eye. In round 10, the doctor looked at the cut. In round 11, the two banged heads which caused more damage around the left eye of Ito and they went to the scorecards.

Yoshiro got the decision by scores of 107 twice and 106-103, and is now 15-0. Ito is 27-4-1.

Jamel Herring won the WBA Junior Lightweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Masayuki Ito at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida.

Herring, 129.6 lbs of Coram, NY won by scores of 118-110 twice and 116-112 and is now 20-2. Ito, 129.4 lbs of Tokyo, JAP is 25-2-1.

Former world champion Jose Pedraza stopped Antonio Lozada Jr. in round nine of their scheduled 10-round lightweight bout.

In round nine, Pedraza dropped Lozada with a heavy combination, and seconds later, Pedraza finished off Lozada with a hard combination.

The time was 2:34 for Pedraza, 134.8 lbs of Cidra, PR who is now 26-2 with 13 knockouts. Lozada, 134.4 lbs of Tijuana, MEX is 40-3-1.

ESPN & ESPN Deportes (10 p.m. ET)

• Masayuki Ito 129.4 lbs vs. Jamel Herring 129.6 lbs
(Ito’s WBO Junior Lightweight world title – 12 Rounds)
Judges/Referee: Lisa Giampa, Alex Levin and Thomas Nardone/Frank Gentile

• Jose Pedraza 134.8 lbs vs. Antonio Lozada Jr. 134.4 lbs
(Vacant WBO Latino lightweight title  – 10 Rounds)
Judges/Referee: Michael Ross, Rodolfo Aguilar and Fred Fluty/Telis Assimenios  

ESPN+ (6:30 p.m. ET)
 
• Jeyvier Cintron 114.6 lbs vs. Koki Eto 114.6 lbs
(Cintron’s WBO International junior bantamweight title – 10 Rounds)

• Jean Carlos Rivera 126 lbs vs. Adam Lopez 125.4 lbs
(Vacant Jr. NABF featherweight title – 10 Rounds)
 
• Henry Lebron 130.2 lbs vs. Luis Ruiz Lizarraga Jr. 129.2 lbs
(Super Featherweight – 6 Rounds)

•  Orlando Gonzalez 125.6 lbs vs. Roxberg Riley 124.8 lbs
(Featherweight – 6 Rounds)

• Marco Diaz 126.4 lbs vs. Edgard Figueroa 126.2 lbs
(Featherweight – 4 Rounds)

Swing Bouts
• Edgar Berlanga 161.6 lbs vs. Gyorgy Varju 157.4 lbs
(Middleweight – 8/6 Rounds)

• Antonio Vargas 117.4 lbs vs. Jose Cardenas 117.6 lbs
(Bantamweight – 8 Rounds)

OFF TV (5:30 p.m. ET)
• Steve Nelson 172 lbs vs. Victor Darocha 171.8 lbs
(Light Heavyweight – 8 Rounds)

• Carlos Cuadras 117.8 lbs vs. Daniel Lozano 117.8 lbs
(Bantamweight – 8 Rounds)
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with All Star Boxing and Teiken Promotions, tickets to this world championship event are on sale now. Priced at $100 (ringside) and $50 (general admission), including all taxes and facility fees, tickets may be purchased online via ticketmaster.com, charge by phone at 800.745.3000 or in person at Osceola Heritage Park box office (open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. — 4 p.m. and on event days). For more information: www.ohpark.com.

 Use the hashtag #ItoHerring to join the conversation on social media.

GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico (May 16, 2019)— It is personal for former two-division world champion and current lightweight contender Jose “Sniper” Pedraza. His opponent May 25 at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, Florida, is Antonio Lozada Jr., who in March of last year knocked out then-undefeated Felix Verdejo in the 10th round. Verdejo and Pedraza both hail from Puerto Rico, and Pedraza, who is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Vasiliy Lomachenko, hopes to avenge his countryman’s defeat.

Pedraza-Lozada will serve as the co-feature to Masayuki Ito’s WBO junior lightweight title defense against Jamel “Semper Fi” Herring (ESPN and ESPN Deportes, 10 p.m. ET).

