Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Haye says Groves to spar with Andre Dirrell

By Scott Gilfoid: WBA heavyweight champion David Haye plans on having his green fighter Commonwealth super middleweight champion George Groves (12-0, 10 KO’s) to spar with the talented super middleweight contender Andre Dirrell )19-1, 13 KO’s) to try and get Groves ready for the slick British super middleweight champion James DeGale (10-0, 8 KO’s) for their fight on May 21st in London, England.

Groves needs every chance he can get to win this fight because DeGale has the better hand speed, boxing skills and the right amount of elusiveness to hand Groves his backside on 5/21. Haye really admires the talent of Dirrell, who should be unbeaten due his controversial 12 round split decision loss to Carl Froch in the Super Six tourney. Haye recognizes what a gifted fighter Dirrell is and came to the U.S. to get his help for Groves.

On Haye’s twitter site, Haye said “We’ve managed to set up some sparring work between George and Andre, and I’ve got no doubt it will do them both the world of good. Andre id a very good world class mimic of DeGale, and will be able to show George moves and punches that neither he or DeGale will have seen yet. If George can get success against someone as tricky as Andre, he’ll have no problem breaking down DeGale’s southpaw style.”

Let’s be real here: Dirrell is going to mop the deck with Groves during their sparring sessions. If anything, Groves is likely going to come out of the sparring sessions depressed, depleted and mentally feeling hopeless because of the beating and mastery that Dirrell will be showing. Groves won’t be able to lay a glove on Dirrell, and I see the Brit getting his backside royally handed to him similar to the way Dirrell dominated Victor Oganov.

Sure, in a way I can see the sparring sessions helping Groves prepare for the DeGale fight, because DeGale doesn’t have anywhere close to the same hand speed and defensive ability as Dirrell has, and Groves will be able to fight a lot better than he would have without the Dirrell sparring sessions. However, DeGale is still a lot better fighter than Groves in my estimation and I don’t see how a couple of sparring sessions with Dirrell will be able to change all that. Groves would have needed a lifetimes’ worth of sparring and tailing Dirrell to beat DeGale. Dirrell is pure 100% American talent. It takes years to get to Dirrell’s level and Groves would need a lifetime of shadowing Dirrell for any of his magnificence to rub off.

 

[heyzel]

Steward says Cotto has no plans on fighting Sergio Martinez anytime soon

By Dan Ambrose: If you’re a fan of WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, you can relax and rest easy knowing that he won’t be fighting WBC middleweight Emeritus champion Sergio Martinez anytime soon if ever. Emanuel Steward, the trainer for Cotto, is reportedly saying that there won’t be a fight between Cotto and Martinez in the near future because of the different promoters that the two fighters work for, according to fighthype.

This is a good thing for Cotto, because he would have likely taken a ferocious beating and been knocked cold if he had opted ton fight Martinez. Cotto’s promoter Bob Arum is matching Cotto against beatable opponents since Cotto was crushed by Manny Pacquiao in 2009 and went life and death with Joshua Clottey in the same year. Arum has matched Cotto against Yuri Foreman, a light puncher who recently exposed and beaten by Pawel Wolak, and 38-year-old Ricardo Mayorga in Cotto’s last two fights. See a trend here?

Now Arum is looking to match Cotto against Antonio Margarito in the summer. Margarito took a severe beating in a 12 round decision loss to Pacquiao last November and a lot of people believe that Margarito is a shot fighter. This is another winnable fight for Cotto. There was talk that Cotto was interested in possibly fighting Martinez next if the money was right. However, few boxing felt that Cotto’s promoter would go along with the idea of Cotto facing Martinez because Cotto would stand almost no chance of winning because of how good Martinez is fighting right now.

This wouldn’t be one of Cotto’s fights against a light hitter or a fighter nearing 40-years-old or someone that a lot of people think is a shot fighter. Martinez would be bringing pure pain for as long as the fight lasted and I suspect Cotto wouldn’t last long against a fighter like Martinez. As such, don’t hold your breath waiting for Cotto to fight Martinez in this lifetime.

 

[heyzel]

Sergio Martinez says Mayweather is the best fighter in the world, and wants to fight

By Dave Lahr: Well, I hate to break this to Manny Pacquiao’s fans but WBC Emeritus middleweight champion Sergio Martinez thinks Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the best fighter in boxing right now, not Pacquiao. I got to say I totally agree with Martinez 100%. Mayweather is on another planet in terms of ability to compared to Pacquiao. It’s too bad Martinez can’t get a fight against Manny, because it would be great to see what Martinez’s punches can do with the 5’6″ Pacquiao.

I mean Antonio Margarito, the slow fighter that Pacquiao just fought, is bigger than Martinez by an inch at 5’11″ and has much longer arms, yet Martinez isn’t even being considered for an opponent for Pacquiao. Margarito, a really slow fighter, gets a shot but not Martinez. Now why is that?

