Boxing legend and former light-welterweight king Ricky Hatton was in my hometown of York, England yesterday, the Manchester warrior a guest of honour at a dinner. Joined by York hero and former European, British and Commonwealth super-middleweight champ Henry Wharton, Hatton mingled with fans, posed for photos, signed autographs and then took to the microphone to speak about his fantastic career.
Month: November 2013
Triple G beats down Stevens for his 15th straight kayo win
Triple G’s only setback came in the post-fight interview when he said Curtis never hurt him. There was a collective groan heard from the crowd, and not just from Stevens’ fans. They weren’t biting on that bit of bragging. The truth is there were some pretty tense moments in the fight, enough to keep fans on the edges of their chairs. Even while hurt, it was obvious to them Stevens remained a threat. He proved he could take a punch, coming back strong after a big Triple G left hook put him on the canvas in the second round. Stevens beat the count, but clearly was hurt and confused. He kept looking to his corner as though he wanted confirmation that he had been decked. Or, maybe he thought they could yell out some sage advice.
Golovkin stops Stevens; Afolabi decisions Janik; Perez defeats Abdusalamov
In a surprisingly one-sided fight, WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (28-0, 25 KO’s) defeated Curtis Stevens (25-4, 18 KO’s) an 8th round TKO tonight at Madison Square Garden, in New York, New York. Stevens took a ton of punishment to the head in the 8th round from Golovkin.
After the round was over, Stevens’ corner chose to have the fight stopped rather than letting him come out for the 9th and get finished off. There was no way that Stevens was going to be able to come back and have a chance to win the fight because he was little more than a short punching bag for Golovkin. Stevens was taking a lot of big shots in the 8th.
Golovkin willing to go down to 154 or up to 168 for a big fight
It’s kind of a forgone conclusion that WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (27-0, 24 KO’s) will be dominating his over-matched and undersized opponent Curtis Stevens (25-3, 18 KO’s) in their HBO televised fight at Madison Square Garden Theater, in New York, New York, USA. It’s not so much what happens in this fight for Golovin, because he’s going to win by either a knockout or a lopsided decision.
Barrera-Hamed: The fight that closed the show for “The Prince”
Back in April of 2001, “Prince,” Naseem Hamed, then sporting a perfect 35-0 record, faced “The Baby Faced Assassin,” Marco Antonio Barrera, then holding a 52-3 pro ledger in one of the biggest featherweight fights in recent history. What took place in the ring proved memorable.
The showdown, at The MGM Grand in Las Vegas, was widely expected to provide another exciting knockout night for “Naz” – instead we saw a would-be great humbled almost to the point of retirement.
Who can forget the way Hamed, by now trained by the great Emanuel Steward, took so long in coming out of his dressing room for battle? A good fifteen or twenty minutes passed before Barrera, who had made his way to the ring with no fuss at all, was joined by the U.K superstar who was attempting to gain similar status in America. On the way to the ring, carried in as he was by a huge, sort of hoop/swing that held him aloft, Hamed was pelted by unimpressed fans, who threw beer over the deeply religious, non-drinking Muslim. The irony was not lost!
Hearn: I’ve never seen Froch so rattled before
Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn was very surprised at how his fighter IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (31-2, 22 KO’s) seemed to come unglued last Thursday night on the Sky Ringside show with his opponent George Groves (19-0, 15 KO’s). Froch was under constant pressure from Groves the entire program with Groves needling him while the two fighters sat on the same bench in the studio.
Near the end of the shot, Froch looked like he was on the verge of tears from Groves comments. Instead of backing off, Groves went for the kill and started pointing out that Froch looked like he was about to cry. It was bad for Froch because he turned to Hearns to see if he would step in to deflect some of the stuff that Groves was saying, but Hearn just sat silently not saying a word. Froch even attempted to get the Ringside host Johnny Nelson to start asking questions of him, but Nelson seemed to be paralyzed by what was transpiring between Froch and Groves.
Juan Carlos Gomez stops Buharalija, Alexander Petkovic KOs Chipindi
Juan Carlos Gomez kept his word when returning to the cruiserweight division with a bang on Friday night in Dachau, Germany.
“The Black Panther” seemed to feel very comfortable back at 200 lbs. landing nice combinations at will against an overmatched Adnan Buharalija from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Gomez dropped his opponent with a nice left hook at the end of round one and followed up in the second flooring Buharalija again. Only seconds before the end of round two the referee stepped in to stop the one-sided fight to save Buharalija from further punishment.
“I said it – and I did it! “The Black Panther” is back! This was only the first step on my way back to the world championship. I will take back what’s mine. I will be cruiserweight champion of the world again!”, said Gomez smiling and celebrating with his fans.
Keith “One Time” Thurman: “I’m more than just a puncher”
Photo and video courtesy of Carlos Sacriste
Every fighter at the world class level gets tested, in which they’re forced to prove their mental and physical durability. It’s what truly separates the good from the elite.
Interim WBA Welterweight title holder Keith “One Time” Thurman was given that proverbial “trial by fire” in his last outing against hard punching Argentine Diego Chaves, and passed the toughest test of his professional career with flying colors.
On December 14th, in San Antonio, Texas, the 24 year old fighter insists that the boxing world will see even more from “One Time” when he steps in the ring with rugged fight veteran Jesus Soto Karass.
Jean Pascal and Lucian Bute are ready!
This high profile bout between two former World champions was originally scheduled to take place last May 25th, but was postponed due to an injury to Lucian Bute’s left hand.
Yvon Michel, President of GYM, is very enthusiastic that this long awaited bout is finally rescheduled: “We are preparing for an event like no other in Canadian history. This event will be the new measuring stick for us in our sport, and this statement is true as much for boxing fans as it is for the fight itself and the intensity surrounding it”.
Adrien “The Problem” Broner: “I want to apologize to everybody out there”
While promoting his December 14th, Welterweight title defense against hard punching Argentine Marcos “El Chino” Maidana in San Antonio, Texas, Adrien “The Problem” Broner spent some time apologizing to his die-hard supporters and detractors alike for a shocking “ménage a trois” video that was leaked online earlier this week.
Video interview attached:
“It is what it is,” stated the 24 year old fighter. “I want to apologize to everybody out there. I didn’t leak it, but I just want to apologize.”
While the “X Rated” video has been the topic “du jour” on many internet fan sites, most die-hard boxing fans are much more anxious to hear how the undefeated pugilist plans to deal with a heavy handed and resilient fighter like the former IBF Junior Welterweight title holder.