Barthelemy vs. Relikh II For Vacant WBA Title on Garcia-Lipinets

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Boxing Scene - By Random Hits

On Saturday, February 10 live on SHOWTIME, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, two-division world champion Rances Barthelemy will face Kiryl Relikh in a rematch of their May showdown on SHOWTIME, this time for the vacant WBA 140-pound world title.

The fight will be the co-feature to three-division world champion Mikey Garcia attempting to win a world title in a fourth weight class when he challenges unbeaten IBF 140-pound world champion Sergey Lipinets 

The doubleheader of title bouts in the wide-open 140-pound division sets the stage for a potential unification match.
 
Tickets for the event, which is promoted by Ringstar Sports and TGB Promotions, are priced at $250, $75, $50 and $20. Tickets will go on sale next week and will be available at Ticketmaster.com.
 
Barthelemy (26-0, 13 KOs), who was born in Arroyo Naranjo, Cuba and now lives in Las Vegas, has won world titles at 130 and 135 pounds. He defeated Relikh by unanimous decision in his debut at 140 pound in his last fight on May 20. If he defeats Relikh again, he will become the first Cuban boxer to win world championships in three different weight classes.

He defeated Argenis Mendez by unanimous decision to win the 130-pound world title in 2014 and a year later scored a unanimous decision over Denis Shafikov for the 135-pound world title. Barthelemy, 31, has two brothers, Yan and Leduan, who are professional boxers who he trains alongside with under the tutelage of Ismael Salas.
 
Relikh (21-2, 19 KOs) believes that he won the first match with Barthelemy and that the scorecards did not reflect the competitive nature of the fight. The 28-year-old nearly had Barthelemy out after landing a barrage of punches that penned Barthelemy on the ropes, but he was only awarded a knockdown. In the eighth round, Barthelemy came back to drop Relikh with a body shot.

Shortly after the May 20 title eliminator, the WBA ordered a rematch, this time to be contested for the vacant 140-pound title.  This will be Relikh's second world title shot after the fighter from Minsk, Belarus lost a unanimous decision to Ricky Burns in Glasgow, Scotland on Oct. 7, 2016.

Dela Torre Vows To Bounce Back After Loss To Nyambayar

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Photo courtesy of Andy Samuelson / Premier Boxing Champions

Boxing Scene - By Random Hits

Filipino contender Harmonito “Hammer” Dela Torre scored a knockdown in round two, but still suffered his first defeat of his career against Olympic silver medalist Tugstsogt Nyambayar on Nov. 18 (Sunday in Manila) at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Dela Torre landed a straight right hand to down Nyambayar in the second round. Nyambayar was able to bounce back to win by a unanimous decision.

“I’m very proud of Harmonito. He put on a great fight and I’m confident he will be back better” said manager Jim Claude “JC” Manangquil, Sanman Promotions CEO. “It was a very close fight. Fight was more competitive than the scorecards show but Nyambayar deserved the victory."

 

Two judges both scored 78-73 while the other one had it 79-73.

Dela Torre, who has been training under Cuban trainer Moro Fernandez in Miami, Florida since last year, has accepted his first setback.

“Nyambayar is a good fighter. I will train harder and I will be back stronger” said the 23-year old DelaTorre (19W-1L-0D, 12 KOs).

IN OTHER NEWS:  Serdar “Bomber” Sahin from Berlin is the new World Boxing Federation (WBF) World Cruiserweight Champion after winning the vacant title on Saturday, November 18, at the Essen Fairgrounds in Essen, Germany.

With former undefeated World Super Middleweight Champion Sven Ottke in his corner, Sahin, now 27-2 (18), defeated Diego Javier Sanabria, 59-18-3 (46), by third round knockout, possibly breaking the Argentinians ribs with a perfectly placed body-shot.

The fight, waved off by referee Mike Wissenbach at 1:55, was the main event of a show promoted by the worlds youngest promoter, 15-year-old Ranee Schroeder.

