Mikey Garcia says he’s willing to fight Yuriorkis Gamboa

01/15/2014 Rob Smith

WBO super featherweight champion Mikey Garcia (33-0, 28 KO’s) says he’s willing to fight WBA interim lightweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa (23-0, 16 KO’s) in the near future. Garcia wants Gamboa’s promoter 50 Cent to contact his promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank to make the fight happen. HBO would definitely like to put that fight on their network, because they expressed interest in that fight in the past.

Instead of getting that fight, HBO will be televising Mikey vs. Juan Carlos Burgos (30-1-2, 20 KO’s) this month on January 25th at Madison Square Garden in New York. Burgos is coming off of two straight 12 round draws against recent Mikey victim Roman Martinez and Yakubu Amidu.

Gamboa added to list of possible opponents for Pacquiao’s April 12th fight

01/14/201401/14/2014 Rob Smith

In a not so surprising move, Top Rank is adding lightweight Yuriorkis Gamboa (23-0, 16 KO’s) into the mix for April 12th fight of their star Manny Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KO’s) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to the Manila Bulletin. At this point Top Rank really needs a body for Pacquiao that has a good record, and who won’t price himself out.

Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz will be meeting with Bob Arum of Top Rank on Tuesday to discuss Pacquiao’s next fight, and decide on which of the three will be a good option.

Ricky Burns: Crawford fight will be difficult for me

07/31/201401/14/2014 Rob Smith

After two years as the WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns (36-2-1, 11 KO’s) may be reaching the end of the line as the champion after four title defenses. He dodged a bullet against Raymundo Beltran last September in being given a 12 round draw, and he lucked out in halting Jose Gonzalez last year in May in a fight that he was losing. However, Burns’ luck might be at an end when he faces the unbeaten Terence Crawford on March 1st at the Scottish Exhibition Center in Glasgow, Scotland.

Burns is a very good fighter and he’ll try every trick in the book in an effort to beat Crawford, but it might not be good enough. Burns appears to be overmatched in this fight, and he’s going to need to come up with the perfect fight strategy for him to come out ahead on March 1st.

Mayweather Sr: Amir Khan’s got a glass jaw

08/01/201401/13/2014 Rob Smith

Floyd Mayweather Sr. has zero worries about whether his son Floyd Jr. can successfully defeat Amir Khan and Marcos Maidana if he faces either one of them next on May 3rd. It’s widely thought that Mayweather will be fighting one of these two fighters next at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, but Mayweather Sr. doesn’t see either of them as giving Floyd Jr. a competitive fight.

“Both of them easy. Two easy fights; both of them is easy. Maidana might have punching power, but you still can’t hit what you can’t see,” Mayweather Sr. said to Hustleboss. So that’s going to put Maidana under a tree. Amir Khan’s got a glass jaw. And if you look at it too hard, it’ll shatter.”

Marquez not interested in Provodnikov or Alvarado; wants Bradley only

01/12/2014 Rob Smith

If Bob Arum of Top Rank is interested in having Juan Manuel Marquez (55-7-1, 40 KO’s) fight one of his stable fighters Mike Alvarado or Ruslan Provodnikov next then he’s going to need to really work hard to try and sell those fights to Marquez because he has no interest in fighting either of those guys. Marquez only wants a rematch against WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley, who beat him by a 12 round split decision last October in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Marquez is clearly bothered by the loss to Bradley, because he feels he should have got the decision. But Marquez also believes that he can do a better job in a rematch if he works on his power.

Schaefer not worried about Canelo-Angulo doing poorly on PPV

08/02/201401/11/2014 Rob Smith

While many boxing fans are openly grumbling about the March 8th Showtime card headlined by Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (42-1-1, 30 KO’s) vs. Alfredo Angulo (22-3, 18 KO’s) being on Showtime pay-per-view given that both guys are coming off of losses, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer isn’t worried at all that the fight will bring in poor PPV numbers.

Schaefer thinks it’ll do okay because of the 23-year-old Canelo’s huge popularity in the United States following his one-sided loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. last September in a fight that really well at the gate and on PPV.

Showtime’s Espinoza likes Khan-Mayweather fight

08/02/201401/10/2014 Rob Smith

Stephen Espinoza, the President of Sports for Showtime, thinks Floyd Mayweather Jr. (45-0, 26 KO’s) vs. Amir Khan (28-3, 19 KO’s) on May 3rd would be a good fight for Showtime pay-per-view due to the 27-year-old Khan’s fighting style. While Espinoza still isn’t saying that he specifically prefers Khan to Marcos Maidana as Mayweather Jr’s next opponent, he does seem to be dropping an awfully big hint by praising Khan’s fighting at length in an interview with ESPN from today.

“Who will be most entertaining once the bell rings? Espinoza said to ESPN. “That’s the way we will evaluate the May fight and every fight after that. I like the Khan fight stylistically. I think Amir provides a set of challenges based on his skills that Floyd hasn’t seen in a while. For that reason, I think it will be a very entertaining fight.”

Roach wants Pacquiao vs. Robert Guerrero

01/10/201401/10/2014 Rob Smith

Trainer Freddie Roach says that WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley isn’t a fight that Manny Pacquiao is excited about. He feels that he already beat Bradley in their fight last year, and doesn’t think the fight will bring in big pay-per-view numbers either.

With Bradley asking for more money than they’re willing to pay, Roach says that he’d like to see Pacquiao fight Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero if that fight could be made. Roach thinks it would give Pacquiao a good opportunity to show what he an against a fighter that was able to go the full 12 rounds against Floyd Mayweather Jr. last year in May in Guerrero’s lopsided 12 round unanimous decision loss.