• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Tokyo Olympics 2021

  • Home
  • News & Updates
  • Events
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us

Date set for European Olympic qualification event – Boxing News

March 5, 2021 by admin

The dates and location have been announced for the rescheduled European Olympic qualification event

THE dates for the European Olympic qualification event have now been set. The tournament will pick up from where it left off when it was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic last year. It will be held from June 4-8 in Paris.

After restructuring the process, the Boxing Task Force, that administers the Olympic tournament, said it selected Paris “as part of its initial commitment to organise its events in the host countries of recent or upcoming Olympic Games, and because of the opportunity to continue to benefit from its already established relationship with the Local Organising Committee, which was originally entrusted to organise the now-cancelled Final World Qualifier.”

Instead of a final world qualifier, those remaining Olympic quota places will be allocated according to the Task Force’s rankings, in each weight division and each continental region.

Smaller tournaments on the European circuit remain important of the next few months. These will be vital when it comes to preparing boxers for the qualifier and ultimately the Tokyo Games.

Some Olympic hopefuls were in action at the Strandja tournament that finished in Sofia on February 27. Ireland’s Brendan Irvine and Aofie O’Rourke both came away with bronze medals. Irvine reached the semi-final with a unanimous points win over Kosovo’s Bashkim Bajoku, the flyweight’s first bout since qualifying for Tokyo last year, before having to withdraw with an injury (a swelling over the eye due to a headclash).

O’Rourke stopped Bulgaria’s Georgieva Dobromira before beating Turkey’s Sennur Demir on a split decision. America’s Naomi Graham, the eventual gold medallist, eliminated her with a unanimous points win.

Michaela Walsh and Kellie Harrington were both left fuming after decisions went to Russian opponents. Walsh, Ireland’s featherweight, racked up two wins over Morocco’s Widad Bertal and Uzbekistan’s Yodgoroy Mirzaeva only for Russia’s Karina Tazabekova to be handed a contentious split decision over her in the semi-final.

At 60kgs Harrington unanimously outscored Poland’s Aneta Rygielska, only for Russia’s Nune Asatrian to be handed a split decision win over her in the next round.

That division ended in an interesting final when Brazil’s Beatriz Ferreira beat Finland’s Mira Potkonen with a powerful display.

A clutch of host nation boxers won gold medals, including featherweight Javier Ibanes, a Cuban now boxing for Bulgaria.

Fearsome Ukrainian Oleksandr Khyzhniak was tuning up ahead of June’s European qualifier, stopping two of his opponents in Sofia, unanimously outscoring Turkey’s Serhat Guler before winning his final by walkover. His countryman Tsotne Rogava made an impression at super-heavyweight but could not overcome Bakhodir Jalolov in the final. The Uzbek has amassed 7-0 (7) pro record but is also qualified for the Olympics. He is eligible to box in Tokyo but needs competitive bouts in tournaments like this to prepare himself for the Games. On this kind of form he will be a contender in Japan.

Penguins staffer ‘disciplined’ after tweeting altered photo of fans with COVID-19 masks

March 5, 2021 by admin

The Penguins have disciplined a social media staffer who tweeted an altered photo from the team’s official Twitter account.

Pittsburgh received flack for the tweet, which showed fans in attendance at the team’s Tuesday game against the Flyers — a 5-2 Penguins win. But eagle-eyed observers quickly noted that the original photo showed two fans incorrectly wearing masks, or not at all.

MORE: NHL COVID-19 case tracker for 2021 season

Here’s the Penguins’ tweet:

We just had to say this again…

Thanks for the continued support, Penguins fans.

We can’t wait to see you tomorrow night. pic.twitter.com/f3KGjhHWR0

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 4, 2021

And here’s the original. Note that the man at the bottom-center of the photo and the woman in the top right are wearing their masks only over their mouths — not their noses. The original also shows two fans not wearing masks at all (the altered photo conveniently cut them out).

Pittsburgh noted the gaffe in a statement to the New York Post, saying the “perhaps well-meaning” staffer has been “disciplined.”

