Boxing News Thread
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Apparently Floyd Mayweather Knows a Thing or Two About PED Testing
Dr. Johnny Benjamin
There is a great deal of misinformation, propaganda, misleading statements and foolishness on the internet in general but with regards to the drama surrounding the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao potential super fight the internet 'conspiracy theory' engine is in hyper-drive.
Chat rooms, forums and barber shops are the perfect and appropriate venues for the age-old and highly entertaining 'my man will beat your man' debate. I get it and believe me I enjoy hearing the theories and passionate opinions while sitting in the barber's chair.
But certain facts remain.
No test is perfect and chemists both legitimate an otherwise recognize their inherent limitations. The current urine detection method for sports related banned substances does not adequately detect human growth hormone (Hgh) and its' ability to detect EPO is somewhat controversial.
Furthermore, the current methods related to detecting Hgh in blood samples are only useful for about 48 hours after injection; after which the tests reliability drops dramatically.
Therefore from a medical or scientific perspective, Floyd Mayweather is supported in his conclusion that to adequately test for banned substances, blood must be drawn randomly.
Scheduled sampling and cut-off dates serve only to provide necessary information for unfair manipulation of the system.
The true athletic benefits of these banned substances are a matter of debate and further research. But at this time they remain banned.
But please, don't let facts enter into the discussion...they rarely have before.
Dr. Johnny Benjamin
There is a great deal of misinformation, propaganda, misleading statements and foolishness on the internet in general but with regards to the drama surrounding the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao potential super fight the internet 'conspiracy theory' engine is in hyper-drive.
Chat rooms, forums and barber shops are the perfect and appropriate venues for the age-old and highly entertaining 'my man will beat your man' debate. I get it and believe me I enjoy hearing the theories and passionate opinions while sitting in the barber's chair.
But certain facts remain.
No test is perfect and chemists both legitimate an otherwise recognize their inherent limitations. The current urine detection method for sports related banned substances does not adequately detect human growth hormone (Hgh) and its' ability to detect EPO is somewhat controversial.
Furthermore, the current methods related to detecting Hgh in blood samples are only useful for about 48 hours after injection; after which the tests reliability drops dramatically.
Therefore from a medical or scientific perspective, Floyd Mayweather is supported in his conclusion that to adequately test for banned substances, blood must be drawn randomly.
Scheduled sampling and cut-off dates serve only to provide necessary information for unfair manipulation of the system.
The true athletic benefits of these banned substances are a matter of debate and further research. But at this time they remain banned.
But please, don't let facts enter into the discussion...they rarely have before.
Bute to make easy title defense against Mendy on 7/9
By Dan Ambrose: IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (28-0, 23 KO’s) will be making his 8th title defense of his International Boxing Federation strap against 37-year-old #1 ranked IBF contender Jean Paul Mendy (29-0-1, 16 KO’s) on July 9th at the Romexpo, in Bucharest, Romania.
Although Mendy is ranked #1 by the IBF, he’s not all that good stands no chance in this fight. At best, Mendy is a bottom 20 fighter, not a number #1 guy. In his last fight against Sakio Bika in July last year, Bika knocked Mendy down in the 1st round but then hit him while he was down. Mendy was hurt and the fight was stopped and Mendy given a disqualification victory. Had Bika not hit Mendy while he was on the canvas, it would have likely been over very shortly, if Mendy could even get up. I doubt he would have. This is a horrible fight, one of Bute’s poorer ones.
The knock on Bute is that he’s fought largely weak opposition since picking up his IBF title in 2007. And looking at the guys that Bute has fought, it’s hard to argue with that. Bute has defended his title against Librado Andrade, who appeared to knock Bute out in their first fight in 2008, only to have the referee give Bute more time to get up by focusing on Andrade instead of starting the count. Bute has also fought Fulgencio Zuniga, Edison Miranda, Jesse Brinkley, Brian Magee and 38-year-old William Joppy. That’s it. Bute has had an easy time as the IBF champion. Hopefully, that will end when he’s someday matched against guys like Mikkel Kessler, Kelly Pavlik, Andre Ward, Andre Dirrell, Carl Froch and Glen Johnson.
The Mendy fight will be held in Bute’s home country of Romania. It doesn’t matter where the fight takes place, though. Bute wins this no matter where it’s held. Mendy, a fighter from France, has faced 2nd tier opposition his entire career and not always shined against this level opposition. He fought to a draw against Anthony Hanshaw in 2007, which for a while was Mendy’s best opponent of his career until he stepped it up last year and was quickly dropped by Sakio Bika in the 1st round. Like I said, Mendy was on his way to being knocked out had Bika not nailed him once he was down.
Bute is a disappointing champion to say the least. He reminds me a lot of WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm, who has made a nice career milking his title against opposition and failing to make big fights. Bute is 31 now and still hasn’t faced a live body. How sad.
By Dan Ambrose: IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (28-0, 23 KO’s) will be making his 8th title defense of his International Boxing Federation strap against 37-year-old #1 ranked IBF contender Jean Paul Mendy (29-0-1, 16 KO’s) on July 9th at the Romexpo, in Bucharest, Romania.
Although Mendy is ranked #1 by the IBF, he’s not all that good stands no chance in this fight. At best, Mendy is a bottom 20 fighter, not a number #1 guy. In his last fight against Sakio Bika in July last year, Bika knocked Mendy down in the 1st round but then hit him while he was down. Mendy was hurt and the fight was stopped and Mendy given a disqualification victory. Had Bika not hit Mendy while he was on the canvas, it would have likely been over very shortly, if Mendy could even get up. I doubt he would have. This is a horrible fight, one of Bute’s poorer ones.
The knock on Bute is that he’s fought largely weak opposition since picking up his IBF title in 2007. And looking at the guys that Bute has fought, it’s hard to argue with that. Bute has defended his title against Librado Andrade, who appeared to knock Bute out in their first fight in 2008, only to have the referee give Bute more time to get up by focusing on Andrade instead of starting the count. Bute has also fought Fulgencio Zuniga, Edison Miranda, Jesse Brinkley, Brian Magee and 38-year-old William Joppy. That’s it. Bute has had an easy time as the IBF champion. Hopefully, that will end when he’s someday matched against guys like Mikkel Kessler, Kelly Pavlik, Andre Ward, Andre Dirrell, Carl Froch and Glen Johnson.
The Mendy fight will be held in Bute’s home country of Romania. It doesn’t matter where the fight takes place, though. Bute wins this no matter where it’s held. Mendy, a fighter from France, has faced 2nd tier opposition his entire career and not always shined against this level opposition. He fought to a draw against Anthony Hanshaw in 2007, which for a while was Mendy’s best opponent of his career until he stepped it up last year and was quickly dropped by Sakio Bika in the 1st round. Like I said, Mendy was on his way to being knocked out had Bika not nailed him once he was down.
Bute is a disappointing champion to say the least. He reminds me a lot of WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm, who has made a nice career milking his title against opposition and failing to make big fights. Bute is 31 now and still hasn’t faced a live body. How sad.
Haye refuses to sit in the same room as Wladimir on Sky Ringside
By Scott Gilfoid: WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (25-1, 23 KO’s) refused to sit in the same room as IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (55-3, 49 KO’s) in a recent taping of Sky Sports Ringside much to the amusement of Wladimir. He took a lot of joy out of Haye’s reluctance to sit near to him and spent a good deal of the time wondering what’s wrong with Haye. What can you can think of someone that doesn’t want to sit in the same room as Wladimir other than he’s probably terrified.
Wladimir said “I don’t know what’s wrong with this dude. He doesn’t want to shake my hand. You want to shake this magic hand, its right here, dude. You’re shaking the hand of the heavyweight champion of the world…I’m really disappointed that he didn’t promote the fight like I thought he was going to do, especially in his home town of London. He speaks a lot when he doesn’t see me. Something about my presence makes him more quiet. I don’t know why. David, where are you? He’s probably behind the wall. See this hand? It’s as big as your head. You got a small hand…I think deep inside he feels he was wrong with the t-shirt…David Haye has done a good job of talking his way into a championship. He talked his way into the fight. David Haye is going to be my 50th knockout. David, I’m not controlling you. I was translating Germany to English while we were on the soccer field in Hamburg.”
Haye said this about why he wouldn’t sit next to Wladimir: “I’m contracted to be with him in Hamburg and in press conferences. Other than that, I really don’t want to be around him. I don’t like him, I don’t like what he stands for and I don’t like what he represents. I don’t like what he’s done for boxing and I don’t like his aura. I don’t like his Borak joke, I don’t like his looks, and I just want to be as far away from him as possible. Come fight night, I’m getting really close to him. If I see him, I’m going to end up giving him a slap.”
Wladimir then interjected with “That scares me…very small hand and a small brain in it.”
