Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Sergey Kovalev: "I'd like to fight the winner of Cloud-Hopkins"
By Anson Wainwright (Feb 20, 2013) Doghouse Boxing (Photo © Rich Graessle/Main Events)
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Anson Wainwright – Firstly, congratulations on an eye-opening, third round KO over highly-regarded Gabriel Campillo.

Sergey Kovalev - Thank you for your congratulations! I am training very hard and my victory is a result of my work.

AW - Can you talk us through the fight from your point of view?

SK - What can I tell you? You've seen it all. Campillo is not as simple as it seems at first look. I can say one thing, that I was not ready 100 percent but I was very motivated because I did not want to upset the audience and everyone who was rooting for me. I'm happy that my work and work my team did has brought us victory!

AW - The win put out a statement of intent to the rest of the light heavyweight division but how happy were you with the performance overall?

SK - I am happy. The bout ended earlier and in my favour, just to make sure nobody will be talking Campillo was robbed again or something like that.

AW - It's very early days but what would you like to do next? What are your goals for this year?

SK - Right now, I want to take just a little time off, relax and start training again. My goal for this year is to get a fight on HBO and to become a champion of the world.

AW - Who are the members of your team, your manager, trainer and promoter? Also where do you regularly train?

SK - My team is Egis Klimas as my manager; John David Jackson is my trainer with [assistant trainer] Derik Santos and my promoter, Main Events. I am training at Contender Gym in Florida.

AW - You were born in Chelyabinsk, Russia. Could you tell us about your early years growing up and the path you took into boxing?

SK - When I was a kid, I was playing all kind of sports like soccer, hockey, wrestling. December 1st, 1994, I start training in boxing and it became my last choice in sports. There was a time in my training period when I quit training boxing but my trainer came to my house and talked me into going back. Three months later, I was back in the gym boxing.

AW - You were a very good amateur with over 200 fights. Could you tell us about your amateur days and what titles and tournaments you won? Did you face anyone who's currently pro?

SK - In 1998, I became a member of the youth Russian boxing national team and every year, I was either champion or at least medallist of the Russian championships. 1997, 1999 youth champion of Russia. Champion Russia 2005. Two-time World Champion in Army Championships, 2005 and 2007. Many-time champion of all kinds of “Class A” tournaments. Three times, I met in the ring with Matvey Korobov (current pro middleweight, 19-0 (11), and a former amateur standout who won gold at the 2005 and 2007 World Championships).

AW - You turned pro and have fought all except one of your fights in America. How did fighting in America come about?

SK - I really like to train and have my bouts in America. From my childhood, it always was my dream to visit the United States but now everything worked out. I am building all of my career here in the U.S.A.

AW - What do you think of the light heavyweight division and the current champions, the WBC’s Chad Dawson, the WBA’s Beibut Shumenov, the IBF’s Tavoris Cloud and the WBO’s Nathan Cleverly?

SK - All of them, strong and good fighters. They also have very nice title belts. I want some of these belts also.

AW - OK, How do you see the Cloud -v- Bernard Hopkins, Dawson -v- Jean Pascal and Cleverly –v- Luan Krasniqi fights going?

SK - I really do not like making predictions. It is boxing and anything can happen; one punch or a great combination can end a bout. But I am very interested in the Cloud-Hopkins fight. I would like to fight the winner of this bout.

 

[trips]

 

[heyzel]

ROBERT GUERRERO: "I'M GOING TO END HIS REIGN AS POUND FOR POUND KING"
By Press Release | February 21, 2013

Four-Division and Six-Time World Champion, Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 KOs), and pound for pound king Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr. (43-0, 26 KOs) are finally going to step in the ring on May 4, 2013. The contracts were signed by both Guerrero and Mayweather after months of anticipation. Both fighters are perennial pound for pound champions and fans around the world can expect to see an action packed showdown. This mega-million dollar global event will be one the fans will remember for years.

