Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Arum Shreds De La Hoya Over Margarito Comments

By Lem Satterfield

Everything appears to be moving forward for a junior middleweight clash between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito on November 13, with the vacant WBC 154-pound title at stake.

Margarito still is not licensed to fight in America, this after his boxing license was revoked by the California State Athletic Commission following an illegal hand-wrapping scandal in January 2009. Margarito, whose suspension officially ended on Feb. 11, unsuccessfully applied for a license in Nevada, whose state athletic commission ruled that he must re-apply in California before attempting to fight in Las Vegas.

Not everyone wants to see Margarito back in the ring, including Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya. In the opinion of De La Hoya, the Mexican boxer should never be allowed to fight again.

"Why should any fighter who's been banned because he was wearing Plaster of Paris in his gloves be allowed to fight?" De La Hoya questioned during a FanHouse interview. "A lot of people are against it, including myself. ... There's no reason why he should be licensed to fight."

Margarito's promoter Bob Arum, the CEO for Top Rank, says De La Hoya has no idea what he's talking about and his facts are inaccurate.

"Let me tell you something, these are people who don't know any of the facts. They should read the record of the California State Athletic Commission, which shows clearly that Margarito didn't know what was happening, and that these pads that were inserted into his hand wraps were not something that he would naturally catch," Arum said.

"The idea that these pads were Plaster of Paris inserts is absolutely bull****. They're making that up, and that appears nowhere in the record. There is all of this misinformation out there that people like Oscar De La Hoya eagerly cling to because he's a man who has no discernment. I mean, he doesn't read and he doesn't study. [Margarito] served his time. This was never meant to be a life sentence."

Arum fired off a few more jabs on the subject of De La Hoya's televised appearance on Univision in June, where the Golden Boy president told Univision reporters that a deal "was close" for a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather showdown. De La Hoya would tell BoxingScene.com earlier this week that he made the comments because he was tired of being repeatedly asked the same question. De La Hoya maintains the position that at no time were there any negotiations for a November fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao.

"Oscar is an advertisement for this movie that's coming out this Friday night that's called, 'Dinner for Schmucks.' Oscar is not the brightest penny on the block. Anybody who pays any mind to what Oscar De La Hoya says is not very bright either. So that's why you have Oscar De La Hoya once summarizing the negotiations for Mexican television like he did at first. And I thought that he did a pretty good job. That was my understanding of where the negotiations were," Arum said.

"And then for him to say, 'Well, I just said those things to get somebody off my back,' and 'there were no negotiations.' I mean, what are you saying? Why did you go through this situation where you had such an elaborate answer to describe the negotiations, and then you tossed it off and said there were no negotiations. I mean, that's a lie

 

[heyzel]

Pacquiao Wants Margarito in Mexico, Talks Mayweather

By Mark Vester

Speaking to The Philippine Star, WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao said that he wants to face Antonio Margarito in his backyard of Monterrey, Mexico. The fight is going to take place on November 13 for the vacant WBC junior middleweight title. There will be a catch-weight of 150-pounds involved.

“I like Mexico. It’s nice in Mexico. Let’s try Mexico,” said Pacquiao to the paper.

Pacquiao is waiting for his adviser, Mike Koncz, to arrive to Philippines. Pacquiao will review the proposal for the Margarito fight. He says Margarito is the likely choice for November.

"Most likely, it’s Margarito. He’s good. He knocked out Miguel Cotto. And he’s as tall as Oscar de la Hoya,” said Pacquiao. “I will train for eight weeks. Margarito is good. We must not underestimate his power. Starting next week, I will start running in the morning."

When the subject of Floyd Mayweather Jr. came up, Pacquiao said Floyd and his team don't want the fight.

“They never run out of reasons saying why it won’t happen. But the truth is they don’t want the fight,” said Pacquiao. “And they say so many nasty things about me. But I don’t mind. I won’t even say anything bad against them. Let’s show them that Filipinos know how to respect people.”

 

[Johnny Truelove]

^ damn!! my boy manny is a straight g!!

 

[2-0-Sixx]

they should just do it in Mexico the atmosphere would be crazy. Gotta respect manny though for wanting to fight in Margarito's home turf.

 

[MOREBASS]

Should at least be an action packed fight. I like the idea of Mexico, but I like the idea of actually going to the fight in Vegas (pending Margarito's appeal) a lot better. LOL

 

[heyzel]

Amir Khan: "I'm The Best, I'd Knock Tim Bradley Out!"