Haye continued with explaining why he wouldn’t sit next to Wladimir, saying “I don’t want to be comfortable around him. I wouldn’t be surprised if I swatted him if he said something or did something. I don’t want to end up smashing him in the face and knocking him out and ruining my chances of doing it on July 2nd. Why am I wasting my energy doing this? I thought I was better off holding it, saving it for the fight. It doesn’t get bigger for me in this world. I’m so fortunate that what I’ve done in my career has got me to this stage…I know I can get around that jab, get under it. He’s a comfort fighter. I’ll do whatever I have to do. I’m going to put Wladimir in his un-comfort zone as quickly as possible. He doesn’t like to fight, he likes to box.”
Haye looked really scared when he finally came into the room with the two Ringside hosts after Wladimir had departed. You could see what looked like tears whelming up in his eyes when he spoke about Wladimir. Haye seems to be as timid about Wladimir as Audley Harrison was when he was about to fight him in November. It’s almost identical.
By Scott Gilfoid: WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (25-1, 23 KO’s) refused to sit in the same room as IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (55-3, 49 KO’s) in a recent taping of Sky Sports Ringside much to the amusement of Wladimir. He took a lot of joy out of Haye’s reluctance to sit near to him and spent a good deal of the time wondering what’s wrong with Haye. What can you can think of someone that doesn’t want to sit in the same room as Wladimir other than he’s probably terrified.
Wladimir said “I don’t know what’s wrong with this dude. He doesn’t want to shake my hand. You want to shake this magic hand, its right here, dude. You’re shaking the hand of the heavyweight champion of the world…I’m really disappointed that he didn’t promote the fight like I thought he was going to do, especially in his home town of London. He speaks a lot when he doesn’t see me. Something about my presence makes him more quiet. I don’t know why. David, where are you? He’s probably behind the wall. See this hand? It’s as big as your head. You got a small hand…I think deep inside he feels he was wrong with the t-shirt…David Haye has done a good job of talking his way into a championship. He talked his way into the fight. David Haye is going to be my 50th knockout. David, I’m not controlling you. I was translating Germany to English while we were on the soccer field in Hamburg.”
Haye said this about why he wouldn’t sit next to Wladimir: “I’m contracted to be with him in Hamburg and in press conferences. Other than that, I really don’t want to be around him. I don’t like him, I don’t like what he stands for and I don’t like what he represents. I don’t like what he’s done for boxing and I don’t like his aura. I don’t like his Borak joke, I don’t like his looks, and I just want to be as far away from him as possible. Come fight night, I’m getting really close to him. If I see him, I’m going to end up giving him a slap.”
Wladimir then interjected with “That scares me…very small hand and a small brain in it.”
Haye continued with explaining why he wouldn’t sit next to Wladimir, saying “I don’t want to be comfortable around him. I wouldn’t be surprised if I swatted him if he said something or did something. I don’t want to end up smashing him in the face and knocking him out and ruining my chances of doing it on July 2nd. Why am I wasting my energy doing this? I thought I was better off holding it, saving it for the fight. It doesn’t get bigger for me in this world. I’m so fortunate that what I’ve done in my career has got me to this stage…I know I can get around that jab, get under it. He’s a comfort fighter. I’ll do whatever I have to do. I’m going to put Wladimir in his un-comfort zone as quickly as possible. He doesn’t like to fight, he likes to box.”
Haye looked really scared when he finally came into the room with the two Ringside hosts after Wladimir had departed. You could see what looked like tears whelming up in his eyes when he spoke about Wladimir. Haye seems to be as timid about Wladimir as Audley Harrison was when he was about to fight him in November. It’s almost identical.
Bradley To Pass On Khan Fight, Wait For Contract With Shaw To Expire
By James Slater: It seems there is no chance now, of Timothy Bradley and Amir Khan getting it on this year. As fans have surely read, WBC/WBO 140-pound ruler Bradley is unhappy at the $1.3 million offer he was given to face the WBA boss on July 23rd, and now, on ESPN.com, his co-manager Cameron Dunkin has spoken of the Palm Springs man’s immediate plans. They do not involve Khan.
“He’s taking a little time and is gonna rest,” Dunkin told Dan Rafael I said, ‘what do you want to do with the Khan fight?’ He said ‘I’m not gonna be pushed right now. I’m gonna rest and talk stuff over with my family.’ His wife is having a baby this summer, so there’s a lot going on with his life.”
So there it is; Bradley is not only unhappy with the cash he was offered, he is also apparently having problems getting focused on the fight at the current time. Also, it has been reported how the unbeaten warrior is waiting for his contract with Gary Shaw to expire, as it will in the month of June. At this time, we will see which direction Bradley is headed in.
As for Khan, he will still fight on July 23rd, still in America. Reportedly, names like Zab Judah, Robert Guerrero and maybe even Breidis Prescott are being looked at for the date. Either of these potential match-ups would almost certainly prove attractive to the paying fans; a Khan-Guerrero clash especially. The lightweight titlist looked sensational (not to mention massive for the 135-pound weight limit) back on April 9th, when he out-pointed tough guy Michael Katsidis in a thriller.
“The Ghost” has exceptional talent, and he will be a great rival for the speedy talents of Khan. Actually, would Guerrero be looked at as a little too dangerous for Khan; a fighter some fans still have doubts about?
I think Team-Khan will win a whole new bunch of fans if they agree to take on the dangerous, the gifted and the flat-out deserving Californian with the 29-1-1(18) record. But will Khan be keen on the idea of taking on another southpaw after the tricky Paul McCloskey gave him problems?
By James Slater: It seems there is no chance now, of Timothy Bradley and Amir Khan getting it on this year. As fans have surely read, WBC/WBO 140-pound ruler Bradley is unhappy at the $1.3 million offer he was given to face the WBA boss on July 23rd, and now, on ESPN.com, his co-manager Cameron Dunkin has spoken of the Palm Springs man’s immediate plans. They do not involve Khan.
“He’s taking a little time and is gonna rest,” Dunkin told Dan Rafael I said, ‘what do you want to do with the Khan fight?’ He said ‘I’m not gonna be pushed right now. I’m gonna rest and talk stuff over with my family.’ His wife is having a baby this summer, so there’s a lot going on with his life.”
So there it is; Bradley is not only unhappy with the cash he was offered, he is also apparently having problems getting focused on the fight at the current time. Also, it has been reported how the unbeaten warrior is waiting for his contract with Gary Shaw to expire, as it will in the month of June. At this time, we will see which direction Bradley is headed in.
As for Khan, he will still fight on July 23rd, still in America. Reportedly, names like Zab Judah, Robert Guerrero and maybe even Breidis Prescott are being looked at for the date. Either of these potential match-ups would almost certainly prove attractive to the paying fans; a Khan-Guerrero clash especially. The lightweight titlist looked sensational (not to mention massive for the 135-pound weight limit) back on April 9th, when he out-pointed tough guy Michael Katsidis in a thriller.
“The Ghost” has exceptional talent, and he will be a great rival for the speedy talents of Khan. Actually, would Guerrero be looked at as a little too dangerous for Khan; a fighter some fans still have doubts about?
I think Team-Khan will win a whole new bunch of fans if they agree to take on the dangerous, the gifted and the flat-out deserving Californian with the 29-1-1(18) record. But will Khan be keen on the idea of taking on another southpaw after the tricky Paul McCloskey gave him problems?
not much in that article. it would be random up to the cutoff date. and if someone injects HGH a day or two before the fight, what good is that going to do anyone??
Anyways, I don't know what to make of that haye not sitting with klitschko. his reasoning sounded good, but I want to see a video of what took place.
The HBO face off should be dope, the talk is it's really good.
I DID get the sense haye was very intimidated by Vitali klitscko though, when they were scheduled to fight a couple years ago and they did various press things. Haye really seamed timid/uncomfortable around Vitali. There is a video of Vitali taking Haye'\s cowboy hat off his head and haye just kinda awkwardly smiles and looks to the floor and doesn't say anything. Little things like that made me think he was intimidated by him. With wlad though, I didn't get the same impression.
Some of those things might mean nothing at all, it's in the ring that counts. But I remember Emanuel Steward saying how any time Roberto Duran was in the presence of Tommy Hearns, his attitude changed and his normal Macho self was completely absent. Steward said that Duran was very intimidated by him any time they met and of course, he got brutally KO'd by hearns when they finally fought. So maybe some truth there, no way of knowing though, just interesting to note.
Anyways, I don't know what to make of that haye not sitting with klitschko. his reasoning sounded good, but I want to see a video of what took place.
The HBO face off should be dope, the talk is it's really good.
I DID get the sense haye was very intimidated by Vitali klitscko though, when they were scheduled to fight a couple years ago and they did various press things. Haye really seamed timid/uncomfortable around Vitali. There is a video of Vitali taking Haye'\s cowboy hat off his head and haye just kinda awkwardly smiles and looks to the floor and doesn't say anything. Little things like that made me think he was intimidated by him. With wlad though, I didn't get the same impression.
Some of those things might mean nothing at all, it's in the ring that counts. But I remember Emanuel Steward saying how any time Roberto Duran was in the presence of Tommy Hearns, his attitude changed and his normal Macho self was completely absent. Steward said that Duran was very intimidated by him any time they met and of course, he got brutally KO'd by hearns when they finally fought. So maybe some truth there, no way of knowing though, just interesting to note.
