Iron Mike makes promotional debut on Friday Night Fights

821Most people who have been around the boxing industry for a considerable amount of time will tell you that the only thing crazier than actually stepping in the ring is getting into the promotional side of the sport.

Being a fight promoter is not for the faint of heart. It’s a brutal trade that is more than deserving of its “hurt business” moniker…and if you’re one of the few promoters who can actually make money from staging live cards, while continually trying to sign the best talent available, well then you’re a blessed individual.

On Friday, August 23rd, from the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York, Hall of Fame fighter and former Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson will try his luck in the promotional realm. On ESPN ‘s “Friday Night Fights” season finale, Iron Mike Productions will present two title fights in the 130 and 126 pound weight divisions.

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Amir “Hardcore” Mansour Interview – “I’m Definitely The Most Avoided Heavyweight Out There!”

Amir “Hardcore” Mansour Interview - “I’m Definitely The Most Avoided Heavyweight Out There!”

Unbeaten southpaw heavyweight Amir Mansour believes he is the best kept secret in the heavyweight division today. This may come across as an overused cliché, but “Hardcore,” as the 18-0(14) heavyweight is known, has certainly been avoided by the top names of the division, and this is the reason, he says passionately, that the casual fans are largely unaware of him and his explosive talents.

The 41-year-old, who has served some serious time in prison, has also suffered criticism due to his age. Yet the eloquently spoken Delaware man defies any younger fighter to come and test his speed, stamina and power. Amir has also put his jail time well and truly behind him.

Speaking with me last week, ahead of tonight’s fight against the seasoned Maurice Harris, Mansour insisted that as long as he keeps winning the top names will have to “come and see me eventually.”

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Amir Khan gets yet another title shot – is he a worthy contender or a stepping stone in disguise?

002KhanvsMolinaIMG_5847 Amir Khan is slated to fight Devon Alexander for the IBF welterweight title on December 7, 2013. Khan has had nothing but title fights since his first loss at the hands of Breidis Prescott. The only exception was his last fight against Julio Diaz which was a non-title bout that Amir got up from a 4th round knock down to win by UD. That makes of 12 fights for different titles and he won 9 of them.

Amir‘s loss to Prescott came in a lightweight title bout in 2008 via first round KO. It was a deep, heavy fall and it didn’t look like Khan could ever beat Prescott. My view then was that Khan wasn’t made for professional boxing despite his stellar amateur career. He bounced back and moved up to light welterweight to have all those high profile fights.

Unlike other high-profile fighters who have a dedicated fan following, Khan has a bandwagon of nay-sayers and very few fans support him even in his own country. He is someone fans love to hate.

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Malik Scott Speaks Out on Chisora Fight, Wilder and More

scott34Hey Malik, it’s been awhile. How are you doing bro?

I’m good bro, blessed and always be entertained by life.

In your last bout, you lost to Dereck Chisora by what many consider to be a controversial knockout. Talk about the impact that this loss has had on both your career and general psyche…

Well to start things off controversy or no controversy it was a good fight and Chisora officially won fair and square, whatever senseless acts that these referees or judges may do in these fights are not the fighters call, so it is what it is and that milk is spilled so no need to cry over it. As far as my psyche is concerned its better than it has ever been, I still believe I’m the best skilled heavyweight on the planet, I still look good, I have two beautiful, healthy kids that I’m crazy about and I can’t wait to get back in the ring to finish my mission to a heavyweight championship.

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Noah Zuhdi: In a Fight for Respect

zuhdi vajda picWhen WBU Lightweight Champion Noah Zuhdi (16-1, 12 KOs) steps in the ring against Hungarian challenger Gyula Vajda (12-3, 8 KOs) on August 24 at the Lucky Star Casino, he is not just fighting a sharp counterpuncher in his first title defense. He is fighting the litany of naysayers and people who subscribe to an archaic notion that a boxer has to be born and act a certain way in order to thrive in the sport.

We know what real fighters are. Fighters are not practicing lawyers or attorneys. Fighters do not start training in their twenties. Fighters do not grow up geographically and socioeconomically in middle America. And certainly real fighters do not video chat with a wife and infant son every night while in training camp. Yet, Zuhdi is and does all of these things, and he has fought his way to the fringes of boxing stardom.

“Nobody has to fight,” Zuhdi told Eastside before his bout with the tall and crafty Vajda. “No matter what your background is, no one has to get beat up like a boxer does or train as diligently as a boxer does.

