ESB

Rafael doubts Canelo will face Trout on May 4th

alvarez343By Jeff Sorby: Dan Rafael of ESPN believes that if WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez does fight on the Floyd Mayweather Jr. undercard on May 4th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, it won’t be against the unbeaten WBA World junior middleweight Austin Trout.

Rafael also thinks the only way Canelo will agree to fight on the card will be if he’s given a guarantee to fight Mayweather later in the year on September 14th.

That’s pretty much what a lot of people think is going to happen. Canelo will take a risk-free fight on May 4th, and then look to get the Mayweather payday in September. It probably doesn’t matter to casual boxing fans whether Canelo faces Austin Trout or not on May 4th because they’ll be interested in seeing Canelo fight even if Golden Boy Promotions matches him up against another light welterweight like his last opponent Josesito Lopez.

continue

Arum excited about Mexico City for Pacquiao-Marquez 5 fight

arum4By Rob Smith: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is enthusiastic about placing the Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez fifth fight inside a new arena in Mexico City, Mexico. The arena holds 18,000 and Arum believes it’s an ideal location for the Pacquiao-Marquez fight to take place. He expects Americans to come and watch the Pacquiao-Marquez fight, but it’s going to be real test to see if that happens.

Arum said to ringtv “Mexico City has a beautiful arena in Mexico City…It’s bigger than the MGM [Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada]. It’s a state of the art facility. They just built it…it’s a safe area.”

That’s a long trip for U.S boxing fans to take just to see Pacquiao and Marquez fight. There’s also the danger of traveling in Mexico. Right now the country has an ongoing drug war going on and it’s potentially risky to travel there. U.S fans obviously want to see Pacquiao and Marquez again, but is it worth the risk? Does Arum have a body guard in Mexico? I would be afraid to travel their myself even with a body guard.

continue

Garcia-Salido: Mikey faces his first test of his career on Saturday

garcia454By Bill Phanco: Mikey Garcia (30-0, 26 KO’s) comes from a big boxing family and he’s had a ton support all throughout his six-year pro career. Thus far Garcia has been matched carefully chosen opposition to the point where his resume may not really tell the true picture of how good or not so good he is as a fighter.

On Saturday night, Garcia will be taking on WBO featherweight champion Orlando Salido (39-11-2, 27 KO’s) at Madison Square Garden in New York. Salido is the exact opposite of Garcia. He comes from Mexico, and he hasn’t been matched carefully.

Salido has faced the best fighters for years now in battles against Robert Guerrero, Juan Manuel Marquez, Juan Manuel Lopez, Yuriorkis Gamboa and Rogers Mtagwa. He’s been in tough and he’s done. Salido beat Guerrero and Lopez twice, although his win over Guerrero was later changed to a no contest after he tested positive for a banned substance. Mikey hasn’t faced anyone yet that you can call a good fighter. They’ve just been very careful with him to make sure he doesn’t have slip ups.

continue

David Price Vs Tyson Fury – Potential British Domestic Classic in 2013?

fury5423Jack Scales – 2012 proved to be a fruitful year for British boxing, in both the paid and unpaid ranks. The Olympic games showcased a plethora of young talent, whilst the professional game blessed us with emphatic performances from the likes of Carl Froch, Ricky Burns, Kell Brook, Toney Bellew and Carl Frampton. In spite of this success, 2012 still suffered its fair share of disappointment. Price and Fury’s failure to fight for the British title -as a result of Fury’s decision to vacate – was one of them, but hopefully this can be rectified in 2013.

With the exception of David Haye, these two behemoths are without question the best pair of Heavyweights that Britain has to offer. Additionally, because of their size and ever advancing skill-sets, they have been touted by some as potential conquerors of the Klitschkos. Are they presently capable of this? Most respected fight analysts would give you a resounding no. However, what these two fighters are capable of is offering the publican enthralling and potentially brutal contest.

continue

Deontay Wilder in stay busy fight against Matthew Greer on Saturday

wilder777By Michael Collins: Unbeaten heavyweight prospect Deontay Wilder (26-0, 26 KO’s) will be fighting this weekend against Matthew Greer (15-8, 13 KO’s) in an 8 round fight on the undercard of the super featherweight match-up between Sergio Thompson and Moises Castro at the Centro de Convenciones, Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico.

The 27-year-old Wilder is taking a lot of flak for fighting Greer because boxing fans want to see the 6’7” Wilder step it up already and start fighting better opposition. However, this is a stay busy fight for Wilder. He was offered the spot at the last second he agreed just to stay busy and to get an opportunity to be televised on Fox Deportes in the United States.

It’s a good fight for Wilder to continue to hone his skills to get ready for the better fighters in the division. Boxing fans don’t seem to realize that Wilder didn’t have much of an amateur career. While he did win the bronze medal in the 2008 Olympics, he did it after having only small amount of amateur fights.

continue

Arum: Pacquiao doesn’t want to fight Marquez in U.S because he’d have to pay high taxes

arum453By Rob Smith: Bob Arum says Manny Pacquiao will be looking to fight Juan Manuel Marquez outside of the United States for their fifth fight in September to escape the high taxes in the country. Pacquiao and Marquez both want to avoid the taxes for this fight, and Arum is planning on staging it in Mexico in Mexico City.

