Dirrell wins rematch with Bika, takes home the belt

09/15/201608/17/2014 Michael Montero

(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) The first time these two fought in Brooklyn last December, a rough and rugged contest ended in a controversial draw. Bika, of Australia by way of Cameroon, held onto his title but the sanctioning organization mandated a rematch take place. It’s clear to anyone who’s paid attention during the build up to this rematch that Bika and Dirrell don’t like each other, as they jawed back and forth at the presser and weigh-in earlier this week. But how would all that animosity translate into the ring? It didn’t take long to find out.

The first round of this boxing match looked more like a wrestling match, as the fighters took turns slamming each other into canvas. Referee Jack Reiss tried to establish control of the fight early and told the fighters to knock out the rough stuff or he’d take a point. Dirrell, the quicker, slicker boxer, attempted to confuse his opponent by switching between the southpaw and orthodox stance.

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Brook defeats Porter; Dirrell and Bika look poor; Figueroa toughs it out

08/18/201408/17/2014 Paul Strauss

(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) Shawn “Showtime” Porter 24-0-1 (KO 15) was the favorite, confident he would be able to reach the taller Kell “The Special One” Brook 32-0-0 (KO 22). He was poised to give Kell a good thumping at the Stub Hub Center in Carson, California. After all he took care of the slick, durable Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi in four rounds. Experts were siding with him. They dismissed The Special One’s undefeated record, pointing out only one victory came on USA soil. It was back in 12-17-2011, a 5th rd TKO of Luis Galarza. In their minds he hadn’t really been tested.

Porter planned to quickly and thoroughly check the quality of the challenger. He envisioned himself having the ability to cleverly duck under Kell’s leads and bouncing at least one counter body shot off Kell’s ribs before pivoting off to his right, nullifying Kell’s right, and at the same time inviting the man from Sheffield, Yorkshire, UK to turn to his left, right into more shots before he could reset.

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Porter: I want a rematch with Brook

08/17/2014 Rob Smith

Shawn Porter (24-1-1, 15 KOs) lost his IBF welterweight title last night in losing by a 12 round majority decision to visiting fighter Kell Brook (33-0, 22 KOs) at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

Porter, 26, says he wants a rematch so that he can avenge his defeat and recapture his title. Porter doesn’t think Brook did enough to take his belt based on his performance last night. Porter thinks Brook did an awful a lot of holding during the fight to prevent him from getting his shots.

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Maidana plans on being very aggressive against Mayweather in rematch

08/17/2014 Jeff Sorby

Former WBA 147 pound champion Marcos Maidana (35-4, 32 KOs) said last night that his plan for his September 13th rematch against WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr (46-0, 26 KOs) is to be very aggressive to try and beat him in their headlining fight on the Mayhem fight card at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Maidana says he didn’t have his conditioning right to fight a hard fight for 12 rounds in their previous fight last May, and that’s why he tanked in the last half of the fight after taking an early lead in the first 6 rounds.

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Brook to make first defense of IBF title in November or December, says Hearn

08/17/2014 T.Baker

(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) Newly crowned IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter (33-0, 22 KOs) won’t be facing Amir Khan or any of the other big names in the 147 pound division in his first defense in November or December, because his promoter Eddie Hearn from Matchroom Sport wants to save the big fights until 2015 for some reason.

Last Saturday night, Brook defeated IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter (24-1-1, 15 KOs) by a 12 round majority decision to win his IBF title in front of a large crowd at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

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Deontay Wilder stops Gavern, wants Klitschko after Stiverne fight

08/18/201408/17/2014 Kevin Chittenden

#1 WBC heavyweight contender Deontay Wilder (32-0, 32 KOs) stopped 37-year-old Jason Gavern (25-17-3, 11 KOs), in the 4th round last Saturday night at the StubHub Center, in Carson, California.

Deontay knocked Gavern down twice in the fight with chopping right hands in dropping him in the 3rd and 4th rounds. Gavern, who reportedly owns his own landscaping business, decided not to come out for the 5th round.

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Brook defeats Porter to capture IBF 147lb title; Dirrell outpoints Bika for WBC 168lb strap

08/18/201408/17/2014 Showtime Boxing

(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) CARSON, Calif. (Aug. 16, 2014) – Turns out, it was Showtime … for “The Special One,” Kell Brook.

In a minor upset, Britain’s Kell Brook (33-0, 22 KOs), of Sheffield, England, won a battle of undefeated welterweights and the IBF world title with a majority 12-round decision over defending champion “Showtime” Shawn Porter (24-1-1, 15 KOs), of Cleveland, Ohio, Saturday on SHOWTIME from StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.

Brook, fighting in his first world championship match and making only his second start in the United States, won by the scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 114-114. There were no knockdowns.

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Brook: Queen Khan is getting it

08/17/201408/17/2014 Bill Phanco

Kell Brook (33-0, 22 KOs) came across like a fighter with a bit of a chip on his shoulder when talking about Amir Khan following his 12 round majority decision win over IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter (24-1-1, 15 KOs) last night at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

Brook has wanted a shot at fighting Khan for a long time now, but Khan has always declined s fight with him because of the horrible opposition that he’d been matched up against for most of his career. But after winning the title last night, Brook was practically snarling when talking about Khan after the fight.

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Marquez wants shot at Kell Brook’s IBF title

08/17/201408/17/2014 Jeff Sorby

40-year-old Juan Manuel Marquez (56-7-1, 40 KOs) reportedly wants to get a title shot against newly crowned IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook (33-0, 22 KOs), presumably for his next fight date in November or December. Marquez wants to try and capture a 5th division world title, and Brook is the easiest of the fighters he’d have a chance to do that against now.

Marquez doesn’t match up against WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr, and WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao is obviously another tough match-up for Marquez as well, even though he arguably beat Pacquiao 4 times already.

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Thurman: Porter outworked Brook

08/17/201408/17/2014 Jeff Sorby

WBA welterweight champion Keith Thurman says that Britain’s Kell Brook (33-0, 22 KOs) got outworked last night by IBF welterweight champion Shawn Porter (24-1-1, 15 KOs) through the entire 12 round bout at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.

Thurman feels that the judges focused more on Brook landing the cleaner landing shots rather than the high volume punching from Porter. The judges gave it to the guy with the better power, in other words.

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