James Slater

Tom Loeffler: No one wanted to get in the ring with Golovkin

Tom Loeffler: No one wanted to get in the ring with Golovkin

After years of struggling to get the top names to agree to step into the ring with him, middleweight king Gennady Golovkin finally gets his defining fight in September, when he will, as all fight fans know, rumble with Mexican superstar Saul Canelo Alvarez.

Golovkin’s promoter Tom Loeffler was right there with his fighter, trying to get the big fights, the important fights, and now, as he pointed out when speaking with The Las Vegas Review-Journal, the GGG-Canelo Super-Fight will take place almost five years to the day that Golovkin boxed on HBO for the very first time. Loeffler said that during the years 2012 to recently, he experienced serious reluctance from name fighters, fighters who wanted no part of his fighter; this type of reluctance being a new thing for the promoter.

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Who next for Pacquiao after he “demolishes this guy” Jeff Horn?

Who next for Pacquiao after he “demolishes this guy” Jeff Horn?

Is the upcoming July fight between superstar Manny Pacquiao and unbeaten but somewhat little-known Jeff Horn a mere formality, a fight that has only one winner? Horn and all of Australia are hugely excited about the fight and the belief is high that puncher Horn can pull off the upset; but everywhere else, it seems, the sure winner is Pac Man.

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Mike Perez looking in terrific shape for cruiserweight debut; maybe he should have been a cruiserweight all along

Mike Perez looking in terrific shape for cruiserweight debut; maybe he should have been a cruiserweight all along

Irish-based former heavyweight contender Mike Perez is raring to go tomorrow night, when he will box his cruiserweight debut. Tipping in at a ripped and ready 198-pounds – an incredibly low poundage when we recall how, as a heavyweight, “The Rebel” fought well into the 240s – Perez, 21-2-1(13) will box for the first time since his unexpectedly quick (1st round) stoppage loss to Alexander Povetkin in May of 2015.

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15 years ago today: Lennox Lewis destroys the remnants of the once great Mike Tyson

15 years ago today: Lennox Lewis destroys the remnants of the once great Mike Tyson

15 years ago today in Memphis, a must-see heavyweight collision took place, and going in nobody really knew what to expect. What we did see when a still-in-his-prime Lennox Lewis met former champ Mike Tyson was the utter annihilation of a once great fighter; in many ways a spectacle that was equally as sad to see as Rocky Marciano’s retirement of the one great Joe Louis.

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Lucas Browne wants grudge-fight with Dillian Whyte; “I would love nothing more than to hurt him”

Lucas Browne wants grudge-fight with Dillian Whyte; “I would love nothing more than to hurt him”

Australia’s Lucas Browne returned to winning ways a few days away, quietly despatching journeyman Matthew Greer in his homeland. The return fight saw Browne, 25-0(22) box for the first time since his heroic March 2016 win over Ruslan Chagaev, and the subsequent failed drugs tests.

Browne, who twice tested positive for illegal stimulants after the WBA title fight win, has always insisted he is innocent of any deliberate wrongdoing. Now back, his suspension lifted, the exciting slugger is targeting one man in particular: British contender Dillian Whyte; the man Browne has had a long-running Twitter argument with.

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Golovkin already thinking about what next after Canelo fight; still wants “all the middleweight belts”

Golovkin already thinking about what next after Canelo fight; still wants “all the middleweight belts”

It’s arguably the biggest fight of the year, and after the smoke has cleared from the world middleweight title showdown between champ Gennady Golovkin and Saul Canelo Alvarez, the winner will be entitled to not only pound-for-pound bragging rights, but also a nice break from what could well be a tough, tough fight.

At age 35, GGG could even look at closing out the remainder of his career having finally won his defining fight. But Golovkin, who may or may not have shown signs of decline due to age in his fight with Danny Jacobs, is already looking at his next move after September 16. As fans know, Canelo can exercise a rematch clause for an immediate return should he lose for just the second time in his pro career in September, but GGG has no such luxury.

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Alexander Povetkin slated to return against Andriy Rudenko on July 1st

Alexander Povetkin slated to return against Andriy Rudenko on July 1st

Reports say Russia’s Alexander Povetkin will return to action on July 1st. The former WBA heavyweight champion who has suffered his share of out of the ring issues – testing positive for illegal stimulants; which ruined his big fight with Deontay Wilder, set for last summer – will face Ukrainian Andriy Rudenko, 31-2(19) on a big card in Moscow.

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