Devin Haney faces Ryan Garcia at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York.
23:39:51
MCCOMB MIGHT HAVE REGRETS
The Belfast native hasn’t been active enough in the eighth and ninth rounds. Could cost him on the scorecards.
23:31:05
MCCOMB’S CONFIDENCE GROWING
McComb came forward for much of the seventh round and landed his fair share of power punches on Barboza. We could have a significant upset in the making. Barboza is at least a 9-1 favorite according to most sportsbooks.
23:24:46
IF MCCOMB COULD PUNCH …
Barboza would have even bigger problems entering Round 6. McComb is landing on him, but Barboza obviously isn’t concerned about what’s coming back at him as he tries to get inside on the rangy southpaw.
23:15:11
MCCOMB MAKING IT TRICKY
Sean McComb’s height and length from a southpaw stance has made matters difficult for Arnold Barboza Jr. in the first three rounds.
22:50:25
BLOODY ‘BULLY’ BEATS DIBOMBE
Melikuziev beat Dibombe by unanimous technical decision because their fight was stopped very early in the eighth round due to Melikuziev’s grotesque cut. All three judges had Melikuziev ahead at the time of the stoppage (79-73, 79-73, 78-74). Melikuziev has won 7 fights in a row since Gabe Rosado shockingly knocked him out in June 2021, including a points win over Rosado in their rematch.
22:36:54
BROOKLYN BLOODBATH
Melikuziev might have an even worse cut over his left eye than the gash above Dibombe’s right eye. A very bloody fifth round here at Barclays Center. Melikuziev also scored a debatable knockdown with 2:16 to go in the fifth round. He got hit, but it seemed like their legs got tangled as Dibombe went down.
22:25:11
DIBOMBES AWAY
Dibombe began fighting with a sense of urgency once a doctor looked at his worsening cut during the second round. He blasted Melikuziev with a right hand toward of the end of the second round and was aggressive again in the third round. Melikuziev made him pay a few times for opening up, though.
22:18:15
DIBOMBE’S BLEEDING
Dibombe suffered a cut on his right eyelid during the first round. Looks pretty deep.
22:00:42
TIME FOR ‘BEK THE BULLY’
Bektemir Melikuziev (13-1, 10 KOs) vs. Pierre Dibombe (22-0-1, 12 KOs) is next. One more fight after this 10-round super middleweight match before Haney-Garcia.
21:53:54
THE RIGHT GUY WON (JIMENEZ)
David Jimenez out-worked Scrappy Ramirez, especially on the inside, consistently landed to Ramirez’s body and got the win on the cards (117-111, 117-111, 116-112). Jimenez also won the WBA interim super flyweight title. Gutsy effort from Ramirez, but he didn’t land enough punches and held too much in the final few rounds.
21:39:32
CUE THE VIOLINS
Ryan Garcia is warming up with people playing violins and a cello in his dressing room. Meanwhile, Tupac is blaring through the speakers here inside the arena.
21:31:15
JIMENEZ IS RELENTLESS
Jimenez just keeps coming forward and has landed a lot of body shots on the inside. Ramirez is trying his best to tie up Jimenez when he can and keep the fight at his preferred distance, where he’s working off his jab. About to go to Round 8.
21:17:47
‘MURDER’ ON GARCIA’S MIND
They just showed Ryan Garcia entering Barclays Center on the huge screen inside the arena. Garcia, wearing a T-shirt with “Murder On My Mind” written on it, was mostly booed. Devin Haney was mostly cheered when he was shown in his locker room a few seconds later.
21:12:51
JIMENEZ WHERE HE SHOULD BE
Jimenez needs to keep this fight on the inside, where he mostly kept it in the second round. That’s where he can do damage against the inexperienced Ramirez.
20:57:37
NEXT UP: SUPER FLYWEIGHTS
John “Scrappy” Ramirez (13-0, 9 KOs) vs. David Jimenez (15-1, 11 KOs) for the WBA interim 115-pound title.
20:48:26
CONWELL GETS GALLIMORE OUT OF THERE
Conwell looked good for not having fought in almost a year and a half. Mercante stopped it at 52 seconds of the sixth round. Gallimore has been knocked out in three of his past five fights.
20:44:09
HOW MUCH LONGER?
