During the relatively short history of the two “rival” sports being in existence at the same time, fight fans have not been treated to too many, if any, glorious spectacles whenever a boxer has crossed over to fight an MMA fighter, or vice-versa. We’ve seen big names from both sports try it (think James Toney succumbing against Randy Couture for an MMA victory over boxing, to Ray Mercer icing Tim Sylvia for a boxing triumph over MMA) but it’s never been too pretty.
Month: September 2016
Who can unify the welterweight titles – Thurman? Garcia? Spence? Vargas?
Modern day fight fans know there is a lot more to it that mere fighting prowess when it comes to being able to unify a weight class. These days, with fighters performing on rival networks for rival promoters, the actual getting of a big fight can prove more troublesome and stressful than the actual in the ring fighting (well, not quite, but you get the idea). Simply put, it is much easier these days for fighter A to duck fighter B, and just put the failure to make the fight down to boxing politics.
Ovill McKenzie withdraws from Marco Huck fight on 9/24
Ovill Mckenzie has been forced to withdraw from his challenge for the IBO World Cruiserweight Championship against Marco Huck on medical grounds. Mckenzie, 36, was due to face Germany’s Huck this Saturday 24th September at the Festhalle Arena in Frankfurt.
Derby-based McKenzie, 25-12-1 13 KO’s, narrowly missed out on claiming a World Title when he pushed former IBF ruler Emilio Ramirez to a controversial draw in Argentina last October and is devastated at missing out on another opportunity to win world honours.
World Boxing Council Quarterly Report
The WBC believes in transparency and administrative disclosure. WBC annual convention meetings determine world rankings and the mandatory status of each division in open floor meetings in which all parties have the opportunity to discuss and present their cases for consideration, analysis, and voting by the WBC Board of Governors. The WBC began to report this information in 2015 to bring clarity and transparency to the WBC’s administration for the public, and to provide clear reports from what is agreed and what happens during the course of each year.
Canelo Alvarez diagnosed with fracture on right hand / Weekly Boxing Report
Today Canelo Alvarez visited specialist Dr. Pedro Jaime Lomeli, after injuring his right hand during his ninth round knockout victory over Liam “Beefy” Smith to win the WBO Junior Middleweight World Championship on September 17, 2016.
After taking x-rays and conducting a CT scan, the doctor found an avulsion fracture of the right thumb. Canelo does not need surgery and the prognosis is excellent.
Broner-Burns showdown could take place in Vegas, but Burns has to get past Kiryl Relikh first
WBA 140-pound champ Ricky Burns, who has already enjoyed a quite amazing career, has even more incentive to successfully defend his belt against dangerous puncher Kiryl Relikh on October 7. Scottish hero Burns, who rejuvenated his career by winning the WBA light-welterweight title earlier this year, becoming a three-weight champion, could fight American bad boy Adrien Broner in December of this year if he comes through next month against the Ricky Hatton-guided Relikh.
Speaking with STV News, Burns, 40-5-1(14) said talks between his team and Broner’s team have been ongoing and that a fight out in Las Vegas would be something he’d really like. Burns insists, however, he is not underestimating the unbeaten Relikh, 21-0(19)
Team-GGG want BJS unification fight in Vegas, but say they don’t take Saunders’ words seriously
It’s no secret that middleweight king Gennady Golovkin wants two things more than anything else as far as his boxing career is concerned: a mega-fight with Saul Alvarez, and to own all the major middleweight belts. The Alvarez fight will have to wait (probably until next September at the earliest) but a fight with reigning WBO 160-pound champ Billy Joe Saunders could happen in the next few months – if Saunders really wants it, according to Triple-G’s representative Oleg Hermann.
Liam Smith learns that courage and heart is not enough at the elite level
Twice in two weeks British world champions – Kell Brook and Liam Smith – have stepped up to the elite level and come up short. Of the two a case can be made that Kell Brook does belong at the elite level, just not at middleweight; and certainly not at middleweight against the machine that is Gennady Golovkin. The Sheffield welterweight world champion’s next outing at light middle will prove beyond doubt if he’s as good as many of us believe he is when up against the likes of Canelo Alvarez – assuming, of course, that the Mexican stays at 154lbs to defend the WBO belt he just won from Britain’s Liam Smith, against whom he looked superb, securing a 9th round stoppage on the back of a vicious left uppercut to the body.
Liam Smith and Kell Brook could meet as they attempt to come back from stoppage defeats
Kell Brook lost in a brave and exciting attempt at taking middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin’s belts. Liam Smith lost in a brave and exciting attempt at defending his super-welterweight title against Canelo Alvarez. Now, as both fighters attempt to bounce back after losing their unbeaten records, word is the two warriors who enhanced their reputations in defeat could meet each other in what would be a British super-fight.
Brook, who is still healing after taking considerable punishment from GGG just over a week ago, said post-fight that be feels his future is at 154, while Smith, who suffered cuts and an injured jaw in his battle with the Mexican superstar who pulled in an astonishing 50,000 fans, will also need time to recover before he can box again. But as a comeback fight, Brook-Smith would certainly prove an attractive fight to fans of both men. It would be a risky fight no doubt, but both Brook and Smith have proven they are more than willing to take risks in order to become great fighters.
Canelo beats Smith. Is it time he moved up in weight?
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez looked clinical in claiming the WBO light middleweight title with a 9th round stoppage of Liam Smith on Saturday night. Canelo had been dominant from the opening bell and managed to put Smith down in rounds 7 and 8 before finding a fight ending left hook to the body.
It was in many aspects a typical Canelo performance, looking tremendous in spurts with his fast and accurate combinations, whilst not wasting any shots. For his part, Smith was brave but looked overmatched. To his credit he came with genuine intentions to win, and when the going got tough he went out on his shield rather than just try to survive.