Month: December 2017

What next for new WBO 154 pound champ Sadam Ali?

What next for new WBO 154 pound champ Sadam Ali?

We all knew Sadam Ali could box, and last night’s win over an admittedly faded (but still great) Miguel Cotto put “World Kid” on the world stage once again. Ali, 26-1(14) has rebounded well from his March 2016 stoppage loss to Jessie Vargas, the 9th round TKO being the sole defeat on the record of the 29 year old.

Ali rebounded to beat three solid fighters in Saul Corral, Jorge Silva and Johan Perez, and now he has the scalp of future Hall of Famer Cotto on his resume. What next for the new WBO super-welterweight champ? Ali has shown he is as fast as a 154 pounder and he was down at welterweight (where the loss to Vargas took place) and he has looked strong also. It would be great to see Ali in there with the other reigning 154 pound champions – Jermel Charlos, Erislandy Lara and Jarret Hurd.

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Classy Cotto waves goodbye on a loss, heads to The Hall of Fame

Classy Cotto waves goodbye on a loss, heads to The Hall of Fame

Arguably the finest fighter to have come out of Puerto Rico, four-weight champion Miguel Cotto said goodbye last night in New York, leaving the sport he lit up in a major way with class and dignity. Cotto doesn’t go out with the win he and his fans wanted – a faster, younger, bigger Sadam Ali instead winning a pretty wide 12 round UD over the 37 year old great, but Cotto goes out on his own terms all the same.

Cotto was unable to cope with the speed and movement of Ali, 26-1(14) and the former king also injured his biceps in the seventh-round. Dropping a decision that read 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113 again, Cotto walks away with a 41-6(33) record. But more than that, Cotto walks away “feeling good,” with no excuses.

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Results: Sadam Ali defeats Miguel Cotto

Results: Sadam Ali defeats Miguel Cotto

On a night that Madison Square Garden and the boxing world bid farewell to a boxing legend in Miguel Cotto (41-6, 33 KOs), Sadam “World Kid” Ali (26-1, 14 KOs) stole the show, winning a unanimous decision victory and the WBO Junior Middleweight World Championship in front of 12,391 fans and televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing. The final scores were 115-113 twice and 116-112.

Ali, a 2008 U.S. Olympian from Brooklyn, hurt Cotto twice in the early rounds and used slick defense and solid counter-punching to keep Cotto at bay throughout the 12-round bout.

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Results: Rey Vargas defeats Oscar Negrete

Results: Rey Vargas defeats Oscar Negrete

World Boxing Council super bantamweight champion Rey Vargas (31-0, 22 KOs) retained his title on Saturday night in beating Oscar Negrete (17-1, 7 KOs) by a one-sided 12 round unanimous decision at Madison Square Garden in New York. (Photo Credit: Tom Hogan/Hogan Photos/Golden Boy Promotions)

Vargas suffered cuts to each eye during the contest, but he fought well despite dealing with the blood. The judges scored it 119-108, 119-108, and 120-108.

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Results: Kahn Clary beats Moralde

Results: Kahn Clary beats Moralde

Professional boxing returned to The Strand Ballroom and Theatre in Providence last night, December 1 for the first time in 20 years and popular Providence featherweight Toka “T-Nice” Kahn Clary didn’t disappoint the large, raucous crowd.

Kahn-Clary (24-1, 16 KOs) turned in a dominant performance, winning by way of a seventh-round technical knockout, over previously undefeated Filipino slugger John Vincent Moralde (19-1, 10 KOs), the WBC Asian featherweight titlist, to capture the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) USNBC featherweight championship.

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Hearn hoping Fury faces Bellew AND Joshua in 2018

Hearn hoping Fury faces Bellew AND Joshua in 2018

Eddie Hearn is hoping that heavyweight Tyson Fury will be making a comeback in 2018 so that he can fight 2 of his heavyweights in his Matchroom Stable in Tony Bellew and Anthony Joshua. The fight between Fury and Bellew would come after the Bellew-Haye 2 rematch if David can make it through training camp for early 2018.

(Photo courtesy of Ricky Hatton Twitter)

If Fury beats Bellew, then he would face Joshua later in 2018.

Hearn says to Sky Sports making the Fury vs. Bellew fight would be a “simple deal.”

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Is the Lomachenko-Rigondeaux winner the pound-for-pound No.1; Fighter of The Year?

Is the Lomachenko-Rigondeaux winner the pound-for-pound No.1; Fighter of The Year?

There will be much at stake a week from today, when pound-for-pound stars and former amateur greats Vasyl Lomachenko and Guillermo Rigondeax meet one another at the historic Madison Square Garden in New York: this a most fitting venue, seeing as how the two master boxers will make history by becoming the first ever fighters to have both won two Olympic gold medals and then fought each other at pro level.

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