Golovkin / Macklin: Will Matthew behave like a good boy?

06/28/2013 Chris Carlson

735 When Gennady Golovkin and Matthew Macklin made their HBO debut both exceeded expectations. Golovkin needed only 5 rounds to dispose of Grzegorz Proksa while Macklin showed his worth pushing Lineal Middleweight Champion Sergio Martinez proving his draw versus the aging Felix Sturm, which many believe he won, was no fluke. Has Golovkin been prematurely crowned a king of a division? Does Macklin have what it takes as a +650 underdog to pull off the upset? Answers to those questions will come Saturday night with the fans ultimately winning in what should be an entertaining fight.

The day he stepped foot in America and on the premium channel giant HBO, the fighter who goes by the alias “Triple G” made his presents felt in a major way. Golovkin catapulted himself near the top in the minds of hardcore boxing fans across the world, in less time than it takes the average person to say Gennady Gennadyevich Golovkin’s full name.

ESPN2 Friday Night Fights Recap from Minneapolis

09/15/201606/22/2013 Chris Carlson

In what was a shorter than expected main event IBF Title Eliminator from the Minneapolis Convention Center which was broadcasted by Espn2 and Espn Deportes. Rances Barthelemy scored a 2nd round knockout with shots the body that put Fahsai Sakkreerin on the floor for the full 10 count. Fortunately Sakkreerin was able to get up after a being tended to by the ringside doctor.

Rances controlled the 1st round with lead left hooks and counter right uppercuts on the inside. Fahsai landed his left early in the round but Barthelemy’s ability to roll his punches enabled him to land anything clean.

In the second round Barthelemy stuck his long jab in Fahsai’s face than followed it up with solid shots to the body and head. The fighters exchange body shots a few times in a row but it was Rances bigger, more accurate shots that ended the night. The win moves Barthelemy’s record to a perfect 19-0(12Ko) and puts him in prime position in the IBF rankings.

Broner vs. Malignaggi: Does Adrien believe in Magic?

06/22/201306/21/2013 Chris Carlson

I can’t recall another fight in recent years that had so much 2 way trash talk leading up to the event. If the fight lives up to even 50% of the hype that got very personal at times, we could see both men fighting with some extra emotion in the ring this Saturday from Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center. This fight isn’t a PPV but you would never guess from the buzz that it has created even with Adrien Broner being a huge favorite at the sportsbooks.

Will Paulie be able push Broner the way Ponce De Leon and Fernando Quintero did? Or will the pre fight presser’s be the only thing we remember about this fight that could be downright boring?

Weigh in results for ESPN2 FNF Minneapolis

06/21/201306/20/2013 Chris Carlson

549 Weights for the Espn2 Friday Night Fights Card-Minneapolis Convention Center

Rances Barthelemy 129 vs Fahsi Sakkreerin 128 IBF 130 Eliminator
Donovan George 161.8 vs Caleb Truax 162 -10 rounds 162
Jeremy Mclaurin 134.6 vs Tony Lee 134 -8 rounds 135
Gavin Quinn 154 vs Kenneth Glenn 158(over)-4 rounds 154
Charles Meirer 154 vs Tyler Hultin 153.6 -8 rounds 154
Pat Quinn 363 vs Josh Schimon-4 rounds Heavyweight
Lewayne Hardiman(no show) vs Dustan Perton 155.7 – 4 rounds
Adrian Martinez 135.7 vs Leonard Overstreet 139.2 -4 rounds

Tickets to Friday Night Fights at the Convention Center start at $35 and can be purchased through www.sofights.com.bIn addition to the 12-round Barthelemy vs. Sakkreerin main event, seven more fights are scheduled including the 10-round televised middleweight co-main event between local hero “Golden” Caleb Truax (21-1-1, 12 KO) of Osseo, Minnesota, and Chicago’s Don “Da Bomb” George (24-3-2, 21 KO).

