Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Martirosyan “They try to be like Lara March 28, he is my enemy,”
Ryan O'Hara
By Ryan O'Hara March 22, 2015 10:27 pm
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martirosyan_lee2091219_001aVanes Martirosyan said he was going to “beat his ass” when referring to Jermell Charlo (25-0, 11 Kos). On Saturday, March 28 from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas to ascertain who is the Pied Piper in the junior middleweight division, the two warriors will finally touch leather. Despite the preceding comments, Martirosyan has stated-over and over again-that he respects Jermell Charlo for taking the fight, but he also believes it is more of a step up for the undefeated fighter than vice versa.

“I honestly do respect him,” said Martirosyan. “I think it is more of a step up for him. I fought Andrade, I fought a lot of top guys with Nelson, so I commend him on that and I respect him for that. I respect any man who steps in the ring with me. I just can’t wait to fight. I wish him the best.”

Another intriguing ingredient in this fight is Martirosyan’s time with trainer Ronnie Shields. Shields, who is the current trainer for Jermell Charlo, trained ‘Nightmare’ for two years. Furthermore, Charlo and Martirosyan trained together in Texas. In a prior interview with FightHype.com, Martirosyan praised both Charlo and Shields, but went on to say that the camaraderie will be on a hiatus at least on 28 March.

“Jermell is a great fighter. We trained together in Texas. The person I respect the most is Ronnie Shields. I really love him. He is a great man, a great trainer. I also love Jermell Charlo’s father. His father was a good man. They’re good kids (the Charlo twins); they are good fighters. But on March 28, he is my enemy,” an austere, but sincere Martirosyan said.

On November 10, 2012, Vanes Martirosyan and Erislandy Lara both went into the ring looking for a decisive victory to boost their stock, but both came up short. The bout ended in a technical draw when an accidental head butt opened up a nasty cut under Martirosyan’s left eye 26 seconds into round nine. When asked if Charlo’s style presented more challenges than Lara’s, the world championship hopeful praised Lara as being one of the best.

“Lara is one of the greatest boxers. He’s just too slick. I think Jermell and Jermall look up to Lara. I think Lara is probably their big brother. They try to be like Lara. It’s going to be like a man vs. a boy. That’s how I feel,” he added. Martirosyan also said he has a good game plan come March 28.

“We got a good game plan. I know he’s going to come out and box. As soon as he tastes my power, I know he’s going to start to run. I think he’s going to fight me the same way he fought Rosado (Gabriel Rosado). We got a lot of things that we got in the bag for him.

 

[heyzel]

Sergio Martinez: Pacquiao is a long way from being ready for Mayweather
date March 23rd, 2015 | Post Comment - 226 Comments

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pacBy Chris Williams: Former two division world champion Sergio Martinez doesn’t think Top Rank fighter Manny Pacquiao is ready for what he’s about to undertake on May 2nd when he gets inside the ring with Floyd Mayweather Jr at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Martinez, 40, sees Pacquiao someone that Mayweather can beat with ease in this fight. Martinez doesn’t rate Pacquiao as being a good enough fighter to compete with Mayweather right now.

“This was never too much of a fight to me because Mayweather is in a league of his own,” said Martinez via RingTV.com. “Floyd Mayweather can have Manny for breakfast, lunch or anything. Pacquiao is still a long way from being ready for Mayweather.”

Martinez has a brilliant mind, and you can’t disagree with him with his analysis of the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. Yes, Martinez’s body may be failing him at the age of 40, but his mind is still as sharp as a tack. He knows what he sees when he looks at Pacquiao and Mayweather. This is why he doesn’t give Pacquiao a chance of winning the fight.

Martinez feels that Mayweather’s boxing skills are going to be too much for Pacquiao to handle in this fight. Unless Mayweather decides to give Pacquiao a handicap by choosing to slug with him, it could be a really long night for Pacquiao on May 2nd with him getting dominated.

There’s no question that Pacquiao doesn’t have the boxing skills right now to compete against Mayweather. Pacquiao is a small slugger who has been able to prolong his career in recent years dining on the guys that his promoter Bob Arum has been picking out for him.

