Kubrat Pulev vs. Tony Thompson – preview and prediction

                                                                    (Photo credit: Wende)               

This fight is scheduled for Aug. 24 and since it’s a final eliminator for the IBF title, the winner gets a shot at Wladimir Klitschko unless Alexander Povetkin can cause an improbable upset. The fight would have been interesting anyway because we don’t get to see a meaningful heavyweight fight very often.

NBC trying to do its part to promote boxing's long-term health

For the last 25 years or so, the major leagues, when it comes to boxing, is fighting on either HBO or Showtime. That is not going to change at any point in the foreseeable future.

Though the two premium cable networks reach a vastly smaller audience than basic cable or broadcast network channels do, they pursued boxing programming with vigor and spoke with their wallets. Because they were willing to pay promoters literally millions of dollars for the rights to broadcast fights – and because nobody else was offering a tenth as much – they have repeatedly over the last two or three decades landed the biggest fights.

Cleverly needs to box Kovalev

Former World Boxing Organization (WBO) Super-Featherweight Champion Barry Jones says Nathan Cleverly can beat KO king Sergey Kovalev with his brain instead of brawn when they clash at the Cardiff Motorpoint Arena on Saturday 17th August.

Hughie Fury vs. Shane McPhilbin on September 14th

Unbeaten heavyweight prospect Hughie Fury (8-0, 5 KO’s) will be facing former British cruiserweight champion Shane McPhilbin (8-7, 5 KO’s) on September 14th at the Magna Centre, Rotherham, Yorkshire, UK.

As bad as McPhilbin’s record is in his six fights, if he lands one of his big right hands on Hughie’s chin, I can see the fight being over straightaway. Hughie would be out cold if he gets nailed flush by one of McPhilbin’s big right hand shots.

Edwin Rodriguez; What next?

Photo: Emily Harney

“I wanted to send a message: I’m ready for a title fight,” says top super middleweight Edwin Rodriguez. 

And the message took the form of a one round annihilation of tough Russian contender Denis Grachev by the unbeaten Rodriguez (24-0,16 KOs) in Monte Carlo July 13th. 

Exclusive: Mike Tyson Talks Floyd Mayweather and 'The Bite Fight'

Just hearing the phrase "The Bite Fight" immediately takes you back to that late June evening in 1997 where the world became transfixed on the events that unfolded in Las Vegas.

Sixteen years later, Mike Tyson has come to peace with his action, and a new book written by George Willis explores all the elements that led up to the climactic battle between Tyson and Evander Holyfield.

We caught up with Tyson at Bounce Sporting Club in New York to hear his thoughts onFloyd Mayweather and what he had to say about the new book The Bite Fight: Tyson,Holyfield and the Night That Changed Boxing Forever

Burns vs Beltran: Ricky Burns preparing for tough fight against veteran battler

WBO lightweight titlist says he won't overlook Beltran, who challenges Burns in Glasgow on September 7.

Ricky Burns had to dig down deep in his last fight, an alarmingly tough rally win over unheralded Jose "Chelo" Gonzalez in May, and says that he won't make the same mistakes against Raymundo Beltran on September 7 in Glasgow, a fight that he is not overlooking despite Beltran not having the best-looking win-loss record.

"I've watched the fight back a couple of times. You can see I was trying to force the pace and got caught with stupid punches that I shouldn't have been taking. I think for this training camp especially, I'll go back to basics.

... "We're expecting a tough fight. He's only lost to fighters at the top level. He's not been a sparring partner for Manny Pacquiao for all those years for nothing.

... "I keep telling everybody that although it's been mentioned that I could possibly fight in America next year, in my eyes I've got to take it one fight at a time. Beltran is a great fighter and boxing fans know it's going to be a cracker."

Burns (36-2, 11 KO) struggled mightily with Gonzalez before going to Plan B (if not Plan C or D) and just throwing caution to the wind, wearing down the Puerto Rican and stopping him after nine rounds, even though he trailed 87-84 on all three scorecards.

Beltran (28-6, 17 KO) doesn't have a pretty record, but he's come into his own a bit the last couple of years, beating guys like Hank Lundy and Ji-Hoon Kim, and dropping very competitive, debatable decisions to Sharif Bogere and Luis Ramos Jr on ShoBox. The 32-year-old Mexican is a viable threat to Burns on paper, and whatever he may give up in boxing skill, he may be able to make up for with grit.

To me, this is one of the really intriguing fights on the calendar at the moment, sort of flying under the radar for most of us because there's really a fantastic schedule on the horizon. Does Beltran have the tools to take the title home from Scotland, or will a potentially refocused Burns be too good?

Tony Thompson-Kubrat Pulev set

Heavyweight contender Tony Thompson has had two shots at the heavyweight championship and would like a third, while Kubrat Pulev is just looking for his first opportunity. One of them will get their wish when they meet in a final title eliminator on Aug. 24 in Schwerin, Germany.

Pacquiao vs Rios: Press tour quotes from Beijing

Manny Pacquiao and Brandon Rios hit Beijing to promote their November 23 fight in Macau.