Arum said to ringtv “Pacquiao doesn’t want to fight in the United States because he’d have to give close to 40% [in taxes] to the government…They [Pacquiao and Marquez] would prefer for the fight not to be in the United States. That’s what happens when you raise taxes and you say ‘Well, let the rich pay.’”

That sounds like a good move for Arum, Pacquiao and Marquez. If they can get the U.S pay per view money tax free, then more power to them. They’re probably saving a bundle by making this move, and who knows how much time those guys have left in their careers. One more knockout loss for Pacquiao and it could be over, and Marquez will be 40-years-old by the time he faces Pacquiao for their fifth fight in September.

continue

Wladimir Klitschko to fight on April 6th, but it might not be against Povetkin

wladimir78By Jeff Sorby: WBA World heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin doesn’t appear to be in the cards for IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko’s next fight on April 6th, according to espnnewyork.com. The Povetkin-Wladimir fight will take place later on in the year unless Povetkin decides he still doesn’t want to fight the 6’6” Wladimir.

The April 6th fight will likely see Wladimir face another less than spectacular opponent. Kubrat Pulev and Tomasz Adamek will be fighting in an IBF heavyweight eliminator bout this year, but neither of those guys will be fighting Wladimir next. That means that Wladimir will have to choose from a list of heavyweights that won’t be competitive. He’s already destroyed his last three opponents since his mismatch with David Haye in 2011. Since that one-sided fight, Wladimir has wiped out 39-year-old Jean Marc Mormeck, 41-year-old Tony Thompson and soundly beaten Mariusz Wach.

There’s not much time before April, so that likely means we could see an especially weak opponent for Wladimir.

continue

Donaire-Rigondeaux possible for April 27th in Las Vegas, Nevada

rigondeaux234By Rob Smith: Bob Arum says a fight between WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (31-1, 20 KO’s) and WBA champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 KO’s) is possible for April 27th at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Arum says he’ll try to make the fight that Donaire wants against WBC super bantamweight champion Abner Mares, but if that fight can take place then it’s going to be Donaire-Rigondeaux in April.

Speaking with RingTV, Arum said “We will see [Donaire fight] again hopefully in April. I we can free up Mares, that would be a good fight. If we can’t, then probably Rigondeaux.”

Arum obviously wants the Rigondeaux-Donaire fight because he would be helping out both of his fighters by making this fight. He promotes Rigondeaux as well, and the Cuban fighter badly wants to fight Donaire. A win for Rigondeaux over Donaire would dramatically increase his popularity among U.S boxing fans, although not to the same level as Donaire of course. Donaire has a huge built in Filipino fan base that follow his fights avidly.

continue

Khan vs. Senchenko possible for April 20th in Manchester, UK

senchenko45By Michael Collins: Amir Khan is reportedly in negotiations with former WBA World welterweight champion Vyacheslav Senchenko for a fight that is possible for April 20th at the Manchester Arena. To make the fight happen, Khan might have to move up to 147, but it’s also possible that Senchenko will come down to 140 for the right price.
It’ll be a big payday for Senchenko because he’s asking for a considerable amount to take the fight.

In picking Senchenko, Khan would be looking to capitalize on the interest that Manchester fans might have in seeing Senchenko beaten after he destroyed their hero Ricky Hatton by a 9th round TKO last November in Hatton’s disastrous comeback attempt. Of course, it wouldn’t be Hatton that is avenging the loss, but for some boxing fans in Manchester it might make them happy to see a fellow Brit to beat Senchenko.

If Khan does move up in weight it’ll only be for just this one because he still feels he’s got unfinished business at 140 against the likes Danny Garcia and Lamont Peterson. Besides that, there are a lot of big punchers at welterweight and I really don’t know if Khan’s chin could handle getting hit hard over and over again by the likes of Victor Ortiz, Marcos Maidana, Kell Brook, and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

continue

BabyJet Promotions sign Emmanuel Tagoe on 3-year management deal

Baffour Gyan, Game Boy, his brother Bobby Short and Sammy Anim Addo at the launchBy Prince Dornu-Leiku: It is official, BabyJet Promotions and Management have reached a 3-year partnership deal with WBA International Junior Lightweight champion, Emmanuel Tagoe that will see the promotional syndicate owned by Ghana national soccer team captain, Asamoah Gyan manage and promote the promising boxer.

24 year old Tagoe, famously nicknamed Game Boy won the hearts of Asamoah Gyan and the BabyJet Promotions team by defeating his great local rival, George Ashie by a unanimous points decision back on November 10 last year at the Accra Sports Stadium in what was BabyJet Promotions’ maiden event, a win that won him the 3-year contract with an option for BabyJet Promotions to renew.

Financial details of the deal were not revealed at Wednesday’s press conference in Accra to officially announce the agreement, but according to BabyJet Promotions CEO, Sammy Anim-Addo, they have paid up Tagoe’s past managers, promoters and everyone who had previously helped the boxer in his career. BabyJet Promotions have also reiterated their belief in the potential of the 24 year old boxer to become a world champion and have outlined a comprehensive roadmap of fights leading to world championship glory by the first quarter of next year.

continue