Fonfara will challenge Stevenson for the WBC crown in the main event of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, this Saturday, May 24, live on SHOWTIME® (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.
“This is not my first time as an underdog,” Fonfara said. “I’ve proved people wrong before and I’ll do it again.”
Undefeated lightweight contender, Ghislain “Mani” Maduma (16-0, 10KOs) is potentially one bout away from fighting International Boxing Federation (IBF) Champion, Miguel Vazquez; however, before this happens, he needs to defeat the tough “Mighty” Kevin Mitchell (37-2, 27KOs) in their lightweight title eliminator on May 31st on the undercard of the Carl Froch v. George Groves matchup at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
When talking with a friend of mine; a serious boxing-head, the conversation managed to swing around to how Andre ‘Son of God’ Ward (27-0-0) is still marginalized despite garnering quite glowing praise from critics around the world. We got on to this subject as we were discussing the upcoming super-middleweight clash between ‘Saint’ George Groves (19-1-0) and Carl ‘The Cobra’ Froch (32-2-0), and how the British public’s interest in the fight had greatly elevated the perceived status of the fight; already supplemented by the fact that there are two World titles on the line. Now, as a massive George Groves fan, I am delighted that he was made mandatory for the IBF title and has been successful in forcing a rematch; the question that lingers in my head is why these two fighters are having two title fights in the space of a year, whilst Ward languishes.
NEW YORK, NY / MIAMI FL (5/20/14) – World Boxing Council (WBC)/The Ring middleweight champion and Argentina’s favorite son, SERGIO “Maravilla” MARTÍNEZ, along with promoter Lou DiBella, held an international media conference all earlier today in anticipation of his upcoming world title defense and the most eagerly anticipated boxing event of 2014 against three-division world champion and the Pride of Puerto Rico, MIGUEL COTTO.
Below are a few quick notes from the call. A complete transcript to follow.
SERGIO MARTINEZ: My knee is feeling great and I have been running in the mornings. I haven’t felt this good in a very long time.
In the segment In the Ring, boxing writer Bill Barner interviews fighters from inside the ring in an effort to gain more insight into their fighting styles. In May 2014, Barner interviewed Super Middleweight Ahmed “The Egyptian” Elbiali.
Born in Egypt, Elbiali immigrated to the United States at a young age. As an amateur, Elbiali dreamed of being an Olympic fighter, but those dreams were shattered and shelved during the famous Arab Spring.
Some people, myself included, felt superstar Floyd Mayweather Junior would perhaps take a pass on his usual September fight due to the tougher than expected (not to mention foul-filled) night’s work “Money” had last time out, when he won a decision over a rough and ready Marcos Maidana. But such thinking has been proven wrong, because Mayweather has officially announced how he will next fight on September 13th – the venue and, more importantly, the opponent, will be announced in two weeks.
Leonard Ellerbe, speaking with ESPN.com last night, said a return meeting with Maidana, (who, along with his fans, claimed he was robbed of a deserved decision earlier this month) is a possibility, but that there is a “long list” of potential opponents according to Floyd‘s right-hand man.
HBO’s unofficial scorer, and celebrated long time judge and analyst, Harold Lederman made a valid point this past saturday night during the PPV bout between Viktor Postol (26-0, 11 KO’s) and Selcuk Aydin (26-3, 19 KO’s). During the bout, held at the Forum, Inglewood, CA, Harold made what would seem to be a legitimate, valid point.
He spelled things out, explaining that all too often tall fighters illegally use their extended lead hand as a “range finder”. The situation presented itself saturday night when the taller man, Postol, started using his extended left as a range finder for his power punch, the right. Specifically, he held his extended left out in such a way that it would not only obstruct Aydin’s vision, it would also act as a similar instrument used with a gun for estimating the distance to Aydin’s head. In this case, the projectile was Postol’s power loaded right.
Last night Tori “Sho Nuff” Nelson successfully defended her WIBA welterweight championship against former world champion Mia St. John. The bout was the main event for Ponytail Promotions who held their first card at Northern Virginia Community College.