Kovalev-Shabranskyy Undercard: Gamboa Scores Controversial Sosa Win/Barrera Beats Valera in Foul-Fest
- By Behind The Gloves
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- 26 Nov, 2025
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Gamboa, who was called up as a late-replacement for the contest, began well, using his superior footwork and boxing skill to frustrate the marauding Sosa. However, as the bout moved into the middle rounds, Sosa found himself able to close the distance and cutting down the increasingly fatigued Cuban to the head and body.
While Gamboa was still able to show flashes of the brilliance that saw him win a gold medal at the 2004 Olympic games in Athens, his quality was few and far between in the second half of the fight. Sosa continued to apply pressure, with Gamboa looking for opportunities to tie his man up and offering little in response.
Sosa would score a knockdown in the seventh round, clipping Gamboa on top of the head with a right hand, forcing him to touch down to the canvas. On replay, the knockdown seemed innocuous, but there was no disputing the point deduction suffered by Gamboa in the tenth and final round, following several firm warnings for consistent holding.
Although the fight was close throughout, with Gamboa making Sosa look amateurish and wild for large periods of the first half, the knockdown and point deduction appeared to sway the bout in favour of the Puerto Rican-American. However, much to the dismay of the audience, two of the three judges did not see it that way: handing Gamboa the majority decision with scores of 94-94, 95-93 & 96-92.
Behind The Gloves [Rob Tebbutt] Scorecard: 95-93 (Sosa)
Barrera, who has been earmarked to face newly-crowned WBA Light Heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol in his next fight, started the bout eager to make a statement of his title credentials. However, Valera had plans of his own, dropping Barrera with a hard left hook in the exchanges little more than two minutes into the contest. To Barrera's credit, he rose quickly from what looked a fairly heavy knockdown, and sprang quickly into life.
Before the sound of the bell to end the opener, Barrera turned the tables with an albeit questionable knockdown of his own, sending Valera to the canvas after brushing him on top of the head with a left hand. Replays showed a coming together with the feet of the two fighters, but nevertheless, the knockdown was awarded and brought to an end a lively first session.
The bout would provide plenty of action throughout, with Valera boxing to a somewhat uneven gameplan, switching stance - and mentality - consistently. The Dominican banger - whose only loss came to the aforementioned Bivol over 12 rounds - proved a difficult puzzle for Barrera to solve, with a long, snappy jab and hard left hook keeping his man at bay for the early stages.
The first of four point deductions came as early as the second round, following a vicious left hook to the groin area of Barrera. The referee would remain busy throughout, with Valera straying below the belt-line a further three times throughout the contest, rendering him reluctant to target the body of Barrera.
After the initial fireworks, Barrera managed to find a groove in the middle rounds, stalking Valera and ripping him to the head and body as he banked round after round on the scorecards. Valera would continue to fall foul of the rulebook, being docked further points for marginal low blows in the sixth and eighth rounds, before going into a shell in an effort to make it through to the final round.
Barrera, who suffered a nasty-looking cut over his left eye in the early rounds, stuck to his task well, and was unflustered by the continual fouling administered by his opponent. The Cuban would be deducted a point of his own (as if scoring the fight wasn't difficult enough) in the ninth round, but by which time, the scorecards were merely a formality.
An exciting final round saw Valera throw caution to the wind in a bid to cause the dramatic come-from-behind upset, but it wasn't to be, as Barrera matched him and left the outcome of the bout in no doubt.
At the conclusion of the contest, Barrera raised his arms aloft as the scorecards of 98-88, 97-90 & 97-89 saw him collect the victory in a fight that was a trickier task than many had predicted.
With Barrera securing his fourth consecutive victory since dropping a lopsided decision to former-divisional kingpin Andre Ward in March of 2016, he now moves into pole position to challenge for the WBA World title. However, based on the nature of his performance - against an admittedly tough-cookie in Valera - the elite competitors in the stacked 175lbs division will look upon him as little more than a speed-bump en route to some of the higher-profile bouts.
