In one of the poorer ESPN2 cards, undefeated featherweight contender Javier Fortuna (22-0-1, 16 KO’s) slapped and clinched his way to a 10 round draw against Luis Franco (11-1-1, 7 KO’s) on Friday night at the Buffalo Run Casino, in Miami, Oklahoma, USA. The southpaw Franco showed good speed and decent power, but he so wild, sloppy and wide on defense that he took away from the two things he had going for him. The judges scored it 99-91 for Franco, 96-94 for Fortuna and 95-95 even.
David Tua vs. Alexander Ustinov on August 31st
David Tua (52-4-2) is in training to fight the gigantic Russian Alexander Ustinov (28-1). The IBF has Ustinov ranked at seven the WBA ten. Tua’s career is on last chance lane a decade removed from fighting a world class opponent in Hasim Rahman. Tua’s much storied litigation against former manager Kevin Barry put his career on hold and he has only managed to pull the pig skins on twelve times in the last decade and that intermittency – it goes without saying – has not served his career well.
With Tua’s mental space preoccupied with both his legal mire and the following financial hole he has found himself in his focus has been askew.
Over the years Tua has offered philosophical assurances that he is back and ready to fight, but that sentiment was only evident in totality in 2009 when he blew Shane Cameron out of the water in two destructive rounds.
Broner targeting Maidana and Matthysse
It’s been thought that WBA welterweight champion Adrien Broner (27-0, 22 KO’s) will give up his newly won World Boxing Association 147 lb. title without defending it rather than facing the likes of Marcos Maidana and Keith Thurman. Broner, however, is now saying he wants to fight Maidana and then Lucas Matthysse after that. There’s no word from Broner about whether he’ll bother defending his title against WBA interim welterweight champion Keith Thurman, who has already said he wants to fight Broner next.
Broner said this about Maidana and Matthysse on Thursday on his social media site: You a damn fool if you think Chino Maidana can beat me. LOL! And when I’m done with this b**ch Chino Maidana, I’m go f*** Matthysse up. Easy money.”
I like how Broner throws in one of Floyd Mayweather Jr’s “easy money” comments, because that’s something that Mayweather Jr. says all the time.
If Broner is serious about wanting to face Maidana and Matthysse in back to back fights, he may not be the WBA champion for long.
Will the big fights be going to China soon?
Of course anything you buy has a price, a value that can be manipulated based on demand. But what if you can get back the same, but spend half the amount to getting it? It’s hard to imagine that organizing a fight in China is anywhere near as expensive as it is in the States, and that goes for the venue as well as the marketing. The main benefit is as we all know the fact that Top Rank along with MP Promotions will be saving a ton of money by not paying the kind of taxes they would in United States.
Top trainer John David Jackson Joins Iron Mike Productions
DEERFIELD, Fla. (August 2, 2013) – Two-division world champion John David “Action” Jackson, one of the most respected trainers in boxing today, has joined Iron Mike Productions as co-head coach of the promotional company’s stable of world-class fighters.
Acquinity Sports, under CEO Garry Jonas, partnered with Hall of Famer Mike Tyson to form Iron Mike Productions, whose inaugural promotional event is the August 23rd “Tyson Is Back!” card, airing on ESPN Friday Night Fights, live from Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.
Jackson (36-4, 20 KOs) was world light middleweight and middleweight champion in the late eighties through the mid-nineties. He has trained Bernard Hopkins and Shane Mosley, among the more notables, and his present fighters include three-time world champion Randall Bailey and world light heavyweight challenger Sergey Kovalev.
HBO finalizing Wladimir Klitschko – Alexander Povetkin deal to air fight live in U.S
HBO is working to finalize a deal to show the October 5th fight between IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (60-3, 51 KO’s) and WBA champion Alexander Povetkin (26-0, 18 KO’s) live in the United States, according to Dan Rafael. If HBO can swing this, it will be a big deal for American boxing fans, because they don’t get to see too many fights of the Klitschkos anymore.
HBO is selective in which fights of the Klitschkos they televise in the U.S, and rightfully so with Wladimir facing the likes Jean Marc Mormeck, Francesco Pianeta, and Mariusz Wach in the past two years. If HBO had aired any of those mismatches, it would have likely brought in poor ratings.
Hughie Fury fights Shane McPhilbin on September 14th
In something of a slight step up in competition, highly hyped heavyweight Hughie Fury (8-0, 5 KO’s) will be fighting cruiserweight Shane McPhilbin (8-7-1, 5 KO’s) next month on September 14th at the Magna Centre, Rotherhan, Yorkshire.
Hughie, 18, the cousin of unbeaten heavyweight contender Tyson Fury, has been very busy since turning pro in March of this year. Hughie has squeezed in 8 fights in four months, albeit against weak opposition. McPhilbin will continue of this type of match-making, but he’s clearly step up from Hughie’s last two opponents Moses Matovu (4-29-4) and Ivica Perkovic (19-21, 14 KO’s).
Mike Alvarado and Ruslan Provodnikov agree to terms for October 19th fight in Denver
Mike Alvarado (34-1, 23 KO’s) and the recently beaten Ruslan Provodnikov (22-2, 15 KO’s) have reportedly agreed to terms for a fight televised by HBO on October 19th at the First Bank Center, Denver, Colorado, USA. Top Rank finalized the deal, according to Yahoo Sports.
Top Rank president Todd duBoef said to Yahoo Sports “What this fight shows is the value of putting on a great performance in the ring, win or lose. Provodnikov had a great performance against Bradley, and thought he was on the losing side, he’s coming right back in the main event in a significant fight.”
Boxing ain’t dead, not by a long shot
‘Boxing is dead’ is a term I read, and heard, frequently in recent years. If any truth lay in that statement, 2013 proved to be boxing’s resuurection. Drama, brutality, courage and the art of boxing, 2013 provided every element, when combined, makes this the greatest sport in the world.
Tony Thompson vs Kubrat Pulev on August 24 in Schwerin, Germany
Fight fans can look forward to a real stacked up card on August 24. With European Light Heavyweight Champion Juergen Braehmer defending his title (against Stefano Abatangelo) and super-middleweight contender Arthur Abraham (against Willbeforce Shihepo) trying to get in position for another world title shot, the show is already loaded with highlights. Now the Sport- und Kongresshalle Schwerin will also play host to a special heavyweight attraction. Kubrat Pulev (17-0, 9 KO´s) and Tony Thompson (38-3, 26 KO´s) will fight it out in an IBF final eliminator with the winner to challenge for the world title.
Pulev, maybe the most avoided heavyweight in recent times, cannot wait to step into the ring again. In 2012, the current IBF International and European Champion made it to the top of the rankings, beating Michael Sprott, Alexander Dimitrenko as well as Alexander Ustinov – all of them inside the distance. But as fighters like Tomasz Adamek, Tyson Fury and Ruslan Chagaev refused to be matched with the 32-year-old Bulgarian, his career came to a brief halt at the start of 2013.