JUAN CARLOS BURGOS & LUIS CRUZ FACE OFF AT THE FINAL PACQUIAO-MARQUEZ III
Las Vegas, NV (November 10) – Battling it out for their native lands, Juan Carlos Burgos (27-1, 19 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico and Puerto Rican Luis Cruz (19-0, 15 KOs) are set to trade leather this Saturday, November 12 in a ten-round super featherweight battle for the WBO/NABO title as the HBO Pay-Per-View televised opener of the highly anticipated Pacquiao vs. Marquez trilogy.
Earlier today the two went face-to-face and Burgos made one clear statement, “Expect a battle out there. I am going to do what I have to do to win. I am not taking any chances so I am going to come out fighting as soon as the first bell rings.”
Coach Conny Mittermeier: “Selcuk Aydin is a force to be reckoned with”
On November 26th World Boxing Council (WBC) Silver welterweight champion Selcuk Aydin and Canada based Romanian Ionut “Jo Jo Dan“ Ion square off in Trabzon (Turkey) in a rematch of their 2010 title fight. The show is labeled as “Unfinished Business”. Aydin won the first bout by controversial split decision. Now Jo Jo Dan wants to avenge his only career loss while Aydin wants to prove that he can not only beat Dan decisively but that he can knockout the slick southpaw. He winner will be mandatory challenger for WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather jr. No. 1 rated Devon Alexander will also watch the fight closely after he had already called out Aydin to a possible fight in the USA in January or February.
“This is a very important fight for Selcuk”, comments his coach Conny Mittermeier. “Probably the most important one of his career so far. He has to win clearly. Of course, a knockout win would be ideal but you cannot force the knockout. We have to make sure that Selcuk controls his temper and doesn’t get hysterical in case Jo Jo Dan survives the first couple of rounds. Selcuk has to stay calm and focused. He is working very hard for this fight and I am sure that he will win it as long as he keeps his focus.”
In the first bout Aydin had Ismael Salas in his corner. They had done the training camp in Miami. “I can’t really comment on that because I haven’t seen it but from what I heard the preparation for the first bout was far from perfect”, says Mittermeier. “I heard that they sparred with orthodox guys although Jo Jo is a southpaw. These are mistakes you just cannot afford in our business. This time we set up a great camp here in Stuttgart. Everything is going smoothly and according to plans.”
Aydin is sparring with fromer European amateur champion Khavazhy Khatsyhau and former US Olympic team member Demetrius Andrade (15-0) who is still unbeaten as a pro and who helped Glen Johnson to prepare for Lucian Bute before coming to Aydin’s camp.
“Selcuk looks excellent in sparring”, says Mittermeier. “He has so much power and he is also fast and moving well. If he stays as focused as he is right now he is a force to be reckoned with in the welterweight division. I know that 147 is the hottest division right now with megastars Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather jr and people like Devon Alexander, Victor Ortiz or Andre Berto right behind that. I would be interested to see if these guys can handle Selcuk’s power. He’s a fighting machine and I’m sure that he can knock out every possible opponent out there. But first of all we only concentrate on our work for Jo Jo Dan.”
CROLLA OUT TO WRECK LIMOND’S HOPE OF FACING BURNS
British Lightweight Champion Anthony Crolla says that he will scupper Willie Limond’s plans of a history-making all-Scottish world title showdown against Ricky Burns.
Limond said this week that he would beat Crolla and get a shot at the new Interim World Boxing Organization (WBO) World Lightweight Champion who beat Michael Katsidis last week at Wembley Arena.
Manchester star “Million Dollar” Crolla defends his title against Limond on November 25th at the Ravenscraig Sports Centre in Motherwell, live on BoxNation (Sky Platform Ch. 456), and reckons he will be the one facing Burns.
“I’ve got to look out for my own interests and the world title is my ultimate dream so I’ve got to beat Limond to keep on track for a shot,” said Limond.
“Limond said that he wants to be the one to get Burns because it will be a huge money spinner as it would be the first time two Scottish fighters would have fought for a world title, well, I’m going to have to throw a spanner in the works on that one,”
“We’re good mates and I think he’s a fantastic person, but in boxing, business is business, it’s either him or me that will move on in their career,”
“I’m training for this fight like it’s a world title eliminator, it’s a massive incentive for me to beat Limond and get a big fight against Burns,”
“I’ve got no problems coming back to Scotland and taking on Burns, I’ll fight anyone, anywhere, anytime.”