Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Bute defeats Brinkley – Lucian puts booty in seats

By Scott Brown: The business product IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute is rarely exported. He has only participated in a few fights outside of Montreal but Bute doesn’t have to venture out to make millions. He has established a following in Canada. A minimum of 12,000 attended the fight at the Belle Center to see the main event Bute vs. Jesse Brinkley. The business product maintained its shine and winning ways as it dispatched the overly matched Brinkley with uppercuts and athleticism.


Brinkley coming in the mandatory challenger for the IBF super middleweight title had won 9 fights in a row. Brinkley’s most notable win includes Curtis Stevens and Mike Paschall, which might be decent fighters in their own right but are relatively unknowns. The hard work and dedication put in to give Jesse Brinkley this shot ended in defeat yet he earned glowing compliments from fight fans for being game. The first couple rounds showed both fighters familiarizing themselves with each other. Brinkley retreating, jabbing, constant movement made it difficult for exchanges. After a while Bute would figure the formula for Brinkley’s defense.

Bute is taller, stronger, quicker, and has a better reach than Brinkley so it is inevitable that Brinkley can’t escape mediocrity, left uppercuts, and that contender guy stigma. Bute crouched a bit, jabbing with his right, and waiting to unload his left on Brinkley. Faints and quick lefts began to do the job on Brinkley. Brinkley was physically persuaded to the floor by a quick final uppercut to Brinkley’s skull. This being the third knock down and a quality shot earned Brinkley the ref’s compassion to halt the fight.

Though Bute seemed less engaged tonight than previous fights some may argue he fought to the level of his competition. I will give credit to Brinkley for landing his left jab as Bute held his hands down. I will even give Brinkley round 2. Perhaps this fight will intrigue other fighters to get in the ring with Bute. A fight with Pavlik in March could generate competition for Bute but Kelly Pavlik “Tin Man” Act might wear thin if Bute can move laterally.

Share and Enjoy:

 

[heyzel]

David Haye: Klitschko vs Briggs is a Waste of Time!

By Mark Vester

WBA heavyweight champion David Haye told The Sun that he doesn't plan to watch Vitali Klitschko's defense of the WBC title against Shannon Briggs, taking place later tonight in Hamburg, Germany. Instead, Haye will continue training for his November defense against Audley Harrison in Manchester. Haye considers Klitschko-Briggs a very predictable fight with only one possible outcome - a Klitschko win by knockout.

"Vitali-Briggs? I won't bother," Haye said. "Vitali is fighting a 38-year-old guy who is a chronic asthmatic. I anticipate Briggs getting slowly broken down and knocked out. For someone with asthma he has shown a lot of heart."

"Briggs turns up, shouts, screams, rips his T-shirt off and dyes his dreadlocks blond. It is pantomime for Germans - but real boxing people know their fight is a waste of time."

 

[heyzel]

Haye offered 50-50 deal for Vitali Klitschko bout

By Sean McDaniel: Once again, WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (24-1, 22 KO’s) has been offered a 50-50 deal for a fight against WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (41-2, 38 KO’s). Now it will be interesting to see if Haye bites at the deal and takes or whether he continues to milk his title for all it’s worth. Vitali, 39, had this to say in an article at Iol.co.za, “I would like to knock out Haye so that we can claim the only belt missing from the family’s collection. There is no-one in the world apart from my brother who can beat me, I am the strongest. I still have plenty of energy, and in a few months, I will be ready to get back in the ring.”


Haye will be fighting Audley Harrison (27-4, 20 KO’s) next on November 13th in a fight that will be taking place in Manchester, England. Vitali is assuming that Haye will win that fight. However, you can’t be too sure about these things because Haye has a weak chin and Harrison has power and desperately wants to win the fight so that he can get a big money bout against one of the Klitschko brothers instead of Haye. Vitali may end up fighting either Ray Austin or Odlanier Solis next. Those two fighters will be meeting up to decide which one will be the mandatory challenger for Vitali.

However, there’s always the chance that winner Solis-Austin will accept a step aside payment, which would then allow Klitschko to fight Haye, if the British fighter were to agree to fight him. Vitali’s manager Bernd Bonte says “We proposed that each fighter would receive 50percent of the world rights, it is a fair offer. Haye just has to agree to it.”

