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Andre Ward Ready For A Great 2014

Andre Ward Ready For A Great 2014

World Super Middle Weight Champion Andre Ward is in Spokane Washington showing his support for amateur boxing. Ward is the last male from the United States to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games. He achieved the feat in 2004 and says his presence is about motivating the young boxers to be the best in the world. “I’m excited, I think it’s important and I’ve been through the program. I think it’s important to show up and let the young ladies and young men see your presence, talk to them and let them know that you support and care for them, “said Ward.

Ward is considered by many the number two pound for pound best fighter in the world. The only person ahead of Ward on that list in Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Ward who is considered one of the most gifted fighters says amateur male boxers in the United States are just as talented as any in the world, despite being shut out of any medals in the 2012 Olympics.

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USA Boxing Championships Off To Great Start In Spokane

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178 boxers from 47 different states are in Spokane Washington trying to win the USA Amateur Boxing crown. The first round of the tournament got started at the HUB in Liberty Lake, a suburb of Spokane Monday. I spoke with organizers about the economic impact the boxers, fans and coaches are making on the region. I also ran into Jack Mosley, father of Sugar Shane Mosley and now trainer to his grandson, Sugar Shane Mosley Jr. The elder Mosley knows a little something about taking boxers to tournaments across the country. He guided his son to to a US Lightweight Championship in 89 and 92.

Shane would later become a champion in several divisions as a professional and is considered by many boxing historians one of the greatest of all time. But Monday night it was Sugar Shane Mosley Jr. who was trying to make his mark in the sport. The 23 year is 31-9 over his amateur career and a good looking athlete who looks strikingly similar to his dad. “We are going to try to go the the Olympics if possible but we’ve got to win this fight, win this tournament national tournament first,” said Jack Mosley, before the bout.

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Mayweather Jr. Suggests That 9/15/2015 Will Be His Last Fight: Exit or Drama?

Mayweather Jr. Suggests That 9/15/2015 Will Be His Last Fight: Exit or Drama?

Apparently Floyd Mayweather Jr. expects to step into the boxing ring as a fighter for the last time on September 15, 2015.

At a dinner in South Africa, Mayweather Jr. told the attendees that he remembers his first fight when he was a kid in 1987, closing with: “September 2015 will be my last.”

Technically speaking, Mayweather Jr. could retire anytime, especially if he is able to keep his perfect streak up until his Showtime contract is fulfilled. After that, he can dive head first into promotion and possibly even training. But is that what Floyd Mayweather Jr.

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Lucian Bute Waits Til the End: Defeat in Montreal

Lucian Bute Waits Til the End: Defeat in Montreal

After a long and extended delay, perhaps the highest profile fight in Canadian boxing history has finally ended. A fight that seemed inevitable has finally occurred despite the roadblocks. The fight itself turned out to be an underwhelming affair after all the accolades leading up to it. Lucian Bute held sturdy and was not stopped like many of his detractors declared would happen but he lost in a way that many could not expect. He lacked offensive urgency, his uppercut to the head and viscous liver shot never once became a factor. Bute had several sharp jabs and some occasional left hands.

Then suddenly in the final three minutes Bute assaulted Jean Pascal with everything in his arsenal. A first it was hard to tell if he was playing possum because Pascal then jumped out and sprung into attack. Then, Bute went back onto the assault once again until the end of the round. When the fight was over and the twelve rounds were completed there was no doubt about who would win and the right man was given the nod on the scorecards by margins of four points on one card and seven on the other two.

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Carlos Takam Batters Mike Perez: Settles for a Draw

Carlos Takam Batters Mike Perez: Settles for a Draw

Opening up for the HBO broadcast from the Bell Center in Montreal, Canada were two relocated heavyweights. The contest pitted two relocated fighters in late starter Carlos Takam born in Cameroon fighting out of France and Mike Perez born in Cuba and fighting out of Ireland. The bout seemed like it was going to be a forgettable one as the first three rounds saw very little action.

