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James Toney Hits Mississippi To Fight Bobby Gunn for IBA Title
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You’ll never find James “Lights Out” Toney pounding on a heavy bag.
“The bag don’t hit back,” chides Toney.
Sparring and more sparring is what the Southern California boxing icon prefers. Banging heads and blasting bodies is what he does for preparation. No hitting stationary bags.
The 43 year-old Toney (73-7-3, 44 KOs) returns to the ring after suffering a knee injury and defends the IBA heavyweight title against Bobby “The Celtic Warrior” Gunn (21-4-1, 18 KOs) on Saturday, April 7. The title fight takes place at the Landers Center in Southaven, Mississippi.
The last time Toney entered a ring he suffered a first round knee injury when his leg tangled with Denis Lebedev in a cruiserweight battle held in Moscow, Russia. Unable to secure a fight with a heavyweight, he dropped down in weight to the surprise of many and weighed in at 199 pounds.
Despite a tear in his knee suffered early in the fight that left him mostly immobile against Lebedev, he refused to stop and continued fighting on one leg.
“Man, I didn’t want a knockout loss on my record,” said Toney at the IFC gym in Van Nuys. “I told Pops to not stop the fight.”
Toney used his wits and always dazzling defense to keep from absorbing too many blows flush. Lebedev had a great day and won every round. It was an accomplishment that no other fighter had ever done. Not even Roy Jones Jr. in his prime could make that boast.
The certain-to-be-Hall of Fame candidate Toney dropped nearly 60 pounds to take the fight in Russia. It was a feat that many doubted possible. The knee injury left him unable to win any rounds but remarkably he emerged with little superficial damage.
“I’m good now,” said Toney, who sparred tirelessly against heavyweight Giovanni Sarran for 10 rounds on Tuesday. Sarran fights undefeated heavyweight Alex Flores at the OC Hangar on Thursday, April 12.
John “Pops” Arthur, trainer and mentor for Toney, said that it’s been difficult to find opponents willing to meet the Michigan native in the ring. Gunn was willing to accept the offer without hesitation.
“Bobby Gunn is not an easy fight,” said Arthur, who is a former fighter. “He’s got a lot of heart and fights like that.”
Gunn, 38, has been fighting in the Bare Knuckle circuit and is the acclaimed world champion of that sport. He is also a former IBA cruiserweight world champion.
“He (Toney) is a world champion and a future Hall-of-Famer. I know what I have to do that night, and my plan is to go out and do it,” stated Gunn. “My time is now, and I truly believe with all my heart that at the end of the night I will be holding up the IBA heavyweight title belt.”
Both fighters are nearly the same height and both expect a victory.
Toney doesn’t know much about his opponent.
“Only thing I know is he’s a short m——f—- and he’s going to get hurt,” says Toney.
After the disappointment of enduring an injury in his last bout, the former middleweight, super middleweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight world champion knows that time is moving in the wrong direction.
“I’m looking for another big fight after this,” said Toney. “Someone like Chris Arreola or the Klitschkos would be fine with me. Everybody is younger than me. So what.”
Other fight chatter
Santa Ana’s Ronny Rios headlines the boxing card on Saturday April 7, at the Phoenix Club in Anaheim, Calif. Also on the Golden Boy Promotions fight card will be Hugo Centeno Jr. (12-0, 6 KOs) fighting Gerardo Prieto (7-12-1) in a junior middleweight contest.
WBA bantamweight titleholder Koki Kameda (27-1, 17 KOs) of Japan fought Nouldy Manakane (24-10-1, 14 KOs) of Indonesia and WBA junior bantamweight titleholder Tomonobu Shimizu (19-3-1, 9 KOs) fought Tepparith Singwancha (19-2, 12 KOs) of Thailand today in Yokohama, Japan.
WBO female middleweight titleholder Christina Hammer (11-0, 7 KOs) defends her title against Julie Tshabalala (4-1-1) on Thursday April 5. The match takes place Brno, Czech Republic.
WBC bantamweight titleholder Shinsuke Yamanaka (15-0-2, 11 KOs) will be challenged by former world champion Vic “The Raging Bull” Darchinyan (37-4-1, 27 KOs) on Friday April 6. Also, WBC junior lightweight champ Takahiro Ao (22-2-1, 10 KOs) defends against Terdsak Kokietgym (46-3-1, 31 KOs). Both fights take place in Tokyo.
American heavyweight Kevin Johnson (26-1-1, 12 KOs) upset Alex Leapai (25-4-3, 20 KOs) with a technical knockout win at 2:22 of round nine. Johnson picked up the IBF Australasian title. Johnson sparred in Riverside with Chris Arreola in the past.