Instead of Pacquiao facing hard opponents that would likely age him badly such Marcos Maidana, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Kell Brook, Danny Garcia and Lucas Matthysse, Pacquiao has been fighting Chris Algieri, Brandon Rios, Tim Bradley, Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito and Joshua Clottey.

Pacquiao is arguably the wrong kind of fighter to be taking on Mayweather, because he doesn’t have the boxing skills or the size to stand up to what he’s going to be facing in the ring with the talented American fighter.

Pacquiao is just a straight up slugger in the Arturo Gatti mold, and we already saw what Mayweather did to Gatti when he stopped him in the 6th round in their fight in June 2005.

Gatti has the same size and fighting style as Pacquiao, but it didn’t help him at all. Mayweather was able to tee off on Gatti, and take advantage of his slugging fighting style.

At this point it’s perhaps too late for Pacquiao to change his fighting style to give him a better chance of winning the fight against Mayweather. The wheel is already in notion, and it’s going to be next to impossible for Pacquiao to add another level to his game.

Sluggers are rarely able to adapt to become boxers. When you have a small slugger with limited height and advanced age, it’s pretty much impossible to change that fighter into a boxer/puncher.

 

[heyzel]

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight could surpass $500 million
date March 23rd, 2015 | Post Comment - 48 Comments

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LR_TRAPPFOTOS-MAYPAC PRESSER-8132(Photo credit: Stephanie Trapp/Mayweather Promotions) By Chris Williams: The May 2nd fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr (47-0, 26 KOs) and Manny Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) was previously expected to pull in a whopping $400 million from pay-per-view and ticket sales. But now it’s expected to bring in over $500 million, according to Dan Rafael of ESPN.

With the cash that Mayweather and Pacquiao are going to make, they really don’t need to fight again. Mayweather could bring in close to $200 million with the money he gets from the fight. It was thought that Mayweather would originally get $120 million, and Pacquiao $80 million. But that number is going to go up if the fight pulls in over $500 million.

With that kind of money, Mayweather and Pacquiao don’t need to continue fighting. That’s not to say that they won’t keep their careers going, of course. Mayweather would still have one fight on his contract with Showtime/CBS that he’d need to finish up with before he could walk away, and I expect Mayweather to take that fight.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Mayweather back in the ring with Pacquiao for a second fight in September. I don’t know how they could resist fighting a second time if they have the chance to make the big money that they made for this fight. Pacquiao will certainly continue his boxing career, because he seems to be someone who is destined to continue fighting until he reaches his 40s.

That’s something I believe will happen with the Filipino star. He’s only 4 years away from 40 now, and I don’t think he’ll retire unless he starts getting knocked out left and right. With the match-making that his promoter Bob Arum has been doing for him, Pacquiao can easily continue to fight for another four years.

“With amount of $ Floyd & Manny will both make it wouldn’t surprise me if this is last fight for both. What else do you possibly do after? Based on all forms of revenue coming in Mayweather-Pacquiao is not only a lock to generate more than $400M it could easily surpass $500M,” Rafael said on his twitter. “The previous all-time gate record is a hair over $20M. And now Mayweather-Pacquiao will absolutely destroy it by more than 3 1/2 times. This is mind-blowing: Arum said they’ve configured MGM for Mayweather-Pacquiao & gate will now be – hold on to your hat – about $74M! Whoa! Here’s how detailed they got in Mayweather-Pacquiao contract. Arum told me they negotiated who’d pick national anthem singers. According to Arum, Pacquiao has the right to select the Philippines anthem and Mayweather gets to pick US anthem singer. Mayweather-Pacquiao.”

It would be interesting to know how many extra seats Arum was able to get out of the MGM Grand from the normal 16,800 for the arena. With the huge price of the tickets, they can make a bundle if they’re able to squeeze extra seats. If they make is standing room only or make the seats smaller, they could probably add a few thousand extra seats. That would bring in a little more money. The real money will be coming from the PPV sales though.

