HBO finalizing Wladimir Klitschko – Alexander Povetkin deal to air fight live in U.S

KlitschkoBanks001_PublicAddress 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.

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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).

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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Sergey Kovalev – Clear and Present Danger

Credit where credit’s due, most fighters in Nathan Cleverly’s position would avoid a showdown with such a fierce-punching, and unbeaten, rival. There may well be unanswered questions over Sergey Kovalev’s endurance, but why worry about endurance when concussive power in both hands negates the need for such a trait? And who’s to say that the Sergey couldn’t destroy opponents all night long if necessary?

The cold war’s over and Russia’s weapons are no longer steeped in mystery, the world’s well aware of the destructive capabilities of this particular piece of Russian hardware, and it’s even based in the United States of America! One may argue that Sergey’s rise through the ranks is a result of careful selection of opponents but in all fairness, his opponents are exactly that, opponents – they certainly didn’t prepare to help Sergey notch up a knockout rate of above 83%.

To look a little further into the quality of opposition, what did actually happen when Sergey Kovalev stepped up in class and challenged a seasoned pro whom had recently tangled with Tavoris Cloud and, what many spectators feel, won – Gabriel Campillo was, undoubtedly, a test for Sergey.

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Interview with “Fast” Eddie Chambers

Chip Mitchell: Eddie, let’s first talk about the decision to move down from heavyweight to cruiserweight? Was part of the decision it based more on size or more opportunities in the division?

Fast Eddie Chambers: It is a combination of all that. But honestly when you thing about the opportunities in cruiserweight it’s almost in some ways just as difficult because you see a lot of these champions sitting on belts. At least in heavyweight division you’ve got one guy saying ‘Look I’m going to try to rule the division’.

In the cruiserweight division we have four different champions and they’re all sitting on belts. And they are like ‘I don’t want to pick and choose’ and the promoters have to do this and that. Like Kathy (Duva) was saying a little earlier, they talk about having this other fight already made or that other fight made, so they’re not really thinking about getting anybody a shot at taking their title. They are thinking of keeping their belts and sitting on them.

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Pacquiao-Rios Notebook: Beijing Edition

BEIJING (July 30, 2013) — Stop No. 2 on the Manny Pacquiao – Brandon Rios 23,722-mile international media tour to promote their historic 12-round welterweight rumble has landed them in Beijing. On Monday, Pacquiao, Rios and their respective trainers, Hall of Famer Freddie Roach and Trainer of the Year Robert Garcia, began the day with a little morning roadwork – approximately 3,000 steps worth — as they climbed a portion of the Great Wall, at Shuiguan, which was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and is famous for its precipitous cliffs and beautiful views.

Before embarking on the massive climb, Rios and Garcia ducked into a souvenir stand and emerged wearing cowboy hats. “The rancheros have hit Beijing,” exclaimed Rios to the delight of the hundreds of tourists visiting and the media covering.

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V. Klitschko vs. Stiverne WBC purse bid postponed again

OTTAWA, Canada (July 26, 2013) — When heavyweight contender Bermane “B. Ware” Stiverne (21-1, 20 KOs) upset Chris Arreola (35-3, 30 KOs) on HBO this past April 27, in a title elimination bout, it set-up the dangerous Canadian for a super fight versus future Hall of Famer and long-time World Boxing Council (WBC) World Heavyweight Champion, Vitali Klitschko (45-2, 41 KOs).

Stiverne completely dominated former world title challenger Arreola, dropping him in the third round, en route to a unanimous 12-round decision (118-109, 117-110, 117-110) for the vacant WBC Silver title.

A purse bid was set and postponed, reset and re-postponed. Finally, July 22 was supposed to be the final purse bid date when, surprisingly, the WBC once again granted another extension requested by the Team Klitschko, forcing the mandatory challenger to wait once again for his world title shot that he has now earned twice by winning a pair “title elimination” bouts. WBO No. 1 contender Stiverne, who is also rated No. 10 in the world by The Ring Magazine, had knocked out Ray Austin in the 10th round of their WBC heavyweight title eliminator on June 25, 2011.

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Zsolt Erdei Calls Out Andre Ward

New York, NY (7/29/13) – Former light heavyweight and cruiserweight world champion Zsolt Erdei (33-1, 18KO’s) isn’t looking for any easy fights after suffering his first professional defeat in a razor-thin and questionable split decision loss to Denis Grachev in the first leg of the Monte-Carlo Million Dollar Super 4 Tournament. Erdei is instead offering up his services to super middleweight kingpin and ESPN.com’s pound-for-pound number two-ranked fighter in the world, Andre Ward.

Ward, who is coming off a shoulder injury and extensive rehab, hasn’t fought since scoring a 10th-round TKO over Chad Dawson in September of last year. Erdei says he has no problem in moving down to super middleweight and would jump at the opportunity.

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