Klitschko vs Jennings: Bryant – A Lamb To The Slaughter

Out of curiosity I’m beginning to wonder if there are any boxing fans alive who believe unbeaten American Bryant Jennings (19-0, 10ko) has any more than a snowball’s chance in Hell when he squares off against dominant long time heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (63-3, 53ko) on April 25th at New York’s Madison Square Garden?

The fight will be screened live on HBO in America and Boxnation in the UK, and whilst for all intents and purposes it’s a mismatch, the fact the giant Ukranian is boxing on American soil for the first time in seven long years has stirred up a wealth of intrigue in a fighter who is oft referred to by fans as “boring.”

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Lee v Quillin: The Wait Is Almost Over

As they often do for UK viewers, Boxnation, the channel fronted by veteran promoter Frank Warren will this weekend screen the hotly anticipated bout between “Irish” Andy Lee (34-2, 24ko) and “Kid Chocolate” Peter Quillin (31-0,22ko) that is part of the revolutionary Premier Boxing Champions format Stateside that has been masterminded by the seemingly omnipotent manager/adviser, Al Haymon.

A former owner of the WBO 160lb strap now owned by Lee, Quillin vacated that title rather than face then mandatory challenger, dangerous Russian Matty Korobov, and was heavily criticised at the time for turning down a career best purse. Purse bids for that fight were won by Jay Z’s outfit Roc Nation Sports, and the decision for Quillin to vacate was rumoured to have been ordered by Haymon as Quillins “adviser” based on the fact that Jay Z and Haymon had an existing feud from their previous dealings in the music industry.

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Frampton Hits Back At Hearn & Quigg

For anybody still doubting the method in the supposed “madness” of Carl Frampton turning down a very public £1.5 million to fight Scott Quigg in Manchester later this year, the Tiger Bay fighters exclusive column for “The Belfast Newsletter” should go some way to making things clearer.

Calling the antics by Quigg and Matchroom on Tuesday “The biggest stunt I’ve seen since Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson at the Superbowl” Frampton went on to detail his dissatisfaction at not just the very public manner in which his rivals conducted their business, but the actual offer itself.

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The 49-0 taboo in boxing

The “zero syndrome” in boxing has gained the upper hand and has obscured the valuable qualities of boxers focusing on a bogus credential like an unbeaten record. The “Zero” has become the factor in choosing opponents and venues; it has tainted verdicts and precipitated decisions that defy common sense. The obsession with an unbeaten resume has been observed to sidetrack careers and alter legacies of pawns and kings in boxing. Unblemished records are just an illusion in most cases, a managerial feat – for example both Marciano and Floyd Mayweather had multiple losses as amateur boxers. Amateurs have to fight all comers and even Franky Carbo and “The Combination” back in the day or any of the present promotional wizards, famous and mysterious alike, could not spare an Olympic/amateur prodigy from meeting the odd awkward stylistic nightmare. Kovalev and GGG have lost their share of amateur bouts too and one of them even happened to be on the wrong end of a vicious one-punch KO once in the amateur light heavyweight division.

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James Kirkland San Antonio Media Workout Quotes

Texas knockout artist James “Mandingo Warrior” Kirkland (32-1, 28 KOs) today hosted a media workout in San Antonio in advance of his face-off against Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs) on May 9 at Minute Maid Park in Houston live on HBO World Championship Boxing ®. In attendance were James Kirkland’s trainers, Bay Bay McClinton and Rick Morones and Leija*Battah Promotions’ Mike Battah in addition to Texas boxing legend Jesse James Leija.

Texas fighters featured in the non-televised undercard for May 9 were also at today’s media workout including James Leija Jr., the son of Texas Boxing Legend Jesse James Leija; Austin’s Curtis Meeks (9-1-2, 3 KOs), San Antonio’s Cresencio Ramos (2-0, 1 KO), Cut and Shoot, Texas’s light heavyweight Alfonso “El Tigre” Lopez (23-3, 18 KOs), Houston lightweight Antonio Capulin (14-0, 6 KOs), and San Antonio’s Joseph Rodriguez (8-0, 2 KOs), all participated in the media workout.

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Matchroom £1.5m cheque bounces?

If the 6-year Mayweather v Pacquiao saga/fiasco taught us anything, it’s that it requires co-operative and realistic negotiation to ensure the biggest fights out there are made.

So when pictures emerged of WBA super-bantamweight champion Scott Quigg brandishing a £1.5m cheque composed by promoter Eddie Hearn the eyebrow has to be raised.

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DeGale – Dirrell And Beyond

James DeGale, who for this writer is Britain’s best and most exciting 168lb fighter, has today been talking to Sky Sports in the UK ahead of his attempt at shattering Andre Dirrell’s “American dream” when the two men meet for the vacant IBF world title on May 23rd in Boston, Mass.

DeGale will travel Stateside after purse bids for the fight were won by Warriors Boxing in an extraordinary $3 million show of financial strength by the outfit who are closely affiliated with influential manager Al Haymon.

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Frampton v Quigg – Slipping Away??

The promotional war that has broken out with regards to putting arguably the biggest British fight outside of Kell Brook and Amir Khan together shows no sign of abating.

Yesterday saw Matchroom sport boss Eddie Hearn present a 1.5 million pound cheque and public offer, ostensibly for Carl Frampton, to sign on the dotted line as it were and face Scott Quigg, thus ramping up the intense debate that is stirring on social media regarding the fight and exactly what is hindering it actually happening.

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If Mayweather Jr. lost to Pacquiao: Bob Arum weighs in

Part of the reason that May 2nd is such a colossal event, is mostly due to the fact that for a long time now, boxing enthusiasts believed that only Manny Pacquiao has the right arsenal to beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. Of course aside from their competitive edge, both men have developed very unique personalities over the years, and paired together with their history, they make a great story for the sport of boxing.

One of the more popular questions nowadays, is what would happen if Mayweather Jr. lost the fight?

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More Heartache For Dillian Whyte

It appears that British heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte (14-0,11 Ko’s) has experienced yet more heartache in his quest to get relevant fights, announcing that his proposed appearance on 24th April in Corby, Northants, UK is in jeopardy after experienced Russian contender Dennis Bakhtov (39-10,26ko) pulled out of fighting him.

Whyte announced on his twitter, above a picture of Bakhtov: “I was meant to fight this guy on the 24th in Corby. He said yes to the fight, then bottled it! #jokers..”

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