By Bill Phanco: According to espn, former WBO/WBC middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik (40-2, 34 KO’s) is retiring from boxing after a 13-year pro career. Pavlik is concerned about the health risks for him if he were to continue to fight. He’s not seeing any problems now but he’s worried about could show up later in the future if he were to continue his career.
Pavlik said to Dan Rafael of ESPN “When you stay in the sport too long you have health problems. That’s a big, big thing for me. I’m talking about in the future. I’m talking about when I’m 55 or 60…I don’t think the drive is there anymore. I’m moving on to a new chapter in my life.”
The timing for this move is somewhat strange being that there’s been talk of Pavlik facing former IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute in Montreal, Canada. That’s a fight that not only would have given Pavlik a nice little payday but it also could have possibly reignited his boxing career if he were to have beaten Bute.
By Michael Collins: IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko needs an opponent for his April 6th fight date in Germany, and thus far there isn’t anyone that his management team has picked out for him. Odlanier Solis was reportedly ruled out for Wladimir, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN.
By Michael Collins: Gavin Rees (37-1-1, 18 KO’s) may be considered an underdog against WBC lightweight champion Adrien Broner (25-0, 21 KO’s), but he doesn’t see himself in that role and he thinks he’s going to beat Broner next month in their fight on February 16th.
By Rob Smith: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum says he made an offer to Golden Boy Promotions for a fight between his fighter WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (31-1, 20 KO’s) and their fighter WBC super bantamweight champion Abner Mares, but Golden Boy didn’t agree to the offer, according to RingTV.
By Rob Smith: Bob Arum of Top Rank says his fighter WBO welterweight champion Tim Bradley (29-0, 12 KO’s) will be facing a well-known opponent in his next fight on March 16th. Arum isn’t saying who it is but it’s rumored to be super featherweight Yuriorkis Gamboa (22-0, 16 KO’s). This would be an interesting fight if it happens because Bradley pretty badly flawed to where even a guy like 5’5” Gamboa would have a decent chance of beating him by moving up three divisions to take the fight.
By Jeff Sorby: Dan Rafael of ESPN believes that if WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez does fight on the Floyd Mayweather Jr. undercard on May 4th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, it won’t be against the unbeaten WBA World junior middleweight Austin Trout.
By Rob Smith: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is enthusiastic about placing the Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez fifth fight inside a new arena in Mexico City, Mexico. The arena holds 18,000 and Arum believes it’s an ideal location for the Pacquiao-Marquez fight to take place. He expects Americans to come and watch the Pacquiao-Marquez fight, but it’s going to be real test to see if that happens.
By Bill Phanco: Mikey Garcia (30-0, 26 KO’s) comes from a big boxing family and he’s had a ton support all throughout his six-year pro career. Thus far Garcia has been matched carefully chosen opposition to the point where his resume may not really tell the true picture of how good or not so good he is as a fighter.