By Lem Satterfield

WBA junior welterweight champion Amir Khan is in Las Vegas to watch this Saturday's rematch between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz at the Mandalay Bay. If Marquez comes out with the win, he is likely to face Khan on December 11 on HBO.

Recently Khan challenged the man most recognize as the best fighter in the junior welterweight division, WBO champion Timothy Bradley. Khan studied Bradley's recent welterweight debut against Carlos Abregu. After watching that fight, the British champion became convinced that he would put a serious hurt on Bradley if they met in the ring.

"After seeing Timothy Bradley fight, I think that he's made for my style. He's short, and I think that he's made for me to hit him. He's not as strong as me. I think that I would be the first guy to beat him up and knock him out," Khan said.

Khan felt Abregu, who is not that fast, caught Bradley with a lot of punches. Bradley pulled off a one-sided twelve round decision. Because of the way Abregu was able to land - Khan, who is a lot faster than Abregu, believes he would catch Bradley with punches all night long.

[Abregu] was catching him so many times. And that guy's not even the best. If he was fighting Amir Khan it would be a whole different story. I could say that right now I'm the best in the division," Khan said.

 

[heyzel]

Steward: David Haye, Povetkin Will Never Fight Wladimir

Rick Reeno

Around the time of the IBF mandated purse bid, which took place on June 29, for the heavyweight fight between champion Wladimir Klitschko and mandatory Alexander Povetkin, Klitschko's trainer Emanuel Steward told BoxingScene.com that Povetkin "would never get in the ring with Wladimir Klitschko."

Almost one month after Klitschko's company K2 won the purse bid, the fight with Povetkin fell apart after the unbeaten Russian failed to sign a bout agreement within 15-days following the outcome of the purse bid, and he was unable to attend a press conference on July 19 in Frankfurt, Germany. The IBF allowed Klitschko to make a deal with the number two ranked contender in their ratings, Samuel Peter, who now faces Klitschko in a rematch on September 11 in Germany.

When Steward spoke with BoxingScene earlier this week, he wasn't surprised with the recent turn of events. Steward made a similar prediction in 2009 when David Haye had signed a contract to fight Wladimir Klitschko. As the fight neared, Haye withdrew from the contest claiming a back injury, but in fufture interviews he claimed it was a "slave contract" from Klitschko that prevented him from moving forward.

"I doubt Povetkin will ever fight Wladimir and I seriously doubt David Haye will ever fight Wladimir - and I've been very consistent in those comments. In David Haye's case, he signed a contract so I can't even say 'he'll never sign a contract,'" Steward told BoxingScene.com.

"All [Haye] can do is talk about fighting a Klitschko and that's his biggest claim to fame. Now he don't talk at all because if he talks - he's going to be building up....starting a confrontation and that usually ends with somebody fighting somebody. He's still hiding under the bed, waiting for when it's safe so he can come out

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Here is a war of words between Amir Khan and Bradley via twitter.

HOPEFULLY Bradley and Alexander fight next, Khan fights Marquez and the winners meet.




By Mark Vester

Junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley and Amir Khan waged a war of words on twitter over the last few hours. Bradley said enough was enough when he saw an article where Khan said he would clean his clock if they met in the ring [click here to read]. The two 140-pounders have been waging a verbal war for the last few days.

Bradley - Amir Khan said he will knock me out. Bring it on baby I will fight you next! If your a man face me next and not [Juan Manuel] Marquez.

Khan - Your turn will come, just get in the que. I want to face a better bunch of opponents first.

Bradley - Until you face me you will never get the respect...period! So who you [are] going to face next then?

Khan - Tim Bradley is dying for a pay day. Tell him get in the que of better opponents and wait his turn to get KO'd.

Bradley - Dude what you talking about? Believe in my own hype? I've beaten [Kendall] Holt, [Lamont] Peterson, [Junior] Witter, [Nate] Campbell. I deserve a pay day.

Khan - Remember one thing, I'd beat everyone who you beat. I'd KO them. Infact, you avoided [Andreas] Kotelnik and [Dimitry] Salita. Who's the bitch now?

Bradley - I avoided Kotelnik and Salita?? Please explain how I avoided them? I think you're the ducker. Who's your mandatory? [Marcos] Maidana.

Dude I highly doubt you would have beaten Kendal Holt in 2009, maybe now but not when I fought him.

If you face Maidana next fair enough, he's your mandatory but if you face Marquez you know there will be a backlash against you about. You gotta be a man and tell Richard Schaefer you wanna face legit 140 pounders not blown-up lightweights.

