Boxing News

Ex-championship prizefighter Oscar De La Hoya, now an established promoter and businessman, has given boxing aficionados around the world ample reason to lament following his curious and highly controversial acquisition of the sport's last remaining link to legitimacy.

For those of us who still give a damn, and who, for reasons perhaps unknown even to ourselves, still mourn the death of boxing as a mainstream sport, the sale of The Ring – a trade publication which bills itself as 'The Bible of Boxing' – to Sports & Entertainment Publications – a subsidiary of De La Hoya's promotional outfit Golden Boy Enterprises – should have provided a sort of clarity to a troubling but increasingly unshakable suspicion: those well remembered glory days of the 60's and 70's are gone and will likely never be re-conjured, at least not in this lifetime.

Boxing has, for obvious reasons, always been an easy target for the pious, a Tony Montana-type bad guy to point a judging finger at and blame for all of society's evils.

Unfortunately, just like the psychotic crime boss, enough misdeeds have been committed to fully warrant those judgements, and over the last 20 years or so the sport has found itself more or less abandoned by mainstream media and forced ever deeper into the fringes.

As a result, we now live in a country where WAGs – the wives and girlfriends of footballers, for those of you without a Heat subscription – enjoy considerably more fame than any of the current heavyweight titlists. A cold, hard fact that should inspire laughter through tears. More...

It's Now Or Never

He is a faceless title holder in an increasingly faceless sport, but come September 7 WBC Light Welterweight champion Junior Witter will get the opportunity to stand up and be seen.

Witter, 33, is only weeks away from a career defining showdown with number one contender Vivian Harris, and has declared that the winner of their upcoming clash should be regarded as the best ten stone fighter in the world.

A bold assertion that has gone virtually unnoticed, just as the majority of his words and actions seemingly do.

Although he has fought and defeated some of the top names in the light welterweight division in recent years, including Lovemore Ndou and DeMarcus Corley, Witter has failed to attract the attention of HBO or Showtime executives, and remains virtually unknown in the United States. His status in Britain and Europe could be described as similar.

Witter's mounting frustration has manifested itself in a string of verbal attacks against fellow Brit and chief rival Ricky Hatton, who signed a multi-million dollar contract with HBO shortly after his victory over Kostya Tszyu in 2005. He has since headlined in Las Vegas, not once but twice, and has a showdown with pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather on the horizon. More...

Light middleweight prospect Gary "Hot Stuff" Woolcombe suffered his first loss as a professional last night at the hands of the awkward and deceptively good Andrew 'Smiley' Facey.

Woolcombe, who fell to 22-1 (7), attempted to press the action throughout but was rendered more or less ineffective by his crafty opponent, who made full use of his height and reach advantages and refused to let the up and comer off the hook once he had him hurt. More...

Fourteen years after his father told him that, if he was going to become a professional boxer, winning a British title would make him the most proud, Norwich's John Thaxton broke down in tears after finally accomplishing that goal on Friday night.

Headlining the Sky Sports televised bill at the Goresbrook Leisure Centre in Dagenham, a fired up Thaxton, 31-7 (16), capitalised on his extra size and experience to seize the British lightweight title from Salford's Lee Meager, 20-2-1 (7). More...

With last weekend's double shooting fresh in the memory, local promoter Derek Williams teamed up with anti-street violence organization Mothers Against Guns to bring to Elephant & Castle an auspiciously timed message wrapped within an action-packed night of boxing.

Lucy Cope, chairperson of Mothers Against Guns, co-promoted the heavily-stacked card which took place on Saturday night at the Elephant & Castle Recreation Centre and featured, amongst others, former cruiserweight world champion Kelvin Davis and exciting light middleweight prospect Anthony Small. More...

Over-Anxious Calzaghe Wins Ugly, Remains Unbeaten

On a night in which he was under considerable pressure to sparkle, WBO and IBF super middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe was forced to dig deeper than anyone expected in order to overcome tough Cameroonian Sakio Bika.

