Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Pirog vs. Sturm in November or December

By Jim Dower: WBO middleweight champion Dmitriy Pirog (17-0, 14 KO’s) could be facing WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm (34-2-1, 14 KO’s) in November or December, according to boxing news from Dan Rafael of ESPN. Pirog’s promoter Artie Pelullo is reportedly in talks with Sturm’s management team about a middleweight unification bout in November or December.


Pirog, 31, stopped American Daniel Jacobs in a 5th round stoppage to capture the vacant WBO middleweight title on July 31st. It was a dominating win for Pirog, who many people thought would lose to Jacobs. However, not only did Pirog beat Jacobs, but he beat him with ease and showed a fighting style that looked a lot like Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Pelullo also is trying to match Pirog up against former WBO/WBC middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik. However, it’s doubtful that Pavlik will want to take on a slick fighter like Pirog, especially after Pavlik was badly beaten by boxer/puncher Sergio Martinez by a 12 round decision in his last fight in April.

Pavlik will be fighting on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Antonio Margarito bout on November 13th. He won’t be available to fight in December obviously unless he destroys his opponent.

Sturm, 31, recently beat middleweight contender Giovanni Lorenzo by a 12 round unanimous decision earlier this month on September 4th. Sturm has held the World Boxing Association title for the past three years, but hasn’t faced any well-known opponents during that time.

For some reason, Sturm has failed to take on guys like Arthur Abraham and Kelly Pavlik. It would be a huge risk if Sturm were to fight Pirog, because the best guy that Sturm has faced in the past four years Javier Castillejo stopped him in the 10th round in 2006.

Sturm beat Castillejo by a 12 round unanimous decision, but the win was controversial with many who saw it. Since that fight, Sturm has been able to beat the mediocre opposition that his management has matched him against.

Part of the problem for Sturm is that the middleweight division has been so utterly weak in the past four years. There just haven’t been too many named fighters, other than Abraham and Pavlik, for Sturm to fight. He’s beaten the guys that the WBA has ranked in the top 15, but there haven’t been any real challenges until now.

 

[heyzel]

Watson Denies Dating Floyd Mayweather's Baby Mama

Chicago Bulls point guard C.J. Watson wants to make one thing perfectly clear -- he has never ... nor will ever ... date Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s baby mama ... despite what she told police.

As TMZ first reported, Josie Harris told Las Vegas cops that before Mayweather Jr. allegedly attacked her last week ... he demanded to know if Harris was dating Watson ... and she responded, "'Yes, that is who I'm seeing now.'"

But multiple sources close to C.J. -- including his father Charles Watson -- tell TMZ that the NBA player is only in a relationship with his longtime girlfriend Danielle -- with whom he has a child.

C.J.'s dad -- who says he talks to C.J. every day -- also tells us, "I know for sure that Josie is not his girlfriend ... she did some event planning for C.J., but other than that, they have no relationship whatsoever."

Charles adds, "C.J. would never do anything like that to Mayweather [Jr.] ... he doesn't need

 

[heyzel]

Frank Warren: Haye and Mayweather Went Too Far

By Frank Warren

AS a promoter, you sometimes need to generate publicity and sometimes say things to make a fight sell.

But last week David Haye and Floyd Mayweather overstepped the mark.

Mayweather has refused to fight Manny Pacquiao but that did not stop him describing the Filipino as a 'yellow chump'.

He went on to say he was going to 'stomp the midget', get Manny to 'make some sushi rolls and cook some rice' and then 'cook him with some cats and dogs'.

Classy stuff! But you wonder what Mayweather's reaction would have been had Pacquiao been making similar comments but using the word black rather than yellow. It's ironic as well that Mayweather comes out with this stuff after Pacquiao agreed to fight someone else.

Meanwhile, Haye will meet Audley Harrison on November 13 in Manchester, and described the fight as a 'public execution'. That was about as eloquent as it got, with Haye claiming his win would be 'as one-sided as a gang rape' and he would 'violate' the Olympic gold medallist in the ring.

God forbid anything does happen to Harrison. What makes the stupid comments even worse is that this week Darren McDermott, who was due to fight Paul Smith in October, has undergone surgery to stop a bleed of the brain.

He is thankfully going to make a full recovery and I wish him well.

Perhaps Haye should also remember the likes of Gerald McClellan and Michael Watson before he next opens his mouth

 

[heyzel]

Bradley vs Alexander in Jeopardy Over Contract Extension

By Rick Reeno

According to sources who are close to the negotiations, the proposed junior welterweight unification between Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander, which is scheduled for the tentative date of January 29 on HBO, is in serious jeopardy of falling apart.

