Boxing News Thread
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Tyson almost robbed in Las Vegas
By Vitali Shaposhnikov: According to TMZ (http://www.tmz.com/2012/01/05/mike-tyson-las-vegas-hotel-intruder/#.TwVsBSNSQmg), someone had recently broken into Mike Tyson’s Cosmopolitan hotel suite while Tyson was asleep, in an attempt to rob the former heavyweight world boxing champion.
Tyson and his family were in Las Vegas for the Stevie Wonder New Year’s Eve concert, and headed for the hotel after the affair. Tyson was awakened at night by light noise and a glimpse of a flashlight. The intruder was never caught, as he was able to escape before anyone realized what was happening.
Maybe the robber had a knife or a gun, but if not, and if Tyson got his hands on this person, I have very little doubt this individual would end up in the intensive care unit in a nearby hospital.
Temper is something that Tyson has been able to curb for the past few years, but when in danger, and the family’s well being is threatened, I feel the animal would come out, and Tyson would lose it instantly.
Perhaps it was a good thing that Tyson never got to the robber, for both Tyson and the trespasser. I hope that the hotel security and management is embarrassed by this, and make sure that nothing similar ever happens again, as this is a perfect way for a hotel to lose a lot of business. Imagine if Tyson was hurt in this scenario?
By Vitali Shaposhnikov: According to TMZ (http://www.tmz.com/2012/01/05/mike-tyson-las-vegas-hotel-intruder/#.TwVsBSNSQmg), someone had recently broken into Mike Tyson’s Cosmopolitan hotel suite while Tyson was asleep, in an attempt to rob the former heavyweight world boxing champion.
Tyson and his family were in Las Vegas for the Stevie Wonder New Year’s Eve concert, and headed for the hotel after the affair. Tyson was awakened at night by light noise and a glimpse of a flashlight. The intruder was never caught, as he was able to escape before anyone realized what was happening.
Maybe the robber had a knife or a gun, but if not, and if Tyson got his hands on this person, I have very little doubt this individual would end up in the intensive care unit in a nearby hospital.
Temper is something that Tyson has been able to curb for the past few years, but when in danger, and the family’s well being is threatened, I feel the animal would come out, and Tyson would lose it instantly.
Perhaps it was a good thing that Tyson never got to the robber, for both Tyson and the trespasser. I hope that the hotel security and management is embarrassed by this, and make sure that nothing similar ever happens again, as this is a perfect way for a hotel to lose a lot of business. Imagine if Tyson was hurt in this scenario?
Exclusive Interview With Lamon Brewster - “I Hate Bullies!”
Lamon BrewsterBy James Slater: “Relentless” Lamon Brewster, 35-6(30) fought a vast number of great fighters and great fights as he proved himself to be a genuine great in his own right. The last man to beat the seemingly untouchable Wladimir Klitschko (TKO 5 in April of 2004), Brewster also went in with such big names as: Andrew Golota (KO1), Siarhei Liakhovich (L12 in what many experts say was the last great heavyweight battle), Kali Meehan (W12) and Robert Helenius (TKO by 8, in Brewster’s final fight).
Very kindly taking the time to speak with ESB earlier today - on subjects such as how to beat Klitschko, Mormeck’s chances at doing this and who is the best, Wladimir or Vitali - Lamon had the following things to say. Enjoy the interview:
James Slater: It’s a real pleasure to be able to speak with you, Champ! First of all; people still talk about your great win over Wladimir Klitschko, you are the last man to have beaten him. So many have failed to do the same since - how did you do it?
Lamon Brewster: Well, I built up so much endurance in the gym for that fight. The plan was to take him to the later rounds. The thing was, we’d seen the Ray Mercer fight (from June of 2002), and although he beat Mercer, I knew that if Mercer could push him back and put some pressure on him the way he did, then me, being younger [than Mercer] would be able to do the same. I knew that Wladimir wasn’t a mentally strong person. Wladimir cannot handle pressure. I went to his body every time I got close and I knew each punch was taking something from him - even if he never knew it. I made him punch when he didn’t want to; I made him hold when he didn’t want to. See, if you let Wladimir fight how he wants to, he’ll beat you down. In the 5th-round, I threw a jab and he never responded. I knew than that he was tiring and that I had a chance to win. I knew I’d got to him. It was about not letting Wladimir fight his usual on-top fight; about not letting him get away with it - taking him out of his usual fight where he dictates and only punches when he wants to.
J.S: As you know, Wladimir is facing Jean Marc Mormeck in March - a fight most see as an easy win for Klitschko. How do you see that fight?
L.B: Firstly, I’m a big fan of Mormeck; he reminds me of Marvin Hagler. But it will be hard for anyone to beat Wladimir, because he is so on top of his game. I think Mormeck can use my fight with Wladimir as a blueprint. He has to be mentally strong; to put pressure on. Mormeck tends to plod, though, and he has to cut off the ring. I hope Mormeck is working on his foot-work right now. He has the skills and he has that determination. He has to go to the body and keep on. If he can endure enough in the early rounds, and if he can endure Wladimir’s big shots, and if Mormeck can take it to the later rounds, Wladimir will begin to show his weaknesses. Pressure can definitely get to Wladimir. Mormeck is a dangerous fighter. Wladimir won’t be stupid and try and stand in front of Mormeck; he’ll try and win on points, by winning each round. The thing is - and I’m amazed no-one ever asks me how to prepare their fighters to fight a Klitschko - nobody uses the left hook nowadays.
Do your homework: back in the ’70s, 80’s and 90’s, all the great heavyweights had a great left hook - Frazier, Tyson, even Ali, and myself. But the old-school trainers have gone now, and no fighters are taught to throw a left hook. Vitali, he’s tailor-made for a left hook! He pulls back and any guy who can throw a double or a triple left hook would KO Vitali! Really. I hope Mormeck reads this and works on his footwork and on throwing the left hook, which he has, because Waldimir is similar to Vitali. I actually told David Tua how to beat Klitschko, with the left hook - because I read that Tua was going to fight him next.
J.S: That’s truly interesting stuff, Lamon. Another guy you fought, in Siarhei Liakhovich, fights Eddie Chambers on the 21st…
L.B: Yeah, in Philly.
J.S: How do you see that fight going?
L.B: Oh, Chambers destroys that guy, and you will waste your time if you cover that fight. Call me after the fight and I’ll tell you I was right!
J.S: You know your stuff, Lamon. I’m not going to argue with you! Another great fight of yours, or at least a great performance, was the icing you did on Andrew Golota. You know, there’s talk of him coming back!
L.B: Golota (laughs). I’m actually in The Guinness Book Of Records because of that fight. Jim Jeffries held the record for the fastest KO ever, at 55-seconds. I beat that by three seconds when I beat Golota (laughs). That fight was in Chicago, and I never had to fight him. But Don [King] told me to look better in a fight than I had against Kali Meehan (a 12-round points win for Brewster) - who is a friend of mine. Anyway, Chicago has the largest Polish population in America and Golota was getting brave and trying to bully me. I hate bullies! There was a time before the fight, when there was just me and him, along with some press, in a room - and he tried to jump on me; in my face. That pissed me off, and then, on the walk to the ring, his fans were actually spitting on me, man! I never even had to fight this guy. I was doing him a favour letting him fight for the [WBO] title. I’d never been spat on before - not ever. I was so mad, so angry. I took it all out on Golota. That was the only fight where I actually wanted to murder the other guy!
But today, I say this - I wish Golota the best if he does come back. I can see why he may come back: because the division is so weak right now. There are no real killers out there. These guys, they want to be rich and famous, but they don’t really want to fight. So you know they will only be wiling to take so much, to be willing to go through so much, before they give in. These guys; they don’t want to be heavyweight champion in their heart.
J.S: It’s been awesomely interesting talking to you, Lamon. Who is the best: Wladimir or Vitali?
L.B: Vitali has the biggest heart; he’s willing to mix it up and go toe-to-toe. Vitali shows gameness. Wladimir, he won’t fight unless he knows he has got you [beaten]. Wladimir has the better skills, but Vitali wins over more fans with his heart - he cares about how he wins. Wladimir is more cautious.
J.S: Thanks so much for your time, Champ. What next for you?
L.B: I want to give to the sport. I want to take fighters from all countries and give to the sport. I’m retired at 38 but I will always be a big part of boxing.