Behind The Gloves [Rob Tebbutt] Scorecard: 97-90 (Barrera)
Article by: Rob Tebbutt
You can follow Rob on Twitter at: @RobTebbutt
Andy Townend and Maxi Hughes both secured stoppage victories in impressive fashion at the Doncaster Dome this past weekend, pushing themselves into the conversation for title shots in 2018.
Barnsley’s lightweight Townend dismantled Peter Cope in five rounds, repeating his victory over the Hartlepool man in 2014, whilst Hughes stepped up to lightweight and promptly demolished Danny Cassius Connor in four rounds to add a rare stoppage victory to his record.
Townend lived up to “KO Kid” moniker, putting Cope, who had started well off the back foot, down with a short right hand in the first round. Cope recovered well and the fight descended into a bit of a mess as the pair ended up on the floor three times after the feet got tangled up due to the mix of southpaw and orthodox.
However, Townend re-adjusted and his power shook Cope with every shot he landed. Another right hand put Cope down early in the fifth and from there the floodgates opened as Townend couldn’t miss. He was patient, pressing forward intelligently and took his opportunities when they presented themselves.
Cope was down twice more from the same shot, visibly getting angrier with himself, but he could have no argument when Mark Lyson stepped in to end the fight. Townend will now be hoping to get himself into contention for a major title shot, perhaps a rematch with Commonwealth champion Sean Dodd, who he also stopped back in 2014.
Townend’s stoppage was expected, however Hughes’ wasn’t and he stole the show with a superb performance against Connor, who had no answer for a more aggressive “Maximus”. The Rossington man bounded into the ring and he didn’t hang around, piling on the pressure from the opening bell.
His corner implored to remain calm, but Connor simply didn’t show up and Hughes took advantage, the left hand in particular proving his most dangerous weapon. Connor went down in the second, but saw out the round despite a ferocious onslaught from Hughes.
Things got worse for Connor as a clash of heads left him with a cut by his right eye in the third and he was down heavily from another left in the fourth. Hughes put his foot on the gas and pounced on Connor who was taking too much before his corner threw in the towel with 1:55 gone in round four.
Connor protested to his cornerman, but could have no real complaint as nothing was going his way and he had no answer to anything Hughes was throwing his way. Hughes remains undecided as to whether he will continue to campaign at lightweight or drop back down to super-feather where he has challenged for the British title.
Following the disappointment of failing to qualify for the Rio Olympics, former European kickboxing champion Chantelle Cameron (4-0-0, 3 KO's) put her amateur career behind her in search of new opportunities.
Cameron planned to move to the other side of the world until a phone call from her former amateur coach changed the course of her career once more.
“I was going to go to Australia to work and I got a message from my amateur coach saying that the McGuingans wanted to meet me, so I went down the gym and from there we just gelled and they offered me deal." said Cameron, in an exclusive interview with Behind The Gloves .
The 26-year-old is delighted to have teamed up with Cyclone Promotions, and spoke glowingly of trainer Shane McGuigan, who has been entrusted with guiding her professional career.
“It’s amazing." she said enthusiastically.
"He [Shane] is a brilliant coach and anything he says to me I trust one million percent. I’m always trying out the things he tells me to do and it seems to be working for me."
“He is absolutely great and its not all about the training: we have a laugh everyday and he makes it enjoyable. I think he understands that boxing is a hard enough sport so makes sure you enjoy it at the same time. The gym is buzzing at the moment. Everyone is enjoying it and everyone is performing so it's a great environment to be in." Cameron finished.
Speaking exclusively to Behind The Gloves , the Brixton prodigy spoke of his disappointment in having to pull out of the scheduled contest, having originally been slated to perform on the same card as domestic rival Lawrence Okolie at the famous East London venue.
“I’m gutted.” said Chamberlain.
“I feel like I’ve had work for everything so far in my career, and just when I start to pick up some momentum: I get an injury three weeks out.”
After suffering a gruesome shoulder injury in his breakout fight against Wadi Camacho in September last year at York Hall, Chamberlain had been determined to end 2025 on a high, after making a successful comeback with three wins from three since his recovery.
“The injury [against Camacho] was tough. There was a lot of rehabilitation, a lot of time recovering and I had to work so hard to get back into shape. Since then I’ve had three wins and three knockouts, and was looking forward to making it four out of four on the 13th.” he said.
