NEW YORK (March 29, 2016) – The SHOWTIME BOXING INTERNATIONAL presentation of the IBF Heavyweight World Championship between undefeated American titlist Charles Martin and fellow unbeaten British Olympic Gold Medalist Anthony Joshua will air live on SHOWTIME at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT on Saturday, April 9 from The O2 in London.
An encore presentation will air later that evening on SHOWTIME EXTREME at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Today, one of boxing’s most well known, most hard working, most successful and, at times, most controversial figures celebrates an amazing 50 years in the sport. The man is Top Rank promoter extraordinaire, Bob Arum. Arum is 84-years-old but, unlike the man who was once his archrival, Don King, he is still very much at the top of his game, promoting some of the biggest names in the sport.
Actually, in the 1980s and ’90s, King and his domain eclipsed Arum and his empire; thanks in large part to King having the majority of the heavyweight division – including its star fighter Mike Tyson – firmly in his clutches. But Arum was always there, as he seems to have been forever, and he never lost the passion for the sport he first found in the mid 1960s.
The upcoming Deontay Wilder-Alexander Povetkin WBC heavyweight title fight will take place at Megasport Arena in Moscow – Povetkin’s promoter, Andrey Ryabinsky has confirmed. Ryabisnky won the purse bidding battle for the fight with a big $7.15 million bid and Wilder, 36-0 (35) will have his sixth pro fight outside of America as a result. A great night is expected in May, with the main event expected to prove both interesting and exciting – with a good under-card of further potential knockouts thrown in.
Undefeated heavyweight champion Tyson Fury insists a back injury he first sustained in 2008, which has just flared up again, will do nothing to stop him from being ready to fight, and again defeat, Wladimir Klitschko whenever the rematch is finally set. Speaking with The Mirror, Fury revealed how he was “hit in the back by Richard Towers over in the Ingles’ gym in Sheffield” eight years ago and has suffered pain ever since.
Andre SOG Ward (28-0-0 15KO) of the Saturday night fight at the Oracle, Oakland, CA will have a difficult time with Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (29-0-1 26KO). By his own admission, he graded his performance a B- grade. Most would agree, anyone coming up against the devastating power of the Krusher better bring his A game.
Ward was correct. He looked like a B grade movie, a low budget one that does not inspire the need for a sequel. Still, it was good enough for a unanimous decision over the Cuban Sullivan Barrera (17-0-0 12KO). Essentially, Ward outworked the undefeated defector, who now trains out of Miami, FL.
NEW YORK (March 28, 2016) – A three-fight series to crown a unified divisional champion will begin on Saturday, April 30, when WBC 168-pound champion Badou Jack defends his title against former longtime titlist Lucian Bute, and IBF Champion James DeGale risks his belt against mandated challenger Rogelio Medina in a SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING doubleheader live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT) from the DC Armory in Washington D.C.
There are a number of talented fighters out there today, all calling themselves a world middleweight champion. In reality, Saul Alvarez is the real middleweight king, while unbeaten and avoided Gennady Golovkin is widely viewed as the best in the world at 160. But this doesn’t mean the other belt holders, Danny Jacobs and Billy Joe Saunders amongst them, cannot engage in interesting and potentially exciting fights.
And “regular” WBA middleweight ruler Danny Jacobs has made it clear he very much wants a unification fight with reigning WBO champ Saunders this summer, in his next fight. The two have exchanged words on Twitter, with Jacobs calling Saunders out and the British southpaw responding to Jacobs, stating how he will happily “kick you ass son.”
You didn’t get any credit after beating Pacquiao in the first fight, do you think you need a KO to get a definitive result. Is that what you need? How do you accomplish this?
I’ve gone down the road of thinking I need a KO and it didn’t work to benefit me. At this time I just know that I have to do my job; I will step in that ring and follow instructions from my corner that should get me my victory and credit that I deserve.
Lou DiBella
Thanks for joining us on this call. We wanted to give all the press an opportunity to speak to all six fighters that will be televised on NBC on Saturday night April 16. The TV fights will begin at 8:30 pm ET/5:30 pm PT This event’s taking place at the beautiful Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by DiBella Entertainment in association with Star Boxing and sponsored by Corona, start at $25, and they can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com, barclayscenter.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000. And they’re also available at the American Express Box Office at the Barclays Center.
Andre Ward couldn’t have scripted his 175 pound debut any better if he tried. The former king of the super middleweight division has officially busted onto the scene of his new weight class, and he did so in style by dominating Sullivan Barrera. Ward proved himself an immediate force at light heavyweight by thoroughly outclassing the Cuban boxer, who was the #1 contender for Sergey Kovalev’s IBF championship entering the contest. Ward was awarded a unanimous decision victory.