In Dole, France, also on Saturday night, Bilel Latreche captured the vacant WBF International Light Heavyweight title with a ninth round stoppage of Finnish visitor Janne Forsman, in front of 2500 spectators on a self-promoted show at La Commanderie.

Latreche, who improved his record to 23-5-1 (5), was the more skilled of the two and had success with his movement and combinations, while Forsman, now 22-9 (14), attempted to land single power-punches but only managed to do so occasionally.

In round nine Latreche scored two knock-downs, forcing referee Christophe Hembert to appropriately call a halt immediately after the second. Time of stoppage was 3:00.

South Korea´s Hye-Soo Park won the vacant WBF Womens Intercontinental Light Flyweight crown at the Gyeyang Gymnasium in her home-town of Incheon, beating previously undefeated Hei Tao Zhang from China.

Televised live by KBS N Sports, Park won a unanimous decision with scores of 96-94 (Man-Deuk Kwon), 97-93 (Kyung-Han Lee) and 98-92 (Yeong Bok Park).

Hye-Soo Park is now 9-8-1 (2), and Hei Tao Zhang 5-1 (2). Promoter was SungSan Hyo Promotion in cooperation with Bumjin Promotion.

Tugstsogt Nyambayar Gets Off The Floor, Decisions Dela Torre

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Boxing Scene - By Ryan Burton

Cosmopolitan Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas - In a battle of undefeated featherweight prospects, Olympic silver medal winner Tugstsogt Nyambayar (9-0, 8 KOs) went the distance for the first time in his career, and survived a knockdown, in winning an eight round unanimous decision over tough as nails Harmonito Dela Torre (19-1, 12 KOs). The scores were 79-73, 78-73, 78-73.

The contest started in a close and tactical manner, with both having some success. Nyambayar was landing the more solid punches and seemed to have the edge with the more accurate punches.

Dela Torre applied the pressure in the second and was getting caught by hard shots, but near the end of the round he landed a cracking hook that dropped Nyambayar down hard. King Tug made it up to his feet as the bell sounded to close the round out.

Dela Torre came out swinging in the third and looking to do more damage.  Nyambayar was looking to dig to the body. During an exchange it was Nyambayar who shook up Dela Torre with a hard combination.

The hard punches were raining down from both in the fourth. Nyambayar was landing the flashier punches. In the fifth, a cut opened up above Dela Torre's right eye. Nyambayar continued to land the better punches. They traded hard right hands near the end of the round.

Nyambayar was landing solid shots to the head and body at the start of the sixth and continued to outland Dela Torre for most of the round.

A big shot connected to Dela Torre's chin in the seventh and really shook him up. Dela Torre's mouthpiece went flying and that created a break to help him recover.

Nyambayar once again rocked Dela Torre and had him in serious trouble in the eight and final round. Dela Torre managed to stay up on his feet and survived until the last bell.

ON THE UNDERCARD

Kicking off the card, heavyweight Marlo Moore (1-0) had a successful pro debut stopping Oswaldo Ortega (3-7).

Up next was Oluwafemi Oyeleye (4-0) who won a hard fought unanimous decision over Brandon Adams (4-6-1) in their super welterweight bout.

Super lightweight prospect Darwin Price improved to 13-0 with a shutout over Angel Hernandez (12-9-2). The scores were 60-54 on all three scorecards.

Mayweather Promotions veteran Lanell Bellows (17-3-1) picked up another KO, stopping Fabiano Pena (15-9-1) in 7 rounds in their super middleweight showdown.

Super bantamweight prospect Angelo Leo (10-0) picked up a stoppage win over Basilio Nieves (10-5).

Later tonight former super welterweight world champion Ishe Smith (29-8) faces former title challenger Julian Williams (33-1-1) in the main event of a Bounce TV televised Premier Boxing Champions card. Light heavyweight veteran Lionell Thompson faces unbeaten Earl Newman (10-0-1) in the co-feature bout.

