Noah Zuhdi: In a Fight for Respect

zuhdi vajda pic When WBU Lightweight Champion Noah Zuhdi (16-1, 12 KOs) steps in the ring against Hungarian challenger Gyula Vajda (12-3, 8 KOs) on August 24 at the Lucky Star Casino, he is not just fighting a sharp counterpuncher in his first title defense. He is fighting the litany of naysayers and people who subscribe to an archaic notion that a boxer has to be born and act a certain way in order to thrive in the sport.

We know what real fighters are. Fighters are not practicing lawyers or attorneys. Fighters do not start training in their twenties. Fighters do not grow up geographically and socioeconomically in middle America. And certainly real fighters do not video chat with a wife and infant son every night while in training camp. Yet, Zuhdi is and does all of these things, and he has fought his way to the fringes of boxing stardom.

“Nobody has to fight,” Zuhdi told Eastside before his bout with the tall and crafty Vajda. “No matter what your background is, no one has to get beat up like a boxer does or train as diligently as a boxer does.

Mares vs. Gonzalez Final Press Conference Quotes and Photos

CARSON, CALIF. (Aug. 22, 2013) – Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions hosted the final press conference Thursday for the outstanding fight card that will take place this Saturday, Aug. 24, on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING live on SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, immediately following the series premiere of ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Canelo) and SHOWTIME EXTREME (8 p.m. ET/PT) from StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.

In Saturday’s main event of an explosive world championship doubleheader on SHOWTIME, undefeated three-time and three-division World Champion Abner Mares (26-0-1, 14 KO’s), of Downey, Calif., by way of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, will defend his WBC Featherweight World Championship against former Two-Division World Champion Jhonny Gonzalez (54-8, 46 KO’s), of Mexico City.

ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Canelo – Video

NEW YORK (Aug. 22, 2013) – Following the SHOWTIME premiere of each episode of the acclaimed documentary series ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Canelo—series premieres this Saturday at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT on SHOWTIME—full episodes will be made available online and across multiple platforms leading up to the boxing event of the year, “THE ONE: Mayweather vs. Canelo” on Saturday, September 14 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, live on SHOWTIME PPV®.

All four episodes will be available following each premiere on Sports.SHO.com, the SHOWTIME Sports® YouTube channel, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and on mobile devices via SHOWTIME ANYTIME®. Additionally, a full slate of encore airings are scheduled for SHOWTIME, SHOWTIME EXTREME® and the CBS SPORTS NETWORK. (Visit http://sports.sho.com/programs/all-access for a complete list of air dates and times)

Shawn Porter vs. Julio Diaz II on September 12th in Las Vegas, Nevada

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (August 22, 2013) – It’s boxing’s biggest week, an opportunity for the stars of entertainment and sports to descend on Las Vegas for “THE” fight of 2013, the championship showdown between unbeaten icons Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez. However, before the world turns its eyes to the MGM Grand Garden Arena to watch these two warriors collide Saturday, Sept. 14, Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions kick off festivities two days earlier, on Thursday, Sept. 12, with a special three-and-a-half hour, action-packed broadcast on FOX Sports 2 and FOX Deportes from MGM Grand Las Vegas’ Premier Ballroom.

‘Tyson Is Back!’ presser quotes – Arash Usmanee vs Argenis Mendez

819 VERONA, N.Y. (August 21, 2013) – The final press conference forIron Mike Productions’ inaugural event this Friday evening – “Tyson Is Back!” – was held today at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.

Acquinity Sports, under CEO Garry Jonas, recently partnered with Hall of Famer Mike Tyson to form Iron Mike Productions, which is presenting “Tyson Is Back!” in association with Greg Cohen Promotions.

“Tyson Is Back!” features a World Championship doubleheader on ESPN Friday Night Fights, headlined by International Boxing Federation (IBF) super featherweight champion Argenis “La Tormenta” Mendez (21-2, 11 KOs) making his first world title defense, in the 12-round main event against IBF No. 13-rated Arash Usmanee (20-1, 10 KOs). Unbeaten Claudio “The Matrix” Marrero (14-0, 11 KOs), rated No. 2 by the WBA, meets WBA No. 4 Jesus Cueller (22-1, 18 KOs) in the 12-round co-feature for the Interim World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight championship.

