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The Rigolution Marches On; Rigondeaux Wins New Years Bash in Japan

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Junior featherweight Guillermo Rigondeaux made good on his prefight promise of delivering explosive fireworks against Hisashi Amagasa on New Year’s Eve in Osaka, Japan.

The undefeated southpaw from Cuba, who is the Transnational Rankings, Ring Magazine and WBA 122-pound champion, stopped Amagasa at the close of Round 11 in a thrilling title fight. Rigondeaux was down twice in Round 7, but scored a knockdown of his own in Round 9 on his way to the TKO 11 victory.

The bout started with Rigondeaux establishing his range against Ama, a lanky fighter over six inches taller than Rigondeaux. Rigo appeared to throw more punches through the first half of the fight, perhaps in an effort to win over fans, or maybe just because the longer reach of Ama forced him into it.

Whatever the case, Rigo stunned Ama in Round 5 with a hard left hand and unleashed a furious barrage of punches, but the tough former featherweight withstood the avalanche and made it through the round.

At the very end of Round 7, Ama caught Rigo in the center of the ring on a pivot and put him down to the canvas with a short right hand. Rigondeaux rose quickly but was down again seconds later. While the second knockdown appeared to be more a product of trying to hold on to Ama than anything else, Rigo was clearly in trouble as the round came to a close.

But Rigo reestablished control of the fight in Round 8 and dominated the action again until the fight was halted at the end of Round 11.

Ama was unable to come out of his corner for Round 12. His face was badly swollen and bruised from Rigo’s devastating jabs and precise power punches.

Rigondeaux, age 34, is one of the top fighters in the sport of boxing. His skill set is unparalleled among his junior featherweight peers, something that has kept most of the big names in the division from agreeing to fight him.

Just last week, popular pressure fighter Leo Santa Cruz, who holds the WBC belt, told Fight Hub TV’s Marcos Villegas that Rigondeaux wasn’t an interesting fight for him.

“Guillermo Rigondeaux, the people don’t like his style, and I don’t think that’d be an interesting fight,” said Santa Cruz. “I wanna give a great show and a great fight for the fans. I think against Mares is more likely [because of] his style and everything. They told me already that if everything goes well in this next fight, then they’ll try to make the fight against Mares.”

In reality, of course, Rigondeaux is absolutely the most interesting fight for Santa Cruz and vice versa.

First, Rigondeaux is the division’s lineal champion, a title he earned by dethroning Nonito Donaire in April 2013. A fight between Rigondeaux and Mares would further unify the division and establish the winner as the kind of champion who takes on all-comers.

Second, Santa Cruz possesses the kind of in-your-face style that would make the bout aesthetically pleasing for most fight fans. While Rigondeaux is a master pugilist, many fight fans and media members are far from in love with the classic Cuban style he employs which relies on minimizing risk through circular movement and precise punching.

In fact, Team Rigondeaux has found it tough sledding to land American television dates as of late exactly because he’s been labeled “boring” by the boxing public. And the mainstream boxing media hasn’t helped things. After Rigo’s win over Donaire, ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael and Yahoo’s Kevin Iole wrote columns berating the Cuban defector for his fighting style.

But excellence has its place in boxing, too. And consistently proving to be one of the two or three best fighters in the world, something Rigondeaux has done a solid job of over the last two years, should eventually bear him fruit.

Rigondeaux deserves big fights at 122 pounds. He’s the division’s true champion and one of boxing’s elite pound-for-pound stars. He deserves American television dates, too. While HBO may have moved on from televising the so-called Rigolution for buzzsaws like Gennady Golovkin and Sergey Kovalev, Showtime hasn’t exactly been setting the world on fire as of late with their cards and could use a boost in the arm in 2015.

Rigondeaux’s thrilling win over Amagasa has given Santa Cruz and his handlers every reason to make the fight. Rigondeaux, the champion, showed he could entertain fans and win a great action fight, too. The knockdowns showed Rigo might be vulnerable to Santa Cruz’s particular style of volume punching and refuted Santa Cruz’s claim that the fight would not be interesting.

When asked via Twitter what happened to his claim earlier this year that Showtime would be interested in televising Rigondeaux’s fights should he become available, Stephen Espinoza indicated the interest was still there.

“Still interested, but opponent and date are always factors, too,” said Espinoza.

Santa Cruz would seem the right opponent, and Rigondeaux has already indicated he’d be ready as early as next month for a bout against Santa Cruz, so a date should be able to be agreed upon, too.

“I am very frustrated that the other world beltholders are running scared and won’t fight me,” Rigondeaux said via press release before the Amagasa win.

Fight fans should be frustrated with it, too.

