Boxing News Thread

[2-0-Sixx]

Hopkins vs Calzaghe II?


Joe Calzaghe Return to Boxing



The Pride of Wales Joe Calzaghe is considering a comeback to the sport of boxing two years after retiring from the ring as with his 46-fight unbeaten record intact.

Golden Boy’s Richard Schaefer said Joe Calzaghe has made enquires considering a comeback fight against Bernard Hopkins later in the year. The two last met on April 2008 in Calzaghes penultimate fight, the Welsh champion survived a first round knockdown to win the bout via a close split decision.

Bernard Hopkins is renowned for not letting a defeat rest, none more evident than his last performance against Roy Jones Jr in a bout that was a rematch 17-years-later. Before the bout, Hopkins had defeated Antonio Tarver who had beaten Jones. And after failing to avenge a loss to Jermain Taylor he did the next best thing by defeating Kelly Pavlik who had two wins over the aforementioned.

Calzaghe has not been without controversy in his retirement; only months ago a national newspaper released a video with the former champion appearing to have admitted using cocaine. Calzaghe admitted he had taken the drug but recreationally; and stated there was no addiction.


Since his retirement, the super-middleweight division has exploded into action. The ShowTime super six tournament has been a great success and is sure to spawn a new super star. Calzaghes old adversary Carl Froch is currently participating in the tournament, with the latest news I’m sure Froch will start beating the drums once again. Out with the tournament there is the Romanian based Canadian Lucian Bute, whom most regard as the number one fighter in the division.

Other options include “The Contender” participant Jesse Brinkley, Calzaghe already fought a participant from the series in Peter Manfredo. Due to the popularity of the series in Brittan, the bout was staged at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales., and was a huge success.

Before his retirement his last two fights where out-with the super-middleweight division, this was more a result of going up in weight for more lucrative fights; than any making weight issues. Calzaghe is a daily figure in his father Enzo Calzaghe’s Gym in the valleys of Wales, and has remained in tremendous shape since his retirement.

AT this early stage, it’s not clear if the pride of Wales wants to return on a one fight basis. If he were to hang around he would find himself in a plentifully division full of rich pickings.

 

[heyzel]

Schaefer on Calzaghe's Return, Canelo, Juarez-Litzau II

By Rick Reeno

BoxingScene.com spoke with Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer about the latest happenings in his company. Undefeated Mexican welterweight star Saul "Canelo" Alvarez will return to the ring on July 10 in Mexico. Schaefer wanted to place his next fight on the Juan Manuel Marquez-Juan Diaz pay-per-view on July 31, but Televisa, a major television network in Mexico, is planning something big for Alvarez on July 10.

"We actually tried to see if we could get him back on the July 31st pay-per-view card but I have been told that Televisa in Mexico is going to do a special for Canelo - tying it in with the World Cup Soccer finals. It's amazing to have this guy fight right before or after the World Cup finals," Schaefer told BoxingScene.com.

On the undercard of last month's Bernard Hopkins-Roy Jones pay-per-view, Jason Litzau won a seven round technical decision over Rocky Juarez after their featherweight bout was stopped due to a cut under Litzau's eye from an accidental clash of heads. A rematch is being discussed. Schaefer plans to speak with Litzau's promoter, John Wirt of Square Ring, to figure out when and where the fight would take place.

"Rocky is eager to get that fight on. I think it may be in Houston on one of our Telefutura shows," Schaefer said. "I have to see what kind of money we are talking about but I would love to do that fight in Houston on one of our Telefuturas."

Last week, one of the biggest stories in British media was the possible ring return of Joe Calzaghe. The British star retired in early 2009. He last fought in November 2008, winning a unanimous decision over Roy Jones Jr. Schaefer spoke with Calzaghe about a possible return, and Joe expressed some interest but there was nothing concrete discussed. Schaefer may follow-up on the subject in a few weeks.

