Posted on 04/30/2021
By: Hector Franco
The Ring Magazine pound-for-pound number one women’s boxer Katie Taylor (17-0, 6 KOs) will step in the ring for the first time in 2021 to defend her undisputed lightweight championship against the United Kingdom’s Natasha Jonas (9-1-1 7 KOs).
Taylor will be making the 10th defense overall of her lightweight titles and the third defense of her undisputed (WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBF) lightweight championships that she won in 2019 against Belgium’s Delfine Persoon.
Her opponent, Jonas, will be moving up from the super featherweight division. Jonas recently challenged for the WBC title in the weight class against Terri Harper last August in a fight that ended in a split draw.
Posted on 04/29/2021
By: Hector Franco
This upcoming weekend, one of boxing’s more underappreciated pugilists will be moving up the weight scale to join the middleweight division.
Two-time WBA junior middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (27-3-3, 15 KOs) will make his middleweight debut against New Jersey’s Thomas Lamanna (30-4-1, 12 KOs) for a vacant version of the WBA middleweight title.
Lara, 38, is just a couple of years from reaching 40. Meaning, the move to middleweight was likely an opportunity for the Cuban stylist to maximize any remaining opportunities that will be available to him in his career.
Throughout the years, Lara has been in some significant matches, most notably in July 2014, losing a controversial split decision to Canelo Alvarez. His last two noteworthy bouts came in 2018 and 2019.
Posted on 04/19/2021
By: Hector Franco
Providence, Rhode Island’s Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade (30-0, 18 KOs) made the fourth successful defense of his WBO middleweight title, winning a unanimous decision over mandatory challenger Liam Williams (23-3-1, 18 KOs) this weekend in Florida.
Andrade’s performance at times was spectacular, scoring highlight reel uppercuts throughout. In the later rounds, mainly in the ninth, he looked vulnerable and hurt from a right hand landed by Williams.
Overall, his performance was more than enough to earn a clear victory. However, was it enough to get the other champions in the division to step in the ring with him?