Abner Mares vs. Jhonny Gonzalez & Undercard Fighters Media Workout Quotes

(Photo credit: Golden Boy Promotions) CARSON, CALIF. (Aug. 21, 2013) – Six of the fighters who’ll compete this Saturday, Aug. 24, on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING live on SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, Immediately following the series premiere of ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Canelo) and SHOWTIME EXTREME (8 p.m. ET/PT) worked out for the media Tuesday at a jam-packed Fabela Chavez Boxing Center in Carson, Calif.

In Saturday’smainevent on SHOWTIME, undefeated three-time and three-division World Champion Abner Mares (26-0-1, 14 KO’s), of Downey, Calif., by way of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, will defend his WBC Featherweight World Championship against former Two-Division World Champion Jhonny Gonzalez (54-8, 46 KO’s), of Mexico City.

Recap: Barker unseats Geale

Fans were treated to a great night of boxing on HBO on Saturday as “Dazzling” Darren Barker wrestled the IBF Middleweight title from former champion Daniel “Real Deal” Geale. Most ringside observers and fans, (not including HBO’s unofficial scorer and boxing judge Barbara Perez), had the fight scored extremely close, as each fighter gave as much as they took in this nip and tuck affair.

Geale predictably had a strong beginning to the fight and controlled the pace and distance. As the fight progressed, Barker came to life by manufacturing a body assault in an attempt to reduce Geale’s output. By the fourth round Barker appeared to have flashes of momentum, but suffered a cut above his eye and some bruising for his troubles.

An Inside Look At Michael Oliveira

Light Middleweight Contender, Michael “The Brazilian Rocky” Oliveira, (21-1, 16KOs), puts his career back on track after it was temporality derailed with his first professional loss to four-time, two division world champion, Brazilian icon, Accelino “Popo” Freitas, (39-2, 33KOs); by winning four consecutive bouts in which he garnered the vacant World Boxing Association (“WBA”) Fedebol Light Middleweight Title and the vacant World Boxing Counsel (“WBC”) Fecarbox Light Middleweight Title. He successfully defended these two straps, twice.

Oliveira, born in Sao Paulo, Brazil but moved to Miami, Florida when he was two weeks ago, is ranked number six by the WBC and number seven by the WBA. He looks to move up the ranking in his division, as he’s tentatively scheduled to fight, Omar “El Businessman” Chavez, (30-2-1, 22KOs), on October 12 in Las Vegas, Nevada, in an intriguing bout between two up and coming boxers.

Saul Alvarez vs. Floyd Mayweather – style, weight and age issues

September 14 is near and “The One” will stand out hopefully without controversy. I am not sure who will be favored by the politics if it comes to that. Floyd was never a KO artist and after moving up in weight he did not bring his punch with him. Saul Alvarez knocking out Floyd Mayweather is not a scenario that pundits would even consider although „Canelo“ seems to hit hard enough. The outcome will probably depend on the judges.

There are labels for matching up different styles like “a boxer vs. a puncher“, “a stylist vs. a brawler“, if I had to label the fight I’d say “a boxer vs. a fighter” but there would be a lot of “fine print“ under that label.

Floyd Mayweather‘s style is unconventional for the pro ranks as it is fundamentally based on the Olympic/amateur boxing style. His amateur boxing skills have been optimized and modified for prize fighting.

Award Winning Artist Commissioned to Create Artwork for Mayweather vs Canelo Superfight!

1444 “The One” prefight painting by Richard T. Slone, the second of three in the series.

LAS VEGAS (Aug 21, 2013) – Multi-award winning artist Richard T. Slone, known by fight fans around the globe for his unique style and ability to capture the true essence of the sweet science with each brush stroke, has been commissioned to create the official artwork for the upcoming Superfight between Floyd Mayweather and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, which will take place on Saturday Sept 14, at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, live on SHOWTIME PPV®.

Slone will be ringside at the fight to complete his series of official paintings and will also be hosting an exhibit of his works at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on September 12-15th. “Having Richard T. Slone creating unique artwork for this fight is a thrill and an honor for us at Golden Boy Promotions,” said company CEO Richard Schaefer.