Erik Skoglund (23-0, 11 KOs) retained his IBF Intercontinental Light Heavyweight title tonight in Nyköping, Sweden with a comprehensive points victory over Oleksandr Cherviak (15-5-1, 5 KOs).

The show signaled the return of big-time boxing to Sweden, with Skoglund’s fight being the first over championship distance since Jimmy Ellis defended the World heavyweight title with a controversial fifteen round decision over Floyd Patterson in September 1968.

In front of a sell-out crowd of 5,232 people, the 24 year-old Swede delivered, continuing his world title charge with a dominant display against the tough Ukrainian.

Cherviak attempted to upset the hometown fighter in the early rounds, but Skoglund soon found his rhythm, and took control of the bout. In round five, Skoglund looked close to stopping the 34 year-old, pushing him back on to the ropes and landing heavy shots to the head and body.

The final round started at a frantic pace, as Skoglund, roared on by his loyal supporters, looked to bring the contest to a premature end, but Cherviak dug deep and was able to take the fight to the judges’ scorecards. After twelve entertaining rounds, Skoglund was ahead 120-108, 120-108 and 119-109.

‘’It was a fantastic feeling to be able to fight and defend my title on Swedish soil,’’ said Skoglund. ‘’It really was a historic night, and I want to thank everyone who came out and supported me. I love each and every one of them.

‘’It was indescribable to walk into the arena to such an amazing reception. It’s the best audience I ever had, and probably the best I will ever have. I’m proud to fight in front of these people, and to represent Sweden and Nyköping on such a big stage. This was a gigantic step forward for me and for Swedish boxing.

‘’Cherviak was tough, as I expected him to be, but I stuck to my game plan and I got the job done. He is a good boxer, but I was clearly the better boxer with the better tactics.’’

Cherviak, who more than played his part in evening’s action, was humble in defeat, admitting he had a loss to a superior opponent.

‘’Erik is a very talent boxer,’’ said Cherviak. ‘’And he has a lot of experience for someone of his age. He made it difficult for me, and executed his game plan well. He was the better man on the night. Obviously, I’m disappointed, but I’m thankful for the opportunity, and I wish Erik every success in the future.’’

Promoter Nisse Sauerland admits he was blown away by the support shown for Skoglund from the Swedish fans, and believes the young fighter has a bright future ahead of him.

https://www.boxingnews24.com/

‘’What a spectacular show,’’ said Sauerland. ‘’The fights, the fans, the atmosphere – nothing could have gone better. This was a great advert for boxing, and the perfect night to announce the return of boxing to Sweden. Erik was sensational, he shows a maturity far beyond his years. No doubt about it, we are looking at a future super star.’’

By David Finger at ringside

It was a long time coming for the city of El Paso, but she now has a world champion. There is arguably no better boxing town in America than the Sun City, but until last night at the Don Haskins Center, boxing fans from the border town never witnesses a local fighter win a major world title. There were many who came close. David Rodriguez seemed like he had the potential to end the drought when he built up his record to 36-0. But his career fell short after a pair of upset knockout losses derailed his title dreams. Antonio Escalante looked like he might pull it off after winning the NABO super bantamweight title in 2008, rocketing him into the WBO world rankings. But after an impressive decision over Mickey Roman in 2010 the dream came to an end for Escalante when he was defeated by Daniel Ponce De Leon in a WBO featherweight title eliminator. And prior to last night Juan Lazcano was the man who came the closest, having won the fringe IBA lightweight title in the same arena back in 2003 before he defeated Stevie Johnson in a WBC lightweight title eliminator. But Lazcano came up short the following year in his quest for a WBC title when he lost a close decision to Jose Luis Castillo.

But in front of an excited local crowd, the drought ended as Jennifer Han put forth the best performance of her career, dominating Nigerian Helen Joseph over ten rounds. There was no question going into the fight that this would be a classic boxer-puncher matchup. Han, having only scored one knockout in sixteen fights, was seen as a slick boxer who used speed and boxing to befuddle her opponents. Although little was known of Joseph here in the United States, what was known was that she was a head hitter, having pulled together a handful of impressive knockouts, including a first round knockout over Marianna Ulyas in her last fight for the IBF intercontinental female featherweight title.