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A Fresh Face on the Boxing Scene, Bryce Mills Faces His Toughest Test on Friday

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“He wants to test himself and find out just how good he really is,” said International Boxing Hall of Fame promoter Russell Peltz regarding super lightweight Bryce Mills. Peltz, who has dealt with a wide range of fighters throughout his lifetime in boxing, recognized the fire that burned inside Mills at a local show in Philadelphia in early 2022. At the time Mills had less than ten professional fights under his belt.

Mills hails from Liverpool in upstate New York and trains in nearby Syracuse. Currently 17-1 (6 KOs), he’s undefeated in his last 11 since losing a split decision to a Puerto Rican fighter from the Bronx who had fought much stiffer competition.

The fight in question that caught Peltz’s eye was arranged by the well-known and respected matchmaker Nick Tiberi who paired Mills in an intriguing fight against Daiyaan Butt, a tough and skilled fighter from the Philadelphia area. They fought at LIVE Casino in South Philadelphia on Feb. 24, 2022.

Although the crowd on hand that night favored Butt, Mills, although then only 20 years old, wasn’t intimidated and was the clear-cut winner at the end of their exciting, back-and-forth battle. This showed Peltz that Mills was serious about seeing just how far his ability could take him.

That’s why Peltz decided to join forces with Mills. Despite being semi-retired, Peltz is still active enough to help guide fighters through the ever-changing wild west landscape that is boxing. Since their union after Mill’s victory over Butt, Mills has been on a nine-fight winning streak heading into what Peltz believes is the toughest test of his career this Friday against Alex Martin 18-6 (6 KOs) of Chicago.

“I didn’t want him to take this fight, it’s a dangerous fight for him. Martin is a southpaw and is tricky, he’s a veteran and is experienced. His father (Mills’s father) called me and said that Bryce wanted the fight, to his credit,” says Peltz. One look at Martin’s resume and it confirms what Peltz stated. All six of Martin’s losses came against fighters with outstanding records including a former world title challenger. Martin also holds some quality wins over undefeated prospects that were at similar points in their careers to where Mills currently is in his development.

Bryce Mills looks like a fighter (he’s always in shape), acts like a fighter (testing his craft against all comers), walks the walk of a fighter, and fights with a fan-friendly pedal-to-the-metal style. That is a winning combination that could be the breath of fresh air the boxing world could surely use and on Friday night at the Wind Creek Events Center in Bethlehem, PA, live on DAZN, Mills is going to have the opportunity to put the boxing world on notice.

***

DAZN will televise the Mills-Martin fight along with a main event that features undefeated middleweight Euri Cedeno (10-0-1, 9 KO’s) against Ulices Rivera (11-1, 7 KO’s). Knockout artist Joseph Adorno (20-4-1, 17 KOs) and undefeated Reading, PA super featherweight Julian Gonzalez (15-0-1, 11 KOs) appear in separate bouts on the undercard. Tickets for the Marshall Kauffman’s Kings Promotion show are still available through Ticketmaster. Lobby doors open at 5:00 pm. First bell is at 7:00.

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High Drama in Japan as ‘Amazing Boy’ Kenshiro Teraji Overcomes Seigo Yuri Akui

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Overshadowed by countrymen Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani, Kenshiro Teraji embossed his Hall of Fame credentials in Tokyo tonight with a dramatic 12th-round stoppage of Seigo Yuri Akui. At stake were two pieces of the world flyweight title. A two-time world title-holder a division below (108), Teraji (25-1, 16 KOs) was appearing in his 16th world title fight.

This Japan vs. Japan matchup will go down in Japanese boxing lore as one of the best title fights ever on Japanese soil. Through the 11 completed rounds, Akui was up 105-104 on two of the cards with Teraji up 106-103 on the third. However, judging by his appearance, Akui was more damaged. The stoppage by Japanese referee Katsuhiko Nakamura, which came at the 1:31 mark of the final round with Akui still standing, struck some as premature but the gallant Akui was well-beaten.

A second-generation prizefighter, Kenshiro Teraji, 33, came bearing the WBC 112-pound belt which he acquired this past October with an 11th round TKO of Nicaraguan veteran Cristofer Rosales. The 29-year-old Akui (21-3-1) was making the second defense of the WBA strap he won with a wide decision over previously undefeated Artem Dalakian.

Although Teraji keeps on rolling – this was his seventh straight win which began with a third-round blast-out of Masamichi Yabuki, avenging his lone defeat – things aren’t getting any easier for the so-called “Amazing Boy.” In his last three fights, which include a hard-earned majority decision over Carlos Canizales, he answered the bell for 35 rounds.