The undercard (ESPN+, 6:30 p.m. ET) is chock full of Puerto Rico’s best young talent, including 130-pound puncher Henry Lebron (8-0, 6 KOs) and super flyweight contender Jeyvier Cintron (10-0, 5 KOs). Lebron will face Luis Lizarraga Jr. (6-12-1, 2 KOs) in a six-rounder, while Cintron, a two-time Puerto Rican Olympian, will battle former interim flyweight world champion Koki Eto (24-4-1, 19 KOs) in a 10-rounder.

Pedraza, Cintron, and Lebron worked out for the media Wednesday at Felix Pagan Pintor Boxing Gym. This is what they had to say.

José Pedraza

“I am very motivated for this fight. Lozada is a very dangerous fighter, and the sport of boxing is very unpredictable. He is the typical Mexican warrior who always comes forward and applies pressure at all times, but we have worked very hard, and I am sure that I will come out victorious for all of Puerto Rico on May 25.”

“I want to get rid of that thorn (avenging Verdejo’s loss against Lozada), but I have to modify my words. I’m not going for revenge necessarily because only Felix can take revenge on Lozada. As the good Puerto Rican brothers that we are, I’m coming to take that thorn out because he beat one of my longtime friends. I’m coming to win this fight!”

“After this fight, I would like to return to the world title scene at 135 pounds, and I would like to be able to have a championship opportunity by the end of this year. But if I do not get that chance, I will examine my options at 140 pounds. I would like to become a three-division world champion.”

Jeyvier Cintron

“I’ve been waiting for this fight for a long time. I’ve been working hard with my coach, Iván Calderón, and I’m ready for big fights. It’s my time to shine, and on May 25, I’m going to show that I’m ready to face the great fighters at 115 pounds.”

“I’m going to face an experienced fighter who has already been an interim world champion, but I’m coming with everything. I’m going to give everything in the ring, and I assure my people that I will come out with the victory.”

Henry Lebrón

“I feel super happy to be representing the new wave of Puerto Rican fighters in front of the fans in Kissimmee. Many Boricua fighters will see action on May 25 at Osceola Heritage Park, and we are coming to give an excellent show to our people. Kissimmee is like our house.”

“My opponent is a Mexican fighter that endures a lot of punishment. He takes punches very well, and I think that this will be a long fight. I am prepared to go the distance, but I also have punching power. If I hurt him, I’m going for the knockout.”

“I am a young fighter. I am in the process of continuing to grow and learn, but in 2019, I would like to fight for a youth world title. If I get the opportunity to become a youth world champion, I will take full advantage of the opportunity.”

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with All Star Boxing and Teiken Promotions, tickets are on sale now. Priced at $100 (ringside) and $50 (general admission), including all taxes and facility fees, tickets may be purchased online via ticketmaster.com, charge by phone at 800.745.3000 or in person at Osceola Heritage Park box office (open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. — 4 p.m. and on event days). For more information: www.ohpark.com.
For more information, visit: www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing; Facebook:facebook.com/trboxing; Twitter: twitter.com/trboxing.

Use the hashtags #ItoHerring and PedrazaLozada to join the conversation on social media.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (April 25, 2019)— Masayuki Ito won the WBO junior lightweight title last July in Kissimmee, Florida. For title defense number two, he’s returning to the city of his greatest triumph.

Ito, who recently signed a long-term co-promotional contract with Top Rank, will defend his title against 2012 U.S. Olympic boxing team captain and U.S Marine Corps veteran Jamel “Semper Fi” Herring Saturday, May 25 at Osceola Heritage Park. Ito-Herring will headline a special Memorial Day weekend edition of Top Rank on ESPN beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on ESPN and ESPN Deportes. In the 10-round lightweight co-feature, former two-division world champion Jose “Sniper” Pedraza looks to get back in the win column against Antonio Lozada Jr.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with All Star Boxing and Teiken Promotions, tickets to this world championship event go on sale Friday, April 26 at 10 a.m. ET. Priced at $100 (ringside) and $50 (general admission), including all taxes and facility fees, tickets may be purchased online via ticketmaster.com, charge by phone at 800.745.3000 or in person Osceola Heritage Park box office (open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. — 4 p.m. and on event days). For more information: www.ohpark.com.

