Boxing thread 2013

[JKidd]

Some other news and notes going on during a busy Friday.

Vanes vs. Lara II went to a purse bid today, which was won by GBP with a whopping bid of $400K for the rights to promote the event. The real question is who's going to want to pay for the fight (HBO or Showtime) and will the fans even care? I sure the **** don't.

CW champ Yoan Pablo Hernandez will defend his title against Eric Fields in Germany in February. Totally bull**** fight. It's a gimme after Hernandez looked awful in getting beat by Troy Ross last time out, but given a hometown decision.

The dance between Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin continues to be in full swing. Team Sauerland, Alexander's promoter, is doing everything possible to avoid the fight - minus flat out saying they don't want it.

The IBF has approved Tavoris Cloud vs. Bernard Hopkins in March.

Ukrainian HW prospect Vyacheslav Glazkov, who destroyed Tor Hammer last time out on NBC, will get another shot on network television when he gets Malik Scott (35-0, 12 KOs) next month. Scott maybe the most boring fighter on the planet, so while it's good to see Glazkov again, it's a shame its against Scott.

Mariusz Wach, who Wlad hammered around for 12 rounds last year, has now admitted to taking steroids, but unknowingly. Stating someone on his team was giving him the PEDs without his knowledge. Lot of help it did him in getting drubbed by Wlad.

No news on the Canelo/Trout front. Some rumors out there that Canelo is getting Alfredo Angulo. Also some rumors that Austin Trout is getting WBO 154 champ Zaurbek Baysangurov. We shall see in the coming week or two.

David Tua is expecting to announce a comeback fight in the coming weeks. He's as done as it gets. I hope he stays away.

Chatted with Matthew Macklin today via Twitter about his next fight. He was hoping to get Julio Jr in May, but with Jr not taking care of his legal matters, that's likely out the window. Darren Barker also called him out, and nothing materialized from there.

Felix Sturm has Sam Soliman on Feb 1st as an IBF eliminator. Winner will get a crack at the winner of Daniel Geale/Anthony Mundine II, which goes down 2 days before. I can tell you now, if Soliman wins, the all Aussie fight that'd go down between him and Geale or Mundine will do MASSIVE dollars down under.

Final bit, the WBC has ordered Lucas Matthysse and Danny Garcia, if both get through their upcoming fights with wins, to fight for the unified WBC 140lb title! Both are with GBP, so this fight should be relatively easy to make.

[JKidd]

Quick recap of FNF last week:
John Molina knocks out Dannie Williams in 4. It was pretty uneventful up until a jab and a right hand from John right on the temple, which had Williams flopping around and coming too on the outside of the ropes.

Showbox:
As expected, Randy Caballero knocked out his overmatched veteran in 4.

And Ronny Rios completed his upset of Rico Ramos with a rather easy, near shutout UD win.

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Some quick notes on a big weekend of announcements:
Ricky Burns vs. Miguel Vazquez is a signed unification fight for March. It will headline the massive card in London featuring Nathan Cleverly and George Groves.

Also apart of that card will be the return of Dereck Chisora.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr is asking Nacho to be his trainer. However, the two have not come to an agreement due to financial reasons. And from what people "in the know" are saying, it's a big gap.

Manny/Marquez 5 is all but going to happen. The real question is when. Arum and Manny want an interim bout, while Roach wants it immediately. Marquez doesn't care when, it'll be another massive payday before he hangs up the gloves later this year.

Marco Antonio Rubio will get the Quillin/Guerrero winner - barring any sort of unification fight opportunities.

Nonito Donaire is set to become a father. His wife Rachel is expecting. As always, we'll have to see how this affects how many times Flash hits the ring.

Mikey Garcia vs. Orlando Salido will be for the RING magazine title, because #1 Orlando Salido cannot face #2 Chris John - due to Chris John being a piece of **** who never leaves home. With #3 being Mikey Garcia, it makes sense.

Lucian Bute is now going back on his mandatory rematch with Carl Froch. It looks like the two will not hook up after all. To me, it looks like Froch has snatched up Bute's soul with that crushing TKO.

Froch is apparently done negotiating with Adonis Stevenson and is back to talking with Kessler. Word has it that Froch/Kessler is ready, it's just waiting the Dane's signature for the fight in London (instead of Nottingham - as he requested).

[Shoryuken]

Per Frank Warren:

http://www.frankwarren.com/news/fran.../11-01-13.html

Birmingham might be Britain's Second City but, historically, it falls a long way down the pecking list as far as boxing is concerned. While there has always been a thriving local scene in the nearby Black Country towns of Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton, the pro game has struggled to ignite in Brum, despite a healthy amateur set-up.