Lamon BrewsterBy James Slater: “Relentless” Lamon Brewster, 35-6(30) fought a vast number of great fighters and great fights as he proved himself to be a genuine great in his own right. The last man to beat the seemingly untouchable Wladimir Klitschko (TKO 5 in April of 2004), Brewster also went in with such big names as: Andrew Golota (KO1), Siarhei Liakhovich (L12 in what many experts say was the last great heavyweight battle), Kali Meehan (W12) and Robert Helenius (TKO by 8, in Brewster’s final fight).
Very kindly taking the time to speak with ESB earlier today - on subjects such as how to beat Klitschko, Mormeck’s chances at doing this and who is the best, Wladimir or Vitali - Lamon had the following things to say. Enjoy the interview:
James Slater: It’s a real pleasure to be able to speak with you, Champ! First of all; people still talk about your great win over Wladimir Klitschko, you are the last man to have beaten him. So many have failed to do the same since - how did you do it?
Lamon Brewster: Well, I built up so much endurance in the gym for that fight. The plan was to take him to the later rounds. The thing was, we’d seen the Ray Mercer fight (from June of 2002), and although he beat Mercer, I knew that if Mercer could push him back and put some pressure on him the way he did, then me, being younger [than Mercer] would be able to do the same. I knew that Wladimir wasn’t a mentally strong person. Wladimir cannot handle pressure. I went to his body every time I got close and I knew each punch was taking something from him - even if he never knew it. I made him punch when he didn’t want to; I made him hold when he didn’t want to. See, if you let Wladimir fight how he wants to, he’ll beat you down. In the 5th-round, I threw a jab and he never responded. I knew than that he was tiring and that I had a chance to win. I knew I’d got to him. It was about not letting Wladimir fight his usual on-top fight; about not letting him get away with it - taking him out of his usual fight where he dictates and only punches when he wants to.
J.S: As you know, Wladimir is facing Jean Marc Mormeck in March - a fight most see as an easy win for Klitschko. How do you see that fight?
L.B: Firstly, I’m a big fan of Mormeck; he reminds me of Marvin Hagler. But it will be hard for anyone to beat Wladimir, because he is so on top of his game. I think Mormeck can use my fight with Wladimir as a blueprint. He has to be mentally strong; to put pressure on. Mormeck tends to plod, though, and he has to cut off the ring. I hope Mormeck is working on his foot-work right now. He has the skills and he has that determination. He has to go to the body and keep on. If he can endure enough in the early rounds, and if he can endure Wladimir’s big shots, and if Mormeck can take it to the later rounds, Wladimir will begin to show his weaknesses. Pressure can definitely get to Wladimir. Mormeck is a dangerous fighter. Wladimir won’t be stupid and try and stand in front of Mormeck; he’ll try and win on points, by winning each round. The thing is - and I’m amazed no-one ever asks me how to prepare their fighters to fight a Klitschko - nobody uses the left hook nowadays.
Do your homework: back in the ’70s, 80’s and 90’s, all the great heavyweights had a great left hook - Frazier, Tyson, even Ali, and myself. But the old-school trainers have gone now, and no fighters are taught to throw a left hook. Vitali, he’s tailor-made for a left hook! He pulls back and any guy who can throw a double or a triple left hook would KO Vitali! Really. I hope Mormeck reads this and works on his footwork and on throwing the left hook, which he has, because Waldimir is similar to Vitali. I actually told David Tua how to beat Klitschko, with the left hook - because I read that Tua was going to fight him next.
J.S: That’s truly interesting stuff, Lamon. Another guy you fought, in Siarhei Liakhovich, fights Eddie Chambers on the 21st…
L.B: Yeah, in Philly.
J.S: How do you see that fight going?
L.B: Oh, Chambers destroys that guy, and you will waste your time if you cover that fight. Call me after the fight and I’ll tell you I was right!
J.S: You know your stuff, Lamon. I’m not going to argue with you! Another great fight of yours, or at least a great performance, was the icing you did on Andrew Golota. You know, there’s talk of him coming back!
L.B: Golota (laughs). I’m actually in The Guinness Book Of Records because of that fight. Jim Jeffries held the record for the fastest KO ever, at 55-seconds. I beat that by three seconds when I beat Golota (laughs). That fight was in Chicago, and I never had to fight him. But Don [King] told me to look better in a fight than I had against Kali Meehan (a 12-round points win for Brewster) - who is a friend of mine. Anyway, Chicago has the largest Polish population in America and Golota was getting brave and trying to bully me. I hate bullies! There was a time before the fight, when there was just me and him, along with some press, in a room - and he tried to jump on me; in my face. That pissed me off, and then, on the walk to the ring, his fans were actually spitting on me, man! I never even had to fight this guy. I was doing him a favour letting him fight for the [WBO] title. I’d never been spat on before - not ever. I was so mad, so angry. I took it all out on Golota. That was the only fight where I actually wanted to murder the other guy!
But today, I say this - I wish Golota the best if he does come back. I can see why he may come back: because the division is so weak right now. There are no real killers out there. These guys, they want to be rich and famous, but they don’t really want to fight. So you know they will only be wiling to take so much, to be willing to go through so much, before they give in. These guys; they don’t want to be heavyweight champion in their heart.
J.S: It’s been awesomely interesting talking to you, Lamon. Who is the best: Wladimir or Vitali?
L.B: Vitali has the biggest heart; he’s willing to mix it up and go toe-to-toe. Vitali shows gameness. Wladimir, he won’t fight unless he knows he has got you [beaten]. Wladimir has the better skills, but Vitali wins over more fans with his heart - he cares about how he wins. Wladimir is more cautious.
J.S: Thanks so much for your time, Champ. What next for you?
L.B: I want to give to the sport. I want to take fighters from all countries and give to the sport. I’m retired at 38 but I will always be a big part of boxing.
Sergio Martinez vs. Andre Ward a possibility if Martinez leaves HBO and signs with Showtime
January 5th, 2012
By Eric Thomas: A fight between WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward (25-0, 13 KO’s) and Sergio Martinez (48-2-2, 27 KO’s) is Martinez goes ahead and leaves HBO like he’s been talking about.
Both Ward and Martinez have expressed interest in fighting in 2012. However, the one big sticking point that immediately could be an issue is that Martinez has a contract to have his fights televised by HBO, whereas Ward’s fights are shown on Showtime.
However, Martinez, 36, is reportedly unhappy with HBO because they weren’t interested in putting on his title defense against No.1 ranked World Boxing Council challenger Sebastian Zbik last year, and instead preferred that Martinez fight unbeaten Sergiy Dzinziruk, the WBO junior middleweight champion.
Not too long after Martinez stopped in the 8th round last March, the WBC stripped Martinez of his WBC title and gave it to Zbik. He in turn faced Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. last June and was beaten.
Now Chavez Jr. has Martinez’s old WBC belt and he and his promoter aren’t particularly interested in facing Martinez despite orders from the WBC for them to do so. Martinez feels that he wouldn’t have lost his WBC title in the first place had HBO been interested in showing his planned title defense against #1 challenger Zbik.
Next week, Martinez and HBO will be meeting on Tuesday to talk, according to RingTV. If Martinez and HBO aren’t able to work things out, we could see Martinez jump ship and move over to Showtime where he could then get a big fight against Ward this year.
Not only that, but Martinez would also have the options of facing other top super middleweights like IBF champion Lucian Bute and the Dirrell brothers, Andre and Anthony. Of course, Ward is the biggest target right now because he’s perceived to be the best fighter in the super middleweight division by many boxing fans.
January 5th, 2012
By Eric Thomas: A fight between WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward (25-0, 13 KO’s) and Sergio Martinez (48-2-2, 27 KO’s) is Martinez goes ahead and leaves HBO like he’s been talking about.
Both Ward and Martinez have expressed interest in fighting in 2012. However, the one big sticking point that immediately could be an issue is that Martinez has a contract to have his fights televised by HBO, whereas Ward’s fights are shown on Showtime.
However, Martinez, 36, is reportedly unhappy with HBO because they weren’t interested in putting on his title defense against No.1 ranked World Boxing Council challenger Sebastian Zbik last year, and instead preferred that Martinez fight unbeaten Sergiy Dzinziruk, the WBO junior middleweight champion.
Not too long after Martinez stopped in the 8th round last March, the WBC stripped Martinez of his WBC title and gave it to Zbik. He in turn faced Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. last June and was beaten.
Now Chavez Jr. has Martinez’s old WBC belt and he and his promoter aren’t particularly interested in facing Martinez despite orders from the WBC for them to do so. Martinez feels that he wouldn’t have lost his WBC title in the first place had HBO been interested in showing his planned title defense against #1 challenger Zbik.