BoxingScene.com spoke to multiple parties with knowledge of the ongoing situation. There appears to be an internal dispute taking place between Bradley and his promoter Gary Shaw.

Bradley's promotional contract with Shaw is reportedly set to expire in May 2011. In order to finalize the deal for the Alexander fight, Shaw wants Bradley to sign a contract extension. However, Bradley is refusing to sign the contract extension because he wants to explore his options and review potential offers from other promoters.

There are no outstanding issues between Shaw and Bradley. The entire situation comes down to normal business practices. Like any athlete with a contract set to expire, Bradley wants to see which party, including Shaw, is going to provide him with best possible offer.

In the case of Shaw, he wants to protect himself by securing one of his star fighters, and preventing a competitor from snatching him away. Nobody can blame Shaw for taking this position. Shaw, along with Thompson Boxing, built Bradley up, but at the same time Bradley does have the right to explore his options in order to maximize his earning potential. The situation is similar, and some people may call it identical, to Bradley's recent network jump from Showtime to HBO, because the earning potential and fight possibilities were better on the other side of the fence.

There have been industry rumblings that Bradley has been in contact with Golden Boy Promotions about a potential future working relationship. Sources close to Golden Boy, and Bradley's team, have denied the rumblings. BoxingScene was informed that Shaw sent a letter to Golden Boy advising them that Bradley was still under contract and to cease any possible communications between the two parties.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

^^^Gary Shaw is a fat bastard always fucking up shit. If he is the only reason Bradley/Alexander happens, then fuck that guy. I hope no one signs with his fatass again.

And I hope Pirog beats the shit out of Felix Sturm. Never liked Sturm and Pirog is looking pretty awesome right now.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

woah, this will be a dope fight. Also I'm glad the WBA is doing this, rather than having two fucking "super champions" in the same division.



John vs Gamboa Has To Take Place Within 120 Days

By Hilmar Rojas

The Directors of the World Boxing Association made a decision that prior to the unification between our featherweight champion, Yuriorkis Gamboa, and the IBF champ, Orlando Salido, he learned of the health of Chris John, through medical certification.

Since July 14, he received a medical certification notice which stated that the rib injury will force him to rest for a long time.

Given this situation, it was decided that it was appropriate to give John the status of champion in recess, which is why it was allowed for the fight with Gamboa and Salido (who defended his IBF featherweight title), which was held last Saturday in Las Vegas, to become the new "super" champion.

Similarly, it was agreed that the winner, who was Gamboa, and the injured champion John, must fight within 120 days - with the clock beginning on September 11.

All of those terms were disclosed to the parties involved before they their commitment on Saturday. It was also agreed that in the event it goes to a purse bid, there will be a split of 55 for John and 45 for Gamboa, who was winner of the match with Salido.

However, the winner of John vs Gamboa will be named the sole "super champion" of the WBA at featherweight. If a problem occurs with the IBF's mandatory challenger, the situation will be discussed directly between the sanctioning organizations, as agreed.

 

[REdRUM]

I liked Sturm when he beat Oscar.

 

[Tony]

A woman is a woman, you dumb son of a bitch. 'BABY MOMMA AND PREGNANT WIFE'...who gives a shit. He won't fight Manny, but he'll fight a woman?

Get at me when Floyd's off vacation and done sparring with women, and finally decides to fight the P4P CHAMP.

Beating women is wrong period. So Floyd and Chico are both wrong, but Chico was even more wrong because his wife was pregnant, she was carrying his unborn child. He beat her up and then kicked her down the stairs. She could have suffered some serious pre-natal complications (thank God she didn't). So calm down and quit getting on Floyd so much, don't forget your favorite boxer went to the pen for beating a pregnant woman.

 

[Tony]

Chicago Bulls point guard C.J. Watson wants to make one thing perfectly clear -- he has never ... nor will ever ... date Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s baby mama ... despite what she told police.

As TMZ first reported, Josie Harris told Las Vegas cops that before Mayweather Jr. allegedly attacked her last week ... he demanded to know if Harris was dating Watson ... and she responded, "'Yes, that is who I'm seeing now.'"

But multiple sources close to C.J. -- including his father Charles Watson -- tell TMZ that the NBA player is only in a relationship with his longtime girlfriend Danielle -- with whom he has a child.

