Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Paulie Malignaggi Signs With Golden Boy Promotions

By Mark Vester

Former welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (27-4, 5KOs) has announced that he signed a promotional contract with Golden Boy Promotions. Malignaggi had met with Golden Boy two weeks ago in Los Angeles to discuss a possible deal.

For the better part of Malignaggi's career, he was promoted by New York-based Lou DiBella. Malignaggi bought himself out of the promotional contract with DiBella a few months ago. He was planning to move up to the welterweight division and had plans to make a run in Europe with a goal of eventually landing an overseas fight with European champion Matthew Hatton.

Malignaggi was last seen in the ring in the month of May, taking a bad TKO loss to WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan, who is also promoted by Golden Boy.

 

[heyzel]

Latimore is Willing To Fight Alfredo Angulo in Mexico

By Ryan Burton

BoxingScene.com recently broke the story that the WBC's number one rated junior middleweight challenger, Alfredo "El Perro" Angulo was facing deportation and was blocked off from appearing on HBO until he was able to clear up the issue with his work visa.

A few days later Angulo's manager Mike Criscio was quoted on BoxingScene, saying that he was working feverishly trying to rectify the situation.

Earlier today BoxingScene spoke to junior middleweight contender Deandre "The Bull" Latimore who has a temporary solution to the Mexican crowd favorite's dilemma.

Latimore told Boxingscene that he has no problem fighting Angulo in his backyard.

"I am willing to fight him in Mexico tomorrow. Just tell me when and my bags are packed. His team can work on his immigration problems and in the mean time he can fight me."

The St Louis native thinks a fight between Angulo and himself would be an all out war. He feels it would be just the type of fight that boxing fans have been asking for in an otherwise down year for the sport.

"I think a fight between Angulo and myself is what the fans have been waiting on. Two guys going back and forth banging like there's no tomorrow."

Latimore lost a close split decision to Cory Spinks last year in a bout televised by Showtime that would have earned him the IBF junior middleweight strap and future appearances on the network. He feels a fight with Angulo will be a second chance at the big time. "'l just want to give the fans what they want which is a great fight and I want to give HBO a new face."

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Paulie Malignaggi Signs With Golden Boy Promotions

So he's going to make his debut at 147. Paulie, via twitter, says his next opponent will "shock you!"

$100 it's Andre Berto

::edit::

n/v. Golden Boy just signed him to feed to one of their rising stars. I wouldn't doubt if Saul Alvarez fights Paulie sometime in 2011.

 

[Lamberto Quintero]

I'd love to see Canelo fuck Paulie up, that shit would brighten up my life...

 

[WYNO707X4]

nah canelo to big for paulie....i say victor ortiz oh shit wait itz at 147????? i dont have a clue chicken shit probaly

 

[heyzel]

Arum expects Pacquiao-Margarito to sell 60,000 to 70,000 tickets

By Dan Ambrose: In the latest boxing news, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum expects his November 13th fight card with Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito to sell between 60,000 and 70,000 tickets, according to Steve Kim at Doghouseboxing.com The tickets for the Pacquiao-Margarito bout are already on sale, and Arum says that they’re going fast. The bout will be taking place at the Cowboys Stadium, in Arlington, Texas.


This is the same location where Pacquiao fought his last fight in March against the less than popular Joshua Clottey. That fight sold 50,000 tickets. Those are really good numbers given that Clottey had no real fan base, and it was a fight where fans were coming almost exclusively to see Pacquiao. The undercard had the following match-ups:

Humberto Soto vs. David Diaz
Alfonso Gomez vs. Jose Luis Castillo
John Duddy vs. Michael Medina
Salvador Sanchez vs. Jaime Villa
Michael Farenas vs. Joe Morales
Eden Sonsona vs. Mauricio Pastrana
Robert Marroquin vs. Samuel Sanchez

It was a card stacked with Hispanic fighters in hopes of drawing fans from the surrounding Mexican community. However, it’s likely that most of the fans that showed up came to see Pacquiao.

The November 13th card will have these fights on the undercard:

Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. Ricardo Cordoba
Kelly Pavlik vs. Bryan Vera
Mike Jones vs. Jesus Soto Karass
Robert Marroquin vs. TBA
Richie Mepranum vs. Anthony Villarreal
Jose Benavidez vs. Winston Mathis
Joe Hanks vs. TBA
Mike Lee vs. Keith Debow

As you can see, the undercard lacks meat and appears to be mostly mismatches, other than the Rigondeaux-Cordoba Battle. If this card is go do better than the Pacquiao vs. Clottey card, it will have to be because Margarito drawing from his Mexican fanbase. It’s hard to tell how many fans that Margarito can bring in, because he’s never been a very popular fighter and he’s not a huge star in the U.S.