"He expressed an interest. Maybe he's going to do it again. I don't know for sure. There were no concrete discussions. He did mention Bernard [Hopkins], and Bernard would be interested in such a fight too. I plan on going to Europe in a couple of weeks and I'll see what's going to happen," Schaefer said.

Middleweight contender Winky Wright is sitting on the sidelines. There have been rumors that Winky might retire, but he advised Schaefer that he's still willing to get in the ring if a big fight comes along. Winky, 38, plans to wait it out. If nothing big comes along in the next 12 to 18 months, then he might very well walk away.

"He doesn't want to do small fights. He said he would like to fight [Kelly] Pavlik. He would like to fight [Sergio] Martinez. He wants to fight the big fights," Schaefer said.

 

[heyzel]

Larry Merchant on Floyd Mayweather, History and Legacy

By Lem Satterfield

In the aftermath of Floyd Mayweather's lopsided, 12-round decision over WBA welterweight king, Shane Mosley, HBO's Larry Merchant, among other things, told Mayweather, during the post-fight interview, that a lot of people, including himself, have criticized him for not always facing the best fighters.

"I don't think that there is any question that, over time, there's a perception that Floyd avoided guys like Antonio Margarito at one point, and, Shane Mosley in his prime. And there were others. All of this was heightened by the fact that, in the years since he fougth Oscar de la Hoya, Mayweather only fought two, smaller guy [referring to Mayweather's knockout victory over Ricky Hatton and his unanimous decision over Juan Manuel Marquez]," Merchant told BoxingScene.com

"Was he smart to fight those guys? Sure," said Merchant. "They were not only smaller, but they were popular, which means that he can maximize the money that he can make, and I respect that. But, in the meantime, he wasn't challenging himself."

Merchant considers Mayweather to be "One of the best fighters of his time," crediting him for being "Very, very smart, and even brilliant in the way that he has promoted and marketed himself."

Yet Merchant claims that the man nicknamed, "Money," is a "Dispassionate fighter," adding that, "Most of his fights have been anti-climactic."

"How often has Floyd Mayweather been in a real, competitive drama fight? Pernell Whitaker went for years without losing a round," said Merchant. "Maybe Floyd is just too good for his own good. So, I guess that you can't criticize him for that."

Mayweather ran his unbeaten record to 41-0, with 25 knockouts by defeating Mosley. Mayweather earned a guaranteed purse of $22.5 million against Mosley, and stands to make upwards of $40 million overall when his upside to the pay per view is added in.

"It's very rare that a pure boxer like him ever becomes a box office success, and he's been able to use his undefeated record. Being undefeated is a good thing, but it's never been how you judge whether a fighter was a great fighter or not. Sugar Ray Robinson fought Jake LaMotta six times. He fought Bobo Olson four times. He fought Carmen Basilio twice. He fought Gene Fulmer four times. Robinson was judged by who he fought and how he did," said Merchant.

"Muhammad Ali, I think, fought more big, tough, talented heavyweights than probably Joe Louis and Marciano combined. He lost to Ken Norton, he lost to Joe Frazier, but overall, he did pretty damn good," said Merchant. "And that's how Ali is remembered is because he fought all of those guys -- not necessarily that he won every fight or every round."

Does Mayweather truly believe that he is as good or better than Sugar Ray Robinson or Muhammad Ali as he has claimed?

Merchant is not sure, nor, does he care.

"All of this historical stuff and this legacy stuff, I don't care about that. I really don't. I don't think that Sugar Ray Robinson ever uttered the word legacy. Nor did Joe Louis. But it's become a part of the modern narrative. It's like, 'Why are you fighting this guy?,' and the response is, 'Well, it's for my legacy,'" said Merchant.

"But all I want is for the best guys to fight the best guys. I want to see the good fights, the competitive fights that people want to see," said Merchant. "Floyd Mayweather doesn't even own a title right now. So what. Whether it's for a championship or not, I just want to see good fights because I think that that's what the fans want to see."

