Rigondeaux: “Dickens is the only 122 pounder in the world that has the courage to take me on.”
Dickens: “I’m the massive underdog. I’d just like to say to all the youngsters out there don’t be afraid to chase your dreams.”
Cuban boxing great Guillermo Rigondeaux came face-to-face with Liverpool’s Jazza Dickens at today’s press conference ahead of their WBA Super-Bantamweight World Title showdown at the Cardiff Ice Arena this Saturday, live and exclusive on BoxNation.
Kell Brook really does come across as a very confident fighter entering his massive challenge of feared middleweight king Gennady Golovkin (the man and his power he is of course referring to in the above headline). Of course, any fighter who has called for a big fight and got it should be fully confident he is going to win, but there are sceptics out there who feel Brook – who is a huge underdog according to the latest betting odds available – has taken this fight for the huge payday and nothing more.
With the highly anticipated showdown between two of boxing’s most elite talents, Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward, scheduled to take place in November, only one obstacle remains before the best fight than can be made in all of boxing becomes a reality. That happens August 6 when Andre Ward takes his final tune-up bout against Alexander Brand. For his part, Kovalev just took care of business in his final bout before the mega fight with Ward when he outpointed Isaac Chilemba by unanimous decision yesterday.
Who is the greatest ever Mexican fighter: Ruben Olivares? Salvador Sanchez? Carlos Zarate? Miguel Canto? Juan Manuel Marquez? Erik Morales? Marco Antonio Barrera? Ricardo Lopez?
No, top of the list, above all this incredible talent, is the man who was born today in 1962 and went on to record an astonishing 107-6-2(86) pro record – the mighty, the incomparable Julio Cesar Chavez. Simply unbeatable in his prime years – 1984 to 1993 – Chavez tore through the super-featherweight, lightweight and super-lightweight divisions, capturing world titles in each weight class and retaining them for a substantial amount of time. Among the fine fighters Chavez defeated: Mario Martinez, Ruben Castillo, Roger Mayweather, Rocky Lockridge, Edwin Rosario, Jose Luis Ramirez, Meldrick Taylor and Hector Camacho.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f6wef8egeM
Will Postol be the toughest test of career? Why did you decide to take such a dangerous fight?
CRAWFORD – “On paper you could make a case that Postol will be the toughest man I have faced inside the ring, but I won’t really know that until I fight him on July 23.
How is Crawford different from other boxers and what kind of fight are you expecting?
POSTOL – “What differentiates Crawford from many other fighters are his skills and technical attributes. From a mental aspect he is a very clever boxer, always using his mind in the ring, changing stances, all the time adapting to different types of opponents. He has shown this in his previous fights. But that does not mean he is the best I have fought. I think Lucas Matthysse is a higher-level fighter than Crawford and everyone knows how my fight with Matthysse ended, with him knocked out and the WBC belt around my waist.
In boxing, a so-called “tune-up” fight can have the exact opposite result than was planned or hoped for. Wanting to sharpen up tools and pick up added, reaffirming confidence before heading into a big match-up, a fighter can sometimes leave said “tune-up” feeling rustier, less sharp and less confident than he was before fighting it. Light-heavyweight ruler Sergey Kovalev might be feeling a little this way right now, after his frustrating, less than satisfying points win over Isaac Chilemba yesterday.
Tonight at the DIVS Sports Palace in Ekaterinburg, Russia undefeated WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs*) dazzled his hometown crowd during 12 heart stopping rounds as he defeated Isaac “Golden Boy” Chilemba (24-4-2, 10 KOs) via unanimous decision.
The hard-fought battle between Kovalev and Chilemba was non-stop action from bell to bell. Kovalev came out of the gates guns blazing but the tough Chilemba took every punch handed out by the hard-hitting champ. The toughest round for the 29-year old Chilemba was the 7th when he was knocked down by the Krusher.
Lou DiBella
Thank you. And thank you all for joining us on the PBC on FOX Wilder vs. Arreola conference call. This show will be on July 16 at the Legacy Arena at the BJCC in Birmingham, Alabama. The start time on FOX is 8:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT
The opening bout on FOX is a terrific one. It’s undefeated 21-0 U.S. Army vet Sammy Vasquez against Felix Diaz, former Dominican Olympian. Excellent matchup in the welterweight division.
Tonight in Russia we came away with two overwhelming thoughts: no wonder Isaac Chilemba has never been stopped, and Andre Ward will be feeling quite happy right now.
IBF/WBA/WBO light-heavyweight king Sergey Kovalev retained both his belts and his unbeaten record against Isaac Chilemba, but, boy did he have a tough/awkward night’s work in doing so. The final scores of the three judges – 118-109, 116-111, 117-110, all for “Krusher” do not tell the full story. Kovalev, now 30-0-1(26) still moves ahead to his big November fight with Andre Ward, but Chilemba, now 24-4-2(10) sure gave Ward plenty of pointers.