Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Matthew Macklin Says He Has "The Skills, The Power And The Chin To Beat Kelly Pavlik"

by James Slater - Fighting this past Saturday night but somewhat lost amongst the hectic weekend of action taking place, was European middleweight ruler Matthew Macklin. The 27-year-old won a non-title fight with a solid points win over the durable Rafael Sosa Pintos in Dublin - winning via a clear and wide unanimous decision. Now unbeaten in his last nine fights, or since his heavy defeat in a war against Jamie Moore down at 154-pounds, Macklin is looking at bigger things..

Though he is set to defend the European belt he won with a sensational first-round stoppage of Finland's experienced Amin Asikainen back in September - against Russia's Dmitriy Pirog in February - Macklin has made it clear he would take any world title fight that was offered to him instead. As a result of the sensational win over Asikainen, Macklin is now highly ranked amongst the world's elite 160-pounders, and the talented and exciting Birmingham man wants to prove how good he is. And the best way to do that, Macklin told The Birmingham Mail, would be to defeat world middleweight king Kelly Pavlik.

Though Mackiln, 26-2(18) says he has no qualms at all about fighting Russia's Pirog, unbeaten at 14-0(11), he would much rather get it on with a world champion; the Youngstown warrior known as "The Ghost" especially. Macklin believes he has the stuff needed to beat Pavlik.

"I'd take on any of the [world] champions right now, including Kelly Pavlik," Macklin told The Birmingham Mail. "I don't think there are too may big fights out there for Pavlik at the moment so if that fight came my way I'd jump at it. I believe I've the skills, the power and the chin to beat him."

Pavlik, who has had an awful year - what with his enforced inactivity due to his staph infection - is set to face Miguel Angel Espino on December 19th, and though a fight with IBF 168-pound champion Lucian Bute is a possibility for next year, Macklin is right - there aren't too many options for the big-hitter at present. So who knows, maybe Pavlik and his team will give Macklin's people the call?

It really has been impressive the way Macklin has bounced back from the face-down KO he suffered at the hands of southpaw Moore back in September 2006. Since moving up to middleweight, the 27-year-old has looked great. And while a world title shot is his main goal, he has other options - including a possible showdown with Ireland's Andy Lee (Macklin has an Irish passport).

This too would be a most interesting and very likely explosive fight.

"Ideally I want to get past Pirog and then fight for a world title, but if that doesn't come off then I think a voluntary defence of my European title against Andy Lee would make a lot of sense," Macklin said. "He's told me personally that he's up for the fight so it's definitely another option although a world title fight is what I'm really pushing for right now."

Macklin-Pavlik? Macklin-Lee? Both fights are definitely appealing. And the way British boxing has been going just lately - what with Britain currently having a heavyweight ruler, a super-middleweight ruler and a light-welterweight ruler - who's to say Macklin couldn't beat Pavlik and bring a middleweight title home?

 

[heyzel]

Bradley To Defend His WBO 140-Pound Crown Against Peterson This Saturday

n a co-feature, devastating knockout artist Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan will defend his World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Association (WBA) 115-pound crowns against the hard-hitting Tomas Rojas.

The event is promoted by Gary Shaw Productions and Thompson Boxing Promotions in association with Top Rank, Inc. Tickets are available for purchase online at www.HotWaterCasino.com/TheShow or by calling Star Tickets at (800) 585-3737.

The 26-year-old Bradley (24-0, 11 KOs), who is coming off a no contest decision against former unified lightweight world champion Nate Campbell on Aug. 1 on SHOWTIME, is on a hot streak in the stacked 140-pound division. Bradley originally won the fight via a highly controversial third-round TKO, but the decision was later changed to a NC by the California State Athletic Commission due to an accidental head butt that opened a cut over Campbell’s left eye.

Bradley quickly moved on from the disappointing no contest against Campbell in order to focus on his next opponent, the lengthier and taller, Peterson.

“Boxing is about style, and styles make fights,” Bradley said. “He could give me problems, but we’re going to see. He’s a much taller opponent with a lot longer reach, but that’s not going to keep me off of him. I’m coming in there to get him, and we’ll see how long he lasts.”

Prior to the bout with Campbell, Bradley defeated Kendall Holt by way of unanimous decision in a world title unification bout on April 4, in Montreal on SHOWTIME. The aggressive, physical and well-conditioned Bradley captured the WBC crown in Great Britain with an upset victory over Junior Witter on May 10, 2008, and successfully defended it in Biloxi, Miss., the following Sept. 13 against Edner Cherry. Both fights were on SHOWTIME.

Many feel Bradley doesn’t get the respect he deserves for being the top fighter at 140 pounds, even after winning the title on the road against Witter, defending it over Cherry and fighting in a dangerous unification bout with Holt.

“That just shows you how determined I am to being great,” Bradley said. “At the end of the day, after I beat Lamont Peterson, people are going to start realizing that, ‘I’m going to stop betting against this guy and I’m going to get on the bandwagon.’”

Peterson (27-0, 13 KOs), of Washington, D.C., who is one of the hottest prospects in boxing, is coming off a seventh-round TKO over previously unbeaten Willy Blain on April 25, 2009 for the interim WBO junior welterweight title.

The 25-year-old’s story is one of the most compelling in a sport filled with rags-to-riches tales. Peterson and his brother, fellow top-prospect Anthony, were left homeless after their father landed in jail for a drug conviction, leaving the pair fighting on the streets to survive.

