Boxing News

News and Results from the Last Week’s Fight Game.

OK, it's quiz time! What do a World Darts champion, an ex-British and Commonwealth heavyweight boxing champion and this writer have in common? Do you give up? We all went to Eaglesfield School in South London. Yes, it's well known

as a breeder of the athletic types and Andy Fordham and Julius Francis are testament to that. Several years ago, Francis hit a mini streak and beat undefeated prospects Pele Reid and Danny Williams, and then out-hustled Scott Welch - best known as Horace “Good Night” Anderson who fought Brad Pitt’s character in “Snatch.” His reward was a bout against Michael Gerard Tyson - a fight in which Francis was so confident he sold advertising space on the soles of his shoes to a British tabloid (no, he really did!). Two hundred and forty three seconds into the fight, those shoes had been displayed FIVE times and Julius then embarked on his journeyman career, traveling the width of Europe as a gauge for up and comers. On Sunday night in England, he lost his twelfth in a row to Colin Kenna, a Dubliner residing in the port of Southampton, over four rounds. Kenna was rated the number one Irish heavyweight until three weeks ago when Kevin McBride beat some guy with the initials MGT. On the same bill, Karl Taylor lost for the eighty-first time, to Henry Castle, while “The Isle of Wight Assassin,” Jay Morris improved to 4-0-1.

Here it is once again fight fans, the best boxing round-up you are going to find anywhere, courtesy of SaddoBoxing.com’s Jonny Townsend. More...

Stretching from Mongolia to Eastern Europe, the Eurasian steppes spawned many robust tribes throughout the centuries such as the Cimmerians, Scythians, Samartians, Mongols, Tartars, Huns, Hephthalites and Magyars. Lacking the natural resources to sustain their growing

hordes, they spread out in all directions, destroying, assimilating or merging with existing societies and eventually settling into the new lands. This is the case with the Magyars, who first lived in an area called Magna Hungaria in the Urals but slowly wandered westward, often being pushed by newer waves of migrating legions, during the 6th to 9th centuries before the eventually settled into the Carpathian basin led by the Pagan chief Arpád, and once again drove out or absorbed the existing residents. Around 1000 AD, under the excellent leadership of Vajk, the various tribes of the area unified and he brought in several reforms to organize Hungary into a feudal state, even converting these ardent Pagans into Christianity. Vajk was renamed King Stephen by Pope Silvester II and the foundation charter of Hungary was drawn up on the northern shore of Lake Balaton, thus becoming the earliest written record extant in the Hungarian language. One thousand years later, a second Magyar swarm has descended as wave after wave of world class boxers are emerging from the Hungarian nation. The forefather was Laszlo Papp who won Gold Medals at three consecutive Olympics (1948, 1952, 1956) before racking up a professional record of 27-0-2 (15). Papp’s world title aspirations were cut short by the Communist regime that revoked his privilege to travel abroad, thus ending his chance of a title shot, and the hopes of a nation. More...

News and Results from the Last week in the Fight Game.

We start off in Jack the Ripper’s old stomping (and ripping and shredding) ground of Bethnal Green, East London. On Sunday night, in historic York Hall - surely in the top three worldwide venues for amount of fights held - and top of the bill was a intriguing lightweight clash

between Commonwealth champion Kevin Bennett of Hartlepool* and the British champion Graham Earl from Luton. Bennett, aka “Bulldog,” came up the hard way, fighting all over the U.K., often against favored opposition and losing four of his twenty-one fights along the way and is now a battle hardened veteran, while Earl fought along the well tried prospect route, beating the journeymen before moving onto the slightly over the hill names and finally the titles. However, a clear point’s loss to the nine-fight novice Ricky Burns of Scotland, in his previous bout put some question marks over his world title aspirations. And things did not look too good for the southerner in this fight either as Bennett made a great start and looked to be too big, strong and determined for Earl. In an incredible comeback, Earl survived a sixth round knockdown, in addition to losing most of the early rounds, to come back and stop the ex-soldier in the ninth round. The victor, now 23-1, can look forward to a high ranking in the suddenly wide-open lightweight division. Underneath, Peter “The Daddy” Haymer retained his English light heavyweight crown with a controversial 96-95 decision over stable mate, Tony “Oakey Kokey” Oakey while Gary Woolcombe, Gokhan Kazaz, Craig Watson, Ian Wilson and Junior MacDonald all stayed unbeaten.

When we say World Boxing Round-up, that is exactly what we mean. Jonny Townsend leaves no stone unturned as he delivers the final word on last week’s boxing action throughout the globe. More...

