Leo Santa Cruz: Frampton Could be Next After Mares / Happy to go Back to 122 lb to Fight Him

Assuming he gets past arguably his toughest test yet in Abner Mares on August 29th in Los Angeles, then WBC 122 lb champion Leo Santa Cruz – who fights Mares at 126 – has said a fight with IBF super bantamweight champion Carl Frampton is a very real possibility and a fight he definitely wants, win or lose later this month.

While the bout with his California based Mexican rival is no foregone conclusion, Santa Cruz has insisted he will put the pressure on Mares – whose sole defeat is a 1st round knockout at the hands of Jhonny Gonzalez 2 years ago – and hopes to end the fight by stoppage, believing he has what it takes to grind the smaller man down over the course of the fight and take him out.

continue

Official: Cotto vs Alvarez Set For Highly Anticipated Mega-Fight on November 21

Roc Nation Sports, Golden Boy Promotions, Miguel Cotto Promotions and Canelo Promotions are pleased to announce the highly anticipated clash of two titans in a classic Puerto Rico vs. Mexico battle. On Saturday, Nov. 21, Miguel Cotto (40-4, 33 KOs), the reigning WBC, Ring Magazine and Lineal Middleweight World Champion and the first native of Puerto Rico to become world champion in four different weight classes, and Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs), a former WBC and WBA Super Welterweight World Champion will finally meet in the ring at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas for the WBC and Ring Magazine Middleweight World Championship. The championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

continue

Lucian Bute is Fully Fit and Returning on Saturday Night in Canada

Former IBF 168 lb champion Lucian Bute will return to the ring on Saturday night after 19 months out of action through injury to face little known Italian fighter Andrea Di Luisa over 10 rounds in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The last time we saw Bute in a ring was January of 2014 when he dropped a wide decision to another Canadian based fighter in Jean Pascal, and a mooted December 2014 return was also dropped when he suffered a back injury in training – yet with all those problems firmly behind him, the now 35 year old Bute has insisted he is in confident mood ahead of his return.

Speaking at yesterday’s final presser, he said;

continue

Andy Lee/Billy Joe Saunders Postponed Until October 10th / Moved to Manchester

WBO middleweight champion Andy Lee’s defence of his title against Hatfield’s Billy Joe Saunders, that was scheduled for Thomond Park, Limerick, Ireland has been postponed until October 10th and moved to the M.E.N Arena in Manchester, England.

In a joint statement last night from co-promoters Frank Warren and Adam Booth, it was claimed the Irishman is suffering from a virus that means the September date was potentially in jeopardy;

“Andy’s had a virus and he’s recovering from it, or he’s about recovered from it, according to Adam Booth, who’s contacted me.,” Warren said.

continue

Weights: Tarver 217 vs. Cunningham 204, Huck 199 vs. Glowacki 198

With just two days to go until their Premier Boxing Champions on Spike showdowns, fighters participating on the Friday, August 14 card at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey held a press conference Wednesday at B.B. King’s Blues Club & Grill in Manhattan.

Televised coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET/PT and is headlined by a 12-round heavyweight showdown between Antonio “Magic Man” Tarver (31-6, 22 KOs) and Steve “U.S.S.” Cunningham (28-7, 13 KOs). Also featured on Spike is cruiserweight world champion Marco “Captain” Huck (38-2-1, 26 KOs) defending his title against Polish contender Krzyzstof Glowacki (24-0, 15 KOs) and Polish heavyweight Artur Szpilka (19-1, 14 KOs) taking on Cuba’s Yasmany Consuegra (17-1, 14 KOs).

continue

Golovkin-Lemieux breaks pre-sale records at MSG, over 6,000 tickets sold

New York City (August 12, 2015) A new Madison Square Garden box office record has been set by the highly anticipated World Middleweight Championship Title Unification between WBA/IBO and “Interim” WBC Champion GENNADY “GGG” GOLOVKIN, (33-0, 30KO’s), and IBF Champion DAVID LEMIEUX (34-2, 31KO’s) headlining the historic venue on Saturday, October 17.

A pre-sale of over 6,000 tickets established a new record at the “Mecca of Boxing”, shattering all previous marks for boxing events.

“The interest from fans in this middleweight title unification has been overwhelming,” said Tom Loeffler, Managing Director of K2 Promotions. “Madison Square Garden has never had a faster pre-sale for a boxing event. “

continue

Roman Gonzalez/Brian Viloria a Done Deal for Golovkin/Lemieux PPV

After a fair bit of rumour, speculation and conjecture surrounding who would be in the opposite corner for the second HBO appearance of Nicaraguan flyweight sensation Roman Gonzalez, it has been confirmed that Hawaii’s Brian Viloria will indeed be the man challenging the P4P star on October 17th in New York on the Golovkin/Lemieux undercard.

Excitement is building for the fight, that many are hoping will see the 34 year old “Hawaiian Punch” – a former champ at light-fly and unified champ at flyweight – provide Gonzalez with his toughest test to date.

Clearly in confident mood, Gonzalez said of the fight;

continue

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.

continue

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;

continue

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.

continue