In a Martinez interview at eastsideboxing.com, Martinez said “Floyd Mayweather Jr. is probably the best fighter in the world right now and the one that I admire most, personally. It would be an honor for me to fight him.”

I wonder why Martinez didn’t mention Pacquiao as being the best fighter in the world? Is it because his technique isn’t as solid as Mayweather’s or is it the guys that Pacquiao has been put in with that causes Martinez to ignore Pacquiao when picking out the fighter he most admires? For me it’s both. I see Mayweather as a much better fighter in ever facet of his game compared to Pacquiao, and I also see Mayweather having faced overall better fighters than Pacquiao. Heck, Pacquiao went life and death with Juan Manuel Marquez, a fighter that Mayweather totally dominated. What does that tell you?
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[heyzel]

Khan-McCloskey: A lot of tickets remain unsold for this fight

By William Mackay: In hindsight, WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan and his promoters at Golden Boy Promotions may have made a big mistake by deciding to fight the obscure little known Irish Paul McCloskey on April 16th rather than a better known fighter like Breidis Prescott, Michael Katsidis or a well known local fighter like John Murray. This could end up hurting Khan and Golden Boy in terms of unsold tickets for the venue of the fight at the M.E.N Arena, in Manchester, England.

A reported 12,000 tickets have been sold for the bout but there are still 6,000 remaining tickets that need to be purchased before next month. You figure that the most of the fans that are planning to attend this fight already bout the tickets and there likely won’t be too many more tickets sold from here until the fight next month. This doesn’t look for Khan and I think it’s the choice of opponent that’s going to hurt Khan in this fight.

British fans wanted to see Khan fight Prescott in a rematch so that Khan could try and at least attempt to avenge his 1st round knockout defeat. Instead, Khan made a a couple of excuses about Prescott not being on his radar because he hasn’t done much since he last fought him and also saying that Prescott isn’t really serious wanting to fight him. Even if Prescott hasn’t done much since his win over khan, he still has the win over Khan and boxing fans know him much more than McCloskey. I think had they picked Prescott, all 19,000 tickets would have been sold a long time ago. This is what happens when you opt for the easy route instead of tacking tougher fights.

 

[heyzel]

Bute looks weight drained for Saturday’s fight against Magee

By Eric Thomas: Photo credit Tom Casino/Showtime – In the weigh-in video for Saturday’s championship fight between IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (27-0, 22 KO’s) and challenger Brian Magee (34-3-1, 24 KO’s), one can’t help but notice that the 31-year-old Bute looks severely weight drained, like someone that struggled to squeeze down to the 168 pound weight limit for the division. Bute has been rumored to be melting down for the past two weeks, eating a lot of veggies, salads and fish to make weight.

This is kind of the standard thing for fighters making weight and usually there is no issues, but Bute looks really thin. He looks like someone who is stripping weight off for a body building contest rather than a fight. Luckily for Bute, he’s facing a guy that’s fought one true top tier opponent during his entire career in 35-year-old Magee. Bute should still win this fight even if he is weight drained. But it could be a little tougher fight than he expects it to be.

Magee, however, doesn’t have a lot of power and is a European level fighter who has been given a high ranking by the IBF. Bute should destroy Magee early in the fight before he starts to wear down. Magee would do well to try and survive into the later rounds so that he can expose Bute’s stamina. When you melt down to make weight like Bute appears to have done, it can leave you really weak and the longer the fight goes the worse for Bute it becomes.

 

[heyzel]

Sergio Martinez could face Lee, Barker, Manfredo or Angulo next on July 9th

By Jim Dower: WBC Emeritus middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (47-2-2, 26 KO’s) plans on returning to the ring on July 9th against hopefully a high quality opponent that boxing fans want to see him fight. Martinez recently stopped previously unbeaten WBO junior middleweight champion Sergiy Dzinziruk in the 8th round last Saturday night. Martinez immediately called out Miguel Cotto, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. However, none of those fighters are interested in fighting Martinez.

Now Martinez’s promoter is looking to put him in with one of the following fighters: Alfredo Angulo, Andy Lee, Darren Barker or Peter Manfredo Jr. Angulo would be the best of the bunch as far as giving Martinez the best fight. Lee looked incredibly vulnerable last weekend in his 10th round stoppage win over Craig McEwan. Lee would be a decent opponent but would have no chance against Martinez. Barker, from the UK, is just too much of an unknown for the fight to be worth much.

I can’t see HBO being interested in a Barker-Martinez mismatch. Manfredo is a decent fighter but he’s failed every time he’s stepped it up and HBO will likely say not to this mismatch as well. I rate Barker and Manfredo in the same class. That leaves on Angulo and Lee. I’d much rather see Martinez facing Angulo, a fighter with a style a lot like Antonio Margarito but with more power and better pressure.

