Boxing News Thread

[2-0-Sixx]

so why is he considering Marquez and may even still sit out the year and fight floyd next year? theory busted. jmm and obviously floyd are way bigger risks than fighting bradley again.

if the bradley fight doesn't happen it will be because arum doesn't think it will get as much money as those other fights. but with that said pac did say he wants bradley the most (besides floyd).

 

[2-0-Sixx]

You are all over the place with your comeback because you got caught up lying and trying to change history. Lol. At you keep on saying that Cotto busted up Mayweather by giving him a bloody nose, when infact a weight drained Cotto busted Manny's eardrum and messed his face up. Calm down Mr Mod with all the name calling. You mad because everything I have said about Manny for the past 3 years have been true. I know it hurts you soul that you been wrong all this time. But please stop trying to change history..

See you have absolutely no come back to any of my points. Total waste of time as usual.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Pacquiao tried to visit Mayweather in jail

In an interview with On The Ropes Radio, Mayweather Jr.'s father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., told On The Ropes Radio, "Pacquiao told me he wanted to see little Floyd, when little Floyd was in jail. Pacquiao did, right in front of the Top Rank gym."

The elder Mayweather didn't know if he could get Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KO) into the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas, where Mayweather Jr. (43-0, 26 KO) was serving his time, as he didn't even know if he could get in himself.

Mayweather Sr. went on to say, “He said he did not know if he could get in or not, and I told him I did not know if I could get in either. So that was the last time I seen Pacquiao."

The news of Pacquiao's desire to meet with Mayweather in his darkest times is a huge development in the possibility of the two P4P greats meeting in the ring in the future.

Mayweather Jr. and Pacquiao may have a newfound respect for each other after the recent news. That could play a big role in finally getting the fight the world has wanted to see over the past few years signed.

Even though Pacquiao may not have been able to see Mayweather Jr. in jail, he may finally get to meet the five-division champ in the ring, the one place they have been destined to meet.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Floyd Mayweather: Pacquiao is an Unbelievable Fighter

WBA junior middleweight king Floyd Mayweather Jr. got his freedom back after being released from a Las Vegas jail last Friday following a 2 month stay for a dometic abuse charge. The boxing champion had not granted any interviews since his release, but PopStopTV was lucky enough to chat with him on the red carpet at the Los Angeles premiere of 50 Cent's new movie Freelancers.

Floyd kept his answers brief because he didn't want to steal the spotlight away from 50, but he did comment on 50's success in movies, Manny Pacquiao and gave some advice to kids who wanted to follow in his footsteps. Mayweather and 50 recently started their promotional company, TMT Promotions.

"I'm always gonna support my friend 50 Cent. He's a great guy," Floyd said. "In the music industry he's done some record breaking things and I think he can do it also in the movie industry."

Floyd said that kids wanting to duplicate his success need to dedicate themselves and believe.

"Don't worry about failure," he said. "If you fall get right back up and keep striving for the best."

Regarding a Manny Pacquiao fight, Floyd had nice things to say about the Filipino boxer.

"I think Pacquiao's an unbelievable fighter and hopefully we can make the fight happen in the future."

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Because Pacquiao doesn't want to lose again to Bradley, they're looking for an opponent that they know Manny can beat and look good doing it.

Further, Arum & Pac met a couple days ago to decide on the opponent, the meeting ended with no decision. "Bob Arum is currently trying to convince Manny Pacquiao to lock horns with either Miguel Cotto or Juan Manuel Marquez. However, the Filipino pound-for-pound king is more eager towards facing Timothy Bradley in a title rematch on November 10." "Pacquiao has already promised his fans that he will bring the title back home and so he wants Bradley." http://blogs.bettor.com/Manny-Pacqu...ing-ends-with-no-decision-Boxing-News-a179641

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Ooooo sweet card right here...


Mares-Moreno, Abril-Bogere, Russell Jr., Olympians eyed for Oct. 13

A defense by WBC junior featherweight beltholder Abner Mares against rising southpaw WBA bantamweight titleholder Anselmo Moreno, a WBO lightweight title bout matching Richard Abril and unbeaten Ugandan Sharif Bogere and an appearance by undefeated featherweight prospect Gary Russell Jr. are planned for a Showtime-televised boxing weekend on Oct. 13-14 from The Mandalay Bay Hotel.

After the professional bouts on Saturday night, the venue could also include the pro debuts on Sunday of standout boxers from the 2012 Summer Olympic Games to be aired live on the CBS television network in the afternoon, following an NFL game, according to Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer.

"Sunday, obviously being a CBS network date from 3-to-4 p.m. Eastern Time, which is going to be following a CBS NFL football game as a lead-in," said Schaefer of an agreement between Golden Boy and Showtime Sports and CBS Sports.

"It's going to be right after that where some of our young, emerging fighters will be showcased and will have the opportunity to have their stories told to millions and millions of sports fans which regularly tune in to watch the NFL. It's going to be combined with Oct. 13, which is a boxing celebration, so-to-speak."



A 26-year-old Mexican-born fighter from Montebello, Calif., Mares (24-0-1, 13 knockouts) will try to end a 27-bout winning streak that includes 10 knockouts for Moreno (33-1, 12 KOs), who turned 27 in June.

With a decision over Eric Morel in April, Mares won the WBC belt during his debut in the weight class. On the Mares-Morel undercard, Moreno scored a ninth-round knockout of David De La Mora.

"We are in the process of finalizing Abner Mares versus Anselmo Moreno," said Schaefer. "We have not finalized it yet, and it's not 100 percent done, but it looks good."

