Canelo-Lara Fight Week Coverage – Weigh In

A loud, proud and passionate crowd filled into the MGM Grand Garden Arena for today’s weigh in. Numerous boxing personalities like Floyd Mayweather Senior were in the house as well as several fighters, including newly crowned WBC heavyweight titlist Bermane Stiverne. Showtime’s Jimmy Lennon emceed the festivities and the partisan Mexican-American crowd showed their love for their fighters throughout. If the atmosphere today was an indication of what to expect come fight night, it’s appears that we’re in for a special event.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (155 Lbs.) vs. Erislandy Lara (155 Lbs.)
The crowd was deafening as both fighters stepped onto the stage; jeers for Lara and cheers for Alvarez. Lara looked cool and calm, smiling as he stepped to the scale and hit the contracted weight of 155 pounds. Canelo was all business for the most part, letting out only a small grin as the crowd erupted when he hit the scale. The Mexican superstar also measured 155 pounds.

continue

Canelo-Lara Fight Week Coverage – Presser

The final press conference before Saturday night’s PPV card kicked off around 1pm this afternoon at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. An eager crowd of international press gathered as Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya introduced the fighters. The conference was streamed live on Showtime’s site.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez 43-1-1 (31KO) vs. Erislandy Lara 19-1-2 (12KO), light middleweights Only four months ago Canelo had a dominant performance at the MGM Grand against rugged brawler Alfredo Angulo. Slick boxing southpaw Lara figures to bring a much tougher challenge Saturday night.

continue

Iron Mike Productions: “Judgement Day” – Live Tonight on FoxSports1 (8ET/5PT)

Iron Mike Productions: "Judgement Day" - Live Tonight on FoxSports1 (8ET/5PT)

Tonight, live on FoxSports1, Iron Mike Productions will offer fight fans a very interesting night of action in a card capped off with a rematch between Argenis “La Tormenta” Mendez (21-1-1, 1NC, 11KO’s) and Rances “Kid Blast” Barthelemy (19-0, 1 NC, 12 KOs). Don’t show up late for this one, as the stacked undercard will showcase the talents of two other studs under the promotional banner when Light Heavyweight Humberto “El Don” Savigne (12-1, 9 KOs) and Welterweight stud Erickson “Hammer” Lubin (5-0, 5 KOs) take center stage.

continue

A Tale of Two Anthony’s: Upcoming fights featuring 2012 Olympians Anthony Joshua and Ogogo

YouTube video
This Saturday at the Echo arena in Liverpool, two of the brightest stars to emerge from Team GB at the 2012 London Olympics, will be returning to the ring to continue on their transitional journeys from amateur boxing to the paid professional ranks. Heavyweight Anthony Joshua MBE and Middleweight Anthony Ogogo will both be in action on the undercard of a show headlined by Cruiserweight rivals Tony Bellew and Nathan Cleverly competing in separate bouts set up as a prelude to their eventual rematch.

Whilst both ‘Anthony’s’ have had varying degrees of success since turning pro, the British born fighters both of Nigerian descent have taken different career paths over the last two years to arrive at where they are today.

Since signing with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Sport, it would be fair to say that Anthony Joshua has had things relatively easy. His current record is now 6-0 with all six wins coming inside the first two rounds. Since his last fight (an 83-second demolition of American Matt Legg), the murmurs for a ‘step up’ in class have grown louder and more persistent.

continue

Kell Brook vs Shawn Porter – early thoughts and prediction

Kell Brook vs Shawn Porter – early thoughts and prediction

The scheduled match-up between Kell Brook and Shawn Porter is a highly intriguing one; both are unbeaten, spearheading the uprising talent, in the welterweight division, from the UK and the US respectively. For Kell Brook, the pressure is especially intense given that he’s long chased an Amir Khan bout, pulled out of a Devon Alexander clash (who Porter previously toppled), and yet remains relatively untested. Add all of these ingredients to the contrasting fight-styles of these combatants, and it’s easy to foresee a highly entertaining, explosive fight.