C.J.'s dad -- who says he talks to C.J. every day -- also tells us, "I know for sure that Josie is not his girlfriend ... she did some event planning for C.J., but other than that, they have no relationship whatsoever."

Charles adds, "C.J. would never do anything like that to Mayweather [Jr.] ... he doesn't need

Huh.... is Josie lying again?

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

John vs Gamboa in the works then...
Interesting.

Wonder where it will take place.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

John vs Gamboa in the works then...
Interesting.

Wonder where it will take place.

Las Vegas I bet. John fought Rocky Juarez in Vegas last time and I believe Texas the first time. If the fight goes down I bet they make it a co-feature with maybe another Top rank fighter.

TBH though I wouldn't be surprised if John declines and he's stripped of the "super champion" status.

 

[heyzel]

John vs Gamboa in the works then...
Interesting.

Wonder where it will take place.

if this fight goes down it will be a action pack fight

 

[heyzel]

Khan vs Maidana: Purse Bid Will Be a 55-45 Split

By Lem Satterfield

Marcos Maidana may very well luck out when the WBA holds the purse bid for his fight with Amir Khan. The WBA scheduled the purse bid for September 21 at their offices in Panama. Maidana was not satisfied with the financial terms for a potential fight with Khan on December 11. After their negotiations appeared to be falling apart, Maidana's team reached out to the WBA, who approved their request for an immediate purse bid.

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, who promotes both boxers, confirmed certain details that may prove favorable to Maidana and explains why he pushed for a purse bid. Under the rules of the WBA, there is going to be a 55-45 split of the final bid in favor of Khan. The split is close to an even 50-50 because Maidana is the interim-champion, and Khan is the full champion.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Maidana did get lucky there, honestly I could see 60-40 or even 65-35 in Khan's favor. As long as the fight happens I'm happy, should be a sick fight. This will be Khan's first true test against a real puncher since getting KTFO

 

[bigface]

I hope both Khan vs Maidana and John vs Gamboa happens some good fights.

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

TBH though I wouldn't be surprised if John declines and he's stripped of the "super champion" status.

Neither would I.
John doesn't have much to gain. He's already somewhat of a no name. He's not like anyone else up there, in which they could take a loss and still be a star. Marquez loses to Lopez and at the end of the day he's still Marquez. John loses and they will throw him to the bottle of the rubble.

If he wins, they will say "ehh, more experienced". At least that's what I'll say.

I don't care, I just want to see it.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Neither would I.
John doesn't have much to gain. He's already somewhat of a no name. He's not like anyone else up there, in which they could take a loss and still be a star. Marquez loses to Lopez and at the end of the day he's still Marquez. John loses and they will throw him to the bottle of the rubble.

If he wins, they will say "ehh, more experienced". At least that's what I'll say.

I don't know about that man, John is a pretty big star in Indonesia. He could fight and lose to Gamboa in Vegas, go back to Indonesia and continue making just as much money as he did before. He's pretty big there.

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

. He could fight and lose to Gamboa in Vegas, go back to Indonesia and continue making just as much money as he did before.

That's the worst fall back plan ever!
If someone told me worst case scenario was "spend the rest of my career in Indonesia" I'd be pretty reluctant to roll the dice.

I can't believe JMM fought out there. Selling yourself short AND taking a loss at the same time.

Gamboa's reaction face if they ask him to go to Indonesia.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

hahahaha!

why is it a bad case scenario for Chris John though, who's entire career has been in Indonesia, except for a couple fights in Japan and two fights in the states?

I really don't think John can ever be an attraction in America, he just doesn't have the style or character or the it factor. I think they basically tasted the American waters with the Rocky Juarez fights and it didn't amount to anything or any buzz, so back to Indonesia he went. Plus I think he's at the tale end of his career.

Marquez was an idiot though because Pacquiao offered him a rematch and instead Marquez goes to Indonesia for a lot less money and ends of losing (I never seen the fight heard it was debatable on who won). I don't know who's bonehead idea that was!!

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

I really don't think John can ever be an attraction in America, he just doesn't have the style or character or the it factor. I think they basically tasted the American waters with the Rocky Juarez fights and it didn't amount to anything or any buzz, so back to Indonesia he went. Plus I think he's at the tale end of his career.

I agree.
I don't know anyone who ever looked that good against Juarez though. He always leaves a lasting impression in the 11th and 12th that makes his opponent look vulnerable.

We'll see how he does this time around.

I didn't see the JMM match either but heard the same thing.