Upcoming Fights And Boxing News

By Matthew Hurley: Joshua Clottey, 32-2 with 20 KOs and Shamone Alvarez, 19-0 with 11 KOs weighed in yesterday for tonight’s IBF welterweight title eliminator at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Clottey came in at 146 pounds and Alvarez came in at 145 ½ pounds. The bout will be part of the final boxing card of the year to be broadcast on the Versus Network at 9:00 PM Eastern Standard Time..

joshua clottey World Boxing Association super middleweight champion Anthony Mundine, 30-3 with 23 KOs announced that he will take on Nader Hamdan, 40-5 with 18 KOs in his next bout on February 27th at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Australia. The champion recently defended his title on December 10th with a fourth round knockout over Jose Alberto Clavero. In his last bout Hamdan lost an eight round decision to Mads Larsen in August. If Mundine is successful against his fellow Aussie he plans to move up to the light heavyweight division and challenge WBA champion Danny Green.

Golden Boy Promotions is presenting a card on January 11th at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon, California featuring first season Contender winner Sergio Mora, 19-0-1 with 4 KOs and 2004 US Olympian Vincente Escobedo, 15-1 with 11 KOs in separate bouts. Mora will take on Rito Ruvalcaba, 31-8 with 27 KOs in a ten round middleweight bout. Escobedo will take on Angel Chacon, 30-8-2 with 15 KOs in a ten round lightweight bout. The event will be broadcast on TeleFutura’s ‘Soleo Boxeo’ at 8:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.

In other news, boxer Joey Gilbert’s lawyer released a statement to the press regarding Gilbert’s polygraph exam taken in the wake of testing positive for illegal substances after his September 21st bout in Reno against Charles Howe at the Grand Sierra Resort. Glibert tested positive for anabolic steroids, methamphetamine, amphetamine and three other illegal substances before and after the bout. According to the statement the polygraph determined that Gilbert was being ‘truthful’ when he answered in the negative as to whether or not he had knowingly taken steroids or methamphetamine. The Nevada State Athletic Commission recently dismissed the methamphetamine charges because of conflicting lab test results for the substance.

“I took the polygraph test because I wanted to do everything I could to show the (Nevada) Athletic Commission I am telling the truth regarding the banned substances,” Gilbert declared.

The fighter remains on temporary suspension.