Nelson: Burns will beat Zlaticanin

Sky Sports commentator Johnny Nelson is confident that former two division world champion Ricky Burns (36-3-1, 11 KO’s) will come out on top this Friday night in his fight against #13 WBC Dejan Zlaticanin (18-0, 13 KO’s) at the Braehead Arena, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom.

Burns, who is coming off of a loss to Terence Crawford last March, has been saying that if he wins this fight on Friday, his promoter Eddie Hearn will set him up with a title shot against WBC lightweight champion Omar Figueroa. Burns is ranked only #15 by the WBC, so if Hearn is able to get him a title shot off of a win over #13 WBC Zlaticanin then it’s going to have to be an optional title defense by Figueroa.

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Pulev wants drug testing down for Wladimir fight

Unbeaten challenger Kubrat Pulev (20-0, 11 KO’s) reportedly wants testing done in the run up to his September 6th title challenge against IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (62-3, 52 KO’s) at the O2 World Arena, in Hamburg, Germany. Pulev, 33, doesn’t say why he wants the testing done, because there already is testing done for the fight. Having extra testing done might seem like overkill and a waste of money.

Pulev said, “I’m checked for doping at least six times a year during training. Should always be available and communicate where I was staying and where I am at any time. Why not apply to Wladimir Klitschko? Thus it would be fair.”

Pulev, as the challenger, is hardly in the position to get his way in terms of extra drug testing. He can ask for it, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.

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Guerrero prevails over Kamegai in a Potential Fight of the Year

Former two – time world champion, Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero and Japan`s Yoshihiro Kamegai waged a potential fight of the year as both welterweight boxers went after each other for twelve nonstop, action – packed rounds in which Guerrero prevailed with the unanimous decision victory, 116-112 and two scorecards, 117-111, as he dictated the action by landing the crisper and more powerful punches throughout the bout.

This main event and its undercard fights were promoted by Golden Boy Promotions at the outdoor StubHub Center in Carson, California.

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Arum in no hurry to pick Pacquiao’s next opponent for November 22nd

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is reportedly going to take his time and wait until possibly August before he selects the lucky candidate for his fighter WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao’s next fight on November 22nd at the Venetian Casino & Resort, Macao, Macao S.A.R., China.

It’s possible that the longer Arum waits the better the chances are that he can get a big name some the likes of Golden Boy Promotions. But if not, then his options aren’t quite as good with Chris Algieri and Luis Carlos Abregu being two of the candidates to get the fight.

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Adrien Broner eager to fight Robert Guerrero next

Former three division world champion Adrien Broner was present for Robert Guerrero’s fight last Saturday night against Yoshihiro Kamegai (24-2-1, 21 KO’s), and Broner saw enough weakness in Guerrero’s game for him to want to fight him next.

Guerrero showed weakness in the Kamegai fight by absorbing a lot of punishment to the head and body, resulting in Guerrero suffering a swollen left eye that was nearly completely shut by the end of the fight. While Guerrero tried to make excuses afterwards about how he chose to go toe-to-toe with Kamegai, the fact remains that he didn’t and he ended up getting hit a lot.

“Hopefully, we can make that fight [with Guerrero] happen,” Broner said to Fighthype.com last Saturday night at the Guerrero-Kamegai fight.

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Yuriorkis Gamboa: time to deliver

Go back a few years, to 2008 or 2009, and an unbeaten Cuban talent by the name of Yuriorkis Gamboa was on the lips of many a fight expert as a can’t-miss prospect of the hottest variety. The Olympic gold medallist and sensational all-round amateur standout who had defected from his homeland and set up base in Miami appeared to have it all: speed, power, balance, elegance and a killer instinct to match a peak Mike Tyson.

Back then, the only negative aimed at Gamboa was his somewhat leaky defence and his tendency to go down as a result. This only made the featherweight all the more exciting, however, and Gamboa always got back up and upon doing so took care of business. World titles and superstardom looked inevitable but – though the man dubbed “El Ciclon de Guantanamo” picked up a not so shabby three “world” titles at different weights (the WBA and IBF belts at feather, the interim WBA strap at super-feather-weight and interim WBA belt at lightweight) – somewhere along the way Gamboa all but fell off the radar.

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Will Top Rank let Lomachenko fight Rigondeaux and Mikey Garcia?

With Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1 KO’s) beating one of the better featherweights in the division last Saturday night in Gary Russell Jr (24-1, 14 KO’s) in their fight for the vacant WBO featherweight title, Lomachenko has removed one of the bigger names in the division.

Easily the best options for Lomachenko to fight is super bantamweight Guillermo Rigondeaux and WBO super featherweight champion Mikey Garcia. Rigondeaux is a two-time Olympic gold medalist from Cuba with even better counter punching skills than Lomachenko and a far superior body puncher. However, Rigondeaux already took down one of Top Rank’s stars by beating Nonito Donaire with ease last year, and there’s been no attempt by Top Rank to let Donaire attempt to redeem himself.

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Rankings, Belts, Weight Classes and Mandatory Challengers: A Guide for the Casual Boxing Fan

WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF leave casual fight fans referring to the sweet science as “Alphabet Soup.” Add to these the dozens more obscure sanctioning bodies and multiply that by the number of weight classes – 17 total – and the number of belts, champions and challengers can be dizzying. Fans are left confused as to who is really the champion, why so often the two best fighters are never mandatory challengers for one another, and how all the various weight classes come into play.

A basic understanding boxing’s framework with regards to champions, weight classes, and mandatory challengers will assure any fight fan a more fulfilling (and less frustrating) experience following the sport.

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Danny Garcia – Not A Swift Route To Mayweather

The date was September 14th, 2013. On the undercard of the megafight between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Saul Canelo Alvarez, a kingpin at Super Lightweight was decided. The contest pitted WBC, WBA, and Ring Magazine Champion, Danny Garcia against the relentless, argentine power puncher, Lucas Matthysse. When the final bell rang, Danny Garcia stood atop at the 140 pound division after scoring a close but clear unanimous decision over Lucas Matthysse.

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Robert Guerrero is Not Better, Just Tougher

Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero was understandably happy after his victory over Yoshihiro Kamegai at the StubHub Center in Carson. CA, but it was a tough fight. He took a lot of unnecessary punishment, and might need another year off to recuperate!

In Robert’s pre-fight hype, he explained the need for the lengthy time off to take care of things and heal his body. He gushed over his new training program that included lifting weights. He said it was helping him to hit harder, and to be quicker.

So what did he do against Yoshihiro Kamegai? He stood in front of him and trades power shots? What ever happened to “The Ghost”? Where is the guy who boxed Michael Katsidis’ socks off in Apr. of 2011? Robert also did a pretty good job with Selcuk Aydin. when he moved up to welterweight.

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