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HBO PPV Preview: Canelo Alvarez vs Gennady Golovkin Rematch, Plus Full Undercard

Posted on 09/13/2018

By: William Holmes

Canelo Alvarez vs Gennady Golovkin PPV
HBO PPV: $84.95
T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
Start time: 8PM ET/ 5PM PT
TV Undercard: Jaime Munguia vs Brandon “Bad Boy” Cook
David Lemieux vs Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan
Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez vs Moises “Moi” Fuentes

On Saturday, September 15th the long awaited rematch between Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez will finally occur for Golovkin’s WBA and WBC Middleweight Titles.

They were originally to fight on May 5th, but a positive test for clenbuterol scuttled those plans. Canelo claimed the trace levels detected were due to contaminated meat, which was met with some skepticism by Golovkin and his team.

Jaime Mungui and Brandon Cook will meet in the co-main event of the night for Munguia’s WBO Junior Middleweight World Title. David Lemieux and Gary O’Sullivan will also meet in a middleweight bout with possible future title implications.

Other boxers such as Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez, Moises Fuentes, Vergil Ortiz Jr., Alexis Rocha, and Brian Ceballo will also be featured on the undercard.

The following is a preview of the three top fights for Saturday’s HBO PPV offering.

David Lemieux (39-4) vs. Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan (28-2); Middleweights

David Lemieux is only twenty nine years old, and will be five years older than Gary O’Sullivan come fight night, but in ring years he’s significantly older. He’s been in some tough fights with some tough competition and already has thirteen more professional fights than O’Sullivan.

They’re about the same size, O’Sullivan will have a slight ½ inch height advantage. They both have decent power. Lemieux has stopped thirty three of his opponents while O’Sullivan has stopped twenty. However, Lemieux only has one stoppage victory in his past five fights while O’Sullivan has five victories in a row by stoppage.

They also have both been stopped. Lemieux has two stoppage losses while O’Sullivan has one stoppage loss on his record.

They both have been fairly active. He fought once in 2018, three times in 2017, and twice in 2016. O’Sullivan fought once in 2018, four times in 2017, and once in 2016.

Lemieux does have an edge in amateur experience. He won the Canadian National Junior Championships in 2006 while O’Sullivan does not have any notable amateur accomplishments.

Lemieux’s losses were to Billy Joe Saunders, Gennady Golovkin, and earlier in his career to Joachim Alcine and Marco Antonio Rubion. He has beaten the likes of Elvin Ayala, Hector Camacho Jr., Fernando Guerrero, Gabriel Rosado, Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam, Glen Tapia, Curtis Stevens, and Karim Achour.

O’Sullivan’s losses were to Billy Joe Saunders and Chris Eubank Jr. He has defeated the likes of Berlin Abreu, Antoine Douglas, Nick Quigley, Melvin Bentancourt, and Matthew Hall.

If this fight happened three years ago Lemieux would be considered the favorite. But he looked slow and old in his loss to Billy Joe Saunders and he is starting to show signs of ring wear. O’Sullivan on the other hand, has been riding a good win streak and looked sensational against a solid young prospect in Antoine Douglas.

This writer has to pick O’Sullivan in a minor upset.

Jaime Munguia (30-0) vs. Brandon Cook (20-1); WBO Junior Middleweight Title

Jaime Munguia is one of Golden Boy Promotions’ best young fighters and at the age of twenty one is already a legitimate world champion.

He has exceptional power. He has twenty five stoppage wins and has stopped six of his past seven opponents. He’s also eleven years younger than his opponent Brandon Cook, who only has thirteen stoppage wins, and already has one stoppage loss.

Munguia has been incredibly active. He already fought four times in 2018 and fought seven times in 2017. Cook has also been active and fought once in 2018 and three times in 2017.

Munguia has the better amateur pedigree. He was a Gold Medalist in the Mexican National Championships and turned pro at the age of 16.

Cook’s lone loss was to Kanat Islam by TKO in 2017. He doesn’t have any big victories of note, he has defeated the likes of Miguel Suarez, Steven Butler, and Hector Santana.

Munguia has defeated the likes of Liam Smith, Sadam Ali, Jose Paz, Paul Valenzuela Jr., and Johnny Navarrete.

On paper, it’s hard to find anything that Bradon Cook does better than Jaime Munguia. It’s likely we will see that in the ring too.

Gennady Golovkin (38-0-1) vs. Canelo Alvarez (49-1-2); WBA/WBC Middleweight Title

Gennady Golovkin has to be considered one of, if not the best middleweight boxers in the 21st century. However, he doesn’t have that big signature win over an exceptional opponent on his resume.

Many thought he did enough to beat Canelo last year, but Canelo came on strong in the later rounds and was able to make the fight a draw.

Both boxers have good power. Golovkin has stopped thirty four of his opponents, though his power seems to be slipping recently. Canelo also has thirty four stoppage wins. Neither boxer has ever been stopped in their career.

Canelo will have a slight ½ inch reach advantage, but will also be giving up about two inches in height. Canelo will be eight years younger than Golovkin on Saturday, and Golovkin may be showing some signs of rust in his armor with his advancing age.

Golovkin has the better amateur career of the two. He was a silver medalist in the 2004 Summer Olympics. Canelo turned professional at a young age, but did win the 2005 Junior Mexican National Championships.

Golovkin has beaten the likes of Vanes Martirosyan, Daniel Jacobs, Kell Brook, Dominic Wade, David Lemieux, Willie Monroe Jr., Marco Antonio Rubio, Daniel Geale, Curtis Stevens, Matthew Macklin, and Gabriel Rosado. He has fought twice a year in 2018, 2017 and 2016.

Canelo has beaten the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Liam Smith, Amir Khan, Miguel Cotto, James Kirkland, Erislandy Lara, Alfredo Angulo, Austin Trout, Josesito Lopez, Shane Mosley, and Kermit Cintron. His lone loss was the Floyd Mayweather Jr., and he had a draw very early in his career to a Jorge Juarez.

Both boxers seem motivated and have a genuine dislike of each other since Canelo’s positive steroid test in the spring. In their last fight they appeared to be very respectful towards each other, almost too much.

Golovkin’s age is a big concern and his best days are likely behind him. Canelo also appeared to have figured out Golovkin by the end of the fight and was coming on strong. The fight fans in attendance will also likely be in favor of Canelo over Golovkin.

The intangibles favor Canelo,but it’s hard to pick against a man that has never lost and looked absolutely dominating at times.

This is basically an even fight, but this writer has to give the slightest of edges to Golovkin, only because it appeared that Golovkin should have received the decision last time.

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Why the Sport of Boxing Needs a Canelo Victory

Posted on 09/13/2017

By Jaime C. Feal

To many casual observers and fans, Saturday night’s superfight between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin represents a thoroughly even match up. Two fighters in their prime with fantastic records, both champions, ready to throw down and entertain all at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The largest gap between the two fighters, however, exists not in the ring, but outside of it.


Photo Credit: Tom Hogan-Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Promotions

Simply put, Canelo has a fan base that can be monetized in a way not many other fan bases can. As a Mexican fighting in America, Canelo has the support of both his home country of Mexico, a neighbor to the U.S., and all the Mexican-Americans living in the U.S., as rabid fans who turn out for Canelo fights. Furtermore, Canelo is a “Golden Boy” both literally and figuratively, the baby-faced assassin being both the pride, joy, and hope of Mexico, and an Oscar De La Hoya-promoted boxer. A lot rides on Canelo’s success in the sport of boxing. While a loss to the highly ranked GGG wouldn’t ruin his career by any means, what the big players in the boxing industry want more than anything is a resounding victory for Canelo. Just shy of 30 years old, Canelo has many more years of top ranked fights ahead of him, and lucrative ones at that. Golovkin, on the other hand, is 35 years old, and might only have a couple years of top-level fights left in him.

GGG just can’t match the same level of numbers with his fan base. A native of Kazikhstan, a small country with even fewer immigrants in the U.S., Golovkin is at a disadvantage on the marketing side of boxing. While most American boxing fans appreciate a good knockout artist, they don’t have the same kind of attachment that Mexicans and Mexican-Americans do for their native son Canelo. What this means is that unlike the Mayweather-McGregor fight, which had a roughly even split of fan support both in the arena and at the bars and restaurants showing the PPV, the Canelo-GGG scrap figures to have the fan support massively in favor of Canelo. Indeed, the bars and restaurants will be filled with Mexican pride and support, and the T-Mobile Arena will be lit up with Mexican flags and apparel. You may see the odd Kazakhstani flag here or there, but for the most part, the sheer numbers and loyalty that the Canelo fan base produces will drown out anything the GGG fan base can muster.

What does this all mean? Now that Floyd “Money” Mayweather is out of the sport completely, Boxing needs a new money fighter. Canelo is much more ready to be the hero the sport needs, to drive the big money fights going forward into 2018 and 2019. Because of this, HBO and the powers that be will be massively rooting for Canelo, the younger, more popular fighter, to win emphatically. And although a rematch with GGG would be potentially lucrative, Canelo disappointed in his last big fight and still has a lot to gain with a victory over Golovkin. On Saturday Night, Canelo will not only be carrying the pressure and expectations of his home country, but also his adopted one. Here’s hoping he can live up to the hype and propel boxing to new heights and popularity.

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Officials Picked For Canelo-GGG

Posted on 09/12/2017

By: Sean Crose

With the fight serious boxing fans have been waiting for less than a week away, the Nevada State Athletic Commission has chosen its officials for the Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin middleweight superbout Saturday night at the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas. Dave Moretti and Adalaide Byrd, both of Nevada, have been chosen as judges, as has Connecticut’s Don Trella. The referee will be Kenny Bayless. The officials were named at a Monday morning meeting. All of the names picked are well known to fight fans. Bayless was the referee of Canelo’s last fight, against Julio Caesar Chavez Jr., back in July.

As for the judges, Moretti was scoring the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor match last month before Mayweather stopped his man in the 10th. Trella’s last big bout was in England, where he judged the Anthony Joshua-Wladimir Klitschko superfight until Joshua settled matters in the 11th. Byrd’s last notable fight was also in England, when, back in May, she judged the Errol Spence Jr-Kell Brook clash before it concluded violently in the 11th, as well. Canelo has traditionally done well with judges, even controversially getting the nod from one official after his famed, ultimately losing, battle against Floyd Mayweather back in 2013.

