Boxing News

Don't Miss Rocky Juarez's Rematch Against Marco Antonio Barrera This Saturday On A Golden Boy Promotion At The MGM Grand In Vegas on HBO World Championship Boxing! It was one of those familiar nights where the older champion had to dig down deep to fend off the determined younger challenger.

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In his first meeting with challenger Rocky Juarez, 25-2 (18), this past May, WBC Super Featherweight Champion Marco Antonio Barrera, 62-4 (42), had been effective in controlling the tempo of the fight from rounds one to six. However, after the first half of the fight concluded, the Barrera mystique seemed to wear off and Juarez began to counter the champ with punishing shots from both hands. This became the theme for the rest of the fight as Barrera began to buckle under the power of Juarez. More...

"I'm Willing To Fight Anybody At 160-168!"

What has boxing come to when one of the sport's best prospects cannot land a quality fight? This seems to be the case for the Tulsa, Oklahoma native Allan Green, 21-0 (15). It is truly puzzling to me why any of today's top fighters in the super middleweight division will not put their names on the dotted line next to Green's. Of course, there was some talk of Green fighting the 168 pound champion Joe Calzaghe sometime in the fall of this year but Green simply brushed those rumors aside. "He (Calzaghe) wasn't serious. His camp offered us a deal just for the sake of making a offer. Anybody in their right mind wouldn't have taken that deal."

Some boxing pundits would even argue that Green is not ready for Calzaghe at this point in his career. Green would even agree to that assessment to an extent, by confirming that at this moment in time he feels he has yet to reach his full potential but he would certainly not hesitate at the opportunity to fight for a world title. So the question still stands, if Calzaghe is currently out of the picture, then who would Green want to fight? "Peter Manfredo," Green replied. "Because he is known. I'd even fight Jeff Lacy, it doesn't matter to me. I'd go down to 160 and fight Jermain Taylor." More...

Plus a Preview of Kassim Ouma - Sechew Powell!

Tonight HBO will showcase two fights that represent each end of the boxing spectrum. In the main event, we have two former champs on the comeback trail and on the undercard, two of boxing's rising stars look to cement their place at the top. But before I get started on the card itself, lets take a minute and discuss the Boxing After Dark program as a whole.

A lot has been said recently since the premier of the new and revamped Boxing After Dark show since it was first telecast in April, most of which happen to be negitive. The fights look good on paper, but when it comes to reality, the contests haven't been delivering. For instance, instead of what looked to be a good boxer vs. puncher match up in April between Acelino Freitas and Zahir Raheem, turned into a dull wrestling match. More...

If you call yourself a boxing fan, then you should know who "The American Boy" Jason Litzau, 18-0 (16), is by now. If you don't, than shame on you, but do not worry because this Friday night, Litzau will be the main event for ESPN2's Fright Night Fights boxing series. It was almost a year ago to the day when Litzau was last on the Friday Night Fights telecast. In that bout, Litzau took on the tough Johnny Nolasco.

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"Mentally I wasn't prepared," Litzau recalled. "I had a lot of personal problems going on outside the ring at that time."

That night against Nolasco, Litzau found himself on the canvas in the 7th round from a well timed Nolasco left hook. The American Boy showed tremendous heart and beat the count only to survive a relentless attack from Nolasco in the closing seconds. By round nine, Litzau was gaining back the momentum and caught Nolasco flush with a sweeping hook that practically lifted his opponent off his feet. Litzau probably would have ended the fight there but Nolasco proved that he took could also survive while hurt. That night Jason earned a tough split decision victory as well as the hightest rated episode of Friday Night Fights for 2005. But more impo! rtantly, he did not allow his problems outside the ring to overwhelm him inside the squared circle. More...

Tonight in Hollywood, Florida, two junior welterweights will fight for the IBF title which was vacated by Ricky Hatton. As we all know the Jr welterweight division just a few short years ago was was loaded with talent, from Koysta Tszyu, Arturo Gatti, Floyd Mayweather, Miguel C! otto, and Ricky Hatton. Today Tszyu has one foot in retirement and the rest of the former 140 lbs stars have moved up to welterweight. But do not be fooled, the current class at junior welterweight is still thriving with talent.