Which brings Merchant to the Big One: Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao.

If that fight doesn't happen, said Merchant, the perception will be that Floyd Mayweather didn't want it -- owing to his camp's insistence that both fighters subject themselves to Olympic-style drug testing as Mosley and Mayweather did.

"If it materializes, I think that, inside of the boxing world, most people will favor Mayweather," said Merchant. "Let's just hope that we get that fight."

 

[heyzel]

Arum going to work hard on putting together Mayweather-Pacquiao fight

Chris Williams: With Manny Pacquiao possibly about to end his career in November, his promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank is determined to try and put together a mega fight with undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. In an article by the Associated Press, Arum says “That’s the fight people want to see, and that’s the fight I’m going to do my darnedest to make happen. My first goal is to make that fight happen, but we’re not going to negotiate this thing in the press, because if we do, given the egos, it’s never going to happen.” That’s nice to hear. It’s too bad that it took this long for that to happen.


The time to have made the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight was in March, not now. If they had stuck it out longer and got a little more movement from Pacquiao on the random blood testing, the fight would have been easily made. Now things aren’t going to be so easy. Mayweather is now the one that is in the position of power with his one-sided 12 round decision over Shane Mosley earlier this month and the previous agreements that were made during the last negations, like purse split, might not hold this time.

It’s hard to imagine Pacquiao agreeing to take less than 50-50. But it’s more difficult to see Mayweather agreeing to fight Pacquiao unless he gets what he wants with the random blood testing. Mayweather might even want more than a 50% cut of the revenue and he would have the better numbers from his last fight against Mosley to justify asking for a bigger cut. This could really get in the way of putting together a fight. Arum isn’t saying whether Pacquiao will give in on the blood testing that he wants.

But hopefully Arum can persuade Pacquiao to at least agree to take the random blood tests up until two weeks before the fight. That would make putting together a fight with Mayweather much more doable. 24 days is a nonstarter. That won’t work this time. Pacquiao is probably going to have to give in on this issue if he wants to get the money fight with Mayweather. It won’t work if he stubbornly sticks to the 24 days, refusing to have the testing within that time frame.

In the past, Arum and Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach said there would be no concessions during negotiations, which was kind of a strange thing to say given that Mayweather is perhaps the most popular fighter in boxing. I could see them saying that if this was one of their typical opponents that have been dug up to fight Pacquiao, but not Mayweather. That seemed very strange and not productive to putting a fight together. In a way, it seemed like they didn’t want the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight to happen.

I could understand why they wouldn’t because Mayweather would have an excellent chance of ending the gravy train by beating Pacquiao. Now, however, with Pacquiao possibly fighting for the last time in November, there is a sense of urgency from Arum that wasn’t present last time. If the fight can be made, it will be a huge payday for all involved, even if Pacquiao gets totally dominated by Mayweather.

 

[heyzel]

Letter from Kermit Cintron to Boxing Fans World Wide Regarding His May 8th Contest wi

Dear Boxing Fans,

I want to clear the air about what actually happened in my May 8th fight with Paul Williams. There are a lot of rumors floating around and I want to set the record straight.

About thirty seconds into round four, Paul Williams lost his balance and started falling to the canvas.. Our bodies got tangled and while Paul just hit the canvas, my momentum carried me through the ropes and out of the ring. His falling is what caused me to be off-balance and all I could do was brace myself for impact.

As I fell from the ring, I think I landed on a TV monitor. That collision actually knocked the wind out of me. When I fell from there onto the floor people immediately swarmed around me. I was not exactly sure what had just happened. My only concern was trying to catch my breath.