Shawn Porter’s style is unorthodox. He’s short but powerfully built. In the ring he stays on the outside, well outside of his opponent’s range, and cleverly accentuates his lack of height by keeping low. Then, almost cobra-like, he’ll literally launch himself into his opponent with straight punches and bombarding them with body shots on the inside. His style does bear similarities to Pacquiao of old, where he uses the element of surprise by jumping in with hard straight shots. It’s actually quite fitting that they were former sparring partners. However, unlike Pacquiao, Porter likes to fight inside. He can also use both hands and bends at the waist. His arsenal together with his awkward style makes him a very tricky opponent.

continue

Will Floyd fight a different fight in Mayweather Jr. vs. Maidana II on September 13th?

Will Floyd fight a different fight in Mayweather Jr. vs. Maidana II on September 13th?

When boxing fans start wondering, how is it that Floyd Mayweather Jr., far from being the most exciting fighter in boxing, is the highest paid athlete in the world, a video like the above mentioned provides a solid hint: phenomenal ability to create hype and dictate the significance of his decisions. Basically he is capable of feeding the fans exactly what they need, which happens to be a mix of excitement and enthusiasm for what’s coming next.

In the video interview, not only does Mayweather Jr. grip the viewers by pledging to surprise us in May of 2015 (Pacquiao bout is the first thing that comes to mind), but he also announces a rematch against Marcos Maidana, which was unexpected by most.

continue

Mayweather announces Maidana rematch on September 13th

Mayweather announces Maidana rematch on September 13th

Floyd Mayweather Jr (46-0, 26 KO’s) ended speculation about who he’ll be facing for his next fight by announcing on Monday that he will indeed be facing Marcos Maidana (35-4, 31 KO’s) in a rematch on September 13th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, and that he also has plans for a huge fight next May on Cinco de Mayo.

Mayweather didn’t say who his opponent will be for next May, but it’s got to be a big, big name in order to persuade Bob Arum of Top Rank in trying to compete with Mayweather by putting on Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. Miguel Cotto on the same night on HBO pay-per-view.

continue

Prediction for Floyd Mayweather’s September 13th Fight

Prediction for Floyd Mayweather's September 13th Fight

by Robert Uzzell and Chip Mitchell: Floyd Mayweather, Jr is in the final three fights of his career. Many names have been thrown out there: Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter, and of course Marcos Maidana.

In Floyd’s last fight, he faced his stiffest challenge in a while in defeating Maidana by majority decision. The victory by Floyd came at the cost of a few shots to the family jewels and a nice shiner above his right eye.

Before we get to the predictions, let’s look at the odds of each fighter facing Floyd in September.

Manny Pacquiao – 0%. The politics or politricks involved continue and even if both guys were ready to play, there is not enough time to build up this super-fight.

continue

Terence Crawford takes a big step towards superstardom with sizzling stoppage win over Yuriorkis Gamboa

Terence Crawford takes a big step towards superstardom with sizzling stoppage win over Yuriorkis Gamboa

WBO lightweight king Terence Crawford looked superb last night in handing former amateur superstar Yuriorkis Gamboa his first pro defeat. Too big, tall and rangy he may have been for former featherweight Gamboa, but nothing should be taken from Crawford’s win. Looking for all the world like a Thomas Hearns clone, Crawford displayed power, accuracy, speed and, most of the time – barring the occasion in the 9th-round when he was hurt before turning things back around in his favour – patience.

Gamboa, at a major disadvantage in terms of reach, had to, as commentator Larry Merchant said, “try and make things happen,” and in doing so, by coming in and trying to land dome hurt on his taller opponent, the Cuban talent put himself at serious risk. Crawford of course took advantage of this and buzzed his challenger a number of times. Only Gamboa’s ridiculous heart and courage kept him in the fight, and Gamboa even stated post-fight that, after the second hurtful knockdown of the 9th and final round, he’d wanted to continue.

continue