Interview: Joseph Parker on his upcoming fight with Jason Pettaway

03/03/2015 Bryce Wilson

….his relationship with trainer Kevin Barry and his upcoming sparring with Wladimir Klitschko in April

The lobby of the Pullman Hotel, Joseph Parker’s home away from home when he is in Auckland preparing for a fight, is a lot busier than usual. Cricket World Cup fever has hit the country and New Zealand’s national team are also staying at the inner city hotel as they prepare for their upcoming grudge match against fierce rivals Australia. Only the day before Joseph and Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum have done a TV news piece, Parker and Coach Kevin Barry putting the cricketer through his paces in the boxing gym.

When we meet Joseph is downstairs hitting the mitts with Kevin, during which McCullum and several other teammates drift in to take a look at the action, emitting low whistles at the power and precision with which Joseph hits his heavily padded trainer.

Parker To Continue To Rise Up The Heavyweight Ranks

03/03/201503/03/2015 Eugene Carnachan

March 5th, Auckland, New Zealand rising heavyweight Joseph Parker goes head to head with once beaten American Jason Pettaway.

Pettaway 17-1-0 sports a handy resume, however on closer inspection only five of the opponents he’s faced to date have positive win-loss records.

In 2012 Pettaway took a big step up in fighting than undefeated Russian Magomed Abdusalamov. Early on Pettaway had moments, using his right hand to counter the aggressive southpaw. Unfortunately for Pettaway he didn’t have the power to win the respect of Abdusalamov, the Russian walking him down before stopping him by way of TKO in the 4th round.

Interview: Izu Ugonoh on the success of his unusual working arrangement and his career ahead

03/03/2015 Bryce Wilson

It is rare to see 2 contenders fighting in the same division being coached by the same trainer at the same time. But that is exactly where unbeaten Polish heavyweight Izu Ugonoh finds himself ahead of his fight with Thomas Peato at Auckland’s Vodafone Arena on Thursday night.

In an old school tradition echoing some past greats like Cus D’Amato and Manny Steward, Coach Kevin Barry has both protégés Joseph Parker and Izu Ugonoh not just training with him but also living under his roof. ‘The only nightclub they see is the one in my living room’ quips Kevin of the situation.

It is borne from the idea that when it comes to the 5am training runs and the brutal gym sessions it is better working environment for Joseph and Izu to endure them together, working as a team. It also means an improved quality of sparring, Kevin also adding that ‘due to the very high respect they have for each other the sparring is always very intense and competitive.’

Photos: Seldin Hammers Garcia

03/02/2015 Star Boxing

On Friday night, in front of a nationally televised audience over the ESPN2 network and a standing room only crowd, Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing presented the 17th installment of the popular “Rockin Fights” series at The Paramount in Huntington , NY.

David Price: Fury ‘doesn’t need to look any further than me if he wants’ a big domestic fight’

03/02/2015 James Sexton

In discussing fellow British heavyweight Tyson Fury, David Price had some talk as though the fight between himself and Fury was a likely one down the road. Price firstly said, that if Fury doesn’t get the Klitschko fight, or if he is in a position where he has a long wait on his hands, the Price vs. Fury matchup could be a good one. There is also the opportunity here to see the Price vs. Fury fight after Klitschko has faced Fury. Whether Fury would win or lose that fight, a Price match afterwards would make sense.

Interview With Daily News Golden Gloves Director Brian Adams

03/02/2015 Brad Marchetti

New York Daily News Golden Gloves director Brian Adams is a busy man. The former four time Daily News Golden Gloves champion runs the biggest amateur boxing event in the world while also dueling as a TV broadcaster for the Broadway Boxing series run by promoter Lou DiBella. Adams is a tireless individual who travels all over the New York Tri-State area during the Golden Gloves tournament, that runs from January 28th to April 2nd. The likable and straight-forward Adams was the Floyd Mayweather Jr. of the amateur boxing scene in the early 90’s in New York City. I got a chance to catch up to the “Punching Poet” and ask him about his journey in boxing.

Carl Froch will not be forced into a Ward rematch

03/01/2015 James Sexton

Carl Froch got some pretty bad news with the WBA wanting negotiations between himself and Andre Ward. Froch has already come out and said that fights against Ward, Hopkins and DeGale simply did not interest him and he would likely retire rather than face any of those names. Having beaten Mikkel Kessler in their rematch however, Ward is the only unavenged loss sitting on the Brits resume.

How good is Carl Frampton?

03/01/2015 James Sexton

Carl Frampton had his second world title fight for his IBF strap when he took on top rated contender Chris Avalos. Avalos had two previous losses in his twenty-seven-fight career, and both had been split decisions versus undefeated opposition. The last of those losses came late in 2011 and since then had amassed a six and zero record with four stoppages. This included good wins over the likes of undefeated Yenifel Vicente and an IBF eliminator against Yautaka Ishimoto.

The fight only went five rounds when Frampton ended the event via a TKO and moved his own record to twenty wins, zero losses and zero draws. This kind of performance is what he needs should he be heading into clashes with the likes of Leo Santa Cruz, Scott Quigg and the avoided Guillermo Rigondeaux who all share his division.

Isa Akberbayev destroys Ruben Angel Mino in first round KO

03/01/2015 James Sexton

The cruiserweight scene is largely overlooked for the talents at both heavyweight and light heavyweight. Despite several good fighters, the 176-200lb division doesn’t get the kind of attention that it really deserves. Last night a fighter who isn’t ranked in the top 25 made a big statement in knocking out the once beaten Argentinean fighter Ruben Angel Mino in the very first round.

Tyson Fury secures impressive win over Christian Hammer

03/01/2015 James Sexton

Tyson Fury inches even closer to a world title with a dominant victory over Christian Hammer. Hammer was coming into this fight off the back of ten consecutive victories, and whilst a heavy underdog, was expected to at least test Fury for stretches of this fight. In the end it turned out to be a repeat of the Chisora fight, which we saw just three months ago.

Hammer did not have the speed, size or strength to trouble Fury, and Fury seemed to enjoy the night, jabbing away and moving back and forth between stances before the fight was ultimately stopped after the eighth round when Christians corner had seen enough and threw in the towel. This marked Tyson’s eighth stoppage in his past nine outings.