Perez Out Points Maicelo Opening ESPN Friday Night Fights 2015 Season

In the first card for 2015 on ESPN Friday Night Fights, WBA interim lightweight belt holder Darleys Perez (32-1, 20 kos) retained against number 6 contender Jonathan Maicelo (21-2, 12 kos) with a convincing unanimous decision at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, California.

Columbian Perez was a class above his fellow 31 year old foe over the final half of the fight and punctuated a dominating performance with big rounds in eleven and twelve.

Peru’s Maicelo was competitive during the opening four rounds with his unorthodox movement and wide punches but once Perez established his led left hand he was able to control the action from center ring.

continue

Ivan Redkach Blasts Yakubu Amidu In First ShoBox: The New Generation Of 2015

Undefeated prospect Ivan Redkach (18-0, 14 KOs) was impressive in a sixth-round knockout victory over Yakubu Amidu (19-6-2, 17 KOs), who failed to get off his stool following the sixth round in Friday’s main event of ShoBox: The New Generation from Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa in Cabazon, Calif.

Working for the first time with new trainer Robert Garcia, Redkach, of Los Angeles by way of Ukraine, started out slow as he found his range, with the durable Amidu handling his power in the opening rounds. Amidu, of Los Angeles by way of Ghana, started slow but picked up the pace in the fourth and then was docked a point by referee Ray Corona for repeated low blows in the fifth.

continue

Roach: Mayweather-Pacquiao fight is looking good

Manny Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach is feeling pretty good about the negotiations that are taking place between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. However, Roach notes that there’s still a long ways to go before the fight gets made. Roach doesn’t know what’s going on specifically with the negotiations but he’s hearing positive stuff.

According to the LA Times, the blood testing and venue have both been agreed on. The thing that still remains incomplete is the purse split. 60-40 is one number that’s been mentioned.

continue

Andre Ward signs with Roc Nation

After a protracted legal battle with Goosen Promotions, WBA Super World middleweight champion Andre Ward (27-0, 14 KOs) signed with Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports on Friday, which reportedly ends his deal with Goosen Promotions. This means that the soon to be 31-year-old Ward should get a lot busier in terms of fighting on a more regular basis.

Ward’s fought only fought twice in the last three years, and he didn’t fight at all in 2014.

“It’s official!! #NextChapter Happy to be a part of the @rocnation family,” Ward said on his twitter today.

continue

Carl Froch having second thoughts about retiring

IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (33-2, 24 KOs) appears to be having second thoughts about him walking away from the game in 2015. He’s been talking about retirement since the Lucian Bute fight in 2012, but in the last two years the talk has increased to the point where many boxing fans believed that he would retire after a proposed farewell fight against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr this year.

Froch now feels like he can continue fighting, and he’s talking about the Chavez Jr and even showing sudden interest in a possible James DeGale fight.

continue

Stiverne, Wilder Talk Training Camp And Their Place In Heavyweight History

“One man has the hype, the other the belt. But you need both to make heavyweight history.” – ALL ACCESS: STIVERNE VS WILDER premieres tonight, Friday, Jan. 9 at 10:45 p.m. ET/PT during SHOWTIME® Free Preview Weekend and immediately preceding the first SHOBOX: The New Generation of 2015 (Redkach vs. Amidu, 11 p.m. ET/PT; live on SHOWTIME).

Take a peek behind the scenes of Bermane Stiverne and Deontay Wilder’s training camps in advance of their WBC Heavyweight World Championship showdown. Get into the action with this full episode of ALL ACCESS, and don’t miss the United States’ most anticipated heavyweight battle in a decade on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT; live on SHOWTIME.”

continue

Stiverne vs. Wilder: Bombs Away!

In what could be the liveliest heavyweight scrap of recent times, reigning WBC champ Bermane Stiverne will face undefeated KO artist Deonte Wilder, on January 17th at the legendary MGM Grand, Las Vegas. This could be the fight to bring heavyweight glory back to its rightful home, and finally reignite the spark that has been absent from the big boys’ division for far too long.

Will Wilder’s undeniable power be enough to overcome Stiverne’s solid chin and vicious countering abilities? Or will the young lion be ‘exposed’ following his widely considered ‘soft’ opposition? With a genuine ‘anything can happen’ element to this potential classic, there’s a lot to be excited about. Jim Lampley’s famous “theatre of the unexpected” tag will be more than appropriate here.

Stiverne has proven himself a fierce adversary with a string of strong performances in recent years, icing his cake with a stoppage win over the usually iron-chinned Cris Arreola in their rematch in May of last year.

continue

Amir Khan: The Art of Talk

Few pugilists over the years have divided opinion as much as the UK’s Amir Khan. Throughout his largely impressive career, he has been dogged with derision and doubt, as fans and pundits alike have continued to question his level of opposition, the resilience of his suspect chin, and his overall pedigree as a fighter. Throw into the mix a ‘speak-before-thinking’ mentality, and you have the recipe for a boxer everyone loves to hate.

I wrote an article on ESB some years ago, attempting to give a fair and balanced look at the controversy and opinionated views surrounding Amir, who was then based in Freddie Roach’s Wildcard Gym. Since then, Khan lost his 140lb titles to Lamont Peterson in a somewhat controversial decision, got timed and sparked by Danny Garcia within 4 rounds of a careless outing, made hard work of Carlos Molina and Julio Diaz, before looking a lot more impressive against Luis Collazo and Devon Alexander more recently.

continue

Rigondeaux Can Spark Super Bantamweight Unification Series

As we settle in for 2015, it’s customary for the boxing fraternity and fans alike to state their hopes and wishes for the year ahead. Essentially dream fights which we hope will be made, which against all logic are not likely to happen. There are a few that spring to mind immediately, an end to the Floyd Mayweather/ Manny Pacquiao saga, Andre Ward v Gennady Golovkin (catch weight), Sergey Kovalev v Adonis Stevenson and of course Alex Ariza v a peak Mike Tyson.

On this occasion I have chosen to air on the side of caution and focus my attentions on an occurrence of a more realistic persuasion, which would be the collision of the current crop of Super Bantamweight World Champions. In Guillermo Rigondeaux, Leo Santa-Cruz, Carl Frampton and Scott Quigg, the division finds itself on the cusp of greatness. Greatness it enjoyed almost 15 years previous when Erik Morales won a split decision over Marco Antonio Barrera in what is widely considered one of the greatest fights of all time. Right now we have four fighters, boasting a collective 92-0-3 (61KO’s) record and a blend of styles capable of producing a series of fights that will define each of their careers.

continue

Golovkin will knock Murray down to 5’10”, says Sanchez

Abel Sanchez, the trainer for WBA Super World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, isn’t too worried about Golovkin’s opponent Martin Murray having a size advantage over Golovkin in their February 21st fight at the Salle des Étoiles, Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Sanchez figures that Golovkin will take away Murray’s size advantage by knocking him down to his size with his big power shots. This could mean that we’ll see Golovkin throwing a lot of body shots to get Murray to bend forward more to keep from getting hit with them as much.

continue