Undefeated in his Hall of Fame career, Floyd Mayweather is no stranger when it comes to fighting on Cinco de Mayo weekend. The Mexican-American holiday is one of Floyd's favorite dates to do battle. His conquests against Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley and Oscar De La Hoya generated huge PPV numbers, making Mayweather the highest paid athlete in the world. In 2007, Floyd Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya set the record for the most PPV buys in boxing history, which still stands today.

Mayweather who is at the apex of sports, is one of the most recognized face's on the planet. Fighting Guerrero will present Mayweather with his most difficult challenge since his fight with Oscar De La Hoya, being that Robert is a decorated multiple world champion in his prime. Guerrero, like De La Hoya, is one of the most accomplished Mexican-American fighters of this generation.

Guerrero gained international recognition when he made the leap from Lightweight to Welterweight to win a world title. Guerrero joined an elite class of fighters who have jumped up two weight classes to win world championships which include Roberto Duran, Roy Jones Jr., and Sugar Shane Mosley. In addition, Guerrero became the third fighter in boxing history to win a world title at featherweight and welterweight, uniting with legend Henry Armstrong and future Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao. Finally, Guerrero joined all-time great Oscar De La Hoya becoming the only Mexican-American fighters to win world titles across four divisions.

Leading up to his showdown with Mayweather, Guerrero defeated five Olympians in a row, winning multiple world championships along the way. Guerrero's dominating victory against No. 1 contender Selcuk Aydin (23-1, 17 KOs), a fighter who was the mandatory challenger to face Floyd for over three years, proved he's one of the best fighters in the welterweight division. "The Ghost" followed that impressive feat with another spectacular performance, dominating former two-time welterweight world champion, Andre Berto (28-2, 22 KOs) in a "Fight of the Year" candidate. Guerrero's performance against Berto also garnered him "Fighter of the Year" by some boxing pundits. Both wins came by wide 12-round unanimous decisions.

When asked about fighting Floyd Mayweather on the biggest stage in sports, Guerrero stated, "First I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for all his blessings. Without him I am nothing. Next I want to give thanks to my team for all their hard work, dedication and loyalty. It's been a long road with many trials and tribulations but we've stuck together though the fire."

"Floyd Mayweather is a great fighter, one of the best to ever lace up the gloves, but on May 4th I'm going to end his reign as pound for pound king," said Guerrero. "I believe God has put me in this incredible position for a reason. This is bigger than boxing. It's about humbling a man everyone perceives is unbeatable. When I come out victorious on May 4th, everyone will know that if you put Jesus Christ first in your life, anything is possible."

"I'm dedicating this fight to knocking out blood cancer with Be The Match. This organization saves lives by finding matching donors for patients who need a bone marrow transplant. My wife had leukemia and needed a marrow transplant -- and she found her donor through Be The Match. Now she's cancer free. I want to use my platform as a fighter to help Be The Match save even more lives by getting more people to join the Be The Match Registry like I did. You could be someone's cure. Find out how at BeTheMatch.org."

 

[heyzel]

FLOYD MAYWEATHER: "I COULDN'T ASK FOR A BETTER DEAL...IT'S SHOWTIME, BABY!"
By Ben Thompson | February 21, 2013

"Showtime and CBS, I've got to take my hat off to them. They did a tremendous job and I am happy to be a part of this family. It's not just Showtime. It's CBS too. I have to give everyone their just due and credit. They are partners, came together and gave me a great deal and one I couldn't refuse. I couldn't ask for a better deal," stated undefeated pound-for-pound champion Floyd Mayweather, who recently spoke about his blockbuster multi-fight deal with Showtime/CBS. Mayweather was in attendance at today's final press conference for Saturday's Showtime event, which his company, Mayweather Promotions, will co-promote with Golden Boy Promotions. Though the focus was on his fighters participating on the card, Mayweather did take time to address the news about his deal, as well as his May 4th title defense against Robert Guerrero.

