Featured Articles
Oubaali TKOs Villanueva in Kazakhstan but There’s a Bigger Back Story

Two-time Olympian Nordine Oubaali successfully defended his WBC world bantamweight title today (July 6) with a TKO over Arthur Villanueva who bowed out after six rounds. The bout, staged at an ice hockey arena in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, was live-streamed in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico on ESPN+, a Saturday morning nosh for dedicated boxing enthusiasts.
Although a world title was at stake, future boxing historians will likely accord the match little more than a footnote. However, the show, which was hitched to a holiday (Kazakhstan’s first President’s Day), may come to be remembered as a watershed event in the sporting history of that nation.
This was not Kazakhstan’s first foray into pro boxing. Kazakhstan’s first great champion, Vasiliy Jirov, made the third defense of his world cruiserweight title against Puerto Rico’s overmatched Alex Gonzalez at Almaty in 2001. The country’s most renowned fighter, Gennadiy Golovkin, fought here in Nur-Sultan (then known as Astana) in 2010 against Nilson Julio Tapia, an obscure fighter from Columbia. But these were one-offs. Neither Jirov — who began his pro career in Las Vegas, won his world title in Biloxi, Mississippi, and retired to Arizona — nor Golovkin, ever fought here again.
Today’s show was meant to send a message: To wit, talented Kazakhstani boxers can henceforth achieve their dreams without shipping out to a foreign land once they turn pro. The wholesale exportation of Kazakhstan’s top boxers has ran its course.
“The days of Kazakh fighters having to leave their homeland in search of glory and depriving their fans of joining them on the journey will end with this event. We are here to build something lasting,” said Ahmed A. Seddiqi, the Central Asia regional manager for MTK Global, who noted that since 1996, when Kazakhstan fielded its first Olympic boxing team, the nation of approximately 18.3 million people has won an astounding 22 Olympic medals (seven gold).
MTK Global bills itself as the world’s foremost boxer management company. It claims to have more than 100 boxers under contract, including such notables as Tyson Fury, Billy Joe Saunders, Carl Frampton, and Michael Conlan. The company has a working arrangement with Top Rank (Bob Arum), through which it can distribute its content on ESPN platforms.
MTK Global has a seamy history, one that provides great fodder for investigative reporters drawn to explore the business side of boxing. Originally called MGM (no relation to the casino conglomerate; the initials stood for Macklin Gym Marbella), the company was founded in 2012 by former British and European middleweight champion Matthew Macklin, a three-time world title challenger. Macklin’s gym, located in the Marbella community of Costa del Sol on the southern coast of Spain, was the company’s original brick-and-mortar asset, the forerunner of what are now 10 MTK Global gyms around the world.
The scuttlebutt was that Macklin, who remains on the company’s board, was merely a front and that the true owner of MGM was the infamous Irish drug lord Christy Kinahan whose son, Daniel Kinahan, was close friends with the fighter. Sandra Vaughan, the current CEO of MTK Global, has been identified in the papers as the ex-partner of convicted drug dealer Kevin Kelly, said to have been a member of the Kinahan cartel.
The name change from MGM to MTK Global came after a sensational shoot-out during a weigh-in at Dublin’s Regency Hotel during which a Kinahan associate was shot dead and two of his cohorts were wounded. The brazen Feb. 6, 2016, incident was characterized as a gangland turf war. Prior to the killing, a relative of Kinahan’s chief rival was murdered in Marbella. The Kinahans, father and son, are said to be currently on the lam in Dubai where MTK Global is now headquartered.
Since the Regency Hotel firefight, the company has made great strides, both in terms of becoming a major player in boxing and in terms of sanitizing its image. In October of last year, the company hired Bob Yalen as its president. Yalen, who was headed toward a career in nuclear engineering before he was bitten by the boxing bug, was known as a man of unimpeachable integrity during his tenures with NBC, ABC, and ESPN. In 1993, he was honored by the Boxing Writers Association of America with the Sam Taub Award for Excellence in Boxing Broadcasting. (The history of MGM/MTK Global reminds this reporter of the history of gambling in Las Vegas.)
– – –
Prior to today, Nordine Oubaali (pictured holding the WBC belt) was last seen in the ring on Jan. 19 of this year when he copped the vacant WBC title with a unanimous decision over former amateur rival Rau’shee Warren on the undercard of Pacquaio-Broner. Although there were no knockdowns, it was a strong performance by the French-Algerian southpaw who was the aggressor and dominated the later rounds.
Today he had an easier assignment against Villanueva, a 30-year-old Filipino who had come up short in two previous stabs at a world title, succumbing to McJoe Arroyo and Zolani Tete. Oubaali (16-0, 11 KOs) was in control from the outset and dished out a lot of punishment before Villanueva (32-4-1) was all in. A knockdown midway through round six signaled that the end was near.
