By Jeff Sorby: WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (25-0, 22 KO’s) will be fighting in March or possibly April against a still to be determined opponent. Former EBU middleweight champion Darren Barker is a possibility as he’s been mentioned as one of the candidates.
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Danny Garcia vs. Zab Judah Predictions
By Chip Mitchell and Robert Uzzell:
Robert Uzzell:
Danny “Swift” Garcia
Danny Garcia is a hot ticket fighter right now. Fresh off of an upset victory over Amir “King” Khan, Danny’s last outing saw him ice Erik Morales in a rematch last October. His confidence is at an all-time high. He has wins over Khan, Morales (twice), Kendall Holt, Nate Campbell, and Mike Arnaoutis.
Danny has fought guys who were considered a little past it (Kendall Holt) and far past it (Morales twice). No matter how you see it, the WBA/WBC light welterweight champion is 25-0 heading into the showdown with Judah.
Rosado’s cut prevented him from going after Golovkin, says his promoter
By Jeff Sorby: Russell Peltz, the promoter for Gabriel Rosado (21-6, 13 KO’s), thinks Rosado fought well enough last Saturday in his 7th round TKO loss to WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golokvin (25-0, 22 KO’s) to win fans from the gutsy performance.
Donaire to fight on April 13th
By Rob Smith: WBC super bantamweight champion Abner Mares (25-0-1, 13 KO’s) is one of three possible opponent for WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire’s next fight on April 13th, according to Philboxing.com. The other two are WBA super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux and former two division world champion Vic Darchinyan.
Mosley vs. Malignaggi: Shane sees big things for himself in the future
By Bill Phanco: Shane Mosley (46-8-1, 39 KO’s) thinks the skies the limit for him if he can beat WBA World welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (32-4, 7 KO’s) on April 27th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Mosley wanted the fight with Malignaggi and he directly asked Golden Boy Promotions and they gave it to him despite his long four victory drought.
Mikey Garcia is a joy to watch
by Paul Strauss: Here’s a bucket of money. Now go out and hire a biological engineer and make known your wishes for the creation or design of a great boxer. If necessary, the lab rats will take a little DNA here and a little there, garnering the needed ingredients to come up with the desired result. It will be your job to give a detailed description of what you want. Don’t leave anything out. Make it known you want your boxer (not fighter) to have power in both hands. He must be technically sound, demonstrating the ability to block, slip, parry, duck under and counter each and every shot thrown at him.
Undoubtedly, you will want your fighter to be tough and not to get flustered when defending or attacking. Give your fighter great instincts, so he can read opponents’ tells. Go ahead and let the biologist know your man should not expel energy unnecessarily. He should be graceful and move well, but only at the right time and at the right distance, not wasting any motion or get himself out of position.
Tell the scientists, your boxer must always be on balance, ready to strike at any instant and with power. After supplying these instructions, chances are you will end up with a boxer closely resembling Miguel Angel “Mikey” Garcia.
Mikey Garcia wins WBO Featherweight title
By Joseph Herron – After many months of eagerly anticipating his first world title opportunity, 25 year old Mikey Garcia (31-0, 26 KOs) captured the WBO Featherweight Championship by defeating the widely recognized number one ranked 126 pound fighter in the world, Orlando Salido (39-12-2, 27 KOs), by way of an eight round unanimous technical decision.
Unfortunately for those in attendance, the judges’ verdict was forced prematurely and the action was ceased after only eight stanzas had materialized because of an accidental headbutt that inadvertently broke the nose of Mikey Garcia.
During the closing seconds of the eighth round, Orlando Salido lunged in while attempting to land an overhand right, which was followed by a forehead shot that bludgeoned the snout of the young title challenger. Although the vicious butt was deemed unintentional, the fight was ultimately stopped after referee Benjee Esteves, Jr. followed the recommendation of the physician at ringside.
Gennady Golovkin dominates Gabriel Rosado to earn TKO in 7
By Joseph Herron – Gennady Golovkin (25-0, 22 KOs) successfully retained his WBA Middleweight Championship with a technical stoppage over a lively but overmatched Gabriel Rosado (21-6, 13 KOs) at the 2:46 mark of round seven.
The decision to stop the contest was made by Rosado’s trainer and friend, Billy Briscoe, when it became abundantly clear that the courageous Philly native’s vision was being impaired by a horrid gash over his left eye. After bleeding profusely for the majority of the seven round contest, the 27 year old fighter stopped being competitive and shifted gears into survival mode throughout the final stanza of the halted bout.
While the stoppage was unanimously supported by those at ringside, it was also collectively understood that Golovkin’s second consecutive HBO appearance was much more competitive than most fight pundits and boxing scribes had anticipated.
Kelly Pavlik: An Appreciation
By James Slater – By now, fight fans have almost certainly read or heard about former middleweight king Kelly Pavlik’s retirement announcement. “The Ghost,” 40-2(34) and just 31-years-old, told ESPN.com of his decisions, citing concerns for his long-term health and a lack of drive as his main reasoning. Pavlik was all set to fight Pound-for-Pounder Andre Ward, and the cancellation of this big fight (due to Ward’s shoulder injury/subsequent surgery) reportedly left the Youngstown legend disappointed and this too may have partially inspired his decision to walk away from the sport that made him great and he in turn helped make a little greater.
A genuine blue collar hero and an inspiration to millions of “small guys” the world over, Pavlik especially made the good people of his home town feel proud. This article is intended to say a small thank you to Kelly, a fighter who made this writer jump off the couch on more than one occasion. Pavlik was, above all else, exciting!
Who can forget his give and take battle with the then unbeaten Edison Miranda? The May 2007 win (a 7th-round TKO win for Pavlik) saw “The Ghost” – then aged 25 and, as we now know, in his absolute, arguably never to be better, prime – earn a shot at another unbeaten fighter: the middleweight champion of the world, Jermain Taylor. If Pavlik, a punishing puncher who had a great left jab, a reliable chin and a fine engine, wasn’t at his best against Miranda, he sure was against Taylor.
Arum will make it easier for Marquez to KO Pacquiao in September
By Rob Smith: If you had any doubts about who will be winning the fifth fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez this September, you can erase those doubts and lean in the direction of Marquez to beat Manny again.