“We are acknowledged to have our fans back to PPG Paints Arena, and following the advice of medical professionals, we are taking all precautions to enforce the use of masks to keep our fans safe,” the statement read. “We have adopted a zero-tolerance policy, and our arena staff having (sic) roving teams to enforce during home games.

“Our social media team should never send out altered photos to our fan base. This is a violation of our social media and safety policy, and this staffer has been disciplined.”

The Penguins began allowing 15 percent capacity at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday, a day after Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced revised capacity protocols for public venues.

Jarrett Hurd wants Jermell Charlo before moving up in weight, still thinks it’s biggest fight at 154

March 5, 2021 by admin

Former 154-pound titleholder Jarrett Hurd was a guest on the PBC Podcast this week, and talked about his training, what he wants to do next, and his main goal, a fight with three-belt titlist Jermell Charlo.

Hurd (24-1, 16 KO) remains a strong contender in an exciting, competitive division, where PBC has the bulk of the top fighters and thus can make good fights consistently if they so choose.

Last we saw the Maryland native, Hurd won a decision over Francisco Santana in Jan. 2020, working to box more and brawl a bit less. Reactions to the performance were mixed, but it was a clear win, and Hurd, now 30, says that while he and trainer Kay Coroma have worked on the boxing, it’s more to mix up his approach than totally change it.

“I’ve still got that old Jarrett in me,” he said with a chuckle. “Basically it’s trying to get back to something I got away from. Fight after fight after fight, I was walking guys down, using my size, using my engine to overwhelm and try to wear these fighters down. Unfortunately when I tried that in the Julian Williams fight, that just wasn’t enough, and I needed to switch it up to plan B. Instead of fighting and trying to wear him down, get back on my jab and use my skills, and that’s what we’re trying to get back to, so I can have that arsenal in my back pocket if I need it.”

The 2019 loss to Julian Williams clearly still stings Hurd, and he says he’d like to get a rematch, though he’s more focused on titles at the moment. Hurd feels he did learn something in the fight, and that it caused him to change his approach some.

“I feel like if I fought Julian Williams the very next day, I would have won. It’s just that I went in the fight with the wrong game plan and I didn’t switch it up,” he said. “I just had my mind focused on overwhelming him, breaking him down until he got tired. Not thinking that, man, this is the biggest fight of his career, he trained for this, he’s not gonna get tired.

“I just had a one-track mind to continue doing it until he (breaks down), and next I know, 12 rounds is over. What it did was teach me not to go into a fight with just a game plan, have multiple.”

Hurd doesn’t currently have a fight scheduled, but says Al Haymon has told him to stay ready, and that they’re working on a return date. He’s got one main opponent in mind, but also is prepared to fight otherwise if need be.

“The way I’ve been training, I’m staying sharp, so I’m ready for anyone. It doesn’t matter right now,” he said. “I’ll take some pretty big names (as a tune-up), but what I really want to do, the fight I want, I want the (Jermell) Charlo fight, man.”

There was a time when a Charlo-Hurd fight was seemingly the fight to make at 154 pounds, and Hurd feels it’s still the most notable fight for the division.

“Brian Castano has a title and all that, they could (fight for) an undisputed championship at 154, but to be honest, the biggest fight at 154 is me versus Jermell Charlo,” he said. “Even though I had a setback with ‘J Rock,’ and he lost to Tony Harrison, he was able to avenge the loss. But there’s still a lot of unanswered questions of who’s really the best at 154 until we face each other.”

Hurd does have respect for Castano, who just won the WBO title from Patrick Teixeira, and himself wants to face Charlo for all four major belts at junior middleweight. If they do fight next, Hurd heavily favors Charlo.

“I’d give it to Jermell. Brian Castano is a great fighter, I just think that him being so close range with his height, I think Jermell would be able to be on the outside and land some solid punches,” he said. “I wouldn’t say he’d stop him, because I’ve seen too many fights on how good Brian Castano’s chin is and how sturdy he is as a fighter, but I know for a fact Jermell would get the win.”

