Kubrat Pulev (23-1, 12 KOs) and Samuel Peter (36-5, 29 KOs) both weighed in today ahead of their WBA Intercontinental Heavyweight title clash tomorrow night at the Arena Armeec in Sofia, Bulgaria. In front of 15,000 fans, Pulev, the current European Champion, will make his long awaited homecoming fight against Peter, the former WBC World Champion, as both men target a World title opportunity in 2017.
Leonard Ellerbe on McGregor getting a boxing license: “It’s all a game,” says McGregor “not allowed” to fight Mayweather
Floyd Mayweather’s right-hand man Leonard Ellerbe has responded to the news that UFC champ Conor McGregor has successfully obtained a license to box in the state of California. And, as expected, Ellerbe says the Super-Fight McGregor wants with Floyd Mayweather is no closer to coming to fruition simply because the MMA star can now box professionally.
Good news and bad news for Conor McGregor …
GOOD NEWS: Northern Irish boxing superstar Carl Frampton — the reigning WBA featherweight champ — says he loves Conor and would be down to train with the guy if he’s serious about boxing.
BAD NEWS: Frampton doesn’t think Conor’s got a shot in hell at taking down Floyd Mayweather.
Featherweight world champion Carl Frampton and former three-division world champion Leo Santa Cruz went face-to-face in Los Angeles Thursday along with lightweight world champion Dejan Zlaticanin and undefeated former two-division world champion Mikey Garcia in advance of their respective showdowns Saturday, January 28 in a Premier Boxing Champions event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and live on SHOWTIME.
(Photo credit: Esther Lin/SHOWTIME)
The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING doubleheader begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT with Zlaticanin vs. Garcia. For Frampton and Santa Cruz, Thursday’s event was the second press conference promoting their highly anticipated rematch as the featherweights spoke to media in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Tuesday at the Europa Hotel.
Anthony Joshua insists there will be no added pressure on him, but the IBF heavyweight champ will have not one but two big names checking out his upcoming performance as they hope to fight him next. Both Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye will be part of Sky Sports’ broadcast team for Joshua’s second defence against Eric Molina, and as much as the two will be impartial analysts, both men will be taking mental notes on how to defeat A.J.
MMA superstar Conor McGregor has been successful in his attempts at getting himself a license to box in the state of California, and though this news does not in all likelihood mean we are any closer to seeing the much talked about McGregor-Floyd Mayweather “Super-Fight,” actually take place, it does mean other pro boxers are already busy calling McGregor out.
One of these boxers is former two-time world champ Paulie Malignaggi. Upon hearing about McGregor’s success in California, “The Magic Man” took to his official Twitter account to call the Irishman out.
Isaac ‘Royal Storm’ Dogboe is new in Auckland but the 22 year old Ghanaian already feels like he has been living in New Zealand all his life, having been taken aback by the hospitality and unending show of love from the people in the Oceania country.
Undefeated Dogboe (15-0, 9 KOs) and his father/trainer, Paul successfully arrived Wednesday in the city where he faces the next test of his budding career against Julian Evaristo Aristule (32-6, 16 KOs) of Argentina come next week Saturday, December 10.
Mzonke Fana of South Africa arrived in Accra late Wednesday night for his IBO Lightweight world championship fight against Ghana’s Emmanuel ‘Game Boy’ Tagoe in a buoyant mood, declaring his readiness to silence the home favourite come fight night tomorrow.
The former 2-time IBF Junior Lightweight champion of the world says he will not be intimidated by the expected massive support Tagoe will receive at the new Bukom Boxing Arena in the Ghanaian capital on Friday night.
Ghanaian lightweight star Richard Commey (24-1, 22 KOs) faces two-time World title challenger Denis Shafikov (37-2-1, 12 KOs) in a final eliminator for the IBF World title tonight at the Tough Fight Gym in Moscow.
As fight fans know, the great Bernard Hopkins is fast approaching what he calls his final fight, against young and dangerous puncher Joe Smith Junior, who the amazing 51-year-old (52 in January) will fight on December 17th. Who knows if B-Hop, AKA The Alien, AKA The Executioner will really hang ’em up after the Smith fight, win or lose. But we do know that the Philly legend will not have his usual head trainer, of the past 11 years, in his corner for what is being billed as his swansong.