It sounds like the perfect offer. However, it’s unclear what Haye is looking for at this point. If a 50-50 deal still isn’t good enough to lure Haye into accepting a fight with Vitali, then I don’t what more he could be looking for. With the limited experience he has in the heavyweight division and based on the wins over cruiserweight fodder, it’s hard to imagine that Haye should get a bigger cut of the revenue than Vitali. That would seem almost hilarious, because Haye still is unproven against top fighters other than an over the hill Nikolay Valuev, John Ruiz and Monte Barrett. If Haye doesn’t accept a 50-50 deal with Vitali, you then have to assume that Haye simply doesn’t want the fight and would rather stick to defending his WBA title against the easier opposition.

 

[heyzel]

Tarver looks superb in beating Aguilera – Good enough to beat Adamek

By Eric Thomas: The heavyweight division just got a new shot in the arm with the addition of former IBF/WBA/WBC light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver (28-6, 19 KO’s), who moved up to the heavyweight division on Friday night and easily defeated the hard hitting Nagy Aguilera (16-5, 11 KO’s) by a 10 round unanimous decision at the Buffalo Run Casino, in Miami, Oklahoma. Showing excellent hand speed, good power and brilliant defense skills, the 41-year-old Tarver pounded out a lopsided 10 round decision by the scores of 98-92, 98-92 and 98-92.


Forget about Tarver’s age. He looks and fights like someone at least 10 years younger than that. While he didn’t get the knockout, that’s more of an indication of how good Aguilera’s chin was rather than a sign that Tarver wasn’t punching hard. He was throwing really hard shots and looked a lot stronger than he used to be while fighting as a slender light heavyweight. As good as Tarver looked, he probably should have moved up to the heavyweight division a long time ago because he has the frame, the movement and the boxing ability to do well at this weight.

Of course, I don’t think the 6’3″ Tarver could compete with either of the Klitschko brothers, because he doesn’t have that kind of power or size. But I think Tarver is good enough to beat WBA heavyweight champion David Haye. I think he beats him, because Tarver is a lot quicker on his feet and better defensively than Haye. Right now, I think Tarver might be the better than all the other heavyweight contenders in the division, including Tomasz Adamek, Denis Boytsov, Alexander Povetkin and Odlanier Solis.

Tarver appears to punch just as hard as them, but is much faster and better skilled defensively. I originally thought Tarver wouldn’t be a factor when I first heard about him moving up in weight and skipping the cruiserweight division. However, Tarver looked really good in beating Aguilera. That was a really bad mismatch because Tarver was too fast for him and basically punishment him for the entire fight. I think Tarver looks a lot better than Adamek, another former light heavyweight that has moved up to the heavyweight division and has found success against carefully chosen opponents.

My guess is Tarver would badly punish Adamek if they were to mix it up. Adamek doesn’t react well when he gets hit, and his face cuts up and swells if he’s even hit a little. Tarver would be hitting him a lot and I can’t see Adamek being able to take that kind of punishment withou getting stopped

 

[heyzel]

Lucian Bute, Kelly Pavlik Could Be on a Collision Course

By Keith Idec

MONTREAL — After Lucian Bute beat a mandatory challenger who was a little tougher than expected, before a crowd that was slightly smaller than expected, the unbeaten Bute and his handlers gladly talked about the fight they all want to bring to Bell Centre.

Jean Bedard, president for Interbox, said early on Saturday at a press conference that the French-Canadian promotional company’s plan is to have Bute box former middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik sometime in March. That fight surely would draw a capacity crowd to the home of the NHL’s Canadiens, but it is contingent on Pavlik (36-2, 32 KOs) beating Bryan Vera (17-5, 11 KOs) on the Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito undercard Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

“I know there is talk, but Pavlik has a big fight coming up,” Stephan Larouche, Bute’s trainer, said following Bute’s ninth-round stoppage of Jesse Brinkley on Friday night. “He is fighting in November, and when you’ve lost a fight the next fight is always big. So he’s fighting Nov. 13. Let’s see how he will do. I’m sure if you talked to Pavlik, he’d say, ‘Hey, let me do my fight and then we’ll talk.’ But I heard that there’s talk between his promoter and our promoter.”

Larouche also specified that a Pavlik-Bute bout could be contested at a minimum catch weight no lower than 166 pounds, if Pavlik decides he doesn’t want to give away all eight pounds that separate the middleweight and super middleweight divisions. Bute (27-0, 22 KOs) has been the IBF’s super middleweight champion since October 2007, but Pavlik has been a middleweight for all but two of his major fights, a lopsided loss to Bernard Hopkins two years ago (170 pounds) and a unanimous decision defeat of Jermain Taylor in their rematch 2½ years ago (166 pounds was the contract weight).

