logo
Boxing's biggest winners and losers of June: Brian Norman Jr., Jake Paul lead roller-coaster month

Boxing's biggest winners and losers of June: Brian Norman Jr., Jake Paul lead roller-coaster month

Yahoo02-07-2025
Jake Paul was a winner once again in June, much to the disappointment of many in boxing.
You know what they say: May showers bring June flowers, and that's exactly what happened in the weird and wonderful world of boxing this past month.
WINNERS
Brian Norman Jr.
STOP THE COUNT.
Brian Norman Jr. has already won 2025's Knockout of the Year award, so let's get that title in the mail to Georgia and draw a big emphatic line under the conversation.
Advertisement
The sweetest and cleanest of left hooks left Japan's Jin Sasaki motionless, face-up in the middle of the canvas, subsequently unable to remember the last six weeks of his life.
Moving to 28-0 as a pro, this was the kind of statement victory that the 24-year-old needed in order to skyrocket him into the wider consciousness of the boxing public — and seemingly overnight, the WBO welterweight beltholder is now one of the hot tickets at 147 pounds.
Devin Haney awaits Norman this November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, according to Turki Alalshikh.
Junto Nakatani
It's now five stoppage wins in five fights at bantamweight for the vicious Junto Nakatani, and the unbeaten Japanese superstar is edging closer and closer to what would be an extraordinary fight against his compatriot Naoya Inoue.
Advertisement
Nakatani's latest win came via sixth-round stoppage against Ryosuke Nishida, moving him to 31-0 (24 KOs). Now he has a decision to make whether to stay at 118 pounds or leap into 122-pound waters.
Nakatani is arguably the fighter of the year thus far at the halfway point of 2025, thanks to two convincing knockouts of top-10 bantamweights.
Richardson Hitchins
There's always been something oddly beautiful about a perfectly-delivered liver shot.
Perhaps that's me speaking from the School of Ricky Hatton, but Richardson Hitchins' body-shot stoppage of George Kambosos Jr. elevated the unbeaten New Yorker into someone the Big Apple could hang its hat on for future outings.
Advertisement
It was Hitchins' coming out party in the 140-pound division, gliding to a near-perfect win against the tough and experienced Australian. Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney are just two of the names that await the 26-year-old in the ever-changing choppy waters of super lightweight — and, down the line at welterweight.
Jake Paul
Jake Paul has beaten former world champions in back-to-back fights and is now ranked among the top 15 global cruiserweights with the World Boxing Association — and what have you done today?
OK, the Marmite-esque Paul may not be the Messiah, but to quote Monty Python's "Life of Brian," he might also not quite be the 'very naughty boy' that certain corners of the boxing media want to suggest.
Advertisement
Paul is dedicating himself to the craft of boxing, and as he continues pour money into the women's side of the sport with Most Valuable Promotions, he's going to gain more and more popularity. Whether he's actually any good or not will soon enough become apparent, but there is enough wrong in the sport without needing to lambast "The Problem Child' every time he makes headlines.
Fabio Wardley
Everyone loves a come-from-behind knockout. Well, except poor Justis Huni in this instance. The talented Australian was dominating Ipswich's hometown hero for 10 and a half rounds with slick combinations and classy movement, until — BANG! — Wardley landed a right hand from the Gods, leaving Huni in a confused pile on the canvas.
This, ladies and gentleman, is heavyweight boxing. When you posses the power Wardley clearly does, then, despite his technical shortcomings, the sky's the limit in the most dramatic of divisions.
Advertisement