"I am comfortable in this new relationship and my team is happy too. It's like a new marriage and I feel good about it. I will be ready to go May 4, Cinco de Mayo. It's going to MayDay and May-Per-View," Mayweather proclaimed. "Robert Guerrero is a champion. For this guy to be mentioned with some of the top fighters in today's time, he must have done something right or correct in his career. This is a guy who I know I can't overlook; I have to push myself to the limit. I have to dedicate myself and I have to do what it takes to stay at the top."

Never one to overlook an opponent, Mayweather is fully aware of what Guerrero will be bringing to the table when they step into the ring. "Guerrero is a very aggressive fighter. I am starting to train. As a matter of fact, this week I was out on the basketball court with some young kids working on my cardio. I have to build my cardio up to fight Guerrero. I will not overlook him. I don't overlook anyone. I know that everyone who fights me is gunning for me, so I have to be ready for what they are ready to give me," he continued. "I am absolutely excited about fighting more. It's about staying active and that means a lot more of me. Before my career ends, that's what I am going to give the fans; a whole lot more of me. It's Showtime, baby!

 

[heyzel]

Jim Lampley Responds To Floyd's Hbo Departure



HBO’s Jim Lampley Says Losing Floyd Mayweather to Showtime Isn’t a Happy Occasion, Doubts He Fights Six Times In 30 Months

February 21, 2013 – 9:20 am by Chris Fedor
When Floyd Mayweather Jr. does anything, it makes news. The announcement he made on February 19th could have a huge impact on boxing and on the remainder of the career for “Money May.” The pound-for-pound king announced that he was leaving HBO for Showtime. Not just for one fight though. Mayweather reportedly signed a six-fight, 30-month deal with his new pay-per-view home which, given the fact that he is already 36-years-old, takes him through the end of his fighting career.

This deal means a lot of things. First and foremost, the balance of power in boxing has shifted. For many years it resided with HBO but now with Mayweather, the number one draw in the sport, switching sides, so too does the power. It also reaffirms Mayweather’s standing as the number one draw in the sport. But most importantly it means that Mayweather and the sport of boxing will be promoted on the number one TV network in the world. This means boxing will get exposure that it wouldn’t have been able to get had Mayweather stayed with HBO, including during events such as March Madness and the Final Four.

Jim Lampley joined The Mighty 1090 in San Diego with Scott and BR to talk about his initial thoughts when he heard Floyd Mayweather Jr. was leaving HBO, how much Mayweather has left in the tank, whether he thinks Showtime will have regrets after this deal and on the number of fights Mayweather has agreed to.

What his initial thoughts are on Floyd Mayweather Jr. leaving HBO and going to Showtime:

“Well, it’s not a happy occasion because he is still the number one, most accomplished, pound-for-pound fighter in the sport and probably the toughest one to defeat in the ring. He has a following and that’s been proven by his pay-per-view numbers on HBO so you can make a very sound argument that he has the largest following in the sport. I don’t think that was true a couple of years ago but obviously (Manny) Pacquiao’s has been diminished over the course of the past couple of years. Floyd is within his rights in now claiming to be the number one guy. He was already the highest paid athlete in the world prior to whatever money CBS has given him. You can rest assured it’s a mammoth deal because they have a reported five fights over the course of the next 30 months. I will believe that when I see it but those are supposedly the terms of the deal. This is something that CBS/Showtime have been working on for a long, long time and in the past year they have sharpened their knives and worked even harder than ever before to try to get into this arena. It’s been no secret in the sport that over the course of the past year Showtime has done all or maybe 90 percent of their business with Golden Boy Promotions, they have catered favorably to guys who are managed by, Leonard Ellerbe, Floyd Mayweather’s manager so this approach took place on a lot of different fronts, they worked as hard as they possibly could, congratulations to the guys at Showtime and now let’s see if any of those five fights in 30 months, if in fact they take place, are competitive. Or is Floyd going to use this to continue to book flights for which we know the outcome in advance? That would be the big question to me.”

How much does Floyd Mayweather have left in the tank?