 

[heyzel]

WHY NONITO DONAIRE LEFT MANNY’S TOP RANK

CHARGIN CONFIRMS GBP INKING NONITO

San Francisco, CA- For years I complained about the manner in which Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire was being mishandled by his promoter Top Rank. Even after Nonito drilled betting favorite Vic Darchinyan in 2007, a Showtime main event fighter, Donaire appeared almost exclusively on Top Rank’s PPV (Latin Fury) cards. Sometimes in the main event, but more often than not he was in the position of supporting the Latin fighters on the top of the bill.

“THEY DIDN’T KNOW WHAT THEY HAD”

Those were the words of Hall of Fame promoter Don Chargin during the “prime time” Thursday 6 PM PT edition of “Ring Talk Worldwide” that airs on the Sports Byline USA Broadcast Network & the American Forces Network. “They misused him, they didn’t know what they had.”

NOBODY COULD HAVE DONE DONAIRE WORSE!
Donaire KOs Vic Darchinyan

Donaire KOs Vic Darchinyan

What Top Rank had was pretty obvious since the 7/7/07 KO of Darchinyan, a ‘pound for pound’ top ten fighter until Nonito knocked him all but dead. But instead of making him a “superstar” and putting him on fellow Filipino Manny Pacquiao’s cards, Top Rank forced Nonito to play second fiddle to a bunch of Mexican fighters that couldn’t carry his jock.

WAS PUTTING DONAIRE ON BACK BURNER A PLOT?

I’ve always asked why Manny Pacquiao refused to put Nonito Doniare on any pedestal that might have elevated him to seven figure paydays? The only reason I can come up with is that Manny, oh and his wife Jinkee, were so jealous of Nonito’s looks, skills, and his beautiful wife Rachael, that Manny all but shunned his fellow countryman.

MANNY’S “BLOCKING” DAYS ARE OVER!

With the promotional firm, Golden Boy Promotions, run by Oscar De La Hoya now representing “The Filipino Flash,” Manny can’t cock block Nonito anymore as Golden Boy will treat Nonito like a superstar, not some schmo supporting a B fighter the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

 

[heyzel]

Peter Manfredo Jr speaks on Segio Martinez, Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Roy

By Special Report on Doghouse Boxing (March 18, 2011)

Middleweight contender Peter “The Pride of Providence” Manfredo, Jr. had a ringside seat at the MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods last Saturday night to witness the superlative performance turned in by WBC Emeritus and The Ring 160-pound champion Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez, who dropped previously unbeaten WBO junior welterweight titlist Sergiy “Razor” Dzinziruk five times en route to a major statement-victory by eighth-round knockout.

Manfredo (37-6, 20 KOs), arguably the leading American middleweight challenger, is riding a six-fight win streak since losing to super middleweight Saki Bika in 2008. The star of The Contender, Season One is currently rated No. 7 by the IBF and No. 9 by the WBC.

Now working fulltime as a laborer at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, ironically, where he headlined four major shows, Manfredo dreams of fighting Martinez there this summer. The popular Italian-American boxer is like a modern-day Rocky with a twist: Peter’s not breaking legs but he is sweeping floors to provide for his family.

“Martinez is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, right up there with Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather,” Manfredo said. “Imagine me fighting him at The Dunk where I headlined shows and now work? That would be straight out of Hollywood! I know fight fans in Providence would give him a royal welcome. He would definitely be a tough fight for me and I’d be an underdog, but I’ve put myself in a challenger’s position the past two years, and I want a shot at the best. Getting a fight against Martinez is what fighters dream about, especially at home, and I’ve worked hard the past two years to get to this point. Hey, this is boxing and nothing’s written in stone; it only takes one shot to change the world. That’s boxing, and maybe I land an old Micky Ward shot to the body, and my life would be changed.

“Opportunities to fight somebody like Martinez don’t come around every day. Now is the right time for me. I’d be honored to get in the ring to fight him. I know I can compete with him. Like (Vinny) Paz says, ‘Fight or die.’ Styles make fights and this would be a very entertaining match-up. I’m a classic boxer-puncher and he’s a very fast, awkward fighter who seems to have found his power in the last few fights. Sergio keeps his hands down and bobs his head. Boxers aren’t taught to do that but he can because he’s so good. Martinez reminds me of Roy Jones. I’ve proven myself and want to get it on with Martinez.”


Manfredo has the proper pedigree, as an amateur and pro, in addition to possibly having a strength advantage versus Martinez, who has moved-up from junior middleweight, while Manfredo dropped down from 168. Three of Manfredo’s six career losses have been against much larger super middleweights – Joe Calzaghe in their WBO title fight, former world champ Jeff Lacy, and Bika.

During his 10 ½ year career, Manfredo has defeated world champion Frankie Randall, The Contender 2 winner Grady Brewer, previously unbeaten prospect Sherwin Davis, world title challengers Scott Pemberton and Alfonso Gomez, and present WBA No. 6 rated light heavyweight Joey Spina.

