Lee met face-to-face with Saunders at today’s press conference as the clock counts down to their Saturday 19th December barnstormer at the Manchester Arena, but rumours have been circulating that Lee’s team have been negotiating a fight with top pound-for-pounder GGG.
Former WBO 140 lb champion, Ruslan Provodnikov is heading to Europe for his next fight on Nov. 7 after failing to secure a TV deal in the US.
The “Siberian Rocky” will face the (13-0, 10ko) Jesus Alvarez Rodriguez over 10 rounds at welterweight on promoter Rodney Berman’s “Night of Champions” card at Salle Des Etoiles in Monte Carlo, plugging the gap left by the postponed 175 lb clash between (injured) WBA (reg) champion Juergen Braehmer and Thomas Van Oosthuizen.
Chris Eubank Jr has been receiving a lot of media attention this week in the UK, particularly over comments from his father suggesting he beats Gennady Golovkin, yet the Brighton man has finally turned his attention back to reality, issuing a warning to his December opponent, Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan.
Eubank first fights unheralded American, Tony Jeter, on Saturday night in Sheffield -in what should present as nothing but routine business – before moving on to the Irishman on the Anthony Joshua/Dillian Whyte bill in London.
Former IBF cruiserweight champion Steve ‘USS’ Cunningham, has made the decision to rejoin the 200 lb division after a 3 year stint at heavyweight that led to some controversial moments.
Cunningham battled to a draw against Antonio Tarver in August in a fight that many thought he’d done enough to win, with the added news this week that Tarver tested positive for synthetic testosterone making circumstances all the more bitter for the former US Navy veteran.
It seems that Brandon Rios hasn’t quite got over his disappointment at the cancellation of his mooted fight with IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook earlier this year, insisting Brook was afraid to step in the ring with him and is simply calling out names he has no intention of fighting.
Rios’ team were negotiating with Brook and his promoter Eddie Hearn for some time before the proposed clash fell apart due to contractual minutiae; most notably money and a rematch clause, leading ‘Bam Bam’ toward his alternative date next month with WBO boss, Tim Bradley.
WBO 160 lb mandatory, Billy Joe Saunders, has weighed in on the recent media attention being given to former foe Chris Eubank Jr, suggesting that the Brighton fighter is talking himself into huge trouble by repeatedly mentioning Gennady Golovkin.
Saunders fights Andy Lee for the latter’s middleweight world title on December 19th in Manchester, and there is no love lost between him and Eubank, whom he [gleefully] beat by split decision 11 months ago.
After his November homecoming was cancelled, it’s looking increasingly likely that Russian WBA/WBO/IBF light heavyweight champion, Sergey Kovalev, will rematch Canada’s Jean Pascal on Jan. 30 instead.
The plan is for the Pascal rematch to be the first of a 3-fight schedule that will culminate in a clash with Oakland’s unbeaten P4P star Andre Ward later next year – himself set to embark on a similar deal on HBO, ostensibly beginning on next month’s Cotto/Canelo undercard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzUJirDOzMM
Gennady Golovkin looked nothing short of sensational when he scored an 8th round TKO against the brave but overmatched David Lemieux on Saturday night in front of a packed house at Madison Square Garden. Golovkin was running on all cylinders. He dictated the pace of the fight with a snappy jab, and did an impeccable job at controlling the distance and maintaining optimal range. It was Golovkin’s 21st knockout victory in a row, a true testament to his extraordinary power.