“It’s frustrating, but it’s boxing. Everything happens for a reason.”
The affable 23-year-old, who has garnered a considerable following since making his professional debut in 2014, had a message for fans who had bought tickets for the event.
“Sometimes you feel like you let people down, but people know there’s no quit in me. I’ve shown before that I’m willing to do whatever it takes in the ring.” Chamberlain continued.
“We’ve been selling more tickets for each fight, and this fight was looking to be a record for me with ticket sales, so it’s a bit frustrating. But this sport is no joke, and I can’t go into the ring when I’m injured and risk my health and my future.”
Gamboa, who was called up as a late-replacement for the contest, began well, using his superior footwork and boxing skill to frustrate the marauding Sosa. However, as the bout moved into the middle rounds, Sosa found himself able to close the distance and cutting down the increasingly fatigued Cuban to the head and body.
While Gamboa was still able to show flashes of the brilliance that saw him win a gold medal at the 2004 Olympic games in Athens, his quality was few and far between in the second half of the fight. Sosa continued to apply pressure, with Gamboa looking for opportunities to tie his man up and offering little in response.
Sosa would score a knockdown in the seventh round, clipping Gamboa on top of the head with a right hand, forcing him to touch down to the canvas. On replay, the knockdown seemed innocuous, but there was no disputing the point deduction suffered by Gamboa in the tenth and final round, following several firm warnings for consistent holding.
Although the fight was close throughout, with Gamboa making Sosa look amateurish and wild for large periods of the first half, the knockdown and point deduction appeared to sway the bout in favour of the Puerto Rican-American. However, much to the dismay of the audience, two of the three judges did not see it that way: handing Gamboa the majority decision with scores of 94-94, 95-93 & 96-92.
Behind The Gloves [Rob Tebbutt] Scorecard: 95-93 (Sosa)
Former unified champion Kovalev - making his return to the ring following back-to-back losses to Andre Ward - started the bout in menacing fashion, unloading a series of shots to the body of his opponent, before drilling Shabranskyy to the canvas with a hard counter-right hand. Shabranskyy bravely dragged himself to his feet, but never truly recovered and was dropped again before the end of the session, after being stunned by the same shot from Kovalev.
After being assessed before the beginning of the second round by the ringside physicians, Shabranskyy walked out to the gallows and was duly put out of his misery by the rampaging 'Krusher'. Another hard right hand to the temple sent the outmatched Shabranskyy down to the canvas for the third time, with Kovalev poised and ready to bring a halt to proceedings: which he duly did. A relentless-barrage-of-unanswered-blows-from-Kovalev-later, the referee stepped in to save Shabranskyy from further punishment.
For Kovalev, the bout is a welcome return to action, and will go some way to abolishing the trauma of losing his titles in acrimonious fashion to the now-retired Andre Ward twelve months ago: before suffering a humiliating - and in his own words 'unfair' - stoppage defeat in the return bout.
With the Light Heavyweight division beginning to take shape in the post-Ward era, Kovalev called on compatriots Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev for what would be huge unification bouts in 2018. One thing is for certain, the 'Krusher' is back, and those who felt that he may have lost a step after his losses to Ward, may have to think again after the ruthless nature of his performance.
Article by: Rob Tebbutt
You can follow Rob on Twitter at: @RobTebbutt
Manuel Charr (31-4-0, 17 KO’s) claimed the WBA ‘Regular’ World Heavyweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Alexander Ustinov (34-2-0, 25 KO’s) in Oberhausen, Germany.
The bout was, in truth, representative of the lightly regarded title, with both men producing sub-par performances in correlation to the more established and esteemed competitors in the Heavyweight division.
Charr, however, was able to manoeuvre his cumbersome opponent around the ring, outworking him in in stages to secure the decision and capture the WBA’s secondary belt in the process.
The giant Ustinov began the contest on the front foot in the opener, backing Charr up to the ropes and clubbing away to the head and body of his 34-year-old opponent. Despite the, ahem, “fast” start from the ambling Belarusian, Ustinov gassed badly in the middle rounds of the contest, becoming more and more ungainly as the bout went on, with Charr growing in confidence with each passing minute.
