Carl Frampton-Leo Santa Cruz II “close,” Santa Cruz back in the gym

When they met at the end of July, featherweights Carl Frampton and Leo Santa Cruz gave us a truly great fight, one that is sure to figure prominently when the plaudits go out for the 2016 Fight of The Year. Now, after trading leather for 12 thrilling rounds in New York, the two are close to doing it all again. Frampton took the WBC 126-pound crown from Mexican warrior Santa Cruz, becoming the first man to beat him. In the process, Frampton became a two-weight king and an absolute legend in Ireland.

Santa Cruz has activated the rematch clause that was in place ahead of the first fight and now, Jose Santa Cruz says the return could happen before the end of the year.

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Jarrell Miller: Of course I would fight Anthony Joshua and break his face in half

Fans will hopefully find out next week who IBF heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua will be fighting in his second title defence, set for November 26. Promoter Eddie Hearn tweeted how the opponent will be revealed week commencing Sept 26 (next Monday) – and one fighter who says he would take the fight and “break Anthony Joshua’s face in half,” is unbeaten New Yorker Jarrell Miller.

Speaking with Sky Sports, “Big Baby,” as the 18-0-1(16) contender is known, says he should have been on the short-list to next challenge A.J, along with Kubrat Pulev, Bermane Stiverne and Joseph Parker. Miller has been calling Joshua out for some time now and he is certain he has too much heart for the 17-0(17) Londoner.

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25 Years ago today: the ill-fated Michael Watson-Chris Eubank rematch

A quarter of a century ago today a boxing match took place in London. It was a fight that will always cause any fight fan who witnessed it to have an uneasy, disturbing feeling. Michael Watson and Chris Eubank, two men who seemed to have a very real dislike for one another, met in a much anticipated, publicly demanded rematch. At the conclusion of just over 11-rounds of warfare neither man would ever be the same again.

Three months earlier, down at middleweight, Watson and Eubank had contested the WBO title, with the already controversial and unbeaten Eubank walking away with a debatable 12-round majority decision victory. The boos that met the announced decision ensured the two would have to fight again. When they did, as super, super-middleweights, an entire nation was watching. The incredibly determined Watson, a no-nonsense fighter who had worked his way up the hard way throughout his career, was utterly relentless, winning round after round after round.

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Crolla – Linares Tale Of The Tape

Before WBA Lightweight World Champion, Anthony “Million Dollar” Crolla (31-4-3, 13 KOs) steps into the ring against WBC Lightweight World Champion Jorge “El Nino de Oro” Linares (40-3, 27 KOs) tomorrow, Saturday, September 24, we take a look at how the two fighters measure up with the ‘Tale of the Tape’.

The 12-round fight for the WBA, WBC Diamond, the vacant Ring Magazine and Lineal Lightweight World Championship will have both fighters bidding for the honor to be crowed as the best lightweight fighter in the world; as their epic battle is sure to feature non-stop action.

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Watch: Anthony Crolla vs. Jorge Linares Weigh-In Video

Anthony Crolla wants to continue his incredible run of wins going and defeat Jorge Linares as they clash in a Lightweight unification blockbuster at the Manchester Arena tomorrow night, live on Sky Sports. Crolla puts his WBA crown on the line for the second time against the three-weight great, who brings his WBC Diamond strap to the UK. The vacant Ring magazine title is the third prize on offer to the winner, offering Crolla the chance to become the first English Lightweight to win that belt.

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Peter Fury says Andy Ruiz Jr has pulled out of fight with Hughie Fury

According to trainer Peter Fury, who guides both heavyweight champ Tyson Fury and his son, unbeaten heavyweight contender Hughie Fury, Mexican/American contender Andy Ruiz Junior has pulled out of his scheduled October 29 fight with Hughie. The fight, a very interesting and intriguing one between two young and talented big men, was to have been the chief support to Fury-Klitschko II in Manchester.

However, according to Peter, who took to social media earlier today, the fight is now off as Ruiz Jr has pulled out for as yet unconfirmed reasons.

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Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor: The fight nobody wanted to see anyway, is not going to happen

During the relatively short history of the two “rival” sports being in existence at the same time, fight fans have not been treated to too many, if any, glorious spectacles whenever a boxer has crossed over to fight an MMA fighter, or vice-versa. We’ve seen big names from both sports try it (think James Toney succumbing against Randy Couture for an MMA victory over boxing, to Ray Mercer icing Tim Sylvia for a boxing triumph over MMA) but it’s never been too pretty.

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Who can unify the welterweight titles – Thurman? Garcia? Spence? Vargas?

Modern day fight fans know there is a lot more to it that mere fighting prowess when it comes to being able to unify a weight class. These days, with fighters performing on rival networks for rival promoters, the actual getting of a big fight can prove more troublesome and stressful than the actual in the ring fighting (well, not quite, but you get the idea). Simply put, it is much easier these days for fighter A to duck fighter B, and just put the failure to make the fight down to boxing politics.

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Ovill McKenzie withdraws from Marco Huck fight on 9/24

Ovill Mckenzie has been forced to withdraw from his challenge for the IBO World Cruiserweight Championship against Marco Huck on medical grounds. Mckenzie, 36, was due to face Germany’s Huck this Saturday 24th September at the Festhalle Arena in Frankfurt.

Derby-based McKenzie, 25-12-1 13 KO’s, narrowly missed out on claiming a World Title when he pushed former IBF ruler Emilio Ramirez to a controversial draw in Argentina last October and is devastated at missing out on another opportunity to win world honours.

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World Boxing Council Quarterly Report

The WBC believes in transparency and administrative disclosure. WBC annual convention meetings determine world rankings and the mandatory status of each division in open floor meetings in which all parties have the opportunity to discuss and present their cases for consideration, analysis, and voting by the WBC Board of Governors. The WBC began to report this information in 2015 to bring clarity and transparency to the WBC’s administration for the public, and to provide clear reports from what is agreed and what happens during the course of each year.

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