Arthur Abraham on fighting Andre Ward and if Ward is a dirty fighter
By John J. Raspanti
The reports coming out of Arthur Abraham’s camp indicate that the former IBF middleweight champion is in the best shape of his career. Abraham is very aware, that his May 14 showdown with WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward, is his last chance to reclaim some of his lost luster. The odds makers are laying 5 to 1 that the former king will lose for the third time in his last four fights. A loss will also be the end of Abraham’s dream of winning the Super Six World Boxing Classic.
Showing a calm determination, Abraham answered six questions regarding his past, future, and what he has in store for Andre Ward.
The fight against Carl Froch last November was very disappointing. Did you have an off night against Froch?
AA: Yes, I had a very, very bad night. But I do not think about it any more. I have analyzed it and learned my lesson. 2010 was a very bad year for me. 2011 started with a win and it will be much, much better.
Some have been speculating about where your confidence might be after the recent losses. Are you having any sense of doubt?
AA: I am even more confident now.
Andre Ward’s chameleon like style has left his opponents befuddled and bewildered. Do you know why this is?
AA: He is technically very good and very fast and he fights dirty sometimes.
You mentioned that Ward fights dirty sometimes. Does that mean that you think Ward is a dirty fighter?
AA: Yes
Are you planning to go to war with Ward immediately this Saturday night?
AA: I have to - otherwise I have no chance of winning!
Tell me what you think is going to happen on May 14?
AA: I will clinch a big victory for my fans, my team and myself!
Will Arthur Abraham deliver on May 14? We shall see. .
By John J. Raspanti
The reports coming out of Arthur Abraham’s camp indicate that the former IBF middleweight champion is in the best shape of his career. Abraham is very aware, that his May 14 showdown with WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward, is his last chance to reclaim some of his lost luster. The odds makers are laying 5 to 1 that the former king will lose for the third time in his last four fights. A loss will also be the end of Abraham’s dream of winning the Super Six World Boxing Classic.
Showing a calm determination, Abraham answered six questions regarding his past, future, and what he has in store for Andre Ward.
The fight against Carl Froch last November was very disappointing. Did you have an off night against Froch?
AA: Yes, I had a very, very bad night. But I do not think about it any more. I have analyzed it and learned my lesson. 2010 was a very bad year for me. 2011 started with a win and it will be much, much better.
Some have been speculating about where your confidence might be after the recent losses. Are you having any sense of doubt?
AA: I am even more confident now.
Andre Ward’s chameleon like style has left his opponents befuddled and bewildered. Do you know why this is?
AA: He is technically very good and very fast and he fights dirty sometimes.
You mentioned that Ward fights dirty sometimes. Does that mean that you think Ward is a dirty fighter?
AA: Yes
Are you planning to go to war with Ward immediately this Saturday night?
AA: I have to - otherwise I have no chance of winning!
Tell me what you think is going to happen on May 14?
AA: I will clinch a big victory for my fans, my team and myself!
Will Arthur Abraham deliver on May 14? We shall see. .
Mosley, Mayweather quick to spread false Pacquiao steroid story
Scott Heritage
nitially the recent publication of a steroid use story concerning Manny Pacquiao, it which an anonymous supposed former sparring partner claims to have injected the star with steroids on a regular basis, seemed to rouse little public interest.
It was only in fact when the story was repeated by two of Pacquiao's fellow fighters that it began to gain momentum.
Before getting into why the story was spread and why, a little background on the article.
Many of the links given to the original story now appear to be dead, but it seems the article was first published on Value Sports Picks, a little known betting site.
Anything more than the briefest of glances at the article itself and it becomes clear that a number of things about the claims presented don't quite add up.
Firstly that even an anonymous source would decide to talk to a rather obscure gambling website rather than a respectable news outlet or even a just a boxing site is the first red flag.
Making sense of early Pacquiao vs. Mosley pay per view numbers
Someone with potentially a front page news story, even wishing to hide their identity, would surely have gone to a known reporter. They would also probably have had the sense to produce some kind of evidence, an empty vial, a syringe with traces of Pacquiao's blood, or even just details such as the name of the specific drugs used or where they came from.
Instead we got:
”Once a week, right in the locker room of the Wild Card (Gym). Manny would drop his shorts and clench his teeth, and I would give him a jab in the upper outer quarter of his butt cheek. He hated every shot.”
The second is the fact that the source is claimed to be a Filipino former sparring mate of Pacquiao's from "his early years" up until he fought Miguel Cotto in 2009.
The story claims that the identity of the fighter in question, (a former pro, narrowing it down further) is withheld because of concerns over his safety.
The problem is that Pacquiao's sparring partners over the last few years have largely been American with a smattering of other nationalities thrown in. Since the early 00's at least he hasn't been known for sparring with a lot of Filipino fighters.
Continue reading on Examiner.com: Mosley, Mayweather quick to spread false Pacquiao steroid story - Pittsburgh Fight Sports | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/fight-sport...ad-false-pacquiao-steroid-story#ixzz1MLHidq7e
Scott Heritage
nitially the recent publication of a steroid use story concerning Manny Pacquiao, it which an anonymous supposed former sparring partner claims to have injected the star with steroids on a regular basis, seemed to rouse little public interest.
It was only in fact when the story was repeated by two of Pacquiao's fellow fighters that it began to gain momentum.
Before getting into why the story was spread and why, a little background on the article.
Many of the links given to the original story now appear to be dead, but it seems the article was first published on Value Sports Picks, a little known betting site.
Anything more than the briefest of glances at the article itself and it becomes clear that a number of things about the claims presented don't quite add up.
Firstly that even an anonymous source would decide to talk to a rather obscure gambling website rather than a respectable news outlet or even a just a boxing site is the first red flag.
Making sense of early Pacquiao vs. Mosley pay per view numbers
Someone with potentially a front page news story, even wishing to hide their identity, would surely have gone to a known reporter. They would also probably have had the sense to produce some kind of evidence, an empty vial, a syringe with traces of Pacquiao's blood, or even just details such as the name of the specific drugs used or where they came from.
Instead we got:
”Once a week, right in the locker room of the Wild Card (Gym). Manny would drop his shorts and clench his teeth, and I would give him a jab in the upper outer quarter of his butt cheek. He hated every shot.”
The second is the fact that the source is claimed to be a Filipino former sparring mate of Pacquiao's from "his early years" up until he fought Miguel Cotto in 2009.
The story claims that the identity of the fighter in question, (a former pro, narrowing it down further) is withheld because of concerns over his safety.
The problem is that Pacquiao's sparring partners over the last few years have largely been American with a smattering of other nationalities thrown in. Since the early 00's at least he hasn't been known for sparring with a lot of Filipino fighters.
Continue reading on Examiner.com: Mosley, Mayweather quick to spread false Pacquiao steroid story - Pittsburgh Fight Sports | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/fight-sport...ad-false-pacquiao-steroid-story#ixzz1MLHidq7e
Kirkland seeks spark from former trainer
By Dan Rafael
In the wake of his shocking loss last month, middleweight James Kirkland has reunited with trainer Ann Wolfe, who helped take him to the brink of stardom before they had a falling out.
They have been working together for the past few days in their hometown of Austin, Texas, Kirkland's co-manager Cameron Dunkin told ESPN.com.
"He's back with Ann, and we're hoping James will fight again this summer," Dunkin said.
Kirkland's intense training regimen with Wolfe, a former female champion, was well-chronicled as they rose. But just as Kirkland was on the brink of a junior middleweight title shot in 2009, he was convicted on gun charges -- made more serious because he previously had been convicted of robbery, a felony, and therefore wasn't permitted to possess a firearm -- and went to prison for 18 months.
When Kirkland was released early this year, he left Austin and relocated to Las Vegas to work with Kenny Adams, a top trainer who is close to Dunkin.
After two years out of action, Kirkland returned to the ring with Adams in his corner. He won two fights by quick knockout in March, setting the stage for a showcase on the April 9 Marcos Maidana-Erik Morales HBO PPV card.
Kirkland, now at middleweight, was facing unheralded Nobuhiro Ishida of Japan. A win would have propelled Kirkland into a likely fall fight on HBO against middleweight champion Sergio Martinez. But Ishida -- not known for his power -- flipped the script, dropping Kirkland (27-1, 24 KOs) three times for a first-round knockout in a candidate for upset of the year. The loss led to Kirkland's trainer change.
“
It's always been on our mind if he could go back with Ann. It was James' idea. He decided he wanted to do it, and Ann was nice enough to take him back and not hold grudges. Frankly, they acted like adults, which we could use more of in boxing.
” -- Cameron Dunkin, James Kirkland's co-manager, on the reunion of Kirkland and his former trainer Ann Wolfe
"I love Kenny, everyone knows that, but it just didn't work," Dunkin said. "James didn't do well, and he wasn't happy. He wanted to change trainers, and this came along because [co-manager] Michael Miller has been talking to James about going back to Ann. We agree he should be back with Ann, and she said she would take him back."
