It’s probably fair to say most fans were not exactly blown away with the quite recent announcement that superstar and certain Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao would, in his “last fight,” face former rival Tim Bradley. Fans, most of them anyway, wanted Pac-Man to exit the sport against a young tiger such as a Danny Garcia or a Keith Turman (not that warrior Bradley is either old or in any way a poor fighter, far from it).
More on Canelo-Khan Super-Fight: Carl Froch one of a few experts giving Khan a shot at winning
Announced yesterday evening (UK time), the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-Amir Khan fight for May 7th in Las Vegas instantly became THE talking point in boxing. Fans and experts alike were shocked and, most of them, pleasantly surprised when confirmation of the fight broke. Yes, there are some critics who, amazingly, still refuse to give Khan credit for taking this, surely the riskiest of gambles, yet most rational thinking people are giving Khan the props he deserves for daring to be great.
Canelo Vs. Khan: Amir Khan receiving plenty of praise for taking unexpected mega-fight!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27VH8lzzAmg
The boxing world is still trying to come to terms with what has surely been the biggest, “I didn’t see that coming!” mega-fight announcement of the year: Saul “Canelo” Alvarez Vs. Amir “King” Khan, set for Las Vegas on Cinco de Mayo weekend of May 7th.
Canelo Alvarez to face Amir Khan on HBO PPV on 5/7
LOS ANGELES (Feb. 2, 2016) – WBC, Ring Magazine and Lineal Middleweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez (46-1-1, 32 KOs) will make his first title defense of 2016 against former two-time world champion and resurgent contender Amir “King” Khan (31-3, 19 KOs) on May 7, Cinco De Mayo weekend, in a match-up of two of the biggest stars in boxing. The event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®.
David Haye says he just wants to give fans the fights they want – talks up potential showdown with Anthony Joshua
David Haye is set to continue his comeback on May 21st, against TBA, and the former WBA heavyweight ruler has been speaking with Sky Sports about possible fights – or specifically one fight – for the future. Haye, even his harshest critics must admit, is exciting to watch, and he says he wants to give fans the fights they want to see.
Sergey Kovalev, Andre Ward, Adonis Stevenson, and the Bernard Hopkins mystery opponent (VIDEO)
Sergey Kovalev made easy work of Jean Pascal in their rematch this past weekend. This hardly came as a surprise. In fact most fans didn’t see their first fight as the type of encounter that warranted a rematch in the first place. Kovalev dominated Pascal when they first met, and was even more dominant this time around hardly losing a second en route to a 7th round stoppage after Pascal’s trainer Freddie Roach admirably told the referee the fight was over to protect his athlete.
Kubrat Pulev and Dereck Chisora to clash for vacated EBU heavyweight belt; Anthony Joshua still looking for April 9th foe
A very interesting and potentially exciting heavyweight match-up has been set, one that will contest the EBU title the unbeaten Robert Helenius has just vacated. Once-beaten Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev will meet experienced Brit Dereck Chisora at a date and venue still to be determined.
Helenius, fresh off a December win over Franz Rill – a points victory that saw him take the EBU title that had been stripped from Erkan Teper due to Teper failing a post-fight drugs test after his KO win over David Price – opted to vacate the European crown to concentrate on his world title ambitions. So, Pulev, 22-1(12) and two wins removed from his November 2014 stoppage loss to then world heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko, will face well-travelled Brit Chisora, 25-5(17) and four wins removed from his stoppage loss to reigning heavyweight boss Tyson Fury, in what should be a an entertaining battle.
Floyd Mayweather says he’s earned the right to call himself “T.B.E,” says that as of now he is “completely out” of boxing – no truth to Pacquiao rematch rumours
Retired superstar Floyd Mayweather Junior is currently in the UK, embarking on a special (and very expensive to attend) “Victory Tour” where the man known as “Money” will meet and greet his UK fans. And, whilst here, the soon-to-be 39-year-old great spoke with BBC Sport.
Mayweather began by revealing how he has been offered “crazy numbers – nine figures” to fight again. Floyd said the offers have been coming in from a number of different countries around the world. But as of right now, Mayweather is “completely out” of boxing and has no plans to box again.
Press conference in Pilsen, Czech Republic with Tom Schwarz, Lucie Sedlackova, Fabiana Bytyqi, Ondrej Pala
A great boxing gala in Pilsen. Bytyqi, Sedláčková, Schwarz and… Pála!
PILSEN – Three Czech boxers will fight for their titles on March 5 at HM Arena in Pilsen. H Fabiana Bytyqi (6-0, 2 KO), Lucie Sedláčková (5-0-1, 2 KO) and Štěpán Horváth (15-5, 6 KO) will fight for European WBO titles in their division. But this is not all. The fans will have the opportunity to see eight fights. And one will be better than another.
Luis Ortiz to defend interim WBA heavyweight title against Alexander Dimitrenko on March 5th
It has been confirmed by ESPN.com, how Cuba’s Luis Ortiz will face German-based Russian Alexander Dimitrenko on March 5th. Southpaw Ortiz, 24-0(21) will be making the second defence of the interim WBA heavyweight title he won by stopping little-known Matias Ariel Vidondo last October. The 36-year-old who is known as “The Real King Kong,” is coming off a very impressive stoppage win over Bryant Jennings who he halted in the seventh-round in December.