Tag Archives: ibf

Posted on 12/07/2016

Three Warriors get the Call to Boxing Hall of Fame
By: Matthew N. Becher

​Yesterday afternoon it was announced that 3 fighters would be inducted into next year’s class of the Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York. It was a very fitting class, since the three boxers were all known for being true warriors to the sport. Evander Holyfield, Marco Antonio Barrera and Johnny Tapia would be fitting to lead any class alone, but together, they make up one of the most “Tough as Nails” groups that you could put together.

​Marco Antonio Barrera (67-7 44KO): The “Baby Faced Assassin” is and forever will be one of the greatest fighters to come out of the country of Mexico. Barrera was a three division world champion winning his first title against Daniel Jimenez in 1995. He would rule the super bantamweight division for most of the next decade, which included his most famous fight, against Erik Morales in 2000 to unify the division. Barrera loss the first of three to Morales, which became one of the greatest trilogies in boxing history and would solidify him as one of boxing’s toughest. He was also the man to snatch away the “0” from Prince Naseem Hamed, a fight that stunned the world, but not the fans that follow the sport closely. The flashy Hamed fought once more after he took the beating from Barrera then retired. Barrera went on to beat fellow Hall of Famer Johnny Tapia in 2002 and was knocked out for the only time of his career against the great Manny Pacquiao. Barrera has come a long way from the 15 year old who turned pro in 1989 to one of the greatest Mexican fighters ever.

​Johnny Tapia (59-5-2 30KO): Nothing written can do justice to the life that “Mi Vida Loca”, Johnny Tapia’s story tells. Born into extreme Poverty in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1967. The most poignant of ways to describe Johnny’s life can be taken from a passage in his Autobiography, Mi Vida Loca: The Crazy Life of Johnny Tapia, Tapia wrote: “My name is Johnny Lee Tapia. I was born on Friday the 13th. A Friday in February of 1967. To this day I don’t know if that makes me lucky or unlucky. When I was eight I saw my mother murdered. I never knew my father. He was murdered before I was born. I was raised as a pit bull.

Raised to fight to the death. Four times I was declared dead. Four times they wanted to pull life support. And many more times I came close to dying. But I have lived and had it all. I have been wealthy and lost it all. I have been famous and infamous. Five times I was world champion. You tell me. Am I lucky or unlucky?”

​Tapia came from a struggle that no person should ever have to, and he used his fists as a way of expressing his anger and hate. He was never the most beautiful of fighter, but he was tougher than anyone you would ever want to face.

He was a fan favourite and multiple world champion. Unfortunately Tapia faced many out of the ring problems with drugs and criminal charges. Unfortunate to all, this Induction will be done posthumously as Johnny Tapia died in May of 2012 of Heart Failure, he was 45.

​Evander Holyfield (44-10-2 29KO): Many thought this day would never come, since Holyfield just wouldn’t stop fighting. Eventually he hung up the gloves in 2011 after Knocking out Brian Nielsen in Denmark. “The Real Deal” is one of the biggest names of his era. Holyfield was a member of the famed 1984 US Boxing team, where he won the Bronze medal (though he was unjustly disqualified in a controversial call). Holyfield then turned pro that same year and became the WBA World Cruiserweight champ in only his 12th fight, against Dwight Muhammad Qawi.

Holyfield would go on to become the Unified WBC/WBA/IBF Cruiserweight champ by 1988 before announcing he would move up to the Heavyweight division. Many thought that Holyfield, as good as he was, stood no shot against the bigger men, but he ran through the gauntlet of fighters and in two years became the Lineal, Undisputed Heavyweight champion in 1990 by knocking out James “Buster” Douglas. He would defend his titles against George Foreman, Bert Cooper, & Larry Holmes until engaging in one of his three thrilling fights against his rival Riddick Bowe. Bowe would win the first and third fights, but Holyfield took the second, leaving the only blemish on Bowes near perfect record. Holyfield was not finished there, as he then would go on to win the Heavyweight title against Mike Tyson in 1996 and defeat Tyson again in 1997, in a fight in which Tyson would bite part of Holyfield’s ear clean off.

Holyfield was a Heavyweight champion on four different occasions, Fighter of the year 3 times, ranked as the greatest Cruiserweight of all time and one of the top ten heavyweights ever. The man is a living legend and a true warrior of the sport.

Posted on 10/22/2016

The Heavyweight Crown is Up for Grabs
By: Matthew N. Becher

​A little over a week ago, the reigning (yet non-defending) Lineal Heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury, was forced to relinquish his titles. He had not fought it close to a year, was/is battling with an undisclosed “medical” or “mental” condition and has tested positive for cocaine usage. So with this event taking place, three major belts are currently sitting in a vacant state (four if you count the IBO title).