Though he gave up considerable height and reach to his 6’7” opponent, Charr was able to land his jab consistently throughout the fight, beating Ustinov to the punch and forcing him on to the back foot. With Charr holding the middle of the ring, Ustinov seemed befuddled and devoid of ideas, lumbering around the ring and unable to string together any real momentum.
However, Charr - who failed in his previous attempt at a World title against then-WBC champion Vitali Klitschko in 2012 - was in danger of allowing the fight to slip from his grasp, with an alarming lack of activity that somehow enabled the exhausted Ustinov to remain in the fight.
A hard left hook from Charr in the seventh round sparked the contest into an admittedly brief moment of life, with Ustinov tying his man up in a bid to make it through the session. Make it through the session he did, however, the same shot towards the end of the eighth round from Charr sent the 40-year-old Ustinov capsizing to the canvas. After dragging his considerable frame to his feet, Ustinov survived the remaining ten seconds and made his way groggily to his stool, sporting a nasty looking cut under his left eye from the blow that felled him.
Charr was unable to capitalise on his success in the ninth round, but no matter, due to the lack of return fire from his opponent. While the bout was close throughout - with many rounds potentially going either way - Charr was able to gain control in the championship rounds, with Ustinov simply too tired to mount any sort of resistance.
The final round saw Charr rubber-stamp his victory, cheered on by a legion of vocal home supporters. At the sound of the bell - a sweet sound for many spectators of this extraordinarily-second-tier-tilt - Charr raised his arms aloft, with the cut and dishevelled Ustinov trudging back to his team wearing a look of resignation.
With scores of 115-111, 116-111 & 115-112, Charr claimed the WBA ‘Regular’ title via unanimous decision, but in truth, the contest showcased the severe lack of depth in a still top-heavy Heavyweight division.
Another sidenote highlighted was the worrying state of the governing bodies (in this case, the WBA), with a title reading ‘World’ up for grabs, and ultimately won by a man that has no business fighting at the very top level in boxing.
While the bout was scrappy, lacking in quality and, at times, somewhat degrading to the sport’s marquee division, Charr edged over the line - deservedly so - using an attritional and wily gameplay to highlight the obvious deficiencies in the clumsy Ustinov’s style.
Behind The Gloves [Rob Tebbutt] Scorecard: 114-113 Charr
Article by Rob Tebbutt
You can follow Rob on Twitter at: @RobTebbutt
Lee Selby has his eyes fixed firmly on unbeaten Mexican southpaw Eduardo Ramirez ahead of their showdown at the Copper Box Arena on December 9th.
The 30-year-old knows that should he come through his latest challenge unscathed, he'll be cashing in on some huge pay days in 2018, with the likes of mandatory challenger Josh Warrington, Carl Frampton and Scott Quigg all banging the drum for a shot as his IBF featherweight title.
Selby told Behind The Gloves : "I'm not looking past December 9th and doing the job against Ramirez.
"There were only a few names available for this fight who were up there in the ratings, and Ramirez was the one we went for.
"I don't like to do too much research into my opponents, I've had a little look on YouTube and he looks decent, with fast hands and he seems tough too.
"He's the sixth or seventh unbeaten fighter I've faced, so I have no worries about his record."
The Welshman was talking from his training camp in Fuerteventura following a sparring session with Ryan Wheeler and Jazza Dickens, and admits it's nice to train with the sun beating down on his back, adding: "We've been out here before, the facilities at Adam Bailey's gym are superb and it's nice to break camp up and come out here to get some sun on my back.
"I'm getting great sparring with two southpaws in Ryan and Jazza and my preparation is going well."
Former Team GB amateur standout Harvey Horn has said he hopes to be fast-tracked as he embarks upon his professional career. Horn will make his debut on the undercard of a show featuring British world champions James DeGale and Lee Selby at London’s Copper Box Arena on December 9.
The 22-year-old signed a long-term promotional deal with Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren at the beginning of October and will campaign in the Flyweight division. He trains out of the famous Peacock Gym in Canning Town under highly-respected coach Mark Tibbs.
