After his November homecoming was cancelled, it’s looking increasingly likely that Russian WBA/WBO/IBF light heavyweight champion, Sergey Kovalev, will rematch Canada’s Jean Pascal on Jan. 30 instead.
The plan is for the Pascal rematch to be the first of a 3-fight schedule that will culminate in a clash with Oakland’s unbeaten P4P star Andre Ward later next year – himself set to embark on a similar deal on HBO, ostensibly beginning on next month’s Cotto/Canelo undercard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzUJirDOzMM
Gennady Golovkin looked nothing short of sensational when he scored an 8th round TKO against the brave but overmatched David Lemieux on Saturday night in front of a packed house at Madison Square Garden. Golovkin was running on all cylinders. He dictated the pace of the fight with a snappy jab, and did an impeccable job at controlling the distance and maintaining optimal range. It was Golovkin’s 21st knockout victory in a row, a true testament to his extraordinary power.
MIAMI (October 19, 2015) – Cuban sensation Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara (21-2-2, 12 KOs) will defend his super welterweight world title against former world champion Jan Zaveck (35-3, 19 KOs) on Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on ESPN Wednesday, November 25 from Hialeah Park Racing and Casino in Miami with televised coverage beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
After dropping his IBF middleweight strap on Saturday night against Kazakhstan’s murderous punching WBA champion, Gennady Golovkin, David Lemieux has extended full respect to the man they call ‘triple-G,’ though still insisted the fight was stopped too soon.
Lemieux was on the wrong end of a pounding from Golovkin, who displayed the superior footwork that has fast become a trademark, expertly cutting off the ring and teeing off with big shots on the brave and gutsy Canadian, who was eventually halted in the 8th by referee Steve Willis.
2nd tier WBA super-bantamweight champion, Scott Quigg, and IBF 122 lb boss, Carl Frampton are said to be looking at a Manchester venue and February date for their UK mega-fight, with Quigg saying it is ‘closer than it ever has been.’
Over the last weeks and months, the fight has shifted further away, then closer again, with a neutral venue of appropriate size one of the many sticking points between the two camps, although the Bury fighter has told Sky Sports that he is confident the fans will get to see this fight early in 2016.
Golden Boy Promotions’ Bernard Hopkins, has stated that while he wasn’t ‘disappointed’ in David Lemieux’s performance against Gennady Golovkin on Saturday night in New York, he thought that he was going to ‘perform better’ than he did.
Hopkins gave full credit to Golovkin for the ram-rod jab that he threw at a frenetic pace, going on to suggest that Lemieux tactically fought the wrong fight against the taller man, and that his crouching, come-forward style – along with his haircut – was his downfall in the end.
Former IBF middleweight champion, Darren Barker, has tipped Chris Eubank Jr to go on and win a world title in the none too distant future.
Eubank makes his debut under the Matchroom Sport promotional banner on Saturday night when he faces unheralded American, Tony Jeter, topping a lukewarm bill in Sheffield by default thanks to Kell Brook pulling out of his IBF welterweight fight with Diego Chaves due to [an un-provable] rib injury.
Crowd-pleasing former world junior-welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov of Russia will fight unbeaten Jesus Alvarez Rodriguez of Mexico in the headliner of the “Night of Champions” tournament in Monte Carlo on November 7.
This bout replaces the WBA championship fight between Juergen Braehmer and Tommy Oosthuizen after the German sustained a hand injury in training. Frantic efforts to secure a highly-rated replacement for Oosthuizen were unsuccessful, although promoter Rodney Berman was delighted to get Provodnikov’s signature.
A packed house at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY watched two of the best P4P fighters in the world demonstrate their greatness. Both fighters faced what many thought would be their biggest challenges to date. Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez 44-0-0 (38KO) seems to slice and dice his opponents. His punches are so accurate and sharp. His attack is relentless.
The way he cuts off the ring is a thing of beauty. He is like a mongoose darting this way and that way, in and out, leaving bite marks every time the distance allows. There is no let up and soon the prey (Viloria) starts “numbing up”. His legs start failing him. His reflexes slow, and leave him in harms way. He tries to step away and get a breath, but it’s as though his pursuer is attached to him.
The end of the road may have arrived for former middleweight world title challenger Matthew Macklin – at least at top level – after he appeared to struggle last night in his first fight back down at 154 in 9 years, squaring off against former British title challenger, Jason Welborn.
Macklin, now 33, was making noise about still wanting to win a world title, something he felt he could achieve by moving back down, although given last night’s showing in Birmingham, many are left wondering what is left for him at the top end of the sport.