World middleweight world champion Gerald McClellan was, as anyone who ever saw him fight will always remember, a fearsome talent. Known as “The G-Man,” McClellan would indeed rise to fame as a special fighter, but, sadly, it is his tragic career-ending war with Nigel Benn – this too simply unforgettable for any fight fan – that Gerald will always be most remembered for.
James Slater
Frampton-Quigg showdown just days away, promoter Hearn says Quigg will win “a brutal fight”
We are just days away from a fight that was at least three years in the making: Scott Quigg against Carl Frampton in a super-bantamweight blockbuster that will have its venue, The Manchester Arena, rocking on February 27th.
For months and months now, the two unbeaten stars have been taunting one another, with promises of knockouts and of the beaten man being “exposed.” Quigg, trained by ace trainer Joe Gallagher, is convinced he will emerge victorious, while Frampton, guided by Barry McGuigan and trained by his son, Shane, has no doubt it will be he who has his hand raised.
Tomasz Adamek-Eric Molina set for April in Poland
How much has Polish hero and former light-heavyweight and cruiserweight ruler Tomasz Adamek got left? We may find out on April 2nd when Adamek, 50-4(30) will face recent WBC heavyweight title challenger Eric Molina.
Molina, 24-3(18) impressed and surprised a number of people in equal measure with his brave challenge of Deontay Wilder back in June. Stunning the defending champion, who was making the first defence of his WBC belt, and also taking Wilder’s best shots again and again until finally being TKO’d in the 9th-round of a fun fight, Molina showed what he is made of. Now he wants to earn a second shot at a major title and aims to do so at Adamek’s expense.
Floyd Mayweather wins prestigious Sugar Ray Robinson award for third time, will be honoured in the spring
Floyd Mayweather Junior’s trophy cabinet just got a little fuller; or it will in the spring when he will be presented, for a third time, with the Boxing Writers Association of America’s prestigious Sugar Ray Robinson Fighter of the Year award. Dan Rafael of ESPN.com reports how Mayweather won the award for 2015 on the ballots released on Friday.
Shawn Porter-Keith Thurman: a fight between “the two best welterweights in the world”
Whichever way you slice it and whoever you feel will emerge victorious when they clash on March 12th in Connecticut, Shawn Porter Vs. Keith Thurman is a great, great match-up. The current welterweight division is stacked with talent and a number of equally good match-ups could/can be made. But Thurman against Porter, the defending WBA champion against the former IBF champion, is seen by most as a 50-50 affair as well as a possible Fight of The Year candidate.
Exclusive Interview with super-middleweight prospect Ronald Ellis
Unbeaten super-middleweight prospect Ronald Ellis makes his Showtime debut on February 19th and the 12-0(10) talent says he will “make a statement” in the scheduled 8-rounder with Jerry Odum.
A confident fighter who talks well, Ellis also says he wants an active 2016 so as to make up for a couple of injury-enforced layoffs earlier in his now five-year pro career.
Here the 2010 National Golden Gloves champion speaks exclusively with Eastside Boxing:
Tony Thompson says he’ll step in to face WBA interim heavyweight champ Luis Ortiz next month
Ultra-experienced long time heavyweight contender Tony Thompson isn’t quite ready to call it a day and retire yet. Immediately after his October points loss to the much quicker Malik Scott (who had to survive a late-rounds knockdown) “The Tiger” said he would retire. Now, though, in hearing about interim WBA heavyweight champion Luis Ortiz and his struggle finding a challenger for his scheduled March 5th date on HBO’s Boxing After Dark, the 44-year-old says he will step in to face the Cuban who is eight years his junior.
Ortiz-Dimitrenko off, WBA interim heavyweight champ searching anew for March challenger
Luis Ortiz must be starting to understand how his countryman, Guillermo Rigondeaux feels. Both talents cannot seem to get a big fight; or, in the case of interim WBA heavyweight ruler Ortiz, any fight. Golden Boy were searching and searching for a suitable, HBO-approved challenger for the southpaw puncher’s March 5th date on Boxing After Dark, then it looked as though a decent opponent had been found in German-based Alexander Dimitrenko.
Amir Khan insists his fight against Canelo is “50-50”
Everyone, it seems, has an opinion on what will happen on May 7th, when superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will face British star Amir Khan. Some “experts” have criticised the fight, saying Khan – who will be giving up perhaps as much as 20-pounds or a little more when the two climb into the ring on fight night – has next to no chance. Others have applauded Khan’s decision to take on the middleweight champion in a 155-pound catch-weight affair, and some, including fellow Brits Carl Froch and Tyson Fury, give Khan and his amazing speed a genuine shot at winning.
Charles Martin looking at a number of options for first title defence: Joshua, Arreola, Breazeale, Szpilka
Brand new IBF heavyweight champion “Prince” Charles Martin is eagerly looking forward to his very first title defence. After winning the vacant belt (stripped as it was from Tyson Fury mere days after he’d relieved Wladimir Klitschko of the belt, and also the WBO, WBA and IBO straps) in disappointing fashion against Vyacheslav Glazkov, who injured a knee and could not continue, the unbeaten big man wants a satisfying fight.