Wladimir Klitschko Could Face Fres Oquendo In April; Oquendo Says Talks Are Ongoing

wladimir53 By James Slater: According to invaluable news site Fightnews.com, Puerto Rican veteran and long-time heavyweight contender “Fast” Fres Oquendo could be next for the mighty Wladimir Klitschko. “Dr. Steel Hammer” asked for permission to take a voluntary fight before his ordered defence against “regular” WBA heavyweight titlist Alexander Povetkin, and it looks like initial possibility Odlanier Solis is now out of the running and Oquendo, 35-7(23) is in pole position.

Of course, nothing is certain until contracts are signed. Still, Oquendo, now aged 39 and into his sixteenth year as a pro, is hoping he will get the next shot at the WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO king.

“My manager (Tom Tsatas) is working on it and it’s possible that in the end Wladimir could face me on April 6th,” Fres told Fightnews.com. “I’m training to get in the best condition to rip his head off. Give me the opportunity and don’t avoid me!”

continue

Ronnie Shields remembers Omar Henry

By Joseph Herron: On Friday, February 1st, Junior Middleweight prospect Omar Henry passed away at age 25, after battling gallbladder cancer for the past three months.

After learning of the tragic news, trainer Ronnie Shields expressed his sympathy for his former fighter on this Sunday’s edition of “The Pugilist KOrner’s: Weekend Wrap”.

“I trained Omar Henry in the beginning of his professional career, and we always had a lot of fun in the gym. He was a fun-loving and jovial character. He was always making people laugh and telling jokes.”

continue

Cory Spinks Retires

spinks By John G. Thompson — As reported on various websites including a statement released by Christy Spinks on Boxingscene.com, her husband, thirty-four year old Cory “The Next Generation” Spinks (39-8, 11 KO’s) is retiring from the sport of boxing following his loss to Carlos “King” Molina (21-5-2, 6 KO’s) this past Friday night.

Molina dominated the IBF eliminator at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights, pitching a shutout on one judge’s scorecard, and losing only one round according to the other two judges. Spinks was deducted a point in the ninth round for holding. Molina knocked him down in the eleventh, and Spinks was given a standing eight count in the twelfth after the ropes seemed to keep him from going down again.

continue

Exclusive interview with Quatavious Cash

Exclusive interview by Dan Emicus with Quatavious Cash [6-0, 4 KOs]

When did you know that boxing was your calling?

I knew boxing was my calling when I was six years old. I was forced to fight everyday and I was good. So I always knew I was going to become a fighter, even though I didn’t get the opportunity until I was 14 or 15. That’s when I stopped everything and gave all my focus to boxing.

How did you fare in the amateurs?

I was too small for 165 and too big for 152, so I never reached my full potential as an amateur.

continue

Braehmer beats Gutknecht – Robert Woge wins first title

Juergen Braehmer is the new European Light Heavyweight Champion. After twelve exciting rounds, the 34-year-old won an unanimous decision over previous titlist Eduard Gutknecht in Berlin on Saturday night.

“It was a very tough fight against Eddy. I did manage to take advantage of most of my strengths, but it was difficult for me to keep focus for the whole duration of the fight,” said the prodigy of coach Karsten Roewer after the championship bout at the Max-Schmeling-Halle.

Right at the beginning, the former titleholder Gutknecht was keen to put his stamp onto the fight and went straight into attack mode. The 30-year-old caught Braehmer on the head, who seemed a bit overrun by this ferocious start. However, this was not going to be the only unwanted surprise for the man from northern Germany. Gutknecht tried everything he could which resulted in him not only showing an aggressive approach with his fists but also using some unclean methods by pushing his opponent to the ground.

continue

Finally: Timothy Bradley Gets A Post-Pacquiao Opponent – Will Face Russian Slugger Ruslan Provodnikov In March

By James Slater – Though some fans were a little turned off by unbeaten pound-for-pounder Timothy Bradley after his hugely controversial points win over superstar Manny Pacquiao – most people referring to the June 2012 split decision as a blatant robbery – the subsequent time spent out of the ring by “Desert Storm” has been unfortunate. Some fans seem to feel Bradley, 29-0(12) should have raised his hands after June 9th last year, and admitted he didn’t really defeat Pac-Man, but of course he didn’t and who can be surprised by this (have you EVER known a winning fighter confess that he didn’t deserve the victory he was awarded)?

