By: William Holmes

The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of November 12th to November 19th, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.

Abdusalamov Improving Slightly

Sampson Lewkowicz, wishes to thank the boxing world for their prayers and donations to badly injured Russian heavyweight Magomed “Mago” Abdusalamov and has some cautiously optimistic news to convey.

“Mago still in an induced coma but is beginning to respond positively. I expect him to live. On behalf of the family and myself, I now ask you switch your prayers to his recovery. He has a very long road ahead.”

Today marks 14 days Abdusalamov has been in an induced coma at Roosevelt Hospital in New York. The 32-year-old married father of three young daughters, had to undergo emergency surgery to remove a blood clot, and part of his skull had to be removed to reduce swelling, following his brutal 10-round war against Mike Perez at The Theater at Madison Square Garden, on Saturday, November 2. In hospital, Abdusalamov came down with a 104-degree fever, which led to him suffering a stroke.

Doctors say they will try to wake Abdusalamov in a few days and test his reactions.

“From the bottom of my heart, we all appreciate the support, monetary and spiritually, that we have received worldwide. Doctors don’t know how far Mago will come back, but his recovery will be long and costly and we are still in need of further donations. I would like to also thank Ring 10 New York for their assistance in collecting funds.”

Ring 10 is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to helping boxers in need. 100% of tax-deductible donations will go towards helping Magomed Abdusalamov and his costly recovery.

Please visit http://ring10ny.com/ to donate.

Jeff Fenech Questioned by Police about Firebombing of Anthony Mundine’s Café

Former boxing champion Jeff Fenech has been questioned about the firebombing of a coffee shop owned by Anthony Mundine. The café was completely destroyed by an attacked in the early hours of Thursday morning.
More information can be found at http://au.sports.yahoo.com/news/article/-/19825915/jeff-fenech-questioned-by-police-about-firebombing-of-anthony-mundines-cafe/

Nielsen Stops Pinzon

Patrick Nielsen´s homecoming to Albertslund was a successful one as he stopped Jose Pinzon in the fifth round to defend his WBA & WBO Intercontinental Middleweight Titles in style. The 22-year-old Dane (21-0, 10 KOs) knocked down his Mexican opponent (24-6, 15 KOs) with a huge left, and the referee waved the bout off after Pinzon had scrambled back to his feet. “What a great win for Patrick,” promoter Nisse Sauerland said. “Pinzon came to win and the first four rounds were tough. But Patrick did really well and caught him with a great left. He has great potential and this sets the stage nicely for a world title fight in 2014.”

Nielsen was happy with his performance. “Pinzon was a tough opponent, he had a very long reach and he really came to fight. But my coach Joey Gamache had prepared me very well. He told me what to do. I am happy I could give my fans a great KO win.”

Patrick Nielsen´s younger brother Micki defeated Germany´s Bjoern Blaschke (KO 1), Dennis Ceylan scored a first-round knock down against Edgar Torres en route to an impressive points victory and Rashid Kassem KOd Maxime Roussel in the first round.

The Swedish Nordic Fight Night fighters Klara Svensson (vs. Borislava Goranova) and Anthony Yigit (vs. Anton Bekish) cruised to clear points victories, with the Norwegians Tim-Robin Lihaug (TKO Steve Kroekel round 3) and Simen Smaadal (TKO Leo Tchoula round 4) clinching impressive stoppages.

David Price Signs with Team Sauerland

Team Sauerland is delighted to announce the signing of British heavyweight star David Price. The 30-year-old Liverpudlian (15-2, 13 KOs), who currently holds the British and Commonwealth Titles, has inked a long-term deal with Europe´s largest and oldest promotional company. “We are thrilled to welcome David to our team of champions,” promoter Kalle Sauerland said. “He is one of the most exciting fighters in the most spectacular division. We firmly believe that David Price has all the necessary tools to become Heavyweight Champion of the World. His power is frightening and his size formidable, but in addition to this he is a genuine boxing talent. Personality wise he can become one of the big UK sports stars – no doubt about it. He is genuine and sports fans love genuine characters.’’

“I’m excited to be joining Europe’s biggest promoters,’’ said Price. “Kalle and Nisse are great blokes and I am looking forward to working with them. This is a fresh start for me. I can’t wait to get back into action and with a new team around me I feel I can pick up where I left off and become a world champion.’’
Price has teamed up with Adam Booth, who will be training him at his Hayemaker gym.