Canelo, however, clearly has prepared for any contingency. If the man’s physique is any indication, he obviously isn’t willing to simply survive against Golovkin in the hope that the judges will give him the nod. Indeed, much is being made of the shape the red haired star has been spotted in as the days leading up to the bout pass quickly. Some have taken to claiming Canelo looks much bigger, or at least much more muscular, than is usually the case. This may not be a cause for surprise, however, as this will be the fighter’s first legitimate foray into the one hundred sixty pound realm.

Still, numerous publications are bringing up the fact that many feel Golovkin won’t be treated fairly if this weekend’s fight lasts an entire twelve rounds. And, to be fair, boxing officials are often the source of their own tarnished reputations. Insanely wide scores, inexplicable scores and scores that some even feel point to corruption have led to a profound level of suspicion among the sport’s fanbase at times. With that being said, boxing can be an extremely subjective endeavor and scoring is very much a matter of interpretation and perspective.

Hopefully fans will walk away from Saturday’s throwdown satisfied that the officials did their jobs to the best of their abilities.

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Pound for Pound Supremacy: Canelo vs. Golovkin, “The Right Timing”

Posted on 09/05/2017

By: Gary Todd

After all the talk, we are finally just days away from the biggest fight in the sport of boxing. This is without doubt, the biggest fight in the middle weight division for over a decade. In the 130 year history of the middle weight division , there has been some cracking match ups, as in , Hearns v Hagler, Trinidad v Joppy, Graziano v Zale, Martinez v Chavez Jnr, Monzon v Valdez, Benn v Eubank, and Hagler v Leonard.


Photo Credit: Rich Kane/Hogan Photos/Golden Boy Promotions

The list could go on and on and on. These fights were a boxing fans dream. Boxers, fighters, punchers, slickster’s, brawlers, all brought together at the right time, to give the fans what they craved for. Golovkin v Canelo will go down in the history books as one of those fights.

There has been so much written about these two fighters, about this fight, and also who will win.

I feel this is a tremendous match up, in terms of the way these two champions go about their business in the ring. Of course they are both dangerous , both have great boxing skills and solid technique , and both of them have power , and they don’t just stop their opponents, they take them out in bone crunching , scary fashion. It’s billed as “Supremacy” and that is exactly what this fight is all about.

It’s a prize fight, but this goes way beyond the money. This is bragging rights at its best. This is pound for pound greatness. This is all about their own legacy, and to go down in the history books as one of the all time greats in the 160 pound division, and also , in the sport of boxing.

Gennady Golovkin [ 37 fights, 33 kos ] made his debut in 2006, after a brilliant amateur career, representing his country in the World championships, and winning Silver in 2004, at the summer Olympic games in Greece. Fighting out of Germany, Golovkin, dismantled, and hammered his way into the pro’s, destroying all who came before him, before finally making the move across the Atlantic, to chase, and live the American dream, and in doing so, sent shivers through the middleweight division, giving contenders and champions nightmares , that would never leave them.

Daniel Geale, Martin Murray, David Lemieux, Kell Brook, and Daniel Jacobs would all have the same nightmare, that is GGG.

Canelo Alvarez [ 51 fights, 1 loss, 1 draw ] made his debut in 2005, at the age of 15, fighting grown , seasoned, Mexican brawlers , and like Golovkin, he fought for very little money. The reward wasn’t the money, he loved to fight. Canelo dispatched all comers, and gradually fought his way up from fighting in beer halls, to fighting in stadiums to thousands of his adoring fans. To say he was a star in boxing , was an understatement. This guy was a super star.

With his popularity at an all time high, he had 43 fights under his belt when he was matched to fight Floyd Mayweather. I had travelled over from Sydney, Australia to see the fight, as I thought Canelo would give Mayweather a tough fight, and I thought he had the tools to give the “Money “ man a hard night at the office.

It was evident after the 3rd round, he would not , as he just didn’t attack, and was tentative and far too economical with his offence.

Although beaten, he would come back, and come back stronger, beating, Erislandy Lara, Miguel Cotto, Austin Trout, Amir Khan and Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr, to elevate himself to greatness once again.

In the last 2 years, there has been a lot of talk on whether these two champions would ever fight. Canelo fighting at 160, seemed too far fetched to some, but most of us thought it had to happen. Was the weight ever the issue, ? No. This was all about timing, the right timing, and Oscar De La Hoya now obviously thinks that the timing is just right for his fighter, that his man is experienced, and is big enough, and is mentally tough enough to handle the pressure and power of Gennady Golovkin.

With Golovkin having an 89% ko percentage, and Canelo having a decent ko ratio of around 70%, you would think on paper that this fight won’t go the distance. I think this really depends on Canelo and what he does. GGG only fights one way, which is to seek and destroy.

He will have no problem taking one of his opponents punches , firstly to see if they can punch, before he unleashes his own, which usually either forces his opponent to crumble, or go into a shell , protecting, defending, and trying to swerve off huge body and head attacks.

Canelo can be a slow starter, a patient, almost calculating , come forward fighter who has great combinations, using fast hands , particularly to his opponents head and body. If he looks at Golovkin’s fights, he will see that the champion from Karaganda, Kazakhstan has no head movement, and can be hit with uppercuts. To win, Canelo has to get himself into the position, that he can throw the uppercut, followed up with the hooks to the body and the head . If he can, he just might have enough to be the first man to drop and stop GGG.

Gennady Golovkin is blessed with an “ x-men” type of power , and also a granite chin. He has great movement, and cuts off the ring exceptionally well, making great fighters panic into making mistakes. When they do, he backs them into the ropes and goes to work, hammering them with such ferocity, and bad intention punches to the body, and the head. Not too much finesse, just pure aggression, and cerebral carnage.
If Canelo starts slow, GGG has to take full advantage of this, throwing his powerful left jab, followed by his right huge hand, to pummel the Mexican’s face, and to take his heart. Golovkin has to do this to win. Canelo can’t fight going backwards, and he leaves himself wide open to the right hook or overhand right , almost every time he throws his left hook. GGG has a crunching overhand right, and if he connects, it will set the tempo of the fight and also into the later rounds. Another question is, can Canelo fight for 3 minutes of every round.? I would say no. If he doesn’t against Golovkin, he will be in serious trouble. Canelo fights well, and throws fantastic, eye catching combinations, but he only fights in spurts . Golovkin fights , almost robotic in the sense, that he focuses on a target, adjusts his feet to make the right adjustment , to then hammer home his own devastating attack .

The fight itself is one of those, “what if” pick em fights. On paper, Canelo has everything going for him. He is 8 years younger, experienced, probably faster, has great combination punches, and on fight night, he will be a big , strong middle weight fighter, possibly even heavier than Golovkin, once hydrated. Golovkin is 35 years old, and there is a lot of people thinking he is “ on the slide” as a fighter. Is this just the timing is right , for Canelo ?

My prediction

Tough, hard fight . Mexican pride, and all the marbles to play for. I think Gennady Golovkin wins in late rounds, breaking Canelo down to the body, winning by a TKO in 8th round.

Gary Todd has been involved in all aspects of the sport of boxing , and he is the proud author of his books on World champions , and their workout’s, “ Workout’s from boxing’s greatest champs” , volumes 1 and 2.

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Boxing Insider Notebook: Golovkin, Canelo, McGregor, Mayweather, Shields, and more…

Posted on 07/25/2017

 

Compiled By: William Holmes

The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of July 18th to July 25th covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.

 

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HBO Sports 24/7 Canelo/Golovkin Debuts August 26th

HBO Sports’ groundbreaking “24/7” reality franchise, which has captured 18 Sports Emmy® Awards, will return for its 23rd multi-part boxing installment with 24/7 CANELO/GOLOVKIN, it was announced today by Rick Bernstein, executive producer, HBO Sports. The two-part behind-the-scenes series follows two elite fighters – Canelo Alvarez and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin – as they prepare for their middleweight championship megafight title showdown Saturday, Sept. 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

24/7 CANELO/GOLOVKIN debuts SATURDAY, AUG. 26 (midnight-12:30 a.m. ET/PT), immediately following the previously announced “World Championship Boxing” doubleheader that begins at 9:45 p.m. (ET/PT).

The show will also be available on HBO On Demand, HBO NOW, HBO GO and affiliate portals.

“The boxing world has eagerly anticipated this middleweight showdown between two of the best fighters and biggest stars in the sport,” said Bernstein. “We now get to present them and their preparations for this long-awaited encounter in the ring.”

Episode two of 24/7 CANELO/GOLOVKIN debuts one week before the high-stakes bout, on Saturday, Sept. 9 (1:00-1:30 a.m. ET/PT), immediately following the “HBO Boxing After Dark” tripleheader that begins at 10:15 p.m. (ET/PT).

24/7 CANELO/GOLOVKIN will provide exclusive behind-the-scenes access, along with in-depth interviews, as the fighters gear up in Southern California for their Las Vegas collision in the ring. Both men rank high on many pound-for-pound lists and have been dominant in the middleweight division.

Canelo Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs), of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, is again holding camp with renowned trainer Eddy Reynoso. The 27-year-old phenom is coming off a dominant victory over fellow countryman Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in May and is on a seven-bout winning streak that has reinforced his elite standing in the middleweight ranks. His drawing power as the sport’s top pay-per-view attraction has been demonstrated both at the box office and in pay-per-view performance.

Gennady Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs), from Karaganda, Kazakhstan, now living in Los Angeles, is training with the acclaimed Abel Sanchez. The undefeated 35-year-old has compiled an extraordinary knockout-to-win ratio of 89%, while only three of his fights have gone past the eighth round and only one has lasted the full 12 rounds. Golovkin’s dramatic ring style has transformed him into one of the sport’s brightest stars in a few short years and he has sold out arenas from New York to California.

Canelo’s fourth “24/7” appearance and Golovkin’s second, 24/7 CANELO/GOLVKIN is the latest installment of the acclaimed franchise that began in 2007. Among the most-honored sports series on TV, it was called “a masterfully entertaining reality show” by ESPN The Magazine.

“Canelo vs. Golovkin” will take place at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 8:00 p.m. (ET)/5:00 p.m. (PT), and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View®.

The executive producer of 24/7 CANELO/GOLOVKIN is Rick Bernstein; senior producers, Dave Harmon and Bentley Weiner; producers, Harley Glantz, Abtin Motia and Christine Wilt; writer, Aaron Cohen. Liev Schreiber narrates.