It's difficult to fathom why. The city has a population exceeding one million and its inner city is infested with all the social ills, such as crime, poverty and unemployment that traditionally provide a fertile breeding ground for hungry prizefighters.

The city has certainly produced past talents. In 1975, Bunny Johnson made history as the first black British heavyweight champion and, more recently, the likes of featherweight Pat Cowdell, from nearby Warley, and middleweights Rob McCracken, Wayne Elcock and Matt Macklin have all been good enough to contest, but not win, world titles.

In addition, fighters of the calibre of Lloyd Hibbert, Gordon Ferris, Horace Notice, Kostas Petrou, Hughie Ford, Wally Swift Jnr, and Don Broadhurst all secured British or Commonwealth crowns.

However, you'd need to trawl back to playboy heavyweight Johnny Prescott in the 1960s, to find a Birmingham fighter who could sell out big arenas in Britain's motor city.

I've dabbled with promoting in the city in the past but, though the shows have been reasonably well attended, too often they have been blighted by crowd disorder. At my first ever world title promotion – held at the NEC 28 years ago this week, and featuring big hitting Welsh welter Colin Jones's IBF and WBA title challenge to Texan Donald Curry – there was mayhem around ringside.

Similar chaotic scenes followed when I returned to the venue ten months later to showcase Cowdell's abortive WBC featherweight challenge to Azumah Nelson. I'll never forget two-time world heavyweight champion Tim Witherspoon, as amiable a man as you could meet, forcibly manhandling a few drunken idiots who'd gate-crashed the inner ringside cordon.

However, matters came to ahead in September 1994 when, again at the NEC, there was a full scale, chair-chucking riot, televised live on network TV, between football thugs attaching themselves to local hero McCracken and Salford's Steve 'The Viking' Foster. That night, sadly, someone caught up in the carnage lost an eye and, for a period, Brum was ostracised as a big fight city. Thankfully, such outbreaks of hooliganism appear consigned to history.

All that's required to re-ignite interest is a single fighter of talent and charisma. People forget that Manchester was a boxing desert before Ricky Hatton began hooking his way to fame and fortune in the early noughties. On 'The Hitman's' tail, lesser talents such as Anthony Farnell, Michael Gomez and Jamie Moore were able to capitalise on title opportunities. I firmly believe the man to lead a Birmingham renaissance could be welterweight Frankie Gavin.

The 27 year old southpaw from Hall Green unquestionably possesses the technical tools to evolve into a world beater. He has the innate instincts and capacity to improvise that you simply can't teach from a coaching manual and, at full throttle, his speed and skill set are simply breathtaking.

He remains England's only ever world amateur champion, having captured the lightweight title over in Chicago in 2007 and he was a heavy favourite to bag gold at the Beijing Olympics the following year.

However, an unexpected growth spurt in the nine month gap between qualification and the onset of those Games saw Gavin outgrow the 60KG division and forsake his chance.

Debuting alongside Olympic squad mates James DeGale and Billy Joe Saunders at Brum's NIA in February 2009, Gavin's debut was the most impressive of the trio. A cagey counterpuncher, then trained by Anthony Farnell, as an amateur, he stopped eight of his first nine punching for pay, routinely creasing the opposition with vicious body shots.

However, 2011 proved his annus horribilis. Isolated in a Manchester bedsit, depression crept in and he sought comfort in junk food which caused his weight to fluctuate and his form to dip. Simultaneously, he was plagued by a chain of family related problems that would test the resolve of the hardest men.

The abyss came in October of that year when he cried off on the eve of one of my promotions which he was set to headline. It's no secret that I was pissed off with him.

Hopefully, those problems are now past tense. He is back living at home, back with his amateur coach Tom Chaney who tolerates no nonsense, and back to the evasive ring style that made him, quite literally, untouchable fighting the globe's finest amateurs. His mind, he insists, is clear of demons and he is primed to fulfil his boundless potential.

I sincerely hope so. Last time out, Frankie nailed the British title with a solid performance – but in a lack lustre fight – to cop a landslide decision over the Chairman of the who needs him club, Sheffield's ultra negative Junior Witter.

Next Friday, at a sold out Walsall Town Hall, I expect the pride of Brum to really sizzle in his maiden defence against tough local challenger Jason Welborn. It's imperative Gavin delivers a performance that gets the industry drooling over him again.

Unbeaten in 14, rated eighth by the WBO and with the fabulous National Indoor Arena crying out for a local star to fill it, all is in place to make a big drive to the world title this year.