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[HERESY]

Chris Williams needs to put that pipe down.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Word is Cotto vs Heiland in June. At least it's a middleweight.

 

[RM211]

Who?

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Jorge Sebastian Heiland, from Argentina. 25-4. He's coming off a 10 round KO over Macklin. Golovkin was considering him next, but went with Monroe Jr instead.

it's actually not that bad of a first title defense for Cotto. The reason is because Heiland won some sort of title eliminator and is on the verge of becoming mandatory ( @naner12 talked about this some pages ago) so might as well get him out of the way now.

It's better than the K9 fight, since it's at least against a ranked middleweight. Timothy Bradley and Top Rank swooped in and stole k9, probably Bob Arum's way of fucking with Cotto for signing with Roc Nation. Lightweight trolling by uncle Bob.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

 

[heyzel]

Beef: Russian on Russian Violence!

Beterbiev's Manager Fires Back at Sergey Kovalev
Posted by: Samvel Melkonyan on 3/22/2015

By Samvel Melkonyan

The war of words continue in the saga between WBO/IBF/WBA champion Sergey Kovalev and young gun Artur Beterbiev (7-0, 7KOs). Beterbiev faces former champion Gabriel Campillo (25-6-1, 11KOs) on April 4 in Quebec City, airing live on CBS and TVA Sports. Campillo had previously faced, and got knocked out, by division ruler Sergey Kovalev, who has the WBO/WBA/IBF titles.

Beterbiev threw down some fighting words, when he declared that he would beat Kovalev - again. Beterbiev says he beat Kovalev twice in the amateurs and plans to make it a trilogy of wins when they meet in the pros.


"I will put on a good show and fight April 4th," Beterbiev continued. "When I step in the ring, I don't have a friend. I want to continue to get better until I face Sergey Kovalev again. And I will beat him again!"


Kovalev has responded to his countryman.


"It's interesting that he says he beat me at something. What is it a dream of something? We met twice [in the amateurs], where in the first two rounds Beterbiev's head was touching his ass, and then in the third and fourth rounds - when I was tired - he could not do anything with me. All of his punches struck air, as if he was doing shadow boxing. The entire Russian team will confirm what happened in Kislovodsk," Kovalev said.


"And the second time [we met] was in the Russian championships and the judges gave him the victory as I had no support behind me and I was fighting on my own against an entire corrupt commission in Magnitogorsk. So there is no need to mislead people, Artur. First earn a fight with me, and then I will punish you. And no more wishful thinking. As of today, you even refused to fight Chilemba and that shows that you're scared."

Beterbiev's manager, Anna Reva, has reacted to Kovalev.

"I would like to say that boxing is not a street fight. Being a boxer is not just about waving your fists. In boxing there must be ethics and respect," Reva stated.

"Sergey, well, he is very ugly [in the way he acts] and not professional. You should be a champion who makes a good example for the younger generation, so you shouldn't come out like that and be so cheap. Real men don't talk, they decide everything regarding their hurt feelings in the ring. Did you forget for how many years you have been running? And Artur, in a year, is already on a high pro level - so hold your envy in silence."

Samvel Melkonyan covers boxing for Tofight.ru


Beterbiev's Manager Fires Back at Sergey Kovalev - Boxing News

 

[heyzel]

Cherchi confirms Branco v Malignaggi talks, EBU title bout heading to US




A European welterweight title fight between current champion Gianluca Branco and Paulie Malignaggi is on the cards, OPI promoter Christian Cherchi exclusively revealed to WBN on Monday.

Italian veteran Branco, 44, and former world title holder Malignaggi, who is of Italian descent, are set to clash in the United States meaning a potential title defense against compatriot Gianluca Frezza is now off the table.

Frezza was due to challenge Branco in late April or early May until the possibility of a higher profile encounter with Malignaggi came about and Cherchi then decided not to pursue the voluntary contest any further.

"We are working on the Gianluca Branco versus Paulie Malignaggi for the European title and we will not do the fight with Gianluca Frezza," Cherchi told World Boxing News.