Former middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (34-3, 27 KOs) beat Piotr Wliczewski (30-3) by unanimous decision after 12 rounds. Abraham won the WBO European title last Saturday in Kiel, Germany.
WBC female junior bantamweight champion Ana Maria Torres (28-3-3, 16 KOs) retained the title by knockout over Maria Miranda (14-8). The end came at 10 seconds into round four in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. IBF flyweight Ava Knight stopped Thailand’s Hongfah Tor Buamas (15-5) in round 10.
Venezeula’s Jorge Linares (31-3, 20 KOs) was upset by Sergio Thompson (22-2, 20 KOs) on Saturday in Cancun, Mexico. Linares was expected to win thus setting up a rematch with WBC lightweight titleholder Antonio DeMarco. It was Linares’ second consecutive knockout loss.
Russia’s Andrey Klimov (13-0, 7 KOs) retained the WBC USA lightweight title with a well-earned decision over Colorado’s impressive Robert Rodriguez (6-1, 2 KOs) after eight rounds in Pomona, Calif. Other winners last Saturday were Ricky Duenas (10-1, 4 KOs) with a second round knockout; Jesse Roman (10-0, 6 KOs) by decision, Vahe Saruhanyan by knockout and Alexander Podrezov by decision.
Former middleweight world champion Kelly Pavlik (38-2, 33 KOs) scored a second round knockout win over Aaron Jaco (15-3) last Saturday in San Antonio, Texas. Also, Riverside’s Saul “Neno” Rodriguez (4-0, 4 KOs) won by knockout in 19 seconds. It was his fourth consecutive win by knockout in one round.
Ju Hee Him (16-1-1, 6 KOs) kept the GBU junior flyweight world title by knockout against Ploynapa Sakrungrueng (5-2). The stoppage came at the end of round six and took place in Seoul, South Korea last Friday.
Derrick “Whoop Dat Ass” Murray (3-0, 2 KOs) of St. Louis won by knockout over Miguel Armendariz (0-8-1) in round two. Murray was a late fill in and fights at featherweight. The match took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Saturday.
Jose “El Loco” Hernandez (13-5-1) beat Peter Oluoch (11-6-2) by unanimous decision on Saturday in Tacoma, Washington. Also, Maywood’s Lisette Medel (6-1-1) beat Sarah Pucek (4-2-1) by decision after five rounds of a lightweight bout.
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Bazinyan Overcomes Adversity; Skirts by Macias in Montreal

Camille Estephan, one of two prominent boxing promoters operating in Quebec, was back at his customary playpen tonight, The Montreal Casino, with an 8-bout card that aired in the U.S. on ESPN+. The featured bout pit Erik Bazinyan against Mexican globetrotter Jose de Jesus Macias in a super middleweight bout with two regional titles at stake. Bazinyan entered the contest undefeated (29-0, 21 KOs) and ranked #2 at 168 by the WBC, WBA, and WBO.
A member of the National Team of Armenia before moving with his parents to Quebec at age 16, Bazinyan figured to be too physical for Matias. He had launched his career as a light heavyweight whereas Matias had fought extensively as a welterweight. However, the battle-tested Macias (28-12-4) was no pushover. Indeed, he had the best round of the fight. It came in Round 7 when he hurt Bazinyan with a barrage of punches that left the Armenian on shaky legs. But Bazinyan weathered the storm and fought the spunky Macias on better-than-even terms in the homestretch to win a unanimous decision.
The judges were predisposed toward the “A side” and submitted cards of 98-92, 97-93, 97-93.
In his previous bout, Bazinyan was hard-pressed to turn away Alantez Fox. Tonight’s performance confirmed the suspicion that he isn’t as good as his record or his rating. He would be the underdog if matched against stablemate Christian Mbilli.
Co-Feature
In what stands as arguably the finest performance in his 14-year pro career, Calgary junior welterweight Steve Claggett dismantled Puerto Rico’s Alberto Machado, a former world title-holder at 130 pounds. Claggett had Machado on the canvas twice before the referee waived the fight off at the 2:29 mark of round three, the stoppage coming moments after the white towel of surrender was tossed from Machado’ corner. It was the sixth straight win inside the distance for the resurgent Claggett (35-7-2, 25 KOs) who was favored in the 3/1 range.
Claggett scored his first knockdown late in round two with a chopping left hook. The second knockdown came from a two-punch combo — a short right uppercut to the jaw that followed a hard left hook to the body. Machado, whose promoter of record is Miguel Cotto, falls to 23-4.
