Latest Prizefighter tournament line-up complete: James Toney enjoys star status

Fight fans can expect an interesting, hopefully exciting, latest instalment of the popular “Prizefighter” tournament on November 14th. Set to go out, as usual, live on Sky Sports, the latest tournament is another international heavyweights edition, with a Team USA Vs. Team UK element added for further intrigue.

The full eight-man line-up has been confirmed by Matchroom Sports as follows:

James Toney (USA)
Jason Gavern (USA)
Brian Minto (USA)
Damian “Bolo” Wills (USA) – (stepping in for Sherman “Tank” Williams, who pulled out for some reason)

Larry Olubamiwo (UK)
Michael Sprott (UK) – (stepping in for an injured Sam Sexton)
Matt Legg (UK)
Tom Little (UK)

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Rocky Martinez / Mikey Garcia Interview Transcript

On behalf of Top Rank® and PR Best Boxing we would like to welcome you to today’s conference call with WBO junior lightweight champion Roman “Rocky” Martinez and challenger undefeated former WBO featherweight champion Mikey Garcia. This is the main event of the tripleheader televised live on HBO® Saturday night beginning at 9:30 PM ET/PT from Corpus Christi, Texas. Immediately following the tripleheader telecast on HBO will be the debut of the four-part all-access series “24/7: Pacquiao-Rios”

TODD DUBOEF: We have a terrific show on Saturday night, which opens up with a fantastic fight between the two top-rated contenders — both undefeated former U.S. Olympians — Vanes Martirosyan and Demetrius Andrade battling for the WBO Junior Middleweight title in a division that is getting a lot of interest.

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Donaire/Darchinyan Interview Transcript

We have a terrific card coming up this Saturday at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas, which will be televised Live on HBO® beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT. The telecast will open up with the two top-rated contenders — both undefeated — in the junior middleweight division fighting for the vacant WBO title and coincidentally they are both former U.S. Olympians – Vanes “The Nightmare” Martirosyan taking on Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade; that will be followed by Nonito and Vic in their rematch; and the telecast will conclude with Roman “Rocky” Martinez defending his WBO junior lightweight title against former WBO featherweight champion, the undefeated Mikey Garcia. Robert Garcia will have his hands full Saturday night as he will be working the corners for both Donaire and Garcia.

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Peter ‘Kid Chocolate’ Quillin still searching for career defining fight

NEW YORK CITY (November 6, 2013) – Held prisoner because of the boxing network war, undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) middleweight champion Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin (30-0, 22 KOs) is still searching for his career defining fight.

The 30-year-old Quillin, fighting out of Brooklyn, is the only top-rated 160-pounder aligned with Showtime. The marquee-name middleweights, Sergio Martinez (WBC/Ring Magazine champion) and Gennady Golovkin (WBA), fight exclusively on rival HBO.

Quillin relishes the opportunity to fight any of the top rated middleweights, but he also understands the politics of boxing and the situation it has presently placed him in.

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November 7th 1988 – Sugar Ray Leonard Vs. Donny Lalonde: “For All The Gold” – 25-years on

It was one of the biggest and most controversial catch-weight world title fights in boxing history, and almost as soon as Sugar Ray Leonard-Donny Lalonde was announced fans wrote into top magazines such as KO and The Ring, complaining how Leonard had massively stacked the deck in his favour.

To refresh the memory of fight fans:

Leonard, at the time of November of 1988 already a three-weight world champion (welterweight, light-middleweight, middleweight), wanted more gold and to get it he persuaded Lalonde to defend his WBC light-heavyweight title against him at Caesars Palace. But there was a catch (pardon the pun!). Lalonde, a natural 175-pounder, had to drop down to the newly-created super-middleweight weight limit of 168-pounds because – in either a stroke of contractual genius or a stark example of gaining an unfair advantage – Leonard had seen to it that the newly-gilded WBC 168-pound strap would also be on the line.

