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The opening rounds were cautious before Edmondson hurt Arthur with a right hand in the third. Arthur enjoyed success during the middle rounds, particularly in the eighth, when he landed several right uppercuts. Edmondson responded strongly down the stretch and was awarded the decision by scores of 96-94, 97-93, and 96-94.

At middleweight, Bradley Goldsmith produced an impressive performance to defeat Brad Pauls and claim the IBF International title.

Goldsmith established control early behind his jab and movement before scoring a disputed knockdown in the sixth round. Pauls had moments of success, including a strong seventh round, but Goldsmith finished well and secured a unanimous decision by scores of 99-90, 99-90, and 97-92.

Super middleweight prospect Taylor Bevan moved to 9-0 with a majority decision victory over Ryszard Lewicki in his first scheduled 10-round contest.

Bevan enjoyed success during the early rounds and landed a right hand in the seventh that knocked Lewicki’s mouthpiece out. Lewicki remained competitive throughout, but Bevan’s work over the distance earned him the decision by scores of 97-94, 97-94, and 95-95.

Cruiserweight Iman Zahmatkesh remained unbeaten with an eight-round victory over Franklin Arinze to capture the vacant Commonwealth International title.

Arinze scored a knockdown in the fourth round and made Zahmatkesh work throughout the contest. Zahmatkesh rallied during the second half of the fight and was awarded a 77-74 decision.

Lasha Guruli survived a final-round knockdown to defeat Liam Dillon over eight rounds.

The Georgian Olympic bronze medalist controlled much of the early action before Dillon increased the pressure in the closing stages. Dillon dropped Guruli with a right hand in the final round, but Guruli recovered and escaped with a narrow 76-75 decision.

Mason Payne continued his unbeaten run with a six-round shutout victory over Cheikh Diop. Payne controlled the fight throughout and closed strongly, earning a 60-54 score from referee Bernard Oyet.

Australian Olympian Charlie Senior also remained unbeaten, defeating Reuquen Facundo Arce over eight rounds. Senior’s speed and movement proved decisive as he earned a 79-73 victory.

William Birchall recorded a six-round decision over Cesar Ignacio Paredes, while fellow prospect Adam Olaniyan continued his fast start in the professional ranks by stopping Viktar Chvarkou in the second round.

Olaniyan dropped Chvarkou in the opening round and forced the stoppage at 2:11 of the second, improving to 2-0 with two knockouts.

Earlier in the evening, featherweight prospect William Birchall needed just 53 seconds to stop Miroslav Prochazka. Birchall scored two knockdowns before the referee halted the contest in the opening round.

Despite the delay, Garcia remains confident the fight will eventually happen.

“This is the fight Vergil wants, and we as a team want it. Vergil will fight anybody. He doesn’t want to waste time with easy opponents. Vergil only wants to face the best fighters, and Vergil vs. Boots is one of the best fights that can be made in boxing. Boxing needs a fight like this,” Robert told The Ring.

Garcia expects Ennis to get past Zayas, but he sees a much tougher night awaiting him if he eventually steps into the ring with Ortiz.

“I think it will be a war, and one of the best fights you’ll see,” said Robert. “It would be unbelievable if we get a Hagler vs. Hearns-like war.”

While Garcia praised Ennis’ ability, he believes Ortiz’s experience and aggressive style would create problems that the unbeaten Philadelphia native has not yet encountered.

“Boots is the real deal. He’s talented, he’s a great fighter, he has future superstar potential, and can fight like Terence Crawford. But when he has Vergil in front of him, it’s going to be a different story when they fight. I know that Vergil’s experience is going to be a big factor in that fight, and Boots is going to feel it.”

Garcia also pointed to what he views as a vulnerability in Ennis’ style.

“Boots gets hit. He has a Philadelphia fighter’s mentality. He’s not a runner who does just enough to win rounds and win by decision. He takes challenges and chances, and he wants to please,” said Robert. “That’s what makes him a fighter that fans want to see. This is going to be an exciting fight when it happens. We should expect a great fight. I see the fight ending in the late rounds with Vergil knocking him out.”

Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) enters his June 27 clash with Zayas (23-0, 13 KOs) as a heavy favorite. If he wins and Ortiz resolves his promotional issues, one of the most anticipated fights in the 154-pound division could quickly return to the forefront.

“You have the contract. Sign it.”

Stevenson quickly fired back on X.

“Shut yo ass up and vacate that belt so I could beat yall ass,” said Shakur.

The comments appear to reference the growing complications surrounding Haney’s WBO welterweight title. WBO President Gustavo Olivieri has repeatedly stated that Haney’s next obligation is a mandatory defense against top-ranked contender Keyshawn Davis.

That mandatory position has become a major obstacle to a Haney-Stevenson fight. If Haney proceeds with a non-title catchweight bout against Stevenson instead of facing Keyshawn, he would likely be stripped of the WBO belt.

Shakur has previously indicated that he is more interested in making the fight than preserving the championship stakes. His latest comments suggest he wants Haney to remove the WBO issue entirely by vacating the title and moving forward with negotiations.

The two sides have spent weeks discussing a potential fight, with much of the public debate centered on weight. Shakur initially signaled a willingness to meet Haney at a 144-pound catchweight before the talks became complicated by the WBO’s mandatory requirements.

The situation has placed Haney in a difficult position. A fight against Stevenson is viewed by many fans as the bigger event, but the WBO has made clear that Keyshawn is next in line for a title shot.

The negotiations remain unresolved, but Shakur’s latest post leaves little doubt about where he stands. If Haney wants the fight, Shakur believes the simplest solution is to vacate the belt and remove the mandatory challenger from the equation.

“As a fighter, he’s levels below. Like levels below. Levels like more than one level. It ain’t even a close debate to even talk about. Nah, he’s levels below,” said Shakur on Andre Ward’s YouTube channel.

Stevenson acknowledged that Benn has improved in recent years but believes the gap remains significant.

“What I will say about Conor Benn, he’s very focused and he is getting better. He’s not just staying in the same spot. I see him kind of getting better. But when you at this level and somebody at this level, you kind of like getting a little bit better, but it ain’t going to happen,” said Shakur.

When asked what separates them, Stevenson pointed to what he sees as a lack of experience and understanding of the sport.

“He don’t know enough. It’s not a lot of things that he know that I know,” said Shakur about Conor.

Stevenson also questioned Benn’s standing in the sport despite the money he has earned during his career.

“I think Conor Benn is a hell of a businessman. He’s a low-level fighter that’s making top-tier level money,” said Shakur.

Benn’s recent opposition has included Peter Dobson, Rodolfo Orozco, former WBA junior welterweight champion Regis Prograis, and Chris Eubank Jr. His victories over Prograis and Eubank came against opponents who were 37 and 35 years old, respectively.

The two fighters have been linked to a possible future bout since Benn entered the ring following Stevenson’s victory over Teofimo Lopez earlier this year. Stevenson revealed that his side reached out about making the fight but said he was told that Benn’s team was not interested.

Shakur currently holds the WBO light welterweight title, while Benn continues campaigning at welterweight. No fight between the two has been announced.

 

Having previously been the super-middleweight bogeyman, David Benavidez has found himself a wanted man since announcing himself at cruiserweight.

After holding belts at 168 and 175lbs, Benavidez made an ambitious leap up to the cruiserweight division last month, where he delivered one of the performances of the year and dispatched of unified WBA and WBO world champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez inside six rounds.

It now appears that Benavidez will remain at cruiserweight rather than return to the light-heavyweight scene, at least for his next fight.

Despite calls for him to face Jai Opetaia, the 29-year-old looks set to first prioritise a charge towards the undisputed throne, with a clash against WBC world champion Noel Mikaelian close to being finalised. Should he win there, there are more fights in the division, including Opetaia, worth a mention.

