Although he has had just 17 pro fights – fight number 18 comes this Saturday night against challenger Eric Molina – Anthony Joshua is already speaking about when he plans to call it a day and retire. The reigning IBF heavyweight champ, speaking with The Mirror, says that if things go to plan he will retired in five years at the age of 32.
Joshua says he could retire today if he wanted to, as he is happy. Yet right now, the 27 year old is enjoying boxing and he wants to leave behind a legacy.
According to a piece on ESPN.com, Miguel Cotto will return to action on February 25, against a fighter who will also be coming back from a substantial layoff. Cotto, who is zeroing in on retirement having pretty much done everything – winning world titles in multiple divisions and engaging in numerous super-fights – is set to face Texan banger James Kirkland.
The fight, which both fighters have agreed to, is scheduled to take place at a facility inside the Dallas Cowboys stadium in Frisco, Texas. The bad news (for those who see anything good about this match-up in the first place) is that the fight will be a pay-per-view offering on HBO. Who knows what we can expect to see in a fight between Cotto, 40-5(33) and last seen losing a competitive fight with Canelo Alvarez 13 months ago, and Kirkland, 32-2(28) and last seen getting crushed by Canelo over a year-and-a-half ago.
Jesus Andres Cuellar 126 vs Abner Mares 124
Jermall Charlo 153.4 vs Julian Williams 154
Sergey Lipinets 139.8 vs Leonardo Zappavigna 139.6
IBF Heavyweight World Champion Anthony Joshua weighed in at 249 pounds and American challenger Eric Molina measured 237 ½ pounds for their heavyweight showdown tomorrow/Saturday at Manchester Arena live on SHOWTIME® (5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT).
Due to the craziness displayed by Dereck Chisora earlier this week, when the heavyweight threw a table at his bitter rival Dillian Whyte, the BBB of C came close to calling tomorrow’s fight off. Instead, Chisora has been fined the sum of £25,000 and tomorrow’s clash will not contest the British title as was initially the case.
Andy Ruiz 255.7 vs. Joseph Parker 246.7
Jeff Horn 146.6 vs. Ali Funeka 146.4
Isaac Dogboe 121.8 vs. Julian Aristile 121.8
Junior Fa 270.1 vs. Pablo Magrini 210
Josh Parker 189.6 vs. Ash McConville 203.4
Brown Buttabean 281 vs. Che Barlow 231.5
Pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford has vowed to make a statement against John Molina as he looks to be crowned the 2016 ‘Fighter of the Year’.
29-year-old Crawford clashes with the teak tough Molina this Saturday night, exclusively live on BoxNation, at the CenturyLink Center in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.
Muhammad Ali was the best fighter of 1966, as he went 5-0 (with four knockouts) in defense of his heavyweight title. That included a third-round KO of Cleveland Williams, when Ali might’ve been at his very best.
The editors of THE RING Magazine at the time acknowledged Ali’s preeminence that year, stating clearly that no one could touch him.
However, they made an unusual decision when it came time to name the magazine’s annual Fighter of the Year: They announced that Ali would be denied the award because of his refusal to be inducted into the U.S. Army and his association with the Nation of Islam.
Erik Skoglund (25-0, 11 KOs) and Timy Shala (21-1-1, 8 KOs) both made weight today ahead of their WBA International Light Heavyweight Championship contest tomorrow night at the Rosvalla Arena in Nyköping, Sweden.
Here is a list of the official weights from Nyköping:
WBA International Light Heavyweight Championship:
Back in 1994, when heavyweight legend George Foreman challenged Michael Moorer in an attempt to regain his old heavyweight belts, he had not fought for 17 long months. When Wladimir Klitschko, a modern day legend, challenges Anthony Joshua (planned for next April, dependant on AJ beating Eric Molina on Saturday) in an attempt to regain the IBF and WBA titles, he will have been out of action for a similar amount of time.