Bute has weighed in at less than 168 pounds for each of his last four title defenses, but not lower than 166¾ pounds.

“Our plan was, after April [17] we were supposed to fight Pavlik, but he lost against Martinez,” Jean Bedard said, referring to Bute’s third-round technical knockout of Edison Miranda (33-5, 29 KOs) at Bell Centre. “[Pavlik] has got a fight in November, but that is our plan, to do a fight in March, probably here at the Bell Centre, probably with HBO. And they would love to have a fight with Lucian and Pavlik.”

Carl Moretti, vice president of boxing operations for Top Rank Inc., said Saturday morning that Top Rank’s decision-makers have discussed matching Pavlik against Bute if their fighter from Youngstown, Ohio, defeats the rugged Vera. Pavlik is a heavy favorite in that fight, despite that Argentina’s Sergio Martinez out-boxed Pavlik so soundly that he declined to exercise a rematch clause in their contract following Martinez’s career-changing win at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

Like Martinez, Bute is a smart, smooth southpaw who moves more than enough to create a daunting stylistic challenge for Pavlik, an athletically limited boxer who has fared far better against opponents who’ve remained right in front of him.

“[Bute-Pavlik] clearly is an attractive fight all around,” Moretti said. “The question is, after Nov. 13 does Kelly want to campaign at middleweight or super middleweight? Pavlik is in a position where he still wants big fights. Well, you can’t get a bigger fight than Bute at 168, if he decides to move to that weight class.”

If Pavlik opts to remain at middleweight, he could pursue the winner of the Paul Williams-Martinez rematch Nov. 20 at Boardwalk Hall, where Pavlik was supposed to oppose Williams twice last year before complications from a nagging staph infection forced him to postpone the first fight and cancel the second one. Williams (39-1, 27 KOs) and Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KOs), who waged one of the best brawls of 2009 on Dec. 5 at Boardwalk Hall, will fight for the WBC 160-pound crown Martinez won from Pavlik.

“Recapturing the middleweight title is something that’s attractive to Pavlik,” Moretti said. “It’s just a matter of how his body feels and everything else.”

Financial factors could dictate Pavlik’s path if he overcomes Vera as well, since making a deal with Interbox to battle Bute figures to be easier for Top Rank than negotiating with Al Haymon, Williams’ adviser, or Lou DiBella, Martinez’s promoter.

Bute, 30, clearly would welcome a fight against Pavlik, 28, as he awaits the conclusion of Showtime’s messy “Super Six World Boxing Classic,” which has tied up virtually every relevant super middleweight in boxing other than him.

For now, however, the Romanian-born boxer is savoring a win against the tough-but-overmatched Brinkley (35-6, 22 KOs), who has shown marked improvement after appearing on NBC’s “The Contender” five years ago. Bute dropped Brinkley three times in the bout, before referee Sam Williams mercifully waved an end to the action as Brinkley collapsed in a heap at 2:48 of the ninth round, once Bute blasted him with what was literally a breath-taking left uppercut to the body.

Bute, who has stopped three straight opponents with body blows, also floored the game Brinkley with well-placed punches to his body in the fifth and eighth rounds.

“Brinkley was very, very tough,” Bute said. “He has a good heart, very good punches. He has a good right hand and a good left hook. He was in good shape. But I had good preparation. I was in camp [in Florida] for six weeks. I’m very proud of my performance tonight.”

Larouche felt as though Brinkley benefited from long counts by Williams following the first two knockdowns, but credited him for continuing to come forward against a superior fighter who was cheered wildly by a crowd of 11,682.

“Brinkley is a bit of an awkward fighter,” Larouche said. “We knew he’s a courageous guy. We knew he has heart, and he would never quit. Even though I felt that Lucian probably knocked him out three times tonight, the guy was hard to time. He’s awkward … but he did almost what we were expecting him to do.”

If Pavlik does what they expect on Nov. 13, they’ll anticipate a much more difficult fight here come March

 

[CHRISHOGGALYPSE]

Do not feed Tarver to Adamek. He didn't look good, I don't know why anyone would say that.

Do not feed Pavlik to Bute.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

pavlik needs to stay away from slick fighters. I'm surprised he still hasn't learned after hopkins & martinez.

