Mexican superstar Saul Canelo Alvarez will fight again on September 17th, RingTV.com reports – but there are three different venues being considered for Canelo’s return and, more seriously, no confirmed opponent. Alvarez will fight, Golden Boy’s Eric Gomez says, either at The MGM in Las Vegas, at Madison Square Garden in New York or at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. At which weight? Gomez says Alvarez will box anywhere from 154 to 160, with “everybody” in that weight range being considered as an option.
James Slater
Joseph Parker visits Sonny Liston’s gravesite, speaks about the need to have “the right people around you”
Heavyweight great Mike Tyson used to visit the gravesite of the legendary Sonny Liston (and maybe still does) and, legend has it, Tyson would carry out imaginary conversations with the 1960s heavyweight king who was so mysterious in so many ways. Tyson found inspiration from his visits with Liston and another fighter who aims to become the next heavyweight ruler, in New Zealand’s Joseph Parker, has reportedly been paying homage to Liston at his final resting place just outside of Las Vegas.
Ward-Kovalev set for Las Vegas, November 19th
Providing they each win their upcoming tune-up bouts, Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward, both unbeaten and rated highly in the various pound-for-pound rankings, will fight on November 19th at The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. ESPN.com reports the fight will be available on HBO pay-per-view. A genuinely intriguing, hard to pick fight, Ward-Kovalev is a classic boxer Vs. puncher match-up.
Outside of a Kovalev-Adonis Stevenson unification clash, Kovalev-Ward is the biggest and best fight that can currently be made in the 175-pound division.
Roberto Duran turns 65, and he has a new movie to celebrate!
The great Roberto Duran turns 65 today, June 16th. Arguably the finest living fighter, the finest lightweight in history and one of the greatest Hispanic boxers of all time, Duran, Hands of Stone, is a hero to millions and a huge influence on many thousands of fighters, both past and present. Duran turned pro way, way back in February of 1968 (LBJ was president, Muhammad Ali was in exile, George Foreman had not yet won his Olympic gold medal) and he won his first world title, the WBA lightweight crown, in June of 1972 (“Tricky Dicky” was now president, Ali had returned, lost to Joe Frazier and was on the comeback trail anew, Foreman was an unbeaten 35-0 contender).
This is how long the cherished Duran had been a part of fight fans’ lives. Duran would beat everything in his path at 135-pounds, then beat the new US superstar Sugar Ray Leonard at welterweight, then win world titles up at 154 and 160 and fight to earn a quite astonishing, 103-16-(70) pro record! Imagine that today? No, I can’t, either.
Ali to Foreman: Please come back and beat Ken Norton for me
Big George Foreman, with the passing of the great (or greatest) Muhammad Ali, has become the oldest living former world heavyweight champion, and the 67-year-old legend sure has a number of tales to tell. Foreman has literally seen it all, done it all, and lived to tell the story of it all. George has had some quite amazing life, no doubt. But despite all he has witnessed, the incomparable Ali still leaves George somewhat mystified and in awe.
These past two weeks have seen Foreman share with us all his memories of Ali, and George has paid great tributes to the former three-time king. One of the more interesting things Foreman had to say about his one-time archenemy came on the latest episode of Jim Lampley’s The Fight Game. Foreman spoke of an unexpected phone-call from Ali, “in the late ’70’s.”
Wladimir Klitschko vows to end Fury’s reign, take away Tyson’s platform
Former world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko regrets losing to Tyson Fury for a number of reasons. Klitschko, a man used to winning, obviously didn’t want to lose, period, but he is mostly bothered by two things: his own admittedly poor performance, and the fact that with his big win over him, Fury was given a global platform to vocalise his views and opinions. And Klitschko, as he wrote today on social media, regrets the platform his loss gave Fury.
Dreaming big: could Jason Quigley be a future foe for Golovkin, Canelo?
Unbeaten Irish prospect Jason Quigley made a big step towards becoming a contender with his last win, a May 7 points victory over the experienced James De La Rosa, and now the former amateur standout has a, the sky’s the limit attitude. Quigley may be just 11-0 as a pro, but he says in an interview with The Irish News that he already has superstars such as Gennady Golovkin and Saul Alvarez on his radar.
Quigley, signed with Golden Boy and Sheer Sports, acknowledges how he needs more experience and that he is in no rush, but he is already dreaming of the big, big fights – a super dream fight with GGG in Ireland especially.
Ricky Burns wants revenge – against either Crawford or Zlaticanin
Back on top of the world by way of his impressive stoppage win over Michelle Di Rocco in which he became the WBA super lightweight ruler and a three weight king, Scottish hero Ricky Burns currently has one thing on his mind: revenge. The 33-year-old was out-pointed by new star Terence Crwaford, who ended his reign as WBO lightweight champion, and Burns, when on the comeback trail from that loss, suffered another points defeat at the hands of Dejan Zlaticanin just three months later.
Crawford has gone from strength to strength since coming to Glasgow to beat Burns, and he next fights a unification bout with Viktor Postol at 140-pounds. Burns picks Crawford to add the WBC title to the WBO 140-pound belt he already holds with a win over Postol on July 23rd, and he told Sky Sports he would love a rematch with the pound-for-pound star.
Eddie Hearn says he feels Haye could get down to 210, fight with Bellew targeted for February or March 2017
Eddie Hearn, the promoter of newly crowned WBC cruiserweight king Tony Bellew, really does feel a massive fight between Bellew and David Haye can happen. Speaking with RingTV.com, the Matchroom boss said he believes Haye – the former undisputed cruiserweight ruler and also a former WBA heavyweight champ and a current heavyweight campaigner – could get his weight down to 210-pounds (the heaviest Bellew wants to fight at, understandably) and that he is looking at the fight taking place in February or March of next year.
Jarrell Miller says “more than 80-percent of America” doesn’t know who WBC champ Deontay Wilder is
He’s got a big mouth and he’s not afraid to use it. No, not Tyson Fury, but another unbeaten heavyweight: New York’s Jarrell Miller. Miller is a colorful talker and fighter with power, and he is slowly building up a fan base with his trash-talking and his impressive KO wins. The latest to come under attack – of the verbal kind – from “Big Baby,” as Miller is curiously nicknamed, is reigning WBC heavyweight king Deontay Wilder.
Miller, 17-0-1(15) says the majority of fight fans in America do not know who Wilder is, while the 27-year-old has also criticized Wilder’s next challenger, Mexican/American warrior Chris Arreola. Speaking with Sky Sports, Miller – who has been compared to the great Riddick Bowe by some impressed experts – said the upcoming July 16th fight is “crap.”