Michael Collins

Michael Collins has been a senior writer with Boxing247.com (East Side Boxing) since 2012, bringing over a decade of experience to his coverage of the sport. Known for his steady reporting and clear analysis, he has written extensively on world title fights, contenders, and emerging prospects across the global boxing scene.

Michael’s work combines timely news with thoughtful features, giving fans both ringside detail and broader perspective on the stories shaping boxing today. With his consistency and depth, he remains a respected and trusted voice in the boxing community.

Ricky Burns – Ray Beltran ends in draw

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In what amounts to be the robbery of the century, WBO Lightweight champion Ricky Burns (36-2-1, 11 KO’s) was awarded a 12 round draw against Raymundo Beltran (28-6-1, 17 KO’s) at the Scottish Exhibition Centre, in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom. The judges scored were 115-112 for Burns, 115-113 for Beltran and 114-114 even.

It was a total robbery for sure, as Beltran clearly deserved the win. Burns held all night long, and the referee didn’t life a finger to stop it. Why the referee allowed Burns to get away with nonstop holding in every of the fight is the big question.

I don’t know how on earth a judge could actually give Burns the victory in this fight of even a draw, yet that’s exactly what happened. I had a feeling this was going to happen, and I know it was going to make Burns look bad as heck. Getting a gift draw only makes Burns looks bad, especially given all the holding that he was allowed to get away with.

Froch-Groves set for November 23rd in Manchester, UK

froch9999IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (31-2, 22 KO’s) will be defending his titles against unbeaten George Groves (19-0, 15 KO’s) on November 23rd in a 50-50 fight at the Phones 4u Arena (formerly M.E.N Arena), in Manchester, United Kingdom. This is really one of those fights that is very difficult to predict the outcome mainly because Froch was so poor looking in his recent win over Mikkel Kessler last May.

If you saw that fight you’ll have noticed that Froch is incredibly slow now, and very clumsy-looking. Kessler could have won that fight and probably should have except that he didn’t start fighting until the 5th round.

Kovalev obliterates Cleverly; Maccarinelli defeats McKenzie; Smith smashes Buckland

Nathan Cleverly v Sergey Kovalev(Photo Credit: Eoin Mundow/SEEN Sport Magazine) WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly (26-1, 12 KO’s) was BADLY exposed tonight by the unbeaten powerful Russian Sergey Kovalev (22-0-1, 20 KO’s) in what you can only call a total slaughter in losing to Kovalev by a 4th round TKO at the Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. Heck, it wasn’t even a fight.

It was like watching someone pound away at a helpless punching bag. I mean, Cleverly hit the deck three times in the fight, and the fight should have been stopped in the 3rd round after Cleverly had been knocked to the canvas twice by crushing right hands from Kovalev.

Tyson Fury to use Steve Cunningham as sparring partner to get ready for David Haye

fury11In somewhat of an odd move, heavyweight Tyson Fury (21-0, 15 KO’s) will be using 37-year-old Steve Cunningham as one of his sparring partners to help him get ready for his September 28th fight against David Haye (26-2, 24 KO’s) at the Manchester Arena.

Fury defeated Cunningham last April in New York in a 7th round stoppage. Cunningham wasn’t too happy about the loss, because he felt that Fury had partially held him in place with a left hand while landing the knockout punch. There was no rematch to clear up the controversy, and now Fury has moved on to the Haye fight.

Hughie Fury fights Shane McPhilbin on September 14th

fury564534In something of a slight step up in competition, highly hyped heavyweight Hughie Fury (8-0, 5 KO’s) will be fighting cruiserweight Shane McPhilbin (8-7-1, 5 KO’s) next month on September 14th at the Magna Centre, Rotherhan, Yorkshire.

Hughie, 18, the cousin of unbeaten heavyweight contender Tyson Fury, has been very busy since turning pro in March of this year. Hughie has squeezed in 8 fights in four months, albeit against weak opposition. McPhilbin will continue of this type of match-making, but he’s clearly step up from Hughie’s last two opponents Moses Matovu (4-29-4) and Ivica Perkovic (19-21, 14 KO’s).

Anthony Joshua makes his pro debut on October 5th in London

joshua434British heavyweight Anthony Joshua, 23, will be making his pro debut on October 5th on the Lee Selby vs. Ryan Walsh and Kevin Mitchell vs. Gary Sykes card at the O2 Arena in London, UK. Joshua, the 2012 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist from Britain, signed with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Sport promotional company.

It was a big decision for the 6’6” Joshua to turn pro, as he had previously set his sights on capturing a second Olympic gold medal in the 2016 Olympics. However, instead of taking that big risk and possibly ending up with nothing, Joshua decided to turn pro and take the sure thing money fighting in the UK in front of what will likely be huge audiences no matter who he faces.

Bellew poised to get title shot against Stevenson-Cloud winner

bellew64Tony Bellew (20-1, 12 Ko’s) failed the last time he got a title shot against WBO light heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly in losing a 12 round majority decision to him two years ago in October 2011. Bellew, 30, is now on the cusp of getting another world title shot, this time against the winner of the Adonis Stevenson vs. Tavoris Cloud fight.

Bellew is tentatively scheduled to fight the winner of that bout on November 30th, which just happens to be Bellew’s birthday. I seriously doubt it being his birthday is going to help him beat either Stevenson or Cloud, because those guys are a step up from Bellew’s recent opponent Isaac Chilemba. We just saw Bellew struggle badly against Chilemba twice and look terrible both times.