For one, you still some of the old guard of junior welters who did not make the move up to 147, they are; the top contender Junior Witter, big punching Vivian Harris, as well as two solid veterans in DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corely and Carlos Maussa. Also, the dangerous Mexican fighter Jose Luis Castillo has moved up to junior welter. But there are also some great prospects out there as well, such as Mike Arnauotis, Demetrius Hopkins, and the smooth talking, fast punching Paulie Malignaggi. More...

This Saturday in Las Vegas, Nevada, four fighters will put their unbeaten records on the line on the HBO series . Boxing After Dark. In the welterweight contest, much talked about prospect Joel Julio, 27-0 (24), will be matched against another prospect Carlos Quintana, 22-0 (18). What is intriguing about this match up is that both of these fighters have knockout power and both have relatively been in with weak opposition in their last fights. Julio's last six opponents had a combined record of 123-53-6 while Quintana last six opponents have combined for the record of 170-52-8. The fight will not decide who is the best young prospect at welterweight, but which one is legit and could possibly be a contender.

"The Love Child" Julio seems to be the crowd favorite because he has gotten more exposure and he is currently contracted with Main Events, the promotion team who helped put these fights together. But do not count out Carlos Quintana; he is equally as devastating a puncher as Julio and a southpaw. This fight is really a pick 'em contest because both prospects have faced identical opposition and are equal in the power department. If they both decide to go head to head this fight could end at any minute, with either opponent being the victor. More...

What some of you may not have known is that a heavyweight title fight took place Saturday night in Germany. Russian Nikolai Valuev put his WBA strap on the line against a very undeserving challeneger in Owen "What the Heck" Beck. The Jamacian Beck was coming off losing his last two out of three fights. The two losses being a TKO stoppage courtesy of Monte Barrett and split decision loss to Ray Austin. His only win in his last three fights was against a sub par Darnell Wilson and that was a eight round decision.

As am I sure sure you do not need to be reminded that this is not boxing's heavyweight golden age.

Back in the 1970's the great Muhammad Ali, after losing in a heavyweight title fight on March 8, 1971 to "Smokin" Joe Frazier in Madison Square Garden, had to fight Jimmy Ellis, Buster Mathis, Jurgen Blin, Mac Foster, George Chuvalo, Jerry Quarry, Alvin Lewis, Floyd Patterson, Bob Foster, Joe Bunger, Ken Norton twice, Rudi Lubbers, and a rematch with Joe Frazier, all in that order just to a another shot at the heavyweight title against the then champ George Foreman and we all know what happened in Zaire in 1974.

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The headline for tonight's fight on HBO "Boxing After Dark" Series reads; "A Mexican Storm is Rising." This headline could become a reality when WBO Bantamweight champ Jhonny Gonzalez takes on Fernando Montiel in what could turn out to be quite an exciting match up at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, CA. Gonzalez is coming off two impressive wins, beating Thai champ Sor Vorapin for his WBO strap that will be on the line this weekend and in his most recent fight, he stopped the faded future Hall of Famer Mark "Too Sharp" Johnson. More...

Peter Quillin has never had it easy. Growing up on the rough streets in Grand Rapids, Michigan has made Quillin thick skinned. Quillin credits his older brother Craig for making him tough. Before Quillin had even reached his teenage years he was already fighting. "I first put the gloves on when I was seven years old," Quillin remembers. "I was fighting a thirteen year old, I ended up breaking his nose."

As he became a teenager the fight game seemed to come naturally to Quillin , but he still struggled to stay off the streets of Grand Rapids. So Quillin eventually join the local boxing gym to focus more on the sweet science and less on street life. "The first day I walked in and told the trainer 'I got a little something,'" Quillin recalled gleamingly. "The trainer then told me to hop in the ring and show him what I could do." Little did Quillin know at the time he was sparring with a national amateur champion. "It was a test," Quillin stated. "To see if I had the heart to come back to the gym the next day." And it was a test that Quillin passed with flying colors for in no less than four weeks Quillin had his first amateuer fight in Michigan.

Now as a professional, Quillin has the record of four wins, three of which have come by way of knockout and no losses to his credit. And besides dabbling in some modeling Quillin is now focusing on boxing one hundred percent. Quillins' new found commitment and desire came from his younger brother who is currently serving time in prison. "He just told me to take boxing seriously, because he has seen guys with a lot of talent go to waste and they end up dead or in jail, the streets get them." Quillin says sternly. More...

