Leo Santa Cruz vs. Carl Frampton: Classic Style Matchup

07/29/2016 Chris Carlson

(Photo credit Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME) This Saturday night undefeated pugilists risk their O’s in a classic style-matchup that continues the oldest argument amongst fight fans. Leo Santa Cruz made a big statement last August when he beat three-weight champion Abner Mares. His counterpart, Carl Frampton, comes in to this dual fresh off the heels of his most impressive win over previously unbeaten Scott Quigg. The Barclays Center will serve as a middle-ground of sorts with UK fans traveling across the pond and it being Santa Cruz’s first time in New York period.

A year ago this scribe, like many, favored Carl Frampton to outmaneuver Leo on his way to a clear victory. That was before each combatant’s had faced Mares or Quigg. Having seen the combination of Santa Cruz adding to his tool belt and Carl withering a bit down the stretch, has changed things.

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Frampton not worried about size disadvantage against Santa Cruz

07/29/2016 BoxNation

LONDON (29 July) – Carl Frampton insists that size won’t be a factor when he faces Mexican world champion Leo Santa Cruz this Saturday night.

The Belfast boxing ace faces his biggest test to date when he steps in against the taller and rangier Santa Cruz, who has two-and-a-half-inches over him in height and a telling seven-inch reach advantage.

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Carl Frampton on his fight with Leo Santa Cruz: “No hype required!”

07/29/2016 James Slater

(Photo credit: Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME) Has tomorrow night’s WBA featherweight title clash between defending champion Leo Santa Cruz and challenger and super-bantamweight champ Carl Frampton been given enough hype? Has the clash of unbeatens been given the respect and attention it deserves? There are a number of internet articles out there pushing the fight, mostly Irish websites doing the work it must be said, but there doesn’t really seem to be a massive buzz surrounding this fight; a fight that really does deserve to be looked at as a potential classic.

Frampton’s not at all bothered by the lack of hype; as he made clear on his Twitter page an hour ago: “No hype required. Real fighters fight!” he wrote.

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Keith Thurman likely to be out of action for the remainder of 2016

07/29/2016 James Slater

WBC heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder is not the only big name who will likely be out of action for the rest of the year due to injuries picked up in the ring. According to Showtime boss Stephen Espinoza, WBA welterweight king Keith Thurman will probably rest up for the remainder of 2016, so as to allow the cuts he picked up in his tremendous war with Shawn Porter to heal. And as gruelling and as draining as the June fight was for both winner and loser (there really was no “loser” in the FOTY candidate) a good break would not be a bad idea for both Thurman and Porter.

But, as Espinoza told RingTV.com, Thurman could be back with a massive fight in 2017: a unification fight with WBC welterweight ruler Danny Garcia. While “One Time” will live up to his nickname by having fought just one time this year, Garcia is reportedly in talks to face former champ Andre Berto in either September or October. A possibly risky fight for Garcia, who is unbeaten like Thurman, the rumble with Thurman would ideally come next should “Swift” get past Berto okay.

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Can a Wilder-Joshua clash bring the heavyweight magic back to Las Vegas?

07/29/2016 James Slater

There was a time, in the 1970s and 1980s especially, when almost all the big heavyweight fights took place under the glitzy lights of Las Vegas. Be it George Foreman, Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson or Evander Holyfield, and be it Caesars Palace, The Las Vegas Hilton or The Mirage, most of the heavyweight action was being fought in the Nevada desert. This changed in the 2000s and it’s hard to think of the last massive heavyweight showdown that took place in Vegas.

But this could change next year, so says Showtime boss Stephen Espinoza. Speaking with RingTV.com, Espinoza says there is a “lot of pent up demand” for a big heavyweight occasion in Vegas, and, all being well, rival title holders Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua will be giving these fans what they want before the end of 2017.