I didn’t really know who all the people were around me. I was looking for my corner and my personal doctor, but they were not allowed near me. The ringside doctor kept his hand pressing down on me telling me to stay still and on the ground. He was concerned that I might have cracked my ribs or punctured my lung. I guess the fall looked worse than it was. I was sucking wind due to the impact of the fall and the doctor told me not to move. I simply listened to him and remained still. I told the doctor that I was ready to fight and that I just needed to catch my breath. I never said I didn’t want to continue.

California law states “A contestant who has been wrestled, pushed, or has fallen through the ropes during a contest may be helped back by anyone and the referee shall allow a reasonable time for the return.” These rules were not followed. I was not allowed any help from my corner and I was not given time to return to the ring. I was simply told to stay still and then told that the fight had been stopped. I told the doctor several times that I was fine and that I could continue the fight.

As I was being taken away from the ring against my wishes, I heard it announced that Paul Williams had won a split decision. I didn’t understand then, and I still don’t, how anyone could have watched that fight and thought that Paul Williams won.

I trained for 8 weeks to get ready for that fight and I was controlling it in every way. I was on my way to a career defining victory. The fight was going exactly as I had planned. Everything was going my way. I am the one who actually buckled Paul Williams with a right hand. He did not hurt me at all. Moments later, because of a freak accident, he was awarded a win and I got the loss. I know I did not ‘lose’ that fight. There is no way. I controlled every round. Paul said he was open to a rematch and I think that’s the only fair way to settle the score.

I know everyone was looking forward to a great fight between two of the premiere 154-lb fighters in the world. I’m sorry it was cut short but there was nothing I could do about it. For 3+ rounds I set the tone of the fight. The action was starting to pick up when our freak accident occurred. I’m hoping you will want to see us do it all again. Paul Williams is now telling anyone who will listen that he can make 147 lbs. and would like to fight there. I can make that weight as well. Let’s start what we finished. We started it at 154 and I’m fine finishing it there or at 147. Paul said he was open to a rematch. I hope he’s a man of his word.

 

[heyzel]

Golden Boy Europe is in The Works, Says Schaefer

By Rick Reeno

There is going to be some new blood in the British market. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer told BoxingScene.com that his company is planning to stage events on a regular basis in Europe. The overseas brand will be called "Golden Boy Europe."

In the next couple of weeks, Schaefer will fly to the UK to get the ball rolling. The office for Golden Boy Europe will be based in London, England. AEG, who own the Kings, the Galaxy, Staples Center, and a minority percentage of Golden Boy - will be involved in the overseas operation. London's O2 Arena is among the many venues AEG operates.

Two fighters under Golden Boy's promotional banner, heavyweight David Haye and former two-division champion Ricky Hatton, have established their own promotional companies in Europe, and both of them have built up healthy stables of young talent. Golden Boy Europe will co-promote events with both Hayemaker Promotions and Hatton Promotions.

"We are establishing Golden Boy Europe out of London together with our partners AEG, and we'll do regular fights in England with AEG, and David Haye and Hatton's group as well. I have a great relationship with [British television network] Sky," Schaefer told BoxingScene.com.

 

[heyzel]

Bradley's Promoter Fires Back at Zab Judah, and Khan

By Rick Reeno

Last Monday promoter Gary Shaw reached out Yoel Judah, father/trainer of former two-division champion Zab Judah, to see if they were interested in taking an HBO-televised fight against WBO junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley on July 17. Yoel told Shaw he would speak to his son and call him back with answer. Shaw never heard back from Yoel.

After BoxingScene.com ran a story about Shaw's interest in making that fight, and Judah's lack of a response, Zab issued an answer on his personal twitter page and turned the fight down. Judah claimed that he was taking a tune-up on July 16 at the Prudential Center in New Jersey.

"Bradley [is] not the first fight but he's going to get it too. First fight [is] a good tune-up, then Tim, then Devon. A good tune-up first, then these so-called punks are next," Judah said. "I need New York and New Jersey to be real deep in the building [on] July 16 at the Prudential Center because its going down. I'm back!."