A Cuban-born fighter living in Miami, Abril (17-3-1, 8 KOs), who is 30, is coming off a disputed split-decision loss to former lightweight titleholder Brandon Rios (30-0-1, 22 KOs) in April. Bogere (23-0, 15 KOs), who turns 24 on Oct. 8, is after his fourth straight knockout and is coming off a second-round stoppage of Manuel Leyva in June.


Russell Jr. (20-0, 12 KOs), who turned 24 in June, is out of of Capitol Heights, Md., and is coming off June's third-round stoppage of Chris Perez of Mexico.

"The idea would be to have Gary Russell on the card," said Schaefer. "Along with that, possibly as well, a WBO world title fight between Richard Abril and Sharif Bogere."

Schaefer was at the Olympic Games in London, where he observed the boxing tournament which begins on July 28 and the games ended on Aug. 12. There, Schaefer scouted the men and women representing the United States as well as other countries.

Schaefer said he has decided on several Olympians from varying countries, both men and women, including those who did not win medals.

"We are looking at a handful of fighters, one of them from the United Kingdom, one of them from New Mexico, one of them from Puerto Rico and a couple of them from the United States. Our plan is to really create a dream team of Olympians, whether they were medal winners or didn't win medals. I'm not so worried about that. What happens is that sometimes, even when they medal, and they turn pro, they just don't have the style to succeed as a pro," said Schaefer.

"Some of them who didn't medal have a better style in the pros. Led by [Golden Boy President] Oscar [De La Hoya] and our matchmakers, we kept a keen eye on the tournament, and looked on whom we felt would fit very well in the pro ranks, and we've identified five or six fighters and we'll pursue them in the coming weeks. We were impressed by the female American and some of the British as well, and we'll see to what extent we'll get involved there."

Schaefer has targeted former three-division titleholder Miguel Cotto (37-3, 30 knockouts) for Dec. 1 at Madison Square Garden.

Cotto is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Floyd Mayweather in May that ended his winning streak of three consecutive knockouts. Mayweather-Cotto was promoted by Golden Boy, Mayweather Promotions and Miguel Cotto Promotions.

In addition, Schaefer said former IBF and WBA beltholder Amir Khan (26-3, 18 KOs) is expected to return to the ring on either Dec. 8 or Dec. 15 at a site and against an opponent to be determined. Khan is coming off of losses to Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia by split-decision and fourth-round knockout in December and on July 14, respectively.

Photo by Tom Casino, Showtime

Photo by Naoki Fukuda

Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]

Ring TV​

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Ooooo sweet card right here...

EDIT:
dammit, just realized this is the same night as Donaire-Noshioka and Rois-Mike Alvarado. Great card by Golden Boy but this is twice now in recent months they are putting on shows on the same night as other great fights. Oh well I'll just watch the replay of one of them (not sure which one yet).


Mares-Moreno, Abril-Bogere, Russell Jr., Olympians eyed for Oct. 13

A defense by WBC junior featherweight beltholder Abner Mares against rising southpaw WBA bantamweight titleholder Anselmo Moreno, a WBO lightweight title bout matching Richard Abril and unbeaten Ugandan Sharif Bogere and an appearance by undefeated featherweight prospect Gary Russell Jr. are planned for a Showtime-televised boxing weekend on Oct. 13-14 from The Mandalay Bay Hotel.

After the professional bouts on Saturday night, the venue could also include the pro debuts on Sunday of standout boxers from the 2012 Summer Olympic Games to be aired live on the CBS television network in the afternoon, following an NFL game, according to Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer.

"Sunday, obviously being a CBS network date from 3-to-4 p.m. Eastern Time, which is going to be following a CBS NFL football game as a lead-in," said Schaefer of an agreement between Golden Boy and Showtime Sports and CBS Sports.

"It's going to be right after that where some of our young, emerging fighters will be showcased and will have the opportunity to have their stories told to millions and millions of sports fans which regularly tune in to watch the NFL. It's going to be combined with Oct. 13, which is a boxing celebration, so-to-speak."



A 26-year-old Mexican-born fighter from Montebello, Calif., Mares (24-0-1, 13 knockouts) will try to end a 27-bout winning streak that includes 10 knockouts for Moreno (33-1, 12 KOs), who turned 27 in June.

With a decision over Eric Morel in April, Mares won the WBC belt during his debut in the weight class. On the Mares-Morel undercard, Moreno scored a ninth-round knockout of David De La Mora.

"We are in the process of finalizing Abner Mares versus Anselmo Moreno," said Schaefer. "We have not finalized it yet, and it's not 100 percent done, but it looks good."

A Cuban-born fighter living in Miami, Abril (17-3-1, 8 KOs), who is 30, is coming off a disputed split-decision loss to former lightweight titleholder Brandon Rios (30-0-1, 22 KOs) in April. Bogere (23-0, 15 KOs), who turns 24 on Oct. 8, is after his fourth straight knockout and is coming off a second-round stoppage of Manuel Leyva in June.


Russell Jr. (20-0, 12 KOs), who turned 24 in June, is out of of Capitol Heights, Md., and is coming off June's third-round stoppage of Chris Perez of Mexico.

"The idea would be to have Gary Russell on the card," said Schaefer. "Along with that, possibly as well, a WBO world title fight between Richard Abril and Sharif Bogere."

Schaefer was at the Olympic Games in London, where he observed the boxing tournament which begins on July 28 and the games ended on Aug. 12. There, Schaefer scouted the men and women representing the United States as well as other countries.

Schaefer said he has decided on several Olympians from varying countries, both men and women, including those who did not win medals.