Dunkin said Kirkland, 27, and Wolfe cleared the air and that the fighter has been training with her and getting along.
"He's left Las Vegas and is back in Austin with Ann and seems very happy," said Dunkin, noting that Kirkland's children are in Austin. "Miller and I are very happy about that. Kenny knows it wasn't working. He said, 'Look, I know it didn't work. I couldn't control him, and it just didn't work, and it's better that he moves on.'
"It's always been on our mind if he could go back with Ann. It was James' idea. He decided he wanted to do it, and Ann was nice enough to take him back and not hold grudges. Frankly, they acted like adults, which we could use more of in boxing."
Eric Gomez, Kirkland's matchmaker at Golden Boy Promotions, said the company backed Kirkland's decision to return to Wolfe.
"With Ann Wolfe, you had a winning combination," Gomez said. "You can have the best trainer in the world, but if there's no chemistry there, sometimes the fighter won't perform at his best. With James and Ann, there was chemistry. They understood each other. She taught him a lot. If it's not broke, why fix it? For whatever reason, he felt he needed a change and we respected that, and then everything went wrong the night he fought Ishida.
"No one is to blame. You can't blame Kenny. But I think it's a good thing [James and Ann are] getting back together. It's a familiar voice in the corner, and if she knows how to get the best out of him -- which, obviously she did -- then you kind of have to go back to what made him successful."
Gomez said Golden Boy has been talking to promoter Don King's office about a possible match between Kirkland and former two-division titlist Ricardo Mayorga, perhaps on the same card as Showtime's bantamweight tournament final between King-promoted titlist Joseph Agbeko and Golden Boy's Abner Mares. Agbeko-Mares was supposed to be fought April 23, but Agbeko withdrew the week of the fight because of sciatica. Gomez said King's office informed Golden Boy that Agbeko would be available to fight by late July or August. Kirkland-Mayorga, however, could be too expensive of a fight to be on the same card.
Epix remains in the boxing business
Epix, the fledgling premium cable network that entered the boxing business by securing American TV rights to heavyweight titleholder Vitali Klitschko's first-round knockout of Odlanier Solis on March 19, will remain in the boxing business.
Epix announced it has picked up U.S. rights to promoter Frank Warren's May 21 card at London's O2 Arena featuring light heavyweight titlist Jürgen Brahmer's defense against Nathan Cleverly and the super middleweight showdown between rival prospects James DeGale, a 2008 British Olympic gold medalist, and George Groves.
Originally, Epix planned to air the bouts on delay on June 18. However, it received such a strong reaction to the plan that it decided Thursday to air the fights live at 4 p.m. ET on May 21 on the network, as well as for free on EpixHD.com, with no sign-up necessary. (Registrations for the free viewing of Klitschko-Solis crashed the site.) Epix, which also will air the card on a jumbo screen in New York's Times Square (as it did with Klitschko-Solis), will use the British telecast for the live airing.
The card will be replayed June 25 as a lead-in for Epix's planned live coverage of middleweight titlist Felix Sturm's defense against England's Matthew Macklin from Cologne, Germany. There are also plans in the works for an August show on Epix from a location in the United States.
"With so much attention being focused on the light heavyweight division lately, Epix is very happy to be able to present this exciting world title fight," Epix president and CEO Mark Greenberg said.
Warren was pumped to get in on the ground floor with the new network.
"It's fantastic to be working with the new kids on the block, Epix, for the first time, and it's a great show to start off with," said Warren, who worked often with Greenberg when the latter was a Showtime executive. "I've worked with Mark Greenberg in the early days at Showtime, and I'm delighted to be working with him again. The show at the O2 is set to be a great night showcasing the best talent in British boxing. DeGale against Groves is the biggest domestic showdown since the Nigel Benn-Chris Eubank epics in the '90s and is heating up to be a dynamite fight.
"Cleverly is the rising young star, and he faces a big test against Brahmer, who is a tough and experienced champion, and a win for him will put him in the frame for big fights against top Americans Chad Dawson and Tavoris Cloud. It will give the boxers a great opportunity to showcase their talent and establish themselves in the U.S. early in their careers."
Kessler returns
[+] EnlargeMikkel Kessler and Mehdi Bouadla
AP Photo/Lars PoulsenMikkel Kessler is counting on continued success in his native Denmark when he makes his return from an eye injury against Mehdi Bouadla in June.
In April 2010, Mikkel Kessler won a super middleweight belt via decision from Carl Froch in a brutal fight in Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic. In August -- a month before his next tournament bout, against Allan Green -- Kessler dropped out because of an eye injury.
Now Kessler (43-2, 32 KOs), who was stripped of his belt, is set to return. Kessler's comeback will take place in his native Denmark on June 4 against France's Mehdi Bouadla (22-3, 10 KOs).
Showtime will air Kessler's return fight on same-day tape along with the live Super Six semifinal match between Froch and Glen Johnson from Atlantic City, N.J.
"I am excited to be back," said Kessler, whose only defeats came by decision to Joe Calzaghe in 2007 and to Andre Ward in the first round of the tournament in November 2009. "I knew I had to take a rest to let my eye heal, and I am happy that everything went according to plan. I am 100 percent fit and I can't wait to get inside the ring again. I have really been missing it. The comeback at Parken [Stadium in Copenhagen], with my home fans supporting me, will be great.
"Bouadla is a tough guy, and he will certainly give me a hard fight on June 4. I have never lost a fight in Denmark, and this will be no different. Nobody can beat me when my Viking fans are supporting me."
Said Bouadla: "I have a lot of respect for Mikkel Kessler, but to be honest, he comes off a long break and he cannot keep up with me. I will be very happy to be the first one to beat Kessler at home and end his comeback before it even started. This is my chance for glory. ... I will be remembered as the fighter who punched Kessler into retirement."
There is talk that if Kessler wins, a major fall fight could be made with Canadian titlist Lucian Bute, who signed a multifight contract with Showtime late last year.
Diaz, Holt at a crossroads
When former two-time lightweight titlist Julio Diaz (38-6, 27 KOs) and former junior welterweight titlist Kendall Holt (26-4, 14 KOs) meet in the main event of this week's "Friday Night Fights" (ESPN2, 9 ET) at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, Calif., they will be fighting to remain near the top level of boxing.
Holt won his most recent fight on Jan. 29 on the Timothy Bradley Jr.-Devon Alexander undercard after back-to-back defeats (including losing his title to Bradley).
"It's an honor to face another former world champion," Holt said. "Julio Diaz is a gritty veteran, so I don't see him backing up. I don't see him trying to take it easy on me in there. I think he's going to come full steam ahead. It's going to be a great fight as long as he lasts."
Diaz, who also fought on the Bradley-Alexander undercard, has won two in a row since losing back-to-back fights and wants to keep the momentum going.
"It's a dangerous fight. I know Kendall Holt is coming very prepared to get back into his position, but I am going to be ready for him," Diaz said. "You can expect to see an explosive Julio Diaz back in the ring. It won't go to decision. I am a very dangerous fighter when I am ready. I have more knockouts than he has total [wins], and the public is labeling him the strong fighter and they are disregarding my knockout ratio. It doesn't bother me, I have always been the underdog, and that is what gives me the drive that I have. I have prepared to finish him off."
Jones on 'Top Rank Live'
Welterweight Mike Jones (24-0, 18 KOs), who headlines a June 25 "Top Rank Live" card (Fox Deportes) in his hometown of Philadelphia, will face journeyman Raul Munoz (22-13-1, 16 KOs).
If Jones wins (which is expected), he would return in September to fight on HBO on the undercard of featherweight titlist Yuriorkis Gamboa's next defense. "Mike Jones needs to stay busy," co-promoter Russell Peltz said. "He cannot fall into the habit of waiting for HBO or Showtime or pay-per-view fights. That's the problem with many of today's fighters: They won't fight unless they can make a score. The old-timers fought to pay their bills and to learn their craft. Experience is the key here, and Mike needs it."
Jones' past two fights, both wins against Jesus Soto Karass, were on big stages. He fought the first fight with Soto Karass on HBO PPV on the Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito undercard, then won the rematch in February on HBO on the Nonito Donaire-Fernando Montiel undercard.
"I'm looking forward to fighting in Philadelphia again," Jones said. "I didn't realize it's been more than two years. Fighting in Atlantic City is close, but it's not Philadelphia. Texas and Nevada were good trips, too, but it will be nice to be back home."
Quick hits
[+] EnlargeTimothy Bradley
AP Photo/Mark AveryTimothy Bradley Jr. elected not to put his junior welterweight strap on the line against Amir Khan.
• Junior welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley Jr. plans to pass on an offer to unify titles against Amir Khan on HBO on July 23, Bradley's co-manager Cameron Dunkin told ESPN.com. Bradley is unhappy with his $1.3 minimum offer to fight Khan and is waiting for his contract with promoter Gary Shaw to expire in late June. Dunkin said he met with Bradley late last week in Las Vegas at the Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley fight to talk to him about it.