"All we are waiting for is the date and the venue from the American promoter. We have approval from the EBU and we know that the fight will be in the US," he added.

Malignaggi has turned to the coveted EBU belt following his world title defeat to Shawn Porter in April 2014 in a bid to fulfil one of his goals which is directly linked to his proud Italian heritage. 'The Magic Man' frequently pays homage to his ancestors homeland by following the national football (soccer) team passionately and regularly engages with fans on the subject on his social media account.

The 34 year-old, who was rumoured to be considering retirement, will go into any secured bout with Branco a heavy favorite to prevail, which could in turn lead to a match-up in the UK with mandatory challenger Frankie Gavin.

Gavin has stated his intention to meet the winner of the prospective European battle, whilst Malignaggi is known to be keen on a return to the UK following his victory over Lovemore Ndou back in 2008 after gaining a legion of British fans

 

[heyzel]

Stevenson says he’s the man to beat, will take care of Kovalev once Bika is KO'd




Adonis Stevenson is fully confident that another knockout is on the horizon as the WBC light heavyweight champion prepares to defend his title against fledgling 175lber Sakio Bika next month.

The 37 year-old, who has beaten every man he has faced in the ring, puts his green belt on the line for the fifth time at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec on April 4 and expects become the first to stop 'The Scorpion' in 42 contests.

"Sakio Bika is a tough opponent. He will come to fight and he is very hungry. He has never been knocked out and I am taking him very seriously," Stevenson exclusively told World Boxing News.

"I don't feel under any pressure to get the knockout, but simply that I have to give my best. The knockout will come when I see the opening, but I am ready to go the twelve rounds if I need to."

Divisional rival Sergey Kovalev impressed earlier this month with a crushing victory over Jean Pascal to defend all three of his title belts, although Stevenson intends to challenge the big-hitting Russian once Bika is out of the way.

"I am the man to beat in the division. It does not matter how many belts Kovalev has," he stated. "He did a good performance against Hopkins, but he is 50 years old. If Hopkins would had fought me I would have had the three belts too.

"At this moment, I have only Bika on my mind and ending the fight with my usual knockout. I am not thinking about Kovalev. But after the fight I will take care of Kovalev," confirmed Stevenson.

Stevenson last appeared in December when 'Superman' halted Russian Dmitry Sukhotsky in five rounds to keep his KO ratio above 80 percent

 

[heyzel]

Roy Jones Jr. back in ring Saturday
Updated: March 25, 2015, 2:18 AM ET
By Dan Rafael | ESPN.com


Longtime former pound-for-pound king and four-division titleholder Roy Jones Jr., who fought just three weeks ago, will fight again on Saturday night in a hastily arranged bout.

Jones, who knocked out club fighter Willie Williams in the second round on March 6 in Concord, North Carolina, will face another club fighter in Paul Vasquez (10-6-1, 3 KOs) in a scheduled 10-round cruiserweight bout at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Florida, Jones' hometown, in a fight announced on Tuesday night.

The fight will be Jones' first in his hometown since he stopped Omar Sheika in the fifth round at the Pensacola Civic Center in March 2009. Jones-Vasquez is a late addition to a card that was already set and includes boxing and mixed martial arts bouts.

"Roy just fought three weeks ago in North Carolina, and we were already planning one of our Island Fights mixed cards for (Saturday)," said John Wirt, CEO of Jones' Square Ring Promotions.

"Roy said he wanted to fight on it too, since it was already a mixed boxing and MMA show, and so we made it happen. We have a huge card of local boxers and MMA fighters and with Roy topping the bill, Pensacola is going have a chance to see not only a great evening of fights, but also their hometown legend."

Although the 46-year-old Jones (60-8, 43 KOs), boxing's No. 1 fighter for nearly a decade -- from about 1994 to 2004 -- is years past his best days and has had many calling for his retirement, he still is aiming for a world title in a fifth weight class. He has won world titles at middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight and is aiming to win a cruiserweight world title.

He has been talking personally with longtime cruiserweight titleholder Marco Huck of Germany about a fight in the fall.

