Andrew Tabiti: record, next fight and profile →
Former super welterweight champion Ishe "Sugar Shay'' Smith will battle top 154-pound contender Tony Harrison in a 10-round match that headlines Premier Boxing Champions on Bounce on Friday, May 11 from Sam's Town in Las Vegas.
BoxingScene.com recently caught up with Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe to get an update on two of his up and coming fighters. Andrew Tabiti made the transition from cruiserweight prospect to contender by going 2-0 in 2017, defeating the then unbeaten Quantis Graves and former champion Steve Cunningham. The latter victory for the Floyd Mayeather Sr. trained fighter came on the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor pay-per-view undercard in Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS – Andrew Tabiti apparently impressed the judges more than the crowd Saturday night. The unbeaten Tabiti defeated former cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham by unanimous decision in their 10-round fight at T-Mobile Arena. Tabiti won their seemingly competitive fight 97-93 on the scorecards of judges Robert Hoyle and Tim Cheatham.
By Keith Idec LAS VEGAS – Andrew Tabiti apparently impressed the judges more than the crowd Saturday night. The unbeaten Tabiti defeated former cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham by unanimous decision in their 10-round fight at T-Mobile Arena. Tabiti won their seemingly competitive fight 97-93 on the scorecards of judges Robert Hoyle and Tim Cheatham. The third judge, Eric Cheek, scored each of the 10 rounds for Tabiti in the first fight Showtime Pay-Per-View televised as part of the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor undercard. Tabiti is promoted by Mayweather’s company. Tabiti, a Chicago native based in Las Vegas, improved to 15-0, retained the NABF cruiserweight title and won the USBA cruiserweight championship. Philadelphia’s Cunningham dropped to 29-9-1. The 6-feet-3 Cunningham took the fight to Tabiti from the opening bell and appeared to use his size to his advantage against a shorter fighter. Cunningham’s work rate slowed down during the second half of the fight, though, when Tabiti became more accurate with his jab and landed more punches overall. The 27-year-old Tabiti stood his ground more in the second half of the fight as well. Earlier in the fight, Cunningham was the aggressor and Tabiti continually moved away from him. Tabiti knocked out 12 of his first 14 opponents, but none were nearly as accomplished or experienced as Cunningham, a former two-time IBF cruiserweight contender and onetime heavyweight contender. Before Saturday night, the 41-year-old Cunningham had fought just once in the previous 16 months since his unanimous-decision defeat to then-WBO cruiserweight champion Krzysztof Glowacki in April 2016 at Barclays Center. Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
Undercard Weigh-In Photos for Mayweather-McGregor - Mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor will carry a sizeable weight advantage into his superfight with Floyd Mayweather after tipping the scales nearly four pounds heavier than the boxing legend here Friday. Photos by Chris Farina/Esther Lin.
By Thomas Gerbasi - Steve Cunningham is one of boxing’s good guys. He always has been. But he’s also human, so it can irk him at times when a consistent theme in interviews is his age. “I understand why they do it, but it gets on my nerves,” said the 41-year-old Philadelphian. “People who see me in the gym and kn...
Jack-Cleverly, Cunningham-Tabiti Photos Grand Arrivals - Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor official kicked off fight week events Tuesday with grand arrivals at the Toshiba Plaza ahead of the SHOWTIME PPV event this Saturday, Aug. 26 taking place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Photos Chris Farina/Esther Lin.
On Saturday, Aug. 26 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, undefeated cruiserweight contender Andrew Tabiti will face former world champion Steve Cunningham. The fight will be part of the Showtime Pay-Per-View undercard to Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor.
Two world championship fights including a title defense by America's youngest world champion are part of the trio of high stakes matchups on the Mayweather vs. McGregor SHOWTIME PPV undercard on Saturday, Aug. 26 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and presented by Mayweather Promotions.
In a night focused on prospects, the best, and most brief, impression was left in the main event on Friday night at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California. 23-year old Jr. middleweight Justin DeLoach (17-1, 9 KO), 151 ¾, of Augusta, Georgia, needed just two rounds to dispose of 26-year old Chris Pearson (14-2, 10 KO), 152 ¾, of Trotwood, Ohio. It was Pearson’s second loss in his last three fights while DeLoach makes it seven straight after a stoppage loss to Cesar Villa in early 2015.