But from the opening round Han was determined not to let Helen Joseph show the Sun City how much she packed in her punches, boxing effectively from the outside and quickly establishing her advantage in speed and skill. Han moved around the ring well, peppering the aggressive Joseph with jabs. On several occasions Joseph was able to cut the ring and land a few of her thudding shots, but by in large they had little impact on Han, who either smothered the punches or covered up. Jennifer Han then closed the round with a beautiful flurry to put an exclamation point on the round.

Han continued to dominate the second round behind her footwork and jab, but disaster nearly struck in round three. Midway through the round a short counter sent Han to the canvas. Although Han argued it was the result of a slip, referee Daniel Sandoval disagreed and administered the count. Regardless of if Han was legitimately knocked down or not (press row was split) it was enough to light a fire in Helen Joseph and she fought aggressively to close out the round. Han, perhaps angry at the knockdown and looking to make a point, seemed to want to exchange with Joseph, standing inside with Joseph, Han fired a hard two punch combinations as Joseph stalked her. But a hard hook in the closing second of the round that clipped the chin of Han cemented what would be a big round for Helen Joseph.

Han returned to what was working for her in round four and again boxed effectively against Helen Joseph, who started to show signs of slowing down. By round five it looked as if Han might be able to pull of the unthinkable and stop the rugged Helen Joseph as a wicked combination in the closing seconds of the round seemed to stagger Joseph slightly. But Joseph seemed to come back in the sixth as Han began to stand in front of Helen Joseph more and let the Nigerian land more shots than she had been to in the previous five rounds.

“Keep boxing!” Abraham Han yelled from ringside as Jennifer stood in front of Helen Joseph much to the chagrin of her corner, “stay away from her!”

Han seemed to respond well to the instructions from her brother as she returned to the jab to close out the round. It would be Helen Joseph’s last round as Han would close out the final four rounds by putting on a boxing clinic. Han peppered her visibly winded opponent with lightning fast combinations and jabs, and by round nine it was clear that all she had tro do was stay upright to win the fight. Still, Han was leaving nothing to chance and boxed effectively against her aggressive opponent in round nine. Although Helen Joseph fought with the desperation and determination of a fighter trailing badly going into the last round of a title fight, she was unable to find the chin of Han in round ten. Han continued to box well and refused to give the round to Joseph, even though she clearly had the decision in the bag.

The scorecards were academic as Han won by wide margins on all three cards. Joel Elizondo scored the fight 97-92 for Han, while Chris Flores scored the fight 98-92 for Han. Judge Joel Garcia scored the fight 98-91 for Han, with all three judges giving Joseph third round and two judges giving her the second round. With the win Jennifer Han improves to 13-3-1, 1 KO while Helen Joseph drops to 12-3-1, 7 KOs.

“This was my best, toughest, most awesome fight I ever fought,” an ecstatic Han said at the post fight press conference. “I have no words for how happy I feel right now. This is the best feeling ever.”

https://www.fightnews.com/

By Yuri Tarantin

Russian’s Denis Shafikov (36-1-1, 13KOs) has a set date for his bout against Rances Barthelemy (23-0, 13KOs) of Cuba.

According to Ural Boxing Promotions, who co-promote Shafikov with Top Rank, they were advised that a date of November 14th was being finalized at a venue in Las Vegas.

Shafikov and Barthelemy will battle for the vacant IBF lightweight championship. The belt was vacated by Mickey Bey who refused to go forward with a bout against Shafikov.

Premier Boxing Champions is being discussed as the television platform for this match. The exact network has yet to be determined.

This will be Shafikov’s second shot at a world title He previously challenged former champion Miguel Vasquez and lost a twelve round decision.