Khan - Maidana has a bad back. I wanted him. You say you want to fight but indirectly you don't. You overprice yourself and say I'm scared...come on!

Bradley - You paid Maidana step-aside money. You're the ducker son!

Your ego is too big. Humble yourself before someone shatters your glass jaw!

Overprice myself? What are you talking about? Gary Shaw and Richard haven't even discussed financial details.

 

[heyzel]

Margarito applies for boxing license with California Athletic Commission – News

By Jim Dower: Former welterweight champion Antonio Margarito (38-6, 27 KO’s) opted to reapply for his lost boxing license on Wednesday with the California Athletic Commission rather than taking a second attempt with the Nevada Athletic Commission, who already rejected Margarito’ licensing try earlier this month by a 4-1 vote. Margarito is attempting to get his boxing license back so that he can fight Manny Pacquiao in the United States on November 13th for the vacant World Boxing Council junior middleweight title. Margarito lost his boxing license a year ago when the same California Commission revoked his boxing license shortly after a plaster-like substance was found on Margarito’s hand wraps before his bout against Shane Mosley in January 2009.


In an article by the LA Times, Bob Arum, the promoter for Margarito and Pacquiao, said “We’ve asked for this to be heard on an expedited basis.” Arum would like to get the answer – whether yes or no – from the California Athletic Commission as soon as possible so that he can start looking at applying to the Nevada Athletic Commission or the Texas and New Jersey Athletic Commissions.
When Margarito was rejected by the Nevada Athletic Commission, he was told by them to go back to the California Commission before coming back to them.

Arum seems confident that he’ll be able to get Margarito’s boxing license back in the end, saying “Half a dozen states have said they will grant us [Margarito] a license without a decision by California.” Arum, however, would really like for the Pacquiao vs. Margarito bout to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, because of the gambling money that the fight would bring into the city. It’s hard to imagine that the Nevada Commission will reject Margarito a second time, even if the California Commission says no to him. Margarito-Pacquiao means big money for the states of Nevada, and they could use the money that the Pacquiao-Margarito fight would bring to the city and state.

Ideally, Arum would have been better to have chosen another opponent for Pacquiao to fight rather than Margarito. He’s someone that because of the hand wraps issue looked down upon by many boxing fans. Arum probably could have easily found a more appealing opponent for Pacquiao than Margarito. However, Arum doesn’t have a lot of options in his Top Rank stable, so that’s one of the problems. There’s really only Margarito and Miguel Cotto, who Pacquiao already beat last year by a 12th round knockout in November, to match against Pacquiao.

 

[heyzel]

Haye to work Groves’ corner on 7/31 for Contreras fight

By Sean McDaniel: World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight champion David Haye (24-1, 22 KO’s) will be out in public on July 31st to work the corner of talented unbeaten super middleweight prospect George Groves (9-0, 7 KO’s) in his scheduled eight round bout against Mexican Alfredo Contreras (11-7-1, 5 KO’s) on the undercard of the fight between WBA/WBO lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada.


Groves, only 22, looked impressive in stopping Charles Adamu in the 6th round on April 3rd to capture the Commonwealth super middleweight title. Groves appears to be on a collision course to fight against the best fighters in the super middleweight in the not too distant future. Before that, Groves would like to take on and beat 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist for Britain James DeGale.

In an article at thesun.co.uk, Haye, 29, said “I have boxed in Miami and Beverly Hills, but George has beaten me to Las Vegas and I am gutted.” Groves said “They’re really excited to have David out there. He’s probably more of a star out there than he is here because we see him all the time. It’s a special occasion when he is in America.”
Many American boxing fans are both interested and slightly turned off by Haye, because he’s failed to fight IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and his bother WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko. Haye hasn’t been saying anything to explain why he’s failed to fight Wladimir Klitschko, and many fans think Haye is afraid of him and just looking to milk his WBA heavyweight title for as long as he can before it’s stripped from him.

 

[heyzel]

Home Cooking in the Super Six? Abraham-Taylor, Froch-Dirrell, More!

By Joseph Hirsch: Six fights have taken place thus far in Showtime’s “Super Six World Boxing Classic.” Of the six matches, the home fighter has won in each and every instance. Before his bout with Mikkel Kessler in Herning, Denmark, Carl Froch was asked if he thought that hometown refereeing had anything to do with the outcomes of the fights. He responded that the right fighter had won the right fight in every instance, and that the reason he had been given the nod over Andre Dirrell was simple: he had beaten him.