The East-Londoner gained a wealth of experience in a fine amateur career where he won won the 2014 ABA championships, before continuing his progression in the following year after winning a European silver medal in Bulgaria. He then represented Team GB at the inaugural European Games in Baku.
Horn gained what could be crucial experience through participating in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) which he entered with the British Lionhearts squad. The pro-style boxing format sees participants compete without a vest and are not permitted to wear protective headgear over three-minute rounds.
"They’re five round fights, no vest, no head guard, it’s like a professional fight." said Horn, in an exclusive interview with Behind The Gloves reporter Isaiah Benjamin.
"I was in there with the world’s best, so as far as I’m concerned I’ve already had three or four professional fights already. I’ll jump in at four rounds to start and maybe have two of those and then move up to six rounders, but I don’t want to stick around on the six’s too long."
"Judging on how I’ve been performing the last few years, and with the WSB and amateur experience that I’ve got, I’m hoping to be fast-tracked and that’s something that is expected of me from my promoter and my trainer.” he continued.
Quick! Name two currently active professional boxers with more talent and skill than Vasyl Lomachenko and Guillermo Rigondeaux? I'm not a gambling man but I'll bet the farm you can't do it. So don't even try. Listen, pedigree doesn't lie. Double Olympic gold medal winners don't grow on trees.
For the boxing faithful, 2025 has been a year where our cups have runneth over. We've had the drama of Wladimir Klitschko vs Anthony Joshua and Ward vs Kovalev, the controversy of the long awaited clash between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin, and the shock of Roman Gonzalez getting unexpectedly bombed out by the dynamite fisted Thai, Sor Rungvisai. Whichever way you slice it boxing is on a roll this year. And it's not over yet.
On December 9th, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, we get the biggest fight in the sport that can be made in any weight class below 135lbs. And the second the Lomachenko vs Rigondeaux bout was officially announced, you could hear the collective sound of jaws dropping across the entire boxing landscape. In fact mine dropped so hard it hit the floor, bounced back up and knocked me clean out.
A couple of swift kicks below the belt line from the wife - her version of first aid - woke me up and, apart from the searing pain in my groin, my first thought was of Loma-Rigo. The fact this fight is signed, sealed and delivered is almost too good to be true. So go ahead and slap yourself. This dream matchup is actually going to happen and if you're anything like me I'd wager you can't wait for the first bell to ring on fight night.
Moving forward I'll say this... It's a damn good time to be a follower of the "Sweet Science."
On 30 October 2025, Robert Smith of the BBBoC blamed Tyson Fury for delays to his anti-doping hearing. He said to Sky Sports, “ We [the BBBoC] are ready to go, UKAD are ready to go on our behalf, and the independent panel are waiting for a confirmed date. It's up to them [Team Fury] now [to propose a date] ."
Then, on 23 November 2025, Mr Smith reiterated to Sky Sports, " The reason why this has taken so long, so I have been led to believe, is because Mr Fury's legal team could not agree a date for the recommencement of the hearing. They obviously now have, and the hearing will recommence [in December 2025] ."
Mr Smith is incorrect. While Team Fury have been advised not to discuss this matter until it is over, we would like to clarify as follows:
(i) This matter started in February 2015 – almost 3 years ago – after routine doping control tests.
(ii) Tyson and Hughie were not notified of the results of those tests for 7 months, and even then UKAD simply asked them about their diet. There was never any suggestion that Tyson and Hughie had done anything wrong or that they might be in any sort of trouble.
(iii) Then, without warning, UKAD charged Tyson and Hughie in June 2016 in relation to the February 2015 tests – i.e. 16 months after the tests.
(iv) A hearing eventually took place in May 2025 but was halted after UKAD objected to the participation of a tribunal member.
(v) Hearing dates were then proposed for early October 2025 but UKAD’s team ( not Team Fury’s team) was unavailable.
(vi) A hearing has now been fixed for December 2025.
Contrary to the BBBoC’s suggestion, therefore, the delays have not been caused by Team Fury.
Source: Hennessy Sports [Press Release]