Mayweather/McGregor Ticket Market Following Monday’s Online Sale          

The PPV Price is $89.95 for SD or $99.95 for HD. Most experts see this reaching similar buyrate numbers to Mayweather/Pacquiao (4 million+ buys)

Face value of tickets range from $500-$10,000 and went on-sale Monday July 24. However, secondary market tickets are seeing up to a 400% premium on face value and currently range from $2,145-$20,000. POST ON-SALE: After Monday’s on-sale there was an increase of about 7% (36 tickets) listed on the secondary market, bringing the current total to about 500 listed on the secondary market. The 500 tickets available is just 2.5% of T-Mobile Arena’s capacity, so secondary prices aren’t likely to drop significantly between now and the fight.

Average price actually rose from $6,256 on Monday morning to $7,190 (15%) by Monday evening, but the cheapest seat fell from $2,500 to $2,145 (-14%) in the same time frame.(https://www.tiqiq.com/fight/c onor-mcgregor-tickets/conor-mc gregor-vs-floyd-mayweather-jr- -08-26-2017/4035147264396)

If all PPV targets are hit, Mayweather could make $400 million and McGregor $127 million (https://www.forbes.com/sites/ brianmazique/2017/06/16/the-es timated-purses-for-floyd-maywe ather-vs-conor-mcgregor-fight- are-staggering/#47d12d423d00)

Mayweather is favored to win the fight with 1/6 odds, but the most popular bet is currently for McGregor at 11/2 odds. (https://www.oddschecker.com/ boxing/floyd-mayweather-jr-v- conor-mcgregor/winner)

This is by far the most expensive combat sports event we’ve tracked in terms of average price.

Average price for Mayweather/Pacquiao at the same time range (approx. 5 weeks out) was $5,312. So tickets dropped on average 9% leading up to the fight.

Some other notes:

According to Priceline.com, a Vegas 4-Star hotel on the night of the fight will cost a minimum of $135. By comparison, rates are as low as $68 the Saturday beforehand (Aug 19), marking a 98% premium on hotels during fight weekend.

The undercard is currently scheduled to consist of only boxing matches, no MMA.

McGregor is the more active of the two on Social Media, and has over 26 million followers between Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Mayweather’s social media accounts are more geared towards his line of products, yet he eclipses McGregor by over 10 million followers across the same social platforms.

Both McGregor & Mayweather are WWE fans and WWE officials are trying to secure one or both to make an appearance on an episode on WWE Raw in the weeks leading up to the fight. Fun Fact: Floyd Mayweather competed in a semi-main event match at Wrestlemania 24 defeating “The Big Show” Paul Wight by knockout. Wight is billed as 7 feet tall and 383 pounds.

Chivas Fight Club Launches with Boxer Gennady “GGG” Golovkin

Chivas Regal, the world’s first luxury whisky, is aiming to inspire a new generation while making a positive impact on the lives of others by introducing The Chivas® Fight Club. This initiative extends to every individual with a fighting spirit from communities nationwide and is centered on boxing in partnership with Gennady “GGG” Golovkin. Gennady is boxing’s unified WBC, WBA, IBF, IBO middleweight champion of the world, who personifies the Chivas spirit of shared success and dedication, both in and out of the ring.

“This movement is special to Chivas as it brings to life our core values, embracing the mixture of cultures and importance of shared success, as every person has a unique battle they fight with passion, gloves on and off,” said Shefali Murdia, Brand Director for Chivas Regal, Pernod Ricard USA. “Like the Chivas brothers, Gennady comes from humble beginnings and has allowed his dreams to push him to where he is today, all while staying true to his values and Winning the Right Way.”

The Kazakhstan-born fighter began his boxing career at an early age and immediately demonstrated his diligent work ethic, representing his home country at the 2004 Summer Olympics, where he won a middleweight silver medal. The fighter now boasts the top knockout ratio in middleweight championship history, an impressive 89.8 percent. Golovkin enters the ring as the face of The Chivas® Fight Club campaign, a nationwide effort promoting the unique fighter within every individual, offering exclusive access to activities, events and content for those who enter

“The Chivas Fight Club stands for the things that I believe in and represents the heart and soul of the fighter in all of us,” Golovkin said. “When I wrap my hands, I do it for my family. I owe my courage to them and also my success. That’s why I fight.”

All consumers and fans are invited to join The Chivas® Fight Club by sharing what they are fighting for by using the hashtag #FightForIt on social media. Those who join the club will be entered into sweepstakes for a chance to see Golovkin’s upcoming bout on September 16th against Canelo Alvarez, and gain exclusive entry into watch parties and boxing workout classes. Chivas® Fight Club members will also receive inspiration to “Fight for It” with exclusive boxing content, interviews, videos, behind-the-scenes photos, calendar of upcoming Chivas Regal boxing events, and more. Additional program incentives will continue to be rolled out following the campaign launch.

For more information on the Chivas Fight Club and Chivas Regal visit www.ChivasFightClub.com.

All British Quarter Final Clash for Muhammad Ali Trophy Between WBA World Champion Groves and Cox at the SSE Arena, Wembley on October 14th in London

The first domestic showdown of the World Boxing Super Series is scheduled for October 14th when top seeded super middleweight George Groves (26-3, 19 KOs) puts his WBA World title on the line against his undefeated countryman Jamie Cox (23-0, 13 KOs) in a ‘Battle of Britain’ at The SSE Arena, Wembley in London, United Kingdom.

Groves, the 29 year-old from Hammersmith, London, claimed the WBA strap with a sensational sixth-round stoppage victory over Fedor Chudinov on May 27th at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, and will make his maiden defence in this quarter-final clash with Cox, whom the ‘Saint’ selected as his first round opponent at the live Draft Gala on July 8th at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.

‘‘I’m really looking forward to getting started,’’ said Groves. ‘’It’s great to have a date set so early to give you something to strive for. I’m already in the gym plugging away and I’ve got plenty of time to prepare. The SSE Arena, Wembley Arena has always been a happy hunting ground for me. I‘ve had many good nights there, and I’m looking forward to fighting there again on October 14th. It’s my first World title defence, my first fight in the World Boxing Super Series, an all-British affair and hopefully something everyone is going to be excited about.

‘’I’m happy with my choice of opponent. I know there are no easy fights in this tournament and there are no easy fights at World level, but Jamie is the guy I know the most about. I know about his background, I know how he trains, I know who he trains with, but most importantly, I know the things you need in this tournament, such as composure and experience at the highest level, he’s lacking. I’ve got them in abundance, but he’s brand new, he’s a total novice. I don’t think he’s even headlined his own show yet and he’s getting flung in the deep end with me. This is a big pressure fight for him and I think he’ll struggle to cope.’’

Looking to secure his semi-final spot, Cox, the unbeaten 30 year-old contender from Swindon, Wiltshire, is confident he can dethrone his domestic rival and move a step closer to claiming The Greatest Prize in boxing, the Muhammad Ali Trophy.

‘’I’m really excited for this fight,’’ said the 30 year-old southpaw. ‘’To win a World title on the way to fighting for the Muhammad Ali Trophy would be a huge honour. I’m glad George picked me. I was prepared for anyone but I was hoping for a UK fight so I can’t wait. George is a tough opponent. He has some good attributes but I’m prepared to shock everyone. This is what I’ve been working towards all my career, and to be a part of something this big is amazing. Now I’m here, I’m ready to capitalise on it and win my first World title and progress to the semi-finals.’’

Roberto Dalmiglio, Comosa´s Head of Management Board, believes the World Boxing Super Series has delivered on its pledge of bringing together the best boxers in the world, and is expecting a memorable fight on October 14th. ‘’The World Boxing Super Series promised to pit the best against the best, and I believe we he have delivered on that promise,’’ said Dalmiglio. ‘’All our quarter-final fights are stacked with talent, and George Groves versus Jamie Cox is no exception. The SSE Arena, Wembley will play host to a fantastic night of boxing.”

Comosa`s Chief Boxing Officer, Kalle Sauerland is predicting a fan friendly affair from the domestic foes. ‘’This is a going to be a great fight for the fans,’’ said Sauerland. ‘’Domestic dust ups always bring with them an added excitement and intensity, and here, we have a British World Champion against an undefeated British challenger, it doesn’t get any better than that!’’

In the World Boxing Super Series, 16 elite fighters – eight super-middleweights and eight cruiserweights – will battle it out in a bracket-style elimination tournament. In both divisions, there will be four quarter-finals (September / October 2017), two semi-finals (early 2018) and one final (May 2018), making for a total of 14 high-class fights.

Ticket details for the World Boxing Super Series’ quarter-final bout between George Groves and Jamie Cox on October 14th at The SSE Arena, Wembley in London will be announced shortly.

WBC Champion Nikki Adler Hard at Work to Defend Her Belt Against Claressa Shields on ShoBox

German WBC Super Middleweight World Champion Nikki Adler is hard at work for her Friday, August 4 title defense against two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Claressa “T-Rex” Shields.

Adler (16-0, 9 KOs) will make the third defense of her WBC 168-pound title, and try to add the IBF Super Middleweight belt to her collection, against Flint, Michigan’s Shields (3-0, 1 KO) in the 10-round main event of Salita Promotions’ “BATTLE OF THE BEST” event at MGM Grand Detroit and Televised live on ShoBox: The New Generation (10;30 p.m. ET/PT)

In the night’s televised co-main, junior welterweight KO artist Bakhtiyar “Bakha Bullet” Eyubov (13-0, 11 KOs) will face undefeated prospect Sonny “Pretty Boi” Fredrickson (17-0, 11 KOs) over 10-rounds and to open the telecast, world-ranked super bantamweight Vladimir Tikhonov (16-0, 9 KOs) of Russia will face Texas slugger Jesse Angel Hernandez (8-1, 6 KOs) over eight rounds.

Tickets for the event promoted by Salita Promotions are on sale now and are priced at $350, $250, $125 and $60. They will be available at www.ticketmaster.com.

Adler says the only adjustment to fighting in the North America for the first time is to improve her English. And if she’s concerned about facing Shields, the only American to capture back-to-back boxing gold medals at the Olympic Games, she’s not showing it. She hasn’t even watched tape of Shields’ meteoric three-fight professional career. In fact, Adler and trainer Rene Friese are asking Americans not to take it personally when their hero falters against her.

How is training going?

It is going great! I work hard and I am very focused. My trainer is very satisfied with me and my progress. We entered training camp a few weeks ago, already had great tough sparring and I will be very well prepared to defend what’s mine: the green belt.

Did you prepare any differently for this fight compared to your others?

Yes, but it has nothing to do with Claressa. At the beginning of the year, I changed my trainer who brought me and my boxing skills to a new incredible level. I am better, faster and stronger. This feels amazing!

