(Photo credit: Matchroom Boxing) Unbeaten Irishman Carl Frampton is already looking towards his next fight and, disappointingly for avoided Cuban master Guillermo Rigondeaux, it doesn’t look at this early stage as though it will be against “Rigo.”
Frampton, who broke Scott Quigg’s jaw during the 12-round split decision win in Manchester, spoke with Sky Sports after his victory and “The Jackal” had plenty of things to say:
Unbeaten star Terence Crawford really does like as though he is on the way to the top of the pound-for-pound charts and to possible greatness. After wiping out the capable if not great Hank Lundy via impressive 5th-round stoppage last night, the options are plentiful for the reigning WBO super-lightweight king who has already claimed world titles at two weight divisions in his 28-0(20) pro career.
And promoter Bob Arum, in speaking with Ring.TV.com, spoke about these possible options; one of which is, quite amazingly, a fight against the Al Haymon-promoted Adrien Broner. Arum, of course filed a whopping great lawsuit against Haymon last summer, but now the Top Rank boss says he’d “love to” make a Crawford-Broner fight, even if it means working with Haymon.
Last night, in Manchester England, and in Halle, Germany, two heavyweights sat at ringside as a big fight unfolded, yet neither Tyson Fury nor Wladimir Klitschko was in a position to announce their own next fight. Heavyweight ruler Fury is (or was?) widely expected to face the man he dethroned last November in a summer rematch, as per the written contract. But, as he made clear last night when speaking with Sky Sports, Fury has “no idea” what his next move will or will not be:
“I have no idea when the next fight is, who it is going to be, no idea,” Fury, sporting a shaven head and a full beard, stated. “So that is a bit of an update for everybody. I don’t know who it is going to be, to be honest. I have no confirmation on if it is going to be Klitschko, Fred Flinstone or Batman, I have no idea.”
(Photo credit: Matchroom Boxing) Not long to go now until Carl Frampton Vs. Scott Quigg, one of the biggest fights to take place in the UK in some years, finally gets underway. Frampton, the reigning and defending IBF super-bantamweight king, remains an ever so slight betting favorite to win the fight and take Quigg’s WBA 122-pound belt, but no fan – despite what they may say now or what they might say after the fight – is at all sure what will happen when the bell rings in Manchester.
This, of course, is the sign of a great match-up; with two of the best in the division squaring off with one another. The pre-fight hype and build-up has been quite something, with the two camps being notably prickly with each other – to the point where there has been pushing and shoving (between not only the two fighters, but also rival trainers, Joe Gallagher and Shane McGuigan) and threats of pulling out of the fight due to a dressing room spat.
Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has just announced another big world title fight: Lee Selby, the reigning IBF featherweight champion, will defend against Philadelphia’s Eric Hunter in the UK this Spring. Hearn, talking to BBC Wales, said the fight will definitely take place in the UK, it is just a matter of the fight going ahead in either London, when the date would be April 9th, or Cardiff, when the likely date would be some time in May.
Either way, Selby-Hunter is a good fight, arguably the biggest test yet for the classy 29-year-old Welshman. Selby, 22-1(8) won the title with an 8th-round TD against Evgeny Gradovich in May of last year and he has retained the belt once, winning a 12-round UD over Fernando Montiel. The Montiel fight took place in Arizona but now “The Welsh Mayweather,” as Selby has been dubbed by some, gets ready to defend once again at home; or maybe in London.
Due in large part to former WBA heavyweight ruler David Haye, a petition designed to get the one and only Muhammad Ali a honorary Knighthood in Great Britain is gaining plenty of momentum. According to a report in The Mail, 12,000 people have already visited Change.org and signed their support – included amongst these people, fellow boxers Anthony Joshua and female Olympic gold medal winner Nicola Adams.
Joshua, who captured his Olympic gold medal some 52 years after the then Cassius Clay first rose to prominence by winning his, says Ali had a huge influence on his life and career:
Earlier today in Miami, the respective sides of Deontay Wilder and Alexander Povetkin engaged in purse bids for the mandated WBC heavyweight title defence by Wilder. As reported by ESPN.com, Povetkin’s people won the bid with a big $7.15 million bid. Lou DiBella, representing Wilder, bid a little over $5 million and 100,000.
Fans are now wondering where the fight will take place, if at all? Will Wilder opt to vacate the WBC belt, perhaps to concentrate on trying to land a huge money fight with Tyson Fury should Fury repeat his win over Wladimir Klitschko? Wilder did recently say how he has no plans of giving up the green belt he won just over a year ago and has successfully defended three times. But will “The Bronze Bomber” travel over to Russia if Povetkin’s people decide to stage the fight there?
Walk down any street in the UK right now, and chances are, you will hear someone talking about the upcoming British mega-fight that is Carl Frampton-Scott Quigg in Manchester for the IBF/WBA super-bantamweight titles. This fight, proud British fans are saying with plenty of justification, proves that the best still face the best. Frampton-Quigg is widely seen as an incredibly tough to pick, 50-50 affair.
Okay, it’s movie news not boxing news; but it’s boxing movie news. Actor Tony Burton, who co-starred in six of the seven Rocky films as trainer, Tony “Duke” Evers, has passed away at age 78. Burton’s cause of death has not been made official, BBC News reports, but Burton’s sister, Loretta Kelly said her brother had been in and out of hospital a number of times over the past year.
You know it’s a big fight when the respective promoters are paying to take the two fighters to a number of cities around the world to add further promotion and glamour to the event. And, later this month, the hugely intriguing, potentially thrilling middleweight title fight between Mexico’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Amir “King” Khan will be treated to the press tour glitz.
In an effort to attract even more attention and ensure additional pay-per-view buys for the May 7th bout set for Las Vegas, Canelo, Khan and Oscar De La Hoya will visit London, New York and Los Angeles, and what’s more, the fans are invited to come out and meet them.