After years of homelessness and jumping from foster home to foster home, the Petersons were discovered by trainer Barry Hunter, who took them to his gym and taught them the sweet science. Boxing gave them discipline, hope and the goal to become world champions.

Now, Lamont Peterson has his first shot at a world title against a man that no one in the 140-pound division has been able to beat.

“It’s a dream come true,” Peterson said. “A lot of times you talk about us being out in the street, and a lot of the times it got me through just dreaming of this day of fighting to become a world champion. Right now, I’m living my dream. I’m just happy about the fight and giving it my all because I know this is it.”

Peterson knows he is taking on a dangerous opponent for his first world title test, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“A lot of guys fight someone they know they can beat,” Peterson said. But, with me, it’s about fighting the best. If a fight comes up, you take it. I’m fighting the No. 1 at 140 pounds. I don’t have to worry about going through the other guys. If I win this, I’m No. 1.”

And when you’re fighting the man to beat in any division, Peterson knows you have to prepare for just about everything.

“Timothy can box, and I know he can bang,” Peterson said. “I know I can box, and I know I can bang. It could be an all out war or it could be a chess match. I’m ready for either one.”

Darchinyan (32-2-1, 26 KOs), of Sydney, Australia, by way of Armenia, is fresh off a shocking 12-round unanimous decision loss to IBF bantamweight champion Joseph King Kong Agbeko on July 11 on SHOWTIME. Darchinyan, the two-division world who was heavily favored in the fight, was fighting for the first time at 118 pounds after dominating the 115-pound division.

But Darchinyan, 33, didn’t seem to have the power he was known for in the lower divisions, and Agbeko capitalized on Darchinyan’s mistakes and landed the stronger punches en route to a convincing victory. Now, the four-time world champ will defend his crowns back in the 115-pound division, where he holds victories over Cristian Mijares and Jorge Arce and has shown that his is much more comfortable and effective.

The 29-year-old Rojas (32-10, 22 KOs), of Veracruz, Mexico, defeated Everado Morales for the interim WBC super flyweight title on July 18 with a ninth-round TKO. Rojas then defeated Evans Mbamba on Saturday, Oct. 24 in Veracruz, Mexico.

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING announcers Gus Johnson and Al Bernstein will call the action with Jim Gray reporting from ringside. The executive producer of SHOWTIME Sports is David Dinkins with Ray Smaltz producing and Bob Dunphy directing.

 

[heyzel]

Showtime’s Banner Year Gets To End With A Bang

By Jake Donovan

It’s been a long overdue revival for the men and women part of the entity that refers to themselves as “America’s #1 Boxing Network.”

This past year for Showtime was no longer about keeping pace with HBO and having to play second fiddle in the industry’s pecking order. It was a year in which they made all of the right moves, gave the fans the fights they wanted to see, and broke new ground with its critically acclaimed Super Six World Boxing Classic.

And unlike last year, they get to end this one with a bang.

Of course, it’s never Showtime’s intention to simply go out with a whimper. There’s always a Plan A in place, only to sometimes have those visions compromised for the sake of staying on schedule and not leaving its target audience empty-handed.

It was 52 weeks ago when the network planned to end its 2008 run with a rubber match to one of the wildest rivalries in recent time. Kendall Holt and Ricardo Torres were prepared to meet for the third time in 15 months, with the plan for a conclusive ending to finally come of a wild series that has seen both fighters score controversial knockouts.

Those plans were shot to sunshine when Torres pulled up lame late in training camp, leaving Holt without a dance partner late in the game. Demetrius Hopkins was brought in as a pinch hitter, which meant an anticipated shootout was replaced by a bout that turned out to be more entertaining than expected, though not particularly memorable in the grand scheme of things.

What it certainly was not was the ideal way to end the year.

Barring injury or any other crazy reason to disrupt what’s currently in place, this weekend’s doubleheader, which airs from the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, Calif. (Saturday, 9PM ET/PT), is far more befitting of the strong 2009 campaign Showtime has enjoyed, as well as the perfect springboard to shape up its 2010 calendar.

For the second straight year, the network’s final championship fight of the season comes in the super lightweight division. This time around, it carries major implications in the shape of a division that has a leader not exactly accessible to the masses.

Until the day comes when Manny Pacquiao decides it’s financially worth dropping back down to 140 to defend his lineal championship, it can easily be argued that Tim Bradley is the best active super lightweight on the planet.

Amidst a title reign already that will run five fights deep come Saturday, Bradley (24-0, 11KO) continues to take on the best of the rest of the 140 lb. division. It began with his title win more than 18 months ago, when he traveled out of the United States – in fact, out of his home state of California – for the first time in his career to defeat Junior Witter, traveling to the Brit’s homeland to deliver what at the time served as his career best performance.

It may still rate as his best, though the fact that such a thing can be debated speaks volumes of how far the muscular Californian has come in such a short time. Some turn to his twice climbing off the canvas to outlast Kendall Holt in their alphabet unification earlier this year.

Others will argue that his best performance to date was a fight where he didn’t even wind up with the win. It’s certainly how he left the Agua Caliente Casino this past August, when former lightweight titlist Nate Campbell was forced to retire on his stool after three rounds due to a cut suffered over his eye and his vision being compromised earlier in the round.