In today's news, boxing is almost always put on the back burner. Most championship fights tend to happen without much coverage from many sports networks and papers. The only press boxing does seem to get is if there is a death in the ring, or Mike Tyson happens to make an appearance, or even when boxing might put on a good fight in spite of itself. Even though professional boxing is struggling now, there is some light

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at the end of this dark tunnel. Hopefully the heavyweight enigma will be solved soon but the smaller weight divisions are putting together some great fights. We have just witnessed unification bouts in the super middleweight and cruiserweight divisions, and there is always the human highlight reel, Arturo Gatti. More...

On the eve of St. Patrick's Day, promoter Irish Ropes put together a magnificent fight card that would that would have been enjoyed by all fight fans, Irish or not. The promotion, "Irish Express" played to a packed house in the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York with all coming to see rising middleweight contender "Irish" John Duddy in action as he met Shelby Pudwill of North Dakota. The undercard was packed full of attractions as well and went off without a hitch with the exception that Irish Middleweight Champion Matthew Macklin's bout with Chris Troupe was called off due to a misunderstanding of weight limits between the two sides.

In the first bout of the evening, Irish Ropes stablemate Martin Wright made his pro debut. matched against Joe Davis in a scheduled four round welterweight contest. When the bell sounded, Davis was actually the aggressor of the two, trapping the green Wright on the ropes. The majority of Davis' punches did not land, however, and Wright responded well, attacking his rival and catching him off guard with left hook which brought Davis down. Davis beat the count and was back on his feet, but not for long. Wright quickly unleashed a sinister four punch combination that put Davis down again, causing the referee to halt the fight at 2:48 in the first round. Martin Wright wins his debut to go to 1-0 (1) while Joe Davis drops to 1-3 (1). More...

It was January 27, 2006, at Cicero Stadium in Cicero, Illinois. The final bell rang, ending a wild ten round contest. Super bantamweight prospect Antonio Escalante, 11-0 (7), had been dropped by his opponent Jose Andres Hernandez, 19-3 (13). But Escalante proved he had the heart of a champion and got up and continued to fight. A fight which Escalante ultimately won and a fight that put Antonio on the map as a bright young prospect in the sweet science.

"I feel as if I learned a lot from my last fight," Escalante said. "I was knocked down but I learned I could take a punch from my opponent who had a lot of experience." Escalante also feels he is becoming a smarter boxer by saying that, "I realized not every fighter will go down and there comes a time when you have to start boxing." More...

Main Events put on a cracking five bout fightcard on Friday night at Schuetzen Park in North Bergen, NJ headlined by an exciting matchup of promising light middleweight prospects Giovanni Lorenzo vs. Archak TerMeliksetian. The two engaged in a spirited slugfest that didn't go the distance but that was just part of the entertaining, well run promotion by Main Events. There were some interesting undercard contests as well, kicked off by

a cruiserweight pairing between Cracow, Poland's Gregory Somzyski and Lloyd Wilson.

Things started off evenly but Wilson, of Winston-Salem, NC was in survival mode by the end of the second round. Every time that Somzyski got on the inside, Wilson clinched up. This led to Somzyski getting the unanimous decision win in his professional debut, 40-36 and 39-37 (twice), much to the delight of the strong Polish crowd in the North Bergen audience. Lloyd Wilson drops to 3-3 (3). More...

The Cream of the Crop: The New Irish Murderer's Row

With the bitterly cold days of February behind us, we look forward to the hopefully warmer days of March, and ultimately spring. But before the spring season is upon us we must get through the St. Patrick's Day festivities. Boxing fans around the globe can rejoice that now there is a new talented crop of prospects that come from the shores of Ireland. The man leading this

Irish charge through the boxing ranks is star middleweight prospect John Duddy, 15-0 (13). Duddy is coming off a unanimous decision over Julio Jean on February 4th in Boston, his fifteenth straight pro win.

Now Duddy is headlining the "Shamrock Express" at the Theater at Madison Square Garden on St. Patrick's Day eve. "Amazing", Duddy commented when asked about his thoughts on headlining a fight at the hallowed New York arena. "I am a believer that things happen for a reason, I feel like a kid, but I still have a long way to go yet," he said. More...