“I’ve always believed that David Price has a lot of potential,’’ said Booth. “And now I have an opportunity to help him fulfil it. He is undoubtedly one of the hardest punchers in world boxing, but he understands that in itself isn’t enough, so we are working on all other elements of his fighting. He is showing that he has the right desire and attitude to make the necessary changes. Then it’s down to David to prove himself!’’

“With Adam as his trainer and us taking care of all promotional matters we believe David has a winning team around him,’’ Nisse Sauerland said. “We will keep him busy, giving him the right fights at the right time. David is an extremely talented boxer and we have every confidence in him becoming a future World Champion.’’
Staging 20 top-class international events per year, Team Sauerland promotes the Viking Warrior Mikkel Kessler, former WBA Heavyweight Champion Alexander Povetkin, cruiserweight champions Marco Huck (WBO) and Yoan Pablo Hernandez (IBF), IBF heavyweight mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev, WBO number one ranked heavyweight Dennis Boystov, former middleweight & super middleweight world champion King Arthur Abraham and in the UK up-and-coming British cruiserweight prospect Deion Jumah, amongst many others.

Light Heavyweight Champion Beibut Shumenov Returns to the Ring on December 14th

World Boxing Association (WBA) Super and International Boxing Association (IBA) Light Heavyweight World Champion Beibut Shumenov (13-1, 8 KO’s) will make his fifth title defense Sat., Dec. 14 on SHOWTIME from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

The 30-year-old Shumenov, the 2004 Kazakhstan Olympian fighting out of Las Vegas, set a light heavyweight record for capturing a world title in the fewest career fights, 10, when he won (Jan. 10, 2010) a 12-round decision over Gabriel Campillo in Las Vegas. Shumenov has successfully defended his WBA/IBA titles four times against No. 1 mandatory challenger Viacheslav Uzelkov (DEC12), three-time world champion William Joppy (KO6) and multi-world title challengers Danny Santiago (TKO9) and Enrique Ornelas (DEC12). Shumenov’s last fight was June 2, 2012 against Ornelas.

“We tried to make a couple of unifications and different fights that for one reason or another fell through,” he explained. “We tried to made unification fights with [Nathan] Cleverly and [Chad] Dawson when they held belts, but they weren’t interested in fighting me. I’ve wanted to unify since I first won my WBA belt and we tried against then WBO champion [Juergen] Braehmer who literally ran out of town instead of stepping in the ring. A unification fight is still a goal of mine.

“We are now looking ahead to the future, working with Golden Boy, my team and SHOWTIME. I am looking forward to my first fight on SHOWTIME and fighting on this amazing card that Golden Boy Promotions has put together on December 14 with four world title fights. It will be a great night of boxing for fans at the Alamodome and those watching on Showtime. I am very appreciative to Showtime for putting me on its great network and Golden Boy Promotions for believing in me.”

Shumenov faces undefeated, WBA No. 14-ranked challenger Tamas “Tomi Kid” Kovacs (23-0, 14 KO’s). The Slovakian has held a number of title belts, including the World Boxing Organization (WBO) European and World Boxing Federation.

“Kovacs is a tough guy who doesn’t know what it’s like to lose,” Shumenov said. “He has nothing to lose and I expect him to bring his best. I’m very excited to get back in the ring and fight on Showtime. I’m really looking forward to this fight.”

Maddalone “Pumped and Ready” for Return

Long Island fan favorite, heavyweight Vinny Maddalone heads back to the ring against Houston’s Maurenzo Smith on Friday, NOVEMBER 22 headlining Star Boxing’s “Rockin Fights 11” at The Paramount in Huntington, Long Island.

Maddalone, 37-8-0 (28KO’s), is coming off a pair of third round knockouts, over then undefeated Richard Carmack on MAY 11 at The Paramount and on DECEMBER 8, 2012 over Byron Polley in Queens.

“No sense in wasting any time, I’m always looking to get them out of there early” said the affable Maddalone.

“But I’ve watched some tape on Smith, he’s a pretty big guy, in good shape, looks like he works off the jab very well.”