 

[heyzel]

Oscar De La Hoya Talks Mayweather, Pacquiao, More

By Michael Marley

BROOKLYN--Physically, Oscar de la Hoya looks the part.

Still trim at age 37, the Golden Boy looks like he could go 12 rounds or 18 holes, your choice.

Mentally, well in his mind he's still the Hall Of Fame fighter who set a PPV TV buyrate record of 2.4 million for his losing bout against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Oscar was at a sweltering Gleason's Gym on a gloomy, overcast Tuesday afternoon with billionaire Bruce Ratner to trumpet the fact that Oscar' company has an exclusive deal with the Barclays Center to promote boxing. GBP plans to build its New York base, with shows in Brooklyn and at the Prudential Center in Newark.

I sparred (verbally) with Oscar and my first question was direct.

Who wins if Oscar fought Manny Pacquiao and both were in their primes?

"Whew," de la Hoya said. "Different story."

Putting aside that purely

mythical matchup, I asked what Oscar's thoughts are about the Pinoy Idol balancing Congressional duties and his superstar boxer status.

Oscar expressed approval of and high hopes for Pacquaio's political career.

"With politics, I give Manny all the credit in the world for being a Congressman. I don't know if he can balance both careers because it's got to be very difficult but hopefully he can do some good things for his people." de la Hoya said.

Wanting to test ODLH's sense of humor, I reminded him that he tried to juggle a singing career and boxing.

"Yeah, and you see how that turned out," Oscar said, smiling the smile that thrilled so many females when he was boxing's matinee idol.

De la Hoya said he thinks troubled Floyd Mayweather Jr. needs to end his boxing hiatus and get back to business pronto.

"I have not spoken to him but I think Floyd needs to get back to doing what he does best, which is boxing."

Oscar was swarmed by apsiring boxers of all ages and races and he was clearly in his element.

One young fighter peppered him with other mythical match questions. If I heard correctly, one of them was who would've won between Sugar Ray Leonard and Aaron Pryor and I think Oscar tipped Leonard to win it.

Oscar said some have misinterpreted his Broadcasting & Cable interview in which he said boxing needs to have a dominant promoter.

It's not all about Golden Boy swallowing up the minnows or wiping out Bob Arum's Top Rank, de la Hoya said.

"It's what is best for boxing, really. I'm not talking about just now, I mean what's going to be best for boxing 10-15 years from now. It's frustrating when (because of interpromotional bickering) we can get the best fighting the best. That's why I mentioned what the U F C does, their model.

"We just need a different setup than what we have now. We need something better for the fans and for the fighters."

To his credit, GBP CEO Richard Schaefer also gave Pacman props for his political achievement.

"Manny has to be congratulated on that, being a Congressman," Schaefer said. "To be such an accomplished fighter and a Congressman, well I think that brings credit to boxing and all of us can be proud of him doing that."

Rich guy Ratner, who said the total cost of the new arena will wind up at $900 million or so, said he tapped Oscar and his company for some obvious reasons.

"I used to go watch the Ali fights on closed circuit at the movie theaters when I was a kid in Cleveland," Ratner said.

"We open up in July 2012 and I felt that I don't see any downside here. Oscar is an icon of the sport and his company has other boxers as owners as well. They operate transparently and I like that.

"We want to bring boxing back to Brooklyn, maybe create more icons like (Mike) Tyson was. We just feel that Golden Boy is the right company for us to go with."

At the event, Schaefer announced what he called "breaking news," saying that Paulie Malignaggi of Brooklyn had signed with GBP and would henceforth campaign at welterweight.

Malignaggi was in attendance along with GBP boxers Danny Jacobs and Danny Garcia

 

[heyzel]

Andre Berto likely to be facing Freddy Hernandez on 11/27

By Jason Kim: For those boxing fans that have been hoping that WBC welterweight champion Andre Berto (26-0, 20 KO’s) would finally be facing interesting opponent after holding down the World Boxing Council welterweight title for the past two years, it doesn’t look as if that’s going to be happening. Berto, who regularly fights on HBO, is likely to be facing Freddy Hernandez (29-1, 20 KO’s) on the Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Michael Katsidis undercard on November 27th at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada, says Dan Rafael.