Barthelemy was competing in his last fight as a junior welterweight, where he dominated former champion Antonio DeMarco. Upon receiving news of a title shot opportunity, he announced that he would move down in weight to accept the fight.

boxingscene.com

hhttps://www.boxingscene.com/barthelemy-shafikov-heads-november-14th-date–95621

Jermall Charlo of Missouri City will challenge Cornelius Bundrage for the IBF junior middleweight title at the Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Conn. on Saturday. The bout, a classic youth-versus experience matchup, will be promoted by Dibella Entertainment and aired on NBC.

“All my life I’ve always wanted to be a world champion,” Charlo said. “Every kid growing up who takes to boxing, their goal is to win a belt. I’ve been doing this since I was eight years old.”

Since turning pro in 2008, Charlo’s career has been riddled with starts, stops, surges and speed bumps.

He watched his identical twin Jermell steadily climb the rankings as his own career stagnated. But after signing with influential manager Al Haymon in 2012, Jermall’s career began to take off.

Last March, with only 17 fights under his belt, he was given a title shot but the fight fell through after belt-holder Carlos Molina was arrested two days before the fight and subsequently deported to Mexico.

In August of 2014, it was is twin’s turn to have a world title fight canceled at the last minute after his opponent Demetrius Andrade had a falling out with the promoter.

Jermall, in the meantime, had raised his record to 21-0, 16 KOs, positioning himself as the mandatory challenger to Bundrage (35-5, 19 KOs), who had dethroned Molina in Mexico.

“Canine (Bundrage’s nickname) has to be ready for me,” Charlo said. “I’m a different type of fighter and I’m a different style for him. I’m not necessarily worried about who he’s fought or who I’ve fought to get to this point. That’s all in the past. I’m only pushing forward.

“I’m not necessarily worried about my age or his age,” Charlo added. “I’m just going in there to fight, persevere with force and see if the old man can take it.”

A 20-year veteran of the ring, Bundrage, 42, placed third in season 2 of The Contender on ESPN in 2006 before winning the IBF belt on two separate occasions in 2012 and 2014.

The Detroit fighter is the perfect opponent for Charlo to rise to the occasion against, said trainer Ronnie Shields.

“At a certain point in your career, you’ll want to fight a guy with a lot of experience,” Shields said. “In order for you to get to that (world) stage you’ll have to fight guys with experience, no ifs or buts about it. It’s just the way boxing works. But just because you have experience it doesn’t automatically mean you’re going to win the fight. “

In preparation for Bundrage, Shields has had Charlo sparring against Erislandy Lara (21-2-2, 12 KOs), Edwin Rodriguez (27-1, 18 KOs), Steve Lovett (13-0, 11 KOs) and Don Moutan (14-9-1, 12 KOs). Shields was predictably guarded when asked about his game plan.

“Bundrage, sometimes he tries to put pressure on you, sometimes he tries to go on the outside and just plain box,” Shields said. “The thing is, though, we’re going to make him adjust to what we’re doing, not us adjust to what he’s doing. We’re going to dictate whatever happens in the ring.”

In his last outing, Charlo was extended the 10-round distance by Michael Finney (12-3-1, 10 KOs) in March.

Although it snapped a 14-fight knockout streak, Charlo said he was glad in retrospect that it unfurled that way rather than a knockout since it tested his stamina and endurance.

“It was a 10-rounder, the most I ever did,” Charlo said. “I got to accomplish that and see I how I felt. I liked the work that I did for the 10 rounds and I got through it. I’m a strong fighter but I never look for the knockout.”

He predicts dethroning Bundrage via 12-round decision on Saturday.

Should that happen, Charlo would bring an end to a seven-year dry spell of world titleholders in the Houston area. Houston boxers have gone 0-5-1 in world title fights since Juan Diaz lost his three lightweight belts in March of 2008.

“Everybody has a job to do when they get up in the morning and mine is to go and fight,” Charlo said. “I’ve been giving it 100 percent. I’m ready for a world title shot and I’ve trained hard enough for it.”

Chron.com

Sosa celebrates IBF ranking, signs new contract with Peltz Boxing/Top Rank