​The WBC belt is currently held by American Deontay Wilder. Wilder has yet to fight a real formidable opponent, one of the Top of the heavyweight food chain. With that aside, he is a heavyweight champion and owns at least 1/5th of the ultimate piece of the pie. Wilder won his belt in 2015 and has defended it 4 times so far. Against the likes of Eric Molina, Johann Duhaupas, Artur Szpilka and Chris Arreola. Wilder was injured in his last fight and will look to defend his title again next year. Getting to the point of unifying the division.

​The IBF belt is currently held across the pond by the 27 year old British heavyweight Anthony Joshua. Joshua is a former Olympic Gold Medalist, who won his title earlier this year, blasting away at then champion Charles Martin in only 2 rounds. Joshua has a date set to defend his title in England on December 10th. Talk of him taking on former unified heavyweight champion Wladamir Klitschko were making the rounds for a bit, but seem to have stalled. Joshua will most likely fight against a lesser than opponent and wait until next year to possibly try and add another belt around his waist.

​So where do the other belts end up?

​The WBO has ordered a fight between New Zealand’s Joseph Parker (21-0 18KO) and Mexican American Andy Ruiz Jr. (29-0 19KO) to take place in Auckland on December 10th. Both men have stellar records, against little known opponents. Parker at 24 and Ruiz at 27 would make either a very young champion and would also surely set them up against one of the upper echelon of the heavyweight division next year.

​The WBA is a bit trickier, in that they have a “Regular” champion and a “Super” Champion. The “Regular” champion is undefeated Cuban Luis Ortiz (25-0 22KO). Ortiz will defend that title November 12th against veteran Malik Scott. If Ortiz can pull through, he should be set up with a chance to fight for the “Super” title, sometime next year.

​All the belts are right now up for grabs and if you noticed, all of the names that have been brought up, sans Klitschko, are of fighters with undefeated records.

Most have yet to test themselves against one another, and the top men in the most glamorous division in all of sport will be put on the spot to finally validate themselves. By this time next year, we should see at least two unified champions, if not one lineal, undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. If this doesn’t happen, then who knows where the belts will be, most likely around peoples waist that hardly deserve them.

Posted on 09/08/2016

HBO World Championship Boxing Preview: Chocolatito vs. Cuadras, Golovkin vs. Brook
By: William Holmes

On Saturday night HBO will broadcast two world championship fights from two different venues. Pound for pound king Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez will be bumping up to the junior bantamweight division to chase after another world title when he faces off against Carlos Cuadras. If he is successful he will have won titles in four different weight classes. Earlier in the day knockout artist Gennady Golovkin will be defending his middleweight titles when he faces welterweight world champion Kell Brook.

The Gonzalez vs. Cuadras bout will take place at the Forum in Inglewood, California and the Golovkin vs. Brook bout will take place at the O2 Arena in London, England on Brook’s home turf. HBO will also be televising a rematch between Yoshihiro Kamegai and Jesus Soto-Karass in the junior middleweight division. Their previous fight was considered by many to be a fight of the year candidate.

The following is a preview of both world title fights.

Carlos Cuadras (35-0-1) vs. Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (45-0); WBC Junior Bantamweight Title

Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez is a three division world champion and considered by many to be the best pound for pound boxer in the world today. However, there are limits to how many weight classes an individual can be a champion in and he’s facing a legitimate junior bantamweight world champion.

Gonzalez will be giving up five inches in height and two inches in reach to Cuadras. Cuadras is also one year younger than Gonzalez, but both are in their physical primes.

They both have been fairly active in the past two years. Cuadras fought three times in 2014 and in 2015, and already fought once in 2016. Gonzalez fought four times in 2014, three times in 2015, and once so far in 2016.

They both had experienced success as an amateur. Cuadras is a Pan American gold medalist and a gold medalist in the International Junior Olympics. Chocolatito has an alleged record of 88-0 as an amateur, but does not have any notable international amateur tournament victories.

Chocolatito has beaten the likes of Yutaka Niida, Juan Francisco Estrada, Rocky Fuentes, Akiri Yaegashi, Edgar Sosa, Brian Viloria, and McWilliams Arroyo. Cuadras has defeated the likes of Marvin Mabait, Luis Concepcion, Dixon Flores, Koki Eto, and Richie Mepranum.

Gonzalez has more world title fight experience and has a record of 14-0 in world title fights. Cuadras has a record of 6-0 in world title fights.

Both boxers have considerable power. Cuadras has twenty seven stoppage victories, and three of his past five fights were by stoppage victory. Gonzalez has thirty eight stoppage victories.

It will be interesting to see how Gonzalez handles the length and reach of Cuadras. Gonzalez, who was a world champion in the minimumweight division, will likely be unable to jump additional weight classes if he’s victorious on Saturday and he has a very tough test ahead of him. This should be an entertaining and technical bout, but Gonzalez should be able to pull off the decision victory, but may have his chin tested in the process.