Huni comes out of this contest with a lot of credit and his stock increased, but including him in a list of winners would be a bit of a stretch after finding himself on the wrong end of one of the month's biggest knockouts.
Sorry, 'mayte.'
LOSERS
Keyshawn Davis
It wasn't a good month for Keyshawn Davis — and that's putting it lightly.
The former WBO lightweight world champion looked pretty content on the scales weighing 4.3 pounds overweight for his contest with Edwin De Los Santos, like a 420-pound guy might well do in his return to WeightWatchers following an all-inclusive trip to Mexico.
The fight was canned, and if losing out on a cool $1 million dollars wasn't bad enough, Davis lost plenty more in terms of respect, as he instigated an altercation with rival Nahir Albright in his locker room following Albright's win over his brother, Kelvin Davis.
Advertisement
Davis had a successful boxing future in the palm of his hand, but this self-destruction — and more importantly, lack of remorse — may well be a sign of worse things to come as he moves through his career.
Galal Yafai
The youngest of the Yafai brothers was attempting to make history alongside Anthony Joshua and James DeGale by becoming only the third British male to win an Olympic gold medal and a world championship.
But that dream — for now — was comprehensively ripped out of his hands by Mexican challenger Francisco Rodriguez Jr., who beat the Briton from pillar to post over 12 uncompetitive rounds in Birmingham, UK.
Advertisement
Yafai lost his unbeaten record and his WBC interim title at flyweight, but above all, the mystic that he could potentially be one of the boogeymen in the 112-pound division.
Francisco Rodriguez Jr. dominated Galal Yafai in one of the biggest upsets of June.
(Ben Roberts Photo via Getty Images)
Jaime Munguia
'Same piss, different pot,' when it comes to fighters A-samples and B-samples.
It's not often that a B-sample in boxing acts as Monopoly's get-out-of-jail-free card, and Mexico's Jaime Munguia found that out the predictably hard way this month as his adverse finding of exogenous testosterone was confirmed.
Team Munguia has spun the Wheel of Excuses, landing on contamination — and I'll be surprised as anyone if we reach an honest conclusion to this debacle before Munguia is allowed to enter the ring again as a professional.
Advertisement
Boxing's grey area continues to cover more and more ground on the map.
Boxxer
We all remember our first break up, don't we?
But unlike Emily Appleby round the back of the bike sheds in 1996, Boxxer's first heartbreak with platform Sky Sports looks to be playing out a lot more publicly.
Boxxer, and their lead promotor Ben Shalom, were plucked out of relative obscurity four years ago to lead the media giant's boxing content, and this lucrative deal worth £36 million looks — according to a number of sources — to have come to an end.
It felt like Boxxer were attempting to push custard up a hill from the word go as they followed on from the "glory years" of Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing, and Sky Sports will now go in the direction of one-off contracts on an ad-hoc basis for fights they wish to broadcast.
Advertisement
Boxing purists
The great Vasiliy Lomachenko announced his retirement from the sport at the age of 37, leaving a hole in the heart of the boxing community.
In his pomp, the Ukrainian was as near perfect as you could imagine from a fighter, something his 18-3 professional record will never truly illustrate.
'Hi-Tech's' smooth, technically mesmerizing style left opponents bamboozled and — during a four-fight run between 2016-17 — quitting on their stools, unable to come close in attempting to solve his puzzle.
It's unlikely we'll see a fighter so accomplished as an amateur and professional any time soon.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Can the Boston Celtics team culture handle a Ben Simmons signing?
Can the Boston Celtics team culture handle a Ben Simmons signing?

