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By: William Holmes
The following is the boxinginsider.com notebook for the week of October 15th to October 22nd, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.
Kell Brook Destroys Saldivia
Kell Brook (29-0) fought Hector Saldivia (41-3) in an IBF welterweight eliminator at the Motorporint Arena in Yorkshire this weekend. Brook knocked down Saldivia in the first round with an uppercut, and knocked him down again with a straight left in the third round. The referee waived off the fight when Saldivia struggled to his feet at 0:29 of the third round. Brook has a lot of options in front of him, including the returning Ricky Hatton, Amir Khan, and the new IBF Welterweight Champion Devon Alexander.
B.J. Flores Stops McNnemar In 2, Calls Out Marco Huck
On October 6th number one WBO rated cruiserweight BJ Flores (28-1-1) scored a knockout victory when he defeated David McNemar at the Shrine Mosque in Springfield, Missouri.
Flores had the following to say: “After Huck KOs Firat Arslan I want him next. Huck is very tough and very well-conditioned. He is very strong and very confident. He has a great team around him and I respect him as a fighter. But any time he has fought anyone who can box he has had troubles. Steve Cunningham, Denis Lebedev and Ola Afalobi all gave him fits. I have quietly changed my entire boxing style. I have tried to fly under the radar and go back to the drawing board and get better. I have fought 4 times in the last year and feel sharp and ready. I have 3 KO’s against decent opposition. I WANT a step up! No one will expect me to beat him. It will be an absolute shocker!!
“There are some really good champions in this division and I know I will have to be at my best if I want to defeat a good champion in his home country. This will bring out the best in me. Sometimes I will go run 5 miles in the middle of the night just to keep me hungry. I work out at all times of the day and put my body through all kinds of torture to make sure I am ready when my moment arrives. Nothing worth having can be easy. I have taken my bumps and bruises and learned a lot in my professional career. I think about it every day and work tirelessly so that I can be prepared when my moment comes”.
Orlando Cruz Victorious Over Jorge Pazos
Orlando Cruz recently came out and announced that he is a homosexual, and he followed that announcement with a win in the featherweight division. Orlando Cruz (19-2-1) defeated Jorge Pazos (20-5) easily at the Kissimmee Civic Center in Kissimmee, Florida. Cruz won by scores of 118-110, 118-110, and 117-111.
Paez Jr. Defeats Charlie Jose Navarro
Jorge Paez Jr. (33-4-1) won a majority decision over Charlie Jose Navarro (22-6) in a welterweight bout in Mexicali, Mexico on Saturday night. It was a close bout, and Paez started off slowly. But he did enough to win with scores of 94-94, 96-95, and 98-92.
Perez Defeats McDowell
Joseph “Chip” Perez (10-1) captured the vacant New England Junior Lightweight title on Thursday night at the Twin River Casino by defeating Chazz McDowell (6-3) by majority decision. The eight round bout was a close one, but Perez finished strong in the final three rounds to win with scores of 76-76, 77-75, and 78-74.
Evander Holyfield “Unretires”
TMZ has recently reported that the 50-year-old heavyweight Evander Holyfield has decided to un-retire from the sport of boxing, less than two weeks after he reported that he was retiring.
More information can be found here.
Andre Berto vs. Robert Guerrero Set for Nov. 24th
Andre Bert and Robert Guerrero will hold a Los Angeles Press Conference to officially announce their November 24th bout in Ontario, California at the Citizens Business Bank Arena. The press conference to announce their bout will be on Tuesday, October 23rd at 12:30 P.M. PT at the Clive Owen Tehater at the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live. Andre Berto, Robert Guerrero, and Richard Schaefer will be on hand to officially announce the bout.
Price Confirms Skelton Date
David Price (14-0) will make his second defense of his British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles against Matt Skelton (28-6) at Aintree racecourse on Friday, November 30th. This is a quick turn-around for David Price since he just recently defeated Audley Harrison by a 1st round KO. The bout will be broadcast on BoxNation.
Tyson Fury Set for December 1st
Tyson Fury will be fighting at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on December 1st. Tickets go on sale for this fight on October 23rd at 10:00 A.M. Tickets will be available for purchase at the Odyssey Arena Box Office or through ticketmaster.com. Fury’s opponent has not been named yet, and the undercard has not been announced, but these details should be released soon.
Etches Targets Eubank Jr.
Hatton promotions middleweight prospect Adam Etches is looking towards a showdown with fellow unbeaten hopeful Chris Eubank Jr. Etches will be fighting on Saturday, November 24th on the Ricky Hatton-Vyacheslav Senchenko card. Etches does not know who his opponent will be yet, but he’s hoping it’s Eubank Jr.
Etches had the following to say about Eubank Jr., “I like to do my talking in the ring, but I do believe I would knock him out because he doesn’t look too hard to hit. I don’t think that Eubank Jr. is particulary strong, but he’s talented, has got fast hands and is a good boxer. I have come on leaps and bounds in the Ingle gym and I have to make sure I keep improving. I have always known I can fight, but my boxing is improving all the time. Hopefully I will get that fight down the line.”
Derrick Webster and Thomas Lamanna Scheduled for Nov. 10th Card
Thomas Lamanna (9-0), Isiah Seldon (6-0), and Derrick Webster (13-0) are scheduled to take part on a November 10th card at the New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, NJ. The fight card is presented by Gulfstream Boxing Promotions. Tickets can be purchased online at www.njmp.com
Mike Tyson Has a New Book Deal
The Las Vegas Sun reported that Mike Tyson has a new book deal. The book will be titled “Undisputed Truth” and it is to be published by Blue Rider Press. Tyson will be partnering with New York writer Larry “Ratso” Sloman, who had previously worked with Howard Stern on his 1995 bestseller “Miss America.” More information can be found here.
Bryant Jennings Takes on Bowie Tupou on December 8th
Heavyweight prospect Bryant Jennings (15-0) will be fighting Bowie Tupou (22-2) on December 8th at the Temple University Mc Gonigle Hall in Philadelphia, PA. The bout will be broadcast on the NBC Sports Network at 9:00 PM. Further ticket information can be found at www.peltzboxing.com
Adamek and Cunningham Battle for #2 IBF Position
The highly anticipated rematch between Tomasz Adamek and Steve Cunningham will be for the #2 IBF position in the heavyweight division. The fight will be televised on December 22nd on NBC network TV at 4:00 PM. The winner of this bout will be ordered to fight #1 contender Kubrat Pulev for the right to be Klitschko’s next IBF mandatory opponent.
