Froch-Groves agree on rematch on May 31st

IBF/WBA super middleweight champion Carl Froch (32-2 23 KO’s) and George Groves (19-1, 15 KO’s) have reached agreement for a rematch that is tentatively scheduled for May 31st at one of the huge outdoor football stadiums in the UK. Froch’s promoter Eddie Hearn wants to place it in a stadium that holds 80,000 and he feels that it’ll be the biggest fight ever in British boxing. Whether that’ll be or not is unknown, but what is known is that the two fighters will be splitting a huge 10 million purse for the fight. Groves’ cut of the purse is anywhere from 15-25 percent.

“The British public are behind this and this was almost the only fight out there for me to reasonably take,” Froch said to Sky Sports. “I’ve given the British public what they wanted for years and years and I won’t stop doing it now.”

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Is Mayweather gambling with his legacy?

We are all waiting, if hardly anticipating, the announcement of the Mayweather V Khan bout set to take place on May 3rd. Various articles have been written by different writers on the subject and the consensus is that Khan is simply not worthy of a shot against the planet’s number one pound-for-pound boxer. This is a notion that I cannot rid from my mind, and this comes from a hardcore British boxing fan who would love to see Mayweather dethroned by a British boxer, but certainly not from an unjust gifted opportunity.

That is exactly what Khan will be handed if indeed he is given the shot and the situation will prove to be another example of the modern dealings of boxing as a business where money talks instead of a fighter’s pride in striving to be the best, by fighting only the best, as earlier decades were defined by.

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Canelo vs. Angulo: “A perfect match-up for Canelo’s comeback”

In the unpredictable sport of boxing, anything can and often does happen inside the squared circle on fight night, especially on the world class level. Although a man’s fate can turn with one cracking shot on the whiskers, styles usually dictate the eventual victor and loser.

Despite being one of the hardest punchers within the talented 154 pound weight division, most boxing pundits and experts believe that Alfredo Angulo is tailor made for Canelo Alvarez’s explosive counter punching prowess.

This past Tuesday night on “The Pugilist KOrner” radio show, expert trainer Joel Diaz gave us his take on the volatile March 8th PPV main event.

“Alfredo is a good friend of mine, but you know I’m always going to speak to truth about how I see things,” admitted the hard working California based trainer. “I think that his personal and professional issues set him back.”

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Photos: Vasyl Lomachenko Ready to Make History

Two-time Ukrainian Olympic gold medalist and 2013 Prospect of the Year VASYL LOMACHENKO (1-0, 1 KO), is in a hurry to make his mark, and in only his second professional fight, he will be challenging three-time world featherweight champion ORLANDO “Siri” SALIDO for Salido’s World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight title. The Salido-Lomachenko world championship fight will be televised live from the Alamodome, Saturday, March 1, on HBO World Championship Boxing, beginning at 9:45 p.m. ET/PT. The telecast will also feature the eagerly-anticipated 12-round rematch between former World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight champion and Son of the Legend JULIO CÉSAR CHÁVEZ JR. and Top-Five contender and two-fisted Texan BRYAN VERA.

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Salido Has a Message for Lomachenko

For three-time world featherweight champion ORLANDO “Siri” SALIDO boxing has been about perseverance and overcoming the odds, and in 17 days his mettle will be tested once more as he puts his world title on the line against two-time Olympic gold medalist, VASYL LOMACHENKO (1-0, 1 KO), considered by many to be the best amateur boxer in the history of the sport. The Salido-Lomachenko WBO featherweight championship fight will be televised live from the Alamodome on Saturday, March 1, on HBO World Championship Boxing, beginning at 9:45 p.m. ET/PT. The telecast will also feature the eagerly-anticipated 12-round rematch between former World Boxing Council (WBC) middleweight champion and Son of the Legend JULIO CÉSAR CHÁVEZ JR. and Top-Five contender and two-fisted Texan BRYAN VERA.

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BoxNation add superstar showdowns in Canelo-Angulo & Garcia-Herrera to packed roster

LONDON (Feb. 12) –Canelo Alvarez will be looking to bounce back in the best way possible when he faces Alfredo Angulo for the pride and glory of Mexico on Saturday, March 8.

