Born on September 23, 1992, in Leverkusen, Germany, Agit Kabayel is the first boxer of Turkish origin to become a WBC heavyweight champion.

Although German by birth, Kabayel’s parents are originally from Pazarcik, a city and district located in southern Turkey.

This isn’t the first time Agit has won a WBC belt. In 2014, three years after his professional debut, he became the WBC Mediterranean heavyweight champion after defeating Nigerian Gbenga “Bang Bang” Oluokun by split decision.

Then, in May 2024, Kabayel captured the WBC Continental Americas heavyweight belt by knocking out then-champion Frank “The Cuban Flash” Sánchez in a spectacular performance at the Kingdome Arena.

Then this February, Agit Kabayel fought Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The fight went six rounds as the German once again demonstrated his knockout power when he sent the Chinese fighter to the canvas, crowning himself WBC interim champion.

He currently holds an undefeated professional record, winning 18 of his 26 fights by knockout.

Agit Kayabel awaits his well-deserved shot at the Absolute WBC heavyweight title.

AGIT KABAYEL WANTS USYK

Agit Kabayel is eyeing a potential fight with The Ring and undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.

Would you like to see this fight happen?

Courtesy of wbcboxing.com

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A spoonful of fans turned up in the first Nairobi pro boxing show by Ugandan promoter Steve Sembuya

Uganda’s welterweight Henry “Stopper” Kasujja knocked out Tanzania’s Mussa Shuza in the second round of a non-title super- welterweight fight scheduled for eight rounds at Nairobi’s Charter Hall on Saturday, May 24.

Kasujja dominated the first round carrying the fight to the visibly shaken Shuza, hitting him with targeted punches to the body and moving upstairs. It was just a matter of time the Tanzania would definitely visit the canvas. All indications were there.

The end came in the second round. Shuza as usual was backpedalling to avoid Kasujja’s heavier blows. This time Kasujja timed his move, making sure he was within range and unleashed a powerful left hook to the chin that sent the Tanzanian crashing to the canvas for a count of 10 by Kenyan referee Julius Odhiambo.

A groggy and beaten Shuza remained comfortably on the canvas for about a minute before he was assisted back to his corner by his seconders. To him the KO was no big deal. He had made his money, probably paid more than his superior Ugandan opponent. That’s what astute promoters do in building the record of their boxers who reap the rewards later.

“He was heavier than me by 10kgs, at first he was 71kg, too strong but it’s boxing. I’m going back to Tanga to train for my next fight,” said Shuza who has lost more fights than he has won. His record dropped to 5-8-0 with two KOs.

Kasujja, now 12-1-1 with five KOs denied he was heavier than Shuza.

“We were weighed at the same time, he should have refused fighting me, he was just scared of me right from the weigh-in, I’m happy I’ve improved my record.”

Yes Kasujja has improved his record through the nondescript Tanzanian opponent. It’s a familiar script as most Tanzanian boxers are normally used by promoters to improve the records of their boxers. Very few of them win their fights outside Tanzania.

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For instance at Charter Hall, all the five Tanzanian boxers in action were beaten proving easy meat for the Ugandans but they returned home happy their pockets bulging with Kenyan money which is like gold in Tanzania. The exchange rates vary, Ksh 1000 goes for Tsh 20,866.40.

Charter Hall was virtually empty with just a paltry attendance but for shrewd Ugandan businessman, Steve Sembuya, he was not bothered much about the attendance.

“My primary objective was to improve the records of my boxers not the the attendance,” said Sembuya from the United States where he’s based.

The first Tanzanian casualty to the Ugandan boxers was super-bantamweight Ali Donyo who was TKO’d in the second round by Sadat Segawa.

Then came light-middleweight Abdallah Yoba against the polished pro boxing debutant Owen “Metrix” Kibira. He pushed the Ugandan to the sixth round before he was KO’d.

The next Tanzania victim was light-heavyweight Ali Hamisi Mzee. He could not withstand the relentless flurry of Abdul Njego and it came as no surprise when he was TKO’d in the second round for the Ugandan to improve his record to 8-3-0 with 6 KOs.

