Taylor-Froch Officially Set For April 25
March 10, 2009
Saturday, April 25, LIVE on SHOWTIME® at 9 p.m. ET/PT From MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort Casino
NEW YORK (March 10, 2009) – A household name in his native England, talented, undefeated Carl Froch will look to make a major statement — and enhance his reputation in America — when he defends his World Boxing Council (WBC) super middleweight title against one of the most highly regarded and recognizable fighters of this generation, former undisputed middleweight belt-holder Jermain Taylor, Saturday, April 25, on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING from Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Conn.
A formal announcement was made by Ken Hershman, Senior VP and General Manager of Sports and Event Programming for SHOWTIME.
“Jermain Taylor is a great fighter and I am excited to have him make his SHOWTIME debut on April 25,” said Hershman. “He’s the more accomplished fighter and the better-known guy right now, but in Froch, he’s facing the naturally bigger fighter and a man that has never lost. Our viewers have come to expect competitive fights month-in, month-out on SHOWTIME and this fight should be no different.
“The 168-pound weight division is one of the deepest and most exciting in boxing,” Hershman continued. “Froch-Taylor is just one of many compelling matchups that this division has to offer.”
The telecast will air live at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) from MGM Grand Theater at MGM Grand at Foxwoods. The fight card is being co-promoted by DiBella Entertainment and Hennessy Sports.
“I expect fireworks in this matchup,” said DiBella Entertainment President Lou DiBella. “There is an aggressive, straight-ahead, rugged champion fighting a seasoned athletic warrior. It is a can’t-miss fight and the title will change hands.”
“This isn’t a case of a young fighter on the way up taking advantage of a big name on the way out or two old timers cashing out with a big payday – this is a real fight. You’ve got two of the world’s finest fighters, both at the peak of their powers and out to prove that they are amongst the best pound for pound fighters in the world,” said Mick Hennessy, President of Hennessy Sports.
“We are honored to be hosting the WBC World Super Middleweight Championship in association with DiBella Entertainment and SHOWTIME,” said Joseph Jimenez, Senior Vice President of Casino Marketing for MGM Grand at Foxwoods. “We are excited to showcase our beautiful property and magnificent theater at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods.”
Tickets are on sale now and priced at $200, $100, $75 and $50. Tickets are available at www.mgmatfoxwoods.com, your local Ticket Master and MGM Grand Box Office 866-646-0649.
Froch (24-0, 19 KOs), of Nottingham, England, will be making the first defense of the vacant 168-pound crown he gained in his last outing with a unanimous 12-round decision over Jean Pascal on Dec. 6, 2008. He earned the title shot after registering a fourth-round TKO over Albert Rybacki on May 20, 2008, on ShoBox: The New Generation on SHOWTIME.
The six-foot, 31-year-old Froch, who has fought all but one of his fights in the UK, is one of 30 Shobox alums to become a world titleholder. A victory over Taylor would provide Froch instant stardom. The winner on April 25 will perhaps have the opportunity to unify against the IBF champion, the winner of this Friday’s Lucian Bute vs. Fulgencio Zuniga bout.
Taylor (28-2-1, 17 KOs), of Little Rock, Ark., has had a prolific pro career since winning a bronze medal for the United States in the 2000 Olympic Games. The six-foot-one-inch, 30-year-old Taylor is the only boxer to twice defeat future Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins.
In a WBC title eliminator last Nov. 15, Taylor dominated Jeff Lacy en route to taking a unanimous decision. Taylor also has defeated former champions Cory Spinks, Raul Marquez and William Joppy.
When he outpointed Hopkins the first time, Taylor became 160-pound world champion in the WBC, World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Organization (WBO).
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING announcers Gus Johnson and Al Bernstein will call the action with Jim Gray reporting from ringside. The executive producer of SHOWTIME Sports is David Dinkins Jr., with Bob Dunphy directing.
For information on SHOWTIME Sports, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, please visit the SHOWTIME Sports website at http://www.sho.com/sports.
Caballero To Return April 24
March 10, 2009
Via Press Release
Fresh off a smashing victory over Steve Molitor in a world title unification fight last Nov. 20 on SHOWTIME, exciting southpaw Celestino Caballero (31-2, 22 KOs) of Panama will defend his WBA/IBF junior featherweight belts against mandatory challenger Jeffrey Mathebula (22-1-2, 12 KOs) of South Africa in the main event on a special World Championship edition of ShoBox: The New Generation Friday, April 24, on SHOWTIME.
