Archive for the ‘Boxing News’ Category

Kevin Mitchell to give up Jellied Eels

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Jellied Eels

25 year old Dagenham Boxer Kevin Mitchell has promised to give up his favourite East End treat of Jellied Eels for his upcoming fight against Ignacio Mendoza. However what surprised me is that this isn’t due to some kind of dietary reason, in fact, both Mitchell and trainer Jimmy Tibbs are giving up the delicacy after hearing that the population of Eels in the Thames has dropped by 98%.

I usually get stuck into a plate of jellied eels on a Friday after a tough week in the gym with my trainer Jimmy Tibbs. It’s my little treat after working hard, but I’ve now decided to stick to pie ‘n’ mash instead. Jellied eels are an important part of East End culture, and it’s vital they don’t die out. All the cockneys out there who love eating eels need to cut down a bit to sustain the population, me included. The East End wouldn’t be the same without them, and if my next fight can help save them then that’s great.

Unbeaten lightweight Prescott has just come off a superb points win against Breidis Prescott, the fighter that knocked out currently lightweight world champion Amir Khan in just 52 seconds in devastating fashion. Beating Ignacio Mendoza could lead to a WBO interim world championship bout against Michael Katsidis.

Kevin Mitchell vs Breidis Prescott

In his fight against Prescott, Mitchell showed world class potential by fighting a very technical fight and remaining calm throughout the bout. This is something we have always known Mitchell was capable of, but this is the first time we’ve seen him fight so well and not getting dragged into a tear up! Mitchell who has been challenging Khan for years no doubt chose Prescott on the undercard of the Khan vs Salita fight to send him a clear message!

So even without his weekly treat of Jellied Eels (now that they are facing extinction from the Thames), Mitchell’s confidence will be at an all time high. Regarding his upcoming bout with Mendoza, and possible future bout against Katsidis, Mitchell said:

The only things up for extinction are Mendoza and Katsidis

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Ricky Hatton Comeback with a little help from Joe Gallagher

Friday, January 15th, 2010

ricky-hatton-comeback

Rumours have been circulating that Ricky ‘The Hitman’ Hatton is going for another fight before he retires and has been considering Joe Gallagher to help him get in shape.

Everyone is talking about a potential comeback for Ricky Hatton this year with Marquez as a possible opponent, but due to Ricky’s lost confidence in Mayeather Snr as a trainer he is looking towards Britains own Joe Gallagher! Joe Gallagher is often regarded as Britains top trainer and already taken over Hattons old Gym, the Phoenix Camp Gym.

The Phoenix Camp Gym has already been renamed ‘Gallagher’s’ but the Gym ethos and training style has remained as it was in Hatton’s day. Gallagher already has a business relationship with Ricky Hatton, has claimed hehas a plan to get Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton back to the top, saying,

“With fighters like Ricky it’s not a case of teaching them new things. It’s about reminding them what they do best.”

Hatton has always ‘let himself go’ a little bit between fights giving himself a new nickname of Ricky Fatman with the joke of ‘who ate all the pies’ so getting Ricky back into shape to be fight ready is always a struggle, and Hatton needs a trainer that can help him get back into shape without putting too much of a strain on himself. But Hatton is a motivated fighter and once training starts, Hatton will be focused into losing the extra 50-60 pounds necessary to make his fighting weight.

There are always rumours surrounding Hatton and comebacks as he is such a popular fighter, but if he does I am sure Gallagher will be a good choice of trainer!

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Jermaine Taylor pulls out of Super Six

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

Jermain_Taylor
Jermaine Taylor, former undisputed middleweight champion, has surprised critics by pulling out of the Super Six tournament. But is it such a shock?

Last April (2009), Taylor was stopped by Carl Froch in the last round, during the last round Taylor looked exhausted. Later in the year Taylor got back in the ring for a comebak against Arthur Abraham but was knocked out, again in the last round. This was a disturbing knockout for fans and Taylor’s friends and family as Jermaine lay on the canvas stiff with one hand slightly raised involuntary. Taylor next scheduled fight was supposed to be against Andre Ward in the Super Six tournament this April.

Box Pro are not suprised Taylor has pulled out as even Lou DiBella, the former champions promotor had reportedly left Jermaine and urged him to retire.