Super-welterweight Isheka Norbert was the fourth Tanzanian casualty, KO’d in the sixth round by James Sebulamu followed by Shuza.

Earlier, promoter Sembuya’s son Jayden King TKO’d Kenya’s Kadmat Oduor Adie in the first round in a special contest.

Jayden told boxersworld.co.ke he is planning to join his dad in the US next year. “I want to become a world champion, I’ll improve my boxing in America,” said Jayden.

In a scheduled six-round middleweight bout, Sweden’s Adam Belaria TKO’d Uganda’s Fredrick Okon in the first round.

Sembuya’s second show in Nairobi will be a Kenya vs Uganda match. This one will be cracker given the boxing rivalry between the two countries.

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Manny Pacquiao will end his retirement at 46 to challenge Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title July 19 in Las Vegas, sources confirmed to The Ring.

The legendary boxer will return to the ring nearly four years after his supposed final fight when he dropped a decision to Yordenis Ugas.

Pacquiao is one of the sport’s all-time greatest fighters. He’s the only boxer to win titles in eight divisions, capturing them from 108 to 154 pounds.

But his last time in the ring was a December 2022 exhibition in South Korea where he looked far from the dynamo that took the ring by storm.

Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs) has retired several times before only to return to the ring. His last victory — and great performance — was a July 2019 decision over Keith Thurman.

Pacquiao will attempt to become the second oldest champion in history, surpassing even the late George Foreman who shocked the world when he KO’d Michael Moorer to win the heavyweight crown in 1994.

Pacquiao is the fourth-oldest fighter to win a title, doing so when he defeated Thurman. Bernard Hopkins holds the record at 49.

Barrios, who turns 30 later this month, will enjoy a 16-year age advantage. The Texan is The Ring’s No. 3 boxer at 147 pounds.

Barrios (29-2-1, 18 KOs) is coming off a surprising draw with Abel Ramos in November, a fight where they traded knockdowns. Barrios’ losses came to Gervonta Davis and Thurman.

The fight has been in the works for nearly a year.

“I made history at 40 beating Keith Thurman and I feel at 45, I have a lot left in the game as I haven’t taken a lot of punishment over the last few years,” Pacquiao told this reporter in June. “I want to go out making history.”

Barrios said at the time: “I’m very excited at the possibility of this fight being made. Manny Pacquiao is a future Hall of Famer, a legend and someone I looked up to growing up. To share the ring with him would be an honor and a dream come true.”

The Sebastian Fundora-Tim Tszyu junior middleweight title rematch will serve as the PPV chief support bout, sources said. Fundora upset Tszyu in March 2024 in one of that year’s best action fights.

Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz will return on the undercard, per sources, and one possibility is a rematch with Angel Fierro, whom he defeated in a February slugfest.

Courtesy www.ringmagazine.com

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At a young age of 18 years, one of Tanzania’s most decorated boxers, Emmanuel Mlundwa, was already in the national team in 1974 while still a student at Old Moshi Secondary School.

It was at Tabora Boys High School that Mlundwa’s love affair with boxing started. He was in Tabora Boys from 1970-1973.

“It was a must for one to have a hobby, I chose boxing,” recalls Mlundwa, now the Director of Pugilistic Syndicate of Tanzania (PST) which licenses, sanctions and governs professional boxing in East Africa’s largest country.

Mlundwa’s boxing potential saw him win the 1974 National Championships light-flyweight title, stopping Adelhadrus Mukajanga in the second round.

His success in the National Championships earned Mlundwa a place in the national team and made his international debut in the East, South and Central Africa Boxing Championships held in Dar es Salaam in 1974.

Mlundwa outpointed Uganda’s Kabaka Nasengo in the semi-finals and lost to Kenya’s renowned Steve Muchoki in the finals of the light-flyweight division.

His next major assignment with the national team was in the 1974 inaugural World Boxing Championships in Cuba where he boxed as a light-flyweight. Other Tanzania boxers in Cuba were the late welterweight Wilbert Musa, light-heavyweight Felix Joseph and late heavyweight Joseph Magera.