Shaw is making it very simple for Zab. If he passes on Bradley now, the opportunity will never come again. Shaw was a little annoyed that Zab kept everyone on hold, never returned calls, and instead issued an answer on his twitter page.

"It would have been nice for Zab or Yoel to call me so I could notify HBO that he had no interest in the fight, rather than twittering. That's not the way professionals do it. Another question is to Zab Judah, after being a multi-world champions and being in the sport as long as he's been - why does he need a tune-up fight? The days of tune-ups for the big networks are over and fighters are getting older," Shaw told BoxingScene.com.

"And I want to know, what show are you fighting on at the Prudential Center? I think that date is reserved for an M.M.A show. Is Judah going into M.M.A? If you want to fight Bradley, fight him because once we pass on this fight, there won't be another Bradley fight after this. Once he passes on this fight, there will not be another offer for a Bradley fight."

Additionally, Shaw wanted to respond to some of the recent comments that were made by WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan. The British star told reporters "I have the style to beat Bradley" and also said by "beating Bradley" he would bring himself to a level where the major fights were on the table. Khan would like to take a fight with Marcos Maidana, but Shaw will not allow that happen.

"To Amir Khan, the top-dog. The only thing that dog has going for him is Freddie Roach, who is the trainer. Otherwise he's exactly what he calls himself, a dog. I offered Golden Boy an opportunity for him to fight Bradley and he turned it down flat. And he can take Maidana out of this equitation because the next fight Maidana has is going to be against the fighter he was supposed to fight [on July 17], Bradley. I'm not going to allow him to duck. I'm not going to allow Golden Boy to duck and I'm going to keep HBO with the fight that they made, and that's Bradley and Maidana," Shaw said.

 

[Johnny Truelove]

Valero's body exhumed for new autopsy

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuelan authorities have exhumed the body of former boxer Edwin Valero to dispel lingering doubts regarding his death.

Prosecutor Jesus Belucchi says two of the boxer's relatives requested the exhumation because they suspect that Valero may have not committed suicide.

Police say the former WBA super featherweight and WBC lightweight champion hanged himself inside a jail cell on April 19, a day after the boxer was arrested in the stabbing death of his 24-year-old wife.

But Edward and Luis Valero requested the exhumation and a forensic investigation to determine the cause of their sibling's death. They suspect he could have been strangled by police who took him into custody.

 

[Johnny Truelove]

Martinez searching for next opponent

Newly crowned middleweight champion Sergio Martinez is exploring his options, and former undisputed junior middleweight champ Winky Wright might be in his future.

Martinez won the middleweight championship via unanimous decision from Kelly Pavlik on April 17. Earlier this week, Pavlik declined to exercise his contractual option for an immediate rematch, leaving Martinez's promoter, Lou DiBella, to look for another bout.

In December, Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KOs) lost a heavily debated majority decision to Paul Williams in one of the year's most exciting slugfests. But while both camps have said they are interested in a rematch, neither wants to do it next.

So DiBella told ESPN.com that he and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer are talking about a fall match with Wright, which they would hope to sell to HBO or Showtime.

"I have to pursue all possibilities for Sergio, and Richard and I have discussed both Winky Wright and Shane Mosley," said DiBella, adding that Wright was the one they discussed more seriously.

Schaefer, who also promotes Mosley, said he planned to meet with him next week to talk about his future. Mosley was soundly outpointed by Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a welterweight fight on May 1.

As for Wright facing Martinez, Schaefer said: "I talked to Lou. He's interested and I talked to Winky. He is ready, willing and able. I think it would be a very interesting fight. Do or die for Winky and big test for Martinez."

It's a fight Wright would like to have. He hasn't fought since a lopsided decision loss to Williams in April 2009, which came after a layoff of more than two years following his light heavyweight loss to Bernard Hopkins.

"I like Martinez. He has very good skills, a very smart fighter. That's the kind of fight I am looking forward to and to show why I was the undisputed junior middleweight champion," Wright told ESPN.com on Thursday.