"We had a good meeting," Dunkin said. "He's taking a little time and gonna rest. I said, 'What do you want to do with the Khan fight?' He said, 'I'm not gonna be pushed right now. I'm gonna rest and talk stuff over with my family.' His wife is having a baby this summer, so there is a lot going on with his life."
Khan, meanwhile, will fight somebody else on July 23 on HBO. Golden Boy is talking to a variety of potential opponents, including titlist Zab Judah and lightweight contender Robert Guerrero.
• Lightweight titlist Brandon Rios' defense against Urbano Antillon on July 9 (Showtime) will take place at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said. Former welterweight titlist Kermit Cintron (32-3-1, 28 KOs) could open the telecast in a junior middleweight fight, Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti said. Cintron hasn't fought since last May at the Home Depot Center, where he lost a four-round technical decision to Paul Williams after falling out of the ring and electing not to continue.
• Super middleweight titlist Carl Froch of England has cut ties with promoter Mick Hennessy and signed with Barry and Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Sport. According to Matchroom, Froch has signed a five-fight promotional deal. Froch, who will face Glen Johnson in the semifinals of the Super Six World Boxing Classic on June 4 in Atlantic City, N.J., did not want to discuss the Hennessy situation, saying it was because of impending litigation. However, it seems as though Hennessy likely would be paid through the Super Six tournament because he is cited as Froch's promoter on the tournament contract.
"I'm so excited to be working with Matchroom," Froch said. "When you are fighting at your peak, it's about raising your profile and securing TV time, and that's where I am. When you sit down with Barry and Eddie, you can tell they have the power and the resources to maximize your potential, so I'm really excited about the rest of my career." One of Froch's issues with Hennessy was the promoter's inability to get Froch's fights on Sky, England's biggest boxing outlet. The fighter's upcoming Super Six bout, his first without Hennessy, will be carried by Sky.
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• Promoter Lou DiBella is working on a deal that would see mandatory welterweight title challenger Randall Bailey (41-7, 36 KOs) step aside and allow former titlist Andre Berto to challenge titleholder Jan Zaveck (31-1, 18 KOs) of Slovenia in the early fall. (DiBella promotes Bailey and Berto.) Selling Zaveck-Bailey to an American network is difficult, meaning Bailey likely would have to go to Zaveck's native Slovenia for a small purse to get his shot. But Bailey can step aside, take an interim bout and then get a more lucrative shot at the winner of the proposed Zaveck-Berto fight, which would take place in the U.S. and raise Zaveck's profile. Berto (27-1, 21 KOs) lost his version of the 147-pound title via decision to Victor Ortiz last month in a candidate for fight of the year.
• Top Rank picked up a rare date on Showtime's "ShoBox" series (likely part of its deal with the network for Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley) and will put on a card July 15 at the Texas Station casino in Las Vegas. Headlining will be hometown junior lightweight Diego Magdaleno (19-0, 7 KOs), who drew a crowd and was very impressive in his third-round destruction of Gilberto Sanchez Leon on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights" last week in Las Vegas. Junior lightweight Casey Ramos (13-0, 4 KOs) will appear in the co-feature. Neither opponent has been signed yet.
• Junior bantamweight titlist Cristian Mijares (41-6-2, 18 KOs) of Mexico was due to face San Antonio's Raul Martinez in a mandatory defense on Saturday. However, Martinez suffered a gash on the bridge of his nose in a training session and was forced to withdraw from the fight. So Mijares instead will make the first defense of the 115-pound belt he won via decision against Juan Alberto Rosas in December when he faces late substitute Carlos Rueda (16-4-1, 13 KOs) of Nicaragua. They will meet in Mijares' hometown of Durango, Mexico. As part of its agreement to sanction the bout, the IBF ordered that the winner must fight Martinez in his next fight.
• Joel "Love Child" Julio (36-4, 31 KOs), who is moving back to the welterweight division, has a new opponent for his main event on the May 20 edition of "Friday Night Fights" (ESPN2, 9 ET). Julio will face Anges Adjaho (17-5, 9 KOs), his third scheduled opponent. Julio was originally due to face Antwone Smith, but Smith withdrew because of an elbow injury a couple of weeks ago. Then promoter Main Events thought it had a deal done for Julio, a former ESPN.com prospect of the year, to face Willie Nelson, but Nelson had a knee injury and would not have been ready, leaving Adjaho to get the call. Julio will face Adjaho at the Prudential Center's AmeriHealth Pavilion in Newark, N.J. Also on the card: welterweight prospect and 2008 U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali (12-0, 7 KOs), who faces John Revish (10-3-2, 8 KOs).
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• Junior lightweight titlist Ricky Burns (31-2, 8 KOs) of Scotland had hoped for a summer unification bout with fellow titleholder Mzonke Fana of South Africa, but nothing came of that hope. Instead, Burns will make his third defense against an opponent to be determined on July 16 in Liverpool, England, promoter Frank Warren announced. "Burns is one of only four world champions that Britain can boast of at the moment and the only one you can watch on these shores," Warren said, "and he is every bit as exciting as [David] Haye, Froch and Khan, all who are having their next fights abroad."
• Hernan "Tyson" Marquez (30-2, 23 KOs), who claimed a flyweight title April 2 with an 11th-round knockout of Panama's Luis Concepcion in Panama in a spectacular fight of the year candidate, will make his first defense July 2 in Hermosillo, Mexico, against an opponent to be determined, promoter Fernando Beltran announced. "The celebrating is over, and now it is time to prepare twice as hard because I will not allow anybody to deprive me of this title," said Marquez, who has resumed training. "There is no doubt that dreams can be achieved, and it's only a matter of believing in yourself and in God. You have to be consistent in what you do and learn. Now I'm champion. I want to come out and give a great show."
• British welterweight contender Kell Brook (23-0, 16 KOs) will fight in his hometown of Sheffield on June 25 against the most notable opponent of his career -- former junior welterweight titlist Lovemore N'dou (48-12-2, 31 KOs) of Australia, Matchroom Sport announced. "N'dou has been in with top, top names and never been stopped," Brook said. "He's a tough and game champion. It's a great motivation for me, as I want to be the first to stop him. It's in Sheffield, with my home fans roaring me on, and I'm running past the venue every day thinking, 'On June 25, I'm going to have a sellout show in there and I'm going to put on the best performance of my life.'"
• Matchroom Sport has announced the field for the 19th edition of its "Prizefighter" series. The June 7 one-night tournament in London will feature eight junior welterweights competing in three-round bouts from the quarterfinals to a final. Included in the field are former titleholder Junior Witter and Colin Lynes, who fought once before in 2005, when Witter defended his European title by beating Lynes. Also in the field: former British champion Kevin McIntyre, John Wayne Hibbert, Bobby Gladman, Yassine El Maachi, Peter McDonagh and Nathan Graham. The draw for the opening-round bouts is to be determined.
• A bad back has forced featherweight prospect Gary Russell, a 2008 U.S. Olympian, off Friday's night's "ShoBox" card (Showtime) in Primm, Nev. ... Interim bantamweight titlist Hugo Ruiz (27-1, 24 KOs) defends his belt against Francisco Arce (31-6-2, 20 KOs) in Los Mochis, Mexico -- the hometown of both men -- on Saturday night's edition of "Top Rank Live" (Fox Deportes, 11 ET). ... Former two-time heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman (49-7-2, 40 KOs) will go for his 50th professional victory June 11 at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Miss., when he faces Willie Herring (12-9-3, 3 KOs) in what figures to be an easy victory. Also on the card: blue-chip middleweight prospect Dominic Wade (11-0, 8 KOs) against Juan Astorga (15-6-1, 10 KOs). ... Sean Gibbons, matchmaker for Fernando Beltran's Zanfer Promotions, told ESPN.com that a planned May 28 fight for Giovani Segura, who vacated the junior flyweight title and is moving up to flyweight, has been scrapped. ... Gibbons also said that featherweight titlist Orlando Salido (35-11-2, 23 KOs), coming off an eighth-round knockout and major upset of Juan Manuel Lopez on April 16 in Puerto Rico, will return home to Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, for a title defense before a likely rematch with Lopez. The Lopez camp wants the rematch on Aug. 20, but Gibbons said that although Salido is happy to give Lopez a rematch, it will be on his own schedule, not Lopez's.
Quotables
"He signed the contract -- again. I will not believe the fight will happen until I see David Haye in the corner across from me. Thank God he's coming into the ring first." -- Heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko, on his July 2 unification fight with Haye, who previously had signed but pulled out two years ago
"He pretends that he won the fight. He's always complaining. He's always whining. I won the fight. It was a close fight, but I am not a whiner. You can never call a close fight a robbery. The judges said it was a draw. I took my pill and swallowed it." -- Light heavyweight champ Jean Pascal, on Bernard Hopkins, whom he drew with in December and faces in a rematch May 21 (HBO)
By Dan Rafael
In the wake of his shocking loss last month, middleweight James Kirkland has reunited with trainer Ann Wolfe, who helped take him to the brink of stardom before they had a falling out.