Mlundwa first outpointed Puerto Rico’s Alfredo Pereira in the round of 32, and in the last 16 he lost to Cuba’s eventual gold medallist Jorge Hernandez who stopped Mlundwa in less than twenty seconds of the first round.

Hernandez didn’t give Mlundwa time to map out any strategy. He unleashed a two-fisted barrage on the Tanzanian boxer who bravely avoided a trip to the canvas but was obviously shaken by the rapid onslaught from Hernandez forcing the referee to wave it off.

While Mlundwa and his compatriots did not win a medal in Havana, they were consoled by the sterling performance of fellow East Africans, Uganda’s Ayub Kalule who won gold at lightweight with Joseph Nsubuga settling for bronze and Kenya’s Steve Muchoki winning silver.

On completion of his secondary education, Mlundwa moved to Old Moshi Secondary School in 1974 for his “A” level education which was two years in form five and six. He studied pure maths, applied maths and physics.

“I started representing the national team in 1974 when I was still a student in form five. I took a lot of interest on education. It’s a very important foundation,” says Mlundwa.

After Moshi, he studied aircraft maintenance in Ethiopia, graduating with a diploma.

From Ethiopia, his thirst for knowledge took him to London where he graduated with a BSc in computer science and electronics at Keele University.

“I urge boxers to take their education seriously because you can’t box forever. I’m proud of my achievements,” says Mlundwa who’s also an international referee/judge as well as Championships Supervisor.

In addition to Cuba, among other international competitions he represented Tanzania include the 1978 African Games in Algiers and the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

In Algiers, Mlundwa powered his way to the finals losing on points to Zambia’s Lucky Mutale after seeing off Morocco’s Mbarek Zarrogui in the semi-finals.

He returned home with a silver medal with light-welterweight Lucas Msomba winning a bronze medal. Tanzania placed ninth overall with Kenya the overall winners.

At the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Mlundwa stopped Syria’s Tala El-Chawa in the round of 32 and lost to Ireland’s Hugh Russell in the round of 16, or pre-quarters if you like.

In addition to Mlundwa who was placed ninth overall in the flyweight division, other Tanzanian boxers in the Moscow Games were bantamweight Gerald Isaac, featherweight Isaac Mabushi, lightweight Omar Golaya, light-welterweight William Lymo, welterweight Lucas Msomba, light-middleweight Leonidas Njunwa, light-heavyweight Michael Nassoro and heavyweight Willie Isangura. The best performers were Gerald Isaac, William Lymo and Leonidas Njunwa all of whom placed fifth overall in their respective weight categories.

Mlundwa’s most memorable victory is in 1976 when he defeated Kenya’s celebrated Steve Muchoki, the 1978 World Championships gold medallist in Belgrade.

“l really enjoyed fighting Muchoki. What helped me is that I didn’t fear him despite the fact that he was boxing at home, I took him head-on to beat him on points.” He remains the only Tanzanian boxer to have defeated Muchoki.

Mlundwa fought Muchoki five times, winning once and losing four times to the great Kenyan boxer.

After Moscow, he had a short stint as a pro boxer, winning two fights and losing one. He then stepped out of the ring to introduce professional boxing in Tanzania in 1982 through the Boxing Union of Tanzania (BUT).

I remember in 1982 Mlundwa assisted me to arrange a fight for Kenya’s stylish boxer Modesty Napunyi Oduori who had decided to fight from home instead of Japan where he turned pro in 1981.

I sent Mlundwa a telegram from Uniafric House where I was operating from, and we maintained our communication. Eventually Napunyi fought Tanzania’s Onesmo Ngowi in the first professional boxing card in Kenya after independence in 1983 at the KICC, Nairobi. The Kenyan KO’d Ngowi in round three to capture the East Africa super-bantamweight title.

Mlundwa has indeed contributed a great deal in the development of boxing in Tanzania and still hopes to do more. Little wonder he has been dubbed the Father of Pro Boxing in Tanzania.

