Tonight on Sky Sports’ Ringside show – on a Froch-Groves II preview special – former middleweight king Chris Eubank was a guest, along with his son, unbeaten 15-0 pro talent Chris Eubnak Junior. Junior spoke of his “countless rounds” of sparring with George Groves and of his hard sparring with Carl Froch. Eubank said that, out of respect for both fighters, he would not give a pre-fight prediction on the rapidly approaching May 31st rematch; but he and his father (his father mostly) were not shy when it came to making predictions on Eubank Junior’s own career.
Froch-Groves 2: Pushing barriers, planting seeds
George Groves understands his attempt to ridicule Froch on the Ringside show as a continuation of war by other means and contemplation of his role as psychological ’bully’ even sprang a faintly rueful smile. With the self-possession of an assassin that is about him always, Groves assures us that he harbors no ill-will once a fight is over. Cold composure, as his former trainer Adam Booth defines it. Clinical, scientific, precise. He views Froch as much too under the sway of brute feeling. The merest smuggled emotion for Groves is a crutch in the ring.
HBO Boxing After Dark Returns May 31st – Froch/Groves II, Donaire/Vetyeka
American boxing fans can catch a highly anticipated UK rematch and a title fight from Macau when HBO BOXING AFTER DARK®: CARL FROCH VS. GEORGE GROVES II AND SIMPIWE VETYEKA VS. NONITO DONAIRE is seen SATURDAY, MAY 31 at 4:00 p.m. (ET/PT). The HBO Sports team will be calling both events, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.
Other HBO playdates: June 1 (8:30 a.m.) and 3 (1:00 a.m.)– HBO2 playdates: June 1 (3:15 p.m.) and 2 (11:00 p.m.)
Stevenson vs. Fonfara Final Press Conference Quotes
Fonfara will challenge Stevenson for the WBC crown in the main event of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, this Saturday, May 24, live on SHOWTIME® (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.
“This is not my first time as an underdog,” Fonfara said. “I’ve proved people wrong before and I’ll do it again.”
Ghislain Maduma is ready to shake up the Lightweight Division
Undefeated lightweight contender, Ghislain “Mani” Maduma (16-0, 10KOs) is potentially one bout away from fighting International Boxing Federation (IBF) Champion, Miguel Vazquez; however, before this happens, he needs to defeat the tough “Mighty” Kevin Mitchell (37-2, 27KOs) in their lightweight title eliminator on May 31st on the undercard of the Carl Froch v. George Groves matchup at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
Avoided Fighters: A Sign of Boxing’s Decline
When talking with a friend of mine; a serious boxing-head, the conversation managed to swing around to how Andre ‘Son of God’ Ward (27-0-0) is still marginalized despite garnering quite glowing praise from critics around the world. We got on to this subject as we were discussing the upcoming super-middleweight clash between ‘Saint’ George Groves (19-1-0) and Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch (32-2-0), and how the British public’s interest in the fight had greatly elevated the perceived status of the fight; already supplemented by the fact that there are two World titles on the line. Now, as a massive George Groves fan, I am delighted that he was made mandatory for the IBF title and has been successful in forcing a rematch; the question that lingers in my head is why these two fighters are having two title fights in the space of a year, whilst Ward languishes.
Sergio Martinez media conference call quick quotes
NEW YORK, NY / MIAMI FL (5/20/14) – World Boxing Council (WBC)/The Ring middleweight champion and Argentina’s favorite son, SERGIO “Maravilla” MARTÍNEZ, along with promoter Lou DiBella, held an international media conference all earlier today in anticipation of his upcoming world title defense and the most eagerly anticipated boxing event of 2014 against three-division world champion and the Pride of Puerto Rico, MIGUEL COTTO.
Below are a few quick notes from the call. A complete transcript to follow.
SERGIO MARTINEZ: My knee is feeling great and I have been running in the mornings. I haven’t felt this good in a very long time.
In The Ring With Ahmed “The Egyptian” Elbiali
In the segment In the Ring, boxing writer Bill Barner interviews fighters from inside the ring in an effort to gain more insight into their fighting styles. In May 2014, Barner interviewed Super Middleweight Ahmed “The Egyptian” Elbiali.
Born in Egypt, Elbiali immigrated to the United States at a young age. As an amateur, Elbiali dreamed of being an Olympic fighter, but those dreams were shattered and shelved during the famous Arab Spring.
Floyd Mayweather will fight September 13th – opponent and venue to be announced
Some people, myself included, felt superstar Floyd Mayweather Junior would perhaps take a pass on his usual September fight due to the tougher than expected (not to mention foul-filled) night’s work “Money” had last time out, when he won a decision over a rough and ready Marcos Maidana. But such thinking has been proven wrong, because Mayweather has officially announced how he will next fight on September 13th – the venue and, more importantly, the opponent, will be announced in two weeks.
Leonard Ellerbe, speaking with ESPN.com last night, said a return meeting with Maidana, (who, along with his fans, claimed he was robbed of a deserved decision earlier this month) is a possibility, but that there is a “long list” of potential opponents according to Floyd‘s right-hand man.
Is Harold Right? Referees Pay No Attention
HBO’s unofficial scorer, and celebrated long time judge and analyst, Harold Lederman made a valid point this past saturday night during the PPV bout between Viktor Postol (26-0, 11 KO’s) and Selcuk Aydin (26-3, 19 KO’s). During the bout, held at the Forum, Inglewood, CA, Harold made what would seem to be a legitimate, valid point.
He spelled things out, explaining that all too often tall fighters illegally use their extended lead hand as a “range finder”. The situation presented itself saturday night when the taller man, Postol, started using his extended left as a range finder for his power punch, the right. Specifically, he held his extended left out in such a way that it would not only obstruct Aydin’s vision, it would also act as a similar instrument used with a gun for estimating the distance to Aydin’s head. In this case, the projectile was Postol’s power loaded right.