Claggett, who won an NABF belt, would welcome a fight with Rolly Romero. A more likely scenario finds him locking horns with undefeated Arnold Barboza, a Top Rank fighter.
Also…
Quebec southpaw Thomas Chabot remained undefeated with a harder-than expected and somewhat controversial 8-round split decision over 20-year-old Mexico City import Luis Bolanos. At the conclusion, Chabot, who improved to 9-0 (7), was more marked-up than his scrappy opponent who declined to 4-3-1. This was an entertaining fight between two high-volume punchers.
In a middleweight affair slated for six, Alexandre Gaumont improved to 8-0 (6 KOs) with a second round TKO over hapless Piotr Bis. The official time was 3:00.
A 37-year-old Pole making his North American debut, Bis (6-3-1) was on the canvas six times in all during the six minutes of action. There were two genuine knockdowns, the result of short uppercuts, two dubious knockdowns, a slip, and a push.
As an amateur, Gaumont reportedly knocked out half of his 24 opponents. This sloppy fight with Bis wasn’t of the sort from which Gaumont can gain anything useful, but he is a bright prospect who bears watching.
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Avila Perspective, Chap. 239: Fernando Vargas Jr. at the Pechanga Casino and More

Once upon a time the name Ferocious Fernando Vargas stirred up the blood of many a Southern California boxing fan and others.
Based in Oxnard, California, the Ferocious One dared to be great and was fearless in charging forward like an Aztec warrior against all odds and opposition. Those who followed him expected it and though he only had 31 professional fights, each battle was dripping with drama.
Remember his battles with Ike Quartey, Winky Wright or Sugar Shane Mosley?
Even his losses were blazing unforgettable wars with Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricardo Mayorga.
Vargas no longer fights but he has three sons and they do the fighting for the Las Vegas-based family. It’s Fernando Vargas 2.0.
The oldest son Fernando Vargas Jr. (8-0, 8 KOs) competes in a six-round super welterweight contest against Venezuela’s Heber Rondon (20-4, 13 KOs) on Friday June 2, at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif. The Marvnation Promotions card will also be shown on its YouTube.com site.
In the co-main event number one super flyweight contender Adelaida Ruiz fights Mexico’s Maria Cecilia Roman in a 10-round affair. Ruiz is considered by many to be a guaranteed world champion by this year. Don’t miss her.
A special presentation includes the appearance of two boxing greats Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy “Hit Man” Hearns. During the 70s and 80s they both made history with incredible performances that made them both boxing immortals.
If you ever saw them during the 80s they were two of the primary fighters who raised the level of the sport with their willingness to fight each other. Leonard and Hearns fought each other twice. Leonard beat Roberto Duran two of three times. Marvin Hagler beat Hearns in what many consider one of the greatest three rounds of all time. Ironically, it was the first title fight I ever wrote about.
Doors open at 6 p.m. for tickets go to www.pechenga.com or www.marvnation.com
Boxing Saturday in Detroit
Female boxing’s top pound-for-pound queen Claressa Shields (13-0, 2 KOs) faces Maricela Cornejo (16-5, 6 KOs) in defense of the middleweight world championship on Saturday, June 3, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. DAZN will stream the Salita Promotions fight card beginning at 6 p.m. PST.
Until last week, Costa Rica’s Hanna Gabriels was the scheduled foe, but VADA testing revealed illegal substances in her blood stream and she was forced out. After two days Cornejo was mutually agreed by both parties to be the replacement.
“I was getting ready for another fight on June 6. This wasn’t a last-minute fight. I eat, drink, and love boxing. It’s not a part-time job,” said Cornejo about eagerly accepting the fight as a replacement for Gabriels.
The last time we saw Shields in the prize ring she was firing on all gears as she unleashed blazing-fast combinations on England’s Savannah Marshall. Many had predicted Shields would be vanquished.
Many were wrong.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist and champion of three weight divisions has shown that size, power and will are not enough to dethrone her. Only a few made Shields blink and that came early on.
During the press conference, Mark Taffet, co-manager of Shields, hinted that she may be pursuing undisputed status in the super middleweight divisions and above. But first, her defense against Cornejo who did not hesitate in consenting to the challenge.
Only in the past four years has female boxing become a lucrative pro sport. Before fighters like Shields, Katie Taylor, and others, women were seldom paid more than $3,000 dollars for a world championship fight.
Shields helped spark the change and Cornejo will now finally meet her in the prize ring.