Oubaali vs. Villanueva was actually the co-feature, preceding the 10-round junior welterweight match between Kazakhstan’s Zhankosh Turarov and Argentina’s Mauro Maximiliano Godoy. It was a virtual walkover for the undefeated Turarov (24-0, 17 KOs) who dismissed Godoy (31-5-1) in the third frame.
A 10-year-pro, the well-traveled 28-year-old Turarov has had a curious career. He has fought extensively in the Dominican Republic and was most recently domiciled with his more highly regarded countryman Kanat Islam in southern Florida. Islam was in action yesterday (Friday, July 5) in Kazakhstan’s former capital city of Almaty where he pushed his record to 26-0 (21) with a first round stoppage of Julio De Jesus.
Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel
To comment on this story in The Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Ringside at the Fontainebleau where Mikaela Mayer Won her Rematch with Sandy Ryan

LAS VEGAS, NV — The first meeting between Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan last September at Madison Square Garden was punctuated with drama before the first punch was thrown. When the smoke cleared, Mayer had become a world-title-holder in a second weight class, taking away Ryan’s WBO welterweight belt via a majority decision in a fan-friendly fight.
The rematch tonight at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas was another fan-friendly fight. There were furious exchanges in several rounds and the crowd awarded both gladiators a standing ovation at the finish.
Mayer dominated the first half of the fight and held on to win by a unanimous decision. But Sandy Ryan came on strong beginning in round seven, and although Mayer was the deserving winner, the scores favoring her (98-92 and 97-93 twice) fail to reflect the competitiveness of the match-up. This is the best rivalry in women’s boxing aside from Taylor-Serrano.
Mayer, 34, improved to 21-2 (5). Up next, she hopes, in a unification fight with Lauren Price who outclassed Natasha Jonas earlier this month and currently holds the other meaningful pieces of the 147-pound puzzle. Sandy Ryan, 31, the pride of Derby, England, falls to 7-3-1.
Co-Feature
In his first defense of his WBO world welterweight title (acquired with a brutal knockout of Giovani Santillan after the title was vacated by Terence Crawford), Atlanta’s Brian Norman Jr knocked out Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas in the third round. A three-punch combination climaxed by a short left hook sent Cuevas staggering into a corner post. He got to his feet before referee Thomas Taylor started the count, but Taylor looked in Cuevas’s eyes and didn’t like what he saw and brought the bout to a halt.
The stoppage, which struck some as premature, came with one second remaining in the third stanza.
A second-generation prizefighter (his father was a fringe contender at super middleweight), the 24-year-old Norman (27-0, 21 KOs) is currently boxing’s youngest male title-holder. It was only the second pro loss for Cuevas (27-2-1) whose lone previous defeat had come early in his career in a 6-rounder he lost by split decision.
Other Bouts
In a career-best performance, 27-year-old Brooklyn featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (15-0, 9 KOs) blasted out Jose Enrique Vivas (23-4) in the third round.
Carrington, who was named the Most Outstanding Boxer at the 2019 U.S. Olympic Trials despite being the lowest-seeded boxer in his weight class, decked Vivas with a right-left combination near the end of the second round. Vivas barely survived the round and was on a short leash when the third stanza began. After 53 seconds of round three, referee Raul Caiz Jr had seen enough and waived it off. Vivas hadn’t previously been stopped.
Cleveland welterweight Tiger Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, scored a fifth-round stoppage over San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda. Johnson assumed control in the fourth round and sent Castaneda to his knees twice with body punches in the next frame. The second knockdown terminated the match. The official time was 2:00 of round five.
Johnson advanced to 15-0 (7 KOs). Castenada declined to 21-9.
Las Vegas junior welterweight Emiliano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) blasted out Stockton, California’s Giovanni Gonzalez in the second round. Vargas brought the bout to a sudden conclusion with a sweeping left hook that knocked Gonzalez out cold. The end came at the 2:00 minute mark of round two.
Gonzalez brought a 20-7-2 record which was misleading as 18 of his fights were in Tijuana where fights are frequently prearranged. However, he wasn’t afraid to trade with Vargas and paid the price.
Emiliano Vargas, with his matinee idol good looks and his boxing pedigree – he is the son of former U.S. Olympian and two-weight world title-holder “Ferocious” Fernando Vargas – is highly marketable and has the potential to be a cross-over star.
Eighteen-year-old Newark bantamweight Emmanuel “Manny” Chance, one of Top Rank’s newest signees, won his pro debut with a four-round decision over So Cal’s Miguel Guzman. Chance won all four rounds on all three cards, but this was no runaway. He left a lot of room for improvement.