*FULL FIGHT* TUGSTSOGT NYAMBAYAR VS HARMONITO DELA TORRE

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In the opening bout of the PBC on Bounce telecast on November 18, 2017, 2012 Olympic Silver medalist hailing from Mongoloa, Tugstsogt Nyambayar (9-0, 8 KOs) earned a hard-fought unanimous decision against previously unbeaten Harmonito Dela Torre (19-1, 12 KOs) of Miami.

By CROWN BOXING

Make sure to check out this scrap between 2012 Olympic Silver Medalist Tugstsogt Nyambayar vs the heavy handed Harmonito Dela Torre. This opening bout on the Williams-Smith undercard stole the show as "King Tug" gets off the canvas to punish Dela Torre to capture a UD victory and move to 9-0 (8KOs).

Video courtesy of Premier Boxing Champions

 

Caleb Plant: I Need a Big Name To Fight Me, Show My Skills

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Boxing Scene - By Ryan Burton

Caleb Plant (16-0) may only be 16 fights into his pro career but he feels that he is ready for the big fights.

In his last fight he dominated Andrew Hernandez over 10 rounds at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.  The fight was televised by Showtime.

The Tennessee native who is now based in Sin City has called out newly crowned WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez and several other top fighters and prospects in the division with no success.

 

He is very confident in his skills and his ability to adapt but knows that he needs a bigger name opponent to really make a statement in the division

"I have been calling people out. The way to move up the ladder is to either fight an old big name or a new prospect. Those are the two ways to get your foot in the door. I tried to fight Julian Jackson, I tried to fight Dominic Wade, I tried to fight Jose Uzcategui. The list goes on and on," revealed Plant.

"It is because I want to be great and there is only one way to do that and that is to  fight tough opposition. There is no other way to do that. I can't show the world what I want to be until I get that opportunity but I can't do it alone. It takes two people to make a fight. It takes two people to make a good fight. If I am in there trying and someone else is just surviving that isn't a good fight. I want to make a good fight."

As for what is next, this writer asked Plant if he planned on returning to the ring before the end of the year.

"That is the plan.  We are working on something big, a name everyone knows, a tough fighter.  That is what my team is working on," Plant told BoxingScene.com.

Send questions or comments to ringsidewriter@gmail.com You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ringsidewriter

Caleb Plant Wants David Benavidez Showdown Next

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Boxing Scene - By Ryan Burton

Up and coming super middleweight prospect Caleb "Sweet Hands" Plant (16-0) is yearning for a title shot.

At the top of the Tennessee native's wish list is newly crowned WBC champion David Benavidez who captured the title in September when he beat Ronald Gavril via split decision. Most observers thought the fight was nip and tuck and some believed that Gavril deserved the nod after he floored Benavidez in the final round.

Plant, who also fought on the card, was in agreement that the fight was close and is very confident that he can do much better than Gavril.


"I thought Ronald did great. That night after my fight I just wanted to be a fan. I am not saying that I am a fan of them but I just wanted to enjoy the fight.  I wasn't trying to score it or anything like that. I thought Ronald did really well and at times he was out boxing David Benavidez," Plant told BoxingScene.com.

"I will be honest, Ronald is not the best boxer, he's got a ton of heart, good power and is solid all the way around but as far as a skilled boxer, he is not at the top of the list and what was he doing to David?"

The 25-year-old Plant feels that his skill set is vastly superior to that of Gavril and said that he hasn't yet been pushed to put his full arsenal on display.

"No one has seen everything I have. No one has seen everything I can do. They have seen spurts. People say I can cut the ring off and move forward. They know I can throw combinations and break people down. They know I can stick and move and box and that I am good on my feet and my toes. They know I can pick and roll. It is about being well rounded. People who are well rounded make it the farthest because at some point you are going to have to pull a different aspect out (to win the fight)," Plant stated.

Benavidez will likely return to the ring in January in a rematch against Gavril so Plant will likely have at least one interim fight before he gets a crack at the title.  Both fighters are advised by Al Haymon so a future showdown is very likely as long as they both keep winning.