“Claressa has done so much for the sport of boxing. We’re trying to do our part. She can’t do it alone. We’re all trying to make a difference,” said Cornejo about accepting the fight on short notice. “She needs a dance partner and I’m ready to dance June 3.”
Shields smiled, content that Cornejo helped salvage the fight card in Detroit, Michigan near her hometown of Flint. Shields personally bought 1,000 tickets for youngsters to attend the fight card on Saturday. Now it will be a true contender facing her.
“I want to say thank you for fighting me,” said Shields to Cornejo. “I know you want to dance, but I came to fight.”
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The Sweet Science Rankings: Week of May 29th, 2023

The Sweet Science Rankings: Week of May 29th, 2023
In this week’s TSS Rankings, it’s all change at the top of the 126lbs division with Luis Alberto Lopez rocketing to the #1 spot after a brutal dispatch of Michael Conlan; Leigh Wood is right behind him after making it 1-1 with a miserable Mauricio Lara (Mexico) who is likely about to depart for 130lbs after failing to make weight by 4lbs. For the moment he languishes at #5. Chris Billam-Smith makes #3 at 200lbs after ripping victory from fellow Englishman Lawrence Okolie. The hapless Okolie drops to #8. The best performance this weekend though was turned in by New Yorker Oscar Collazo who brutalised the favoured Melvin Jerusalem (Philippines). Collazo rises to three, Jerusalem drops to #8.
Pound-for-Pound
01 – Naoya Inoue
02 – Oleksandr Usyk
03 – Juan Francisco Estrada
04 – Dmitry Bivol
05 – Terence Crawford
06 – Errol Spence Jnr.
07 – Tyson Fury
08 – Saul Alvarez
09 – Artur Beterbiev
10 – Shakur Stevenson
105lbs
1 Knockout CP Freshmart (Thailand)
2 Petchmanee CP Freshmart (Thailand)
3 Oscar Collazo (USA)*
4 Ginjiro Shigeoka (Japan)
5 Wanheng Menayothin (Thailand)
6 Daniel Valladares (Mexico)
7 Yudai Shigeoka (Japan)
8 Melvin Jerusalem (Philippines)
9 Masataka Taniguchi (Japan)
10 Rene Mark Cuarto (Philippines)
108lbs
1 Kenshiro Teraji (Japan)
2 Jonathan Gonzalez (Puerto Rico)
3 Masamichi Yabuki (Japan)
4 Hekkie Budler (South Africa)
5 Sivenathi Nontshinga (South Africa)
6 Elwin Soto (Mexico)
7 Daniel Matellon (Cuba)
8 Reggie Suganob (Philippines)
9 Shokichi Iwata (Japan)
10 Esteban Bermudez (Mexico)
112lbs
1 Sunny Edwards (England)
2 Artem Dalakian (Ukraine)
3 Julio Cesar Martinez (Mexico)
4 Angel Ayala Lardizabal (Mexico)
5 David Jimenez (Costa Rica)
6 Jesse Rodriguez (USA)
7 Ricardo Sandoval (USA)
8 Felix Alvarado (Nicaragua)
9 Seigo Yuri Akui (Japan)
10 Cristofer Rosales (Nicaragua)
115lbs
1 Juan Francisco Estrada (Mexico)
2 Roman Gonzalez (Nicaragua)
3 Jesse Rodriguez (USA)
4 Kazuto Ioka (Japan)
5 Joshua Franco (USA)
6 Junto Nakatani (Japan)
7 Fernando Martinez (Argentina)
8 Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (Thailand)
9 Kosei Tanaka (Japan)
10 Andrew Moloney (Australia)
118lbs
1 Emmanuel Rodriguez (Puerto Rico)
2 Jason Moloney (Australia)
3 Nonito Donaire (Philippines)
4 Vincent Astrolabio (Philippines)
5 Gary Antonio Russell (USA)
6 Takuma Inoue (Japan)
7 Alexandro Santiago (Mexico)
8 Ryosuke Nishida (Japan)
9 Keita Kurihara (Japan)
10 Paul Butler (England)
122lbs
1 Stephen Fulton (USA)
2 Marlo Tapales (Philippines)
