Former World Champion Hagar Finer Returns in Exhibition Bout

Former world champion Hagar Finer returned to the ring today for the first time since 2012. The 39 year old Israeli fought Jade Smith of Sheffield, England in an exhibition bout at the Camden Boxing Club. The event was put on by Gloves & Doves, which promotes peace and coexistence in the Middle East through boxing.

In the contest, Finer pressed forward with effective combinations against her less experienced foe. It was a spirited exhibition to further a worthy message.

Initially, the event was to be held at a concert hall, but according to one source, the venue had to be changed because the concert hall allegedly wouldn't permit Israeli boxers to fight. If true, the concert hall's decision would be nothing less than short-sighted and asinine. Nationals should never be barred because of the actions of their government, especially since this show was intended to spread the message of peace in the Middle East.

This event marks the second successful show run by Gloves & Doves in the past two weeks. On April 26, Adham Kayouf and Vladimir Dedakov engaged in a highly-skilled duel when they headlined an excellent amateur show in Isfiyah, Israel.

Gloves and Doves to Feature Hagar Finer

Former world champion Hagar Finer is scheduled to box in an exhibition as part of a Gloves and Doves show on May 9 at the Camden Boxing Club in London, England. Finer held the WIBF super flyweight world title from 2007-2008 and then captured the WIBF bantamweight world title in 2009. After four successful defenses, she retired in 2012.

Finer has made Evgheni Boico's list of the top five Jewish Israeli boxers of all-time and Malissa Smith's list of the top 5 Jewish female boxers in history. The 39 year old currently runs the Finer Boxing and Martial Arts Club in Tel Aviv and has staged numerous boxing exhibition shows in Israel.

Gloves and Doves is the brainchild of former pro boxer Tony Milch, who hopes to spread peace through boxing and to build up the sport in Israel. Gloves and Doves will also host a show Friday, April 26 in Isfiya, Israel.

Top 5 Jewish Female Boxers

Malissa Smith's Top 5 Jewish Female Boxers

Malissa Smith is the author of A History Of Women’s Boxing, the first comprehensive narrative of the sport The Ring magazine dubbed "The Bible of Women's Boxing." Smith speaks and writes frequently about the sport and with her two co-hosts, developed the popular WAAR Room podcast focused on sports justice. Smith maintains positions in boxing as a founding board member of the IWBHF, an elector for the IBHOF, and as a member of the The Ring’s women’s ratings panel. Maintaining her own wellness, she trains at the world-renowned Gleason’s Gym and writes pieces for her blog, Girlboxing.

It should be noted this incredible list is in chronological order. Smith, who is the preeminent chronicler of women's boxing, also wanted to mention the legendary boxing manager, Jackie Kallen.

1. "The Jewess of Wentworth Street"
2. Jill "The Zion Lion" Matthews
3. Sarah Deming
4. Hagar Shmoulefeld Finer
5. Carolina Raquel "La Turca" Duer



Other Top 5s
Jewish Bareknuckle Boxers
Jewish Boxers since 1960
Jewish South African Boxers
Jewish Londoner Boxers
Jewish Dutch Boxers
Jewish French Boxers
Jewish Israeli Boxers
Jewish British Boxers
Jewish Canadian Boxers
Jewish North African Boxers

Top 5 Jewish Israeli Boxers

Evgheni Boico's Top 5 Jewish Israeli Boxers

Evgheni Boico is a boxing coach based in Ashdod, Israel and a promoter, first with B&B Promotions and now heading both Arena Boxing Israel and Arena Boxing Moldova. Boico has been instrumental in bringing professional boxing back to Israel. He's not only at the forefront of boxing's recent revival in Israel, but he's also extremely knowledgeable about the history of prizefighting in the country. Evgheni has been very gracious in sharing his boxing expertise with The Jewish Boxing Blog over the years.

Boico notes that #5 on this great list, Motzi Spakow (a.k.a Moți Spakov), fought in British Palestine in 1937 and then had five or six bouts in Israel after independence, none of which are listed on BoxRec at this time. Boico describes him as "the first pro boxer of Israel."

1. Yuri Foreman
2. Hagar Finer
3. David Oved
4. Ran Nakash
5. Motzi Spakow



Other Top 5s
Jewish North African Boxers
Jewish Canadian Boxers
Jewish British Boxers
Jewish Female Boxers
Jewish French Boxers
Jewish Dutch Boxers
Jewish Londoner Boxers
Jewish South African Boxers
Jewish Boxers since 1960
Jewish Bareknuckle Boxers

2022: Year in Review

Canceled fights and curious decisions defined the year in Jewish boxing. Sadly, there were more canceled or postponed fights this year than actual fights. The Jewish Boxing Blog summed up the frustratingly unfair outcomes in an article last month.

