James Slater

Who will work the Mayweather-McGregor fight? Kenny Bayless won’t be the third man in the ring

Who will work the Mayweather-McGregor fight? Kenny Bayless won't be the third man in the ring

With less than two weeks to go until the “Super Fight” between Floyd Mayweather, 49-0, and Conor McGregor, 0-0-0, we still do not know who the third man in the ring will be in Las Vegas. But we now know who will not be working the fight: the oft-criticised Kenny Bayless.

As per a piece in the Los Angles Times, Bayless has been informed he will not be working the heavily hyped fight, simply because he was critical of the fight a while back when speaking with the media. Bayless, in speaking with the media a while back, said he wouldn’t want to see a Mayweather-McGregor fight: “It’s two different sports,” the ref said. “What would be the point?”

continue

It’s almost certainly going to be Rigondeaux or Salido rematch next for Lomachenko

It's almost certainly going to be Rigondeaux or Salido rematch next for Lomachenko

Will pound-for-pound star and reigning WBO super featherweight king Vasyl Lomachenko have his formidable skills tested in his next outing? It seems there is at least a decent chance that, yes, this will be the case.

According to Lomachenko’s promoter Bob Arum – who has said his fighter is the best boxer he has seen since the great Muhammad Ali – “Hi Tech” will fight again on December 9, in either New York or in Los Angeles. As per Lance Pugmire of the L.A Times, who tweeted the info, if it’s New York it will be Guillermo Rigondeaux, while if it’s L.A it will be Orlando Salido in a return bout.

continue

Lennox Lewis Vs. Vitali Klitschko: Vitali’s defining fight

Lennox Lewis Vs. Vitali Klitschko: Vitali's defining fight

June 2003, The Staples Centre, Los Angeles.

The date and venue are familiar to fight fans, heavyweight fight fans especially. Why? Because we saw a great action fight between two huge heavies, both well above the mid-240-pound range, we saw blood and gore, we saw huge bombs landed, we saw heart and courage on the line, and we were left wanting to see a rematch.

But the biggest reason fans still talk about this fight, won by Lewis via corner retirement on the part of Klitschko at the end of the sixth round, is because we all wonder what might have happened; what would have happened.

continue

Kudryashov vs Dorticos = Guaranteed Explosion!

Kudryashov vs Dorticos = Guaranteed Explosion!

Between them, cruiserweight bangers Dmitriy Kudryashov and Yunier Dorticos have 41 KO’s. Russia’s Kudryashov, 21-1(21) has displayed brutal power in both hands, Cuba’s Dorticos, 21-0(20) has never lost a fight. Together, the two 200 pounders will almost certainly give us an explosion of an exciting fight when they hook up on September 23 at The Alamodome in San Antonio.

Meeting up in a battle that is part of the fascinating World Boxing Super Series tournament, the sluggers with the combined 42-1 record (Kudryashov losing once, to Olanrewaju Durodola, later avenging the stoppage loss with one of his own) will contest the WBA belt. As potentially thrilling as this fight is, it’s also a pretty tough one to pick.

continue

Dillian Whyte talks Joshua rematch: Fight him again and it will be a different story

Dillian Whyte talks Joshua rematch: Fight him again and it will be a different story

Dillian Whyte keeps talking about Anthony Joshua and about that which he is convinced would happen if he got the opportunity to fight AJ again (Whyte having lost via 7th round KO in a thrilling fight back in December of 2015). But Whyte says he is happy that Joshua is still talking about him, too.

Speaking with Sky Sports ahead of his US debut next Saturday on the Terence Crawford-Julius Indongo bill, “The Body Snatcher” said that Joshua “talks rubbish” and is not the tough guy he makes out he is whenever he is around. Whyte, chasing a world title, which he hopes will lead him to a return shot at AJ (who will next defend his IBF belt against Kubrat Pulev, and after that his WBA belt against Luis Ortiz; this the most likely scenario anyway) is sure he will get revenge if the second fight happens.

continue

Roberto Garcia pounds out unanimous decision win over a lacklustre Omar Chavez

Roberto Garcia pounds out unanimous decision win over a lacklustre Omar Chavez

It was a very quiet Saturday night as far as boxing is concerned (the off-season summer period) but there were a couple of fights taking place. One of them produced a mini upset, as in Monterrey, Mexico, middleweight Roberto Garcia pounded out a pretty wide ten round unanimous decision win over his countryman Omar Chavez to capture the vacant WBC Silver 160 pound strap.

continue

Yuriorkis Gamboa keeps career alive with majority decision win over Alexis Reyes

Yuriorkis Gamboa keeps career alive with majority decision win over Alexis Reyes

Last night in Cancun, Mexico, 35 year old Yuriorkis Gamboa kept his career alive with a win – but only just. The once seemingly untouchable Cuban scraped through with a ten round MD over Mexico’s Alexis Reyes, prevailing by scores of 95-94 twice in the 135 pound bout, the third judge seeing things all square at 94-94.

Gamboa is now 27-2(17), 22 year old Reyes, who has never been stopped, is now 15-3-1(7).

continue

McGregor: If it’s eight ounce gloves, I’m struggling to give Mayweather two rounds

McGregor: If it's eight ounce gloves, I'm struggling to give Mayweather two rounds

As fight fans now have a chance to see a short (very short) clip of the sparring sessions we’ve heard so much about, between Conor McGregor and Paulie Malignaggi, they also have a chance to listen to the MMA star’s latest prediction regarding his August 26 showdown with Floyd Mayweather.

Regarding the short clip of the sparring sessions: the clip does show Malignaggi going down, yet he appears to be off-balance and also helped down by a forearm, and the second the clip ends, Malignaggi is in the act of bouncing straight back up, clearly unhurt. Still, McGregor and his supporters are using the video clip as “proof” that he can box and that Mayweather will be in trouble, as was Malignaggi.

continue

Sugar Ray and The Hitman have mutual respect for one another – they earned it

Sugar Ray and The Hitman have mutual respect for one another – they earned it

Boxing legends Sugar Ray Leonard and Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns are currently in Las Vegas – the scene of many of their sensational, unforgettable fights – to attend tonight’s Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame.

Hearns, a former five-weight king, will be inducted, Leonard, also a five-weight ruler, will be taking care of the induction duties. Once venomous rivals, the two all-time greats who met in 1981, at welterweight, and in 1989, at super-middleweight, have nothing but mutual respect these days. They earned it in the ring, in so doing thrilling the world with 26 rounds of superb boxing.

continue

Deontay Wilder says he wants “Boogeyman” Luis Ortiz next: If people are scared to fight you, let me tell you who ain’t

Deontay Wilder says he wants “Boogeyman” Luis Ortiz next: If people are scared to fight you, let me tell you who ain't

Deontay Wilder is shopping around for his next fight – set to take place, possibly, in November – and he may have found a most marketable and exciting opponent in dangerous Cuban southpaw Luis Ortiz.

Speaking with Premier Boxing Champions, the unbeaten WBC heavyweight king spoke about how Ortiz, also unbeaten, is a fighter other heavyweights are afraid of. But “The Bronze Bomber,” who said Ortiz is known as a “Boogeyman,” insists he does not in any way shape or form scare him.

continue