What do you think of Shields as a fighter?

To be honest, I’ve never watched her fight, but I am sure Claressa is a fighter from the bottom of her heart. So am I. This will create magic moments on August 4.

Does it make any difference to fight in North America for the first time?

Yes, because I need to improve my English. I speak German and Croatian fluently and will do my very best to thank Claressa personally for a great fight and to tell her without any translator that she can be proud that she took the challenge and one day she will be a champion too – maybe at middleweight.

What would a victory over Claressa Shields mean to you?

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How do you feel about the recent resurgence of women’s boxing?

Our fight announcement rocked the media, the fans and lot of other boxers who want to be a part of the event. It is great to see and it will get better. But, just a warning, America needs to be strong when I take my belts back home to Germany. I said it once before and I will say it again and again: The higher the quality, the more attractive is the fight for the fans. The state of woman’s boxing needs tough woman like Claressa and me who are not afraid of a challenge.

How does it feel to be fighting on Showtime and in front of the world?

It is the biggest woman’s boxing fight in 2017. Winning is the only thing I’m concerned with.

What can the fans in Detroit and on television expect to see from you?

Fans will see a fit fighter, they can expect a tough puncher and, finally, a dominating reigning champion.

Showtime Sports to Present Three Seperate Live Boxing Presentations on July 29th

SHOWTIME Sports will offer three separate boxing presentations on Saturday, July 29, delivering two digital live streams preceding the evening’s SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING televised doubleheader. The digital-only offerings will be available on Facebook Live and YouTube prior to the live SHOWTIME® telecast at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, as the network continues its unrivaled commitment to boxing.

The full day of high-stakes boxing will begin at approximately 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT with streaming coverage from Belfast, Ireland as 2016 Fighter of the Year Carl Frampton makes his long-awaited homecoming. The former two-division titlist Frampton (23-1, 14 KOs) will face once-beaten Andres Gutierrez (35-1-1, 25 KOs) in a 12-round featherweight bout, his first since splitting a par of slugfests with three-division world titlist Leo Santa Cruz. Coverage of Frampton vs. Gutierrez will be provided by Channel 5, a television station in Northern Ireland.

SHOWTIME Sports will then deliver live coverage from Barclays Center in Brooklyn beginning at 7:15 p.m. ET/4:15 p.m. PT with “SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING Prelims”. The two-fight live stream will feature former world title challenger Gerald Washington (18-1-1, 12 KOs) against Brooklyn native Jarrell Miller (18-0-1, 16 KOs), plus the U.S. debut of female boxing star and Irish Olympic Gold Medalist Katie Taylor (5-0, 3 KOs). Hall of Famer Barry Tompkins will call the live streaming fights from Brooklyn alongside former world champion Daniel Jacobs.

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING Prelims and Frampton vs. Gutierrez will be available to U.S. audiences only.

The July 29 SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast is headlined by a blockbuster matchup between two of boxing’s biggest stars as three-division world champion Mikey Garcia moves up to 140 pounds to face four-division champion Adrien “The Problem” Broner. Televised coverage begins live on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT as unbeaten former world champion Jermall Charlo returns to face Jorge Sebastian Heiland in a middleweight world title eliminator. The event is presented by Premier Boxing Champions from Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING Prelims is an extension of SHOWTIME BOXING on SHOWTIME EXTREME, which is the first premium television series to offer live undercard coverage. Both offerings provide bonus bouts to viewers at home, delivering an experience that was previously available only to fans in arena. Via SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING Prelims, viewers are afforded the unique opportunity to interact with the boxing community during the event in real time.

SHOWTIME Sports also will live stream the Broner vs. Garcia final press conference on Thursday and the official weigh-in on Friday across digital platforms, including Facebook Live and YouTube.

 

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Golovkin Ready to Show Who the Better Boxer Is

Posted on 07/20/2017

By: Francisco Martinez

September 16th Gennady Golovkin is set to meet Saul Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile arena. A fight 2 years in the making. A fight announced right after Canelo’s shutout of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. a masterful performance not enjoyed to long by Canelo as his next opponent was brought to the ring there and then. To the surprise of many the fight we’ve all been asking for finally materialized. Canelo vs Golovkin is suppose to be the fight that proves what Canelo truly is capable of and the fight that proves is Golovkin the bogey man they make him out to be.

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With a combined record of 86 victories and 67 knockouts Canelo & Golovkin is almost a certain knockout ending. How do both fighters feel in regards to those expectations “It’s going to be a tough fight, a fight with a lot of action but I’ll make it clear as to who is the better man” expresses Canelo a conservative prediction as does Golovkin “I’m a professional athlete and for me it’s very interesting to see who’s better. Not special but who’s the better athlete, who’s the better boxer” states Golovkin.

If we look back into this fight and dig a little more we’ll find that Canelo & Golovkin have shared the ring before as both careers took off. In a sparring session that took place about 6 years ago or so at the Summit Boxing gym in Big Bear, California owned by Golovkin’s trainer, 2015 BWAA Trainer Of The Year, Abel Sanchez. The man responsible for Golovkin’s Mexican Style inside the ring. As for the sparring session a lot has circulated around the media and gym talk as to what actually happened but both fighters had this to say about their now legendary sparring session

“That happened about 6 years ago more or less. He has advanced, I have advanced. It can help a little bit but I won’t focus on it as we’ve both have totally advanced and sparring can’t influence a fight it’s way too different. It’ll be a good fight a fight the people have been wanting. It’ll be a good fight. We’ll be ready” says Canelo of the 6 year old sparring session. Gennady Golovkin had this to say about the past sparring session

“It was 6 years ago it’s a different time right now. It was sparring and it’s different. Sparring and fighting. It’s sparring not fighting” says Gennady Golovkin with a similar tone as Canelo to the past sparring between both. Canelo was just making his transition into 154lbs class and Golovkin was already a full fledged 160lbs fighter so the sparring can be taken with a grain of salt aside from what rumors might say took place within the sparring at the time.

About 21 days before Canelo & Gennady Golovkin are set to face each other another big fight will take place. The return of Floyd Mayweather in the same place and venue. A fight some critics think might affect Canelo & Golovkin’s revenue and possibly a strategic move by Mayweather. Arguably the best boxer ever, surely the best of our time and also known as one of the best business minds in boxing as well.

Golden Boy promotion’s Oscar De La Hoya is not concerned with Mayweather & McGregor taking place a couple of weeks prior to Canelo & Golovkin neither is K2 promotion’s Tom Loeffler “I figured they would make the fight I wasn’t sure when they would do it. It surprised us they would go before on August. You know August people are in still in vacation and you know that’s two big names that they have so they probably figured they can go when they wanted to and were gonna focus on our end to promote ours the best that we can and I’m sure that Floyd and Conor are gonna promote their event and I think that’s one of those fights that the build up would be more exciting than the fight itself but we’re gonna do the best we can on our end”

Floyd Mayweather gave his prediction to Canelo vs Golovkin late last year and he predicted Canelo would knockout Golovkin also went as far as to say he would beat Golovkin. Gennady had this to say about Mayweather’s recent comments “He talks too much. I think he’s not a promoter, he’s not Canelo’s promoter. I don’t know why? Ask him why?” Replied Golovkin to Mayweather’s comments.

Two mega fights that will take place withing a month of each other can only benefit boxing although some would disagree others would say it’s what boxing needs at this point in time in a year that has been one to remember boxing wise. This September 16th Supremacy in the middleweight division is what we’ll get once Canelo & Gennady Golovkin step into the ring in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena live on HBO PPV.

So don’t miss it and follow the conversation and converage leading up to fight night via #CaneloGGG

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Canelo-GGG Sell Out T-Mobile Arena

Posted on 07/07/2017

Canelo-GGG Sell Out T-Mobile Arena
By: Sean Crose

In what should come as a surprise to absolutely no one, the much anticipated fight between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin has sold out the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Still, the fact that the host location sold out in what was essentially a matter of days is impressive. As Lance Pugmire of the LA Times states: “The sellout comes even before promoters have announced their co-main event and undercard, with lightweight champion Jorge Linares a possible participant.” Such details are telling. One could only imagine the size of the live crowd had the fight taken place at AT@T Stadium near Dallas, as many had hoped it would.

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No matter. The September 16th twelve round middleweight bout between the 37-0 Kazakh and the 49-1-1 Mexican superstar is set to go down in the “Mecca of Boxing” and nothing can change that now. Vegas is where the money is, and Canelo-GGG has already proven itself to be a big money affair, with ticket prices ranging into the thousands and many willing to pay into the better half of one hundred dollars to watch the festivities live on pay per view. “The boxing public fully understands that this is the biggest fight in many years,” gushed Oscar De La Hoya, who clearly had reason to be happy.

What makes today’s news positive for die hard fight fans is it shows the September 16th event is not going to be overwhelmed entirely by the Mayweather-McGregor circus a few weeks earlier – though that might well be something Mayweather himself wishes would happen. While the circus may indeed take a lot of air out of the room, it’s not going to take all of it. In fact, right now it’s looking like there’s two major happenings on the horizon: The Most Interesting Fight In Boxing and the Pop Culture Event Of The Summer.

The Pop Culture extravaganza will come first, absorbing tons of mainstream media, fan boy and general societal attention before the Interesting Fight arrives. This may mean the Interesting Fight won’t get the attention and energy it might have had two possible narcissists not decided to perform a surreal duet in the public spotlight. Yet things are looking good for Canelo-GGG, regardless. Those who prefer good boxing to oversize personalities – and the numbers of such people are legion – are clearly looking forward to a top level event after the headache of August 26th subsides.

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Canelo-GGG Will Go Down At T-Mobile Arena In Las Vegas

Posted on 06/05/2017

Canelo-GGG Will Go Down At T-Mobile Arena In Vegas
By: Sean Crose

Many people wanted the September 16th Canelo-Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin superfight to happen in Texas, at the AT&T arena, home of the famed Dallas Cowboys. Of course, fight fans had a right to want to see the fight there. AT&T is a location that might actually be able to fit a record setting crowd. And, after this past spring’s Anthony Joshua-Wladimir Klitscko war in front of 90,000 people in England, fans could only be expected to hope for the same kind of explosive atmosphere back here in the states. Canelo-GGG is the biggest legitimate fight in boxing, after all. What’s more, the sport has been on the uptick in a big way. Why not continue to ride the wave by letting the world see just how big boxing can be in America in 2017?