Might as well fight Pirog.

 

[naner12]

Do not feed Tarver to Adamek. He didn't look good, I don't know why anyone would say that.

Do not feed Pavlik to Bute.

They'd say it because Adamek is exactly what like Tarver and Tua, guys that don't belong in today's HW division making cake off their name. Adamek's win over Arreola deserves credit but he gets his drunken man on every time a real HW taps him clean on the chin. Adamek is looking for fights that he can win and make money and Tarver is never going to be anything at HW. Let it happen and they can both get what they're after .. $$.

 

[CHRISHOGGALYPSE]

At least Tua has always been a heavyweight

 

[heyzel]

Allan Green vs. Glen Johnson on 11/6: Will they both be weight drained for the fight?

By Scott Gilfoid: In what could be one of the best fights of the Super Six tournament, knockout artist Allan Green (29-2, 20 KO’s) will be facing aging 41-year-old light heavyweight Glen Johnson (50-14-2, 34 KO’s) in a 12 round bout on the undercard of the Rafael Marquez vs. Juan Manuel Lopez bout on November 6th at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Green, 31, lost his last fight in the Super Six tournament to Andre Ward on June 19th. It wasn’t the best way for Green to make his first appearance in the Super Six tourney after replacing Jermain Taylor, who bowed out due to a bad concussion he suffered in his loss to Arthur Abraham.


However, you can’t blame Green for losing to Ward, because he is one of the best fighters in the entire world and Green came into the fight looking terribly weight drained. You hear that excuse made a lot by fighters when searching for an excuse for an embarrassing loss. But in Green’s case, he really was weight drained and you could see it by just looking at how emaciated his face and upper body was for the fight. He had lost not only fat and water weight in getting down to the 168 pound limit, but a significant amount of muscle.

This left Green too weak to compete with Ward and he ended up getting bullied by Ward for 12 rounds, spending a lot of the fight pinned with his back against the ropes taking punishment. Supposedly, Green has got a nutritionist to help him make weight the correct way for his fight next month against Johnson. If Green takes the weight off the right way, he should have no problems making the weight and beating Johnson. For his part, Johnson hasn’t fought at light heavyweight in almost 10 years.

Johnson struggles just to make light heavyweight nowadays and his choice by Showtime to replace Mikkel Kessler. Johnson looked terrible in his last fight against IBF light heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud in August. Johnson appears to have been selected because the other available super middleweight contenders are unrecognizable to the average fan, which is why Johnson has been selected, even though he’s struggling to make light heavyweight and has lost two out of his last three fights. The winner of this fight will move into the semifinals of the tourney.

For Green to beat Johnson, he’s going to have to up his work rate a notch or two. He won’t be able to count on taking Johnson out with one big shot or a flurry of power punches like he’s done with many of the B level fighters that he built his record on. And Johnson is going to have to throw with more power. he looked weight drained against Cloud and spent the entire fight slapping Cloud because he looked weak. The real question here is how weak will Johnson be from melting down to the 168 limit. He could be significantly weakened enough for Green to take advantage of the situation by beating up on the aging light heavyweight.

 

[heyzel]

Haye says “I’ll get to the Klitschkos when I’m ready” – dismisses Vitali’s win over B

By William Mackay: WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (24-1, 22 KO’s) wasn’t shaking in his boots over World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko’s win over Shannon Briggs (51-6-1, 45 KO’s) last Saturday night. Haye, 30, who has a fight coming up against his hand picked opponent 38-year-old Audley Harrison on November 13th, had this to say in an article at the Telegraph.co.uk: “I’m not worrying about old timers like Briggs. he is years past his best. I am sharper than ever, and I’ll get to the Klitschkos when I’m ready. For now, I’m focused on sending Audley Harrison down a one-way street with no return.” What jumps out at me in reading Haye’s comments is that he seems to be under the impression that he’s calling the shots for the fights with the Klitschko brothers.


His comment “I’ll get to the Klitschkos when I’m ready,” seems to suggest that he can get the fights whenever he wants them. If I’m one of the Klitschkos, I’d make Haye work for a fight by waiting until he actually beats someone good instead of the 2nd tier fighters that he’s been fighting. I know John Ruiz was technically ranked number #1 by the WBA for some bizarre out of this world reason, but I saw Ruiz as someone who had no business being ranked in the top 20, let alone at number #1.