After witnessing Benavidez’s cruiserweight debut, former WBO world champion Chris Billam-Smith – who lost his belt to Ramirez in 2024 – has thrown his name into the mix, telling Inside The Ring that a scrap with ‘The Mexican Monster’ could prove to be a ‘fire fight’.

“Of course, you are always thinking how you go about beating those sorts of guys. I said before that [Zurdo] fight, I said, ‘if he does win, me against him is an absolute fire fight and a very fan-friendly fight’.

“He is a fantastic fighter, obviously he has come up through the weights and put on a great performance there.”

With Benavidez-Mikaelian appearing to be next, Opetaia is likely to seek an in-house defence of his Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight title – with Billam-Smith being the standout candidate for the away corner.

With that route in mind, ‘The Gentleman’ said that he sees a showdown with Benavidez as a more difficult test than a dust-up with his promotional stablemate.

“Benavidez would be harder to beat [than Opetaia], stylistically for me.”

Benavidez-Mikaelian is reportedly being planned for November, whilst Viddal Riley is anticipated to headline a Misfits Pro card in August, before challenging for the remaining vacant IBF cruiserweight title in the fight that follows.

David Benavidez has revealed who he sees as Mexico’s greatest-ever fighter, believing the Hall of Famer was in a class of his own when it came to his technical ability.

In a conversation surrounding all-time Mexican greats, Julio Cesar Chavez is often the first name that springs to mind.

This is because he remained undefeated, and became a three-weight world champion, in his first 90 professional fights, before ultimately retiring with a record of 107-6-2 (85 KOs).

Besides a controversial draw with Pernell Whitaker in 1993, Chavez hardly put a foot wrong during his unbeaten run, which came to an end after he lost to Frankie Randall in 1994.

But while acknowledging Chavez’s remarkable achievements, Benavidez feels that Salvador Sanchez should be considered the greatest Mexican fighter of all time.

As the WBC featherweight champion, Sanchez made nine successful title defences before tragically losing his life to a car crash in 1982.

Prior to that, he had a 15th-round finish over Azumah Nelson and engineered another notable stoppage in 1981, this time against Puerto Rico’s Wilfredo Gomez.

As a current champion who appreciates technical mastery, Benavidez told Luis Parra why he thinks Sanchez was the greatest Mexican to ever step through the ropes.

“Honestly, number one is Salvador Sanchez. The technique he had – I don’t think there will ever be another fighter quite like Salvador Sanchez.

“Then Julio Cesar Chavez, Ricardo Lopez, Marco Antonio Barrera… Who else? Juan Manuel Marquez. Erik Morales. There are a lot of great fighters. Oscar Valdez is an excellent fighter too. ‘El Vaquero’ [Emanuel Navarrete] as well. [Oscar De La Hoya], he’s top three.”

While De La Hoya was widely considered the sport’s No.1 operator in the late 1990s, the Mexican-American is rarely mentioned in discussions that specifically concern Mexican greats such as Chavez and Sanchez.

Shakur Stevenson has offered his prediction for a potential clash between David Benavidez and Jai Opetaia, describing one man as a “beast”.

Benavidez moved up to 200lbs last month, becoming a three-division world champion by dethroning Gilberto Ramirez with an emphatic sixth-round stoppage.

But despite holding the WBO and WBA titles, ‘The Mexican Monster’ has since been named as the WBC’s mandatory challenger, putting him in position to face cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian.

It was previously reported that Mikaelian would take on Opetaia later this year, yet it now seems that Benavidez has torpedoed their negotiations.

The 29-year-old is now reportedly in “advanced” talks to face Mikaelian later this year, potentially leaving Opetaia without an obvious opponent.

The former IBF champion comes off a unanimous decision victory over Brandon Glanton, claiming the inaugural Zuffa cruiserweight title in his first fight with Dana White’s promotional outfit.

Even without a traditional world title, Opetaia is still widely considered the top dog at 200lbs, while others might argue that Benavidez has already surpassed him.