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Unfortunately, for those hoping for a thrilling Texas night, Oscar De La Hoya announced on ESPN today that Canelo-GGG will, in fact, be happening at the T Mobile Arena in Vegas. Once again, Sin City will host the sport’s biggest match. So much for reasonably priced tickets. So much for an event exclusively of and for the fans. Still, it would be unfair to bash De La Hoya or Golovkin promoter Tom Loeffler for this. Boxing, as we’re forever reminded, is a business, after all. As long as the big fights are being made, fans can only complain so much. None of that is to say that the AT@T arena’s Jerry Jones didn’t work hard to make the fight go down in the same building where his Cowboy’s play. Ultimately, though, the allure of Vegas proved to be too strong.

“The city’s ability to attract high-rolling gamblers helped it bankroll the unrevealed site fee,” wrote the LA Times’ Lance Pugmire. What’s more, De La Hoya made it clear that Vegas is a party town and that there’s a lot more to a big fight than the big fight itself. Surprisingly enough, Vegas has, until now, not hosted Golovkin, perhaps the most feared individual in all of combat sports today, in a high level match. Canelo, on the other hand, can be seen as a Vegas regular, as he’s fought in major bouts in the city on numerous occasions – most famously against Floyd Mayweather in 2013.

Speaking of Mayweather, it’s been mentioned that perhaps Floyd’s interest in fighting MMA star Conor McGregor in a boxing match may have had some impact on the decided location for Canelo-GGG. De La Hoya and Loeffler, after all, wouldn’t want Floyd fighting in Vegas around the same time their own major event was going down.

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Boxing Insider Notebook: Cotto, Mayweather, Pacquiao, Canelo, Ward, Kovalev, and more…

Posted on 05/24/2017

Boxing Insider Notebook: Cotto, Mayweather, Pacquiao, Canelo, Ward, Kovalev, and more…
Compiled By: William Holmes

The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of May 16th to May 23rd, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.

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Miguel Cotto to Face Yoshihiro Kamegai on August 26th

Miguel Cotto (40-5, 33 KOs), the only four-division world champion in the rich boxing history of Puerto Rico, will return to the ring on Saturday, August 26 to take on the always-exciting Yoshihiro “El Maestrito” Kamegai (27-3-2, 24 KOs) in a 12-round match for the vacant WBO Junior Middleweight World Championship from the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. Cotto will attempt to secure a sixth world championship in four weight classes as he makes his 23rd appearance on HBO.

Cotto, a surefire, first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, has held world titles in the super lightweight, welterweight, junior middleweight and middleweight divisions and has fought and defeated a who’s who of elite fighters over the last 15 years including Kelson Pinto, Demarcus “Chop Chop” Corley, Ricardo “Mochuelo” Torres, Paulie “Magic Man” Malignaggi, Zab “Super” Judah, Sugar Shane Mosley, Antonio “El Tornado de Tijuana” Margarito, Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga and Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez.

“I’m very excited to be back and showcase a high level fight for the fans,” Cotto said. “Kamegai is a great, tough fighter, but I will be ready for him and to capture the world title. I can’t wait to start training for this fight and get back in the ring on August 26.”

Kamegai is known as one of the highest-action fighters in the sport having engaged in a fight of the year candidate against Jesus “Renuente” Soto Karass in 2016 and taking champions and contenders including Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero, Alfonso Gomez and Johan “El Terrible” Perez into deep water.

“I fully understand who I am going to be in the ring against, but Cotto’s record and history won’t matter once we are toe-to-toe,” Kamegai said. “I am looking forward to giving fans the kind of aggressive fight that they have seen from me before and having my arm raised in victory.

“Miguel Cotto is a legend who is still fighting for title belts more than a dozen years after first being crowned a world champion. It’s remarkable,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “But I’ve seen Kamegai in action many times, and the guy doesn’t ever take a step back. Miguel will have his hands full on August 26.”

“August 26 will mark the return of Miguel Cotto pursuing his sixth world title,” said Hector Soto, Vice President of Miguel Cotto Promotions. “Cotto vs. Kamegai will be another epic battle that promises fireworks in the ring between Puerto Rico and Japan. Miguel Cotto is back on the big stage of boxing, fighting in Los Angeles on HBO. Nobody can miss it.”

Floyd Mayweather Invites Anthony Joshua to Las Vegas to Train

Floyd Mayweather Jr. recently spoke to Fight Hype and invited Anthony Joshua to come to the Mayweather Boxing Club and train with him in Las Vegas. Mayweather met with Joshua in London on Sunday and praised him for his victory over Wladimir Klitschko.

Mayweather stated, “You have to respect AJ. He showed that he had heart but we have to bring hum up to the Mayweather Boxing Club as we want to tighten that defense up until it’s real, real sharp and real, real slick.”
Maayweather, who was in London for his Gervonta Davis’ fight, continued by stating , “I’m not trying to move his trainers out the way but there’s things we want to tweak. You saw what we did to Tank [Gervonta Davis]…nobody knew who this kid even wa. But we brought him up and now he’s world champion.”

View Mayweather’s comments at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxavXE7Gs6Y

Manny Pacquiao’s Coach is Wary of Jeff Horn’s Punching Power

Manny Pacquiao is set to face Australia’s Jeff Horn on July 2nd at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia.
Many people consider this to be an easy fight for pacquiao, but Hall of Fame Trainer Freddie Roach recently told ABC-SBN that he has some concerns and isn’t underestimating Horn’s power.

He stated, “This guy can punch. He’s knocked out his last few opponents.” He continued, “He’s dangerous with the right, he has a real good right hook, and that’s something Manny’s been hit with before. We’re fixing all that now and it won’t be a concern by fight time.”

Read more at http://sports.abs-cbn.com/boxing/news/2017/05/23/manny-pacquiao-s-coach-wary-jeff-horn-s-punching-power-26396

Canelo Cements Status as Top Draw in Boxing As Pay Per View Numbers from May 6th Fight Set to Eclipse Seven Figures

The Canelo Alvarez vs. Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. fight on Cinco De Mayo weekend will generate more than one million buys on HBO Pay-Per-View, locking in Canelo’s status as the brightest light in boxing, Golden Boy Promotions announced today.

“Everything I do is for the fans, and I want to express my gratitude for everyone who watches my fights and shows their support,” Canelo said. “My fans are the greatest in the world and this year in September on Mexican Independence weekend, everyone can look forward to another incredible performance.”

Some facts about Canelo’s PPV performance:

•Canelo will be the youngest A-side fighter in history to generate a seven-figure pay-per-view audience;
•This will be the largest Pay-Per-View audience to watch in a boxing match in two years;
•Canelo will be the first A-side fighter in 15 years not named De La Hoya, Mayweather or Pacquiao, to draw a million buys.

“These numbers solidify Canelo as the undisputed biggest name in the sport of boxing-simple as that,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “At 26 years old, there is no limit to Canelo’s star power as he continues to cross over to mainstream audiences. Canelo only wants to take on the best and the biggest, and we’re confident he will continue to shatter records as boxing’s new pay-per-view king.

24/7 Ward-Kovalev II Premieres June 2nd on HBO

In advance of the highly anticipated light heavyweight championship rematch between world-class prizefighters Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev, HBO Sports will air “24/7 Ward/Kovalev 2,” an exhilarating 30-minute special examining the upcoming encounter. The intriguing pay-per-view event featuring the two pound-for-pound aces takes place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

The “24/7 Ward/Kovalev 2” special will premiere Friday, June 2 at 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). The special will look back at their first fight and will preview the hotly anticipated rematch between two accomplished and tenacious ring warriors who first met last November under the red-hot Las Vegas spotlight. Ward, who has not lost a fight since his teen-age years, scored a razor-thin decision over Kovalev and collected all the title belts that the Russian knockout specialist had accumulated. The special will provide all-new content including portraits of both fighters’ path to this impactful showdown. Each has set up training camp on the west coast; Ward in his hometown of Oakland, CA and Kovalev farther south in both Big Bear and Oxnard, CA.

The 30-minute special narrated by Liev Schreiber and produced by HBO’s Emmy-Award-winning “24/7” production team will also be available on HBO On Demand®, HBO GO®, HBO NOW and affiliate portals as well as at www.hbo.com/boxingandvarious other new media platforms that distribute the show.

Thomas Hearns Visits Claressa Shields in Training at Berston Field House in Flint

Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and Women’s NABF Middleweight Champion, Claressa “T-Rex” Shields had a very special visitor at her gym yesterday, none other than all-time Michigan great Thomas “Hitman” Hearns.
Hearns, from Detroit, is the 1980 and 1984 The Ring Magazine “Fighter of the Year” and the first boxer in history to win world titles in five weight divisions: welterweight, light middleweight, middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight.

22-year-old Shields (2-0, 1 KO) of Flint, is currently preparing for her eight-round main event against Mery Rancier (7-8-3, 5 KOs) of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic for the WBC Silver Super Middleweight Championship at Salita Promotions’ “Detroit Brawl” on Friday, June 16, 2017 at the Masonic Temple in Detroit.

“I came out to see her because I want her to do well. I think it’s wonderful that a female fighter is the best from Michigan right now,” said Hearns. “The world is all about change and this is change for the better. I feel good about it. The champions from the past from Michigan are passing the torch to the next great fighter from here and that’s Claressa. The fans in Michigan should come out and help support her because she is the future.”

Shields said she was humbled to have such an all-time great supporting her.

“To have Tommy Hearns come out to my gym means a lot to me, I feel like I’m moving my career in the right direction and getting the right attention. I’m not just some girl putting on some gloves. It means a lot to be the latest big-name fighter to come from Michigan. I’m glad Tommy Hearns chose to come here and it does feel like a passing of the torch. He is very supportive and it feels great to be respected by such a great world champion.”

Shields says her training is going extremely well for her third professional and second championship fight.

“Training so far has been going really good. We’re 29 days out of the fight and I’m in the best shape of my life. I trained hard for my six-rounder and that only went four rounds and I feel like I’m still in shape from that. Now I’m getting ready for eight rounds and I feel great. I’m fighting at 168 pounds and I’m at 168 right now. I haven’t been having weight problems and I’m eating right and running every day.”

Shields promoter, Dmitriy Salita, says Hearns indicated he was very impressed with Shields’ gym work.

“Claressa is the next boxing superstar from the state of Michigan,” he said. “It’s a very special passing of the torch from such a living legend who lives in Detroit as Tommy Hearns. Mr. Hearns, who is a Detroit boxing icon and a great ambassador of the sport, was very impressed with Claressa’s skills and training regimen.”