"We are looking at a handful of fighters, one of them from the United Kingdom, one of them from New Mexico, one of them from Puerto Rico and a couple of them from the United States. Our plan is to really create a dream team of Olympians, whether they were medal winners or didn't win medals. I'm not so worried about that. What happens is that sometimes, even when they medal, and they turn pro, they just don't have the style to succeed as a pro," said Schaefer.

"Some of them who didn't medal have a better style in the pros. Led by [Golden Boy President] Oscar [De La Hoya] and our matchmakers, we kept a keen eye on the tournament, and looked on whom we felt would fit very well in the pro ranks, and we've identified five or six fighters and we'll pursue them in the coming weeks. We were impressed by the female American and some of the British as well, and we'll see to what extent we'll get involved there."

Schaefer has targeted former three-division titleholder Miguel Cotto (37-3, 30 knockouts) for Dec. 1 at Madison Square Garden.

Cotto is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Floyd Mayweather in May that ended his winning streak of three consecutive knockouts. Mayweather-Cotto was promoted by Golden Boy, Mayweather Promotions and Miguel Cotto Promotions.

In addition, Schaefer said former IBF and WBA beltholder Amir Khan (26-3, 18 KOs) is expected to return to the ring on either Dec. 8 or Dec. 15 at a site and against an opponent to be determined. Khan is coming off of losses to Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia by split-decision and fourth-round knockout in December and on July 14, respectively.

Photo by Tom Casino, Showtime

Photo by Naoki Fukuda

Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]

Ring TV​

 

[heyzel]

Arum Says Pac-Bradley Rematch Unlikely, Says It Will Be Cotto Or Marquez On Nov. 10th – And Then A Mayweather Showdown Next April?
Published August 15, 2012 | By eastside | 9 Comments

By James Slater: According to Top Rank boss and promoter of superstar Manny Pacquiao, Tim Bradley is out of the running as far as Manny’s November 10th opponent goes. As quoted by The Manila Times, Arum said there is simply not enough fan interest in a Pacquiao-Bradley II, despite, or maybe because of, the controversial nature of the June 9th fight that Bradley somehow won via decision.

That fight generated 900,000 par-per-view hits, poor by Pacquiao’s standards, and now Arum says it will a rematch of another kind for Pac-Man on November 10th in Las Vegas: one with either archrival Juan Manuel Marquez (in what would be a fourth fight between the Filipino and Mexican legends) or one with Miguel Cotto (who Pacquiao stopped in the 12th and final round back in late 2009).

Whoever he chooses from the two great fighters on the short-list, Pacquiao’s fans are likely to be happy. Who doesn’t want to see another instalment of the Pacquiao-Marquez series (even if we kind of already have an idea of what will happen if “Dinamita” fails to score the KO)? The two future Hall of Famers have given us three excellent, quality fights so far, and there’s no reason to think a fourth fight would be a dud.

As for a Cotto return, many fans seem to think that if the Puerto Rican can get Manny into the ring at a higher weight than the one he faced him at in the previous encounter (and Arum has said he feels his fighter will agree to rematch Cotto at around the 150-pound mark, which is far better for Cotto than the 145-pound catch-weight limit the first fight had; even if Cotto has grown into a full light-middleweight since then), he will stand a real chance of getting revenge.

Some feel Pacquiao is on the slide, while Cotto impressed by pushing the sublime Floyd Mayweather Junior hard in his last fight back in May. And Cotto did push Pac-Man for the first four rounds of their 2009 meeting. Maybe a rematch would produce a real fire-fight?

Speaking of the recently released from prison Mayweather, Arum has gone on record as saying he is hopeful “Money” and Pac-Man will at last – at long last – meet next April. Arum says there have been “preliminary discussions” between the two camps and the results have been “encouraging.” (I know – we’ve been here before many times!)

Arum said the involvement of rapper-turned-promoter 50 Cent is a “positive sign “ towards the super-fight being made. Arum even has a date in mind for the fight the world has been waiting for since 2009 or earlier: April 20th. Better late than never, Pacquiao Vs. Mayweather still has a chance to become the richest fight in all of boxing. But if next April comes and goes and the fight either has not happened still or has not been signed, fans will have seen the last remaining ounces of their patience disappear for good.

Regarding the Nov. 10th fight for Pacquiao, Arum says a press tour will begin on September 3rd. Will it be Cotto or will it be Marquez? And what next for Tim Bradley now?

 

[heyzel]

De La Hoya: Alfredo Angulo is officially out; will be back in action at the end of this year


By Dan Ambrose:

Former junior middleweight contender Alfredo Angulo (20-2, 17 KO’s) was released earlier today from the El Centro Detention Center in El Centro, California after having been held for the past eight months due to an immigration problem.

Angulo’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya confirmed it on his twitter, saying “El Perro Angulo is officially out. Back in ring end of the year.”

It’s unclear, however, if Angulo will be able to fight in the United States when he does get back in the ring at the end of the year.

It would definitely hurt his visibility if he can only fight in Mexico, because that would mean he’d likely not be able to have his next fight televised in the United States if he can’t fight on one of Golden Boy Promotions’ Las Vegas based fights.

Angulo hasn’t fought since being destroyed by James Kirkland in 6th round TKO last November. Angulo knocked Kirkland down in the 1st round, but then gassed out while trying to finish him off. Unable to get his second wind, Angulo took a beating from the 2nd round to the 6th when the fight was finally halted. Kirkland isn’t known for having quick hands, but he looked blazing fast compared to the slow as molasses Angulo.