Brandon Rios

I can't believe the beauty I have seen in Macau and Beijing. I have seen a life and culture I never imagined. It's been an incredible experience for me. The media and the fans have been wonderful. I know I take a little getting used to but they seem to understand my sense of humor. I think some of them think I'm Chinese. The only other time I fought outside the U.S. was in Mexico back in 2008, against Ricardo Dominguez, and a lot of people thought I was Chinese there, too.

I want everyone in southern California to know that traffic on the 405 has nothing on Beijing's rush hour.

I was surprised at how nervous I was before the first press conference in Macau. I don't think the enormity and the significance of this event dawned on me until I walked out on the stage and saw hundreds of media there. All of a sudden I realized that I was headlining a major pay-per-view for the first time. It was emotional for me. But I'm over that now and I look forward to Beijing's press conference today and the press conferences on the rest of the tour

My first impression of meeting Manny Pacquiao in Macau was that he was smaller than I thought he would be. I have an enormous amount of respect for him and what he has accomplished.

I will begin training camp on August 12 and work on conditioning and will start sparring right away. I love to kick off training camp with a 12-round sparring session within the first week or two to get me in the proper mindset. I will be sparring with a lot of southpaws in camp. It's been a good while since I have fought one. I am looking forward to fighting at 147 pounds.

Manny makes a lot of mistakes and Robert and I will be working hard on making a plan to exploit them. I can't let this opportunity slip through my fingers.

Manny Pacquiao

I am very excited to be fighting in Macau. It's a fertile market for boxing. New market and new people provide great exposure for boxing and it is a great way to increase the sport's popularity globally. Hopefully this will help develop interest in boxing in mainland China. I think it's good for boxing to have more good Asian boxers to turn pro. I think Macau can be a boxing capital of the world.

It will be nice to fight in a location where I will not have any jet lag. Macau and the Philippines share the same time zone and the same climate. No adjustments for me this time. Since Macau is only a 90-minute flight away from the Philippines, I expect a lo mre Filipinos to be in the arena for this fight.

I have seen Rios fight and I am confident that I will win the fight. One of my advantages is my experience against better opposition. I think the question that needs to be asked is, "Is Rios ready for me?"

Rios is an aggressive fighter. He likes to fight on the inside and toe-to-toe. He likes to fight, period. I am 100% confident of winning this fight. The fans will really enjoy the action.

I will begin three months of training in August when I return to the Philippines after the media tour. I'll do six weeks of conditioning and building up my stamina, followed by a six-week training camp with Freddie Roach when he arrives in October. I'm 34 and I now need to train over a longer period. The focus of this camp will be on speed and footwork, which have been my advantages in previous successful fights. I'll be more careful to avoid the careless error I made against Márquez.

I was in my best shape when I fought Márquez last December. I was winning the fight. I had taken control. But I got careless and made a mistake, being in the wrong place for him to land that final punch. But that's boxing. That's what makes it so exciting.

I am feeling a little pressure for this fight since I have lost my previous two. An impressive victory against Rios will raise my name again in boxing. My belief in God and training as hard as I can will help to relieve that pressure.

I need to prove I still can fight like the old Manny Pacquiao. I need to restore the public's confidence in me and my abilities. It's important that this be an impressive victory. I have already begun to visualize my fight with Rios.

David Price – What Next?

David Price – Some decisions to make..Having seen his attempt at trying to avenge a defeat to Tony Thompson turn to dust it must seem like a very lonely world to David Price at the moment. Even 3 weeks after he was stopped in the 5th, the future will very likely seem uncertain and he’ll view it with a lot of trepidation.
So what next? What can he do to turn those 2 Thompson defeats into “glitches” on his path to world

Demetrius Andrade looking forward to HBO debut against Vanes Martirosyan

Unbeaten junior middleweights will both get their first world title opportunity on Chavez-Vera undercard.

Demetrius Andrade will face Vanes Martirosyan on September 7, with HBO televising the fight as the co-feature to the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr vs Brian Vera main event, which wasn't easy to get done. Promoters had to essentially convince the network to air the fight, which is bizarre in a world where the same channel shows things like Terence Crawford vs Alejandro Sanabria and Zou Shiming on tape delay (although that's very cheap, and it's on HBO2, so it doesn't compare, really, but I just want to get all steamed about it).

Andrade (19-0, 13 KO) was set to face WBO 154-pound titlist Zaurbek Baysangurov in Ukraine earlier this year, but Baysangurov pulled out of the fight, which led to the sanctioning body stripping him of the title. Andrade vs Martirosyan was then ordered, and the fight came together pretty quickly, and now will have proper exposure.

Martirosyan (33-0-1, 21 KO) definitely appears to be making a serious step forward under new manager Cameron Dunkin, after years of mostly treading water against grossly overmatched foes. His last HBO appearance came in November 2012, when he and Erislandy Lara went to a dreadfully dull technical draw. Prior to that, he hadn't competed on the network since a clear but boring win over Joe Greene in 2010. At 27, he's theoretically into his prime years now, so it's time for him to step up to a fight like this, and it's good to see that he's going to. He's always looked like a decent fighter at worst, but it's hard to tell when the opposition is a series of mismatched foes.

