IBF 126 lb champion Lee Selby sits among a crowded featherweight crop on the world scene that includes the likes of Ukrainian amateur standout Vasyl Lomachenko, American Gary Russell Jnr and, as long as he can still make the weight, Jamaica’s Nicholas Walters.
While the unassuming Welshman has no doubts about deserving his own place in the division among those names, he has no such confidence in domestic rival Josh Warrington’s chances of achieving such lofty heights.
Former IBF welterweight champion”Showtime” Shawn Porter, who fans last saw getting the measure of Ohioan rival Adrien Broner in June, is getting ready for his planned (September) ring return against ‘whomever’ is put in front of him, although has conceded he will put the date back if old amateur friend and rival Keith Thurman is the man up next.
Thurman boxed New Yorker Luis Collazo in his Tampa backyard last month in a performance that was more criticised than praised, and thus “One Time” has signalled a desire to sign off 2015 with a big fight.
An interesting tweet from British trainer Peter Fury dropped last night regarding his unbeaten son Hughie – cousin of Tyson – potentially fighting WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in America.
September 26th is the penciled in date for the Alabama man’s return, with Fury tweeting;
“Call just came in from USA asking @hughiefury to fight Wilder in 4 weeks. Getting noticed @Tyson_Fury.”
With comebacks, retirements and long awaited fights, the last 12 months of boxing have seen significant changes in the pound-for-pound rankings. Just as significantly, some things have not changed at all.
Most notably, Floyd Mayweather Jr. did the only thing he could do to further enhance his reputation as the best boxer in the world today by beating long touted rival Manny Pacquaio. What this means for Mayweather is clear but where this leaves Pacquaio is disputable.
Other reigning champs have fared indifferently. Whilst Wladimir Klitschko has notched up a couple of good wins, how he has done it has left questions about his pound-for-pound status. Andre Ward finally fought after over a year of inactivity but was it enough to show he is still better than the fast rising champions around him?
American brawler Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios finally has cause to celebrate, with a probable challenge to WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley provisionally scheduled for November, according to his manager Cameron Dunkin.
Rios hasn’t been in a boxing ring since January when he brutalized old foe “Mile High” Mike Alvarado in their third meeting, forcing the Colorado man to retire after a 3 round beating in which Alvarado simply didn’t turn up.
Brixton’s Dillian Whyte, sporting his new “Body Snatcher” moniker disposed of Brazil’s Irineu Costa Jnr (now 17-5, 15ko) in effortless fashion last night ahead of his penciled in clash with old amateur rival and Olympic gold medalist Anthony Joshua later this year.
Joshua boxes Scotland’s Gary Cornish for the vacant Commonwealth title on September 12th in London, with Whyte scheduled also to box again on that date against a TBA opponent before their eventual November/December meeting.
(Photo credit: Lucas Noonan/Premier Boxing Champions) The co-featured bout at Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY wasn’t even minutes old before Daniel Jacobs 29-1-0 caught Sergio Mora with a short counter right. The punch landed on the button as Mora’s head was down and to his left. He had just finished landing a left to Jacob’s right side. It looked like Jacobs was going to have a easy night of it. Mora beat the count but looked a little shook as the referee Gary Rosato signaled for action to resume. Jacobs jumped on Mora with hard shots, but in the process he squared up and left himself open. Mora caught him with a good left hook, and down went Jacobs and up out of their seats came the crowd. Wow! What a beginning!
The first round ended with matching knockdowns, a tough round to score. The second round action had both men throwing a lot of jabs and combinations. The light punching Mora seemed to be holding his own, but it was obvious Jacobs was throwing the harder punches. Soon he had Mora on the run. Mora tried to shift his stance to give Jacobs angles, but his moves were awkward and ineffective. Jacobs was determined to close in and finish the job.
(Photo credit: Lucas Noonan/Premier Boxing Champions) It looks like the curtain could well have come down on the long career of Brooklyn’s Paulie Malignaggi after defeat at the hands of former 140 lb champion Danny Garcia in New York last night, with “Swift” looking the bigger, stronger and bossier fighter throughout the 9 rounds the contest lasted.
Paulie was rocked backward by Garcia’s crisp jab in the opening round and that immediately set the tone of what was to come, with Malignaggi cut around the right eye early and looking like the 15 months of activity, coupled with his advancing years, had taken their toll on him.
Scotland’s former two weight world champion Ricky Burns, now campaigning back down at 135 lbs, had a bizarre end to his fight with Ghana’s Prince Ofutsu last night in Hull when the Ghanaian second threw in the towel midway through the fifth round – ostensibly for no apparent reason.
Yes the fight – a tune up for Burns following his defeat at the hands of Omar Figueroa in Texas back in May – was essentially a mismatch, with the now (15-4) Ofotsu hopelessly out-gunned from the get-go as a gulf in class was immediately evident.
(Photo credit: Lucas Noonan/Premier Boxing Champions) BROOKLYN (August 2, 2015) – Danny “Swift” Garcia (31-0, 18 KOs) kept his perfect record intact Saturday with a ninth-round TKO of two-time world champion Paulie “The Magic Man” Malignaggi (33-7, 7 KOs) on Premier Boxing Champions on ESPN from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Garcia was able to control the fight with lead rights and counter left hooks that kept the agile Malignaggi from landing anything significant. The punishment took its toll on Malignaggi as a cut opened up on his right eye in the third round.