Chad Dawson leaves trainer Scully; back with Eddie Mustafa Muhammad

09/14/201601/08/2013 ESB

dawson3 By Jeff Sorby: WBC light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (31-2, 17 KO’s) has reportedly left trainer John Scully and is now back with his old trainer Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, according to RingTV. Dawson lost his last fight against Andre Ward last April in a 10th round TKO loss while being trained by Scully, and it’s unclear why Dawson has decided to go back to being trained by Muhammad.

Dawson’s loss to Ward seemed to have been caused by a combination of things, starting with his questionable decision to move down from 175 lbs to fight Ward at 168 lbs without a catchweight. Dawson had problems taking off all the weight and he looked drained against Ward. That still wasn’t the entire reason for the loss, but it couldn’t have helped Dawson.

Ward was simply the faster guy with the better skills. There’s little doubt watching that fight that Ward was just too good for Dawson. Ward would have likely dominated Dawson even if he moved up in weight and fought Dawson at 175. It was a case of Ward having too much talent.

Dawson can go back to Eddie Muhammad but I doubt he’ll be able to help Dawson get past his next opponent Jean Pascal on March 23rd in Montreal. Dawson has problems with speed, and the only way he can beat a fighter like Pascal is jump on him to take him out.

Froch will find out this week who his next opponent will be

09/14/201601/08/2013 ESB

froch3232 By Michael Collins: IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (30-2, 22 KO’s) will learn this week which guy he’ll be facing next – Mikkel Kessler or Adonis Stevenson. Froch, 36, has made it no secret that he wants the rematch with Kessler next, as he lost to the Dane by a 12 round unanimous decision in April 2010 and he’s been bugged about the loss ever since.

Froch thinks he should have won the fight but boxing fans as a whole disagree and saw Kessler as the rightful winner. The Kessler rematch, if it can be made, will give Froch and Kessler a $2 million payday. That’s good money for super middleweight. It’s obviously not even close to the kind of cash that superstars like Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. rake in each time they fight, but then again Kessler and Froch aren’t on the radar screen in terms of worldwide popularity like those two talented fighters.

Froch told the Nottingham Post “We should know something in the next few days. If the Kessler fight is finalized we can apply for an exemption from the IBF. If we have to give up the belt to fight Kessler, so be it.”

Matthysse-Dallas Jr. on January 26th at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada

01/08/2013 ESB

By Bill Phanco: Interim WBC light welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse (32-2, 30 KO’s) will be making his first defense of his WBC interim title on January 26th against contender Mike Dallas Jr. (19-2-1, 8 KO’s) at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Match-Ups I Want To See Take Place This Year; But Pretty Much Know I Won’t!

01/07/201301/07/2013 ESB

floyd By James Slater: For too long in the otherwise great sport of boxing (it could be even greater), we have seen fascinating match-up after fascinating match-up fail to materialise, with one reason or another preventing us from seeing if these great-looking match-ups would have indeed resulted in great ring action (think Lennox Lewis-Riddick Bowe, Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao for two more recent examples – even if Mayweather-Pac-Man could still happen, way too late).

The pessimist in me refuses to accept this frustrating aspect of the sport will ever go away completely, even if the pressure “rival” combat sport MMA has put on boxing, what with the great match-ups being made there, serving to give boxing promoters something of a wakeup call; even forcing them to give the paying fans what they deserve for their money. That said, I now give my own personal wish list of boxing match-ups I want to see come to fruition here in 2013.

Of the dozen or so choices listed below, if even half of them come off it won’t be too bad. Still, is there any real reason ALL of the following fights cannot be made?

Rosado: I’m going to KO Golovkin in the 9th round

09/15/201601/07/2013 ESB

By Jeff Sorby: Gabriel Rosado (21-5, 13 KO’s) likes to hear that no one is giving him a chance against WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (24-0, 21 KO’s) on January 19th in Madison Square Garden, in New York. The 26-year-old Rosado draws motivation from boxing fans who think he’ll be knocked out by the hard hitting Golovkin.

Rosado wants to prove them wrong and he things he can stop Golovkin in the 9th round while dominating him the entire fight.

Rosado said to RingTV “No one thinks I can beat Golovkin. I embrace the fact that people talk and don’t think I’m supposed to win. I’m going to knock him out in the 9th round, because I think he underestimates me. I don’t know why, but I think he is going to pay for that. He’s supposed to be the next treat thing.”

Whatever helps Rosado motivate himself for the fight the better it is for him. However, I doubt Golovkin is underestimating him or looking past him. He’s taking the fight seriously as he does all of his fights. He’s not going to slack of just because Rosado has been beaten in the only fight where he stepped up against a decent quality fighter in Alfredo Angulo. Maybe it was just a fluke thing that Angulo knocked Rosado out in the 2nd round in the process of knocking him down three times in the fight.

Schaefer looking deliver a big fight for Canelo

01/07/201301/07/2013 ESB

By Bill Phanco: It seems that Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is cool to the idea of letting WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez fight a unification bout against Austin Trout for May 4th at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Schaefer has someone special in mind and he’s not about to give boxing fans any hints about who that fighter might be other than to rule out Trout as the guy that gets the fight.

Roach likes Pacquiao vs. Robert Guerrero fight

09/14/201601/07/2013 ESB

roach2 By Rob Smith: Trainer Freddie Roach would like the idea of Manny Pacquiao possibly facing WBC interim welterweight champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero sometime in the future. Obviously, that’s not a fight that can happen in 2013, as Top Rank promoter Bob Arum badly wants to match his struggling star Pacquiao back up with Juan Manuel Marquez in September if Pacquiao can pass the medical exams for the fight. But a fight between Pacquiao and Guerrero would be an interesting one if Guerrero doesn’t get beaten too badly by Floyd Mayweather Jr. in their possible fight on May 4th.

Roach told the boxingchannel.tv “He [Guerrero] did quite well with Manny in sparring, it was quite competitive. If this sparring session was like a fight, it would be a great fight because it was give and take for both guys Would we fight him? We’re not afraid of him [Guerrero] that’s for sure. Guerrero is a great fight.”

Obviously isn’t in great shape right now having been knocked out badly last December by Marquez, and it might not be a good idea to put Pacquiao in with a high volume puncher with a great chin like Guerrero because Pacquiao’s stamina and chin are both questionable at this point.

Haye: If Vitali retires, I may follow him

01/07/201301/07/2013 ESB

By Michael Collins: David Haye wants a fight against WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko in the worst way imaginable and Haye’s not interested in staying busy while Vitali decides what he wants to do with his boxing career. Haye says might retire if he doesn’t get the Vitali fight. He’s telling everyone that’s willing to listen to speak how badly he wants the Vitali fight. It’s one of those things where he’s totally dialed into this fight and doesn’t want fight anyone else for some peculiar reason.