Besides Mlundwa, among other boxers who’ve brought Tanzania fame in amateur boxing include Titus Simba, the first Tanzanian boxer to win a medal at a major championships (he won silver in the 1970 Commonwealth Games at middleweight), Habibu Kinyogoli, Nassoro Michael, Michael Yomba Yomba who won bantamweight gold at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, the Matumla brothers, 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medalists Yusuf Changalawe and Kassim Mbundwike and Tanzania’s first ever female boxer to win a medal at a major international tournament Grace Mwakamele, a silver medallist in the 2023 Africa Championships in Yaounde, Cameroon.

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“Let him talk that’s his stronghold, what I know Jakababa is now my customer, says a defiant Okaka

A furious Humphrey “Jakababa” Ochieng is baying for the blood of his tormentor and bitter rival Robert Okaka aka Man Man Ngori.

Jakababa, a member of Police “Chafua Chafua” Boxing Club, has lost twice to KDF’s Okaka, first in the national league last year in Nanyuki and in this year’s Kenya Open finals.

In their second encounter at Nairobi’s Charter Hall, soldier Okaka was a in a picnic firing on both cylinders with Jakababa failing to rise to the occasion losing on points 4-1.

“God willing we will meet again in the league in Busia, it won’t be easy,” says Jakababa looking ahead to the first leg of the Kenya National Boxing League in Busia, on the border of Kenya and Uganda.

“This is sport I don’t take it personal but I know he does feel me in the ring, he is aware I’m a hard nut to crack,” says Jakababa.

A defiant Okaka, who has refined his boxing style, is unshaken by Jakababa’s warning.

“Let him talk that’s his stronghold, what I know is that Jakababa is now my customer,” says Okaka.

“This time he’ll be punching shadows, I’m the best light-heavyweight in Kenya,” says the two-time bronze medalist in the Africa Championships.

The opening leg of the national league is set for mid this month.

Sparks will fly in this eagerly awaited third fight between Okaka and Jakababa.

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TANZANIA’S HABIBU KINYOGOLI SHOCKS FANCIED DEO MUSOKE

Habibu Kinyogoli’s 1971 victory over Deo Musoke catapulted him to instant fame.

It was one of the major upsets of the inaugural East Africa Federation Boxing Championships at Nairobi’s City Hall.

1970 Commonwealth Games

The two boxers met in the semi-finals with Uganda’s Musoke the overwhelming favourite over the relatively unknown Tanzanian boxer. Kinyogoli made his international debut in 1969 in Lusaka and represented his country at the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland.

While Kinyogoli was eventually beaten by lightweight gold medalist, Nigeria’s Abayomi Adeyemi in Scotland, Musoke punched his way to the featherweight final, losing on points to Kenya’s boxing professor Philip Waruinge.

Millington Drake Trophy Contest, Kampala

Musoke avenged the defeat towards the end of 1970 by stopping Waruinge in the third round in the first leg of the Millington Drake Trophy contest in Kampala.

Against this background, the Ugandan was not only favoured to make easy work of the inexperienced Tanzanian from the Coastal region of Kisarawe but was also one of the hot prospects for the featherweight gold medal with Kenya’s 1966 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist John Nderu.

The City Hall was packed. Musoke started the fight with both guns blazing but the gutsy Kinyogoli was unshaken. He gave in as much as he received.

“I was feeling his punches, a very strong boxer and a fighter,” recalls Kinyogoli, now 75 years old and coaching youngsters at Kinyogoli Boxing Foundation Gym at Ilalala, Dar es Salaam.

Kinyogoli says Musoke then hit him with a chopping blow to the neck, an obvious foul which went unnoticed by the referee if indeed he did it since scoring blows are those delivered with the knuckle part of the glove. However, boxing being a fast-paced game makes some boxers apply dirty tricks to get the better of their opponents.

“He hit me with a karate blow on my neck, it was so painful, I briefly lost consciousness,” says Kinyogoli who remembers most of his fights and names of boxers he fought.

“I didn’t show Musoke he hurt me, I kept on moving quickly until I was back to my senses. This is when courage and perseverance in boxing matter a lot. The fans cheer but they don’t know what we go through in the ring.

“I decided to keep him close, shaking him with my right punch, that was my main weapon in the ring. He was such a tough fighter, no matter how hard I punched him with my strong right punch he kept on coming hitting me also.”

