WBC cruiserweight champion Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (47-2-1, 33 KO’s) will be defending his title for the fifth against former 2008 Olympic heavyweight gold medalist from Russia Rakhim Chakhkiev (16-0, 12 KO’s) on June 22nd in Moscow, Russia. This is going to be a tough fight for the 31-year-old Wlodarczyk because the 30-year-old Chakhkiev is a tough inside fighter with excellent power. He’s a much different type of fighter than the guys that Wlodarczyk has been fighting recently.
Chakhkiev, #2 WBC,#5 IBF, #9 WBA, #WBO, is taking a step up in class with this fight. Up until now, Chakhkiev’s best opponents have been Zack Page, Alexander Kotlobay, Michael Simms, Epifanio Mendoza and Andres Taylor. None of them have been even remotely competitive with Chakhkiev. He was too powerful and skilled for those guys and the fights pretty much turned out to be all mismatches.
Wlodarczyk’s best wins have come against Danny Green, Francisco Palacios, Giacobbe Fragomeni and Steven Cunningham. Wlodarczyk’s wins over Palacios have been controversial with a lot of boxing fans feeling that Polacios should have won both of them. Both of the fights have taken place in Wlodarczyk’s home country of Poland, and he’s pretty hard to beat when he’s fighting at home.
#8 WBC heavyweight contender Manuel Charr (23-1, 13 KO’s) might be little more than just a fringe contender in the division, but he is quite good at pushing for fights against top fighters. Charr campaigned for a title shot against WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko last year and got it despite never having faced any real quality opposition. 
I have been ridiculed, unfairly so in my opinion, for expressing my wanton thought processes in the local when it comes to boxing. As any real man such as myself knows the local pub is where a lot, if not most, of the best boxing banter occurs (and indeed fights depending in which part of Stoke you live in). Being a somewhat pugilist sage, in my local and wider community, I am still happily surprised when people wish to enter into a boxing debate with me. Not least of all because it gives me a chance to hear others opinions – even though they are largely wrong and not worth hearing, unlike mine. Whilst I have spent a lot of time in America, and like to call it a second home, even though it is my mum who owns a second home there and lets me stay over, the knowledge in the States isn’t as widespread on important matters e.g Amir Khan. Unlike here in the greatest country on earth, Great Britain (mostly England), everyone knows who Amir Khan is. Most people will remember him for three reasons, which are i) he won an Olympic medal, ii) he got knocked out by John Prescott’s nephew and iii) he beat up some blokes trying to nick his Range Rover or is an awesome boxer. This highly informative and easy to read article aims to synthesize many parts of my knowledge to create a wider spectrum for the uninformed, and mostly yank culprits, who do not see what all us Great Britons see – Khan is King (not literal). In my opinion he is pound for pound number one above the likes of Mayweather and Timothy Bradley.
Every great fighter needs a nemesis to challenge him, and long ago Nonito Donaire’s many critics picked one for him in WBA champion Guillermo Rigondeaux. Two equal champions battling for glory? That sounds much more exciting than the sobering reality that Rigondeaux is a massive underdog.
By James Slater: In sad news, it has been reported that former top class heavyweight contender and former two-time world title challenger Carl “The Truth” Williams has passed away. Williams, just 53, lost a long battle with oesophageal cancer, passing away on April 7th.
Cassidy H. (Queens, NYC): I’ve heard you speak strongly about Donaire in the past. Seems like he has all the momentum going into his clash with Rigondeaux this week. How do you see it all playing out?
#2 WBA Marcos Maidana is picking 23-year-old Adrien Broner (26-0, 22 KO’s) to defeat WBA World welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (32-4, 7 KO’s) in their fight on June 22nd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Joe Calzaghe knows a thing or two about WBA super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler (46-2, 35 KO’s) after having beaten him by a 12 round unanimous decision in a grueling fight in 2007. After watching some of his recent fights, Calzaghe believes that Kessler’s physical skills have deteriorated enough since their 2007 to where he’s now vulnerable to losing to IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch (30-2, 22 KO’s) in their rematch on May 25th in London at the O2 Arena. 
IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (59-3, 50 KO’s) has decided to squeeze in what should be an easy stay busy fight against unbeaten challenger Francesco Pianeta (28-0-1, 15 KO’s) on May 4th at the SAP-Arena in Mannheim, Germany. 
WBC interim welterweight champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 KO’s) was recently able to WBC welterweight champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. (43-0, 26 KO’s) to agree to go toe-to-toe with him in their fight on May 4th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.