#15 IBF Jermain Taylor (32-4-1, 20 KOs) will be challenging IBF middleweight champion Sam Soliman (44-11, 18 KOs) in a little over a week on October 8th at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, in Biloxi, Mississippi, USA.
Taylor hasn’t done much to deserve a world title shot, but that doesn’t matter because he’s been selected by Soliman’s management due to his name recognition and obviously because he’s perceived as an opponent that Soliman can likely beat.
Britain’s Paul Smith (35-4, 20 KOs) says that WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (41-4, 28 KOs) gave him a handshake when he asked him at the post-fight press conference if he’ll agree to give him an immediate rematch. Smith, 31, interpreted the handshake from Abraham to mean that he’ll get his badly needed rematch with the 34-year-old German based champion.
Last Saturday night, Smith lost a 12 round unanimous decision to Abraham by the scores of 117-111, 117-110 and 119-109. Many people who saw the fight felt that Abraham did enough to get the victory. Some fans felt that it should have been a draw while a smaller minority felt that Smith won the fight. However, because of the scores being so wide, Smith and his promoter Eddie Hearn feel that a rematch is warranted.
While many boxing fans believe that Manny Pacquiao presents the biggest risk to the unbeaten record of Floyd Mayweather Jr, Paulie Malignaggi is under the belief that Pacquiao would be an easy fight for Mayweather at this stage in Pacquiao’s career. Malignaggi doesn’t say why he believes that but it could have something to do with how poor Pacquiao looked in his last fight against a quality fighter in Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012.
Pacquiao looked terrible in that fight before getting knocked out in the 6th round. Since then, Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum has eased him back in terms of competition by putting him in with Brandon Rios and Tim Bradley, and Pacquiao was able to resume winning again.
First of all, congratulations to Paul Smith who delivered a career best performance, which he promised, on the night when it mattered the most. A monumental effort behind enemy lines, which was appreciated by every set of fully functioning eyeballs which had the joy of tuning in for what was a tremendous fight.
Isn’t it such a shame that we find ourselves on familiar ground once again, marveling at inconceivable ineptitude that points to the darker side of boxing, which has soiled its name for far too long.
Statement from the Goossen Family: “It is with overwhelming regret that we announce the passing of Dan Goossen, 64, from complications relating to liver cancer. The sudden news of his diagnosis was very much a private matter and his final days were spent surrounded by his family and closest friends. Sadness is difficult to escape as we grieve his passing, however we are filled with pride by the fact that Dan Goossen battled this aggressive illness with boundless strength and the last days of his life were fought and lived with unflinching bravery, pure love and grace beyond measure.”
Arrangements are pending and details will be announced in the next few days.
A couple days ago reports surfaced about there being a deal for a December fight between WBC heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne (24-1-1, 21 KOs) and #1 WBC Deontay Wilder. Apparently, someone spoke too soon, because Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya says that there has been no deal reached between the 35-year-old Stiverne and the 6’7” Wilder.
If the two sides are unable to come to an agreement in their negotiations then it’ll go to purse bids on October 1st next week. That’s when the World Boxing Council has scheduled a purse bid in order to finally get the fight put together.
Contrary to wretched WBC comments @OscarDeLaHoya told me today he has NOT reached terms with King on Stiverne-Wilder. #boxing,” said Dan Rafael on his Twitter.
Never mind about Bernard Hopkins, Adonis Stevenson, Jean Pascal and Sergey Kovalev, the fighter that could be the best in the light heavyweight division is Artur Beterbiev (6-0, 6 KOs). After Beterbiev’s 2nd round knockout win over former IBF light heavyweight champion Tavoris Cloud (24-3, 19 KOs) last night at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, I think you can make an argument that Beterbiev beats all the other fighters in the light heavyweight division.
No offense to 49-year-old Hopkins, but beating Karo Murat, Cloud and Beibut Shumenov hardly makes him the best fighter in the division. He’s still pretty much the same fighter that Chad Dawson beat two years ago in 2012, only Hopkins probably isn’t even as good as he was back then.
Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn plans on appealing to the WBO to see if they can make his beaten fighter Paul Smith (35-4, 20 KOs) the WBO 168lb mandatory challenger to WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (41-4, 28 KOs), who beat him by a 12 round unanimous decision last night Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
Hearn’s beef was that the scoring was too wide in Abraham’s favor in a fight that appeared to be a lot closer than the scores given by the three judges. Hearn was especially upset about one judge scoring the fight 119-109. Hearn thought that score came out of left field. Interestingly enough, Hearn says that the fight could have gone Abraham’s way by a round or so, but he’s upset about the wide scores.
WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao has responded to WBA/WBA welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr’s latest tweet by calling him an “uneducated person” after Mayweather had said that Pacquiao is desperate and that his PPV numbers are a joke.
“I’m not angry at him,” Pacquiao said to gmanetwork.com. “I still feel sorry for him, because he acts like an uneducated person. It’s pitiful to me and I pray for him.”
Pacquiao actually got the ball rolling in taking a shot at Mayweather first last week in Tweeting the following remark: “Floyd Mayweather’s testimony on All Access authenticity tells me everything I need to know about his desire to fight me.”
Hearn will need to dig real deep for cash if he wants to have Abraham travel to Liverpool to fight Smith at home in the UK. Sauerland doesn’t want to put his fighter at a disadvantage unless it’s a substantial offer from Hearn. Abraham has a large following in Germany, so there’s really no point in him traveling to Liverpool to fight Smith, a fighter he just defeated by a 12 round unanimous decision last Saturday night in Germany.