News and Results from the Last week in the Fight Game.

In 1240, a dam was built on the Amstel river in Holland thus creating the name Amsterdam. On Sunday 12, June in that beautiful city, Regilio Aaron scored his ninth win in ten fights (six early) with a six round win over previously unbeaten Mohammed El Farouni.

Aaron’s only loss was a first round blowout to Belgium puncher Jackson Osei Bonsu. Bonsu, known as “Sugar the Ball Brains” is just twenty-four, and last week improved to 19-1 (17). Aaron is a thirty-one-year-old middleweight who fought three times in 1996/97 before disappearing for sixty-five months and is now 6-1 in the last two years. London, England - Isle of Dogs heavyweight Micky Steeds moved up to 6-1 with a six round win over Mal Rice. The twenty-one-year-old has only lost to undefeated Welsh prospect, Scott Gammer. Meanwhile, London based Irishman Coleman Barrett scored his first stoppage to move up to 5-0. He is now the number one ranked cruiserweight from Ireland. He is also the only cruiserweight from Ireland. This is cause for a drink! Ashley Theophane beat Jus Wallie on points, to improve to 9-1, further down the card. More...

In an astonishing series of events, a sixty-six-year-old ex-con from Louisville, Kentucky has filed a lawsuit against all time boxing great Muhammad Ali, asking for five percent of the ex-champions total ring earnings. "I'm being generous," exclaimed Alvin

“Crazy Bird Legs” Johnson, who has just been released from the Luther Luckett Correctional Complex after serving sixteen years for robbing an ice cream store in Frankfort, KY. "I ain't suing him for his total earnings, just what he earned in the ring." When asked what prompted this lawsuit, Johnson continued, "I stole his bike that day at the Service Club. If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't have started boxing and wouldn't be “The Greatest.’ That punk owes me and I want paying. A manager makes twenty-five percent and a trainer earns ten percent. I'm only asking for five percent. Show me the money!" More...

As the flagship division of boxing, the heavyweights represent our sport to the “Average Joe” fan. While a dominant or exciting champion can generate a lot of interest in boxing, which then tickles down through the divisions, a collection of boring, faceless champions turns many people off the pugilistic game. Our current heavyweight division is arguably as weak as it has ever been with dull champions scoring ugly (often-debatable) decisions over nondescript challengers or over the hill ex-champions. But it ain't all bad news. We do have cause for optimism. The make up of the division is changing once again and more fighters, especially from the old Soviet States are coming to the fore. We are now seeing a truly global representation from around the world. Let's take a look at some of the up and coming fighters, contenders and a few guys trying to re-establish themselves, from all corners of our wonderful green earth.

Wladimir Klitschko (Ukraine) Age 29
Record: 44-3 (40)
You all know about Wladimir. Once thought as the next big thing, he suffered two shocking stoppage losses to supposedly inferior opposition and many recommended him to retire. He returned with a decent win last month against the unbeaten Eliseo Castillo. If he can get back on track, he could be around for another five or six years.

Tired of wondering where the next heavyweight star will come from? Jonny Townsend delves into the current heavyweight ranks seeking an answer. Don’t miss this exclusive heavyweight report. More...

This weeks report kicks off on Sunday 5, when we saw a mega bill in the cherry blossom town of Osaka, Japan with thirty fighters competing in fifteen bouts, ten of which were at bantamweight or below. In a mild upset at light welterweight, Thai import

Pongpetch Muangsurin (5-12) knocked out local hero Kenryo Matsumoto. The lanky Japanese boxer was 31-1-2 until March, but has now dropped two in a row. On the same night in Brazil, Claudinei Lacerda moved to 4-0 (3) with a stoppage of Jose Claudio Da Silva whose record now stands at an impressive 0-26. Da Silva's ranking stands at 1007 out of 1046 according to Boxrec. This means that there are thirty-nine guys he can theoretically beat. There is always hope. Twenty-one-year-old Scotsman John Simpson got back to winning ways after his losing bid for the British featherweight title last November, with a third round win over Polish import Dariusz Snarski. Simpson, managed by Tommy Gilmour (along with twenty-nine other fighters), improves to 31-2, with both losses coming on points.

If it happened in the boxing world during the last week, it is certainly in this article. Join us for the definitive look at the last seven days of the fight game, only at SaddoBoxing.com. More...