The Tanzanian was in the driver’s seat in the third round as the crowd cheered him on.

“I could hear Kenyan fans singing “Mwalimu kasema” it can be done, a popular song then praising our President Mwalimu Julius Nyerere.”

Kinyogoli shocked the fancied Ugandan with a unanimous points victory. The other major upset was the defeat of Kenya’s 1970 Commonwealth Games silver medalist John Olulu by Uganda’s newcomer David Jackson in the welterweight division.

The final pitted Kinyogoli against Kenya’s John Nderu who displayed his usual ring craftsmanship to smartly outpoint the Tanzanian to win the gold medal. Kinyogoli was the only Tanzanian in the final, and he returned home to a heroes welcome with a silver medal.

“Nderu like most Kenyan boxers was stylish in the ring. His punches were clean and well timed, “alicheza ngumi za hesabu mpaka wakati mwingine nacheka mwenyewe alivyonipata.”

“Nderu was boxing like Waruinge, a boxer I admired a lot and tried very much to emulate him, he was not rough but very steady and intelligent with accurate punches, the best boxer I’ve seen in Africa. Even John Olulu was a good boxer with a nice jab.”

Despite defeating Musoke, Kinyogoli picks out the Ugandan as the toughest boxer he fought in Africa.

“Musoke is the most stubborn boxer I met, I can’t forget the Nairobi fight.”

Tanzania finished fourth overall in the five-Nation East Africa Federation tournament with one silver and eight bronze medals. One of Tanzania’s bronze medalists was 1970 Commonwealth Games silver medalist Titus Simba who was beaten by Uganda’s Africa middleweight champion Mathias Ouma. Uganda with five gold, four silver and two bronze medals topped the medals chart followed by Kenya, Zambia and Ethiopia in fifth place.

African Championships, Railway Club,1972

In 1972, Kinyogoli was back in Nairobi again, this time for the fifth Africa Championships at the Railway Club.

Tanzania was represented by six boxers, light-flyweight Bakari Kitivu, flyweight Saidi Tambwe, bantamweight Frebitus Bitegeko, featherweight Habibu Kinyogoli, light-middleweight Mbaraka Mkangai and middleweight Titus Simba. They were placed ninth overall with a bronze from light-flyweight Kitivu.

Kinyogoli was beaten in the quarter-finals by DR Congo’s C. Mputu who made it to the finals and lost to Kenya’s Sammy Mbogwa.

Olympic Games, Munich, 1972

After Nairobi, the next major assignment for Kinyogoli was in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich where Tanzania won no medal.

I ask Kinyogoli besides himself who else was in Tanzania’s team for the Munich Olympics.

“We had light-fly Bakari Suleiman, flyweight Saidi Tambwe, bantam Bitegeko, feather myself, light-welter Willam Limo, welter Mbaraka Mkangai, middleweight Titus Simba and a light-heavyweight from Arusha I can’t remember his name now.”

Kinyogoli went on to represent Tanzania in several major international tournaments among them the 1973 African Games in Lagos and 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, New Zealand. In Lagos he brought home a silver medal, losing the bantamweight final to Uganda’s Dan Omollo. He was in Africa’s team which met Latin America in 1973 in Mexico.

Coaching Career

Kinyogoli called it quits in 1976 to concentrate on his pet project of coaching junior boxers.

“I started my boxing in 1958 as a light-welter, went down to lightweight, featherweight and bantamweight. My first coach was Said Uliza. In 1969 I represented Tanzania in my first international in Lusaka, they were celebrating their independence. I lost to Mwansa (Kenneth), I retired in the second round.”

He then had a short stint in professional boxing when the bare-chested game was introduced in Tanzania in 1982. Kinyogoli unsuccessfully vied for the East Africa featherweight title against Kenya’s George Findo aka Mosquito at the KICC in Nairobi in 1984.

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He wants the President to build him a modern gym at his Maneromango home in Kisarawe District in the Coast Region

At 75 years of age, Habibu Kinyogoli, one of Tanzania’s most prominent boxers, is still strong enough to hold pads for his boxers during their workout sessions at his foundation gym in Ilala, Dar es Salaam.