“I’m going to take some time off from the sport of boxing and take myself out of Showtime Sports World Boxing Classic tournament,” Taylor said in a statement. “It’s important that I give my body and mind some much-needed rest, because I have been boxing for nearly 20 years. However I plan in staying in shape so I have the option to return to the sport sometime in the future”.

“This was not an easy decision for me, having discussed it with my family, trainer, friends and my adviser Al Haymon, because I’m a very competitive person. But I know this is the smart road for me to take.

The possible replacement for Taylor could be whoever wins the bout between Sakio Bika (famous from the contender and fighting against Joe Calzaghe)and Allan Green (a noted puncher)in February, if this is correct then Taylor’s scheduled fight against Andre Ward on April the 17th will probably be pushed back. There is also a possibility that Lucian Bute may be brought in so as not to mess up the super six schedule.

Either way it will be an exciting stand in!

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Roach Prepares A New Game Plan For Pacman

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

pacman-mayweather

The Countdown has started for the unmissable Manny Paquiao – Floyd Mayweather Jnr bout and Roach has confirmed the contracts are signed and he is preparing a new game plan for Paquiao.

Manny Paquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach has let on that he Pacquiao will be making some changes in their technique when training for the mega fight against undefeated Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Pacman has shown off his skills in two recent high profile fights, Ricky Hatton, where he brutally knocked out the North Manchester Hero, and Miguel Cotto who displayed some powerful puches and good discipline that would have beaten most opponents, but Pacman took it in a 12th round stoppage.

“This is completely opposite of the [Miguel] Cotto fight, opposite of the [Ricky] Hatton fight, and opposite from the [Oscar] de la Hoya fight,” Roach told Brad Cooney of 8countnews.com. “We will come up with a new game plan, a 10 week camp, and some changes. We will work on setting traps and taking Floyd’s speed away from him.”

Roach added: “It’s a difficult fight, it’s the most difficult style for us to go against because he is a runner and a counter puncher.”

The two-time Trainer of the Year recipient also disclosed that the fight is official on their end as Team Pacquiao already signed the contract.

“I don’t know if they officially signed, but we have,” he said.

Pacquiao and Mayweather are due to fight on March 13 at a venue still to be announced. Most people feel Las Vegas is the front runner to host this box office favourite. We’re looking forward to the press conference on January 11th where should find out more.

Both fighters have a huge following and both are undefeated so arguments are starting over who will come out on top, Roach, amongst others are labelling this as the “Fight of the Century.”

“It’s the best fighting the best right now. People can say what they want, but he’s very good at what he does. He’s not an exciting fighter, but he’s good at what he does,” he said.

Manny Pacquiaois the the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion, has a record of 50-3-2, with 38 knockouts. Mayweather is the current No. 2 pound-for-pound king (who previously held the top pound-for-pound spot), holds a clean 40-0 record with 25 KOs and also beat Ricky Hatton at the peak of Hattons career in Las Vegas. Who will win?

“Floyd is not an offensive guy he’s a very defensive fighter, but defense doesn’t win fights, offense does. We will excel in those areas, and we can match his hand-speed. Mayweather is very clever, it’s a challenge for both men,” Roach continued.

Paquiao has always been known to train hard, whereas Floyd Mayweather is a natural in the ring with good fightingintuition and a clever game plan; both have experience. Box Pro have always been big Paquiao fans but feel in this case Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather could take it, in any case this is certainly going to be an exciting fight and with only 3 months to go, we can’t wait!!

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Manny Pacquiao Vs Floyd Mayweather Jnr is ON

Saturday, December 5th, 2009

manny_pacquiao1floyd-mayweather

The fight that everyone has been hoping for has been confirmed, Manny Pacquiao will fight Floyd Mayweather Jnr on March 13, this will answer the question on every boxing fans lips ” who is the best pound-for-pound fighter”.

After the entertaining match between Pacquiao and Cotto last month, Pacquiao proved that not only is he fast, and a power puncher, but he can take the hard hits as well. Pacquiao took punches from Cotto that would floor most hard men, and kept coming back for more. Mayweather stopped Hatton in his tracks in a brutal knock out, but who can predict the outcome of these two exceptional boxers.

