Vitali Klitschko may have vacated the WBC crown, but it could soon be back in the Klitschko family…

12/18/2013 James Slater

Wladimir aims to become undisputed heavyweight king

wladimir67 As fight fans have almost certainly read by now, Vitali Klitschko has vacated the WBC heavyweight title due to his political ambitions and has been declared The Champion Emeritus by the governing body. This news excited fans who crave a competitive heavyweight title fight, as they can now look forward to seeing two young studs battling for the vacated green belt.

There has already been talk of how Bermane Stiverne, the WBC number-one contender, could face either unbeaten banger Deontay Wilder for the vacant belt, or maybe Stiverne could face the experienced Chris Arreola for Vitali’s old crown. However, those fans who feel the WBC belt will be the property of one of these guys for long had better think again – because Wladimir, Vitali’s baby brother, has announced it is his intention to add his sibling’s old belt to his Ring Magazine, IBF, WBO, IBO and WBA crowns.

The Pugilist KOrner: Shawn Porter, Paulie Malignaggi, Miguel Flores, Don Chargin, Jermall Charlo, and Hank Lundy

12/18/201312/17/2013 Joseph Herron

Tonight at 9PM EST/6PM PST, “JEK III Productions” presents the new IBF Welterweight Champion “Showtime” Shawn Porter, two division world champion Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi, undefeated Featherweight prospect Miguel Flores, Hall of Fame matchmaker and promoter Don “War a Week“ Chargin, undefeated Junior Middleweight prospect Jermall Charlo, and Junior Welterweight contender “Hammerin” Hank Lundy on tonight’s two hour episode of “The Pugilist KOrner”.

Pugilist KOrner listener line: 718-506-1506

Kicking off tonight’s two hour program will be newly crowned IBF Welterweight Champion “Showtime” Shawn Porter (23-0-1, 14 KOs). The talented Akron, Ohio native will discuss his impressive title winning effort against two division world champion Devon Alexander. “Showtime” will also discuss the landscape of the packed Welterweight division, as well as last Saturday night’s epic in San Antonio, Texas between Adrien Broner and Marcos Maidana.

Maidana Shocked the Boxing World with an Upset Victory over Broner

12/17/201312/16/2013 James Stillerman

Marcos “El Chino” Maidana shook up the boxing world as he upset, Adrien “The Problem” Broner over twelve dominating rounds in which he scored two knockdowns and in the process became the new World Boxing Association Champion with an unanimous decision victory by three scorecards of 115-110, 116-109 and 117-109. This competitive and really interesting welterweight bout, which could be considered the upset of the year, was held at the Alamadome in San Antonio, Texas and was televised on Showtime.

The 30 year old, Maidana from Argentina, improved his record to 35-3, 31KOs and won his fourth consecutive bout. He won a world title in his third attempt, after trying unsuccessfully to do so against, Adriy Kotelnik and Amir Khan. Broner from Cincinnati, Ohio suffered his first professional loss and dropped his record to 27-1, 22KOs.

Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Broner/Maidana, Thurman, Ariza Caught on Camera, & Goldenboy Promotions Incredible Year!!!

12/16/2013 Vivek Wallace

Shawn O. (Brooklyn, NYC): What a fight between Broner and Maidana! I was pulling for Maidana, but I didn’t think he’d get it done! Do you think it was a case of Broner being “exposed” or was Maidana just the better man last Saturday night?

Vivek W. (ESB): In my weekly pre-fight Facebook post, I listed a quote that said “To he who much is given, much is expected. And in the sport of Boxing, those who declare themselves great must first be tested”! In the end, Adrien Broner was….in more ways than one! Some viewed this fight as a “Fight of the Year” candidate. I think that overwhelming response answers the question relative to whether or not he was “exposed”. You can’t have that type of battle and be considered a “bust”. I don’t think Broner was “exposed”, in terms of being cleared as a bad fighter. “Exposed” in the sense that he isn’t as polished as his smack talk made it seem? Yeah….I’d co-sign that angle. Clearly we saw that there are a few things which prevent him from being that elite, world class fighter any time soon that we were beginning to think he was.

Marcos Maidana solves The Problem

12/15/201312/15/2013 Mark Pantling

John Lennon believed[1] “there’s no problem, only solutions.” How prophetic. After 12 brutal rounds at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, Marcos ‘El Chino’ Maidana finally solved Adrien ‘The Problem’ Broner and delivered the Cincinnati wunderkind’s first loss.

Going into the fight, Broner was a heavy, odds-on favourite. Bookmakers rarely get their numbers wrong and rated The Problem a shoo-in to take his record to 28-0, most probably by way of decision. The perceived wisdom of fight commentators was that Maidana was cannon-fodder – a tough, durable opponent carefully chosen to allow Broner to showcase his skills and further his credentials as a pay-per-view star come 2014.

Maidana punishes Broner – a hype job exposed, or can Broner bounce back?

12/15/201312/15/2013 James Slater

There is nothing quite as satisfying in the sport of boxing as seeing a brash loudmouth silenced, especially when the big mouth is closed by a humble, likeable warrior like Marcos Maidana. And last night in San Antonio, boxing’s biggest mouth was well and firmly shut tight as “El Chino” dropped would be superstar Adrien Broner twice, frequently hurt and wobbled him and at times came close to running Broner clean out of the ring.

Coming into the fight, Broner, a talented boxer that had yet to pass a genuine acid test, was expected by most to win yet he was well beaten by the stronger, more experienced and harder hitting Argentine slugger. Maidana can now enjoy some big paydays as the defending WBA welterweight champion, yet most of the headlines pertaining to last night’s fight have been written about Broner; such is the appeal of the story of the arrogant, some say genuinely nasty fighter having been exposed and humbled.

WBA Interim Welterweight title holder Keith Thurman stops Jesus Soto Karass in nine

12/15/201312/15/2013 Joseph Herron

(Photo credit: Tom Casino/Showtime) In a very entertaining scrap, WBA interim Welterweight title holder Keith “One Time” Thurman slugged it out with hard-nosed fight veteran Jesus Soto Karass en route to stopping his fearless challenger in the ninth round of the scheduled twelve round championship contest.

Despite getting the hard earned victory, the heavily favored title holder was rocked and almost floored with a hard right hook from mid-range that caught Thurman flush on the jaw in the opening moments of the fight.

Although the defending champ regained his composure midway through the first stanza, Keith was forced to use lateral movement and show the underrated Mexican volume puncher some angles at a much earlier point in the fight than most had ever anticipated.

Marcos “El Chino” Maidana shocks the world and becomes the new WBA Welterweight Champion

12/15/201312/15/2013 Joseph Herron

In a clear candidate for “upset of the year” and “fight of the year”, Marcos Maidana (35-3, 31 KOs) lifted the WBA Welterweight title from Adrien Broner (27-1, 22 KOs) in a thrilling twelve round unanimous decision victory.

In the opening round, it was all Maidana. The hard punching Argentine made his presence felt right away by dropping right hand bombs to the head of the three division world champion.

In the opening seconds of round two, Maidana floored Broner for the first time in his career with a hard right hand to the head. Although the defending champ beat the count, Marcos quickly swarmed all over Adrien and scrapped him with hard shots to the body and head.