But despite the perceived lack of sportsmanship on the part of Bradley, he is too good a fighter to have been out of action for almost a year. The good news is Bradley has an opponent all sorted out; the not so great news is the guy the WBO welterweight champ will defend against on March 16th on HBO. After the “win” over Pacquiao, it was thought the Palm Springs man would get further mega-fights. Instead, Bradley will face crude (but hugely exciting) Russian light-welterweight Ruslan Provodnikov. The 29-year-old (the same age as Bradley) from Beryozovo will move up in weight and go after Bradley’s belt at The Home Depot Centre.

continue

Dirrell dominates Gbenga

By Michael Collins: Last Saturday night, super middleweight Andre Dirrell (21-1, 14 KO’s) showed boxing fans why he was so highly hyped in the past by beating an out of his class 2nd tier fighter Michael Gbenga (14-7, 14 KO’s) by an impressive 10 round unanimous decision at the Convention Center in McAllen, Texas.

The 29-year-old Dirrell, who hadn’t seen action in well over a year, knocked down with a right uppercut to the head in the 9th round, and Dirrell also had Gbenga hurt in the 7th and 10th rounds from blistering right hands.

Gbenga showed good power as well, but he wasn’t able to land many of his shots due to Dirrell ducking or pulling his head away to avoid his power shots. He looked pretty frustrated with his inability to connect.

Dirrell’s hand speed was just as fast as it was when was competing in Showtime’s Super Six tournament in 2009-2010.

continue

Rees upset about his underdog status for Broner fight

rees34 By Michael Collins: Former WBA light welterweight champion Gavin Rees (37-1-1, 18 KO’s) figured he’d be an underdog in his fight against WBC lightweight champion Adrien Broner (25-0, 21 KO’s) on February 16th, but Rees only now is finding out how much of an underdog he is with some betting agencies. Rees is reportedly an underdog 16-1 to 80-1, and he thinks the bigger numbers are just way too high given his experience and talent.

Rees said to thesun.co.uk “I understand Broner being a firm favorite, but I can’t believe my ability is being treated with such contempt. To regard me as an 80-1 chance is simply absurd. Do they think I’m some wet behind the ears novice?…I’m going to pull off an upset.”

Are 80-1 odds too high for this fight? I really don’t have any problems with those kinds of odds, and even if it was 100-1, I think those are a lot more realistic than 16-1 odds or whatever odds that Rees feels should be for this fight. Rees is just so far out of his league in this fight that it’s just not even funny.

continue

Exclusive Interview with super middleweight contender Adonis Stevenson

“I stopped Bute with 20 ounce gloves in sparring. I stopped him in like the third round, so when Bute fought Carl Froch I knew he was going to get hit because Carl Froch has a good style.”—Adonis Stevenson

Exclusive Interview by Geoffrey Ciani – I was recently afforded the opportunity to speak with #1 ranked IBF super middleweight mandatory challenger Adonis Stevenson (19-1, 16 KOs). Stevenson is looking forward to the chance to fight for the title after the dust settles in the upcoming rematch between reigning IBF champion Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch and current WBA title holder Mikkel Kessler. Stevenson shared his views on that match-up, and also discussed his plans while he waits for his opportunity. Additionally Stevenson also talked about his twelfth round stoppage victory against Donovan George, his opinion on 168 pound king Andre Ward, and the sad and untimely passing of his Hall of Fame trainer, Emanuel Steward. Here is what Stevenson had to say.

Audio:

GEOFFREY CIANI: Hello boxing fans. This is Geoff Ciani from East Side Boxing and I am joined by super middleweight contender, Adonis Stevenson. How’s everything going today, Adonis?

ADONIS STEVENSON: Very, very good. Very good, everything’s good.

continue

Interview with “Awesome” Aaron Williams

Exclusive interview by Dan Emicus

What was it like to work with Eddie Mustafa Muhammad?

Working with Eddie was great. We had such great team chemistry and I learned so much from him. For me, he is one the top five best boxing trainers of today. I wish him nothing but the best.

You took some time out, but that has somehow turned into 2 years! What’s the reason for this?

continue