Fans have been crying out for this headline fight since Pacquiao beat Cotto in an entertaining 12 rounds, and the promoters have certainly listened. We have heard each boxer will earn 30 million dollars from the fight, so assuming this goes 12 rounds, are on a wage of around 833,333 dollars a minute. The venue is yet to be confirmed but it could be the stadium of the Dallas Cowboys, the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, or the Superdome in New Orleans.

The contracts have not yet been signed as their are still some finer details to work out, but Pacquiao reportedly told  Local TV,

“13 March is OK. The difference between Floyd and others I have fought is that Floyd makes a lot of trash talk that should not be imitated by young people.”

Mayweather does talk the talk and that will create even more hype about the fight, the difference being that Mayweather is one of those trash talking boxers that end the conversation in the ring. Both undefeated, this fight will be unmissable and should bring in an estimated 150 million dollars in Pay Per View revenue alone.

Many critics are questioning the early fight date as it doesn’t leave much time for promoters to sell tickets, but it seems Pacquiao set the date so it didn’t conflict with his campaign for a congressional seat which starts in April for an election in May.

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Haye vs Valuev review

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

David Haye vs Nikolai Valuev Comic Strip Poster

David Haye’s next fight had been long awaited with nearly a year out of the ring since his last fight with Monte Barrett. After disappointment that the Klitschko fights couldn’t go ahead, another World Title shot with the biggest heavyweight of all time was mouth watering! Haye had only previously had 2 fights in the heavyweight division having become the undisputed cruiserweight champion, and there was some uncertainty about how he would cope against the much larger fighters (Haye being a “small” 6′3″ and about 220 lbs!!!). The now mammoth gap in height and weight that he was giving away (9 inches and 100 lbs) made it a true “David vs Goliath” event!

I was hoping to attend the event and support Haye, but I recently got married and knew that I would be sunning myself in Mexico when the fight took place. Thankfully my wife knew what she was getting into when she married me, and had already agreed to find a sports bar showing this fight and the Cotto vs Pacquiao fight during our honeymoon! On the day of the fight we had terrible weather. Hurricane Ida was approaching and we had some torrential rain. After carefully finding a bar just 10 minutes drive from our hotel, we went outside to see cars almost completely submerged by rain water, with thunder and lightning so loud a passer by screamed in terror hitting the deck for saftey! Amusing, but not looking good for the fight…

We eventually found a taxi driver that was prepared to aqua plane through the water, and we made it to the bar in good time. The NFL was playing on the TV’s, and I asked if they were going to show the Haye fight. Normally in the past I have had to explain who David Haye was, but this time (even in Mexico) they knew exactly who I was talking about. I guess all that publicity in the build up to the Wladimir Klitschko fight really increased his profile! The signal was a bit intermittent due to the weather but at least I could watch it! So long as we didn’t lose reception completely I was happy. The bar didn’t seem that busy but when Haye appeared on screen there were cheers in the bar, seemingly lots of fans were hidden away.

The fight itself was fascinating. Haye clearly had a gameplan to use his speed and remain elusive, which was a wise decision as trying to grapple with a 300 lbs “beast” would definitely have been draining and going toe to toe could also have been disastrous. I thought Haye did a good job of moving in and out of range, and he was never really hit cleanly by Valuev throughout the whole fight. Apparently Haye injured his right hand early in the fight (round 2 or 3) as a result of hitting Valuev square on the head, which Haye later compared to hitting a large brick! This may have explained why the punch numbers dropped, and although Haye was doing a good job of remaining elusive I was concerned that he wasn’t throwing enough to win the rounds convincingly. Although at times Valuev looked like the mummy slowly plodding around the ring, he was stalking Haye and he was the current champion. Would the judges think that Haye was fighting too negatively to win the rounds? In round 12 Haye landed a few good 1-2 combinations to the head of Valuev, and 2 minutes into the round he caught him with a left hook that wobbled the giant. At this point I lost my “British composure”, having remained relatively calm until this point I suddenly jumped up and shouted “f**king finish him!!!” much to the bemusement of some of the other punters! Valuev seemed to recover quickly however, and the fight was down to the judges. This is what I was dreading. Could Haye win the judges in Germany? Had he done enough for a clear victory? When the results were called and the first score was 114-114, I thought it was either going to be a draw or they were going to deny Haye his victory. However when the announced Haye as the “new heavyweight champion of the world” the bar erupted! He had done it!