Andrade, 25, says he's looking forward to the fight, and ready to capitalize:

"I am looking forward to this fight and have been waiting for this fight ever since I walked into the gym at age 7", said Andrade.

"I always wanted to be champion of the world and on September 7th I will be crowned champion. I wanted to win an Olympic gold medal and since they took that from me, I am going to take this world title."

"I was a 2008 Olympian and he made it in 2004. I will show him that if I was around in 2003 and 2004, he would not have made the team," finished Andrade.

Neither fighter has been known for action so far, which may have been HBO's main concern (plus, Andrade isn't backed by a major promoter, with all due respect to Artie Pellulo and his partners, including Joe DeGuardia), and my guess is that the overall feeling right now is he's the favorite. HBO has shown no real interest in him prior to this, and their experiments with Martirosyan have fizzled. Therefore, I say kudos to the promoters getting this on TV. The fight might be a stinker, but them's the breaks with sports. Not everything is going to be Figueroa-Arakawa. And if it was, I'd get really tired anyway.

Anselmo Moreno faces William Urina on 8/10

Sampson Boxing chief Sampson Lewkowicz says he and his promotional partner, Carlos Gonzalez of Best Boxing, are happy and proud of the building excitement in Panama for their blockbuster return to the beautiful Megapolis Convention Center in the Hard Rock Hotel in Panama City, Panama, on Saturday, August 10, entitled “LAS VEGAS IN PANAMA II”.

Promoter Eddie Hearn believes Anthony Joshua is "the real deal" after signing him up to be a professional.

The 23-year-old Olympic gold medallist joined Hearn's Matchroom organisation after announcing his decision to leave the amateur code.

The 6ft 6in boxer will make his professional debut on 5 October.

"Obviously the heavyweight division is one which everybody gets excited about and I think we've got the real deal here," Hearn told BBC London 94.9.

Erik Morales to start two-fight retirement tour in October

Mexican legend Erik Morales plans to have two more fights before hanging up the gloves for good, and the first bout is targeted for October in Cancun.

Matthysse ready for his shot against Mayweather after he beats Danny Garcia

WBC interim light welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse (34-2, 32 KO’s) intends on beating up WBA/WBC light welterweight champion Danny Garcia (26-0, 16 KO’s) in their fight on September 14th, taking his two title straps, and then moving forward to fight boxing’s #1 fighter in Floyd Mayweather Jr. after that.

Mijares defeats Jacobo by sixth round TKO

Two-time former super flyweight world champion Cristian “Diamante” Mijares (48-7-2, 23 KOs) returned Saturday night with a sixth round TKO ver Carlos Jacobo (20-6-1, 16 KOs) in a non-title featherweight ten-rounder in Comitan, Chiapas, Mexico. 

Mijares is campaigning for a rematch with WBC super bantamweight champion Victor “Vikingo” Terrazas, whom he lost a controversial split decision to in April.

http://boxefrombelgiumvideo.blogspot.be/2013/07/cristian-mijares-vs-carlos-jacobo-full.html

Jesus Soto Karass: Give This Man A World Title Shot!

Last night in San Antonio was quite simply boxing at its very best. The Golden Boy card – surely the leading candidate for Card Of The Year (if there is such an award) – gave us three, count them, three, great fights; two of which are definite FOTY candidates. 

http://boxefrombelgiumvideo.blogspot.be/2013/07/andre-berto-vs-jesus-soto-karass-full.html

Andre Berto: I think I tore my right shoulder out of the socket

Andre Berto (28-3, 22 KO’s) complains that he may have torn his right shoulder out of the socket early in his fight against Jesus Soto Karass (28-8-3, 18 KO’s) last night at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Berto was knocked out in the 12th round after getting hit with a left hook at the same time he was throwing a punch of his own.
http://boxefrombelgiumvideo.blogspot.be/2013/07/andre-berto-vs-jesus-soto-karass-full.html

Berto Stunned by Soto Karass; Keith Thurman Drills Chaves Into Submission

   Photo: Tom Casino / Showtime

One left hook. That was all it took to end the longstanding myth of Andre Berto (28-3, 22 KOs). A myth that had been promulgated by a myriad of promoters, television networks and managers. Now, it’s all over… Jesus Soto Karass (28-8-3, 17 KOs) has stunned the boxing public and continued a career resurgence that has left many dumbfounded. He was supposed to be a journeyman that couldn’t get it done on the big stage. He proved those notions wrong. Over 12 hard fought rounds, he withstood Andre Berto’s best and ended up unleashing a beautiful left hook that stopped the career of a man once tapped for greatness in the 12^th round.