“I have valuable experience against great champions like Martinez,” Manfredo added. “I went through the whole thing with Calzaghe and learned a valuable lesson. I won’t make those mistakes again. I’m experienced fighting super middleweights, who were too big for me, but I’m a real middleweight. I’ll go for broke against Martinez, if given the opportunity, because I have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

 

[heyzel]

Epix joins HBO, Showtime in boxing gam

By Dave Skretta, AP Sports Writer

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NEW YORK — Move over, HBO. Look out, Showtime.


A new premium cable channel, Epix, is getting into the boxing game.

The year-old network will air Vitali Klitschko's heavyweight title fight against Odlanier Solis from Cologne, Germany, on Saturday, giving boxing fans in the United States an opportunity to see a fight that might otherwise have been unavailable on television.

"We're really thrilled to be able to put this fight on this weekend," Epix president Mark Greenberg said. "The heavyweights have always drawn the casual sports fans, and for Epix, that only launched 15 months ago, this became a great opportunity to explore the boxing world."

HBO and Showtime helped build their subscriber bases years ago by offering boxing, giving the two premium cable channels sports content that wasn't available elsewhere.

They've since developed into the most lucrative avenue outside pay-per-view for promoters doing big fights, mostly because they're able to offer the biggest rights fees. But with dates drying up on those two networks, Epix believes it can offer a third option for major fights.

"We think they're doing a great job of promoting the event," said Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions, which represents Klitschko and his brother, fellow titleholder Wladimir Klitschko. "It's going to be a real treat for all the fans in the U.S."

The heavyweight division has been dominated by the Klitschko brothers recently. Combined with the fact that so few contenders are Americans, it has been quite a while since a title fight found its way to American cable television.

Most of the Klitschkos' recent fights have been small pay-per-views or streamed online.

Vitali Klitschko's fight against Solis will air live at 6 p.m. ET on Epix and its website, along with a network replay later Saturday night. Replays will be available on its website and via on-demand afterward, which could also include undercard fights from Germany.

There are even plans to simulcast the fight on video screens in Times Square, giving the network exposure to potentially thousands of additional viewers in New York City.

"We think we have an opportunity to help breath some life into sports, especially boxing and mixed martial arts," Greenberg said. "We'll see how this fight does for us. It's been a great promotional device to get the Epix brand out."

Epix is a joint venture of Viacom's Paramount Pictures subdivision, MGM and Lionsgate, with carriage deals on Verizon FiOS, Dish Network and various cable providers, among others. Most of its content comes from a vast library of about 15,000 movies, but there are plans for concerts, documentary films, original series and other programming akin to HBO and Showtime.

A documentary about World Cup champion Lindsey Vonn airs Saturday prior to the fight.

If the blueprint for Epix sounds familiar, it should. Greenberg once worked for HBO as a marketing executive, then spent nearly two decades at Showtime, leading the boxing franchise through high-profile heavyweight fights involving Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson and others.

He's hoping the heavyweights can help build Epix, too.

"We announced this venture two years ago, we've been on the air a little over a year, and I would say I've had every boxing promoter with the exception of one in my office talking about the possibilities," Greenberg said. "We'll evaluate what happens this weekend, but I can foresee this being an important part of our mix."

 

[heyzel]

Vanes Martirosyan Releases Urgent Statement

By Special Report on Doghouse Boxing (March 18, 2011)

Undefeated junior middleweight Vanes "The Nightmare" Martirosyan (28-0 17KOs) is getting an unexpected taste of the full middleweight limit for tomorrow's fight versus Mexico's Bladimir Hernandez (18-4 16KOs).

The fight was scheduled for a contracted weight of 156 lbs. Team Martirosyan received a call this morning informing them that the Mexican can't make 156 but could make 158. Martirosyan quickly accepted and shortly afterwards Team Martirosyan received another call saying Hernandez couldn't make 158 and that the fight would have to be at the full middleweight limit of 160.

The Armenian came to fight and that's what he intends to do. The California based fighter released the following statement:

"I traveled all the way to Canada to fight. A lot of fans out here have been telling me they are coming to the fight. I don't want to let them down. We were supposed to fight at 156 and now we aren't sure if this guy can even make 160. The 'Nightmare' came to fight and now I'm going to do be making my middleweight debut."

 

[heyzel]

East Meets West: Get ready for Berto vs Ortiz (FULL REPORT

Jerry Glick reporting: The setting was The Palm West Restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, an austere eatery that was the venue for a press conference to begin the hype for the WBC Welterweight Title fight between champion Andre’ Berto and Challenger Victor Ortiz on April 16 at The MGM Grand at Foxwoods.

The show will be co-promoted by DiBella Entertainment who represent Berto (East Coast) and Golden Boy who represents Ortiz (West Coast).

“Two guys who can punch,” said DiBella explaining why it’s a fan friendly fight. “Both guys are capable of hurting the other with one punch. This is a risky fight. Both guys have single punch knockout power.”

