Abraham faces Sjekloca tonight

05/03/201405/02/2014 Vladimir S

(Credit: Thomas Goos / Team Sjekloca) WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (39-4, 28 KO’s) will be making an optional title defense tonight against #12 WBO Nikola Sjekloca (26-1, 8 KO’s) in what hopes to be an entertaining fight at The Velodrom, Prenzlauer Berg, in Berlin, Germany. It’s not a particularly interesting fight because Sjekloca has little to no power to speak of, and he’s only fought one good opponent during his career in Sakio Bika, who beat him soundly.

Abraham recently won back his WBO title with a victory over Robert Stieglitz last March, and now Abraham is taking an optional title defense before he faces Stieglitz likely for a fourth time in either late 2014 or sometime next year. Stieglitz needs to win at least one of two fights before he can get a fourth fight against Abraham, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to be asked by the WBO to fight his way to another shot at the title.

Froch vs. Groves: Carl Froch Could Retire If Defeated

05/03/201405/02/2014 ESB

· Fighters both believe they’ll get the job done within twelve rounds
· Froch says retirement is ‘probable’ if he were to lose – as Groves would ‘never give me a re-match’

With under a month until the hugely anticipated re-match between IBF and WBA Super middleweight champion Carl Froch and challenger George Groves, the duo came face-to-face in front of the Facebook cameras today, and – finally – they agreed on something.

Both Froch and Groves made it clear that a points decision won’t be necessary – as both pledged to finish off the other within 12 rounds:

Manuel Charr vs. Alexander Povetkin on May 30th in Moscow

05/02/201405/02/2014 DiamondBoy Promotion

“Diamond Boy” Manuel Charr is heading to Moscow again to face former world champion Alexander Povetkin on May 30th for the WBC international heavyweight championship. “This will be an awesome fight”, says Charr. “I am very proud that I got invited to fight Povetkin and reached an agreement with his handlers. This is my big chance to get in line for another world title shot. The winner will move up the WBC ratings to a top position. And one thing I know for sure: If I can beat Povetkin in Moscow, I can and will definitely go on to do what I promised Don José Sulaiman years ago: I will become heavyweight champion of the world!”

ESPN Thursday Night Fights: A Ringside Report

05/02/201405/02/2014 Bill Barner

On May 1, Hialeah Park and Casino hosted ESPN Thursday Night Fights. Those in attendance included both current and former world champions such as Guillermo Rigondeaux, Riddick Bowe, Joel Casamayor, and Sergio Martinez.

NON TELEVISED BOUTS

The fighter who left the biggest impression in the opening bouts was Ahmed Elbiale, fighting out of Miami, FL by way of Cairo Egypt. He faced Steven Chadwick Jr. in a light heavyweight bout scheduled for four rounds. Neither the judges nor the ring card girls would be needed in this short, brutal bout.

Mayweather vs. Maidana: Will May 3 be a monumental moment or just a mirage?

05/02/201405/02/2014 Chris Carlson

We know Marcos Maidana will have his moments when facing Floyd Mayweather but will he have enough of them to get his hand raised. Mayweather is once again a heavy favorite heading into Saturday nights scrap so the real question outta be will the paying customer get a bang for their bucks. Along with the main event I will preview and predict the undercard fights that include big names like Amir Khan and Adrien Broner.

With so few weaknesses inside the ring for Floyd Mayweather it’s very difficult to pick against him. When my mainstream boxing fan friends ask me about an upcoming Mayweather fight I’m often left talking about how entertaining it will be rather than convincing them that he will lose.

“The Moment” Fight Week Day 3 : Khan-Collazo, Broner-Molina and Love-Periban Final Press Conference

05/01/201405/01/2014 Steve Lopez

The Moment’s undercard fighters’ final press conference took place on Thursday, Day 3 of fight week in Las Vegas. Each fighter took the podium to say their last words to the press as they prepare for battle in a few days.

Coming off from his December loss, one wasn’t sure if Adrien Broner would be more humble this time around. A press conference could always use some some color and excitement. Although Broner is not headlining the card, he made it a point to be heard during the conference.

Each fighter praised their opponent, but each promised victory at the same time.

Here are notable quotes from each fighter along with visuals.

Mayweather vs Maidana: Closer Than You Think

05/01/2014 Rudy Mondragon

The highly anticipated fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Marco Maidana is scheduled to take place thisSaturday May 3, 2014 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Most fight fans, critics, analysts, and boxers are giving the edge to Floyd Mayweather as they should. He is the champion, he has been a champion for over 17 years, he has been here before and been successful 45 times without a blemish on his record. Although I too give the edge to Floyd due to the many advantages he has, I also believe that this fight is going to be closer than most feel. Here is why…

Floyd and Referees

One of Floyd’s major advantages is that referees allow him to get away with a lot. With Floyd’s experience, he is able to implement elbows, clenches, and forearm action with no consequences. When was the last time Floyd was deducted a point, let alone a verbal warning? Closest he got was in the Hatton fight, yet Joe Cortez did not allow Hatton’s bully and rough tactics, which threw off a worthy game plan by the Englishman.

Marcos Maidana: “I think I can knock him out, but I also think I can beat him by decision”

05/01/201405/01/2014 Vitali Shaposhnikov

When it comes to Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his opponents, we have learned over the years that their promises are simply meaningless. Not to say that Floyd’s rivals don’t believe their predictions and guarantees, as a matter of fact, most wholeheartedly do.

The difficulty in persuading the boxing community when facing Mayweather Jr., is that over the years, we have heard the entire spectrum of combinations of pledges, and none of them crossed the necessary threshold to make the boxing fans consider that despite coming up short, they almost did it.

“The Moment” Fight Week Day 2 : Final Press Conference

05/01/2014 Steve Lopez

Day 2 for “The Moment” came with with final press conference for the Welterweight unification bout between Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Marcos Maidana.

The trainers, promoters and sponsors all took the time to thank the fans and media as the build-up for the fight continues.

Mayweather, Jr., in an effort to show his philanthropic side, announced a donation to the Sussan G. Kommen Foundation. But this is a stage that Mayweather has been on for so many years already. Mayweather promised victory the same way he always has over the years.

The Weigh-In: ESPN Thursday Night Fights: A Preview Of May 1

05/01/2014 Bill Barner

On April 30, 2014, eighteen fighters ranging from Featherweight to Light Heavyweight took center stage at Hialeah Park and Casino to weigh in for ESPN’s Thursday Night Fights.

First to weigh in were Texan Roberto “La Amenaza” Garcia (34-3, 22 KOs) and his scheduled opponent, Dominican Victor “Mermelada” Cayo (32-4, 23 KOs). First, Roberto Garcia played to the crowd a bit, flexing and mugging for cameras. After taking a minute to remove all of his jewelry, he weighed in at 146.2 lbs., or 3.8 lbs. under their 150 lb. contract weight. However, things did not go as smoothly for Victor Cayo.

First, Cayo awkwardly approached the scale with his back to the audience and cameras. After being turned around twice, he weighed in a few ounces over the 150-lb. contracted weight at 150.6 lbs. . Pursuant to the rules that contemplate such a discrepancy, Cayo was given two hours to re-weigh. He left the stage and returned minutes later to re-weigh. This time, Cayo stood on the stage naked as the day he was born, but still weighed 150.2 lbs.