“I am excited to return to the United States to defend my world title,” Ito said. “I will be at my best, as I know Herring is a tough and experienced fighter. While I ultimately want to unify the 130-pound division, Herring is the task at hand. There is no sense in talking about the future until I take care of business on May 25.”

“I need to thank my management team and Top Rank for this opportunity,” Herring said. “Not only is this fight landing on Memorial Day weekend, but May 25 would’ve been my daughter Ariyanah’s 10th birthday. She passed away from sudden infant death syndrome, and I am dedicating this fight to her.

“I have tremendous respect for Ito, but I plan on being his most difficult challenge. I don’t want to release too much of the game plan, but I won’t be bullied like his last two opponents once the bell rings.”

Ito (25-1-1, 13 KOs) claimed the vacant WBO junior lightweight title with an upset decision win over Christopher “Pitufo” Diaz at the Kissimmee Civic Center. The Diaz fight marked Ito’s United States debut and the first time he’d fought away from his native Japan. He returned home for his first title defense on Dec. 30, scoring a seventh-round TKO over Evgeny Chuprakov.

Herring (19-2, 10 KOs), who served two tours of duty in Iraq as a field electrician, turned pro in December 2012 and won the first 15 bouts of his career. He lost a pair of fights as a lightweight, including a razor-thin decision to Ladarius Miler in August 2017. Following the Miller defeat, Herring signed on with Top Rank, hired trainer/manager Brian McIntyre and moved down to 130 pounds. Since then, he is 3-0, including an ESPN-televised decision victory over John Vincent Moralde last September on the Jose Ramirez-Antonio Orozco card in Fresno, California. In his last bout, Dec. 14 in Corpus Christi, Texas, he notched a clear points decision over Adeilson Dos Santos.

Pedraza (25-2, 12 KOs) won the IBF junior lightweight title in 2015 and made a pair of title defenses. Following a 2017 TKO loss to Gervonta Davis, he moved up to the lightweight division. In his third bout at lightweight, he won a unanimous decision over Ray Beltran to claim the WBO title. Less than four months later, he faced off against WBA champion Vasiliy Lomachenko to unify world titles. He was competitive, but Lomachenko scored a pair of 11th-round knockdowns to secure the unanimous decision. Lozada (40-2-1, 34 KOs) burst onto the world stage last March, knocking out highly touted prospect Felix Verdejo in the 10th and final round. Since then, he is 1-0-1, including a disputed draw versus Hector Ambriz.

“I feel very happy because on May 25 I will be fighting in a big world championship event where I will be facing a great Mexican warrior like Antonio ‘Cañitas’ Lozada in front of my people in Kissimmee,” Pedraza said. “I know I will get all that affection and support of all the Puerto Rican fans. They can’t miss this great card. I want them to enjoy it and leave the venue happy.

“I’m more than ready to get back in the picture for a world championship opportunity.”
The entire undercard will stream live in the United States exclusively on ESPN+ starting at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT and will showcase a host of prospects in competitive matchups.

In a 10-round crossroads bout featuring a pair of one-loss featherweight prospects, Adam Lopez (12-1, 5 KOs) will face off against Puerto Rican puncher Jean Carlos Rivera (15-1, 10 KOs). Lopez has won four in a row, while Rivera is looking to rebound from a unanimous decision loss last October to the unbeaten Jason Sanchez.

Jeyvier Cintron (10-0, 5 KOs), one of the sport’s fastest-rising 115-pound prospects, will face his toughest test to date against former interim flyweight world champion and one-time super flyweight world title challenger Koki Eto (24-4-1, 19 KOs) in a 10-rounder. Cintron represented his native Puerto Rico at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, becoming the first two-time boxing Olympian in his nation’s history.

Steve “So Cold” Nelson (13-0, 10 KOs), a stablemate of pound-for-pound king Terence “Bud” Crawford, will take on Victor “The Spartan” Darocha (8-4-1, 6 KOs) in an eight- round super middleweight bout.

NABO junior welterweight champion Yomar “The Magic” Alamo (16-0, 12 KOs) will defend his belt in a 10-rounder against an opponent to be determined.