BoxNation has added the star-studded Golden Boy Promotions bill to its packed roster, which also includes three world title showdowns featuring Leo “Terremoto” Santa Cruz taking on Cristian “El Diamante” Mijares for the WBC Super Bantamweight title, newly installed WBC lightweight champion Omar “Panterita” Figueroa facing the tricky Ricardo “Dinamita” Alvarez and Carlos “King” Molina will defend his IBF Junior Middleweight title against undefeated fast-rising star Jermall Charlo.

The spotlight will be on light-middleweight star Canelo, however, who makes his first return to the ring since his loss to pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather last September.

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Shannon Briggs looking in superb physical shape for comeback fight against Kertson Manswell

In a sport that has been and will continue to be absolutely littered with comebacks, boxing and its fans have to be persuaded over time that a former champ climbing back through the ropes has any kind of genuine shot at enjoying any real success. The latest name to get set for a ring return is Shannon Briggs, the former lineal and WBO heavyweight ruler.

Briggs is 42-years-old now and he hasn’t fought since being badly beaten – in a valiantly brave or foolishly stubborn effort, depending on your opinion – by Vitali Klitschko in October of 2010. Briggs, 51-6-1(45) will face sometimes dangerous journeyman Kertson Manswell, 24-8(18) in Atlanta on February 23rd. Briggs still believes he can regain a world title and the Manswell fight will, he hopes, be the first step towards bigger things.

One thing that might make Briggs’ comeback look at least something like realistic is the physical shape “The Cannon” appears to have got himself in. Briggs has posted plenty of pictures of himself on his Twitter account and, sporting a shaven head to go with the muscles, Briggs looks to be in great shape. Of course, looks can be deceiving, but it does seem as though Briggs has been working very hard in the gym.

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Ricky Burns Is Preparing For War Against Terence Crawford On March 1

When Ricky Burns climbs into the ring at the SECC in Glasgow on March 1 to defend his WBO lightweight title against unbeaten American challenger, Terence Crawford, he will be entitled to feel like a man returning to the scene of a crime he never committed but was convicted, tried, and found guilty of nonetheless.

The trials and tribulations that Burns endured in 2013 were more than staggering they were inhuman, even for a fighter as experienced as he is. Not once but twice he was forced to reach down into that place which resides in every human being but in normal people is buried so deep after years spent avoiding risk, danger, and hardship that they don’t even know it exists; and even if they did they would have no need of it anyway. It’s called the human spirit and from it is derived the will to endure unspeakable agony in the process of prevailing against seemingly insurmountable odds.

The German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, once wrote: “When you look into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you.”

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Mayweather taking his time in announcing his next fight

Floyd Mayweather Jr. appears to be in no hurry whatsoever to make an announcement for who he’ll be facing on May 3rd in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mayweather took the trouble to have a web poll created on his Mayweather Promotions site that purported to pick his next opponent. When Khan easily won the vote 57 percent to 43 percent over Marcos Maidana, it was widely assumed that Mayweather would make an announcement on Monday that the 27-year-old Khan would be his next opponent, but that’s not happened.

Here it is Tuesday, and Mayweather isn’t saying a word about who will be facing him in his next fight, even though he will need as much time as possible to try and drum up interest in his next fight if it is Khan that he’s facing. That’s a very unpopular choice for Mayweather, and he’s picked the wrong date for him to be fighting Khan by selecting the Cinco de Mayo holiday weekend.

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IBF Champ Vazquez & Zou Shiming on HBO2 From The Venetian Macao – Feb 22

MACAU, CHINA (February 11, 2014) — The Year of the Horse will get off to a galloping start when world championship boxing makes its 2014 debut at The Venetian® Macao’s Cotai Arena. International Boxing Federation (IBF) world lightweight champion MIGUEL “Titere” VAZQUEZ, of Mexico, and two-time Chinese Olympic gold medalist ZOU SHIMING headline “Ring of Gold,” Saturday, February 22. Vazquez will defend his title against undefeated top-rated contender DENIS “Ghengis Khan” SHAFIKOV, of Russia, and Shiming will risk his undefeated record in an eight-round flyweight bout against the young seasoned YOKTHONG KOKIETGYM of Thailand. Both fights will be televised on HBO2, beginning at 5:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Tecate, the “Ring of Gold” HBO2 telecast will feature Fran Charles handling the blow-by-blow while former world champion Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini and Hall of Famer Larry Merchant will add expert analysis and commentary.

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