If Frankie fails to scale the summit, it'll not be for lack of ability, simply the man looking back in the mirror.

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One of boxing's good guys Mick Jelley celebrates a half-century in boxing this year.

The Bury ABC trainer moulded a young Amir Khan - who he describes as his Red Rum after the triple Grand National winning horse - and opted to stay in the amateurs when Khan turned pro.

He took over the club in 1962 from his father who founded it in a garage in 1936 and has coached thousands of youngsters since then.

Jelley, who's spent thousands of pounds of his own money and all his spare time on the sport, said, "It's my hobby. I've taken days off work, days off unpaid, taking lads to boxing shows. I've always said, if I'd been paid an hourly rate for what I've done in this sport, I'd be a millionaire, maybe a double millionaire."

He is one of the sports unsung heroes.

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Yesterday I won the purse bid to stage the European Super-Middleweight title clash between George Groves and Mohamed Ali Ndiaye. Victory for Groves will see him add the European title to the British and Commonwealth Championships he has already won.

That will give the Hammersmith star home advantage when he challenges for the title against Ndiaye who's a tough Senegalise based in Italy and has never been stopped in 23 fights.

On Monday I'm set to announce a huge show to take place in March featuring Groves alongside some of the other big names under my banner.

It will be like a grand slam of boxing with plenty of titles on the line in an exciting night of action. Stay tuned.

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I know recycling is important in this day and age, but surely Audley Harrison and Martin Rogan can't be recycled again?

The previous Prizefighter winners are being rolled out again in the tough man tournament next month.

If you need reminding, Harrison was blitzed in 87 seconds by David Price and Rogan was stopped by Tyson Fury last year.
Tagged under:

[JKidd]

Shoryuken - you guys have a huge March event coming up with Burns, Cleverly, Groves and Chisora all on the card. That's going to be an amazing event.

Talk is Burns is taking Broner after the Vazquez fight as well... could be a HUGE year for Rickster if the Scot can get past Vazquez and box Broner.

[Shoryuken]

Yeah Warren wasn't lying when he said it would be good. Definate viewage required..

[JKidd]

We've got ourselves a signed mega fight... Carl Froch vs. Mikkel Kessler II in May, in London.

Also seeing now that Shane Mosley is officially back and will take on Paulie in March at Barclays.

[Theo]

Since I'm old and haven't been here in awhile and too lazy to look it up, just thought I"d ask what the date is in May for Froch-Kessler? I'll be there in May.

[JKidd]

Originally Posted by Theo

Since I'm old and haven't been here in awhile and too lazy to look it up, just thought I"d ask what the date is in May for Froch-Kessler? I'll be there in May.

May 25th at the 02 arena in London.

[Theo]

Originally Posted by JKidd

May 25th at the 02 arena in London.

Rats, I'll be home by then. On the other hand, I did get tickets to see Eric Clapton at Royal Albert Hall, so I've got that going for me.

[JKidd]

Some news and notes to pass along before we head into a jam packed boxing weekend.

-Nonito Donaire is returning in April and it will be in Vegas. #1 opponent on the mind of Bob Arum, Guillermo Rigondeaux. Not done yet, but it's the top fight available with Arum not willing to work out a deal with Abner Mares and team GBP.

-Yoan Pablo Hernandez broke his hand in sparring, his defense against Tye Fields is officially off.

-As expected, Alexander Povetkin is being a massive vagina with his required "unification" with Wlad. Wlad has sent him contracts for dates and venues, and team Sauerland has sent NOTHING back or even talked to K2 promotions about any of the deals. I'm hoping the WBA does the right thing and strip him of his bogus "title" at the end of today.

-On that note, Wlad is returning in April. No rumored opponents yet, but Tyson Fury is running his mouth to try and get the fight.

-For some crazy reason, Roy Jones Jr is pursuing a fight (that's stupid in it's own right, I know) with retired former super middie champ, Steve Collins - who is 17 months from turning 50. This fight didn't happen 18 years ago, but apparently it never expired.

-Adonis Stevenson lost out on a title shot, but it looks like the IBF is going to allow him to fight for some "interim" bout while the Kessler/Froch rematch materializes. Rumor has it he'll fight either Edwin Rodriguez, Lucian Bute or Thomas Oosthuizen. All 3 are good fights, IMO. Stevenson or the winner who beats him then gets the Froch/Kessler winner.

-Amir Khan is rumored to be heading home to the UK for a proposed bout with Vyacheslav Senchenko. Be a good fight, IMO.