The event, which will air live at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast), will originate from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
The lone two-belt-holder in a talent-laden division, the tall and powerful Caballero has won 12 in a row, including both of his starts on SHOWTIME, and has stamped himself as the one to watch at 122 pounds.
Caballero, who is also the WBA Super Champion and 2008 Panama Fighter of the Year, turned what most expected to be a competitive matchup into a rout as he totally outclassed and dismantled then-IBF kingpin Molitor en route to an impressive fourth-round TKO. It was Caballero’s fourth consecutive win inside the distance.
Mathebula, who has been victorious in seven straight and is unbeaten in his last 10 (9-0-1), earned the No. 1 ranking and a shot at Caballero by taking his last outing on a 12-round unanimous decision over Julio Zarate in an IBF title elimination bout on Aug. 29, 2008.
If victorious, the once-beaten Mathebula, who owns a win over former 122-pound world champion Daniel “Ponce” De Leon, will join IBF 130-pound titleholder Cassius Baloyi as the only current world champions from South Africa.
With so many talented prizefighters at or around 122 pounds, the winner of Caballero-Mathebula sets up himself for another major fight in the near future.
Klitschko-Haye Reportedly Falls Apart Again
March 10, 2009
Contrary to recent reports, both here and elsewhere, the proposed fight between Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye is still not done. Not only is it not done, but it may be off the table.
Talks had broken down previously, with Haye’s team apparently bungling the negotiations so badly that they enlisted the help of Golden Boy’s Richard Schaefer to try to salvage their title shot.
As recently as last week, we were led to believe that everything was agreed to and contracts were being exchanged, only to find out that once again, things don’t look good.
According to BoxingScene.com, negotiations are back to square one and the Klitschko camp is already eyeing a new opponent — Chris Arreola.
Arreola recently had scheduled to fight Jameel McCline on the April 11 undercard of Winky Wright and Paul Williams, but a press conference to announce that fight was postponed. This has led to some speculation that Arreola and Klitschko may be meeting up, rather than David Haye.
Klitschko had stated in the past that he had a deal in place with Arreola if the Haye fight didn’t go through, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see a deal get made rather quickly for this fight.
The only thing that is certain seems to be that Haye is dealing with a team around him that is not prepared to negotiate on his behalf at the level they need to. Haye is a promising young heavyweight, and it would be a shame to see him mis-managed like some other great fighters. Just ask Mikkel Kessler what that’s all about.
Either fighter is an acceptable fight for Wladimir. Let’s just hope that a fight with one of them is agreed to with the quickness.
Alvarado Delivers KO of the Year Candidate
March 8, 2009
Inside the final ten seconds of the tenth and final round, Mike Alvarado was on his way to an easy decision win, and Emmanuel Clottey was just seconds away from achieving his apparent goal of going the distance.
But with just seconds remaining in the fight, Alvarado connected with a perfect right hand to the chin, crumbling Clottey upon himself out cold.
Clottey remained on the canvas for several minutes in rough shape before being assisted up and out of the ring.
Alvarado improves to 25-0, with 18 KOs, while Clottey falls to 24-9, with 14 KOs.
Watch the video here:
Kirkland, Ortiz Shine on BAD
March 7, 2009
James Kirkland delivered his best performance in his biggest fight, stopping Joel Julio when Julio quit on his stool after the sixth round. Julio landed a few solid punches, but was generally unable to deal with Kirkland’s aggression and volume.
The fight started with Kirkland pushing the action, forcing his way inside on Julio and smothering Julio’s ability to throw punches. Any time they created separation, Julio was able to sneak his right hand in on Kirkland, but no sooner did it land that Kirkland seemed to be back on top of him.
By the end of the third round, Julio was cut over his right eye and getting more and more tired. Kirkland continued to smother everything Julio did, physically break him down. By the fifth and sixth rounds, Julio’s offensive attempts were few and far between, as Kirkland was the only one coming forward and he really brought the fight to Julio.
After the sixth round, Julio appeared to tell the referee that he’d had enough and without hesitation, the bout was stopped.
Kirkland improves to 25-0, with 22 KOs, while Julio falls to 34-3 with 31 KOs.
