Back when Sonny Liston was “The baddest man on the planet”

liston53There was a whole lot going on in the world fifty years ago. In the real world, hugely popular President, John. F Kennedy was embroiled in both civil rights issues and the ever-growing tension that was building in South East Asia. In England, the shock of the Profumo Affair was huge news, and in the same country members of pop music group The Beatles were closing in on taking the entire planet by storm.

In the boxing world, a young Cassius Clay was making noise, claiming the world heavyweight title was his destiny. For the moment, though, a hugely strong and terrifyingly intimidating former jail bird by the name of Charles Liston, Sonny to those who knew him, was looking like sitting on the heavyweight throne for, well, as long as he liked!

Ruslan Provodnikov: “I don’t think we need a rematch with Mike Alvarado”

ruslan titleMoments after his title winning effort against former champ Mike Alvarado, newly crowned WBO Junior Welterweight Champion Ruslan Provodnikov spoke candidly about a possible rematch with the Denver, Colorado, resident.

Although Ruslan’s promoter and president of Banner Promotions, Artie Pellulo, stated that an opportunity for a rematch would be extended to Mike Alvarado out of courtesy and respect, the Siberian native doesn’t really feel that a return bout would be appropriate after the way the highly anticipated title fight played out.

Despite being a competitive and entertaining battle of attrition, Ruslan was winning the fight on every judge’s scorecard at the time of stoppage. The judges’ scorecards read 98-90, 97-90, and 96-92; all in favor of the new WBO Champion.

Hopkins vs. Murat undercard fights for this Saturday

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ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (Oct. 21) – Before the legendary Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins defends his IBF Light Heavyweight World Championship against top contender Karo Murat on Saturday, Oct. 26, top talent from the East Coast and Puerto Rico will open the event on SHOWTIME EXTREME® and put their stellar records on the line against hungry opponents looking to make a name for themselves at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ.

Taking to the ring in undercard action will be unbeatens Zachary Ochoa, Robert Easter, Dominic Wade and Bryan Cruz, as well as Puerto Rican prospect Braulio Santos.

With a perfect 4-0 (3 KO’s) record thus far as a pro, Brooklyn’s Zachary Ochoa is making plenty of noise in the area. Returning to the site of his first-round knockout of Michael Salcido last November, Ochoa recently scored a shutout four-round decision over Calvin Smith in April. He will face York, Alabama’s Michael J. Doyle (2-5, 1 KO) in a four-round junior welterweight bout.

Povetkin’s Trainer Wants To Eliminate Help From America Before Fights

povetkin123Alexander Povetkin’s trainer Alexandr Zimin has recently suggested that he doesn’t like the idea of having international boxing trainers helping out.

“Overall I think that that future training camp will not change much, but the help of American specialists will be slimmed down; there is no effect from it. They ruined our entire effort. Trainers along with Stacey McKinley arrived three weeks prior to the fight against Klitschko and started assigning exercises, that should be done three months before a fight,” said Zimin to gorodokboxing.com.

As expected, the blame game starts to formulate. Losing such a high profile fight is not easy for anyone. It’s hard for the fighter, and is also unpleasant for the entire team. But who is responsible? Did the fighter not follow the plan? Or was the trainer formulated plan simply the wrong one?

Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Provodnikov’s Stunning Performance, Ward’s Steroid Testing Position, & What’s Next for Provodnikov & Bradley!!!

provodnikov10Andrei S. (Miami Lakes, FL): Provodnikov is a countryman of mine and I was very excited to see him get the victory over Alvarado. How did you rate his performance and what do you see happening next for him?

Vivek W. (ESB): Coming into the fight I had Provodnikov winning, and the failed weight attempt by Alvarado made me feel even more comfortable with that choice. It should be duly noted that Alvarado is an absolute warrior and a couple losses will not define his legacy. That being said, Provodnikov was viewed by most coming in as the hungrier fighter, and it was clear that he would not be denied. A week ago I pointed out a very similar subplot that existed in the Bradley/Marquez showdown. In that fight, we had Bradley coming in with something to prove, following a victory where most felt he could have lost and didn’t perform well. To his opposite, we had Marquez, riding the high of a stunning KO victory. In this fight we had Provodnikov coming off a loss with something to prove, and Alvarado, who was also riding the wave of a great victory.

Deontay Wilder looking for KO No. 30 against Firtha this Saturday

003WildervictoryIMG_3358Undefeated #3 WBC heavyweight contender Deontay Wilder (29-0, 29 KO’s) will be looking for knockout #30 this Saturday night at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The 6’7” Deontay has started off his career with 29 straight knockouts since capturing a bronze medal in the 2008 Olympics for the United States.

The 6’7” Deontay was still pretty raw when he first turned pro in 2008, but he’s steadily improved to the point where he’s starting to look very polished. Deontay’s recent string of early knockouts over the likes of Siarhei Liakhovich, Audley Harrison and Kelvin Price shows the kind of improvement that Deontay has made in his game.

These same opponents would have likely extended Deontay a little if he had fought them in 2009 when he was still finding his way in the division. But Deontay has really made a ton of progress of late, and this Saturday boxing fans will get a chance to see if he’s ready to start taking on tougher challenges in the division.

Will Floyd Mayweather now be expected to Face Provodnikov?

provodnikov6With his methodical destruction of Mike Alvarado Saturday night and FOTY effort against Timothy Bradley earlier in 2013, Siberian native Ruslan Provodnikov has catapulted himself from ESPN house fighter to HBO house fighter. Both fights were all action affairs with Provodnikov taking as much as he was giving, in some instances taking two or more punches to land one big punch.

In both fights and throughout his career, Provodnikov forced his opponent to fight his fight taking no quarter, giving no quarter. Both Bradley and Alvarado went down from the Siberian Rocky’s pressure and ability to absorb punishment. With these performances Provodnikov puts himself right in the middle of the 140lb and 147lb mix, with many good fights available to him including a Bradley rematch, and the Pacquiao/Rios winner.