Salita says he sees Shields’ potential for superstardom and her ability to revive the energy in Michigan boxing.

“Detroit is Americas Greatest Comeback city. We are going to see a revival of world-class boxing, ushered in by a young lady from Flint who despite growing up in very difficult circumstances, is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, the most accomplished boxer every to come out of the USA boxing program. This is only her third pro bout, and she is fighting for the WBC Silver title on June 16. We are witnessing something very special here and it’s very ironic that it’s all taking place close to Detroit, which is fighting back for its own recognition again as one of Americas Greatest cities.”

Sampson Lewkowicz Congratulates David Benavidez for Sensational KO of Porky Medina

Promoter Sampson Lewkowicz wishes to congratulate his fighter, David “El Bandera Roja” Benavidez of Phoenix, Arizona, for his sensational eighth-round knockout over Mexico’s Rogelio “Porky” Medina on Saturday night at the Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Texas.

With the star-making victory, Benavidez (18-0, 17 KOs) becomes a mandatory challenger for the WBC Super Middleweight Championship. And, depending on when it happens, a win in that fight could make 20-year-old Benavidez the youngest super middleweight world champion in boxing history.

“We were hopeful David would win the fight,” said Lewkowicz, “but I am amazed at how he won. He was incredible. Have you ever seen a knockout like that? An eight-punch combination that almost put Medina out of the ring? David is the best super middleweight in the world. No one can take his punches.”

Lewkowicz, who is often credited for spotting the early talent in champions Manny Pacquiao and Sergio Martinez, has been predicting stardom for Benavidez since early in his career. He now says the sky is the limit for his young charge.

“David’s first fight with me was in November 2015. I said after that fight he was something special and he will be champion by the end of 2017. Medina is a very good fighter. He gave (IBF Super Middleweight Champion) James DeGale a very tough fight not long ago. And David beat him up to the head and body. He works very hard to be who he is and deserves everything he gets.”

Lewkowicz says Benavidez will take a short time off to rest and then get back in the gym to begin training for his championship challenge.

“It doesn’t make a difference who he fights for the title. David will roll over everybody he fights. He is the new boss at 168 lbs. I am very happy to be his promoter and my congratulations also go to his father, Jose, who does a great job getting him ready for his fights.”

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Canelo-GGG: Location, Location, Location

Posted on 05/19/2017

Canelo-GGG: Location, Location, Location
By: Sean Crose

Now that the biggest question in boxing, the one about if and when Canelo would face GGG, has been answered, fans and analysts are looking for a new mystery to be solved: Where will the fight be held? This may all seem somewhat ridiculous on the surface of things, but it’s not. They say real estate is essentially about location, location, location, and, although location may not be AS big a deal in boxing as it is in real estate, it certainly is important. The Rumble in the Jungle, The Thrilla in Manilla, Shelby Montana, the list of notable fight locations can be rather extensive.

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Remember that the first heavyweight champ, John L Sullivan, would actually fight on a barge, out of reach of authorities. One can only imagine what it must have been like trying to employ effective footwork.

The matter of location, however, has become particularly acute in recent weeks. Why? Because Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitshcko battled for heavyweight supremacy in front of a reported ninety thousand people in London last month. That’s more than the population of some cities. And with that many fans came that much intensity. The atmosphere at Wembley Stadium for Joshua-Klitschko was positively explosive. In fact, it helped accentuate the experience of viewing a terrific top level matchup. The bout, in all its aspects, was just the kind of thing boxing needed, and now fans would love to see the same intensity when GGG steps into the ring to face Canelo in September. Needless to say, a large scale venue for such an anticipated fight would make for terrific optics and atmosphere.

Yet there’s Vegas, always Vegas, in the running. Indeed, Sin City is still THE place for professional boxing. There’s a lot of money to be made in the desert, after all, generally more than there is anywhere else. It’s only logical to put the biggest money fights there. Still, those with vision will want to please fans with at least somewhat affordable seats and plenty of them. They will also recognize that fights placed against epic backdrops tend to draw lots of attention. It will be hard for even the most boxing-indifferent mainstream outlets to ignore Canelo-GGG should the fight go down in front of, say, a sold out AT@T Stadium in Dallas.

Fans will undoubtedly know where this match is occurring soon enough. Here’s hoping it’s someplace as electric as London was a few short weekend’s ago.

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Canelo and Julio’s Choreographed Debacle

Posted on 05/10/2017

Canelo and Julio’s Choreographed Debacle
By: Ronald Neal Goldman

If you’ve attentively followed the sweet science as long as I, you would know something just wasn’t right in Canelo Alverez’s ridiculously easy shut out of Julio Cesar Chavez in their 12 round non-title bout. In what should have been an intriguing battle between the middleweight superstar, Canelo, and Chavez Jr, (a mere shadow of one of boxing’s authentic Hall of Fame legends, Julio Cesar Chavez) resulted not only in a monumentally disappointing fight, but served as a catalyst in questioning the why and how Alvarez achieved his victory.

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Say what you will about Junior’s less than stellar record as middle or super middleweight, he had been indigenous of Mexican pride when it came to his heritage and legacy: fight to the very end, whatever it takes. In his fight with Sergio Martinez that’s precisely what happened; approaching a lopsided decision in favor of Martinez, Junior cornered Sergio in the ropes and dropped him with a vicious left hook which nearly rewrote boxing history. The Martinez fight, more than anything, was a reflection of Chavez’s credo-never throw in the towel-pun clearly intended. It was Junior’s performance, or more accurately, lack of, that was so out of character in his fight with Canelo.

How was it possible that Chavez was virtually shut out and not being awarded, deservedly so I might add, even one round, unless he was following a script blueprinted by Golden Boy. The showdown between Canelo and GGG had been years in the making and a Canelo loss would have virtually torpedoed a possible billion dollar mega fight. It wasn’t a question of Junior losing, but what is more important was that he would not be winning. This was clearly illustrated by the inordinately few times Chavez had Canelo on the ropes, banging away and then inexorably would stop, not to mention how often when Chavez was cornered by the shorter Canelo and just did nothing. The few times Chavez elected to engage was enough for the suits to placate viewers that there was still some reminisce of what Chavez was capable. Whether Canelo was privy to this ring orchestration is moot. It just it seems somewhat convenient that Golovkin and Canelo was already a done deal with a signed agreement, a specific date emblazoned across the PPV screen, and all that signed, sealed and delivered prior to the Canelo/Chavez show. Were Oscar Dela Hoya and Golden Boy so sure their boy would be victorious? More likely, to save a billion dollar PPV, there’s nothing like contributing couple of million dollars to the Chavez retirement fund.

Ronald Neal Goldman
Professor of English
Touro College and University System

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What did we just watch? Saul Alvarez vs. Julio Chavez Jr. Aftermath

Posted on 05/08/2017

What did we just watch? Saul Alvarez vs. Julio Chavez Jr. Aftermath
By: Kirk Jackson

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez 49-1-1 (34 KO’s) destroyed Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. 50-3-1 (32 KO’s) in a bout marketed as a Mexican Civil-War over Cinco de Mayo weekend.

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In what resembled an obvious mismatch from the opening bell, Alvarez pummeled Chavez Jr. over the course of 12 rounds.

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But why?

How was Alvarez able to seamlessly destroy Chavez Jr. at will after all the hype behind the fight? Where was the retaliation from Chavez Jr.?

What happened to the narrative and stereotype of all Mexicans fighting to the death, leaving it all in the ring?
What we witnessed was a combination of five factors:

Difference in skill/experience –

Alvarez is the more experienced of the two in spite of having relatively the same amount of fights. The difference is world titlists faced; 13 compared to six for Chavez Jr.

Alvarez gained an education fighting the likes of Miguel Cotto, Floyd Mayweather, Amir Khan, Erislandy Lara, Austin Trout, etc., which is a step up compared to guys like Andy Lee, Carlos Molina and Sergio Martinez for Chavez Jr.

Regarding skill, Alvarez has superior upper body movement, foot work, punch-variation, punch accuracy, counter-punching ability and great overall awareness.

In short, Alvarez made the fight look like a sparring match – he even stood up in his corner between rounds.

Difference in weight –

How much did Chavez Jr. sacrifice while cutting weight? His punches lacked snap and his timing was off. It’s unfair to say this is primarily due to weight loss, however it is fair to speculate.

Chavez Jr. attributed his performance to inactivity.

“Canelo is a great fighter, he did his job tonight and the inactivity, it hurt me here tonight,” Chavez Jr. said.

“I always thought he was a good fighter. He just had better timing, a better fighter tonight. The activity helped him and inactivity hindered me.”

The addition of weight for this fight clearly affected Alvarez in a positive way. He looked more energetic and his body responded well to the higher weight.
By most observers, Alvarez was considered huge at 154 lbs. and the last few years Alvarez may have done his body a disservice fighting at that weight.

Alvarez may have also fooled the public for years, killing himself to squeeze down to 154 lbs.

Leading up to the fight against Chavez Jr., Alvarez suggested the preparation during his camp and the sparring in particular helped acclimate to bigger foes.

“I’ve been feeling very good. I’ve been training with sparring partners who are much bigger, who are light heavyweights that are much bigger than me,” he said.
“I’m feeling very comfortable, and very strong. I’m not having to dehydrate as much. I’m still having to go down in weight because I’m above the weight that the fight is scheduled at, but I don’t have to dehydrate totally.”

He looked fresh, like a brand new rejuvenated fighter. Although beating up a punching bag in human form (Chavez Jr.) doesn’t hurt.

Which leads to the next factor…
Speed –

“It was really negative, everything, totally, we did not win a round. It is not possible to cover the sun with a finger, Canelo Alvarez is simply better technically speaking,” Nacho Berstain said to ESPN Deportes.

“I asked him to throw punches, simply to throw punches but he was afraid to throw a jab or a certain combination because he knew that three or four punches would come back in return, and those doubts were born in his head real early and they stayed with him for the entire fight.”

Berstain, the trainer of Chavez Jr. for the fight against Alvarez specified the main problem; speed and technical ability.

We knew entering the fight Alvarez held the advantage of hand speed and foot speed, but the speed and reflexes of Alvarez kept Chavez Jr. passive throughout the fight.

There’s an old adage in boxing, “Speed kills,” and this was not an exception.

Retaliation, the counter-action to an action and then the threat of retaliation is what keeps aggressive fighters at distance.

Speed, timing and the threat of attack is the greatest asset for any counter-puncher.