Froch braved a private chartered flight and volcanic ash in order to defend his belt against Kessler. Their fight was easily one of the most exciting matches of the tournament thus far, as was predicted, and in the end Kessler nicked the decision by a close but significant margin. After the fight, Carl Froch stated that the hometown advantage was a significant factor, and that if he had fought Kessler in his backyard of Nottingham, he would have won the fight.

In order to ascertain whether or not there have been questionable decisions in the tournament, made by both referees and judges, it might be important to look a little more closely at each fight which has taken place:

Arthur Abraham vs. Jermaine Taylor (Berlin, Germany): Abraham knocked Taylor out, obviously negating any sort of claims of favoritism. Taylor was treated fairly by the ref, and was never needlessly deducted or penalized. Abraham did nothing untoward with either his head or his elbow, and the tournament was off to a grand start.

Carl Froch vs. Andre Dirrell (Nottingham, England): After twelve ugly, frustrating rounds, Froch was awarded a controversial split decision. Both fighters were guilty of foul tactics, but only Dirrell was deducted a crucial point. This was a difficult fight to score, and did a lot to deflate the hopes of the fans which were so high after Abraham’s clear and decisive victory.

Andre Ward vs. Mikkel Kessler (Oakland, California): Kessler, the tourney favorite, came to Ward’s backyard to defend his belt and make his first appearance in the Super Six. Ward beat him to the punch every time, yet opened some nasty cuts with questionable head-butts. There was excessive clinching as well. Ward was probably the more skilled fighter, and could have probably won without the extra tactics, but the ref did very little to issue any warnings or intercede in the fight. A case could be made that if the fight had been in Denmark, the judges would have watched Ward more closely, and Kessler would have had a better chance.

Andre Dirrell vs. Arthur Abraham (Detroit, Michigan): This fight was rife with controversy from the early rounds. Dirrell set the pace and controlled the fight from a distance. The Dirrell who had backpedaled incessantly against Carl Froch was nowhere to be found. Things seemed like they were on a trajectory for Dirrell to clinch a wide decision, when Arthur Abraham seemed to knock his opponent down. The ref ruled the action a slip, and the fight continued. Abraham seemed to believe himself the victim of low blows and looked to the ref for some kind of help, but no warnings were issued. Perhaps frustrated, Abraham took a swipe at Dirrell when he slipped on a canvas wet spot. While the action was late, it was nowhere near as blatant as the blow to which it was compared, the hit Roy Jones delivered to Montel Griffin. Andre Dirrell went into convulsions on the ground and Abraham was disqualified, handing him his first loss. One wonders what would have happened had this fight taken place in Germany.

Mikkel Kessler vs. Carl Froch (Herning, Denmark): This was a back and forth war, fairly close and exciting throughout. After the fight, before the verdict was rendered, Froch could be heard saying, “They’re going to take it off me, the bastards.” His camp seemed to know what was in the wind. The verdict was announced, and Kessler had a belt again. Ironically this was the closest fight, yet seemed the least controversial.

Andre Ward vs. Allan Green (Oakland, California): Ward is the only fighter to have won both of his fights, and the only fighter to have fought at home both times. Green, who entered late by subbing for Jermaine Taylor, claimed in pre-fight interviews that no one in the tournament could beat him, despite the fact that he already had a loss courtesy of the eminently beatable Edison Miranda. The vast majority of this fight was fought in a phone booth. Ward clung tightly to Green for most of the bout, managing to get off impressive blows at a claustrophobic distance. Many judges would not have allowed this kind of smothering, in-fighting tactic. Referee Keith Hughes, who was in charge of the Berto-Collazo fight, was recently interviewed about his take on this match. Had he been in charge of the Ward-Green action, he says he would have broken up the fighters and forced them to resist clinching. Every fight fan knows how much more spectacular a fight is when the holding is cast to the wayside and the participants punch each other instead.

Neither Green nor Ward altered tactics all night. Ward had his second consecutive win, and was now in control of the scoreboard with four points. Whether or not one agrees that there has been hometown judging or refereeing at work, most fight fans should be able to agree that if the third round of action goes down as slated for September and October, and if the hometown fighter has still won every match fought thus far, the luster of the Showtime tournament will have been tarnished.

Perhaps the tournament’s hosts have learned their lesson, as the only venue agreed upon for the next round is Monaco for the Abraham vs. Froch fight. Points have become a crucial issue at this late stage, and we owe it to all of the fighters involved to give them a fair fight.