David Alaverdian went 2-0-1 with 2 KOs in the pro ranks. He deserved to win the draw. Shawn Sarembock improved his record to 8-0 with 8 KOs. Stefi Cohen and Isaac Chilemba each went 1-1 this year. Igor Lazarev lost both of his fights but deserved to win one of them.

On September 15, four Jewish boxers took part in three bouts in Ashdod, Israel. Kickboxing star Itay Gershon won his pro boxing debut. Prospect Sagiv Ismailov won his third fight, and Aki Mishaev scored a knockout in his second fight. Ismailov, Mishaev, and Lazarev are among the Jewish boxers scheduled to fight on a card in Bnei Ayish, Israel on February 9. The resurgence of pro boxing in Israel is a big development.

There were quite a few boxing exhibition events in Israel this year, a great way to grow the sport in the country. Former world champion Hagar Finer put on a couple of them. Mor Oknin, Mikhael Ostroumov, and Nikita Basin were among the Jewish pro boxers to take part in such shows.

Former world champion Robert Cohen Z"L and heavyweight contender Tim Puller Z"L passed away this year.

The JBB reviewed Holocaust Histories, a podcast about boxers victimized during the Shoah. The reviews of books published this year or late last year include Boxing in Atlantic City, Gangsters vs Nazis, and The Unexpected Danny Green.

Some noteworthy profiles of past Jewish boxers were of Charley Phil Rosenberg, Henry Nissen, Ray Miller, Jack "Kid" Berg, and Izzy Zerling. Then, there was a look back at the wild Israeli amateur boxing scandal in 1988 and the night in 1929 when five Jewish boxing stars fought to raise money for the Jews of British Palestine. Two articles examined the different brands of boxing gloves and the importance of pad work.

The JBB conducted interviews with a few Jewish boxers this year. The interview with Yuri Foreman became two articles, one on his ambitions and another on his reflections. There were two separate interviews with David Alaverdian, one in article form, and a different one in video form. Shawn Michael Sarembock told The JBB his inspiring story. And the two articles about Dmitriy Salita concentrated on his career as a boxer and his work as a promoter.

As for The Jewish Boxing Blog, this year was amazing! Two of the last four months have seen the most traffic in the nearly 13-year history of this site. The other two months were not far behind. The number of followers of the Jewish Boxing Instagram page has more than tripled in the past year, and Twitter followers have doubled in the past two years. A special shoutout to supporters of the Jewish Boxing BuyMeACoffee page ($3 for all newsletters). You are truly appreciated!

Next year looks like there will be a few pro debuts, which is exciting. And hopefully, there will be many more fights. All the best to you and yours.

Finer KOs Opponent

Hagar Shmoulefeld Finer earned her seventh consecutive victory last Saturday with a convincing fourth round stoppage of Austria's Bettina Granasi at the Impact Gym in Munich, Germany. With the win, Finer retained her IBF bantamweight crown.

This signified Finer's fifth defense of the belt. Although she was faced a less-than-heralded opponent (Granasi is now 4-4 with one KO), the win was impressive since Finer hadn't fought since January of 2011. Finer, who weighed 115 pounds (one more than her opponent), moves her mark to 24-7-3. She earned her seventh knockout.

Carolina Duer Keeps Rolling

Carolina Duer earned her fourth straight stoppage and her tenth consecutive win in her fifth defense of the WBO super flyweight belt last night. She stopped Corina Carlescu in the fifth round at Club Universitario in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The hometown crowd sang at full throat, urging on their champion, until the fight began and the place fell eerily quiet. Duer began working behind the jab, but quickly dispensed with that strategy to fire punishing left hooks to the body and head. Her flowing hair whipped with the force of her shots. Carlescu relentlessly came forward, but did little else besides absorbing punches in that opening stanza.

In the corner, Duer needed a hairstylist more than a cutman. Her hair was wrapped in a tight bun to avoid it from blinding her when she stopped her movement, planted, and attacked Carlescu. For Carlescu's part, throughout the fight, she seemed to gradually heat up like an old car on a cold morning until disaster struck in third.

In that round, Duer put a stunned Carlescu down with a left hook. To Carlsecu's credit, and speaking to her courage, she rose and continued to come forward. In fact, she probably deserved the fourth as her right hand seemed to become friendlier with Duer's face.

But the fifth round was another story entirely. Duer rocked the Romanian early with a frightening overhand right 30 seconds into the round. After throwing pot shots for about a minute, the champion began jumping in, landing devastating combinations, and jumping out, only to repeat immediately thereafter. Once she realized the win was within reach, Duer ran through the finish line, not pausing to give Carlescu a chance. The referee, Gustavo Tomas, stepped in to wave off the fight with 23 seconds left in the fifth.