This Sunday, in New York City, the people of that great metropolis celebrate one of their most colorful events of the year in the Puerto Rican Day Parade. Last year there were over 100,000 marchers and three-million spectators at the event with organizers predicting greater numbers this year. To mark this, I thought I would

put down my “Top Ten Greatest Fighters from Puerto Rico,” starting with the best and moving down to tenth place. I could not narrow it down to ten. So here are the “Top Twelve Greatest Fighters from Puerto Rico.” Then I thought about the order and whether to put Gomez first and "Tito" second and Ortiz third and what about all of the guys in the middle? Great champions all and it is not my place to put them in their place! So here is my list of the best dozen from that most beautiful island in alphabetical order. I have only covered their careers, not their personal lives. You can arrange them yourself on our forum. And if anyone is wondering where Hector Camacho is, ask Edwin Rosario. Happy Puerto Rico Day. More...

This weekend, Miguel Cotto faces amateur nemesis Mohamad Abdulaev in a rematch of their Olympic bout in Sydney 2000. Here is why I think that the Uzbekistani can repeat that result.

Since very early in his pro career Cotto has been touted as the next big thing by his promoter, Top Rank. Bob Arum has claimed that he will be bigger and better than “Sugar” Ray Leonard and Oscar de la Hoya, and in his first twenty-three fights, Cotto

has pretty much looked the part, reeling off nineteen knockouts in his unbeaten start. While not possessing one punch knockout power (only his debut was a first round win!) Cotto does have extremely heavy hands and breaks opponents down with unerring accuracy, good ring smarts and a whole arsenal of well-placed punches. He received some criticism for his last bout against DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley, but I think that it speaks volumes for a twenty-four-year-old prospect when a fifth round stoppage of an ex-world champion (who had gone the distance with both Zab Judah and Floyd Mayweather recently) is called a bad outing. So far, it sounds like I am a fully paid up member of the Puerto Rican fighter’s fan club. I am! He is a great fighter and a credit to the sport and he will be around for many years to come. However, I believe that Abdulaev is to Cotto what Norton was to Ali, Barkley was to Hearns and Tunney was to Dempsey, a “Lesser light” that has the big stars' number.

Don't miss the rest of "The Big Debate," as Shaun Rico LaWhorn offers up the counter-argument for a Cotto win. More...

A complete recap of the news and results from the last seven days of world boxing.

Last week started off with an impressive performance at heavyweight by Luan Krasniqi with a sixth round knockout of big Lance Whitaker, who had never previously been down. Krasniqi, a Kosovo-Albanian with German citizenship, is now the number-one contender for Lamon Brewster’s WBO title. Expect a promotional battle between Don King and Klaus Peter Kohl for the right to stage that fight. My bet is that the home fighter wins, so we should see a large bid by both outfits. On the under-card, Juan Carlos Gomez of Cuba continued his resurgence after his shocking first round loss to Yanqui Diaz, with a fourth round stoppage of the Brazilian George Arias, himself coming off a win over 24-1 Steffen Nielsen. Gomez is a class boxer and ex-cruiserweight champion that could still come good in the wide-open heavyweight division. More...

June 11, remember that date. Two big bills in two major U.S. cities on the same night at the same time. One, in the political capital of the U.S., is relying on the names of two great ex heavyweight champions to bring the fans in while the other bill, in Madison Square Garden, chooses to rely on some great match-ups, although none of the headliners comes from the U.S. itself. Here are the fights, and the fighters scheduled so far for the two bills.

Washington, District Of Columbia.

Heavyweight: Mike Tyson vs. Kevin McBride. Super middleweight: Laila Ali vs. Erin Toughill. Welterweight: Sharmba Mitchell vs. Chris Smith. Light welterweight: Nick Casal against some poor fool. Flyweight: Hussein Hussein vs. Isidro Perez.

OK, so the first two bouts ain't everyone's cup of tea, but kudos to Mitchell for choosing a tough first opponent at welterweight. Smith should provide a good gauge for Sharmba after his devastating loss to Kostya and you can expect a unanimous decision for Mitchell if he is still at even eighty-percent of where he was a year ago. More...

On paper, this is one of the most evenly matched bouts in years. Both fighters suffered an early career learning loss to OK opposition. Both lost in title shots against Floyd Mayweather in 2001; Hernandez by a clear unanimous decision (although forcing the first count of Mayweather’s career when a stumble led to Pretty Boy's glove scraping the floor), and Chavez by stoppage in nine (a compassionate withdrawal by Chavez's corner as he was getting busted up in his pursuit of Floyd). Both fighters are similar in age, thirty-three for Hernandez and thirty-two for Chavez, meaning that this is a must win situation for them both. More...

