Recap: Barker unseats Geale

barker333 Fans were treated to a great night of boxing on HBO on Saturday as “Dazzling” Darren Barker wrestled the IBF Middleweight title from former champion Daniel “Real Deal” Geale. Most ringside observers and fans, (not including HBO’s unofficial scorer and boxing judge Barbara Perez), had the fight scored extremely close, as each fighter gave as much as they took in this nip and tuck affair.

Geale predictably had a strong beginning to the fight and controlled the pace and distance. As the fight progressed, Barker came to life by manufacturing a body assault in an attempt to reduce Geale’s output. By the fourth round Barker appeared to have flashes of momentum, but suffered a cut above his eye and some bruising for his troubles.

continue

An Inside Look At Michael Oliveira

Light Middleweight Contender, Michael “The Brazilian Rocky” Oliveira, (21-1, 16KOs), puts his career back on track after it was temporality derailed with his first professional loss to four-time, two division world champion, Brazilian icon, Accelino “Popo” Freitas, (39-2, 33KOs); by winning four consecutive bouts in which he garnered the vacant World Boxing Association (“WBA”) Fedebol Light Middleweight Title and the vacant World Boxing Counsel (“WBC”) Fecarbox Light Middleweight Title. He successfully defended these two straps, twice.

Oliveira, born in Sao Paulo, Brazil but moved to Miami, Florida when he was two weeks ago, is ranked number six by the WBC and number seven by the WBA. He looks to move up the ranking in his division, as he’s tentatively scheduled to fight, Omar “El Businessman” Chavez, (30-2-1, 22KOs), on October 12 in Las Vegas, Nevada, in an intriguing bout between two up and coming boxers.

continue

Saul Alvarez vs. Floyd Mayweather – style, weight and age issues

September 14 is near and “The One” will stand out hopefully without controversy. I am not sure who will be favored by the politics if it comes to that. Floyd was never a KO artist and after moving up in weight he did not bring his punch with him. Saul Alvarez knocking out Floyd Mayweather is not a scenario that pundits would even consider although „Canelo“ seems to hit hard enough. The outcome will probably depend on the judges.

There are labels for matching up different styles like “a boxer vs. a puncher“, “a stylist vs. a brawler“, if I had to label the fight I’d say “a boxer vs. a fighter” but there would be a lot of “fine print“ under that label.

Floyd Mayweather‘s style is unconventional for the pro ranks as it is fundamentally based on the Olympic/amateur boxing style. His amateur boxing skills have been optimized and modified for prize fighting.

continue

Award Winning Artist Commissioned to Create Artwork for Mayweather vs Canelo Superfight!

1444 “The One” prefight painting by Richard T. Slone, the second of three in the series.

LAS VEGAS (Aug 21, 2013) – Multi-award winning artist Richard T. Slone, known by fight fans around the globe for his unique style and ability to capture the true essence of the sweet science with each brush stroke, has been commissioned to create the official artwork for the upcoming Superfight between Floyd Mayweather and Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, which will take place on Saturday Sept 14, at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, live on SHOWTIME PPV®.

Slone will be ringside at the fight to complete his series of official paintings and will also be hosting an exhibit of his works at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on September 12-15th. “Having Richard T. Slone creating unique artwork for this fight is a thrill and an honor for us at Golden Boy Promotions,” said company CEO Richard Schaefer.

continue

2-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Lomachenko to Make Pro Debut

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (August 21, 2013) — Two-time Ukrainian Olympic gold medalist VASYL “The Great” LOMACHENKO will jump into the deep end of boxing’s international-sized swimming pool when he makes his professional debut in a 10-round featherweight bout against Jonathan Oquendo (23-3, 16 KOs), of Puerto Rico. Lomachenko’s pro debut will be showcased on the pay-per-view undercard of the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight championship between undefeated defending champion TIMOTHY “Desert Storm” BRADLEY, JR. and four-division world champion and Méxican icon JUAN MANUEL “Dinamita” MÁRQUEZ, the only two fighters to defeat Fighter of the Decade Manny Pacquiao in the last seven years.

continue

Don King and Fres Oquendo Congratulate WBC President Sulaiman during Key to the City of Miami Ceremony

Miami, Florida – August 20, 2013 – On August 20, 2013, legendary boxing promoter Don King and top-rated heavyweight Fres Oquendo congratulated WBC President Jose Sulaiman at Miami’s City Hall as he received the Key to the City of Miami by Mayor Tomás Regalado.