Besides the middleweight belts Martinez owns, he also has a junior middleweight title. But he has not decided in which division he will defend. Boxing rules prohibit him from keeping both titles, so the division he decides to fight in will depend on the opponent.

"It all depends on my management and promoter and what they can bring to the table," Martinez said. "Whoever they bring, I will fight them. Either division would be OK."

DiBella said he and Schaefer did not discuss weight for a Wright or Mosley fight, but Wright (51-5-1, 25 KOs) said he would have to fight at middleweight.

If Martinez faced Mosley (46-6, 39 KOs), it would probably be at junior middleweight, where Mosley was once a unified titleholder before losing his belts to Wright in 2004.

"Martinez is a guy I would get up for, a guy I would be motivated to train hard for," Wright said. "I know I haven't fought for a while, but every time I go to the fights people ask me, 'When are you getting back into the ring?' I tell them there really hasn't been anyone to fight. I couldn't get a fight with Pavlik. Who else was there to fight? Martinez is the fight we're looking for. He really beat Paul and then he beat Pavlik.

"When I fought Paul Williams I was coming off an even longer layoff, more than two years. People gotta realize the position I was in. I didn't come back and pick and choose an easy opponent. Of course, I could fight and get three or four easy wins, but I want to fight the people that people think I will lose to. Williams was so tall and awkward. He was hard to fight, especially coming off a two-year layoff."

Wright said he and Schaefer have talked about Wright fighting tune-up type fights on undercards, but he said that does not appeal to him.

"I've been fighting almost 20 years and for me to really get up and fight on an undercard it ain't no challenge," Wright said. "The money is low and the stakes aren't high, so I am not driven to do it. In boxing you have to feel it. If I can't get a challenge there is no need to be in the sport. I need a good, tough opponent. Fighting just anyone ain't me.

"I talked to Richard and we're definitely going to do what we can do to get the Martinez fight. I don't see myself fighting too much longer unless we can come up with a good opponent. If I can't get a big fight, I will leave the game. I love boxing, but boxing is not all I want to do. I had a great career. I can say I ran from no one. There are not too many who can say that. I fought everyone. I hope I can get another good fight before I leave the game."

 

[heyzel]

Roach: Maidana Will Not Win a Single Round With Khan

By Mark Vester

Trainer Freddie Roach is predicting a dominating win when Amir Khan defends his WBA junior welterweight title against mandatory Marcos Maidana. After Khan dominated Paulie Malignaggi on Saturday at New York's Madison Square Garden, he called for a fight with Maidana.

"We know how to beat Maidana. If Maidana wants to do it, I'll fight him next," Khan said.

Roach thinks Khan will dominate Maidana in the same way that he dominated Malignaggi. He doesn't see Maidana winning a single round. Roach told BoxingScene.com's Jose Aguirre that he prefers to fight Maidana next.

"I would rather us fight Maidana next. He's the one everyone says we're ducking. He's supposed to be the big puncher. No problem. We'll outbox him and beat him 12-0," Roach told BoxingScene.com.

 

[heyzel]

Schaefer wants to match Khan with Katsidis

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer says he wants to match WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan with Michael Katsidis next. In an article at US today, Schaefer says “He [Khan] wants [Marcos] Maidana but obviously he’s not available. What I’d like to do is make a fight with Michael Katsidis. Can you imagine that? Maybe there’s that possibility. We’ll see what we can work out.” Katsidis, 29, stopped lightweight Kevin Mitchell in the 3rd round last Saturday night in a very impressive performance by Katsidis. He lured Mitchell into brawling with him by moving away from him instead of going directly at him.


Katsidis usually is the one attacking his opponents, but in this case he retreated. Mitchell should have recognized that Katsidis was setting a trap for him and not gone after him. In the 3rd round, Katsidis badly hurt Mitchell at the start of the round with a hard left hand. He then went after him and took him out after a series of exchanges around the ring. Mitchell didn’t help himself any by fighting back instead of holding on and trying to get through the round.