He really exposed Angulo in that fight and it was brutal.
It may not matter at this point what Angulo does, because it’s difficult to see him being able to compete against the best fighters in the junior middleweight division.

He’s probably too slow to compete against the best fighters like Erislandy Lara, Vanes Martirosyan, Saul Alvarez, Miguel Cotto, Austin Trout and Cornelius Bundrage.

That doesn’t mean that Angulo won’t get opportunities for a nice payday fights against some of the top guys, but it’s highly unlikely that he’ll be a factor in the division now.

There are certain guys Angulo can beat, but a whole bunch of them that he’d likely take another beating against. Golden Boy Promotions might want to consider cutting their losses at some point with Angulo once he gets beaten again.

 

[bigface]

Because Pacquiao doesn't want to lose again to Bradley, they're looking for an opponent that they know Manny can beat and look good doing it.

Plus add in them low PPV numbers that Top Rank refuse to release and Manny not going to fight Bradley. Top Rank wants Manny vs Cotto 2 and Marquez vs Bradley. With the winners fighting eachother April 2013 for more in-house money. I will beleive Manny is fighting Mayweather when Manny signs a contract. Same Top Rank games using Mayweather's name to sell there in-house fights.

 

[bigface]

See you have absolutely no come back to any of my points. Total waste of time as usual.

I have nothing to comeback from pimpin. You lost a long time ago I'm just slapping you and rest of the Manny fans around for fun now. It's sad listening to the last of the Manny bandwagoners still making excuses about why Manny can't fight Floyd, or why all his big wins are at a catch weight. Manny fans the only fans on earth that call random drug testing that both fighters will be taking negotiation roadblocks, and call the guy ask for testing a coward, but not the fighter Manny that refuses OSDT.

You and the rest of the Manny fans are a JOKE.. Now go cry me river about how Manny got out boxed by a 39 yr old 135lber in Marquez and Manny got his belt took by a two hurt legged 140lber in Bradley. The truth just hurts so bad don't it Mr. Double Talk..

 

[heyzel]

Robert Guerrero: I Can Outbox Cotto!


By Ryan Burton

Last month, Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero moved up two weight divisions to capture the interim WBC welterweight championship when he defeated Selcuk Aydin via unanimous decision.

BoxingScene recently spoke to Guerrero who is looking to possibly move up in weight again. Guerrero, who captured his first title in the featherweight division, would like to face Miguel Cotto in December and likes his chances versus the former WBA junior middleweight champion.

"I believe I have the speed and reach to outbox Cotto. Skills win fights not weight and I'll do it with no catch-weight or stipulations like a real throwback fighter would do," Guerrero told BoxingScene.

Cotto's team has Madison Square Garden reserved for his December 1st ring return. Guerrero said that he has no problem traveling to New York where Cotto has received tremendous support from his fellow Puerto Rican fans over the years. The Ghost has fought on the road before. He recaptured the IBF featherweight title when he traveled to Denmark and knocked out Spend Abazi in 2007.

"I absolutely would travel to New York. I went to Denmark on two weeks notice. Real fighters fight anywhere with no stipulations. I walk the walk not like these others so called pound for pound champions. It would be an honor to fight Cotto in New York City. It would be a great fight for the fans," concluded Guerrero.

***This guy has been screaming for big fights for years. He simply needs to continue grinding and he'll get an opportunity.***

 

[heyzel]

Josesito Lopez a bulked up 166.5 lbs for Saul Alvarez fight
August 15th, 2012

(Photo credit: Carlos Baeza/Thompson Boxing Promotions) By Dan Ambrose: with exactly one month to go before his September 15th fight against WBC junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez (40-0-1, 29 KO’s) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, WBC Silver welterweight champion Josesito Lopez (30-4, 18 KO’s) has bulked up from his normal fighting weight of 140 pounds and is 26 pounds heavier than that at 166.5 lbs.

That’s a lot of weight that the 27-year-old Lopez has packed on his frame in a really short period of time, and you have to wonder whether he’s going a bit overboard in putting on the weight. It’s one thing to pack on 10 pounds extra for a fight like this, put to go whole hog and eat/train your way to 166.5 in one training camp, that just seems foolish to me. Lopez doesn’t need all that useless weight, because it’s likely going to hurt him instead of helping him.

The extra weight will get in his way when he’s forced to fight past the 6th round. It’ll also hurt him in hindering his ability to move around the ring. Lopez’s mobility was one of his biggest advantages that he had when fighting at light welterweight, but it’s unlikely he’ll be able to move well at 154 if he’s going to be fighting over 160 for the fight.

Lopez is a decent puncher, but not someone in the class of Alvarez in the power department. Putting on weight won’t likely help Lopez in hitting harder with his shots. He will won’t be able to stand in front of Alvarez and match him shot for shot. That’s not going to work for him. Lopez has to do what brought him to this point by being able to move and box against the stronger Alvarez. If Lopez tries to match Alvarez power shot for power shot, Lopez is going to end up getting hurt and beaten up in this fight.

 

[heyzel]

Post Olympics: Women’s Boxing Set To Flourish With Major London Event In 2013
Published August 15, 2012 | By eastside | Leave a comment

Great Britain’s Nicola Adams, Ireland’s Katie Taylor and America’s Claressa Shields may have won Gold at the London 2012 Olympics, however all the Women that took part deserve some of the glory and recognition for the part they played.

Each and every female boxer that took part in this historic event shone brightly, they proved without doubt that Women’s Boxing is just as competitive and exciting as those of their male counterparts.