-Brandon Rios vs. Mike Alvarado II is near being done. Cameron Dunkin wants more money for the Rios side though, and that's the only hang up thus far.

-Prospect Thomas Dulorme is about ready for a return fight after getting stopped last time out by Carlos Abregu. Will be a division south at 140 though.

-Still nothing from Kelly Pavlik on his future now that his fight with Andre Ward is dead.

-Speaking of Ward, he had successful surgery on his shoulder and now begins rehab.

-The WBC will allow an interim championship fight for their 168lb belt while Andre Ward is shelved. The fight will feature Sakio Bika vs. Nikola Sjekloca 25-0, 7 KOs. It will be on the Broner/Rees undercard in AC.

Weekend preview will be done tomorrow featuring a free card on NBC and of course, the mega card at MSG on HBO.

[JKidd]

Here we are... weigh in day for tomorrow's two monster cards. Some predictions:

NBC card in Uncasville, Conn:
-Gabriel Campillo (21-4-1, 8 KOs) vs. Sergey Kovalev (19-0, 17 KOs) - 10 rounds, light heavyweights

*If there is anything we know about Campillo its that the guy can flat out box the brakes off of most guys. We also know, however, that because of his lack of power, he gets jobbed like crazy on the cards. In front of him is a Russian destroying machine who hasn't "just" fought the typical Euro trash to pad his record. He's fought state side a few times, and fought decent opposition abroad. As much as I like Campillo and appreciate his skills, Kovalev isn't a rigid, start and stop-reset kind of guy. He's technical enough to get into good angles and throws punches. I'll take Kovalev in this one, possibly by stoppage if he cuts the ring off.

-Elvin Ayala (26-5-1, 12 KOs) vs. Curtis Stevens (22-3, 16 KOs) 10 rounds, middleweights

*The undercard co-feature. It should be a decent fight. Stevens has got some skill and power, but lacks polishing. Ayala is riding a nice win streak coming in, 6 fights and 3 stoppages, and they've both faced some top end opposition, with Ayala facing the better quality (Arthur Abraham, loss KO12; David Lemieux, loss KO1; and Lajuan Simon, loss UD12). He is chinny and Stevens has the power to do the job. But, given the opportunity, I see Ayala taking this one on the cards at the end.

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The big one at MSG on HBO:
Roman "Rocky" Martinez (26-1, 16 KOs) vs. Juan Carlos "MiniBurgos" Burgos (30-1, 20 KOs)
*This is going to be VERY fun to watch. Do not sleep on this fight and do not think about missing it, it's a FOTY candidate. Two guys who like to move forward and bomb away, with Martinez mixing in more technique. Both guys have failed to superior boxers - Rocky to Ricky Burns and Burgos to Hozumi Hasegawa. Won't see any of that finesse boxing here though. Rocky starts slow, and Burgos comes on early. I see Rocky getting through the early rounds, settling in, and stopping Burgos as the fight goes on. Look for a straight right hand to start things off.

Orlando Salido (39-11-2, 27 KOs) vs. Mikey Garcia (30-0, 26 KOs)
*Another FOTY candidate when it goes down. The nonstop pressure for Salido has broken many opponents and is something to behold. However, Mikey trains with this on a daily basis with Tony Margarito. Training for a guy who has as much precision in his power punches as Mikey Garcia is something hard to find in the gym. Salido has given many counter punchers fits with his pressure and overhand right-left hook. But, I see Mikey getting through the early pressure cooker, and then picking Siri apart with hooks and uppercuts. He'll also need to give Salido a hard jab to keep him a bit honest. In the end, I'll take Garcia on the score cards.

Gennady Golovkin (24-0, 21 KOs) vs. Gabriel Rosado (21-5, 13 KOs)
*Rosado's toughest challenge to date after being fed to the lions early on. Golovkin though, faces his toughest challenge as well. GGG is a boxer-bomber like most haven't seen since Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. In front of him is the rebuilt, always improving, power punching boxer Gabriel Rosado, who is coming up from 154 - giving up a title shot there - to take on a middle weight champ. Rosado has improved every single time he's fought, and he'll need to show something amazing to top the Kazak bomber. My heart says Rosado. Simply put, he's faced far tougher opponents, far better opponents, and is looking phenomenal. My brain says Golovkin though. I'll go with the heart, and call the upset - Rosado by KO.

[Flyers2001]

I am a huge Rosado fan and though I think he faced a better line of opponents, GGG is the real deal as well. He may of not faced them in the pro's, but he holds wins over Dirrell, Bute, and Lee as an amateur. My heart wants Rosado to win, because he is a real fighter and i think the return on the money is much better.