Omar Figueroa outlasts Nihito Arakawa in incredible, back-and-forth lightweight title slugfest

Nihito Arakawa (L) battles Omar FIgueroa for the interim WBC lightweight title (Getty Images)

This is a can't-miss fight. If you don't have Showtime, you need to order it, if for no reason other than to catch the replay of the unbelievably entertaining battle that Omar Figueroa and Nihito Arakawa put on Saturday at the AT&T Center in San Antonio.
http://boxefrombelgiumvideo.blogspot.be/2013/07/omar-figueroa-jr-vs-nihito-arakawa.html

Zou Shiming Wins in Macau But Did We Learn Anything?

The prospects for Zou Shiming as a professional boxer are irrelevant. Whether or not he will ever be a pound for pound great, or hell even recognized as a “real” world champion (a term I use loosely because at this stage of the game anyone and everyone can have a title belt if they so choose) is completely beside the point. Zou Shiming is good for boxing, period, end of discussion.  How do I know this? Because Shiming headlined his second “Fists of Gold” boxing card in Macau, China to a packed house fighting a six rounder against Jesus Ortega who was 3-1. Professional boxing in 2013 has very few legitimate seat sellers; fighters who can pack a house are few and far between so when one comes along, the fact that he might not be a future pound for pound great is irrelevant.

On this night Shiming cruised past Ortega winning a unanimous six round decision. This should not be a surprise; the 32 year old Shiming is a 2-time Olympic gold medalist. He should be blowing out guys like Ortega, actually the fact that both of Shiming’s first two fights went to the scorecards is a dangerous sign for his long term prospects. In my opinion Shiming doesn’t compare favorably to other recent Olympic champions turned professional pugilists. He doesn’t have the rugged power of Andre Ward or the blinding speed of Guillermo Rigondeaux. That being said, Shiming has a permanent home on HBO because he’s a super-duper star in China and will sell out the Venetian in Macau whenever he fights. Rigondeaux couldn’t sell out a phone booth and won’t find himself back on television anytime soon unless he happens to get one of those seats near Bob Arum on a televised Top Rank card.

Ultimately it’s tough to draw any conclusions from a 6 round fight – but Shiming is 32 years old, his window is very limited (and there are those who would argue that it’s already closed). So, if you’re in the business of boxing to make money, then Shiming is doing everything right. He has a good team in his corner so it’s obvious that he’s trying to get better so that he can get into bigger fights and thus make more money, but he also much be cognizant of the fact that he can continue to fight nobodies in Macau for good money and never really have to challenge himself. I don’t know which road he’ll go down, but watching him take flush shots from someone as limited as Ortega leads me to believe that his best chance of financial success is a road less littered with professional accolades.

As has been the case with cards headlined by Shiming, Top Rank loaded this show up with two world title fights leading into the six round main event. In the co-featured bout of the night WBO and WBA flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada won a decision over Milan Melindo with scores of 118-109, 118-109 and 117-109. Estrada was just relentless with his pressure and wore the Filipino challenger down. In the other televised bout IBF featherweight champion Evgeny Gradovich who trains out of Oxnard, California and calls himself the Russian Mexican continued his impressive break on the scene with a pretty easy unanimous decision 120-108, 119-109 and 119-109. Gradovich as you may recall took the belt from Billy Dib earlier this year and continues to impress. He lacks true knockout power but he is a machine with a relentless offense that just never stops coming forward. The undercard, though lopsided was worth watching in its own right because both of the undercard fights were solid with impressive performances by the respective champions

Complete Fists of Gold II Results from Macau

Fists of Gold II results from the Cotai Arena at the Venetian Resort in Macao, China:

Unbeaten super flyweight Rex Tso (7-0, 4 KOs) won an all-action six round majority decision over Rusalee Samor (20-5-2, 9 KOs). Tso from nearby Hong Kong won by scores of 58-56, 59-55, 57-57.

Vasyl Lomachenko and Oleksander Usyk sign with Top Rank

Top Rank has reportedly signed former two-time Ukrainian Olympic gold medalist Vasyl Lomachenko to a long term contract. Lomachenko, still only 25, captured gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics in dominating his overmatched opposition.

Friday Night Fights results: Burgos and Amidu fight to draw, Gonzalez stops Dos Santos

It was an exciting ESPN Friday Night Fights tonight, with two good fights contested in oppressive heat in California.

Tony Thompson to face Kubrat Pulev on August 24th

By Allan Fox: #8 IBF, Tony Thompson (38-3, 26 KO’s) will be battling unbeaten Kubrat Pulev (17-0, 9 KO’s) on August 24th as a possible IBF eliminator bout to get a shot against IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.

Facing the 6’4 ½” Pulev is definitely the toughest road to get a title shot against Wladimir, but it is the quickest one that Thompson can get.
He’d be waiting for a long time to get a crack at WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, and that avenue is pretty well blocked given that Thompson isn’t ranked in the top 15 by any of those organizations.