“He’s 36-years-old. Just about 36-years-old and obviously he is relatively untouched for fighter that age because of the style in which he fights and the brilliant skill that he brings to it. At 36-years-old, I think what they can hope for is that he’s slowed down enough that the fights become a little more exciting. Whether they can persuade him to fight a Canelo Alvarez or an Adrien Broner, the kinds of opponents who could really threaten him and present the possibility of a Mayweather loss, I’m not sure. Leonard Ellerbe has a lot of leverage and a tremendous management style, he is very hard to deal with and it’s very clear that this is a risk averse fighter that has been risk averse his entire career. He’s not exactly in the business of making exciting fights. It will be interesting to see what they can get out of this for the next few years.”

Whether he thinks Showtime will have regrets because they don’t get out of Mayweather what they were hoping:

“I think that’s entirely possible. The pay-per-view business is more about the promoters and the fighters than it is about the network. A flat percentage of the cake for providing the network deal and it’s not exactly the same kind of clover that you look for overall in your portfolio.

If you’re managing the boxing element correctly at a pay-per-view network you’re just as concerned about what happens month to month and Saturday night to Saturday night because that’s what builds subscribership. Pay-per-view fighters don’t appear on regular nights on the network and they got a huge marquee item, they got the number one fighter in boxing and they can say with absolute confidence tomorrow that they have greater prestige for their brand then they had before. Is it going to lead to more subscriptions for Showtime? Not necessarily. At the end of the day are they going to look back and say, ‘well it was all worth it because of our cake for the pay-per-view’, that’s not really the way the equation works. You’re right. There are question marks as to whether this is going to turn out to have been the greatest investment in the world, but today Showtime is celebrating because they won a face-to-face competition against their one and only rival and they won one of the biggest prizes that can be one in that kind of competition.”

On the amount of fights that Mayweather has reportedly agreed to over a 30 month period:

“It’s a number that I don’t believe is going to take place. This is a guy that’s fighting once every year and a half for a long time. How in the world is he going to change his whole competitive attitude? I mean the training schedule isn’t an issue because he’s a 24/7, 365-day-a-year trainer anyway, but you don’t build the same anticipation when you do it as frequently as they want him to do it. That has been his attitude in the past is I will wait until the fire is going to be the biggest it can possibly be.”

 

[heyzel]

FELIX STURM: "GOLOVKIN, QUILLIN AND MARTINEZ...I KNOW I COULD BEAT THEM ALL"
By Sylvana Ambrosanio | February 22, 2013

"I will stay at middleweight, or maybe make a catchweight. Or maybe I'll eventually fight at super middleweight one day. We will see where we have the best options. Golovkin, Quillin and Martinez are three great, strong fighters. I know I could beat them all and I know that it will be very hard to win against these fighters. The stronger the opponents will be, the stronger and better I will be in the fight," stated former middleweight champion Felix Sturm, who discussed his controversial upset loss to Sam Soliman, his future plans, and much more. Check it out!

SA: Felix, how are you and your family doing?

FS: We are doing well and got through everything well. We are going on vacation now to relax. I had 10 weeks of preparation for the fight, so that meant a hard time for my family as well.

SA: What will be next for you? When can we expect to see you back in the ring?

FS: My team is already working on my next fight. My next fight will probably happen in the summer. We had to change plans after the defeat, because we were all thinking of a victory. This is not a big problem though. We just put our heads together and thought about a very good plan for the future.

SA: Tell us your view of the fight! What did Soliman bring into the ring that you may have not expected?

FS: Many people are thinking that I wasn't happy with my performance against Soliman. This might have been my worst fight as a professional boxer. I should not have given him the chance to come back into the fight. I shouldn't have let him relax. In the future, I would like to have big, interesting fights, so I must find my way back to my old strengths. The fight with Soliman started exactly how we imagined it would start. After I had him in trouble and I landed more hard punches, where I shook him again and he wasn't steady on his feet, right there I was really confident that he would not make it through the round and he would be done. After this, I was confident and just waited for the one final blow. Soliman is a good boxer, but unfortunately is very dirty. Headbutts resulted in my cut, clinches, the list goes on. That's the way he fights, but the referee should have stopped it. Unfortunately he did not do it. Soliman was fair enough to mention it at the post-fight press conference and he admitted that the cut happened because of the headbutt. I had myself winning the fight as well, but that's not my decision. I should have put much more pressure on him in the second round when I had him nearly finished, and should have gave much more pressure. That's the way I put him to the canvas. I made a huge mistake in the second. In the final round, I loosened up again. I was more relaxed and it went well. I should have started to fight like this way earlier; then I'm convinced that I would have stopped him early and won. We watched some of Soliman's videos and we knew how he boxed. In the fight though, he just went way more into his own style, clinched a lot, and tried to just survive any way he could from the situation he was in. That's something that I hadn't expected and I should have acted differently in that situation.