History/consistency –
There’s another proverb, “A tiger never changes its stripes,” this was another example with Chavez Jr. Not to beat up on the guy (no pun intended), but there is a history of poor training habits and not performing well in big fights.

The fight against Martinez is a prime example, as he lost every round with the exception of the 12th round when he scored a knock down.

History repeated itself this past weekend, with the exception of Chavez Jr. scoring a knock down or landing anything significant.

“I don’t blame the fans for being frustrated with is performance, they are quite right in feeling that way, and I feel the same way too, and he must also be frustrated, his father too, everyone,” said Berstain regarding the fight against Alvarez.

“He should apply himself and he should behave like a boxing pro and success will come to him.”

Professionalism is something Chavez Jr. should continue to practice going forward. An example on a lack of professionalism is his series of failed drug tests in the past.

On February 28th, 2013, Chavez Jr. was suspended for nine months and fined $900,000 (30 percent of his purse) by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for testing positive for marijuana following his loss to Martinez.

It was the second failed test for Chavez Jr., who in 2009 tested positive for a banned diuretic following his bout with Troy Rowland.

Chavez Jr. may be past the failed test issues but there is still a lack of consistency.

Which transitions to the last factor…
Gift and curse of the name –

Chavez Jr. is named after Mexican great Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. No matter how hard he tries, it’s damn near impossible to live up to or exceed his father’s accomplishments.

Escaping his father’s shadow is a difficult task and something Chavez Jr. struggled with his entire career in spite of the success achieved as a professional and the accomplishments achieved outside the ring as a man.

This comparison is a struggle the children of other famous celebrities deal with as well.

Basketball icon Michael Jordan (Jeffrey and Marcus Jordan) can relate, the children of LeBron James may endure similar comparisons and obstacles well.

Chavez Jr. has lived in his father’s shadow ever since he was a child and it’s an unfair situation to be placed in.
There was often a question of heart and desire regarding Chavez Jr. A question of why is he fighting?

Some suggest he is fighting for the acceptance of his father. Fighting for his father’s approval, his father’s respect and love – which he already appears to have.

Chavez Sr. always appears unconditionally supportive of his son.

But when your motives are in question, when there is a question of identity and what your heart truly wants, in many cases the fighter will not perform to expectations.

Only Chavez Jr. can answer these questions, but this may explain the performances throughout his career and what some critics deem as underachieving.

Because of the name, Chavez Jr. was afforded special opportunities. But because of the name, it was impossible to meet expectations.

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Canelo vs. Chavez Round by Round Results: Canelo Outclasses Chavez In Route

Posted on 05/07/2017

Canelo vs. Chavez Round by Round Results: Canelo Outclasses Chavez In Route
By: William Holmes

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Canelo Alvarez met in the main event of the night on tonight’s HBO Pay Per View (PPV) card from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The mood in the arena was festive and HBO spent some time hyping the upcoming pay per view bout between Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev.

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The Mexican National Anthem was sung by Pepe Aguilar and performed first. Paula Deanda performed the national anthem of the United States.

Julio Cesar Chavez entered the ring first and Canelo Alvarez entered second. The crowd was largely supporting Canelo over Chavez.

The following is a round by round recap of tonight’s main event between two of Mexico’s best boxers.

Canelo Alvarez (48-1-1) vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (50-3-2); Super Middleweights

Round 1:

Chavez looked significantly bigger than Canelo in the ring. Canelo connects with an early right hand to the body, followed by a jab. Canelo lands a left hook followed by a jab. Chavez barely bocks a right hand and follows it with a right hook to the body. Canelo jabs to the body and misses with a left hook. Canelo lands a left hook to the body. Chavez slips a jab but then eats a right hand to the temple. Canelo lands two straight jabs. Canelo lands another jab. Another jab lands for Canelo. Chavez is short with a jab. Canelo lands a jab. Canelo lands a straight right at the temple of Chavez. Chavez misses with two punches. Both boxers seem tenative to throw combinations.

10-9 Canelo

Round 2:

Neither boxer sat on the stool after the first round. Canelo lands two jabs. Chavez is short with a right hook to the body. Canelo lands an uppercut followed by a good blow to the body. Chavez is short with a right cross but then lands two hooks to the body. Canelo snaps out a shapr jab. Another jab to the body followed by a two punch combination. Chavez lands a left hook to the body followed by a combination with Canelo’s back to the ropes. Canelo lands a three punch combination followed by an uppercut. Canleo lands a lead right uppercut and misses a bomb of a straight right hand. Canelo lands two more right uppercuts followed by a right cross. Chavez connects with a quick jab but then eats one in return. Canelo tags him with another jab. Canelo lands another jab on Chavez. Canelo digs in a hook to the body of Chavez. Canelo lands a reaching jab.

10-9 Canelo; 20-18 Canelo

Round 3:

Canelo presses forward to start the third round and he lands a quick jab. Canelo lands another jab. Tags Chavez with a jab again. Chavez lands a jab. Canelo throws a two punch combination to the head of Chavez. Chavez lands a jab to the body. Canelo lands a jab followed by a right uppercut. Chavez lands a short hook but Canelo follows up with a jab upstairs. Canelo lands a right cross left uppercut combination. Chavez lands a two punch combination but Canelo answers with a combo of his own. Canelo lands another jab. Jab lands for Canelo. Chavez has a welt over his right eye and blood coming from his nose. Canelo lands another jab on Chavez. Chavez lands a two punch combo on Canelo and Canelo fights his way off the ropes with hooks to the body. Canelo lands a left hook to the head of Chavez. Canelo lands another jab. Canelo lands a right cross.

10-9 Canelo; 30-27 Canelo

Round 4:

Canelo opens up the fourth round with a straight right hand. Canelo digs in two hard hooks to the body and follows it with a two punch combo upstairs. Canelo has Chavez fighting backwards and is landing shots at will. Chavez looks lost inside the ring. Canelo snaps another jab at the nose of Chavez. Canelo lands a beautiful two punch combination. Cahvez throws a two punch combo but lands at air. Canelo lands a jab. Chavez lands a short jab but Canelo answers with a right hook to the body. Canelo is landing shots at will. Canelo lands several hard right hands on Chavez. Canelo is just dominating. Canelo bounces two uppercuts off the face of Chavez. Canelo lands a jab on Chavez. Canelo lands another jab. Chavez connects with a two punch combo. Hard jab by Canelo. Another hard jab by Canelo.

10-9 Canelo; 40-36 Canelo

Round 5:

Canelo lands a jab, follows it with another jab. Canelo is showing good head movement as he stalks Chavez. Canelo is in total control. Canelo lands a right cross. Canelo connects with a jab. Chavez is just getting beat up. Canelo lands a vicious right cross. Canelo connects a three punch combination. Canelo lands a hard right uppercut. Chavez lands a jab and a hook to the body. Canelo tags a left hook off the temple of Chavez. Canelo lands a right hook to the body. Canelo lands a jab. Canelo lands another jab. Chavez surprises Canelo with a right cross. Sharp jab by Canelo.

10-9 Canelo; 50-45 Canelo

Round 6:

Canelo looks very confident. Canelo comes out firing and lands a two punch combination. Good right hook to the body by Canelo followed by a right cross upstairs. Two straight jabs by Canelo. Another jab by Canelo. Canelo lands a hard left hook. Canelo digs in another hook to the body. Canelo flicks out another jab. Chavez tryignt o paw at the defenses of Canelo. Canelo with a two punch combination. Chavez is just not letting go. Canelo lands a two punch combination. Chavez has Canelo’s back against the ropes and he throws out some combinations. But he still seems hesitant to exchange with Canelo. Chavez with a right hook to the body. Chavez look intimidated by Canelo.

10-9 Canelo; 60-54 Canelo

Round 7:

Canelo may not have sat down the entire fight. Canelo is imposing his will on Chavez. Canelo moving behind his jab and connects with a good combination. Canelo lands another combination followed by two jabs. Chavez’s left eye is swollen. Chavez lands a combo on Canelo by the ropes. Chavez lands a combo but Canelo fires back. Canelo lands a short right hook. A clean right cross lands for Canelo. Canelo digs in several hard hooks to the body. Chavez lands a right hook to the body of Canelo. Canelo lands a jab followed by a right cross. Canelo throws two wild right hooks. Canelo lands another right cross to the body.

10-9 Canelo; 70-63 Canelo

Round 8:

Chavez’s face is badly swollen. Chavez digs in a right uppercut to the body of Canelo. Canelo blisters a three punch combination off the face of Chavez. Chavez lands a hard combination to Canelo with his back to the ropes. Chavez lands a combo upstairs but Canelo fires back and backs Chavez up. Canelo lands a jab. Canelo with a one two combo. Canelo with a tight jab followed by a hook to the body. Chavez lands a right cross. Canelo lands two straight right crosses followed by a hard body head combo. Canelo with another jab.

10-9 Canelo; 80-72 Canelo

Round 9:

Canelo has clearly won every round so far. Canelo has a hard, hard jab. Chavez bangs a right uppercut off the guard of Canelo. Chavez with a combination to the body on Canelo by the ropes. Chavez throws two hard punches at the guard of Canelo. Chavez lands a short combo and gets warned for a low blow. Chavez digs in a hook and Canelo comes back firing. Canelo digs in a hook to the body followed by a right cross. Canelo digs in another hook to the body followed by a hook to the body. Chavez has Canelo by the ropes but seems hesitant to let his hands go. Canelo is looking to counter Chavez. Canelo lands another jab. He’s in clear control.

10-9 Canelo; 90-81 Canelo

Round 10:

Canelo is imposing his will to start the tenth round. Canelo throws a double jab and lands them both. Canelo lands a hard right hook to the body. Canelo lands a jab and a right cross. This does look like a sparring session for Canelo. Canelo with a double hook combination upstairs. Canelo with a right uppercut. Chavez has barely thrown any punches this round. Canelo lands two straight right uppercuts. Canelo lands a straight right hand. Chavez lands a short jab. Many fans in attendance are starting to boo.
10-9 Canelo; 100-90 Canelo

Round 11:

Chavez badly needs to go for a knockout but he’s not pressing forward or throwing any punches. Many in attendance are booing the action in the ring. Canelo is just continuing to press forward and press the action. Chavez finally throws a two punch combination. Canelo lands a jab to the nose of Chavez. The boos and whistles continue. Chavez is fighting very passively. Canelo lands a good body shot followed by a right cross upstairs.