This fight is for Russia: Interview with Andrey Ryabinsky, promoter of the mega fight between Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin

By Przemek Garczarczyk

Andrey Ryabinsky shocked the boxing world in April by offering $23,233,330 in the purse bid to host the heavyweight title fight between WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight champion and 1996 Olympic gold medalist Wladimir Klitschko (60-3, 51 KOs) and the WBA regular heavyweight champion, 2004 Olympic gold medalist and undefeated champion from Russia Alexander Povetkin (26-0, 18 KOs). The fight between Klitschko and Povetkin is scheduled for October 5, 2013 at one of the largest sports-complexes in Moscow – the “Olimpiyskiy” Stadium. Ryabinsky’s bid, presented at the WBA’s headquarters in Panama City in April, more than tripled the bid from K2 Promotions of $7,130,000, while Povetkin’s German promoter, Sauerland Event, bid $6,014,444.

Pulev-Thompson clash waiting for IBF approval

Sauerland Event General Manager Chris Meyer has updated Fightnews.com on the status of the highly anticipated heavyweight showdown between IBF #1 heavyweight and European champion Kubrat Pulev and two-time world title challenger and #4 rated Tony Thompson. “We signed the contact for Thompson to fight Pulev on August 24. The only matter left open is the approval of the IBF to sanction the bout as a final eliminator. Such sanction is the condition for both fighters to face each other.

Stevenson vs. Bellew November 30 in Canada

Bellew gets world title shot in Canada

Tony Bellew will get his second shot at World title glory when he faces either Adonis Stevenson or Tavoris Cloud for the light heavyweight crown in Canada in November. Bellew turns 31 on November 30 which is a mooted date for the bout to take place after the WBC ruled the bout had to take place before the end of the year. Quebec City is a likely venue for the clash, with Canadian Stevenson taking a voluntary defense in September against Florida’s Cloud. The Liverpool star earned the mandatory position after defeating Isaac Chilemba at The O2 in May, with Stevenson claiming the belt with a stunning first round knockout of Chad Dawson in June in Montreal. “I am delighted Tony has got the shot – and what a perfect potential date for it,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “Tony has worked tirelessly to get a second crack at a World title and he’s ready to claim it now – what a dream birthday present it will be when he does.”

Roach hopes for progress in Zou

As an amateur boxer, flyweight Zou Shiming was one of the best in history. He won three Olympic medals -- including two golds -- and became the symbol of boxing in China and one of the nation's most famous athletes. 

As a pro? Well, he's still popular and famous, but let's just say he needs some more work. A lot of work. 

Jennings in line for Adamek?

AP Photo/Gregory PayanIf Tomasz Adamek gets past Dominick Guinn on Aug. 3, unbeaten Bryant Jennings might be next.

Here are a few things I've heard in recent days: 

• If heavyweight contender Tomasz Adamek beats Dominick Guinn on Aug. 3, promoter Main Events would like to match him with the up-and-coming Bryant Jennings in a very interesting, and surely crowd-pleasing fight. Main Events has talked to HBO about the bout but so far the network has been non-committal to the fight. For my money, that's a really good fight that could show us if Jennings is a contender or a pretender. 

Cuba to taste pro boxing in WSB Exhibition Match against Mexico by WSB

Lausanne, July 25, 2013 – For the first time since 1962, Cuba will officially allow its boxers to compete in a pro-style boxing event. The newly formed Cuban World Series of Boxing (WSB) Franchise will take on the Mexico Guerreros in Mexico City on 29/30 August in a historic WSB Exhibition Match.

The new Cuba WSB Franchise, officially named as the Cuba Domadores, came into being earlier last month in an exclusive agreement which will see the team make its pro boxing debut in the WSB’s Season IV which kicks off on 15 November 2013.

Following discussions between the WSB and the Cuban and Mexican Franchises, it was decided that a historic exhibition match would take place between the two Latin American powerhouse teams. This has now been scheduled for the 29th and 30th of August in Mexico City. The event will be a stern test for the Cubans. The Mexico Guerreros had another outstanding season last year, reaching the WSB semi-finals. The Guerreros also boasted an impressive home record losing only once in Mexico City during the entire campaign.

Cleverly vs Kovalev: “I’ll leave Kovalev Shaken and Stirred” – Nathan Cleverly

By BoxNation

WBO World Light-Heavyweight Champion Nathan Cleverly says he’ll leave KO machine Sergey Kovalev “shaken and stirred” when they clash on Saturday 17th August at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena.

The Welsh hero met with the media today at the Grosvenor Casino in Cardiff Bay looking debonaire in a tuxedo in the role of James Bond as he counts down to his own Russian roulette showdown with the unbeaten Kovalev.

Richard Towers 'gutted' after being denied visa for Lucas Browne bout

By Ian WoodcockBBC Sport

Sheffield boxer Richard Towers has said he is "gutted" after having a visa application turned down by the Australian authorities.

Knockout Kings II preview: Berto vs Soto Karass, Thurman vs Chaves, Figueroa vs Arakawa

Andre Berto, Keith Thurman, and Omar Figueroa are the favored fighters for Saturday night's Showtime Championship Boxing event, but all of them are facing at least a little bit of danger

Carl Froch set to face George Groves

                                                                              Carl Froch (left) vs George Groves (right) is now official.