An intriguing 'B' level heavyweight fight for the WBO title. Brewster is still an unknown quantity in today's moribund flagship division, whereas Golota is, as Winston Churchill once quoted about Russia, "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." Supremely talented but with some serious psychological issues, Golota has been a top-ten contender on and off for over ten years, starting off with his fifth round TKO (and biting) of Samson Po'uha in 1995, eight round stoppage of Dannell Nicholson in 1996, and the two well documented disqualification losses to Riddick Bowe later that year; fights which the Foul Pole was handily winning against the supposedly superior ex-champion. He followed this with a first round knockout loss in a title shot against Lennox Lewis, in which he claims he was hindered by injections given to him just prior to the bout for sore hands. He fought on against C level opposition for the next three years until a stoppage loss against undefeated Michael Grant (a fight in which he had Grant down twice in the first) seemed to spell an end to his top-level career. Golota quit in that fight and quit again one year later when he stayed on his stool after two rounds against Mike Tyson. More...

Remember the night Mike Tyson lost to “Buster” Douglas? Often called the greatest upset in sports history, Douglas, a 42-1 underdog, shocked the world and Don King in front of a reserved Tokyo audience with a stunning tenth round knockout. Nobody believed that anyone, let alone a journeyman heavyweight fighter, could defeat the

twenty-three-year-old phenomenon. So imagine how astounded they'd be to learn that the wheels for that loss were set in motion by a five-foot-tall, 100-pound, pale, skinny fighter from the tough little mining town of Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales over seventy years earlier. Born in 1892, Jimmy Wilde started work as a miner around age twelve and built up an amazing strength for his size. He put that juice to good use in the many boxing booths popular in the United Kingdom at that time where he could earn a weeks mining wage in just one night of fighting. Despite his size (or lack of it), Jimmy was a crowd favorite due to his knockout punch, courage and toughness. He turned professional at sixteen and was unbeaten in his first 101 contests, many against opponents out-weighing him by twenty-to thirty pounds. Wilde earned many nicknames (always a good sign), among them: “The Mighty Atom,” “The Ghost with the Hammer in His Hand,” and “The Tylerstown Terror.” He became the first universally recognized flyweight champion, celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic with Gene Tunney calling him, "the greatest fighter I ever saw." His career record stands at 131 wins, with only three losses and an incredible ninety-nine knockouts. Many call “The Tylerstown Terror” the greatest flyweight of all time and he is commonly ranks in the best five punchers in history of the sport, pound-for-pound.

Here we trace how the hardest punching flyweight, who died in 1969, beat the man, who beat the man, who beat the man, and so on until we meet the man who eventually handed Mike Tyson that spectacular loss. More...

Round one: The start of the round is slow as both fighters weigh up the obstacle in front of them. Calzaghe begins to out-jab the taller Veit. The action is subdued until a good exchange erupts at the two minute mark in which Veit lands a good right to Calzaghe's face. Calzaghe responds with a vicious attacking

attempt with a lot of thrown punches but no telling damage done.

Score: Calzaghe-10-9.

Round two: Another close but decidedly more effective round for Calzaghe. Veit has already survived the point in which he was dismissed in the last fight and must be encouraged. No definitive advantages gained here but Calzaghe steals the round with better jab work and an altogether busier offense than his opponent.

Score: Calzaghe-10-9.

Read on for the rest of the fight and some intriguing quotes from Calzaghe and his promoter Frank Warren. More...

Joe Calzaghe travels to Germany to defend his title against his previous one round KO victim. Their first fight was in April 2001, when Joe was arguably at his peak, coming off knockouts against Omar Sheika and Richie Woodhall. Since then he has defended seven more times with Charles Brewer and Byron Mitchell his only opponents of note. Calzaghe's once rock solid chin has also shown signs of wear and tear having suffered two knockdowns in his last three fights. Veit won his first thirty fights against the usual suspects and found himself harshly exposed in his challenge for the WBO title at the Cardiff Arena. Calzaghe belted him out before the two-minute mark and few thought that we would see him contest another major belt, but a run of fifteen consecutive wins has seen him win the WBO interim super middleweight title. More...

In 1881, following the assassination of Czar Alexander the second, the Russian Government started an anti-Semitic drive restricting Jewish rights and sponsoring attacks on their people. This led to mass emigration to the USA, Britain and countries within the British Empire with the majority of these uneducated exiles settling close to where their ships docked. Around 100,000 came to rest in East London spawning a teeming ghetto famous for its prostitution, crime and urban poverty. It was in 1894, just six years after Jack the Ripper started his own clean up campaign in the area, that Gershon Mendeloff was born into this 'Outcast London', growing up to become Ted 'Kid' Lewis, one of the greatest British fighters of all time. More...