There was a long intermission before the co-main and again before the main event, but the tedium was assuaged by a moving video tribute to George Foreman.
Photos credit: Al Applerose
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0

William Zepeda Edges Past Tevin Farmer in Cancun; Improves to 34-0
No surprise, once again William Zepeda eked out a win over the clever and resilient Tevin Farmer to remain undefeated and retain a regional lightweight title on Saturday.
There were no knockdowns in this rematch.
The Mexican punching machine Zepeda (33-0, 17 KOs) once more sought to overwhelm Farmer (33-8-1, 9 KOs) with a deluge of blows. This rematch by Golden Boy Promotions took place in the famous beach resort area of Cancun, Mexico.
It was a mere four months ago that both first clashed in Saudi Arabia with their vastly difference styles. This time the tropical setting served as the background which suited Zepeda and his lawnmower assaults. The Mexican fans were pleased.
Nothing changed in their second meeting.
Zepeda revved up the body assault and Farmer moved around casually to his right while fending off the Mexican fighter’s attacks. By the fourth round Zepeda was able to cut off Farmer’s escape routes and targeted the body with punishing shots.
The blows came in bunches.
In the fifth round Zepeda blasted away at Farmer who looked frantic for an escape. The body assault continued with the Mexican fighter pouring it on and Farmer seeming to look ready to quit. When the round ended, he waved off his corner’s appeals to stop.
Zepeda continued to dominate the next few rounds and then Farmer began rallying. At first, he cleverly smothered Zepeda’s body attacks and then began moving and hitting sporadically. It forced the Mexican fighter to pause and figure out the strategy.
Farmer, a Philadelphia fighter, showed resiliency especially when it was revealed he had suffered a hand injury.
During the last three rounds Farmer dug down deep and found ways to score and not get hit. It was Boxing 101 and the Philly fighter made it work.
But too many rounds had been put in the bank by Zepeda. Despite the late rally by Farmer one judge saw it 114-114, but two others scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Zepeda who retains his interim lightweight title and place at the top of the WBC rankings.
“I knew he was a difficult fighter. This time he was even more difficult,” said Zepeda.
Farmer was downtrodden about another loss but realistic about the outcome and starting slow.
“But I dominated the last rounds,” said Farmer.
Zepeda shrugged at the similar outcome as their first encounter.
“I’m glad we both put on a great show,” said Zepeda.
Female Flyweight Battle
Costa Rica’s Yokasta Valle edged past Texas fighter Marlen Esparza to win their showdown at flyweight by split decision after 10 rounds.
Valle moved up two weight divisions to meet Esparza who was slightly above the weight limit. Both showed off their contrasting styles and world class talent.
Esparza, a former unified flyweight world titlist, stayed in the pocket and was largely successful with well-placed jabs and left hooks. She repeatedly caught Valle in-between her flurries.
The current minimumweight world titlist changed tactics and found more success in the second half of the fight. She forced Esparza to make the first moves and that forced changes that benefited her style.
Neither fighter could take over the fight.
After 10 rounds one judge saw Esparza the winner 96-94, but two others saw Valle the winner 97-93 twice.
Will Valle move up and challenge the current undisputed flyweight world champion Gabriela Fundora? That’s the question.
Valle currently holds the WBC minimumweight world title.
Puerto Rico vs Mexico
Oscar Collazo (12-0, 9 KOs), the WBO, WBA minimumweight titlist, knocked out Mexico’s Edwin Cano (13-3-1, 4 KOs) with a flurry of body shots at 1:12 of the fifth round.
Collazo dominated with a relentless body attack the Mexican fighter could not defend. It was the Puerto Rican fighter’s fifth consecutive title defense.
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
Featured Articles
Avila Perspective, Chap. 319: Rematches in Las Vegas, Cancun and More

Rematches are the bedrock for prizefighting.
Return battles between rival boxers always means their first encounter was riveting and successful at the box office.
Six months after their first brutal battle Mikaela Mayer (20-2, 5 KOs) and Sandy Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KOs) will slug it out again for the WBO welterweight world title this time on Saturday, March 29, at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.
ESPN will show the Top Rank card live.
“It’s important for women’s boxing to have these rivalries and this is definitely up there as one of the top ones,” Mayer told the BBC.
If you follow Mayer’s career you know that somehow drama follows. Whether its back-and-forth beefs with fellow American fighters or controversial judging due to nationalism in countries abroad. The Southern California native who now trains in Las Vegas knows how to create the drama.
For female fighters self-promotion is a necessity.
Most boxing promoters refuse to step out of the usual process set for male boxers, not for female boxers. Things remain the same and have been for the last 70 years. Social media has brought changes but that has made promoters do even less.