Mikey garcia is a quiet killer. He is the real deal and I think we will see a star born when Salido pushes the pace. Garcia hits too hard and is too accurate and when he is pushed I believe he is the type of fighter to stick to the plan and respnd accordingly. JuanMa got to caught up with tryign to out slug a slugger, Mikey and his corner is to smart for that.

Bob Arum said in an interview with greg Leon, that Rios - Alvarado rematch was set for March 30th at the Mandalay Bay, but Rios tweeted that nothing was final.

[rock'emsock'em]

Golovkin just has something about him that excites me. On the HBO feed Max likened him to Tyson not in style but in the fact that if he hits his opponent he "wobbles them". I'm sure it sounds strange but the guy has an aura about him, an ominous one somehow, I can't wait for his next fight.

That Burgos Martinez fight was great, Burgos should have won though, as I'm sure most will agree.

Mikey Garcia is one of the sharpest boxer punchers I recall seeing in a long time. Huge talent, and his ring IQ is very impressive.

[JKidd]

Here's our weekend recap...
NBC card:
Curtis Stevens KO1 over Elvin Ayala
I mentioned Ayala being chinny, and Stevens having power, and it was on full display. Ayala threw a right hand that Stevens threw a left hook counter to, and down goes Ayala. He gets up, only to be swarmed and its over. In the post fight, Ayala mentioned the trash talk got to him, and he got away from his game plan to box and wanted to show how big his balls were... wrong answer.

Sergey Kovalev TKO3 over Gabriel Campillo
This clearly wasn't the Campillo we've gotten used to seeing. He was slow, lethargic and not in the fight. During the bout, it was mentioned he was having visa issues up until Wednesday and had a terrible camp... it showed. Kovalev quite literally beat the hell out of him for 3 rounds. Knocking Campo down 3 times, twice from body shots, and the final time a crushing straight right hand. Kovalev is no joke, and in a deep division, his stock is up there for some big fights this year.

HBO card at MSG
Roman Martinez Split Draw over Juan Carlos Burgos
Was not a fan of this decision. I had Burgos winning, and he emphatically took the fight over in the 12th going to war with Rocky and busting him up. The body work Burgos invested in was devastating and you could tell it took a lot of Martinez, who visibly winced in pain and had to stop a few times. I was hoping Burgos would stomp on the gas pedal and go for the KO, but, he didn't and it ultimately cost him as Rocky escapes with a split draw. Nobody I talked to had it a draw, or even had Martinez winning.

Gennady Golovkin TKO7 over Gabriel Rosado
I made mention on Twitter, that Golovkin is the kind of quiet guy you'd find in a movie that you wouldn't look twice at, but then when "his" scene comes up, he slaughters an entire room. And that's pretty much what he did. He opened up a BAD cut on Rosado early in the fight with a jab, and proceeded to bust Rosado up, staggering him a couple times - never dropping him though - and busting up Rosado's mouth and nose. Rosado had his moments, causing mouses under each eye of Golovkin, but ultimately couldn't do enough to stop the onslaught and ended up having his corner throw the towel in to save him during a savage 7th round.

Mikey Garcia TD8 over Orlando Salido
Speaking of silent killing machines, here comes Mikey Garcia.Talk about a beatdown. He knocks Siri down 4 times in the opening 4 rounds, and picked him apart with power shots on the front end and back end. Salido, on my card, only won a single round. He got to Mikey and hit him with his overhand rights, but Mikey took them well, moved, and clinched. He then got separation and pulverized Salido, who had an eye almost swelled shut. At the end of the 8th round, Salido drilled Mikey with a headbutt (one I thought was intentional) that broke Garcia's nose pretty badly, and the doctor called off the fight.

On a personal note from Saturday, Matt Vanda, local boxing guy here in Minnesota who's fought a lot of big names - Julio Cesar Chavez Jr twice (winning one, but getting robbed on the cards), John Duddy, Yuri Boy Campas, Marco Antonio Rubio, Peter Manfredo Jr and Ossie Duran - called it a career over the weekend after a gym mate of mine, Caleb Truax, beat him in a 10 round UD. I spent a lot of time boxing on his local undercards, and wish him nothing but the best as he goes off into retirement at 44-15, 24 KOs.

[JKidd]

For those that didn't see, Kelly Pavlik has called it a career and decided to hang up the gloves.

He cited a lack of desire, health and wanting to spend time with his family.

Best of luck to Kelly as he returns home to Ohio. Carved out a nice little legacy, made some decent money, and retires with losses to two of the absolute best in the business.