SA: Do you think boxing is a fair sport? Do the judges score a fight fairly?

FS: I love boxing and boxing is one of the best sports in the world. No matter where in the world they have to make a decision and give points, there will be a wrong decision. That's what everyone who is involved in this sort of situation has to deal with. Most importantly though is the fact that this sport is above any other. It's number one and because of this, it offers so many great fights across the whole world.

SA: You fought Oscar De La Hoya back in the day. Even to this day, boxing fans still talk about it.

FS: My fight against Oscar did great things for me. The decision was made by the judges for the simple reason that Oscar was the greatest thing in boxing at that time and his next fight with Hopkins was already fully planned. No one would have believed that I would show such a good performance, especially not the judges, who didn't know me at that point. But hey, that's part of the business. Oscar used to be an absolutely great boxer and that fight helped me a lot in my future career. I will never forget that evening. Great experience.

 

[heyzel]

FELIX STURM: "GOLOVKIN, QUILLIN AND MARTINEZ...I KNOW I COULD BEAT THEM ALL"
By Sylvana Ambrosanio | February 22, 2013

"I will stay at middleweight, or maybe make a catchweight. Or maybe I'll eventually fight at super middleweight one day. We will see where we have the best options. Golovkin, Quillin and Martinez are three great, strong fighters. I know I could beat them all and I know that it will be very hard to win against these fighters. The stronger the opponents will be, the stronger and better I will be in the fight," stated former middleweight champion Felix Sturm, who discussed his controversial upset loss to Sam Soliman, his future plans, and much more. Check it out!

SA: Felix, how are you and your family doing?

FS: We are doing well and got through everything well. We are going on vacation now to relax. I had 10 weeks of preparation for the fight, so that meant a hard time for my family as well.

SA: What will be next for you? When can we expect to see you back in the ring?

FS: My team is already working on my next fight. My next fight will probably happen in the summer. We had to change plans after the defeat, because we were all thinking of a victory. This is not a big problem though. We just put our heads together and thought about a very good plan for the future.

SA: Tell us your view of the fight! What did Soliman bring into the ring that you may have not expected?

FS: Many people are thinking that I wasn't happy with my performance against Soliman. This might have been my worst fight as a professional boxer. I should not have given him the chance to come back into the fight. I shouldn't have let him relax. In the future, I would like to have big, interesting fights, so I must find my way back to my old strengths. The fight with Soliman started exactly how we imagined it would start. After I had him in trouble and I landed more hard punches, where I shook him again and he wasn't steady on his feet, right there I was really confident that he would not make it through the round and he would be done. After this, I was confident and just waited for the one final blow. Soliman is a good boxer, but unfortunately is very dirty. Headbutts resulted in my cut, clinches, the list goes on. That's the way he fights, but the referee should have stopped it. Unfortunately he did not do it. Soliman was fair enough to mention it at the post-fight press conference and he admitted that the cut happened because of the headbutt. I had myself winning the fight as well, but that's not my decision. I should have put much more pressure on him in the second round when I had him nearly finished, and should have gave much more pressure. That's the way I put him to the canvas. I made a huge mistake in the second. In the final round, I loosened up again. I was more relaxed and it went well. I should have started to fight like this way earlier; then I'm convinced that I would have stopped him early and won. We watched some of Soliman's videos and we knew how he boxed. In the fight though, he just went way more into his own style, clinched a lot, and tried to just survive any way he could from the situation he was in. That's something that I hadn't expected and I should have acted differently in that situation.

