Tyson Fury (25-0, 18 KOs) is getting his 15 minutes of fame with his recent upset win over 39-year-old past his best IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (64-4, 53 KOs) last November. Fury, 27, has the spot light on him and is getting a ton of positive attention right now. He soon will have to prove whether his victory over Klitschko was just a fluke thing, as the two fighters will be facing each other at some point in 2016. Fury will need to show the fans whether he’s good enough to finish off Wladimir and send him possibly into retirement.
Month: January 2016
Terence Crawford vs. Hank Lundy possible for 2/27
WBO light welterweight champion Terence Crawford (27-0, 19 KOs) failed to get the Manny Pacquiao fight on April 9th after being passed over by WBO welterweight champion Tim “Desert Storm” Bradley. Instead of getting the Pacquiao fight and making a huge killing, it’s looking like Crawford, 28, will need to settle for a fight against lightweight Hank Lundy (26-5-1, 13 KOs) on February 27th on HBO at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Pacquiao: I’m going to retire after Bradley fight
Manny Pacquiao is reportedly saying he’s going to retire after his third fight against Tim Bradley on April 9th. Pacquiao was recently quoted as saying he wanted to continue fighting after the Bradley fight in order to get a much desired rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. so that he could end up career with a big bang. Never the less, Pacquiao is saying he didn’t make those comments and that he’ll definitely be retiring after the April fight with Bradley.
5 Boxers to Watch in 2016
Boxing in 2015 had arguably its most memorable year in a long, long time.
Finally Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquaio fought. Wladimir Klitschko was dethroned. Serious contenders faced off and created some deserving champions and some modern greats further enhanced their reputations.
With 2015 having been such a great year for the sport, much is expected of 2016. With all major promoters now showing a willingness to put on the fights the fans want to see, this year may separate the good from the great. With this in mind, here are five boxers that could make huge waves in 2016.
A New Year, A New Beginning for Stacey Reile
Stacey Reile has a New Year’s Resolution for 2016 and that is to be an active boxer again. Despite not having a fight in about four years, Reile still trains and says that she is in the best shape of her life. She has been told by matchmakers and promoters that she is being avoided because of her boxing ability. With punching power in both hands and tremendous athleticism, the ambidextrous Reile is one of the most avoided boxers in female boxing. It seems that no one wants to choose her as an opponent unless to give her an offer to fight at a different weight class. Reile said that happened recently when she was offered a fight against Melissa Hernandez at 135 pounds.
Pacquiao won’t be retiring after Bradley fight, wants Mayweather rematch
Manny Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) is counting on Floyd Mayweather Jr. (49-0, 26 KOs) coming out of retirement to give him a rematch in the near future so that the two of them can end their careers with a bang. Until then, Pacquiao plans on continuing to fight. Just when he’ll be hanging up his gloves has yet to be determined.
It was thought that Pacquiao would retire after his fight with WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs) on April 9th of this year, because Pacquiao has a good chance of being elected into a senate seat in the Philippines. It was thought that Pacquiao wouldn’t have time to still fight if he’s working as a politician in his home country. However, something seems to have changed Pacquiao’s mind about retiring.
Roach not sure if Bradley has improved with Atlas
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum believes that one of the biggest selling points for the third fight between his fighters Manny Pacquiao and Tim Bradley is the improvements that have been made in Bradley’s fighting style with new trainer Teddy Atlas. Arum thinks that this isn’t the same Bradley that Pacquiao fought in the past in 2012 and 2014, and got the better of in both fights.
Pacquiao lost the first fight in 2012 and won the second one in 2014. However, the general consensus is that Pacquiao was the better fighter in both fights with Bradley. Freddie Roach, the trainer for Pacquiao, says he cannot see how Bradley has improved with Atlas. The two only worked together for the Brandon Rios fight last November, and Rios came into the fight a fat 170lbs.
Pacquiao thinks Atlas has made Bradley more aggressive
Manny Pacquiao likes what he sees in the changes that trainer Teddy Atlas has seemingly made in the fighting style of WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley since he started training him. Pacquiao feels that Bradley is a more aggressive fighter now that Atlas is at the wheel in his training camp, and he’s hoping that Bradley will fight aggressively against him when they get inside the ring on April 9 in their fight on HBO pay-per-view from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Pacquiao wants the 5’6” Bradley to fight aggressively on April 9th, because he sees this as an opportunity to give the fans a great fight for their money.
Matchroom wants Khan-Brook on June 4th at Wembley Stadium
IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook’s promoters at Matchroom Sport are hoping to put together a fight between Brook and former IBF/WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) in the summer on June 4th at Wembley Stadium, in London, England. The chances for the Khan vs. Brook fight increased dramatically this past week with 37-year-old Manny Pacquiao agreeing to fight WBO welterweight champ Tim “Desert Storm” Bradley on April 9.
Khan was one of the three candidates for the Pacquiao fight, and he’d been sitting out of the ring for the past six months waiting to find out if he would get the fight or not. Now that Khan has been removed from the possibility to get the big money Pacquiao fight, it leaves only Brook as Khan’s best chance for a big payday, which he seems to really want.
The finest defensive boxer ever: Floyd Mayweather Junior? Willie Pep? Nicolino Locche? Pernell Whitaker?
On this day in 1964, in Norfolk, Virginia, Pernell Whitaker was born. Known today as one of the finest defensive fighters in the history of the sport – or arguably as the best-ever – the gifted southpaw achieved plenty as both an amateur and a pro boxer.
Winning a silver medal at the 1982 World Amateur Championships, Whitaker, who was soon given the nickname of “Sweet Pea” due to his slick skills, went one better and captured gold at The Pan American games the following year. Then, capping off a superb amateur career, Whitaker, as part of the celebrated U.S team of 1984, won gold at the Los Angeles Olympics.