With that fight possible, Jones said he wants to stay active to be as sharp as he can be for the proposed bout.

Huck (38-2-1, 26 KOs), 30, has held his title since 2009 and has made 13 defenses, tied for the most in division history.

"I want to stay active and continue on my path towards a fight with Marco Huck later this year," Jones said. "I've been working on some different things and the fights I've been doing are helping me hone these. I haven't fought here in Pensacola for six years and I really am looking forward to seeing all my fans Saturday night. Pensacola in the house!"

Between 2009 and 2011, Jones lost three fights in a row -- to Danny Green by first-round knockout, Bernard Hopkins by lopsided decision and Denis Lebedev by brutal 10th-round knockout. But Jones has won six fights in a row since, all against low-level opponents, with four of the bouts taking place in Eastern Europe or Russia.

"I encouraged Roy to take this fight," said McGee Wright, Jones' manager. "Roy has won his last six fights in a row and his last three by stoppage. The stuff he has been working on is really starting to pay off and this is a process that we are going through on purpose to get him ready both physically and mentally for the Huck fight."

Vasquez, 36, of Martinez, California, has lost two fights in a row by first-round knockout to undefeated prospects Marcus Browne and Vyacheslav Shabranskyy. Vazquez has lost four of his last five bouts.

"I jumped at the chance to fight Roy Jones. It's truly an honor for me. But make no mistake, I'm coming to win," said Vasquez, adding that he plans to donate his purse to a children's hospital.

Roy Jones Jr. will fight twice in span of 1 month - ESPN

 

[heyzel]

Garcia-Broner Broner Says ‘Business Before Friendship’
Mario Mungia
By Mario Mungia March 25, 2015 3:14 pm
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Danny Garcia Adrien BronerAdrien Broner had a very intriguing Instagram post recently containing a picture of him and junior welterweight titlist Danny Garcia facing off. The picture, posted above, shows Garcia making a “throat cutting” gesture with his hand as he and Broner stare each other down in a vaguely intense manner.

The post had a message from Broner that read as follows:

“This is the next mega fight ME vs. Danny Garcia… ‘Business Before Friendship’… #ABonNBC #AboutBillions… But I want to fight Amir Khan first den Den (then) my homie Danny next! #ToBeTheBest you have to fight the best!!!! #NothingPersonal #ThisFightComingSoon.”

It is an interesting notion from Broner, but I’m not convinced we’ll see him run the gauntlet of Khan then Garcia and I’m far less convinced that he gets the guaranteed win against Khan, which would be necessary to make a fight with Garcia. Well, he could conceivably lose to Khan and still get the fight with Danny, but it wouldn’t be nearly as big if he came into that fight with a loss.

There are a lot of interesting dialogues in Broner’s Instagram post.

First, why was this picture taken? I mean, why would the photographer go out of his way to take? At a planned photo session, the shots are typically planned, like at a wedding. The photographer isn’t going to waste his time taking pictures for the sake of innuendos or to boost a person’s social media platform.

No, this was done for a reason. This was always a part of this photography session. I doubt that either Broner or Garcia or both, suddenly came up with the idea and were like, “Yo, cameraman, if you got any film left in that last roll could you do me a favor?”

So, if this was planned, why take this photo at a session meant for PBC’s overall promotion, especially if Garcia and Broner aren’t fighting anytime soon. Even if this fight is part of the plan, there will be plenty of time to get the necessary shots in and they wouldn’t have had to take this kind of shots so soon.

The promise of this fight is even more likely when you take into consideration that Broner has never been so candid about fighting his friend Danny Garcia. Broner has made comments recently about fighting Danny, but nothing to this degree. In the past, Broner has made it a point to disparage the very thought of a fight between him and Garcia with the excuse that they are friends.

Still, Broner made a point to use several hashtags to clarify they are friends and that he hopes to remain friends.

Broner seems ready to make the fight a reality. What stuck out to me the most was the fact that he referred to the fight as “mega” and even had a tagline for the fight, “Business Before Friendship.”