I’m still waiting on Haye to fight someone with a pulse in the heavyweight division. I’d like to see Haye at least beat someone like Odlanier Solis, Alexander Povetkin, Denis Boytsov or Samuel Peter. I’d be happy if he could even beat one of those fighters, but I’m fairly certain Haye will retire without ever faced those guys. I question Haye as a champion because of his weak opposition since moving up to the division two years ago.

Haye will be facing Harrison next month, but after that it’s unclear who Haye will be fighting. Vitali has once again offered Haye a 50-50 deal for a fight, but it’s doubtful that will entice Haye into fighting him. Haye will likely continue to milk his title against some other weak heavyweight that will enable him to get a big payday in the UK without risking a knockout loss. Thus far, Haye has been the opposite of what he claimed he would be when he moved up to the heavyweight division. He originally said he would be a breath of fresh air and that he would clean up the division. Hen hasn’t backed up his words and appears to be cleaning up on heavyweights nearing 40

 

[heyzel]

Martinez-Williams II: A great fight but it’s not drawing a lot of fan interest

By Chris Williams: Next month, two-time WBO welterweight champion Paul Williams (39-1, 27 KO’s) will be facing World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KO’s) in a rematch at the Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The two fighters clashed last year in December with the 29-year-old Williams winning a controversial 12 round unanimous decision. It was a victory that wasn’t a popular one with the boxing public, who felt that Martinez’s harder shots landed in the fight should have been enough for him to earn the win.


Now, nearly a year later, the two will fight for Martinez’s WBC middleweight title, which he won in April in a victory over then champion Kelly Pavlik. Martinez also won the WBO middleweight title in that bout, but the WBO stripped him of the title recently. Martinez also previously held the WBC junior middleweight title, but recently vacated the title when he was forced to decide which titles he would defend.

Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito will now fight for the vacant WBC junior middleweight tile. Had Martinez not given it up, it’s highly unlikely that either Pacquiao or Margarito would have been matched against him because of Martinez’s ability to move around the ring and box. Pacquiao and Margarito don’t do well against fighters like Martinez that use movement.

Despite the Williams vs. Martinez II bout being an interesting fight, the bout is basically being ignored by boxing fans thus far. Perhaps interest will build in the fight as it draws closer, but it’s not a good sign that the bout isn’t being discussed in boxing forums on the internet. That generally means that it’s a fight that boxing fans are lukewarm about. Boxing fans would rather see Martinez or Williams matched against fighters like Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. However, it’s incredibly unlikely that either of those fighters would chose to fight Martinez and Williams because it would make for a tough fight that they wouldn’t be guaranteed to win.

Williams outworked Martinez a year ago by landing a lot of weaker shots. However, Martinez was able to land with clean left hands and win a lot of the exchanges because of his better power. The rematch will likely be a lot like the first fight with the judges having to decide whether to score Martinez’s cleaner landing shots or to give rounds to Williams based on his high volume punch output.

 

[heyzel]

Pascal: Froch and Diaconu Were Tougher Than Dawson

By Kamel Messani

By beating the previously unbeaten Chad Dawson in the month of August, Quebecer Jean Pascal (26-1, 16 KO) retained his WBC light heavyweight title. Pascal has transformed into a major force in the light heavyweight division. He is set to meet American legend Bernard Hopkins on December 18 in Quebec. BoxingScene.com/NetBoxe.com got the champion's thoughts on a few different topics in this interview exclusive interview.

How did you come to boxing?

I started boxing at the age of thirteen. I am a former hockey and football player. At the age of 17, my big brother Nicholson was the champion in Quebec. It was he who introduced me to the noble art.

How would you describe yourself? What style can we classify you?

I am a boxer and versatile. I can be physical, and I can be intelligent and technical. I have a good punch and good speed so I can deal with almost anything.

Do you think you still have room for improvement?

Certainly, my coaches and trainers say that I became world champion at 75% of my abilities. So I think I still have a lot of room for improvement.

What do you like to do outside of boxing?

I enjoy reading, biking and watching movies.

In retrospect how would you rate your fight against Dawson?

In hindsight I realize that I committed many errors. I am glad that Dawson didn't capitalize on that. I am very excited at the idea of a rematch, but I would try, if I were Dawson, to first start with Lucian Bute, since he [Dawson] said he would clean out the Canadians.

Dawson argued that if the referee had not stopped the fight. He would have stopped you before the final bell. What do you think about this statement?