Mares vs. Gonzalez and Santa Cruz vs. Terrazas close for Aug. 24 on Showtime

09/15/201606/19/2013 Chris Carlson

Espn.com writer Dan Rafael is reporting that a Championship doubleheader featuring Abner Mares vs. Jhonny Gonzalez and Victor Terrazas vs. Leo Santa Cruz is very close to being official. The fights would take place on August 24th and be broadcasted by Showtime Sports.

Since Golden Boy Promotions recently won the purse bid for the Terrazas vs. Santa Cruz fight, which will open up the broadcast, the only thing left is finalizing the fight between all action fighter Abner Mares and former champion Jhonny Gonzalez.

From the sounds of it the fight is just a matter of days away from being done. On Tuesday night Golden Boy C.E.O Richard Schafer told ESPN.com “There are no particular outstanding issues with Mares and Gonzalez. Both fighters want to fight and I’m just trying to finalize everything.”

Garcia vs. Lopez: Engaging, Explosive, or at the very least Entertaining

06/16/201306/14/2013 Chris Carlson

Mikey Garcia made a statement in his last fight when he disarmed tough as nails pressure fighter Orlando Salido from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City on January 19th. The same Orlando Salido that took Juan Manuel Lopez’s “0” in a battle of Mexico vs. Puerto Rico in 2011 and followed that performance up just short of 11 months later with another TKO victory. Which Juanma will show up to the ring this Saturday for his fight versus unbeaten Mikey Garcia at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas?

Bob Arum had to have a tear in his eye the night of April 16th 2011. One of his prized pupils from Puerto Rico had his boxing heart ripped out of his chest, in what was a nightmare scenario to any Puerto Rican boxing fan, by the hands of a Mexican fighter. Yeah Bob Arum made money that night and the fight set up a rematch that also filled the Top Rank coffers. Fight fans were happy with the war that added to yet another classic installment to the Puerto Rico vs. Mexico rivalry. But deep down inside Arum had to feel the pain Lopez felt in his boxing soul, only it wasn’t his soul but a hole he felt in his deep pockets considering what was at stake that night.

Hopkins vs. Murat Showtime fight on July 13 is cancelled over visa issues?

06/14/201306/14/2013 Chris Carlson

Veteran Scribe Steve Kim of Maxboxing.com has reported via Twitter that the scheduled fight between the Legend of Longevity Bernard Hopkins and Karo Murat has been cancelled due to Murat having visa issues.
Not long ago Kim, who can be followed on twitter @stevemaxboxing tweeted this “It looks like the Hopkins-Murat card on July 13th is off, from what I’m told. Murat has Visa issues”. Minutes later he added this, “Btw, SHO is now going ‘dark” on July 13.”

Visa issues have been a thorn in the side of many events throughout the history of boxing. With that said you can’t help but to speculate that there may be another reason for the possible cancellation of this fight. Murat’s Visa issue if he has one could be legit. It could also be perfect timing for Bernard Hopkins to move in another direction. The fight was made quickly and for a man who has limited fights left before he hits the age of 50, there could be other factors that are dictating the fight being called off.

Marcos Maidana vs. Josesito Lopez: By any means necessary

06/07/2013 Chris Carlson

From the opening bell in this highly anticipated matchup between Josesito Lopez and Marcos Maidana one thing will be clear, both fighters will dig deep for a victory and have a win by any means necessary attitude. In what is yet another main event being billed as a possible fight of the year for 2013, a boxing year that has exploded from March to May it’s hard not to assume that this fight will live up to the lofty expectations placed on it by hardcore fans. These fighters managed to pull off upsets versus Victor Oritz, making him quit without a 10 count. The winner puts himself in great position to land a title fight at welterweight. Style and the mentalities of these fighters should make for an instant classic, something the Home Depot Center (now named StubHub) has become accustom to in recent years.

Golden Boy has been burnt twice by these guys in their quest to turn a popular young prospect into a full fledge star. In case you haven’t been paying attention I will break it down iller, see Oscar De La Hoya was a businessman and “El Chino” was the killer(note: 50 cent song explains that sentence). Although most people were calling him Madonna leading up the fight, Maidana went down early and often but returned the favor shocking the pro Ortiz crowd that night in June 2009 at the Staples Center.