Having set a near flawless standard for himself when trouncing heavily hyped American Jeff Lacy earlier this year, it always figured to be an optimistic ask for Calzaghe, 34, to reproduce the same level of intensity and brilliance against a virtual unknown such as Bika. More...

Bermondsey's David Haye will make the third defence of his European crown against unbeaten Italian Giacobbe Fragomeni on Friday, November 13 at the world-renowned York Hall in Bethnal Green, London.

In an announcement made earlier this week, promoter Frank Maloney confirmed that the cruiserweight clash has been sanctioned as a final eliminator for the WBC title. Either Haye or Fragomeni will meet the winner of the upcoming rematch between current champion O'Neil Bell and Frenchman Jean Marc Mormeck.

The 25-year-old Londoner speaks very highly of Fragomeni, and knows first hand what the squat Italian brings to the table. They have crossed paths once before, in 1999 at an Olympic qualifying tournament. Fragomeni beat Haye handily on that occasion, and in doing so shattered the precocious Englishman's dream of representing his country at the 2000 Sydney Games. More...

Humbled heavyweight boxer Audley 'A-Force' Harrison has this week claimed that he is determined to regain his credibility as a fighter after suffering a pair of reputation-shattering losses within a year.

The booming declaration came after it was revealed that Harrison, 34, will challenge countryman Matt Skelton for the Commonwealth title on Saturday, December 9 at the ExCel Centre in London's Docklands. More...

Samuel 'Nigerian Nightmare' Peter must grant James 'Lights Out' Toney an immediate rematch to determine an official challenger to champion Oleg Maskaev, ruled the WBC Board of Governors earlier this week.

The decision comes after a sustained public outcry over the outcome of the pairs September 2 bout, which was awarded to Peter via split decision. Though it is accepted that the contest was closely fought, the huge divergence in the official scores – 115-112 for Toney and 116-111 twice for Peter – ignited a firestorm of controversy and protests, especially after an informal poll revealed that 25 of the 27 ringside boxing writers scored the WBC eliminator in favour of Toney. More...

Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion Matt Skelton has passed up the opportunity to challenge for a major world title in his next outing, revealed the fighter's promoter last week.

It is believed that Team Skelton were offered a 23 December ate with newly crowned WBC Champion Oleg Maskaev, but turned down the title shot after deeming the terms of the out-of-the-blue offer to be unsatisfactory.

Skelton, 39, and his closely-knit team have justified the ostensibly imprudent decision by saying that they were neither happy with the money being offered to them or the fact that accepting the fight would have meant traveling to Russia, the rugged champion's homeland. More...

Light welterweight Ted Bami aims to echo the feats of countrymen Ricky Hatton and Junior Witter this Friday when he meets travel-hardened Italian Giuseppe Lauri for the vacant EBU title on a Sky Sports televised bill at London's famed York Hall.

Bami, 28, is reeling off seven straight victories – four inside the distance – since being stopped in three disastrous rounds by journeyman Samuel Malinga back in 2003. Based in the south London suburb of Brixton, the Congolese-born fighter has bounced back impressively from that setback and now finds himself on the cusp of winning his first major title. More...

A slow start was the difference between him and WBC super featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera when they met on May 5 at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, reflected Rocky Juarez on a recent conference call to promote his upcoming rematch against the Mexican icon.

Juarez, 26, lost a controversial split decision to Barrera on that occasion, but only after pushing his veteran opponent to the very brink. In the return match, which takes place on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, he says that victory is dependant on taking more risks in the opening rounds as it was his early passivity the first time around that cost him on the scorecards. More...

Ex-Premiership footballer Curtis Woodhouse made a promising start to his much publicized boxing career last night, impressively outpointing Dean Marcantonio over four two-minute rounds at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Mayfair, London.

Making his professional debut live on ITV4 as part of promoter Frank Warren's annual charity dinner show, Woodhouse, 26, looked nervy early on but once he settled down and found his rhythm the former England under-21 international began to show glimpses of the ability that less than a year ago prompted him to make the unprecedented decision to trade his boots for gloves. More...