Gennady Golovkin (35-0) vs. Kell Brook (36-0); WBA/WBC/IBF Middleweight Titles

Don’t let the fact that Kell Brook is jumping up two weight classes to fight Gennady Golovkin fool you. Brook is a large welterweight and Golovkin is a smaller middleweight. In fact, Brook has been weighing in heavier than Golovkin in the weeks leading up to the fight.

One of the biggest question marks about Golovkin is his age. He’s thirty four years old and doesn’t have many years left in his prime. His opponent is four years younger than him. Golovkin, however, will have a slight one and a half inch height advantage and a one inch reach advantage.

Despite the fact he’s a major star in boxing, Golovkin has kept a fairly active schedule. He has fought once in 2016, three times in 2015, and three times in 2014. Brook has been having trouble finding a big fight in the welterweight division and fought twice in 2014 and in 2015, and once in 2016.

Golovkin’s power is well known and can be considered legendary. He has thirty two knockouts on his resume and is in the midst of an incredible streak that consists of twenty two wins by knockout in a row. Brook’s power can’t be overlooked, he has stopped twenty five opponents and has one four of his past five fights by stoppage.

Brook will be fighting in front of his home crowd at the O2 arena and that will be a big advantage for him. He has defeated the likes of Kevin Bizier, Frankie Gavin, Ionut Dan Ion, Shawn Porter, Vyacheslav Senchenko, Matthew Hatton, and Luis Galarza.

The last person to go the distance against Golovkin was Amar Amari in 2008. He has steamrolled every boxer he’s faced since then. He has defead the likes of Dominic Wade, David Lemieux, Willie Monroe Jr., Martin Murray, Marco Antonio Rubio, Daniel Geale, Curtis Stevens, Matthew Macklin, Nobuhiro Ishida, Gabriel Rosado, Kassim Ouma, and Grzegorz Proksa.

Golovkin has to be very careful to not overlook Kell Brook. Brook is a very good, technical boxer and is considered by many to be a top 10 pound for pound fighter. Golovkin’s power should be able to lead him to victory, but don’t be surprised if he knockout streak ends on Saturday night.

Posted on 09/07/2016

Jacobs vs. Mora II and Easter vs. Commey at Santander Arena in Reading, PA, Friday!
By: Ken Hissner

Two World Title fights headline Friday night at the Santander Arena in Reading, PA! King’s Promotions bring’s big time boxing to Reading on SPIKE TV with co-features starting at 9pm. Jacobs-Mora II and Easter and Commey for vacant title should be nothing but fireworks!

Danny “Miracle Man” Jacobs, 31-1 (28), of Brooklyn, NY, defends his WBA World middleweight title against former WBC super welterweight champion and No. 15 contender Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora, 28-4-2 (9), of L.A. in a rematch from August of 2015. In December Jacobs scored a sensational knockout over former WBO champion Peter Quillin in the first round. Mora has not fought since August. Several weeks ago on a conference phone call Jacobs said “If he’s saying I didn’t knock him down that caused him to twist his ankle I felt the contact it in my hand,” said Jacobs. “He grazed the back of my head but my ankle was already twisted,” said Mora. Both boxers are managed by Al Haymon. The call ended with “Go F yourself. I’ll see you in two weeks old boy,” said Mora. “Well let’s do it on September the 9th. You already know Sergio I’m coming for you brother,” said Jacobs. There is obvious bad blood between the two since their first fight which should make for a very interesting contest.

In the other co-feature 2012 Olympic alternate Robert Easter, Jr., 17-0 (14), of Toledo, OH, and Richard Commey, 24-0 (22), of Accra, GH, fight it out for the vacant IBF Super lightweight title.

“Yeah I am very excited coming to Reading and fight for the IBF title. I hope Richard Commey is bringing his A game because I will be bringing mine,” said Easter. “I’ve worked very hard to get this opportunity as I’m sure Robert Easter, Jr. has too so it should be a great fight,” said Commey. Commey is No. 3 and Easter No. 4 with both the No. 1 and No. 2 vacant.

There are a dozen bouts on the undercard at this point but several will fall out or the Boxing Director Greg Sirb will see to it you don’t have much more than 7 bouts. In 8 round bouts former IBF welterweight and interim WBC champion Kermit “El Asesino” Cintron, 37-5-2 (28) of Reading continues his comeback. Local favorite super featherweight Frankie De Alba is in an 8. Another local favorite super Heavyweight Travis “My Time” Kauffman, 30-1 (22), of Reading is in a 10.