At the time, referee David Mendoza ruled that while he saw a headbutt (in fact, several) he didn’t see blood until a punch landed, which was his defense for declaring the bout a technical stoppage in favor of Bradley, fighting 20 minutes from his hometown of Palm Springs, Calif.

The beleaguered California State Athletic Commission would get one right for a change, overruling the official verdict and determining that Campbell’s cut was in fact caused by a butt, and declaring the fight a no-contest.

What doesn’t change is the fact that Bradley was enjoying perhaps the best three rounds of his career to that point - or as he described afterwards, making Campbell look “older and older throughout the fight.”

There’s nothing old about his next challenge. If anything, there isn’t a category on paper in which Lamont Peterson doesn’t enjoy a statistical advantage, save of course for experience at the highest level.

But then, it mattered little when Bradley graduated overnight from untested prospect to undefeated champion before and after the Witter showdown. Not to mention the fact that Peterson (27-0, 13KO) doesn’t come into this weekend’s fight with the same cloud of mystery surrounding his background.

The story of Lamont and his younger brother Anthony Peterson is well-documented by now. The boxing brother act was forced overcome homelessness and the lack of a credible role model as kids growing up in the far less showcased side of our nation’s capital. Their lives changed for the better when Barry Hunter came into the picture, serving as their surrogate father and boxing trainer.

Like so many before them, boxing became means to escape from the ghetto. Both served as gifted amateurs, though their dreams of joining the 2004 U.S. Olympic boxing squad ended with at the Olympic Trials in Tunica, Mississippi earlier that year.

The location became significant as it is serves as the operating base for another pair of boxing brothers – Russ and Brian Young, who run Prize Fight Boxing. Lamont and Anthony signed with the leading mid-South promotional group, becoming regional draws in Memphis, which serves as their home away from home.

Both could box like a dream, but if there was a question mark surrounding Lamont’s career, it was his desire to close the show – or lack thereof. Often showcased with his younger brother, it was noted that Anthony was better suited for TV, while Lamont’s style suggested win today, look good the next time. Only it reached a point where networks were beginning to wonder when exactly “next time” would come.

The past seven or so fights have shown a different side of Peterson – one that wants to return to television the moment his fight ends, and one that’s not always content with fights going to the scorecards or leaving any doubt as to who won once the contest ends. Though boasting a modest knockout to win ratio, five of his past seven bouts have ended inside the distance.

One way or another, that figures to change this weekend. Few, if anyone expect anything short of a distance fight, though one that never disappoints.

Bradley rarely if ever knocks you out, but never for a lack of trying. Peterson has learned to sit down more on his punches, though not without completely abandoning his stellar skill set, particularly his ability to avoid getting hit without having to travel very far.

If the main event provides the anticipated mix of entertainment and skill level, then the night figures to have most likely been a rousing success. Even if a pure boxing match breaks out in the evening’s top bill, anything short of a shootout in the televised co-feature will be among the year’s biggest upsets.

More so than getting back into the win column, this weekend’s fight for Vic Darchinyan is about reestablishing his dominance in the super flyweight division, as he defends his lineal crown against fringe contender Tomas Rojas.

The brash Armenian, based out of Sydney, Australia, returns after a failed title bid three pounds north earlier this summer. Then-bantamweight titlist Joseph Agbeko proved to be a little too much for Darchinyan to handle, falling short in a fight where he reverted back to old form, ignoring the advice doled out in his corner and forgetting what led to this opportunity in the first place.

Prior to the loss to Agbeko, Darchinyan was enjoying by far the best run of his nine-year career, and that includes a lengthy stay as a flyweight champion. Two fights removed from a devastating knockout loss to Nonito Donaire to end his days as an undefeated titlist, Darchinyan (32-2-1, 26KO) ran roughshod over the super flyweight division in 2008.

That it began with a controversial draw on the road against Z Gorres speaks volumes of what he went on to accomplish, scoring violent one-sided knockout wins over Dmitry Kirillov and Cristian Mijares to score major divisional hardware, three belts in all as well as lineal claim.

The momentum carried over into 2009, which began with his third straight lopsided ass-kicking of a top 10 super flyweight. The victory was double sweet, as the 11th round stoppage came against longtime bitter rival Jorge Arce. Given their back and forth trash talking through the year, the fight was perhaps two years too late, but savored all the same by Darchinyan, who never eased off of the gas before forcing the Mexican to quit on his stool after 11 rounds.

Not quite as much motivation surrounds this weekend’s fight, other than the need to return to the win column. Rojas (32-11-1, 22KO) appears to be the perfect opponent on paper for Darchinyan to accomplish that mission, though nowhere is it written that it comes easy.

The Mexican southpaw has only been stopped once in his 13-year career. That moment came via one-punch body shot knockout two years against Jorge Arce in a terrific action fight in which he was more than holding his own against the former champion.

He hasn’t lost since then, riding a seven fight unbeaten streak (6-0-1, 4KO) into this weekend.

Aside from two fights that should prove to entertain, what’s most rewarding for Showtime is the fact that they’ve had a tremendous hand in developing three of the four featured fighters on this weekend’s telecast. Bradley and Peterson cut their teeth on the Shobox circuit, while Darchinyan appears on the network for the 10th time in his past 12 fights.

All appear on this weekend’s telecast facing must-win scenarios if they are to carry onward in 2010 and beyond as leaders of their respective divisions. Such results should translate to Showtime’s already stellar year, ending with a bang.

