Terrance Crawford: Fighter of the Year

Undefeated World Boxing Organization`s (“WBO”) Lightweight Title Holder, Terrance “Hunter” Crawford (25-0, 17 KOs) went from a rather unknown up and coming contender to a potential superstar in 2014 as he obtained a world title from Ricky Burns and then successfully defended it twice against two great pugilists, Yuriorkis Gamboa and Raymundo Beltra, which makes him my 2014 Fighter of the Year.

Crawford traveled to Glasgow, Scotland in March and beat up two-division world champion, Ricky Burns, who was making his fourth title defense. Despite fighting the biggest bout of his career and being a long way from his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, Crawford showed no signs of being shy in the big moment. He proved to be no match for the tough and experienced Burns as he controlled the fight and effectively landed whatever he wanted, especially from the outside, en route to a twelve unanimous decision victory, despite fighting in Burns` backyard.

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Tyson Fury vs Christian Hammer

Undefeated heavyweight destroyer Tyson Fury faces a dangerous test against big-hitting Christian Hammer* on Saturday 28th February at London’s 02 arena, live and exclusive on BoxNation.

Fury puts his WBO International title on the line against the WBO number four ranked Hammer in a risky title defence ahead of a projected summer showdown with reigning world champion Wladimir Klitschko.

The Wilmslow giant dismantled Dereck Chisora for the second time last month to win the British and European titles and also secured the number one and mandatory position to Klitschko, who next fights in April, but must then defend his WBO title against Fury next.

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The Year in Review: Six Notable Fights in 2014 – Part I — Pacquiao, Hopkins, Froch, More!

By Paul “Paparazzi“ Jones – Photo © (clockwise) Paul “Paparazzi” Jones/ESB; Steve Lopez/ESB; Al Santiago/ImageSantiago; Chris Farina/Top Rank | Illustration – Paul “Paparazzi” Jones

In this two-part review, I chronicle six of the most anticipated bouts of 2014. In Part I, I cover three key fights from the first half of the year. In Part II, I describe three fights from the remainder of the year and list match-ups that deserve honorable mention.

I selected each of these contests based on their ability to produce drama, historical significance, and/or sustained action. In addition, I emphasize tilts with pound-for-pound and title implications.

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Vitali Klitschko: “Sdunek was like a father to me”

Of the entire elite roster of professional boxers, Fritz Sdunek had one favorite, one boxer that he loved and cherished as their mutual career took off to unbelievable heights. Like Freddie Roach is a father model to Pacquiao, so was Sdunek to Vitali Klitschko. They not only appreciated each other in a professional setting, but were a true family outside of it.

“I was shocked to find out about Fritz’s death. I cannot believe it. Fritz has gone through many trials in the recent past. He beat cancer, and has gone through a heart surgery. It’s hard to believe that his heart no longer beats. I know many people, but have never met anyone with such a soul, and with such a truly big and kind heart. A heart that warmed everyone around him.

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Five Fighters to Watch in 2015

As we see out the year of 2014, boxing fans will look back and be nothing more than truly excited about the year to come.

Whilst there may not have been many real legacy defining super-fights, many new contenders have emerged, ready to pose a threat to those that dominate. Some divisions have opened up and could be conquered by anyone, while others have contenders vying for an imperious champion.

At featherweight a true legend in Nonito Donaire was put away by Nicholas Walters. Sergey Kovalev was not able to do the same to Bernard Hopkins, but he showed he is a worthy successor to the oldest champion in boxing history.

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Khan adds Marquez and Bradley to his list of names he wants to fight

Amir Khan says that besides Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao, he’d like to add Tim Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez to the list of guys he wants to face in the near future. Khan has been after a fight against Mayweather for ages now, but he’s not been fighting the preliminary guys that would get him the Mayweather fight unfortunately.

Instead of fighting big punchers like Kell Brook, Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter, Khan has been fighting the likes of Carlos Molina, Julio Diaz, Luis Collazo and Devon Alexander. This has led to Khan not picking up the name recognition in the United States that he needs for him to lure the likes of Mayweather to fight him.

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Rios thinks Mayweather is name dropping to increase his popularity

Former WBA lightweight champion Brandon Rios is extremely skeptical that a fight between the two biggest stars in boxing Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao will take place in 2015. Rios says he’ll believe it when he sees the two fighters in the ring.

Rios says he’s suspicious of Mayweather’s motives for suddenly saying he’s interested in the Pacquiao fight. Rios thinks that one of the reason why Mayweather is mentioning a fight against Pacquiao right now is perhaps an effort for Mayweather to boost his name value. Rios thinks Mayweather is afraid that his name is dying and that by mentioning Pacquiao, he could be raising his name.

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Is Beterbiev ready for Adonis Stevenson?

Former WBC light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal, who appears to be tired of seeing WBC 175 title holder Adonis Stevenson face weak opposition, suggested recently that Stevenson should face contender Artur Beterbiev (7-0, 7 KOs) in his next optional defense so that he can rebuild his image with the boxing public.

Stevenson won over a lot of boxing fans with his 1st round knockout win over Chad Dawson last year in June of 2013. Since then, however, Stevenson has backed off from tough opposition and beaten Tavoris Cloud, Tony Bellew, Andrzej Fonfara and Dmitry Sukhotsky. Pascal wants to see Stevenson rebuild his name because he wants his fight against him in 2015 to be a big event. It’s not likely to be a big even with the kind of opposition that Stevenson has been facing.

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Khan rules out Kell Brook fight

One fight that boxing fans likely won’t be seeing in 2015 is a clash between two of the top British fighters at 147. Amir Khan doesn’t have a world title belt in his possession, but he’s sure acting like he has one.

Khan says he won’t be fighting the highly popular and big punching IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook because he feels that he’s not shown him the type of respect that he wants. If that wasn’t enough of a reason for Khan, he also added that Brook isn’t on the same level as him.

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The Greatest Super Middleweight Boxers of All-Time

On the 28th of March, 1984, Murray Sutherland, with a modest record of forty-one wins, eleven losses and one draw, defeated Ernie Singletary for the vacant International Boxing Federation title, becoming the first internationally accepted world champion in the one hundred and sixty-eight pounds, super middleweight division.

A little over thirty years have passed since Scotland’s Sutherland was crowned champion, and in that time dozens of talented pugilists have graced the division. Initially boxing’s elite seemed to merely use it as a pit-stop, on the way to light heavyweight, or as simply an opportunity to capture a title in a different weight class. Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and James Toney didn’t stay long, but by the end of the 1990’s the reigns of Jones, Benn and Eubank had helped it evolve into a respected weight class in its own right.

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