Matchroom Boxing officially announced an all-British showdown between IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch and undefeated George Groves.

While no venue or date is set, promoter Eddie Hearn expects the fig

Rafael Marquez signs with Golden Boy Promotions

While some may argue he is past even the twilight of his career, Rafael Marquez (41-8, 37 KO) still has hopes of making one more run at a world title.

The former two-division champion has inked a four-fight deal with Golden Boy Promotions. He will also be reunited with trainer Nacho Beristain.

Mendez-Usmanee in NY on August 23 for IBF Super Featherweight title

Everything is ready for the first defense of the current IBF superfeatherweight world champion, Argenis “The Thunderstorm” Mendez 21-2-0 (11 KO’s). The Champ finished the last stage of their training camp in the UK, for his fight against Afghan-born Canadian Arash Usmanee 20-1-0 (10 KO’s), at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York on August 23.

Malik Scott’s team looking for loss to Chisora changed to “No Contest”

Dan Goosen, the promoter for American heavyweight Malik Scott (35-1-1, 12 KO’s), is appealing to the British Board of Control to have Scott’s 6th round knockout loss to Britain’s Dereck Chisora (17-4, 11 KO’s) overturned and changed to a “No contest” due to the fight being ruled a knockout instead of a technical knockout.

Mike Alvarado vs. Ruslan Provodnikov a done deal for October 19th; fight at 140 lbs

Mike Alvarado (34-1, 23 KO’s) vs. Ruslan Provodnikov (22-2, 15 KO’s) is now a done deal for October 19th at the First Bank Center, in Denver, Colorado, USA. The fight will take place at 140 and they’ll be battling for the WBO light welterweight title.

Saunders defeats O’Sullivan

Unbeaten middleweight contender Billy Joe Saunders (18-0, 10 KO’s) used his feet to box his way to a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision tonight over Gary O’Sullivan (16-1, 10 KO’s) to win the WBO International middleweight title at the Wembley Arena in London, England. Saunders, 23, played hit and run for 12 rounds and it proved to be an effective strategy in out-boxing the slow but determined O’Sullivan by the judges’ scores of 119-109, 119-109 and 120-108.

Chisora KOs Scott in round six; Scott claims he beat the count, did he?

Former heavyweight title challenger Dereck Chisora (17-4, 11 KOs) scored a sixth round KO over previously unbeaten Malik Scott (35-1-1, 12 KOs) on Saturday night at the Wembley Arena in London. Chisora pressed the action, but both fighters had their moments in round one. 

Haye vs Fury: The Great British Battle

The biggest prize in world sport has been lost, undervalued and under appreciated for as long as any casual fan of the ”the sweet science” can care to remember. Heavyweight boxing was a prestige, a mantle in which all tradesman, of all courses aspired to test or regard themselves against.

Molina destroys Bey in 10th

#6 IBF lightweight contender John Molina (26-3, 21 KO’s) game from behind to get a 10th round stoppage win over the much faster Mickey Bey (18-1-1, 9 KO’s) at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

Things were looking pretty bleak for Molina going into the 10th round, but he was able to hurt Bey with a big left hand bomb.

Lundy beats Olusegun by dominant decision

New York, NY (7/19/13) – Earlier tonight, before a sold-out raucous crowd, DiBella Entertainment presented this week’s edition of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights at the historic Rockingham Park, in Salem, New Hampshire.

Don King joins fight to block pro boxers from the Olympics

Hall of Fame promoter Don King has joined fellow promoter Gary Shaw, as well as WBC President Jose Sulaiman and the NABF, EBU, BBBofC, ABCO and ABU in condemning plans for the AIBA and IOC to allow AIBA-affiliated professional boxers to compete in the 2016 Olympics.

Below are the official statements from the various parties, as well as a AIBA response.

July 19, 2013

Bika interested in facing Froch, Golovkin or Ward

Newly crowned WBC super middleweight champion Sakio Bika (32-5-2, 21 KO’s) is interested in facing Carl Froch, Gennady Golovkin or Andre Ward for his next fight. Bika recently captured the vacant WBC 168 lb. title win a win over Marco Antonio Periban last month in beating him by a 12 round majority decision in a fairly close fight.

Ajose Olusegun vs Hank Lundy Preview

Tonight at the Rockingham Park in New Hampshire, Hank Lundy attempts to snap his 2 fight losing streak when he takes on British-Nigerian Ajose Olusegun. The Philadelphian may have lost his way some what in recent fights but his resume offers enough to suggest that the 29 year old cannot be considered as an easy opponent for Ajose.

Reunited: Miguel Cotto and Top Rank

After a brief separation lasting roughly a year and a half, Puerto Rican boxing superstar Miguel Cotto has reunited with Bob Arum and TopRank Promotions.

Tomasz Adamek to face Dominick Guinn on 8/3; Grano injured

The August 3rd fight between Tony Grano and heavyweight contender Tomas Admamek (48-2, 29 KO’s) is off due to Grano suffering some kind of injury that will prevent him from taking the fight, says Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated on his twitter.

