Welterweight rumblings – Thurman wants Pacquiao, Porter wants Thurman rematch

04/13/2017 James Slater

Arguably (not that too many fans are arguing) the best, most talent-rich weight class today, the welterweight division of right now is capable of throwing up some fantastic match-ups. We’ve already got this month’s Shawn Porter-Andre Berto non-title showdown (all but guaranteed to be a thrilling action affair) and we’ve got the big IBF welterweight title fight collision between champ Kell Brook and unbeaten, some say star of the future, Errol Spence Jr.

But there could be more sizzlers to come. Keith Thurman, the recently crowned WBA/WBC 147 pound king, has called for a Manny Pacquiao fight. No, this doesn’t mean the fight will happen, but at least “One Time” is sticking to his routine of asking for the big match-ups. Thurman has plenty of options; what with Porter, who pushed Thurman hard in that great, great fight last summer, saying he lists this rematch as a priority, above a second go at Brook.

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Vasyl Lomachenko: Was any fighter in history greater at just nine pro fights?

04/12/2017 James Slater

Fighters can achieve greatness in a number of different ways: some, such as heavyweight terror Mike Tyson, make a huge impact in just a short period of time and become world champion after a veritable handful of fights; others, such as the once seemingly ageless Bernard Hopkins, achieve it through longevity, beating up Father Time at a time when retirement had long since looked close.

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Orlando Salido to face Amphon Suriyo in non-title bout in May – a “tune-up” for a Lomachenko rematch?

04/11/2017 James Slater

After taking almost a year off since his thrilling, FOTY contender with Francisco Vargas, Mexican ultimate warrior Orlando Salido finally has his next fight set. The teak-tough 36 year old will face Thai fighter Amphon Suriyo, 18-2(14) in Mexico on May 27, RingTV.com reports.

Salido, 43-13-4(30) really is a throwback to the old-school, fight-anyone, sluggers of years gone by. The only man to have beaten the seemingly unbeatable (!) Vasyl Lomachenko, Salido has also carved out fine wins over the likes of Juan Manuel Lopez (twice), Orlando Cruz, Cristobal Cruz and Terdsak Kokietgym (in another great action fight). Heaven knows, he deserves a “safe” or straightforward “tune-up” type of fight.

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Canelo Vs. Chavez Jr: a KO one way or the other?

04/11/201704/11/2017 James Slater

There will be much at stake between the two warriors who will clash on May 6. The huge Canelo Alvarez-Julio Cesar Chavez Junior rumble, unofficially tagged, “The Battle of Mexico,” will see the the two stars fighting, above all else, for sheer pride. Quite literally, an entire country will be tuning in over the huge Mexican holiday that is Cinco de Mayo.

In the past, we’ve seen Chavez, the former WBC middleweight ruler, let himself down in fights due to his being either overweight or unfocused; even both. But “The Son of A Legend” has vowed to be at his absolute best for May 6, and so far he has kept his word, getting his body finely tuned, any excess weight almost gone ahead of the 164.5 catch-weight weigh-in.

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GGG likely to skip Saunders June fight, rest up and concentrate on Canelo September showdown

04/11/2017 James Slater

It doesn’t look as though world middleweight ruler Gennady Golovkin will go ahead with a planned June fight, and will instead rest up and focus fully on the still hoped for superfight with Canelo Alvarez this September. According to “multiple sources” who spoke with Yahoo! Sports, GGG will skip the June fight.

WBO middleweight champ Billy Joe Saunders, who was all set to travel over to Golovkin’s home country of Kazakhstan for the June fight, said all along that he would not wait indefinitely, that he would move on to another fight if Triple-G didn’t sign the contract ASAP. Now it seems BJS will indeed move on (and not be too happy about it; losing out as he has on such a massive opportunity and payday).

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At last: we have a good fight set for the Klitschko-Joshua under-card – Campbell-Perez in WBA lightweight eliminator

04/10/2017 James Slater

Let’s face it: the fast approaching heavyweight extravaganza between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko – which has already shifted an amazing 90,000 tickets – doesn’t really need much of an under-card; at least not in terms of pulling in any extra sales.

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Make way for the new stars: Lomachenko, Crawford, Thurman are today’s pound-for-pound best

04/10/201704/10/2017 James Slater

Manny Pacquiao’s star is fading, Andre Ward has been labelled dull by fight fans so many times he has stopped caring, and Sergey Kovalev may well see himself closely, narrowly outboxed and outscored by S.O.G in their June return. So who today is deserving of the mythical but also lofty title of pound-for-pound king?

It seems we have to make way for the new guard, for the news stars: Vasyl Lomachenko, the pick for many even before this past weekend’s utter dismantling of a very good fighter in Jason Sosa, and Terence Crawford, he of the speed, accuracy and power, and also Keith Thurman, a throwback in terms of constantly seeking out the very best opposition and thus far beating them.

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Can Anthony Joshua become boxing’s first billionaire?

04/10/201704/10/2017 James Slater

Maybe we should call him Anthony “Money” Joshua. That nickname is of course exclusive property of one Floyd Mayweather Junior; currently the richest, most successful prize fighter in boxing history. However, as stinking rich as he is, Mayweather never earned himself the staggering total of a $billion.

But Joshua, in speaking with GQ Magazine, says that this is now the goal he has to aspire to. Reflecting on how the status of having made it big has changed drastically in today’s world, Joshua says that becoming a millionaire is no longer the huge achievement it once was.

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WATCH: Fury & Charr get into altercation in Cologne

04/10/201704/09/2017 James Slater

Manuel Charr wants a big fight. Perhaps any big fight. Today, in Cologne, Germany, at the fitness expo FIBO, “Diamond Boy” Charr had his game face firmly on as he sought out Tyson Fury. Fury was all smiles, offering his hand to the more serious looking Charr, but soon enough the duo had to be separated.

Charr, who has seen big fights fall through in the past (he was, like Fury, supposed to land a lucrative fight with David Haye a few years back) referred to Fury as a “mad man,” in a clear attempt to rile the out of shape, today easy going former world champ. There was a shove, security dived in, and the two fighters went their separate ways.

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Vasyl Lomachenko looks unbeatable in stopping a brave Jason Sosa

04/09/201704/09/2017 James Slater

Reigning WBO super-featherweight king Vasyl Lomachenko looked utterly unstoppable in halting a brave but outclassed Jason Sosa last night. Forcing Sosa’s corner to retire their warrior after nine wholly one-sided session, “Hi-Tech” looked for all the world like an unbeaten fighter.

As we know, however, Lomachenko, 8-1(6) is not unbeaten; as hard as it may be to believe when you see such utter dominance over good fighters who are made to retire on their stool against him – Sosa being retired this time, Nicholas Walters quitting last time. One man has beaten Lomachenko as a pro, in tough Mexican warhorse Orlando Salido, but that came in the dazzling Ukraine boxer’s second pro outing.

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