British super-middleweight contender George Groves has officially stated that he is on the lookout for a new trainer after splitting from Paddy Fitzpatrick in the wake of last month’s WBC title loss to Badou Jack.
In a bizarre twist of fate, the Sauerland promoted fighter conceded to Sky Sports that he would be receptive to the idea of working with former Carl Froch cornerman and Team GB head coach, Robert McCracken, despite the perceived history of ‘bad blood’ between the two camps.
ABEL SANCHEZ: Good morning, everybody. We are extremely happy to be part of this epic event. I think it’s about time that promoters and managers and fighters put their records on the line, put their belt on the line, and the best fight the best, and I’m glad that Tom is the kind of promoter for Gennady that’s going to endorse everybody and Oscar being the same way, so we’re finally going to see a fight that the fans have been waiting to see, the kind of fight that the fans have been waiting to see.
DAVID LEMIEUX: It’s been a great camp. It’s been a great — it’s been a great training. Everything has been on spot. Never had a more complete camp than this. I have been pushing myself to the maximum with each training, with each exercise, with everything envisioning the big day ahead of me, October 17th, so I did everything I had to do to make sure I have no regrets October 17th, because the plan is to walk out of that — out of Madison Square Garden with those belts and hopefully without a broken nose (Chuckles.)
The hotly anticipated welterweight showdown between WBA (reg) champion, Keith Thurman (26-0, 22ko), and friend and old amateur rival Shawn Porter (26-1-1, 16ko) is moving closer to being a done deal according to multiple sources, including ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael.
According to Rafael, a December 12th date is being touted, at an as yet undisclosed location/venue, with Showtime being the favourite to broadcast the fight between the two Al Haymon advised fighters.
Ahead of his hotly anticipated Oct 17 middleweight unification with IBF champion David Lemieux, murderous punching WBA (sup) champion Gennady Golovkin, has stated it doesn’t matter what style is presented to him, he can beat them all.
Fans are expecting fireworks from the two massive punchers’ when they meet at Madison Square Garden on HBO PPV, with Golovkin stating that he believes he is the more complete fighter and will be able to adapt to the aggressive, swarming style of Lemieux, before gradually overcoming it.
Smith fights as chief support on the Queensbury Promotions Terry Flanagan/Diego Magdaleno ‘World War III’ card against Thompson, whose team has promised that Saturday’s clash will show up the ‘difference between an A and a B fighter’, claiming their man has been sparring the likes of Andre Ward and Errol Spence in preparation.
The President of the Qatar Boxing Federation Yousuf Ali Al Kazim and AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu welcomed a true legend of modern boxing, Manny Pacquiao, to Doha for the AIBA World Championships on Thursday morning.
“It was an honour to be invited by Dr Ching-Kuo Wu and AIBA and Yousuf Ali Al Kazim, and it is a pleasure to be here among these exceptional boxers and supporting my fellow countryman Rogen Ladon at the historic first edition of the competition in the Middle East,” said the eight-time World Champion.
WBO/WBA/IBF light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev, has had his scheduled November 28th homecoming in Moscow, Russia postponed as his team at Main Events reportedly chase down a huge showdown with WBA (sup) 168 lb boss Andre Ward, according to multiple sources.
Kovalev, last seen making short work of French challenger Nadjib Mohammedi in July, now has a likely January date on HBO, meaning that the turnaround time between the November Moscow date and that next outing is simply too short.
Boxing Superstar and WBA, IBO and WBC “Interim” Middleweight Champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, (33-0, 30KOs), Four-Time World Champion in two weight divisions, Brian “The Hawaiian Punch” Viloria, (36-4 (22KOs) and top junior welterweight prospect Ruslan Madiyev, 5-1-0 (3KOs) held media workouts for a huge gathering of local press on Tuesday afternoon at the Wild Card West Boxing Gym in Santa Monica, California.