Luke Campbell MBE says beating Derry Mathews is a must if he wants to prove he’s ready for world titles in 2017 as they clash at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports.
Campbell defends his WBC Silver Lightweight title against the experienced Liverpool favourite, whose last fight – his 50th – was here for the WBO World title against Terry Flanagan.
It’s looking as though Ricky Burns and Adrien Broner will finally meet – in a fight that has been talked about for a few years – next February. Burns, the WBA 140-pound champ, is looking at making big money in his first title defence and the Scottish warrior’s manager Alex Morrison told STV that the Broner fight is “99 percent certain, in Las Vegas.”
Burns, 41-5-1(14) had a war with Keryl Relikh earlier this month, with Broner watching the battle won by the Scot, and soon Broner will get a chance to regain the belt Burns now holds. But first, “The Problem” wants to have a fight in December; itching to fight as he is after having spent time in jail and having been largely inactive this year.
Though British promoter Eddie Hearn is at pains to insist how the huge Anthony Joshua-Wladimir Klitschko (or should that be the other war around, with “Dr. Steel Hammer’s” name being given top billing?) fight is “close” but not yet done, former champ David Haye has Tweeted a congratulatory message to the reigning IBF heavyweight belt-holder over having got the fight.
“Great to hear Joshua-Klitschko is done. Timing is everything & the time now is perfect for AJ. Reminds me of Ali-Berbick. #Father Time,” Haye wrote today.
As WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs) and former Two-Time World Champion Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) prepare for their epic “Pound For Pound” showdown scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, fans, media, experts and odds-makers around the world are split on who will be the favorite to win this virtually even-money battle.
And with good reason. Both Kovalev and Ward are undefeated and in their prime, making for a rare and exciting boxing match-up and a testament to the moxie of the boxers and the promoters.
Twenty years ago today at The Texas Station Casino in fabulous Las Vegas, one of the most enormously successful, talked about and controversial boxing careers of recent years began at pro level, as a 19-year-old Floyd Mayweather Junior scored a second-round KO over a guy named Roberto Apodaca. Nicknamed “Pretty Boy,” the 130-pounder, trained by his uncle Roger (as his father was currently in jail, soon to be released) earned the first of many pay checks.
In response to the World Boxing Council’s (WBC) September 2016 Quarterly Report, twenty-eight year old professional boxer, Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade (Providence, Rhode Island/pro record: 23-0, 16 KOs) has questions about his current status as it relates to his participation in the WBC Super Welterweight Division Tournament. A-Team Promotions understands that the boxers involved in the tournament will be able to interact with the WBC Board of Governors at the WBC’s 54th Annual Convention Meetings, to be held at The Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood, Florida, December 11-17, 2016, to ensure their continued participation in this tournament.
While promoter Eddie Hearn will not jump the gun in prematurely announcing the big heavyweight match-up he really wants to make, in Wladimir Klitschko-Anthony Joshua, the Matchroom boss has squashed all rumors that, until today, continued to build, saying David Haye Vs. Joshua would happen next for both British stars.
Speaking with Sky Sports, Hearn said that, no, Haye (who recently tweeted that he will be fighting again on Dec 10, a possible date for Joshua-Klitschko if it is made) will NOT be next for the reigning IBF heavyweight champ.
This Saturday night in Liverpool, WBC cruiserweight champ Tony Bellew will make the first defence of his title, and he will make it against a man he did not have to fight, but wanted to simply because, by his own admission, he does not like him, not one bit. “Bomber” Bellew will face BJ Flores and these two have had a serious war of words, going back to long before the fight was even close to being signed.
Flores, who at age 37 will go down as one of the oldest fighters to have won his first world crown if he is to take Bellew’s belt, is sure he has what it takes to win, and win by KO.
Matchroom Boxing and the Casino de Monte-Carlo are delighted to announce a blockbuster night of World championship boxing on November 12 at Salle des Etoiles, Sporting Monte-Carlo in ‘Monte-Carlo Boxing Bonanza’ live on Sky Sports.
One of the world’s most dangerous and exciting Heavyweights, Luis Ortiz, tops the bill as he looks to add to his 22 KOs from 25 wins as he takes on Malik Scott for the WBA Inter-Continental title – with Ortiz making his European debut in his first fight since teaming up with Matchroom Boxing.
As fight fans have probably read by now, Alexander Povetkin’s team won the purse bid for the clash for the vacant interim WBC title, against Bermane Stiverne. This, most people think, means the fight will almost certainly be staged somewhere in Russia. We should have seen “real” WBC heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder face Povetkin in Russia this summer, only for the fight to fall apart due to well-documented and disappointing reasons.
Now, with an injured Wilder awaiting the Povetkin-Stiverne winner, former WBC boss “B-Ware” faces the daunting task of taking the long trip to Russia to face Povetkin. It could very well be a big ask of Stiverne, now aged 37 (he’ll turn 38 in November) to come home with the interim version of his former belt.