Martin Murray Added to Matchroom Leeds Show

St Helen’s Martin Murray has been pretty active since moving to 168 lbs and signing for Matchroom Sport earlier this year, with two outings against low-tier opposition in the last seven weeks already, yet the 3x world title challenger has now also been added to the September 5th show in Leeds, UK to fill the void left by Gavin McDonnell.

McDonnell will instead head out to the US to be with twin brother Jamie ahead of his WBA (reg) bantamweight world title defence against Japan’s Tomoki Kameda, and promoter Eddie Hearn has confirmed he will have Murray included in a title fight on the bill.

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Sullivan Barrera: “I Want a Jean Pascal Fight”

Unbeaten Cuban light heavyweight prospect Sullivan Barrera (16-0, 11ko) , who fans last saw on the under card of Sergey Kovalev’s destruction of Nadjib Mohammedi last month, has publicly called out Canadian former world champion Jean Pascal.

Pascal boxed Barrera’s friend and fellow Cuban Yunieski Gonzalez on the same card in an all action thriller that saw the Haitian born fighter get the nod in a controversial decision – something former amatuer standout Barrera hasn’t taken kindly to – and he sees it as his duty to right the wrong as it were.

Speaking to ESPN.com, he said;

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Rhonda, Now You’ve Gone Too Far

Rhonda Rousey has proven to be one of the most exciting personalities in sports. She has a sharp mind and proves to be a good person to interview. She never backs away from tough questions, and never backs done when challenged. So far she has been perfect in the sport of caged fighting. The most impressive part of her undefeated record is how quickly she dispatches her foes. Her opponents know she’s famous for a particular “arm bar” type submission hold. But, knowing that and preventing it from happening are two different things.

However, to believe she could actually beat someone like Floyd Mayweather, Jr. is amusing. The suggestion comes with the caveat that it be a no rules brawl. Rousey attempts to convince her fans and others that Floyd would be at a big disadvantage in such a contest. A “no rules” contest would lesson or eliminate Floyd’s superior boxing skills.

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Dereck Chisora: “I Have a Choice of 3 Opponents – Teper, Jennings or Browne”

An interesting tweet appeared on former world title challenger Dereck Chisora’s (21-5, 14ko) twitter account this afternoon, embedded with a short video discussing his immediate future options, that according to the Finchley fighter are European heavyweight champion Erkan Teper, American world title challenger Bryant Jennings, or Australian heavyweight contender Lucas Browne.

Chisora, who blasted out Beka Lobjanidze with the first serious punch of their fight last month in London, said in the clip;

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Anthony Joshua Sizes Up the Competition: Klitschko, Wilder & Fury

Matchroom Sport have a lot invested in Britain’s London 2012 Olympic gold medalist Anthony Joshua (13-0, 13ko). The Watford born fighter has been embarking on the familiar career arc taken by nearly all young prospects, steadily increasing his level of opposition as the world waits to find out if he is indeed the real deal.

Joshua boxes Scotland’s Gary Cornish on September 12th in a fight many are viewing already as a foregone conclusion, including it would seem, Sky Sports, who have an exclusive broadcasting deal with Joshua’s promoters at Matchroom and have today published AJ’s assessment of the rival heavyweight big guns, including Wladimir Klitschko, Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder and, ahead of their fight, Cornish himself.

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Floyd Mayweather Junior lists his top-5 fighters of all-time

Much has been made of the recent top-five unbeaten superstar Floyd Mayweather Junior came out with in terms of his picks for the five best fighters in boxing history. For those fans that missed it, Mayweather – currently, of course, 48-0 and closing in on his 49th and “final” fight, against huge underdog Andre Berto in September – listed the following top-5:

1: Floyd Mayweather Junior (wow, what a surprise!)

2: Roberto Duran

3: Pernell Whitaker

4: Julio Cesar Chavez

5: Muhammad Ali

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Bob Arum says He Can Make The Amir Khan / Manny Pacquiao Fight a Reality

After his relentless chasing of the Mayweather fight left, that for all intents and purposes amounted to glorified begging, Britain’s Amir Khan may just land a mega-money fight yet, seeing as cash, rather than public image and reputation seems to be “King” to Amir.

Sure, he won’t make the money he would’ve fighting Mayweather, though he can still bank a career high payday by fighting what is ostensibly the “next best thing” in former Wild Card stablemate and Filipino superstar, Manny Pacquiao.

Speaking in Britain’s Telegraph.co.uk newspaper, Top Rank’s Bob Arum, who looks after Pacquiao, has said that a fight between the two former teammates should be easy enough to put together.

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Bradley/Rios Still the Plan for Top Rank if Step Aside Deal With Sadam Ali Can Be Reached

After Top Rank’s plans to match Brandon Rios with IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook fell through recently – for a host of reported reasons, chief of which is now believed to be financial minutiae – their attentions quickly turned on matching “Bam Bam” with another Top Rank fighter, new WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley, hopefully in December.

However, late last week the WBO ordered Bradley and Top Rank to begin negotiations for a mandatory defence against up and coming unbeaten New Yorker Sadam Ali, who is promoted by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy.

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Antonio Tarver weighs in on Klitschko vs. Fury: “Klitschko’s going to destroy him”

When Wladimir Kliltschko and Tyson Fury signed up to face each other on October 24 in Dusseldorf, Germany, many boxing fans felt like this might be the fight that will truly put Klitschko to the test.

Fury is younger, bigger, and has a longer reach. His unblemished record elevates his stock even higher, making him seem like someone who could potentially overwhelm Wladimir with volume and size, ending the Klitschko reign. Over the years, Fury has accumulated a colossal number of followers, and has gained the respect of many boxing pugilists.

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Judah: Berto Will Fight With Heart / Reluctant to Offer His Own Blueprint

Zab Judah will return to the ring in September at 140 lbs after an almost 2 year layoff, which saw an out of sorts version of the former two weight world champ drop a wide points decision to fellow New Yorker Paulie Malignaggi in his last fight in December 2013.

Speaking to fighthype.com, Judah, who has inked a deal with Greg Cohen’s promotional outfit to co-promote his return alongside his own Super Judah Promotions firm, has addressed the Mayweather/Berto issue, insisting that whatever the result may be, Berto will grab the opportunity presented to him with both hands;

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