Then a cut on the right brow of Perez opened from an accidental head butt in the third round and neither man got particularly desperate despite facing a possible no contest. Then suddenly the fight picked up. The much larger Takam spent the early goings backing away from Perez and trying to box the former Cuban amateur and the perceived better boxer. Perez appeared to be ahead after five rounds as the fight remained at a slow pace with no real engagements. In round six the fight became stationary and toe to toe and Takam began to dig to the body and work in the uppercut.

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Eddie Chambers and the resurrection

Eddie Chambers and the resurrection

Having been told a while ago that Eddie Chambers was thinking of joining Team Fury, I thought “Astute of him. Where has he been?”. Here was a Heavyweight fighter with a record of W36 L4 who had been beaten last year in his only fight of 2013, after a bad decision to move down to Cruiserweight. Were the gears grinding down on “Fast Eddie’s” career? At 31, and seemingly losing love for the sport, Eddie was squandering the talent he had been given.

I had had a conversation with Peter Fury a few months ago after Chambers had been part of the Fury training camp for the, ultimately, disastrous Haye debacle. He was very impressed with Eddie’s skills and attitude. But you don’t need Peter to tell you Eddie can box/fight/win. Even a layman can see that Eddie Chambers has been in with the very best the sport has had to offer over the past 6 years: Wladimir Klitschko, Alexander Dimitrenko, Alexander Povetkin, Tomasz Adamek, Samuel Peter.

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Pascal vs. Bute: A Canadian Super Fight

Pascal vs. Bute: A Canadian Super Fight

For many boxing fans stateside and abroad this Saturday’s HBO fight between Jean Pascal and Lucian Bute will be just another fight that should produce some form of entertainment.

To the fans that put the North in North America this fight might as well be their version of Sugar Ray Leonard versus Marvelous Marvin Hagler or Oscar De La Hoya versus Floyd Mayweather.

This is not just a run of the mill crossroads type battle to the loyal Canadian boxing rube. For them it’s a legacy fight with winner going down in history as the best and most popular fighter of the last five or six years.

Obviously Adonis Stevenson, who has a solid fan base but his past keeps him from being beloved, surely will have something to say about legacy before it’s written in the Canadian history permanently.

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Tim Bradley asking for $10 million for Pacquiao fight?

Tim Bradley asking for $10 million for Pacquiao fight?

WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (31-0, 12 KO’s) is reportedly asking for $10 million for his rematch against Manny Pacquiao (55-5-2, 38 KO’s) on April 12th, according to Mydesert.com. If this really true then it makes a lot of sense why the Pacquiao-Bradley fight isn’t a done deal.

$10 million for a fighter like Bradley is an incredible amount given that he’s not proven himself to be a a huge star in the sport. That kind of money goes to guys like Saul “Canelo” Alavarez and Miguel Cotto. In other words, fighters who have proven that they can bring in massive amounts of fans for their fights. I don’t know that Bradley is capable of attracting huge audiences when not matched against guys like Pacquiao or Juan Manuel Marquez. He’s someone that needs help to bring in fans.

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Interview – Ivan Redkach: A 2014 Lightweight Contender

Interview - Ivan Redkach: A 2014 Lightweight Contender

One of the best up and coming contenders of 2014 is undefeated Ukraine Lightweight, Ivan “The Terrible” Redkach (15-0, 13KOs, 1 NC) who has knockout 87 percent of his opponents and is ranked number 13 by the World Boxing Council. 

Redkach is highly regarded by many boxing experts including ESPN`s Dan Rafael, Steve Kim of Maxboxing.com, Ring.TV’s Doug Fischer, among others, in large part due to his tremendous knockout power in both hands, going to the body really well and his all-out aggressive offensive style that overwhelms his opponents. The southpaw knockout sensation, looks to continue his destructive path up the lightweight divisional rankings in 2014 as he`s coming off two early knockouts in three fights last year with the other bout being a no-decision due to an accidental head-butt. He has stopped 12 opponents inside three rounds, six of which were in the first round.

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