Berto was supposed to be fighting his number #2 WBC ranked contender Selcuk Aydin but the two fighters have been unable to negotiate a fight. So instead of seeing Berto against the knockout artist Aydin, boxing fans will likely have to settle for seeing him facing the 31-year-old Hernandez. In looking at Hernandez’s record, you might think he would have a chance at beating Berto or at least making the fight interesting.


However, most of Hernandez’s wins have come against B level opposition. His best victories have come against Mike Anchondo, light welterweight DeMarcus Corley, Ben Tackie, Carson Jones and a younger Jesus Soto Karass in 2004. Having seen Hernandez fight on more than a couple of occasions, I don’t think he has any chance of beating Berto. However, he is someone that will make Berto look good. Berto hasn’t looked good in ages as he’s not taken on any interesting opponents and has become a punch and grab fighter.

It would have been nice to see Berto against Aydin, because it would have been the first real puncher that Berto has been in with during his career. Berto tends to get hit a lot and Aydin would surely test Berto’s chin. Berto hasn’t stepped it up against bigger threats in the welterweight division, such as Shane Mosley, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao, Mike Jones, and Saul Alvarez. This has been the knock on Berto.

Instead of taking on interesting opponents, he’s faced little Steve Forbes, Carlos Quintana, Luis Collazo, and Juan Urango. If Berto keeps fighting guys like that, he can probably hang onto his title for another five years before someone ends up beating him. It’s just too bad that he won’t have any significant wins to show for himself if he keeps fighting the guys he’s been fighting. Hernandez is a decent fighter, but the guy is ranked #11 by the WBC. Why isn’t Berto facing higher ranked opposition? I don’t understand why HBO is still showing Berto’s fights, because he’s not winning any fans with his weak opposition and his fights are painfully boring to watch.

 

[heyzel]

Eric Morel To Make Golden Boy Debut on 12/11 in Mexico

By King Cole, notifight.com

Former champion Eric Morel of Puerto Rico will make his debut as a Golden Boy Promotions fighter on December 11 at an event to be staged in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico and broadcast on Showtime, according to his legal adviser Gaby Peñagaricano.

"It seems that it's going to be a big event on December 11 and it is on Showtime. It will be an event designed around the bantamweights," Peñagaricano said.

That night Yonnhy Perez (20-0 with 14 KOs) will face Joseph Agbeko (27-2 with 22 executed) while Vic Darchinyan (35-2-1 with 27 KOs) will go against Abner Mares (20-0 with 13 KOs).

"This tournament is only four guys, but Eric will be there. And of course the promoter will be able to see what they can do in the future. No opponent yet but that is the date scheduled. And of course he will win in a good fight. Everything that's taking place in very good for Eric's career."

 

[heyzel]

Alexander May Lose IBF Title Before Bradley Unification

By Rick Reeno

In a strange situation, the IBF went forward with a purse bid on September 28 for an IBF mandatory bout between champion Devon Alexander and challenger Kizer Mabuza. According to the IBF, they sent a letter on August 9th which notified the promoters, Don King and Branco Milenkovic of South Africa, to begin negotiations. The negotiations period ended on September 9 and a purse bid was set for September 28.

Initially, the purse bid was postponed because King notified IBF President Daryl Peoples that an agreement had been reached for Alexander to unify his WBC/IBF titles with WBO Timothy Bradley on January 29. The IBF is claiming, that because Gary Shaw did not send them a copy of the agreement, the purse bid proceeded as scheduled.

Milenkovic was the only bidder and he bid $101,500 and paid the 20% deposit ($20, 3000). The purse bid split will be 75% to Alexander and 25% to Mabuza. The IBF ordered that the fight must take place within 90 days of September 28, 2010 or no later than December 28, 2010. The executed contracts must be submitted to the IBF within 15 days of the purse bid or no later than October 13, 2010.

If his back is put against the wall, Alexander will obviously drop the IBF title to proceed with this HBO-televised fight with Bradley.

Shaw told BoxingScene.com that the IBF is not being truthful in the situation. He tells BoxingScene that he gave notification by phone and sent an email the IBF, on September 27, confirming that a deal had been finalized for Alexander-Bradley.

