Andre Ward has extra motivation to become the first man to defeat feared light-heavyweight puncher Sergey Kovalev: he does not like bullies. And, in speaking with Sky Sports (who will televise the fight, on Nov. 19, live in the UK) the former super-middleweight king says there is absolutely no way Kovalev will bully him when they meet in Las Vegas.
James Slater
David Lemieux still hopes for big fight with Canelo Alvarez
Canadian power-puncher David Lemieux failed in his bid to derail Gennady Golovkin in a middleweight title fight unification last year, but the exciting contender is convinced he has the beating of Saul Canelo Alvarez, the man all of boxing wants to see get it on with GGG. But first, with Canelo looking to return to action in the early part of next year and of moving up to 160-pounds as he (hopefully) readies himself for a September showdown with Triple-G, there is talk of Canelo and Lemieux fighting one another.
Can Gennady Golovkin really be expected to defeat the best at 175? Sanchez says his fighter “beats everybody that’s out there right now”
It seems there is a growing number of people who feel middleweight king Gennady Golovkin should move up in weight if he’s to achieve true greatness. The likes of Floyd Mayweather and Roy Jones Jnr have said this, insisting GGG must “take a risk” by stepping up, to either 168 or, unrealistically (in the opinion of others) 175-pounds.
Can Triple-G, a reasonably smallish middleweight really be expected to move up 15-pounds and tackle dangerous light-heavyweights such as Sergey Kovalev? This is asking too much of even as special a fighter as the 34-year-old (who recently stated he’d consider going DOWN in weight, to 154, if the right mega-fight were possible) surely? But GGG’s coach, the knowledgable Abel Sanchez, says in time his fighter will indeed look at moving up to light-heavy, and that when he does so, look out Kovalev, Andre Ward and Adonis Stevenson.
Pacquiao-Vargas: Can Pac-Man register his first KO since 2009?
Has soon to return superstar Manny Pacquaio lost his killer punch? As fans know, the one time King of Zing, the former Master of Disaster, the formerly unstoppable Filipino Tornado has not managed to stop an opponent since way back in 2009, when he TKO’d Miguel Cotto very late on in a good fight. Since then, in fighting 11 times, Pac-Man has come up short in the KO stakes (although he did bite the dust himself, in being sensationally flattened by four-fight rival Juan Manuel Marquez, in December of 2012, six fights after the win over Cotto).
Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, once bitter ring enemies, make peace with one another
In the 2000s, they engaged in one of the most fierce, genuinely hate-filled rivalries in lower weight boxing history. Super-bantamweights/ featherweights /super-featherweights Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales went to war three times – the first battle, from February of 2000 being recognised as one of the greatest fights in modern day boxing history – and they came to blows outside of the ring also. Simply put, these two did not like each other.
Jamie Cox out-points Martin Fidel Rios in the wildest, dirtiest fight you’ll see all year!
Last night in Bolton, super-middleweight Jamie Cox retained his unbeaten record with a wide ten-round points win over Argentine Martin Fidel Rios. The official score of referee and sole scorer Phil Edwards was a huge 97-86 (mistakenly announced as 97-76 by the MC) for the 30-year-old southpaw from Swindon. Cox is now 21-0(12). Rios falls to 20-10-3(11).
Jamie Cox: Give me James DeGale
Is unbeaten puncher Jamie Cox the most avoided fighter in British boxing today? Maybe. The dangerous southpaw who is 20-0(12) returns to action tonight in what could be called a stay-busy fight if Cox had been busy to begin with, but the Swindon southpaw has had trouble finding himself fights (he has also had legal issues that were well-publicized).
Red-Hot prospect Josh Taylor becomes a champion, wins vacant Commonwealth 140-pound title with 5th-round stoppage of Dave Ryan
Last night in Edinburgh, Scotland, red-hot super-lightweight prospect Josh Taylor advanced to championship level as he won the vacant Commonwealth title with a hugely impressive 5th-round stoppage over the tough and experienced Dave “Rocky” Ryan. Taylor, who had never previously gone beyond the 2nd-round in his 6-0 pro career, downed Ryan with a sickening right to the body. Ryan, showing his usual courage, beat the count but he was immediately under more fire, the referee having no choice but to stop the fight.
Khan Vs. Brook: should it happen at 147 or at 154?
Both Amir Khan and Kell Brook are coming off heavy stoppage defeats: Khan to Canelo Alvarez in a 155-pound meeting, Brook up at full middleweight against Gennady Golovkin. Now, with the two arch-rivals having no immediate fight coming up, the logical thing is for the two to fight one another. As fans know, these two have been going at it verbally for some months/years now, and 2017 seems perfect for the two world champions (Khan a former 140-pound ruler, Brook still, for the time being, the IBF 147-pound champ).
Artur Beterbiev to face Isidro Ranoni Prieto Dec 23 in Quebec
Unbeaten light-heavyweight banger Artur Beterbiev, one of the hardest punchers fighting today, will fight a couple of days before Christmas Day, when he will meet never-stopped Isidro Ranoni Prieto of Paraguay (now based in Argentina) in his adopted Quebec, Canada on December 23. In line to fight the winner of the November clash between Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward, the 10-0(10) Beterbiev will be having just his second fight of this year.