No longer are there press conferences, instead announcements are made on social media to be drowned among the billions of other posts. It is not killing but diluting interest in the sport.
Women innately present a different advantage that few if any promoters are recognizing. So far in the past 25 years I have only seen two or three promoters actually ignite interest in female fighters. They saw the advantages and properly boosted interest in the women.
The fight breakdown
Mayer has won world titles in the super featherweight and now the welterweight division. Those are two vastly different weight classes and prove her fighting abilities are based on skill not power or size.
Coaching Mayer since amateurs remains Al Mitchell and now Kofi Jantuah who replaced Kay Koroma the current trainer for Sandy Ryan.
That was the reason drama ignited during their first battle. Then came someone tossing paint at Ryan the day of their first fight.
More drama.
During their first fight both battled to control the initiative with Mayer out-punching the British fighter by a slender margin. It was a back-and-forth struggle with each absorbing blows and retaliating immediately.
New York City got its money’s worth.
Ryan had risen to the elite level rapidly since losing to Erica Farias three years ago. Though she was physically bigger and younger, she was out-maneuvered and defeated by the wily veteran from Argentina. In the rematch, however, Ryan made adjustments and won convincingly.
Can she make adjustments from her defeat to Mayer?
“I wanted the rematch straight away,” said Ryan on social media. “I’ve come to America again.”
Both fighters have size and reach. In their first clash it was evident that conditioning was not a concern as blows were fired nonstop in bunches. Mayer had the number of punches landed advantage and it unfolded with the judges giving her a majority decision win.
That was six months ago. Can she repeat the outcome?
Mayer has always had boiler-oven intensity. It’s not fake. Since her amateur days the slender Southern California blonde changes disposition all the way to red when lacing up the gloves. It’s something that can’t be taught.
Can she draw enough of that fire out again?
“I didn’t have to give her this rematch. I could have just sat it out, waited for Lauren Price to unify and fought for undisputed or faced someone else,” said Mayer to BBC. “That’s not the fighter I am though.”
Co-Main in Las Vegas
The co-main event pits Brian Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) facing Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1, 19 KOs) in a contest for the WBO welterweight title.
Norman, 24, was last seen a year ago dissecting a very good welterweight in Giovani Santillan for a knockout win in San Diego. He showed speed, skill and power in defeating Santillan in his hometown.
Cuevas has beaten some solid veteran talent but this will be his big test against Norman and his first attempt at winning a world title.
Also on the Top Rank card will be Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington and Emiliano Vargas, the son of Fernando Vargas, in separate bouts.
Golden Boy in Cancun
A rematch between undefeated William “Camaron” Zepeda (32-0, 27 KOs) and ex-champ Tevin Farmer (33-7-1, 8 KOs) headlines the lightweight match on Saturday March 29, at Cancun, Mexico.
In their first encounter Zepeda was knocked down in the fourth round but rallied to win a split-decision over Farmer. It showed the flaws in Zepeda’s tornado style.
DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotions card that also includes a clash between Yokasta Valle the WBC minimumweight world titlist who is moving up to flyweight to face former flyweight champion Marlen Esparza.
Both Valle and Esparza have fast hands.
Valle is excellent darting in and out while Esparza has learned how to fight inside. It’s a toss-up fight.
Fights to Watch
Fri. DAZN 12 p.m. Cameron Vuong (7-0) vs Jordan Flynn (11-0-1); Pat Brown (0-0) vs Federico Grandone (7-4-2).
Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. William Zepeda (32-0) vs Tevin Farmer (33-7-1); Yokasta Valle (32-3) vs Marlen Esparza (15-2).
Sat. ESPN 7 p.m. Mikaela Mayer (20-2) vs Sandy Ryan (7-2-1); Brian Norman Jr. (26-0) vs Derrieck Cuevas (27-1-1).
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Lamont Roach holds Tank Davis to a Draw in Brooklyn
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
A Fresh Face on the Boxing Scene, Bryce Mills Faces His Toughest Test on Friday
-
Featured Articles1 week ago
Bernard Fernandez Reflects on His Special Bond with George Foreman
-
Featured Articles7 days ago
A Paean to George Foreman (1949-2025), Architect of an Amazing Second Act
-
Featured Articles3 weeks ago
Friday Boxing Recaps: Observations on Conlan, Eubank, Bahdi, and David Jimenez
-
Featured Articles2 weeks ago
Notes and Nuggets from Thomas Hauser: Callum Walsh Returns to Madison Square Garden
-
Featured Articles1 week ago
Spared Prison by a Lenient Judge, Chordale Booker Pursues a World Boxing Title
-
Featured Articles4 weeks ago
Boxing Odds and Ends: Mikaela Mayer on Jonas vs. Price and More