With Mayweather supposedly retiring at the end of his ShowTime contract, which guarantees one last fight after his May 2nd fight with Pacquiao and assuming he makes that fight in September, there will be a void in May of 2016.

Broner could be wanting to capitalize on the void and attempting to grab the ball from Mayweather. He knows he needs a “mega” fight to capture the audience and the rights to the date. Hopefully, this fight comes to fruition even if it takes place on another date, sometime this year would be great.

 

[heyzel]

Today In Boxing History: Foreman Crushes Norton in 2nd Round this should have been a temp murder charge on foreman


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQs5-hOcCM0#t=78

 

[HERESY]

First Kovalev and camp lie on Stevenson and now they're lying on Beterbiev. LOL.

 

[heyzel]

Dan Rafael ✔ D @danr afaelespn
Follow

The expected $74M or so gate for #MayweatherPacquiao is more than the top 15 UFC gates in Nevada history COMBINED (approx $72M). #boxing
11:27 PM - 23 Mar 2015

 

[HERESY]

Today In Boxing History: Foreman Crushes Norton in 2nd Round this should have been a temp murder charge on foreman


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQs5-hOcCM0#t=78

lol@the Ali interview after the fight.

 

[heyzel]

EXCLUSIVE Deontay Wilder backs Al Haymon’s plan to bring boxing back to the masses

Wilder talks to Omar Al Raisi about appearing on Premier Boxing Championship

WITH Al Haymon’s ‘Premier Boxing Championship’ series getting impressive ratings on NBC, peaking over 4 million views (and about 1 million on Spike TV), CBS, ABC and now to ESPN are scheduled to also get involved, and WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder is all for it.

ESPN telecasts will air live on primetime. ABC broadcasts will air on Saturday afternoon, with further details to be announced at a later date. ESPN Deportes, ESPN’s Spanish-language network, will also televise all PBC on ESPN fights as part of its Noche de Combates series.

It’s designed to have the feel of a throwback to the ‘good old days’ of boxing. Certainly, with the sport returning to free network viewing channels in the USA, and Britain, the profile of the profile of the grand old noble art seems to be on the up again.

The cards will be thrown into the air on Saturday afternoons, reviving the tradition of middle-of-the-day boxing that helped gain mainstream exposure for fighters like Sugar Ray Leonard and Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini in the 1980s.

There will always be the need for cable to generate the really big money on PPV, but network television exposure can help build the sport that can take a boxer to those heights.

Haymon has put into place a carefully designed marketing and distribution plan, designed to bring significant fights and fighters back to mainstream fans while limiting the avenues for competition, particularly for HBO.

Rapidly rising heavyweight star Deontay Wilder, represented by Haymon, would be delighted to be involved.

“Al Haymon is a great man and a very intelligent businessman,” Wilder told Boxing News. “Look I don’t really care about PPV, there is no major sport that is on a PPV system, it is expensive for general fans and limits the reach for us as athletes and for the sport of boxing in general.

“Al Haymon did the right thing to take boxing back to free TV, which will be aired live to potentially over 100m viewers. Who doesn’t want that? It’s great for the sport of boxing to go mainstream.

“We will see after my time off, what is the next step for me, I am looking forward to the big fights and to unify the heavyweight division,” the fighter – who beat Bermane Stiverne to win his title in January – concluded.

 

[heyzel]

BRook: I was in the gutter after attack, now I'm better than ever!

Matchroom
26 March 2015

Credit: Lawrence Lustig
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Kell Brook steps between the ropes for the first time as a World champion on Saturday night as he defends his IBF Welterweight title at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield against Jo Jo Dan in 'Unbreakable' presented by FX World, live on Sky Sports in the UK and on SHOWTIME in the US – after fearing he may never walk again after the shocking attack he suffered on holiday in Spain in September.

Brook ripped the title from Shawn Porter in Los Angeles in August with a stunning performance in the American's backyard, but just two weeks after that win, Brook was fighting for his life in hospital after a machete attack whilst on holiday in Spain.