Next week, Martinez and HBO will be meeting on Tuesday to talk, according to RingTV. If Martinez and HBO aren’t able to work things out, we could see Martinez jump ship and move over to Showtime where he could then get a big fight against Ward this year.
Not only that, but Martinez would also have the options of facing other top super middleweights like IBF champion Lucian Bute and the Dirrell brothers, Andre and Anthony. Of course, Ward is the biggest target right now because he’s perceived to be the best fighter in the super middleweight division by many boxing fans.
Yoan Pablo Hernandez vs. Steve Cunningham II on February 4th
January 6th, 2012
By Eric Thomas: It’s been four months since former Cuban amateur star Yoan Pablo Hernandez (25-1, 13 KO’s) defeated IBF cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham (24-3, 12 KO’s) by a 6th round technical decision to capture his International Boxing Federation title, and now the two fighters are set to do it again next month on February 4th at the Fraport Arena in Frankfurt, Germany.
Hernandez was cut between the eyes from a headbutt and the fight was quickly halted after that. The cut didn’t appear to be bad enough for the fight to be halted, however, and it stopped bleeding almost immediately after the fight was stopped. At the time of the stoppage, Cunningham was coming on and appeared to be taking over the fight against the timid and tired looking Hernandez.
The referee blew what appeared to a 1st round knockout win for Hernandez after he put Cunningham down in the 1st round with a left hook. The referee seemed to delay his starting of the count and still didn’t halt the fight after Cunningham got up and fell back down again.
Most referees would have halted the fight right there but this one didn’t for some reason. Cunningham was fortunate that Hernandez didn’t try to jump on him in the 2nd round to finish him off. But Hernandez seemed afraid to get hit and let Cunningham off the hook when he had him out on his feet and ready to go.
Hernandez is going to have to fight better this time around if he wants to get the win again, because he can’t count on the fight going to the cards early again like it did last time. He’s got to be able to fight harder than for just one or two rounds. That’s the knock on Hernandez. He looks great in the first three rounds but then fades badly and struggles even against B level fighters when he’s tired.
January 6th, 2012
By Eric Thomas: It’s been four months since former Cuban amateur star Yoan Pablo Hernandez (25-1, 13 KO’s) defeated IBF cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham (24-3, 12 KO’s) by a 6th round technical decision to capture his International Boxing Federation title, and now the two fighters are set to do it again next month on February 4th at the Fraport Arena in Frankfurt, Germany.
Hernandez was cut between the eyes from a headbutt and the fight was quickly halted after that. The cut didn’t appear to be bad enough for the fight to be halted, however, and it stopped bleeding almost immediately after the fight was stopped. At the time of the stoppage, Cunningham was coming on and appeared to be taking over the fight against the timid and tired looking Hernandez.
The referee blew what appeared to a 1st round knockout win for Hernandez after he put Cunningham down in the 1st round with a left hook. The referee seemed to delay his starting of the count and still didn’t halt the fight after Cunningham got up and fell back down again.
Most referees would have halted the fight right there but this one didn’t for some reason. Cunningham was fortunate that Hernandez didn’t try to jump on him in the 2nd round to finish him off. But Hernandez seemed afraid to get hit and let Cunningham off the hook when he had him out on his feet and ready to go.
Hernandez is going to have to fight better this time around if he wants to get the win again, because he can’t count on the fight going to the cards early again like it did last time. He’s got to be able to fight harder than for just one or two rounds. That’s the knock on Hernandez. He looks great in the first three rounds but then fades badly and struggles even against B level fighters when he’s tired.
Pacquiao to pocket more than $20 million for next fight no matter who he fights
January 6th, 2012
By Chris Williams: WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao will getting big money no matter who he fights for his next bout in April or May. There were reports out earlier today about Pacquiao wanting $20 to $28 million for his next fight.
However, his adviser Michael Koncz says that Pacquiao always makes more than $20 million for each of his fights nowadays.
Koncz told RingTV “We won’t fight for $20 million because I don’t recall the last time we fought for that less of an amount…We have not fought for that amount for a substantial number of years. It’s absurd. Why would we recess on our guaranteed purse? I don’t recall the last time we fought for $20 million.”
Wow! Koncz sounds like just the thought of Pacquiao making only $20 million was some kind of insult or something. I think he could have explained it a little better than he did. After all, Pacquiao is supposed to be the man of the people and if you’ve got an adviser sounding like $20 million is beneath Pacquiao, it makes Pacquiao seem out of touch with the normal people on the street. What’s wrong with $20 million?
If Pacquiao is getting guaranteed purse of more than $20 million for all his fights now, I think it makes his promoter Bob Arum’s job much harder because there’s more pressure for Arum to match Pacquiao with big names in order to keep the pay per view numbers high enough for Pacquiao to get his guaranteed purse of more than $20 million.
I don’t know how Pacquiao can get the money he’s asking for if he faces lesser known fighters like Timothy Bradley and Lamont Peterson. Pacquiao almost has to fight Juan Manuel Marquez or Miguel Cotto in his next fight if he wants to get the kind of money that he’s accustomed to getting.
If he fights Bradley or Peterson, Pacquiao could see his PPV buys cut in half to where they were when he fought non-star Joshua Clottey in 2009 and only brought in 660,000 buys. The only way Pacquiao can get his guaranteed big money in a fight that does poorly on PPV is if opponent gets peanuts in comparison. I wonder how they would work that out. I guess they could tell Pacquiao’s opponents’ they’ll guarantee them a lowball figure but tell them that it can go up dramatically if the fight does well or stay low if it does poorly.
January 6th, 2012
By Chris Williams: WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao will getting big money no matter who he fights for his next bout in April or May. There were reports out earlier today about Pacquiao wanting $20 to $28 million for his next fight.
However, his adviser Michael Koncz says that Pacquiao always makes more than $20 million for each of his fights nowadays.
Koncz told RingTV “We won’t fight for $20 million because I don’t recall the last time we fought for that less of an amount…We have not fought for that amount for a substantial number of years. It’s absurd. Why would we recess on our guaranteed purse? I don’t recall the last time we fought for $20 million.”
Wow! Koncz sounds like just the thought of Pacquiao making only $20 million was some kind of insult or something. I think he could have explained it a little better than he did. After all, Pacquiao is supposed to be the man of the people and if you’ve got an adviser sounding like $20 million is beneath Pacquiao, it makes Pacquiao seem out of touch with the normal people on the street. What’s wrong with $20 million?
If Pacquiao is getting guaranteed purse of more than $20 million for all his fights now, I think it makes his promoter Bob Arum’s job much harder because there’s more pressure for Arum to match Pacquiao with big names in order to keep the pay per view numbers high enough for Pacquiao to get his guaranteed purse of more than $20 million.
I don’t know how Pacquiao can get the money he’s asking for if he faces lesser known fighters like Timothy Bradley and Lamont Peterson. Pacquiao almost has to fight Juan Manuel Marquez or Miguel Cotto in his next fight if he wants to get the kind of money that he’s accustomed to getting.
If he fights Bradley or Peterson, Pacquiao could see his PPV buys cut in half to where they were when he fought non-star Joshua Clottey in 2009 and only brought in 660,000 buys. The only way Pacquiao can get his guaranteed big money in a fight that does poorly on PPV is if opponent gets peanuts in comparison. I wonder how they would work that out. I guess they could tell Pacquiao’s opponents’ they’ll guarantee them a lowball figure but tell them that it can go up dramatically if the fight does well or stay low if it does poorly.
Peterson: Khan is wasting his energy
January 6th, 2012
By Scott Gilfoid: IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Lamont Peterson (30-1-1, 15 KO’s) is officially sick of all the crying and complaining that former IBf/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (26-2, 18 KO’s) has been doing since Peterson beat him last month in Washington, DC in an exciting performance by Peterson.
Upon learning of the fuss that Khan was making on his twitter page earlier today about a mystery man seen at ringside that Khan felt was interfering with one of the judges, Peterson told the Washingtonpost.com tonight “I’m tired of it. That’s his [Khan] energy wasted. I’m at the point where I’m like, ‘Forget it.’ I know the hearing [IBF and WBA appeal hearing on January 18th] is coming up. Whatever they decide, they decide. I’m not going to sit and cry about anything. I’m happy with my performance. I believe I won the fight.”
I totally agree with Peterson. Khan is wasting his time trying to toss up speculation and somehow devalue Peterson’s win with gullible boxing fans that can’t see for themselves that Khan got beat. Khan is using so much energy and no one is buying it. If it makes him feel better about his loss, then it’s good for him, but he still lost the fight.