Send questions or comments to ringsidewriter@gmail.com You can follow Ryan on Twitter @ringsidewriter

David Benavidez Laughs at Plant, Open For Gilberto Ramirez

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Boxing Scene - By Boxing Clever

Earlier this month, David Benavidez (19-0, 17 KOs), 20 years old, became the youngest world champion in the sport he won a twelve round split decision over tough as nails Ronald Gavril in The Joint at The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

The victory gave him the vacant WBC super middleweight title, which was vacated by Badou Jack when he moved up to 175-pounds.

According to Benavidez, during the fight with Gavril (18-2, 14 KOs) he overcame an injured left knuckle on his left hand in the fourth round, and he also suffered a knockdown in the twelfth and final round.

“Every jab caused sharp pain in my fist, but champions push through obstacles finding ways to win. I gave up the knockdown going for the kill, but I got up and came out on top,” said Benavidez to Premier Boxing Champions. “I can attack the body more, use more head movement, work more combinations, but the crowd was going crazy after every round. I gave an exciting fight showing I’m a champion they want to see.”

After the fight with Gavril was over, Benavidez was confronted by undefeated Caleb Plant.

Plant (16-0, 10 KOs) saw action on the undercard of the Hard Rock event, winning a ten round decision over Andrew Hernandez (19-7-1, 9 KOs).

 “He said, ‘Get ready, I’m coming after you,’ and if Caleb wants it, he can get it," said Benavidez. “Caleb couldn't stop a guy with six losses. Hernandez is a friend, but I’ve knocked out Hernandez a couple of times [during sparring sessions]. Trust me, Caleb’s not ready for me.”

Although he considers him to be a friend, Benavidez would love a unification with WBO champion Gilberto Ramirez (36-0, 24 KOs), who last week retained his world title with a hard fought decision over Jesse Hart (22-1, 18 KOs). 

“He’s a native Mexican and I’m a Mexican-American, and sometimes the Mexican-Americans are considered fake Mexicans by the [native] Mexicans,” said Benavidez.  “We’re friends, but if we ever fight it’ll be a spectacular brawl since I know his style and he knows mine."

Photos: Leduan Barthelemy vs. Eduardo Ramirez - Official Weights

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Photos: Leduan Barthelemy vs. Eduardo Ramirez - Official Weights

Via Boxing Scene - By Boxing Photos

Promoter Sampson Lewkowicz is proud to announce he will be donating $1 from every ticket sold to his upcoming event in Las Vegas to help victims of the recent Mexico City Earthquake.
 
The donated funds, to be distributed by Mauricio Sulaiman of the World Boxing Council, will be matched X5 by world-renowned philanthropist and Mexican business man Carlos Slim's Foundation.
 

Read More

Terrible Head-Butt Leads Love & Han to Majority Techincal Draw

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Boxing Scene - By Keith Idec

A brutal head-butt brought the J’Leon Love-Abie Han fight to an abrupt, unusual conclusion Friday night.

The super middleweights were engaged in a competitive fight scheduled for 10 rounds when an accidental clash of heads left Han unable to continue in Las Vegas. Blood began pouring from a cut near the left corner of Han’s forehead and he went down to the canvas, where he was writhing in pain as referee Kenny Bayless tended to him.

The bout ended at 1:02 of the eighth round, which sent the fight to the scorecards. It resulted in a majority technical draw because two judges – Tim Cheatham and Patricia Morse Jarman – scored it even (76-76).

Judge Richard Ocasio strangely scored the fight 79-73 for Las Vegas’ Love (23-1-1, 13 KOs, 1 NC), who’s promoted by Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s company. Ocasio scored seven of the eight rounds for Love, who had difficulty at times dealing with Han’s awkward style.

Han (26-3-1, 16 KOs), of El Paso, Texas, had to be helped down from the ring and was wheeled away from it on a stretcher as a precaution.

Love-Han was the second of three fights Showtime aired as part of a “ShoBox: The New Generation” tripleheader from The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Before the odd ending, the fight was close, though not especially entertaining.

