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It’s looking increasingly likely that Britain’s Amir Khan (30-3, 19ko), who fights American Chris Algieri (20-1, 8ko) in New York on May 29th, will have to give up on his dream of fighting Floyd Mayweather, a fight he has been chasing for the better part of 2 and a half years.
Mayweather has stated equivocally that win or lose on May 2nd, his last fight will be in September.
“My last fight will be in September. I don’t know who I will fight in September, but I shan’t be overlooking anyone”
Ahead of this weekend’s heavyweight clash from New York that pits dominant lineal champion Wladimir Klitschko against Philadelphia’s Bryant Jennings, Frank Warren has written in his weekly column for the Independent in the UK to talk of his hopes for British #1 Tyson Fury, and how he wants the fight for his man against Wladimir in the UK.
Fury is the mandated challenger to Wladimir’s WBO belt and should Klitschko beat Jennings Saturday night as all expect him to, then Warren and the Klitschko’s have 30 days to put the fight together before it goes to purse bids.
Warren wrote of Klitschko;
Legendary British 168lb wizard Joe Calzaghe has spoken to the BBC ahead of the Vegas super-fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao, predicting a win for Floyd, though calling his undefeated record “a massive burden.” If there is anyone well placed to talk of the burden of protecting an ‘0’ then it’s Calzaghe, who finally retired in 2008 after an unblemished 46-0 record and 11 long years a world champion.
He was involved in many memorable contests throughout his hall-of-fame career, including his destruction of American “Mini Mike Tyson” Jeff Lacy in 2006 and his US victories over living legends Roy Jones Jr and Bernard Hopkins in 2008. Not to mention his MASSIVE showdown with Denmark’s Mikkel Kessler that unified the 168lb titles in front of 50,000 in Cardiff in 2007.
Ward is one of America’s best in my opinion, and despite a 19 month lay-off will walk into this non-title bout a heavy betting favourite against the Liverpool fighter, who has been cruelly referred to by fans as “not even the best super middleweight in the Smith family” in reference to younger brother, undefeated 168lb contender Callum Smith (15-0, 11ko).
Maloney left the fight game following then charge David Price’s crushing losses to American Tony Thompson, ostensibly because she “had fallen out of love with boxing”.
The reality was that the promoter had finally decided to face a life-long gender identity crisis away from the unforgiving glare of the boxing public.
“As long as I have the motivation and health, I’ll do it. I don’t feel old, or bad, or slow.” said the confident champion. At the last press conference prior to his fight with Jennings, Wladimir acted out of character and did some brash talking giving the media and fans a little more food for comments. Ever the gentleman, he never talks trash and he found some balance in dismissing the up comers but paying his respect to the legends form the past, saying: “I am still looking up to those guys.
Tuesday in Mexico City, the WBC unveiled the million dollar belt that will be presented to the winner of Mayweather-Pacquiao on May 2nd.
Current WBC 175lb champion Adonis Stevenson and legendary former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes were on hand to help with the unveiling, alongside WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman.
It’s always good to see the Easton Assassin, who won his own WBC strap in a gruelling fight with Ken Norton in 1978, out and about and looking so well.
American 168lb king Andre Ward (27-0, 14ko) has shown a self-deprecating sense of humour in a chat with fighthype.com, jokingly referring to his much talked about comeback as “the comeback 2.0”.
This obviously in reference to the agonising time out of the ring he has had since his last fight way back in November of 2013, and the mooted returns that have previously failed to materialise.
With a smile on his face, S.O.G said of his pencilled in June 20th date, “It’s the comeback 2.0. Let’s just clarify! You gotta laugh at yourself sometimes, man. It (the inactivity) is what it is..”
They have arrived with a bang. A knock out bang that is resonating through the cruiser weight … continue