The hotly anticipated welterweight showdown between WBA (reg) champion, Keith Thurman (26-0, 22ko), and friend and old amateur rival Shawn Porter (26-1-1, 16ko) is moving closer to being a done deal according to multiple sources, including ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael.
According to Rafael, a December 12th date is being touted, at an as yet undisclosed location/venue, with Showtime being the favourite to broadcast the fight between the two Al Haymon advised fighters.
Ahead of his hotly anticipated Oct 17 middleweight unification with IBF champion David Lemieux, murderous punching WBA (sup) champion Gennady Golovkin, has stated it doesn’t matter what style is presented to him, he can beat them all.
Fans are expecting fireworks from the two massive punchers’ when they meet at Madison Square Garden on HBO PPV, with Golovkin stating that he believes he is the more complete fighter and will be able to adapt to the aggressive, swarming style of Lemieux, before gradually overcoming it.
Smith fights as chief support on the Queensbury Promotions Terry Flanagan/Diego Magdaleno ‘World War III’ card against Thompson, whose team has promised that Saturday’s clash will show up the ‘difference between an A and a B fighter’, claiming their man has been sparring the likes of Andre Ward and Errol Spence in preparation.
The President of the Qatar Boxing Federation Yousuf Ali Al Kazim and AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu welcomed a true legend of modern boxing, Manny Pacquiao, to Doha for the AIBA World Championships on Thursday morning.
“It was an honour to be invited by Dr Ching-Kuo Wu and AIBA and Yousuf Ali Al Kazim, and it is a pleasure to be here among these exceptional boxers and supporting my fellow countryman Rogen Ladon at the historic first edition of the competition in the Middle East,” said the eight-time World Champion.
WBO/WBA/IBF light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev, has had his scheduled November 28th homecoming in Moscow, Russia postponed as his team at Main Events reportedly chase down a huge showdown with WBA (sup) 168 lb boss Andre Ward, according to multiple sources.
Kovalev, last seen making short work of French challenger Nadjib Mohammedi in July, now has a likely January date on HBO, meaning that the turnaround time between the November Moscow date and that next outing is simply too short.
Boxing Superstar and WBA, IBO and WBC “Interim” Middleweight Champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, (33-0, 30KOs), Four-Time World Champion in two weight divisions, Brian “The Hawaiian Punch” Viloria, (36-4 (22KOs) and top junior welterweight prospect Ruslan Madiyev, 5-1-0 (3KOs) held media workouts for a huge gathering of local press on Tuesday afternoon at the Wild Card West Boxing Gym in Santa Monica, California.
(Photo credit: Ed Diller/DiBella Entertainment) NEW YORK, N.Y. (Oct. 7, 2015) -WBA Middleweight World Champion Daniel “The Miracle Man” Jacobs (30-1, 27 KOs)and former world champion Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (32-0-1, 23 KOs)participated in a kickoff press conference on Wednesday at Planet Hollywood Times Square in New York City to formally announce their highly anticipated Dec. 5 showdown in the main event of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING live on SHOWTIMEfrom Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Whomever ends up in the opposite corner if/when he eventually returns from injury next year, Filipino superstar and multi-weight world champion Manny Pacquiao has given the clearest indication yet that he is ready to call time on his epic 20 year professional boxing career.
Pacquiao, who turns 37 in December, has been recovering from the shoulder surgery he underwent in the wake of May’s disappointing fight with Floyd Mayweather, and is set to return in the first part of next year according to promoter Bob Arum, before re-emerging himself in his burgeoning political career in his native land.
As he plots his next move following April’s FOTY candidate loss to Lucas Matthysse, ‘Siberian Rocky’ Ruslan Provodnikov has parted ways with esteemed trainer Freddie Roach, and switched to ex-Tim Bradley cornerman Joel Diaz in a bid to freshen up his game.
Diaz recently split from WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley – whom he had coached since day one in the pro ranks – and was in Desert Storm’s corner when he faced Provodnikov in their 2013 slug-fest, thriller – a fight Provodnikov lost by decision despite both men being out on their feet at points.
George Groves has conducted his first sit-down interview since losing in his WBC 168 lb title challenge to Badou Jack on last month’s Mayweather/Berto undercard, using the opportunity to put the boot into bitter rival James DeGale, claiming that he will ‘always have his number.’
Following the loss to Jack, Groves deleted his social media accounts and parted for good from trainer Paddy Fitzpatrick, although now he has had a month to reflect, appeared to be using a bit of reverse psychology regarding old foe DeGale, claiming he was in ‘no rush’ to land a fight with the IBF super middleweight champion.