Khan, for his part, defeated former IBF light welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi by an 11th round TKO at Madison Square Garden, in New York. The fight was a bit of a step up for Khan, depending on who you spoke to. Malignaggi didn’t have any offensive weapons besides a jab to match Khan’s power shots with. The fight quickly turned into a one-sided affair with Khan easily winning every round with his fast combinations and hard jab. In the 11th, the referee finally had seen enough and halted the bout as Khan was teeing off on Malignaggi along the ropes.

Khan mentioned Marcos Maidana after the fight when being asked who he will be fighting next. However, Maidana has an injured back and likely won’t be available to fight Khan by July, which is when he wants to fight again. Devon Alexander and Timothy Bradley, both light welterweight champions, have no one scheduled yet for their fights in July and August. But it looks like Khan’s management team doesn’t want to match Khan with them for some reason.

Perhaps they fear that Khan isn’t ready to face the best fighters in the light welterweight division, despite Khan saying he is ready. There’s a big different between beating guys like Marco Antonio Barrera, Andriy Kotelnik, Dmitri Salita and Malignaggi compared to taking on and beating A+ fighters like Bradley and Alexander. Khan would have a good chance of beating the 5’7” Katsidis because he would have a four inch height advantage over him and a five inch reach advantage. Also, Khan would be much faster in terms of hand speed and foot speed compared to Katsidis.

The one problem Khan would have with Katsidis is taking his shots. Katsidis hits really hard and if he was able to get inside on Khan and land, he could end up knocking Khan out like Breidis Prescott did in the past. You’d have to figure on Katsidis catching up to Khan at some point in the fight and testing his chin with something big. Khan won’t be able to run for the entire fight without getting caught a number of times by Katsidis. Khan’s face looked kind of beat up from the weak punches from Malignaggi. Katsidis hits a lot harder than Malignaggi and could end up being a real problem for Khan.

 

[heyzel]

Roach thinks Khan is great for America and great for HBO

By Chris Williams: Trainer Freddie Roach is starting to sound like a politician in speaking about his fighter WBA light welterweight champion Amir Khan (23-1, 17 KO’s) after his 11th round TKO win over Paulie Malignaggi (27-4, 5 KO’s) last Saturday night. Roach, who trains Manny Pacquiao, Khan and a number of other stars in the boxing world, had this to say about Khan’s win over Malignaggi in an article at Sportinglife, “I think Amir was great for HBO, great for an American audience and it was great for him as a man. It was a long, tough fight and the experience will guide him to bigger and better things. You need fights like this.”


Roach is doing a heck of a job of putting a spin on what Khan accomplished in beating the 29-year-old Malignaggi. After all, this was an opponent that was selected for Khan to make him look good against for the American public. They didn’t put Khan in with a big puncher like WBA light welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidana (28-1, 27 KO’s), who Khan probably should be fighting.

The American public really didn’t get much to see last Saturday because in picking the weak punching Malignaggi as Khan’s first opponent to fight in his debut fight in the United States, they selected for weakness and weeded out fighters that would have been much more competitive against Khan and perhaps beaten him. Instead, we have Khan rolling over a weak puncher in a fight that was excruciatingly boring, even more dull than watching the horrible undercard fight between 38-year-old Nate Campbell and the young 23-year-old Victor Ortiz.

The card was painful to watch because of the many mismatches it contained. You had Khan beating an over-matched Malignaggi, Ortiz defeating 38-year-old Campbell, Daniel Jacobs destroying Juan Astora in one round, and Breidis Prescott crushing Jason Davis in three. The other fights weren’t hardly worth mentioning because they had obscure fighters.