In a pair of 8 round bouts from Philadelphia crowd pleaser super middleweight Christopher “Ice Cold” Brooker, 10-1 (5) steps up to meet Elvin Ayala, 28-7-1 (12), of New Haven, CT. Light heavyweight Earl Newman, 9-0 (7), of Brooklyn will meet Leo Hall, 8-1 (7), of Detroit. Also scheduled yet without an opponent is Argentina’s Jorge Sebastian Heiland, 27-4-2 (14), who is the No. 1 WBC middleweight contender.

Super welterweight Erik Spring 7-1-1 (1), super welterweight Miguel Martinez, 2-2 (0), and super lightweight Kashon Hutchinson, 1-0 (1) all of Reading are in 6 round bouts. Also, from Philadelphia, the popular super featherweight Thomas “T.J.” Velasquez, 5-0 (4) out of the Danny “Swift” Garcia camp is in a 4 round bout. He is still without an opponent.

Posted on 08/21/2016

PBC on NBC Results: Spence Stops Bundu and Makes Himself the Mandatory for Kell Brook
By: William Holmes

Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) was broadcast live from the Ford Amphitheater from the Coney Island Board in Brooklyn New York. It was a one hour special attraction and was broadcast immediately after the United States gold medal win in Olympic basketball and before the closing ceremonies.

The main event of the night was between 2012 US Olympian Errol Spence Jr. (20-0) and veteran boxer Leonard Bundu (33-1-2) in the welterweight division.

NBC wasted little time in getting right into fighter introductions and right into the fight.

Spence, a southpaw, was noticeably taller and longer than Bundu. He spent most of the first round sticking his jab in the face of Bundu and remained patient. He was able to land some hard hooks to the body, and handled a switch to the southpaw stance by Bundu in the middle of the round well.

Spence stayed steady with his jab in the second round and mixed it up with an occasional lead left hook and cross to the body. Bundu was having difficulty finding his range and had most of his punches blocked when he did get within range.

The clean punching of Spence continued into the third round; though Bundu was able to land a few short overhand lefts and hooks to the body. Spence was in almost complete control by the fourth round and was mixing up his body head combinations well. An uppercut from Spence in the fourth round knocked the mouthpiece of Bundu out of his mouth.

Bundu looked frustrated and a little desperate in the fifth round, but Spence remained calm and in control.

Bundu’s right eye was slightly swollen at the start of the sixth round and Spence picked up the pressure and aggressiveness and ripped some hard hooks into the body of Bundu. Spence scored the first knockdown of the night with an uppercut to the body on Bundu by the ropes that sent him crashing backwards. Bundu got back to his feet but was crumpled over backwards by Spence with a vicious combination that had Bundu on the mat awkwardly leaning backwards on his right leg.

The referee waived off the fight at 2:06 of the sixth round giving Errol Spence Jr. another knockout victory.

Errol Spence Jr. is now the mandatory challenger for the IBF Welterweight title, which is currently held by Kell Brook.

Posted on 08/19/2016

PBC on NBC Preview: Errol Spence Jr. vs. Leonard Bundu
By: William Holmes

On Sunday afternoon, at 5:00 PM EST, Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) will broadcast a daytime event live on NBC from the Ford Amphitheater at the Coney Island Boardwalk in Brooklyn, New York.

Only one bout is scheduled to be televised on Sunday and it will be between former United States Olympian Errol Spence Jr. and Italian contender Leonard Bundu. They will be competing in an IBF Welterweight Title eliminator bout.

Prospects Claudio Marrero and Heather “The Heat” Hardy will be competing on the undercard will have a chance at fighting on the televised portion of the NBC card if the Spence bout is over quickly. Heather Hardy will have the toughest test of her career when she faces fellow undefeated boxer Shelly Vincent.

Spence, who is perhaps the most famous United States Olympian boxer from 2012, will be fighting before the start of the closing ceremonies for the 2016 Rio Olympics and on the same network that will be broadcasting it.

The following is a preview for the bout between Errol Spence Jr. and Leonard Bundu.

Errol Spence Jr. (20-0) vs. Leonard Bundu (33-1-2); IBF Welterweight Eliminator Bout

Many pundits consider Leonard Bundu to be the toughest opponent that Errol Spence Jr. has faced at this point of his career.

At first glance that may appear to be true. Bundu, like Spence, competed in the Olympics and was successful on the national and international stage in the amateurs. Bundu was born in Sierra Leone but represented Italy in the 2000 Summer Olympics. Spence represented the United States in the 2012 Summer Olympics. Both failed to medal.

However, the similarities end there.

The biggest difference between the two opponents is age. Bundu is fifteen years older than Spence and is past his prime at the age of forty one. Bundu will also be giving up about three inches in reach and three inches in height when he steps into the ring.

Bundu also has only competed once in 2015 and once in 2016, while Spence fought once in 2016 and four times in 2015. Spence has clearly been the more active fighter.