 

[WYNO707X4]

i hate khan......

 

[2-0-Sixx]

haha he's become quite the cocky bastard hasn't he? He was bragging the other day on twitter saying he knocked down pacquiao with a body shot in sparring. lol

I like him for the most part I think he has a ton of skills and can beat everyone at 140 that are not named Alexander or Bradley.

 

[T-Rip]

hes good not doubt about it, as long as you can back it up you can say what you want

 

[heyzel]

agreed but with that chin of his I wouldn't be shit talking cause bradley is no joke

 

[heyzel]

Amir Khan, Timothy Bradley Go To War on Twitter

By Mark Vester

Junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley and Amir Khan waged a war of words on twitter over the last few hours. Bradley said enough was enough when he saw an article where Khan said he would clean his clock if they met in the ring [click here to read]. The two 140-pounders have been waging a verbal war for the last few days.

Bradley - Amir Khan said he will knock me out. Bring it on baby I will fight you next! If your a man face me next and not [Juan Manuel] Marquez.

Khan - Your turn will come, just get in the que. I want to face a better bunch of opponents first.

Bradley - Until you face me you will never get the respect...period! So who you [are] going to face next then?

Khan - Tim Bradley is dying for a pay day. Tell him get in the que of better opponents and wait his turn to get KO'd.

Bradley - Dude what you talking about? Believe in my own hype? I've beaten [Kendall] Holt, [Lamont] Peterson, [Junior] Witter, [Nate] Campbell. I deserve a pay day.

Khan - Remember one thing, I'd beat everyone who you beat. I'd KO them. Infact, you avoided [Andreas] Kotelnik and [Dimitry] Salita. Who's the bitch now?

Bradley - I avoided Kotelnik and Salita?? Please explain how I avoided them? I think you're the ducker. Who's your mandatory? [Marcos] Maidana.

Dude I highly doubt you would have beaten Kendal Holt in 2009, maybe now but not when I fought him.

If you face Maidana next fair enough, he's your mandatory but if you face Marquez you know there will be a backlash against you about. You gotta be a man and tell Richard Schaefer you wanna face legit 140 pounders not blown-up lightweights.

Khan - Maidana has a bad back. I wanted him. You say you want to fight but indirectly you don't. You overprice yourself and say I'm scared...come on!

Bradley - You paid Maidana step-aside money. You're the ducker son!

Your ego is too big. Humble yourself before someone shatters your glass jaw!

Overprice myself? What are you talking about? Gary Shaw and Richard haven't even discussed financial details

 

[Johnny Truelove]

haha good shit i really like khan's style of boxing hope this fight happens lol @ twitter beef

 

[2-0-Sixx]

I'm loving the 140 pound division right now!


Marcos Maidana Answers Both Amir Khan, Tim Bradley

By Marcos Maidana

After reading the “war on Twitter” article between Amir Khan and Timothy Bradley posted on boxingscene.com today - I'm feeling in the mood to give them both a little answer.

First of all, Khan should keep himself much more updated before talking. I’ve clarified hundreds of times in recent weeks that I had no bad back whatsoever. That was a ridiculous excuse presented to Golden Boy Promotions and HBO by my former manager when I told him that I would not fight Bradley for the little money he offered me. So, God first, let me take care of Demarcus Corley on August 28 in my return bout and then I’ll be ready to face you before the end of this year. Amir, no more excuses, you are my mandatory.

As far as Bradley, I respect him because he does not duck anyone. But I got very fraustrated because for the above mentioned reason I couldn’t get in the ring with him. Now that I’ve cleared all my managerial and economic issues, I’d love to face him, too shut his promoter Gary Shaw’s big mouth. Here I am, Timmy, I wait for you, too.

God bless you both.

 

[WYNO707X4]

i bet khan is shitting brickz after he reads maidana coments...he better put a shit load of crazy glue in his jaw before the fight if he decides to fight maidana. he going down. i cant stand his rbk gloves,his accent,aquala is great bullshit that mothafucker thinks he tight cus he beat paulie lol

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Bradley just said on his Twitter he (bradley) is fighting Alexander Jan 29th.

That's dope news, that's one of the best fights that can be possibly made in boxing right now. Floyd needs to take notes - the best fighting the best, what a concept!

Amir Khan will get a crack at Juan Manuel Marquez provided Marquez beats Diaz on Saturday which he should. I don't mind this too much because I understand what they are trying to do (build him to be a superstar) as long as he fights Maidana and bradley/alexander after.