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Compiled By: William Holmes
The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of November 21st to November 28th; covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.
Horn vs. Mundine Grudge Match Live on ESPN+
The latest edition of Breakfast and Boxing on ESPN+ will be streamed live from Down Under this Friday, as former welterweight world champion Jeff “The Hornet” Horn and former two-time super middleweight world champion Anthony “The Man” Mundine will settle a long-simmering Australian grudge match in a 12-rounder from Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia. The ESPN+ stream will begin at 3:30 a.m. ET, with Horn and Mundine expected to enter the ring at approximately 6:30 a.m. ET.
Horn vs. Mundine will be contested at a catchweight of 71 kilograms (156.5 pounds), with Mundine’s WBO Oriental and the vacant WBA Oceania middleweight titles on the line.
Horn (18-1-1, 12 KOs) burst onto the world boxing scene in 2017 with a year for the ages. In front of more than 50,000 fans at Suncorp Stadium on a sunny July day, he defeated living legend Manny Pacquiao by close unanimous decision to win the WBO welterweight world title. A former teacher who represented Australia at the 2012 Olympics, Horn defended his title later that year with an 11th-round TKO against Gary Corcoran. Horn’s good fortune finally ran out June 9 in Las Vegas against pound-for-pound elite Terence “Bud” Crawford, who snagged Horn’s belt via dominating ninth-round TKO.
Mundine (48-8, 28 KOs), a 43-year-old former professional Australian rugby player, turned pro in 2000 following a limited amateur career. His professional career has been a fascinating one, as he’s fought as low as super welterweight and as high as cruiserweight. Mundine first captured the WBA super middleweight world title in 2003 with a unanimous decision victory against Antwun Echols, defending the title once before a split decision loss to Manny Siaca. He knocked out countryman Sam Soliman in the ninth round on March 7, 2007 to win the WBA super middleweight world title for second time. Since then, he has taken part in some of Australia’s most high-profile boxing events, including a 2013 TKO win against future Hall of Famer Shane Mosley. Mundine rebounded from a 1-3 skid on Jan. 17, knocking out Tommy Browne in the second round.
In undercard action, Australian welterweight contender Cameron “The Hammer” Hammond (17-1, 9 KOs) will take on Frank Rojas (23-1, 22 KOs) in a 10-rounder for the WBA Oceania welterweight title. Australian super featherweight champion Brent Rice (8-0, 2 KOs) will make the second defense of his belt against Liam Wilson (2-0, 2 KOs) in a 10-rounder, and middleweight prospect Ben Mahoney (5-0, 2 KOs) will step up in class versus Adrian Rodriguez (11-1-2, 5 KOs) in a five-round clash.
From Michael B. Jordan’s On Screen Mouthguard to Sylvester Stallone’s Cornerman Outfit, Check Out eBay’s Exclusive Creed II Auction
Off the heels of Creed II’s impressive box office debut, raking in $55M over the Thanksgiving weekend, eBay is offering fans the exclusive opportunity to own pieces of blockbuster history from Creed II, part of the iconic Rocky series.
Now through January 18, 2019, eBay is partnering with VIP Fan Auctions to offer over 600 Creed II props and wardrobe pieces, including screen-used boxing gloves, trunks, robes and more — with new lots added on a weekly basis.
Link: http://www.ebay.com/creed2
Channel your inner Michael B. Jordan as the beloved character Adonis Creed with a Nike sweatshirt, Nike sneakers and jewelry, All Saints Jacket & Shirt, and even a used mouth guard and water bottle set.
Inspired by the film’s intense training scenes? You can own Michael B. Jordan’s on-set head gear and weight set. You can also check out the medicine ball used by Sylvester Stallone’s character Rocky, along with his iconic Cornerman outfit.
Select hi-res images of the current and upcoming auction items are available here:
https://edelmanftp.box.com/s/jkipl1sxowv3805b1x4oldw2t1zvkmr9
Bivol Makes the Most of His Main Event Debut on HBO with Dominant Victory Over Jean pascal
While the HBO World Championship Boxing era ended, the Dmitry Bivol era continued on Saturday night at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City. Bivol (15-0, 11 KOs), from St. Petersburg, Russia, headlining his first HBO telecast, extended his reign as World Boxing Association (WBA) light heavyweight world champion with a blitzing of former world champion Jean Pascal (33-6-1, 20 KOs),who hails from the Montréal suburb Laval, Québec, Canada. .Ringside judges Lynn carter and Carlos Ortiz scored the fight 119-109 and Henry Grant 117-111, all in favor of the defending champion. Managed by Vadim Kornilov and promoted by World of Boxing, it is onward and upward for Bivol, arguably the best light heavyweight in the world, who eschewed more lucrative offers from other networks for the honor of headlining the finale of HBO’s 45-year flagship boxing series. The telecast will be replayed for the final time Tonight! at Midnight ET/PT, exclusively on HBO.