Tell me, when was the last time Chad Dawson managed to get a knockout [2007] and when was the last time I went down to the mat? I've never been dropped as an amateur or a professional. So if you look at the facts - I think that should answer your question.

Was Dawson the hardest fight that you've had so far?

Carl Froch and Adrian Diaconu were much harder physically and mentally, but the fight with Dawson was the biggest challenge of my career, at least on paper, because Dawson is a big name.

What did you gain from this victory?

It brought me the recognition on the international boxing scene, and in Canada.

You just get out of a fierce fight, do you think that four months will be sufficient in terms of recovery to face a fighter with the caliber of Bernard Hopkins?

Sure, I'm used to boxing every three or four months so it changes nothing for me. Furthermore, I'm still in the prime of my career.

What do you think about fighting a great champion like Hopkins?

This is a dream that finally became reality. Hopkins is a legend. This is a boxer that I watched on TV and now I'm at the stage to fight against the same boxer. It is flattering, exciting and very stressful. I will have to be ready to successfully meet this enormous challenge.

Canada has dreamed of a clash of between you and Lucian Bute. Do you think that this fight could happen?

You already know my answer. The [answer] that remains is the one from Bute.

What about the other champions at heavyweight?

They are all very good fighters and they all deserve their titles. The light heavyweight division has for a long time been one of the best. Only for a short period was there a gap. Now with the presence of boxers like me, Chad Dawson, Tavoris Cloud - the division has consistency. And when more boxers join us, who are currently participating in the Super Six, it will be the premier division.

The WBA champion Beibut Shumenov said it would be very interested in confrontation, would you be interested?

Certainly, since I am interested to unify all of the titles in my division. I also think it would be a very good fight if we were to meet.

You were born in Haiti, and Andre Berto is also of Haitian origin. Do you ever think you could come together in a special doubleheader for Haiti?

Yes, of course, Berto and I had already talk about this. It would probably be difficult because of the state of the country [in Haiti], but we could perhaps arrange it in Montreal or Miami.

Who are your favorite boxers, past and present?

My favorite boxer is Roy Jones Jr. whether in victory or in defeat. Otherwise I like Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather

 

[heyzel]

Klitschko Plans March Return: "I Want Haye, Valuev

By Ruslan Chikov

WBC heavyweight Vitali Klitschko is planning to return in the month of March. He says the two opponents under heavy consideration are WBA champion David Haye and seven-foot Nikolai Valuev. Klitschko made the fifth defense of his title on Saturday in Hamburg, Germany. He gave ex-champion Shannon Briggs a very bad beating for twelve rounds.

Klitschko has lost very few rounds since returning to boxing in 2008. He does see a problem coming up, a lack of opponents. He hopes to get Haye or Valuev. If he doesn't get either, then it will likely be the winner of the WBC mandatory eliminator on December 17, being contested between Ray Austin and Odlanier Solis. Klitschko has two fights left on his very lucrative television contract with German network RTL.

"I am the strongest boxer in the world. I have the problem that there are no more opponents. Haye has an offer of a 50-50 split and there are no options. Another candidate is Nikolai Valuev, the Russian giant in the Sauerland stable, if he is fit after the recent shoulder surgery," Klitschko said.

 

[heyzel]

Paul Williams: "I'll Go To 147 For Mayweather, Pacquiao

By Mark Vester

Paul "The Punisher" Williams has a tough task ahead in his scheduled rematch against Sergio Martinez on November 20 in Atlantic City. If Williams beats Martinez and captures the WBC middleweight title, he is still willling to return to the welterweight division for a big fight.

Williams was planning to return to welterweight prior to a deal being reached for the Martinez rematch. He left the division in 2008 after being unable to secure a big fight. All of his fights since then have been fought at junior middleweight or middleweight. If Mayweather or Pacquiao come to the table, Williams is ready to move down.

"If the money right and they give me enough time to get down, we're there. If one of them top guys like Mayweather or Pacquiao take me down to 147, then I'm there. I don't want to go there for some up and coming guy to gain a rep off of me. When I fought Margarito and beat him, they said this was the time for me to get the biggest fights," Williams told BoxingScene.com's Bill Emes.

"I had to give up my [WBO welterweight] belt because Michael Jennings was [ranked] number one and Miguel Cotto was number two. I couldn't get them to fight me but when I vacated the title and moved up to take a 154-pound fight, they're fighting for my title. So does that tell you?"

