Abraham vs Smith: ‘That’s What Happens In Germany’

Abraham vs Smith: ‘That’s What Happens In Germany’

First of all, congratulations to Paul Smith who delivered a career best performance, which he promised, on the night when it mattered the most. A monumental effort behind enemy lines, which was appreciated by every set of fully functioning eyeballs which had the joy of tuning in for what was a tremendous fight.

Isn’t it such a shame that we find ourselves on familiar ground once again, marveling at inconceivable ineptitude that points to the darker side of boxing, which has soiled its name for far too long.

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RIP Dan Goossen

RIP Dan Goossen

Statement from the Goossen Family: “It is with overwhelming regret that we announce the passing of Dan Goossen, 64, from complications relating to liver cancer. The sudden news of his diagnosis was very much a private matter and his final days were spent surrounded by his family and closest friends. Sadness is difficult to escape as we grieve his passing, however we are filled with pride by the fact that Dan Goossen battled this aggressive illness with boundless strength and the last days of his life were fought and lived with unflinching bravery, pure love and grace beyond measure.”

Arrangements are pending and details will be announced in the next few days.

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Deal still not reached for Stiverne vs. Wilder fight, says De La Hoya

Deal still not reached for Stiverne vs. Wilder fight, says De La Hoya

A couple days ago reports surfaced about there being a deal for a December fight between WBC heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne (24-1-1, 21 KOs) and #1 WBC Deontay Wilder. Apparently, someone spoke too soon, because Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya says that there has been no deal reached between the 35-year-old Stiverne and the 6’7” Wilder.

If the two sides are unable to come to an agreement in their negotiations then it’ll go to purse bids on October 1st next week. That’s when the World Boxing Council has scheduled a purse bid in order to finally get the fight put together.

Contrary to wretched WBC comments @OscarDeLaHoya told me today he has NOT reached terms with King on Stiverne-Wilder. #boxing,” said Dan Rafael on his Twitter.

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Beterbiev could be the top guy at 175

Beterbiev could be the top guy at 175

Never mind about Bernard Hopkins, Adonis Stevenson, Jean Pascal and Sergey Kovalev, the fighter that could be the best in the light heavyweight division is Artur Beterbiev (6-0, 6 KOs). After Beterbiev’s 2nd round knockout win over former IBF light heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud (24-3, 19 KOs) last night at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, I think you can make an argument that Beterbiev beats all the other fighters in the light heavyweight division.

No offense to 49-year-old Hopkins, but beating Karo Murat, Cloud and Beibut Shumenov hardly makes him the best fighter in the division. He’s still pretty much the same fighter that Chad Dawson beat two years ago in 2012, only Hopkins probably isn’t even as good as he was back then.

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Hearn pushing WBO to force Paul Smith – Arthur Abraham rematch

Hearn pushing WBO to force Paul Smith – Arthur Abraham rematch

Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn plans on appealing to the WBO to see if they can make his beaten fighter Paul Smith (35-4, 20 KOs) the WBO 168lb mandatory challenger to WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (41-4, 28 KOs), who beat him by a 12 round unanimous decision last night Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

Hearn’s beef was that the scoring was too wide in Abraham’s favor in a fight that appeared to be a lot closer than the scores given by the three judges. Hearn was especially upset about one judge scoring the fight 119-109. Hearn thought that score came out of left field. Interestingly enough, Hearn says that the fight could have gone Abraham’s way by a round or so, but he’s upset about the wide scores.

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Pacquiao responds to Mayweather Tweet, calls him uneducated

Pacquiao responds to Mayweather Tweet, calls him uneducated

WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao has responded to WBA/WBA welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr’s latest tweet by calling him an “uneducated person” after Mayweather had said that Pacquiao is desperate and that his PPV numbers are a joke.

“I’m not angry at him,” Pacquiao said to gmanetwork.com. “I still feel sorry for him, because he acts like an uneducated person. It’s pitiful to me and I pray for him.”

Pacquiao actually got the ball rolling in taking a shot at Mayweather first last week in Tweeting the following remark: “Floyd Mayweather’s testimony on All Access authenticity tells me everything I need to know about his desire to fight me.”

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Kalle Sauerland open to Abraham-Smith rematch if the money is right

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If Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn is interested in getting a rematch for his fighter Paul Smith (35-4, 20 KOs) against WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (41-4, 28 KOs) then Hearn will need to open up his pocketbook and come up with a lot of cash because Abraham’s promoter Kalle Sauerland says he’s only going to let Abraham fight Smith again if the interest is there and the money is good enough.

Hearn will need to dig real deep for cash if he wants to have Abraham travel to Liverpool to fight Smith at home in the UK. Sauerland doesn’t want to put his fighter at a disadvantage unless it’s a substantial offer from Hearn. Abraham has a large following in Germany, so there’s really no point in him traveling to Liverpool to fight Smith, a fighter he just defeated by a 12 round unanimous decision last Saturday night in Germany.

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Abraham retains WBO title with unanimous points decision

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Arthur Abraham (41-4, 28 KOs) retained his WBO World Super Middleweight crown with a unanimous points decision against Paul Smith (35-4, 20 KOs) in Kiel, Germany. After twelve rounds of non-stop action in front of a sell-out crowd at the Sparkassen-Arena the judges scored the fight 117-111, 117-111 and 119-109 in favour of the defending champion.

‘’It was a tough fight,’’ said Abraham. ‘’Paul Smith was by no means an easy opponent and he made me work hard for the win. I was pleased with my performance. I feel that I have proved to myself, to my coach Ulli Wegner and to my fans that I still have what it takes. I’m not in decline and I look forward to more successful defences of my WBO title.’’

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Beterbiev knocks Cloud down 4 times in 2nd round stoppage

Two-time Russian Olympian Artur Beterbiev (6-0, 6 KOs) completely dismantled former IBF light heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud (24-3, 19 KOs) on Saturday night in knocking him down 4 times en route to stopping him in the 2nd round at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. Cloud, 32, was down 3 times in the 1st round, and 1 time in the 2nd round. The fight was stopped by referee Michael Griffin at 0:38 of the 2nd.

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