Battle Lines – Undercard Review

10/03/201410/02/2014 Ryan Forde-Kelly

Saturday night marks the eagerly awaited return of local favourite Josh Warrington, who meets little known Italian Davide Dieli for the vacant EBU Featherweight title at the impressive First Direct Arena in the heart of his beloved Leeds.

Eddie Hearn and Matchroom have taken the opportunity of what promises to be a raucous occasion to assemble a deep card, packed with notable names from their growing stable.

Returning to action in the chief supporting bout, this time at Light Welterweight is former two-weight World Champion Ricky Burns. The Scotsman contests what appears to be a routine 8-rounder against Frenchman Alexandre Lepelly (17-1-1 3KO’s). Burns (36-4-1 11KO’s) now under the tutelage of Tony Sims, comes into the fight on the back of 3 straight defeats (If you correctly count the Raymundo Beltran debacle as a defeat) and will take the opportunity to feel his way into a new weight class, against a fighter not renowned for his punching ability.

Cleverly/Bellew rematch live on Sky Sports Box Office

10/01/201410/01/2014 Matchroom Boxing

DeGale, Joshua, Quigg, McDonnell and Callum Smith all feature on massive undercard

Tony Bellew will finally seek his revenge against arch rival Nathan Cleverly when the pair meet in the hugely-anticipated grudge match exclusively live on Sky Sports Box Office.

Three years ago, Cleverly defeated Bellew by a tight majority decision as he defended is WBO World Light Heavyweight crown and finally the rematch is on. On November 22 the pair will go head to head for the second time but at Cruiserweight back at the Echo Arena in Bellew’s home town of Liverpool.

Abraham vs Smith: ‘That’s What Happens In Germany’

10/01/201409/29/2014 Ryan Forde-Kelly

First of all, congratulations to Paul Smith who delivered a career best performance, which he promised, on the night when it mattered the most. A monumental effort behind enemy lines, which was appreciated by every set of fully functioning eyeballs which had the joy of tuning in for what was a tremendous fight.

Isn’t it such a shame that we find ourselves on familiar ground once again, marveling at inconceivable ineptitude that points to the darker side of boxing, which has soiled its name for far too long.

Hearn pushing WBO to force Paul Smith – Arthur Abraham rematch

09/29/201409/28/2014 Jeff Sorby

Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn plans on appealing to the WBO to see if they can make his beaten fighter Paul Smith (35-4, 20 KOs) the WBO 168lb mandatory challenger to WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (41-4, 28 KOs), who beat him by a 12 round unanimous decision last night Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

Hearn’s beef was that the scoring was too wide in Abraham’s favor in a fight that appeared to be a lot closer than the scores given by the three judges. Hearn was especially upset about one judge scoring the fight 119-109. Hearn thought that score came out of left field. Interestingly enough, Hearn says that the fight could have gone Abraham’s way by a round or so, but he’s upset about the wide scores.

Kalle Sauerland open to Abraham-Smith rematch if the money is right

09/28/201409/28/2014 T.Baker

If Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn is interested in getting a rematch for his fighter Paul Smith (35-4, 20 KOs) against WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (41-4, 28 KOs) then Hearn will need to open up his pocketbook and come up with a lot of cash because Abraham’s promoter Kalle Sauerland says he’s only going to let Abraham fight Smith again if the interest is there and the money is good enough.

Hearn will need to dig real deep for cash if he wants to have Abraham travel to Liverpool to fight Smith at home in the UK. Sauerland doesn’t want to put his fighter at a disadvantage unless it’s a substantial offer from Hearn. Abraham has a large following in Germany, so there’s really no point in him traveling to Liverpool to fight Smith, a fighter he just defeated by a 12 round unanimous decision last Saturday night in Germany.

Abraham vs Smith: Smith’s Crowning Moment?

09/28/201409/27/2014 Ryan Forde-Kelly

On the morning of the Merseyside Derby, you would be forgiven for the thinking that an Everton away victory would be the rarest of occurrences, having not won since 1999, in this sports crazy city.

You’d be wrong.

Not since Paul Hodgkinson’s reign as WBC Featherweight Champion, between 1991-1993, has Liverpool been the home to a legitimate world champion. So, when Paul Smith faces Arthur Abraham (40-4 28KO’s) for the WBO Super-Middleweight World Title in Kiel, Germany this evening, he will aim to redress the balance and return with a title this city has been missing for far too long.

Matthew Macklin vs. Jose Yebes this Saturday, September 27th in Germany

09/27/201409/26/2014 Jeff Sorby

Former three time world title challenger Matthew Macklin (30-5, 20 KOs) will be in action this Saturday night in an 8 round stay busy fight against 35-year-old Jose Yebes (12-4-1, 5 KOs) on the undercard of the Arthur Abraham vs. Paul Smith fight card at the Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, in Germany.

Macklin, 32, hasn’t fought since struggling to defeat little known Lamar Russ last December in an impressive performance. Macklin looked really poor in that fight, and he was fortunate that Russ didn’t have the stamina to fight hard for more than 5 rounds.

Paul Smith: This is my first and last chance to win a world title

09/27/201409/26/2014 Jeff Sorby

Paul Smith (35-3, 20 KOs) will be fighting for a world title for the first time in his 11-year pro career this Saturday night against WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (40-4, 28 KOs) at the Sparkassen-Arena in Kiel, Germany.

Smith, 31, has definitely picked out the weak link among the super middleweight champions because Abraham has already been proven to not be in the league of Carl Froch and Andre Ward. WBC champion Anthony Dirrell would likely be too much for Abraham as well. But Smith doesn’t have that kind of talent, so he’s going to need to use his intelligence to try and outbox Abraham rather than wasting time trying to put a dent in his sturdy chin.

Tyson Fury Restrained By Tape, Chisora Vows Ko Win

09/22/2014 BoxNation

Dereck Chisora promised to KO heavyweight rival Tyson Fury once and for all when they clash at the ExCeL London on Saturday 29th November, but Fury had no reply!

The Manchester giant turned up at today’s head-to-head press conference with tape strapped over his mouth and “BBBofC?????” written on it – in reference to his £15,000 fine by the Board for misconduct at a previous press conference with Chisora – and vowed to stay silent until fight night.

Chisora and Fury clash with the European, Vacant British and Eliminator for the WBO World Championship all on the line in the biggest all-British heavyweight clash in recent years, live and exclusive on BoxNation.

The Return of the Saint

09/22/201409/22/2014 Ryan Forde-Kelly

George Groves has been blessed with what would appear, to this writer at least, to be a special kind of self-confidence, an inner belief that sets him apart and will be lead him to World Title in the not too distant future. This assertion typified by his immediate return to the scene of what was the most harrowing night of his boxing career.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Wembley Arena was chosen for the second fight under the Sauerland banner. The decision to meet his demons head on, one typical of George Groves, who for my money, still believes completely that he’s got Froch’s number. That might sound deluded to some and for what it’s worth I make him wrong, but it’s this very mentality that can propel ‘The Saint’ to the top.