Price vs Thompson II: Is The Price Right?

price#2On July 6th UK Heavyweight hope David Price returns to the scene which derailed his express-like march through the lower to mid echelons of the Heavyweight division. Can the tracks be rapidly repaired or does the damage go beyond the tracks, is the fledgling Scouse Express already destined for the scrapheap?

Returning to the events of February at a packed out Echo Arena filled with his adoring home fans Price was a massive favorite with the bookmakers. Thompson represented a significant step up in quality for Price. Price coming of the back of relatively impressive performances had been kept active by the shrewd management of Frank Maloney. Price looked devastating against Audley Harrison and in particular against Sam Sexton-I believe Price’s best career performance. However I thought Price looked untidy and surprisingly vulnerable against an ageing Mat Skelton, watching the fight it became clear that Price could do with developing his inside fight skills, Price certainly looked uncomfortable at times when Mat was applying pressure, maybe not hurt but I got the impression that a decent pressure fighter could cause all kinds of problems for Price.

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An extraordinary opportunity for an Extra-Audley-nary fighter

harrison5634The British news over the last few weeks has covered a variety of subjects which the average Briton is most assuredly unrepentant towards. Having long lost faith in their government, bankers and those in positions of power Englishman feel almost hopeless, like a drowning rat in a sewer it once felt safe in. The feeling of tension throughout the busy streets of places such as Oswestry can clearly be witnessed. A once thriving high street is now mostly charity shops or cheap sports stores. Long gone are the local butchers and family run chippies. I didn’t stop there long enough to really check as everyone looked related, slightly drunk and menacing. Nevertheless, I could see the anguish in their eyes, that distant gaze of peoples battered by less than fortunate circumstances (i.e living in Oswestry). This same look was once etched into the face of Audley Harrison, an Olympic Gold medalist whose destiny was surely to become the greatest British Heavyweight of the world. Environments often dictate whom a man will become and the environment Audley Harrison has been subjected to has indeed shaped him. Remarkably though not in the expected negative manner many would have expected, indeed many had even hoped for.

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Kennedy McKinney: “How Come I Ain’t In The Hall Of Fame!”

mckinney56564Former IBF and WBO super-bantamweight ruler “King” Kennedy McKinney feels he is more than deserving of being enshrined in The Boxing Hall of Fame. An Olympic gold medallist, McKinney made a name for himself by showing he was a warrior willing to go anywhere to fight anyone at pro level.

With a number of highlight reel moments to choose from in his thrilling, up and down career, it’s a tough job picking where to start when speaking with the 47-year-old who walked away with a 36-6-1(19) ledger in the spring of 2003.

A good enough place to start is Kennedy’s 1992 IBF title win over Welcome Ncita: a fight that saw awesome two-way action, an incredible turnaround and a truly epic one-punch KO.

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Arum looking to make Pacquiao-Marquez 5 in Macau or Singapore in September

pac4Promoter Bob Arum is looking to put together a fifth fight between Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KO’s) and Juan Manuel Marquez (55-6-1, 40 KO’s) in Singapore or Macau in September in order to dodge U.S taxes. Arum is looking at possible casinos in both places to see which one is the best fit for the fifth and possible final fight between the two.

If Arum can put the fight together, and that’s a big if, the fight could be the last one if Marquez knocks Pacquiao out cold again. He destroyed Pacquiao in 6 rounds last December and you can’t imagine that he’ll agree to a 6th fight with Marquez if he gets blasted out again.

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Bellew vs. Chilemba II possible for Froch-Kessler II undercard on May 25th

bellew33Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn says that he’s thinking about putting a rematch between WBC Silver light heavyweight champion Tony Bellew (19-1-1, 12 KO’s) and Isaac Chilemba (20-1-1, 9 KO’s) on the undercard of the Carl Froch vs. Mikkel Kessler 2 undercard on May 25th at the O2 Arena in London, UK.

Bellew and Chilemba fought to a 12 round draw last Saturday night in a WBC light heavyweight eliminator bout in Liverpool, UK.

Bellew fought well enough to deserve a loss in the fight, but he lucked out when the judges scored the fight a draw. Chilemba was a bad match-up for the hard hitting Bellew because he was unable to hit him with his big swings couldn’t deal with Chilemba’s quick reflexes and excellent defensive skills.

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Chavez Jr. interested in facing Darren Barker on June 22nd

barker3443Former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-1-1, 32 KO’s) is leaning in the direction of facing former EBU middleweight champion Darren Barker (25-1, 16 KO’s) on June 22nd in a fight that in Mexico City, Mexico. Chavez Jr. needs a tune up bout and he previously thinking of fighting Brian Vera or Matthew Macklin, but something has put him off the trail of fighting one of those guys and instead he likes the idea of facing the 30-year-old Barker.

Chavez Jr. told ESPN Deportes “I think Barker is a good fighter. He’s only lost to [Sergio] ‘Maravilla’ Martinez.”

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Canelo vs. Trout: 31,000 tickets already sold for April 20th bout

canelo11Tickets are still going fast for the April 20th unification bout between WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (41-0-1, 30 KO’s) and unbeaten WBA junior middleweight champion Austin Trout (26-0, 14 KO’s) at the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas, USA. 31,500 tickets have already been purchased for the fight.

Mike Battah of Battah Promotions said to the elpasotimes.com “We’ve sold 31.500 tickets at this point. We’re currently building a new section that will seat 3,000. We’re considering opening up some of the higher levels as well. And, we might still open up seats to view the fight on a big screen.”

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Andre Ward hoping to fight Chavez Jr.

chavez675WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward (26-0, 14 KO’s) says former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-1-1, 32 KO’s) is high on his list for a big fight in 2013. Ward just destroyed WBC light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson last September in a 10th round TKO when Dawson made the mistake of moving down in weight to face him at 168. Now, Ward is hoping that Chavez Jr., a huge fighter for the 160 pound division, will move up in weight and face him at 168. Ward thinks it’s a fight that boxing fans will want to see.

Ward said to RingTV “A fight between me and Chavez Jr. is more interesting. I think it’s what fans what to see more than [Sergio] Martinez now.”

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