Things may look rosy at this time, everyone is high on the stunning debut of Women’s Boxing at the Olympics, but just how long will this last before the excitement we all felt, as we watched Nicola, Katie and Claressa fight their way to Gold, becomes just a faded memory.

The natural progression for any of the male boxers taking part in the Olympics is a lucrative promotional deal with Frank Warren, Eddie Hearn or Frank Maloney, however with the British Boxing hierarchy’s attitude towards Women’s Boxing this may not be an avenue open to Nicola Adams, Natasha Jonas and Savannah Marshall, unless that is they fight abroad like the current crop of British female pro Boxers.

British pro Boxer, and coach at the TRAD TKO gym in Canning Town, Marianne Marston may just prove to be the White Knight that Women’s Professional Boxing has been waiting for.

Marianne – who was discovered by legendary Heavyweight Champion of the World Smokin’ Joe Frazier, and trained by Joe and his son Marvis at their landmark gym in North Philadelphia until it closed in ‘08 – is already well known for her campaigning for the Women’s Boxing cause through the media, as well as encouraging Women into the sport through her highly successful London based Women’s Boxing Classes.

But what a lot of people don’t know is that Marianne has also been highly active in her attempts to bring a World significant Women’s Boxing event to the UK.

It hasn’t been an easy journey, in mid 2011 Marianne, along with father and daughter promoting team Steve and Olivia Goodwin, proposed an all female event to the BBBofC.

The event, which was to feature three Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA) Championship bouts, was turned down on the basis that the BBBofC do not recognise the WIBA, or come to that any of the Female Championship Boxing organisations.

Not to be deterred Marianne continued in her quest, and as she explains it finally seems set to happen early in 2013.

“Firstly I have to congratulate Nicola, Katie and Claressa for their winning the first Olympic Women’s Boxing Gold medals.

They all fought brilliantly, they did the sport proud, as did all the girls that took part, now it’s time to truly establish Women’s Boxing here in the UK.

100 years ago they said Women couldn’t be doctors, or lawyers, or vote.

30 years ago they said Women weren’t capable of running a marathon.

This year we have proved everyone wrong who said Women couldn’t box.

Nicola, Katie, Claressa and all the female Boxers at London 2012 have proved to the World that Women can fight just as well as the men, and, just as important that there is an appetite and an audience for Women’s Boxing.

So now we’re coming for all those in the World of Professional Boxing who have tried to stop Women from competing here in the UK. You know who you are, and you have no excuses left.”

With her frustrations well and truly vented Marianne then continued, “After the board (BBBofC) refused to sanction the event in 2011, I had no intention of giving up, I’m not a quitter.

First I contacted World Boxing Federation President, Howard Goldberg.

I particularly wanted to work with the WBF after noticing on BoxRec that most of the #1 ranked girls, people like Zita Zatyko, Christina Hammer, Anne Sophie Mathis, were all WBF Champions

I then had a chat with promoter Miranda Carter to see if she would be interested in promoting the event.

Miranda’s great, she’s always been a big supporter of Women’s Boxing and regularly has a female fight on her shows.

Once Howard and Miranda were on board I contacted another big supporter of Women’s Boxing, Bruce Baker, Chairman of the PBPA (Professional Boxing Promoters Association).

I particularly wanted to work with Bruce as I had found out that the Masters titles were originally created to female fighters, so that they could have a domestic title to fight for.

All went well and it was decided to aim for October this year, however after discussions with potential sponsors earlier this year, it soon became clear that we would be better off aiming at early 2013, as many of the companies we approached said that their current budget had been decimated by the Olympics.

This delay actually may have done us a big favour, the original concept was we would be promoting an all female show headlined by a World title or two, but what we have now is a totally different concept.

Howard is particularly proud that the WBF Female World Champions are highly ranked, most the World #1 of their division, and those that aren’t #1 are all ranked in the top 5.

Because of this we decided to make this a truly World significant annual event, and created the WBF Women’s World Boxing Championships.

It’s getting quite exciting, we’ve got the website up, facebook and twitter accounts and WBF European coordinator Olaf Schroeder already has the basis of a provisional card in place.

There will be a minimum of four World Championship bouts, supported by a WBF International title fight, an International Masters title fight and two special Challenge Cup bouts.

It’s going be truly international, we’ll have German pair Christina Hammer and Ramona Kuehne, as well as Hungary’s Zita Zatyko defending their World titles.

Maria Lindberg will be challenging for the vacant Light Middle World title, probably against fellow Swede Mikaela Lauren.

We’re also hoping to get Holly Holm versus Anne Sophie Mathis. It would be awesome to host the trilogy fight here in London.

Their first two fights were stormers. Anne Sophie won the first and Holly the second, both were fought in America, but I can’t see why the American’s should get all the good fights, let’s have the decider on neutral ground right here in London.

We have Juliette Winter and New York based Suszannah Warner fighting for the vacant WBF International Flyweight title.

My TRAD TKO gym mate, former World #2 Amateur, Areti Mastrodouka will fight Kristine Shergold for the International Masters Super Featherweight title. Last time this pair met they bought the house down, it was fight of the night.

We couldn’t put on a show on here without having Angel McKenzie on it, she’s great and has helped me so much since I’ve been back in the UK.

Angel will be fighting one of the special Challenge Cup bouts, and I’ll be fighting for the other.

Going back to the Olympics for a second, It would be great to have at least one of the girls that competed on the show. Obviously we’d really love it to be Nicola, Katie or Claressa, but in all honesty all the girls were brilliant, it would be great to have one or two come and compete at this event as well.