 

[heyzel]

Mayweather-Pacquiao: Araneta Coliseum Bid Turned Down

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has turned down the bid of the famed Araneta Coliseum to stage the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr super fight, claiming that in the first place Mayweather won’t agree to fight in the Philippines.

George “Nene” Araneta, owner of the famed coliseum that played host to the “Thrilla in Manila” between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier on October 1, 1975 had requested for us to inquire from Arum what it would take to stage the fight in Manila and to provide him a number in terms of the cost.

Arum responded “there is no number. Forget it.”

In an overseas telephone conversation this morning Arum said besides “Mayweather is not going to come over to Manila to fight and our pay-per-view revenue would go to sh*t. Its too far away.”

While conceding that the Ali-Frazier fight was done at the Araneta Coliseum, Arum pointed out that “the closed circuit in the US was lousy.”

Arum said “everything is good” and an official statement would be made “probably by the end of the week” after he, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer and HBO Sports Ross Greenburg meet with Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones who built a state-of-the-art $1.2 billion stadium and is interested in staging the fight in the venue which can accommodate 100,000 fight fans.

Arum said “we promised the Dallas people that we would listen to them and then we’ll have a meeting with the MGM and then we’ll decide. Everything is fine.” He said they would make an announcement on both the fight and the venue not on his 78th birthday tomorrow which was the initial plan, but on the weekend.

Arum said Pacquiao’s training camp will be in Baguio City and that “the only change is that we are thinking of moving everything up on the press conferences to the week before the fight because that will give the fighters more time to train. That’s what we’re working on.”

 

[heyzel]

David Haye: "I'm Knocking Out Both Klitschkos in 2010"

By Mark Vester

WBA heavyweight champion David Haye sees a lot of big things ahead for British boxing. In 2009, he won the heavyweight title from 7'2 Nikolai Valuev and saw fellow Brits Carl Froch and Amir Khan win major world titles and beat top opponents. Haye was nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award. He was surprised that Froch and Khan were not in the mix.

"I think this has been a great year for British boxing, and one that has seen the arrival of the new breed," said Haye to The London Evening Standard. "Carl Froch and Amir Khan were probably both unfortunate to miss out on being nominated, as they've both also been fantastic this year.

"Carl has twice defended his WBC world super-middleweight title and was involved in one of the best fights of the year against Jermain Taylor in April. He's also flying the flag for Britain on the world stage and is tackling the best fighters in his division. Carl is a great ambassador for boxing in this country because he always looks to fight the best guys out there.

"Khan, meanwhile, has done tremendously well to bounce back from being knocked out 15 months ago. He's completely changed his career around and has scored three big wins this year, against Marco Antonio Barrera, Andreas Kotelnik and Dmitriy Salita. Amir is now a WBA world light-welterweight champion. A little over a year ago, everybody had wrongly written him off."

Haye said in 2010 he plans to challenge not one but both of the Klitschko brothers. He wants to take the WBO/IBF/IBO titles from Wladimir and the WBC belt from Vitali. He predicts knockout wins in both contests.

"I'm planning on defending my world heavyweight title in 2010 and then knocking out both Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko in heavyweight blockbusters," Haye said.

Haye also spoke on lightweight Kevin Mitchell. He was impressed with Mitchell win over Breidis Prescott from last weekend in Newcastle.

"I was also massively impressed with Kevin Mitchell's performance on Saturday night. He seemed to use my win over Valuev as a blueprint and looked brilliant outboxing Breidis Prescott. I can see Mitchell also winning world title honours in the next few months," Haye said.

 

[heyzel]

Jose Luis Castillo Says The Motivation is Still There

By Mark Vester

Former junior welterweight champion Jose Luis Castillo says the motivation to become a major player at 140-pounds is still there. Castillo is still fighting at welterweight but wants to move back down for a final title run. He is one of the names being mentioned to face Miguel Cotto next June.

Castillo returns to the ring on December 19 in Sonora, Mexico against Saul Corral (16-6, KOs). Castillo (60-9-1, 52 KOs) is training in Mexicali, Baja California. The card will be co-promoted by Fernando Beltran and Top Rank, and features Alex Valdez (21-3-3, 15 KOs) interim WBA bantamweight champion Nehomar Cermeno (18-0, 10 KOs) and Humberto "Zorrita" Soto (49-7-2, 32 KOs), the WBC super featherweight king, going against Jesus "El Matador" Chavez (44-6, 30 KOs).

Castillo has not fought in Sonora since August 2002 when he defeated by knockout in the third, Verdell Smith.

"A lot of time has passed since the last time I fought in Sonora, but now I'm back and motivated. I plan to do well in a city where I had done well before, and on a large card with fighters like Alex Valdez and Humberto "Zorrita" Soto, and Hernan "Tyson" Marquez," Castillo said.

"Corral is a young boxer who will give me a chance to face someone with good speed, but show that this return is for real. To show the people boxing and the fans in general we are more than ready."