10-9 Canelo; 110-99 Canelo

Round 12:

Canelo is able to land a punch whenever he wants. Canelo lands a good right uppercut followed by a jab. Many in the crowd are continuing to boo. Canelo lands a right cross followed by a three punch combination. Canelo vs. Chavez Round by Round Results: Canelo Outclasses Chavez In Route lands a short right cross. Canelo snaps out another jab. Chavez is just not throwing combinations. Canelo lands a right hook followed by a two punch combination. Chavez did not take any risks whatsoever in this fight. By the end it resembled a sparring session more than a boxing match.

10-9 Canelo; 120-108 Canelo.

The official scores were 120-108 on all three scorecards.

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HBO PPV Boxing Preview: Canelo vs. Chavez, Lemieux vs. Reyes, Matthysse vs. Taylor

Posted on 05/05/2017

HBO PPV Boxing Preview: Canelo vs. Chavez, Lemieux vs. Reyes, Matthysse vs. Taylor
By: William Holmes

On Saturday night HBO will televised another Canelo Alvarez Pay Per View as he takes on fellow Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

This bout will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada during Cinco De Mayo weekend. Hopefully, the winner of this bout, expected by many to be Canelo, will be next in line to take on the current middleweight kingpin Gennady Golovkin.

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Photo Credit: Hogan Photos/Golden Boy Promotions

At least two bouts will be shown on the undercard, including Golden Boy mainstays David Lemieux and Lucas Matthysse. Super prospect Joseph Diaz will also likely be on the televised portion of the card.

The following is a preview of the three main fights.

Lucas Matthysse (37-4) vs. Emmanuel Taylor (20-4); Welterweights

The hard hitting Lucas Matthysse has long been a fan favorite, but has not competed since being knocked out by Viktor Postol in 2015.

Matthysse will be giving up one inch in height to Taylor but will have a significant four inch reach advantage. Age may be a factor for Matthysse as he is thirty four years old and eight years older than his opponent.

Inactivity will also be a factor for Matthysse; he fought zero times in 2016 and twice in 2015. Taylor fought twice in 2016 and once in 2015.

Matthysse was an amateur champion in Argentina but did not have a lot of success on the international circuit as an amateur. Taylor is a three time National PAL Champion and a five time junior golden gloves champion.

Matthysse has the more impressive list of defeated opponents. He has beaten the likes of Ruslan Provodnikov, Roberto Ortiz, John Molina Jr., Lamont Peterson, Mike Dallas Jr., AJose Olusegun, Humberto Soto, DeMarcus Corley, and Vivian Harris. He has closes losses to Zab Judah and Devon Alexander, and had more convincing losses to Danny Garcia and Viktor Postol.

Taylor has defeated the likes of Karim Mayfield, Victor Manuel Cayo, and Raymond Serrano. His losses were to Antonio Orozco, Adrien Broner, Chris Algieri, and Prenice Brewer.

Taylor has gone 3-3 in his last six fights and has difficulty beating opponents on the highest level. Matthysse has been inactive the past two years, but has faced and defeated opponents with a much better pedigree than Taylor.

Matthysse should win this bout and should possibly give Taylor his first knockout loss.

David Lemieux (37-3) vs. Marcos Reyes (35-4); Middleweights

Many consider Lemieux to be the third best middleweight behind Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez.

Unfortunately for fight fans, Lemieux has the easiest opponent on paper for the night.

Lemieux is one year younger than his opponent and will be giving up about four inches in height. Lemieux has thirty three stoppage victories on his record while Reyes only has twenty six. Both boxers have been stopped during their careers, as Lemieux has two stoppage defeats while Reyes has one.

Reyes has no notable amateur background and Lemieux is a three time Canadian National Amateur Champion.

Lemieux has defeated the likes of Curtis Stevens, Glen Tapia, Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam, Gabriel Rosado, Fernando Guerrero, Jose Miguel Torres, Hector Camacho Jr., and Elvin Ayala. He has losses to Marco Antonio Rubio, Joachim Alcine, and Gennady Golovkin.

Reyes only good win was to Rogelio Medina. His losses were to Elvin Ayala, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Abraham Han and Amilcar Edgardo Funes Melian.

Some fights are close calls and hard to pick. This isn’t one of them.

Lemieux will win.

Canelo Alvarez (48-1-1) vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (50-2-1); Super Middleweights

This is one of the biggest bouts to be made between two Mexican boxers. One is considered by many to be the heir apparent to the throne of Floyd Mayweather Jr. when he retires. The other is the son of a legend and very successful in his own right.

Canelo was a former Junior Mexican National Boxing Champion and turned pro at the age of fifteen. Chavez only had two amateur fights and no notable amateur accomplishments.

Chavez is thirty one and is starting to near the end of his physical prime. Canelo is only twenty six and has a lot of years left in boxing during his physical prime. Chavez will have a noticeable size advantage. He will be four inches taller than his opponent and will have about a two and a half inch reach advantage.

Both boxers have some power in their hands, but Canelo appears to have the advantage. Canelo has thirty four stoppages on his resume and has stopped three of his past four opponents. Chavez has thirty two stoppages on his record, but only one of his last five opponents failed to go the distance with him.

Canelo has a very impressive list of defeated boxers and has averaged two fights a year since 2012. He has defeated the likes of Liam Smith, Amir Khan, Miguel Cotto, James Kirkland, Erislandy Lara, Alfredo Angulo, Austin Trout, Josesito Lopez, Shane Mosley, and Kermit Cintron. His lone loss was to Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Chavez has defeated the likes of Marcos Reyes, Brian Vera, Andy Lee, Marco Antonio Rubio, Peter Manfredo Jr., Sebastian Zbik, and John Duddy. He has lost to Andrzej Fonfara and Sergio Martinez.

Chavez has claimed that he is rededicated to the sport and training hard for this fight. However, his inability to stay focused for fights during training has been long documented and it’s hard to suddenly say I’m going to be in shape for this fight when you haven’t taken your training seriously in the past.

Canelo is too good and too technical for someone like Chavez to suddenly commit to the sport of boxing wholeheartedly to defeat. Chavez will have his moments, but Canelo will emerge victorious.

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Mexican Civil War: Canelo vs. Chavez

Posted on 02/26/2017

Mexican Civil War: Canelo vs. Chavez
By: Francisco Martinez

May 6th at the T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Nevada Saul Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. are set to collide in a battle being recognized as Mexican Civil War. A war for bragging rights. A war to see who is Mexico’s best fighter today. The popularity of both is a sure hit formula for success. As Golden Boy Promotions boss, Oscar De La Hoya predicts a 1 million pay per view buy estimate when it’s all set and done.

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“The winner of this fight has so much at stake because imagine the loser having to go back to Mexico and answer to all those Mexicans fans that were cheering you on hoping you would win. It’s gonna be difficult so for both guys there’s so much at stake, there’s so much pride and when you have pride involved in a boxing match you’re gonna get a great, great, terrific fight. These guys don’t know how to take a step going backwards and literally and genuinely these guys hate each other. I’m looking forward to it, it’s gonna be an exciting fight”

As for the face of boxing, the cash cow Saul Alvarez who feels the same way about things but is more confident in what’s at stake as he assures its Chavez Jr. opportunity to knock him off the throne. An opportunity he has given him “The people know that I’m the best fighter that’s exists today. He has the possibilities and opportunity to defeat me and become just that, the best”

The mega showdown comes at a catchweight of 164.5lbs Saul Alvarez moving up and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr moving down. Having the chance to ask Alvarez trainer Chepo Reynoso who the weight benefits he simply said “At the end of the day, they’ll both fight so where’s the advantage? The winner gets to move forward. You can already smell the great fight that it’s going to be on May 6th”

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. also faces a $1 million penalty fine for every pound he comes over. Making it one of the most hefty fines in boxing in recent memories. Both fighter’s egos clashed on live television in a small argument that led to a hand shake in a high stakes bet, winner takes all including both the purses sending shockwaves through out the boxing community. Just how solid is this bet? Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. had this to say.

“You know when I found out about this bet I didn’t agree with it. I don’t agree with it. I talked to Julio and Canelo that this bet can’t be made. Why? Because it’s not ethical because of the terms within the contracts. It’s not valid that they bet both their purses. The contract states if Julio comes half a pound over or a pound he has to pay $1 million dollars. Let’s say if Julio comes in 10lbs over he keeps what’s only left. Or he can come in at whatever weight he wants so it’s really not a logical bet. If they made a bet they should just choose two foundations and make it a friendly bet”

Although the bet isn’t as concrete as the hand shake between Alvarez and Chavez Jr. what is concrete is the personal dislike both have towards each other. Both knowing each other since they were kids has only made each other’s criticism towards one another that much more significant. Alvarez believing Chavez Junior’s position in boxing is only established because of his father’s legacy and having the Chavez name. Chavez Jr. in return believes Alvarez has been carefully guided to his position in boxing by the Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. had this to say about the personal side of things with Saul Alvarez “I don’t like Canelo too much. He’s mad because I called him out on jumping Gennady Golovkin. Everybody knows this. Some people don’t like it when you tell them the truth but it’s the truth, you know. There’s no need for more words we’ll prove on May 6th who’s better”

Many critics speculate the winner will go on to fight Gennady Golovkin this September as weight is no longer a issue from Saul Alvarez part who insists the contracts are seating on Golovkin’s table as we speak. A $15 million dollar offer that Golden Boy promotions claims to be offering Golovkin. A offer also criticized by the media. Some saying it’s a low number others believing it’s a solid number however the May 6th winner will hold the cards in boxing and will call the shots in any fight there after that much is certain. May 6th is the date for a fight that many thought was not a possible option any longer.

A fight a little to farfetched to think of given the weight separations. A fight indeed demanded by the Mexican people and one that’s great for boxing as without a doubt the whole world will tune it at the end of the day. The catchweight, the million dollar weight fines and the personal attacks aside there’s no question this fight will captivate the masses on May 6th. Mexico demands a fighter with pride and the ability to win against the best fighters of their time as proven through out history as they had with Julio Cesar Chavez Sr, Ricardo Lopez, Juan Manuel Marquez and The Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya.

May 6th, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Nevada Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs “El Hijo De La Leyenda” Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. will both engage in a battle where the winner will be rewarded with the loyalty of all of Mexico. Something only a few greats from the past have been fortunate to have throughout their careers. Maybe the most important support one can get in boxing is their own countries loyalty. So tune in this May 6th live on HBO PPV for what is being consider the biggest fight in Mexico’s history.

Follow all coverage leading up to the fight by using #CaneloChavezJr

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