Spence has seventeen knockouts on his record for a high stoppage ratio of 85%. Bundu has only stopped twelve of his opponents, and has five less stoppage victories despite having sixteen more fights.

Spence has been in the ring with increasingly difficult opposition. He beat the brakes off of Chris Algieri and was able to stop him while Manny Pacquiao was unable to do so. He has also defeated the likes of Chris Van Heerden, the sparring opponent of UFC star Connor McGregor, Phil Lo Greco, Alejandro Barrera, and Ronald Cruz.

Bundu stepped up in competition to face the elite of the welterweight division when he faced Keith Thurman, but he lost to him by decision. He has defeated the likes of Frankie Gavin, Lee Purdy, and Daniele Petrucci.

Bundu is a good fight for Spence at this stage of his career and has a solid chin. He should be able to give Spence some rounds and an opportunity for Spence to showcase his skills in front of a nationally televised audience.

But, Bundu has little to no chance of defeating one of the most prized prospects in the United States on Sunday afternoon. Bundu can survive the whole bout, but will take a beating in the process.

Posted on 07/31/2016

Are Championship Belts Worthless?
By: Brandon Bernica

​Every big fight night, you’re all but guaranteed to see high-level boxers flocked by their teams. Usually, one member of these teams carries out a fighter’s prized memorabilia: championship belt(s). The ring announcer reminds the crowd which belts are at stake in the upcoming fight. And after all the smoke clears and the fight finishes, one man comes out on top, taking with him his own belt and that of the man he just beat.

​As pretty as belts are to look at, many in boxing argue that there are simply too many these days to care. For the uninitiated, each division in boxing features four belts – the WBC, WBA, WBO, and IBF – and the more belts you possess, the more viable your argument is as the top dog at your weight. Yet each belt organization is free to make its own arbitrary standards. Not only do sub-top 5 fighters often win championships before the elite class, they garner an exaggerated profile as top-notch when, in reality, they’re far from that status. Furthermore, unifying titles to find a “true champion” rarely occurs. This is due to a lack of cooperation between sanctioning bodies and the unwillingness of fighters to challenge themselves further after winning a title.

​Even though the belt organizations run boxing like the Wild West and rankings are skewed, belts still offer boxers great amounts of promise. When a fighter reaches the pinnacle and wins his first championship, his role shifts from hunter to hunted. Since other fighters, now petition to fight for his crown, his bargaining power (and bank account) grow exponentially. Additionally, that fighter’s trainer becomes a championship trainer. Trainers such as Robert Garcia and Freddie Roach built deep stables of talent after they proved their merit with their initial championship-winning fighters.

​Belts represent opportunity, perseverance, and pride. While some might argue that four belts remain too many, to fighters that means four different routes to accomplishing a lifelong dream. Most boxers grow up envisioning themselves hoisting a belt victorious in the center of the ring; giving more opportunity to turn this into reality is a plus. And while boxing sabotages itself in failing to pit the best against the best, the belt framework brings us one step closer to that hope. If the organizations could just pass bylines together to coordinate unifications, cream of the crop matchups could become more frequent. Again, each step in this chain provides life-changing money for fighters, setting them up better for retirement.

​While it’s easy to point fingers at these sanctioning bodies for the issues in the sport, these groups have immense authority in a divided landscape. They control the incentives that drive fighters to fight: money, titles, notoriety, etc. Because of their standing, they can use their voices to advocate for improvements in boxing. The WBC has already taken some pivotal stands themselves. They decline to sanction professional fighters who decide to fight in the Olympics against amateurs. In addition, many fighting under WBC rules undergo rigorous VADA drug testing to ensure that no one cheats to the top.
​In the destabilized ecosystem that is boxing, change is necessary. Instead of looking at belts as symbols of evil, it might be more productive to view them as conduits of boxing growth. By making the self-serving characters in the fight game operate under reasonable regulations, our sport can grow closer to a proper framework similar to the NBA and NFL. Still, belts are boxing’s Stanley Cup or Lombardi Trophy, meaningful through the journey to obtain them. They should stay that way.

Posted on 07/14/2016

Who is the Real Heavyweight Champion?
By: Ken Hissner

This Saturday WBC heavyweight champion Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder, 36-0 (35), of AL, USA, age 30, defends his title against Chris “Nightmare” Arreola, 36-4-1 (31), of CA, age 35. in Birmingham, AL, Wilder’s hometown. In Arreola’s last fight he failed a drug test. Wilder has defended against No. 12, No. 9, No. 7 and now another No. 9. He was scheduled to fight Alexander “Russian Vityaz” Povetkin, 30-1 (22), of RUS, age 36, who failed a drug test and passed on second time around. Povetkin is also a former Olympic Gold medalist.

