Ward-Kovalev set for Las Vegas, November 19th

Providing they each win their upcoming tune-up bouts, Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward, both unbeaten and rated highly in the various pound-for-pound rankings, will fight on November 19th at The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. ESPN.com reports the fight will be available on HBO pay-per-view. A genuinely intriguing, hard to pick fight, Ward-Kovalev is a classic boxer Vs. puncher match-up.

Outside of a Kovalev-Adonis Stevenson unification clash, Kovalev-Ward is the biggest and best fight that can currently be made in the 175-pound division.

continue

Roberto Duran turns 65, and he has a new movie to celebrate!

The great Roberto Duran turns 65 today, June 16th. Arguably the finest living fighter, the finest lightweight in history and one of the greatest Hispanic boxers of all time, Duran, Hands of Stone, is a hero to millions and a huge influence on many thousands of fighters, both past and present. Duran turned pro way, way back in February of 1968 (LBJ was president, Muhammad Ali was in exile, George Foreman had not yet won his Olympic gold medal) and he won his first world title, the WBA lightweight crown, in June of 1972 (“Tricky Dicky” was now president, Ali had returned, lost to Joe Frazier and was on the comeback trail anew, Foreman was an unbeaten 35-0 contender).

This is how long the cherished Duran had been a part of fight fans’ lives. Duran would beat everything in his path at 135-pounds, then beat the new US superstar Sugar Ray Leonard at welterweight, then win world titles up at 154 and 160 and fight to earn a quite astonishing, 103-16-(70) pro record! Imagine that today? No, I can’t, either.

continue

Keith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter conference call quotes

Lou DiBella
Thank you for being with us for the Keith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter Welterweight Championship conference call, SHOWTIME Championship Boxing, on CBS, presented by Premier Boxing Champions, to be at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Saturday, June 25, live at 9:00 pm Eastern Time, 6:00 pm Pacific Time.

Tickets for the live event are on sale now. They can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com, BarclaysCenter.com, by calling Ticketmaster at 1800-745-3000, or at the box office at the Barclays Center.

continue

Ali to Foreman: Please come back and beat Ken Norton for me

Big George Foreman, with the passing of the great (or greatest) Muhammad Ali, has become the oldest living former world heavyweight champion, and the 67-year-old legend sure has a number of tales to tell. Foreman has literally seen it all, done it all, and lived to tell the story of it all. George has had some quite amazing life, no doubt. But despite all he has witnessed, the incomparable Ali still leaves George somewhat mystified and in awe.

These past two weeks have seen Foreman share with us all his memories of Ali, and George has paid great tributes to the former three-time king. One of the more interesting things Foreman had to say about his one-time archenemy came on the latest episode of Jim Lampley’s The Fight Game. Foreman spoke of an unexpected phone-call from Ali, “in the late ’70’s.”

continue

Breazeale: Anthony Joshua is rattled

LONDON (June 16, 2016) – Undefeated World Ranked Heavyweight Contender and 2012 U.S. Olympian Dominic “Trouble” Breazeale (17-0, 15 KOs) arrived at London Heathrow Airport on Thursday afternoon ahead of his world title challenge against IBF Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua (16-0, 16 KOs) on Saturday, June 25 on SHOWTIME BOXING INTERNATIONAL® from The O2 in London, live on SHOWTIME.

Confident as he’s been since the fight was announced, Breazeale was met by the local media upon his arrival.

continue

Wladimir Klitschko vows to end Fury’s reign, take away Tyson’s platform

Former world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko regrets losing to Tyson Fury for a number of reasons. Klitschko, a man used to winning, obviously didn’t want to lose, period, but he is mostly bothered by two things: his own admittedly poor performance, and the fact that with his big win over him, Fury was given a global platform to vocalise his views and opinions. And Klitschko, as he wrote today on social media, regrets the platform his loss gave Fury.

continue

Deontay Wilder – Chris Arreola press conference quotes for July 16 fight

(Photo Credit: Bill Hoffman/Bruno Event Team) Birmingham, AL (June 15) – Two of the biggest and best talkers in the sport of boxing met face to face today. WBC Heavyweight World Champion Deontay Wilder was on stage at a press conference in Birmingham, AL and two-time heavyweight title challenger Chris Arreola via Skype from his training camp in San Diego to officially announce their heavyweight title showdown taking place Saturday, July 16 from the Legacy Arena live on Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on FOX and FOX Deportes.

Tickets for the event, which is promoted by DiBella Entertainment and TGB Promotions in association with Bruno Event Team, start at only $20 are on sale now. For tickets please visit www.alabamatitlefight.com and www.ticketmaster.com.

continue

Fonfara-Smith Jr. & Payano-Warren quotes

CHICAGO (June 16, 2016) – Light heavyweights star Andrzej Fonfara and hard-hitting Joe Smith Jr. went face-to-face for the first time Thursday at the final press conference before they enter the ring Saturday, June 18 on Premier Boxing Champions on NBC from UIC Pavilion in Chicago.

Televised coverage begins at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT and features a world title rematch between Juan Carlos Payano and Rau’shee Warren plus rising star Erickson Lubin battles Mexico’s Daniel Sandoval. PBC coverage switched to NBCSN at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT and will see unbeaten middleweights Hugo Centeno Jr. and Maciej Sulecki square-off.

continue

Dreaming big: could Jason Quigley be a future foe for Golovkin, Canelo?

Unbeaten Irish prospect Jason Quigley made a big step towards becoming a contender with his last win, a May 7 points victory over the experienced James De La Rosa, and now the former amateur standout has a, the sky’s the limit attitude. Quigley may be just 11-0 as a pro, but he says in an interview with The Irish News that he already has superstars such as Gennady Golovkin and Saul Alvarez on his radar.

Quigley, signed with Golden Boy and Sheer Sports, acknowledges how he needs more experience and that he is in no rush, but he is already dreaming of the big, big fights – a super dream fight with GGG in Ireland especially.

continue

Ricky Burns wants revenge – against either Crawford or Zlaticanin

Back on top of the world by way of his impressive stoppage win over Michelle Di Rocco in which he became the WBA super lightweight ruler and a three weight king, Scottish hero Ricky Burns currently has one thing on his mind: revenge. The 33-year-old was out-pointed by new star Terence Crwaford, who ended his reign as WBO lightweight champion, and Burns, when on the comeback trail from that loss, suffered another points defeat at the hands of Dejan Zlaticanin just three months later.

Crawford has gone from strength to strength since coming to Glasgow to beat Burns, and he next fights a unification bout with Viktor Postol at 140-pounds. Burns picks Crawford to add the WBC title to the WBO 140-pound belt he already holds with a win over Postol on July 23rd, and he told Sky Sports he would love a rematch with the pound-for-pound star.

continue