Former IBF cruiserweight champion Steve ‘USS’ Cunningham, has made the decision to rejoin the 200 lb division after a 3 year stint at heavyweight that led to some controversial moments.
Cunningham battled to a draw against Antonio Tarver in August in a fight that many thought he’d done enough to win, with the added news this week that Tarver tested positive for synthetic testosterone making circumstances all the more bitter for the former US Navy veteran.
It seems that Brandon Rios hasn’t quite got over his disappointment at the cancellation of his mooted fight with IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook earlier this year, insisting Brook was afraid to step in the ring with him and is simply calling out names he has no intention of fighting.
Rios’ team were negotiating with Brook and his promoter Eddie Hearn for some time before the proposed clash fell apart due to contractual minutiae; most notably money and a rematch clause, leading ‘Bam Bam’ toward his alternative date next month with WBO boss, Tim Bradley.
WBO 160 lb mandatory, Billy Joe Saunders, has weighed in on the recent media attention being given to former foe Chris Eubank Jr, suggesting that the Brighton fighter is talking himself into huge trouble by repeatedly mentioning Gennady Golovkin.
Saunders fights Andy Lee for the latter’s middleweight world title on December 19th in Manchester, and there is no love lost between him and Eubank, whom he [gleefully] beat by split decision 11 months ago.
After his November homecoming was cancelled, it’s looking increasingly likely that Russian WBA/WBO/IBF light heavyweight champion, Sergey Kovalev, will rematch Canada’s Jean Pascal on Jan. 30 instead.
The plan is for the Pascal rematch to be the first of a 3-fight schedule that will culminate in a clash with Oakland’s unbeaten P4P star Andre Ward later next year – himself set to embark on a similar deal on HBO, ostensibly beginning on next month’s Cotto/Canelo undercard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzUJirDOzMM
Gennady Golovkin looked nothing short of sensational when he scored an 8th round TKO against the brave but overmatched David Lemieux on Saturday night in front of a packed house at Madison Square Garden. Golovkin was running on all cylinders. He dictated the pace of the fight with a snappy jab, and did an impeccable job at controlling the distance and maintaining optimal range. It was Golovkin’s 21st knockout victory in a row, a true testament to his extraordinary power.
MIAMI (October 19, 2015) – Cuban sensation Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara (21-2-2, 12 KOs) will defend his super welterweight world title against former world champion Jan Zaveck (35-3, 19 KOs) on Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on ESPN Wednesday, November 25 from Hialeah Park Racing and Casino in Miami with televised coverage beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
After dropping his IBF middleweight strap on Saturday night against Kazakhstan’s murderous punching WBA champion, Gennady Golovkin, David Lemieux has extended full respect to the man they call ‘triple-G,’ though still insisted the fight was stopped too soon.
Lemieux was on the wrong end of a pounding from Golovkin, who displayed the superior footwork that has fast become a trademark, expertly cutting off the ring and teeing off with big shots on the brave and gutsy Canadian, who was eventually halted in the 8th by referee Steve Willis.
2nd tier WBA super-bantamweight champion, Scott Quigg, and IBF 122 lb boss, Carl Frampton are said to be looking at a Manchester venue and February date for their UK mega-fight, with Quigg saying it is ‘closer than it ever has been.’
Over the last weeks and months, the fight has shifted further away, then closer again, with a neutral venue of appropriate size one of the many sticking points between the two camps, although the Bury fighter has told Sky Sports that he is confident the fans will get to see this fight early in 2016.
Golden Boy Promotions’ Bernard Hopkins, has stated that while he wasn’t ‘disappointed’ in David Lemieux’s performance against Gennady Golovkin on Saturday night in New York, he thought that he was going to ‘perform better’ than he did.
Hopkins gave full credit to Golovkin for the ram-rod jab that he threw at a frenetic pace, going on to suggest that Lemieux tactically fought the wrong fight against the taller man, and that his crouching, come-forward style – along with his haircut – was his downfall in the end.
Former IBF middleweight champion, Darren Barker, has tipped Chris Eubank Jr to go on and win a world title in the none too distant future.
Eubank makes his debut under the Matchroom Sport promotional banner on Saturday night when he faces unheralded American, Tony Jeter, topping a lukewarm bill in Sheffield by default thanks to Kell Brook pulling out of his IBF welterweight fight with Diego Chaves due to [an un-provable] rib injury.