Ortiz is moving up from the junior welterweight division. That’s 140 to 147, but DiBella points out that it does not indicate who the bigger man is. “Berto is not any bigger than Ortiz. In fact Ortiz is bigger than Berto right now. The most compelling thing is that they are two young fighters who both have been developed by HBO; the majority of their careers have been televised, and they could punch.”

Looking fit and determined, Ortiz, 28-2-2 (22 KOs), claimed that he was ready to beat the defending champion, “I feel perfectly fine,” said a serious looking Ortiz. “I’m confident and ready.”

Ortiz is moving up for the first time and said that he is through with the 140 pound division.

“No concern at all,” said the Oxnard, California resident. “I feel comfortable; I feel strong. I’m not a little guy.”

He claimed that he has made the move up in weight because he had trouble getting fights, “When everyone is afraid to fight you why stick around.”

His mood darkened when he was asked about his disastrous loss to Marcos Maidana back in 2009, “That was a fluke, period.”

He added that he has been roundly criticized over the last two years and that he won’t try to please everyone in the future. He said that the Maidana fight was only one of the rough patches he has endured. “I’m done playing that nice role of pleasing everyone. It gets you nowhere,” said Ortiz.

Berto, 27-0 (21 KOs), said that he was on target to make 147 pounds. “I’m about six pounds away,” said Berto. “Everything has been on point. Training is going well, no injuries yet.”

His preparation includes sparring partners who are similar to Ortiz. Berto had the look of a confident champion.

I’m working with some of the sharpest sparring partners out there,” claimed Berto adding, “They’re southpaws (as is Ortiz). So we will be ready.”

Andre’ feels that he has a speed advantage and better experience. “When the time gets tough,” said Berto, “Everybody knows how I’ll dig down and handle it. We’ll see if he could dig down deep and do the same; but from his track record he doesn’t really hold up.”

I asked why Ortiz at this time and Berto said that Ortiz was the one who stepped up the plate. “We reached out. We tried to do Cotto; we tried to do Pacquiao; we tried to do a lot of different fighters but people think it’s my team but it’s not. We’ve been reaching out to these guys trying to get these deals done but they blatantly just say no. There’s nothing we can do. Victor Ortiz is a very entertaining fight. He’s young, he’s hungry, and he’s going to come and try to knock my head off.”

PUNCHLINES

***SPLIT TELECAST***

The HBO show will feature a fight between Amir “King” Khan, 24-1 (17 KOs), WBA Junior Welterweight World Champion defending against Paul “Dudey” McCloskey, 22-0 (12 KOs) from the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester, England.

***ORTIZ’ MANAGER ROLANDO ARRELLANO***

When Ortiz’ manager spoke he touched two points from the heart, first he reminded the media of the tragedy in Japan and one other that was more personal.

“Victor Ortiz had to come from nothing,” said the emotional Arrellano, “From the foster care program to become the number one contender.”

***LOU DIBELLA***

After Arrellano mentioned Japan’s plight, promoter DiBella said that he will try to work out a way to send money to help the victims of the earthquake, possibly by selling fight related tee shirts with the proceeds going to help the recovery efforts.

***HAITI***

Berto is Haitian and he said that while his parents just came back from Haiti and he has brought family here, he still has family in Haiti who survived the earthquake. He admitted that what is happening in Japan has special meaning for him after the trouble his homeland had.

“As soon as I heard what happened in Japan it sent a chill down my spine.”

 

[heyzel]

Mexican vows to stop Melindo

Friday, March 18, 2011
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ROSENDO Vega plans vowed to knock out Milan Melindo in their 10-round fight this Saturday in the main event of “Pinoy Pride 4 – Philippines vs. World” at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino.

“I will give 10 rough rounds of fighting. Melindo is a world class boxer but I’m ready to give him a good fight,” Vega said during the final press conference yesterday at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino. “Yeah. I will knock out Melindo.”

Post your online prayers for Japan earthquake victims

Vega wants to aggressively jump right in and brawl with Melindo because he believes he can take the unbeaten Filipino boxer’s punches.

However, Melindo thinks the 33-year-old Mexican veteran is making a big mistake if he opts to stand toe-to-toe with him because that kind of style is tailor-made for him.

“I believe he is easy for me because if he comes in, maybe this fight will be over early,” said the 23-year-old Pinoy.

AJ “Bazooka” Banal is also confident he will retain his World Boxing Organization Asia-Pacific bantamweight belt against Tanzanian veteran Francis Miyeyusho.

“I won’t predict anything but I’ll try my best to knock him out,” said the 22-year-old former world title contender.

Unbeaten Canadian prospect Steve Clagget and Filipino Romeo Jakosalem stole the limelight of yesterday’s press conference as both boxers figured in a heated word war.

Clagget, who is a household name in Canada, wants to make a name for himself in the Philippines and promised an exciting fight in his Philippine debut.