"Daryl Peoples is not being truthful. I was on the phone with him and King. We said there was an agreement and then he [Peoples] went and scheduled the purse bid. I told Don that he should start a lawsuit. It doesn't make any sense. Instead of getting a [sanctioning] fee from a million dollar purse [for Alexander], now they get one from a $75,000 purse," Shaw said to BoxingScene.com.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Hmm, this makes no sense to me but whatever. Makes the November 6 card pretty sick. Johnson hasn't weighed less than 175 in over 10 years so I really wonder if he can even get down that low and if he can, how will it effect his 40 year old body?




Glen Johnson-Allan Green is On! Super Six For Nov. 6

NEW YORK – Veteran contender Glen “The Road Warrior” Johnson has been tapped to replace the injured Mikkel Kessler in the Super Six World Boxing Classic and is preparing to meet Allan Green in a Group Stage 3 bout on Saturday, Nov. 6, live on SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast), it was officially announced today by SHOWTIME Sports® Executive Vice President and General Manager Ken Hershman.

The 12-rounder between the Jamaican-born Johnson (50-14-2, 34 KOs), of Miami, Fla., and Green (29-2, 20 KOs), of Tulsa, Okla., will emanate from MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas and open the telecast on SHOWTIME. In the second half of the excellent Nov. 6 SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING doubleheader, undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight champion Juan Manuel “JuanMa” Lopez (29-0, 26 KOs) of Puerto Rico will defend his title against two-division world champion Rafael Marquez (39-5, 35 KOs) of Mexico City.

A former International Boxing Federation (IBF) light heavyweight champion, Johnson is a hard-knocking veteran who has fought and defeated some of the best fighters of this era. Seemingly always in close, rough, crowd-pleasing fights, Johnson owns victories over Roy Jones Jr. and Antonio Tarver, among others.

Johnson has appeared in seven world title fights and now has an opportunity to reestablish himself as one of the world’s elite prizefighters.

“I want to thank Showtime for including me in their Super Six tournament,” he said. “Having dedicated so many years to the sport of boxing, it is gratifying to still be considered worthy of competing with some of the top fighters in the world and on such a prestigious platform.”

Regarding the super middleweight limit of 168 pounds, at which Johnson has not fought since 2000, he stated: “I typically weigh in at 172 pounds for my light heavyweight fights. I will have no trouble making the 168-pound limit as a super middleweight.”

Group Stage 3, the final Stage of the point-based round-robin portion of the tournament, will determine the four fighters who will advance to the single-elimination Semifinals. As per tournament rules, a replacement fighter enters the Group Stage tied with the last place fighter—in this case, Green with zero points. Both men go into the Nov. 6 showdown on equal ground. But only one will have the opportunity to qualify for the Semis. The winner of Green vs. Johnson—with either 2 or 3 points—would need help from Andre Ward and/or Arthur Abraham to qualify. (See current standings below)

Allan Green, who was outmatched in his Group Stage 2 bout against Ward, is ready for the challenge ahead of him. Inspired to redeem himself, his intense preparation will continue as planned despite the change from Kessler to Johnson. No matter the opposition, Green needs a strong performance in Group Stage 3 to advance.

Following Nov. 6, Group Stage 3 will conclude on Saturday, Nov. 27, on SHOWTIME when Ward of Oakland, Calif., faces Andre Dirrell of Flint, Mich., in a battle of American stars and Abraham of Germany takes on former World Boxing Council (WBC) titlist Carl Froch of England, in a matchup that pits arguably the hardest punchers in the Super Six at Hartwall Areena in Helsinki, Finland. Ward-Dirrell will be televised live; Abraham-Froch will be shown on same-day delay.

SUPER SIX WORLD BOXING CLASSIC SCOREBOARD (Through Group Stage 2)

Record Fighter Points

2-0 Andre Ward 4

1-1 Arthur Abraham 3

1-1 Carl Froch 2

1-1 Andre Dirrell 2

0-1 Allan Green 0

0-0 Glen Johnson* 0

 

[naner12]

That's pretty stupid but I can see the reason why not going immediately to the final four. If any decent form of Glen Johnson shows up that's spells bad news for Green, who would get folded in half.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

and if that happens, Glen Johnson has 3 points. So let's say Dirrell and Froch both lose, they will both have 2 points each....and Johnson would have 3 points and only fought once?? That's not very fair imo.

They should have just made it the final four, but I understand it's about money and keeping this tournament alive and whatnot, plus Lou DiBella promotes Glen Johnson so I understand his motive there, but still, I wish they could have got Bika instead who is ranked #6 by the Ring and would have been a much better alternate then Johnson imo, not too mention is far more deserving.

