Tag Archives: Top Rank

Andres Cortes Eyes Title Shot After Dominating Bryan Chevalier

By Chris Robinson

This past Friday night, inside of the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York, undefeated junior lightweight contender Andres “Savage” Cortes scored another dominant stoppage victory.

Cortes (21-0, 12 KO’s) faced off with Puerto Rico’s Bryan Chevalier (21-2-1, 16 KO’s) as the co-feature to WBC junior lightweight champion O’Shaquie Foster’s victory over Abraham Nova on ESPN.

Cortes patiently stalked Chevalier throughout, and did early damage with his blows. Chevalier was rocked along the ropes in the third round, and his corner subsequently threw in the towel at 2:17 of the fourth round.

Continue reading →

Abdullah Mason Scores Second Round Knockout Over Benjamin Gurment [PHOTOS]

By Chris Robinson

One of boxing’s brightest prospects delivered another dominating performance on Thursday night.

19-year old Abdullah Mason scored two knockdowns and knocked out Benjamin Gurment in the second round of their scheduled eight-round bout on the Teofimo Lopez-Jamaine Ortiz undercard at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.

The Cleveland native once again showed off his arsenal of offensive skills during the brief bout, and improved to 12-0 with 10 knockouts.

Continue reading →

Alan “Kid Kansas” Garcia Continues to Roll With First Round KO in Las Vegas

By Chris Robinson

Alan Garcia continues to impress.

Earlier tonight, from the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, NV, Garcia improved his professional record to 11-0 with nine knockouts following a first round destruction over Tomas Ornelas.

Continue reading →

Abdullah Mason Continues to Shine As One of Boxing’s Top Prospects Following Knockout of Jose Cardenas [PHOTOS]

By Chris Robinson

19-year old Abdullah Mason continues to stand out as one of the top prospects in all of boxing.

On Thursday evening, Mason improved to 11-0 (9 KO’s) with a blistering second round knockout over José Cardenas.

Continue reading →

PHOTOS: Teofimo Lopez Upsets Vasiliy Lomachenko in Style in Las Vegas

Teofimo Lopez was in rare form on Saturday night (Photo: Mikey Williams / Top Rank)

By Chris Robinson

Teofimo Lopez upset Vasiliy Lomachenko by unanimous decision in a career-defining and star-making performance Saturday evening from the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, NV.

Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) won by margins of 119-109, 118-110 and 116-112 after 12 rounds of calculated action. And with the commanding victory, the 23-year old now holds the IBF/WBA/WBO titles at 135 pounds.
Continue reading →

Giovanni Santillan on Antonio DeMarco Clash: ‘I Want to Show the World That I am an Elite Fighter’

Giovanni Santillan faces fromer champion Antonio DeMarco on Tuesday night (Photo: Thompson Boxing)

By Chris Robinson

The sport of boxing has returned with live action, and for welterweight prospect Giovanni Santillan, Tuesday night marks by far the biggest test of his young career.

The 28-year old Santillan (25-0, 15 KO’s), who is co-promoted by Thompson Boxing and Top Rank, will face former world champion Antonio DeMarco (33-8-1, 24 KOs), on ESPN in a co-feature attraction. The main event will see bantamweight contender Joshua Greer Jr. (22-1-1, 12 KOs) face Mike Plania (23-1, 12 KOs), with the broadcast starting at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT.
Continue reading →

PHOTOS: Shakur Stevenson Knocks Out Felix Caraballo in the Sixth

Shakur Stevenson returned with a victory on Tuesday night (Photo: Mikey Williams – Top Rank)

Boxing is back, and Shakur Stevenson put on a show. The WBO featherweight world champion, who was making his super featherweight debut, knocked out Puerto Rican contender Felix “La Sombra” Caraballo in the sixth round of a scheduled 10-rounder at MGM Grand Conference Center—Grand Ballroom in Las Vegas.

Stevenson showcased his talents in the first major boxing card in the United States since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Continue reading →

VIDEO: Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury Nearly Come to Blows at Final Presser

Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury face off on Saturday night

By Chris Robinson

On Saturday night, February 22, WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and former lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will again meet inside of the squared circle.

Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KO’s) and Fury (29-0-1, 20 KO’s) will square off inside of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV, in a joint pay per view being distributed by FOX and ESPN. It’s perhaps the biggest fight of the year and one of the biggest heavyweight fights in years.
Continue reading →

PHOTOS: Jesse Hart And Joe Smith Jr. Face Off In Atlantic City

Jesse Hart and Joe Smith (Photo: Mikey Williams – Top Rank)

By Chris Robinson

On Thursday afternoon, former title challengers Jesse Hart and Joe Smith Jr. faced off two days before their highly anticipated, 10-round light heavyweight showdown. Hart (26-2, 21 KO’s) and Smith (24-3, 20 KO’s) will meet inside of the Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena in Atlantic City, with the fight to be carried by ESPN.

One of the subplots heading into the contest will be Hart seeking revenge, as Smith scored a stoppage victory over the Philadelphia fighter’s mentor, former two-division world champion Bernard Hopkins in December 2016.
Continue reading →

Unified Junior Welterweight Champion Josh Taylor Signs With Top Rank; Sets Stage For Big Fights In The Future

Josh Taylor has officially signed with Top Rank (Photo: World Boxing Super Series)

By Chris Robinson

Big signing in the boxing world today, as it has been announced that unified junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor has officially aligned his career with Top Rank.

Taylor (16-0, 12 KO’s) holds the IBF and WBA junior welterweight titles and is regarded as perhaps the best fighter at 140 pounds. Nicknamed “The Tartan Tornado”, Taylor is coming off of an excellent victory over former champion Regis Prograis this past October.
Continue reading →

Top Contender Teofimo Lopez Returns July 19 at MGM National Harbor vs. Masayoshi Nakatani

Teofimo Lopez returns July 19 (Photo: Mikey Williams – Top Rank)

Press Release

Teofimo Lopez is one win away from a shot at fulfilling his world title destiny. Standing in his way is fellow unbeaten Masayoshi Nakatani, who is intent on spoiling his plans.

Lopez and Nakatani will lock horns in a 12-round IBF lightweight world title eliminator Friday, July 19 at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. The Lopez-Nakatani winner will be the mandatory challenger for the victor of the June 28 ESPN-televised bout between IBF champion Richard Commey and Ray Beltran.
Continue reading →

PHOTOS: Jamel Herring Makes Dream Come True With Title-Winning Victory Over Masayuki Ito

Jamel Herring, pictured with WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford, defeated Masayuki Ito on Saturday night (Photo: Mikey Williams – Top Rank)

By Chris Robinson

Former U.S. Olympian and Marine Corps veteran Jamel Herring pulled off a tremendous upset last night in defeating former champion Masayuki Ito over 12 rounds. The victory took place in front of a sold-out crowd (2,912 spectators) at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, FL, with ESPN televising.

“Semper Fi” Herring is now the WBO junior lightweight champ, while “The Judge” Ito will have to cope with his second career defeat. Herring (20-2, 10 KOs) prevailed by scores of 116-112 and 118-110 twice, while also fulfilling his dream on Memorial Day weekend in front of a host of active and reserve U.S. Marines.
Continue reading →

PHOTOS: Artuer Beterbiev Stops Radivoje Kalajdzic in the Fifth at Stockton Arena

Artur Beterbiev scored his 14th knockout on Saturday (Photo: Mikey Williams – Top Rank)

By Chris Robinson

On Saturday night, we witnessed the return of IBF light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev, who stopped hard-hitting contender Radivoje “Hot Rod” Kalajdzic in the fifth round in front of 10,105 spectators at Stockton Arena. With the victory, Beterbiev (14-0, 14 KO’s) defended his title for a second time and is now eyeing unification matches.