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Darchinyan vs. Donaire, War for the Once Was vs. The Is

The clock is ticking, as both Nonito Donaire and Vic Darchinyan are eyeing a victory this coming Saturday night on HBO from Texas, as they step into the ring against each other for the second time. For Darchinyan, this will be a long awaited chance to redeem himself to the boxing fans that have witnessed Darchinyan being handed a rather nasty loss in his first fight against Donaire.

Ever since that night, Darchinyan has voiced his quest for the rematch over and over, but being that boxing is a political as well as a business career, it’s not always about being humble and giving your competition chances that are unnecessary and don’t make long term sense.

At last, Darchinyan, by way of Rigondeaux beating Donaire, has arrived at this golden opportunity to not only avenge a loss, but to skyrocket his career to all new heights.

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Nathan Cleverly Beefs Up

Nathan Cleverly is beefing up for his cruiserweight debut by stuffing on steak as he aims to become a two-time world champion.

The former WBO World Light-Heavyweight champion takes on the tough Australian Daniel Ammann for the Vacant Commonwealth Cruiserweight title on Saturday 30th November at London’s Copper Box Arena, live and exclusive on BoxNation.

Cleverly, 26, who started his pro career as an 18-year-old welterweight in 2005, is now adding an extra 25lb of muscle as he starts his campaign to win a second world title after his shock loss to Sergey Kovalev in August.

And the Welsh star knows that he will need as much beef as possible in his new weight class as he’ll be facing small heavyweights, but is confident he’ll also have the speed to deal with them.

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Darchinyan: I’m going to stop Donaire

Vic Darchinyan (39-5-1, 28 KO’s) realizes that he’s been brought in as the sacrificial lamb for Nonito Donaire (31-2, 20 KO’s)to slaughter this Saturday night on HBO to make Donaire look better than he is and to make boxing fans forget about the sight of a bleeding Donaire being clowned by WBA super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux last April. Darchinyan doesn’t care that he’s being brought in as a kind of a tune-up fight for Donaire instead of a credible opponent, because he plans on embarrassing Donaire by knocking him out in front of the entire nation on HBO at the American Bank Center, in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA.

Darchinyan said this on Tuesday’s conference call “I think so, yes. I think so. That’s why he [Donaire] chose me after the loss to Rigo. I think also that Nonito was exposed. I’ve been training hard for Nonito. I will stop him.

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Team Abdusalamov Establishing Trust for Their Injured Fighter and Family

Sampson Lewkowicz, promoter of hospitalized Russian heavyweight Magomed “Mago” Abdusalamov, along with promoters Leon Margules and Lou DiBella, and with help and support of others in the industry, are establishing a fund and to donate and raise funds to help alleviate the financial burden the unfortunate brain injury Abdusalamov suffered Saturday night has placed on him and his family.

32-year-old Abdusalamov had to have emergency surgery to remove a blood clot, and part of his skull had to be removed to reduce swelling, following his brutal 10-round war against Mike Perez at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, on Saturday, November 2. The fight was also broadcast worldwide on HBO.

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Golovkin Retains WBA Strap with Win over Stevens

On Saturday night, Gennady Golovkin defeated Curtis Stevens in front of nearly 5,000 fans at the Theater in Madison Square Garden. Golovkin won by TKO as Stevens’ uncle and trainer Andre Rozier stopped the fight after round eight. The victory takes “Triple G’s” record to 28-0 (25 KOs), while Stevens falls to 25-4 (18 KOs).

“I give myself a grade of 10,” Golovkin said after the fight. “I am ready to fight anybody, but specifically I want to fight Sergio Martinez.”

Gennady, I’ve got news for you. We want you to fight Martinez too. Golovkin already has a February 1, 2014 fight date set in Monte Carlo. No doubt he won’t get Martinez on that date, as Sergio’s team is trying to lock up a fight with Miguel Cotto.

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