In the midst of the Mayweather Jr. vs. Pacquiao tornado, there seems to be calm area, a mutual understanding and respect of true character from both ends.
In the recent past, for the first time ever, it was Mayweather Jr. who got up and approached Pacquiao during a basketball game. Floyd’s ego is world renowned, yet he took it out of the equation and made first step in personal, face-to-face communication with Manny.
WBA welterweight champion Keith Thuman (24-0, 21 KOs) is looking to maintain his high KO percentage when he takes on former two division world champion Robert Guerrero (32-2-1, 18 KOs) in their upcoming bout on March 7th at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Currently Thurman has won in all of his 24 outings and has taken 21 opponents out within the scheduled distance. In his last fight Thurman went up against long time European champion Leonard Bundu who had not had a loss in 33 fights, but failed to get the stoppage that has come to be expected of him. If he does not stop Guerrero people will start to say that he cannot maintain the same level of offense when he is against world level competition.
In a recent interview Oscar De La Hoya, president of Golden Boy Promotions, promised fans that the much anticipated bout between former world title challenger Lucas Matthysse and former WBC light welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov would be taking place for March 28th at the StubHub Center in Carson, California. In the sport where a lot of fights get missed it is good to hear a guarantee of the fight taking place from the promoter.
This is a fight many in boxing are looking forward to due to the fact that each of the combatants mentioned are amongst the best in the business at what they do. Each man has the skill set to cut off the ring and land on their opponents, although this is the type of fight where neither man will have to look far to find each other.
American Andre Dirrell is still hopeful of a rematch with current WBA super-middleweight champion Carl Froch. At this point it has to be seen as an unlikely prospect because if Froch is turning down fights with guys he has not faced in the past like James DeGale and Bernard Hopkins, it is unlikely that he would face a fighter he has already beaten in Dirrell.
Carl Froch has had a long career with a very long undefeated span for British and Commonwealth titles before going 10 – 2 – 0 (5KO) in world title fights. In his twelve world title fights he has held the WBC, IBF and WBA titles at one point or another.
Trainer Joel Diaz plans on giving former WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz one more fight before returning him to the top of the sport. Ortiz is one of those guys who has had a tremendous fall from grace in this sport. In 2011 he beat an undefeated Andre Berto in one of the most exciting fights of that year which saw four knockdowns, a point deduction and a narrow decision. He then went on to fight pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr.
The eagerly awaited showdown between undefeated superstar Danny “Swift” Garcia (29-0, 17 KOs) and Lamont Peterson (33-2-1, 17 KOs) will become a reality as Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on NBC returns to primetime on Saturday, April 11 at 8:30 p.m. ET live from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
In the first main event of the evening, middleweight world champion “Irish” Andy Lee (34-2, 24 KOs) takes on the undefeated Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (31-0, 22 KOs) in a 12-round world title fight.
Marv Albert will call the fights in primetime on NBC alongside analyst “Sugar” Ray Leonard, the six-time world champion and 1976 Olympic gold medalist. Al Michaels will host.
Matty Askin, 17-2 (10KO’s), is in confident mood ahead of his British and Commonwealth cruiserweight title shot against Ovill McKenzie, 23-12 (12KO’s), on 14th March.
The 26-year-old will top the bill on a lively Frank Warren promoted show in Widnes, including former World champion Enzo Maccarinelli and the exciting Ryan Farrag among others.
Speaking to FKSports, Askin confirmed everything was on track ahead of the biggest fight of his career.
Scott Quigg is set to return reiterating once more that he is willing to fight Carl Frampton anywhere to get the fight on everyone’s lips made.
The reigning WBA super-bantamweight champion recently required surgery on a hand injury sustained in the 9th round of his title defence against Hidenori Otake in November.
The procedure was a success and two weeks out from being allowed to uncork his right hand again, Quigg, 30-0-2 (22KO’s), has told FKSports he is gunning for IBF champion Frampton, 19-0 (13KO’s).
Heavyweight contender Tyson Fury is a polarising character indeed. Fond of antagonistic commentary leading up to, during, and after a fight, not to mention being partial to a bit of abusive chat on Twitter or Facebook, the 6’9’’ giant from Manchester isn’t at all bothered about upsetting fans or fellow boxers in the slightest. To many this makes him an entertaining and colourful character, bringing an element of theatre to the “big-man” division, which has been longing for such a shot of adrenaline in many people’s eyes. To others, he comes across as arrogant and unruly, rude and obnoxious, with little or no respect for his opponents or for the sport in general.
It was a whirlwind 48 hours, not with Eddie Murphy but with Mexico’s greatest fighter ever, the incomparable Julio Cesar Chavez at his homeland in Culiacan, a city in northwestern Mexico. Julio is an all time great, a master in the ring, a hall of famer, a true legend in boxing and, most importantly, a hero to his people in Mexico.
Julio Cesar Chavez was being honored by the Culiacan people with a huge, 11½ ft. raised statue of him placed in one of the city’s most visited areas. Celebrities and thousands of fans joined the festivities and we were there.