Macklin could be next for Golovkin

martinez4545A fight between WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (26-0, 23 KO’s) and Matthew Macklin (26-4, 23 KO’s) is being discussed for the summer in June. Golovkin wants a high profile opponent and the 30-year-old “Mack the knife” Macklin fits that bill.

Golovkin’s management wants the Macklin fight and it now remains to be seen whether Macklin will agree to the fight. He recently had nose surgery and he’s only fought once in the past year, so there may be concern on his part that he might not be ready for a fighter in Golovkin’s talent level by June.

Macklin stopped Joachim Alcine in the 1st round last September, and before that Macklin was stopped in the 11th round by Sergio Martinez in March of last year. It’s good that Macklin rebounded from that defeat to destroy Alcine but that doesn’t mean much because Alcine is up there in age and he’s not in the class of Golovkin.

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Price vs Thompson II: Is The Price Right?

price#2On July 6th UK Heavyweight hope David Price returns to the scene which derailed his express-like march through the lower to mid echelons of the Heavyweight division. Can the tracks be rapidly repaired or does the damage go beyond the tracks, is the fledgling Scouse Express already destined for the scrapheap?

Returning to the events of February at a packed out Echo Arena filled with his adoring home fans Price was a massive favorite with the bookmakers. Thompson represented a significant step up in quality for Price. Price coming of the back of relatively impressive performances had been kept active by the shrewd management of Frank Maloney. Price looked devastating against Audley Harrison and in particular against Sam Sexton-I believe Price’s best career performance. However I thought Price looked untidy and surprisingly vulnerable against an ageing Mat Skelton, watching the fight it became clear that Price could do with developing his inside fight skills, Price certainly looked uncomfortable at times when Mat was applying pressure, maybe not hurt but I got the impression that a decent pressure fighter could cause all kinds of problems for Price.

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An extraordinary opportunity for an Extra-Audley-nary fighter

harrison5634The British news over the last few weeks has covered a variety of subjects which the average Briton is most assuredly unrepentant towards. Having long lost faith in their government, bankers and those in positions of power Englishman feel almost hopeless, like a drowning rat in a sewer it once felt safe in. The feeling of tension throughout the busy streets of places such as Oswestry can clearly be witnessed. A once thriving high street is now mostly charity shops or cheap sports stores. Long gone are the local butchers and family run chippies. I didn’t stop there long enough to really check as everyone looked related, slightly drunk and menacing. Nevertheless, I could see the anguish in their eyes, that distant gaze of peoples battered by less than fortunate circumstances (i.e living in Oswestry). This same look was once etched into the face of Audley Harrison, an Olympic Gold medalist whose destiny was surely to become the greatest British Heavyweight of the world. Environments often dictate whom a man will become and the environment Audley Harrison has been subjected to has indeed shaped him. Remarkably though not in the expected negative manner many would have expected, indeed many had even hoped for.

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Arum looking to make Pacquiao-Marquez 5 in Macau or Singapore in September

pac4Promoter Bob Arum is looking to put together a fifth fight between Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KO’s) and Juan Manuel Marquez (55-6-1, 40 KO’s) in Singapore or Macau in September in order to dodge U.S taxes. Arum is looking at possible casinos in both places to see which one is the best fit for the fifth and possible final fight between the two.

If Arum can put the fight together, and that’s a big if, the fight could be the last one if Marquez knocks Pacquiao out cold again. He destroyed Pacquiao in 6 rounds last December and you can’t imagine that he’ll agree to a 6th fight with Marquez if he gets blasted out again.

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Bellew vs. Chilemba II possible for Froch-Kessler II undercard on May 25th

bellew33Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn says that he’s thinking about putting a rematch between WBC Silver light heavyweight champion Tony Bellew (19-1-1, 12 KO’s) and Isaac Chilemba (20-1-1, 9 KO’s) on the undercard of the Carl Froch vs. Mikkel Kessler 2 undercard on May 25th at the O2 Arena in London, UK.

Bellew and Chilemba fought to a 12 round draw last Saturday night in a WBC light heavyweight eliminator bout in Liverpool, UK.

Bellew fought well enough to deserve a loss in the fight, but he lucked out when the judges scored the fight a draw. Chilemba was a bad match-up for the hard hitting Bellew because he was unable to hit him with his big swings couldn’t deal with Chilemba’s quick reflexes and excellent defensive skills.

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Chavez Jr. interested in facing Darren Barker on June 22nd

barker3443Former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-1-1, 32 KO’s) is leaning in the direction of facing former EBU middleweight champion Darren Barker (25-1, 16 KO’s) on June 22nd in a fight that in Mexico City, Mexico. Chavez Jr. needs a tune up bout and he previously thinking of fighting Brian Vera or Matthew Macklin, but something has put him off the trail of fighting one of those guys and instead he likes the idea of facing the 30-year-old Barker.

Chavez Jr. told ESPN Deportes “I think Barker is a good fighter. He’s only lost to [Sergio] ‘Maravilla’ Martinez.”

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Canelo vs. Trout: 31,000 tickets already sold for April 20th bout

canelo11Tickets are still going fast for the April 20th unification bout between WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (41-0-1, 30 KO’s) and unbeaten WBA junior middleweight champion Austin Trout (26-0, 14 KO’s) at the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas, USA. 31,500 tickets have already been purchased for the fight.

Mike Battah of Battah Promotions said to the elpasotimes.com “We’ve sold 31.500 tickets at this point. We’re currently building a new section that will seat 3,000. We’re considering opening up some of the higher levels as well. And, we might still open up seats to view the fight on a big screen.”

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Andre Ward hoping to fight Chavez Jr.

chavez675WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward (26-0, 14 KO’s) says former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-1-1, 32 KO’s) is high on his list for a big fight in 2013. Ward just destroyed WBC light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson last September in a 10th round TKO when Dawson made the mistake of moving down in weight to face him at 168. Now, Ward is hoping that Chavez Jr., a huge fighter for the 160 pound division, will move up in weight and face him at 168. Ward thinks it’s a fight that boxing fans will want to see.

Ward said to RingTV “A fight between me and Chavez Jr. is more interesting. I think it’s what fans what to see more than [Sergio] Martinez now.”

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Arum: No Rios-Alvarado rematch; they should fight other guys

rios2Despite last night’s fight between Brandon Rios (31-1-1, 23 KO’s) and Mike Alvarado (34-1, 23 KO’s) on HBO being incredibly exciting for boxing fans, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is saying no to the idea of them facing each other in an immediate rematch.

Arum wants to put them in with other fighters first, and then match them up at some point in the future. This is no doubt a risky move because if one of them gets beaten badly it could take some of the interest in seeing them fight again.

Alvarado defeated Rios by a 12 round unanimous decision last night by the scores of 115-113, 115-113 and 114-113.

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Paul Fleming: Ready for “Showtime” in Macao This Weekend

This Saturday night, as part of Top Rank’s historic first boxing promotion in China, at the Venetian Casino & Resort in Macao that will showcase the debut of dual Olympic champion Zou Shiming and two world title fights, the eyes of Australian fans will be focused on the appearance of super featherweight Paul ‘Showtime’ Fleming (17-0, 12 KOs), who will appear on the undercard against Japan’s Ryusei Yoshida (22-5, 10 KOs).

Fleming, a 2008 Olympian in the featherweight division, has progressed steadily since his debut in November 2008. In his last encounter in the ring, Fleming defeated former world title challenger, Filipino Balweg Bangoyan via 8 round unanimous decision, to improve his record to an impressive 17 wins from 17 fights, with 12 wins inside the distance.

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