Khan’s promoters from Golden Boy spent a bunch of money appealing the loss to the IBF and WBA to try and get the decision overturned so that Khan is still champion. A verdict could be given by January 18th. I fully expect one of those sanctioning bodies to give Khan his wish of ordering an immediate rematch. Not sure if they’ll give him the win, because that will really make a joke of everything. But I won’t be surprised if that happens too. Golden Boy Promotions is a major powerhouse and I can see Khan getting his loss overturned. I just hope this doesn’t become a regular thing for him every time he loses.
Peterson sounds ready for whatever the IBF and WBA decide without making a federal case over it the way Khan is. At the end of the day, Peterson always intended to fight Khan in a rematch anyway. That’s why it seems so silly all the wasted energy from Khan about this.
January 6th, 2012
By Scott Gilfoid: IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Lamont Peterson (30-1-1, 15 KO’s) is officially sick of all the crying and complaining that former IBf/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (26-2, 18 KO’s) has been doing since Peterson beat him last month in Washington, DC in an exciting performance by Peterson.
Upon learning of the fuss that Khan was making on his twitter page earlier today about a mystery man seen at ringside that Khan felt was interfering with one of the judges, Peterson told the Washingtonpost.com tonight “I’m tired of it. That’s his [Khan] energy wasted. I’m at the point where I’m like, ‘Forget it.’ I know the hearing [IBF and WBA appeal hearing on January 18th] is coming up. Whatever they decide, they decide. I’m not going to sit and cry about anything. I’m happy with my performance. I believe I won the fight.”
I totally agree with Peterson. Khan is wasting his time trying to toss up speculation and somehow devalue Peterson’s win with gullible boxing fans that can’t see for themselves that Khan got beat. Khan is using so much energy and no one is buying it. If it makes him feel better about his loss, then it’s good for him, but he still lost the fight.
Khan’s promoters from Golden Boy spent a bunch of money appealing the loss to the IBF and WBA to try and get the decision overturned so that Khan is still champion. A verdict could be given by January 18th. I fully expect one of those sanctioning bodies to give Khan his wish of ordering an immediate rematch. Not sure if they’ll give him the win, because that will really make a joke of everything. But I won’t be surprised if that happens too. Golden Boy Promotions is a major powerhouse and I can see Khan getting his loss overturned. I just hope this doesn’t become a regular thing for him every time he loses.
Peterson sounds ready for whatever the IBF and WBA decide without making a federal case over it the way Khan is. At the end of the day, Peterson always intended to fight Khan in a rematch anyway. That’s why it seems so silly all the wasted energy from Khan about this.
Exclusive Q&A: Hopkins wants to go out "guns blazing" in 2012
by Lem Satterfield
Jan 2nd, 2012
7
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RingTV.com caught up to RING light heavyweight champ Bernard Hopkins in advance of his 47th birthday, on January 15.
Hopkins (52-5-2, 32 knockouts) expressed his thoughts on a potential rematch with Chad Dawson, whose promoter, Gary Shaw, successfully argued for the return bout with Hopkins at last month's WBC's convention in Las Vegas.
If a lucrative bout can't be made with Dawson, Hopkins has listed other possible candidates, including THE RING's No. 1-rated super middleweight Lucian Bute (30-0, 24 KOs), or light heavyweights Nathan Cleverly (23-0, 11 KOs), of the United Kingdom, and Beibut Shumenov (12-1, 8 KOs).
Cleverly, 24, is the holder of the WBO belt, while Shumenov, 28 , a native of Kazakhstan who lives in Las Vegas, has the WBA title.
Hopkins told RingTV.com that he expects to return to full-time training this month and would like to be back in the ring in March following the final stages of recovery from a left shoulder separation.
The injury occurred during his controversial clash with Dawson on Oct. 15, which was initially ruled to be a second-round TKO victory for Dawson after Hopkins was shoved to the canvas and deemed unfit to continue by referee Pat Russell.
Last month, however, the California State Athletic Commission officially ruled Hopkins-Dawson a no-contest. The CSAC's move came in the wake of the WBC's already having restored Hopkins as titleholder following a majority vote of board members who disagreed with Russell's call and ruled the fight a "technical draw."
In December of last year, Hopkins rose from two knockdowns during his draw with RING No. 1-rated light heavyweight Jean Pascal in the latter's native Canada before returning to Canada to dethrone Pascal as WBC beltholder by unanimous decision in May.
In victory over Pascal, Hopkins, became the oldest man to win a major title in boxing. Before facing Hopkins, Pascal had vanquished Dawson in defense of his WBC belt by 11th-round technical decision in August of last year.
RingTV.com: What would you want if you could reward yourself with a late Christmas gift?
Bernard Hopkins: My thing would be something that's historic, and that's not only defending the title a few times -- not nine, not five, not even four. But right now, my Christmas gift would be to unifity the light heavyweight championship and leave a mark.
I want to surpass what Michael Spinks or any of the other light heavyweights achieved, such as the great Bob Foster or any of the others have done in their eras. My thing is to do meaningful fights, but to get rewarded with it all the way around the board. That's something that I think that I deserve.
I don't want my next fight to be just a fight. It has to be historic. If I fight just a fight, then I would probably lose. That's a deep thing to say. But it has to be something that people can look at and say, "Man, he's taken on all of the ones who say that they're the best."
I want at least one or two more fights. Then, I want to exit out of this game. I would feel as if I shut the door of history-making to the max with all of the things that I've done all the way up until now
by Lem Satterfield
Jan 2nd, 2012
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RingTV.com caught up to RING light heavyweight champ Bernard Hopkins in advance of his 47th birthday, on January 15.
Hopkins (52-5-2, 32 knockouts) expressed his thoughts on a potential rematch with Chad Dawson, whose promoter, Gary Shaw, successfully argued for the return bout with Hopkins at last month's WBC's convention in Las Vegas.
If a lucrative bout can't be made with Dawson, Hopkins has listed other possible candidates, including THE RING's No. 1-rated super middleweight Lucian Bute (30-0, 24 KOs), or light heavyweights Nathan Cleverly (23-0, 11 KOs), of the United Kingdom, and Beibut Shumenov (12-1, 8 KOs).
Cleverly, 24, is the holder of the WBO belt, while Shumenov, 28 , a native of Kazakhstan who lives in Las Vegas, has the WBA title.
Hopkins told RingTV.com that he expects to return to full-time training this month and would like to be back in the ring in March following the final stages of recovery from a left shoulder separation.
The injury occurred during his controversial clash with Dawson on Oct. 15, which was initially ruled to be a second-round TKO victory for Dawson after Hopkins was shoved to the canvas and deemed unfit to continue by referee Pat Russell.
Last month, however, the California State Athletic Commission officially ruled Hopkins-Dawson a no-contest. The CSAC's move came in the wake of the WBC's already having restored Hopkins as titleholder following a majority vote of board members who disagreed with Russell's call and ruled the fight a "technical draw."
In December of last year, Hopkins rose from two knockdowns during his draw with RING No. 1-rated light heavyweight Jean Pascal in the latter's native Canada before returning to Canada to dethrone Pascal as WBC beltholder by unanimous decision in May.
In victory over Pascal, Hopkins, became the oldest man to win a major title in boxing. Before facing Hopkins, Pascal had vanquished Dawson in defense of his WBC belt by 11th-round technical decision in August of last year.
RingTV.com: What would you want if you could reward yourself with a late Christmas gift?
Bernard Hopkins: My thing would be something that's historic, and that's not only defending the title a few times -- not nine, not five, not even four. But right now, my Christmas gift would be to unifity the light heavyweight championship and leave a mark.
I want to surpass what Michael Spinks or any of the other light heavyweights achieved, such as the great Bob Foster or any of the others have done in their eras. My thing is to do meaningful fights, but to get rewarded with it all the way around the board. That's something that I think that I deserve.
I don't want my next fight to be just a fight. It has to be historic. If I fight just a fight, then I would probably lose. That's a deep thing to say. But it has to be something that people can look at and say, "Man, he's taken on all of the ones who say that they're the best."
I want at least one or two more fights. Then, I want to exit out of this game. I would feel as if I shut the door of history-making to the max with all of the things that I've done all the way up until now
Q&A with Barry Hunter: Peterson is ready for Pacquiao, Khan, whoever
by Lem Satterfield
Jan 3rd, 2012
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RingTV.com caught up to Barry Hunter, the trainer of newly-crowned IBF/WBA junior welterweight titleholder Lamont Peterson, and he gave his thoughts on the fact that since beating Amir Khan, the 27-year-old Peterson (30-1-1, 15 KOs) has become a candidate to face RING No. 1-rated pound-for-pound fighter Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KOs).
