Zab Judah makes short work of Jorge Luis Munguia in ring return

Former champ and one-time pound-for-pound star Zab Judah returned to the ring last night in Trenton, New Jersey, when he fought for the first time since his 12-round decision loss to Paulie Malignaggi in December of 2013. Closing in on his 40th birthday, Judah still has something to offer.

At least he looked good last night in taking care of journeyman Jorge Luis Munguia of Honduras. Judah was way too fast, powerful and accurate for the 28-year-old, hurting him in the opening session and then dropping and stopping him at 1: 27 of the second-round. Southpaw Judah’s left hand got the job done. Now 43-9(30), Judah will certainly continue his comeback. Mungui, in being stopped for the third time in his career, falls to 12-8(4).

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Haye says he never wanted to fight Bellew, warns the beating his rival will take will be “one of the most brutal inside a British boxing ring”

Will proven heavyweight David Haye take out cruiserweight moving up Tony Bellew in double-quick time on March 4, or will “The Hayemaker” dish out a prologued beating? If you are a Bellew supporter and feel “Bomber” will get the win in his heavyweight debut, then it’s perhaps best you read no further.

For Haye, in speaking with IBTimes UK, warned how the “brutal beating” he will give Bellew in just under six week’s time will be so severe that people will “call into question why this fight actually happened.” Haye says that at no point did he go looking for Bellew as an opponent and that the one-sided nature of the fight, along with the brutal nature of the damage he inflicts on Bellew, will make the decision to allow this fight to happen appear “irresponsible.”

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Artur Beterbiev-Sullivan Barrera to meet in IBF eliminator say reports

According to various reports, along with Artur Beterbiev’s twitter page, Beterbiev and Sullivan Barrera will clash in an IBF light-heavyweight eliminator – the winner to challenge Andre Ward (if Ward doesn’t retire, as he has suggested might be the case).

There is no date or venue yet and the fight has not been officially announced, but Barrera has tweeted how he wants the fight – even stating how he cannot understand why other fighters have swerved the unbeaten Russian banger – and Beterbiev has tweeted that Barrera has agreed to face him.

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Canelo vs Chavez Jr Battle of Mexico could take place at Jerry Jones’ AT&T Stadium, Texas

Is the upcoming May 6 Battle of Mexico between stars Canelo Alvarez-Julio Cesar Chavez Junior capable of pulling in a massive 100,000 live audience? We might find out. According to a news piece in The Los Angeles Times, Oscar De La Hoya and Jerry Jones engaged in a “very productive” talk yesterday about the fight taking place at Jones’ AT&T Stadium in Texas.

The frontrunner to hold the fight might now be the 100,000 capacity stadium, but the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas remains a strong possibility. Canelo has of course got one huge following – see his perceived “easy” fight with Britain’s Liam Smith last September, which drew a hefty 50,000 paying fans – while Chavez Jnr is also a big draw in Texas.

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Rafael Mensah versus Fatiou Fassinou in London March 18

Ghana’s WBA number 3 rated super featherweight, Rafael Mensah whose only previous fight outside Ghana was when claiming a TKO victory over Sunday Ajayi in Coutonou, Benin in December 2011, will have the chance to fight outside Africa for the first time when he faces Fatiou Fassinou of Benin in the UK on March 18.

The undefeated Mensah (28-0, 22 KOs) will square up to Fassinou (26-4-3, 13 KOs) on the Dennis Hobson Promotions bill at the Olympia in London come March 18.

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Frampton vs Santa Cruz 2, Zlaticanin-Garcia Interview Transcript

Kelly Swanson

Thanks everybody for joining us. What an exciting conference call we have today. We’re talking about Carl Frampton versus Leo Santa Cruz, the rematch, as well as Dejan Zlaticanin versus Mikey Garcia.

I just want to mention that SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is Saturday, January 28 live on SHOWTIME. It’s a doubleheader presented in association with Premier Boxing Champions and live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

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David Haye says he has five fights left; says Joshua, Fury are potential targets

Former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye is thinking big in this, the final phase of his career as a fighter. Having just formed his own promotional company – Hayemaker Ringstar with Richard Schaefer as his partner – the 36-year-old says he feels he has five fights left in which to “prove what I need to prove before I retire.”

Haye of course faces Tony Bellew on March 4, but he is already looking at bigger fights in which to cement his legacy. Haye said he is looking at a big “box office clash” against Anthony Joshua and/or Tyson Fury.

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De La Hoya says Canelo-Chavez Jnr “could be a war,” says a rematch, even a trilogy could be possible

Oscar De La Hoya is not alone in thinking the upcoming 164.5-pound catch-weight battle between Mexican stars Canelo Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Junior could be a great fight. With Canelo set to fight at the highest weight of his career against a seemingly motivated and deadly serious and determined Chavez, fans could get something special on May 6.

And De La Hoya, in speaking with ESPN Deportes, goes as far as to suggest the fight could end up a draw, with a rematch and even a third fight possible. De La Hoya also said that while the plan for Canelo to go ahead with his verbally agreed super-fight with Gennady Golovkin in September remains in place, the nature of the May fight with Chavez could change things.

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Manny Pacquiao on Floyd Mayweather fight: “I only lost in the eye of the judges”

Superstar Manny Pacquiao’s next fight is still up in the air – recently, Pac-Man said he didn’t even know who possible foe Jeff Horn of Australia is – but one fight from his recent past remains uppermost in Manny’s mind. Or so it seems.

Talking to Fox Sports, the former multi-weight king and reigning WBO welterweight champ spoke about “The Fight of The Century” with Floyd Mayweather from May of 2015. Pacquiao insists that he was deserving of the decision after the 12 rounds had been completed; that he won the highest grossing money fight in history by “two or three rounds.”

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Felix Diaz To Crawford: “Time To Face A Real Challenge!”

Dominican Felix Diaz (19-1, 9 KOs) ended a successful 2016 as a world ranked junior welterweight contender with another two impressive victories added to his ledger. He is determined to continue that momentum this year by facing the biggest challenges. The top name on his hit list remains WBC/WBO junior welterweight world champion Terence Crawford.

“I spent half of last year calling out Crawford. He went the easy route, facing John Molina, who entered their December title fight three pounds above the weight limit and was way overmatched. Now, it is time for Crawford to face a real challenge,” said Diaz.

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