Roach’s number #1 fighter Manny Pacquiao could be near the end of his career and Roach is grooming Khan to be his next star. The problem is Khan’s chin is fragile and he has to be handled with care. But Roach can’t keep him on training wheels forever. The American public has to see whether Khan is really good or just a pretender. Thus far, Khan hasn’t been put in with anyone that can really test him other than Presscot, who destroyed Khan in one round.

 

[Joey]

I know its not about what i want......But i dont really care for a Winky Wright vs Sergio Martinez match....Winky looked terrible against williams.....I guess it would be a good warmup for martinez before williams since they dont wanna fight each other next......

From what ive seen of martinez has been impressive.....I know im reaching but if martinez came up a couple of pounds or bute came down....I think that would be a great fight........

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Calzaghe/Hopkins rematch + Amir Khan/TBA in July in UK?


By Gareth A Davies, Boxing Correspondent
Published: 9:01AM BST 17 May 2010

Schaefer is attempting to bring together a super card on Sky Box Office in Cardiff in July, which could include Amir Khan in a late night show, with Calzaghe versus Hopkins as the co-main event.

Calzaghe defeated Hopkins on a split points decision in a Las Vegas superfight with in April 2008, having been put down in the opening round. Hopkins had hyped the fight with the words “I’ll never lose to a white boy”. In a tight decision for Calzaghe, Hopkins ate his words, and has chased a re-match ever since.

Telegraph Sport understands that Schaefer will come to the UK later this month and will discuss plans for Khan and Calzaghe with Barney Francis, managing director of Sky Sports.

“I have spoken to Joe [Calzaghe] several times about fighting Bernard Hopkins in Cardiff. He is ambivalent. Some days he says ‘yes’ he’d like to do it, other days he is not sure if he wants to get back in the ring," Schaefer said.

"There are days when he wants to do it and days he would rather not. Bernard would love to go over to Wales to fight Joe, and I think we could make it a major event there. I think the Welsh public would enjoy a return match, this time in Cardiff.”

However, Calzaghe told Telegraph Sport two weeks ago when he was in Las Vegas for the Shane Mosley-Floyd Mayweather contest: “I am enjoying myself and not really desperate to get back into the ring. I’m not desperate for money. But never say never. This is boxing.”

Calzaghe’s two fights at the Millennium Stadium, for Mikkel Kessler and Peter Manfreddo, drew crowds of more than 50,000.

 

[T-Rip]

Winky would give everything Martinez could handle, that would be a dangerous matchup for martinez

 

[Joey]

Winky would give everything Martinez could handle, that would be a dangerous matchup for martinez

To each his own T...But what makes you think Winky could give martinez all he can handle?

Martinez just manhandled pavlik in a way that made me feel sorry for pavlik......Took the supposed most feared opponent in boxing to the limit ...and IMO should have been a draw, maybe even a win for sergio........

Winky looked sluggish and tired against williams....And in the article homeboy posted he's making excuses and saying its hard to motivate himself for certain fights......Fuck that last big payday shit...Just because he use to be a household name...He should look for a b hop rematch or something...Winky is not relavent anymore...........Winky has an Iron head and might not get KO'd....But martinez will outwork him to death......The only thing this fight does is give martinez some work before the williams rematch....

 

[Johnny Truelove]

yea winky hasn't done anything impressive lately he's at the end of his career martinez would walk right through him nice warm up but waste of a fight if you ask me...

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Winky has fought 2 times since 2006.

He fucked himself for being too inactive and thinking he was a bigger name then he actually was. Like Hopkins said he went missing after losing

 

[MOREBASS]

Yeah, I always liked Winky...but he really overestimated his worth...because of it, became inactive, and I don't believe he's the elite fighter he once was because of it.


I don't like Martinez vs either guy mentioned.


Hopkins-Calzaghe rematch would be somewhat cool. Would not pay for it, but would definitely tune in.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

^^what if it was headlined with Amir Khan vs Macros Maidina or a Prescott rematch? I think that would be a good card