Peterson, who earned $650,000 to Khan's $1.1 million, is reported to be under consideration along with other options for Pacquiao, which include a fourth bout with Juan Manuel Marquez and bouts opposite WBO junior welterweight beltholder Tim Bradley or WBA junior middleweight titleholder Miguel Cotto.
Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, told RingTV.com that he sees Peterson as "a great opponent for Manny Pacquiao if the fight (with WBC welterweight titleholder Floyd Mayweather Jr.) does not happen."
Mayweather is facing a 90-day jail sentence that is slated to begin on Jan. 6, a development which threatens his announced plan to return to the ring on May 5 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Many have speculated his opponent was intended to be Pacquiao.
Rated No. 2 in his division by THE RING, Peterson appeared on an edition of NBC's Washington, D.C.-based news broadcast and declared himself "ready to go" if called upon to face Pacquiao.
Peterson has been offered a career-high $1 million by Golden Boy Promotions for a rematch with Khan, who has cited poor officiating and scorecard descrepancies among the reasons he has appealed to the IBF and the WBA to overturn Peterson's victory or else to order an immediate rematch.
Hunter said Peterson is also considering a return bout with RING No. 8-rated pound-for-pound Bradley, owner of a unanimous decision over Peterson for the WBO belt in December of 2009.
RingTV.com: Your thoughts on how seriously Lamont is being considered as a potential opponent for Pacquiao?
Barry Hunter: Freddie Roach is a boxing guy, and I think that he's an honorable person. So I definitely have a lot or respect for the man and what he thinks. Michael Koncz? You know, I don't know him like I know Freddie.
But to be definitely spoken about and to be named with people like Manny Pacquiao the rest of these top of the line guys? You know, like Floyd. That tells you that you're a great fighter. So that's always an honor.
But when it comes down to fighting, and this is not speaking from one who is arrogant, but just from one who is very, very confident in what we do, I think that Lamont could fight any of them.
And I'm confident that he would do well with any of them. So, whatever that next step is as far as fighting is concerned, you know, I think that Lamont is ready for anybody.
khan vs peterson_10
RingTV.com: Is your perspective that they truly believe that he can go with Pacquiao or that he is an easy opponent for Pacquiao?
BH: I don't have no concern about that one way or another. A lot of people have been saying that we should have gotten beaten several times a long time ago. We weren't supposed to get this far.
But we've been underdogs for our entire career. So, as far as the odds are concerned, we're all right with the odds. We're not worried about the odds. Check out our history.
In all of the fights that we've every fought, we've had one loss, and we had one bad day. And I doubt very seriously that you'll see a day like that come again any time soon.
So, I'm happy with the position that we're in right now. But we're not satisfied. So regardless of what they believe, one way or another, we're ready for whatever is out there for us.
RingTV.com: Have you been contacted by anyone from the Pacquiao or Bradley camps?
BH: The Bradley camp, yes. Nobody else, really, thus far. We'll be talking about what our next possible move will be and give it some real thought. At this point, we've been trying to take it easy and take it all in.
I spoke to Bob Arum earlier about Bradley. But it really wasn't about Timmy really, it was more about congratulations for what we had done. Nothing official.
RingTV.com: Can you address your preference as to whether Lamont goes with a fight with Pacquiao or the rematches with Khan and/or Bradley?
BH: As far as Bradley is concerned, I think that the difference for us in that fight would be that we would win the fight. Lamont is much more mature now and he's much more comfortable than he was in that fight. As far as the stage of his career is concerned, that's No. 1 about Bradley.
No. 2, we had some problems with weight back then. Now, we have that under control.As far as Amir Khan is concerned, I think that he would try to be more aggressive, but I think that the outcome would be the same. As far as Manny is concerned, we approach fighters as people.
We don't see super stars, we see people. So Manny, to us, you have to respect him on the one hand. But on the same note, again, this is just a man. To me, I don't think that any fighter is insurmountable. I think that anybody can be beat. We've gotten beat before. Manny's gotten beat before. Khan's been beaten.
Everybody takes a loss once in a while. But nevertheless, going into a fight with Pacquiao, we would approach that fight no differently than any other fight that we've ever had. Whether he's 0-15, or, 8-15, or undefeated. We're going to go into the fight the same way -- as if we're fighting a world champion.
RingTV.com: Which of the three fights would be most appealing to you at this point -- Pacquiao, Khan or Bradley?
BH: You know, you're always going to base a lot of it on business, because, ast the end of the day, it's a business. But, any of those guys. We definitely want to fight Pacquiao. Of course, we do. Who wouldn't?
Of course, the money would be different. Plus, you know, if you are truly a warrior of the game, what better way to show that than to go out and to face the man who is supposed to be the best man in the business.
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RingTV.com: Since Lamont has acknowledged that Marquez is his favorite fighter, did he take anything away from Marquez's last performance against Pacquiao that he could use in a fight with Pacquiao?
BH: I didn't really sit down and talk to him in depth about that particular fight, but he has mentioned it to me as have several other people. But whenever we prepare for a fighter, be it a struggling opponent or a champion, we pretty much approach it the same way.
We go back and we look at the videos and we try to find their strengths, and we definitley try to uncover and exploit their weaknesses. At the end of the fight, with Marquez, we have a great deal of respect for Marquez also. Skillwise, I think that the man is a surgeon.
As gifted as Marquez is, we break it down just that same way, piece by piece. So whomever that person is, Manny or whomever, we will take our time, we'll dissect the video, and we'll look for tendancies in the particular fighter, and try to exploit their weaknesses.
RingTV.com: Did we see the best Lamont Peterson against Amir Khan?
BH: No. Lamont's abilities are so that he can make an adjustment to almost any fighter that he fights, No. 1. No. 2, the better the competition, the better Lamont is. In the case of going back to Bradley. I think that a few things happened in the Bradley fight that made us fight a certain way that particular night.
But I think that because of that fight, we're better. We've learned a lot since then.So definitely, we're looking forward to Lamont furthering his career down the line. Of course, Manny Pacquiao is the man right now. Even though I think that Floyd should still have that title.
Nevertheless, Manny Pacquiao is the man, and we would definitely like to fight Manny Pacquiao. There's always room for improvement because Lamont is still very young in the game. I think that the sky is the limit for him, because the man has so many different skill sets that he can bring to the table.
The thing is, one of his abilities is that Lamont is able to make adjustments so many times. I think that he can adapt to anybody. We've gone back since the Bradley fight and we've fixed some things. With his dedication to the sport, if he does what he's capable of doing, the sky is the limit for him.
by Lem Satterfield
Jan 3rd, 2012
0
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RingTV.com caught up to Barry Hunter, the trainer of newly-crowned IBF/WBA junior welterweight titleholder Lamont Peterson, and he gave his thoughts on the fact that since beating Amir Khan, the 27-year-old Peterson (30-1-1, 15 KOs) has become a candidate to face RING No. 1-rated pound-for-pound fighter Manny Pacquiao (54-3-2, 38 KOs).
Peterson, who earned $650,000 to Khan's $1.1 million, is reported to be under consideration along with other options for Pacquiao, which include a fourth bout with Juan Manuel Marquez and bouts opposite WBO junior welterweight beltholder Tim Bradley or WBA junior middleweight titleholder Miguel Cotto.
Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, told RingTV.com that he sees Peterson as "a great opponent for Manny Pacquiao if the fight (with WBC welterweight titleholder Floyd Mayweather Jr.) does not happen."
Mayweather is facing a 90-day jail sentence that is slated to begin on Jan. 6, a development which threatens his announced plan to return to the ring on May 5 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Many have speculated his opponent was intended to be Pacquiao.
Rated No. 2 in his division by THE RING, Peterson appeared on an edition of NBC's Washington, D.C.-based news broadcast and declared himself "ready to go" if called upon to face Pacquiao.
Peterson has been offered a career-high $1 million by Golden Boy Promotions for a rematch with Khan, who has cited poor officiating and scorecard descrepancies among the reasons he has appealed to the IBF and the WBA to overturn Peterson's victory or else to order an immediate rematch.
Hunter said Peterson is also considering a return bout with RING No. 8-rated pound-for-pound Bradley, owner of a unanimous decision over Peterson for the WBO belt in December of 2009.
RingTV.com: Your thoughts on how seriously Lamont is being considered as a potential opponent for Pacquiao?