They have been working together for the past few days in their hometown of Austin, Texas, Kirkland's co-manager Cameron Dunkin told ESPN.com.
"He's back with Ann, and we're hoping James will fight again this summer," Dunkin said.
Kirkland's intense training regimen with Wolfe, a former female champion, was well-chronicled as they rose. But just as Kirkland was on the brink of a junior middleweight title shot in 2009, he was convicted on gun charges -- made more serious because he previously had been convicted of robbery, a felony, and therefore wasn't permitted to possess a firearm -- and went to prison for 18 months.
When Kirkland was released early this year, he left Austin and relocated to Las Vegas to work with Kenny Adams, a top trainer who is close to Dunkin.
After two years out of action, Kirkland returned to the ring with Adams in his corner. He won two fights by quick knockout in March, setting the stage for a showcase on the April 9 Marcos Maidana-Erik Morales HBO PPV card.
Kirkland, now at middleweight, was facing unheralded Nobuhiro Ishida of Japan. A win would have propelled Kirkland into a likely fall fight on HBO against middleweight champion Sergio Martinez. But Ishida -- not known for his power -- flipped the script, dropping Kirkland (27-1, 24 KOs) three times for a first-round knockout in a candidate for upset of the year. The loss led to Kirkland's trainer change.
“
It's always been on our mind if he could go back with Ann. It was James' idea. He decided he wanted to do it, and Ann was nice enough to take him back and not hold grudges. Frankly, they acted like adults, which we could use more of in boxing.
” -- Cameron Dunkin, James Kirkland's co-manager, on the reunion of Kirkland and his former trainer Ann Wolfe
"I love Kenny, everyone knows that, but it just didn't work," Dunkin said. "James didn't do well, and he wasn't happy. He wanted to change trainers, and this came along because [co-manager] Michael Miller has been talking to James about going back to Ann. We agree he should be back with Ann, and she said she would take him back."
Dunkin said Kirkland, 27, and Wolfe cleared the air and that the fighter has been training with her and getting along.
"He's left Las Vegas and is back in Austin with Ann and seems very happy," said Dunkin, noting that Kirkland's children are in Austin. "Miller and I are very happy about that. Kenny knows it wasn't working. He said, 'Look, I know it didn't work. I couldn't control him, and it just didn't work, and it's better that he moves on.'
"It's always been on our mind if he could go back with Ann. It was James' idea. He decided he wanted to do it, and Ann was nice enough to take him back and not hold grudges. Frankly, they acted like adults, which we could use more of in boxing."
Eric Gomez, Kirkland's matchmaker at Golden Boy Promotions, said the company backed Kirkland's decision to return to Wolfe.
"With Ann Wolfe, you had a winning combination," Gomez said. "You can have the best trainer in the world, but if there's no chemistry there, sometimes the fighter won't perform at his best. With James and Ann, there was chemistry. They understood each other. She taught him a lot. If it's not broke, why fix it? For whatever reason, he felt he needed a change and we respected that, and then everything went wrong the night he fought Ishida.
"No one is to blame. You can't blame Kenny. But I think it's a good thing [James and Ann are] getting back together. It's a familiar voice in the corner, and if she knows how to get the best out of him -- which, obviously she did -- then you kind of have to go back to what made him successful."
Gomez said Golden Boy has been talking to promoter Don King's office about a possible match between Kirkland and former two-division titlist Ricardo Mayorga, perhaps on the same card as Showtime's bantamweight tournament final between King-promoted titlist Joseph Agbeko and Golden Boy's Abner Mares. Agbeko-Mares was supposed to be fought April 23, but Agbeko withdrew the week of the fight because of sciatica. Gomez said King's office informed Golden Boy that Agbeko would be available to fight by late July or August. Kirkland-Mayorga, however, could be too expensive of a fight to be on the same card.
Epix remains in the boxing business
Epix, the fledgling premium cable network that entered the boxing business by securing American TV rights to heavyweight titleholder Vitali Klitschko's first-round knockout of Odlanier Solis on March 19, will remain in the boxing business.
Epix announced it has picked up U.S. rights to promoter Frank Warren's May 21 card at London's O2 Arena featuring light heavyweight titlist Jürgen Brahmer's defense against Nathan Cleverly and the super middleweight showdown between rival prospects James DeGale, a 2008 British Olympic gold medalist, and George Groves.
Originally, Epix planned to air the bouts on delay on June 18. However, it received such a strong reaction to the plan that it decided Thursday to air the fights live at 4 p.m. ET on May 21 on the network, as well as for free on EpixHD.com, with no sign-up necessary. (Registrations for the free viewing of Klitschko-Solis crashed the site.) Epix, which also will air the card on a jumbo screen in New York's Times Square (as it did with Klitschko-Solis), will use the British telecast for the live airing.
The card will be replayed June 25 as a lead-in for Epix's planned live coverage of middleweight titlist Felix Sturm's defense against England's Matthew Macklin from Cologne, Germany. There are also plans in the works for an August show on Epix from a location in the United States.
"With so much attention being focused on the light heavyweight division lately, Epix is very happy to be able to present this exciting world title fight," Epix president and CEO Mark Greenberg said.
Warren was pumped to get in on the ground floor with the new network.
"It's fantastic to be working with the new kids on the block, Epix, for the first time, and it's a great show to start off with," said Warren, who worked often with Greenberg when the latter was a Showtime executive. "I've worked with Mark Greenberg in the early days at Showtime, and I'm delighted to be working with him again. The show at the O2 is set to be a great night showcasing the best talent in British boxing. DeGale against Groves is the biggest domestic showdown since the Nigel Benn-Chris Eubank epics in the '90s and is heating up to be a dynamite fight.
"Cleverly is the rising young star, and he faces a big test against Brahmer, who is a tough and experienced champion, and a win for him will put him in the frame for big fights against top Americans Chad Dawson and Tavoris Cloud. It will give the boxers a great opportunity to showcase their talent and establish themselves in the U.S. early in their careers."
Kessler returns
[+] EnlargeMikkel Kessler and Mehdi Bouadla
AP Photo/Lars PoulsenMikkel Kessler is counting on continued success in his native Denmark when he makes his return from an eye injury against Mehdi Bouadla in June.
In April 2010, Mikkel Kessler won a super middleweight belt via decision from Carl Froch in a brutal fight in Showtime's Super Six World Boxing Classic. In August -- a month before his next tournament bout, against Allan Green -- Kessler dropped out because of an eye injury.
Now Kessler (43-2, 32 KOs), who was stripped of his belt, is set to return. Kessler's comeback will take place in his native Denmark on June 4 against France's Mehdi Bouadla (22-3, 10 KOs).
Showtime will air Kessler's return fight on same-day tape along with the live Super Six semifinal match between Froch and Glen Johnson from Atlantic City, N.J.
"I am excited to be back," said Kessler, whose only defeats came by decision to Joe Calzaghe in 2007 and to Andre Ward in the first round of the tournament in November 2009. "I knew I had to take a rest to let my eye heal, and I am happy that everything went according to plan. I am 100 percent fit and I can't wait to get inside the ring again. I have really been missing it. The comeback at Parken [Stadium in Copenhagen], with my home fans supporting me, will be great.
"Bouadla is a tough guy, and he will certainly give me a hard fight on June 4. I have never lost a fight in Denmark, and this will be no different. Nobody can beat me when my Viking fans are supporting me."
Said Bouadla: "I have a lot of respect for Mikkel Kessler, but to be honest, he comes off a long break and he cannot keep up with me. I will be very happy to be the first one to beat Kessler at home and end his comeback before it even started. This is my chance for glory. ... I will be remembered as the fighter who punched Kessler into retirement."
There is talk that if Kessler wins, a major fall fight could be made with Canadian titlist Lucian Bute, who signed a multifight contract with Showtime late last year.
Diaz, Holt at a crossroads
When former two-time lightweight titlist Julio Diaz (38-6, 27 KOs) and former junior welterweight titlist Kendall Holt (26-4, 14 KOs) meet in the main event of this week's "Friday Night Fights" (ESPN2, 9 ET) at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, Calif., they will be fighting to remain near the top level of boxing.
Holt won his most recent fight on Jan. 29 on the Timothy Bradley Jr.-Devon Alexander undercard after back-to-back defeats (including losing his title to Bradley).
"It's an honor to face another former world champion," Holt said. "Julio Diaz is a gritty veteran, so I don't see him backing up. I don't see him trying to take it easy on me in there. I think he's going to come full steam ahead. It's going to be a great fight as long as he lasts."
Diaz, who also fought on the Bradley-Alexander undercard, has won two in a row since losing back-to-back fights and wants to keep the momentum going.
"It's a dangerous fight. I know Kendall Holt is coming very prepared to get back into his position, but I am going to be ready for him," Diaz said. "You can expect to see an explosive Julio Diaz back in the ring. It won't go to decision. I am a very dangerous fighter when I am ready. I have more knockouts than he has total [wins], and the public is labeling him the strong fighter and they are disregarding my knockout ratio. It doesn't bother me, I have always been the underdog, and that is what gives me the drive that I have. I have prepared to finish him off."