Han switched to a southpaw stance and tried to confuse Love early in the fight. In the second round, Han landed two hard, straight right hands to Love’s jaw.

Han also connected with a counter left hook late in the second round. He followed that up with an overhand right to Love’s head as they traded in the center of the ring.

Love got hit less in the third round, but Han was the busier, more effective fighter in those three minutes. Love landed a hard right hand that backed up Han just after the two-minute mark of the fourth round.

Han repeatedly shook his right hand in the fifth round, but it wasn’t clear if he hurt it. Regardless, Han continued throwing it in the sixth round.

Neither fighter landed many clean punches during the seventh round. The eighth round was competitive as well prior to the accidental clash of heads.

Love, 29, ended nearly a one-year layoff Friday night. He hadn’t fought since stopping Dashon Johnson in the sixth round last September 16 in Las Vegas.

Han, 32, moved up from middleweight to box Love and fought for just the second time in two years. Before Friday night, his first-round knockout of overmatched Martin Rodriguez (4-21) was Han’s only fight since August 2015.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.

J'Leon Love Will Face Dashon Johnson on September 16

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Photo courtesy of Sean Michael Ham / Premier Boxing Champions

Boxing Scene - By Francisco Salazar

J'Leon Love will face Dashon Johnson on September 16, matchmaker John Beninati told BoxingScene.com.

The 10 round bout will take place inside the Chelsea Ballroom at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nev.

It is an intriguing crossroads bout between super middleweights, one vying for a world title opportunity and the other who has had a resurgence of sorts in recent years.

 

Love (22-1 1 ND, 12 KOs) has fought only once in 2016, stopping Michael Gbenga after the fifth round on April 1.

Love has won his last four bouts in a row since suffering his only defeat at the hands of Rogelio 'Porky' Medina in August of 2014.

Johnson (21-19-3, 6 KOs) has won six of his last seven bouts, with the lone blemish against Jesse Hart in a close fight.

Johnson has fought a who's who of world titleholders, contenders, and prospects. He has scored occasional upsets, including Mike Gavronski, Craig McEwan, and Elias Espadas.

In the main event of the Mayweather Promotions card, junior middleweight Ishe Smith (28-8, 12 KOs) will face Frank Galarza (17-1-2, 11 KOs) and unbeaten junior middleweight Domonique Dalton (17-0-1, 9 KOs) squares off against Justin DeLoach (15-1, 8 KOs).

Both bouts are scheduled for 10 rounds and will air on Bounce TV.

No word if the Love-Johnson fight will also be added to the live broadcast or be part of the non-televised undercard.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing 

Rances Barthelemy Drops, Decisions Relikh in WBA Eliminator

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Boxing Scene - By Cliff Rold

MGM National Harbor in Maryland - It was hard hitting throughout, with both men on the deck, and in the end the crowd was booing. That didn’t make the crowd right.

Cuban 30-year old former 130 and 135 lb. titlist Rances Barthelemy (26-0, 13 KO), 139 ½, of Las Vegas, Nevada, appeared to win most of the rounds en route to a unanimous decision over 27-year old Kiryl Relikh (21-2, 19 KO), 139 ½, of Belarus. The referee was Kenny Chevalier.

Relikh looked on the verge of a career best win halfway through the fight. A knockdown in round five had Barthelemy reeling but the former titlist made the bell. He returned the knockdown favor in the eighth with a vicious body shot that Relikh tried to play off as low. Another shot did stray low in the ninth and Relikh took ample time to recover. Neither came close to stopping the other again, even as they continued to land blasting, hard shots. 

In the end, Barthelemy simply landed more. The unanimous scores came in at 116-110, 115-111, and 117-109. Barthelemy earns a mandatory position with the WBA. Julius Indongo is the current WBA, IBO and IBF titlist.

A Cuban amateur national champion, 30-year-old Barthelemy turned pro in 2009. Born in Cuba but now fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev. he won a super featherweight world title in July 2014 by defeating Argenis Mendez in impressive fashion, and followed that up with a second round TKO victory over Angino Perez.