“I worked very hard for this fight,” Beterbiev stated. “I went 100 percent in the gym. Maybe one day I’ll show my boxing skills. I want unification fights. It doesn’t matter who it is. I am happy to be working with Top Rank and ESPN.”
Continue reading →

PHOTOS: Terence Crawford and Amir Khan Face off at Final Press Conference

Terence Crawford faces Amir Khan on Saturday night (Photo: Mikey Williams – Top Rank)

By Chris Robinson

We are inching closer to boxing’s next significant showdown, as WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford will face off with former world champion Amir Khan on Saturday night from Madison Square Garden in New York. While Crawford (34-0, 25 KO’s) is understandably a huge favorite heading into the fight, Khan (33-4, 20 KO’s) does have enough experience, speed, and skills to at least make the ESPN pay per view matchup interesting.

During Wednesday’s final press conference, Crawford revealed that this is far from just an ordinary showcase for him.
Continue reading →

PHOTOS: Vasyl Lomachenko and Anthony Crolla go Face to Face in Los Angeles

Vasyl Lomachenko faces Anthony Crolla this weekend (Photo: Mikey Williams – Top Rank)

By Chris Robinson

Tomorrow night, from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA, WBA/WBO lightweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko will defend his titles against former champion Anthony Crolla in a bout that will be aired on the ESPN + streaming app.

This isn’t the fight that fans, nor Top Rank, Lomachenko’s promoter, preferred. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum was eyeing IBF champion Richard Commey for this date, but the rugged Ghanaian injured his right hand in his title-winning second round knockout over Isa Chaniev on February 2, eliminating him as an option.
Continue reading →

PHOTOS + VIDEO: Jesse Hart Seeking Revenge vs. Gilberto Ramirez This Friday Night

Jesse Hart will face Gilberto Ramirez in a rematch this Saturday night (Photo: Mikey Williams – Top Rank)

By Chris Robinson

This Friday night, inside of the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, TX, once-beaten supermiddleweight contender Jesse “Hollywood” Hart will look for revenge vs. the division’s WBO champion, Gilberto “Zuro” Ramirez.

In September of last year, Ramirez (38-0, 25 KO’s) dropped Hart in the first round and went on to win a unanimous decision despite the Philadelphia fighter storming back to make things competitive. Hart knows he is likely going to need a career-defining performance to turn the tables and that’s what he is banking on.
Continue reading →

PHOTOS: WBO Super Middleweight Champion Gilberto Ramirez Aiming to Defeat Jesse Hart Once Again

Gilberto Ramirez Faces Jesse Hart on Saturday night in a rematch (Photo: Mikey Williams)

By Chris Robinson

This coming Friday night, Dec. 14, from the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, TX, WBO super middleweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez will face off with contender Jesse “Hollywood” Hart (25-1, 21 KO’s) on ESPN+. The fight is a rematch of their Sep. 2017 battle in which Ramirez won via unanimous decision.

Ramirez (38-0, 25 KOs) is looking for a fifth successful defense of his title and is promising a knockout vs. his rival.
Continue reading →

Photo: Manny Pacquiao greeting two generations of fans during morning run ahead of 5/2 Mayweather duel

Eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao running in Southern California (Photo: Chris Farina – Top Rank)

By Chris Robinson

Top Rank photographer Chris Farina captures Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KO’s) in training ahead of his May 2 pay per view clash vs. Floyd Mayweather (47-0, 26 KO’s).

Pacquiao was captured going on a morning run and was spotted by a separate generation of fans, as seen in the photo above.
Continue reading →

Robert Garcia on the danger of Darchinyan, Donaire vs. Saldio, and the benefits of sparring

Chris Robinson catches up with former world champion and Two-time Trainer of the Year Robert Garcia inside of his gym in Oxnard, CA, as he speaks on the return of former multi-division champion Nonito Donaire, who faces off with Vic Darchinyan on HBO on Saturday.
Continue reading →

Vasyl Lomachenko: ‘Of course I think I can beat Salido’

Post-fight coverage from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada as two-time gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko (1-0) speaks after his professional debut while eyeing a January clash with WBO featherweight champion Orlando Salido
Continue reading →