By and large, fighters in his weight class don’t age well. While Teraji is starting to slip, he has no intention of retiring any time soon. His goal, he says is to unify the title and eventually move up a notch to pursue a world title in a third weight class. The other pieces of the 112-pound title are currently the property of Mexico’s Angel Ayala who defends his IBF diadem against Yabuki later this month and LA’s Anthony Olascuaga who was in action on tonight’s undercard.

Other Bouts of Note

Olascuaga, a stablemate of Junto Nakatani, trained by 2024 TSS Trainer of the Year Rudy Hernandez, advanced to 9-1 (6) with a hard-earned unanimous decision over Hiroto Kyoguchi. The judges had it 118-110 and 117-111 (scores condemned as too wide) with the third judge having it 6-6 in rounds but scoring it 114-113 in acknowledgement of the knockdown credited to Olascuaga in round 11, the result of a short left that produced a delayed reaction.

Olascuaga was making the second defense of his WBO belt in his fifth straight trip to Japan. In his lone defeat, he was thrust against the formidable Teraji as a late sub, acquitting himself well in defeat (L TKO 9) despite having only five pro fights under his belt and having only 10 days to prepare. Kyoguchi (19-3) had previously held titles in the sport’s two smallest weight classes.

In a big upset, Puerto Rico’s Rene Santiago, thought to be well past his prime at age 32, wrested the WBO light flyweight title with a unanimous decision over Shokichi Iwata who was making the first defense of the title he won with a third-round stoppage of Spain’s previously undefeated Jairo Noriega. Tokyo’s Iwata was a consensus 9/1 favorite.

Santiago, who advanced to 14-4 (9), won by scores of 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112. It was the second loss for Iwata who had knocked out 11 of his first 15 opponents.

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Keith Thurman Returns with a Bang; KOs Brock Jarvis in Sydney

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The combination of age and ring rust made Keith Thurman a tricky proposition against Brock Jarvis, but the 36-year-old Floridian, a former WBA and WBC world welterweight champion, had too much firepower for the overmatched Aussie, knocking out Jarvis in the third round tonight in Sydney and setting up a massive fight with Tim Tszyu.

Thurman’s career has been repeatedly interrupted with injuries. He missed all of 2023 and 2024 and this was only his second fight back since being out-pointed by Manny Pacquiao in 2019. He was slated to fight Tszyu in March of last year in Las Vegas with two 154-pound straps on the line, but pulled out with a biceps injury and was replaced by Sebastian Fundora who saddled the snakebit Tszyu with his first defeat.

Against Brock Jarvis, Thurman started slowly. The TV commentating team, which included Tszyu and Shawn Porter, had the busier Jarvis winning the first two rounds. But the savvy Thurman was simply “processing data” and found his grove in the third frame, smashing Jarvis to the canvas with a combination climaxed by a wicked uppercut. Jarvis staggered to his feet but was a cooked goose and the referee waived it off immediately when Jarvis hit the deck again after absorbing a harsh left hook. The official time was 2:19 of round three.

It was the second bad loss for Jarvis (22-2), a noted knockout puncher who had previously been stopped in the opening round by countryman Liam Paro. He hails from the Sydney suburb of Merrickville which also spawned Hall of Famer Jeff Fenech, Jarvis’s former trainer.

Thurman advanced to 37-1 with his twenty-third win inside the distance. According to Tszyu’s promoter George Rose, the match between Thurman and Tszyu will finally come to fruition on July 6, likely at the Gold Coast Convention Center in Broadbeach. That’s predicated on the assumption that Tszyu wins his next fight without complications which comes on April 6 against Minnesota’s 19-1 Joey Spencer at Newcastle, Australia.

Other Bouts of Note

Melbourne Middleweight Michael Zerafa, who also covets a match with Tim Tszyu, improved to 33-5 (21 KOs) with a seventh-round stoppage of Germany’s obscure Besir Ay (19-2) who was on the deck twice before the referee waived it off. This was the second fight back for Zerafa after getting pulverized by Erislandy Lara who stopped him in the second round in March of last year. Ay, 35, is recognized as the middleweight champion of Germany.

In a middleweight match slated for 10, Tim Tszyu’s longtime sparring partner Cesar Mateo bombed out Sergei Vorobev in the fifth round, ending the match with a spectacular one-punch KO. The 26-year-old Mateo (18-0-1, 11 KOs) is a native of Tijuana. Vorobev (20-3-2) is a 30-year-old Sydneysider born in Russia.

Thurman vs. Jarvis, a pay-per-view event in Australia, aired in the U.S. on a tape-delay on the PBC youtube channel.

Photo credit: Grant Trouville / No Limit Boxing

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