2BETDSI Sports News - Latest US and International Sporting News

Campbell, not Pacquiao, remains the man at 135

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:20:29 GMT

Manny Pacquiao looked spectacular against David Diaz on Saturday night. Manny Pacquiao beat a legitimate lifetime 135-pounder in clear-cut and dominant fashion. And Manny Pacquiao is undeniably among the best fighters in the world and surely an emergent force in the lightweight division.

Anyone who'd seriously contest those points is a fool.

Pacquiao dominant in winning fourth title

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 00:19:32 GMT

Pacquiao (47-3-2) showed no ill-effects of moving up to the 135-pound weight class, and easily handled Diaz (34-2-1) for his fourth world title at a different weight, the first Asian-born fighter to accomplish such a feat.

The electric Filipino came out from the opening bell and pounded the native of Chicago with a bevy of rights and lefts. Diaz somehow did not hit the canvas early on, even though he sported a massive cut over his left eye and on the bridge of his nose by the fourth round.

Guerrero: I'll knock Pacquiao out

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:52:36 GMT

But rather than David Diaz doling out the punishment at Mandalay Bay this weekend, Guerrero says it'll be him -- wherever and whenever he's able to get the Filipino phenomenon into a ring.

"I'd knock him out in five rounds," the 25-year-old Californian said, in a Wednesday evening FitzHitz interview. "He hasn't fought a left-hander like me who can punch and break down his style piece by piece.

Berto takes WBC welterweight crown

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 00:18:45 GMT

In the seventh, Berto knocked down Rodriguez twice before the referee stopped the bout with 47 seconds left as Berto kept pounding Rodriguez with rights.

The bout was for the belt that was vacated after former champ Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Kessler wins WBA super middleweight title

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 21:17:26 GMT

Kessler (40-1-0, 30 KOs), was sharp following his only defeat to Joe Calzaghe last November, in which the 29-year-old Dane was stripped of both the WBA and WBC titles.

After Sartison was sent to the canvas in the 11th round, referee Stanley Christodoulou stepped in and waved off the fight in the 12th, bringing the crowd at Brondby Hall to their feet for the native Viking Warrior.

Ward is Caribbean king

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 01:31:28 GMT

Reigning Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward made his second Caribbean business trip another successful one Friday night, outworking reality TV alumnus Jerson Ravelobefore stopping him in the eighth round of their NABO super middleweight title bout at the Royal Watler Cruise Terminal.

The win was the unbeaten Ward's 16th straight and earned him his first professional championship belt, which he said he's looking forward to taking to his California home to show his wife, two sons and infant daughter -- who was born one day before he boarded a plane.

Ward brings heat to Cayman Islands

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:53:40 GMT

After all, if you're going to spend your weekend standing in front of a guy being paid to punch you in the mouth, you might as well at least enjoy the surroundings.

The 24-year-old Ward, who won gold at 178 pounds in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, adds another stamp to his passport Friday when he meets reality TV alumnus Jerson Ravelo at the Royal Watler Cruise Terminal in the Cayman Islands capital of George Town.

Sosa retains WBC light flyweight title

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 09:19:16 GMT

This was the fifth title defense for Sosa (32-5, 17 KOs). A 28-year-old Mexico City native, Sosa won the interim 108-pound crown with a majority decision over Brian Viloria in April 2007 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. He successfully defended three times by the end of the year and made it four in a row on Feb. 9, when he unanimously outpointed countryman Jesus Iribe.

Kunishige (18-3-1), a 32-year-old southpaw, was fighting for the first time outside his native Japan and was also vying for his first world championship.

Suddenly...Berto on the welterweight brink

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 21:05:50 GMT

This week, he's 12 rounds -- or less -- away from realizing a life-long dream.

"It's crazy. It's just nuts right now. When I think about it, I don't really believe it," Berto said in a Thursday afternoon FitzHitz interview, still reeling from the dramatic twist that's given him an initial chance at a world championship -- set for June 21 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.

Hasegawa, Valero retain titles

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:40:18 GMT

Hasegawa (24-2, 8 KOs) scored a second-round technical knockout of Uruguay's Cristian Faccio (15-3). It was the sixth straight successful title defense for Hasegawa, who won the belt by beating Veeraphol Sahaprom in April 2005. Hasegawa dropped Faccio twice in the fight, which was stopped for good at the 2:18 mark of the second round.

Valero (24-0 24 KOs), a native of Venezuela, took out Takehiro Shimada (22-4-1) of Japan in a seventh-round TKO. Valero made the fourth successful defense of his belt, which he claimed in August 2006 with a TKO of Vicente Mosquera.

Pavlik levels Lockett to keep middleweight belts

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 01:54:41 GMT

Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs), from Youngstown, Ohio, coming off back-to-back wins over former middleweight champion Jermain Taylor, sent Lockett to one knee three times in the fight.

"Gary has good power. My jab was working and it stopped him in his tracks," Pavlik said. "I was hitting him with good shots." The second round was particularly damaging, when Pavlik landed 41-of-82 punches.

Mora takes Forrest's title; Williams exacts revenge

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 00:21:34 GMT

In his first fight at 154 pounds, Mora won on two scorecards, 115-113 and 116-112, while the third scorecard had an even 114-114 draw.

Mora (21-0-1) came out with more energy than the 37-year-old Forrest (40-3), bobbing and weaving Forrest's bigger punches and working the inside of the champion.