SA: Do you think boxing is a fair sport? Do the judges score a fight fairly?

FS: I love boxing and boxing is one of the best sports in the world. No matter where in the world they have to make a decision and give points, there will be a wrong decision. That's what everyone who is involved in this sort of situation has to deal with. Most importantly though is the fact that this sport is above any other. It's number one and because of this, it offers so many great fights across the whole world.

SA: You fought Oscar De La Hoya back in the day. Even to this day, boxing fans still talk about it.

FS: My fight against Oscar did great things for me. The decision was made by the judges for the simple reason that Oscar was the greatest thing in boxing at that time and his next fight with Hopkins was already fully planned. No one would have believed that I would show such a good performance, especially not the judges, who didn't know me at that point. But hey, that's part of the business. Oscar used to be an absolutely great boxer and that fight helped me a lot in my future career. I will never forget that evening. Great experience.

 

[heyzel]

Ellerbe: Mayweather could beat anyone from 140 to 160
February 22nd, 2013 | Post Comment


Mayweather Guerrero Mayweather vs. Guerrero robert guerrero floyd mayweather jr By Allan Fox: Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, feels there’s no one from 140 to 160 that Floyd Mayweather Jr. couldn’t beat during his six-fight deal with Showtime/CBS. Ellerbe believes Mayweather can beat anyone in those divisions.

However, that doesn’t mean he’s going to be fighting guys in all of those weight classes, he says. It’s just that he thinks Mayweather in theory COULD beat all of them. Mayweather will be fighting a welterweight in his first fight with Showtime on May 4th against Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ellerbe said to Yahoo Sports News “Floyd could beat any of them guys, from 140 to 147 and from 154 to 160. I didn’t say he was fighting at [160], just that he could beat all them guys in those weights. We’ll see what he chooses to do.”

It’s hard to imagine Mayweather beating the top fighters at 154 like Austin Trout and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. If all you have to go by is how Mayweather looked in his last fight against Miguel Cotto last May, then I would say Mayweather might have a 50-50 chance at beating Canelo and Trout, no more than that. Those would be really tough fights for him, and he’d have to show a lot more against them than he did in his fight with Cotto.

As for Mayweather beating the best middleweights in the division like Gennady Golovkin, Sergio Martinez, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Peter Quillin, I don’t think he can beat all of them. Mayweather might be able to beat Quillin, Felix Sturm and Daniel Geale, but I believe Martinez, Golovkin and Chavez Jr. would have too much size and power for him.

Those fights would really age Mayweather if he took them, and it’s doubtful he’d want to get in the ring with any of them. The only one that he could possibly face is Sergio Martinez, but even that fight would likely involve a catch-weight or Martinez having to drain down to 154 to make it happen.

Mayweather has six fights with Showtime/CBS that he needs to get out of the way within 30 months. It’s unknown what weight Mayweather will end up at by the time he finishes his contract, but it’s certainly possible he could finish the 6th fight by fighting at middleweight. The contract is expected to take Mayweather to the end of his career or at least to the end of his prime. Mayweather turns 36 on Sunday, so he’ll be close to 39 by the time he finishes the six-fight deal with Showtime/CBS. As long as the contract is guaranteed, Mayweather is set to make a reported $250 million in those six fights

 

[2-0-Sixx]

god damn GP makes the sickest videos

 

[heyzel]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NSuKesYHnYQ

Adrien Broner on Lamont Peterson, Danny Garcia, Ricky Burns, Floyd Mayweather, Brandon Rios and more

 

[heyzel]

Trout: Canelo will fight me the same way Cotto did
February 23rd, 2013 | Post Comment


Trout Alvarez Canelo vs. Trout saul alvarez miguel cotto austin trout By Dan Ambrose: WBA World junior middleweight champion Austin Trout (26-0, 14 KO’s) sees WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (41-0-1, 30 KO’s) using the same fight strategy Miguel Cotto tried against him when he meets Canelo on May 4th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Trout said to RingTV “I think, for his part, that Canelo’s going to try to use the same game plan that Cotto did, which he is welcome to try.”