Barry Hunter: Freddie Roach is a boxing guy, and I think that he's an honorable person. So I definitely have a lot or respect for the man and what he thinks. Michael Koncz? You know, I don't know him like I know Freddie.
But to be definitely spoken about and to be named with people like Manny Pacquiao the rest of these top of the line guys? You know, like Floyd. That tells you that you're a great fighter. So that's always an honor.
But when it comes down to fighting, and this is not speaking from one who is arrogant, but just from one who is very, very confident in what we do, I think that Lamont could fight any of them.
And I'm confident that he would do well with any of them. So, whatever that next step is as far as fighting is concerned, you know, I think that Lamont is ready for anybody.
khan vs peterson_10
RingTV.com: Is your perspective that they truly believe that he can go with Pacquiao or that he is an easy opponent for Pacquiao?
BH: I don't have no concern about that one way or another. A lot of people have been saying that we should have gotten beaten several times a long time ago. We weren't supposed to get this far.
But we've been underdogs for our entire career. So, as far as the odds are concerned, we're all right with the odds. We're not worried about the odds. Check out our history.
In all of the fights that we've every fought, we've had one loss, and we had one bad day. And I doubt very seriously that you'll see a day like that come again any time soon.
So, I'm happy with the position that we're in right now. But we're not satisfied. So regardless of what they believe, one way or another, we're ready for whatever is out there for us.
RingTV.com: Have you been contacted by anyone from the Pacquiao or Bradley camps?
BH: The Bradley camp, yes. Nobody else, really, thus far. We'll be talking about what our next possible move will be and give it some real thought. At this point, we've been trying to take it easy and take it all in.
I spoke to Bob Arum earlier about Bradley. But it really wasn't about Timmy really, it was more about congratulations for what we had done. Nothing official.
RingTV.com: Can you address your preference as to whether Lamont goes with a fight with Pacquiao or the rematches with Khan and/or Bradley?
BH: As far as Bradley is concerned, I think that the difference for us in that fight would be that we would win the fight. Lamont is much more mature now and he's much more comfortable than he was in that fight. As far as the stage of his career is concerned, that's No. 1 about Bradley.
No. 2, we had some problems with weight back then. Now, we have that under control.As far as Amir Khan is concerned, I think that he would try to be more aggressive, but I think that the outcome would be the same. As far as Manny is concerned, we approach fighters as people.
We don't see super stars, we see people. So Manny, to us, you have to respect him on the one hand. But on the same note, again, this is just a man. To me, I don't think that any fighter is insurmountable. I think that anybody can be beat. We've gotten beat before. Manny's gotten beat before. Khan's been beaten.
Everybody takes a loss once in a while. But nevertheless, going into a fight with Pacquiao, we would approach that fight no differently than any other fight that we've ever had. Whether he's 0-15, or, 8-15, or undefeated. We're going to go into the fight the same way -- as if we're fighting a world champion.
RingTV.com: Which of the three fights would be most appealing to you at this point -- Pacquiao, Khan or Bradley?
BH: You know, you're always going to base a lot of it on business, because, ast the end of the day, it's a business. But, any of those guys. We definitely want to fight Pacquiao. Of course, we do. Who wouldn't?
Of course, the money would be different. Plus, you know, if you are truly a warrior of the game, what better way to show that than to go out and to face the man who is supposed to be the best man in the business.
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RingTV.com: Since Lamont has acknowledged that Marquez is his favorite fighter, did he take anything away from Marquez's last performance against Pacquiao that he could use in a fight with Pacquiao?
BH: I didn't really sit down and talk to him in depth about that particular fight, but he has mentioned it to me as have several other people. But whenever we prepare for a fighter, be it a struggling opponent or a champion, we pretty much approach it the same way.
We go back and we look at the videos and we try to find their strengths, and we definitley try to uncover and exploit their weaknesses. At the end of the fight, with Marquez, we have a great deal of respect for Marquez also. Skillwise, I think that the man is a surgeon.
As gifted as Marquez is, we break it down just that same way, piece by piece. So whomever that person is, Manny or whomever, we will take our time, we'll dissect the video, and we'll look for tendancies in the particular fighter, and try to exploit their weaknesses.
RingTV.com: Did we see the best Lamont Peterson against Amir Khan?
BH: No. Lamont's abilities are so that he can make an adjustment to almost any fighter that he fights, No. 1. No. 2, the better the competition, the better Lamont is. In the case of going back to Bradley. I think that a few things happened in the Bradley fight that made us fight a certain way that particular night.
But I think that because of that fight, we're better. We've learned a lot since then.So definitely, we're looking forward to Lamont furthering his career down the line. Of course, Manny Pacquiao is the man right now. Even though I think that Floyd should still have that title.
Nevertheless, Manny Pacquiao is the man, and we would definitely like to fight Manny Pacquiao. There's always room for improvement because Lamont is still very young in the game. I think that the sky is the limit for him, because the man has so many different skill sets that he can bring to the table.
The thing is, one of his abilities is that Lamont is able to make adjustments so many times. I think that he can adapt to anybody. We've gone back since the Bradley fight and we've fixed some things. With his dedication to the sport, if he does what he's capable of doing, the sky is the limit for him.
Arum: Pacquiao won’t be ready to fight until the summer
By Chris Williams: Manny Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum wasn’t impressed with the news today that Floyd Mayweather Jr. won’t be starting his 90 day jail term until June 1st.
Instead of jumping for joy at the news so that he could match his gravy train fighter Pacquiao up with Mayweather on May 5th, which is when Mayweather wants to fight next, Arum responded by saying this to mlive.com “I don’t think it has any impact. No impact at all. Manny isn’t going to be ready to fight until the summertime.”
This comes after Arum had already been talking about matching Pacquiao up with one of the following fighters in May: Timothy Bradley, Juan Manuel Marquez, Lamont Peterson and Miguel Cotto.
So why has Arum suddenly changed his mind about having Pacquiao fight in May? Your guess is good as mine. It sure doesn’t look like Arum is interested in matching Pacquiao up with Mayweather, does it? Arum had the chance to put Pacquiao in with Mayweather in 2010 when the two fighters came close to putting a fight together. However, Pacquiao wanted a 24 day cut off for the random drug testing and Arum quickly ended the negotiations to match Pacquiao up with one of his Top Rank stable fighters Joshua Clottey instead for one of the lowest pay per view fights for Pacquiao in years.
It sounds like Arum doesn’t want to lose his cash cow Pacquiao by putting him in with Mayweather and seeing him lose. This really isn’t a big deal. Arum hasn’t let another one of his fighters WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight Sergio Martinez. He also hasn’t put another one of his fighters WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto with any dangerous threats since he was stomped by Pacquiao three years ago. You haven’t seen Cotto in with any of the dangerous top contenders like James Kirkland, Erislandy Lara or Alfredo Angulo. Instead, it’s been Ricardo Mayorga, Yuri Foreman and Antonio Margarito, which equals to Cotto being matched against an old guy and two injured aging guys.
So it looks like Arum is going to delay Pacquiao’s next fight until summer now instead of putting him in for a fight in April or May like what was thought. That’s kind of sad.
As for Mayweather, he’ll likely now face WBC junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez in what will clearly eclipse any fight that Arum puts Pacquiao in for his next bout. Mayweather is his own boss and chooses his own opponents. He selects the best and Alvarez is clearly a huge talent a big name fighter in Mexico. I think it’ll be a great fight. As for a future Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen because I don’t think Arum will change his tune come November. I see Pacquiao being busy at that time as well probably facing one of Arum’s Top Rank stable fighters like Cotto or Bradley.
By Chris Williams: Manny Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum wasn’t impressed with the news today that Floyd Mayweather Jr. won’t be starting his 90 day jail term until June 1st.
Instead of jumping for joy at the news so that he could match his gravy train fighter Pacquiao up with Mayweather on May 5th, which is when Mayweather wants to fight next, Arum responded by saying this to mlive.com “I don’t think it has any impact. No impact at all. Manny isn’t going to be ready to fight until the summertime.”
This comes after Arum had already been talking about matching Pacquiao up with one of the following fighters in May: Timothy Bradley, Juan Manuel Marquez, Lamont Peterson and Miguel Cotto.
So why has Arum suddenly changed his mind about having Pacquiao fight in May? Your guess is good as mine. It sure doesn’t look like Arum is interested in matching Pacquiao up with Mayweather, does it? Arum had the chance to put Pacquiao in with Mayweather in 2010 when the two fighters came close to putting a fight together. However, Pacquiao wanted a 24 day cut off for the random drug testing and Arum quickly ended the negotiations to match Pacquiao up with one of his Top Rank stable fighters Joshua Clottey instead for one of the lowest pay per view fights for Pacquiao in years.
