Andre Ward will need shoulder surgery, fight with Kelly Pavlik off

ward3343By Bill Phanco: WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward (26-0, 14 KO’s) will reportedly require shoulder surgery on his right shoulder to fix a problem that occurred in late November while sparring to get ready for his fight with Kelly Pavlik.

It was originally thought that Ward’s injured shoulder would heal with rest, but unfortunately it’s not healing the way they thought it would and he’ll need surgery. Ward’s scheduled fight with Pavlik on February 23rd has been cancelled, and Pavlik’s manager Cameron Dunkin is reportedly looking in another direction. Steve Kim is reporting that Pavlik could face former IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute in March, although nothing was said about that from ESPN.

Pavlik should consider this a good thing that his fight with Ward is off, because he really didn’t have much of a chance to win the fight. It would have been bad for him unless he were to come up with a knockout to somehow negate Ward’s superior skills.

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Cameron Hammond: A rising talent from a land down-under

Interview by Chris Errington — Cameron ‘The Hammer’ Hammond is a huge emerging prospect in the junior-middleweight division. Only twenty three years of age, he’s already won a plethora of titles at both state and national level. He’s represented Australia at both the Commonwealth Games in Delhi (2010) and the Olympics in London (2012). On December 11th he won his first professional bout, a crushing TKO over China’s Zhi Xiang Jiang. Now fighting under the banner of Hatton Promotions Asia-Pacific, the future looks bright for the young man from Moree, New South Wales. Cameron has taken a few minutes out of his busy schedule to discuss his life and career so far.

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Haye: Vitali needs to fight me for his legacy

haye343434By Michael Collins: David Haye (26-2, 24 KO’s) thinks that WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko’s legacy won’t be impressive as it could be unless he faces his before he retires from boxing in the near future. Haye doesn’t think Vitali has had a true legacy-building fight during his 16-year-old career that boxing fans will remember.

Haye told Sky Sports News “He [Vitali] needs a fight people will actually remember, and the only recognized heavyweight out there is myself. He’s had 50 fights against nobodies. The only fight of his that people remember is the one against Lennox Lewis, which he lost.”

I’m all for Vitali building his legacy but there’s really no one in the top 15 right now that will help Vitali in that respect. Haye has already been easily beaten Wladimir Klitschko, so his scalp wouldn’t be worth much for Vitali at this point. It might have been before Wladimir beat Haye, but not now.

Fighters like Tyson Fury and David Price aren’t worth much for Vitali, because those fighters have been facing generally weak opposition.

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Chavez Jr. expected back in the ring in May with new trainer Beristain

chavez423By Bill Phanco: It looks as if trainer Freddie Roach is on the way out as trainer for former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (46-1-1, 32 KO’s), according to Doghouseboxing.com. Roach’s replacement is said to be legendary trainer Nacho Beristain, the same guy that molded Juan Manuel Marquez’s career.

Chavez Jr. returning to the ring in May could hinge on his upcoming suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for him testing positive for marijuana for his last fight in September. If the commission gives him a lengthy suspension then the May fight date obviously won’t happen. However, he’s expected to receive a shorter six month or less retroactive suspension and that would enable him to fight because the suspension will have started from September 2012. Matthew Macklin is one of the possible opponents that Chavez Jr. could face if he returns to the ring in May. If Chavez Jr. wins his next fight, he’ll be meeting Sergio Martinez in a rematch in September 2013.

Roach did a pretty good job as Chavez Jr’s trainer. There was only that one loss that Chavez Jr. suffered recently to Sergio Martinez that marred Roach’s otherwise near perfect job with Chavez Jr. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot that Roach could do with Chavez Jr. as you saw with his latest training camp for the Martinez fight.

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Froch: I’ll be at my best when I face Kessler in 2013

By Michael Collins: IBF super middleweight champion Carl Froch doesn’t believe he was at his best when he was beaten by Mikkel Kessler in 2010, and Andre Ward in 2011. Something got in the way of both fights that kept Froch from being 100%. However, Froch believes he was firing on all cylinders when he stopped IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute in May of this year to grab his IBF title. Forch also thinks he was 100% when he beat Yusaf Mack recently in Nottingham.

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First Annual “Gogue Awards” for the boxing year 2012 – Part II

04 Trout IMG_2853By Joseph Herron — After somewhat of an historic year in the world of boxing, expert fight strategist and prolific trainer James Gogue gives Eastsideboxing.com his exclusive insight into the best and worst of the sweet science during the year 2012.

Here’s a recap of the categories and winners that were published in Part I of the first annual “Gogue Awards”:

Fighter of the Year 2012 – Juan Manuel Marquez
Fight of the Year 2012 – Marquez KO6 Pacquiao, Dec 8th
Round of the Year 2012 – Rios vs. Alvarado, Round 5, Oct 13th
Upset of the Year 2012 – Lopez TKO9 Ortiz, June 23rd
KO of the Year 2012 – Marquez KO6 Pacquiao, Dec 8th

Gogue Award for Worst Decision of the Year 2012 – Cloud SD12 Campillo, Feb 18th

“There were some very questionable decisions throughout the boxing year 2012,” admits James Gogue. “But none more impactful to the unfortunate recipient than Tavoris Cloud getting the split decision victory over Gabriel Campillo in Corpus Christi, Texas, earlier this year.”

“Some would argue that Timothy Bradley’s split decision victory over Manny Pacquiao would be the worst decision of the year, but that unpopular judgment did nothing to deflate the career of the Pac-Man. The right man won in the court of public opinion, and the media outcry following the controversial verdict made sure of that.”

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First Annual “Gogue Awards” for the boxing year 2012 – Part I

marquez9025By Joseph Herron: After somewhat of an historic year in the world of boxing, expert fight strategist and prolific trainer James Gogue gives Eastsideboxing.com his exclusive insight into the best and worst of the sweet science during the year 2012.

Gogue Award for Fighter of the Year 2012 – Juan Manuel Marquez

“During 2012, we saw many fighters make a solid and convincing argument for “Fighter of the Year’ honors,” admits James Gogue. “Danny Garcia, Abner Mares, Nonito Donaire, Austin Trout, Wladimir Klitschko, Leo Santa Cruz, Adrien Broner…they all deserve recognition for their respective accomplishments in the ring throughout 2012.”

“Although these fighters made great strides to further their clout within the industry, one fighter accomplished something that impacted the sport greater than any other individual achievement. That was Juan Manuel Marquez doing the unthinkable and knocking Manny Pacquiao unconscious. JMM finally gained that signature win on his resume that eluded the Mexican fight legend throughout his entire 17 year professional career.”

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Haye should forget about Vitali and either retire or fight someone else

By Michael Collins: It’s kind of sad to see former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (26-2, 24 KO’s) still hanging around waiting and hoping that he’ll somehow get a big fight with WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko. It’s pretty clear that isn’t going to happen, and he’s just wasting his time talking about the fight all the time when the signs are pretty clear that there’s just no interest from Vitali’s side.

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Helenius vs. Sprott, Huck vs. Afolabi 3 on March 2nd, in Germany

By Michael Collins: Big unbeaten 6’6 ½” heavyweight Robert Helenius (18-0, 11 KO’s) will be facing high level journeyman Michael Sprott (37-19, 17 KO’s) in a scheduled 10 round bout on March 2nd in what may be a more competitive fight than what many boxing fans think at the Koenig Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany according to German boxen site x-boxen.

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