Heavyweight contender James 'Light's Out' Toney was robbed of victory last weekend in his WBC heavyweight elimination bout with Samuel 'The Nigerian Nightmare' Peter, claims his opinionated promoter Dan Goosen.

After swapping blows for 12 brisk rounds this past Saturday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, it appeared to most observers that Toney, 38, had done enough to prevail on points. However, in a fight that featured a lot of close, punishing rounds, it was his younger opponent who somewhat contentiously walked away with the victory – albeit via split decision. More...

The salmon can only leap over the bear so many times before it is finally caught. Before those great big teeth chomp down and devour.

Once upon a time, not so terribly long ago, a courageous fighter by the name of Chris Byrd glided effortlessly over some of the grouchiest grizzlies in the land just like one of his namesakes in the sky. A ghost in boxing trunks. Jackpots at a Las Vegas casino are easier to hit than he was.

For a long while, catching him was like trying to catch Moby Dick. More...

When a man wakes up in the morning, looks in the mirror and slaps on gasoline rather than aftershave, lighting a match around him is about as imprudent as leaning through the bars to feed a gnarling, half-starved tiger.

Someone should have told heavyweight contender Samuel Peter beforehand that he was about to share a line with a personality more prone to going up in flames than the Australian outback in mid-January.

But, then again, should it really be necessary to point out what colour the sky is or how many beers there are in a six-pack? More...

Shannon Briggs is not a hard man to find. Whether trying to spot him in a crowd or tag him inside a boxing ring, it's safe to say that the six-foot-four heavyweight contender is rather difficult to miss. A walking bundle of bone, muscle and golden locks, the 34-year-old fighter/part-time actor has been around the block almost as many times as a milk float. A pro for over 14 years, his colourful career has been adorned by success, calamity and an occasional wisp of wackiness.

Excitement, though, has been his loyal and unfailing companion every step of the way. A singular constant, if you will, in a hailstorm of inconsistency. Whether he triumphs or whether he crumbles, fans know and trust that they will get their dime's worth each and every time he performs. More...

The bout's signed, it's a done deal, and the almost mythical Antonio Margarito has just grown another three feet. It's official, the peerless Floyd Mayweather Jr. will square off against rugged WBC welterweight kingpin Carlos Baldomir on Saturday, November 4 against a glittering Las Vegas backdrop. Pay Per View blockbuster, they say. Millions to be made by both.

The hard-hitting WBO champion, meanwhile, is once again left twiddling his thumbs in the darkened corner, forlornly scouring the room for someone to dance with. More...

courtesy www.frankmaloney.com

He didn't know HBO commentator Jim Lampley well enough to be sitting on his lap, but was thankful for the cushy landing nonetheless. In the consistently mercurial career of two-time heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman, there tends to be almost as many highs and lows in the space of a year as one would expect fictional mob boss Tony Soprano to go through in an entire 14-episode season.

However, one night in particular stands out in the memory above all others; one which, for obvious reasons, is indelibly etched in our minds. No, it wasn't his spectacular one-punch knockout victory over an overconfident Lennox Lewis in 2001, surprising though that may sound. His greatest moment? Without a doubt. His most memorable? Sadly, only a very close second. More...

Courtesy www.frankmaloney.com

There he was, the dancing master, shuffling up the steps as though battling through an invisible blizzard, his clasp on the flickering torch heartbreakingly compromised by hands that shook uncontrollably. For over two decades, from his professional debut in 1960 as a scrawny teenager to that profoundly sad wintry night in 1981 when he made his ill-fated comeback against Trevor Berbick, Muhammad Ali lit up the sporting world's colourless landscape like a metropolis of scorching stars.

The immensely poignant image of him setting light to the Olympic flame some 15 years after his retirement still resonates in my memory and was perhaps the moment when the most famous fighter of all, a man who partook in some of the most brutal encounters in ring history, became a worldwide symbol of love, hope and peace; a walking paradox who transcended sport, nationality, race and religion like no other. More...