Hurd says he’s probably got about a year left to fight at 154 before he’ll have to move up to 160, which has long been a question just on how big he is at the weight, not just in height or anything, but the way he’s built, where he often looks notably bigger than opponents on fight night. And it is, again, the Charlo fight he wants to get before he has to go up in weight.

“I told myself I would stay here as long as I can, I just want to fight Jermell. I only say that because of the back-and-forth we had, and I don’t want to move up without those answers for myself,” he said. “I want to let the world see I’m the best 154-pounder until I move up to 160. Hopefully it’s not too far around the corner. If I had to answer how long I’ll be at 154, I’d say for maybe another year and I’ll move up.”

BRANDON ADAMS SHOCKS AND KNOCKS OUT SERHII BOHACHUK IN 8 || FIGHTHYPE.COM

March 5, 2021 by admin

Former world title challenger Brandon Adams scored the biggest win of his career with a stunning eighth-round technical knockout to upset blue-chip rising star Serhii Bohachuk in the main event of Ring City USA’s inaugural 2021 event from Felix Pagan Pintor Gym in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, and live on NBC Sports Network.

Despite flashing athleticism and quick hands throughout the fight, Adams (23-3, 15 KOs) was down on all three scorecards (68-64 x2, 69-63) at the time of the stoppage. The 31-year-old lost all three rounds heading into the eighth frame when he unleashed a perfectly placed counterpunch that hurt Bohachuk which set up the opportunity to land a sensational left hook that sent Bohachuk to the canvas for the first time in his professional career.

“He was a tough guy,” said Adams. “He brought another side out of me that I knew was inside. I had to dig in deep tonight and use all the strength that I had to connect with one of those punches from the cannon.”

Adams, who hails from Watts, California, is the first fighter to return to the Ring City USA series on NBC Sports Network since its inception in November 2020. In two outings on the Thursday night boxing series, he has scored two emphatic knockouts in main event performances. Adams’ matchup with Bohachuck was originally scheduled for December but his opponent was forced to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19. Adams went on to stop Sonny Duversonne in the second round of that event at Wild Card Boxing Club in Los Angeles.

“It was real tough fighting in there tonight,” continued Adams. “The ring was wet; the ref was against me tonight. It was an uphill battle. I am an explosive fighter and I couldn’t take advantage of that because I didn’t have my legs under me because the ring was wet. But even though I was irritated, the show must go on. I am a pro. I have to figure out how to get the W and that’s what I had to do. I am grateful for the win. I loved Puerto Rico, everyone out here embraced me with love.”

Bohachuk, who is originally from Vinitza, Ukraine, and now resides in Los Angeles, entered the fight with a pristine professional record, highlighted by his 100% knockout percentage through 18 fights. The 25-year-old dropped the first round on all three score cards but went on to control the pace against the veteran Adams for most of the fight by cutting off the ring and exhibiting steady body work.

“I thought he was dominating the fight,” said Bohachuk’s head trainer Manny Robles. “I told him to watch out for that left hook. I told him if he took away that left hook then he would control the fight. It takes a couple of rounds for Serhii to get warmed up, but he looked good and his defense was actually really improving until that knockout.”

In the co-main event of the evening, super featherweight prospect Bryan Chevalier (15-1-1, 12 KOs) of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, scored an impressive third-round knockout against Carlos Zambrano (26-2, 11 KOs). Chevalier, 26, returned to the ring following a 15-month layoff yet showed no signs of ring rust as he scored a quick knockdown in the first round. In the third round, he scored back-to-back knockdowns, highlighted by a thudding left hand to the midsection that sent Peru’s Zambrano to the canvas and unable to beat the count.

“I had the height and youth advantage tonight, but he had the experience,” said Chevalier. “I had to figure out what he was going to bring and adapt in order to get the victory. I am very happy with my performance. I am the best 126-pounder in all of Puerto Rico.”