In the undercard to the main event, Victor Ortiz was once again absolutely dominant, stopping Mike Arnauotis in the second round. At just 22-years old, Ortiz outclassed the veteran from the opening bell, landing a brutal left hand midway through the second round that sent Arnauotis back into the corner. Ortiz jumped all over him to force the referee to jump in and stop the action at the 1:27 mark of the second. Ortiz improves to 24-1-1, with 19 KOs with the win, while Arnauotis falls to 21-3-1 with 10 KOs in defeat.
In the first fight of the HBO telecast, Robert Guerrero and Daud Yordan battled for two rounds before an accidental headbutt caused a cut over Guerrero’s eye. Upon the advice from the doctor, and Guerrero’s admission that he couldn’t see out of the eye, the referee stopped the fight, making it a no-contest.
Preview: Joel Julio vs. James Kirkland
March 6, 2009
It was just two-and-a-half years ago that Joel Julio was one of the most promising young prospects in all of boxing. He was ESPN’s 2005 Prospect of the Year. He was one of the future stars of the sport. He was fighting in a big step-up fight on HBO’s Boxing After Dark against another undefeated fighter in Carlos Quintana.
When it came time to step up the competition, Julio was beaten soundly by Quintana, essentially derailing his promising career. Julio has won a few fights since then, then lost in November challenging Sergiy Dzinziruk for the WBO junior middleweight title.
Now it’s time for hot prospect James Kirklandto go on HBO’s Boxing After Dark to fight a step-up fight — against Joel Julio.
Like Julio, Kirkland made a name for himself on Showtime, before being snatched up by HBO to try to elevate him to the next level.
Kirkland has given us fireworks every time we’ve seen him, and against Julio, a fellow knockout artist, expect to see more of them.
Between the two fighters, they’ve fought 58 times. In 52 of those, somebody got knocked out. Now Kirkland is standing almost exactly where Julio was in 2006, looking to get over the all-important hump and propel himself into the next tier of fighters.
Both guys are offense first, defense when necessary — a good blueprint for an action-packed fight. Of Kirkland’s three fights that didn’t end in knockouts, two of them were just four rounders. Since moving out of that class, he’s knocked out 15 of his last 16 opponents, including five in a row.
Julio had rebounded from the Quintana loss to win seven straight fights, five by knockout, before being defeated for the second time in November.
Certainly this is a huge fight for both men. A win for Julio over a hot prospect like Kirkland puts him back into the realm of relevancy, while a win for Kirkland over a fighter with as much experience as Julio could propel him to much bigger fights.
A loss by either fighter sets them back significantly.
If fighters like Julio have taught us anything, it’s that your first fight against big-league competition is not to be taken lightly. Kirkland is in the biggest fight of his life, while that may not be the case for Julio. It’s certainly important right now, but his fights with Quintana and Dzinziruk were bigger fights for him at the time.
We know two things going into this fight. Julio can be outboxed and Kirkland can be hurt.
The question then becomes, can Kirkland outbox Julio better than Julio can hurt Kirkland.
Another question is: Is Kirkland good enough to knock Julio out?
Kirkland’s last fight with Andy Lee conqueror Brian Vera was an all-out war. Kirkland hit him with everything but the kitchen sink, but just couldn’t seem to knock him out. He dropped him in the second round and looked on his way to an easy KO win, but he learned the same thing that Lee did — Vera can take a punch.
Kirkland grew up a lot in that fight, having to set up his punches as the fight went on, and learning to fight with a ballooned up eye. Kirkland took some big punches, but delivered even more. He was finally able to take Vera out in the eighth round, but it was a very difficult fight for him.
Now Kirkland will have to build off of what he learned in that fight and do it against a better fighter. Julio, meanwhile, is 0-2 in the two biggest fights of his career, and this is probably the third biggest fight. Will he do better against this high quality fighter than he has in the past.
I think we’re in for a slugfest in this one. Julio has shown his power enough in America to know that he is not just another Columbian with a blown up KO record, and his power must be respected.
Don’t be surprised to see both fighters on the canvas in this one, but I have a hunch that Julio takes it to the younger fighter, pulling of a mild upset.
Julio has the experience now to deal with an aggressive slugger like Kirkland, and as we’ve seen before, Kirkland can be hurt. I think Julio’s power is for real (as is Kirkland’s), and he’ll get up off the canvas to stop the hot prospect.
Expect fireworks.
Prediction: Julio KO 6.
