George Groves (22-3, 17 KOs) got his career back on the tracks tonight in beating little known Italian Andrea Di Luisa (18-4, 14 KOs) by a 5th round knockout in the main event at the Copper Box Arena in London, England. Groves, 27, gave Di Luisa a bloody nose in the process of knocking him down three times in the fight.
“I don’t succeed when I make a guy a champion,” hall of fame boxing trainer, Cus D’Amato, once said. “I succeed when I make that fellow champion of the world and independent of me. When he doesn’t need me anymore.”
It’s been almost 30 years since Mike Tyson’s first world title fight. Cus didn’t live long enough to witness his protégé become champion. ”Iron” Mike may have exhibited menace and maturity inside the ring, but outside of it, he was a vulnerable young man, who still needed the guidance and stability his father figure provided. Equipped with such shrewd, compassionate tuition, Tyson would almost certainly have coped far better with the pressures and temptations that are inevitable when catapulted into international superstardom – his fighting prime would very likely have been extended. As was the case in early life – when growing up in crime-ridden Brownsville, in eastern Brooklyn, New York City – Mike was again, forced to learn the hard way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaGU9kxA4Qo
If you’re an American boxing fan old enough to have followed the sport for around 30 years or so, then you probably remember the excitement generated whenever young Mike Tyson stepped inside the squared circle. An aura of invincibility surrounded him as he left a path of total destruction en route to becoming the youngest heavyweight champion ever.
Earlier this week, the International Boxing Federation said that IBF/IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin (34-0, 31 KOs) will need to face #3 IBF Dominic Wade (18-0, 12 KOs) next. The IBF replaced the injured #1 IBF Tureano Johnson (19-1, 13 KOs) with the 25-year-old Wade. It was thought that Golovkin would be stuck facing Wade in his next fight on April 23 on HBO instead of a more interesting opponent that the fight fans would be eager to see.
Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn says he has made a breakthrough in the negotiations between his fighter IBF 147lb belt holder Kell Brook and challenger Amir Khan for a fight that Hearn would like to stage on June 4 at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Hearn says he had a conversation in the last day with one of Khan’s people and he now believes the fight is possible. If the fight can be made, it will be televised on Sky Box Office pay-per-view, and it will do very well. It might also sell out Wembley Stadium.
Bitter sweet feelings surround this rematch bout from last March have spoiled much of the anticipation for Saturday night’s HBO main event fight between Sergey Kovalev and Jean Pascal. It’s not as if it’s a bad matchup per se, just bad timing considering the outcome of their first meeting and Pascal’s last performance, which was underwhelming to say the least. Regardless, thankfully the Bell Centre in Montreal will be ready to make noise for this redux that should be fought in an entertaining style.
By Abdi Haid: IBF super middleweight champion James “Chunky” DeGale (22-1, 14 KOs) says he’s interested in facing IBF/IBO/WBA middleweight champion Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin (34-0, 31 KOs), but for that fight to happen, Golovkin will need to move up in weight. DeGale believes that it’ll be an even fight when Golovkin does move up in weight because his punching power won’t be as pronounced in the 168lb division as it is at 160 right now against the opposition he’s been facing. DeGale says Golovkin is short and only 5’9″, and he believes he’s going to have some serious tests when he goes up a weight division.
Exciting cruiserweights Marco Huck and Ola Afolabi clash for a fourth time, exclusively live on BoxNation in the UK, on Saturday 27th February at the Gerry Weber Stadium, Halle, Germany.
The addition of Huck v Afolabi will form a big LIVE double header with WBO World Super-Lightweight Champion Terrence Crawford defending his title against Hank Lunday later that night from New York.
By Abdi Haid: In the past, British super middleweight George Groves sparred with unbeaten middleweight Gennady Golovkin to help him out to get ready for one of his fights. Not long after their sparring sessions rumors surfaced about how the hard hitting Groves knocked Golovkin to the canvas during the sparring sessions. A lot of boxing fans believed this.
However, this week, Golovkin finally cleared the air about what happened during the sparring sessions, saying that it was spar for him because Groves didn’t have much in the way of hand speed. Golovkin further said he hurt Groves with a body shot that he thinks broke his ribs. At this point the sparring session was halted by Groves’ team.
https://youtu.be/ULDQc_T1m0g
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