“Ideally, I beat this guy and get a shot at one of the top ten heavyweights next, that’s really what I’m looking towards.”

The hard-hitting Smith, 12-7-2 (9KO’s), is coming off his career best performance, a second round stoppage of Ty Cobb on OCTOBER 5 in Lawton, Oklahoma.

“Smith had a terrific outing against Cobb and is full of confidence coming into this fight. But Vinny is very focused, he’s ready to keep the train rolling” said Joe DeGuardia, President of Star Boxing®.

“Vinny always been extremely popular, particularly in New York, and his fans are very excited to see him back at The Paramount.”

The Paramount has become the hottest venue in the New York and perhaps the United States, with 10 sold-out shows in a row and an unequaled atmosphere to watch boxing.

ABG Buys Muhammad Ali Estate

Authentic Brands Group, the company that manages the licensing rights of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley, has announced that have purchased the rights to Muhammad Ali. They will assume all of Ali’s intellectual property, including a large library of photos and videos of Ali.

Trinidad Garcia Deals with Autism in his Family

Boxing is pain. Chicago middleweight boxer Trinidad Garcia (5-3-3) knew that when he came out of retirement last August. But nothing compared to the pain he felt when his young son Jesiah was diagnosed with autism.

“A year before my son was diagnosed, he was able to talk to me. Can you imagine your son talking to you and then one day at two years old, he just leaves? I haven’t heard my son’s voice since and that was two years ago. When he was diagnosed, it was so hard because, as a father, to not be able to do anything to protect your kid, was the hardest part. I asked myself ‘what did I do? Did I do something wrong?’ That’s how it felt.”

Despite being out of the ring for more than six years, Garcia decided to fight back.

“I went to my son’s old school one day and I noticed they have computers. I said ‘Great you guys have computers. Technology is amazing for kids with Autism.’ I was told they don’t work, unfortunately. The reason I ended up fighting is that I don’t make enough money to buy the school new computers, but I could always box. I knew I could use boxing to raise some money and be able to buy the school some new technology. I came out of retirement last August and ended up buying ten iPads for the school and raising almost $6000.”

Garcia’s first fight back in August resulted in a draw with South Bend, Indiana’s Ramiro Bueno Jr. (2-3-1 1 KO). He will fight a five-round rematch with Bueno on Friday, December 6 at the UIC Pavilion on the undercard of the “World Championship Boxing: Wlodarczyk vs. Fragomeni 3” event, featuring WBC Cruiserweight Champion Krzysztof “Diablo” Wlodarczyk (48-2-1, 34 KOs) of Warsaw, Poland, making the sixth defense of his title against Milan, Italy’s former WBC Cruiserweight Champion Giacobbe “Gabibbo” Fragomeni (31-3-2, 12 KOs) and the return of Chicago’s Polish Prince, Andrzej Fonfara (25-2, 14 KOs) to face Colombian KO artist Samuel Miller (26-7, 23 KOs).

Mendez to Defend Against Barthelemy on ESPN Friday Night Fights

On Friday, January 3, 2014, at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Iron Mike Productions, Seconds Out Promotions and Warriors Boxing will proudly present the year’s first installment of ESPN Friday Night Fights, featuring two title fights as the featured bouts.

The night’s 12-round main event will be an IBF Super Featherweight Championship fight between champion Argenis Mendez (21-2-1, 11 KOs) of Brooklyn, New York via San Juan, Dominican Republic vs. #1-ranked undefeated challenger Rances “Kid Blast” Barthelemy (19-0, 12 KOs) from Miami, via Cuba.
And in the 10-round televised semi-final, USBA Middleweight Champion Caleb “Golden” Truax (23-1, 4 KOs) of Osseo, Minnesota, will face former USBA Champion Derek “Pooh” Ennis (23-4-1, 13 KOs) of Philadelphia in a 10-round non-title bout.

Boxing’s Centre of Gravity Shifts Towards Asia

Manny Pacquiao’s Macau fight markes a profound and long-term change for the sport, driven by Asia’s emerging markets. Las Vegas has long been the “mecca” of big boxing matches but on Saturday night Asia will be the host to one of boxing’s biggest superstars as Manny Pacquiao takes on Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios.
Read more at http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2013/nov/19/boxing-centre-of-gravity-shifts-towards-asia

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