Undercard Set for Peter – Chambers
March 5, 2009
Via Press Release
LOS ANGELES, March 5 – What do California cities of East Los Angeles, City of Commerce and Covina have in common? They hold the distinction of being home to three of the top young fighters in the World today, Shawn Estrada, Javier Molina and John Molina, Jr. (no relation) respectively. All three cities will be well represented when each of these young men step into the ring at the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE on Friday, March 27.
Before World heavyweight contenders Eddie Chambers and Samuel Peter take to the ring at Nokia, one local kid from Covina whose trainer has nicknamed the “Sledgehammer,” John Molina, Jr. and two standout members of the 2008 United States Olympic team, Estrada and Javier Molina, will provide their own form of fireworks, as the up-and-coming prospects look to steal the show from the big men.
John Molina (15-0, 11 KOs) brings a whole new meaning to the “entertainment business of boxing.” Old-school fighting mentality, power in both hands, witty as George Lopez, good looks that are a cross between Mario Lopez and Elvis (the one with sideburns) with the only thing missing is “The King’s” guitar. Molina wants only one thing when the bell rings: to finish his opponent off while thoroughly entertaining the fans. He’s pure excitement, with a lot of risk being exciting. This mentality has led the 26-year old jr. lightweight to a perfect pro boxing record, and after making his national television debut in February with a third round knockout of Joshua Allotey, the buzz about Molina is getting louder.
East LA’s Estrada, nicknamed “El Chamuko” (“The Monster”) goes for his third straight knockout victory against Ray Craig, in a 4-round super middleweight bout, and in a 4-round junior welterweight contest, we’ll see Javier Molina from City of Commerce making his professional boxing debut.
Goossen Tutor Promotions presents this marquee night of boxing and entertainment, which will be televised live on a special edition of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights beginning at 10 pm ET / 7 pm PT. The Chambers-Peter Heavyweight Bout is being promoted in association with Duva Boxing.
It will be the first ever boxing event staged from the world-class 7,100-seat Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE, which is the centerpiece of L.A. LIVE, a 4-million square foot / $2.5 billion downtown Los Angeles sports, residential and entertainment district adjacent to STAPLES Center.
The 23-year old Estrada (2-0, 2 KOs) came out of nowhere to earn an Olympic berth for the 2008 Games. His inspiring story captivated fight fans, and once they got a chance to see him in the ring, they were hooked. After going 1-1 in the Olympics losing to the eventual Gold Medalist from England, Estrada turned pro on November 29, 2008 with a knockout of Lawrence Jones in one minute of the first round. His next opponent Shaun Spaid fared worse, lasting only 43 seconds. On March 27th, Estrada looks to make it three in a row. Standing in the Olympian’s way will be 27-year old Oakland product Ray Craig (5-4, 2 KOs), a hard-nosed veteran who will be shooting for the upset against the Olympian.
Included on this blockbuster undercard and the newest member of Goossen Tutor Promotions and a teammate of Estrada in Beijing, China is the 2008 US Olympian Javier Molina. Molina, who is often referred to as “El Intocable” (“The Untouchable”) is a talented 19 year old, already drawing rave reviews from boxing insiders who believe a world title is in his future. Molina comes from a fighting family that has seen his father, uncle, and older brother fight professionally, while his twin brother Oscar was a member of the Mexican Olympic team. On March 27th he begins his own fistic journey.
“Get used to hearing Molina, Estrada, Molina because I believe all three have the ability to become boxing’s next generation of stars and all are Los Angeles hometown heroes. They’re young, talented and best of all, they love to fight,” said promoter Dan Goossen.
Tickets priced at $100, $75, $50, and $25 are available tomorrow, Friday, March 6 online at ticketmaster.com, via Ticketmaster charge-by-phone lines at (213) 480-3232 or (714) 740-2000. Tickets are also available at the STAPLES Center Box Office. Monday-Saturday Event Days: 9:00 AM – ½ hour after event start. Non-Event Days: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM – Sunday Event Days: 10:00 AM – ½ hour after event start. Non-Event Days: Closed.
Hopkins Still Looking For a Fight
March 5, 2009
At 44 years old, Bernard Hopkins is still good enough to compete with the best that boxing has to offer.
He proved that in 2008, with a close decision loss to Joe Calzaghe, then putting on a clinic in thoroughly defeating Kelly Pavlik.
Now, Hopkins wants to get back in the ring again. The only question is against who?
ESPN’s Dan Rafael reported recently that Hopkins has been sizing up cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek, and Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer says that Hopkins is still trying to lure Calzaghe out of retirement for a rematch.