Opening the telecast on NBC Sports Network, Puerto Rico’s Danielito Zorrilla (15-0, 11 KOs) and Kazakhstan’s Ruslan Madiyev (13-2, 5 KOs) engaged in an exciting back-and-forth battle. The 28-year-old Madiyev brought the fight to Zorilla with relentless pressure while the tactical Zorilla countered well. In the fifth round, Madiyev was docked a point for a punch behind the head and at 1:16 of the eighth round, referee Janny Gomez called a halt to the bout due to another punch behind the head, which was deemed an accidental foul. The 27-year-old Zorrilla earned a technical decision victory as two of the scorecards favored the Puerto Rican (77-75, 77-74) while the third was tallied in favor of Madiyev (76-73). Ring City’s unofficial scorer Steve Smoger saw the fight 76-75 in favor of Zorrilla.

“Ruslan was just getting his groove,” said head trainer Joel Diaz after the fight. “He was getting stronger after the fifth round and Zorrilla was getting tired. He kept hugging Ruslan during most of the fight. Personally, I think Zorrilla wanted out of the fight.”

Madiyev exited the ring quickly upon the decision being announced but Diaz voiced his opinion about the end of the bout.

“He wasn’t hurt, he’s a good actor,” continued Diaz. “Zorrilla should be a telenovela actor. We were winning that fight, and this isn’t fair for my fighter because he put in the work. But what can you do? We gotta keep moving forward.”

Danielito Zorrilla is currently in stable condition and was taken to the hospital following the bout to receive routine tests.

Earlier in the evening, live in the U.S. and around the world on Twitch, Ring City USA presented three four-round fights. In the main event of the Twitch undercard, Fernando Vargas, Jr. (2-0, 2 KOs) earned his second professional win in impressive fashion, scoring a first-round technical knockout against El Salvador’s Salome Flores Torres (0-3). The 24-year-old Vargas, Jr., under the tutelage of his father – two-time super welterweight world champion Fernando Vargas, Sr., sent Torres to the canvas twice before the fight was waved off.

“With every fight, I will continue to grow and listen to my father,” said Vargas, Jr. “This was just my second pro fight. We were looking for the knockout, but the TKO is OK. I was establishing my jab to get my distance and then unleashed my left hand.”

In his hometown of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Harold Laguna (2-0, 2 KO) worked the body early and often en route to a first-round knockout victory over Darwin Alvarez (0-1). In the first fight of the evening, Puerto Rican prospect Jorge Diaz (1-0, 1 KO) picked up his first professional victory against Felipe Munoz (0-1) via second-round knockout.

Calling all the action ringside in Puerto Rico was former two-time welterweight champion Shawn Porter joined by NBC Sports blow-by-blow commentator Bob Papa. Brian Campbell served as fight night analyst with Curran Bhatia reporting from ringside. The executive producers of tonight’s presentation of Bohachuk vs. Adams on NBC Sports Network were Eric Weinberger, Jeff Huggins & Frank Samuel. The telecast was produced by David Gibson and directed by Matt Celli. 

Tonight’s full three-fight telecast will be available to watch on-demand on the NBC Sports App with authenticated sign-in. 

Ring City USA returns to NBC Sports Network on March 18 with back-to-back weeks of Thursday night boxing from Puerto Rico. In two weeks, the next chapter in the Puerto Rico vs. Mexico ring rivalry will take center stage when former super featherweight world titlist Alberto Machado (22-2, 18 KOs) faces undefeated rising prospect Hector Tanajara (19-0, 5 KOs) in a 10-round lightweight main event. On March 25, Ring City will highlight one of the biggest fights in women’s boxing between seven-division world champion and future Boxing Hall of Famer Amanda Serrano and current two-division titlist Daniela Bermudez for Serrano’s WBO and WBC featherweight world titles.

Follow Ring City USA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest updates or visit www.ringcityusa.com for more information.

Josh Taylor: Fighting Jose Ramirez in Las Vegas is Dream Come True

March 5, 2021 by admin

Josh Taylor says he will be fulfilling a dream by fighting in Las Vegas, but says he hopes that travel restrictions will be lifted to allow Scottish fans to watch the fight in person. 