 

[heyzel]

Luis Franco, Cuban Olympian, Inks With Gary Shaw

OTOWA, NJ – Gary Shaw announced today that undefeated Cuban super featherweight prospect LUIS FRANCO has joined the roster of Gary Shaw Productions.

Franco, 28, was a member of the 2004 Cuban Olympic boxing team and has over 400 amateur bouts under his belt, including two victories over WBA featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa. He was recognized as one of the best on the 2004 Cuban Olympic squad where Telemundo named him the most outstanding prospect of that team. Franco defected to the U.S. in June 2009 and made his professional debut the following month, knocking out Leroy Pedilla in the first round.

“Luis has an outstanding amateur pedigree and he is incredibly talented,” said Shaw. “I think he has the potential to be a force at 126, 130 and 135 pounds and I’m looking forward to helping him prove it.”

"Luis fights like a seasoned pro. He's going to become a leader of the exciting Cuban renaissance that has been electrifying boxing," said John Beninati, matchmaker for Gary Shaw Productions.

“We’re pleased to be with Gary’s team. He has the ability to promote Luis on a variety of television platforms which will get him the national exposure needed to become a major attraction,” said Henry Foster, Franco’s manager. “Luis has terrific hand speed and ring generalship which will make him a sure contender for a world title in 2011.”

Franco (7-0, 5 KOs), fights out of Miami under the tutelage of head trainer Orlando Cuellar. The four opponents he defeated in 2010 had a combined record of 83-32-1 when he fought them

 

[heyzel]

Mayweather not paying sanctioning fees & what title is most significant in boxing?

By Marquise Bullock: This isn’t an article for bias fans. So the Mayweather-Pacquiao debate can wait for next time. But anyway, was Floyd Mayweather Jr. on to something when he didn’t pay the WBA sanctioning fees against “Sugar” Shane Mosley? If I’m not mistaking, Marco Antonio Barrera vacated his title for the same reason. The question I want to know is, what if more boxers took this stance? And what would happen to the major sanctioning bodies if the boxers did?


Believe it or not, creating belts for divisions is nothing more than a trend to make money. The WBA were the first sanctioning bodies with “Super Champions”, thus created the extra weight classes like super welterweight, super middleweight, etc… In my honest opinion it’s just for money and not the sport. And I think all boxing fans would agree that it’s messing the sport up. The sanctioning fees for those who don’t know, take 3 percent of a fighters purse. So if a fighter makes $700,000 dollars for a fight, that’s $21,000 dollars coming out of their purse. That is completely unnecessary. When champions win in other sports such as the NBA, NFL, NHL, they don’t have to pay jack. And their system for putting the right contenders competing for the trophies is flawless.

If there were one title boxing would be back on the Plato that it once was on. For example the Super middleweight division is booming right now. If there was one title to fight for it would make that division very exiting too watch. Seeing a fighter give it all he has to get to the top and be crowned king. Also you would see shutouts in divisions. And it would force fights to happen if you want to be champion. Remember when the Chicago “Bulls” had the championship back in the 90s, and no one could get to it. And Michael Jordan pitched a complete shutout, until he took two years off then came back. Well that’s how it should be. Or like when Mike Tyson was in his prime and had all titles. If he would’ve stayed focused well into his mid 30s there would’ve been a big shutout in the heavyweight division, but unfortunately it didn’t happen.

Also I would like to know, which belt is more creditable? Is it the WBC,WBA,IBF, or the WBO? I mean by this rate don’t be surprised if you see seven belts by the end of 2012. The WBA has been said to be corrupt, and the WBC had it’s share of controversy. The WBO is a fresh too becoming major, and in my opinion the IBF is pretty cool but is becoming irrelevant. The way they rank fighters is very confusing for none boxing fans, and if someone were to ask you who’s the Jr. Welterweight champion, you could name ad least three people. And a non boxing fan would get very confused by that, and wouldn’t even bother to watch the beautiful sport. “The Ring” Magazine title is very accurate. Also you don’t have too pay any fees to have it. It’s been said that these guys are like leeches. What ever they are, they need to help instead of hurt the sport.

 

[heyzel]

Pacquiao's May Return To 147: Berto, Marquez, Mosley

By Michael Marley

It's no secret that the Congressmanny from Sarangani is looking at one term and done. If the prevailing political winds are in his favor, Manny Pacquiao will complete his three year term and then advance to a Senatorial run.