After her fifth knockout, Duer moves to 12-3. Carlescu tumbles to 8-5-1 with five KOs.

In other women's boxing news, Hagar Finer is scheduled to defend her WIBF bantamweight belt on Saturday, July 14 at the Impact Gym in Munich, Germany. Finer hasn't fought since a split decision victory in January of 2011. No opponent has been named as of yet

Finer Defends Her Title

Hagar Finer defended her WIBF bantamweight belt against Nadege Szikora today at Palais des Sports Marcel Cerdan in a Parisian suburb. Finer garnered a split decision with scores of 96-94, 96-94, 95-96, in making her 4th title defense.

Szikora, who falls to 10-2 with 4 KOs, showed impressive skill in losing her second straight fight. But Finer's experience allowed her to succeed in the midst of Szikora's pressure and, as a result, the Israeli was able to finish stronger than the Frenchwoman. Finer improves to 23-7-3 with 6 KOs.

An All-Encompassing Update

Oz Goldenburg lost a lopsided decision in a four round bout against Ideh Ockuko last month. For the bout, which took place at Coram's Field in London, England, Goldenburg weighed in at 134 pounds while his opponent tipped the scales at 143 pounds. The fight was part of a charity event for the Habad Children Aid Society and, according to promoter Robert Waterman, Goldenburg "would have been well within his rights to pull out (due to the weight difference), but he didn't want to let a community charity down." Goldenburg is now 2-1; Ockuko is now also 2-1.

Junior middleweight Boyd Melson is scheduled to fight next on April 2, 2011 at the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn, New York. Melson's only professional fight took place at the same venue, a precarious victory that saw him knocked down in the first round and come back to win the four round fight on points.

Hagar Finer (22-7-3, 6 KOs) is expected to be back in action on January 22, 2011 at Palais des sports Marcel-Cerdan in Levallois-Perret, France. She will be defending her WIBF bantamweight title against Nadege Szikora (10-1, 4 KOs).

The Klinefelter sisters are scheduled to return to the ring in their familiar stomping grounds of Johnson City, Iowa on February 5, 2011. Emily Klinefelter (9-0, 3 KOs) is penciled in to take on Christina Ruiz (5-3-1, 3 KOs). Katy Klinefelter (7-0, 4 KOs) is also scheduled to fight that night, but does not yet have an opponent.

Finer Retains Her Title

Hagar Shmoulefeld Finer retained her WIBF bantamweight title last night at Casino Rama in Rama, Canada. Finer defeated Julia Sahin by ten-round unanimous decision. Finer garnered the win thanks to scores of 98-92, 97-92, and 96-94 over the German native. Both women weighed in at 112 pounds for the fight.

Finer avenged a 2006 majority decision loss to Sahin with this win. Finer, who made her third defense, improves to 22-7-3 with six KOs. Sahin fell to 20-2 with two knockouts. Undefeated cruiserweight Ran Nakash was in attendance supporting Finer.

Women's Boxing Update

Women's IBF bantamweight champion Hagar Finer (21-7-3, 6 KOs) is scheduled to fight next on October 30, 2010 at Casino Rama in Rama, Canada. Finer has defended her belt twice this year, last beating Agnese Boza by 5th round knockout last April.

Fresh off her win last month, Emily Klinefelter (8-0, 3 KOs) is scheduled to jump into the ring on November 13, 2010 at the Johnson County Fairgrounds, the sight of her last three triumphs, in her hometown of Iowa City, Iowa. Klinefelter knocked out Savanna Hill inside of one round on August 27, the first win of her career against an opponent with a winning record.

Nakash, Finer Both Win

Ran Nakash knocked out Dan Sheehan in the third round last night at Tel Aviv's Nokia Hall to move to 24-0. It was the fourth consecutive fight that Nakash has weighed over the 200-pound cruiserweight limit. Nakash weighed 201.5 pounds for this fight. The 36-year old Sheehan, who was 193 lbs., falls to 11-38.

On the same card, Hagar Finer defended her Women's IBF bantamweight belt with a fifth round knockout of Agnese Boza. Finer improves to 21-7-3 with 6 KOs. Boza drops to 5-4 with two KOs.

Nakash Fights Tonight

Ran Nakash fights tonight at Nokia Hall in Tel Aviv, Israel against Dan Sheehan (11-35, 5 KOs). Sheehan shouldn't pose much of a problem for the undefeated Nakash (23-0, 17 KOs). Sheehan has won just one bout in his last 15. Nakash is coming off of a 7th round TKO over Richard Stewart earlier this month. Tonight's match is scheduled for 6 rounds.

Also on the card, Hagar Shmoulefeld Finer (20-7-3, 5 KOs) defends her Women's IBF bantamweight title against Agnese Boza (5-3, 2 KOs). That one is scheduled for 10 rounds.