“I’ll go for the knockout. I’m ready to go for eight rounds but I was hoping or a 12,” said the 21-year-old World Boxing Council youth light welterweight champion.

Jakosalem, 22, is geared up for war and said he is ready for whatever Clagget brings to the table.

“He’ll get knocked out for sure if he underestimates me,” said Jakoslem, who had an intense stare down with Clagget.

In the undercard, Japanese banger Kenichi Yamaguchi is up against Filipino prospect Marjohn Yap, while Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation flyweight titleholder Rocky Fuentes is facing Indonesian champion Jemmy Gobel.

Meanwhile, Japanese former world champion Katsunari Takayama, the first foreign fighter signed under the ALA Promotions banner, is putting up a fundraiser on the Pinoy Pride event to aid the victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan.

“Japan, right now, had its worst natural disaster. People have suffered a lot. We will do a fundraising on the date of the boxing on March 19. I’m asking for everybody’s cooperation. I thank everybody for offering their help,” said Takayama.

 

[heyzel]

ARUM WARNS, SOMEBODY IS GOING TO PAY FOR THIS

By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Fri, 18 Mar 2011



After a bitter family feud that took some of the luster out of Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire’s spectacular 2nd round knockout of Fernando “KO-Chulito” Montiel last February 19 when the classy Filipino won the WBC and WBO bantamweight belts, the pound-for-pound No. 4 now faces a bitter legal battle with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum.

Arum, in a telephone conversation with the Inquirer after Golden Boy Promotions announced that Donaire had signed a multi-year deal with Oscar De La Hoya’s promotional outfit warned, “Somebody is going to pay for this.”

The astute promoter said there were two steps he would take to protect what he insisted is a valid contract with Donaire,

The first would be to “file a legal complaint with arbiter (former judge Daniel Weinstein) against the actions of Golden Boy Promotions in signing up Donaire in the face of an existing contract with Top Rank. Judge Weinstein mediated the Top Rank – Golden Boy battle over pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao some years ago when a tug-of-war developed after Pacquiao signed with both promotional outfits but eventually went to Arum.

Arum also said he would take legal action to protect what he described as “a completely valid contract” with Donaire.

He described Donaire’s action in signing up with Golden Boy Promotions as “absolutely stupid” and blamed Donaire’s wife Rachael for the mess claiming she was a bad influence. At the same time Arum posed the question “How desperate can Golden Boy get?”

Arum claimed that Donaire had “medical suspensions of six months, twice” which effectively pushed back the validity of his contract. However, Rachael Donaire said the fighter’s hand was not hurt but “ was only swollen” after his fights.

Boxingscene.com quoted De La Hoya who said, "Nonito Donaire is one of the top boxers in the world today and we're going to make sure he gets the chance to defend his world titles and stays as active as possible."

De La Hoya noted that "The bantamweight division is becoming one of the most competitive and exciting divisions in boxing and we look forward to promoting Nonito in great fights in the coming years."

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer was quoted by USA Today as saying “It’s a big signing for us. He’s on most people’ pound for pound lists and is ranked right there with (Floyd) Mayweather, (Manny) Pacquiao and Sergio Martinez. From an excitement point of view, I think he's right on top of that list now. He's a young, exciting fighter and we're really happy to have him with Golden Boy."

Donaire’s wife Rachael two days ago hinted that they would be signing up with Golden Boy for “a lot more money” than Arum had offered Donaire to face WBA champion Anselmo “Chemito” Moreno is a unification bout on May 28.

Arum had reportedly offered Donaire a purse of $500,000 but the Inquirer understands that Golden Boy had upped the amount to $750,000.

For his part Donaire said he was “honored to be joining so many great fighters and champions on the Golden Boy Promotions team. I'm going to fight my heart out every time I'm in the ring and will give fans the fights they want to see."

Donaire’s first big win was his sensational 5th round knockout of cocky Vic Darchinyan to win the IBF/IBO flyweight titles on July 7, 2007. His next big wins were back-to-back demolitions of former world champion Wladimir Sidorenko in four bloody rounds and Montiel, the WBC/WBO champion in two.

 

[heyzel]

Martinez already a hall of famer

by Michael Rosenthal
Mar 17th, 2011
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altHas middleweight champion Sergio Martinez done enough already to clinch a spot in the International Boxing Hall of Fame?

Lou DiBella, Sergio Martinez’s promoter, said during an interview about the Argentine's immediate future that he is “already a hall of famer.”

That’s an interesting statement: Is it true?

DiBella will point to a dominating early career and success over a gauntlet of five elite opponents – Kermit Cintron, Paul Williams, Kelly Pavlik, Williams again and Sergei Dzinziruk -- over the past two years. The middleweight champ went 3-1-1 in those fights but many believe he won all five.

“You can make an argument that he’s the second best fighter out of Argentina,” DiBella said, implying that no one can touch Carlos Monzon at No. 1.