He has rented one of the rooms in a building owned by the ruling party CCM and converted it into a gym for Kinyogoli Boxing Foundation.

Over 30 youthful boxers train daily at the gym, and one of them is Kinyogoli’s last born son, 17-year-old Jawadu Habibu Kinyogoli, a budding super-flyweight boxer.

“Each day we have more than 20 boxers training here, it’s a popular gym but it’s getting smaller because of the ever increasing number of boxers,” says Jawadu who aims to emulate his famous dad, one of Tanzania’s forgotten sports heroes.

“It’s amazing to see my father training with us, moving around with pads as boxers punch hard and he doesn’t complain, he’s still fit.”

Kinyogoli represented Tanzania’s national team from 1969 to 1976, winning several medals among them two silvers in the 1971 inaugural East Africa Federation Championships in Nairobi and the 1973 African Games in Lagos, Nigeria. He was also at the 1970 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland and 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany.

Many boxers at his age resign to fate, hardly associating themselves with boxing. Not so for Kinyogoli.

The passion that Kinyogoli had when he started boxing in 1958 at his home in Maneromango, Kisarawe District in the Coast Region, is still very much alive.

“Boxing is in my blood, I’m addicted to the sport, what I’m lacking is proper support to impart my knowledge to junior boxers,” points out Kinyogoli.

“I started coaching the youth in 1976 because no country can prosper in boxing without a proper junior and youth programme,” says Kinyogoli. The veteran boxer groomed one of Tanzania’s current top professional boxers, super-featherweight Ibrahim Class. The famous Matumla boxing brothers are also his products.

Kinyogoli recalls when he started coaching junior boxers he was using part of his salary to handle their daily needs like bus fare and other miscellaneous expenses.

“I was still working for Tanzania Ports Authority by then but now without a job it’s not been easy coaching the juniors.”

For this reason, Kinyogoli has appealed to Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu to build him a modern gym at his Maneromango home in Kisarawe District where he will conduct his junior and youth coaching sessions comfortably away from the hustle and bustle of the city centre.

Kinyogoli is proud of the president’s support for sports development in Tanzania which he describes as a new beginning.

“I will be very happy if our beloved president assists me on this project, and if possible make it a full package by extending the construction to include my own house which I can remember with the gym for what I’ve done for my country in boxing. They should not wait until I’m gone and then praise me for what I did for the country. Do it now please.”

In addition to the former celebrated boxer nurturing the talent of upcoming boxers, he says the Kinyogoli Boxing Foundation in Kisarawe can also be used to train young coaches who will eventually take over from him to maintain his legacy in this ambitious project.

Kinyogoli feels for Tanzania boxing to produce good boxers, more emphasis should be on putting proper structures in place so that boxers have a systematic transition from one stage to another.

“We must embrace junior and youth programme in the provinces,” says Kinyogoli,

“As coaches and former boxers we’re crowded in Dar es Salaam, we need more coaches in the provinces to develop the juniors from there.

“I got my junior coaching programme going at Simba Sports Club in 1976. As a staunch Simba supporter the club officials gave me one of the rooms. That’s where I coached the Matumla brothers to success and former international Joseph Marwa. We later moved to Railway Club and then Amana Centre.”

Kinyogoli’s interest in boxing was aroused by coach Saidi Uliza who taught him the fundamentals of the game when he started boxing in 1958 at his rural home in Maneromango in Kisarawe, one of the six districts in Tanzania’s Coast Region.

He says coach Uliza was a boxer during his hey days at Arnatouglu Club, and mostly they used to fight against the visiting navy sailors.

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Four world title fights and two undisputed championships will be part of what’s set to be a packed weekend of boxing action featuring 10 current or former world champions.

From Times Square to Saudi Arabia and back to Las Vegas, three scintillating cards all take place between May 2-4, with a handful of boxing’s top pound-for-pound fighters returning to the ring.

Here’s the boxing schedule this weekend.