Jones on 'Top Rank Live'
Welterweight Mike Jones (24-0, 18 KOs), who headlines a June 25 "Top Rank Live" card (Fox Deportes) in his hometown of Philadelphia, will face journeyman Raul Munoz (22-13-1, 16 KOs).
If Jones wins (which is expected), he would return in September to fight on HBO on the undercard of featherweight titlist Yuriorkis Gamboa's next defense. "Mike Jones needs to stay busy," co-promoter Russell Peltz said. "He cannot fall into the habit of waiting for HBO or Showtime or pay-per-view fights. That's the problem with many of today's fighters: They won't fight unless they can make a score. The old-timers fought to pay their bills and to learn their craft. Experience is the key here, and Mike needs it."
Jones' past two fights, both wins against Jesus Soto Karass, were on big stages. He fought the first fight with Soto Karass on HBO PPV on the Manny Pacquiao-Antonio Margarito undercard, then won the rematch in February on HBO on the Nonito Donaire-Fernando Montiel undercard.
"I'm looking forward to fighting in Philadelphia again," Jones said. "I didn't realize it's been more than two years. Fighting in Atlantic City is close, but it's not Philadelphia. Texas and Nevada were good trips, too, but it will be nice to be back home."
Quick hits
[+] EnlargeTimothy Bradley
AP Photo/Mark AveryTimothy Bradley Jr. elected not to put his junior welterweight strap on the line against Amir Khan.
• Junior welterweight titlist Timothy Bradley Jr. plans to pass on an offer to unify titles against Amir Khan on HBO on July 23, Bradley's co-manager Cameron Dunkin told ESPN.com. Bradley is unhappy with his $1.3 minimum offer to fight Khan and is waiting for his contract with promoter Gary Shaw to expire in late June. Dunkin said he met with Bradley late last week in Las Vegas at the Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley fight to talk to him about it.
"We had a good meeting," Dunkin said. "He's taking a little time and gonna rest. I said, 'What do you want to do with the Khan fight?' He said, 'I'm not gonna be pushed right now. I'm gonna rest and talk stuff over with my family.' His wife is having a baby this summer, so there is a lot going on with his life."
Khan, meanwhile, will fight somebody else on July 23 on HBO. Golden Boy is talking to a variety of potential opponents, including titlist Zab Judah and lightweight contender Robert Guerrero.
• Lightweight titlist Brandon Rios' defense against Urbano Antillon on July 9 (Showtime) will take place at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said. Former welterweight titlist Kermit Cintron (32-3-1, 28 KOs) could open the telecast in a junior middleweight fight, Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti said. Cintron hasn't fought since last May at the Home Depot Center, where he lost a four-round technical decision to Paul Williams after falling out of the ring and electing not to continue.
• Super middleweight titlist Carl Froch of England has cut ties with promoter Mick Hennessy and signed with Barry and Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Sport. According to Matchroom, Froch has signed a five-fight promotional deal. Froch, who will face Glen Johnson in the semifinals of the Super Six World Boxing Classic on June 4 in Atlantic City, N.J., did not want to discuss the Hennessy situation, saying it was because of impending litigation. However, it seems as though Hennessy likely would be paid through the Super Six tournament because he is cited as Froch's promoter on the tournament contract.
"I'm so excited to be working with Matchroom," Froch said. "When you are fighting at your peak, it's about raising your profile and securing TV time, and that's where I am. When you sit down with Barry and Eddie, you can tell they have the power and the resources to maximize your potential, so I'm really excited about the rest of my career." One of Froch's issues with Hennessy was the promoter's inability to get Froch's fights on Sky, England's biggest boxing outlet. The fighter's upcoming Super Six bout, his first without Hennessy, will be carried by Sky.
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• Promoter Lou DiBella is working on a deal that would see mandatory welterweight title challenger Randall Bailey (41-7, 36 KOs) step aside and allow former titlist Andre Berto to challenge titleholder Jan Zaveck (31-1, 18 KOs) of Slovenia in the early fall. (DiBella promotes Bailey and Berto.) Selling Zaveck-Bailey to an American network is difficult, meaning Bailey likely would have to go to Zaveck's native Slovenia for a small purse to get his shot. But Bailey can step aside, take an interim bout and then get a more lucrative shot at the winner of the proposed Zaveck-Berto fight, which would take place in the U.S. and raise Zaveck's profile. Berto (27-1, 21 KOs) lost his version of the 147-pound title via decision to Victor Ortiz last month in a candidate for fight of the year.
• Top Rank picked up a rare date on Showtime's "ShoBox" series (likely part of its deal with the network for Manny Pacquiao-Shane Mosley) and will put on a card July 15 at the Texas Station casino in Las Vegas. Headlining will be hometown junior lightweight Diego Magdaleno (19-0, 7 KOs), who drew a crowd and was very impressive in his third-round destruction of Gilberto Sanchez Leon on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights" last week in Las Vegas. Junior lightweight Casey Ramos (13-0, 4 KOs) will appear in the co-feature. Neither opponent has been signed yet.
• Junior bantamweight titlist Cristian Mijares (41-6-2, 18 KOs) of Mexico was due to face San Antonio's Raul Martinez in a mandatory defense on Saturday. However, Martinez suffered a gash on the bridge of his nose in a training session and was forced to withdraw from the fight. So Mijares instead will make the first defense of the 115-pound belt he won via decision against Juan Alberto Rosas in December when he faces late substitute Carlos Rueda (16-4-1, 13 KOs) of Nicaragua. They will meet in Mijares' hometown of Durango, Mexico. As part of its agreement to sanction the bout, the IBF ordered that the winner must fight Martinez in his next fight.
• Joel "Love Child" Julio (36-4, 31 KOs), who is moving back to the welterweight division, has a new opponent for his main event on the May 20 edition of "Friday Night Fights" (ESPN2, 9 ET). Julio will face Anges Adjaho (17-5, 9 KOs), his third scheduled opponent. Julio was originally due to face Antwone Smith, but Smith withdrew because of an elbow injury a couple of weeks ago. Then promoter Main Events thought it had a deal done for Julio, a former ESPN.com prospect of the year, to face Willie Nelson, but Nelson had a knee injury and would not have been ready, leaving Adjaho to get the call. Julio will face Adjaho at the Prudential Center's AmeriHealth Pavilion in Newark, N.J. Also on the card: welterweight prospect and 2008 U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali (12-0, 7 KOs), who faces John Revish (10-3-2, 8 KOs).
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• Junior lightweight titlist Ricky Burns (31-2, 8 KOs) of Scotland had hoped for a summer unification bout with fellow titleholder Mzonke Fana of South Africa, but nothing came of that hope. Instead, Burns will make his third defense against an opponent to be determined on July 16 in Liverpool, England, promoter Frank Warren announced. "Burns is one of only four world champions that Britain can boast of at the moment and the only one you can watch on these shores," Warren said, "and he is every bit as exciting as [David] Haye, Froch and Khan, all who are having their next fights abroad."
• Hernan "Tyson" Marquez (30-2, 23 KOs), who claimed a flyweight title April 2 with an 11th-round knockout of Panama's Luis Concepcion in Panama in a spectacular fight of the year candidate, will make his first defense July 2 in Hermosillo, Mexico, against an opponent to be determined, promoter Fernando Beltran announced. "The celebrating is over, and now it is time to prepare twice as hard because I will not allow anybody to deprive me of this title," said Marquez, who has resumed training. "There is no doubt that dreams can be achieved, and it's only a matter of believing in yourself and in God. You have to be consistent in what you do and learn. Now I'm champion. I want to come out and give a great show."
• British welterweight contender Kell Brook (23-0, 16 KOs) will fight in his hometown of Sheffield on June 25 against the most notable opponent of his career -- former junior welterweight titlist Lovemore N'dou (48-12-2, 31 KOs) of Australia, Matchroom Sport announced. "N'dou has been in with top, top names and never been stopped," Brook said. "He's a tough and game champion. It's a great motivation for me, as I want to be the first to stop him. It's in Sheffield, with my home fans roaring me on, and I'm running past the venue every day thinking, 'On June 25, I'm going to have a sellout show in there and I'm going to put on the best performance of my life.'"
• Matchroom Sport has announced the field for the 19th edition of its "Prizefighter" series. The June 7 one-night tournament in London will feature eight junior welterweights competing in three-round bouts from the quarterfinals to a final. Included in the field are former titleholder Junior Witter and Colin Lynes, who fought once before in 2005, when Witter defended his European title by beating Lynes. Also in the field: former British champion Kevin McIntyre, John Wayne Hibbert, Bobby Gladman, Yassine El Maachi, Peter McDonagh and Nathan Graham. The draw for the opening-round bouts is to be determined.