If the pair were to ever lock horns, four-division world champion Stevenson has told The Agnew Podcast that he would favour the naturally smaller man.

“I’ve got Benavidez. I think he is a beast – you have to be on an elite level to even be in the ring with him.”

Despite becoming a unified cruiserweight champion, Benavidez is quite clearly a more natural operator at 175lbs, where he still holds the WBC strap.

Opetaia, on the other hand, is a fully-fledged 200-pounder and would certainly boast a significant size advantage against the Mexican-American.

No matter their pedigree, an accomplished amateur will always find that sparring a hardened professional is no walk in the park.

They might land a few flicky jabs and sharp counters but, eventually, there comes a point where the pro just simply drags them into the trenches.

It is then a case of displaying enough character to overcome such hardship, not wishing to bow down or show any hint of weakness.

Every prospect will encounter this test sooner or later but, thankfully, Olympic bronze medallist Charlie Senior did not have to go searching far and wide for a top-level pro.

In fact, it was at his gym in Bromley, where Senior is trained by the highly-regarded duo of Al Smith and Eddie Lam, that the 24-year-old discovered the “tougher side” of pro boxing.

He did so by sparring former world title challenger Sam Noakes, who took Abdullah Mason the distance in a titanic WBO title effort last November.

Speaking with Boxing News, Senior made no effort to downplay the quality and intensity of each round they share.

“We do a fair amount of rounds together. It’s definitely shown me the tougher side of professional boxing.

“Sam’s very fit, he’s strong, and, the more rounds I do with him, the more I pick up on things that he’s technically very good at.

“He’s also powerful in the sense that he might throw a nice, clean jab, but it feels like you’ve been hit by a big right hand.”

The good news is that, while Noakes boasts superior professional experience, Senior is able to hold his own by utilising the crafty footwork he developed as an amateur.

Even before Senior started boxing, the Bradford-born talent was no stranger to a two-step manoeuvre here and there.

“I did a bit of dancing when I was a kid, as well as gymnastics, acrobatics and trampolining – all the fun stuff.

“But I got to about 10 or 11 years old and felt that, as a young boy, dancing wasn’t really that cool.

“There was a boxing studio next to where I used to dance, so I walked over there and gave it a crack. My mum didn’t want me to do it at first, because I was young and small, but I just persisted and ended up boxing.

“When you’re dancing, and when you’re in the ring, it all corresponds. You always know where your feet are; you always find your balance, even in unusual situations.

“I feel like I never really come unstuck when it comes to my footwork.”

While born in Bradford, Senior spent the majority of his life in Australia – a place he considers home – before moving back to the UK.

The transition has been far from straightforward but, at the same time, the Olympian understands the importance of making sacrifices in a sport like boxing.

“It was hard. It’s still a bit difficult, sitting here in my apartment – you’ve got a lot of time to yourself, and a lot of time to think.

“But I always said that, once I go professional, I’ll move back to the UK. It can be a bit tricky at times, but I know why I’m here.

“Going out of your comfort zone, in general, will improve your mentality, let alone when you’re chasing your dream. I feel like I have to work even harder now, because I’ve sacrificed everything.

“I could just go back to Australia, get a job and be comfortable, but [being away from home] has just given me an extra push to chase my dream.”

Senior’s decision to move back to the UK was partly inspired by the fruitful opportunities for high-quality sparring and TV exposure.

After shopping around at a few different gyms, though, he ultimately stayed with coaches Smith and Lam for one specific reason.

“I feel like, with Al and Eddie, they let me be me. They didn’t try to change my footwork; they didn’t try to slow me down; it wasn’t “tighten up and walk forward” – they just let me box the way I box, while adding little things.

“I got to where I was [in the amateurs] by being me, so to not change what I was doing, and just add to it each time, was what sold me on [joining Smith and Lam].”

As a 4-0 (2 KOs) prospect signed to Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, Senior appreciates the value of taking incremental steps to refine his craft.