It sounds like Arum doesn’t want to lose his cash cow Pacquiao by putting him in with Mayweather and seeing him lose. This really isn’t a big deal. Arum hasn’t let another one of his fighters WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight Sergio Martinez. He also hasn’t put another one of his fighters WBA junior middleweight champion Miguel Cotto with any dangerous threats since he was stomped by Pacquiao three years ago. You haven’t seen Cotto in with any of the dangerous top contenders like James Kirkland, Erislandy Lara or Alfredo Angulo. Instead, it’s been Ricardo Mayorga, Yuri Foreman and Antonio Margarito, which equals to Cotto being matched against an old guy and two injured aging guys.
So it looks like Arum is going to delay Pacquiao’s next fight until summer now instead of putting him in for a fight in April or May like what was thought. That’s kind of sad.
As for Mayweather, he’ll likely now face WBC junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez in what will clearly eclipse any fight that Arum puts Pacquiao in for his next bout. Mayweather is his own boss and chooses his own opponents. He selects the best and Alvarez is clearly a huge talent a big name fighter in Mexico. I think it’ll be a great fight. As for a future Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen because I don’t think Arum will change his tune come November. I see Pacquiao being busy at that time as well probably facing one of Arum’s Top Rank stable fighters like Cotto or Bradley.
The WBA investigating Khan mystery man complaints, will respond within 24 hours
January 6th, 2012
By William Mackay: World Boxing Association vice president Gilberto Jesus Mendoza reportedly is looking into former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan’s twitter complaints about a mystery man seen talking with one of the judges during the Khan vs. Lamont Peterson bout last December at ringside in Washington, DC.
Khan is crying foul and sees something sinister in all of this in terms of the judges’ scorecards and feels that he should be made the winner of the fight. The presence of the mystery man wearing a hat could be just what Khan needed for him to either get his loss overturned with him given a win, a no contest or have the WBA and IBF order an immediate rematch with Peterson. Peterson is already leaning in the direction of giving Khan an immediate rematch anyway, as he’s not likely to get the big money fight that he’s been wanting against WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao and other than that fight, Khan is the biggest payday out there for him.
But the IBF or WBA could even go further by erasing Peterson’s win, which would be a black eye for boxing because he fought well enough to deserve the win and he wasn’t fouling all night like Khan was.
Khan has had a hard time accepting his defeat and doesn’t recognize that he did anything wrong by shoving Peterson throughout the fight to escape his inside pressure. The referee took two points away from Khan for his repeated shoving, although he didn’t take any points away from him for what appeared to be a bigger problem with Khan grabbing Peterson’s head and pulling down on it on a frequent basis. The referee also gave Khan credit for a knockdown in the 1st where Khan didn’t land a punch. Khan shoved Peterson to the canvas with an elbow and the referee scored it a knockdown.
Incredibly, Khan has no problems with getting credit for that knockdown, and he also thinks he should have gotten credit for a slip earlier in the round where Peterson tripped over one of referee Joe Cooper’s legs while backing up. It seems Khan complains when it benefits him but fails to see the things he did wrong in the fight. The knockdown was bogus, and Khan’s problems with fouling Peterson were very real. He’s got to learn how to fight without shoving, pulling down on his opponents’ heads and grabbing then in headlocks.
January 6th, 2012
By William Mackay: World Boxing Association vice president Gilberto Jesus Mendoza reportedly is looking into former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan’s twitter complaints about a mystery man seen talking with one of the judges during the Khan vs. Lamont Peterson bout last December at ringside in Washington, DC.
Khan is crying foul and sees something sinister in all of this in terms of the judges’ scorecards and feels that he should be made the winner of the fight. The presence of the mystery man wearing a hat could be just what Khan needed for him to either get his loss overturned with him given a win, a no contest or have the WBA and IBF order an immediate rematch with Peterson. Peterson is already leaning in the direction of giving Khan an immediate rematch anyway, as he’s not likely to get the big money fight that he’s been wanting against WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao and other than that fight, Khan is the biggest payday out there for him.
But the IBF or WBA could even go further by erasing Peterson’s win, which would be a black eye for boxing because he fought well enough to deserve the win and he wasn’t fouling all night like Khan was.
Khan has had a hard time accepting his defeat and doesn’t recognize that he did anything wrong by shoving Peterson throughout the fight to escape his inside pressure. The referee took two points away from Khan for his repeated shoving, although he didn’t take any points away from him for what appeared to be a bigger problem with Khan grabbing Peterson’s head and pulling down on it on a frequent basis. The referee also gave Khan credit for a knockdown in the 1st where Khan didn’t land a punch. Khan shoved Peterson to the canvas with an elbow and the referee scored it a knockdown.
Incredibly, Khan has no problems with getting credit for that knockdown, and he also thinks he should have gotten credit for a slip earlier in the round where Peterson tripped over one of referee Joe Cooper’s legs while backing up. It seems Khan complains when it benefits him but fails to see the things he did wrong in the fight. The knockdown was bogus, and Khan’s problems with fouling Peterson were very real. He’s got to learn how to fight without shoving, pulling down on his opponents’ heads and grabbing then in headlocks.
Richardson: “The Golden Boy” Badr Hari possibly the next Pacquiao in the Heavyweight division?
January 6th, 2012
By Daniel Echevarria: For those not in the loop of the K-1 sport aka the Japanese Kick Boxing World , it lost two bright stars from the Netherlands in 2011 which were Alistair Overeem the new UFC Heavyweight Champion and none other than “ The Golden Boy” aka “The Bad Boy” Badr Hari.
World Class trainer Naseem Richardson the trainer for hall of fame fighters such as Bernard Hopkins and “Sugar Shane Mosley” has taken the K-1 Heavy Weight Champion Badr Hari under his wing with one ultimate goal he says “The Klitschkos”. Badr Hari was born December 8, 1984 in Amsterdam Netherlands standing 6Ft 5 1/2inches tall and 231.5 pounds, Hari is of Moroccan & Dutch decent and is also a former K-1 Heavyweight Champion 2007-2008 and a K-1 World Grand Prix Finalist.
As of May 2011 “The Golden Boy” was ranked the # 2 best Kick Boxing Heavy weight in the world and considered the most dangerous fighter in the Japanese K-1 division because of his lightning fast speed and devastating K.O. power even against larger opponents, Hari has been compared to a mix between Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson and in my opinion just as COCKY as Floyd Mayweather which is why he has been labeled “The Bad Boy” of the K-1 sport.
One of Hari’s most notable fights was a rematch with the current UFC Champion Alistair Overeem in which he told Overeem face to face “You will not last 3 minutes with me in a K-1 ring under K-1 rules” which he did prove in outstanding fashion against the much bigger Alistair Overeem in the first round by landing hard punch combinations to the body and a perfectly timed right hook to the chin that dropped the giant Overeem and finally an explosive kick to the face right after that sent the UFC champ flying back to the turnbuckle which sealed the deal for the win which had commentators and the audience alike screaming in excitement and on their feet in astonishment.
Back in September of 2011 Badr Hari made the announcement that he would be exiting K-1 Kick Boxing for a Pro boxing career with Naseem Richardson a world class trainer in the United States overseeing his training and career which was his (Hari) true desire from the beginning of his career. Naseem Richardson was quoted according to Fight Hype & Bloody Elbow.com saying “What won me over is he (Hari) said, “I don’t want to be top 10. I want to be the f***ing best.” He has the right mentality to do this s*** right here Richardson said. Richardson went on to say.” I remember when me and Freddie Roach was working together and Freddie told me when Manny Pacquiao walked through the door at Wild Card Gym, he said to himself, “That’s who I built this gym for.”Badr Hari could be that type of kid”.
Boxing Fans in my humble opinion the heavy weight division hasn’t been exciting since Mike Tyson and Don King and I encourage all of you to go to your favorite video sites like YOUTUBE and watch the highlights of “The Golden Boy” Badr Hari because the pro boxing heavy weight division is dull right now and can definitely use the excitement of someone fresh and exciting and new in 2012 to the Pro Boxing Heavy weight division.
If some of you reading believe it is so farfetched for a kick boxer to be a champion in pro boxing let me remind you of this! Originally Vitali Kltschko of the “Klitschko Brothers” was an amateur kick boxer before a pro-boxer and retired as recent as 1996, in 1992 he was knocked out in the finals of the European Kickboxing Championships then in 1993 and in 1994 he won and retained his ISKA World Super Heavyweight Kick boxing title and then by 1996 Vitali retired from kick boxing and turned to Pro Boxing and now has a record of 43-2 with an 88.89% K.O. rate and the best K.O. to fight ratio of any champion in heavy weight boxing history and has never been knocked down in any professional bout and the current WBC Champion twice.