Cotto tried using a lot of left hooks, jabs and pressure to get to the taller and longer-armed Trout. Canelo is also giving away height and reach against the 5’10” Trout, and this could be just as much of a problem for Canelo as it was for Cotto.

Trout was able to neutralize Cotto’s attempts at throwing left hooks by staying at a distance, jabbing, grabbing and keeping his guard up when he would come in Cotto’s range for him to land.

Canelo isn’t as good on his feet as Cotto is, so it’s going to be tougher for him to be able to do the same things that Cotto tried against Trout. Initially, Cotto found some success in landing his left hooks and jabs early in the fight, but after Trout adapted to what Cotto was doing then he had little success after that.

What’s working against Canelo in this fight is his lack of experience against quality opposition. Golden Boy has been so careful in matchmaking with Canelo that he’s pretty much coming into this fight with next to no experience against quality opposition to get him ready for this fight.

You can’t count fights against past their best welterweights as experience for a fight against the 154 lb. Trout because he’s bigger, and he’s not in his 40s. He’s also not a light welterweight.

 

[heyzel]

Schaefer wants Matthysse-Peterson on May 18th
February 23rd, 2013 | Post Comment


Matthysse Peterson Matthysse vs. Peterson lucas matthysse lamont peterson By Dan Ambrose: We could be seeing IBF light welterweight champion Lamont Peterson (31-1-1, 16 KO’s) facing WBC light welterweight interim champion Lucas Matthysse (33-2, 31 KO’s) on May 18th, according to Steve Kim.

Peterson defeated Kendall Holt by an 8th round TKO last night in Washington, DC in a mostly one-sided fight. Peterson came out of the fight without taking too much punishment, and his promoter Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions wants to get him back in the ring quickly to face Matthysse.

It may not be the #1 fight that Peterson has on his list because he says he’d like to face Amir Khan and Danny Garcia, but it’s what Schaefer is offering him right now.

The Matthysse vs. Peterson fight, if it takes place, would be part of a card headlined by Devon Alexander vs. Kell Brook. That fight was supposed to be taking place in February but Alexander suffered a biceps injury, and needed to postpone the fight. Schaefer is hoping Alexander will be ready to go by May so he can be packaged with the Matthysse-Peterson fight.

Matthysse is coming off of a 1st round knockout win over Mike Dallas Jr. last month. Matthysse looked great in that fight as he dispatched Dallas Jr. quickly. Matthysse wants to face Danny Garcia for his WBC light welterweight title, but Schaefer seems to be stalling for time in order to make that a bigger fight.

He’s talked about wanting to match Matthysse against welterweight Marcos Maidana, but Matthysse has been less thrilled at the idea of facing his fellow countryman Maidana. It’s easy to understand why.

Matthysse worked hard in becoming the mandatory challenger for Garcia by stopping Ajose Olusegun, but now that he’s earned the shot to face him, Schaefer isn’t letting it happen and seems to be putting more hoops in front of Matthysse that he has to jump through before he can get the Garcia fight.

You’d have to like Matthysse against Peterson because Matthysse is a bigger puncher, and Peterson is there to be hit. He likes to slug it out with his opposition, and in this case it might be a bad idea for him to do that.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Golden Boy really is doing everything they can to keep Matthysse.away from Garcia.

Here is the sneakiness of this.

Matthysse is Garcia's mandatory.
If Matthysse.fights Peterson for the IBF belt, Matthysse will then lose his mandatory position to Garcia's WBC belt.

Nicely played Golden Boy, nicely played.

 

[CHRISHOGGALYPSE]

I'm starting to see the bitch in Garcia, or at least in Al Haymon>Golden Boy>Garcia. I have a feeling they're trying to keep him on the shelf to fight Floyd or something here.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Well I think for the immediate plan they are trying to pave the way for a Garcia vs Khan rematch later in the year. Matthysse being Garcia's mandatory obviously gets in the way with that. So GB can tell Matthysse.hey look we're doing u a favor by getting u a title shot with Peterson, while giving the green light for Garcia Khan.

