By Vitali Shaposhnikov: TMT Promotions have gained a ton of respect due to their aggressive marketing and signing of great new as well as seasoned talent. 50 Cent along with Floyd Mayweather Jr. are making a statement in the sport of boxing, and are now a direct competition to the bog boy in the promotional game, such as Golden Boy Promotions and top Rank.
Month: August 2012
50 Cent/TMT’s First Card Set For November 17th: Yuriorkis Gamboa-Juan Carlos Salgado, Brian Magee-Andre Dirrell
By James Slater: Rap megastar turned boxing promoter 50 Cent, along with Floyd Mayweather Junior and the TMT team, has his first card all set for November 17th. Set to go out live on Showtime, the quality card will feature the ring returns of Yuriorkis Gamboa and Andre Dirrell.
James Kirkland Wants Out Of His Golden Boy Contract, Wants To Part Ways With Trainers Ann Wolf, Pops Billingsley
By James Slater: In a surprising development, exciting southpaw slugger James Kirkland has had his lawyer file a lawsuit against his current promoters Golden Boy and his two trainers, Ann Wolf and Pops Billingsley. The news has been reported by Ringtv.com, and Kirkland, inactive since his poor performance of a DQ win over Carlos Molina (back in March of this year), may well remain on the shelf, tied up with legal wrangling as he tries to part ways with his current team.
Oquendo Displays Bombing Power in Knockout over Hawkins
by Pavel Yakovlev – photo by Joey Hill – Saturday night, Fres Oquendo reminded the world that he is more than just a skilled technician: he can also bang. Oquendo made his point by stopping Robert Hawkins in seven rounds, dominating the action with crackling right hands and a hurtful body attack. The early finish surprised many, as Hawkins is known for his durability. Oquendo’s speed, punching precision, and power, however, overwhelmed Hawkins and rendered a knockout unavoidable.
After battering Hawkins with jabs and well-placed body punches in the first two rounds, Oquendo shifted his attack to the head. Hawkins was knocked down twice in the third, and absorbed punishment for several more rounds before retiring at the end of the seventh. Repeatedly, the sturdy and thickset Hawkins was rocked by Oquendo’s grenade-like rights.
“I put my combinations together, and I put a lot of pressure on him,” said Oquendo. “In the third, I hit him with a left uppercut and a right, and he went down. After that, I floored him with a left to the body. My speed and power were too much for him. He was hanging in there only because he has so much heart, but my punishment made him quit.”
Particularly satisfying to Oquendo is that the victory came by knockout. “I stopped a guy that Tua couldn’t stop,” he said. “I showed everyone that not only am I a jabber and a mover, but that I have a body attack, and that I can punch.”
Oquendo is now 35-7, including 23 wins by knockout. Presently ranked 14th worldwide by the WBA, He is now seeking an elimination bout against a top contender. A native of Puerto Rico who grew up in Chicago, Oquendo holds the WBA Fedlatin title.
From the Horse’s Mouth: Jason Gavern Assesses the Abilities of His Best Opponents
by Pavel Yakovlev: (August 19, 2012) Next month, Jason Gavern meets former IBF world cruiserweight champ Steve Cunningham in Newark, New Jersey. The bout marks Cunningham’s entre into the heavyweight division. Gavern has been selected as the opponent for a good reason: he is a tough, seasoned gatekeeper who has fought many of today’s leading heavyweights. Among Gavern’s opponents are current contenders Denis Boytsov, Mariusz Wach, Alexander Ustinov, Johnathon Banks, Franklin Lawrence, and Travis Walker. In this exclusive ESB interview, Gavern discusses his experiences with these fighters, analyzes their ring abilities, and assesses their future prospects.
Bradley: I’m too high risk for Pacquiao
By Rob Smith: WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley says he won’t be surprised if Manny Pacquiao chooses not to fight him in a rematch in his next fight on November 10th, as Bradley feels that he’s personally too dangerous for the Filipino to risk fighting again after having suffered a huge upset loss last June in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Carl Froch vs. Nicholson Poulard possible for November
By Marcus Richardson: IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (29-2 21 KO’s) vs. light heavyweight contender Nicholson Poulard (19-3, 9 KO’s) is being talked about for Froch’s next fight in November in Nottingham. This is supposed to be Froch’s stay busy tune-up fight so it’s understandable why he might be taking on a lesser fighter compared to the guys he’s been facing recently. Poulard isn’t too well known, but he is known in Canada where he fights out of.
Poulard, 34, hasn’t been positively confirmed as Froch’s opponent as of yet, but we should know more tomorrow when Froch makes an announcement about his next opponent.
Evander Holyfield calls out the Klitschko brothers again
By Rob Smith: Evander Holyfield, 49, is hoping that one of the Klitschko brothers will give him a fight so that Holyfield can try and capture another heavyweight world title before he retires someday. Holyfield hasn’t been ranked in the top tier for quite some time in the heavyweight division so it’s going to be a tad difficult for him to get one of the Klitschkos to bite on his offer.
Holyfield said to Sky Sports News “They [Klitschkos] have got an opportunity to probably make the biggest payday of their lives fighting Evander Holyfield…With the Klitshkos, they aren’t choosing to fight me, I’ve said I’ll fight them. All they got to do is realize that both of us will make money, then we’ll see who the winner is.”
Ignoring the fact that this would be terrible mismatch and the Klitschko brothers would take heaps of criticism from boxing fans if they took this fight, A fight between one of the Klitschko brothers and 49-year-old Holyfield would still do really well in Germany where the Klitschkos fight. The Klitschkos could sell out one of their 50,000 seat football stadiums if they fought Holyfield.
George stops Miranda; Molina decisions Frias
By Michael Collins: In disappointingly dull fight ESPN2 Friday Night Fights card filled with mismatches, junior middleweight contender Carlos Molina (20-5-2, 6 KO’s) completely dominated a gun shy Damian Frias (19-5-1, 10 KO’s) in a 10 round unanimous decision victory on Friday night at the Buffalo Run Casino, Miami, Oklahoma. The final judges’ scores were 100-90, 100-90 and 100-90. I still don’t see the point of this fight being made, because it had mismatch written all over it the moment it was made.
Froch to reveal his next opponent this Monday
By Michael Collins: IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (29-2, 21 KO’s) will be making an important announcement this Monday to reveal who his next opponent will be in November at home in Nottingham, UK. Froch and his promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport has done a good job of keeping it secret about who the next guy will be for him. We’ve seen names like Kelly Pavlik and Thomas Oosthuizen mentioned and then ruled out unfortunately.
Froch deserves an easy fight at this point because he’s faced nothing but tough opposition for the last three years straight. Although I’m sure he prefers to face another quality opponent, it may not be possible for his November fight without his promoter giving the opponent a lot of money. The good fighters aren’t going to be got on the cheap unfortunately especially when they know how hard it is to beat Froch when he’s fighting in front of his home crowd in Nottingham.
Hearn said to Sky Sports News “The Bute fight night will go down in history as one of the greatest nights in British boxing history. Carl is chomping at the bit to get back into the ring and feel the roar of the Nottingham fans that he loves so much.”
Froch defeated Lucian Bute with ease last May, stopping him in the 5th round in what turned out to be a slaughter in Nottingham. Going into the fight many boxing fans felt that Bute’s power and boxing skills would be enough for him to beat the slower, slightly weaker Froch. However, Bute couldn’t stand up to Froch’s power and was immediately having problems in the 1st round when Froch was able to steadily back him up with his hard power shots.