More than just a trending revival, thanks to recent exciting fights and big bouts on the horizon, boxing is seemingly back as one of the most watched and profitable sports on earth. Carl Froch vs Mikkel Kessler had the whole of Britain enraptured, while the announcement of Floyd Mayweather fighting Saul Alvarez in September has made every sports fan around sit up and take notice. All over, boxing is far away from the days where many stated it was ‘dying’.
It is probably true that the rise of MMA gave boxing the kick up the backside it needed to ensure the best fights were getting made regularly and made accessible to as many as possible. But there are also powerful new promoters that have helped boxing rise back to prominence, with the likes of Golden Boy Promotions and Matchroom Boxing in particular wrestling control away from the old-school promoters that called all the shots and thus stifled the sport.
Review by James Slater: New York Post writer George Willis has delivered a fine read regarding the true story regarding one of the blackest days in boxing history. Willis, having done impeccable research, has produced the definitive read on the infamous second meeting between heavyweight legends Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson.
Now that Adonis Stevenson (21-1, 18 KO’s) has the WBC light heavyweight title after obliterating Chad Dawson in one round, Britain’s Tony Bellew, the #1 WBC 175 lb. contender, has come out of the woodwork and he wants his shot at Stevenson’s new WBC title and he likes his chances in beating the 35-year-old.
In response to a comment from unbeaten heavyweight contender Tyson Fury (21-0, 15 KO’s) over the weekend where Fury said a fight between him and former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (26-2, 24 KO’s) was “99 percent done,” Haye answered the questions on his social media site saying that he’s not agreed to fight the 6’9” heavyweight.
Brandon Rios (31-1-1, 23 KO’s) is very happy that he was picked out by his promoter Bob Arum to fight Manny Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KO’s) on November 23rd at the Cotai Arena, Venetian Resort, Macao, Macao S.A.R., China. Rios, 27, doesn’t plan on wasting his opportunity. He wants to knock Pacquiao out and get the praise that will come with a victory over the 34-year-old former 8-division world champion.
Former two division world champion Juan Manuel Lopez (33-2, 30 KO’s) could be the sacrificial lamb for WBO featherweight champion Mikey Garcia (31-0, 26 KO’s) to slaughter this Saturday, June 15th at the American Airlines Center, in Dallas, Texas, USA.
Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer is going to be looking to match #2 WBC, Marcos Maidana (34-3, 31 KO’s) up against the winner of the June 22nd fight between WBA welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi (32-4, 7 KO’s) and Adrien Broner (26-0, 22 KO’s), according to Dan Rafael of ESPN. Maidana defeated Josesito Lopez by a 6th round TKO last Saturday night in Carson, California, in a tough, tough for Maidana.