USA Today

time3 hours ago

  • USA Today

Can the Boston Celtics team culture handle a Ben Simmons signing?

Can the Boston Celtics team culture handle a Ben Simmons signing? The Celtics have been connected to the former Los Angeles Clippers big man in free agency, and not all fans of the storied ball club are into such a move. Citing his past turbulence as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets, those fans understandably look past his solid, uneventful campaign with the Clips in LA last season out of concern for the several younger players on the team. The thinking is that Simmons has never been part of a winning culture and thus has little to offer the development of such players besides soaking up a portion of the minutes in a best-case scenario. And they rightfully note that the Australian forward could make things a problem for Boston in the worst-case outcomes if he brings some of his past antics to the team. The hosts of the CLNS Media "First to the Floor" podcast, Jake Issenberg, Ben Vallis, and Wayne Spooney, took some time on a recent episode of their show to talk it over. Check it out below! If you enjoy this pod, check out the "How Bout Them Celtics," "First to the Floor," and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network:

Her best WNBA game was vs. Fever this year. Now, Australian is Indiana's newest player
Her best WNBA game was vs. Fever this year. Now, Australian is Indiana's newest player

Indianapolis Star

time5 hours ago

  • Indianapolis Star

Her best WNBA game was vs. Fever this year. Now, Australian is Indiana's newest player

The Indiana Fever signed Australian forward Chloe Bibby to a seven-day contract. Bibby played five games for the Golden State Valkyries this season, averaging 6.4 points and 2.8 rebounds a game. Her best game of the season was June 19 against the Fever when she played a season-high 24 points and had a season-high 12 points with three rebounds and two made 3s. The 6-footer shot 42% (8-of-19) from behind the arc in her limited run with Golden State. Earlier this month, Bibby was part of the Australian national team that won the FIBA Asia World Cup. She averaged 8.0 points and 6.2 rebounds for the Opals, who beat Japan in the final on July 20. Bibby was a second-team All-Big Ten selection at Maryland in 2022 and honorable mention All-Big Ten in 2021 after spending her first three college seasons at Mississippi State. She has played most of her professional career overseas, earning MVP honors in Poland (2023-24) and Spain (2024-25). The Fever had an open roster spot after beginning the season with just 11 players because of salary cap restrictions. Caitlin Clark remains out with right groin injury with an uncertain timetable for a return. A seven-day contract is only available to teams in the second half of the season, and it allows teams flexibility when they don't want to commit to a guaranteed contract. Players will earn the prorated minimum base salary. They can sign up to three seven-day contracts with a single team, but can sign with multiple teams during that time. Teams can also elect to sign those players to a rest-of-season contract at any point. Fever Insider Chloe Peterson contributed to this story.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri quickest in practice for Belgian Grand Prix
McLaren's Oscar Piastri quickest in practice for Belgian Grand Prix

Yahoo

time8 hours ago

  • Yahoo

McLaren's Oscar Piastri quickest in practice for Belgian Grand Prix

Championship leader Oscar Piastri set the early pace in practice for the Belgian Grand Prix – as Lando Norris finished half-a-second behind his title rival. Piastri, who holds an eight-point lead over Norris at the midway stage of the season, saw off Red Bull's Max Verstappen by four tenths with Norris 0.504 seconds behind his McLaren team-mate. George Russell finished fourth for Mercedes, one place ahead of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. Lewis Hamilton was sixth, one second off the pace. Former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is this weekend absent from a Formula One event for the first time in 20 years following his dramatic dismissal earlier this month. Horner was released from his position 18 months after he was accused of 'inappropriate behaviour' by a female staff member – although he was twice exonerated – and Red Bull's dramatic slump in form. Four-time world champion Verstappen has won just four of the last 26 races he has competed in. Occupying Horner's seat on the Red Bull pit wall is Frenchman Laurent Mekies, and he oversaw Verstappen splitting the McLaren drivers. However, Yuki Tsunoda was only 18th in the other Red Bull. Norris arrived in Spa-Francorchamps with back-to-back victories after triumphs in Austria and his home race at Silverstone. But the British driver appears to have his work cut out to stop Piastri at Spa-Francorchamps after the Australian set a blistering pace in the sole practice session on Friday. Hamilton might have hoped an upgraded rear suspension on his Ferrari will reverse his fortunes. Yet the seven-time world champion was a distant sixth in his Ferrari. Earlier in the session, Hamilton also courted the wrath of Gabriel Bortoleto after the rookie accused him of driving slowly through the high-speed Radillon. 'Mate what the f*** is Hamilton doing?' he yelled. 'He is always in the middle of the track.' Qualifying for Saturday's sprint race takes place at 1630 local time (1530 BST).

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store