 

[heyzel]

Mayweather has six approved opponents for six-fight contract with Showtime/CBS
February 24th, 2013 | Post Comment


Mayweather Guerrero Mayweather vs. Guerrero robert guerrero floyd mayweather jr By Allan Fox: Floyd Mayweather Jr. has already approved six opponents for his six-fight contract with Showtime/CBS. According to the Boston Herald these are the fighters that are rumored that Mayweather has approved of to fight for his 30 months $250 million contract with Showtime/CBS: Guerrero, Marcos Maidana, Alfredo Angulo, Danny Garcia, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Devon Alexander.

Of that list, only Canelo would be considered a dangerous opponent for Floyd. Garcia is a light welterweight, Alexander tends to clinch a lot, Angulo is a slow 154 pounder, Maidana is also very slow, and Guerrero is a straight up fighter with little in the way of defensive skills. Missing from this list is Manny Pacquiao, the fighter that boxing fans feel would be Mayweather’s biggest threat.

If all Mayweather Jr. has to do is beat Canelo, Angulo, Guerrero, Alexander, Garcia and Maidana in order to complete his six-fight contract within 30 months for Showtime/CBS then they’re not putting a lot of pressure on him. Pacquiao’s name should be in that list as well as Amir Khan, Lucas Matthysse, Keith Thurman and Austin Trout. Alvarez is a good fighter, but he’s pretty slow and is like a bigger version of Juan Manuel Marquez.

Mayweather already proved that he can beat Marquez with ease, so it’s likely that Canelo will be no problems for Mayweather. Canelo obviously will be coming next after the Guerrero fight because Mayweather is going to want to get the most difficult fight out of the way as quick as possible in order to avoid facing him a year or two down the line when he starts to lose more of his skills.

It’s still a very winnable fight for Mayweather no matter when he faces Canelo because his style is made to order for him.

Garcia is someone whose situation is kind of precarious right now. Unless Golden Boy keeps him away from Matthysse and Amir Khan, we could see Garcia beaten in 2013. At that point there will be no reason for Mayweather to fight him. He’ll have to switch out Garcia’s name and insert Khan or Matthysse.

 

[CHRISHOGGALYPSE]

^^ That list of opponents is a joke

 

[2-0-Sixx]

That can't be real. No way.

And if it is that's why networks should not give long term contracts to fighters with guarantee money. That was the formula in the late 90s and early 2000's and the result was Roy Jones vs a cab driver for millions of dollars or Prince Naseem vs cab driver.

Recently over the past several years the strategy shifted to the networks buying FIGHTS not the fighters. That's how we got Martinez vs Williams II for example and that's the way it should be. Networks should never throw blind money at fighters just for the sake of having a particular name. Quality of fights should always be the number one priority.

 

[CHRISHOGGALYPSE]

Not entirely true^^ That's why Chad Dawson and Andre Berto were getting million+ paydays for awhile to beat tomato cans. They are also adding guarantees for return fights on HBO which can lead to dogcrap fights sometimes. That was supposed to stop once Hershman took over but we'll see.

I wouldn't doubt that list. Mayweather has shown that his fights sell and the media machine behind him makes people believe that he might be beat by that person he's fighting. If Angulo puts together a solid win or wins a title, I can see it happening, same with Maidana. They'll show all their highlight reel knockouts etc... and sell the fight on CBS to people that know nothing about boxing.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Well I didn't say they weren't still doing it, Berto was a perfect example, but both networks were shifting in the direction of buying the fights that's people wanted to see and rejecting bullshit fights thus putting the pressure on the promoters to make good fights and cards. Greenberg at HBO was making mistakes paying Berto and the likes trying to build them into something they weren't, and also doing stupid shit like giving golden boy a set amount of dates without knowing who would be fighting! Hershman I believe will do a better job in the long run.

Lol that list better not be real though, no defending those opponents.