3 Luis Nery (Mexico)
4 Murodjon Akhmadaliev (Uzbekistan)
5 Ra’eese Aleem (USA)
6 Azat Hovhannisyan (Armenia)
7 Kevin Gonzalez (Mexico)
8 Takuma Inoue (Japan)
9 John Riel Casimero (Philippines)
10 Fillipus Nghitumbwa (Namibia)
126lbs
1 Luis Alberto Lopez (Mexico)*
2 Leigh Wood (England)*
3 Brandon Figueroa (USA)
4 Rey Vargas (Mexico)
5 Mauricio Lara (Mexico)
6 Mark Magsayo (Philippines)
7 Josh Warrington (England)
8 Robeisy Ramirez (Cuba)
9 Reiya Abe (Japan)
10 Otabek Kholmatov (Uzbekistan)
130lbs
1 Joe Cordina (Wales)
2 Oscar Valdez (Mexico)
3 Hector Garcia (Dominican Republic)
4 O’Shaquie Foster (USA)
5 Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (Tajikistan)
6 Roger Gutierrez (Venezuela)
7 Lamont Roach (USA)
8 Eduardo Ramirez (Mexico)
9 Kenichi Ogawa (Japan)
10 Robson Conceicao (Brazil)
135lbs
1 Devin Haney (USA)
2 Gervonta Davis (USA)
3 Vasily Lomachenko (Ukraine)
4 Isaac Cruz (Mexico)
5 William Zepeda Segura (Mexico)
6 Frank Martin (USA)
7 George Kambosos Jnr (Australia)
8 Shakur Stevenson (USA)
9 Raymond Muratalla (USA)
10 Keyshawn Davis (USA)
140lbs
1 Josh Taylor (Scotland)
2 Regis Prograis (USA)
3 Jose Ramirez (USA)
4 Jose Zepeda (USA)
5 Jack Catterall (England)
6 Subriel Matias (Puerto Rico)
7 Arnold Barboza Jr. (USA)
8 Gary Antuanne Russell (USA)
9 Zhankosh Turarov (Kazakhstan)
10 Shohjahon Ergashev (Uzbekistan)
147lbs
1 Errol Spence (USA)
2 Terence Crawford (USA)
3 Yordenis Ugas (Cuba)
4 Vergil Ortiz Jr. (USA)
5 Jaron Ennis (USA)
6 Eimantas Stanionis (Lithuania)
7 David Avanesyan (Russia)
8 Cody Crowley (Canada)
9 Roiman Villa (Columbia)
10 Alexis Rocha (USA)
154lbs
1 Jermell Charlo (USA)
2 Tim Tszyu (Australia)
3 Brian Castano (Argentina)
4 Brian Mendoza (USA)
5 Liam Smith (England)
6 Jesus Alejandro Ramos (USA)
7 Sebastian Fundora (USA)
8 Michel Soro (Ivory Coast)
9 Erickson Lubin (USA)
10 Magomed Kurbanov (Russia)
160lbs
1 Gennady Golovkin (Kazakhstan)
2 Jaime Munguia (Mexico)
3 Carlos Adames (Dominican Republic)
4 Janibek Alimkhanuly (Kazakhstan)
5 Liam Smith (England)
6 Erislandy Lara (USA)
7 Sergiy Derevyanchenko (Ukraine)
8 Felix Cash (England)
9 Esquiva Falcao (Brazil)
10 Chris Eubank Jnr. (Poland)
168lbs
1 Canelo Alvarez (Mexico)
2 David Benavidez (USA)
3 Caleb Plant (USA)
4 Christian Mbilli (France)
5 David Morrell (Cuba)
6 John Ryder (England)
7 Pavel Silyagin (Russia)
8 Vladimir Shishkin (Russia)
9 Carlos Gongora (Ecuador)
10 Demetrius Andrade (USA)
175lbs
1 Dmitry Bivol (Russia)
2 Artur Beterbiev (Canada)
3 Joshua Buatsi (England)
4 Callum Smith (England)
5 Joe Smith Jr. (USA)
6 Gilberto Ramirez (Mexico)
7 Anthony Yarde (England)
8 Dan Azeez (England)
9 Craig Richards (England)
10 Michael Eifert (Germany)
200lbs
1 Jai Opetaia (Australia)
2 Mairis Breidis (Latvia)
3 Chris Billam-Smith (England)*
4 Richard Riakporhe (England)
5 Aleksei Papin (Russia)
6 Badou Jack (Sweden)
7 Arsen Goulamirian (France)
8 Lawrence Okolie (England)
9 Yuniel Dorticos (Cuba)
10 Mateusz Masternak (Poland)
Unlimited
1 Tyson Fury (England)
2 Oleksandr Usyk (Ukraine)
3 Zhilei Zhang (China)
4 Deontay Wilder (USA)
5 Anthony Joshua (England)
6 Andy Ruiz (USA)
7 Filip Hrgovic (Croatia)
8 Joe Joyce (England)
9 Dillian Whyte (England)
10 Frank Sanchez (Cuba)
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