• A bad back has forced featherweight prospect Gary Russell, a 2008 U.S. Olympian, off Friday's night's "ShoBox" card (Showtime) in Primm, Nev. ... Interim bantamweight titlist Hugo Ruiz (27-1, 24 KOs) defends his belt against Francisco Arce (31-6-2, 20 KOs) in Los Mochis, Mexico -- the hometown of both men -- on Saturday night's edition of "Top Rank Live" (Fox Deportes, 11 ET). ... Former two-time heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman (49-7-2, 40 KOs) will go for his 50th professional victory June 11 at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Miss., when he faces Willie Herring (12-9-3, 3 KOs) in what figures to be an easy victory. Also on the card: blue-chip middleweight prospect Dominic Wade (11-0, 8 KOs) against Juan Astorga (15-6-1, 10 KOs). ... Sean Gibbons, matchmaker for Fernando Beltran's Zanfer Promotions, told ESPN.com that a planned May 28 fight for Giovani Segura, who vacated the junior flyweight title and is moving up to flyweight, has been scrapped. ... Gibbons also said that featherweight titlist Orlando Salido (35-11-2, 23 KOs), coming off an eighth-round knockout and major upset of Juan Manuel Lopez on April 16 in Puerto Rico, will return home to Ciudad Obregon, Mexico, for a title defense before a likely rematch with Lopez. The Lopez camp wants the rematch on Aug. 20, but Gibbons said that although Salido is happy to give Lopez a rematch, it will be on his own schedule, not Lopez's.
Quotables
"He signed the contract -- again. I will not believe the fight will happen until I see David Haye in the corner across from me. Thank God he's coming into the ring first." -- Heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko, on his July 2 unification fight with Haye, who previously had signed but pulled out two years ago
"He pretends that he won the fight. He's always complaining. He's always whining. I won the fight. It was a close fight, but I am not a whiner. You can never call a close fight a robbery. The judges said it was a draw. I took my pill and swallowed it." -- Light heavyweight champ Jean Pascal, on Bernard Hopkins, whom he drew with in December and faces in a rematch May 21 (HBO)
Jeff Lacy's Blood Message to Nick Diaz
EFF LACY: HEY NICK DIAZ,
“IF YOU WANT BLOOD, YOU GOT IT”
ST. PETERSBURG, FL, (May 12, 2011) Enjoying his birthday on Thursday morning with his family, former super middleweight boxing champion Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy has heard the rumors amidst the mixed martial arts world about his fight with Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz and wants to clear the air.
“I’ve agreed to the fight, his side sent out a press release saying he had agreed to the fight. But I’ve heard through the grapevine that he’s not serious about this, that maybe his so-called heavy hands can’t back up his big talk” said Lacy.
Lacy has moved forward with plans to open training camp and prepare for battle but wants to ensure that Diaz is up to the task.
“Diaz started this and I’m going to end it. He called me out, I accepted, that means we fight. That’s how it is in the boxing world; hopefully in the mixed martial arts business it works the same.”
“I’ve been hearing for years about MMA taking over boxing. We’ll see about that in the ring with Diaz and me.”
Titled “Breaking History”, the Lacy vs. Diaz match up would mark the first time an elite mixed martial arts athlete challenged an established boxer in the ring.
In his ten year professional career Lacy has amassed a record of 25-4 (17KO’s). Diaz, 25-7 in MMA, won a four round boxing match in 2005, his only entry into the squared circle.
News of the Lacy/Diaz bout has been the talk of both the boxing and MMA world in recent days with current super middleweight champion Andre Ward speaking about the bout to ESPN.com.
“I appreciate and admire [Diaz’s] courage,” Ward told ESPN.com, while in Las Vegas to watch Manny Pacquiao’s recent win over Shane Mosley. “It remains to be seen how well he’ll do, though.
“Nick has good hands, some of the best hands in MMA. But professional boxing is totally different. Totally different.”
“Lacy is dangerous,” Ward said. “I don’t know what everyone is talking about with Lacy. He is dangerous and he’s a very difficult fight for Nick. Jeff is a friend of mine and Nick is a friend of mine. I just want to sit back and watch it. It remains to be seen how it will all work out.”
Continued Lacy, “I’ve already picked out my ring walk music before I pummel Diaz. AC/DC’s “If You Want Blood, You Got It”. Hope to see you soon Nick.”
EFF LACY: HEY NICK DIAZ,
“IF YOU WANT BLOOD, YOU GOT IT”
ST. PETERSBURG, FL, (May 12, 2011) Enjoying his birthday on Thursday morning with his family, former super middleweight boxing champion Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy has heard the rumors amidst the mixed martial arts world about his fight with Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nick Diaz and wants to clear the air.
“I’ve agreed to the fight, his side sent out a press release saying he had agreed to the fight. But I’ve heard through the grapevine that he’s not serious about this, that maybe his so-called heavy hands can’t back up his big talk” said Lacy.
Lacy has moved forward with plans to open training camp and prepare for battle but wants to ensure that Diaz is up to the task.
“Diaz started this and I’m going to end it. He called me out, I accepted, that means we fight. That’s how it is in the boxing world; hopefully in the mixed martial arts business it works the same.”
“I’ve been hearing for years about MMA taking over boxing. We’ll see about that in the ring with Diaz and me.”
Titled “Breaking History”, the Lacy vs. Diaz match up would mark the first time an elite mixed martial arts athlete challenged an established boxer in the ring.
In his ten year professional career Lacy has amassed a record of 25-4 (17KO’s). Diaz, 25-7 in MMA, won a four round boxing match in 2005, his only entry into the squared circle.
News of the Lacy/Diaz bout has been the talk of both the boxing and MMA world in recent days with current super middleweight champion Andre Ward speaking about the bout to ESPN.com.
“I appreciate and admire [Diaz’s] courage,” Ward told ESPN.com, while in Las Vegas to watch Manny Pacquiao’s recent win over Shane Mosley. “It remains to be seen how well he’ll do, though.
“Nick has good hands, some of the best hands in MMA. But professional boxing is totally different. Totally different.”
“Lacy is dangerous,” Ward said. “I don’t know what everyone is talking about with Lacy. He is dangerous and he’s a very difficult fight for Nick. Jeff is a friend of mine and Nick is a friend of mine. I just want to sit back and watch it. It remains to be seen how it will all work out.”
Continued Lacy, “I’ve already picked out my ring walk music before I pummel Diaz. AC/DC’s “If You Want Blood, You Got It”. Hope to see you soon Nick.”
Ortiz wants Pacquiao and Mayweather
By Chris Williams: WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz is now gunning for mega fights against Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao after out-pointing former WBC champ Andre Berto by a 12 round decision on April 16th. Ortiz looked powerful in the Berto fight and ended up dropping him twice in the fight and out-working him over 12 rounds. Ortiz is hoping that win is enough to get him a fight against Pacquiao and Mayweather.
It’s unlikely that either of them are even giving him any serious consideration because of how good he looked and because he still needs some bigger wins before he’s a big enough draw. In the case of Pacquiao, a fight between Ortiz and him probably will never happen in this lifetime. Ortiz fights for Golden Boy Promotions while Pacquiao fights for Top Rank. That’s all I need to say on that.
During Friday Night Fights telecast on ESPN2, Ortiz said “I want to challenge the best pound for pound of all time, that includes Manny Pacquiao. I’d like to fight him. There’s also Mayweather. He’s rated as one of the best of all times.”
It could be that Ortiz is ignored by Pacquiao and Mayweather permanently. If Ortiz is to fight one of them, I’d have to pick Mayweather. I just can’t see Pacquiao being permitted to fight a dangerous young guy like Ortiz because he’s a lot more rugged and powerful than the guys that Pacquiao has been matched against in the past three years and this would be a big step up for Pacquiao after feasting on guys like Antonio Margarito, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Joshua Clottey and Miguel Cotto. I can see Ortiz beating Pacquiao in a war on the inside and stopping the gravy train in it’s tracks.
By Chris Williams: WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz is now gunning for mega fights against Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao after out-pointing former WBC champ Andre Berto by a 12 round decision on April 16th. Ortiz looked powerful in the Berto fight and ended up dropping him twice in the fight and out-working him over 12 rounds. Ortiz is hoping that win is enough to get him a fight against Pacquiao and Mayweather.
It’s unlikely that either of them are even giving him any serious consideration because of how good he looked and because he still needs some bigger wins before he’s a big enough draw. In the case of Pacquiao, a fight between Ortiz and him probably will never happen in this lifetime. Ortiz fights for Golden Boy Promotions while Pacquiao fights for Top Rank. That’s all I need to say on that.
During Friday Night Fights telecast on ESPN2, Ortiz said “I want to challenge the best pound for pound of all time, that includes Manny Pacquiao. I’d like to fight him. There’s also Mayweather. He’s rated as one of the best of all times.”
It could be that Ortiz is ignored by Pacquiao and Mayweather permanently. If Ortiz is to fight one of them, I’d have to pick Mayweather. I just can’t see Pacquiao being permitted to fight a dangerous young guy like Ortiz because he’s a lot more rugged and powerful than the guys that Pacquiao has been matched against in the past three years and this would be a big step up for Pacquiao after feasting on guys like Antonio Margarito, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Joshua Clottey and Miguel Cotto. I can see Ortiz beating Pacquiao in a war on the inside and stopping the gravy train in it’s tracks.