One reason that an Adamek fight is intersting is that Hopkins would be attempting to win another title in another weight class, and looking to win the Ring Magazine title in a third class. After dominating the middleweight division for much of his career, Hopkins moved up to light heavyweight in 2006 to take that title from Antonio Tarver.
He may be just 3-3 in his last six fights, but all three losses were close enough that even at 44 he is listed by most people as one of the top five pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
He’s been seeking a rematch with Calzaghe for the last year, but Calzaghe announced his retirement earlier this year, seemingly putting an end to those talks.
But Hopkins won’t take no for an answer.
Schaefer told Setanta TV recently that he is still trying to make a rematch happen, even if it means going to Wales to do it.
“I’ll be talking to Joe because I can see a huge event if he wants to do one last fight in Wales. Bernard specifically told me that he would come to Wales to fight Joe Calzaghe. This would be the biggest challenge for Joe. I think there’s some unfinished business between them. I haven’t given up hope. Never give up hope.”
Outside of those two, there aren’t many options remaining for Hopkins. A fight with Chad Dawson would be huge in the boxing world, but wouldn’t satisfy Hopkins or the masses.
If he were to pass on Dawson, and a fight can’t be made with Calzaghe or Adamek, there is a good chance that Kelly Pavlik will go down as Hopkins final professional boxing opponent.
Since I don’t see Calzaghe fighting him and I don’t see Hopkins fighting Dawson, it looks like Adamek is the last chance for Hopkins to get back in the ring.
Klitschko-Haye Back on For June 20 in Europe
March 5, 2009
The on-again/off-again matchup between heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye is back on again.
According to Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer via Doug Fischer of Ring Magazine, contracts have been exchanged and the details are being sorted, but the fight will take place on June 20 in Europe.
A specific location has not been agreed to, but that was the holdup for some time. The fight was close to done at other times, but has always hit breaking points. Originally, Haye was promising big crowds in London, but was unable to make the fight happen where he wanted to for economic reasons. Then, he offered to fight in Germany, but the holdup then came from other reasons and talks broke off.
Recently, Haye was apparently pushing for the fight to happen in the United States, but eventually all parties agreed to fight in Europe at a yet to be determined site.
According to Shaefer, Germany may still be the frontrunner for the fight, but nothing is for sure right now.
HBO will televise the fight.
Pacquiao Willing to Make Marquez Trilogy
March 4, 2009
Even though Juan Manuel Marquez said in the ring after his win against Juan Diaz that he didn’t think Manny Pacquiao wanted to fight him again, he continues to chase him and Pacquiao seems more than willing to fight him once again.
The two superstars have fought twice, with Pacquiao winning in 2008 by very narrow split-decision and they fought to a disputed draw back in 2004.
Marquez has been calling Pacquiao out for the last year, since the second bout. Many people feel that Marquez one at least one, if not both of the fights, while many Pacquiao fans feel the same about their fighter. Pacquiao would be 2-0 vs. Pacquiao if not for a scoring error in the first fight, while Marquez would be 1-0-1 if he could have avoided just one knockdown per fight.
Marquez called out former pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather after his win over Diaz, saying that he didn’t feel that Pacquiao was interested in fighting him for a third time.
Upon arriving back in Mexico however, Marquez once again took the opportunity to challenge Pacquiao. Marquez said that he wanted to fight the winner of Pacquiao’s May fight with Ricky Hatton, but said that he hopes Pacquiao wins so they could fight for a third time.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, sounded recently as if he is more than willing to share a ring with Marquez for a third time.
Pacquiao told Setanta Sports (via BoxingScene):
“I did not see the fight but I heard that Marquez won the fight and if he wants to fight somebody, anybody, I wish that we will meet again. I think there would be more action in the ring after our two battles and we need to put into the minds of people that there is a winner.”
More than likely, a third fight between them would have to take place at 140 pounds, since Manny has made it clear that he has no intention of going back to lightweight, while Marquez is already planning to move up in weight to challenge some of the bigger names in the sport.
Even if Pacquiao were to lose to Hatton, there would surely be huge interest in a third fight with Marquez, as well as the possibilities of Hatton-Marquez and Hatton-Pacquiao II. But a Pacquiao win over Hatton would only work to set up Pacquiao-Marquez III.
No matter who wins the Hatton-Pacquiao fight, we are sure to see an even bigger fight later this year with one of them fighting Marquez.