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Santa Cruz, Frampton, Garcia, Malignaggi final quotes

07/28/2016 Showtime Boxing

(Photo credit: Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME) BROOKLYN (July 28, 2016) – Undefeated three-division world champion Leo Santa Cruz and undefeated former unified 122-pound world champion Carl Frampton went face-to-face Thursday at the final press conference before their featherweight world title clash that headlines a SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING triple-header this Saturday, July 30 live from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Televised coverage begins on SHOWTIMEat 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and features undefeated former world champion Mikey Garcia taking on former world champion Elio Rojas in the co-main event,plus once-beaten contenders Tony Harrison and Sergey Rabchenko in a junior middleweight title eliminator.

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Get ready for Danny Garcia vs. Andre Berto

07/28/2016 James Slater

It’s not official yet, but welterweights Danny Garcia and Andre Berto are in talks for a possible September or October fight; so reports RingTV.com (although the man with all the news, Dan Rafael, wrote how this fight was a possibility a few days ago). Reportedly, the likely date is September 24th at The Barclays Centre in New York, with a later date in October also being looked at. But never mind the finer details – are fight fans happy with this match-up?

It’s by no means a bad fight, but shouldn’t Garcia – a superb fighter who looked as though he was at least three feet along the road to superstardom after his fine 2012/2013 wins over Amir Khan and Lucas Matthysse – be facing the elite of the elite? Okay, Garcia, 32-0(18) has not had that much experience as a welterweight (his biggest wins coming down at 140) but with the likes of Keith Thurman calling him out and with those recent reports suggesting “Swift” was in the running to face the soon to return Manny Pacquiao, it’s possible fans will fail to be too thrilled if the Berto fight is finalized and then announced.

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Ricky Hatton “feels sorry” for Kell Brook, wishes him well against “punching machine” Golovkin

07/28/2016 James Slater

British boxing hero Ricky Hatton, a fighting man who knows all about how special it feels to smash the odds, and, all about how it feels to be smashed when the odds against you are obeyed, is hoping his countryman Kell Brook can pull it off against Gennady Golovkin on September 10. But, in speaking with Ring Magazine, “Hitman” Hatton wasn’t about to betray his brutally honest nature and he had to admit how he feels Golovkin will prove too much for Brook.

Brook is of course moving up from 147 to challenge the feared middleweight destroyer, a destructive puncher nobody has thus far been able to go the full 12-rounds with, and it is this “punching machine” that Hatton feels will win in London in just over six week’s time. Hatton said Brook “cannot be blamed” for taking this, the ultimate of gambles, but the warrior who faced three pound-for-pound stars during his exciting career – Kostya Tszyu (a magnificent win), Floyd Mayweather (a spirited loss) and Manny Pacquiao (a brutal KO destruction) – can only hope that Brook will somehow prove him wrong and score a sensational upset win.

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Santa Cruz geared up for Frampton fight

07/28/2016 BoxNation

(Photo credit: Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME) LONDON (28 July) – Mexican star Leo Santa Cruz has insisted that he is undaunted at facing a hostile Carl Frampton crowd in New York on Saturday night.

The pair collide in what is one of the most eagerly anticipated fights of the year when Northern Irishman Frampton moves up to featherweight to challenge WBA Super world champion Santa Cruz in a clash that will see one of their undefeated records tarnished.

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Dillian Whyte-David Allen: Allen says he’s “boxed Joshua’s head off on several occasions”

07/28/2016 James Slater

It’s a stacked card in Leeds, UK on Saturday, and the fight of the night might just be the heavyweight clash between two men who appear to have a genuine dislike for another, or at least a healthy difference in opinion. Dillian Whyte will face unbeaten but far less known David Allen in a fight that although not a big fight, could propel the winner into something big. Whyte, beaten only by reigning IBF heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua in a great action fight, is a big favorite to win at the sold-out show, but Allen has been calling for this fight for some time.

Now that he has what he today called his big opportunity, Allen is confident he will win the fight and prove that he belongs “at the top.” Allen, 9-0-1(6) may not have faced any big names in a pro fight, but as he said today at the final press conference before the fight, he has sparred plenty of elite heavyweights – and he says he more than held his own.

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