 

[naner12]

and if that happens, Glen Johnson has 3 points. So let's say Dirrell and Froch both lose, they will both have 2 points each....and Johnson would have 3 points and only fought once?? That's not very fair imo.

They should have just made it the final four, but I understand it's about money and keeping this tournament alive and whatnot, plus Lou DiBella promotes Glen Johnson so I understand his motive there, but still, I wish they could have got Bika instead who is ranked #6 by the Ring and would have been a much better alternate then Johnson imo, not too mention is far more deserving.

Yeah I'd rather Bika but it is what it is I guess. I never thought much of Green and I'd actually bet big money that Bika would crush Green within 4 rounds. Bika should be trying to set up a rematch with Bute even though he "lost" eliminator by making a dumbass mistake. Fighting Bute in Canada would probably bring more money than the tournament can, beating Bute would definitely bring more money than the tournament can.

 

[heyzel]

this is a disgrace promoters just lining their pockets with the guaranteed returns from 6 fighters featuring 3 bouts

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

They should just trash the whole super 6 concept right now and make some meaningful fights.

 

[heyzel]

Roy Jones Jr. Injures Hand, Santiago Bout Postponed

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Square Ring Promotions announced today that it was postponing the Roy Jones, Jr. vs. Danny Santiago scheduled for October 7, 2010 due to a hand injury suffered by Roy Jones, Jr. John Wirt, CEO of Square Ring Promotions, said "Roy's manager, McGee Wright, informed me today that Roy injured his left hand while sparring on Saturday and that on Monday, he went to the doctor and X-rays were taken. While the X-rays do not show a fracture, his hand is swollen and continues to bother him to such an extent that we have no choice but to postpone the fight. At this point, we are planning on rescheduling the fight and will make an announcement regarding the new date as soon as possible."

Refunds may be obtained beginning tomorrow at point of purchase. Pensacola Civic Center Box Office hours are Monday through Friday, 10:00 am to 4:30 pm. Credit card purchases made through Ticketmaster on line or by phone are automatically refunded. Tickets purchased at a Ticketmaster outlet must be refunded at that outlet.

 

[heyzel]

John Duddy's Manager: Andy Lee Fight Not On For 12/4

By Mark Vester

Craig Hamilton, manager of middleweight contender John Duddy, has disputed widespread reports that his fighter will be facing Andy Lee in an all-Irish battle at New York's Madison Square Garden on December 4. Hamilton says there have been talks with Lee's trainer/manager Emanuel Steward but "nothing is definite."

A fight between Duddy (29-2-0) and Lee (23-1-0) would be big in Ireland or New York. Hamilton says a fight like this needs time to get done, and a venue, and a promoter, to get behind it.

"There's certainly an interest in the fight and both sides are trying to make it happen," Hamilton told the Derry Journal. "It's a fight we want and we're working on it. We've had discussions, but it takes time. Lee has a fight coming up, if he gets by that okay then we can keep working on it. It's certainly a fight of interest. We need a promoter involved and a site so nothing concrete is happening right now."

A fight with Lee is not the only option for Duddy. Top Rank has interest in matching him against Yuri Foreman in early 2011.

"I don't think the Lee fight is the only way for John to go, there was talk about him fighting Yuri Foreman as well. There's still a lot of support for John. He wasn't embarrassed against Chavez, he lost - there's no disputing that - but he gave 100 per cent like he always does. It's never good to lose, but very few guys can go through their career without getting beat."

 

[naner12]

They should just trash the whole super 6 concept right now and make some meaningful fights.

More meaningful fights have come out of this tournament than would have normally @ 168. Take away the Green/Johnson fight and both the other match ups as meaningful as you can ask for minus anything with Bute.

I don't care about the tournament or it's format but it can't be denied that it brought plenty of meaningful fights in a division that was seriously needing clarification after Calzaghe's departure.

 

[CHRISHOGGALYPSE]

Man, I never thoguht I'd say this but I kinda miss watching Calzaghe fight. It sucks that he stepped out when the division got hot. He was an amazing talent though. I didn't appreciate him until he was gone.

Am I the only one that doesn't think that Glen Johnson can even make 168lbs? He was like 190lbs on fight night against Cloud. Also a bad matchup for Green because he needs a knockout to advance more than likely and you could hit Johnson with the Manhattan project and not knock him out UNLESS the weight is an issue for him and he's just stopped late in the fight