The next fight for Haye seems like it’s going to be John Ruiz, which will be a very different gameplan to the Valuev fight. I think we can expect another KO for that! Listening to the American commentators, they were very impressed with Haye saying that he had a good gameplan and that he remained disciplined throughout the fight. Clearly he wasn’t the bully or the slugger that they were expecting, and he’s definitely a threat to the Klitschko’s whether they are prepared to admit it or not.

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Haye vs Valuev is back on!

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

At one point it looked like the fight may be off, as John Ruiz (Valuev’s mandatory challenger) was threatening legal action if he did not get to the fight. Valuev was apparently fuming about this, saying that he had already beaten Ruiz twice and that it simply wasn’t a fight that the boxing public wanted to see. This could’ve been disastrous for Haye after losing out on fights against both Klitschko brothers for a variety of reasons. However it looks like Haye is still going to get the ‘David vs Goliath’ encounter he wants in the heavyweight division this year, and he will undoubtedbly be looking to not just beat Valuev but to knock him out!

A deal has apparently been struck with Ruiz to allow this bout to happen, although the final arrangements for which are still being decided – possibly a fight with the winner?  The fight is for the WBA world heavyweight title which is going to be held in Germany on the 7th November, so get in your diaries now! I’ve never been that excited by Valuev or any of his fights in the past, but I’ve got a feeling this could be a great fight…

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Why Carl Froch shouldn’t fight Bernard Hopkins

Sunday, June 7th, 2009

Carl Froch

After Carl Froch’s success in another thrilling fight against Jermain Taylor in the US, Froch and team on the lookout for their next opponent. One potential opponent is Bernard Hopkins. In a recent interview for the BBC, Froch was seen to be very excited about the propect of fighting the legend but we think this would be a bad move.

Bernard Hopkins is a veteran of the sport, and has had more title fights than most boxers have had fights! He is a very experienced, and defensive fighter which combined with his clean living outside of training has allowed him to fight til the ripe old age of 43! Although he is still very fit, his tactics will undoubtedly be to spoil Carl’s work and basically rough him up and steal the fight. Even if Carl was to win the fight, no one ever looks good against Bernard Hopkins and it won’t be a pretty fight! Carl has only really just been exposed to the US, and he should aim to fight another American fighter before taking on someone like Hopkins so that he can increase his popularity. Carl also looked quite stiff and nervous in the opening rounds against Taylor, so the more experience he can get fighting in America the better! Although I hate to say it, Carl has also looked easy to hit in both his last fights against Jean Pascal and Jermain Taylor. He keeps a characteristcally low left hand which he normally uses to intice fighters in, but this is something you can’t really get away with at the top level, as shown when he was put down for the first time against Jermain in round 3. Bernard would definitely look to capitalise on this, and showed against Kelly Pavlik that he still has the potential to break fighters down.

What Carl decides to do next is ultimately his choice though. A fight with Bernard Hopkins would no doubt take place at the MGM grand in Las Vegas and would be very good financially – which I’m sure is very appealing! Froch has also been a fan of Hopkins for a long time, so being in the same ring as him would be a great experience. He could also try and improve upon Joe Calzaghe’s performance against Bernard in an attempt to show the world that he is better.

Bernard also probably doesn’t have that many options available to him. He is normally a fighter to avoid anyway, but that combined with his win over Pavlik definitely makes him a danger fighter. Other options for Carl include Lucian Bute, who is the IBF title holder. This could take place in the UK, and would be an opportunity to start unifying the division.

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Wladimir Klitschko confirms Chagaev as Haye replacement

Saturday, June 6th, 2009

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Wladimir Klitschko has announced that he has replaced David Haye with Ruslan Chagaev as his replacement for 20th June. Although many people including myself, maybe quick to view this as Wladimir using this as an opportunity to ‘get out’ of fighting Haye, lets take a quick look at the reasoning behind it and the possible pros and cons.

PROS for Klitschko team:

First of all the Hayemaker team has asked for the fight to be postponed until the 11th July (a 3 week delay). The Klitschko team were unhappy with this because they claimed that they wanted to fight much earlier in the year, and they had already set up dates with RTL, HBO etc. Additionally, they have no confirmation that Haye would definitely be ready for this date in the event of slower recovery or additional injury. Using a replacement fighter means that everything can carry on as previously arranged and scheduled.

