As fans are aware, WBA super-middleweight king George Groves suffered a dislocated left shoulder in the 12th and final round of his otherwise dominant decision win over Chris Eubank Junior, the injury being one Groves has said is “probably one of the most painful I’ve ever had.” Now, with the final of the WBSS Groves fast approaching (June 2), there is concern over whether or not Groves will be fit and ready to be able to face either Callum Smith or Jurgen Brahmer (who meet in the last semifinal this Saturday night).
18 years ago today: Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales fight the first of their three great wars
Las Vegas, February 19, 2000. Mexican warriors Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales collided for the first of three epic ring wars. Morales at the time was the new star of the 122 pound weight class and he was undefeated. He was the favorite in the match-up with Barrera for a number of reasons: one of these being the fact that Barrera has twice been beaten, by Junior Jones; who has actually stopped Barrera in their first fight. These defeats remained vivid in the minds of fight fans, and Morales of Tijuana was expected to dispatch his rival who hailed from Mexico City.
The Eubank-Hamed story: A tale of rivalry and jealousy
Long since retired former British superstar Naseem Hamed made quite the memorable pundit as a guest commentator on ITV Box Office this past Saturday night. Working the George Groves-Chris Eubank Junior WBSS semifinal, Hamed, as overweight as we have grown accustomed to seeing him these days, really did put the boot in in brutally assessing points loser Eubank Jr.
Brähmer vs Callum Smith in Nürnberg on February 24
Smith: I am expecting a tough night in Nuremberg
Callum Smith (23-0, 17 KOs) is expecting the best version of Juergen Braehmer (49-3, 35 KOs) before their Ali Trophy semi-final clash in the super middleweight edition of the World Boxing Super Series February 24 at the Arena Nürnberger Versicherung.
Daniel Jacobs vs Sulecki & Jarrell Miller vs Duhaupas on 4/28
Matchroom Boxing USA makes their triumphant return to the United States as former Middleweight World Champion and BROOKLYN BOXING Ambassador DANIEL JACOBS, (33-2-0, 29 KO’s), returns for a 12-round middleweight showdown against undefeated world ranked Polish contender MACIEJ SULECKI, (26-0-0, 10 KO’s). The event takes place Saturday, April 28 from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.
After his highlight reel KO of Brandon Rios, Danny Garcia is once again a player at welterweight
Last night in Las Vegas, former WBC welterweight champ Danny Garcia iced a game (if faded) Brandon Rios in fine, highlight reel fashion. The ninth-round KO “Swift” scored is arguably the most impressive, certainly most eye-catching, fight termination of his since his destruction of another faded former champ in Erik Morales, who Garcia KO’d in 2012 (forget the hatchet job Garcia did on the hopelessly over-matched Rod Salka in 2014).
What next for George Groves, Chris Eubank Jr?
So, was Chris Eubank Junior mostly hype all along? To paraphrase Eubank Jr. himself, maybe. This is the answer Eubank Jr. gave last night when asked if he’d underestimated his conqueror George Groves. Groves, as he had predicted months ahead of time, was too big, too strong, too experienced and too good for his vocal challenger.
Who has the better chin: Anthony Joshua or Joseph Parker?
Hearn says we’ll find out a lot about how well Parker holds a shot on March 31
“I think he’s going to get a big, big shock when he gets hit on the chin by Anthony Joshua,” Eddie Hearn on Joseph Parker. As fans know, Joseph Parker and his team have made quite a big deal over Anthony Joshua’s “suspect” chin; with members of Team-Parker stating how the reigning WBO heavyweight champ will “smash” the chin of the WBA/IBF ruler when the two collide in Cardiff on March 31 (in the next big fight to be staged in the UK, for all those fans who are still getting over what went down in Manchester last night).
Danny Garcia obliterates Brandon Rios – Results
Former two-division world champion Danny Garcia returned with a vengeance, knocking out Brandon Rios in a WBC Welterweight Title Eliminator in the main event of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING Saturday on SHOWTIME from Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Victor Ortiz and Devon Alexander fight to majority draw on Fox – Results
Former world champions Victor Ortiz (32-6-3, 25 KOs) and Devon Alexander (27-4-1, 14 KOs) fought to majority draw in the exciting main event of Premier Boxing Champions on FOX and FOX Deportes Saturday night from Don Haskins Center on the UTEP campus in El Paso, Texas.