As fight fans know, today’s welterweight division is chock full of talent; with excellent fighters Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia and others lighting up the weight class in a manner the great Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas Hearns would have been proud of (this year‘s epic Thurman-Porter war being something very special indeed). But when it comes to who the very best 147-pound fighter in the world is, it could well be the man who put on a spectacular performance yesterday: Errol Spence Jr.
James Slater
Anthony Joshua will fight November 26th, opponent and venue to be revealed soon says Hearn
Anthony Joshua, who was a pumped up analyst at the Rio Olympics, giving his expert opinion on many of the boxing bouts, is now pumped up for his own upcoming fight. Eddie Hearn has announced how the IBF heavyweight champ will fight on November 26th; the venue and opponent will be announced in the coming days. But for the first time in quite a while, Joshua will not be fighting at The O2 in London.
The upcoming venue is interesting, maybe it will be Manchester, maybe Liverpool (“We are changing city,” Joshua said), but the main thing that interests fans is who the challenger will be.
“No Mas,” still the biggest mystery in boxing history
Who killed JFK?
Whatever happened to Lord Lucan?
Where did Jimmy Hoffa go?
The above mysteries of history are likely to never, ever be solved and we are destined to be at the mercy of the conspiracy theorists when it comes to answers. But in the sport of boxing there are arguably two fights /events /strange endings that continue to top the list when it comes to asking, what really happened? These two fights are the Ali-Liston fights of the mid 1960s, and the second Roberto Duran-Sugar Ray Leonard fight of 1980 (okay, that’s actually three fights).
The boxing greatness that can await an Olympic gold medal winner (or a silver or bronze medal winner)
Cassius Clay, 1960: he (allegedly) threw his gold medal into the river.
George Foreman, 1968: he captured the heart of a nation by waving a tiny American flag.
Sugar Ray Leonard, 1976: he taped a photo of his girlfriend to his sock.
Oscar De La Hoya, 1992: he dedicated his Olympic triumph to his late mother.
Joe Frazier, 1964: he fought with a broken thumb.
Adrien Broner feeling mean, says anyone he gets in the ring with he’s going to “do damage to”
Former four-weight titlist Adrien Broner, who recently spent 30-days in his own company and pretty much nobody else’s as he served time in jail for contempt of court, is feeling pretty mean right now. Having been released just days ago, “The Problem” is already thinking about fighting again. And AB said to ES News that he is aiming high; he still wants Manny Pacquiao and he says that if he ever does face Pac-Man, he will “f**k him up.”
Broner seems desperate to fight and he warned whoever his next opponent might be how he aims to “do damage.”
Shakur Stevenson loses out on Olympic gold – but he can still become “The next Floyd Mayweather!”
Ultra-talented bantamweight Shakur Stevenson, one of the best boxers to have represented America in the Olympics for a number of years, lost out on a gold medal in Rio – dropping a close split decision to Cuban Robeisy Ramirez. Scores were 29-28 twice for Ramirez, now a two-time Olympic gold winner, and the same score on the third card for the 19-year-old.
Jarrell Miller: is he ready for a title shot?
Jarrell Miller, who improved to 18-0-1(16) with last night’s stoppage of the usually durable and tricky Fred Kassi, has got people talking, quite a lot of people. The big – very big at 296-pounds and 6’4” – heavyweight is talented, exciting to watch, powerful and he has, as he says himself, a big mouth he is not afraid to use. With a background in MMA, this no doubt testing his toughness, “Big Baby,” as the Brooklyn slugger is known, has shown plenty as a boxer.
“It won’t be an upset when Kell Brook wins, we expect him to beat GGG,” says Brook sparring partner
All fight fans agree it will be a huge upset, definitely The Upset of The Year, if Sheffield’s Kell Brook defeats feared middleweight king Gennady Golovkin next month. But one man, in speaking for the entire gym at which IBF welterweight champion Brook trains, insists a Brook victory will NOT be an upset – to him or to the fellow occupants of the Sheffield gym.
Atif Sadiq, who has sparred with Brook on countless occasions, told The Sheffield Star that Brook’s sheer physical strength will prove the difference on September 10. Sadiq says Brook also has incredible mental strength and that this too will prove to be a factor three weeks today.