“This is my time. I would like to fight the other champions in my division and unify the light heavyweight titles,” said Bivol. “I could even move down to 168 pounds and fight Canelo if he beats Rocky Fielding to win the WBA super middleweight title. That way we could each put our titles on the line. I just want to fight the best. That is what I want and that is what the fans want.”
It was a perfect night for Bivol’s World of Boxing stablemates who fought on the undercard as well. In the co-main event, which opened the HBO telecast, Murodjon Akhamdaliev (5-0, 4 KOs), a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist who hails from Uzbekistan, retained his WBA Intercontinental super bantamweight title by scoring a ninth-round TKO of veteran Isaac Zarate (16-4-3, 2 KOs). In the best fight of the undercard, Israil Madrimov (1-0, 1 KO), from Uzbekistan, in his pro debut — a 10-round super welterweight bout — stopped battle-tested Vladimir Hernandez (10-3, 6 KOs), of Mexico, in the sixth-round of their gory slugfest. Russian heavyweights Evegeny Tishchenko (3-0, 2 KOs), a 2016 Olympic gold medalist, and WBA Intercontinental champion Sergey Kuzmin (14-0, 11 KOs) were knockout winners over Mexico’s Christian Mariscal (11-2, 5 KOs) and Laron Mitchell (16-2, 14 KOs), from San Francisco, respectively.
Welterweight Shakhram Giyasov (6-0, 5 KOs), of Uzbekistan, stopped Miguel Zamudio (41-12-1, 25 KOs), of Mexico, in the first round.
“I am very proud of all of our guys! It was a pleasure working with HBO and Main Events on another great event,” said Andrey Ryabinskiy, CEO of World Of Boxing.
“I am very glad that all our fighters looked great and got the W’s on Saturday. I am very excited about the future to come and I am proud of our team,” said Kornilov.
Sampson Boxing and the WBC to Stage Eight-Man Carlos Monzon “Super 8” Middleweight Tournament in Argentina
Sampson Lewkowicz of Sampson Boxing, with the sanctioned cooperation of the World Boxing Council, proudly announces the Carlos Monzon “Super 8” Middleweight Tournament, featuring eight of Argentina’s most promising 160-lb middleweight fighters vying for the Monzon Cup and a world rating.
The tournament begins on Friday, January 4 and all tournament events will be held in Argentina and televised live around the world on TyC Sports. The finals will be held on Saturday, July 6.
Featured fighters include Gonzalo “El Mago” Coria (14-2, 5 KOs), Martin Ezequiel Bulacio (8-2, 6 KOs), Tomas “El Cobra” Reynoso (13-3-1, 3 KOs), Jose Antonio “Tsunami” Villalobos (11-5-2, 7 KOs), brother of current WBA Super Welterweight Champion Brian Castano, Alan Emmanuel Castano (13-0, 8 KOs), Francisco “Pancho” Torres (10-3, 4 KOs), Sergio “Checho” Lopez (12-2, 9 KOs) and Jonathan “El Chúcaro” Sanchez (13-3-1, 4 KOs).
Lewkowicz, who has already successfully organized and promoted a similar super bantamweight tournament, and expertly handled the career of all-time-great Argentinean middleweight world champion Sergio Martinez, says the initial tournament’s success is what led to this middleweight edition.
“I’m very honored to be putting on this tournament in Argentina, and I’m confident it will produce Argentina’s next future middleweight star,” said Lewkowicz. “The winner of this tournament will have a world rating with the prestigious WBC and a ticket to graduate to the world level. I am hoping to put on a tournament worthy of the great Carlos Monzon. Something that he’d be proud of.”
WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman says the WBC are gratified to be lending their official support.
“Carlos Monzon was a legendary champion when I came to the sport of boxing and he was very close to the WBC and my father throughout his career,” explained Sulaiman. “Argentina is such an important country for boxing, they deserve support because they have done unbelievable work both in the amateurs, by winning medals, and in the professional ranks. Lately it has been a very complicated and difficult time for Argentinean boxing, so Sampson coming out and doing this tournament is something we will absolutely support. The winner will absolutely appear in the WBC’s rankings.
From Wikipedia: Carlos Monzon was an Argentine professional boxer who held the Undisputed World Middleweight Championship for 7 years. He successfully defended his title 14 times and is widely regarded as not only one of the best middleweights in history but also one of the greatest boxers of all time.