After dominating former champion Antonio DeMarco in June, he won a world title in a second division when he impressively defeated Denis Shafikov in December. Most recently, Barthelemy made the lone defense of his lightweight belt with a decision over former champion Mickey Bey last June.
 
Fighting out of Minsk, Belarus, Relikh returned to the ring after challenging the former champion Burns for the WBA title in October 2016.

The 27-year-old was undefeated after turning pro in 2011 leading up to his world title shot. Relikh owns wins over veteran contenders Christian Ariel Lope, Joaquim Carneiro and Lazaro Santos de Jesus.

BJ Flores Debuts at Heavyweight: Caleb Plant, Nyambayar Win

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Boxing Scene - By Boxing Clever

Three fighters advised by boxing power broker Al Haymon secured victories on Saturday night.

At the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, Arizona - BJ Flores (33-3-1, 21 KOs) made his official debut as a heavyweight, and demolished Jeremy Bates (26-19-1, 22 KOs) in the first round. Bates went down twice before the fight was waved off.

Flores, who weighed a solid 223-pounds for the fight, was having issues with making the cruiserweight limit. Last October, he squeezed down one final time to challenger WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew. After started well in the first round, Flores was caught by a punch that he never saw coming and was eventually stopped in the third round.

After Deontay Wilder retained the WBC heavyweight crown with a knockout of Gerald Washington, there were two fights which were televised on Fox Sports 1 from the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.

In a super middleweight fight, unbeaten Caleb Plant (15-0, 10 KOs) continued his impress run with a ten round unanimous decision over durable Thomas Awimbono (25-7-1, 21 KOs). Plant dropped Awimbono in the first round, and then got the better of the action with hard shots for the rest of the way. The scores were 100-89, 99-90, 100-89.

Also on the card, junior lightweight prospect Tugstsogt Nyambayar (8-0, 8 KOs), who won a silver medal in the 2012 Olympic games, stopped Jhon Gemino (15-8-1, 7 KO) in the tenth and final round. Tug sent Gemino down in the third, twice in the sixth, and again in the tenth before the fight was waved off.

CALEB PLANT

"Tonight was about staying controlled. I didn't want to go out there and force anything. I just wanted to relax and settle in behind my jab, use my faints, and just take the shots that were there for me.
 
"I'm hoping that a win like this opens up some doors for me. The 168 lbs division is in my back pocket. I'm just taking it one fight at a time and we'll reach our goal.
 
"Going the distance to get a win over an experienced fighter like Awimbono shows a lot about my potential. He's been in there with some great fighters, but I fought my fight and got the win.
 
"I dropped him early with a flurry, but it's hard against a guy who didn't want to engage. You've got to take what they give you. Otherwise I risk going in too aggressive and getting caught off guard, which I can't allow. I have to remain patient and find my spots.
 
"I'm hoping for bigger fights every time. We don't want any soft touches. I've been trying to get fights with some top prospects, guys with some minor titles, but they won't take the fight. I can't let that bother me though, because I know I'm a high risk for these guys. It might be early in my career, but I can make the adjustments and do it all."
 
TUGSTSOGT NYAMBAYAR
 
"It meant a lot to get a win like that against a rugged fighter on short notice.
 
"We were looking for a knockout much earlier, but Gemino was really tough tonight. He showed a lot of heart, but thankfully we got the win.
 
"Even though this was a heavier weight than I'm used to fighting at, I had no problem handling his size.
 
"Fighting on a card like this on FS1 and FOX Deportes means the world to me. This was a big opportunity to showcase my skills.
 
"I want anyone they put in front of me next. I'll face whoever."
 
JHON GEMINO
 
"I'm not trying to make excuses, but we took this fight on very short notice. I'm very frustrated with my performance tonight.
 
"I'll do everything I can to get another fight in the U.S. and I promise to always give it my all. I hope the fans enjoyed our fight tonight.
 
"I'm willing to fight anyone, I just wish I had more time to prepare for Nyambayar."