Tyson Fury, 25-0 (18), UK, age 27, who holds both the WBA and WBO titles since defeating now former WBA, WBO and IBF world champion and Olympic Gold medalist Wladimir “Dr. Steelhammer” Klitschko, 64-4 (53), UKR, age 40, who is now No. 2 in both the WBA and WBO. This took place in November of 2015. Fury was scheduled to give Klitschko a rematch but injured his hand in training. There may be a bout in September but no date has been set.

WBA World champion is Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne, 24-0 (17), AUST, age 37, having won the title in March stopping Ruslan “White Tyson” Chagov, 34-2-1 (21), of UZE/GER. The No. 1 contender and WBA interim champion is Luis “King Kong” Ortiz, 25-0 (22), CUBA/Miami, USA, age 37, is schedule to fight No. 3 Alexander Ustinov, 33-1 (24), RUS/Belarus, age 39. The winner may be in line to fight Browne.

IBF champion and Olympic Gold medalist Anthony Joshua, 17-0 (17), UK, age 26, recently won the title stopping Charles Martin who has dropped to No. 10 in the rankings. He defended his title with a stoppage of Dominic Breazele in June. His last four opponents had been unbeaten.

The No. 1 IBF and WBO contender is Joseph Parker, 19-0 (16), NZ/NV, USA, age 24, who is fighting No. 11 WBA contender Solomon Haumono, 24-2-2 (21), NZ, AUST, July 21st in NZ. Parker is No. 8 in the WBA and No. 4 in WBC. The winner could be in line to fight Joshua.

So you have a pair of champions fighting out of the UK in Fury and Joshua. One from Australia in Browne and one from USA in Wilder. It would make sense if Joshua fights the Fury-Klitschko winner. Browne to the fight Parker-Haumono winner and Wilder fight Povetkin. As noted quite a few of the top boxers are between 35 and over like Klitschko and Humono both 40. Ustinov is 39, Ortiz and Browne are 37. Povetin is 36 and Arreola 35. Wilder is 30, Fury 27, Joshua 26 and Parker 24.

Joshua is without a doubt the champion to reckon with in the future since only having 17 fights. Klitschko was considered the best holding three titles until a very poor showing losing to Fury who didn’t exactly set the world on fire. Wilder is still untested while the Povetkin fight was to be his toughest test until cancelled. Arreola is a big underdog to Wilder. Parker is high in two of the organizations but doesn’t look like he has champion qualities. Browne is a late comer who won his title in Russia and could be a spoiler. The most dangerous is probably Ortiz. Any way you look at it there are several who could achieve three titles as Klitschko did.

It’s also the feeling Klitschko will win the title back. Fury has mentioned this could be his last fight. So unless the champions fight one another it could be a long time until there is going to be an undisputed champion holding all four titles!

Posted on 07/07/2016

PBC on ESPN Preview: Barrios vs. Boschiero, Ramirez vs. Roman
By: William Holmes

On Saturday night Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series will be televised live on ESPN from the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, New Jersey.

UFC 200 is also being broadcast on Saturday, but the loss of Jon Jones may lead to more viewers for the free PBC card. It features two prospects with future world title aspirations. Mario Barrios will be competing against Devis Boschiero in an IBF Junior Lightweight eliminator and Eddie Ramirez will face Jessie Roman in the junior welterweight division.

Photo Credit: Jordan Hardy/Premier Boxing Champions

The following is a preview of both televised bouts.

Eddie Ramirez (13-0) vs. Jessie Roman (20-2); Junior Welterweights

Eddie Ramirez has been extremely busy and fought five times in 2015 and once already in 2016. He’s a former Chicago Golden Gloves Champion and was a runner up in the National Golden Gloves Tournament the same year.

His opponent, Jessie Roman, does not have the amateur accomplishments of Ramirez. He fought three times in 2015 and twice in 2014.

Ramirez, at the age of twenty four, is one year younger than Roman. He will also be giving up two inches in height and two inches in reach to his opponent. However, Ramirez has nine stoppage victories in only thirteen bouts while Roman has only nine stoppage victories in twenty two professional bouts.

Neither boxer has faced any serious contenders in their primes. Ramirez has defeated the likes of Osumanu Akaba, Bilal Mahasin, and former world title challenger Cristobal Cruz. Roman’s only notable victory was over Hector Serrano.

Roman does not have many notable wins on his resume, but he does have two glaring losses. His two losses were to Joaquin Chavez, who had a record of 8-13-3 at the time they fought, and to Carlos Mario Sanchez, who had a record of 20-10 at the time they fought.

This is a bout that Eddie Ramirez should win, easily. It will be noteworthy to see if Ramirez can stop Roman, who has never been stopped in his career.