“This was a great ceremony and Sulaiman is one of the guys who does it right in and out of boxing,” said Oquendo, who is currently the WBC U.S. Silver Champion and the fifth ranked heavyweight in the WBA.

continue

Abner Mares, Jhonny Gonzalez, Leo Santa Cruz & Victor Terrazas media conference call transcript

Richard Schaefer

Thank you very much and thank you all media members to be on the call, thank you to both fighters to be on the call. I remember a couple years ago we did a card called Action Heroes and then we, of course, just had another one a few weeks ago, Knockout Kings 2 and I think this card here from the Stub Hub Center would certainly fit perfectly into either one of those cards. Because one thing, which is for sure, that night, on Saturday night the 24th of August from Stub Hub Center, fists will fly, it will be heavy action and it’s going to be a tremendous night of boxing again.

continue

Mares vs. Gonzalez and Terrazas vs. Santa Cruz sizzle Video

Undefeated WBC Featherweight World Champion Abner Mares will make the first defense of his title in his sixth consecutive championship fight this Saturday on SHOWTIME. He will be opposed by a man who used to hold the WBC crown and made four successful defenses – hard-hitting two-time world champ Jhonny Gonzalez.

In Saturday’s co-feature, streaking WBC Super Bantamweight World Champion Victor “Vikingo” Terrazas stands in the way of unbeaten rising star and former bantamweight king Leo “Terremoto” Santa Cruz’s quest to be a two-division world champ.

continue

Anthony Mundine speaks on bout with Shane Mosley: “I’ve Gotta Be On My A Game”

Three time world champion Anthony “The Man” Mundine (44-5, 26 KOs) spoke with ‘Radio Ringside’ on SEN 1116 in Melbourne, Australia on Monday night to discuss his upcoming bout with future hall of famer “Sugar” Shane Mosley (47-8-1, 39 KOs) later this year.

Since venturing to the United States for the first time in his career last July to take on Bronco McKart, Mundine has made it clear that each fight going forward is to be a major contest.
Since this point he has remained true to his vision, with his first fight after the McKart bout a rematch of his 2009 classic with countryman Daniel Geale, for Geale’s IBF middleweight title. The bout saw Geale victorious via unanimous decision this January, to even the ledger between the two at one apiece. But the defeat hasn’t deterred Mundine’s quest for supremacy and to fight the biggest names possible in the sport, with the announcement of his bout with Mosley last week reaffirming his plans outlined last year.

continue

Kubrat Pulev vs. Tony Thompson – analysis and forecast

Photo: Team Sauerland – It has been a long dry season for the heavyweight division and this is a fight that could stir interest on both sides of the ocean. The fight has a mandatory eliminator status and the winner should be in line to challenge Wladimir Klitschko for his IBF title.

Both fighters are roughly the same size, Thompson is an inch taller and has a two inch reach advantage, he was also 9 pounds heavier for his last fight at 259 while Pulev weighs around 250 lbs. Their styles are different as they come from a different boxing background and different boxing schools.

Tony “The Tiger“ Thompson has 41 fights on his record and obviously has more experience as a pro. He is also 9 years older but at 41 years of age this will not be an advantage. He is a good honest pro who had to go through the motions and wait for years for his opportunity. He fell short twice against W. Klitschko but the reason he is in the mix again is because he exposed David Price twice. Price used to be a decent amateur at least on paper but could not adapt to the longer professional bouts.Thompson has a typical pro style which is individual and instinctive, he improvises with his game and this makes him somewhat unpredictable. His greatest asset against Pulev will be his southpaw stance. It will make landing the orthodox jab hard and even dangerous and the jab has been Pulev‘s best weapon.

continue