David Price: I’ll be looking to take Anthony Joshua’s head off from the shoulders

Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn is interested in matching former British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion David Price (18-2, 15 KOs) against his unbeaten heavyweight Anthony Joshua (9-0, 9 KOs) next year in a fight that he believes the British boxing public will be interested in seeing. Judging by the boos from the British fans last Saturday night when Hearn floated that idea to them, it might not be a fight that the fans want to see.

Price was at ringside for Joshua’s 2nd round demolition of 34-year-old Russian journeyman Denis Bakhtov (38-10, 25 KOs) last night at the O2 Arena in London, UK. Price said that if he’s the guy that ends up facing the 6’6” Joshua next year, he’ll be looking to take his head off.

continue

Rubio will beat Golovkin by fighting smart, says Robert Garcia

WBC interim middleweight champion Marco Antonio Rubio (59-6-1, 51 KOs) is a big boxing underdog for his fight next Saturday night against WBA Super World Middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (30-0, 27 KOs) on HBO from the StubHub Center in Carson, California. Rubio’s trainer Robert Garcia says he’s watched enough of the 32-year-old Golovkin’s past fights to know that he’s got flaws that Rubio can exploit on Saturday night.

Garcia says Golovkin can be hit due to his come forward style of fighting, and that’s something that the hard hitting Rubio can take advantage of with his power.

continue

Mayweather: If Canelo-Cotto think they can compete [for my dates], then let’s see

WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr (47-0, 26 KOs) is welcoming World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez to try and fight on the same dates as him in 2015 in May and September.

Mayweather feels that his pay-per-view numbers are better than those two fighters, and he believes he’s the guy that boxing fans will want to see if they have a choice to pick between which pay-per-view event to see if they’re competing on different networks.

continue

Bradley-Chaves undercard on 12/13: Andy Lee vs. Matt Korobov & Mauricio Herrera vs. Jose Benavidez Jr.

Top Rank is packaging the December 13th HBO Tim Bradley (31-1, 12 KOs) vs. Diego Chaves (23-2, 19 KOs) with some really interesting boxing action on the undercard as part of this triple-header card. The word is unbeaten #1 WBO Matt Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs) will be facing #3 WBO Andy Lee (33-2, 23 KOs).

Also, interim WBA World light welterweight champion Mauricio Herrera (21-4, 7 KOs) will be facing unbeaten Top Rank promoted Jose Benavidez Jr. (21-0, 15 KOs). This will be a big step up in class for the 22-year-old Benavidez Jr, because he’s still facing weak opposition at this point in his career.

continue

Joshua obliterates Bakhtov; Selby defeats Brunker

2012 Olympic heavyweight gold medalist Anthony Joshua (9-0, 9 KOs) took care of business on Saturday night in dismantling a shorter, older and far slower Denis Bakhtov (38-10, 25 KOs) in scoring a 2nd round stoppage to win the World Boxing Council International heavyweight title at the O2 Arena in London, UK. The win sets the soon to be 25-year-old Joshua up with a fight against Michael Sprott on November 22nd on the Bellew-Cleverly 2 card in Liverpool, UK.

Joshua, 6’6”, hurt the 5’11” Bakhtov with a right hand in the 2nd round. Bakhtov was against the ropes at the time and pretty much helpless with nowhere to go. Joshua then opened up with a storm of shots to the head resulting in the referee Ian John-Lewis separating the two fighters for some reason.

continue

Boxing Goes High-Tech with GoPro

Paul “Paparazzi” Jones & Justin Jones | Photo © Paul “Paparazzi” Jones — Top Rank’s October 4th fight card at the Bally’s Event Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey featured Glen Tapia’s (22-1, 14 KOs) demolition of Donatas Bondorovas (18-6-1, 6 KOs). However, a small gadget featured on the undercard could change the way we experience the sport. Indeed, it appears that professional boxing is flirting with GoPro technology.

GoPro, Inc., the electronics corporation based in San Mateo, California, is among the vanguard in producing high-quality photo and video capture devices. The brainchild of billionaire, Nick Woodman, the GoPro has recorded everything from hiking to extreme sports and it has become a permanent fixture in ESPN’s X Games.

continue

Interview with Trainer Stephen “Breadman” Edwards

Eastside recently caught up with boxing aficionado and trainer Stephen “Breadman” Edwards. “Breadman,” as he is known throughout boxing circles, gave Eastside Boxing an exclusive on his moniker, how he got into the fight scene, and shares information about his current pupil, hot rising prospect Julian “JRock” Williams.

ESB: Stephen Edwards aka “Breadman,” you’ve been in the fight scene for quite some time now. Tell the fans what got you into the fight game and what it is you do.

Bread: I have always been just a boxing guy. I boxed recreationally after suffering a knee injury while attending high school. In high school, I was primarily a basketball player.

continue

Berry vs. Palmer this Saturday in Maine

Boxing is making a comeback in Maine as undefeated Brandon “The Cannon” Berry, (7-0, 5KOs) takes on tough challenger, Eric Palmer (4-3-3, 1KO), in the main event at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine this Saturday, October 11th. This will be the first bout in Lewiston in over ten years and the first fight in this venue in over twenty years, which was made famous when Muhammad Ali beat Sonny Liston in their rematch bout for the World Heavyweight Belt in May 1965.

continue

Mayweather: Khan has Danny Garcia problems & Pacquiao has Marquez problems

WBA/WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr says the recent quotes coming from a British boxing site about him being interested in facing Amir Khan are total lies. Mayweather says he didn’t make those quotes, and he’s not sure who he plans on fighting next.

Mayweather says Khan still has unfinished business with WBA/WBC 140lb champion Danny Garcia, who knocked Khan out in the 4th round two years ago in July 2012. Khan never avenged the loss to Garcia, and he still hasn’t avenged his losses to Breidis Prescott and Lamont Peterson.

Mayweather also says that Manny Pacquiao still has unfinished business with Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao was knocked out cold by Marquez in the 6th round by him two years ago, and he still hasn’t fought Marquez since then to try and avenge the defeat. Marquez reportedly priced himself out of the November fight against Pacquiao by asking for too much money.

continue

Pacquiao/Algieri getting only one episode on HBO 24/7

The November 22nd fight between WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao and Chris Algieri, which will be televised by HBO pay-per-view, is getting only one thirty minute 24/7 series on HBO on November 8th at 1:00 a.m. (ET/PT) following the World Championship Boxing match-up between 49-year-old grizzled veteran Bernard Hopkins and the younger 31-year-old Sergey Kovalev.

This is a huge departure for Pacquiao for what his fights have previously received by HBO, and it begs the question whether this will be a new trend or a one-time thing with HBO. Granted, the Pacquiao-Algieri fight isn’t exciting many boxing fans, and it’s pretty clear already that Top Rank promoter Bob Arum made a mistake in selecting Algieri instead of someone a little more marketable and more charismatic.

continue