As far as being a world junior middleweight champion, it also seems that Pacquiao's goal is one bout and out.

That's the word from Baguio after promoter Bob Arum huddled with Coach Freddie Roach and conditioning guru Alex Ariza.

"They talked to me about this," Arum said Monday. "I leave the technical issues, the boxing side of it to them of course.

"It's just too much size difference fighting these bigger guys. Antonio Margarito has a contractual weight limit of 150 pounds but he is likely to add 15 pounds with the day before the fight weigh in and then weigh 165 when they get into the ring at Cowboys Stadium.

"Freddie and Alex were telling me Manny will weigh in at 149 or 150 and then not add much weight after that so as to not lose any of his phenomenal speed. But they stressed they don't want Manny stretching it like this after this fight."

The subject came up when I broached "the what if Manny wins" scenario and asked Uncle Bob to peer into his peerless crystal ball. The topic was suggested to me by colleague and Los Angeles Examiner Ricardo "Crack Dance" Lois who smartly suggested that, should there be continuing barriers to the Dream Fight against Floyd Mayweather, that Julio Cesar Chavez, angular 154 pounder, would make for a marketing goldmine matched against Pacman.

Got to admit, Chavez-Pacquiao, does have a certain ka-ching ring to it.

I tried to put the trial balloon in the air but Arum delfated it forthwith.

"I don't see that for 2011 although, with or without Mayweather, Manny will fight twice in the new year. We're looking at a May bout with or without Mayweather. Who knows how his legal problems will play out so we don't count on Floyd," Arum said.

"As for Mayweather, I don't think it's a matter of him being interested, it could be whether he is available. Maybe we'll learn something on his legal status (criminal assault charges involving "Baby Mama" Josie Harris) on Nov. 9."

Mayweather is scheduled for arraignment four days before Margarito-Pacquiao.

"But, like Freddie and Alex told me, from here on out Manny will stick to the welterweight division. They feel 147 pounds is the realistic limit for him and I can't disagree. They know the fighter inside out.

"So I'm looking for opponents who can make 147. In his next bout, against Pawel Wolak on Dec. 4, Chavez can weigh up to 157 pounds. I don't know if he can make junior middleweight, let alone welterweight anymore. If Julio wins on Dec. 4, he will next fight Miguel Cotto."

I asked Arum about continuing rumblings about Boricua Cotto moving to archrival Golden Boy but Arum said such talk is poppycock.

"He's got a year and half on our contract. No, Miguel is solidly with us, no problem there.

"But Manny will fight next May. We went in March this year (with Joshua Clottey) and we got around the NCAA basketball tournament which dominates that month somehow but we'll go for May for his first fight of next year."

I asked Arum, who emphasized that Pacquiao and his entire team are not discounting big man Margarito in any way, to throw some names into the barrel for 2011.

"Shane Mosley is a possibility," Arum said. "So is the winner of the Devon Alexander-Timothy Bradley fight which is on Jan. 29.

"You can put Andre Berto's name in there as well and Juan Manuel Marquez because of his history with Manny."

Then Arum added one more name, another guy seeking not a threematch but a rematch.

"Don't forget Cotto because he is flexible, Miguel can go to 147 pounds."

Pacquiao personally rejected Yuri Foreman as an opponent when the rabbinical student held the WBA junior middleweight title which he wound up losing to Cotto last June at Yankee Stadium.

Arum did not mention the fact that Pacquiao has never fought a rabbi.

Or any other type of clergyman for that matter.

Would a man of the cloth have "a prayer" against Pacquiao?

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Hopkins & Pascal meet face to face

 

[heyzel]

Khan: I Don't Want To Fight Pacquiao, But this is a Business

By Mark Vester

WBA junior welterweight champ Amir Khan is currently training with Manny Pacquiao in the Philippines ahead of their upcoming fights. Under their mutual trainer Freddie Roach, both boxers are getting ready. Pacquiao faces Antonio Margarito for the vacant WBC 154-pound title on November 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Texas. Khan defends his title against Marcos Maidana on December 11 in Las Vegas.

Khan said he and Pacquiao are very close, and fighting him would be tough, but "boxing is a business." If they were positioned to fight, where would Roach stand?

“Sometimes he gets the better of me, sometimes I get the better of him [in sparring],” Khan said to the Manchester Evening News. “We are so close as friends now that it would be very difficult [to fight]. But at the end of the day, boxing is a business, so anything can happen