Some people may think that Ruslan Chagaev is the easy option. I disagree, but think that he is definitely a less dangerous option than Haye. Ruslan should be in good shape after his scheduled fight with Nikolai Valuev was cancelled, and he still has 2 weeks of training for Klitschko. He also has joint ownership of the WBA title which I believe is the one title eluding the Klitschkos as the only belt they don’t have between them. They have always made it clear that they wish to be the only brothers in history to have ever held all the titles at once, and this would be a step closer to achieving that goal.

CONS for Klitschko team:

Currently the event is sold out, or very close to being sold out – this is 60,000 ticket sales of which a high percentage will be British fans, and German and Ukranian fans wanting to see Klitschko put his fist in David’s big mouth. It’s no secret that ticket sales surged once David attended the press conferences in his different t-shirts, inparticular the t-shirt showing him holding the decapitated heads of the Klitschko brothers! Not as many people will be interested in he Klitschko vs Chagaev fight which means there could be a lot of refunds being dished out as well as a lot of disgruntled fans.

Other cons include the perception that Wladimir is using this as his ‘get out of jail free card’ so that he no longer has to fight Haye (unless he becomes a mandatory challenger). This may or may not be true, but respect is difficult to earn and even harder to keep in the world of boxing! Klitschko has also been training for David’s fighting style, which isn’t a huge problem but means he only has 2 weeks now to prepare for Chagaev.

So what next for Haye?

Haye will have to take another route to get to Wladimir. If he will be fully recovered in a few weeks, he should look to take another fight and get closer to becoming a mandatory challenger. Alternatively, Vitali currently isn’t scheduled to fight anyone! The deal with the Klitschko’s is said to be a three fight contract (with very little money going to Haye), and although Haye should have been fighting Vitali if he beat Wladimir, it seems like the best option to me. Vitali is definitely the tougher of the 2 brothers, but he is now 37 years old. Lets see what happens…

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Haye injury cancels Klitschko fight

Thursday, June 4th, 2009

It was a bad way to start the day. A fight I have been eagerly awaiting since the epic fight with Monte Barrett has now been potentially cancelled, and at the very least it has been postponed! News broke out early this morning that David Haye was being forced to pull from the agreed 20th June date due to a back injury. Many people seemed keen to believe that there was no injury, it was simply the case the David has realised the enormity of the task ahead and had bottled it, and there were quickly hundreds of comments appearing in all the boxing forums. Other conspiracy theorists think that this may be a ploy by the Haye camp to disturb the Klitschko training regime, as they are known for playing ‘mind games’ as with the Maccarinelli fight where they gave the impression they were struggling with the cruiserweight limit, only to weigh-in easily under the limit looking very lean.

Personally I don’t believe it one bit (and Steve Bunce agrees with me!). Haye has been literally gagging for this fight since he controversially confronted Wladimir in London, and definitely sees the Klitschko’s as easy targets. Although they both have huge genetic advantages, Wladimir lacks the killer instinct and possibly the chin needed to defeat Haye. Wladimir is a very defensive fighter, and doesn’t like fighting pressure fighters where he is not able to utilise his long jab.

While avidly listening to Steve Bunce’s boxing hour, Adam Booth had a phone interview where he explained just how gutted David was to have to pull out of the fight. He also explained that this is not an ‘instant’ injury but one that has been building up over time. Aggressive physiotherapy and rest is needed and they have already flown Haye back to a specialist in the UK to begin treatment. The Haye camp is hoping that this is a merely a set back, and are hoping that this will only postpone the fight for 3 weeks. However, TV deals and the event have all been arranged, and Wladimir who has already waited until June for the fight (he originally wanted a March/April date) may use this opportunity to get out of the fight. Many people have questioned if Wladimir actually really wanted to fight Haye anyway as it is a dangerous fight for both. This maybe the perfect opportunity to fight Chagaev who recently had to deal with a cancellation with Nikolai Valuev. Either way, the Klitschko camp holds all the cards on this. From their point of view, fighting on the 20th June maintains all the original preparation, TV deals etc and is a much easier fight.

Personally I hope that Klitschko agrees to postpone the fight although I think this is unlikely (I’m also hoping for a miraculous recovery from Haye!). Many British fans will cancel, and will need refunds on tickets, travel, hotels etc. We will find out more over the next 2-3 days, and we will be watching the news reports closely – watch this space.

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