With such a lineup I’m sure we’ll easily fill the ExCel to capacity, just as the girls did during the Olympics, it will be electric, I can’t wait.”

The date for the first World Boxing Federation Women’s World Boxing Championships 2013 is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

 

[heyzel]

LAMONT PETERSON: "MARQUEZ...THAT'S THE PERSON I WOULD WANT TO FIGHT THE MOST"
By Percy Crawford | August 16, 2012

"Anybody is good with me because there are a lot of fighters at the top. There is really nobody in the division you can put your finger on and say he is the best, and that's taking me out of the equation. To me, I look at Marquez at being the best 140-pounder now, so that's the person I would want to fight the most. But any guy at the top, I will fight them. I don't have no picks. I think I will match up well against any of them and I'm willing to fight any of them," stated IBF jr. welterweight champion Lamont Peterson, who talked about his future plans when he returns to the ring, including a potential clash with Zab Judah and much more. Check it out!

PC: I know it has been a tough couple of months. How have you been?

LP: I'm doing good, man. I'm on my way to my second workout today. I've just been taking it easy chillin', man, and just happy I will be fighting in the near future.

PC: Barry told me you have trained straight through this process. Mentally, was it tough going back to the gym knowing you couldn't fight, or was that your getaway?

LP: That was my getaway. Every time I go to the gym, I forget about everything else. We laugh and joke around in the gym, and just being around the sport that I love and the people that I love, it helped me out a lot.

PC: I don't want to dwell on the negative too much, but were you reading some of the things people were saying about you, and if so, how did you keep it together?

LP: I pretty much read most of it. The first week, it kind of got to me, and then after that, I had a talk with myself and knowing that I didn't do anything wrong and knowing the truth was going to come out, I didn't let it bother me. People were saying a lot of things that wasn't true, and I knew they weren't true, so I tried not to worry about it.

PC: I spoke to several people and they said you were the most honest fighter they know. When you have people go to bat for you like that, does that help the process at all?

LP: It means a lot. A lot of people stepped up; people that really know me. Anybody that really knows me knows that I wouldn't do it. I know a lot of times, people do a lot of things that shock you, but anybody who really knows me knows that I wouldn't do it and I appreciate all of the people that came out and spoke out and stepped up for me. I appreciate it. It did make me feel good and made me get my mind off of the negative stuff.

PC: The IBF let you keep the title and didn't strip you of your belt. It now appears that Zab Judah is the next guy in line. I understand you guys are cool with Zab. Is this tough for you to come back and fight a guy you're cool with or is it business as usual?

LP: It's business as usual; that's how I look at it. It has nothing to do with Zab or anybody on his team, Team Judah. I have never been a trash talker leading up into a fight. I might talk a little bit during the fight, but for the most part, I don't get into all of that. It will be just business and I'm pretty sure he's looking at it the same way if the fight does happen. This is just a business thang, this is what we do, and this is how we earn a living for our loved ones, and we can go back to being friends afterwards.

PC: It has to be a good feeling, now that the IBF made the move that they made, to just get back to boxing and put all of this behind you.

LP: It's a good feeling. I wanted to stay busy after my last fight, but sometimes things just happen. I just try to learn from that situation as much as I can. It taught me a lot about people in general. But for the most part, I just try to learn from it, keep it moving, and I'm excited to be fighting again. If I could fight every 2 months, I would. This 6 to 7 month layoff, they honestly kill me. But I just been trying to spend time with my daughter and things like that to keep my mind off of it. I just want to keep moving forward.

PC: I know you're not a negative person, but during this period, were you bitter towards boxing, or have you been able to remain positive throughout this period?

LP: I try to keep the negativity away and keep a positive mind. I know this is boxing. I understand that. I know what I signed myself up for and you gotta take the bitter with the sweet. These types of things are a part of boxing and I just deal with it.

PC: Have you been maintaining your weight in the gym or just going to hit a workout to get a sweat going?

LP: Honestly, I've been working hard. I might lose 5 or 6 pounds, but I might put 5 of them back on. My weight, I'm comfortable with where I'm at right now. Of course I will have to lose some weight to be at my fight weight, but I feel pretty good. It's the summer time, so I always stay close to weight. It's just the winter time when it gets tough.

PC: Things like this can divide a team. Barry told me his circle is very small now. Have you had to cut some people out?

LP: I didn't have to cut anyone. A lot of times, people gonna shy away when things like this happen. You got some people step up, and it may be somebody who you didn't really think cared much about you. They step up and show support when needed. And then the people that's always in your face, them are the ones that shy away from you. So, you know, any tough lesson in life, you learn who your true friends really are, and it's no different in this situation. You have some who, like you said, I have to cut back. I didn't have to cut back; they cut themselves back and that's cool. It's just another lesson in life.

PC: When you watched what Danny Garcia was able to do to Amir Khan, did you think he was capable of that going in or were you shocked by the outcome?

LP: I don't know Danny personally. He started fighting in the open class after I turned pro, so I never met him before, but I thought that it would be tough for Danny to win a decision because you never know what the judges are gonna do. It wasn't a big shock to me that Danny did that to him though.

PC: Now that the landscape of the division has changed, if not Zab Judah, is their anyone in particular you would like to fight?

LP: Anybody is good with me because there are a lot of fighters at the top. There is really nobody in the division you can put your finger on and say he is the best, and that's taking me out of the equation. To me, I look at Marquez at being the best 140-pounder now, so that's the person I would want to fight the most. But any guy at the top, I will fight them. I don't have no picks. I think I will match up well against any of them and I'm willing to fight any of them.