Mario Barrios (15-0) vs. Devis Boschiero (29-4-1); IBF Junior Lightweight Eliminator

Mario Barrios has fought eight times since the start of 2015 and is one of Al Haymon’s most intriguing prospects.

His activity is almost unheard of. He’s a tall fighter for the junior lightweight division and will have a six and a half inch height advantage over Boschiero. He also has a 74” reach, which is large for his division, and will have a six inch reach advantage over Boschiero.

Barrios, at the age of twenty one, is also thirteen years younger than Boschiero.

Barrios has eight stoppage victories on his resume, but he will have to be careful of Boschiero’s power. Boschiero has stopped twenty one of his opponents and won his last two fights by stoppage.

Barrios, at this point in his career, has yet to be seriously tested. His biggest wins have come against the likes of Manuel Vides, Enrique Tinoco, and Eduardo Rivera. A lot of his wins have come against opponents with losing records.

Boschiero previously fought for a world title against Takahiro Ao and lost. His other losses were to Stephen Smith and Romain Jacob, twice. He has defeated the likes of Guillaume Frenois and Ermano Fegatilli. He’s also been very active and fought four times in 2015 and once in 2016.

It should be noted that Boschiero has only fought outside of Europe once, and he lost in that bout to Takahiro Ao. Boschiero has never fought in the United States.

Boschiero is a good, tough veteran for Barrios at this point in his career. Barrios seems to be aware that Boschiero represents a tough fight for him and stated, “All I know about Boschiero is that he’s got a lot of fights and he’s a top contender. I know he’s hungry so I’m not taking him lightly. I’ve seen some tape on him and I know he likes to come forward. Everyone can expect to see a lot of had punches being thrown by both of us. I’m expecting a war.”

However, Barrios’ skill level and his reach and height will be too great for Boschiero to overcome and pull off an upset victory. Barrios should get some rounds in and win a decision victory.

Posted on 06/25/2016

Showtime Boxing International Results: Joshua wins by 7th round Knockout
By: Matthew N. Becher

Live from the O2 arena, in Greenwich, London the IBF Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua defended his title for the first time against American, Dominic Breazeale. This was Breazeale’s first fight outside of the United States as well as his first fight as an underdog (20-1). Both of these fighters entered the Millennium Dome with perfect records and a total of 31 Knockouts between them.

Joshua showed why he was such a great favorite in the fight, and was able to showcase his skills to the masses again on a worldwide televised fight. Continuing his perfect knockout streak and undefeated record, Joshua is only 26 years old, with one of the world championship belts. The sky is the limit for this guy.

Anthony Joshua (16-0 16KO) v. Dominic Breazeale (17-0 15KO): IBF Heavyweight Championship

Joshua showed that he was the superior fighter right from the first round, landing cleaner, harder punches early. Breazeale was slow in his reflexes, moving forward and trying to adjust to the much, much quicker Joshua.
In the second round Breazeale was wobbled early in the round and nearly went down towards the end. Joshua’s right hand uppercut is a devastating punch, and easily shows that he possesses power in both hands.

Breazeale became only the second fighter to ever take Joshua beyond the third round, though Breazeale paid a great deal of punishment in doing so. Breazeale’s right eye was nearly closed by the fourth round, but credit had to be given on toughness, because many fighters would have went down for the count on much less.

Joshua doled out a great deal of punishment by the 6th round and took relatively little back in return. The difference in stamina could be noticeably seen by the midway point, since Joshua was already in a steady pace and Breazeale was very much just trying to survive.

The seventh round was the round that Joshua decided to put an end to it. The first knockdown came within the first thirty seconds of the round, from a deadly combination. Breazeale got up, showing tremendous heart and was quickly knocked out with a brutal straight left hand.

Joshua KO7 1:01

Posted on 06/23/2016

Showtime World Championship Boxing Preview: Anthony Joshua v. Dominic Breazeale
By: Matthew N. Becher

In 2012 Anthony Joshua, then 22, and Dominick Breazeale, then 26, each represented their respective countries, the United Kingdom and the United States, in the 2012 Olympic Games, held in London, England. Both fighters competed in the Super heavyweight division, with Breazeale losing in the first round and Joshua eventually standing on the top of the medal podium, having a Gold Medal placed around his neck. This Saturday, from the O2 Arena in Greenwich, London, live on Showtime, both fighters will meet face to face as undefeated professionals, for the IBF Heavyweight championship of the world.