Manny Pacquiao: “I’m not a has been, I can still win fights!”

It has been a while since Manny Pacquiao said anything of substance, or really anything at all. For some time now, Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been doing all the talking when it comes to Manny Pacquiao, recently stating: 

Iraq War veteran Chris Traietti making up for lost boxing time

BOSTON (July 18, 2013) — His up-and-down boxing journey has come nearly 360-degrees for Iraq War veteran Chris Traietti, the headliner on the July 27th “The Roxy Homecoming Celebration” card (special starting time of 5 p.m. ET), at The Royale Nightclub Boston (formerly The Roxy) in downtown Boston.

GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN SETS HBO 2DAYS VIEWING RECORD

VENICE, CA  Boxing’s fastest rising star, middleweight world champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin continues to impress in-and -out of the ring with record numbers for his television ratings.

Lara-Trout on Mayweather-Alvarez undercard?

A source has told Fightnews.com that there is a possibility WBA interim super welterweight world champion Erislandy Lara (18-1-2, 12 KOs) will defend against former WBA super welterweight titleholder Austin Trout (26-1 , 14 KOs) on September 14 at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino on the night of the mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Lara overcame Alfredo Angulo for the interim belt in June, while Trout lost his title to “Canelo” Alvarez in San Antonio in April.

Sergey Rabchenko stops Gari Abadjian in 3rd round

Unbeaten reigning EBU and WBC Silver light-middleweight champion Sergey Rabchenko stopped experienced and tough Georgian Gari Abadjian in the third round of a scheduled ten in Minsk last night (July 16).

Ajose: I want to prove to everyone that I am a better fighter than what people saw against Matthysse

“This fight means a lot to me and is very important for my career. I want my name to be amongst the elite of the 140lb. division,” says WBC #3-rated junior welterweight Olusegun Ajose (31-1, 14KO’s), who takes on “Hammerin’” Hank Lundy (22-3-1, 11KO’s) this Friday night on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights from Salem, NH.

Vazquez-Diaz and Quigg-Salinas set (Dan Rafael)

Two purse-bid issues have been resolved for upcoming title bouts. Here’s an update: 

• With a winning bid of $51,000 on Tuesday, Top Rank, bidding on behalf of close associate Fernando Beltran of Zanfer Promotions, won the purse bid for lightweight titlist Miguel Vazquez’s mandatory defense against Ammeth Diaz. There were no other bidders and the IBF ordered that the fight be completed within 90 days, by Oct. 16. Under the terms of the bid, Vazquez, as the titleholder, is entitled to 75 percent of the money ($38,250) and Diaz the remaining 25 percent ($12,750). Promotions, won the purse bid for lightweight titlist Miguel Vazquez’s mandatory defense against Ammeth Diaz. There were no other bidders and the IBF ordered that the fight be completed within 90 days, by Oct. 16. Under the terms of the bid, Vazquez, as the titleholder, is entitled to 75 percent of the money ($38,250) and Diaz the remaining 25 percent ($12,750). 

VIDEO: Roach on Paquaio-Rios, Cotto, Mayweather, more

Rigondeaux could be back on HBO in November

WBA/WBO super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (12-0, 8 KO’s) may not be off of HBO after all. Last week, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said that he’d received little interest from HBO executives when he mentioned putting Rigondeaux back on the network following his 12 round unanimous decision win over the popular HBO fighter Nonito Donaire last April.

Autumn 2013: The Season of Boxing Superfights?

With British Heavyweights David Haye (26-2-0) and Tyson Fury (21-0-0) set to meet in September, a month set to be huge for boxing with Mayweather v Alvarez and Britain’s Ricky Burns’ WBO lightweight title defence against Raymundo Beltran.

ZHANAT ZHAKIYANOV: "STEPHANE JAMOYE won't be allowed to duck me in september"

Source doghouseboxing

Roach: “it’s over” for Pacquiao is he loses to Rios

Trainer Freddie Roach says he’s going to tell Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KO’s) to retire if he loses to former WBA lightweight champion Brandon Rios (31-1-1, 23 KO’s) in their fight on November 23rd at the Cotai Arena, Venetian Resort, Macao, Macao S.A.R., China.

Roach says he already has an agreement with Pacquiao that he’ll hang up his gloves when he tells him he’s no longer got it and needs to retire. Roach doesn’t say whether Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank knows about this deal or if he’d agree with it if Roach told his #1 money fighter he needs to retire.

Roach said to Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports “It’s over, 100 percent [if Rios beats Pacquiao]. We have a deal. When I tell him it’s over, he’ll say it’s over and that’s it. He’s pretty loyal with his words and if that happens, it will be the end.”

Well, considering Pacquiao is about to make the biggest payday of his career against Rios due to the Chinese pay per view money he’ll be getting in addition to the U.S. 

PPV cash at a low tax rate in Macao, I kind of have my doubts whether Pacquiao will retire no matter how badly he’s beaten by Rios. If Pacquiao makes close to $30 million or more from this fight, do you really think he’s going to retire from boxing when he can still make big cash fighting Arum’s fighters. I don’t think so.

