Ali-Spinks: Ageing Ali’s revenge

38 years ago today, inside a packed out Superdome in New Orleans, ageing superstar Muhammad Ali did what he should have done in the first place and defeated rank amateur Leon Spinks. Seven months previously, a woefully out of condition Ali was upset by the 1976 Olympic gold medal winner, losing a 15-rounder that was somehow scored as a split decision against “The Greatest.”

The February decision handed in in Las Vegas should have been unanimous in favour of 24-year-old “Neon” Leon, as Ali did nothing but clown and lay on the ropes for the first ten-rounds. How one judge scored the fight for Ali is explained only by the enormous impact Ali had on the sport and of how revered he was at the time. The rematch was a different story, at least as far as the physical and, more importantly, the mental condition of the two heavyweights was concerned.

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Hearn on Kell Brook’s future: We want to go straight into a big one – Canelo, Khan, Cotto the targets

Promoter Eddie Hearn still has high hopes for Kell Brook. In fact, far from being at all diluted by Brook’s ultra-brave loss to middleweight king Gennady Golovkin, Hearn says the future is bright, very bright for the Sheffield fighter. The step up to middleweight was an audacious gamble which never paid off, with a win, anyway – but the sizzling action got Brook noticed by HBO in a big way and there are more massive fights out there for the 30-year-old; winnable fights.

Hearn, in writing for The Daily Mail, said how the plan for after Brook’s smashed eye socket has healed, is to “go straight into a big one.” The promoter listed three names that are very much in the cross-hares: Canelo Alvarez, Amir Khan and Miguel Cotto. Either fight would be big, the Khan fight more so in the UK, and what’s more, you would have to be a fool to give Brook anything less than a decent chance at worst of winning either match-up.

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Gallagher: If we pull it off on Saturday, I’d expect a call from Mayweather

It seems practically nobody in the boxing world truly believes superstar Floyd Mayweather Junior is really retired. Mayweather, the last time anyone asked him, insisted he is indeed “done” and is content now helping out his growing stable of young fighters. Yet still the 49-0 great is expected by many to return to the ring for fight number-50. Not only that, but plenty of fighters are hoping they will get a date with “Money” (Manny Pacquiao recently stating how he wants a rematch with Floyd).

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Felix Diaz willing to fight Terence Crawford in Omaha

Top-rated junior welterweight Felix Diaz wants a fight against Terence Crawford, and the Olympic gold medalist wants it bad. Earlier this week, Diaz called out the undefeated two-division world champion Crawford, and it doesn’t seem as though he is planning on quieting down anytime soon.

“I said it earlier and I am going to keep saying it, Crawford is the fight I want,” said Diaz. “There was a ton of positive responses throughout the industry after I called him out the other day, and rightfully so. Stylistically, this is a can’t-miss fight. Everyone knows it, including him. I have no problem going to Omaha for it either. He is the champion. I have no issues going into his backyard and taking his belt from him. We can fight in his mother’s kitchen if that’s where he is most comfortable. My bags are packed for Omaha. I’m ready. Terence, are you?”

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Canelo: I know Liam Smith is dangerous

Bringing in the large crowds like he usually does, Canelo Alvarez (47-1-1, 33 KOs) made his grand arrival Texas at the undercard media work outat the Gaylord Texan Resort Hotel and Convention Center today. Alvarez is scheduled to battle Liam “Beefy” Smith (23-0-1, 13 KOs) in a live 12-round fight for the WBO Junior Middleweight World Championship at AT&T Stadium this Saturday, September 17 beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT on presented live by HBO Pay-Per-View.

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Golovkin-Brook ratings results

Boxing Superstar and Unified Middleweight World Champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin’s, (36-0, 33KO’s), fifth round stoppage of previously undefeated UK Superstar, “The Special One” Kell Brook, (36-1, 25KO’s) was viewed by a combined 1,436,000 viewers on HBO World Championship Boxing this past Saturday, September 10, marking it as the most watched HBO boxing event in 2016 and the highest rated HBO international boxing telecast in many years viewed live by 843,000 fans and same-day rebroadcast by 593,000 viewers.

The thrilling victory by Golovkin was also viewed live on TV Azteca by 1,560,000 viewers in Mexico on Saturday afternoon. Golovkin’s fights are broadcast in over 100 countries which all reported strong viewership numbers for this event.

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Andre Berto says Danny Garcia will be fighting John Molina Jr next, not him

Andre Berto is not too happy at the moment and when fight fans hear what it is that is ailing the former WBC welterweight ruler, chances are they will be far from ecstatic themselves. According to Berto, via his official twitter page, Danny Garcia, the current WBC 147-pound king he has been chasing, will instead make his next defence against John Molina Junior. Berto, who insists that at no time did he “out price” himself when attempting to negotiate a fight with Garcia, wishes Molina good luck, but he has accused Garcia of “ducking” him.

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Gallagher responds to Canelo weight struggle whispers: If he doesn’t make 154 – no fight!

Is Mexican star and upcoming WBO 154-pound title challenger Saul Canelo Alvarez having weight troubles? This is the word according to whispers out in Texas – rumours Canelo and his team deny. But trainer Joe Gallagher told RingTV.com that if Canelo does fail to make 154 for Saturday’s fight, there will be no fight. Gallagher says there will not be a catch-weight fight, at all.

“If Canelo doesn’t make weight, [we’ll take] our paycheck,” Gallagher stated. “Saul Alvarez and his team – I have huge respect for them. They’re professionals. I don’t expect any slip-ups at the weigh-in. But to let everyone know: if Saul Alvarez doesn’t make 154 – there’ll be no fight.”

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Gabriel Rosado says BJS wants GGG fight for the money only, “He’ll take that ass whupping for a couple of mill”

Middleweight warrior Gabriel Rosado has once again laid into reigning WBO champ Billy Joe Saunders. Fans may recall how Saunders was offered a fight with Rosado for the Canelo-Smith card, only for Saunders to turn the fight down, saying it wouldn’t elevate his career. Rosado, 23-9(13) was fuming and he now says that Saunders is chasing money and nothing more and that the unbeaten southpaw only wants a fight with Gennady Golovkin for the big money that would be involved.

Speaking with Mail Online, Rosado, who has fought a number of top names including GGG, David Lemieux and Peter Quillin, said he still hopes to fight Saunders one day.

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What comes next for GGG / Brook?

Saturday night was one of those rare occasions where boxing fans could feel some gratification in their love for the sport. It was an evening long etched into the diaries of boxing fans, ever since July with the huge announcement that Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin was to visit the UK to defend his middleweight titles against IBF welterweight champ Kell Brook. So often in these cases, the action never quite matches the hype, thankfully on Saturday night, it did. Here, we discuss the fallout from the main event, and potential next steps for both men.

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