Cotto and Kirkland Press Conference in Dallas, TX

12/20/2016 Roc Nation Sports

On Monday, December 19, 2016, Five-Time World Champion Miguel Cotto (40-5, 33 KOs) and James “Mandingo Warrior” Kirkland (32-2, 28 KOs) participated in an official press conference to kick off the announcement of their February 25 showdown at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Dubbed as “The Return”, the anticipated bout is a 12-round junior middleweight contest. The event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

(Photo Credit: Miguel Cotto Promotions/ Hector Santos Guia)

Hopkins-Smith: A Punch is Just a Fast Push or Shove

12/20/2016 Paul Strauss

Maybe Bernard “The Executioner/Alien” Hopkins (58-8-2, 32 KOs) was right when he said Joe “The Beast” Smith Jr. (23-1-0, 19 KOs) pushed him out of the ring at The Forum, Inglewood, CA. After all a punch is just a push with speed. To be more exact, its speed and a clenched fist that changes the prod into a strike or blow. It was several of those that propelled Hopkins head first through the ropes on to the concrete floor below. The coalition of those blows brought about the unthinkable…..a stoppage of the wily old predator, who even at age 51 was still the favorite.

Artur Beterbiev vs. Isidro Prieto this Friday, the last big fight before Christmas Day

12/20/2016 James Slater

Fight fans could be in store for one more exciting battle of punchers before Christmas, as light-heavyweights Artur Beterbiev and Isidro Prieto clash on Friday night in Canada. Unbeaten Beterbiev, 10-0(10) is seen by many as the most dangerous 175-pounder on the planet and a star in the making.

Comparisons have even been made between Beterbiev and feared middleweight king Gennady Golovkin (what a pity these two will never fight one another; they won’t, right!?) Yet despite all this, Prieto and his camp are very confident of scoring the upset this week. As quoted by BoxNation (who will televise the fight live in the UK), Prieto’s manager Sergio Rodriguez said there has been a plan on how to beat Beterbiev formed for four months and that the puncher from Paraguay is “hungry” and “not afraid to trade and go to war.”

Charles: Chisora has got at least 24-36 months left in his career

12/20/2016 James Slater

Trainer Don Charles admitted to Sky Sports yesterday how he once had to question his ability to take his heavyweight, Dereck Chisora, as far as Chisora wants to go. It was after the second loss to Tyson Fury (just the second stoppage defeat of Chisora’s pro career) that Charles walked away – temporarily.

Chisora soon reunited with Charles and the result was the terrific performance a fully committed Chisora gave in his FOTY contender with Dillian Whyte. Chisora, 32, lost the fight via split decision, but the war was so brutal and so close it could have gone either way – Charles had it a draw, which probably would have been the fairest result, what with the two British heavies going tooth and nail for all 12 rounds, seemingly impossible to split as they were on December 10th.

Video: Early look at Gennady Golovkin vs. Danny Jacobs

12/20/201612/20/2016 Rummys Corner

Middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) is widely recognized as one of the greatest talents in the entire boxing world. On the other hand, he is also largely regarded as the most untested elite talents in the sport. During his reign of utter dominance, Golovkin has had trouble securing meaningful fights with worthwhile opponents. 2016 was an especially disappointing year for Golovkin. He fought just two times beating unknown mandatory challenger Dominic Wade in April, and defeating career welterweight titlist Kell Brook in September. Neither fight was particularly intriguing, and both turned out to be mismatches as expected.

Is Joe Smith Junior The Fighter of The Year?

12/20/2016 James Slater

Go back to the start of this year and chances are you had never heard of Joe Smith Junior. But then, in June, “The Irish Bomber” scored a huge upset when he took out the tough and well known Andrzej Fonfara inside a round. This win certainly got the 27-year-old known, and the stoppage victory also earned Smith Jnr an even bigger fight – one with living legend Bernard Hopkins, and we all know what happened there this past Saturday night.

Now, with his fighter going 3-0(3) in 2016, Promoter Joe DeGuardia feels Smith is more than worthy of picking up The Fighter of The Year award. Speaking with Ringtv.com, DeGuardia explained why Smith, 23-1(19) is more worthy than Terence Crawford; Crawford being the front-runner for the distinction in the opinion of many people.

King comments on Povetkin vs. Stiverne

12/21/201612/19/2016 EMC Events

Top rated heavyweights Alexander Povetkin and Bermane Stiverne were scheduled to fight for the World Boxing Council (WBC) Interim Heavyweight title on Saturday night at the Ekaterinburg Expo Center in Ekaterinburg, Russia. However, the WBC withdrew it’s sanctioning of the bout due to a Povetkin failed drug test. The WBC informed both camps of their decision Friday evening and advised the Stiverne camp they should not go through with the fight. The WBC abides by “Safety First” protocol in their Clean Boxing Program.

Povetkin (31-1, 23 KOs) from Checkhov, Russia was going into the fight rated No. 1 by the WBC. No. 2 rated Stiverne (25-2-1, 21 KOs) was born and raised in Haiti, now residing in Las Vegas. They were to fight for the WBC Interim Heavyweight Title, the winner becoming mandatory challenger to current champion Deontay Wilder, who has been incapable of defending due to injury.

2017 shaping up as a great year for boxing

04/07/201712/19/2016 James Slater

James DeGale-Badou Jack, Carl Frampton-Leo Santa Cruz II, David Haye-Tony Bellew, Keith Thurman-Danny Garcia, Gennady Golovkin-Danny Jacobs, Anthony Joshua-Wladimir Klitschko. These are just some of the big and potentially great fights that have been officially confirmed for the boxing calendar in 2017.

If all these fights go ahead without a hitch (I.E: with no postponements due to injury and the like) we will have some year next year. With the possibility of other fascinating match-ups to be announced for 2017 – maybe Canelo Alvarez-Julio Cesar Chavez Junior, Canelo-GGG! and maybe even Joshua-Deontay Wilder!! – fight fans just might get one of the best 12 months the sport has seen in a long, long time.

Hearn: AJ-Wilder unification showdown will happen late 2017 or early 2018

12/19/2016 James Slater

The heavyweight division could have two enormous world title fights next year. As fans know, Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko will meet in an April blockbuster in 2017, and after that, another, perhaps even bigger fight could take place.

Recently, WBC heavyweight ruler Deontay Wildeer said that “all being well” he will make his ring return in February and “get the winner of the Joshua and Klitschko fight next,” and yesterday, promoter Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports that he sees the unification fight happening soon enough – perhaps towards the end of next year.

Joe Smith Jr. the first fighter to TKO Bernard Hopkins

12/19/2016 Star Boxing

Joe “The Beast” Smith Jr. became the first fighter to knock out the legend Bernard Hopkins as he knocked Hopkins completely out of the ring with a vicious 4 punch combination in the 8th round. Hopkins was unable to beat the 20 count administered by referee Jack Reiss constituting a knockout win by Smith Jr. (the bout was officially declared a TKO victory). The fight was the main event on HBO Championship Boxing.