Boxing this weekend

Ryan Garcia headlines Times Square boxing card on Friday

• Ryan Garcia (24-1) vs. Rolly Romero (16-2)
• Devin Haney (31-0) vs. Jose Ramirez (29-2)
• Teofimo Lopez (21-1) vs. Arnold Barboza (32-0); WBO junior welterweight title
• Reito Tsutsumi (debut) vs. Levale Whittington (1-2-1)

Why it matters: Three of boxing’s biggest stars feature in consecutive fights on the first-ever card to take place in Times Square in New York City. Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney each take on former world champions, with a win by each setting up the highly anticipated rematch between the two later this year. The lineal 140-pound champion Teofimo Lopez also defends his WBO title against undefeated contender Arnold Barboza in his toughest title defense at junior middleweight.

Canelo Alvarez headlines Saudi Arabia fight card on Saturday

• Canelo Alvarez (62-2-2) vs. William Scull (23-0); WBC, WBO, WBA, IBF super middleweight titles
• Jaime Munguia (44-2) vs. Bruno Surace (26-0-2)
• Martin Bakole (21-2) vs. Efe Ajagba (20-1)
• Badou Jack (28-3-3) vs. Noel Mikaelian (27-2); WBC cruiserweight title
• Marco Verde (debut) vs. Michel Polina (4-5-3)
• Brayan Leon (6-0) vs. Aaron Guerrero (11-3-1)

Start time: 6 p.m. CT

Why it matters: By all accounts Scull is one of the weakest opponents Alvarez has faced in recent years, but there’s a method to the madness behind this bout. With a win, which the oddsmakers give Alvarez a -4000 chance to secure, he will once again reign as undisputed super middleweight champion after being forced to vacate his IBF title last summer. Which means his blockbuster bout against Terence Crawford, expected for later this year, will be for the undisputed 168-pound titles.

Naoya Inoue headlines Las Vegas fight card on Sunday

• Naoya Inoue (29-0) vs. Ramon Cardenas (26-1); WBC, WBO, WBA, IBF junior featherweight titles
• Rafael Espinoza (26-0) vs. Edward Vasquez (17-2); WBO featherweight title

ESPN+ undercard

• Rohan Polanco (15-0) vs. Fabian Maidana (24-3)
• Emiliano Vargas (13-0) vs. Juan Leon (11-2-1)
• Mikito Nakano (12-0) vs. Pedro Marquez (16-1)
• Art Barerra Jr. (8-0) vs. Juan Carlos Guerra Jr. (6-1-1)
• Ra’eese Aleem (21-1) vs. Rudy Garcia (13-1-1)
• Patrick O’Connor (debut) vs. Marcus Smith (2-1)

How to watch: ESPN/ESPN+

Start time: 9 p.m. CT on ESPN

Why it matters: Arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Naoya Inoue, fights on U.S. soil for the first time since 2021, defending the undisputed junior featherweight title against San Antonio’s Ramon Cardenas. Japan’s Inoue has won world titles in four weight classes and is one of three boxers in the four-belt era to become undisputed champion in multiple weight classes, joining Terence Crawford and Oleksandr Usyk. Typically fighting in the early hours of the morning U.S. time, Inoue will be live on ESPN on Sunday night from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

courtesy www.tennessean.com

The post BOXING FIGHTS THIS WEEKEND INCLUDE STAR-STUDDED LINEUP WITH CANELO ALVAREZ, RYAN GARCIA AND OTHERS appeared first on boxersworld.

Kenyan boxers, Africa light-middleweight champion Boniface “The Hammer” Mogunde and Joseph Shigali, will today, May 1, fight Ethiopian opponents in the EAPCCO Sports Festival in Addis Ababa.

Shigali fights Ermiyase Mesefen at welterweight with Mogunde battling Daniel Abenezere. Both bouts are finals.

Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda are the only three countries represented in the boxing tournament in the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Sports Festival.

South Sudan had confirmed participation but pulled out.

The head coach of Police Boxing Club, David Munuhe, said the two boxers are all set for their finals.

“Our two boxers are in top shape, we’re confident they’ll win gold medals in their respective weight categories,” said Munuhe.

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