Skipp Scott Interview: “I Want KO’s!”

photoBy James Slater: Houston’s very own heavyweight hope Skipp “Strictly Business” Scott is set for his next fight on January 10th. The 6’8” giant, last seen scoring a 1st-round KO back in May to improve his record to an impressive 15-1(10) will face the experienced Kertson Manswell of Trinidad and Tobago, and Skipp says he wants to “make a statement” in the Lou Savarese-promoted bout that will kick off 2013.

Here, Skipp speaks about his upcoming fight with “The Warrior:”

James Slater: You will be back in action in January, correct, Skipp?

Skipp Scott: That’s correct, yes.

J.S: And do you know who you will be fighting, and where?

Nonito Donaire: “With the style that I’ve developed, anyone will fall”

donaire2334By Joseph Herron — After annihilating five-division world titlist Jorge Arce this past Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, boxing fans around the world are anxious to see who Nonito Donaire will step in the ring with in 2013.

Most fight fans and boxing scribes have been clamoring for a Super Bantamweight showdown with WBC title holder Abner Mares or WBA champ Guillermo Rigondeaux. While the matchmaking for Donaire has most recently been decided by boxing manager extraordinaire Cameron Dunkin and Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, “The Filipino Flash” claims that he is and always has been ready to take on the best fighters in boxing.

“As much as you want to fight someone, sometimes it just doesn’t happen in the boxing industry. It’s really not up to you unless you’re a Pacquiao or a Mayweather,” insists Nonito Donaire. “At this point in my career, I just tell my handlers that I want to fight this guy, and they see if they can make it happen.”

“If it’s not possible at the time, then they just send over the contract that says you’re fighting this person or that person. If they place Mares or Rigondeaux on that dotted line next to my name, then that’s who I’ll meet in the ring. That’s the way it usually is with me. It doesn’t matter who it is. If your name is on the contract, then that’s who I’m going to fight. It’s just a blessing to be able to fight as often as I have been.”

Mike Tyson Interview Transcript

tyson5754434MIKE TYSON: Hey Guys

Is there anything you don’t like to talk about in the show? Something that hurts you to talk about.

MIKE TYSON: You went right to the hurt part, huh? I speak about my daughter towards the end of the show and that’s kind of not a pretty sight.

Did you have to be pushed to talk about everything?

MIKE TYSON: I talk about everything that everyone knows about. They have seen them in the press and they don’t know the underlying factors – I am expressing that.

MIKE TYSON: They know it all so I have to talk about it or they would say, ‘that’s bull’ because they know it. What they don’t know it how i got started and what caused the altercation. They just know about the altercation. I am expressing the underlying story.

Let’s Get Ready For Donaire-Arce: Media Workout In Houston, TX

YouTube video
By Steve Lopez: As the Pacquio-Marquez IV aftermath begins to slowly fade, we have another fight that will portray that Philippines-Mexico rivalry.  The two Filipino and Mexican fighters are set to take the center stage this December 15, 2012 in Houston, TX: WBO Jr. Feather Champion Nonito Donaire and challenger Jorge Arce.

On Tuesday, both fighters were scheduled to take part in media/public workouts to begin the fight week festivities.  Although neither fighter partook on mitt work or shadow boxing to say the least, both were open to answer many questions from the media.  I had the privilege to be part of the workout, capture visuals and ‘Q & A’ transcripts from the day.

Wednesday will be the official Final Press Conference.  Coverage and visuals will be provided as well.

Jorge “Travieso” Arce was beaming with Mexican confidence.  Here are his answers to some of the questions posed to him by media members and fans:

Harold Lederman: “Expect Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez to go all out in part four”

Harold Lederman: “Expect Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez to go all out in part four”By Joseph Herron – On the eve of the monumental fourth meeting between two future Hall of Fame fighters, Manny Pacquaio and Juan Manuel Marquez, HBO’s unofficial ringside scorer Harold Lederman chimed in on what fight fans should expect to see when these ring legends collide at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“One variable that’s worth noting when you look at the fourth installment of the Pacquiao/Marquez saga is that two of the three ringside judges will be from outside of Nevada,” observes Harold Lederman. “I screamed and yelled that Juan Manuel Marquez is entitled to have all three judges flown in from other locations, but they’re using Adalaide Byrd as the lone Nevada state judge.”

“But one of the judges will be from Great Britain, and the other will be flown in from New Jersey, so we’ll see what happens. But at least we don’t have three Nevada state judges this time for a fight of this magnitude. Maybe they’ll see it differently, because my gut tells me that it’s going twelve rounds once again.”

“King” Gabriel Rosado: “I will defeat Gennady Golovkin on January 19th”

“King” Gabriel Rosado: “I will defeat Gennady Golovkin on January 19th”By Joseph Herron: It’s been just a little over two months since “King” Gabriel Rosado (21-5, 13 KOs) earned the opportunity to fight for championship gold by defeating Charles Whitaker in an IBF Junior Middleweight title eliminator on NBC Sports Network.