So that being said time will tell if the new Golden Boy Badr Hari will have the same success in Pro Boxing as he clearly had in K-1 Kick Boxing under the care and training of World class trainer Naseem Richardson and if the Klitschkos stick around they themselves may be in big trouble from “The Moroccan Menace” himself that is Badr Hari.
January 6th, 2012
By Daniel Echevarria: For those not in the loop of the K-1 sport aka the Japanese Kick Boxing World , it lost two bright stars from the Netherlands in 2011 which were Alistair Overeem the new UFC Heavyweight Champion and none other than “ The Golden Boy” aka “The Bad Boy” Badr Hari.
World Class trainer Naseem Richardson the trainer for hall of fame fighters such as Bernard Hopkins and “Sugar Shane Mosley” has taken the K-1 Heavy Weight Champion Badr Hari under his wing with one ultimate goal he says “The Klitschkos”. Badr Hari was born December 8, 1984 in Amsterdam Netherlands standing 6Ft 5 1/2inches tall and 231.5 pounds, Hari is of Moroccan & Dutch decent and is also a former K-1 Heavyweight Champion 2007-2008 and a K-1 World Grand Prix Finalist.
As of May 2011 “The Golden Boy” was ranked the # 2 best Kick Boxing Heavy weight in the world and considered the most dangerous fighter in the Japanese K-1 division because of his lightning fast speed and devastating K.O. power even against larger opponents, Hari has been compared to a mix between Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson and in my opinion just as COCKY as Floyd Mayweather which is why he has been labeled “The Bad Boy” of the K-1 sport.
One of Hari’s most notable fights was a rematch with the current UFC Champion Alistair Overeem in which he told Overeem face to face “You will not last 3 minutes with me in a K-1 ring under K-1 rules” which he did prove in outstanding fashion against the much bigger Alistair Overeem in the first round by landing hard punch combinations to the body and a perfectly timed right hook to the chin that dropped the giant Overeem and finally an explosive kick to the face right after that sent the UFC champ flying back to the turnbuckle which sealed the deal for the win which had commentators and the audience alike screaming in excitement and on their feet in astonishment.
Back in September of 2011 Badr Hari made the announcement that he would be exiting K-1 Kick Boxing for a Pro boxing career with Naseem Richardson a world class trainer in the United States overseeing his training and career which was his (Hari) true desire from the beginning of his career. Naseem Richardson was quoted according to Fight Hype & Bloody Elbow.com saying “What won me over is he (Hari) said, “I don’t want to be top 10. I want to be the f***ing best.” He has the right mentality to do this s*** right here Richardson said. Richardson went on to say.” I remember when me and Freddie Roach was working together and Freddie told me when Manny Pacquiao walked through the door at Wild Card Gym, he said to himself, “That’s who I built this gym for.”Badr Hari could be that type of kid”.
Boxing Fans in my humble opinion the heavy weight division hasn’t been exciting since Mike Tyson and Don King and I encourage all of you to go to your favorite video sites like YOUTUBE and watch the highlights of “The Golden Boy” Badr Hari because the pro boxing heavy weight division is dull right now and can definitely use the excitement of someone fresh and exciting and new in 2012 to the Pro Boxing Heavy weight division.
If some of you reading believe it is so farfetched for a kick boxer to be a champion in pro boxing let me remind you of this! Originally Vitali Kltschko of the “Klitschko Brothers” was an amateur kick boxer before a pro-boxer and retired as recent as 1996, in 1992 he was knocked out in the finals of the European Kickboxing Championships then in 1993 and in 1994 he won and retained his ISKA World Super Heavyweight Kick boxing title and then by 1996 Vitali retired from kick boxing and turned to Pro Boxing and now has a record of 43-2 with an 88.89% K.O. rate and the best K.O. to fight ratio of any champion in heavy weight boxing history and has never been knocked down in any professional bout and the current WBC Champion twice.
So that being said time will tell if the new Golden Boy Badr Hari will have the same success in Pro Boxing as he clearly had in K-1 Kick Boxing under the care and training of World class trainer Naseem Richardson and if the Klitschkos stick around they themselves may be in big trouble from “The Moroccan Menace” himself that is Badr Hari.
Heavyweight Great Larry Holmes Says He “Feels Sorry” For Boxing Today
By James Slater: Strangely enough, back when all-time great Larry Holmes was plying his trade in the late ‘70s and early-to-mid 1980s, fans and experts were complaining how the heavyweight division was on its downside; that the great fighters had pretty much all gone. Holmes himself is still angry today over the way he failed, as he puts it “to get his just due.”
Today, however, fans would give anything to see a fighter like Holmes - and the guys he fought, such as Tim Witherspoon (a great battle), Earnie Shavers, Mike Weaver, etc - in action. In fact today, fans look back at Holmes’ era as a great era indeed. Larry himself sure does, and in a recent interview with Leighton Ginn of The Desert Sun, “The Easton Assassin” spoke of how bad the heavyweight division is today - to the extent that the man on the street no longer knows who the world heavyweight champion actually is!
“The Klitschko brothers aren’t carrying it [the sport],” Holmes said. “People are asking me every day, ‘Who’s the heavyweight champion?’ I don’t know. I feel sorry for boxing today because the heavyweight division carried boxing and the middleweights carried boxing. The only thing that’s carrying boxing now is the middleweight division, and people aren’t thinking about the other weight classes.”
Holmes went on to say how he feels boxing will “come back”, but that a “rising star is needed to take over boxing.” Larry may be guilty of over exaggerating as he claims the currently bad condition of boxing (as fans know, the Klitschko brothers are huge stars in all of Europe, where not only the heavyweight division but all of boxing currently thrives) but it’s hard to argue with him when he says that his era - and that of a few years before him, when Ali and Frazier were warring - was a very special time indeed.
Larry, like a number of U.S fans, seems despondent over the fact that America no longer plays a massive role in the heavyweight division. The “rising star” Holmes years for is surely of American origin. But will America ever climb back to dominate the sport’s most important weight class the way it did for almost a hundred years? Looking around for upcoming U.S heavyweight prospects, only Seth Mitchell looks promising.
Holmes wants the fans he meets and greets to once again know who the world heavyweight champion is. The way the Klitschkos are dominating, he may have a long wait.
By James Slater: Strangely enough, back when all-time great Larry Holmes was plying his trade in the late ‘70s and early-to-mid 1980s, fans and experts were complaining how the heavyweight division was on its downside; that the great fighters had pretty much all gone. Holmes himself is still angry today over the way he failed, as he puts it “to get his just due.”
Today, however, fans would give anything to see a fighter like Holmes - and the guys he fought, such as Tim Witherspoon (a great battle), Earnie Shavers, Mike Weaver, etc - in action. In fact today, fans look back at Holmes’ era as a great era indeed. Larry himself sure does, and in a recent interview with Leighton Ginn of The Desert Sun, “The Easton Assassin” spoke of how bad the heavyweight division is today - to the extent that the man on the street no longer knows who the world heavyweight champion actually is!
“The Klitschko brothers aren’t carrying it [the sport],” Holmes said. “People are asking me every day, ‘Who’s the heavyweight champion?’ I don’t know. I feel sorry for boxing today because the heavyweight division carried boxing and the middleweights carried boxing. The only thing that’s carrying boxing now is the middleweight division, and people aren’t thinking about the other weight classes.”
Holmes went on to say how he feels boxing will “come back”, but that a “rising star is needed to take over boxing.” Larry may be guilty of over exaggerating as he claims the currently bad condition of boxing (as fans know, the Klitschko brothers are huge stars in all of Europe, where not only the heavyweight division but all of boxing currently thrives) but it’s hard to argue with him when he says that his era - and that of a few years before him, when Ali and Frazier were warring - was a very special time indeed.
Larry, like a number of U.S fans, seems despondent over the fact that America no longer plays a massive role in the heavyweight division. The “rising star” Holmes years for is surely of American origin. But will America ever climb back to dominate the sport’s most important weight class the way it did for almost a hundred years? Looking around for upcoming U.S heavyweight prospects, only Seth Mitchell looks promising.
Holmes wants the fans he meets and greets to once again know who the world heavyweight champion is. The way the Klitschkos are dominating, he may have a long wait.