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Just for fun:

End of the year awards - your picks

Copy & paste w/your answer to the right:

Fighter of the year
Fight of the year
Knock out of the year
Round of the year
Upset of the year
Trainer of the year
Breakout Star of the Year
Comeback Fighter of the Year
Card of the year
Biggest disappointment of the year

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Fighter of the year - Pacquiao
Fight of the year - Marquez vs Diaz
Knock out of the year - Pacquiao KO2 Hatton
Round of the year - Victor Ortiz vs Maidana rd 1
Upset of the year - Mosley over Margarito
Trainer of the year - Freddie Roach
Breakout Star of the Year - Amir Khan or Andre Ward
Comeback Fighter of the Year - Floyd Mayweather Jr
Card of the year - ???
Biggest disappointment of the year - Kelly Pavlik

 

[heyzel]

Fighter of the year - andre ward

Fight of the year - froch vs taylor
Knock out of the year - Emmanuel Clottey VS MIKE Alvarado
Round of the year-Arreola VS MINTO 2RD
Upset of the year-Andre Ward vs. Mikkel Kessler
Comeback Fighter of the Year - Floyd Mayweather Jr
Breakout Star of the Year -Sergio Martinez or andre dirrel & tim bradley
Card of the year: the start of the super six card they gave us a main events that night and they both live up to the hype

Biggest disappointment of the year-Kelly Pavlik & jermaine taylor / nate campbell

 

[heyzel]

Wladimir Klitschko vs Eddie Chambers On March 20th

James Slater - It's on. Official WBO heavyweight title challenger "Fast" Eddie Chambers will fight Ring magazine, WBO and IBF heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko at a site still to be determined in Germany on March 20th, so reports the always reliable Fight News.com. Chambers won his official position as the WBO heavyweight #1 when he went to Germany to pound out a highly impressive points win over the much bigger, and unbeaten Alexander Dimitrenko. Now, after having been made to wait longer than expected for his big chance due to a hand (or was it a shoulder) injury, the 27-year-old at last has the green light to face "Dr Steel Hammer."

The 35-1(18) Chambers of Philadelphia admits he let himself down when losing on points to Russia's Alexander Povetkin back in January of 2008, but he has since lost a fair amount of weight, has grown new confidence with his five wins post-Povetkin - culminating with the July win over Dimitrenko. With his pure boxing skill and his fast hands, Chambers cannot be written off as a no-hoper against Wladimir..

One thing that may play into the challenger's hands is the inactivity the champion has had recently. Not having fought since his June 2008 TKO win over Ruslan Chagaev, could the 33-year-old champ, 53-3(37) be suffering from a little ring-rust come March 20th? It' s a possibility. And even though Chambers only fought a month more recently than Klitschko, he had been very active in the months before the Dimitrenko win.

Chambers, who weighed a much more acceptable 208-pounds for his biggest win to date, will no doubt be ecstatic at the news that has come out today. March 20th is still a while away, but "Fast" Eddie can at last begin to look towards his day of destiny!

 

[heyzel]

David Haye Questions Vitali Klitschko's Legacy, Also Ridicules The WBC Heavyweight Ch

by James Slater - WBA heavyweight champion David Haye is not in the least bit excited about this coming Saturday's WBC heavyweight title fight between champ Vitali Klitschko and unbeaten challenger Kevin Johnson. In fact, if it were not for the fact that he wishes to watch as much of Vitali in action as he can so as to help get himself as adequately prepared as possible for the day when he gets in the ring with the giant, Haye would not even bother tuning in. This is what the 29-year-old Londoner has told the BBC anyway.

Haye, who defeated Nikolay Valuev to claim the WBA belt just over a month ago, has also ripped into the elder of the two Klitschko brothers by questioning "Dr Iron Fist's" legacy. Haye, who is never quiet about his possible rival opponents, wants to fight both Vitali and Ring magazine, IBF and WBO champion Wladmir next year, and it seems he is back to his taunting best, trying once again to talk his way into the fights he has previously pulled out of..

Haye, who says he wants to become a legend, says Vitali is leaving it late if he too wants to really leave his mark on the sport.

"Vitali is nearly 40 years of age now, and the clock is ticking," Haye said. "There are probably one million dudes in America called Kevin Johnson, and beating one of them doesn't make you an all-time great. Vitali's greatest performance to date is a loss to Lennox Lewis. That's his most memorable fight and the one result on his record that will be remembered in the history books.

"The Klitschkos don't care about being great fighters, whereas I do."

As formidable and as superb as Vitali Klitschko has looked since his cuts-enforced TKO loss to Lewis, Haye has a point - there aren't a whole lot of other big names on the 38-year-old's record. And most fans seem to think Vitali will have no trouble in handling "King Pin" Johnson on Saturday, but they also ask, as does Haye, "who is Kevin Johnson?"

On the other hand, if Vitali is interested in leaving behind a great legacy, who else could he fight right now so as to do so? It's not like Klitschko is avoiding anyone, is it? Haye feels the two brothers have to beat him to prove their dominance, but if one or even both of the two giants did so, would that raise their profile amongst the all-time greats?

One thing is sure, a Haye Vs. Vitali fight would have generated a whole lot more interest than this Saturday's Vitali Vs. Johnson affair. Haye laid into the upcoming fight, and called it unappealing.

"The Klitschkos may be big in Switzerland, but so are yodellers, and nobody wants to watch them fight," Haye said. "It's [Klitschko-Johnson] one of the most unappealing heavyweight title fights for a long time, and that's saying something. The fact that a title fight between a Ukrainian and an American is being held in Switzerland tells you all you need to know about the appeal of this fight.

"Heavyweight title fights should be huge events, not an after-thought in a country most famous for producing Toblerones."