Argentina has other fighters in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. That includes Pacual Perez, Victor Galindez and Nicolino Locche, all of whom probably accomplished more than Martinez has thus far.

However, the consensus No. 3 fighter in the world -- behind only Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. -- has just entered his prime. He might be on his way to the hall even if he has yet to clinch induction.

“Not quite yet,” said writer and historian Cliff Rold. “Remember how hot Michael Nunn was once upon a time? The (Frank) Tate, (Juan) Roldan and (especially) (Sumbu) Kalambay KOs had him looking all-world. RING had him No. 3 pound for pound going into (James) Toney. Didn't quite work out.

“Martinez has an outstanding three-fight win streak going. None of those guys in the streak are bona fide Hall so Martinez probably still has some work to do. … It wouldn't shock me to see him get to those type accolades.”

It wouldn't shock anyone.

 

[heyzel]

The heavyweight division is fading into oblivion

By Allen Hmiel: Whatever happened to the glory days of heavyweight boxing, the days of Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Ali, Liston, Frazier, Holmes, Tyson? The heavyweight Boxing title is the most prestigious title in all of sports. Boxing fans honor and revere the World’s heavyweight champ or at least they used to.

With the complete dominance of the heavyweight division by both of the dominating Klitschkos the rest of the heavyweights stack up to be virtually and competitively nothing(including the elusive David Haye). As Wlad and Vitali take their titles to Germany and have established a home base fighting in Europe the boxing fans seem to have been disappearing and losing interest fast. Without the active interest of Showtime and HBO in the Klitschkos and the shallow depleted talent pool of untalented heavyweights in the heavyweight division boxing is coming to a crossroads. Will boxing survive without an exciting dynamic Heavyweight title holder? Or without a great American heavyweight?

The other divisions have nobody exciting to watch outside of Manny Pacquiao and the troubled Floyd Mayweather and Pacquiao is possibly on the way out after he starts fighting true opponents who can actually fight. The smaller divisions filled with jockey sized little guys do not have the appeal and excitement that the true Heavyweights bring to boxing. A personable exciting heavyweight champion is the main spoke in the popularity wheel of competitive boxing. Boxing revolves around the heavyweights and as great as the Klitschkos are they are not exciting and they are not fighting out of the USA. Hopefully some new American heavyweights come into the division or boxing is going to see a dwindling fan base based outside of the USA.

Heavyweight Champions define boxing and drive the fan base and the popularity of the sport. Lackluster though extremely talented somewhat boring champions like the Klitschkos brothers are not going to save boxing. HBO and Showtime realize that the Klitschkos are not drawing fans and have shown little interest in showing their one sided boring fights. Boxing is going downhill slowly but the decline will increase as the heavyweight division continues to get weaker and the Klitschkos run out of any type of quality opponents. Sad to see the sport losing so much appeal but face the facts the little guys are not what made boxing great. It was the exciting heavyweights that evolved and developed the sport and took Boxing to new levels. Ali-Frazier, Tyson-Holmes, Louis-Marciano that was boxing at it’s finest. Not two little guys battling away at 145 lbs. Fans want Heavyweights and exciting ones. Where have they gone?

 

[heyzel]

Tua defeats King, looks powerful and impressive

By Eric Thomas: 38-year-old David Tua (52-3-2, 43 KO’s) won an impressive 10 round unanimous decision over Demtrice King (15-20, 13 KO’s) on Saturday night at the TelstraClear Pacific, in Manukau City, New Zealand. The final judges’ scores were 100-91, 100-91 and 100-90. Although Tua was unable to take King out, Tua landed a massive amount of power shots that would have knocked out most heavyweights in the top 10. Tua was throwing with a lot of power and looked good.

A lot of credit has to go to King for showing such a good chin. Tua worked King over with uppercuts, double and triple hooks and huge right hands all night long, yet King was able to take the shots and keep firing back with punch of his own. These weren’t weak punches that King was throwing. Tua took some big shots but walked through them and kept hammering King.

In the 6th round, Tua had King on the ropes and opened up with one of his old trademark flurries, hitting King with some incredibly hard shots that had the crowd screaming. Somehow King was able to take the big punches and fire back with his own. This was perhaps Tua’s best performance in years. He looked like he’s good enough to beat most of the heavyweights in the division. The way Tua fight, I could easily see him beating WBA heavyweight champion David Haye right now. There’s talk of Tua fighting a needless rematch with Monte Barrett next. Tua should forget about that fight and look to go after a top contender. He can’t afford to waste anymore time.

 

[heyzel]

Solis and Oner confirm that it was his knee, not Vitali’s punch that hurt the Cuban

By Jason Kim: Things weren’t going well for WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (42-2, 39 KO’s) for most of the 1st round on Saturday night against the faster Cuban Odlanier Solis (17-1, 12 KO’s), who was having his way with Klitschko until the last 15 seconds of the round when Solis’ right leg collapsed out from under him after getting hit with a short right hand with Solis off balance. Solis was unable to re-establish his balance as his knee wouldn’t hold his weight.