Referee Arthur Mercante Jr. kept a close eye on Gallimore over the final minute-plus of the fifth round. He won’t allow this to go much longer unless Gallimore mounts a comeback.
20:35:29
CONWELL TEEING OFF
Conwell, the WBC’s number one super welterweight contender, battered Gallimore with left hooks & right uppercuts during the third round. Gallimore managed to stay on his feet, but won’t last much longer if this continues.
20:27:19
CONWELL CRISP EARLY
Conwell, in his first fight since November 2022, opened up on Gallimore toward the end of the first round.
20:19:42
STILL EARLY, BUT …
A LOT of empty seats here at Barclays Center as they prepare to start the PPV part of the Haney-Garcia undercard.
19:36:33
THEY’RE TAKING A BRIEF BREAK
The five-fight PPV portion of the Haney-Garcia undercard will start just after 1 a.m. BST (8 p.m. ET). Next up is a 10-rounder between unbeaten junior middleweight contender Charles Conwell (18-0, 13 KOs) and Nathaniel Gallimore (22-7-1, 17 KOs).
SERGIY GETS IN 10 ROUNDS
Derevyanchenko couldn’t get Alexander out of there, but he was workmanlike in shutting out Devon Alexander’s older brother on all three cards (100-89, 100-89, 100-89). The Ukrainian plans to stay at super middleweight & hopes to land a higher-profile fight later this year.
19:26:31
DEREVYANCHENKO FINALLY FLOORS ALEXANDER
A vicious left to the body by Derevyanchenko sends Alexander to the canvas with just under 20 seconds to go in the eighth round. Alexander barely beat the count & the bell spared him from taking any more punches.
19:19:57
NOT MAKING IT EASY ON SERGIY
Derevyanchenko is winning, but a good sixth round for Alexander, who pressed forward, landed left hooks and bloodied Derevyanchenko’s nose.
19:02:26
DEREVYANCHENKO ENDS 10-MONTH LAYOFF
Sergiy Derevyanchenko is shaking off some rust. Two rounds down in his fight against Vaughn Alexander, Derevyanchenko’s first appearance since his unforgettable war with Jaime Munguia last June 10.
18:49:29
HONORING GARY SHAW
They just did an honorary 10-count for late promoter Gary Shaw. New Jersey’s Shaw, who had a successful run with his own company after he left Main Events in 2002, died at the age of 79 last week.
18:44:40
DARIUS FULGHUM WINS EASILY
Darius Fulghum beat up Mexican veteran Cristian Olivas until referee Ricky Gonzalez stopped the action 50 seconds into the fourth round. Olivas (22-11, 19 KOs) was on his feet when Gonzalez got between them, yet obviously overmatched. Just a fight to keep Fulghum busy & pad the super middleweight prospect’s record (11-0, 10 KOs).
18:30:40
JONATHAN CANAS WINS AGAIN
Jonathan Canas (4-0, 3 KOs), a 21-year-old lightweight prospect promoted by Golden Boy, shut out journeyman Markus Bowes (2-6, 2 KOs) on all three scorecards in an uneventful four-rounder. Canas too big, too strong, too talented. Bowes held a lot and just tried to survive.
18:10:53
ASSESSING AMARI JONES
Amari Jones is a promising prospect at middleweight. Really effective when he uses his jab & has some pop. Buzzed Mbumba-Yassa a couple times before he dropped him early in the sixth.
18:02:58
DEVIN HANEY’S STABLEMATE STAYS UNBEATEN
Amari Jones, a 21-year-old middleweight prospect trained by Bill Haney, stopped Armel Mbumba-Yassa 39 seconds into the sixth round on the undercard. Jones improved to 12-0 and scored his 11th knockout. Jones dropped Mbumba-Yassa barely 10 seconds into the sixth. Ref Arthur Mercante Jr. let the mostly one-sided action go only a few seconds more after Mbumba-Yassa got up.
17:57:33
WE ARE LIVE FROM BARCLAYS CENTER
Welcome to tonight’s live blog from ringside at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where WBC super lightweight champ Devin Haney will face rival Ryan Garcia in the 12-round main event.
I’m Keith Idec, a longtime boxing writer from New Jersey who will do his best to keep you informed and hopefully entertained throughout this card.
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