Two-time WBC super-middleweight champion Anthony Dirrell will return to the fray against Kyrone ‘Shut It Down’ Davis on February 27. The bout is expected to take place at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles.
The 36-year-old Dirrell (33-2-1, 24 KOs) hasn’t fought since losing his WBC crown to David Benavidez in nine rounds back in September 2019. That loss marked the end of the Flint, Michigan man’s second reign as WBC champion.
The New Jersey born Davis (15-2, 6 KOs) hasn’t mixed in this company before, but was last in action in January 2020 where he halted Antonio Todd in four.
On the undercard, Arizona’s touted 140-pounder Jesus Ramos Jr. (14-0, 13 KOs) and New Jersey’s teenaged welter Victor Mielnicki Jr. (7-0, 4 KOs) will appear in separate bouts.
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Known in the UK for his winning and losing efforts against Kevin Mitchell (WTKO5) and Anthony Crolla (LKO7), Venezuelan puncher Ismael ‘El Tigre’ Barroso (24-3-2, 21 KOs) banged out the experienced Nestor Hugo Paniagua (26-11-2, 17 KOs) in a solitary round at the Four Ambassadors Hotel in Miami, Florida, on Saturday night.
Southpaw Barroso, who currently holds the WBA’s ‘Gold’ belt at 140lbs, knocked Paniagua clean out with a straight left hand in the opening stanza. That belt was not on the line.
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In women’s world title action, Argentina’s Micaela Milagros Lujan (9-1-1, 3 KOs), still only 21, trumped local rival Debora Vanesa Gomez (6-5-1, 0 KOs) on a split decision to claim the vacant IBF super-flyweight title at the Complejo Multifuncion in Perez, Santa Fe, on Saturday. Scores were 97-93 (twice) for Lujan against a 97-93 nod for southpaw Gomez in an all-action affair.
Main image: Anthony Dirrell. Photo: Leo Wilson/Premier Boxing Champions.