It has to be said, some of Haye's comments are pretty darn funny! One thing Haye is, is a sharp and witty person who attracts attention. And there's no doubt about it; a Haye-Klitschko fight would be a huge event - as we know from the massive amounts of tickets his aborted fight with Wladimir shifted last summer.

Haye told The BBC he "wants to knock out both Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko next year," and that he doesn't care what order they fall in. Let's hope that if the fight(s) can be made in 2010, Haye will actually be able to go through with them this time. Say what you want, but there is no hotter heavyweight title fight out there than a Haye Vs. Klitschko showdown.

 

[heyzel]

Mayweather-Pacquiao: Texas KO'd; Vegas Leads To Host

By Mark Vester

It appears Texas' new Cowboys stadium, which seats 100,000 screaming fans, is no longer in the running to host the March 13 super-fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Top Rank's Bob Arum and Golden Boy Richard Schaefer were scheduled to fly out to Texas to hold a meeting with NFL franchise owner Jerry Jones. Michael Marley of The Examiner , informed BoxingScene.com, that Arum and Schaefer never made it to Texas. Marley spoke to Arum, who let him know that Schaefer [representing Mayweather] canceled the trip on Tuesday night - because he doesn't want to hold the fight at the Dallas stadium. Now Las Vegas is left as the heavy frontrunner to host the fight. Arum informed HBO of the situation.

“Schaefer refused to go,” Arum told Marley on Wednesday afternoon. “He said they don’t want to have the fight in an outdoor stadium. I was stunned because we all had our plane tickets and all that.”

Arum also denies online reports that Pacquiao has already signed a contract for the fight.

“I didn’t even bring a contract. We just went over everything verbally and Manny gave his approval to the major points,” Arum said.

 

[heyzel]

Jose Sulaiman Wants Chavez Jr. To See a Specialist

By James Blears

World Boxing Council President Jose Sulaiman says he wants Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. to be examined by a specialist to gauge at what weight category he should compete.

Julio Jr, who’s twenty-three, began his pro boxing career on September 26th 2003, as a super featherweight. Since then he’s fought as a lightweight, super lightweight, welterweight, super welterweight, and in his latest fight, he had grown to a middleweight. Julio is currently ranked at number one by the WBC in its Super Welterweight division.

Julio faces a Nevada State Athletic Commission hearing after tests revealed he drank a banned diuretic drink, prior to his recent fight against Troy Rowland, on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto classic at the MGM Grand on November 14.

Don Jose said that Julio was ill and in hospital ten days before the fight suffering from bronchitis. He also said Julio’s team didn’t know that this particular drink which helps weight loss but is not a performance enhancer, was banned. He stressed that Julio Jr's behavior and sportsmanship have always been exemplary and that this is an innocent mistake.

Don Jose confirms that the WBC will hold its own inquiry into this. He also suggested that Julio Jr. would benefit from a clinical analysis to gauge his ideal fighting weight. He explained: “We have send Julio to a specialist at UCLA to check him in regards to content of fat in his body, and receive a scientific opinion about where he should fight. I would like him to do that - yes.”

However, all attempts by Don Jose to contact Julio Jr. have so far proved unsuccessful. So he’s asking Julio to phone him.

 

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Carl Froch Discusses His Side of The "Amir Khan Feud"

By Mark Vester

WBC super middleweight champion Carl Froch has given his side of the feud with WBA 140-pound champion Amir Khan. During a few interviews with BoxingScene.com, Khan lashed out at Froch over some of his negative comments. He said Froch was jealous of him. Froch is giving his side of the events.

"He's gotten upset because I gave a little feedback on his Prescott defeat and reported that I'd heard that the Kotelinik win was a little dull from reports off my friends who'd paid for the show and were disappointed. He's just a bit young and fragile and probably just needs a hug from the rest of Team Khan or his personal chauffeur or whatever," Froch told livefight.com.

Froch says there was nothing personal about the comments and he was only trying to speak the truth. After Khan was blown out by Breidis Precott, Froch said there were some serious questions that had to be answered about Khan's abilities and his chin.

"Maybe the truth I spoke has dented King Khan's fragile ego and now i'm the focus of his mind - But I've got no beef with the guy. I know if I took a bad defeat, I would walk through fire to get back at the guy. I wouldn't let it go like that, no way. But that's me," Froch said.

Froch wasn't too impressed with Khan's big win from last weekend over Dmitriy Salita. Without making the situation a personal attack, Froch questioned the credentials of Salita.

"Without wanting to upset King Khan again - who is this Salita fella? I'm not being derogatory but honestly, I've never heard of the bloke. I'd want to see an opponent at least take a shot and throw some back. I suppose it's down to the mandatory situation that he fought Amir," Froch said.

"Maybe I don't follow enough boxing, but correct me if wrong, Salita was never regarded as a hot prospect. If he was any good we'd have all heard about him before he'd got to the number-1 spot wouldn't we? That guy Salita had no business in there and i'd bet my house on him never getting another shot again at any belt."

 

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Kelly Pavlik and Jack Loew Taking Espino Seriously

by T.K. Stewart

Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik and his trainer Jack Loew are glad to be returning to the competitive mix and both are eagerly looking forward to putting the events of the past several months behind them. Pavlik will defend his WBC and WBO 160-pound titles against Miguel Espino on Dec. 19 in their hometown of Youngstown, Ohio.

Pavlik conducted an open-workout Tuesday at Loew's new Southside Boxing Club in Youngstown. He and Loew are hoping that the staph infection to Pavlik's left hand has finally healed.