PC: Are you looking to get past this positive test thing or do you feel you have something to prove now? What's your mindset right now?

LP: My mindset is, even though I know nothing happened and I wasn't on any enhancing drugs or anything to make me feel extra strong or made me faster or made me better or anything like that, you gonna see the same old Lamont and probably better. Each fight, I feel I'm getting better and better, and that's not gonna change. I will be better than the Khan fight and then after that, what are they gonna say? That I'm still taking drugs? Because I'm still gonna do drug tests; that's not gonna change. Then what are the people gonna say? They are still gonna say that I cheated, even though we prove that I wasn't. That's where my mindset at right now. That's all.

PC: Keep me posted for sure, whether it's Judah or not. I look forward to seeing you back to what you do best and I appreciate your time. Is there anything you want to say before I let you go?

LP: Thanks for having me on and hearing me out. To the fans, we back on track. We still the IBF champ and I will defend that till I can't make the weight no more and I will keep you posted.

 

[heyzel]

BARRY HUNTER: "THIS WOLE PROCESS AND HOW THIS THING WENT DOWN...WE GOTTA DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT"
By Percy Crawford | August 14, 2012

"When I think about this whole process and how this thing went down, you have a young man named Ajose Olusegun who was originally supposed to fight Danny Garcia before the Khan fight took place. I really feel bad for him and others like him. They fight the fights all the way up the ladder to put themselves in position to fight for a world title, but because of politics, they never get their chance to get a shot at a world title. That was supposed to be his fight and not Khan's fight. Now Khan loses to Danny and Danny getting ready to fight Morales, so now what happens to this young man that fought his way up there? Do he get a shot ever? When is enough, enough, man...we gotta do something about it, man, because it was Lamont this time; who is next," stated world-class trainer Barry Hunter, who talked more about the situation that transpired between Lamont Peterson and Amir Khan, which ultimately led to Danny Garcia's getting his opportunity to shine while Ajose Olusegun was once again passed up. Plus, you don't want to miss what he had to say about the state of the U.S. Olympic Boxing program and much more. Check it out!

PC: We left off with you talking about Amir Khan and the way his situation played out with Danny Garcia knocking him out.

BH: Another thing I wanted to speak on is, I'm into the fight game for real. I believe that fighters should fight and put themselves in position to contend for the title. I don't think a belt should ever be bought or a position should ever be bought, because when I think about this whole process and how this thing went down, you have a young man named Ajose Olusegun who was originally supposed to fight Danny Garcia before the Khan fight took place. I really feel bad for him and others like him. They fight the fights all the way up the ladder to put themselves in position to fight for a world title, but because of politics, they never get their chance to get a shot at a world title. That was supposed to be his fight and not Khan's fight. Now Khan loses to Danny and Danny getting ready to fight Morales, so now what happens to this young man that fought his way up there? Do he get a shot ever? When is enough enough, man? These are the things that are turning people off of the sport we love. Everybody that's involved in this sport may not love the sport enough as they should. And looking at some of the old people that really put a lot of time, a lot of love, and energy into the sport and building this game up the way it should be built up, we gotta do something about it, man, because it was Lamont this time; who is next?

PC: I agree with that statement. And someone who I didn't even know you mentored until the HBO special is Adrien Broner. How did you get involved with Adrien and how far could he go in this sport?

BH: Adrien is like my son. I have known him since he was a little kid. His coach, Mike Stafford, is like a brother to me and I love him. We grew up in this amateur thing together and there have been times where he coach mine or I coach his. Naazim Richardson is another one and Virgil Hunter, who is Andre Ward's coach, is another one; and Kevin Cunningham. These are guys who I come through the amateurs with. And in Adrien's case, of course I've known him since he was a kid, along with Rau'Shee Warren. If he couldn't get along at home or he needed to get away from home, we train him in DC. That's the type of relationship we all have. We don't have problems with egos to the point where he can't work with none of mines and I can't work with none of his fighters; Mike Stafford I'm talking about. We all work together. DC is like Adrien's home. In fact, he lives with Patrick Harris, which is my assistant coach, which is Lamont's brother-in-law, when he's here. When he get out of hand, I'm that disciplinarian that's there to put my foot in his behind because we love him for real; not Adrien Broner the boxer. Not Adrien, because he can do many things. He can run the point guard and he can flip just as well as any gymnast. Funny story, we were in Colorado Springs, myself, Mike and Freddie Roach, and we were training the U.S. Team before we were removed from the team. Adrien was down there after we had got finished practicing one time practicing with the gymnasts. He was flipping just as well as anybody down there on the floor. This is a special kid. And the things I said about him on TV is true. This is a very special individual. A lot of times, he's misunderstood or misread because he will talk a lot and he will say some things that I don't think he should say, but nevertheless, it's him. We talk about that all the time, but when you get in front of him, he's still yes sir and no sir. When he got out of order, you check him and he right there on point. I love him, and he's another one that I'm going to ride or die with.

PC: You brought up the amateur scene, so I have to get your thoughts on the struggles that the US Olympic men's team faced this year. What do you think can be done to rectify this and get it back to being a respectable effort by 2016?