The unbeaten Welterweight king has made an astonishing recovery to get back into fighting shape, and Saturday night will be an emotional occasion as Brook's incredible journey continues.

"Winning the title was an unbelievable buzz and for two weeks I was flying but after the attack, I was down in the gutter," said Brook. "I was feeling sorry for myself just lying there in bed, but now I am back and better than ever.

"I've come a long way from the injury, not knowing where I would be with the leg. I've put it under severe stress in a full camp and I have had no problems with it. It was hard at the beginning but we took baby steps and slowly but surely we got up to full speed and tonight couldn't come quick enough to defend the title in my hometown – it's going to be so emotional.

"The leg is fine, I do everything that I used to do, there's no pain and it's not holding me back at all."

Brook was barely able to celebrate his triumph with the attack coming so soon after his win in the States, and 'The Special One' feels the attack took the gloss off of his achievement.

"I don't think that I got enough credit for the win," said Brook. "Before the fight people were saying that I hadn't been in with anyone and I said that after I beat Shawn Porter, 'the Mike Tyson of the 147lb division', give me the respect that I deserve. Everybody agreed but I still don't really feel I have had the respect for going into the guy's backyard and doing what people said I couldn't do and beat him, school him."

Brook was mandatory for Porter's belt and now he faces the number one contender for the strap in the Romanian-Canadian Dan. The 33 year old edged out Kevin Bizier in Quebec in December to land the shot at Brook, and the champion says that while he knows he faces a stiff test, he is only too aware of the huge fights that he could be involved in huge fights in the summer.

"Mandatories come along and you have to deal with them," said Brook. "He's earned his position like I did against Porter, so he gets his chance to take that title off me - but that's not happening. I am not looking past him, but I know that there are massive fights out there for me in the division and after I take care of business tonight, I am free to fight anyone.

"Keith Thurman is making a lot of noise these days, Brandon Rios, Andre Berto, Juan Manuel Marquez and of course Amir Khan, there's many top names in this brilliant division and I am in a great position holding a belt and sitting at the top table in the division."

Brook's clash with Dan is part of a huge night of boxing in Sheffield as local favourite Adam Etches defends his IBF International Middleweight title against Sergey Khomitsky and Gavin McDonnell continues his fairy tale story challenging Ukrainian Oleksandr Yegorov for the vacant European Super Bantamweight title.

Frankie Gavin makes his Sky Sports return as he prepares for his crunch clash with Chris van Heerden on May 9 in Birmingham. Stephen Smith and Kal Yafai continue their marches towards a World title and GB Podium squad member Charlie Edwards fights for the second time in the paid ranks on the bill.

Tickets for 'Unbreakable' presented by FX World are on sale priced £40, £60, £80, £100 and £150 available from StubHub here
Kell Brook

Follow P @phil DJay on Twitter for tweets of upcoming news on @WorldBoxingNews

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Dirrell v DeGale heading to Boston on May 23

Phil D Jay
26 March 2015

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American Andre Dirrell and Briton James DeGale are set to battle it out for the vacant IBF super middleweight title on May 23rd in Boston.

The two highest available contenders have been pitted together to decide who will follow Carl Froch after 'The Cobra' decided to drop the belt instead of meeting compatriot DeGale in the UK clash.

Earlier this month, Warriors Boxing won the purse bid to stage the contest with a bid of $3.1m meaning Dirrell gets home advantage for his second attempt at claiming a version of the 168 pound championship. Back in 2009, 'The Matrix' lost out to Froch in Nottingham for the WBC title and has now avoided a return trip to the British Isles when he faces Olympic gold medallist DeGale in the spring.

That loss to Froch remains Dirrell's only defeat to date as the Michigan fighter clawed his way back into contention with victories over the likes of Vladine Biosse and Derek Edwards following a year out of the ring in 2012.

DeGale has also lost just once when on the wrong end of a split decision against George Groves in 2011 and could set-up a rematch with his nemesis if he can follow stablemate Kell Brook in travelling to the US to win the world title.
James DeGale Andre Dirrell DeGale v Dirrell