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An Inside Look At Michael Oliveira

Michael Oliveira 81[1]Light Middleweight Contender, Michael “The Brazilian Rocky” Oliveira, (21-1, 16KOs), puts his career back on track after it was temporality derailed with his first professional loss to four-time, two division world champion, Brazilian icon, Accelino “Popo” Freitas, (39-2, 33KOs); by winning four consecutive bouts in which he garnered the vacant World Boxing Association (“WBA”) Fedebol Light Middleweight Title and the vacant World Boxing Counsel (“WBC”) Fecarbox Light Middleweight Title. He successfully defended these two straps, twice.

Oliveira, born in Sao Paulo, Brazil but moved to Miami, Florida when he was two weeks ago, is ranked number six by the WBC and number seven by the WBA. He looks to move up the ranking in his division, as he’s tentatively scheduled to fight, Omar “El Businessman” Chavez, (30-2-1, 22KOs), on October 12 in Las Vegas, Nevada, in an intriguing bout between two up and coming boxers.

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Anthony Mundine speaks on bout with Shane Mosley: “I’ve Gotta Be On My A Game”

mundine1Three time world champion Anthony “The Man” Mundine (44-5, 26 KOs) spoke with ‘Radio Ringside’ on SEN 1116 in Melbourne, Australia on Monday night to discuss his upcoming bout with future hall of famer “Sugar” Shane Mosley (47-8-1, 39 KOs) later this year.

Since venturing to the United States for the first time in his career last July to take on Bronco McKart, Mundine has made it clear that each fight going forward is to be a major contest.
Since this point he has remained true to his vision, with his first fight after the McKart bout a rematch of his 2009 classic with countryman Daniel Geale, for Geale’s IBF middleweight title. The bout saw Geale victorious via unanimous decision this January, to even the ledger between the two at one apiece. But the defeat hasn’t deterred Mundine’s quest for supremacy and to fight the biggest names possible in the sport, with the announcement of his bout with Mosley last week reaffirming his plans outlined last year.

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Kubrat Pulev vs. Tony Thompson – analysis and forecast

Pulev_ThompsonPhoto: Team Sauerland – It has been a long dry season for the heavyweight division and this is a fight that could stir interest on both sides of the ocean. The fight has a mandatory eliminator status and the winner should be in line to challenge Wladimir Klitschko for his IBF title.

Both fighters are roughly the same size, Thompson is an inch taller and has a two inch reach advantage, he was also 9 pounds heavier for his last fight at 259 while Pulev weighs around 250 lbs. Their styles are different as they come from a different boxing background and different boxing schools.

Tony “The Tiger“ Thompson has 41 fights on his record and obviously has more experience as a pro. He is also 9 years older but at 41 years of age this will not be an advantage. He is a good honest pro who had to go through the motions and wait for years for his opportunity. He fell short twice against W. Klitschko but the reason he is in the mix again is because he exposed David Price twice. Price used to be a decent amateur at least on paper but could not adapt to the longer professional bouts.Thompson has a typical pro style which is individual and instinctive, he improvises with his game and this makes him somewhat unpredictable. His greatest asset against Pulev will be his southpaw stance. It will make landing the orthodox jab hard and even dangerous and the jab has been Pulev‘s best weapon.

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Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Vivek Wallace Speaks on Stevens vs GGG, Canelo’s Weight (Reason for Concern?), & Zab Judah!

stevens22Mark C. (Hollywood, FL): Looks like Curtis Stevens has talked his way into a showdown with GGG. I like Steven’s power and his heart. Do you think he can pull off the upset?

Vivek W.: When you have two heavy punchers like this, anything is possible. But I wouldn’t advise anyone to drop any ducats in the bucket! Sometimes in life we have to be careful what we wish for! I won’t go out on a limb and say, unequivocally, that Stevens loses. But when you examine things a bit closer, I really don’t know that his chances are as great as he may think. I love his confidence, and I think you have to respect a young lion in the sport who feels strong enough about his talent to not only call out the biggest star in his realm, but actually go forward with the plans to take him out. That being said, GGG has been in beast mode lately, and there’s really nothing major for Stevens to get out of this fight.

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Cleverly and Barker: Heartbreak In Wales, Tears Of Joy In Atlantic City!

IMAG0001What a rollercoaster night of emotions British boxing fans experienced last night! In Cardiff, Wales, unbeaten WBO light-heavyweight champ Nathan Cleverly was the victim of one of the most one-sided beat-downs seen, as the lethal-hitting monster that is Sergey Kovalev won by crushing yet at the same time seemingly effortless fashion.

Simply put, the fight was no contest from the start, as the Russian terror knocked the unbeaten Welshman senseless, to the point where the referee was all but holding Cleverly up at the end of that torrid 3rd-round. The slaughter should have been stopped then, as Cleverly was totally gone and seemed out of it as he sat on his stool. Cleverly actually appeared to come to in the corner and he was allowed out for the 4th. The inevitable was swift in coming, however.

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