Matthew Macklin vs. Jose Yebes this Saturday, September 27th in Germany

09/27/201409/26/2014 Jeff Sorby

Former three time world title challenger Matthew Macklin (30-5, 20 KOs) will be in action this Saturday night in an 8 round stay busy fight against 35-year-old Jose Yebes (12-4-1, 5 KOs) on the undercard of the Arthur Abraham vs. Paul Smith fight card at the Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, in Germany.

Macklin, 32, hasn’t fought since struggling to defeat little known Lamar Russ last December in an impressive performance. Macklin looked really poor in that fight, and he was fortunate that Russ didn’t have the stamina to fight hard for more than 5 rounds.

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Paul Smith: This is my first and last chance to win a world title

09/27/201409/26/2014 Jeff Sorby

Paul Smith (35-3, 20 KOs) will be fighting for a world title for the first time in his 11-year pro career this Saturday night against WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (40-4, 28 KOs) at the Sparkassen-Arena in Kiel, Germany.

Smith, 31, has definitely picked out the weak link among the super middleweight champions because Abraham has already been proven to not be in the league of Carl Froch and Andre Ward. WBC champion Anthony Dirrell would likely be too much for Abraham as well. But Smith doesn’t have that kind of talent, so he’s going to need to use his intelligence to try and outbox Abraham rather than wasting time trying to put a dent in his sturdy chin.

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Mayweather takes shot at Pacquiao on Twitter

09/27/201409/26/2014 Rob Smith

WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr waited two days before he unloaded on WBO Manny Pacquiao with both barrels on twitter this morning in calling him broke and desperate and in need of a payday fight against him. Mayweather also took a shot at Pacquiao’s sagging PPV numbers, which haven’t hit 1 million buys since his 6th round knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012.

“Miss Pac Man is broke and desperate for a pay day. Your Pay-Per-View numbers are a joke,” Mayweather said.

Ouch, that hurt. Mayweather hitting Pacquiao where it hurts in taking a shot at his financial situation and his high interest in a fight against him. Mayweather sees Pacquiao’s sudden interest in fighting him as a sign that he’s in need of money to help his finances.

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Public Perception Means Diddily-Squat

09/26/2014 Paul Strauss

Don’t concern yourself. What you thought you saw wasn’t real. “All Access” was all showbiz, according to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. What viewers saw was what he wanted them to see. It was not real, a kind of mirage. Shedding more light, he explained it wasn’t marijuana we saw. It really was nothing but harmless weed, a prop. He further explained we need not believe what we heard either. The truth is his doghouse fighters really did have rest periods, and weren’t forced to spar for 31 straight minutes. And, those people flashing money around, giving us the impression they were betting, well that was a staged exhibition for the cameras.

The NSAC panel in charge apparently nodded their heads in agreement, and voiced their satisfaction with Mayweather’s explanation. The implication was as long as you were just kidding, it’s okay. But, next time please let us know a head of time what you’re planning to do, so we won’t be alarmed and made to look foolish. Money would have us believe as Mick “Crocodile” Dundee used to say, “No worries mate.”

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Pacquiao will have a hard time catching Mayweather, says Lomachenko

09/24/2014 Rob Smith

WBO featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1 KOs) thinks that WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) will have a really tough time trying to catch up to WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr (47-0, 26 KOs) to land his power shots if Mayweather moves around the ring like he did against Marcos Maidana earlier this month in their rematch on September 13th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mayweather used movement for 12 rounds to elude Maidana’s fierce attacks, and while Maidana did an excellent job of cutting off the ring, he wasn’t quick enough to catch Mayweather enough to be competitive.

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Felix Sturm battles Robert Stieglitz on 11/8 in Stuttgart, Germany

09/27/201409/24/2014 Vladimir S

Former IBF/WBA/WBO middleweight champion Felix Sturm (39-4-2, 18 KOs) and former WBO 168 pound title holder Robert Stieglitz (47-4, 27 KOs) will share the ring on November 8th at the Porsche Arena, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

The fight is being talked about as being a WBO super middleweight eliminator bout. The winner would then get to face WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham. Stieglitz is no stranger to Abraham because he’s already fought him three times in the last 2 years, and if he beats Sturm, he could get a 4th fight against him.

One can only wonder how many times Abraham and Stieglitz will wind up facing each other before they both retire because a 4th fight is pretty much a given at this point.

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Canelo: Mayweather ran from Maidana the entire night

09/24/2014 Rob Smith

Former WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez wasn’t too impressed with WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr’s recent win over Marcos Maidana earlier this month on September 13th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

While some boxing fans feel that Mayweather did an excellent job of neutralizing Maidana’s power by using movement and tactical clinching to stop the Argentinian from hammering him with his big shots, Canelo felt that all Mayweather did was run and he didn’t take any risks by standing in the pocket to slug with the stronger fighter.

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Canelo Alvarez Signs Major Agreement with HBO Sports

09/24/201409/23/2014 Golden Boy Promotions

Golden Boy Promotions Founder Oscar de la Hoya, HBO Sports President Ken Hershman, and superstar boxer Canelo Álvarez today announced a major new agreement to showcase the fan-favorite fighter’s matches on HBO Sports.

“For all of my career, I have wanted to fight on HBO for one main reason–I believe it will allow more of my fans to see me in action,” said Álvarez (44-1-1, 31KOs). “Today marks a huge milestone for me, and I look forward to a long and successful partnership with HBO.”

Álvarez, a light-middleweight knockout artist known for his tremendous punching power, made his pro debut in 2005 at 15-years-old and quickly became one of the most popular prize fighters in the sport. His exciting fighting style and reputation for taking on all comers has captured the attention of fans all around the world.

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Canelo back at HBO; next fight likely Joshua Clottey on December 6th

09/24/201409/23/2014 Jeff Sorby

Golden Boy Promotions biggest star Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is meeting with HBO President of Sports Ken Hershman and Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya today to sign a new contract that will return the red-haired Canelo to HBO for an unspecified amount of fights. Canelo was previous with HBO before leaving for Showtime for his last 5 fights.

With Canelo coming back to HBO, it brings them a big star that can potentially take over for Manny Pacquiao when he eventually walks away from the sport or gets too old to bring in the PPV numbers like he used to.

Along with Canelo’s signing with HBO to be announced today, Canelo’s December 6th fight against Joshua Clottey is expected to be announced as well. The Canelo-Clottey fight will be taking place at the Alamadome in San Antonio, Texas. It’s not a great fight, to be sure, but it gives Canelo a sure thing win so that he can move forward afterwards and face WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto in their expected catch-weight fight at 155 pounds next year in May on Cinco de Mayo.

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Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Mayweather Promotions, Alex Ariza, Manny Pacquiao & More!!!

09/23/201409/23/2014 Vivek Wallace

Martin R. (St. Louis, MO): Alex Ariza has apparently been signed to Mayweather Promotions to be Floyd’s strength and conditioning guru. Everybody was critical of him when he was with Pacquiao. What are your thoughts now that he is with Floyd Mayweather?

Vivek (ESB): I don’t think there’s a way to defend Mayweather from the “hypocrisy” tag. Several times in the past he spoke bad about Ariza, as it relates to the possibility of him providing steroids for Pacquiao; now he’s going to use him? To many, that double-talk instantly kills credibility, and I can’t say it shouldn’t. It’s just not a good look. That being said, I can see his angle for making such a move. From my seat, this move is part strategy, part psychology. I really believe that Ariza’s presence will be a welcomed addition, when you consider that Mayweather has found this level of success without ever popping a basic vitamin! The addition of modern science could be a very intriguing element to add to his repertoire.

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