Solis attempted to get back up to his feet but right leg wouldn’t allow him to continue. Vitali was then given deemed the winner of the fight while a shocked German crowd booed Solis for not continuing to fight. After the bout, Solis said “It was definitely the knee. It could be that I took a wrong step.” This seems to be confirmed by the instant replay that showed Solis’ right leg giving out on him after getting hit with Solis bent over in an awkward position. The punch barely landed on the top of Solis’ head but caused him to lose his balance and cause his leg to give out.

Sadly, Vitali won’t get much credit for this win because he was having problems with Solis’ hand speed and skills up until the injury. Perhaps Vitali would have gotten to Solis at some point in the fight, but at the time the fight ended, Solis looked like the better fighter and didn’t seem to be having any problems with Vitali. It came down to Solis’ power punches against Vitali’s jabs and Solis was winning the war in the opening round. It’s hard to say who would have won the fight if the injury hadn’t occurred because there was still so much of the fight ahead.

 

[heyzel]

Martirosyan destroys Hernandez in two

By Dan Ambrose: Unbeaten junior middleweight contender Vanes Martirosyan (29-0, 18 KO’s) got one step closer to a title shot by destroying Bladimir Hernandez (18-5, 16 KO’s) in a 2nd round TKO on Saturday night on the undercard of the Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Making his first appearance since beating Joe Greene last year in June, Martirosyan flattened Hernandez with a powerful right hand in the 2nd. The fight was then stopped. The first round was more of a case of Martirosyan working over Hernandez with a heavy attack of powerful combinations with Hernandez doing his best to try and block some of the incoming. In the 2nd, Martirosyan started in where he left off, firing huge heat seeking missiles to Hernandez’s head and body ending with a big head shot that dropped Hernandez for the 10 round.

 

[heyzel]

Sergio Martinez vs. Peter Manfredo Jr. in July

by Chris Williams: The indications are strong that Sergio Martinez (47-2-2, 26 KO’s) will be fighting Peter Manfredo Jr. (37-6, 20 KO’s) next in July instead of a high profile opponent or one that can give him any kind of fight. Martinez and Manfredo Jr. share the same promoter and the talk is that he wants to have an in house fight between them, as long as HBO goes along with this fight and agrees to purchase it.

Martinez has certainly earned fighting a soft opponent after facing Paul Williams twice, Kermit Cintron, Kelly Pavlik and Sergiy Dzinziruk in his last five bouts. Manfredo is a huge step backwards for Martinez, but casual boxing fans might not care much because Manfredo Jr. is well known to them because of all the times he’s been shown on ESPN. He’s not a bad fighter. He does okay when matched against 2nd and 3rd tier opposition.

Where Manfredo Jr. falls apart is when he’s put in with world class fighters like Joe Calzaghe, Jeff Lacy, Sergio Mora and Sakio Bika. Mandredo has failed the test when put in with these kinds of guys. This fight will likely go one, maybe two rounds at best. If Martinez opens up with a flurry the way that Calzaghe did against Manfredo, we’ll see an early stoppage. Manfredo was blown out by both Bika and Calzaghe in early stoppages. Calzaghe wasn’t considered a big puncher and yet he was able to destroy Manfredo by just throwing a lot of fast punches. Martinez will likely follow Calzaghe’s blue print and blow out Manfredo quickly. Hopefully they package a good undercard along with this fight because it might leave a lot of fans unhappy.

 

[heyzel]

Bute obliterates Magee, Kessler up next

By Jason Kim: Photo credit Tom Casino/Showtime – IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (28-0, 23 KO’s) put on a punching power display on Saturday night, knocking Irish challenger Brian Magee (34-4-1, 24 KO’s) around and taking him out in the 10th round with a nice uppercut at the at the Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The fight was fairly close until the 6th when Bute began to focus on throwing more to the body. He discovered then that Magee couldn’t take it very well to the midsection.

From there, Bute knocked Magee down in the 6th, 7th and then took him out in the 10th. Then win now puts Bute on a crash course with two-time super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler (43-2, 32 KO’s) next in a fight that you’d have to say is a toss up bout. Bute didn’t look great tonight against a pretty average Magee. Kessler is a lot better than Magee and Bute tries to go to the body like he did against Magee, Bute may find himself being carried out of the ring on a stretcher.

Bute has to think defense against Kessler because Bute doesn’t have the greatest of chins and Kessler can really punch. In his last fight a year ago, Kessler defeated power puncher Carl Froch by a 12 round decision and not only took Froch’s best shots, but had him backing off and looking to avoid trouble. Bute has had things pretty much easy since he won the IBF title in 2008, with most of his opponents being fringe contenders that have been hanging around on the super middleweight tree for ages. Sadly, Bute still hasn’t faced anyone dangerous like Kessler. We could see Bute taken down and Kessler being the one to take on the winner of the Super Six tourney, not Bute.