I hope Roach doesn’t put Pacquiao on the spot by telling him he should retire because he might find himself in a situation where Pacquiao decides he wants to fight on. 

Arum could put Pacquiao back on a soft diet of easy opponents and Pacquiao could likely extend his career by another 3-5 years just on easy fights.

 Arum doesn’t have a lot of easy options for Pacquiao in his stable, but I’m sure Arum could sign some beatable guys in a heartbeat for a short one or two-fight contract.

Tomasz Adamek: 'I'm 36, but I'm still learning'

Tomasz Adamek is set to return on August 3 against Tony Grano, and says that he's still got plenty left after a rocky 2012.

Tomasz Adamek will make his 2013 debut on August 3, when he returns to the NBC Sports Network for a main event fight against heavyweight club fighter Tony Grano.

It's not exactly what was expected of Adamek, who competed in and then withdrew from an IBF mini-tournament that was to lead to a shot at Wladimir Klitschko. Adamek's controversial decision win in December over Steve Cunningham was to lead to a final eliminator fight with Kubrat Pulev. Adamek passed on that fight, saying that he had a big opportunity in Poland for far more money.

That, of course, has not panned out. Instead, he's fighting Tony Grano (20-3-1, 16 KO) in Uncasville, Connecticut. Grano is coming off of a loss to Eric Molina.

Adamek (48-2, 29 KO) says he's "still learning," and trainer Roger Bloodworth hopes that time off will help the fighter:

"I'm still learning. I'm 36, but I'm still learning. My talent is not yet at 100 percent," said Adamek. "But after that last fight, I have rested a few months and I've worked on my technique. I'm in better shape. I'm ready for this comeback."

"We had four rough fights last year, and Tomasz looked a little tired in that [second] fight [with Cunninigham.] I think that it was good for him to take a little break," said Bloodworth. "Sometimes, it's just good for a guy to get out of the gym and to get away from it for a while. But we haven't been idle. We've worked on distance, defense and combinations and some other skills."

Adamek also had major problems with Eddie Chambers last year, though Chambers fought the bout with one hand, basically, and had a bit of a scare with Travis Walker, too. Even Nagy Aguilera put up a better fight than one might like to see.

Does Adamek really have much left as a serious contender at heavyweight, or has his window closed?

source Bad Lef Hook

Boxing results: Luke Campbell wins debut, Kell Brook stops Carson Jones

Luke Campbell was a hit in his professional debut, Kell Brook beat Carson Jones for a second time, and Anthony Ogogo, Lee Selby, Derry Mathews, and more picked up wins on Saturday in Hull.

Kell Brook got the better of Carson Jones once again in today's rematch in Hull, a card that saw 2012 Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell make a winning pro debut in the main event, as well as wins for Anthony Ogogo, Derry Mathews, and John Ryder, among others.

Brook (30-0, 20 KO) stopped Jones in the eighth round this time, 53 weeks after scraping past the gritty American to win a decision in their first encounter. It was a brave performance from Jones (35-10-3, 25 KO), but Brook was simply the better, stronger fighter this time around, putting a beating on the Oklahoman early and ultimately getting the stoppage win he was searching for from the opening bell.

Jones went down in the second round and took a beating in the third, but did manage to claw his way back a bit from early peril, and definitely left nothing in the ring. Brook will now get back to the welterweight division (this fight took place at a 151-pound catchweight) and will face a major name in November, according to Eddie Hearn.

Bantamweight Campbell made an impressive, crowd-pleasing pro debut, beating Andy Harris in just one minute, 28 seconds. The 2012 gold medal winner will be back in the ring on September 7, part of the Burns-Beltran card in Glasgow.

Fellow 2012 Olympian Anthony Ogogo improved to 3-0 (2 KO) with a solid win over scrappy Gary Boulden, stopping Boulden in the fifth round. Boulden drops to 7-10-2 (0 KO) with his sixth straight loss, but while he's certainly not a good fighter, he is a very valuable opponent for young fighters. He took Billy Joe Saunders the distance back in 2011, and has been a good test for several prospects since then.

Former British lightweight champ Derry Mathews (33-8-2, 18 KO) knocked out Tommy Coyle (15-2, 6 KO) in the 10th round to pick up the vacant Commonwealth lightweight title. Lee Selby improved to 16-1 (6 KO) with a decision win over Viorel Simion (16-1, 7 KO) on scores of 118-110, 116-112, and 115-113. Also winning off television were John Ryder, Rocky Fielding, and Curtis Woodhouse.

Stieglitz defeats Kiyota by technical decision to retain WBO super middleweight title

                               Photo: Peter Gercke/SES Team  Source Fight News

WBO super middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz (45-3, 25 KOs) scored a one-sided tenth round technical decision over #10 rated Yuzo Kiyota (23-4-1, 21 KOs) on Saturday night at the EnergieVerbund Arena in Dresden, Germany.