BH: Oh, well, I'm gonna ruffle some feathers then since you asked that question. The thing is, and I have sat around and I have heard some of the criticism and the whole nine about the coaches and the athletes. They were put in a situation for 2012 which almost guaranteed for them to go out and be unsuccessful, and I say that because you don't pick the coaching staff 2 weeks out before you travel. You don't train your Olympic team 2 to 3 weeks out before you travel. The Cubans train about 50 weeks. The U.S. Team, pretty much after they had gotten together, trained for about 2 or 3 weeks. So if you a coach, I don't care how good you are, it could have been me and it could have been Mike, the only difference between Mike and I, we got a real deep relationship with the team in general. They will come here and train or we got them in Colorado Springs or they will call us on a personal level. Jose Ramirez, I work with very closely...Joseph Diaz, I can go on down the line. Errol Spence and Rau'Shee Warren I have known since he was a baby. He's like family. Marcus Browne, I know all these kids. The only 2 I wasn't too familiar with was the super heavyweight and the welterweight. The rest of them, I have known since they were kids, so therefore when they have problems, whether at home or in boxing or out of boxing, I'm one of the ones that they will call. And I know what they are capable of doing. It was not the athletes, and I really can't say it was the coaching staff. This goes further beyond the coaching staff and further beyond the athlete. USA boxing in general survives on donations. Other countries are taken care of by their government. These fighters that fight, this is their job. They get paid to do what they do. USA boxing, at the end of what we do, we will get a trophy, a belt, a ribbon, or something like that. If they win a U.S. championship...we got a young lady prime example, her name is Tiara Brown. She is the third or the fourth, believe the third woman in USA boxing history to win a world title. Had her weight class been in the Olympics, she would have been on the Olympics team at 125. She won not only the world championship, but she won the Continental championship and the U.S. championship, and this was all within a month or two around one another. Why is it that no one knows her name? Why is it that there is no huge press release out about her? Why wasn't she compensated for pulling off this huge feat that she pulled off? And then in turn, you are gonna ask this young lady to come back and represent the U.S.? For what? It's things like that. And last but not least, I heard about a couple of tweets and I heard De La Hoya tweeted that he was fed up and that him, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Mark Breland would be the next coaches for the U.S. team. That's funny to me because what would that say to every other coach that's been grinding with these kids since babies all the way up to the present time for no money. It wasn't about no money. But what kind of message does that send or what are you saying about these people? How can you sit by on the sideline and say what the problem is when a lot of the problem is monetary and nobody lifts a hand to help out. After the Olympics is over with, everybody is rushing to these kids trying to sign them to a promotional contracts, so don't be hypocritical. One thing about me Percy, and you know me, I ain't really gotta tell you, but I'm gonna always keep it real.

PC: That's why I like talking to you.

BH: If that's what it is, and I can see if you did everything that you can do to help the situation; don't trash 'em and you didn't do nothing or lift a hand to help them.

PC: So you are saying they want to sign them when it benefits them or their promotional outfit, but just bitch about them losing and don't offer any help when they are fighting for the country?

BH: That's all I'm saying. Let's keep it 100. These kids been out there. Rau'Shee been out there. Adrien Broner been out there and the list goes on and on and on and on. These kids on this Olympic team been out there. It's not that they couldn't have competed on that level because they can; they have been doing it all along, but then when you factor in we can't go to the international dudes and we can't get this type of look from some of the foreign competition, not because we're not willing to go, but because we don't have the finances to get them to these countries to go to these camps. That's where these big time promoters come in at and these ex-fighters. You don't have to do it for the organization, but goddamn, can't you do something for the kids.

 

[Tony]

I think Manny is going to fight Marquez, because:
Marquez is pushing 40 and Manny knows he can beat him and will probably get the benefit of the doubt if it's a close fight (just like all the other ones). Manny should look better now against Marquez because Marquez is getting older.

They don't want Bradley because Bradley may beat or upset Pacquiao again. They have to put someone in there that they know Pacquiao can beat. I don't think they think Pacquiao can beat Cotto if Cotto comes in above 150. He looked strong and healthy against Floyd at a higher weight.

 

[Lamberto Quintero]

Marquez is a tougher fight for Pac than Bradley.

 

[MOREBASS]

I think Manny is going to fight Marquez, because:
Marquez is pushing 40 and Manny knows he can beat him and will probably get the benefit of the doubt if it's a close fight (just like all the other ones). Manny should look better now against Marquez because Marquez is getting older.

They don't want Bradley because Bradley may beat or upset Pacquiao again. They have to put someone in there that they know Pacquiao can beat. I don't think they think Pacquiao can beat Cotto if Cotto comes in above 150. He looked strong and healthy against Floyd at a higher weight.

Have you even seen any of the Pacquiao-Marquez fights Tony?

Marquez is a stylistic nightmare for Manny, and he would give him a tougher fight than just about anyone out there.

Again, you're a fool if you think Bradley is a tougher fight. It all boils down to being a less marketable fight, seeing as the majority of the population didn't even think the first fight was remotely close.

You are among the 5% who actually feel Bradley won, but I get a sense that just comes from your inner Manny-hater, rather than what you actually saw.

I personally want to see the Bradley rematch, because I would like to see a motivated Pacquiao go in and do what he should have, and could have IMO, in the first fight. I felt like he let Bradley off the hook, and I'm not sure if it was him being over confident, or if he really is on the decline.

I also wouldn't mind seeing the Cotto fight again, even at 150. Those who are crying that Pacquiao should fight Cotto at 154 should remember that Pacquiao likely couldn't get up to 150 if he wanted to. Cotto would still be cutting weight, and he's actually pretty small at 154.

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

I think Lopez is on track. He should be able to hit 170, then shred down the last 2 weeks back to 155-160 which is more than likely his normal walking weight. His heart can handle it. I doubt he will have any stamina issues. It's not like he's coming in a 205. 160 fight now is what he probably walks around at between fights. He's pretty tall.