British star Amir Khan once said he would retire at age 30. The former 140-pound king hits 30 this December, yet Khan has plenty of big plans for next year. Speaking with ESPN.com, Khan said he feels he has “about five fights left,” and that he will look to return to action next summer. Khan will have been out of action for over a year by next May – last fighting on May 7 of this year when he was brutally KO’d by the much bigger Canelo Alvarez – but he says he wants a big showdown with either Danny Garcia or Kell Brook next summer. And Khan wants his return to take place in the UK.
Isaac Dogboe named WBO African boxer of the year
Undefeated Ghanaian Featherweight, Isaac ‘Royal Storm’ Dogboe has landed in Puerto Rico with his trainer/dad, Paul Dogboe to attend the 2016 WBO Convention where the budding boxer will be officially recognized as the WBO African boxer of the year.
Dogboe will receive his award alongside legendary Filipino, Manny Pacquiao who has been named the WBO boxer of the year as well as Top Rank Promotions CEO, Bob Arum who gets the nod as promoter of the year and New Zealand heavyweight, Joseph Parker, the Oriental boxer of the year.
The 22 year old Dogboe (now 15-0, 9 KOs) thrice defended the WBO Africa Featherweight belt he won at the end of 2015 and has also added the WBO Oriental as well as the WBC Youth Silver belts, both at Featherweight to his collection in the year under the review.
Marco Huck to face Dmytro Kucher, November 19 in Germany
Former long-reigning WBO cruiserweight king Marco Huck will put the disappointment of his scrapped summer fight with Ovil McKenzie behind him, as he will face dangerous contender Dmytro Kucher in Germany on November 19. Huck, who last boxed in February – beating the tough Ola Afolabi in their fourth meeting, this fight being Huck’s first fight back since losing his WBO belt to Krzysztof Glowacki in a great action fight last year – will defend his IBO belt.
Klitschko-Joshua hits a snag, Hearn exploring “alternative options” for December
The big, anticipated heavyweight title fight between former champ Wladimir Klitschko and reigning IBF titlist Anthony Joshua has hit a road bump in the form of the WBA not yet sanctioning the proposed December fight. Eddie Hearn, in speaking with Sky Sports today, explained how both fighters want the WBA belt to be on the line in the fight and until the organisation goes ahead and sanctions Klitschko-Joshua, the promoter says he will look at “alternative options” for AJ and his next fight.
25 years on: Ray Mercer’s brutal KO of Tommy Morrison still disturbs
The fight was dubbed “Test of Courage” and the loser of the heavyweight battle that took place a quarter of a century ago today had to show real courage in even stepping back into a boxing ring after what happened to him in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Tommy Morrison, unbeaten, heavily hyped and even a movie star, was challenging recently crowned WBO heavyweight champ Ray Mercer in a clash of unbeaten punchers. What followed was nothing short of gruesome.
Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Smith Jr. on December 17
A boxing legend will look to add an exclamation point to end his professional career with the same style, speed and slickness that has defined him in the ring for nearly three decades, as 51-year-old, two-division former world champion and Future Hall of Hamer Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KOs) prepares to square off against hard-hitting Light Heavyweight contender Joe Smith, Jr. (21-1, 18 KOs) in a 12-round fight from Los Angeles’ iconic Fabulous Forum. The bout will take place Saturday, December 17 and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing®.
Tickets for the fight – named, “The Final One” — will go on sale Monday, October 24th at 10:00 a.m. PT.
Results: Adrian Granat KOs Franz Rill; Hammer outpoints Teper
Last weekend, Swedish heavyweight prospect Adrian Granat (now 14-0, 13 KOs) landed a stunning victory over German boxer Franz Rill – KO in round 6. A win that will have impact for Granat and furthermore a win that has been widely noticed among boxing experts around the world.
The win places Granat as nr 29 on Boxrec after only 14 fights. He is now the IBF intercontinental champion – a title that has been held earlier by world boxers like Robert Helenius and Kubrat Pulev.
Dillian Whyte calls out Lucas Browne, calls him “a big baby”
Newly crowned British heavyweight champion Dillian Whyte says he wants to get one more fight in before the end of the year, and he told Sky Sports that his ideal choice of opponent would be Australia’s former WBA belt-holder Lucas Browne. Whyte, beaten as a pro only by reigning IBF heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua (with whom Whyte is convinced he will one day get a return fight) has called the man known as “Big Daddy,” “a big baby.”
Whyte says he would love to fight, and silence, the man he has been going back and forth with on Twitter.
Veteran scribe Colin Hart lists his top-10 greatest living British fighters
Inspired by the recent top-10 greatest living fighters poll by Ring Magazine, veteran British boxing writer Colin Hart has produced his picks for the ten greatest living British fighters (note: ‘living’ fighters, not all-time greats). With some six decades of covering boxing under his belt and the huge amount of knowledge that has been picked up along the way, the 80-something Hart is probably one of the most qualified writers to come up with such a list.
Isaac Ekpo calls out Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, Lucian Bute, Felix Sturm
Former world title challenger, Isaac ‘Grenade’ Ekpo of Nigeria has called out Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, Lucian Bute, Felix Sturm, Fedor Chudinov and all the top Super Middleweights in world boxing, declaring his readiness to face any of them in the ring.
Ekpo (31-2, 24 KOs), the former WBO Africa and Commonwealth champion at Super Middleweight, previously lost a decision in a bid for the WBO Super Middleweight world title against Robert Stieglitz in Germany in October 2013.
After racking up nine straight victories since the defeat to Stieglitz, Ekpo who is currently rated number 5 Super Middleweight in the world by both the WBO and WBA says he is ready to take on the big guns in the sport to cement his place in boxing history.