“I was surprised really, I thought he’d be a lot bigger” said ‘Turbo’ after coming face to face with his opponent for the first time at today’s final presser.
Terry Flanagan: ‘ The Better The Opponent, The Better I’ll Be ‘ – Flanagan v Zepeda
Jose Zepeda: ‘If The KO Comes, It Comes’ / Flanagan vs Zepeda
Big punching American knock-out artist Jose Zepeda comes to Manchester on Saturday night in an attempt to win the vacant WBO lightweight strap when he fights hometown hero Terry Flanagan – who will be seeking to emulate fellow Mancunian Ricky Hatton’s historic world title win against Kostya Tzsyu in the City, almost exactly 10 years to the day.
It’s sure to be a bear-pit atmosphere for the undefeated American, who boasts 20 KO wins in 23 contests, yet ahead of the fight, he spoke to iFLtv to insist he is more than ready to step up to the plate, and believes it will be he, and not Flanagan, who walks out with the title.
Thurman/Collazo Quotes and Photos
TAMPA (July 8, 2015) -Fighters competing on Saturday’s Premier Boxing Champions on ESPN card held media workouts in Tampa today before their July 11 showdowns at the USF Sun Dome with televised coverage beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
The headlining event will pit undefeated Welterweight World Champion Keith “One Time” Thurman (25-0, 21 KOs) against former world champion Luis Collazo (36-6, 19 KOs). The televised opener will see undefeated rising star Tony Harrison (21-0, 19 KOS) taking on the quick-fisted Willie Nelson (23-2-1, 13 KOS). Also participating in the workout was the son of former world champion Antonio Tarver, Antonio Tarver Jr. (2-0, 2 KOs) who will fight on the undercard.
Mikey Garcia Talks Continuing Legal Tussle With Top Rank
It’s now been almost 18 months since we last saw Oxnard’s Mikey Garcia in a boxing ring, shutting out Juan Carlos Burgos back in January of last year.
The long term contractual dispute with his promoter, Bob Arum’s Top Rank, shows no sign of abating, despite recent assertions from the fighter and his brother/trainer Robert that he had hoped to be back in the ring before the end of the year.
Klitschko: Fury Has A Big Mouth Just Like David Haye
Fight fans won’t have to cast their minds too far back to Hamburg, Germany – July 2011 and the now infamous “Toe-Gate” saga that engulfed David Haye’s failure to back up his promises and dethrone Wladimir Klitschko. All the distasteful pre-fight talk and T-shirts depicting the severed heads of the two fighting brothers all amounted to a dodgy toe and an underwhelming performance in the end.
Since that night, the dominant champion has marched on ahead with his career and scalped a further 8 opponents, stopping or knocking out 5 of them – and ahead of his latest challenger, giant Brit Tyson Fury – whom he fights in October – Klitschko has spoken to ESPN to say he suspects the Brit fighter is going to be just like his countryman – all mouth.
Boxing bets are favoring Tyson Fury over Wladimir Klitschko
On October 24, 2015, the Ukrainian reigning heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (64-3-0) will cross the ropes and enter the ring against one of the more formidable opponents in his late career, an undefeated U.K. native Tyson Fury (24-0-0).
Klitschko’s last defeat was handed to him by Lamon Brewster (35-6-0) in 2004, after which Wladimir went on to win 22 bouts, most of which came by way to knockout. Despite the fact that he has been challenged by a range of opponents that came with a variety of styles, Klitschko stayed dominant.
Having said that, in his last fight against Bryant Jennings (19-1-0), Wladimir’s performance was lackluster at the least, with the champion looking slow, sloppy, and unenthusiastic. Was Klitschko gassed due to the ravages of time?
Lucas Browne: A Message For Fury / Echoes Frustrations At Inactivity
After recent social media “interactions” with WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and the news that colourful heavyweight rival Tyson Fury has got his big shot at Klitschko, Australian heavyweight contender Lucas Browne has spoken out in a new social media video to air his frustration at 8 months of inactivity, as well as the perceived uncertainty surrounding his status as Commonwealth heavyweight champion – a belt it’s mooted Britain’s Anthony Joshua is to be fighting for in September.
Browne, who is looked after by Ricky Hatton and the former fighter’s promotional outfit, released a video entitled “Big Daddy thinking of Tyson Fury while on the toilet” – and used the opportunity, initially, to address the giant Mancunian.
Karim Mayfield dismisses Berto and Khan, says he is top choice for Mayweather Jr.
Once again Floyd Mayweather Jr. was able to make the media as well as the boxing community explode with emotion, in response to his declaration of either Karim Mayfield or Andre Berto being his next and possibly final career opponent.
In a recent interview, Karim “Hard Hitta” Mayfield (19-2-1, 11 KOs) made it clear that neither Andre Berto nor Amir Khan would be able to deliver the kind of thrilling performance against Mayweather Jr. that he could.
“I’m always ready to fight anyone anywhere. The fact that the great Floyd Mayweather has mentioned me as someone he wants to fight in September is music to my ears. It would be an honor to fight Floyd in Las Vegas.
Keith Thurman: ‘I Wanted Khan, Got Collazo’
This Saturday WBA (reg) welterweight champion Keith Thurman fights Luis Collazo on the inaugural “PBC on ESPN” card, and has spoken out ahead of the contest vis fighthub, to attempt to put to bed some of the criticism he has received over the veteran New Yorker as an opponent, honestly confirming, ‘it’s what came with the timing of the fight.’
Fans have perhaps been harshly critical of “One Time”, who has been following a pretty consistent career arc over the last couple of years, culminating in his solid UD win over Robert Guerrero in March on the debut PBC card.
WBO Strips Mayweather Jr. of Title
Aside from beating Manny Pacquiao for the WBO belt, there were a few more details that had to be respected in order for Mayweather Jr. to officially hold on to that 147-pound title.
It seems to be that the main culprit behind the decision made by the World Boxing Organization was a $200,000 sanctioning fee that was supposed to be paid in full by July 3, 2015.