But to the surprise of most, the 26 year old puncher won’t be standing across the ring from IBF Champ K9 Bundrage when the opening bell sounds to begin his subsequent outing. The courageous Philly fighter will be taking on current WBA Middleweight Champion Gennady Golovkin (24-0, 21 KOs) instead.

On January 19th, at the Mecca of boxing, Madison Square Garden, Rosado will face one of the more avoided fighters and hardest pound for pound punchers in the entire sport. The title fight will be broadcast on HBO, as one part of an outstanding World Championship triple-header.

When Hall of Fame promoter Russell Peltz contacted his fighter concerning the prospect of facing the undefeated WBA Middleweight Champion, it didn’t take long for Gabriel to answer with a resounding, “Where do I sign?”

Famous Boxing Rivalries: Exclusive Interview with Iceman John Scully

Famous Boxing Rivalries: Exclusive Interview with Iceman John Scully

“He’s a true boxer. People think a boxer has to get on his toes and circle the ring laterally constantly to be called ‘a boxer’, but a boxer should be able to box in a ring the size of a phone booth and still be able to not get hit, and that’s the thing. I think Duran was a master at that.”—Iceman John Scully

Exclusive Interview by Geoffrey Ciani – With Manny Pacquiao slated to square off against Juan Manuel Marquez for a fourth time this Saturday night, I had the opportunity to speak with ‘Iceman’ John Scully to get his views on the upcoming match. From there, Scully shared his views on some other famous boxing rivalries throughout history, including Ali-Frazier, Gatti-Ward, Robinson-LaMotta, Holyfield-Bowe, and all of the fights that took place when Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran, and Tommy ‘Hitman’ Hearns faced off against each other in the 1980s. This is the second installment of an ongoing series dedicated to the history of the sweet science. Below is a complete transcript of my discussion with Iceman.

John Scully Audio

GEOFFREY CIANI: Iceman, this Saturday night Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez will be fighting for a fourth time, which is unusual in this day and age. In your view, what do you think the keys to victory for each fighter is?

JOHN SCULLY: I mean basically to me I think each guy needs to do, well I mean Marquez certainly just needs to do what he’s been doing the other three times, because I think like even though he hasn’t been getting the decisions, I think he’s a little bit more on track towards a definitive victory than Pacquiao actually is. So I would recommend to him to just sharpen up the best he can, but basically do the same thing. I think if it’s not broke you don’t need to fix it. I think Pacquiao probably needs to throw a few more punches, you know raise up his output, and maybe he’s got to step around. He’s got to get Marquez a little bit more off balance than he was. I think Marquez was allowed to play the matador a little too much the last three times.

CIANI: Now what did you think of their first three encounters, and in particular their last bout that seemed to bring the most controversy of the three they’ve had so far?

SCULLY: I mean I kind of saw what everybody else saw. I mean they were real tough fights, real just hard to score. A lot of those were hard to score, but I mean for the last one, you know I have to admit that I thought Marquez was going to get the decision. I thought before they announced it I figured he had it. And I think not just for them two, it didn’t just mess up them two, but I think that the decision in the last fight, or the performance of both guys in the last fight has done a great deal of damage to a potential Mayweather fight with Pacquiao. I think that people that thought Pacquiao was going to beat Mayweather, I think a lot of those people have changed their minds. And I don’t think any new people that didn’t think Pacquiao was going to win, I don’t think they changed their minds after the last fight. So I think they kind of bit themselves in the butt there because I think they did a lot of damage to the potential of a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight with his performance last time.

Austin “No Doubt” Trout: The best kept secret in boxing is revealed

Austin “No Doubt” Trout: The best kept secret in boxing is revealedBy Joseph Herron, photo by Tom Casino / Showtime: Last night at the famed Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, undefeated WBA Junior Middleweight Champion Austin Trout (26-0, 14 KOs) retained his title in decisive fashion by winning a wide unanimous decision over three division world champion and future Hall of Famer Miguel Angel Cotto (37-4, 30 KOs) with scores of 119-109 and 117-111 twice.

While many ringside pundits will argue that the judges’ verdict was a little wider than expected, most won’t dispute that the correct fighter won the highly publicized event.

Going into the bout, most casual fight fans weren’t familiar with the slick southpaw and were expecting a customarily clear and resolute victory for the Puerto Rican favorite in his favorite fight domain of Madison Square Garden. Although the Caguas warrior put forth a valiant effort, the experienced ring veteran couldn’t mount an effective assault against the crafty undefeated champion at any time during the twelve round match.

Now that the elite level cat is out of the boxing bag, will Austin reap the benefit of his dominant and decisive victory over one of the sport’s biggest names?

Not just yet.