“I'm excited for the fans in Youngstown and for the fans in the boxing world that were out there saying stuff and had their doubts,” Pavlik told BoxingScene.com. “I think it's huge that we're able to come back this year. We're pretty much guaranteed to fight now, but the whole thing was the hand wasn't one hundred percent and we had no choice.”

Pavlik, 35-1, 31 KOs, has been sidelined for several months with the infection. He claims his hand is still not back to normal, but that it is good enough for him to meet Espino, 20-2-1, 9 KOs, a former participant on “The Contender” reality show. Pavlik indicated that he is still icing his hand after workouts and is also undergoing physical therapy to regain flexibility. His left index finger is still problematic when he makes a fist.

Loew, like all good trainers, never underestimates the competition. Espino is a massive underdog, but Loew can see his strengths.

“I've seen him fight on 'The Contender' years ago and I saw him fight at the Playboy Mansion one time,” said Loew. “Espino is one of those guys that's busy...a guy with a lot of heart and a lot of balls and he's in your face. He likes to fight, he throws a lot of punches.”

Pavlik spent only five weeks in training camp as the bout with Espino was hastily arranged after the sanctioning organizations threatened to strip him of his title belts if he did not fight this month.

Pavlik is still chipping away at 10-months worth of accumulated ring rust since he last appeared in a boxing ring. He sparred eight rounds on Tuesday and claims he is scheduled to go ten rounds on Thursday.

Pavlik and Loew moved their training camp to Las Vegas for several weeks in an effort to escape some of the distractions of their hometown. While most boxing observers do not believe Espino stands any chance, Loew views him through a different prism.

“Espino is a very well-conditioned athlete,” he says. “For him it's the chance of a lifetime. He's been struggling and fighting and now he gets a big opportunity to fight for the middleweight championship of the world. Because of that, he's going to come with his A-game which means that Kelly has to be ready and he will be.”

 

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by T.K. Stewart Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik and his trainer Jack Loew are gla

By Mark Vester

IBO cruiserweight champion Danny Green made a personal phone call to Bernard Hopkins and left a message for the veteran; challenging him to a showdown in Australia. Green is fresh from last week's first round knockout of Roy Jones Jr. The win crushed any plans for a Hopkins-Jones rematch that was tentative for next March in Las Vegas.

"I have left a message on his voicemail, personally - and I said to him you are a legend, let’s get it on," Green said to WA Today. "Did you think we could bring Roy Jones Jr. to Australia? We did, so there is no reason why Bernard Hopkins can’t come."

It not very likely that Hopkins would ever consider fighting Green in Australia. After last week's win over Enrique Ornelas, Hopkins tried to make a case for a Jones rematch to still go forward because he felt the ref was biased and stopped the fight too soon. He said "that's why I never go to Europe." Of course, Australia is not part of Europe.

 

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Gerry Penalosa Fires Back at Eric Morel's Trash Talk

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

Former two division world champion Gerry "Fearless" Penalosa has dared former flyweight and super flyweight champion Eric Morel not to run when they clash in a bantamweight title eliminator for the right to challenge reigning WBO champion Fernando Montiel of Mexico.

The Penalosa-Morel title eliminator will be part of Top Rank promotions "Pinoy Power III" on February 13 and will be telecast by the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN which signed a two-year agreement to telecast all Top Rank fights in the Philippines. The agreement was signed last Friday between promoter Bob Arum and ABS-CBN Chairman and CEO Gabby Lopez during Arum’s whirlwind visit to Manila.

Morel had claimed that since "the winner gets the title fight I will eliminate Penalosa" which drew a retort from the veteran Penalosa who said "If I hit him hard he will run and run like some kind of coward. Tell him to stand and fight and I’ll kick his ass."

The 37 year old Penalosa will be coming off a gallant stand against super bantamweight champion Juan Manuel "Juanma" Marquez in a title fight in Puerto Rico where no less than WBO president Francisco "Paco" Valcarcel praised Penalosa for his gallant stand against a much younger, bigger and stronger opponent before trainer Freddie Roach called it quits in the 9th round.

Penalosa who has been working out at his gym at the Market Mall in Mandaluyong City in Metro Manila said he started sparring on Wednesday against his protégé Mike Farenas and Joel Alivio and felt good.

The 34 year old Morel has a record of 41-2 with 21 knockouts while Penalosa the 37 year old has a record of 54-7-2 with 36 knockouts.

Montiel who is scheduled to fight on the same card has turned down the offer of ALA Promotions to replace Z "The Dream" Gorres whose career was ended following brain surgery after his rousing win over Colombia’s Juan Melendez, with Michael Domingo.

Meantime, WBA super flyweight interim champion Nonito "The Filipino Flash" Donaire has offered to step up in weight to fight Montiel but there’s been no word as yet.

Donaire is scheduled to headline the "Pinoy Power III" card against Gerson Guerrero but Top Rank matchmaker Bruce Trampler told us they were having unspecified problems with the Donaire camp and were hoping to resolve them quickly.

 

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Arum Says Something is Fishy About Schaefer's Actions

[Editor's Note: BoxingScene.com has heard frrom multiple sources that Mayweather was not happy with the fight taking place in Texas and ruled it out. From what several sources heard, he was very concerned with the proper officials being appointed - especially the judges. Mayweather likes his chances much better in Las Vegas.