Dominic Breazeale (17-0 15KO) got a late start in the boxing game. He was a football player, a Quarterback at that, who played division one for the University of Northern Colorado. When professional football did not seem like a valid option, the 6’8”, 250lb Breazeale found out quickly that he could turn that throwing arm into a pretty heavy knockout punch. After competing in the Olympics he immediately turned pro later that year and has amassed an unblemished records of seventeen wins, with fifteen coming by way of the knockout. He has wins over Amir Mansour, Fred Kasi, Yasmany Consuegra and Victor Bisbal in the last year. This weekend’s title fight against Joshua will be his toughest to date, and Breazeale has stated that this fight will end by KO, “We’re two knockout artists, so whoever lands first is going to win….I’m not some pushover like he’s had in the past. If I see an opportunity, I am going to take advantage of it”.

Anthony Joshua (16-0 16KO) has been groomed to become the heavyweight champion of the world, winning his first title earlier this year in April, in only his 16th professional fight. Joshua has faced a bit of better competition against the likes of Kevin Johnson, Gary Cornish, Dillian Whyte and Charles Martin, will all of them getting knocked out by Joshua. In only 3 years as a pro, the Gold Medalist and now IBF heavyweight champion has accomplished a lot, and sees Breazeale as just another mandatory competitor towards his ultimate goal of unified heavyweight champ, “I still have another couple titles I need to get my hands on. I’m still hunting. There’s still work to be done”.

This has the makings for a very exciting heavyweight fight, between two big sluggers. With the difference in competition that both have seen and the fight being in London, the edge is definitely in Joshua’s favor, but in the heavyweight division, it only takes one punch to change all of that.

Posted on 06/03/2016

PBC on Spike Results: Barthelemy Defeats Bey by Split Decision, Rodriguez Decisions Guevara
By: William Holmes

The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida was the host site for tonight’s Premier Boxing Champions Card on Spike TV.

Mayweather Promotions in association with King’s Promotions and Panther Promotions put on tonight’s card.

Photo Credit: Stephanie Trapp/Mayweather Promotions/Premier Boxing Champions

The opening bout of the night was between Puerto Rican boxer Emmanuel Rodriguez (14-0) and Mexican fight Alberto “Metro” Guevara (24-2) in the bantamweight division.

Both boxers fought out of an orthodox stance Guevara attacked the body and had moderate success with his double left hook combination. Rodriguez was accurate with his straight right hand early on and was able to stagger Guevara with a left hook near the end of the round.

Guevara had a decent second round and out threw Rodriguez, but Rodriguez had the stronger shots and even took the body attacks of Guevara well.

Rodriguez picked up his pace in the third round and his left hook was stinging Guevara, and his counter punching continued to improve in the fourth and fifth rounds. The area near Guevara’s left eye was cut in the fifth round from a head butt and the blood appeared to bother him throughout the fight.

Rodriguez’s jab and pressure was just too much for Guevara to handle. Guevara was able to land some combinations, but he didn’t have the power to hurt Rodriguez, while Rodriguez’s straight right hand was able to effectively slow down and neutralize Guevara.

The final scores were 99-91, 100-90, and 99-91 for Rodriguez.

The second bout of the night was between middleweights Caleb Plant (12-0) and Carlos Galvan (12-4-1) in a short six round fight.

Plant has some moderate hype behind his name, and he looked in control in the opening round and looked like the bigger fighter inside the ring.

Plant however was in the ring with someone who never defeated an opponent with a winning record. Plant briefly had an offensive burst in the second round and did a lot of show boating after dodging punches in the third round, but some in the crowd started to boo his defensive style inside the ring.

Plant surprised everyone with a hard left hook to the body out of nowhere in the fourth round that sent Galvan to the mat for a full ten count.

Caleb Plant wins by knockout at 1:24 of the fourth round.

The main event of the evening was between Rances “Kid Blast” Barthelemy (24-0) and Mickey Bey (22-1-1) for the IBF Lightweight Title.

Both boxers fought out of a conventional stance and Barthelemy established himself as the aggressor early on and attacked the body of Bey.

Barthelemy continued to control the bout in the second round and his reach was appearing to give Bey problems, until a head butt occurred in the second round that forced Barthelemy to fall to his knee. The referee, incorrectly, ruled it a knockdown.

The knockdown seemed to awaken Rances Barthelemy and he was extremely aggressive in the third and fourth rounds and pounded the body of Bey and kept his opponent moving backwards.

Bey was able to take control of the fifth round by sticking to his jab and popping and moving before Barthelemy could trap him. The sixth round could have gone either way, but Barthelemy was the aggressor.

Barthelemy did a good job at catching the punches Bey in the seventh round and was able to work around the jab of Bey. Barthelemy came on strong at the end of the eighth round and got his Cuban supporters in the crowd on it’s feet.

By the ninth round Bey was falling badly behind on the cards and by the championship rounds he needed a knockout to win.

That knockout didn’t come, and Bey was simply outworked by Barthelemy for the remainder of the fight.

The final scores were 117-110 Barthelemy, 117-110 Bey, and 116-111 Barthelemy.