Taylor will face Jose Ramirez for the undisputed world super-lightweight title in Las Vegas on May 22. It is a fight that has been on the cards for some time, but the WBA and IBF champion, who will have boxed less than one round in 18 months by the time he steps into the ring, is glad to finally have a date.  

“I’m absolutely happy that it’s in Vegas,” Taylor said. “Every fighter dreams of headlining a show in America whether it’s Las Vegas or Madison Square Garden.

“I’m absolutely over the moon, it’s a dream fight, it’s a dream come true for me that I’m getting to see my name in the bright lights.” 

It was October 2019 when Taylor beat Regis Prograis to unify the WBA and IBF belts, three months after Ramirez beat Hooker to unify the WBC and WBO titles. The COVID pandemic ended hopes that the unification would take place last year, as delayed mandatories took priority, with Taylor knocking out Apinun Khongsong in the first round.  

But it is a case of better late than never. The last Scottish boxer to defend his world title in the United States was Ken Buchanan, when he lost the world lightweight champion to Roberto Duran at Madison Square Garden in 1972. Buchanan, a fellow Edinburgher, is Taylor’s idol. 

Taylor believes there will be fans at the fight, but whether there are Scottish fans could be another matter.  

The UK is presently under lockdown with overseas travel for holidays banned. Under the post-lockdown roadmap unveiled recently by UK Primer minister Boris Johnson, over seas travel for holidays is expected to be allowed from May 17, just in time for the May 22 fight. But Johnson did warn that any steps out of lockdown could be delayed if the coronavirus spike goes up. 

But having grown up watching fans of the likes of Ricky Hatton, Lennox Lewis and Joe Calzaghe filling the Las Vegas Strip, he believes it would be a great trip for the Tartan Army. 

“There will be American fans there for sure. I’m hoping that possibly nearer the time the travel restrictions over here will get lifted so we can get some travelling support,” Taylor said. 

“The only downer about this whole thing is that it might not be possible to have travelling support like all the fighters have had in the past, like Carl Frampton and Ricky Hatton, who took over a good travelling support. 

“Obviously, it would be a massive plus if we could get the travel restrictions lifted and people could come over and support me.” 

Ron Lewis is a senior writer for BoxingScene. He was Boxing Correspondent for The Times, where he worked from 2001-2019 – covering four Olympic Games and numerous world title fights across the globe. He has written about boxing for a wide variety of publications worldwide since the 1980s.

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to page 4
  • Go to page 5
  • Go to page 6
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Go to page 430
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • 9 Mar Safra Mount Faber (1pm-3pm)
  • BlueStacks vs GameLoop: Which is the best emulator to play Free Fire on PC?
  • Bryson DeChambeau decides against trying to drive a par-five green at Bay Hill, which left Jordan Spieth
  • Capitals’ Tom Wilson riles Bruins with ‘predatory’ hit that hospitalizes Brandon Carlo
  • Shields vs Dicaire: Live streaming results, round by round, how to watch online, start time, full card info
  • Photos: Juan Francisco Estrada Putting in Work For Chocolatito
  • Tawa’s Daily Dots: an Epic Club in Indiana, Trammell’s tribute, a Pitcher who may have walked
  • Ahmet Oner, Manager Of Avni Yildirim: “Jermall Charlo, Billy Joe Saunders – All Will Be Defeated By Canelo, He’s Better Than Mike Tyson” | BoxingInsider.com
  • Tamaoki Momo pulls the trigger in ne-waza
  • LOOKING FOR VICTOR STORE
  • 5 players you didn’t know played for Arsenal
  • Golden Uta Abe dominates Judo Grand Slam
  • Cheltenham Festival Runner Profiles: Stayers’ Hurdle – Thyme Hill backed to win by Robert Cooper
  • NCAA volleyball: Big wins for Texas St., UNT, Bowling Green, UNLV; postponements plague Big Ten
  • [VIDEO] ROLLY ROMERO WARNS GERVONTA DAVIS “STAY AT 130”; SAYS EVEN WITH “HIGH HEELS ON”, SMALL FOR 135 POP || FIGHTHYPE.COM

Copyright © 2021 Summer Olympics 2021