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer pulled out of a planned trip with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum and HBO Sports Ross Greenburg to Dallas to meet with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to discuss his bid to stage the super fight between pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao and former No.1 Floyd Mayweather Jr at the $1.2 billion state-of-the-art Dallas Stadium.

The fight for the ages which has drawn incredible worldwide interest is scheduled for March 13 after Pacquiao signed-off on the deal during a meeting with Arum at the New World Hotel in Makati City last Friday, following a quick trip to the Philippines.

An obviously annoyed Arum told BoxingScene.com, insidesports.ph, Standard Today and Viva Sports that Schaefer "called me last night to cancel the trip because he didn’t want to do the fight in an outdoor stadium." But Arum pointed out that the Dallas Cowboys stadium which has a 100,000 capacity has a roof that locks into place at the threat of rain and there was no problem.

Arum said "this is crazy. He told me I’m not going to Texas." Arum promptly called Greenburg and said "if he (Schaefer) doesn’t go why will I go. Is Pacquiao going into the ring by himself? So we cancelled the trip."

Arum described Schaefer’s move as "the ruinous, worst thing. We are so embarrassed."
Asked why he thought Schaefer would do that, Arum replied "its something only he can answer. But something is fishy."

Arum said "I am not going to allow my fighter (Pacquiao) to be deprived of revenue because of some nonsense that Schaefer has schemed up. I don’t think Mayweather is a part of this. Maybe there’s some side deal or something like that. It smells. At least go there and give the man (Jones) some respect. Isn’t that logical? "

He also revealed that Schaefer had sent him a new draft of a contract which says "the site of the fight shall be the MGM Grand unless Golden Boy decides otherwise. Are they crazy? Even if the fight went away how would you sign that contract? Why should Golden Boy and MGM Grand be mentioned as the site."

Arum said "I understand that the Dallas deal is $10 million better. That’s $5 million for Manny." He ended our conversation by saying "that’s where we stand today."

 

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Amir Khan May Vacate if Marcos Maidana is Pushed

By Rick Reeno

BoxingScene.com has heard some serious talk going around the industry that Amir Khan will vacate the junior welterweight title if the WBA forces him to fight Marcos Maidana next. Back in June, Maidana stopped Victor Ortiz in June to pick up the WBA' interim-title at 140-pounds.

After the Ortiz win, Maidana's side was putting pressure on the sanctioning body for a shot at Khan. There was only one problem, Dmitriy Salita was the mandatory and his side was ready for an all-out legal war if their title opportunity was given to Maidana.

The WBA gave Salita the first crack - with a catch attached. The winner of Khan-Salita had 90-days to fight Maidana. I hear the sanctioning body will soon issue an order for Khan-Maidana. Khan, looking at major names like Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez and the Diaz-Malignaggi winner - may have other plans in store for 2010.

 

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Fierce Bidding War for Pac vs. Floyd – Valero vs DeMarco?

by T.K. Stewart

While information is scant as of this writing, another player has reportedly stepped into the fray in a big way and has expressed serious interest in hosting the possible megafight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. on March 13.

AEG, who is headquartered at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles and owns several stadiums around the world (and is also part owner of Golden Boy Promotions) has gone all in with a bid to be in the vicinity of $20 million to host the fight at STAPLES Center.

The AEG bid comes on the heels of the news that Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy, has nixed the idea of holding the fight at Jerry Jones' newly erected 100,000 seat stadium in Texas that cost $1 billion to construct.

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In recent days, several news outlets, including the Associated Press, have reported that Pacquiao had signed the contract agreeing to fight Mayweather, Jr. However, Bob Arum told the Associated Press Wednesday that was not the case and Pacquiao has not yet signed a contract.

BoxingScene made a call to the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood to seek clarification and Freddie Roach tells us that Manny Pacquiao has signed a contract and that the key points have been agreed to. Those key points include the size of the gloves the fighters are to wear (8 ounce) and that each fighter will pick the brand they wish to wear. Roach says Manny will wear Reyes gloves. The other key point is the purse for the two men, which will be a 50/50 split right down the middle. Neither fighter can weigh more than 147 pounds.

Roach indicated that he wants a “10-week camp” and they will split their time between Baguio City in the Philippines and his gym in Los Angeles, similar to the schedule they utilized for the fight against Miguel Cotto.

However, it's not expected that Pacquiao would open camp in the Philippines until after a Jan. 6 press conference to announce the fight. Allowing for time to return to the Philippines, it would only leave Pacquiao a window of training likely beginning Jan. 9 in Baguio City with the last full day of sparring and training to take place on March 7 in Los Angeles. That is a total of 58 days - or 8 weeks. I didn't question Roach on his math.

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Word has filtered through to BoxingScene.com that as long as WBC lightweight titlist Edwin Valero makes it by Hector Velazquez on Dec. 19 in Venezuela, then next up for Valero could be Antonio DeMarco.

The date that organizers are shooting for is the first or second week in February, possibly in Texas or Mexico. It's not clear at this point whether a major cable network would televise the bout or if Top Rank may televise a “Latin Fury” pay-per-view.

Valero is undefeated at 25-0, 25 KOs and is promoted by Top Rank. DeMarco, promoted by Gary Shaw Productions, holds the interim WBC lightweight title and has a record of 23-1-1, 17 KOs. Both fighters are crowd-pleasing southpaws.