Antonio Vargas (10-0, 4 KOs), who represented the United States at the 2016 Rio Olympics, will fight Jose Maria Cardenas (16-4, 13 KOs) in an eight-round bantamweight bout.

Middleweight dynamo Edgar “Pachanga” Berlanga (10-0, 10 KOs) will look to make it 11 first-round KOs in as many fights against Hungarian veteran Gyorgy Varju (7-4, 4 KOs) in an eight-rounder.

Super featherweight prospect Henry “Moncho” LeBron (8-0, 6 KOs) will seek to extend his knockout streak to three versus Luis Ruiz Lizarraga Jr. (6-12-1, 2 KOs) in a six-rounder.
For more information, visit: www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing; Facebook:facebook.com/trboxing; Twitter: twitter.com/trboxing.

Use the hashtag #ItoHerring to join the conversation on social media.

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Philadelphia, Penn. / Ekaterinburg, Russia – December 28, 2018 – Undefeated and number-one ranked WBO Junior Lightweight contender, Evgeny “Happy Gilmore” Chuprakov has been preparing for the biggest fight of his career, when he takes on WBO World Junior Lightweight world champion, Masayuki Ito, this Sunday in Tokyo, Japan.

Chuprakov (20-0, 10 KOs) has earned his ranking by defeating quality opposition, which includes four undefeated opponents, and capturing The Russian Junior Lightweight Title; WBO European Junior Lightweight title & the WBO Intercontinental Junior Lightweight title.

“The training camp is going well. In the beginning I had more functional work, then there were my sparring sessions. As usual. I am jogging in Griffith Park, and then have functional workouts with my coach. Each weekend I have massage and sauna sessions,” said Chuprakov.

“Each professional boxer has it as a goal, and that is to fight for and win a world championship. I am very excited, but I have an important bout coming up, and the issue is not in the excitement, but to get preparation to the bout.”

Chuprakov knows that Ito is a tough customer, but did not want to divulge what he knew about the defending champion.

“He is a good fighter. He is a world champion,and I respect that about him.”

Chuprakov has been waiting his whole career for this opportunity, and the 28 year-old Chuprakov will not let this opportunity go to waste,

“It seems like it has been a long time coming, but now it is here. I will say, that I have had great preparation for this bout. I will, put my mind for it. I will show a good boxing, and of course I’ll look forward to winning this fight and becoming world champion.”

The title fight can be seen live on ESPN+ on Sunday, December 30th with a start time of 5:00 a.m. ET, with the Ito-Chuprakov fight starting around 6:20 a.m.

(Dec. 20, 2018) — American fight fans will be treated to a world championship doubleheader edition of Breakfast and Boxing on Sunday, Dec. 30 from the historic Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo. In the main event, WBO junior lightweight world champion Masayuki Ito will make his first title defense against the unbeaten Evgeny Chuprakov.

In the co-feature, in a clash for the WBC interim bantamweight world title, Takuma Inoue will battle fellow unbeaten Tasana Salapat.

The action begins at 5:00 a.m. ET on ESPN+ — the new multi-sport, direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International segment in conjunction with ESPN. The Ito-Chuprakov main event is expected to begin at roughly 6:20 a.m. ET.

Ito (24-1-1, 12 KOs) captured the vacant WBO junior lightweight world title on July 28 in Kissimmee, Fla., going on the road as a sizable underdog and defeating Christopher “Pitufo” Diaz by unanimous decision. Ito, a Tokyo native, is no stranger to fighting in his home city. Prior to the Diaz fight, all of his pro bouts had taken place in Tokyo. Chuprakov (20-0, 10 KOs), a native of Ekaterinburg, Russia, has gone 10 or more rounds in four of his past six bouts. In his last outing, July 14 in Ekaterinburg, he scored a 10-round unanimous decision against Ernie Sanchez.

Inoue (12-0, 3 KOs), younger brother of pound-for-pound elite Naoya Inoue, defeated Mark John Yap by unanimous decision on Sept. 11 to earn WBC mandatory status. Salapat (48-0, 33 KOs), from Roi Et, Thailand, will be making his fifth ring appearance of 2018. A seven-year pro who has won a host of regional titles, Inoue represents the stiffest test of the 25-year-old’s career.

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