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Boxing

Boxing 72 brings you the latest news from the professional scene, in a concise, round-up fashion. All the top stories and updates from the past 72 hours, and a look ahead to the next big clashes.

The news broke early Friday morning that current WBA (Super) super middleweight champion Andre “S.O.G” Ward (27-0, 14 KOs) parted ways with Goossen Promotions, signing with hip hop superstar Jay Z’s entertainment company, Roc Nation Sports. With the acquisition of Garry Shaw Promotions, and a good number of talent under that banner, expect a big year from Roc Nation.

A compact and atmospheric venue at the heart of New York City, the Theater portion of Madison Square Garden, complete with fully functioning Michael Buffer gave the boxing promotion’s first show a much needed professional feel, and the fights were decent, too.

The main event, ugly and slow at times, saw Dusty Hernandez-Harrison (25-0, 13 KO) remain undefeated with a pretty lop-sided decision win (100-90, 100-90, and 99-91) over an uncomfortable Tommy Rainone.

In the first bout, Tureano Johnson (18-1, 13 KO) forced Alex Theran to retire at the end of the fifth round, in another one-sided affair. Johnson, 30, sent Theran to the canvas a few times during the fight. but Theran was never able to match his superior opponent.

ESPN Friday Night Fights also returned with the best card of the night from Santa Ynez, California. The main event saw Darleys Perez (32-1-0, 20 KO) beat Peru’s Jonathan Maicelo by unanimous decision (118-109, 118-108, 120-107). Maicelo looked perky early on, but as the fight went deeper, Perez started to out land, and counter a large proportion of Maicelo’s strikes. The Columbian Perez knocked Maicelo down in round 11, and continued his intense punishment in the 12th for a big win.

Franciso Santana (22-3-1, 11 KO) leathered Kendal Mena with a booming right hook in the first round for the win. Santana was Mena’s first real career test, and it looked like a jump too soon for the Dominican Republic boxer.

Jarrell Miller (11-0-1, 9 KOs) picked up a unanimous decision (60-54, 60-54, 60-53) over Aaron Kinch. The “Big Baby” was busted by the CSAC for methylhexanamine use last year, after his loss to Mirko Cro Cop at GLORY 17.

Elsewhere, ShoBox returned to the airwaves with a pretty solid card from California. In the main event, Ivan Redkach (18-0, 14  KOs) scored a stoppage over Yakubu Amidu after dominating for six rounds. The 28-year-old Ukrainian Redkach looked excellent, out-boxing Amidu 116-81 in overall strikes.

Also, Alantez Fox (14-0-1, 3 KOs), a 6′” junior middleweight used his height and reach advantage over Patrick Day to score a majority decision (80-72, 78-74, and 76-76). Fox fought a relaxed fight, with Day forced to look for big shots, unable to find to much success over his sly opponent.

In the opening bout, another Ukrainian, middleweight Ievgen Khytrov (8-0, 8 KOs) dispatched of Marcus Louishome when the referee shut down the fight early in the third. Khytrov, 26 dropped his 11 year elder Louishome in round one on his way to the finish.

The biggest news breaking on Saturday was Golden Boy Promotions settling its lawsuit with CEO Richard Schaefer and parting ways with adviser Al Haymon. Oscar De La Hoya‘s GBP will retain the promotional rights to a few big boxing names: Amir Khan, Lucas Matthysse and Leo Santa Cruz, but will find a talent drained roster for his promotional games.

However, Haymon is looking to put some boxing fights together for the NBC network, having retained high profile fighters Adrien BronerDanny Garcia, Marcos Maidana in the split.