He therefore anticipates no encounters with King Kong any time soon, but nonetheless expects to produce another stylish performance, this time on the undercard of Ryan Garner vs Michael Magnesi at St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton, on Saturday.

This week, a clip of Errol Spence Jr discussing preparations for his 2023 undisputed welterweight clash with Terence Crawford was widely shared on social media.

Crawford dropped and stopped Spence in July 2023, adding the WBA, WBC and IBF belts to his long-held WBO at 147 lbs. It was a dominant win following a build-up in which many had predicted the fight would be a 50/50 affair.

In the time since, when Crawford has won another belt at super-welterweight and beaten Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez to become undisputed at super-middleweight, Spence has been taking a break from the sport.

Ahead of his ring return next month, Spence gave an in-depth interview with Andre Ward recently, and addressed his camp for the Crawford fight, blaming former trainer Derrick James for poor preparation and highlighting that he wasn’t living right.

“Nope [no conversations with Derrick James about how to go about the fight]. That camp was bulls**t. I did no sparring. The guys didn’t fit – I had no southpaws in there to spar. It was all out of whack.

“I was basically living wrong. Even out of camp, you’ve got to live right so, once you get in camp, everything [is] cool.

“Derrick’s [job to pick the sparring partners], he’s the teacher right? We were just working the mitts. You would think he would put on some gloves and have me blocking shots, but it was none of that.

“I was just feeling weak, depleted. Even if I worked out, I feel like I wasn’t getting stronger. The whole camp – it was just a whole messed up situation.”

This particular clip did the rounds on social media, with Spence – despite him consistently giving Crawford credit for the win when asked – accused of making excuses. The former unified champion has urged people to watch the entire discussion.

Crawford has seemingly caught wind of the debate and targeted his response more at those discussing the interview rather than Spence, who he wished the best for his comeback.

Still wishing @ErrolSpenceJr the best in his upcoming fight. I see what yall trying to do, but it’s not going to work, not this time.

— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) June 19, 2026

Spence faces Tim Tszyu in Australia on July 25 at a catchweight of 158lbs – it is a fight Crawford has publicly backed him to win.

Roy Jones Jr has assessed Rico Verhoeven’s chances of winning a major title, picturing a scenario where he ends up facing Anthony Joshua for some version of the heavyweight championship.

The former long-reigning kickboxing champion was supposed to collide with ‘AJ’ earlier this year, only to instead secure a world title opportunity against Oleksandr Usyk.

This was only his second professional boxing match, yet Verhoeven nonetheless gave a tremendous account of himself last month, somehow managing to take Usyk into round 11.

It then came as a controversial result when Verhoeven was stopped on his feet following a heavy knockdown, with referee Mark Lyson waving him off after the bell had sounded.

At that point, the Dutchman had built a slight lead on one of the judges’ scorecards, making a mockery of the pre-fight betting odds while earning himself a No.8 ranking with the WBC.

Verhoeven could therefore find himself in another heavyweight title fight before long, but will he enjoy the same success that he did against Usyk?

Speaking with BettingLounge, Hall of Famer Jones suggested that a hard-hitting opponent like Joshua, for instance, is likely to pose greater problems than Usyk.

“Can Rico win a world title? You’ve got to remember, styles make fights. To me, Usyk has never been the most explosive puncher, but he is a brilliant boxer.

“Tyson Fury has never been the most explosive puncher, but he is a brilliant boxer as well. But guys like [Daniel] Dubois, Joshua, Moses [Itauma] – these guys can punch. So they’re going to find out what [Verhoeven] can take.

“I’m not going to just guarantee that he can win a title, because different styles make different fights.”

Another point to consider is that, while Verhoeven represented unfamiliar territory for Usyk, opponents can now use 11 rounds of footage to analyse his style.

Joshua could also seek additional intel from Usyk, given that he now shares a gym with the 39-year-old Ukrainian.