Billy Joe Saunders wins tough split decision win over Chris Eubank Junior

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Tonight in London, in one of the most heavily hyped and intriguing British middleweight clashes of recent years, Billy Joe Saunders ultimately proved too tough, too skilful and too experienced for a game and always dangerous Chris Eubank Junior.

At the end of 12 hard rounds, southpaw Saunders retained his unbeaten record and his European, British and Commonwealth titles. The scores were 115-114 for Saunders, 116-113 for Eubank and 115-113 for Saunders.

Thanks mostly to his famous father, there was plenty expected of Eubank Jr in the lead-up to this fight. “He beats [Gennady] Golovkin now,” Senior stated of his son. And, “He will be better than Floyd Mayweather Junior.” Such talk now looks foolish, if it didn’t before Saunders took away Junior’s unbeaten pro ledger. Still, Eubank Jr did display real grit, determination and a good chin. Sadly for those fans who hoped the young Eubank would achieve the great heights his father did, tonight’s challenger also displayed certain moves to rival those of a rank amateur, as well as a game-plan that saw him all but give away the early rounds.

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Brækhus retains titles, Svensson and Lihaug win

Brækhus retains titles, Svensson and Lihaug win

Cecilia Brækhus (27-0, 7 KOs) retained her WBC, WBA, WBO & IBF Female World Welterweight titles with a unanimous points victory over IBF mandatory challenger Jennifer Reztke (15-1-2, 9 KOs) at the Falconer Hall, at the Radisson Blu in Copenhagen.

Brækhus once again proved why she is the pound-for-pound number one with a dominant display against her German opponent. ‘The First Lady’ started strongly and looked likely to stop Retzke before injuring her foot in the third-round. Despite the injury, Brækhus fought on to claim a clear victory, with the judges scoring the fight 100-90, 100-90 & 98-92.

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Crawford vs Beltran Preview & Prediction

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Rising star Terrence Crawford and tough-as-nails Ray Beltran meet in the ring on the man with the nickname “Bud” home turf. Still at 135 Crawford has made a name for himself with two impressive wins so far this year.

The first came over seas in Scotland when Crawford took on the 135 pound Champion Ricky Burns. Once Crawford got past some early slow moments he dominated the Scot, in the process it put him on the lightweight map.

In his first defense Crawford took less money to give his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska its first major title fight since the 1930’s (Check). His opponent was a decorated Cuban amateur Yurioirkis Gamboa, who like Terrence came in with an unblemished record intact.

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Fury vs. Chisora 2 Preview & Prediction

Fury vs. Chisora 2 Preview & Prediction

Boxing fans have plenty to be thankful for with a jam-packed holiday weekend which includes a return trip to Omaha on HBO Championship Boxing and a rematch across the pond between much hated Heavyweight rivals.

Let’s start with a rematch pitting Tyson Fury against Derrick Chisora at the ExCel Arena from Dockland, London. These two characters met over four years ago in a back and forth fight that saw Tyson Fury walk away victorious.

The combatants traded punches and rounds until somewhere in the middle the pace slowed to a crawl with both fighters gassed. Fury’s excessive holding and Chisora’s inactivity made for an uneven contest.

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Prospects showcased on Saturday at Fight Night at Horseshoe Hammond

Prospects showcased on Saturday at Fight Night at Horseshoe Hammond

Saturday evening at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana, an intriguing crop of up and coming prospects are featured in a series of four and six-round bouts, followed by an eight-round main event between super middleweights Mike Jimenez and Rollin Williams.

Organized by Hitz Boxing Entertainment, the card should deliver some fireworks from an entertainment standpoint, despite possibly lacking on the competitive scale. Several of the fights appear to be gross mismatches on paper, so fans in attendance could be in for a belated Thanksgiving treat in the form of a few highlight-reel knockouts.

Mike Jimenez (15-0, 10 KO) vs. Rollin Williams (23-19-2, 8 KO)

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Sky Sports to broadcast Khan vs Alexander

Sky Sports to broadcast Khan vs Alexander

Sky Sports has secured the rights to show Amir Khan’s pivotal fight with Devon Alexander exclusively live from the MGM Grand in December.

Khan tops the bill in Las Vegas as he goes head-to-head with Alexander on Saturday 13 December, live on Sky Sports 1, with the winner set to throw their name into the sweepstakes to face WBA Super and WBC welterweight world champion Floyd Mayweather Junior.

Khan’s first fight at 147 pounds came in May when he overcame Luis Collazo on points, and the Bolton fighter returns to Las Vegas again to face the former two-weight world champion from St. Louis.

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Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag – Pacquiao, Mayweather, Khan, Thurman, & More!

Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag - Pacquiao, Mayweather, Khan, Thurman, & More!

Laney G. (Oakland, CA): For the first time in a few years, I feel very strongly about Manny Pacquiao. I thought he looked strong and as good as we’ve seen since the knockout. How did you rate his performance and do you think he’s a threat to Mayweather?

Vivek W. (ESB): I like to look at the big picture when making my assessments. In this situation, like any other, I think it’s another one of those times when you have to also see the good, the bad, and the “ugly”, each for what they truly are. On the “good” side, I would agree, totally, that this is the best I’ve seen Pacquiao since prior to the Marquez stoppage. He threw nearly 700 punches, he was fast, and his power proved to be very much a threat to anyone facing him. There’s a reason why I’ve rated him as my personal favorite offensive fighter in the game for nearly a decade now.

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What Did We Learn in Macau This Weekend?

Manny Pacquiao’s shutout victory over Chris Algieri in Macau was the most one-sided 12 round affairs we’ve seen in years. Although several of the knockdowns should have been ruled as slips, Pac absolutely dominated his opponent throughout the fight, badly hurting Algieri several times. Does this mean the “old” Pacman is back, or was it all smoke and mirrors? Other than a handsome payday, what can be taken from this experience for team Algieri? What lies ahead for both fighters next year? And how does Pacquiao’s 2014 compare to that of Floyd “Money” Mayweather?

For Chris Algieri, there were indeed positives to take away from his first professional loss. Against Pacquiao he displayed the same heart, resilience and toughness that he showed against Ruslan Provodnikov in June. There was solid footwork for the most part, as well as a few nicely timed right hands that caught Manny as he lunged in. But the inexperience of Algieri and his team was obvious throughout; from coming in heavy on the scales at the weigh in, to the strategy of the fight itself. The game plan of starting with “four first rounds” was all wrong; Algieri averaged just 5 punches landed in those first four rounds. There was no “Plan B”. No adjustments were made. His corner gave the wrong advice between just about every round. On top of all that, the New York native was stripped of his WBO 140 pound title that same day for absolutely no reason (but since when do sanctioning bodies do anything logical, right?)

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Manny Pacquiao: The Final Chapter

Manny Pacquiao: The Final Chapter

A flicking right jab immediately followed by a thunderous, booming left cross, detonated on the chin of Chris Algieri, sending him crashing to the canvas midway through round nine. Rising unsteadily at the count of nine, or possibly ten seconds, Algieri turned away from the referee in a desperate attempt to conceal his scrambled senses. During the first fifteen seconds after the New Yorker hit the floor it can be argued that he was in no position to continue. Nevertheless, all questions about the Filipino superstar’s dwindling punch power had been silenced. It appeared Manny Pacquiao was back to his best.

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