Calzaghe defeats Hopkins, stays unbeaten in split-decision

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 23:37:52 GMT

Calzaghe (45-0) rebounded from a first-round knockdown at the hands of "The Executioner" to seemingly win easy, however one judge did give the 43-year-old Hopkins the fight by a score of 114-113. The other two judges scored in favor of the 36-year-old from Newbridge, though, 116-111 and 115-112.

Hopkins (48-5-1) floored the favored Calzaghe in the first round, but was dominated for much of the fight, and suffered his first loss since dropping consecutive decisions to Jermain Taylor in July and December 2005.

Diaconu claims vacant WBC interim light heavyweight title

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 19:41:32 GMT

Diaconu (25-0, 15 KOs) and Henry (21-1, 17 KOs) battled it out for 12 rounds, with the judges awarding the fight to Diaconu with scores of 115-113, 115-113 and 116-113.

04/19 19:41:32 ET

Nuzhnenko retains interim welterweight crown via technical draw

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 19:08:03 GMT

Fighting in his home town, Nuzhnenko (27-0-1) took a head butt in the second round that opened up a cut over his left eye. The cut grew worse throughout the fight, forcing the referee to stop the bout after the 10th.

One judge had Nuzhnenko ahead on the scorecard, 96-95, but the other two scored the fight at 95-95, allowing the 31-year-old to retain over the Puerto Rican Garcia (16-3-2).

Hopkins: Simply the best for a buzz

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:06:33 GMT

It's always something with Bernard Hopkins.

Whether trashing an opponent's native flag as he did prior to meeting Puerto Rican hero Felix Trinidad in 2001 or walking the tightrope of racial insensitivity, during a recent nose-to-nose confrontation with Saturday night foe Joe Calzaghe, the Philadelphia veteran is never short on made-for-TV abrasiveness.

Dawson downs Johnson to retain WBC title

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 00:56:41 GMT

Dawson (26-0, 17 KOs) used his combinations and his left-handed jab, but Johnson (47-12-2 32 KOs) continued to stay in the fight throughout.

Dawson, though, took over the fight in the sixth round as he would fire off combos and pull away from Johnson.

Dawson edges Johnson to keep WBC's 175-pound belt

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 00:46:14 GMT

Tampa, FL (Sports Network) - Chad Dawson's sharpest blow came about 10 minutes after his fight ended Saturday.

With boos raining down from a near-capacity crowd at the St. Pete Times Forum -- audibly upset at the verdict allowing the New Haven resident to retain his WBC light heavyweight title -- Dawson dismissed any thought of an immediate re-do with punishing Miami-based challenger Glen Johnson.

Cotto dominates Gomez to retain WBA belt; Margarito next?

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 23:55:13 GMT

Cotto (32-0, 25 KOs) landed 188 punches to Gomez's 63, and the fight was stopped after five rounds once it was clear the challenger was in danger of being seriously injured. The Puerto Rican champ, coming off convincing wins over Shane Mosley and Zab Judah in his previous two fights, will likely face newly crowned IBF Welterweight champ Antonio Margarito in a unification bout this July.

Gomez (18-4-2, 8 KOs) had never previously been knocked down, let alone knocked out, but was clearly overmatched against Cotto Saturday. The native of Mexico withstood a brutal early barrage from the champ, but the beating took its toll sooner rather than later, leading t

Tarver faces defining moment in Tampa

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:55:15 GMT

It's put-up or shut-up time for Antonio Tarver.

The loquacious southpaw, never at a loss for words when recorders are in range, finds himself in a watershed situation for whatever's left of his career on Showtime this Saturday night.

Molitor beats Beltran to retain IBF super bantamweight title

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 01:00:32 GMT

Molitor (27-0) won by scores of 120-107 on two of the scorecards and 119-108 on the other one.

It was the fourth successful defense of the belt for Molitor, who captured it with a knockout of Michael Hunter in November of 2006.

Sturm defends title by dropping Pittman in seventh

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 18:16:39 GMT

Referee Russell Mora ended the fight with just 36 seconds gone in the round.

Sturm (29-2-1) earned the technical knockout after his previous title defense resulted in a draw against American Randy Griffin, pummeling Pittman throughout the final three rounds and opening a cut about the Aussie's eyebrow that ultimately did him in.

HBO's Taffet enjoying a busy spring

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:29:52 GMT

Ladies and gentlemen, it's good to be Mark Taffet.

The HBO boxing kingmaker -- though, to be exact, the title on his business card reads "senior vice president of sports operations and pay-per-view" -- is happily riding herd over an ongoing renaissance that's recently translated into positive numbers for the network's three fight-related franchises.

Abraham KOs Ayala in 12th to retain IBF middleweight title

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 19:56:12 GMT

Abraham (26-0, 21 KOs), nicknamed "King Arthur", was just that as he knocked down Ayala in the fifth round. Then in the 12th, the champion landed a big left uppercut which took down the challenger again. The fight was then ruled a KO with 28 seconds left in the round.

The 28-year-old Abraham made the seventh successful defense of his title he won with a fifth-round knockout of Nigerian Kingsley Ikeke in December of 2005.

Phillips edges Spinks to take IBF light middleweight crown

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 01:29:47 GMT

Phillips (42-10-1), won 116-112, 115-113, 113-115 on the judges' scorecards, picking up his fourth straight win. Phillips, 38, came into the fight off an unanimous decision over Eduardo Sanchez on February 16.

Spinks (36-5), the son of Leon Spinks, dropped his second straight split decision. He was nipped by Jermain Taylor in a contest for the WBC and WBO middleweight titles in May. Spinks was fighting in his hometown of St. Louis, but lost for the second time in three fights in his native city.